Chapter Summaries

Zhao Leicong negotiated with Green Ghost to hire the Black Sha Sect, while Yang Tianyou ambushed and captured Zhao Yunxiao. Zhao Yunxiao’s panic at being taken back to the Yang Lineage left Yang Tianyou suspecting he was hiding a plot against the Yang Household.

• Zhao Leicong and Green Ghost agreed that the Zhao Household would pay the Black Sha Sect a deposit and additional Spirit Stones and Two-Thousand-Forged Iron Essence to act after the Cold Tide.
• Yang Tianyou tracked Zhao Yunxiao with the Mother-Child Tracking Talisman and ambushed him on his way back to the Zhao Household.
• Zhao Yunxiao used a Gilded Treasure Armor Talisman to survive Yang Tianyou’s attack, but Yang Tianyou beat him down and sealed his Dantian.
• Yang Tianyou questioned Zhao Yunxiao about his visit to the Black Market, but Zhao Yunxiao refused to answer.
• When Yang Tianyou said he would take Zhao Yunxiao back to the Yang Lineage, Zhao Yunxiao became agitated, convincing Yang Tianyou that something was fishy.

Yang Tianyou captured Zhao Yunxiao and brought him to the Yang Lineage, where Yang Haoyu learned that the Zhao Household had hired the Black Sha Sect to attack the Yang and Mu Households after the Cold Tide. Yang Haoyu explained that Zhao Leicong’s plan was an open scheme tied to the Dragon Valley Hall inheritance, and the chapter ended with her preparing to face the threat.

• Yang Tianyou searched Zhao Yunxiao’s Storage Bag, took the Origin Void Mirror, and detoured back to the Lineage with him alive.
• Yang Haoyu interrogated Zhao Yunxiao, then told Yang Tianyou that the Zhao Household had enlisted the Black Sha Sect to destroy the Yang and Mu Households after the Cold Tide.
• Yang Tianyou and Yang Haoyu discussed Zhao Leicong’s willingness to spend nearly two hundred thousand Spirit Stones to clear obstacles to his Golden Core advancement.
• Yang Haoyu explained that the Yang Household could not report the plot because the Three Rivers Sect would not trust its claims and because revealing the Dragon Valley Hall inheritance would implicate the Yang Household.
• Yang Haoyu said the Black Sha Sect’s attack would keep the Yang Household occupied while Zhao Leicong traveled to Ba Commandery to obtain a Golden Core Formation Pill.

Yang Tianyou learned how the Yang Household would prepare for the coming Cold Tide and discussed its Purple Moon Wolves with Yang Haoyu. He later reunited with Yang Tianwang, gave him the sword that had severed his arm, and promised to help him pursue Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.

• Yang Haoyu planned to buy defensive formations, reinforce Purple Moon Town, and assign Yang Tianxue, Yang Qiong Chuan, and three second-tier Purple Moon Wolves to guard Purple Moon Mountain during the Cold Tide.
• Yang Haoyu told Yang Tianyou that the Purple Moon Wolves had advanced after absorbing spirit medicine and demon cores, and that their bloodline might come from an ancient exotic beast.
• Yang Tianyou gave Yang Haoyu materials to refine his weapons and brought her Hundred-Flower Cake; she urged him to cultivate toward Foundation Establishment after the Cold Tide.
• Yang Tianyou visited Yang Tianwang and revealed that he had obtained the blood sword that had severed Yang Tianwang’s left arm, proposing it as a prized item for the Lineage’s Law Artifact shop.
• Yang Tianyou and Yang Tianwang drank together, and Yang Tianyou promised to help his brother reach Foundation Establishment and form a Golden Core.

Yang Tianyou received the Mother-and-Son Twin Blades, named the flying blade Starlight, and gained a stronger weapon for close and long-range combat. Meanwhile, the Zhao Household resolved to proceed with its plan against the Yang Household, relying on a secret connection to the Xiang Household and Zhao Leicong’s hope of reaching Golden Core.

