Chapter Summaries

As the second Dao lecture approached, the Primordial World’s Daluo Golden Immortals raced toward the Purple Firmament Palace while Ao Changsheng remained in seclusion. Gonggong waited beyond the world membrane for his siblings, and the chapter ended with him revealing his new Quasi-Sage power after they warned him about confronting Dijun and Taiyi.

• The Dao bell announced Hongjun’s second lecture, prompting Daluo Golden Immortals across the Primordial World to head for the Purple Firmament Palace.
• Ao Changsheng considered the coming Quasi-Sage age and the future Witch-Demon Tribulation, but chose to remain in seclusion.
• Gonggong waited beyond the world membrane for his siblings, while Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi decided not to attack him and entered Chaos to reach the lecture.
• Gonggong spotted his eleven siblings and abandoned his chance to pursue Dijun and Taiyi so he could greet them.
• Dijiang questioned Gonggong for coming alone and learned he had forgotten the plan; Houtu explained that she had worried he might encounter Dijun and Taiyi.
• After Zhurong teased him for his recklessness, Gonggong released his Quasi-Sage presence and said he would have killed Dijun and Taiyi if he had not seen his siblings arrive.

Gonggong reunited with the Ancestral Witches after breaking through to Quasi-Sage, but he had missed their chance to stop Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi from reaching the Purple Firmament Palace. As Hongjun began his second lecture on the path beyond Daluo Golden Immortal, the Twelve Ancestral Witches sat near their enemies and eyed the Demon Race’s allies.

• Gonggong revealed that he had reached Quasi-Sage after cultivating at Ao Changsheng’s Dao field, and Dijiang reproached him for letting Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi pass unchallenged.
• Zhu Jiuyin urged the Ancestral Witches to hurry to the Purple Firmament Palace and disrupt the Demon Race’s lecture, and Gonggong led them through Chaos.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches arrived to find Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi seated in the second row, then glared at them and their recruited Daluo.
• After several thousand years, Hongjun appeared on the high platform and began a three-thousand-year lecture on the path beyond Daluo Golden Immortal.

Hongjun lectured the assembled mighty figures on the Three Corpses method while the Twelve Ancestral Witches repeatedly broke through to the Quasi-Sage realm, disrupting the Demon Race’s cultivation. Near the end of the thousand-year lecture, Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian each severed a corpse and reached the Quasi-Sage realm.

• Hongjun began a three-thousand-year lecture on attaining the Dao beyond the Daluo Golden Immortal realm and explained the method of Severing the Three Corpses.
• Zhurong broke through to the Quasi-Sage realm using a method other than Hongjun’s, interrupting the listeners and angering the Demon Race.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches continued breaking through one by one, repeatedly disrupting the lecture and intensifying the pressure on Dijun, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the Demon Race.
• After nearly a thousand years, Laozi severed a corpse with an Innate Spirit Treasure and reached the Quasi-Sage realm.
• Yuanshi and Tongtian followed Laozi, severing corpses and reaching the Quasi-Sage realm as the mighty figures watched enviously.

During Hongjun’s final lecture, cultivators severed corpses and advanced to the Quasi-Sage realm before he ended the lesson and took disciples. He bestowed powerful spirit treasures on his new disciples, then turned his attention to Eastern King Duke and Western Queen Mother.

• Houtu explained that the Three Purities had advanced by severing corpses, while the Ancestral Witches could continue growing by integrating the Great Dao into their bodies.
• Nüwa, Jieyin, Zhunti, and other cultivators hesitated or severed corpses according to the spirit treasures they possessed, while Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi eventually severed their malevolent corpses.
• After the three-thousand-year lecture ended, Hongjun accepted the Three Purities and Nüwa as disciples and Jieyin and Zhunti as Registered Disciples.
• Hongjun bestowed the Taiji Diagram on Laozi, the Pangu Banner on Yuanshi, and the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords and formation diagram on Tongtian.
• Hongjun gave spirit treasures to Nüwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti, who severed their benevolent corpses and advanced in cultivation.
• Hongjun addressed Eastern King Duke and Western Queen Mother.

