Chapter Summaries

Shen Tang met Yun Da in a three-way disguise and learned that he believed her presence as the Mother Goddess caused the world's suffering. After she challenged his plan to end all suffering by extinguishing life, Yun Da was left shaken by her offer to guide people toward their own way forward.

• Shen Tang, Gongxi Chou, and Jimò Qiu swapped disguises before meeting Yun Da, while Qi Shan warned Shen Tang to protect herself.
• Yun Da saw through all three disguises and asked Shen Tang, whom he called the Mother Goddess, to return to her place.
• Jimò Qiu explained that Shen Tang was the Mother Goddess, and Yun Da argued that her intervention had brought chaos to the world.
• Yun Da revealed that he wanted all living things to die so they could be liberated from desire, conflict, and suffering.
• Shen Tang argued that suffering and predation would persist even if humanity died, then offered to guide people forward instead.
• Yun Da stood dazed as Shen Tang's words recalled the late Lord's counsel and the deceptions he had endured throughout his life.

Shen Tang confronted Yun Da, only to discover that he had used a decoy to draw her away while the Northern Desert attacked Kang Country's camps. The attack on Zhu Yue Pass failed, and the chapter left the Northern Desert lieutenant rallying his surviving troops to fight for Shen Tang's corpse.

• Yun Da rejected Shen Tang's offer of compensation and demanded the lives of Gongxi Chou and Jimò Qiu, so Shen Tang prepared to fight him.
• A distant disturbance revealed the Northern Desert's surprise attack, and Yun Da transformed into snow, exposing that the Yun Da who had met Shen Tang was a decoy.
• Shen Tang ordered the group back toward camp, while Jimò Qiu reassured her that he could cover the distance quickly.
• Tudege's forces attacked Kang Country's main camp as his trusted lieutenant's army assaulted Zhu Yue Pass, but the National Border Barrier rose again and Xun Zhen's reinforcements arrived.
• Ning Yan and Kang Shi caught the retreating Northern Desert army in a pincer attack, forcing the lieutenant to escape with heavy losses.
• The Northern Desert lieutenant regrouped and urged his surviving warriors to fight for Shen Tang's corpse and build a Jingguan from Kang Country's leaders.

Qi Shan’s camp prepared a counter-ambush after Lin Feng reported the Northern Desert army’s approach. The attack began to collapse when Liu Guan realized Kang Country had disguised Northern Desert prisoners as its soldiers and a massive wooden wall trapped the invaders.

• Qi Shan and the other commanders waited anxiously for news of Shen Youli while Lin Feng monitored Northern Desert movements with Gu Worms.
• Lin Feng took Su Shi Yilu along to gather intelligence, and he agreed to help after she offered to connect his younger sister with an Imperial Physician.
• Lin Feng’s intelligence reached camp, allowing Qi Shan and the others to prepare defenses as the Northern Desert army charged in from the east and west.
• Tudege’s vanguard broke through the outer defenses and raced toward Kang Country’s main tent, while Liu Guan noticed that Kang Country’s response seemed suspiciously slow.
• Explosions struck the rear of the Northern Desert formation, and Liu Guan realized many apparent Kang Country soldiers were Northern Desert prisoners disguised as troops.
• A towering wooden wall rose around the camp, and a figure atop it ordered the Mohist School to trap and attack the invaders.

Tudege realized the Northern Desert army had fallen into a trap as Kang forces sealed the camp and launched a counterattack. The battle turned against the trapped troops, while Gongshu Wu unleashed undead skeletons against another Northern Desert force.

• Tudege recognized the slain enemy’s head and ordered a retreat, but wooden walls sealed the Northern Desert troops inside the Kang camp.
• The Northern Desert formation broke under the explosions and Kang cavalry’s ambush, while Xu Quan and Lu Ji attacked the enemy forces outside the walls.
• Bai Su advanced toward the Northern Desert central army with her black-and-white fish Martial Gall Totem and wounded an enemy general.
• Gongshu Wu joined Gong Cheng’s fight, burned Northern Desert soldiers into skeletons, and raised the dead to attack the enemy.

