Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun arrived in the Ten Cold Ancient Land through the Star Gate and met the Yan Family scholars stationed in Frost City. Yan Ningxiao escorted him toward the Ninth Frost Lord, warning him about the approaching ancient land genesis destruction and the dangers beyond the city.

• Fang Yun emerged from the Star Gate into a Temple of Sages hall and put on warming jade against the ancient land’s cold.
• Fang Yun greeted the assembled scholars, who showed him respect, and noticed that snow fell on most people but avoided those of mixed Ice Clan ancestry.
• Yan Ningxiao introduced himself and explained that many Yan Family Great Scholars had sacrificed their futures to serve in the Ten Cold Ancient Land.
• Yan Ningxiao took Fang Yun by sleigh to the Ninth Frost Lord Palace and advised him to stay within a hundred li of Frost City while the situation remained unsettled.
• Yan Ningxiao told Fang Yun that the current Ninth Frost Lord was an elderly Yan Family member nearing death, and Fang Yun agreed to address him respectfully.

Fang Yun learned about the shifting political and supernatural situation in the Ten Cold Ancient Land from Yan Ningxiao as they traveled to the Ice Emperor Palace. The chapter ended with Fang Yun and the gathered passengers arriving at the palace to pay their respects to the Ninth Frost Lord.

• Yan Ningxiao explained that the Yan Family held power in Ninth Cold City and described the Frost Cities, the Blood Demon Barbarians’ attacks on the Star Demon Barbarians, and the Third Frost Lord’s rampage.
• Yan Ningxiao told Fang Yun that the Ice Clan had claimed the Ice Emperor manifested, and they discussed the Ice Emperor, the Ice Ancestor, and possible Ancient Demon identities behind them.
• Fang Yun identified Tu Ting as one possible Ice Ancestor and described the Star Giants’ role in the Ancient Demons’ war against the Dragon Race.
• Yan Ningxiao asked Fang Yun to save him a copy of his forthcoming History of the Ancient Demons, and Fang Yun agreed.
• The sleigh arrived at the Ice Emperor Palace, where Fang Yun and the others disembarked and followed Yan Ningxiao toward the Ninth Frost Lord.

Fang Yun entered the Ninth Frost Lord’s palace with Yan Ningxiao and learned why the Yan Family had arranged for him to come to the Ten Cold Ancient Land. The Ninth Frost Lord revealed that the Ice Clan and Demon Barbarians might be conspiring to expel the Human Race.

• Yan Ningxiao explained the palace and the Ten Cold Ancient Land as he led Fang Yun across the great square.
• Yan Ningxiao revealed that the Yan Family had planned to send Fang Yun to the Ancient Land and hoped to earn his trust by intervening against the Flood Dragon Sage.
• Fang Yun entered the main hall with Yan Ningxiao and five Grand Academicians, where he saw the Ninth Frost Lord seated on a throne of longevity jade.
• The Ninth Frost Lord greeted Fang Yun and said the Ice Clan and Demon Barbarians might have joined forces to drive the Human Race out of the Ten Cold Ancient Land.

Fang Yun received the Frost Lord aura and learned how dangerous the Ninth Frost Lord’s authority was. As he reached the Yan Family estate, star demon barbarians begged him to protect the Seventh Frost Lord’s descendants from an impending blood demon attack.

• Yan Ningxiao said his suspicion about a grave threat was only thirty percent likely, while the Ninth Frost Lord asked to see Fang Yun’s mist butterfly and then granted Frost Lord aura to Fang Yun’s official seal.
• Fang Yun stored the seal separately after sensing that the Frost Lord aura could spy on him.
• Yan Ningxiao explained that a Frost Lord was invincible in his city and that Fang Yun’s new status let him issue orders but not mobilize the Ninth Army.
• Two Wolf Demon Marquises and two Ox Barbarian Marquises begged Fang Yun, the Moon Emperor, to save the Seventh Frost Lord’s bloodline from the blood demon barbarians.
• Yan Ningxiao explained that the Frost Lords would lose their power when the Frost Lord Imperial Crowns returned to the Ice Emperor Palace, giving the blood demon barbarians a chance to attack.