• Yang Tianyou visited Yang Tianxue and Yang Qiongchuan, giving each a First-Tier Superior-Grade Spirit Item to celebrate their Foundation Establishment.
• Yang Tianyou brought Fengling and food to the Wolf Ancestor, but learned nothing about the Purple Moon Wolves’ bloodline origins.
• Yang Tianyou retrieved his reforged blades and learned that Yang Haoyu had combined them into the Mother-and-Son Twin Blades, with a crescent-shaped flying blade for ranged attacks.
• Yang Tianyou tested the weapon’s power, found it thirty percent stronger than his original Twin Blades, and named the flying blade Starlight.
• Zhao Zongbin urged the Zhao Household elders to continue their plan to enlist the Black Sha Sect and use the Cold Tide to buy time for Zhao Leicong to obtain a Golden Core Formation Pill.
• After the elders left, Zhao Leicong assured Zhao Zongbin that the Xiang Household would help, then warned him and Zhao Zongkun to keep that connection secret.

Yang Tianyou used rare materials and a master-servant contract to nurture a fire spirit inside the Immortal in the Flame, then spent a year building his reputation as the Great White Blade. The chapter ended with him sensing that the spirit was about to be born.

• Yang Tianyou placed the Immortal in the Flame inside the Little Nirvana Transformation Formation and used spirit water, Soul-Gathering Stone, Explosive Flame Fire Ape Essence Blood, and a Spirit-Enhancing Talisman to nurture it.
• Yang Tianyou established a master-servant contract with the being forming inside the crystal and sealed the room with a Formation.
• Over the next year, Yang Tianyou cultivated and completed Lineage missions, earning fame for defeating several Late Qi Refinement evil cultivators.
• Yang Tianyou met with Yang Tianwang, who remained dispirited over his missing left arm despite Yang Tianyou's efforts to find a regrowth medicine.
• Yang Tianyou sensed that the Immortal in the Flame was about to give birth to its fire spirit.

Yang Tianyou named his newly hatched Spirit-Demon Hybrid Yuan Ba and watched him grow while sparring with Fengling. After welcoming his father home, Yang Tianyou broke through to the Qi Refining ninth layer, strengthened his body with Savage Elephant Essence Blood and a Blood-Origin Pill, and learned the Golden Spirit Armor Law Technique.

• Yang Tianyou named the newborn Little Fire Ape Yuan Ba after it hatched from its crystal.
• Two months later, Yuan Ba fought Fengling under Yang Tianyou's rules and lost their first bout of the month.
• Yang Tianyou had dinner with his parents, whose cultivation had reached the Qi Refining eighth layer.
• Yang Tianyou entered seclusion and broke through to the Qi Refining ninth layer.
• Yang Tianyou used Savage Elephant Essence Blood and a Blood-Origin Pill to strengthen his body, then activated the first-tier supreme-grade Golden Spirit Armor.

Yang Tianyou collected the Essence of the Five Metals from Yang Qiongqing as he prepared to lay his foundation, and resolved to make a Five-Element Spirit-Transforming Talisman himself. The chapter left him confident that his talisman-making talent and tools could let him produce the second-rank talisman he needed.

• Yang Tianyou completed his secluded cultivation and mastered the Golden Spirit Armor Law Technique before leaving his room.
• Yang Tianyou visited Yang Qiongqing, who gave him a ten-jin piece of second-tier middle-grade Essence of the Five Metals for his foundation-laying.
• Yang Tiankang asked Yang Qiongqing about Yang Tianyou's reward, but Yang Qiongqing refused to reveal details and promised to help Tiankang obtain another Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Yang Tianyou decided to make a Five-Element Spirit-Transforming Talisman himself so he could use it as his foundation-laying inducement and future natal Talisman.

Yang Tianyou used the Jade Register Heavenly Book to temporarily gain Foundation Establishment-level spiritual power and spiritual consciousness so he could make a Five-Element Spirit-Transforming Talisman. As his strength began to fail midway through the attempt, he swallowed a precious Longevity Grass to replenish it, leaving the talisman unfinished but his chances improved.

• Yang Tianyou prepared rare materials and upgraded his Azure Rainbow Talisman Brush before sealing himself in the training room.
• Yang Tianyou connected his spiritual consciousness to the Jade Register Heavenly Book and gained temporary Foundation Establishment-level abilities for six shichen.
• Yang Tianyou began drawing the Five-Element Spirit-Transforming Talisman, gathering Five Phases Spiritual Qi into a colorful vortex above him.
• Yang Tianyou's spiritual power and consciousness neared exhaustion before the talisman was half finished.
• Yang Tianyou swallowed a valuable Longevity Grass, replenishing and strengthening his spiritual power and consciousness.

