Xiu Wu, a deity warrior tasked to hunt down the fugitive leader of the celestial rebel group Heavenly Demons, infiltrates the Demon Realm but was detected and attacked by Garuda soldiers. Fighting off waves after waves of pursuers, Xiu Wu concludes the mission is a failure and decides to retreat but does not have enough spirit energy remaining to activate his magical Chunzi Sword and open a portal back to the Deity Realm. After managing to escape to the Yanbo Spring, one of Shennong's Nine Springs and a forbidden area to the demon tribes, he was intercepted by the demon lord Chonglou, who critically wounds and knocks him off a cliff towards the magma below. However, Chonglou decides not to really kill Xiu Wu and uses the dropped Chunzi Sword to open a portal that allowed him to fall through to the Human Realm.