Recaps

Xiao Mo approved the wedding rites and titles for Yan Ruxue and Qin Mujiu, inspected their prepared palaces, and let Empress Dowager Yan arrange the palace-maid selection. After seeing the selection notice, Si Li decided to enter the palace as a maid to investigate whether the Zhou Kingdom's ruler was Xiao Mo's reincarnation.

• Xiao Mo approved Yan Ruxue and Qin Mujiu's wedding rites and their titles as Consort Xue and Consort Mu, then gave Yan Ruxue a spirit snake jade pendant.
• Xiao Mo asked Wei Xun about Yan Zhen's ambitions, then inspected the two consorts' nearby palaces and accepted Empress Dowager Yan's plan to select palace maids.
• Empress Dowager Yan issued a proclamation seeking women with unblemished family backgrounds to enter the palace.
• Si Li read the palace-maid selection notice and told Wang Xin she planned to enter the palace as a maid to look for Xiao Mo's reincarnation.

Yan Zhen gave Yan Ruxue a Spiritual Snake Jade Pendant from Xiao Mo, and her reaction hinted that its resemblance to a snake held personal meaning. Meanwhile, Xiao Mo struggled with the prospect of Foundation Establishment as Jiang Qingyi urged him to join the Myriad Sword Sect, and Mujiu arrived to visit him.

• Yan Zhen told Yan Ruxue that Xiao Mo seemed far more capable than the court rumors suggested, then gave her the Spiritual Snake Jade Pendant that Xiao Mo had gifted him.
• Yan Ruxue admired the pendant and remarked that it was pretty and such a coincidence.
• Yan Zhen left for the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, reflecting on his former ambitions to govern the country before smiling to himself.
• Xiao Mo practiced swordsmanship at the Dao Seeking Altar, where Jiang Qingyi defeated him and urged him to join the Myriad Sword Sect to pursue cultivation.
• Wei Xun tried to stop Mujiu from entering the Dao Seeking Altar, but Mujiu called out cheerfully to Xiao Mo.

Qin Siyao visited Xiao Mo and read him a historical account that echoed his secret plans to prepare the Qin Kingdom for a crisis. After months of quiet preparations, Qin Shengtian canceled morning court and took Qin Siyao for a walk through the snowy palace, stirring memories of her mother’s death.

• Qin Siyao asked Xiao Mo to accompany her to the library, where she shared a book’s account of the Frost King and the Qin Kingdom’s past.
• Xiao Mo recalled receiving a secret letter from the Qin Kingdom’s Lord and ordered Qiu Wen to summon Desolate Tower assassins and arrange military preparations.
• Over the following months, Xiao Mo and officials secretly prepared for a coming crisis, while border generals received his messages and Hei Da Niu replaced the retiring Imperial Guard commander.
• Qin Shengtian canceled morning court because of the cold, alarming officials and prompting Qin Siyao to visit him.
• Qin Shengtian invited Qin Siyao for a walk through the snowy palace, where she remembered walking there with her mother on the day she died.

Qin Shengtian recalled his life with his family and advised Qin Siyao as they toured the palace, then removed his life-concealing jade pendant and died while she went to prepare lunch. Qin Siyao returned to find him unresponsive and served the meal through her tears.

• Qin Shengtian told Qin Siyao how Qin Jingsu and Qin Jingyuan had grown up, and blamed himself for their deaths in battle.
• Qin Shengtian and Qin Siyao revisited places from their childhood and remembered how he had met and married Empress Shi.
• Qin Shengtian praised Qin Siyao's abilities and urged her to judge ministers carefully while never depriving the people of hope or a way to survive.
• Qin Siyao went to the Imperial Kitchen to prepare lunch, and Qin Shengtian removed his jade pendant and died on the stone bench.
• Qin Siyao returned with three dishes, found Qin Shengtian motionless, and served him rice while crying.