Yang Tianyou completed the Five-Element Spirit-Transforming Talisman and used it, along with the Longevity Grass’s remaining medicinal power, to refine the Essence of the Five Metals into his body. His Golden Spirit Armor reached Great Perfection, and he began testing it against Fengling and Yuan Ba.

• Yang Tianyou finished the Five-Element Spirit-Transforming Talisman, drawing Spiritual Qi into it.
• Yang Tianyou used the talisman to refine ten jin of the Essence of the Five Metals, enduring intense pain as Metal-Phase Qi fused with his body.
• Yang Tianyou formed pale golden Spirit Marks and gained a stronger affinity for Metal-Attribute Spiritual Qi.
• Yang Tianyou discovered that refining the Essence of the Five Metals had raised his Golden Spirit Armor to Great Perfection.
• Yang Tianyou offered Fengling and Yuan Ba two hundred Spirit Stones to whoever broke his armor fastest, then began the test with Fengling.

Yang Tianyou tested the formidable defense of his Golden Spirit Armor, then received a visit from his old friend Jinge, who had advanced to Foundation Establishment. Jinge sought the Yang Household’s help buying resources gathered during the Cold Tide, leaving Yang Tianyou to consider a deal shaped by conflict within the Gold and Silver Alliance.

• Yang Tianyou stopped Fengling and Yuan Ba from attacking and concluded that the Essence of the Five Metals had strengthened his Golden Spirit Armor beyond the Cultivation Method’s description.
• As the Cold Tide approached, Orthodox and Demonic Path forces vanished, leaving Yang Tianyou with fewer assignments and prompting him to focus on cultivation at Purple Moon Mountain.
• Yang Tianyou received a message that Jinge had arrived, then introduced Jinge to Yuan Ba and explained Yuan Ba’s origins.
• Jinge shared Second-Rank Low-Grade Yellow Eagle Wine with Yang Tianyou and proposed that the Gold and Silver Alliance buy all the Yang Household’s resources gathered during the Cold Tide.
• Jinge explained that the Legacy Faction’s interference had voided the Jin Household’s agreement with the Three Rivers Sect, so he and Jin Lianri needed Foundation Establishment Lineages to help fulfill their procurement assignment.

Yang Tianyou and the Yang Household agreed to sell their Cold Tide resources to the Jin Household, recognizing that the deal also tied them more closely to the Gold and Silver Alliance. As the Cold Tide arrived, endless snowfall turned the bright landscape ominous, leaving Yang Tianyou feeling that darkness was closing in.

• Yang Tianyou accepted Jinge's proposal to buy all the Yang Household's resources gathered after the Cold Tide.
• Yang Dangkai advised Yang Haoyu that the deal was effectively unavoidable and offered the Yang Household a chance to build ties with the Jin Household.
• Yang Haoyu gave Yang Tianyou sole authority over cooperation with the Gold and Silver Alliance and told him to maintain his relationship with Daoist Jin.
• Yang Tianyou and Jinge negotiated resource prices as businessmen, then Jinge left Purple Moon Mountain after staying another half month.
• As the Cold Tide approached, snow fell continuously for months, and Yang Tianyou, Feng Ling, and Yuan Ba grew uneasy before Yang Tianyou declared that the Cold Tide had come.

The Six Desires Red Dust Sect mobilized its forces to invade the Northern River Region as the White Sky Sect's elders debated a prophecy about the heavenly devil and Lin Yingyue. The Northern River Region's sects prepared to fight, and the Lu Wu Realm moved toward a major war.

• At White Sky Mountain, two White Sky Sect elders discussed the Heavenly Lord's prophecy and wondered whether it referred to Lin Yingyue, the Red Dust Devil Venerable.
• The Six Desires Red Dust Sect launched a vast fleet, led by the Black Dragon Boat, toward the Northern River Region.
• Leaders in an unknown space above the Northern River Region learned of the invasion and discussed possible involvement by other factions and races.
• The Northern River Region's hegemonic sects sent their prepared cultivator armies aboard flying boats as the Lu Wu Realm mobilized for war.

