Chapter Summaries

Li Dingguo’s Revival Army used artillery barrages and military formations to destroy the attacking Demon Beast armies, including the Azure Wolf King’s formation. After the battle, Li Dingguo collected the Demon Luring Grasses and dismantled the Guardian Great Array while Red Plum’s soldiers began clearing the battlefield.

• Li Dingguo’s artillery battalions wiped out the Qi Refining Realm Demon Beasts in three groups, causing the surviving low-level beasts to flee.
• The Azure Wolf King intensified his attacks on the Guardian Great Array, while Cao Yongxiang reported that nearly one hundred thousand Martial Soldiers were ready to counterattack.
• Li Dingguo ordered three artillery volleys against the Azure Wolf Demon Beast formation, weakening its enormous Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf phantom.
• Li Dingguo, Cao Yongxiang, and Red Plum led their military formations against the weakened heavenly wolf, shattering the formation and killing the Azure Wolf King.
• The three commanders’ formations exterminated the remaining high-level Azure Wolf Demon Beasts, and the low-level beasts fled.
• Li Dingguo retrieved the Demon Luring Grasses and depleted Demon Cores, dismantled the Guardian Great Array, and Red Plum sent logistics soldiers to clean up the battlefield.

After the northern campaign, Li Dingguo expanded the Revival Army’s intelligence and military preparations, then spent three months refining armor and pills as the army prepared to move within the Pass. He emerged from seclusion at the peak of the Fifth-Tier Middle Stage and reunited with Wan'er on the eve of the new year.

• Red Plum ordered the soldiers to process the Demon Beast spoils, and the army returned south with carts of meat and hides.
• Li Dingguo ordered Wei Jinfan and He Guang to expand the Military Intelligence Department, investigate Great Jin Merchants, and protect the migration effort.
• The Revival Army began rotating forces through the Wuding River basin to clear the remaining Tatar Tribes while training for siege warfare and city defense.
• Li Dingguo spent three months refining tens of thousands of armor sets and millions of pills, reaching the peak of the Fifth-Tier Middle Stage.
• Wan'er returned to Lake Heart Island for the New Year and greeted Li Dingguo after he emerged from seclusion.

After emerging from seclusion, Li Dingguo celebrated the Spring Festival with his companions and reviewed the Revival Army’s growing strength and resource constraints. He announced that the army would cross the Pass on February 2 next year, beginning its campaign to seize Qin Territory.

• Li Dingguo told Red Plum to distribute New Year gift packages as they had the previous year, then Wan'er revealed his Hundred Fruits Wine to their companions at a feast.
• Cao Yongxiang, Wei Jinfan, Chang Liyun, Red Plum, Wan'er, and Li Dingguo drank the Level 3 Peak Grade spirit wine and praised its taste and effects.
• Wei Jinfan reported that the Revival Army had six hundred thousand Martial Artist soldiers, but limited cultivation resources would keep its regular forces below one million for the next one or two years.
• Wei Jinfan described Qin Territory’s two spirit lands, occupied by White-Browed Golden-Winged Tigers and Nine-Colored Peacocks, as potential sources of cultivation resources.
• Li Dingguo announced that the Revival Army would cross the Pass on February 2 next year and capture Qin Territory within three years, explaining that it would avoid provoking the Great Ming Dynasty as directly as an attack on Jin Province.
• Li Dingguo predicted that the army could seize Yansui Town within a month and capture more than half of Qin Territory before major imperial reinforcements arrived.

Li Dingguo finalized the Revival Army’s preparations to march into the Pass and refined forty-five Bloodline Pills for its spirit beasts. The pills triggered widespread bloodline elevations and cultivation breakthroughs, while the army’s planned advance remained secret until it set out.

• Li Dingguo and the Revival Army’s leaders completed a secret plan to march into the Pass, assigning core commanders to prepare their forces and Chang Liyun to investigate possible infiltrators.
• Li Dingguo harvested five mature Demon Luring Grass plants and gathered century-old Spirit Medicines to refine Bloodline Pills.
• Li Dingguo successfully refined five full batches of Bloodline Pills, while Wan'er cultivated with Big Fierce beneath the Golden Bodhi Tree she had made her Natal Spirit Root.
• Li Dingguo and Wan'er gathered more than thirty spirit beasts and birds, and Li Dingguo gave each one a Bloodline Pill.
• Little Gold, Big Fierce, the Dragon Scale Horses, Big Yellow and Little Yellow, the Big Black Eagles, and Iron-backed Demonic Wolves began breaking through their cultivation bottlenecks and elevating their bloodlines; Big Gold was the exception.