Gongshu Wu and Qian Yong joined forces against Gong Cheng as Kang Kingdom overwhelmed the Northern Desert army. As defeat closed in, Liu Guan urged Tudege to lead a desperate counterattack, but his hesitation left her openly scornful of him.

• Gong Clan ancestors attacked the Northern Desert soldiers while Gongshu Wu fought Gong Cheng, whose palm strikes nearly shattered Gongshu Wu's bones.
• Qian Yong intervened to save Gongshu Wu, then rallied Kang Kingdom's soldiers and used their morale to prepare a giant bow aimed at Gong Cheng.
• Shao Chong fought Gong Cheng, while Kang Kingdom's troops trapped and divided the Northern Desert forces with military formations and firearms.
• Tudege asked about Yun Da's absence as Liu Guan urged him to rally the Northern Desert soldiers by leading a last stand himself.
• Tudege delayed until Yun Da arrived, and Liu Guan released his wrist and condemned him for valuing his life over his duty.

Liu Guan took Tudege’s place and rallied the Northern Desert troops, while Chu Yao turned the tide by exploiting their memories of eating human flesh. As Shen Tang arrived and Tudege feared Yun Da had failed, Yun Ce and Xianyu Jian stood beside their teacher’s grave, and Yun Ce revealed that his injuries had healed and his strength had grown immensely.

• Liu Guan shoved Tudege from his horse, transformed herself to look exactly like him, and led his guards into the battle to rally the Northern Desert survivors.
• Chu Yao learned Tudege had entered the fight and recognized that his charge had restored the Northern Desert troops’ morale, while Tu Rong and Lin Feng fought enemy generals near the front.
• Lin Feng killed a Northern Desert general who had attacked her, and Tu Rong charged toward the central army banner before Northern Desert warriors ambushed him.
• Chu Yao used A Dream of Nanke on a Pillow to make the Northern Desert troops recall eating human flesh and imagine themselves as the meat in their comrades’ bowls, causing their cloud of fortune to collapse.
• Chu Yao sensed Shen Tang’s arrival, and Tudege feared Yun Da had failed.
• Yun Ce and Xianyu Jian stood before their teacher’s new grave; Yun Ce said he was well, his injuries had healed, and his aura had grown far stronger.

Tudege’s hope of escaping collapsed when Shen Tang’s Word Spirit exposed the Northern Desert army’s cannibalism and shattered its morale. As Liu Guan’s charge stalled and Tu Rong moved to capture her, Chu Yao noticed snow falling and feared Kang Jishou had arrived.

• Tudege planned to escape the encirclement and regroup, but Shen Tang’s Word Spirit forced Northern Desert soldiers to relive memories of their wounded comrades being eaten.
• A wounded Northern Desert general killed a deserter, worsening the panic until soldiers began surrendering and throwing down their weapons.
• Liu Guan continued leading the charge despite the army’s collapse, switching her blade to her left hand after a Kang soldier badly wounded her right shoulder.
• Lin Feng signaled Tu Rong to attack Liu Guan, and he broke through the guards and shouted that Tudege was nearby, drawing Kang soldiers toward him.
• Chu Yao noticed rain and snow and suspected that Kang Jishou had appeared.

Shen Tang and her allies cornered Gong Cheng, but Yun Ce arrived with Yun Da’s inherited strength and helped secure the battle. Gong Cheng surrendered, and Tu Rong reported capturing Tu Dege alive.

• Shen Tang, Gong Xichou, and Shao Chong attacked Gong Cheng after Shen Tang returned to the battlefield.
• Yun Ce emerged from the frost mist with Yun Da’s aura and asked Shen Tang to help capture Gong Cheng.
• Gong Cheng surrendered after recognizing that he faced five opponents and restricted his own meridians.
• Shen Tang spared Gong Cheng and handed him over to Gongshu Wu.
• Tu Rong reported that he had captured Tu Dege alive.

After Kang’s victory, Gong Cheng was taken prisoner, and he revealed that the Gong Clan elders had already been moved to safety. Shen Tang then discovered that the captured “Tudege” was an impostor, while the real Tudege had been brought in by Chu Yao.

