Chapter Summaries

After taking control of Liaodong, Bai Xiaowen recruited Wang Lie and invited Bing Yuan to serve, then arranged to conceal much of Gongsun Du's treasury for his own troops. Yan Rou mistook Bai Xiaowen's scheme and reward offer for an invitation to join his faction, and pledged loyalty to Yuan Xi.

• Bai Xiaowen accepted Wang Lie's proposals, ordered a talent-recruitment proclamation, and sent gifts to invite Bing Yuan into service.
• Bai Xiaowen offered to have Wang Lie appointed governor of Xiangping and left him to manage its affairs pending the appointment.
• Bai Xiaowen and Yan Rou inspected Gongsun Du's treasury and found roughly thirty thousand strings' worth of money and supplies.
• Bai Xiaowen told Yan Rou to report only ten thousand strings to Youzhou and conceal the rest, offering two thousand strings as a reward.
• Yan Rou concluded Bai Xiaowen was building a personal army and pledged his loyalty to Young Master Xi.
• Bai Xiaowen welcomed Yan Rou's pledge, believing he had gained a loyal general.

After Yan Rou pledged loyalty, Bai Xiaowen learned that the general had a powerful advantage against foreign tribes and entrusted him with Xiangping’s treasury. While recruiting scholars and seeking help identifying the Dragon-Patterned Gold Casket, Bai Xiaowen discovered a Daoist practitioner named Guo Cai and secretly went to find him.

• Bai Xiaowen examined Yan Rou’s special skill, Enemy of Foreign Races, which strengthened him and his troops when fighting non-Han enemies.
• Yan Rou explained that the Wuhuan had already received their annual grant, then divided Xiangping’s treasury into two shipments and escorted the valuables himself.
• Bai Xiaowen met Bing Yuan, who accepted his invitation and recommended Guan Ning, but Guan Ning refused to serve.
• Bing Yuan and Wang Lie could not identify the Dragon-Patterned Gold Casket, but Bing Yuan suggested asking the Daoist lay practitioner Guo Cai.
• Bai Xiaowen told the scholars that stabilizing the region took priority, then secretly slipped out that night to seek Guo Cai in Seven-Strip Lane.

Bai Xiaowen secretly investigated Guo Cai’s residence and found evidence linking him to the Yellow Turban talisman arts. When he triggered a hidden defense, a Yellow Turban Strongman attacked him and a second one began to form.

• Bai Xiaowen decided to keep Guo Cai’s possible connection to the Dragon-Patterned Gold Casket secret while maintaining the appearance of a ruler focused on governing.
• Bai Xiaowen sent the Shadow Assassin into Guo Cai’s residence and recognized the talisman patterns above the main hall from the Talisman Scripture.
• Bai Xiaowen searched Guo Cai’s empty study and found two familiar Spell Talismans and a hidden compartment behind the bookshelf.
• A Yellow Turban Strongman burst from the compartment area and attacked Bai Xiaowen, who identified it as a powerful Elite Tier construct.
• The remaining Spell Talisman began burning, summoning a second Yellow Turban Strongman.

Bai Xiaowen quietly defeated the Yellow Turban Strongmen guarding Guo Cai’s hidden ledgers and discovered evidence that Guo Cai was supplying the Yellow Turban Army. He summoned Liu Yi, Bing Yuan, Wang Lie, and the four gate officers to investigate the suspected informant.

• Bai Xiaowen used Intimidation to stun the two Yellow Turban Strongmen, then destroyed them with Rageclaw and Butcher without alerting the Guo Residence.
• Bai Xiaowen found two ledgers recording bulk purchases of grain, cloth, and ironware but no sales, and concluded that Guo Cai was supplying a Yellow Turban force outside Xiangping City.
• Bai Xiaowen put away the ledgers and quietly returned to the Liaodong Marquis Residence, where he summoned Liu Yi.
• Bai Xiaowen showed the ledgers to Bing Yuan and Wang Lie and told them that Guo Cai was suspected of colluding with the Yellow Turbans.
• Bai Xiaowen summoned Xiangping City’s four gate officers and asked which of them had dealings with Guo Cai.