Hongjun appointed Eastern King Duke and Western Queen Mother to govern the unaffiliated immortals, then opened the Treasure Distribution Rock for the assembled cultivators. Gonggong and Houtu later visited Ao Changsheng with gifts, and he accepted them after realizing they were thanking him for helping Gonggong break through.

• Hongjun appointed Eastern King Duke and Western Queen Mother to lead the male and female unaffiliated immortals, granting them treasures and three immortal islands.
• Hongjun released innate spirit treasures in the Treasure Distribution Rock, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches and other Quasi-Sages rushed to claim them.
• Kunpeng and the Daluo who had begged Hongjun arrived late and found few or no treasures.
• Hongjun announced that his third lecture, ten thousand years later, would impart the Dao of the Sages.
• Gonggong and Houtu brought Ao Changsheng more than a hundred spirit treasures and spirit roots as thanks for his guidance.
• Ao Changsheng accepted the gifts and realized Gonggong and Houtu credited him with helping Gonggong reach the Quasi-Sage realm.

Ao Changsheng told Houtu and Gonggong that the Witch Race had to open its own cultivation path and warned them that the Witch and Demon Races would face the same calamity as the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Races. He revealed that the Witch Race’s chance of survival depended on understanding what it could contribute to the Primordial World, then watched the two return to consult their kin.

• Gonggong revealed that Hongjun had directed him to Ao Changsheng’s cultivation ground, and Houtu explained the earlier conversation in the Purple Firmament Palace.
• Houtu asked Ao Changsheng to guide the Witch Race’s cultivation, and he said the Twelve Ancestral Witches had to open their own path.
• Ao Changsheng warned Houtu and Gonggong that the Witch and Demon Races were destined to be protagonists of the epoch and its great calamity.
• Houtu asked how the Witch Race could survive its decline, and Ao Changsheng said its hope lay in considering what it could bring to the Primordial World.
• Houtu and Gonggong declined Ao Changsheng’s invitation and left to discuss his advice with their brothers; Ao Changsheng reflected that the survival of either race depended on at least one of its leaders remaining alive.

Dijun spotted Gonggong and Houtu over the East Sea but abandoned his plan to attack them, while the Ancestral Witches discussed Ao Changsheng’s warning and set off to cultivate. Dijun then inferred that they had found the reclusive mighty figure and renewed his search for the Dragon Race Daluo, while resolving to pursue Changxi and Xihe for his Heavenly Court ambition.

• Dijun considered attacking Gonggong and Houtu but decided the Demon Race was not yet strong enough to confront the Witch Race, then flew away.
• Dijiang detected Dijun’s presence, and Gonggong and Houtu told the Ancestral Witches what Ao Changsheng had said.
• Zhurong angrily objected to Ao Changsheng’s warning, but Dijiang calmed the group by saying the Witch Race already understood the risks of prosperity and decline.
• Dijiang led the Ancestral Witches back toward their territory to cultivate, while Houtu wondered whether Ao Changsheng’s words had been meant especially for her.
• Dijun concluded that Gonggong and Houtu had found the reclusive figure in the East Sea and lamented that his search for the Dragon Race Daluo had failed.
• Dijun resolved to pursue Lunar Goddess Changxi and Xihe as part of his plan to establish the Heavenly Court.

Dijun used the River Diagram and Luo Book to find Ao Changsheng’s secluded cultivation ground and attacked him, seeking to capture him for Changxi. Ao Changsheng’s Eye of the Candle Dragon stopped Dijun’s first attacks, but Dijun intensified his assault with the Great Sun Essence Wheel.

• Dijun recalled Changxi’s promise to become his dao companion if he captured a Dragon Race Daluo for her, then used the River Diagram and Luo Book to locate Ao Changsheng.
• Ao Changsheng sensed someone had traced him through the phenomena of his Daluo ascension and recognized Dijun outside his cultivation ground.
• Dijun praised the area’s ability to conceal its heavenly secrets, then unleashed the Great Sun Golden Flame across it.
• Ao Changsheng appeared in an incarnation and used the Eye of the Candle Dragon to extinguish the flames and calm the boiling sea.
• Dijun formed a Golden Crow claw to seize Ao Changsheng, but Ao Changsheng’s darkness swallowed it.
• Dijun poured power into the Great Sun Essence Wheel, turning it into a blazing sun that illuminated Ao Changsheng’s night.