After Qin Shengtian died, his final edict named Third Princess Qin Siyao as his successor and ordered the court to support her rule. With Xiao Mo and the ministers recognizing her as sovereign, Qin Siyao took the throne and vowed to protect the Qin Kingdom with him.

• Qin Shengtian's death was announced by nine tolls, and Prime Minister Li Ge, Baili Xi, and Jian Shu hurried to the palace to help Qin Siyao retrieve his final edict.
• Qin Siyao and the three ministers used their tokens and the state seal to open a hidden compartment in the Imperial Study desk and recover the edict.
• Qin Siyao read the edict, which named her ruler, appointed Xiao Mo supreme commander, and warned officials against defying her succession.
• Xiao Mo knelt before Qin Siyao and addressed her as Your Majesty, followed by the senior ministers and the rest of the court.
• Qin Siyao ascended the throne, summoning a golden dragon above the palace, and vowed with Xiao Mo to guard the Qin Kingdom.

After suppressing a widespread rebellion and reforming the Qin Kingdom, Qin Siyao strengthened her rule while Xiao Mo prepared to lead the army to the border and end the long war. Xiao Mo said goodbye to Qin Siyao, who promised to wait for his return.

• After Qin Siyao ascended the throne, regional lords and aristocratic clans rebelled, but Xiao Mo and the Northern Wastes crushed the uprisings within a year.
• Qin Siyao restricted the regional lords' military and financial powers, curtailed noble privileges, and established recommendation and examination systems for appointing officials.
• Over the next two years, Qin Siyao's reforms improved commoners' lives and strengthened her standing, while Xiao Mo completed preparations for a campaign to end the war.
• On the fourth day of the second month, Xiao Mo visited Qin Siyao before leaving for the border and outlined arrangements for the capital, the court, and his mother.
• Qin Siyao saw Xiao Mo off and told him there was no possibility he would fail to return, promising that she would wait for him.

Xiao Mo led Qin Kingdom’s forces to victory over Qi Kingdom and launched offensives against both Qi and Zhao Kingdoms. In the capital, Qin Siyao learned that Zhou Ruoxi’s life was nearing its end, but hid the truth and reassured her that Xiao Mo would soon return.

• After resting for seven days, Xiao Mo ordered Li Jing and Zhao Guang to attack Zhao Kingdom and led his army into a direct battle against Qi Kingdom and Myriad Island Nation.
• Xiao Mo’s forces gained a decisive advantage after two days of fighting, forcing Han Gan and Gu Fei to retreat, then advanced into Qi Kingdom along three routes.
• Li Jing, Zhao Guang, Fang Weiming, and Liu Xing pressed their campaign in Zhao Kingdom, where Qin Kingdom’s forces faced a stalemate against reinforcements from Liuhuo Nation and Xigu Nation.
• Qin Siyao invited Li Que to examine Zhou Ruoxi, and he told her that Zhou Ruoxi was not ill but had nearly exhausted her life force.
• Qin Siyao concealed Li Que’s diagnosis from Zhou Ruoxi, read her Xiao Mo’s victory report, and promised that he would return soon.

Xiao Mo prepared for a decisive battle against Qi at Canghai Pass after reinforcements shifted the balance against Qin's army. He sent news of the coming battle to Qin Siyao and entrusted Qiu Wen with a second letter and the Prince Zhenbei seal, leaving Qin Siyao to wait on his promise to return.

• King Zhao sent human and demon forces across Jin territory to join Qi, while the Ruler of Qi of Myriad Island Nation sent another three hundred thousand troops.
• Xiao Mo refused to transfer troops from Qin or Zhao and declared that his army would fight Qi at Canghai Pass.
• Xiao Mo sent one letter to the Imperial Palace and another, with the Prince Zhenbei seal, to Qiu Wen.
• Xiao Mo looked at the clay figure he carried before setting out to prepare for battle.
• Three days later, Qin Siyao received Xiao Mo's letter, and Peanut reassured her that he would return.