Bai Xiaowen exposed Deng Shouxian’s collusion with Guo Cai and arranged an ambush that captured Guo Cai’s convoy at Xiangping’s north gate. Realizing the casket key was probably with the Yellow Turban bandits outside the city, Bai Xiaowen interrogated Guo Cai and demanded to know where Zhang Jiao was.

• Bai Xiaowen identified Deng Shouxian as the gate officer who had accepted bribes to let Guo Cai’s supply convoys pass, then ordered him to lure Guo Cai back into the city.
• Bai Xiaowen sent Liu Yi and his soldiers to ambush the north gate, while Wang Lie, Bing Yuan, and Bai Xiaowen watched from concealment.
• Guo Cai’s convoy returned during the fifth watch, and Liu Yi’s troops captured Guo Cai and more than twenty servants without serious resistance.
• Bai Xiaowen concluded that the Dragon-Patterned Gold Casket’s key was likely with the Yellow Turban bandits outside the city, then questioned Guo Cai about Zhang Jiao.

Bai Xiaowen uncovered the Yellow Turban Army hiding in Liaodong and chose to destroy it rather than risk damaging Yuan Xi’s reputation by pursuing the Dragon-Patterned Gold Casket. After ordering preparations to spread word of the threat, he met Zhao Rong, who asked about the wealth Gongsun Du had left behind.

• Bai Xiaowen confronted Guo Cai with account books linking him to the Yellow Turbans, but Guo Cai endured torture and refused to confess.
• Bai Xiaowen questioned Guo Cai’s attendants and servants, learning that just over two thousand Yellow Turbans were hiding in Great Snow Valley and that their commander remained unknown.
• Bai Xiaowen suspected Zhang Jiao was the hidden commander and decided to fight the Yellow Turbans rather than secretly seek their help with the Dragon-Patterned Gold Casket.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered proclamations warning Youzhou’s commanderies of a possible Yellow Turban attack, while planning to use troops from Youzhou proper against the veterans.
• Zhao Rong arrived in Xiangping City and asked about Gongsun Du’s treasury, and Bai Xiaowen claimed Liaodong was nearly empty but could provide ten thousand strings of cash.

Bai Xiaowen secured Zhao Rong’s signature on a letter to Yuan Shao seeking permission to mobilize Youzhou’s troops against the Yellow Turban bandits. At Guandu, Yuan Shao mistook the letter’s report for news that Yuan Xi had conquered Liaodong, but Feng Ji and Guo Tu persuaded him that Yuan Xi deserved reprimand rather than reward.

• Bai Xiaowen told Zhao Rong about the Yellow Turban bandits and said Youzhou’s troops had to defeat them.
• Bai Xiaowen wrote to Yuan Shao and added Zhao Rong’s signature to the letter.
• At Guandu, Yuan Shao read the letter and believed Yuan Xi had defeated Gongsun Du and his son, bringing Liaodong under Yuan Clan rule.
• Yuan Shao asked his advisers how to reward Yuan Xi, and Feng Ji argued that his risky action should be reprimanded.
• Guo Tu warned that Yuan Xi’s attack could make the Yuan Clan seem faithless, and Yuan Shao agreed not to reward him.

Yuan Shao dismissed Ju Shou’s defense of Yuan Xi and ordered a campaign against the Yellow Turbans, while Bai Xiaowen inspected his newly trained Winged Cavalry in Beiping. The chapter ended with a Daoist priest arriving to request an audience with Bai Xiaowen.

• Ju Shou defended Yuan Xi’s capture of the Liaodong Four Commanderies and condemned Feng Ji and Guo Tu for slandering him.
• Yuan Shao decided Yuan Xi was unfit to command and ordered Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan to lead five thousand troops against the Yellow Turbans.
• Bai Xiaowen inspected three hundred combat-ready Winged Cavalry and learned that a second batch of three hundred would soon finish training.
• Cecilia told Bai Xiaowen that money and provisions had arrived from Liaodong and Jizhou, bringing the total to forty-three thousand strings of cash.
• A palace guard told Bai Xiaowen that a Daoist priest outside was asking to see him.

Bai Xiaowen met Langya Zi, a Daoist disciple of Zuo Ci who offered help against Zhang Jiao, though he refused to demonstrate his abilities. After five days of waiting, Bai Xiaowen received an envoy from Guandu and intelligence from Qiao Rui in Jizhou.