Ao Changsheng fought Dijun with his avatar, drawing on the Ancestral Dragon Pearl and his cultivation ground to withstand Dijun’s attacks. After Ao Changsheng’s Eye of the Candle Dragon gravely wounded Dijun, Eastern Emperor Taiyi intervened with the Chaos Bell and fled with him to the Sun Star.

• Dijun attacked Ao Changsheng with the Great Sun Essence Wheel, but Ao Changsheng’s Eye of the Candle Dragon met its power.
• Ao Changsheng used the Ancestral Dragon Pearl to empower his avatar and trapped Dijun’s evil corpse in the World of Ten Thousand Dragons.
• Dijun used the River Diagram and Luo Book to sever the Law Power channel between Ao Changsheng’s avatar and his cultivation ground.
• Ao Changsheng’s true body sent divine light through Dijun’s domain, the Great Sun Essence Wheel, and Dijun’s evil corpse, gravely wounding Dijun.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi blocked Ao Changsheng’s next attack with the Chaos Bell, was injured by its impact, and fled with Dijun toward the Sun Star.

After Ao Changsheng routed Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, mighty figures across the Primordial World took notice, while the Ancestral Witches and Changxi reconsidered the Dragon Race Daluo’s power. Ao Changsheng waited at his Dao field for Hongjun, who arrived and explained that Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi had a heavenly mandate and that their time had not yet come.

• The Ancestral Witches celebrated Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s defeat, speculated that Ao Changsheng might belong to the Dragon Race, and followed Dijiang back to Pangu Hall.
• Changxi told Wangshu she would only agree to become Dijun’s dao companion if he captured the Dragon Race Daluo, then returned to the Moon Palace.
• Ao Changsheng waited at his Dao field after routing Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi.
• Hongjun appeared before Ao Changsheng, who demanded an explanation, and Hongjun said Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi bore a heavenly mandate and that it was not yet time.

Hongjun revealed that he wanted to preserve Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi to keep the Demon Race balanced against the witches, and Ao Changsheng demanded Innate Spirit Roots that increased Law Power in exchange for sparing them. When Hongjun offered Jianmu instead, Ao Changsheng followed him through a void passage and discovered that it was a World Tree sapling growing within the Primordial World.

• Hongjun explained that Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi were the demon emperors best suited to balance the Witch Race, and Ao Changsheng said he would spare them only for Innate Spirit Roots that increased Law Power.
• Hongjun said he had no such Spirit Roots left, but offered to show Ao Changsheng Jianmu.
• Ao Changsheng's true body sensed the presence beyond Hongjun's void passage, while his incarnation followed Hongjun through it.
• Ao Changsheng saw Jianmu, a tree hundreds of light-years tall inside an immense cavern, and recognized it as a World Tree.
• Hongjun explained that Jianmu was a World Tree sapling whose seed had fallen into the Primordial World and grown by absorbing its origin.

Ao Changsheng traded a promise to spare Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi during the great tribulation for Hongjun’s sealed Jianmu sapling. He used his true body’s power to bring the World Tree and Hongjun to his cultivation ground, revealing a Great Thousand World of his own, then wondered what game Hongjun was playing to secure his merger with the Heavenly Dao.

• Hongjun offered Ao Changsheng the Jianmu sapling in exchange for sparing Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi during the great tribulation, and Ao Changsheng agreed.
• Ao Changsheng summoned his true body’s vast world through the void, taking the Jianmu, his avatar, and Hongjun to the area outside his cultivation ground.
• Hongjun recognized that Ao Changsheng possessed an independent Great Thousand World and considered the power such a world could hold if its owner unified it.
• Ao Changsheng and Hongjun exchanged compliments, and Hongjun left the Primordial World.
• Ao Changsheng reflected that Hongjun might be keeping the Demon Race alive so the Heavenly Court would rise in time for his merger with the Dao, then dissolved his avatar.

Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi established the Heavenly Court with Hongjun’s tacit approval, gathering merit and opening the Heavenly Realm. The Witches and Eastern King Duke reacted with anger, while Ao Changsheng remained focused on completing the Heaven-Reaching Jianmu.

• Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked Hongjun for permission to establish the Heavenly Court, and he told them not to bother him with trifles.
• Hongjun revealed that the Heavenly Court would gather the Primordial World’s fate and bring him closer to merging with the Dao.
• Dijun proclaimed the Heavenly Court at Mount Buzhou, named its leaders, and received merit that let him and Taiyi sever their good corpses as the Heavenly Realm appeared.
• Zhurong urged the Witch Race to attack, but Dijiang stopped him and ordered the Witches to master their cultivation and inherited formation first.
• Eastern King Duke raged at the Heavenly Court’s claim to rule, while Western Queen Mother doubted his authority and considered returning to West Kunlun.
• Ao Changsheng heard of the Heavenly Court’s founding, anticipated the Witches and Demons’ coming war, and continued working on the nearly finished Heaven-Reaching Jianmu.

Ao Changsheng chose to plant the Heaven-Reaching Jianmu in his Great Thousand universe, accepting a temporary drop in its rank in exchange for deeper insight into world evolution. While the Primordial World’s powerful cultivators attended the third sermon, the Witch Race launched a devastating assault on the Demon Race, leaving Houtu shaken by her brothers’ secret plan.

• Ao Changsheng decided to plant the Heaven-Reaching Jianmu in his Great Thousand universe rather than use it to accelerate the growth of his inner world.
• Dijun married the sun goddess Xihe, and the Demon Race expanded its territory and strength across the stars.
• When the third sermon began at the Purple Firmament Palace, Great Witches led a surprise attack that slaughtered demons across the Heavenly Realm and the Primordial World for nearly four thousand years.
• Dijun and Taiyi returned to find the Demon Race devastated, and the Ancestral Witches engaged them and the other Demon Race leaders in battle.
• Houtu learned that Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches had concealed the massacre plan from her, and Dijiang promised to apologize after they defeated Dijun.

The Witch Race’s slaughter of the Demon Race’s allies horrified the great powers and drove Fuxi and Nüwa to sever their evil corpses in battle. Their sudden breakthroughs turned the tide against the Ancestral Witches, leaving Dijiang worried that the Demon Race’s leaders were growing too powerful.

• The Three Purities condemned the Witch Race’s slaughter, while other great powers watched the battles and feared its ruthlessness.
• Fuxi fought Jumang and Xizi, whose combined Wood and Electricity domains trapped him as he mourned the Demon Race’s dead.
• Fuxi severed his evil corpse and merged it into his true body, breaking through the Ancestral Witches’ domain and wounding Jumang and Xizi.
• Nüwa severed her evil corpse with the Red Embroidered Ball while battling Rushou and Qiangliang, then pressed them with a fierce counterattack.
• Kunpeng and Xihe were stirred by the dead Demon Race’s resentment and were expected to sever their evil corpses after time in cultivation.
• Dijiang realized that the Witch Race’s campaign had driven Nüwa and Fuxi to advance, complicating his plan to kill Dijun and Taiyi.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches gathered and formed the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Devils Great Formation, summoning a towering figure resembling Pangu. The six Demon Race Quasi-Sages faced the giant’s devastating punch, unable to move or defend themselves.

• Dijiang summoned the Ancestral Witches to regroup as Nüwa and the other Demon Race powers pursued them.
• The twelve Ancestral Witches gathered and withstood the six Quasi-Sages’ attacks with a domain formed from their Great Daos.
• Dijiang led the Ancestral Witches in forming the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Devils Great Formation, which released dense Innate Sha Qi.
• The Sha Qi condensed into a giant resembling Pangu, shocking the Three Purities and the Demon Race’s six Quasi-Sages.
• Taiyi struck the Chaos Bell and briefly disrupted the Sha Qi, but a vast will entered it and strengthened the Pangu-like figure.
• The giant punched toward Dijun, Taiyi, Fuxi, Nüwa, Kunpeng, and Xihe, who could neither move nor defend themselves.