After the spirit beasts and birds completed their breakthroughs, Wan'er advanced to the Fifth-Tier Middle Stage. Li Dingguo then launched the Revival Army's campaign through the pass, dividing its forces into land and water routes to seize strongholds in Qin Territory and establish a foothold.

• Wan'er sensed an opportunity to break through, meditated beside the Five-Colored Divine Tree, and reached the Fifth-Tier Middle Stage by morning.
• Red Plum described the intelligence on Hong Chengchou's army, the weakened You Family Army, and the growing rift between Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao.
• Li Dingguo assembled the land and naval forces at Great Spirit Lake and ordered the army to march through the pass.
• The Vermilion Bird Legion and Kirin Legion advanced overland while the Black Tortoise Legion and logistics troops set out by river, with the army planning separate attacks toward Shenmu and Jiazho.
• Wan'er rode with Li Dingguo and said the border forts' repaired arrays would not stop the Revival Army as they headed toward Dingbian City.

Black Tortoise Battalion One attacked the western water fortress at the Great Wall breach and captured it with almost no resistance. Huang Zhanglong killed the fleeing commander and secured the fortress’s official seal as the Revival Army’s first battle after entering the Pass ended in victory.

• Pan Jinghua and Huang Zhanglong drew lots to decide which battalion would attack each of the two water fortresses, and Huang Zhanglong won the western target for Black Tortoise Battalion One.
• Huang Zhanglong ordered his troops to prepare for battle and sent Wu Xilin to seize the fortress’s two Low-Grade Treasure Ships intact.
• Black Tortoise Battalion One reached the western fortress, where the Ming troops surrendered rather than resist the attacking soldiers.
• Wu Xilin took control of the two Treasure Ships and continued into the fortress, but found that its soldiers had already surrendered.
• Huang Zhanglong killed the fortress commander and fleeing officers, then recovered the official seal and celebrated the victory.

The Revival Army captured two water fortresses at the Great Wall pass and began turning them into fortified supply hubs and model cities. As the new cities took shape, the army prepared to secure the river route and await its main force.

• Huang Zhanglong ordered Wu Xilin to report Black Tortoise Battalion One’s victory and request recruits to take over the fortress defenses.
• Pan Jinghua’s Black Tortoise Battalion Three captured the eastern fortress without a fight, and Liu Zhiqing organized the prisoners, spoils, and military records.
• Pan Jinghua identified and executed a dozen criminal prisoners, then assigned the remaining government soldiers to the Logistics Camp and promised support for their families.
• Black Tortoise Battalions One and Two sealed the Jialu River route, detained passing vessels, and began rebuilding both fortresses with logistics soldiers and artisans.
• After three days, the two sites had become large fortress cities with expanded docks, orderly avenues, plazas, sewers, and public latrines.

Li Dingguo’s Eastern Route Army entered the Pass through the Jialu River and prepared to seize northeastern Qin Territory while keeping its arrival secret. As Li Dingguo inspected the army’s new riverside fortress, Wang Dengfa’s merchant fleet approached the controlled waterway, unaware that it was heading into a trap.

• Li Dingguo outlined the Eastern Route Army’s plan to capture Jia Prefecture, Shenmu, and the surrounding territory, then join the Western Route Army for a broader advance.
• Huang Zhanglong and Pan Jinghua reported that the riverside forts were ready, and Li Dingguo ordered the army to board the ships while tightening patrols to prevent news of the invasion from reaching Hong Chengchou.
• The fleet carried the soldiers into the Pass and split toward two fortress cities, where Li Dingguo inspected the newly built western city with Wan'er and ordered future towns and cities to be renovated to the same standard.
• Wang Dengfa and Wang Fu noticed that no Treasure Ships had returned along the Jialu River, but continued north with ten ships carrying Spirit Rice for the Later Jin despite the danger.

Li Dingguo’s Revival Army intercepted the Wang Family’s fleet carrying spirit grain to trade with the Later Jin and launched a sudden assault. The chapter ended with the Wang Family’s armed guards slaughtered and the fleet under Revival Army control, while its ordinary workers awaited interrogation.