Fang Yun confronted Xun Ye and Xiao Yetian after they insulted the Star Demon Barbarians, exposing their hostility while refusing to accept Xun Ye’s claimed attempt at making amends. Xiao Yetian announced that they would leave, ending the confrontation without resolving their enmity.

• The Wolf Demon Marquis offered a permanent alliance between the Star Demon Barbarians and humans in exchange for help securing Frost Lord positions, and Xun Ye insulted the Star Demon Barbarians.
• Fang Yun recognized Xun Ye, mocked him for surviving the Ten Cold Ancient Land, and challenged Xiao Yetian when he objected.
• Fang Yun dismissed Xiao Yetian’s feigned humility and told him to shut his mouth.
• Xun Ye apologized for his past actions and asked for a chance to make amends, but Fang Yun accused him of insulting the Star Demon Barbarians despite knowing Fang Yun was their Moon Emperor.
• Xiao Yetian said they had only come to pay their respects and announced that he and Xun Ye would leave.

Fang Yun learned that the blood demon barbarians were attacking the star demon barbarians over a secret concerning the Ice Ancestor and convened the six Second Saint Families to discuss whether to help. The meeting ended with Meng Jingye asking Fang Yun for his view, while the families had yet to reach a decision.

• Xiao Yetian left after declaring that the Zong Family opposed aiding the star demon barbarians.
• A Wolf Demon Marquis revealed to Fang Yun that the blood demon barbarians were hunting the star demon barbarians over an enormous secret, and Fang Yun deduced it concerned the Ice Ancestor.
• Fang Yun and Yan Ningxiao agreed to summon the other Second Saint Families to the Cold Palace to discuss the matter.
• Yan Ningxiao told the gathered families that the star demon barbarians would reveal the secret if they rescued the descendants of the Seventh Frost Lord.
• Meng Jingye asked Fang Yun what he thought, and Fang Yun said he favored helping but warned that the risks required careful consideration.

Fang Yun and the gathered leaders debated whether to aid the star demon barbarians, weighing the Ice Ancestor's secret against human security in the Ten Cold Ancient Land. He reframed the issue as whether to obstruct the blood demon barbarians, winning the support of twenty-one of the twenty-four people present.

• Grand Academician Kong Yingwei argued that the humans' ability to remain in the Ten Cold Ancient Land mattered more than pursuing the Ice Ancestor's secret.
• Fang Yun warned that the Ice Ancestor's power might determine whether humans could keep their foothold, and Meng Jingye suspected the Ice Clan had secretly backed the blood demon barbarians.
• Fang Yun supported allying with the star demon barbarians against the blood demon barbarians, while Zeng Yue cautioned that the changing situation made bold action risky.
• Yan Ningxiao explained that Xiao Yetian had already stated the Zong Family opposed rescuing the star demon barbarians, so its members had not been invited to the discussion.
• Fang Yun asked who supported obstructing the blood demon barbarians, and twenty-one people, including the Frost Lord, tapped their armrests.

Fang Yun persuaded the human leaders to aid the Star Demon Barbarians and secure Myriad Prosperity Pass before the Blood Demon Barbarians could threaten the human route to the Ice Emperor Palace. He pledged to join the Star Demon Barbarians as a hired fighter, and the other Grand Academicians began following his example.

• Fang Yun used the Illusory Tower Pearl to show how the Blood Demon Barbarians could blockade Myriad Prosperity Pass and leave humans facing a deadly detour through the cold.
• Fang Yun argued that helping the Star Demon Barbarians would protect the human race and prevent the Blood Demon Barbarians from gaining momentum for the Second Battle of Two Worlds Mountain.
• Fang Yun declared in his capacity as a Void Sage that humans would aid the Star Demon Barbarians and that he would bear every consequence.
• Fang Yun took off his Literary Rank robes and offered to join the Star Demon Barbarians as a paid fighter, and the Grand Academicians began changing out of their own robes.

Fang Yun agreed to guard Myriad Prosperity Pass while the scholars prepared to lead the people toward the Ice Emperor Palace, though Yan Ningxiao warned him that most would be beyond their protection once inside. The Ice Emperor Canopy appeared, severing contact with the Saint Origin Continent and signaling that the palace was about to emerge.

