Chapter Summaries

True Person Taiyi met Lingzhuzi outside Empress Wa Palace, received two Innate Spirit Treasures, and learned that the Heavenly Emperor’s succession was already decided while Houtu’s Nether Emperor trials remained open. Inside the palace, Guangchengzi and the others faced the first trial: speeding up Flat Peach growth without harming the trees.

• True Person Taiyi stopped to speak with Lingzhuzi, who said they had never met but felt a strong affinity with him.
• True Person Taiyi gave Lingzhuzi the Qiankun Ring and Heaven-Confounding Sash, both Innate Spirit Treasures, and taught him how to control them.
• Lingzhuzi told True Person Taiyi that the Heavenly Emperor’s throne was already settled and that the Divine Venerable planned to teach the visitors a lesson.
• Lingzhuzi revealed that Houtu would choose a Nether Emperor through three trials, so True Person Taiyi hurried toward the Netherworld to seek an audience with her.
• Hongfu Nü told Guangchengzi and the others that their first trial was to hasten a batch of Flat Peaches without harming the Spirit Trees.
• Guangchengzi and the others realized they could either spend resources to nourish the trees or use their own Law Power to accelerate their growth.

Lin Yunji tested the visiting immortals by making them hasten the growth of more than thirteen thousand Flat Peach Trees, then assigned them the task of propagating an Immortal Apricot. Holy Mother Guiling began the second test by planting a branch and using her heart’s blood to make it grow into a small tree.

• True Person Yuding began hastening the growth of the Flat Peach Trees, and Guangchengzi, Holy Mother Wudang, and the others joined him in a secret contest to grow the most.
• Lin Yunji and Nüwa watched from Empress Wa Palace as the immortals exhausted themselves growing another crop of peaches, while Lin Yunji explained that he meant to teach them perseverance.
• After the immortals finished growing more than thirteen thousand Flat Peach Trees, Hongfu Nü directed them onward through the peach grove.
• Lüyi revealed an Immortal Apricot and told the immortals that Lin Yunji expected each of them to plant a branch and grow a new tree, prompting Chijingzi and Qingxu to protest.
• Holy Mother Guiling cut a branch, planted it, and spat her heart’s blood onto it, causing it to take root and grow into a small tree.

The Chan Sect and Jie Sect disciples sacrificed precious resources to grow Immortal Apricot trees, then endured more trials growing Chaos Spirit Root seeds before finally reaching Lin Yunji. When they asked who would become Heavenly Emperor, Lin Yunji’s expression turned cold.

• Holy Mother Guiling and Immortal Wuyun used heart’s blood and Lightning Tribulation Liquid to grow Immortal Apricot trees, while True Person Yuding, Cihang, and the other disciples used their own treasures and methods.
• Zhao Gongming admitted defeat and left the competition after deciding he had no chance against the others.
• Qionghua gave the remaining contestants Immortal Gourd seeds and told them to make the Chaos Spirit Root seeds grow.
• After growing a series of spirit roots and nearly exhausting themselves, Guangchengzi and the others finally reached Lin Yunji and asked whether the Heavenly Emperor trial had ended.
• Lin Yunji confirmed the trial was over, but when Guangchengzi asked who would become Heavenly Emperor, Lin Yunji set down his teacup and coldly snorted.

Lin Yunji scolded the Sage disciples for seeking the Heavenly Emperor’s throne, then gave them pills to recover from the labor he had forced them to do. After the Heavenly Dao appointed Haotian and Yaochi as Emperor and Empress, Lin Yunji sent the disciples to deliver his and Nüwa’s lavish gifts, including the spirit roots they had grown.

• Lin Yunji rebuked Guangchengzi and the others for seeking the throne without the virtue or resolve to rule, then ordered them to sit.
• Lin Yunji gave each disciple a Tenfold Great Nourishment Pill to restore their vitality, and they swallowed the pills.
• The Heavenly Dao appointed Haotian as Heavenly Emperor and Yaochi as Queen Mother, granting them titles, regalia, and treasures.
• After recovering, Guangchengzi and the others lamented that Haotian had gained the throne while they had no chance to claim it.
• Lin Yunji ordered the disciples to deliver congratulatory gifts to Haotian and Yaochi, including the spirit roots they had helped grow, and told them to bring gifts of their own.

Haotian and Yaochi’s Heavenly Palace grew lively as immortals arrived to congratulate them, while the contest to become Nether Emperor narrowed to True Person Taiyi and Daoist Duobao. Duobao appeared to have the advantage as their struggle continued.