• Wang Dengfa agreed to Wang Fu’s plan to send a fast boat ahead and slow the fleet until it returned with news.
• Big Fierce intercepted the Wang Family’s fast boat, killed Zhou Weijun and the other guards, and left one survivor for Huang Zhanglong to interrogate.
• Li Dingguo learned the fleet carried over ten million jin of spirit grain for a trade with Huang Taiji and ordered Huang Zhanglong to bring the soldiers while he and Wan'er seized the High-Grade Treasure Ship.
• Li Dingguo and Wan'er attacked the fleet from the Great Golden Eagles, killed Wang Dengfa and the armed defenders aboard several Treasure Ships, and took control of the vessels.
• Li Dingguo spared the fleet’s ordinary workers, who crouched on deck while the Revival Army prepared to investigate them.

Black Tortoise Battalion One seized ten Great Treasure Ships and their cargo, strengthening the Eastern Army Group’s southward campaign. Meanwhile, Cao Yongxiang’s Western Army occupied Deshengbao Fort without a fight and prepared to advance on Yansui Town while Red Plum secured the army’s rear.

• Huang Zhanglong led Black Tortoise Battalion One in breaking the remaining enemy ships’ shields and killing the resisting Martial Artists aboard three Mid-Grade Treasure Ships.
• Li Dingguo ordered the ten seized Treasure Ships divided evenly between Black Tortoise Battalions One and Three, with the High-Grade Treasure Ship assigned to Battalion Three.
• Ma Ruhu surrendered Deshengbao Fort to Cao Yongxiang, who confiscated half his fortune and confined him to the city for three months.
• Cao Yongxiang planned to lead the Azure Dragon Legion and White Tiger Legion toward Yansui Town after a day’s rest, while Red Plum remained at Deshengbao Fort with ten thousand Imperial Guard soldiers to secure the rear.
• Red Plum agreed to use the Three-tailed Iron-backed Demonic Wolves and the Wolf King to help clear threats from Deshengbao Fort as the Western Army prepared to join Li Dingguo’s campaign.

Kang Asheng and Kang Younian investigated the Revival Army’s strength and planned to report to Kang Siding, who coveted Li Dingguo’s suspected Natal Divine Artifact. Unable to leave locked-down Deshengbao Fort, they waited as Li Dingguo and Wan'er surveyed Jia Prefecture City and prepared to capture it with their approaching army.

• Kang Asheng and Kang Younian marveled at the Revival Army’s massive southern advance and recognized the Great Golden Eagle that had destroyed the Fan Family’s Jiexiu base.
• Kang Younian concluded that Kang Siding should receive their intelligence and that killing Li Dingguo to seize his treasure was their only viable plan.
• Kang Asheng and Kang Younian tried to leave Deshengbao Fort but found the gates sealed for three months and the city watched by powerful Spirit Birds and Imperial Guards.
• Li Dingguo and Wan'er flew to Jia Prefecture City on Great Golden Eagles to assess its defenses ahead of the Revival Army’s arrival.
• Li Dingguo rejected Wan'er’s suggestion to attack alone, explaining that they needed the army to capture and secure the city quickly without disrupting their plans.

Huang Zhanglong’s fleet captured merchant ships as the Revival Army advanced toward Jia Prefecture City, where its cannons shattered the city’s protective array and Li Dingguo’s forces launched a rapid assault. Li Dingguo killed the city’s commanders, left Wan’er to secure the City Lord’s Mansion, and went to subdue the barracks troops while trying to prevent disorder.

• Huang Zhanglong, Wu Xilin, and Wang Dehua celebrated the ships their fleets had seized and discussed expanding the Black Tortoise Camp during the lightning campaign.
• Huang Zhanglong ordered the fleets to attack Jia Prefecture City and coordinate with the Vermilion Bird and Kirin Legions.
• The Black Tortoise fleets fired a concentrated volley that broke Jia Prefecture City’s protective barrier.
• Big Gold and Big Fierce killed the Qi Refining Realm commanders at the City Lord’s Mansion, and Li Dingguo’s bell attack killed its armed guards.
• Li Dingguo told Wan’er to guard the City Lord’s Mansion, then flew to the barracks to control the government troops.
• Li Dingguo used soundwave attacks to knock the barracks soldiers unconscious rather than kill them.