• Bai Xiaowen prepared an ambush and received the mysterious Daoist on the training ground.
• Bai Xiaowen’s Insight failed against the Daoist, who introduced himself as Langya Zi and said he had come on Zuo Ci’s orders.
• Langya Zi explained that Zhang Jiao had received the Great Peace Essentials from his martial uncle and that his order now intended to eliminate him.
• Langya Zi claimed he carried a sword that could break Zhang Jiao’s arts but refused to demonstrate any Daoist abilities.
• Bai Xiaowen lodged Langya Zi in a quiet guest room and told Cecilia to remain alert.
• After five days, an envoy from Guandu arrived as intelligence from Qiao Rui in Jizhou reached Youzhou.

Bai Xiaowen received Yuan Shao’s order, which assigned Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan to fight the Yellow Turban remnants while offering no recognition for his conquest of the Liaodong Four Commanderies. After his teammates reunited, he explained that he had spread news of the remnants to make Yuan Shao commit troops, giving him an opportunity to take complete control of Youzhou.

• Bai Xiaowen accepted Yuan Shao’s order, and Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan prepared to lead five thousand troops against the Yellow Turbans.
• Youzhou’s officials complained that Yuan Shao had overlooked Bai Xiaowen’s achievement, but Bai Xiaowen told the generals to win swiftly and assigned Zhao Rong to organize provisions.
• Langya Zi offered Bai Xiaowen his help, then left after Bai Xiaowen acknowledged prejudice against cultivators among Youzhou’s officials.
• Qiao Rui and Li Shuyi returned to Youzhou, reuniting the White Phoenix Team and sharing news of Feng Ji and Guo Tu’s failed attempt to undermine Bai Xiaowen at Yuan Shao’s camp.
• Bai Xiaowen explained that he had spread the Yellow Turban news to make Yuan Shao send troops, creating a chance for him to take complete control of Youzhou.

Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan led five thousand Youzhou troops to Great Snow Valley, where Zhang Jiao’s Yellow Turban Army ambushed them and broke their formation. Watching from nearby, Bai Xiaowen saw the outnumbered Youzhou Army being driven back and waited for the right moment to intervene.

• Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan reached Great Snow Valley, found an abandoned Yellow Turban camp, and rested their troops nearby while scouts searched for the enemy.
• Qiao Rui warned Jiao Chu to establish a camp, but he dismissed her concern and ordered the soldiers to rest without forming ranks.
• Qiao Rui sensed a large force approaching, and Zhang Nan spotted the danger as Yellow Turbans emerged from both ridges and the valley under the General of Heaven banner.
• Jiao Chu ordered the Youzhou troops to mount and form ranks, but a green flash made the Yellow Turbans surge forward and catch the army unprepared.
• Bai Xiaowen watched the battle from two kilometers away through a Shadow Assassin’s vision and told Cecilia that the Youzhou Army was losing ground.

Bai Xiaowen led his newly trained Winged Cavalry into battle against the Yellow Turban Army, stopping its advance with volleys while Jiao Chu reorganized the routed Youzhou troops. With the Yellow Turban main force gathered and Zhang Jiao still unseen, Bai Xiaowen ordered the counterattack to begin.

• Bai Xiaowen ordered the six hundred Winged Cavalry to advance toward the Great Snow Valley battlefield before Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan's troops were routed.
• Cecilia halted the Winged Cavalry outside the battlefield and ordered them to fire on the Yellow Turban Army.
• Bai Xiaowen called for Jiao Chu and gave him time to reorganize the Youzhou Army, while the Winged Cavalry's arrows slowed the Yellow Turbans.
• Jiao Chu rallied the fleeing soldiers and led them around the Winged Cavalry's formation as the Yellow Turbans raised shields against the arrows.
• Qiao Rui confirmed that the Yellow Turban main force was present but Zhang Jiao was nowhere to be seen, and Bai Xiaowen ordered her to play Soul Melody and Shuyi to watch the Boss Tier as the counterattack began.

Bai Xiaowen used the Death Knight’s Legion Charge to break the Yellow Turban Army’s formation, but Zhang Jiao countered with powerful edicts that weakened the attackers and strengthened his troops. With Langya Zi unable to stop the sorcery, Bai Xiaowen sent Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan to attack the Yellow Turban flank alongside the Winged Cavalry.