• Fang Yun persuaded the Frost Lord and the Grand Academicians to let him go to Myriad Prosperity Pass, agreeing not to fight the blood demon barbarians before the human army arrived.
• The scholars planned the journey to the Ice Emperor Palace, and Yan Ningxiao told Fang Yun that they could not protect the people once they entered.
• Fang Yun learned that the Yan Family feared he might give up the Frost Lord position to save others, and he said he understood what mattered most.
• Fang Yun attended a banquet at the Yan Family estate and returned to reading and cultivation in the Well Studio.
• An earthquake shook the Ten Cold Ancient Land, and Fang Yun saw the Ice Emperor Canopy appear in the sky.
• Fang Yun read an urgent message that contact with the Saint Origin Continent had been severed and that the journey to Myriad Prosperity Pass was imminent; Yan Ningxiao hurried in.

Fang Yun and the human delegation reached Myriad Prosperity Pass to negotiate payment for helping the star demon barbarians defend it. The Seventh Frost Lord’s special envoy arrived after eight hours, leaving the deal pending.

• Yan Ningxiao gathered seven Grand Academicians and four Great Scholars, then escorted them with four star demon barbarians toward Myriad Prosperity Pass.
• Fang Yun saw Myriad Prosperity Mountain and its pass before the delegation met Tiger Demon King Hu Tan.
• Fang Yun revealed his Moon Emperor aura, and Hu Tan bowed to him and agreed to negotiate at Myriad Prosperity Pass.
• Fang Yun set a twelve-hour deadline for the star demon barbarians to conclude a deal in exchange for the Ice Ancestor’s secrets.
• After eight hours of waiting and conversation, Hu Tan announced that the Seventh Frost Lord’s special envoy had arrived.

Demon Emperor Gu Xu gave Sea-Calming Dragon King Ao Cang the Dragon Emperor Sea Soul and promised it would help him become a Dragon Emperor within a year. Gu Xu planned to have the Blood Demon Barbarians ambush Fang Yun in the Ten Cold Ancient Land, while Ao Cang prepared to attack him after he escaped.

• Ao Cang stormed into the Demon Emperor Hall and blamed Fang Yun for the Western Sea Dragon Palace’s losses and his failed Dragon Gate Ascension.
• Gu Xu revealed that he had sent Flood Dragon Sage Ao Zhou to the Ancestral Emperor Ruins with a star path.
• Gu Xu offered Ao Cang the Dragon Emperor Sea Soul, explaining that it could help him advance to Dragon Emperor and later attain Saint Enfeoffment.
• Ao Cang accepted the sea soul and vowed to join the Three Seas Dragon Clan with the Zong and Lei Families to ruin Fang Yun’s reputation and Sacred Way.
• Gu Xu told Ao Cang that he had ordered the Blood Demon Barbarians in the Ten Cold Ancient Land to ambush Fang Yun at the Ice Emperor Palace.
• In the Ten Cold Ancient Land, Fang Yun heard Hu Tan’s voice and rose with the assembled Great Scholars and Grand Academicians to welcome the Frost Lord’s special envoy.

Fang Yun negotiated with Hu Li over the star demon barbarians’ defense of Myriad Prosperity Pass, insisting that he would put human interests first. He challenged Hu Li and the scholars with moral dilemmas about sacrificing individuals to save groups, leaving their answers unresolved.

• Hu Li arrived with a large demon entourage and greeted Fang Yun as the Moon Emperor, explaining that an ancestor of the White Fox Clan had held that title.
• Fang Yun asked whether the Seventh Frost Lord had accepted the exchange of the Ice Ancestor’s secret for human defense of Myriad Prosperity Pass.
• Hu Li argued that humans stood to benefit most, and Fang Yun replied that they would benefit only after taking possession of the pass.
• Fang Yun explained that he would always prioritize humans over star demon barbarians, using avalanche scenarios to show that he would consistently save humans even when fewer were at risk.
• Fang Yun posed a prison dilemma in which one person had to die to save a hundred captives, then asked the scholars what they would do.
• Yan Ningxiao said he would likely kill the lone captive to save the hundred, while Meng Jingye said he would not kill an innocent human and would first see what Fang Yun chose.