• Guangchengzi and the other disciples left Empress Wa Palace with gifts from Lin Yunji and Nüwa, then traveled to congratulate Haotian and Yaochi.
• Zhen Yuanzi, Daoist Hongyun, Daoist Mosquito, Houtu and the Netherworld Witch Clan, Changxi and Xihe, and the sects’ representatives sent congratulations and gifts to the new rulers.
• The Three Pure Ones and other powerful figures sent representatives or Dharma bodies, and the Heavenly Palace filled with visiting immortals.
• In the Netherworld, Xuandu and Daoist Huanglong fell from the platform and were caught by lotuses Houtu conjured.
• True Person Taiyi and Daoist Duobao remained in the Nether Emperor contest, with Taiyi beginning to lose ground to Duobao.

True Person Taiyi defeated Duobao by striking him with a gold brick during their contest, and Lin Yunji ruled that Taiyi had won. Houtu then appointed Taiyi Great Emperor of Fengdu and bestowed the Nether Emperor’s robes, crown, and sword upon him.

• As he neared defeat, True Person Taiyi hurled a gold brick at Duobao and knocked him off the platform.
• Duobao accused Taiyi of cheating, but Lady Pingxin argued that the rules had not forbidden attacks or the use of treasures.
• Houtu asked Lin Yunji to decide the winner, and Lin Yunji declared Taiyi the victor.
• Duobao accepted Lin Yunji’s ruling and congratulated Taiyi.
• Houtu bestowed the Nether Emperor’s regalia and sword upon Taiyi, naming him Great Emperor of Fengdu.

True Person Taiyi became Fengdu Dijun and established Fengdu City, while the Primordial World continued to prosper and increase Lin Yunji’s rewards. In the void Chaos, Daoist Bailou and the others awaited a terrifying presence that seemed to make the Chaos itself revolve around a new center.

• Lady Houtu appointed True Person Taiyi as Fengdu Dijun, and he established Fengdu City to shelter wandering souls and guide them into reincarnation.
• True Person Taiyi left his benevolent corpse to govern Fengdu City and departed with Huanglong, Xuandu, Duobao, and Juliusun.
• Duobao accepted his defeat, and Lin Yunji privately reassured him that another destined opportunity would come.
• The three realms’ order and the Divine Net’s growth brought Lin Yunji more Exchange Points and Faith Points as the Human Race’s population expanded.
• Daoist Bailou, Old Ancestor Hongjun, Nüwa, and the Three Pure Ones waited in the void Chaos as a terrifying presence approached and the Chaos fell still.

Lin Yunji broke through to the Supreme Primordial Unity Dao Fruit by Proving the Dao through Strength, though he decided to wait until his Great Dao cultivation also advanced before challenging Ancestor Wujie. Meanwhile, Suirenshi told the human leaders that his approaching ascension to Sagehood would end his term as Human Emperor, leaving them to prepare for a successor.

• Lin Yunji emerged from his breakthrough vastly stronger, and Daoist Bailou explained that he had attained the Supreme Primordial Unity Dao Fruit by Proving the Dao through Strength.
• Lin Yunji said he looked forward to fighting Ancestor Wujie but would wait until his Great Dao cultivation also reached Supreme Primordial Unity before going to the Source Realm.
• Under Suirenshi's rule, the Human Race prospered across the four great continents, and Heavenly Dao merit advanced his cultivation to late-stage Quasi-Sage Great Perfection.
• Suirenshi summoned the human tribe leaders and announced that his approaching attainment of Sagehood would end his term as Human Emperor.
• The leaders objected that Suirenshi could remain emperor after becoming a Sage, but he explained that the Human Dao required change and that the Human Race would need a new emperor.

As Suirenshi prepared to abdicate, Lin Yunji sent Lu Ya to guide Fuxi’s primordial spirit into reincarnation so he could inherit the Human Emperor’s throne. Fuxi was reborn in the Flying Bear Kingdom, where his mother heard the name “Fuxi Clan.”

• Suirenshi told his ministers he would seek a young successor before attaining the Dao, and the Human Race rejected the candidates nominated by its tribes.
• Lin Yunji summoned Lu Ya and revealed that Fuxi would reincarnate to become the next Human Emperor.
• Lu Ya accepted Fuxi’s primordial spirit and traveled to the Netherworld World to meet Lady Pingxin.
• Lady Pingxin cast Fuxi’s primordial spirit into the Reincarnation Wheel, and Lu Ya hurried to the Flying Bear Kingdom.
• A woman gave birth to a boy during a storm, and a voice told her to name him Fuxi Clan.

Fuxi Clan grew into a celebrated prodigy and was sent to the Sacred City to compete to become the next Human Emperor. Suirenshi began the test with a question that left the candidates bewildered.