As the decisive battle between Qin and Qi began, Qin Siyao beat a war drum for Xiao Mo from Wangtian Tower, fulfilling a promise from their childhood. The chapter ended with her broken drumsticks in her arms as she wept, having lost everything.

• On the eve of battle, Xiao Mo sharpened his spear and gazed toward the Imperial Capital while Qin's court awaited news.
• Qin Siyao asked Peanut Sister to move a Northern Wilderness Army war drum to Wangtian Tower, and Wei Xingzi gave He Qing his final instructions before dying.
• Qin Siyao remembered promising the young Xiao Mo that she would beat the war drum for him, then climbed Wangtian Tower and began to play as the armies clashed.
• Xiao Mo led the Snow-Treading Dragon Cavalry through the battlefield, slew an Elephant Race Demon Cultivator, and charged toward King Qi's formation with his allies and one hundred thousand cavalry.
• Qin Siyao beat the drum as Xiao Mo entered the formation, but the drumsticks snapped after her final strike, and she clutched them while weeping.

After the Qin army defeated Qi and Zhao surrendered, Qin Siyao learned that her husband had died in battle and that his body had been completely destroyed. She stayed alone on Wangtian Tower, grieving and accusing him of breaking his promise.

• Herald children announced the Qin victory at Canghai Pass, the fall of Qi, and Zhao’s surrender.
• Lian Li read the battle report and collapsed in shock, while officials including Zhang Qin and Li Ge awaited the Empress’s response.
• Qin Siyao had spent four days sitting silently on Wangtian Tower with the broken drumstick beside her.
• Peanut told Qin Siyao that her husband had killed King Qi and helped break the Soul Shattering Jade formation, but had died along with several Qin retainers.
• After Peanut left, Qin Siyao remembered her promises with her husband, curled up, and sobbed that he was a liar.

After the Qin army conquered Qi Kingdom, Xiahou Nan brought the Frost King’s relics home with the returning soldiers. Qin Siyao comforted Zhou Ruoxi as she died, and Zhou Ruoxi’s final memories returned to Xiao Mo’s childhood.

• Xiahou Nan and Fang Weiming secured Qi Kingdom’s capital and sent its maps and records back to Qin, while Xiahou Nan carried the Frost King’s spear and clay figure beyond the city.
• Two months later, the Qin army returned to its capital with a coffin, and the people realized the Frost King was not among the soldiers.
• Qin Siyao fed medicine to the dying Zhou Ruoxi and promised that she and Xiao Mo would care for each other and raise children.
• Zhou Ruoxi imagined seeing Xiao Mo, then relived memories of his childhood and gave him a Peace Jade Pendant for his first birthday.
• Zhou Ruoxi’s final words were a wish for Xiao Mo to live year after year in peace.

After Xiao Mo’s death, Qin Siyao mourned him, carried out his final wishes, and unified the realm under Qin rule. Decades later, she chose Qin Lan’er as her heir, and the girl learned that Qin Siyao could no longer cry for the one she loved.

• Xiahou Nan returned Xiao Mo’s mask and clay figure to Qin Siyao, who wept over the childhood gift and remembered their promise.
• Qin Siyao defied ministers’ objections, presided over Zhou Ruoxi’s and Xiao Mo’s funerals, and mourned at Xiao Mo’s grave.
• Qin Siyao made Xiao Mo’s final letter public, abolished the Northern Wilderness kingship, and brought its army under Qin’s authority without resistance.
• Qin Siyao accepted Zhao’s surrender, unified the realm, and established Qin laws and institutions; later, she conquered the Liuhuo Nation, the Xigu Nation, and the Myriad Island Nation.
• After years of refusing marriage, Qin Siyao summoned imperial children to choose an heir and favored six-year-old Qin Lan’er.
• Qin Lan’er told Qin Siyao she seemed sad and advised her to cry, and Qin Siyao replied that she could no longer cry.

