Chapter Summaries

Guiling, Jinling, and the Three Xiaos followed a White Lotus Bridge through the Netherworld Blood Sea to Ghost Gate Pass and entered the Underworld. Zhunti sensed Guiling and Jinling crossing the bridge, recognized their ties to Tongtian and Ao Changsheng, and resumed his meditation after Jieyin calmed him.

• Guiling and Jinling recognized the White Lotus Bridge as a Western Sect method and suspected that a Western Sage had created it.
• Guiling and Jinling brought the Three Xiaos along the bridge to Ghost Gate Pass, where they discovered it led into the Netherworld Underworld.
• The five women failed to open Ghost Gate Pass, so Guiling and Jinling took the Three Xiaos into their keeping and crossed through on the White Lotus Bridge.
• Zhunti sensed Jinling and Guiling entering the Underworld and identified Jinling as Tongtian's disciple and Guiling as Ao Changsheng's disciple.
• Zhunti's anger at Guiling's connection to Ao Changsheng rose, but Jieyin calmed him, and Zhunti stopped observing the women once they left the bridge.

Ao Changsheng watched Guiling and Jinling enter the Underworld, having tested Zhunti’s restraint and changed their destination to avoid violating Pingxin’s restrictions. Guiling and her companions set out along the Ancient Yellow Springs Road, unaware of what fortuitous opportunity awaited them.

• Ao Changsheng kept watch over Guiling and Jinling, ready to strike Zhunti if he tried to harm his disciple.
• Ao Changsheng noticed Pingxin’s restrictions on Sage access to the Underworld and sent Guiling and her companions to a place outside it instead of directly to Hell.
• Guiling and Jinling struggled to leave Zhunti’s White Lotus Bridge and stepped onto the Ancient Yellow Springs Road with the Three Xiaos.
• Jinling and Guiling speculated that the Underworld might offer Guiling a chance to comprehend the Dao, while the Three Xiaos wondered about her cultivation path.
• Guiling suggested they get on the road, then led the group forward along the Yellow Springs Road.

Guiling, Jinling, and the Three Xiaos traveled deeper into the Underworld, where their presence startled ghosts and ghost messengers alike. When a towering ghost god tried to bar their way, he sensed their overwhelming strength and quickly changed his tone to welcome them.

• Guiling, Jinling, and the Three Xiaos passed crowds of ghosts on the Yellow Springs Roads without answering their pleas to be returned to the Primordial World.
• Ghost messengers whipped ghosts who cursed the five women, then discussed their arrival and told stories about Dizang.
• A hidden figure recorded the names of ghost messengers who spoke about Dizang, delighted that it had filled its quota for the next hundred thousand years.
• Yunxiao noticed that the White Lotus Bridge remained intact as the women entered the desolate Ancient Yellow Springs Road.
• A ten-thousand-zhang ghost god appeared and ordered the living women to leave, but Jinling and Guiling’s presences made him falter and offer to guide them instead.

Guiling, Jinling, and the Three Xiaos followed Big Ghost along the Yellow Springs Road and used the White Lotus Bridge to peer into the Underworld’s deepest reaches. There, they met Dizang, who explained that Hell’s punishments washed away the sinful karma of the dead.

• Big Ghost led Guiling, Jinling, Bixiao, Yunxiao, and Qiongxiao along the Yellow Springs Road, while the Underworld’s guardians were ordered not to interfere.
• Big Ghost cautiously explained that a Daoist had left the White Lotus Bridge behind and had taken the same road they were traveling.
• At a sharp turn in the bridge, Guiling and Jinling stepped onto it and shared their view with the Three Xiaos through a special Technique Method.
• The five women used the White Lotus Bridge’s Divine Ability to see into the Underworld’s Hell and witnessed ghosts enduring countless punishments.
• Dizang approached and greeted Guiling and Jinling, then explained that Hell’s punishments washed away the sinful karma of the dead.

Jinling and Guiling learned that Hell lay at the end of Yellow Springs Road, and Guiling chose it as her goal in the Underworld. Elsewhere, Yang Jian smashed through a Ghost Gate Pass while pursuing the soul-claiming messenger who had taken his mother Yaoji, and he attacked a Ghost Emperor after being told the Underworld had not claimed her soul.