• Tu Rong told Shen Tang that he had captured “Tudege,” but the prisoner broke free of his restraints and accused Gong Cheng of betrayal.
• Gongshu Wu threatened the prisoner after he warned that the Gong Clan elders were in danger, and Gong Cheng said he had arranged for a friend to move them.
• Gongshu Wu learned the elders were safe, escorted Gong Cheng through the battlefield, and told him he could live as a commoner; Gong Cheng revealed he had a daughter with a Northern Desert woman.
• Shen Tang questioned why “Tudege” was so willing to die, and Chu Yao explained that he was a fake.
• Chu Yao presented the real Tudege, and the impostor revealed her true face as a woman.

Shen Tang confronted Liu Guan, who killed herself after admitting she had murdered Zheng Xiuchi, and ordered Tudege imprisoned. Qi Shan then told Shen Tang that Gong Cheng had killed himself and left her a letter; Yun Ce revealed that he also had a letter from his master.

• Shen Tang recognized Liu Guan, while Chu Yao brought the captured Tudege back bound by a rope and reminded him of his father's fate.
• Liu Guan admitted to killing Zheng Xiuchi and provoked Shen Tang before impaling her throat on Qi Shan's sword and destroying her own brain with Literary Energy.
• Shen Tang ordered Liu Guan's body burned and her ashes sent to Zheng's family, then had Tudege imprisoned so his capture could be used against the Northern Desert tribes.
• Qi Shan told Shen Tang that Gong Cheng had destroyed his Dantian and killed himself, leaving letters for Gongshu Wu and Shen Tang and writing that he faced southeast and would not see his ancestors.
• Qi Shan said Gong Cheng had a daughter with a Northern Desert woman and that Banbu planned to find and raise her; Shen Tang agreed and said she would warn Banbu about the difficulties the girl's identity might bring.
• Qi Shan questioned Yun Ce about his cultivation, and Yun Ce handed Shen Tang a letter from his master.

Shen Tang learned from Yun Da’s letter that the world would end in twelve years unless the continent was united and the National Seals gathered. Gong Cheng entrusted his family to her before taking his own life, while Gongxi Chou began to suspect Qi Shan’s identity after recognizing his sword.

• Shen Tang read Yun Da’s letter and learned that his true body planned to sink the continent by severing the Four Pillars unless the world united within twelve years.
• Yun Ce and Xianyu Jian recalled Yun Da’s final instructions, his death after the [Anointing], and his warning that they would meet again in twelve years.
• Shen Tang read Gong Cheng’s letter, which offered information about the Assembly of Gods and asked her to protect the Gong Clan’s elderly and children, Gongshu Wu, and his remains.
• Shen Tang sent for Gongshu Wu and ordered Gong Cheng’s body kept safe, while the others returned to their post-battle duties.
• Gongxi Chou recognized Qi Shan’s sword as one once owned by Qu Tan and suggested that Qi Shan might be the same person as Dan Qi, Qu Tan’s traveling companion.

Gongxi Chou recognized Qi Shan as an old friend, then helped with the wounded while the Kang army prepared to retake Shexing Pass. After Shen Tang’s forces captured the pass and Tudege, Shen Tang rejected his assumption that she wanted the customary annual tribute.

• Gongxi Chou used the sword’s bond to identify Qi Shan as the childhood friend called A Nian, and Qi Shan admitted he was Qu Tan but said Dan Qi was dead.
• Qi Shan declined Gongxi Chou’s invitation to drink, and Yun Ce also turned down a sparring match because military duties remained.
• Gongxi Chou summoned Martial Qi Soldiers to carry the wounded to the medical camp, where doctors sorted patients for treatment.
• The Kang army retook Shexing Pass after Shen Tang exposed Liu Guan’s replacement of Tudege and persuaded some of Tudege’s troops to open the gates.
• Shen Tang showed the captured Tudege the piles of human bones, and when he began discussing annual tribute, she asked what tribute he meant.