Qin Siyao raised Qin Lan'er to succeed her as ruler while preparing a vast Altar to Heaven to gather the fortune of Myriad Laws Under Heaven. After decades of training Lan'er and building the formation, Qin Siyao took her outside the palace and began giving her final instructions, saying she wanted to be selfish just once.

• Qin Siyao adopted Qin Lan'er, taught her, and watched her grow into a gifted cultivator and capable future ruler.
• Qin Siyao ignored calls to adopt a prince, entrusted Qin Lan'er with more state affairs, and quietly prepared her to govern Qin.
• Lian Li resigned from court and urged Qin Siyao to move on from the Frost King, but Qin Siyao remained silent.
• Qin Siyao commissioned the Altar to Heaven, and after fifty years its completed formation gathered the mountain-and-river fortune of Myriad Laws Under Heaven.
• Qin Siyao took Qin Lan'er outside the palace, praised her readiness to rule, and explained which ministers and policies she should rely on.
• Qin Siyao told Qin Lan'er to remember her final instructions and said she wanted to be selfish just once.

Qin Siyao summoned the Hundred Schools of Thought at Mount Tai, established a Great Wall against the Yao Race World, and imposed new limits on rulers and cultivators before passing the throne to Qin Lan'er. She left the realm in Qin Lan'er's hands to search for the Frost King, determined to confront him if she found him.

• Qin Siyao and Qin Lan'er offered incense at Mount Tai, summoning the leaders of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
• Qin Siyao issued an edict ordering a Great Wall along the border, and the wall rose to separate Myriad Laws Under Heaven from the Yao Race World.
• Qin Siyao decreed that cultivators could serve in the imperial court for no more than a hundred years and that future rulers could not cultivate beyond Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Qin Siyao passed the throne to Qin Lan'er and instructed her to guard the Great Wall, continue cultivating, and spare the Xiao Family from total extermination.
• Qin Siyao told Qin Lan'er she was leaving to search for the Frost King and vowed to make him pay for breaking his promise.

After handing the Qin throne to Qin Lan'er, Qin Siyao left to search the mortal world for Xiao Mo, spending thirty thousand years helping people and visiting every place he had walked. As Xiao Mo was pulled from the River of Time, he called out to her, but she found no one behind her and continued on alone.

• Qin Siyao transferred the throne to Qin Lan'er, then left the capital with Peanut, who soon departed for the Yao Race World.
• Qin Siyao traveled across the mortal world, helping ordinary people, fighting demons, and following the roads Xiao Mo had once taken.
• Over thirty thousand years, Qin Siyao remained unable to enter the Ascension Realm because of the backlash from the imperial edicts, while Xiao Mo secretly accompanied her.
• As the Book of a Hundred Lives prepared to take Xiao Mo from the River of Time, he stopped in the snowy forest and called out to Qin Siyao.
• Qin Siyao turned toward the empty path, waited, put on her bloodstained Asura Mask, and kept walking.

Xiao Mo received the rewards for completing his fifth life, including military knowledge, spear arts, and a stronger physique. He set out for the Imperial Preceptor’s Residence to challenge Fairy Jiang again, then considered recruiting his own palace spies.

• The Book of a Hundred Lives awarded Xiao Mo military-strategy insights, renown, the God-Slaying Spear Intent, and a Martial Cultivator Physique, while explaining that his fifth-life memories were sealed.
• Xiao Mo absorbed the marching knowledge and spear insights, then endured a painful transformation that strengthened his body.
• Xiao Mo told Wei Xun to prepare the Dragon Chariot so he could visit the Imperial Preceptor’s Residence and face Fairy Jiang again.
• Wei Xun gave Xiao Mo the Empress Dowager’s list of selected palace maids, and Xiao Mo said he did not need to approve such matters.
• Xiao Mo noticed Yan Shan’ao’s spies among the palace maids and considered quietly cultivating confidantes of his own.

Si Li returned to the palace maid selection after learning she had been rejected for being too beautiful, then used disguises and bribes to pass the final assessments. She became a palace maid and prepared to leave her quarters secretly after nightfall.