• Dizang told Guiling that she could reach Hell by following Yellow Springs Road, then left the White Lotus Bridge.
• Jinling learned from Big Ghost that Dizang had left the White Lotus Bridge, while Guiling settled on seeking Hell as her goal.
• Yang Jian burst through a Ghost Gate Pass and demanded that the Underworld return his mother Yaoji's soul.
• A Ghost Emperor told Yang Jian the Underworld had no right to claim Yaoji's soul and insisted it had not done so.
• Yang Jian lost his temper and sent a three-headed Jiaolong formed from his spear to attack the Ghost Emperor.

Yang Jian fought the Underworld Ghost Emperor after forcing his way into the Underworld, then unleashed Heaven and Earth Manifestation and clashed with him across the Netherworld. Pingxin ordered the Underworld’s Quasi-Sages not to interfere, while Big Ghost and the Three Xiaos watched the battle and wondered who Yang Jian was.

• Yang Jian attacked the Underworld Ghost Emperor, blocked his rapid ghost-claw strikes, and was caught in the Ghost Emperor’s giant hand.
• Yang Jian used Heaven and Earth Manifestation to grow enormous and crushed the Ghost Emperor’s true form with a single stomp.
• The Ghost Emperor absorbed the Netherworld Ghost Qi and fought Yang Jian’s giant spear, sending shockwaves and void rifts across the Underworld.
• A sinister Quasi-Sage prepared to capture Yang Jian, but Pingxin told him not to interfere.
• Big Ghost and the Three Xiaos watched the battle from the Yellow Springs Road, and Bixiao wondered which Sage’s disciple would dare trespass in the Underworld.

Houtu appeared before Guiling and Jinling after Sage Pingxin’s presence left them overwhelmed, then relayed Pingxin’s offer of a shortcut to Guiling’s Underworld opportunity if she captured the person behind Yang Jian. Guiling refused out of respect for her master Changsheng’s arrangements, only to learn that the supposed trials were merely the journey through the Underworld; Houtu then left through a rift to meet Chan Sect Daoists.

• Guiling and Jinling recognized Yang Jian’s Chan Sect powers and debated whether to intervene, but Sage Pingxin’s gaze stopped them.
• Houtu introduced herself as the Heavenly Court’s Underworld administrator and explained that Pingxin’s appearance had driven their Primordial Spirits to their limits.
• Houtu told Guiling that Pingxin would send her directly to Changsheng’s opportunity if she captured the person behind Yang Jian.
• Guiling refused to skip the trials Changsheng had supposedly arranged, while Jinling admired the trust between Guiling and her master.
• Houtu clarified that Changsheng had set no trials; the trials were simply the dangers of traveling through the Underworld, and Guiling asked if she could change her answer.
• Houtu departed through a rift to meet True Person Taiyi, Yuding True Person, and Huanglong True Person, whom Jinling recognized as Chan Sect Daoists.

Yuding True Person, Huanglong True Person, and True Person Taiyi discovered that Yang Jian had stormed into the Underworld and decided to enter after him despite the danger. As Yang Jian struggled against the Underworld Ghost Emperor, the Ghost Emperor invoked the Underworld’s authority and overwhelmed him with its power.

• Yuding True Person, Huanglong True Person, and True Person Taiyi found Ghost Gate Pass shattered and learned Yang Jian was fighting a Daluo Ghost Emperor in the Underworld.
• Yuding True Person recalled teaching Yang Jian that the Jade Void Palace could afford to offend anyone, and regretted encouraging his disciple to fear nothing.
• True Person Taiyi and Huanglong True Person agreed to enter the Underworld to save Yang Jian, and Yuding True Person offered to bear the consequences alone.
• The Daluo Ghost Emperor acknowledged Yang Jian’s exceptional talent but invoked the Underworld’s authority to empower himself.
• The Underworld Ghost Emperor’s pressure nearly collapsed Yang Jian’s manifested form, leaving him unable to break free.

Yuding True Person, True Person Taiyi, and Huanglong True Person prepared to rescue Yang Jian, but Houtu restrained them while Yang Jian broke free of the Underworld Ghost Emperor’s authority with the Heavenly Eye and grievously wounded him. Guiling stopped Yang Jian’s stray beam from hitting the Three Xiaos, then subdued him beneath a Small Thousand World.

