Chapter Summaries

At the Star-Picking Tower, Daji persuaded King Zhou to keep Bo Yikao in Chaoge after his qin performance, delaying his promised release. Meanwhile, True Person Taiyi planned to take Bo Yikao as a disciple after his destined death calamity, and Jinling watched his scheme from outside the city.

• Bo Yikao played the qin so beautifully that King Zhou praised him and the listeners were entranced.
• Daji persuaded King Zhou to make Bo Yikao stay and teach her the qin before he and his father could return to Xiqi, and Bo Yikao agreed while considering an escape.
• True Person Taiyi showed Yuding True Person Bo Yikao in a Round Light Mirror and explained that his death calamity would sever his claim to rule Xiqi.
• Yuding True Person agreed to help True Person Taiyi protect Bo Yikao from whoever would ambush him in Chaoge.
• Jinling watched from outside Chaoge City and resolved that True Person Taiyi's plans for Bo Yikao would fail.

Bo Yikao resisted Daji’s seduction in the Star-Picking Tower and hoped King Zhou would let him and the Marquis of the West return to Xiqi. True Person Taiyi decided to take Bo Yikao as his disciple for his hidden fortunes, while Jinling watched and blamed Xiqi for Bo Yikao’s foolishness.

• Daji tried to draw Bo Yikao into teaching her the zither while seated in his lap, but he refused and scolded her for betraying her station.
• Daji dismissed Bo Yikao, who regretted angering her and hoped his ancestral treasures would persuade King Zhou to release him and the Marquis of the West.
• Yuding True Person questioned whether Bo Yikao could survive the Great Investiture of the Gods Calamity, but True Person Taiyi resolved to take him as a disciple for the fortunes he carried.
• Jinling watched True Person Taiyi’s schemes and concluded that Xiqi had damaged Bo Yikao’s brain while raising him.

King Zhou framed Bo Yikao for an assassination attempt by secretly directing the white ape to attack him, then ordered Bo Yikao’s execution. As Bo Yikao was dragged away, he accused Daji in a final song, but King Zhou professed his trust in her.

• Daji told King Zhou that Bo Yikao had taken liberties with her, but King Zhou acted as though he believed Bo Yikao’s denial.
• Bo Yikao presented the Sobering Felt, the Seven-Fragrance Carriage, and the white ape, hoping to win permission for himself and Ji Chang to return to Xiqi.
• King Zhou asked to see the white ape perform, then secretly influenced it to attack him and Daji with poisoned daggers.
• King Zhou evaded the attack, killed the white ape, and accused Bo Yikao of plotting his assassination before ordering his execution.
• Bo Yikao suspected Daji had orchestrated the attack and sang an accusation against her as the soldiers dragged him away.
• King Zhou dismissed Bo Yikao’s accusation as a dying man’s ravings and reassured Daji that he believed her.

Bo Yikao was rescued from his execution by True Person Taiyi and Yuding True Person, but Yin Shang forces captured him again and blocked the immortals’ escape. As True Person Taiyi fought through the defenses to reach him, an unknown figure beheaded Bo Yikao on the execution ground.

• Bo Yikao condemned Daji and lamented the damage his death would bring to Ji Chang and Xiqi as soldiers dragged him toward execution.
• True Person Taiyi and Yuding True Person sent Yellow Turban Strongmen to carry Bo Yikao away, but Yin Shang soldiers intercepted them and captured him again.
• King Zhou empowered the Yin Shang battle formation, which destroyed the Yellow Turban Strongmen and sent the Dark Bird to attack True Person Taiyi and Yuding True Person.
• True Person Taiyi charged toward Bo Yikao with the Yin-Yang Twin Swords and Wind Fire Wheels while Yuding True Person held off the approaching Yin Shang forces.
• King Zhou raised dense formations around the execution ground, and an unknown figure struck Bo Yikao’s head from his body.

