Chapter Summaries

Nalan Feng led his elite Jia Ma Empire troops against the Snake People Tribe army as the Southern King charged toward Desert City’s Command Center. The forces were about to clash when another piercing whistle warned Mofeng that something was wrong.

• Nalan Feng rallied his troops by warning them that their families and the Jia Ma Empire would be endangered if they fell.
• The Southern King led the Snake People Tribe advance toward the Command Center while Nalan Feng’s soldiers surged to meet them.
• The Southern King found his scouts dead near Nalan Feng and concluded that Jia Ma Empire elites had killed them.
• Nalan Feng and the Southern King charged at each other as their armies prepared to collide.
• A piercing whistle sounded, and Mofeng sensed danger, but the bloodlust-driven Southern King ordered his soldiers to attack faster.

The Southern King led the Snake People Tribe’s attack on Desert City, but Nalan Feng’s forces ignited flammable powder scattered over the invaders. Nalan Feng beheaded the burning Southern King, and his army surged toward Mo Feng’s Vanguard Army with Gu Fengchen guarding the rear.

• The Southern King charged toward Desert City and ordered his soldiers to fire back at the crossbowmen.
• A black shadow burst apart against the Southern King’s saber, scattering flammable powder over him and nearby Snake People Tribe soldiers.
• Nalan Feng’s forces fired crossbow bolts carrying burning cotton, igniting the powder and engulfing the Southern King and his troops in flames.
• The Southern King dropped his saber and tried to extinguish the fire, but he continued charging toward Nalan Feng.
• Nalan Feng swung his blade and severed the Southern King’s head.
• Nalan Feng’s army surged toward Mo Feng’s Vanguard Army while Gu Fengchen held the rear.

Mofeng’s troops were devastated by the Jia Ma Empire’s second wave of crossbow fire, and Mofeng realized its arrogance had led its soldiers into a trap. Elsewhere, Nalan Feng opened a case containing strange weapons made from Deep Sea Silver Mother.

• The Jia Ma Empire began its second attack with a fierce barrage of repeating crossbow bolts aimed at Mofeng’s central army.
• Mofeng’s guards threw themselves in front of it, but the arrows pierced them and caused heavy casualties among the Snake People Tribe soldiers.
• Mofeng recognized the danger and felt guilt and fury as its troops struggled against Poison Powder and concealed crossbows.
• Nalan Feng opened a paulownia-wood case and found several strange metal weapons forged from Deep Sea Silver Mother at Jia Xingtian’s request.

Nalan Feng examined and assembled the dangerous new bow sent as Jia Xingtian’s aid to Desert City. He drew an alloy arrow from its quiver, preparing to test the weapon.

• Nalan Feng recognized the killing intent emanating from the black case.
• A disciple explained that the metal pieces formed a bow and assembled it to show Nalan Feng its structure.
• Nalan Feng took over, strung the black Metal Bow, and set it on the table.
• The disciple handed Nalan Feng a quiver, and Nalan Feng drew a heavy alloy arrow.

Nalan Feng led a charge against Mofeng’s Snake People Tribe forces after both armies steadied their morale amid a deadly ambush. Their clash became a decisive fight, with neither side able to retreat.

• Nalan Feng examined his Deep Sea Silver Mother arrow, mounted his warhorse, and charged into the enemy ranks for the Jia Ma Empire.
• Mofeng stopped retreating and rallied the Snake People Tribe warriors to launch a desperate counterattack.
• The Snake People Tribe fought through crossbow fire and attacks from Jia Ma Empire soldiers hiding in civilian homes.
• Nalan Feng and Gu Fengchen led three hundred men in a forceful charge that broke through the scattered Snake People Tribe formation.
• Mofeng’s last elite force and the Jia Ma Empire troops collided in a battle that would decide the fate of Desert City.

The Jia Ma Empire and the Snake People Tribe began a decisive battle at Desert City, where Gu Fengchen used his Heavenly Flames to overwhelm Mofeng’s fire attack. The armies continued fighting as Snake People Tribe reinforcements gathered, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Nalan Feng killed a Snake People Tribe Da Dou Shi with an arrow as the two armies clashed.
• Yaoye committed nearly all available defenders to the battlefield and sensed the Snake People Tribe’s other forces converging on Desert City.
• Mofeng confronted Gu Fengchen and attacked him with a fiery palm, vowing revenge for the Snake People Tribe’s losses.
• Gu Fengchen shattered Mofeng’s attack with blue-gold Heavenly Flames and sent him flying, boosting Jia Ma Empire morale.

Yaoye faced a large Snake People Tribe force gathering outside Desert City after Mofeng’s army entered through the gate. She exposed their weakened numbers and ordered the defenders to hold the city while Gu Fengchen fought inside.