• Si Li disguised her appearance and returned to the final day of preliminary selection after discovering that overly beautiful candidates were being rejected.
• A female official examined Si Li's figure, but Si Li bribed her and persuaded her to pass her through to the palace assessment.
• Si Li bribed female officials throughout the palace assessments and passed the tests, becoming a palace maid among the selected group.
• Jin Yin warned the new maids to follow palace rules and avoid attracting His Majesty's attention.
• After her roommates fell asleep, Si Li quietly got out of bed and slipped away.

Si Li planned to use Xiao Mo’s blood to test whether the Zhou Kingdom’s king was her master’s reincarnation, but she could not find him in his bedchamber. At the Imperial Preceptor’s Residence, Jiang Qingyi defeated Xiao Mo in sword practice and urged him to leave the palace for her sect, but he refused.

• Si Li sent a Sky Horn Mosquito into the king’s bedchamber, learned he was absent, and told the mosquito to collect his blood when he returned.
• Si Li sensed a sharp surge of Sword Qi and recognized it as coming from the unreasonable woman she had noticed before.
• Jiang Qingyi beat Xiao Mo in their daylong sword practice, while noting how quickly his swordsmanship and endurance were improving.
• Jiang Qingyi praised Xiao Mo for reaching perfected twelfth-level Qi Refining in less than a year and urged him to return to her sect.
• Xiao Mo refused to leave the palace and said he intended to try establishing his foundation; Jiang Qingyi called him obstinate and walked away.

After Xiao Mo left the Imperial Preceptor's Residence, Jiang Qingyi asked Xia He to refine a Steal Heaven Pill so the Zhou Kingdom's ruler could cultivate. The chapter ended with Jiang Qingyi wondering whether her own sacrifices were worth it, remembering how someone had once given everything to help her.

• Jiang Qingyi watched Xiao Mo leave and returned to the courtyard to hone the Xuan Shuang Long Sword.
• Jiang Qingyi summoned Xia He and gave her a vial of her blood essence, asking her to refine a Steal Heaven Pill.
• Xia He warned that the pill would require repeated doses and Jiang Qingyi's blood essence, and could bring unpredictable karma.
• Jiang Qingyi explained that she wanted the pill to let the Zhou Kingdom's ruler cultivate, and insisted that only she could decide whether it was worth the cost.
• Xia He agreed to try to refine the pill within three months, and Jiang Qingyi wondered whether her past benefactor had questioned the worth of helping her.

Xiao Mo tempered his body with the Heaven Opener Fist prescription while Si Li’s Sky Horn Mosquito struggled to collect his blood, then he prepared to establish his Foundation under Jiang Qingyi’s guidance. Jiang Qingyi told him to wait three months and invited herself to his bedchamber, teasing him about being attracted to her.

• Xiao Mo used the medicinal ingredients Wei Xun gathered to temper his body, and the Sky Horn Mosquito failed to pierce his skin while he slept.
• Si Li had the Sky Horn Mosquito use a silver needle to collect Xiao Mo’s blood, then tested it with an orb that grew redder over several days.
• Xiao Mo honed his sword intent at the Dao Seeking Altar while Jiang Qingyi advised him to use it as the foundation for his breakthrough.
• Xiao Mo said he had arranged to find a secluded place for Foundation Establishment, but Jiang Qingyi told him to wait three months and promised to accompany him.
• Jiang Qingyi invited Xiao Mo to his bedchamber and teased him about whether he feared she would eat him or secretly delighted in her attention.

Jiang Qingyi installed a sword formation in Xiao Mo’s bedchamber to aid his cultivation and killed a Sky Horn Mosquito sent to spy on him. Si Li sensed the mosquito’s death and recognized the sword qi as belonging to the madwoman who had once pursued her and Wang Xin.