Bo Yikao was killed by Yin Shang’s executioners before True Person Taiyi could save his Primordial Spirit, and Jinling’s ominous starlight drove Taiyi into a furious frenzy. As Huang Feihu lured Taiyi away from the Star-Picking Tower, Jinling saw her plan might be unnecessary, while an illusory figure woke behind her.

• The Yin Shang executioner’s cultivator-slaying blade tore apart Bo Yikao’s body and Primordial Spirit as True Person Taiyi tried to retrieve him.
• Huang Feihu struck True Person Taiyi and prevented him from collecting Bo Yikao, whose soul scattered before them.
• True Person Taiyi erupted in rage and attacked Huang Feihu, while Yuding True Person suspected a Jie Sect Quasi-Sage had secretly influenced him.
• King Zhou agreed to Fei Zhong’s suggestion that Huang Feihu draw the battle away from the Star-Picking Tower, and Huang Feihu retreated while fighting Taiyi.
• Jinling watched from the clouds with ominous starlight in her hand, judged its effect on Taiyi unexpectedly strong, and saw an illusory figure wake behind her.

Jinling revived Bo Yikao’s Primordial Spirit and revealed that King Zhou had staged the white ape assassination attempt and had Bo Yikao killed after Daji’s alleged seduction. Bo Yikao accepted his death and worried about Xiqi, but Jinling said his punishment was not over as Chaoge’s army and protective formation surrounded True Person Taiyi and Yuding True Person.

• Bo Yikao awoke beside Jinling and learned that she had intervened in his death, though she denied saving him.
• Jinling told Bo Yikao that King Zhou had staged the assassination attempt and that she had severed Bo Yikao’s Karmic Luck, leaving him vulnerable to death.
• Bo Yikao realized King Zhou had framed him after Daji’s alleged seduction, despite Bo Yikao insisting that nothing had happened between them.
• Bo Yikao accepted that he was unfit to rule and hoped his younger brother Fafa would restore their family and lead Xiqi to prosper.
• Jinling told Bo Yikao that his punishment was not over as Yin Shang’s army surrounded True Person Taiyi and Yuding True Person and Chaoge’s vast formation appeared.

Yin Shang summoned its Dark Bird Totem Dharma Manifestation, empowered by Chaoge’s people and soldiers, to confront Yuding True Person and True Person Taiyi. King Zhou ordered it to attack Taiyi with all its strength.

• Chaoge’s residents and Yin Shang’s soldiers contributed their Karmic Luck and power to form the Dark Bird Totem Dharma Manifestation.
• The Dark Bird’s appearance suppressed Yuding True Person and True Person Taiyi, while Jinling’s influence caused Yuding to overlook the Investiture of the Gods.
• True Person Taiyi charged the Dark Bird and was hurled into the ground, but he rose and attacked again.
• King Zhou watched from the Star-Picking Tower and ordered the Dark Bird to kill True Person Taiyi.

Yuding True Person escaped Chaoge while the Human Race Daluo defeated and killed True Person Taiyi. As the Human Race Daluo tried to erase Taiyi from the River of Time, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi sensed the danger and reacted.

• A Human Race Daluo joined the Black Bird totem manifestation, strengthening it with the Daluo realm.
• Yuding True Person used Five Elements Great Evasion to flee, and the Human Race Daluo chose not to pursue him.
• Jinling let Yuding escape and focused on True Person Taiyi, who had lost his reason and charged at the Black Bird totem manifestation.
• The Human Race Daluo defeated and killed True Person Taiyi, dissolving his body and Primordial Spirit.
• The Human Race Daluo tried to erase True Person Taiyi from the River of Time, and Celestial Venerable Yuanshi opened his eyes in fury.

After learning that True Person Taiyi had died in a Human Race battle formation, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi uncovered Jinling’s schemes and set out for Yin Shang, but Cult Master Tongtian blocked him. The two Sages prepared to fight until Fuxi arrived and urged them to stop, warning that the Primordial World could not withstand their battle.

• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi sensed True Person Taiyi’s death and stopped his disciple’s traces from being erased, but Fuxi blocked his counterattack after Yuanshi identified the power as a Human Race battle formation.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi investigated the heavenly secrets and discovered Yuding True Person and True Person Taiyi’s plan, what had happened in Yin Shang, and Jinling’s manipulation.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi headed for Yin Shang to avenge Taiyi, but Cult Master Tongtian intercepted him and argued that the matter was a dispute between juniors.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi accused Jinling of secretly plotting against his disciples, and the two Sages drew their spirit treasures and confronted each other.
• Fuxi appeared before Yuanshi and Tongtian and urged them to stop, warning that the Primordial World could not withstand their battle.

Fuxi confronted Celestial Venerable Yuanshi and Cult Master Tongtian over their battle near the Human Race, suspecting they wanted to destroy the Nine Provinces Barrier and open the way for their sects to recruit disciples. After the two Sages fought in the Chaos, Yuanshi returned to Jade Void Palace and resolved to begin the Great Investiture of the Gods Calamity.

• Fuxi warned Yuanshi and Tongtian to move their fight away from the Human Race, and he recognized that they had chosen the battlefield to threaten the Nine Provinces Barrier.
• Yuanshi and Tongtian pretended to accept Fuxi's request, then entered the Chaos to fight while Fuxi left.
• The Sages across the Primordial World sensed the aftershocks of Yuanshi and Tongtian's battle in the Chaos.
• Yuanshi returned to Jade Void Palace and abandoned his plan to go to the Human Race's Nine Provinces, concluding that he could not avenge True Person Taiyi there.
• Yuanshi examined True Person Taiyi's name on the Investiture of the Gods and blamed Taiyi's fall on his own schemes and entanglement with the Immeasurable Tribulation Qi.
• Yuanshi took up the Investiture of the Gods and declared that it was time for the Great Investiture of the Gods Calamity to begin.

After King Zhou ordered Bo Yikao’s minced flesh made into meat cakes for Ji Chang, Daji realized that True Person Taiyi had died and fainted in terror. Jinling took Bo Yikao’s spirit away, while Ji Chang divined the scheme awaiting him in Youli and understood that eating his son’s flesh was the only way to survive.

• King Zhou ordered Bo Yikao’s minced corpse sent to the kitchen, and Daji proposed that Ji Chang be made to eat it.
• Daji recognized that the dead Daluo was True Person Taiyi and that the other cultivator had been Yuding True Person, then fainted.
• Bo Yikao pleaded with Jinling to save Ji Chang, but Jinling challenged him to explain why she should help and took him away.
• In Youli, Ji Chang used his Zhou Changes to divine Bo Yikao’s death and King Zhou’s plan to test him with the meat cakes.
• Ji Chang realized he would have to eat Bo Yikao’s flesh calmly to survive, while Bo Yikao’s spirit wept above him.

Bo Yikao watched his punishment unfold and died, his true spirit gathered by the Investiture of the Gods. Jinling and Guiling identified the Investiture’s power and destroyed Bo Yikao’s body before leaving.

• Bo Yikao watched King Zhou’s guards deliver meat pies made from his flesh to Ji Chang, who hid his grief while playing the zither.
• Bo Yikao blamed himself for his father’s suffering and asked Jinling what came next; she told him he would die as his Primordial Spirit began to disperse.
• Bo Yikao’s soul scattered, and the Investiture of the Gods gathered his true spirit.
• Guiling joined Jinling and sensed that the Investiture had been activated by a Sage at Mount Kunlun; Jinling confirmed it was in Celestial Venerable Yuanshi’s hands.
• Guiling produced Bo Yikao’s body, and Jinling burned it completely to prevent it from becoming a weakness for the Purple Tånúó Star.

Ji Chang escaped Youli, restored his son’s remains to three rabbits, and returned toward Xiqi while Fuxi and Guiling recognized his unusual potential. Back at Changsheng's Dao Field, Ao Changsheng warned Guiling against joining the Investiture of the Gods, then sent her off with a prank that made her realize she had years before her promised departure.