The Yang Household prepared to meet the Cold Tide under an unusually heavy Three Rivers Sect Mobilization Order, while other factions sent forces toward the coming war. A hidden enemy plotted revenge against the Three Rivers Sect, and the Feng Household moved toward Crouching Ox Pass while monitoring Dragon Valley Sect remnants and anticipating the sect’s downfall.

• Yang Haoyu told the Yang Household elders that the Three Rivers Sect had ordered them to send three Foundation Establishment cultivators and forty Qi Refining cultivators, and explained that other factions faced increased demands too.
• Yang Haoyu assigned Yang Tianxue and Yang Qiongchuan to guard Purple Moon Mountain, Yang Qiongqing to guard Purple Moon Town, and named the cultivators and Purple Moon Wolves who would join the battle.
• Yang Tianyou joined the Yang Household’s rallying cries and felt a powerful resolve to protect his Lineage.
• True Person Beigong watched the Luochuan Sect’s forces depart, while Zhen Leizi reassured him that he welcomed one final battle despite his dwindling lifespan.
• A concealed voice in the Three Rivers Sect’s secluded grounds vowed to wait for a chance to take revenge, as Devil Qi briefly spread through the cave.
• The Feng Household sent Flying Boats toward Crouching Ox Pass, while its Golden Core cultivators discussed watching the Dragon Valley Sect remnants and exploiting the Three Rivers Sect’s predicted downfall.

Yang Tianyou traveled with the Yang Household cultivators toward Crouching Ox Pass, where the Northern River Region prepared to withstand the Cold Tide. The Yang Household gathered its allied Foundation Establishment Lineages at Yellowstone Market, and Liu Changsheng arrived to lead the Liu Household delegation.

• Yang Haoyu led the Yang Household cultivators away from Purple Moon Mountain aboard the Crimson Wing Boat, leaving Yang Tianxue and Twelfth Uncle to guard the Lineage.
• Yang Tianyou learned that a chain of fortified passes protected the Northern River Region from the Savage Wilderness Great Domain and the Cold Tide.
• The Yang Household's Crimson Wing Boat reached Yellowstone Market to rendezvous with the Liu, Zhuang, Mu, and Qing Households, whose combined alliance included five Foundation Establishment Lineages.
• The Liu Household arrived aboard its Qianmu Boat, and Liu Changsheng flew over to greet Yang Haoyu.
• Yang Tianyou recognized that Liu Changsheng's Ninth Layer Foundation Establishment cultivation, alchemy, and healing skills made him a valuable ally.

Yang Tianyou and the other Lineages’ young cultivators traveled to Crouching Ox Pass as the Cold Tide approached. After the Three Rivers Sect inspected their Transit Passes and searched them with Demon-Detecting Mirrors, Yang Tianyou explored the crowded trading streets but found no Spirit Items he wanted.

• Yang Tianyou greeted Liu Siyu, who still remembered losing to him, and chatted with the young representatives of the arriving Mu, Zhuang, and Qing Households.
• The Lineages’ Flying Boats traveled north through worsening snow and cold until Crouching Ox Pass came into view.
• Three Rivers Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivators inspected the visitors with Demon-Detecting Mirrors and admitted them into the pass.
• Yang Tianyou took Fengling and Yuan Ba through the trading streets, met a Yellowstone Market acquaintance, and asked him to gather several needed items.
• Yang Tianyou found nothing he wanted to buy, while Fengling and Yuan Ba ate their way through the stalls and he sampled one of Yuan Ba’s meatballs.

Yang Tianyou and the Yang Household prepared to defend Crouching Ox Pass as a massive Demon Beast tide approached. The beasts and demonic birds reached the pass, and panic spread among the defenders as the battle began.

• Yang Haoyu sounded the alarm and led the Yang Household cultivators to their assigned positions on the eastern wall.
• Yang Tianyou saw that the Yang Household's allied Lineages had also been assigned to the eastern defenses, while many of the weaker Zhuang Household's cultivators had been sent to the main battlefield.
• Yang Dangmo distributed formation flags and instructed the Yang Household disciples to hold their positions and obey orders.
• A huge Demon Beast tide and tens of thousands of demonic birds charged toward Crouching Ox Pass through the snowstorm.
• The sight drove many cultivators into panic, and Foundation Establishment Cultivators cut down those who tried to flee.