Li Dingguo’s Revival Army captured Jia Prefecture City, then split into northbound and southbound fleets to seize more territory in Qin Territory. After gaining Fortune Value from the city’s official seal, Li Dingguo chose to unseal the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell next and turned his attention to taking Mengmen Pass while limiting harm to its residents.

• Li Dingguo used his Natal Avatar to knock out nearly three thousand soldiers, allowing the Revival Army to capture Jia Prefecture City and carry out a sweeping cleanup.
• Revival Army officials took control of Jia Prefecture City, stabilized order, and began rebuilding its old quarters with help from local laborers.
• Li Dingguo ordered Wan'er, Liang Hetang, and Pan Jinghua to lead the northern fleet toward Shenmu, warning them to avoid the dragon clans’ deep-water territory.
• Huang Zhanglong led Li Dingguo’s southern fleet downstream toward Mengmen Pass, where government troops and merchant guards defended a major water fortress.
• Li Dingguo saw that his Fortune Value had reached eighty-eight after refining three official seals, and decided to spend thirty points to remove the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell’s third seal.
• Wu Hong'ai and Huang Zhanglong discussed how to capture Mengmen Pass without causing severe casualties or property damage among its residents.

Red Plum joined Cao Yongxiang’s Western Army and helped plan a surprise attack on Yansui Town’s prefectural capital. The army rode straight through the undefended gates, and Red Plum began a decapitation strike against the Ma Family Army as the battle erupted.

• Red Plum arrived on Little Gold to help Cao Yongxiang prevent the city’s factions from learning of the army’s approach.
• Red Plum and Cao Yongxiang agreed to attack the city by surprise, with Red Plum targeting the enemy commanders from the air.
• The Western Army advanced along the Wuding River, and its fleet and elite cavalry startled the city’s soldiers and civilians.
• The Revival Army cavalry charged through the city gates without resistance, while Cao Yongxiang and Tang Guangqiang led their legions toward the western and eastern districts.
• Red Plum spotted a group of Qi Refining Realm commanders at the eastern barracks and sent the Great Golden Eagle to attack them.

The Revival Army launched a surprise attack on Yansui Town, killing Ma Chengen, capturing the military camp, and sweeping through the city while cutting off escape and communication. Cao Yongxiang then offered You Shilù and the You Family Army a chance to surrender, leaving their fate in You Shilù’s hands.

• Ma Chengen rushed to the training ground, where Little Gold killed him and Red Plum slew the Qi Refining Realm generals accompanying him.
• Tang Guangqiang led the White Tiger Legion in capturing the unprepared government soldiers, while Tang Huai stayed behind to guard prisoners and search the camp.
• The Revival Army divided its forces to purge targets across the city, as Red Plum hunted spirit birds and Black Tortoise Camp soldiers blocked escape routes with Spirit Crossbow Carts.
• Cao Yongxiang surrounded the You Family Army camp and told You Shilù that Yansui Town had fallen and the Revival Army had captured Jia Prefecture City.
• Cao Yongxiang urged You Shilù and his soldiers to surrender and join the fight against foreign tribes, then gave them a final choice before the Revival Army attacked.

After You Shilù surrendered Yansui Town, the Revival Army consolidated the city and swept through surrounding towns, revealing its massive entry into Qin Territory to the regional powers. Hong Chengchou and Hong Yuanfeng planned how to avoid blame and prepare to oppose Li Dingguo, while Hong Chengchou sent a report to the court and mobilized his forces.

• You Shilù ordered the You Family Army to lay down its weapons, and Cao Yongxiang accepted their surrender as Red Plum arrested Yansui Town's officials.
• Cao Yongxiang organized the Western Army Group to capture the towns and border forts around Yansui Town, while reports of the Revival Army's strength spread across Qin Territory.
• Hong Chengchou raged at news of Li Dingguo's forces, and Hong Yuanfeng advised him to blame Ma Chengen and exploit the court's fear of the Revival Army.
• Hong Chengchou argued that the Revival Army's supply demands could eventually weaken it, though Li Dingguo's resources and logistics exceeded his understanding.
• Hong Chengchou sent a military report blaming Ma Chengen to the court and summoned his elite troops to prepare for war.