• Fuxi watched Ji Chang in Youli and judged that his Eight Trigrams talent might lead him to Hunyuan Daluo, but left him to escape on his own.
• San Yisheng bribed Fei Zhong and You Hun, and King Zhou allowed Ji Chang to leave; Leizhenzi carried him over the five passes to Yin Shang's border.
• Ji Chang spat out the meat patties that had been his son, and his Eight Trigrams transformed them into three rabbits; he thanked Guiling and resumed his journey to Xiqi in a bedraggled disguise.
• Guiling returned to Changsheng's Dao Field and found Ao Changsheng's records of her past disrespect; he warned her that she was unprepared for the Investiture of the Gods and urged her to cultivate.
• Guiling insisted that she would go with Jinling, and Ao Changsheng ultimately supported her while pretending to be sorrowful; after she left, he revealed his amusement at the prank.
• Guiling stopped outside the Dao Field and realized she had several years before her appointed departure, then shouted that Ao Changsheng had tricked her.

Ao Changsheng watched Guiling join the Investiture of the Gods Calamity without intervening, while Fuxi completed his Eight Trigrams and sensed the Human Race’s conflict turning toward its end. At Golden Rooster Ridge, Kong Xuan led Yin Shang’s army to block Western Zhou, declaring the ridge their final stop.

• Ao Changsheng let Guiling follow Jinling into the calamity and reflected that the Sages’ mistrust and schemes shaped its course.
• Ten thousand years passed as the conflict remained centered on the Chan and Jie Sects, reassuring other Primordial World cultivators that the calamity would spare them.
• Fuxi completed his Great Dao of the Eight Trigrams and sensed the Shang-Zhou conflict nearing its end, while the Human Race’s fortune subtly shifted toward Western Zhou.
• Fuxi expected an opportunity to attain the Dao after the war, but remained in seclusion to prepare for it.
• At Golden Rooster Ridge, Kong Xuan led millions of Yin Shang soldiers toward Western Zhou’s camp and vowed to stop its army there.

Kong Xuan reached Golden Rooster Ridge to confront Xiqi over its use of the Phoenix Clan’s name and defeated Huang Tianhua in a single move. As he challenged the Zhou army again, Zhao Gongming offered to help, while Nüwa went to seek Ao Changsheng.

• Kong Xuan encamped at Golden Rooster Ridge and ordered his troops to block the Xiqi army’s advance.
• Jiang Ziya learned that Kong Xuan’s forces had arrived and gathered his generals to plan their response.
• Kong Xuan challenged Xiqi over its Phoenix Clan banner, and Huang Tianhua charged out to fight him.
• Kong Xuan’s Five Elements power hurled Huang Tianhua and his qilin down the slope, leaving the Xiqi generals shaken.
• Kong Xuan challenged the Xiqi army again, Zhao Gongming offered to assist him, and Nüwa traveled from Wa Palace to the East Sea to seek Ao Changsheng.

Kong Xuan crushed Wu Ji’s troops and easily defended himself against Nezha’s fierce attack at Golden Rooster Ridge. He knocked Nezha down, took his Wind Fire Wheels, and demanded that Jiang Ziya face him.

• Wu Ji identified Jiang Ziya as the one who raised the phoenix banner, prompting Kong Xuan to unleash his Five Elements power and rout the Xiqi soldiers.
• Kong Xuan swept Wu Ji and the surviving troops down the mountain, while Wu Ji recognized that their foe was a Quasi-Sage.
• Nezha attacked Kong Xuan with his Wind Fire Wheels and other weapons, but Kong Xuan shielded himself with a Five Elements space linked to the Human Race’s Nine Provinces Barrier.
• Zhao Gongming arrived, and Kong Xuan struck Nezha on the head with golden divine radiance, defeating him instantly.
• Kong Xuan took Nezha’s Wind Fire Wheels and sent him reeling back with a water attack, again demanding that Jiang Ziya come out.

Kong Xuan confronted Jiang Ziya over Xiqi’s use of the phoenix banner, then defeated him in battle with his Five-Colored Divine Light. Jiang Ziya planned a nighttime raid, while Kong Xuan celebrated his victories and vowed to capture him.