• Jiang Qingyi teased Xiao Mo about the imperial consorts who would soon enter the palace, then placed nine longswords and a formation in his bedchamber to hone his sword qi and sword intent.
• Jiang Qingyi recalled that someone had once helped her begin cultivating, but she reacted coldly when Xiao Mo said he would like to meet that person.
• A Sky Horn Mosquito carrying a silver needle landed on Xiao Mo’s hand, and Jiang Qingyi pierced it with sword qi before it could attack him.
• Jiang Qingyi examined the dead mosquito and sensed that other spies had entered the palace.
• Si Li prepared to collect Xiao Mo’s blood again, then sensed her Sky Horn Mosquito had died and recognized the sword qi as belonging to the madwoman who had chased her and Wang Xin.

Qin Siyao visited Jinyuan and Jiyue, a married couple from Jiangnan, and paid generously for Jinyuan’s calligraphy while concealing her identity. As she left, she used magic to place blessings above their courtyard gate, leaving the couple unaware that she was the familiar benefactor who had come to help them.

• Qin Siyao visited Jiyue’s home, claiming that her father admired Jinyuan’s calligraphy and had sent her to request some pieces.
• Jiyue told Qin Siyao about her elopement with Jinyuan and how they were struggling while he prepared for the Spring Imperial Examination.
• Jinyuan returned from teaching, wrote “Peace and joy” and “May you be happily married for a hundred years,” and accepted Qin Siyao’s generous payment after realizing she meant to support them.
• Jinyuan and Jiyue both felt Qin Siyao was strangely familiar, but they could not identify her before she departed.
• Qin Siyao threw the calligraphy from her carriage, and the eight characters lifted from the paper and appeared above the couple’s courtyard gate as blessings.

Si Li kept a low profile in the palace while waiting for suspicions about her to pass, then finished her maid training and was summoned to Empress Dowager Yan. Empress Dowager Yan praised Si Li and asked if she would serve His Majesty.

• Si Li decided to stay cautious in the palace and postpone her plan to obtain the Zhou Kingdom's ruler's blood.
• After twenty-one days of training, the new palace maids received their assignments, and Si Li was left waiting as officials discussed her.
• Liu Shi brought Si Li to Lingxin Palace to meet Empress Dowager Yan.
• Empress Dowager Yan assessed Si Li's appearance and accomplishments, then asked whether she would serve His Majesty.

Empress Dowager Yan sent Si Li to serve Xiao Mo and secretly report on his words and actions, while warning her not to pursue his favor. Si Li reached Yangxin Hall, learned that Xiao Mo's attendants spoke fondly of him, and recognized him when he returned.

• Empress Dowager Yan instructed Si Li to report on Xiao Mo and warned her not to seek his favor before the princess consort became pregnant.
• Empress Dowager Yan sent Si Li with Xuanzhi to Yangxin Hall, explaining that she wanted her own source of information about Xiao Mo.
• Xuanzhi warned Si Li that she still belonged to Empress Dowager Yan, then left her waiting at the hall.
• Liu Mi, Yang'er, Yan'er, and Mimi told Si Li that Xiao Mo was kind to the palace maids, while nearly revealing that some of them monitored him for Prime Minister Yan.
• Xiao Mo returned to Yangxin Hall, and Si Li looked up at his profile, recognizing him with a feeling both familiar and unfamiliar.

Si Li recognized Xiao Mo as her reincarnated master after Ink Dye reacted to his presence, then became his personal maid in Yangxin Hall. She confessed that she had entered the palace to spy on him under the Empress Dowager’s orders and begged him to grant her death.

• Si Li recognized Xiao Mo as her master when Ink Dye reacted to his presence.
• Xiao Mo questioned Si Li and allowed her to serve as his personal maid despite her breach of etiquette.
• Xiao Mo reassigned Wei Xun to the front hall, leaving Si Li alone with him in the bedchamber.
• Si Li knelt before Xiao Mo and confessed that she had obeyed the Empress Dowager’s orders to spy on him.