• Yuding True Person, True Person Taiyi, and Huanglong True Person drew their Innate Spirit Treasures to intervene, but Houtu appeared and stopped them.
• Huanglong True Person recognized Houtu as Pingxin and persuaded his junior brothers to put away their swords and watch quietly.
• The Underworld Ghost Emperor promised to investigate Yang Jian’s mother, and Yang Jian broke free of the Underworld’s authority when he heard the word “mother.”
• Yang Jian’s Heavenly Eye opened and struck the Underworld Ghost Emperor, dissolving more than half his body.
• Guiling blocked Yang Jian’s stray divine light before it could hit the Three Xiaos, then placed a Small Thousand World on Yang Jian to suppress him.

Guiling suppressed Yang Jian after his Heavenly Eye broke through the Underworld’s authority, then handed him over to Houtu. Houtu shared a story about Ao Changsheng’s ancient battle and gave Guiling coordinates to a place outside the Underworld before departing with the three Chan Sect Daluo.

• Yang Jian unleashed his Heavenly Eye, but Guiling emerged from the void and suppressed him inside a Small Thousand World.
• Guiling handed the imprisoned Yang Jian to Houtu, while Yuding True Person, True Person Taiyi, and Huanglong True Person reacted with astonishment.
• Houtu told Guiling that Ao Changsheng had once defeated Dijun and Taiyi’s Zhou Tian Star Dou Great Formation and spared the Demon Race from destruction.
• Huanglong True Person wondered whether a legend about a powerful Dragon Race patriarch referred to Ao Changsheng.
• Houtu sent Yang Jian’s Small Thousand World through a spatial rift and gave Guiling coordinates to a place outside the Underworld.
• Houtu left with Yuding True Person, True Person Taiyi, and Huanglong True Person, telling Guiling she would understand the coordinates when she reached Hell.

Pingxin removed Yang Jian’s Heavenly Eye and revealed that Haotian wanted it returned to Yaoji, who had given it to her son. Yaoji refused to reclaim it and chose Yang Jian’s future over her own cultivation, so Pingxin enveloped mother and son in the power of reincarnation while Haotian watched.

• Haotian met Pingxin and asked her to grant his request; Pingxin released Yang Jian, subdued him, and removed his Heavenly Eye.
• Haotian presented Yaoji’s soul, and Pingxin awakened her before she could proceed with Haotian’s request.
• Yaoji saw Yang Jian’s empty brow and begged Haotian to spare her son, while Haotian argued that Yang Jian had threatened him.
• Pingxin warned Haotian not to dictate her actions, then explained that Yaoji could use the Heavenly Eye to advance to Daluo Golden Immortal in her next life.
• Yaoji refused the Heavenly Eye and asked Pingxin to return it to Yang Jian, saying she was content with her cultivation and wanted her son to keep the gift.
• Pingxin enveloped Yaoji and Yang Jian in the power of reincarnation as Haotian watched helplessly.

Yang Jian woke in the void with his Heavenly Eye newly opened, but Haotian revealed that it had been Yaoji’s only hope of reaching Daluo, leaving Yang Jian crushed by guilt. Haotian then went to the Purple Firmament Palace to plead with Hongjun, who summoned all the saints as Haotian departed.

• Yang Jian woke in the void and discovered that his Heavenly Eye had opened, while Haotian appeared behind him unnoticed.
• Yang Jian attacked Haotian, but Haotian immobilized him and repeatedly struck his Heavenly Eye.
• Haotian told Yang Jian that Yaoji had given him the Heavenly Eye, her only chance to improve her cultivation, and Yang Jian turned his hatred toward himself.
• Haotian left Yang Jian and the Netherworld, concluded that the Demon Race, Chan Sect, and Western Sect were involved in a plot against him and Yaoji, and traveled to the Purple Firmament Palace.
• Haotian knelt before Hongjun and begged him to stand up for his attendant; Hongjun accepted his plea, warned him to carry himself as Heavenly Emperor, and sent him away.
• After Haotian left, Hongjun summoned all the saints to the Purple Firmament Palace.

