“Creation of Gods I: Kingdom of Storms” is based on the Chinese novel, “Investiture of the Gods.” The film follows the Shang monarchs, the Kings of all Realms. When the King dies, the son takes the throne, and he is an evil man. Shang monarchs are respected, but now the foundation is shaking. A demon who helps the evil man fulfill his desires is released. The immortals want to save the world, but it becomes impossible with an evil person leading the nations.
This article contains spoilers.
Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film begins with a narration of how the world was made. God Pangu turned himself into the sun, moon, mountains, and river. Nuwa made figurines of people and gave them her spirit and life, which is how humans were created. Nuwa, before death, left behind an artifact called Fengshen Bang, and Immortals of Kunlun are to guard it until such a time comes when the King of all realms should open it to save the world.
The four North, South, East, and West Dukes consider the Shang monarch the King of All Realms. After 500 years of Shang’s rule, the Lord of Jizhou, Su Hu, rebelled against Shang’s King Yi. Shang’s King brings his army and Su Hu’s son, Su Quanxiao, to Su Hu. The four Dukes send one of their sons to the King of All Realms to be raised. Su Quanxiao asks his father to surrender, but he does not, and Su Quanxiao kills himself. The troops then attack Su Fu’s territory.
Su Fu’s army lights a fire, which scares the horses, and they return. King Yi yells at them, blinds the horses, and attacks again. Yin Shou’s blood drips and falls on something that is sealed. Someone gave Su Daji a scroll and reminded her that the Su family does not surrender to the Shang family. Daji takes her hairpin and stabs herself. Su Fu is defeated. There is a storm that knocks everyone out. In the next scene, we see Daji wake up, but she is animal-like.
The Shang soldiers find her and are wondering what to do with her as she is a woman, and they don’t want to kill her. Yin Shou arrives, and Daji faints in front of him. He takes her hostage and chains her. She wakes up when Yin Shou is tending to his wounds. Yin Shou says she will be given to the commander, but she tells him she knows what he wants, which is to be the King of All Realms and can help him. To prove herself, she licks his wounds, and it heals.
Yin Shou presents Daji and Su Fu’s heads to the King. That evening, there is a celebration, and the soldiers are performing a war dance for the King and suddenly Yin Shou’s brother kills the King. The Prince tries to attack Yin Shou, but Ji Fa stops him and accidentally kills him. The other soldiers scare him, saying his family will be executed for killing the Prince. However, Yin Shou forgives him as Ji Fa has served the nation.
In Kunlun, the immortals decide it is time to deliver Fengshen Bang. The Supreme One reminds Ziya that once an immortal touches Fengshen Bang, he loses his power, but Ziya agrees to carry out the task as he knows the mortal world better than anybody. Yin Shou ascends the throne. He calls upon High Priest Bi Gan to predict the kingdom’s future. Bi Gan’s divination breaks, and he says the King needs to sacrifice himself for the curse to be lifted.
Yin Jiao offers to sacrifice himself instead of his father. But Yin Shou refuses and asks his people to prepare a pyre. Yin Jiao’s mother explains that his father assumed he wanted the throne. However, he didn’t understand he should sacrifice himself for it. Yin Jiao decides to meet his father in his chambers. On his way, he sees a demon fox and follows it. It enters his father’s chamber. When Yin Jiao, along with Ji Fa, enters the chamber, he sees him with Daji and explains about the demon fox.
The immortals enter the mortal world, but they are sold to some people because of miscommunication. Alchemist Shen Gongbao shows his tricks to Yin Shou. Yin Shou wants to learn how to stay alive after putting himself on fire, but Shen Gongbai says it will take him 500 years to learn the art. Ziya appears in front of Yin Shou and gives him the Fengshen Bang. Shen Gongbao listens to the conversation and jumps in when Yin Shou is unsure of its powers.
Shen Gongbao says it sucks in the souls of all the dead making it powerful. They need to sacrifice a human to test if it is the real Fengshen Bang. Without hesitation, Yin Shou kills one of his servants and sees the power of Fengshen Bang. Ziya picks up the Fengshen Bang and says there are various steps to unlock it. He pretends to make some movements and asks his two immortals to help him escape. Ji Fa and Yin Jiao are tasked to bring back the Fengshen Bang, and they follow the immortals.
Ziya explains to Yin Jiao that his father is evil and, hence, he cannot give the Fengshen Bang to him. Yin Jiao slips and is about to fall, but Ziya tries his best to hold him. Ji Fa arrives at the right time to save Yin Jiao. Yin Jiao wakes up and is about to attack Ziya. Fortunately, Ji Fa stops him, reminding him Ziya has saved his life. Yin Jiao does not listen, and Ziya’s team, Nezha and Yang Jian, tie Yin Jiao. Ji Fa throws Fengshen Bang down the cliff, and Ziya and the team jump to find it.
Shen Gongbao speaks to his master about Fengshen Bang, and the master gives him a soul transfer curse to help him get Fengshen Bang this time. Ziya realizes Yin Jiao should be the King. Ji Chang and Ziya meet. Ji Chang sees a demon child and says whether one becomes good or evil depends on one’s upbringing. Ziya offers to send the child to be raised in Kunlun to be taught by the immortals. Ji Chang gives the child the name Lei Zhenzi.