• Nearly a thousand Snake People Tribe soldiers gathered at Desert City's gate as reinforcements arrived.
• Yaoye told her staff officer that many of the enemy were wounded or unsteady and urged him not to fear their numbers.
• Yaoye activated the City Defense Ballista, which pierced and pinned the leading Snake People Tribe soldier to the ground.
• Yaoye ordered the defenders to hold their position at all costs and buy Gu Fengchen time to win the battle inside the city.

A City Defense Ballista killed a Snake People Tribe warrior, briefly halting the enemy’s advance. Mang Qiu, a One-Star Dou King and Queen Medusa’s personal guard, then used an unusual movement technique to reach the walls without being hit.

• A City Defense Ballista bolt pierced a Snake People Tribe warrior, making the enemy troops hesitate and the Jia Ma Empire soldiers cheer.
• Nan She stepped forward and sent Mang Qiu, Queen Medusa’s personal guard, to attack.
• Mang Qiu charged toward Desert City while the Snake People Tribe soldiers roared in support.
• Yaoye realized Mang Qiu was using a strange movement technique that prevented the City Defense Ballista from aiming at him.
• Mang Qiu reached the city walls without the ballista firing again.

Mang Qiu evaded a shot from the City Defense Ballista, rallying the Snake People Tribe and restoring its momentum. Yaoye recognized that neither side was ready to advance, as the Snake People Tribe and Chu Yun Empire hesitated over who should fight next.

• Mang Qiu charged the City Defense Ballista, whose soldiers struggled to track his movements.
• Yaoye suspected Mang Qiu was baiting the defenders and withheld her order, but the soldiers fired anyway.
• Mang Qiu leapt clear of the bolt and hovered in midair without using Dou Qi Wings, then faced Yaoye across the battlefield.
• The Snake People Tribe cheered Mang Qiu, while Yaoye realized his feat had reversed the ballista's effect on their morale.
• Yaoye assessed the opposing sides' hesitation and realized the Snake People Tribe wanted the Chu Yun Empire to send its troops first, while the Chu Yun Empire resisted acting as vanguard.

With both allied forces refusing to lead the assault, Yaoye judged that the Chu Yun Empire might negotiate with the defenders. Inside Desert City, Ye Qianqian activated formations she had prepared at Gu Fengchen’s direction, devastating Mofeng’s army and deciding the battle.

• Yaoye said the Snake People Tribe and the Chu Yun Empire were too suspicious of each other to attack without an agreement, and predicted that the Chu Yun Empire might approach the defenders.
• Ye Qianqian used a sand table to guide the formation patterns she had inscribed in Desert City’s Lotus Pond marketplace.
• Two invisible saber marks tore through the marketplace while Nalan Feng’s troops retreated and Mofeng’s army remained exposed.
• The saber marks created black openings that swallowed many of Mofeng’s soldiers, ending the battle in the city.
• Jia Xingtian’s preparations helped secure victory from afar, despite his absence from the battlefield.

As Desert City remained under siege, Gu Fengchen checked on Yaoye and accepted her offer to rest and bathe. They settled into bed together, and Yaoye moved closer just as Gu Fengchen was about to fall asleep.

• Gu Fengchen surveyed the devastated Desert City as the Snake People Tribe and Chu Yun Empire armies continued their assault.
• Lu Zefei returned to his room, where Yaoye told Gu Fengchen he looked exhausted and urged him to rest.
• Yaoye prepared comfortable shoes and bathwater for Gu Fengchen, who washed and soaked in the tub.
• Gu Fengchen found Yaoye awake and reading, then stayed in her room and lay down beside her.
• As Gu Fengchen grew drowsy beneath the covers, Yaoye suddenly moved closer to him.

Gu Fengchen tried to reject Yaoye’s advances, insisting that he saw her as an older sister and was not right for her. Yaoye pressed on, and the two spent the night together, leaving Gu Fengchen with an unprecedented experience.

• Yaoye moved closer to Gu Fengchen, trembling, and told him she was willing.
• Gu Fengchen said he had always seen Yaoye as an older sister and urged her to find someone she truly liked.
• Yaoye asked whether Gu Fengchen disliked her, then moved close to him again after he turned away to sleep.
• Yaoye acted decisively, and Gu Fengchen gave in to the moment.
• Gu Fengchen and Yaoye spent the night together, and Gu Fengchen felt he had truly grown up.

The Snake People Tribe and the Chu Yun Empire gathered before Desert City, where Nan She used an illusion to lure Gu Fengchen into a formation. Gu Fengchen began deducing the formation, while Nan She realized his trap might not work as planned.

• Nan She ordered the armies to take Desert City within three hours as the defenders prepared their defenses.
• Nan She led a charge toward the city, and Gu Fengchen left the wall to confront him.
• Gu Fengchen found himself surrounded by white mist and realized he had been trapped in a formation.
• Gu Fengchen transformed his Dou Qi into a chessboard and began searching for the formation’s Life Gate.
• Nan She realized Gu Fengchen seemed to understand formations, and a Snake People Tribe soldier asked whether the trap would work.