Haotian killed the Divine Monkey Pilgrim for plotting against Yaoji, then severed the past lives and karma within Yang Tianyou’s soul, unknowingly thwarting Zhunti’s scheme. Celestial Venerable Yuanshi revealed that he had targeted Yaoji to stop Haotian from becoming a Sage, but Hongjun summoned all Sages to the Purple Firmament Palace.

• Haotian erased the golden light and past-life karma in Yang Tianyou’s soul before sending him into reincarnation, while Pingxin praised Haotian’s growing power.
• Haotian confronted the Divine Monkey Pilgrim on Mount West of the Tree and killed him after the demon refused to reveal who had ordered him to scheme against Yaoji.
• Haotian left for Heaven Beyond Heaven, determined not to let unseen foes treat him as a punching bag.
• Zhunti realized that Yang Tianyou’s severed ties to Golden Child’s past lives meant Golden Child could not be restored.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi admitted that he had targeted Yaoji to obstruct Haotian’s path to Sagehood, then received Hongjun’s summons for all Sages to come to the Purple Firmament Palace.

Hongjun summoned the Sages to the Purple Firmament Palace and revealed that scheming against Haotian had triggered an Immortal Slaughter Tribulation targeting their disciples. He presented the Investiture of the Gods as a way to end it, leaving the Sages to decide who would fill its positions.

• Hongjun told the Sages that the Heavenly Dao had sent down an Immortal Slaughter Tribulation after Yuanshi and Zhunti schemed against Haotian, and said it would mainly affect their disciples.
• Hongjun explained that the tribulation would end once the three hundred and sixty-five positions on the Investiture of the Gods were filled, with those listed becoming Orthodox Gods under the Heavenly Court's command.
• Laozi and Nüwa said they had no disciples to nominate, while Zhunti began writing the names of dozens of Western Sect disciples on the Investiture of the Gods.
• Hongjun stopped Zhunti and erased the names, declaring that disciples with weak foundations and meager blessings could not be appointed as Orthodox Gods.
• Zhunti claimed that his Western Sect disciples were unworthy of the list, and Jieyin privately wondered whether his junior brother might one day attain the Dao through shamelessness.

The Sages argued over who would supply names for the Investiture of the Gods, and Laozi and Nüwa each offered one while Jieyin’s candidates were rejected. Hongjun began the Immortal Slaughter Tribulation without waiting for Yuanshi and Tongtian to agree, and Ao Changsheng sent an incarnation toward Yuanshi, muttering that he needed a beating.

• Yuanshi refused to sign the Investiture of the Gods and tried to push the burden onto Tongtian’s Jie Sect, provoking Tongtian to threaten a fight.
• Laozi placed his benevolent corpse, Taishang Laojun, on the Investiture of the Gods, and Nüwa added Lingzhuzi, the spirit of an Innate Spirit Treasure.
• Jieyin tried to write down Western Sect disciples, but every name vanished from the Investiture of the Gods, leaving him unable to fill any positions.
• Hongjun declared that the Immortal Slaughter Tribulation would begin as planned and that the Investiture of the Gods would claim the true spirits of those who died until all 365 Orthodox God positions were filled.
• The Sages left Chaos, while Ao Changsheng sent an incarnation toward Yuanshi and said Yuanshi needed a beating.

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi planned to make the Jie Sect fill the Investiture of the Gods, but Ao Changsheng overheard him in Chaos and confronted him. Their battle escalated until Ao Changsheng struck Yuanshi from behind, leaving the outcome unknown.

• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi decided the Jie Sect would bear the burden of filling the Investiture of the Gods and spoke dismissively of Tongtian’s disciples.
• Ao Changsheng appeared nearby, prompting Yuanshi to attack with the Pangu Banner’s Chaos Sword Qi.
• Ao Changsheng formed a divine Chaos mountain that suppressed and absorbed Yuanshi’s attacks, while Yuanshi trapped the surrounding Chaos within the Pangu Banner’s domain.
• Yuanshi unleashed Pangu Axe Light, and Ao Changsheng detonated the mountain, causing the Chaos around them to change.
• Yuanshi invoked the Heavenly Dao’s power and recognized Ao Changsheng, who said he had come to teach Yuanshi a lesson.
• Ao Changsheng vanished and struck Yuanshi from behind with Primordial World-Chaos.