Shen Tang rejected Tudege’s offer of tribute and announced that she intended to annex Northern Desert as Desert Province, even if she had to conquer it by force. In the wounded soldiers’ camp, Su Shi Yilu traded barbs with Chu Jie, met Gongshu Wu’s young clan relative, and heard how Gongshu Wu’s family had reacted to his return as a skeleton.

• Tudege offered annual tribute and vassal status, but Shen Tang argued that Northern Desert should pay taxes directly instead.
• Shen Tang told Tudege she would rename Northern Desert Desert Province and take its land, fighting until its people surrendered if necessary.
• Su Shi Yilu’s deputy urged him to catch up with Chu Jie, and Chu Jie briefly returned before leaving after Su Shi Yilu teased him.
• Su Shi Yilu met Gongshu Wu and a young girl from his clan, gave her a bone carving, and noticed she wore mourning clothes.
• Su Shi Yilu’s deputy described how Gongshu Wu’s relatives had reunited with him in Tuocheng, while Gongshu Wu’s mother repeatedly fainted from grief.

Gongshu Wu reunited with his mother and learned that Gong Cheng had died by suicide, then discovered the story behind Gong Cheng’s adopted daughter, Yimamusong. The chapter ended with Gongshu Wu accepting the girl and urging her to live with her head held high.

• Gongshu Wu reunited with Old Madam, apologized for arriving late, and learned that Yun Chi had cared for her and the Gong Clan’s elderly and children.
• Gongshu Wu told Old Madam that Yun Chi had taken his own life, and she understood why he had chosen that end.
• Gongshu Wu asked about Yun Chi’s daughter, and Old Madam explained that the child was Yimamusong, whom Gong Cheng had adopted.
• Gong Cheng had brought Yimamusong and her pregnant mother to the Gong Clan after rescuing them; the woman told him that he had killed her family and hoped her children could grow up as people.
• Yimamusong’s mother died giving birth, and the newborn also died despite Gong Cheng’s efforts to save him.
• Gongshu Wu accepted Yimamusong as family and told her to live with her head held high.

Gongshu Wu adopted Yimamusong and brought her back to Shen Tang’s camp, where her Northern Desert heritage made her a possible bridge to the conquered region. As the war neared its end, Qi Shan accepted Yimamusong as a student, and Gongxi Chou offered to teach her martial arts.

• Gongshu Wu decided to raise Yimamusong, and Old Madam agreed after he promised to honor Yun Chi’s final request.
• Gongshu Wu refused to adopt a male heir immediately and returned to camp with Yimamusong, while Aunt Cui cared for her along the way.
• Shen Tang approved Yimamusong’s name and planned to use her Northern Desert background to help win over the region as Kang’s forces took two-thirds of its territory.
• Shen Tang’s prisoner camp remained orderly, and many Northern Desert prisoners began wanting to fight alongside Kang after learning how their homeland treated exchanged captives.
• Qi Shan accepted Yimamusong as his student in a politically significant apprentice ceremony.
• Gongxi Chou offered to teach Yimamusong martial arts, but Qi Shan and the woman caring for her both sneered at the suggestion.

Shen Tang learned that Qi Shan had once been engaged to Cui Hui, Cui Shanxiao’s daughter, and heard how their near-marriage ended in tragedy. Qi Shan planned to find Cui Hui’s missing mother and warned that he might kill Cui Shanxiao if their old grievances could not be resolved.

• Cui Hui revealed that she and Qi Shan had nearly married, and Qi Shan admitted she was an old friend.
• Shen Tang questioned Qi Shan privately, and he explained that their planned marriage had been a temporary arrangement while he investigated a feudal lord’s rebellion.
• Qi Shan recounted how he fled Cui Hui’s wedding and how bloodshed at her later wedding killed her husband and the bandits she considered family.
• Qi Shan said Cui Shanxiao had secretly served the feudal lord and kept his involvement from his wife and daughter.
• Cui Hui told Qi Shan she had not seen her mother for five years, so he planned to search for her and said he might kill Cui Shanxiao if reconciliation proved impossible.