Fang Yun and the scholars debated whether to kill an innocent sleeping man to save themselves from a Demon Sage. They rejected Yan Ningxiao’s argument for sacrificing him and agreed to uphold the principle of doing no evil, leaving the group resolved not to kill the man.

• Meng Jingye said he would give his own life to save the others but would not kill an innocent man.
• Yan Ningxiao argued that killing the sleeping man would fulfill a sacrifice that could save the group.
• Xun Pingyang said killing an innocent person would undermine human law and order, while Zeng Yue admitted his selfish impulses but refused to act on them.
• Fang Yun rejected Yan Ningxiao’s appeals to the wider fate of humanity and kept the question focused on whether they could kill one innocent person to save themselves.
• Zeng Yue said he would accept dying rather than murder the man, and Fang Yun summarized his reasoning as “do no evil.”

Fang Yun explained that ordinary people could rarely avoid harming others, but a leader sometimes had to accept personal guilt to protect the greater good. He ended by warning Hu Li to tell the Seventh Frost Lord that the Human Race would attack if he rejected their terms.

• Hu Li asked Fang Yun what he would choose in the avalanche dilemma, and Fang Yun initially said he would not kill an innocent person to save himself.
• Fang Yun argued that people in positions of power could not avoid harming someone through their decisions, and that pursuing perfect innocence could make them ineffective.
• Fang Yun declared that as a Void Sage he would accept the burden of guilt and kill to protect the greater good, whether facing one or a hundred enemies.
• Fang Yun told Hu Li to warn the Seventh Frost Lord that if he refused the terms, the Human Race would march beyond Myriad Prosperity Pass when the Blood Demon Barbarians attacked Seventh Cold City.

Fang Yun negotiated with Hu Li, the newly appointed Moon God priest of the Ten Cold Ancient Land, over an exchange involving the Ice Ancestor’s secret and the defense of Myriad Prosperity Pass. They agreed to cooperate, though Hu Li withheld the secret until they reached the Ice Gate and offered an oath to prove the Star Demon Barbarians’ sincerity.

• Hu Li revealed that she was the new Moon God priest and explained that she had secretly come to represent the Seventh Cold City after the previous priest died.
• Fang Yun agreed to help defend Myriad Prosperity Pass and assist the Star Demon Barbarians when doing so would not compromise the Human Race, but refused to help hold the Seventh Cold City.
• Hu Li described how an Ox Barbarian Marquis found a passage leading to an Ice Gate beneath the Ice Emperor Palace, but said she would reveal the secret beyond it only when they reached the gate.
• Fang Yun pointed out that neither side had yet fulfilled its part of the exchange, and Hu Li agreed that the Star Demon Barbarians would swear an oath in the Moon God’s name.

Hu Li agreed to stay with Fang Yun and help explore the Ice Emperor Palace, while Fang Yun and the Great Scholars weighed the secret’s risks and the Human Race’s disadvantage against the Ice Clan. A sudden earthquake interrupted their discussion.

• Hu Li promised to remain with Fang Yun, fight the Blood Demon Barbarians, and explore the Ice Emperor Palace with him.
• Hu Li explained that the underground passage was dangerous and that the Blood Demon Barbarians had learned part of the secret from a captured Ox Barbarian Marquis.
• After Hu Li left, Fang Yun and the Great Scholars discussed what Ice Ancestor’s secret might be and how the Ice Clan could pressure the Star Demon Barbarians to reveal it.
• Fang Yun proposed trading the Ice Ancestor Ruins to the Ice Clan in exchange for a Human Race Frost Lord position, but the others resisted giving up the ruins.
• Fang Yun said he would risk his life to fight for the legendary Ancient Dragon City, and the ground suddenly shook violently.

As the Ice Emperor Palace began emerging ahead of schedule, Fang Yun and the leaders of Myriad Prosperity Pass negotiated final preparations and assessed the Blood Demon Barbarian threat. Hu Li learned that six of the eleven enemy Great Demon Kings had left, while five remained with a force nearly as large as Seventh Cold City’s population.