Hongjun stopped the Twelve Ancestral Witches’ Pangu formation, sealed the Witch Race within Mount Buzhou for a million years, and left the Demon Race alive to recover. Ao Changsheng judged that Hongjun had engineered the war’s outcome and trapped Dijun and Taiyi in an obsession with destroying the Witch Race, leaving both factions’ decline within his control.

• Hongjun blocked Pangu’s fist, dispersed the formation, and confined the entire Witch Race to Mount Buzhou for a million years.
• Demon Race survivors greeted Hongjun, who departed without responding to them.
• Ao Changsheng observed that the Witch Race’s slaughter had transferred vast fortune to the Demon Race and removed obstacles to its growth.
• Ao Changsheng suspected Hongjun had known about the slaughter and had manipulated events to strengthen the Demon Race while undermining Dijun and Taiyi.
• Ao Changsheng concluded that Dijun and Taiyi’s obsession with the Witch Race would prevent them from severing their Self Corpses and escaping the Witch-Demon Tribulation.

After a million years of recovery, the Demon Race and Witch Race resumed their war, with the demons trapping the witches in the Zhou Tian Star Dou Great Formation. The Twelve Ancestral Witches and their Great Witches fought back, but the formation continually restored its stars as the battle continued.

• During a million years of rebuilding, the Demon Race restored its strength and gained the allegiance of nearly all the Primordial World's races.
• When Hongjun's barrier around Mount Buzhou disappeared, Dijiang led the Witch Race in an attack on the Heavenly Court, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches formed their giant Pangu-like body.
• Dijun ordered the demons to activate the Zhou Tian Star Dou Great Formation, which Fuxi and Kunpeng directed with the River Diagram and Luo Book while Xihe and Nüwa summoned the power of the sun and supreme yin stars.
• The formation enclosed the Witch Race in a starry realm, where moving stars and starlight attacks inflicted devastating casualties.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches' giant struck Dijun's Sun Star and fought Taiyi's Chaos Bell, while Xingtian, Xiangliu, Hou Yi, and Kuafu destroyed falling primordial stars.
• The formation restored the destroyed stars, which began falling on the Witch Race again.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches fought the Demon Race inside the Zhou Heaven Star Formation for three days, but the formation’s endless power threatened to exhaust the Witch Race. They escaped by summoning Pangu and tearing open the formation, then Pangu’s axe struck the Heavenly Palace and spread Sha Qi through six heavens.

• The great witches battled through the Zhou Heaven Star Formation as its stars and demon gods repeatedly recovered, while the Witch Race suffered heavy losses.
• Hou Yi killed nine Daluo demon gods with divine arrows, and Kuafu shielded him from Dijun’s counterattack as Pangu’s blows failed to keep Dijun down.
• Houtu persuaded the other Ancestral Witches to retreat, and they summoned the Pangu Axe to split open the formation so the wounded Witch Race could escape.
• The Three Purities watched the summoned Pangu and dismissed it as a puppet rather than Pangu’s true form.
• After stepping out of the starry scroll, Pangu tore the formation apart and struck the Heavenly Palace, sending Sha Qi through six heavens.

The Witch Race escaped after “Pangu” broke away from the Zhou Tian Star Dou Great Formation, leaving the Demon Race with six polluted heavens and heavy losses despite Dijun declaring victory. As the Primordial World considered the battle’s outcome, Nüwa reflected on her place in the Demon Race and learned Changxi would only accept Dijun if he captured a Dragon Race Daluo.

• “Pangu” shattered the formation’s starlight, gathered the Witch Race members, and left the Heavenly Court while Dijun cursed Dijiang.
• Dijun declared victory despite the Demon Race’s losses and the Sha Qi polluting six heavens of the Heavenly Realm.
• The Primordial World’s great powers considered how the Demon Race had managed to hold off “Pangu,” while Ao Changsheng dismissed the summoned figure and returned to secluded cultivation.
• On the Supreme Yin Star, Nüwa questioned her feelings about the Demon Race and the massacre of its members, then thanked Changxi and Wangshu for lending the star’s power.
• Changxi repeated that she would accept Dijun only if he captured a Dragon Race Daluo, and Nüwa silently doubted he could meet the condition.