Shen Tang tried to prevent Qi Shan and Cui Xiao’s old feud from destabilizing the Kang court, and spoke with Cui Hui while learning about life among the Northern Desert tribes. Cui Hui revealed she had no intention of exposing Qi Shan’s identity and offered to keep her father quiet.

• Shen Tang told Qi Shan and Cui Xiao to settle their personal grudge without involving other officials, preferably after the war, and decided to meet Cui Hui herself.
• Cui Hui met Shen Tang, who brought her to visit Northern Desert households and explained why a ruler needed to understand ordinary people’s lives and expenses.
• Cui Hui said she had made peace with some of her resentment toward Cui Xiao but could not forgive him, and called Qi Shan despicable.
• Shen Tang clarified that Cui Xiao did not know Qi Shan’s identity as Qu Tan, and Cui Hui understood that Shen Tang feared she might reveal it.
• Cui Hui offered to keep Cui Xiao quiet, saying she would handle her father if Shen Tang trusted her.

Cui Hui traveled with Qi Shan to meet Cui Xiao and recounted how she had remarried, raised three children, and later divorced her second husband. The convoy headed toward Heyin as Shen Tang prepared to redeploy her forces against Wu Xian, where Zhao Feng continued taunting Gao Country’s army from his defensive position.

• Shen Tang persuaded Qi Shan to accompany Cui Hui, explaining that she had arranged for the army to follow close behind as a backup.
• Cui Hui tearfully parted from Yimamusong and told Qi Shan how she had fallen in love with a Literary Scholar and married him despite their different backgrounds.
• Cui Hui explained that she divorced her second husband after discovering he remained in contact with his former wife and that his family treated her and her children poorly.
• Qi Shan asked which family Cui Hui’s ex-husband belonged to and joked about killing him, but Cui Hui asked him to spare her children’s father.
• Shen Tang sent Cui Hui and Qi Shan toward Heyin while preparing to redeploy her troops there after the Northern Desert campaign.
• Zhao Feng defended Heyin by avoiding major battles, grilling food for Gao Country’s generals, and shooting his burned cooking over to them.

Zhao Feng held his ground against Gao Country while its commanders plotted to undermine his army from within, but Gu Chi’s counterintelligence operation exposed their spies. An urgent dispatch revealed Wu Xian was nearing Heyin and Shen Youli was racing there, while Qi Shan arrived first with explicit paintings that enraged Gu Chi.

• Zhao Feng praised a soldier’s barbecue and joked with him and the other generals during a frontline meal.
• Gao Country’s commander agreed to exploit resentment among Zhao Feng’s subordinates, but Gu Chi’s spies were caught before they could act.
• Gu Chi and Cui Xiao discussed Wu Xian’s public mourning, Gao Country’s war preparations, and Gu Chi’s unfinished book about the enemy.
• An urgent message arrived among Qi Shan’s explicit paintings, revealing that Wu Xian was nearing Heyin and Shen Youli was rushing there.
• Gu Chi charged at Qi Shan with a sword when he arrived, while Cui Xiao and Cui Hui noticed each other.

Shen Tang discovered that Qi Shan painted erotic works for Gu Chi, then Cui Hui confronted her father, Cui Xiao, about his old grievances and urged him to let them go. Cui Xiao remained hurt and angry, but Cui Hui revealed she had come to end the family’s old grudge.

• Shen Tang learned that Qi Shan had painted Fire Avoidance Paintings for Gu Chi and that Gu Wangchao collected them, while the Imperial Recorder carefully recorded only part of the truth.
• Cui Hui met Cui Xiao and told him she had come to see him about an important matter involving Qi Shan.
• Cui Hui revealed that Qi Shan was Qu Tan, whom Cui Xiao blamed for the family’s past tragedy.
• Cui Hui argued that Qu Tan was not the true cause of the family’s suffering and reminded Cui Xiao that his own choices had helped bring it about.
• Cui Hui told Cui Xiao she had remarried and built a new family, and urged him to put aside his personal grudge and serve Kang Country and its people.
• Cui Xiao became tearful and accused Cui Hui of being influenced by Qi Shan, while Cui Hui stayed silent, knowing her father’s emotional nature.