• Qiao Rui’s Soul Melody weakened the Yellow Turban Army, and Bai Xiaowen led the Winged Cavalry through its ranks with the Death Knight’s Legion Charge.
• Li Shuyi exploited the disorder to wound a Yellow Turban general, while Qiao Rui’s Soul Melody continued to weaken the enemy.
• Zhang Jiao used Curse of Spellbreaking to clear the debuff and strike back at Qiao Rui, temporarily disabling her Soul Melody.
• Zhang Jiao cast the Wolf-Walking Curse, empowering the Yellow Turban soldiers and stopping the Winged Cavalry’s second charge.
• Langya Zi identified Zhang Jiao’s sorcery as an army-wide use of a Daoist Gate Secret Blessing Mantra but admitted he could not counter it.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan to lead their rallied troops against the Yellow Turban Army’s flank.

Bai Xiaowen and the Youzhou Army fought Zhang Jiao, whose powerful Thunder Arts and Spell Talismans made him a dangerous opponent. After Zhang Jiao’s lightning shattered Jiao Chu’s ranks, Bai Xiaowen surrounded him and attacked, but Zhang Jiao raised a powerful shield and unleashed random lightning strikes.

• Zhang Jiao appeared on a black donkey, and Bai Xiaowen used Insight to assess his abilities and learned that he had extended his life with a Seven-Star Lantern.
• Zhang Jiao cast Thunder Arts—Yellow Heaven Thunder Pool, vaporizing a hundred-meter section of Jiao Chu’s ranks.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered his forces to surround Zhang Jiao and shot him, but Zhang Jiao’s robe blocked most of the bullet’s damage.
• Bai Xiaowen summoned ten Bone Archers and Butcher around Zhang Jiao, who used Spell Talisman: Six Ding and Six Jia to gain an 800-point shield.
• As Butcher attacked, Zhang Jiao’s Lightning Strike Aura called down a random bolt that dealt 300 damage and left Bai Xiaowen struggling to protect his forces.

Bai Xiaowen and Langya Zi fought Zhang Jiao, whose powerful Thunder Arts threatened Bai Xiaowen’s summons. During the battle, Bai Xiaowen received a clue to awakening Talisman Switching that required killing Zhang Jiao with a final battle rating of at least A-Tier.

• Langya Zi used a Three-Inch Wooden Sword to suppress Zhang Jiao’s Lightning Strike Aura and challenged him in the name of Nanhua Perfected One.
• Bai Xiaowen’s Bone Archers attacked Zhang Jiao, but his Finger-Wrapping Lightning Serpent destroyed five of them.
• Zhang Jiao summoned four Yellow Turban Strongmen, which slowed Bai Xiaowen’s creatures and threatened him and Langya Zi.
• Rageclaw broke Zhang Jiao’s Six Ding and Six Jia Shield, and Bai Xiaowen used the Four-Color Talisman to strengthen Rageclaw’s assault.
• Bai Xiaowen received a clue to awakening Talisman Switching and learned he had to kill Zhang Jiao while earning a final battle rating of at least A-Tier.

Zhang Jiao used Sword Seal to immobilize Rageclaw, but the backlash weakened him and the White Phoenix Team regrouped to attack. After Zhang Jiao unleashed the Yellow Heaven Thunder Pool and Black Tortoise Seal, the team drove his Life Value to its final sliver as his unparalleled skill began to activate.

• Zhang Jiao used the Demon-Sealing Seal to dispel Rageclaw's Berserk Talisman and immobilize him, then suffered true damage from the backlash.
• Qiao Rui resumed Soul Melody while Li Shuyi and the White Phoenix Team regrouped and closed in on the weakened Zhang Jiao.
• Zhang Jiao cast the Yellow Heaven Thunder Pool, destroying the Skeleton Champion and five Bone Archers and badly injuring Butcher.
• Bai Xiaowen, Li Shuyi, Rageclaw, and their summons counterattacked Zhang Jiao, who repelled them with Negative Pole Ring and stopped Rageclaw with Black Tortoise Seal.
• The White Phoenix Team reduced Zhang Jiao to a sliver of Life Value, and the Spirit Realm Rules announced that his unparalleled skill was about to activate.