As the beast horde reached Crouching Ox Pass, the defenders steadied themselves and unleashed their Law Treasures, drawing out powerful enemy beasts and Golden Core fighters. Yang Dangmo ordered the Yang Household disciples to activate their Bing Fire Sky-Burning Formation as the horde massed before the walls.

• The Soul-Calming Bell restored the defenders’ composure, and Yang Dangmo rebuked Yang Tiankang for his fear.
• Three Rivers Sect cultivators used a Red Gourd and an Azure Scroll to attack the advancing beast horde.
• An Ice Crystal Saber-Toothed Tiger froze the lava river, while a Red-Feather Flying Eagle blocked the Azure Scroll; two Golden Core Cultivators engaged the beasts.
• A Golden Core Cultivator threatened harsh punishment for anyone who shirked, and the pass’s defensive formation stopped the horde at the walls.
• Yang Dangmo ordered the Yang Household disciples to raise the Bing Fire Sky-Burning Formation, and Yang Tianyou activated it to strike the waiting beasts.

Yang Tianyou fought at Crouching Ox Pass as the Cold Tide escalated into an assault by Demon Beasts and other races, eventually breaking the first defensive formation. Amid the battle, he briefly comprehended Blade Intent and continued fighting with renewed focus.

• Yang Tianyou and Yang Tianwang discussed the beast tide, and Yang Tianyou concluded that powerful forces were using the Cold Tide to test the human race.
• The Spirit Tribe, Barbarian Tribe, Blood Race, and other enemies joined the increasingly fierce attacks, weakening Crouching Ox Pass’s defensive formation.
• A Mountain-Piercing Beast shattered the formation shield, and the defenders fired ballistae and Bronze Cannons at the invading horde.
• Yang Tianyou used Starlight to kill dozens of Demon Beasts, drawing admiration from the reserve cultivators as Yang Tiankang watched him with concern.
• Yang Tianyou briefly sensed Blade Intent while fighting, then steadied his mind and continued attacking with Starlight more fluidly and forcefully.

After days of defending Crouching Ox Pass, Yang Tianyou accepted a mission to lead Wolf Ancestor and Yang Household cultivators behind enemy lines. They reached a Barbarian Tribe village subordinate to the Greenrock Tribe, where the danger of the settlement remained uncertain.

• Yang Tianyou agreed to lead Wolf Ancestor and Qi Refining cultivators on a mission to harass nonhumans behind their lines.
• Yang Tianyou chose Yang Tianwang and thirteen other clansmen for the operation, while leaving out the reluctant Yang Tiankang.
• Yang Tianyou led Wolf Ancestor and fourteen clansmen out of Crouching Ox Pass aboard a concealed flying boat and took a northeast detour.
• After flying for three days, Yang Tianyou's party reached a medium-sized Barbarian Tribe village subordinate to the Greenrock Tribe.
• Yang Tianyou observed nearly a hundred Barbarian Tribe warriors guarding the village and suspected Foundation Establishment warriors were stationed inside.

Yang Tianyou led the Yang Household in breaking through a Barbarian Tribe village’s Totem Pillar barrier and killing its warriors. After defeating the Foundation Establishment warrior Batu'er, he looted the village and left its ordinary residents unharmed as the group continued onward by Flying Boat.

• Yang Tianyou found weak points in the village’s Totem Pillar barrier and coordinated a surprise attack with Yang Tianwang and another clansman, shattering the barrier.
• The attackers bombarded the village’s warriors, killing dozens, while Fengling and Yuan Ba joined the fight against the remaining defenders.
• Yang Tianyou faced Batu'er in single combat, severed one of his arms, and then killed him after a fierce exchange of blows.
• The Wolf Ancestor praised Yang Tianyou’s victory and urged him to leave before the Foreign Races blocked their way.
• Yang Tianyou and his companions wiped out the remaining warriors, took the village’s resources, spared its ordinary residents, and departed on their Flying Boat.