Gu Fengchen navigated Nan She's deadly formation, which had been designed to kill anyone trapped inside. As Gu Fengchen neared the Formation Core and endured increasingly powerful mental assaults, Nan She began to panic.

• Nan She explained that he had spent ten years preparing the formation and had originally intended it for Jia Xingtian.
• Gu Fengchen moved through the formation by finding the Life Gate, causing Nan She's confidence to falter.
• The formation turned the white mist into a sea of flames, but Gu Fengchen remained protected by the ground beneath him.
• Gu Fengchen gradually approached the Formation Core as Nan She feared he would break through the formation.
• Gu Fengchen endured a powerful assault on his Divine Sense, relying on the Taotie Seal as each step grew harder.

Gu Fengchen and Yaoye spent an exhausting night together, and Yaoye cared for him afterward. He woke later still worn out, with a hickey on his neck.

• Gu Fengchen woke after an intense encounter with Yaoye and found his legs weak.
• Yaoye returned from bathing, and Gu Fengchen admired her before they resumed their intimacy.
• Afterward, Yaoye offered Gu Fengchen food, arranged for attendants to prepare it, and gave him a massage with Pine Jade Oil.
• Gu Fengchen ate around four in the morning and went back to sleep while Nalan Feng kept watch at the sentry posts.
• Gu Fengchen woke after eight, still exhausted, and noticed a hickey on his neck in the mirror.

Gu Fengchen endured Nan She's formation and broke it with a decisive step, but discovered Nan She was a Dou Emperor. Gu Fengchen launched into the battle, determined to unleash the Jia Ma Empire side's pent-up anger.

• Nan She changed the formation, suffering severe mental backlash as Gu Fengchen struggled under its pressure.
• Gu Fengchen stomped down at the crucial moment and broke the formation.
• Nan She collapsed after Gu Fengchen revealed that he had recognized the formation as a Formation Change from reading its general outline.
• Gu Fengchen realized Nan She was a Dou Emperor and attacked at incredible speed with his Red Plum Sword.

Gu Fengchen’s clash with Nan She ended with Gu Fengchen at a disadvantage, allowing Nan She to launch an assault on Desert City. Yaoye ordered the defenders to fire their weapons as Nan She charged the walls in giant python form.

• Gu Fengchen attacked Nan She with his Red Plum Sword, but Nan She countered with precise timing and knocked him back.
• Nan She shouted for his forces to attack the city and transformed into a giant python as he charged Desert City’s walls.
• Yaoye calmly ordered the soldiers to fire the cannons and meet the enemy.
• The soldiers aimed ballistae and cannons at Nan She, while Gu Fengchen reflected on Yaoye’s composure.

After a dangerous encounter with a powerful magic beast, Gu Fengchen returned to the cottage and found comfort in Xiao Yi Xian’s embrace. They spent the night together, and he woke the next day feeling more at ease and certain he had someone to rely on.

• Gu Fengchen returned to the cottage exhausted after escaping a magic beast as strong as a Dou Emperor.
• Xiao Yi Xian brought Gu Fengchen hot water and comforted him as they settled in for the night.
• Gu Fengchen asked Xiao Yi Xian about her Body of Calamitous Poison, and she said he was there to protect her.
• Gu Fengchen and Xiao Yi Xian held each other and spent the night together.
• Gu Fengchen woke at noon, and Xiao Yi Xian brought him water as he felt relieved to have someone he cared about.

Gu Fengchen and Xiao Yi Xian shared a shy, affectionate morning after spending the night together. Xiao Yi Xian went to bathe, and Gu Fengchen followed her into the bath.

• Xiao Yi Xian asked Gu Fengchen if he had a nightmare because he had sweated so much, and he joked that his kidneys hurt.
• Gu Fengchen called Xiao Yi Xian closer, and they exchanged bashful teasing about the previous night.
• Xiao Yi Xian fled to take a bath, but Gu Fengchen followed and suggested they bathe together.
• Gu Fengchen and Xiao Yi Xian lay in the wooden tub, where she helped wash his weary body.

Nan She revealed a Buddha-incense power that raised his aura to the level of a Six-star Dou Emperor and let him withstand Desert City's weapons. He charged the city wall, leaving Gu Fengchen and the defenders facing his imminent assault.

• Nan She was surrounded by darkness as a massive, savage Buddha phantom appeared behind him, its body studded with trembling incense sticks.
• Gu Fengchen sensed that Nan She's aura had risen to the realm of a Six-star Dou Emperor, while a middle-aged man explained that Nan She had combined Buddha incense with magical beasts.
• Desert City's defenders fired a Heavy Arrow and volleys of cannonballs at Nan She, but he endured the attacks with the Buddha's Incense Power and kept advancing.
• Nan She coated himself in golden light, then crashed toward Desert City's wall with enough force to threaten its destruction.