• Daoist Lu Ya visited Huaxushi after Fuxi Clan’s birth and foretold that the child would become the Human Emperor.
• Fuxi Clan grew up displaying extraordinary talents, earning fame throughout the Flying Bear Kingdom for his wisdom and guidance.
• At age twenty, Fuxi Clan was recommended to compete for the Human Emperor’s succession and traveled to the Sacred City with Lu Ya.
• Suirenshi appeared before the gathered candidates and announced that whoever answered his questions would become the Human Emperor.
• Suirenshi asked which came first, the chicken or the egg, and the contestants were dumbfounded.

Suirenshi tested the candidates for Human Emperor with three moral and logical riddles, and Fuxi Clan repeatedly stood out by answering them. The chapter ended with Suirenshi asking Fuxi Clan whether he would still refuse to sacrifice one life if the falling rock represented a disaster.

• Suirenshi asked whether the chicken or the egg came first, and Fuxi Clan argued that the answer depended on the circumstances before Suirenshi rebuked him.
• Suirenshi asked what had four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening, and Fuxi Clan answered that it was a person at different stages of life.
• Suirenshi described a rock that would kill five people unless its course was changed to kill one other person, and most candidates said they would save the five.
• Fuxi Clan said he would not cause one person's death to save others, and Suirenshi asked whether his answer would change if the rock represented a disaster.

Fuxi Clan defended his refusal to sacrifice any member of the Human Race, prompting Suirenshi to name him the next Human Emperor before attaining Sagehood. Lin Yunji later explained that the Human Emperor's providence could produce only three Sages, leaving one place after Suirenshi and Fuxi Clan.

• Fuxi Clan declared that every member of the Human Race was precious and vowed not to abandon anyone, so Suirenshi named him the next Human Emperor.
• Suirenshi received Heavenly Dao merit and Primordial Expanse purple qi, attained the Dao as a Sage, and passed the throne to Fuxi Clan.
• Fuxi Clan inherited the Human Emperor's throne and treasure, then governed the Human Race with Lu Ya and the elders' help.
• Lin Yunji told Zhen Yuanzi and Daoist Hongyun that the Human Emperor's providence could produce three Sages at most, with one place remaining after Suirenshi and Fuxi Clan.
• Lin Yunji caught and released a white-scaled carp, but a scarlet carp attacked it and bit off half its body.

Lin Yunji killed the red carp, then released its soul to reincarnate after Zhen Yuanzi’s plea, setting up future entanglements between Princess Longji and Hong Jin. He instructed Lingzhuzi to kill Hong Jin if they ever met, while the chapter ended with Spirit Mountain stripped bare.

• The white carp transformed into a little white dragon before dying, and Lin Yunji killed the red carp as it began its own transformation.
• Lin Yunji released both carp souls to reincarnate, and he revealed that the white carp would become Princess Longji while the red carp would become Hong Jin.
• Lin Yunji told Lingzhuzi to kill Hong Jin if he encountered him, changing the course of the Heavenly Dao’s cause and effect.
• Lin Yunji invited Zhen Yuanzi and Hongyun to drink his spirit flower wine after losing interest in fishing.
• Spirit Mountain stood barren after its trees, treasures, and even parts of its palaces had been plundered.

Maitreya Buddha refused to abandon impoverished Spirit Mountain, insisting the Western Sect would recover if it stayed. Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva attained Quasi-Sagehood, restored Spirit Mountain with his merit, and descended into the Netherworld after vowing not to become a Buddha until hell was empty.

• Maitreya Buddha rejected the monks’ proposal to move Spirit Mountain, declaring that the Western Sect must remain there.
• Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva attained the Dao as a Quasi-Sage, and the monks rejoiced at the Western Sect’s new great expert.
• Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva vowed to enter hell and not become a Buddha until hell was empty, then sent his merit to restore Spirit Mountain.
• Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva descended beneath the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and Lady Pingxin opened Avici Hell below the Rebirth Platform.
• Lady Pingxin sent countless wicked ghosts guilty of grave sins into Avici Hell, where they would suffer without respite.

Lin Yunji and the Sages of the Primordial World emerged in a perilous dead sea between regions of the Source Realm. Daoist Bailou identified it as the Sea of Hatred, and Lin Yunji prepared to find a way out.

• Lin Yunji broke the Chaos barrier and struck the dead sea, discovering that the barrier looped him back to his starting point and that strange creatures lurked below.
• Lin Yunji summoned Daoist Bailou and the others, catching them on lotuses as they fell toward the Sea of Hatred.
• Daoist Bailou explained that they were at the border of the Great Central Heaven and the Lesser Central Heaven, and that the Sea of Hatred had formed from a slain Supreme's lingering hatred and had grown with the thoughts of fallen Sages.
• Lin Yunji said he would split the Sea of Hatred if necessary, then sent the Sages back into the Primordial World while he searched for an exit.

After Daoist Bailou returned to the Primordial World, Lin Yunji traveled alone across the dangerous Sea of Hatred and met Gu Yuankan, a Great Dao Sage whose ship was also stranded there. Lin Yunji joined Gu Yuankan aboard the Mystic Wood Boat, and they continued their journey through the sea while its crew fought off powerful monsters.