The four Dukes, along with Ziya, are discussing the new King. Through his divinations, Ji Chang says Yin Shou’s brother did not murder the late King, but it was something else. Ji Fa hears this and realizes they are committing treason. Ji Chang is his father, and Ji Fa is moved as his father recognizes him. Subsequently, Ji Fa takes all the Dukes to the King. The King orders the sons of the Dukes to kill their fathers for committing treason and become the Dukes themselves. Everyone else does as the King asked, except Ji Fa. He tells the King that Ji Chang needs to be shamed publicly, and Yin Shou puts him in the dungeon.
Before being taken away, Ji Chang also predicts Yin Shou will be killed by his own flesh. Yin Shou and Daji are sharing an intimate moment in the hot spring, and Yin Shou’s wife interrupts and asks him to kill her. She realizes and sees Daji for who she is and attempts to kill her, but she gets killed instead. After hearing about his mother’s death, Yin Jiao visits his father’s chamber to see the demon fox. It gets inside Daji, and he is about to attack her, but she deceives him, and the sword goes into Yin Shou’s flesh. Yin Shou asks his men to catch him, but Ji Fa helps Yin Jiao escape.
The other soldier bullies Ji Fa, but Ji Fa’s brother rescues him. He brings with him Ji Fa’s favorite horses. Ji Fa’s brother cracks a deal with Yin Shou. He asks him to kill him instead of his father and set him free. Yin Shou meets Ji Chang and tries to have an emotional conversation, giving him food. After a while, he calls Ji Chang a loving father but tells him he doesn’t know how his son tastes. The food Ji Chan is eating is his son. Ji Chang does the walk of shame, and he is left to die on the street.
Ziya meets Ji Fa and Yin Jiao and explains that a demon fox bewitches Yin Shou, and this can be proved. They take the help of the High Priest to prove this to Yin Jiao. The High Priest locks Daji’s meridian and puts a condition on Yin Shou. He has to kill the demon fox, release Yin Jiao, and publicly declare that the Dukes were not wrong. He agrees, and the High Priest uses his heart to give to Daji, and the demon fox comes out. Yin Shou does not live up to his promises and says only the fox truly understands his desires. He asks his men to prepare to execute Yin Jiao.
Then, he tells Ji Fa that he knows everything he is up to and is his favorite. He will give him one more chance, and he has to bring him Ji Chang’s head. Daji reveals that the late Shang King sealed her, and only the clan’s descendants could release her. She promises to help him achieve everything she wants. Ji Fa brings a head to Yin Shou, and his men are ready to execute Yin Jiao. Ji Fa then holds a sword to Yin Shou’s head, asking him to release Yin Jiao, but Yin Jiao is executed. Yin Shou releases it; not Ji Chan, but mud and dust. In a flashback, Ji Fa finds his father giving him the jade and promises to return home.
Ji Fa and Yin Shou duel, but Ji Fa successfully kills Yin Shou. Yin Jiao is executed, but Nezha and Yang Jian take Yin Jiao’s body to Kunlun. Ji Fa rescues Ziya, and they rush out. Shen Gongbao uses a non-living thing to perform a soul transfer and follow Ji Fa and Ziya. Shen Gongbao can identify Ziya because of his conical hat. Ziya asks Ji Fa to drop him as the creature is after them because of him. Ji Fa does as asked but takes the hat and saves Ziya.
Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023) Movie Ending Explained:
Will Yin Shou survive Ji Fa’s attacks?
Ji Fa reaches the end of the cliff and reveals himself, but Shen Gongbao is annoyed and takes him on. Ji Fa hurts one of the creature’s eyes, and Shen Gongbao’s eyes are bleeding. Meanwhile, Ji Chag is lying on the ground weak, and a demon picks him up and flies away. Ji Chang asks him who he is. It turns out he is Lei Zhenzi, the demon child Ji Chang had rescued.
Ji Fa manages to escape, but Shen Gongbao sends ravens to find Ziya. Ji Fa reaches home and reunites with his father. Daji is trying to resurrect Yin Shou, but no amount of licking is helping. She then lets the fox out, and it enters Yon Shou, and he wakes up. Ziya is sitting on a rock and fishing in the middle of a river. He sees a huge murder raven coming his way, and he is terrified. A scene in the future shows Shang Commander Wen Zhong returning after a battle in the North Sea. Among the troop, we see Giants looking for someone and a man who opens his third eye.
The film’s epilogue reveals what can be expected in the next part. Ji Chang predicts Yin Shou will die at the hands of his flesh, but Ji Fa kills him. The epilogue shows Yin Shou resurrecting, which means there is still a chance for the prediction to come true, although we don’t see what happens to Yin Jiao. Ziya is alone, and if Shen Gongbao catches him, the nation will probably be doomed. Ji Fa has returned home stronger; we can see him take command in the last scenes. Can this be a hint that Ji Fa will take over the throne?
In the next part of “Creation of the Gods,” will we see a battle between the immortals and the demons or between the resurrected Yin Shou and his son Yin Jiao?