Li Dingguo’s Southern Army captured Mengmen Pass, seized its supplies, and prepared to advance on Wubao as the Revival Army expanded into the Pass. In Yangqu, Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao assessed the Revival Army’s strength and anticipated that the Cao Family Army would soon be sent to fight it.

• Li Dingguo’s forces took Mengmen Pass, cleared out hostile merchants and fugitives, and began organizing its supplies and defenses.
• Li Dingguo ordered Mengmen Pass rebuilt as a major base and directed his rested troops to continue toward Wubao.
• Cao Wenzhao learned that the Revival Army had entered the Pass in force and rapidly captured Yansui Town, Jiazhou, and other northern Qin Territory locations.
• Cao Wenzhao assessed the Revival Army’s powerful troops and spirit beasts, while Cao Bianjiao connected Li Dingguo to the destruction of the Fan Family stronghold.
• Cao Bianjiao predicted that the Cao Family Army would soon be transferred to Qin Territory under Hong Chengchou’s command and left to prepare for meeting Li Dingguo.

Li Dingguo broke the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell’s third seal and discovered that it had fused with his Natal Avatar, greatly increasing his power. He led the Revival Army in a surprise attack on Wubao to seize its fleet, and the chapter ended with him racing across the water toward a second High-Grade Treasure Ship after wiping out its guards.

• Li Dingguo spent thirty points of Fortune Value to break the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell’s third seal and found that it had merged with his Natal Avatar.
• Li Dingguo decided to capture the Wang Family’s spirit-plant gardens and peacocks to help the Revival Army intercept enemy communications, and he resolved to seize Wubao’s ships and fortify the Yellow River line.
• After Huang Zhanglong reported that Wubao lay a hundred li ahead, Li Dingguo ordered a surprise attack before the defenders could activate the City Protection Array.
• The Revival Army’s soldiers stormed Wubao’s great wharf and divided into groups to seize the ships and breach the city.
• Li Dingguo manifested the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell aboard a High-Grade Treasure Ship and killed its guards with one wave of bell chimes.
• Li Dingguo raced across the water toward another High-Grade Treasure Ship.

Li Dingguo and the Revival Army captured Wubao, seizing its ships and rapidly overwhelming the town’s defenders. When the Mo Family’s powerful Guardian Great Array halted one assault, Li Dingguo recognized it as the work of a fellow Formation Master and personally shattered it with the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell.

• Li Dingguo and the Great Golden Eagle seized three High-Grade Treasure Ships, while the eagle hunted enemy spirit birds and Black Tortoise Camp soldiers moved to capture the remaining ships.
• Wu Hong'ai led the Vermilion Bird Legion’s soldiers into Wubao, where their Military Killing Formations swept through the town, defeated the garrison, and captured the county magistrate’s and commanding general’s seals.
• A Vermilion Bird Camp general reported that the Mo Family’s merchant house was protected by a Guardian Great Array that withstood two formation attacks, so Wu Hong'ai went to investigate and called Li Dingguo.
• Li Dingguo identified the barrier as a second-grade supreme Metal-Water formation and concluded that a fellow Formation Master had established it.
• Li Dingguo ordered Wu Hong'ai to form another Military Killing Formation, then used the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell to smash the Mo Family’s Guardian Great Array with one overwhelming strike.

Li Dingguo destroyed the Mo Family forces at Wubao, killed Mo Tao, and seized and purified his Plague Bell. Afterward, he learned that a large fleet was expected to trade with the Mo Family and prepared the Revival Army to capture it.

• Mo Tao revealed his Plague Bell and attacked Li Dingguo with poisonous miasma, but Li Dingguo trapped the artifact in the Human Emperor Cauldron.
• Li Dingguo used the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell’s Chaos Genesis ability to immobilize Mo Tao and smash him to death, then ordered Wu Hong'ai to clear Wubao.
• Li Dingguo purified the Plague Bell and kept it in the Human Emperor Cauldron, considering possible future masters for it.
• Huang Zhanglong reported that the Mo Family treasure ship carried large quantities of supplies and that the family had planned a major trade at Wubao.
• Li Dingguo ordered Black Tortoise Battalion One to prepare an ambush for the expected fleet and capture its ships and cargo.