• Daoist Bailou warned Lin Yunji that even Supremes feared the Sea of Hatred, then returned to the Primordial World.
• Lin Yunji sensed a presence and found Gu Yuankan aboard the enormous Mystic Wood Boat, whose many floors housed his disciples and their descendants.
• Gu Yuankan told Lin Yunji that a rare Chaos storm had swept him into the Sea of Hatred while he was trying to leave the Source Realm.
• Gu Yuankan invited Lin Yunji aboard, hosted a banquet, and explained that his divination treasure had foretold Lin Yunji would be a benefactor.
• Lin Yunji joined Gu Yuankan's voyage, and the Mystic Wood Boat crushed lesser monsters while its passengers dealt with stronger ones.

Gu Yuankan and Lin Yunji fought off powerful monsters attacking the Mystic Wood Boat as it crossed the Sea of Hatred. The group discovered that drifting ghostly lotuses became Chaos Spirit Treasures when purified, and Lin Yunji sensed something that made his expression turn grave.

• Gu Yuankan killed a tentacled monster threatening the Mystic Wood Boat with his golden Dharma body.
• A corrupted expert attacked the boat, and Lin Yunji crushed it with a huge hand after Gu Yuankan called for help.
• The Mystic Wood Boat continued onward and encountered ghostly black lotuses that monsters instinctively avoided.
• Someone aboard the boat fished up a ghostly lotus and discovered that purifying its Devil Qi revealed a Chaos Spirit Treasure.
• Nüwo, the Three Pure Ones, Daoist Mosquito, and Gu Yuankan's disciples and descendants gathered many ghostly lotuses as Lin Yunji explained that someone had created them.
• Lin Yunji's smile faded and his expression turned grave.

Lin Yunji encountered a sorrowful figure on the Sea of Hatred whose presence killed nearly everyone aboard Gu Yuankan’s Mystic Wood Boat. He struck and injured her, but she escaped into the sea, leaving the survivors to face the loss.

• Lin Yunji spotted a vast black island and a lonely figure folding paper flowers on the Sea of Hatred.
• The figure met Lin Yunji’s gaze, then appeared above the sea and unleashed a sorrowful presence that caused the boat’s plants and most of its living passengers to die.
• Lin Yunji overwhelmed the figure’s presence and struck her with a palm, injuring her.
• The figure said she would not fight and sank into the Sea of Hatred; Lin Yunji’s follow-up punch missed, and she vanished.
• Lin Yunji returned to the Mystic Wood Boat, where Gu Yuankan mourned the deaths of nearly all its passengers and Nüwo and the other survivors recovered from the figure’s influence.

After escaping a sudden attack by a living Supreme in the Sea of Hatred, Lin Yunji guided the Mystic Wood Boat and its survivors from the inner sea into the safer outer region. The group hoped to reach the edge and escape through the Great Central Heaven, though Lin Yunji still felt a foreboding.

• Gu Yuankan mourned the disciples and descendants killed in the attack, then thanked Lin Yunji for saving him.
• Lin Yunji explained that their attacker had been a living being, not an undying corpse, and resolved not to underestimate a Supreme again.
• Gu Yuankan and the others entered seclusion to remove the sorrowful force from their Dao hearts, leaving Lin Yunji in control of the Mystic Wood Boat.
• Lin Yunji picked up several Hunyuan Great Dao Sages swept into the Sea of Hatred, and killed a powerful sea monster encountered along the way.
• Changyinzi explained that the boat had reached the safer outer sea and could escape through the Great Central Heaven near the Sea of Hatred's edge.
• Qiu Yin reassured the group about the outer sea, while Lin Yunji remained uneasy despite seeing a way out.

Rain revealed that the Sea of Hatred had been sealed by a grand formation, and Xujingzi announced that Supreme Cangwu and three allies were pursuing an old enemy. The disheveled-haired female Supreme attacked Xujingzi’s giant eagle and asked Lin Yunji to join forces, leaving Lin Yunji ready to reveal more of his strength.

• Lin Yunji sensed that the rain over the Sea of Hatred carried divine sense and formed a detection and sealing formation.
• Lin Yunji tested the rain with a wooden sword, but the formation severed his connection to it and the sword fell into the sea.
• Xujingzi, disciple of Supreme Cangwu, stopped the Mystic Wood Boat and warned that no one could leave while his master pursued an old enemy.
• Black hair erupted from the Sea of Hatred, destroyed Xujingzi’s giant eagle, and let the disheveled-haired female Supreme capture and kill its rider.
• The female Supreme asked Lin Yunji to join forces and escape, but Lin Yunji rejected her appeal and said he could no longer avoid drawing attention.