• She Ku emerged from Luan Mang Tree Mountain as a Great Demon King and vowed to kill Fang Yun in the coming battle at Two Worlds Mountain.
• Lang Po left Moon-Gazing Valley after learning Soul Devouring and planned to build his strength toward the Emperor Realm.
• Ao Cang returned to the Western Sea Dragon Palace and ordered everyone not to disturb his closed-door cultivation.
• The Ice Emperor Palace’s emergence shook the Ten Cold Ancient Land, freezing Myriad Prosperity Pass and prompting Yan Ningxiao to order final preparations.
• Fang Yun sent four Great Scholars to Ninth Cold City, then negotiated with Hu Li and the Demon Kings for four hours.
• Fang Yun asked about the Blood Demon Barbarian force, and Hu Li reported that six Great Demon Kings had left, leaving five and a large army in the main camp.

Fang Yun argued that the humans and Star Demon Barbarians should weaken the Blood Demon Barbarians before the coming struggle for Ten Cold Kings and the Ice Ancestor Treasure. Though he agreed to remain at Myriad Prosperity Pass and support the others, his companions learned that the Moon God’s power might have drawn him to Ten Cold Ancient Land to save the Star Demon Barbarians.

• Fang Yun proposed leaving Myriad Prosperity Pass to attack the Blood Demon Barbarians while the Star Demon Barbarian Great Demon Kings kept their own Great Demon Kings occupied.
• Fang Yun explained that weakening the Blood Demon Barbarians would help the humans contend for the Ten Cold Kings and protect themselves from the Ice Clan, which had a major advantage in Ten Cold Ancient Land.
• Xun Pingyang joked that disaster followed Fang Yun wherever he went, and Fang Yun revealed that some power had drawn him to Ten Cold Ancient Land.
• Hu Li and a Tiger Demon King said the Star Demon Barbarians suspected that the Moon God’s power had drawn Fang Yun there to save them.
• The six Grand Academicians and Hu Li opposed Fang Yun joining the attack, and Fang Yun agreed to stay at Myriad Prosperity Pass to support their return.

Fang Yun discussed the planned raid with Hu Li, then tested his War Poetry in the Ten Cold Ancient Land and discovered that the cold had transformed its effects and mounts. He ended the chapter amazed by a ten-li ice-sheet attack with an unprecedented range.

• Hu Li led a force toward Seventh Cold City to tie down the blood demon barbarians' Great Demon Kings while the humans and other Demon Kings prepared surprise attacks.
• Fang Yun and Hu Li discussed the raid, the worsening cold, and the star demon barbarians' inability to contact the Moon God.
• Fang Yun flew east of Myriad Prosperity Pass and practiced the third-realm war poem "Wind-and-Rain Dream Battle" to learn how it worked in the Ten Cold Ancient Land.
• Fang Yun saw that the poem's Cold-Iron Knights rode Ancient Rhinoceroses and its mounted archers rode Shield-Horn Deer, while its frozen river became a torrent of ice spears.
• Fang Yun discovered that the poem's ten-li sheet of ice could explode into countless blades, giving his Provincial Graduate war poem an exceptionally wide attack range.

Fang Yun discovered that the Ten Cold Ancient Land greatly enhanced War Poetry containing references to ice and snow, then prepared to forge a Sickness Scripture Literary Platform. When Zeng Yue called for help, Fang Yun rushed into the blizzard and confronted the Great Demon King Xiong Huan, knocking him from the sky with the True Dragon Ancient Sword.

• Fang Yun found that several of his War Poetry pieces received extraordinary boosts in the Ten Cold Ancient Land, while poems learned from the Temple of Sages gained less power.
• Fang Yun began preparing to absorb the Plague Serpent fully so he could forge a Sickness Scripture Literary Platform.
• Hu Li brought Fang Yun sweet rice balls for the Lantern Festival, but a Tongue Blossoms Thunder cry from Zeng Yue interrupted their meal.
• Fang Yun and Hu Li hurried toward the western gate, and Hu Li and four Demon Kings followed Fang Yun into the blizzard.
• Fang Yun found Zeng Yue and Xun Pingyang returning with three injured Grand Academicians as Great Demon King Xiong Huan pursued them.
• Fang Yun's True Dragon Ancient Sword shattered Xiong Huan's demonic attack and then struck his Celestial-Aspect Strike, hurling Xiong Huan into the snow.