Bai Xiaowen used the Doom Bracelet and Intimidation to interrupt Zhang Jiao’s Heaven’s Collapse, saving the White Phoenix Team and Langya Zi from a deadly fall. Zhang Jiao died, the Yellow Turban Army faction was destroyed, and the team gained increased reputation across the Three Kingdoms Plane World.

• Bai Xiaowen ordered everyone to scatter as Zhang Jiao began charging Heaven’s Collapse, then used Tether to pull Li Shuyi away while Han Xu hauled Langya Zi to safety.
• Zhang Jiao reversed gravity and sent the White Phoenix Team, their summoned creatures, and Langya Zi flying into the sky.
• Bai Xiaowen activated Seal Fate to escape the spell’s control and used Intimidation to interrupt Zhang Jiao, letting everyone fall from a low height and land safely.
• Bai Xiaowen recognized that Zhang Jiao had already died from backlash, and Zhang Jiao recited a verse before chanting that Azure Heaven was dead and Yellow Heaven would replace it, then died.
• The Spirit Realm Rules announced the Yellow Turban Army faction’s destruction and raised the team’s reputation with neutral factions to Revered, pending news reaching them.

After Zhang Jiao’s defeat, Langya Zi rewarded Han Xu for trying to save him, while Bai Xiaowen claimed the three scrolls of the Heavenly Books with a Forced Requisition Edict. The White Phoenix Team discussed their escape plan and the risks of angering the Daoist Gate.

• A Dark Gold Chest appeared on Zhang Jiao’s corpse, and Bai Xiaowen collected it as the teammates celebrated their contribution to the Grand Unification process.
• Langya Zi thanked Han Xu for attempting to save him and gave him the Dipper-Stepping Manual and a Deer-Womb Meridian-Clearing Pill.
• Bai Xiaowen asked Langya Zi for a reward, but Langya Zi said Bai Xiaowen had only been saving himself.
• Three scrolls of the Heavenly Books emerged from Zhang Jiao’s corpse, and Bai Xiaowen used the Forced Requisition Edict to claim the Great Peace Essentials before Immortal Nan Hua’s sword could retrieve them.
• The White Phoenix Team discussed their escape route, and Bai Xiaowen reasoned that the Daoist Gate would probably not interfere over the Heavenly Books.

Bai Xiaowen discovered that Langya Zi was the famed Daoist Ge Xuan and persuaded him to stay rather than report back to Master Black Horn. Ge Xuan agreed to accompany Bai Xiaowen to Youzhou and observe how he used the three Heavenly Books.

• Bai Xiaowen used Insight to identify Langya Zi as Ge Xuan, a powerful alchemy adept and founder of the Lingbao School.
• Bai Xiaowen argued that Ge Xuan could report Zhang Jiao's death without blaming himself for failing to recover the Heavenly Books.
• Bai Xiaowen told Ge Xuan that the Heavenly Books were not inherently evil and invited him to stay and observe his conduct.
• Ge Xuan explained that Zhang Jiao's power had grown after he used the Seven Star Lanterns to extend his life, and described his Prayer and Exorcism Art.
• Bai Xiaowen persuaded Ge Xuan to return with him to Youzhou and study the Heavenly Books together, and Ge Xuan agreed to stay for a few days.

After killing Zhang Jiao, Bai Xiaowen secured the loyalty of Youzhou’s generals and officials and returned victorious to Beiping City. With Liu He and Zhao Rong pledged to him, he gained control of Youzhou and prepared to celebrate.

• Bai Xiaowen accepted the surrender of the remaining Yellow Turban soldiers, ordered the captured supplies sent to the Youzhou treasury, and assigned White Sanniang’s Winged Cavalry to guard the prisoners.
• Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan pledged their loyalty to Bai Xiaowen, who promised to share the credit for the battle and conceal their failures in his report.
• Bai Xiaowen received Liaodong family representatives in Xiangping City and learned that Guo Cai had taken his own life after hearing of Zhang Jiao’s death; he ordered Guo Cai buried properly.
• Bai Xiaowen accepted gold and silver from Liaodong’s prominent families to reward his troops and led his army back to Beiping City.
• Yan Rou, Liu He, and Zhao Rong welcomed Bai Xiaowen, and Liu He and Zhao Rong declared their loyalty to him.