• Kong Xuan ordered Nezha to summon Jiang Ziya, but Nezha returned to camp and Xiqi’s army avoided coming out until Kong Xuan called for Jiang Ziya publicly.
• Jiang Ziya arrived with his officers and disciples, and Kong Xuan demanded that Xiqi stop using the Phoenix Clan’s banner.
• Jiang Ziya defended Xiqi’s cause by invoking Heaven’s mandate, so Kong Xuan warned that he would kill the Zhou warriors if they kept using the Phoenix name.
• Jiang Ziya charged Kong Xuan and tried to use the God-Beating Whip, but Kong Xuan’s Five-Colored Divine Light broke his formation and swallowed the whip, forcing Jiang Ziya to retreat.
• Jiang Ziya planned a nighttime raid, assigning attacks on Kong Xuan’s main camp and both flanks.
• Kong Xuan celebrated with his troops and declared that he would soon capture Jiang Ziya and defeat the Western Zhou army.

Kong Xuan slaughtered the Xiqi army at Golden Rooster Ridge, stopping its advance and prompting Zhunti to set out to recruit him. Guiling intercepted Zhunti and fought him, delaying his attempt to convert Kong Xuan while the battlefield remained in chaos.

• Kong Xuan charged into the Xiqi army after Jiang Ziya’s forces had attacked him by night, killing soldiers and generals who tried to stop him.
• Jiang Ziya sent out every available expert and commander, but Kong Xuan defeated them and halted the Xiqi advance at Golden Rooster Ridge.
• Jieyin and Zhunti watched Kong Xuan’s rampage, and Zhunti decided to go to Golden Rooster Ridge to recruit him into the Western Sect.
• Guiling intercepted Zhunti, declaring that she would protect Kong Xuan because he was holding back Xiqi and was connected to her friend Jinling.
• Guiling used her inner world and spirit treasures to fight Zhunti, delaying his attempt to recruit Kong Xuan while Kong Xuan continued slaughtering the Xiqi forces.

Kong Xuan slaughtered the Xiqi army while Cult Master Tongtian watched from nearby with the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation ready. Daoist Zhunti’s incarnation arrived to convert Kong Xuan, and Kong Xuan began to waver when Zhunti promised he might attain Sagehood.

• Kong Xuan used his Five-Colored Divine Light to massacre Xiqi soldiers and defeat the Chan Sect disciples who challenged him.
• Cult Master Tongtian completed the mobile Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation and watched the battle rather than joining it.
• Daoist Zhunti’s Three Corpses incarnation arrived and blocked Kong Xuan’s attacks with the Seven Treasures Miaoshu while preaching that he should join the Western Sect.
• Zhao Gongming urged Cult Master Tongtian to drive Zhunti away, but Tongtian refused to become entangled in the Phoenix Clan’s karma and told them not to act.
• Zhunti promised Kong Xuan that joining the Western Sect might lead to Sagehood, and Kong Xuan asked if the promise was true.

Daoist Zhunti tried to persuade Kong Xuan to leave the battlefield by promising him a foundation for becoming a Sage, but Kong Xuan refused to abandon his grievances against Xiqi. Zhunti then offered to handle the remaining conflict himself, while Jiang Ziya recognized that Zhunti wanted to claim credit.

• Daoist Zhunti used the Seven Treasures Miaoshu and the Western Sect's power of faith to tempt Kong Xuan with the prospect of becoming a Sage.
• Kong Xuan agreed to visit the Western Sect someday but refused to join it, and Guiling praised his answer.
• Jiang Ziya ordered his army to spread out and hold back while Daoist Zhunti continued trying to influence Kong Xuan.
• Kong Xuan renewed his determination to kill Jiang Ziya and destroy the Xiqi army, causing Daoist Zhunti to admit that his attempt to persuade him had failed.
• Daoist Zhunti told Jiang Ziya he would resolve the conflict, and Jiang Ziya suspected he was trying to lecture him publicly and claim credit.