Ao Changsheng trapped Celestial Venerable Yuanshi in a miniature Chaos universe, punished him for his insult, and explained the gap between Yuanshi and true Heavenly Dao Sages. Afterward, Ao Changsheng's Great Dao of Earth body went to the Chamber of Reincarnation and told Pingxin the task was done.

• Ao Changsheng trapped Celestial Venerable Yuanshi in a little Chaos universe made from the Chaos Yuanshi had cut out with the Pangu Banner.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi admitted fault for his remarks about “furred and horned creatures, born from dampness or hatched from eggs,” and Ao Changsheng challenged him to withstand one move.
• Ao Changsheng collapsed the little Chaos universe, badly injuring Celestial Venerable Yuanshi and damaging the Pangu Banner and Auspicious Cloud of the Heavens.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi asked Ao Changsheng about the difference between Heavenly Dao Sages and true Sages, and Ao Changsheng illustrated their own gap by creating a universe between his fingertips.
• Ao Changsheng's Great Dao of Earth body went to the Chamber of Reincarnation and told Pingxin, “It's already done.”

Ao Changsheng learned that Pingxin had wanted him to hinder Celestial Venerable Yuanshi’s path to Sagehood because she feared what might happen if all Three Purities became Sages. After receiving access to Pingxin’s reincarnation authority and exploring its vast mysteries, Ao Changsheng began cultivating—then sensed an Immeasurable Tribulation.

• Ao Changsheng explained how defeating Celestial Venerable Yuanshi could deepen his pride and hinder his progress toward severing his final corpse.
• Pingxin asked whether she could trust Ao Changsheng, but he refused to promise trust and left without learning her full purpose.
• Pingxin entered reincarnation’s deepest realm, where eleven vast masses of black Qi lay dormant, and wondered whether her actions were right.
• Ao Changsheng guessed that Pingxin wanted to prevent all Three Purities from becoming Sages and received her access to deeper reincarnation in payment.
• Ao Changsheng used Pingxin’s authority to explore reincarnation and was astonished by how much more complex it was than the portion he had previously glimpsed.
• After considering the dangers hidden in the High Antiquity Primordial World, Ao Changsheng resumed cultivation but suddenly sensed an Immeasurable Tribulation.

Ao Changsheng discovered signs that the Investiture of the Gods Immeasurable Tribulation had arrived far earlier than expected and suspected Hongjun was behind the timing. After returning from the Purple Firmament Palace, the Sages responded in different ways as the looming tribulation began to shape their plans.

• Ao Changsheng investigated the Human Race, found the Great Shang Dynasty under Human King Di Yi, and connected the early tribulation to the eventual rise of Shang King Zhou.
• Ao Changsheng concluded that Hongjun was likely arranging successive Immeasurable Tribulations and wondered whom he planned to scheme against.
• Cult Master Tongtian ordered all Jie Sect disciples to enter seclusion and avoid the Immortal Slaughter Tribulation.
• Laozi made no move or announcement, while Nüwa sent the sleeping Lingzhuzi into the Underworld's cycle of reincarnation and then returned to cultivate.
• Zhunti questioned why so few Western Sect disciples could be named on the Investiture of the Gods, and Jieyin suspected that a heavenly mandate and Hongjun's plans governed the tribulation.

After discovering that Yang Jian and three Chan Sect disciples had been captured in the Underworld, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi went to retrieve them from Pingxin. He entered the Netherworld Underworld alone, leaving his disciples waiting at Ghost Gate Pass.

• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi considered the approaching Immortal Slaughter Tribulation and planned how the Chan Sect could fill the Investiture of the Gods.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi discovered that Yang Jian, Huanglong True Person, True Person Taiyi, and Yuding True Person had fallen into Pingxin's hands, while his other disciples gathered outside Ghost Gate Pass.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi arrived and found his disciples discussing how to storm the Underworld, then addressed Pingxin and asked her to release the captives.
• Pingxin told Celestial Venerable Yuanshi to come collect his disciples himself, and Guangchengzi warned his master that it might be a trap.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi reassured his disciples and passed through Ghost Gate Pass into the Netherworld Underworld.