Chapter Summaries

Gu Chenfeng explored the Gu Lineage’s vast hidden treasury and learned that Gu Lingxiao had amassed its wealth to ensure the family could survive outside Great Li if its fortunes turned. Gu Lingxiao revealed that Gu Zhan’s injuries remained serious and hinted that an even more terrifying enemy threatened the Gu Lineage.

• Gu Chenfeng entered the underground treasury and began stuffing its Source Crystals, Spiritual Materials, and Source Weapons into his storage ring.
• Gu Lingxiao gave Gu Chenfeng the Futu Blood Banner, explaining that it symbolized the Futu Army but could not command it.
• Gu Chenfeng asked whether Gu Lingxiao planned to make him crown prince, and Gu Lingxiao denied plotting to seize the throne.
• Gu Lingxiao explained that he had gathered the treasure as an escape fund because the Gu Lineage’s enemies might attack after Gu Zhan died.
• Gu Lingxiao told Gu Chenfeng that Gu Zhan’s injuries could not heal and that the Gu Lineage faced a threat more terrifying than the Huangfu Lineage or the emperor.

Gu Lingxiao revealed that the Gu Lineage’s conflict with the Four Great Sects stemmed from an artifact Gu Chenfeng’s grandfather refused to surrender, then brought Gu Chenfeng to see the artifact hidden in his treasure vault. The chapter ended with Gu Lingxiao identifying a sealed, sword-bearing crystal as a Forbidden Artifact.

• Gu Chenfeng guessed that the Four Great Sects were searching for something held by his grandfather, and Gu Lingxiao confirmed it while explaining that his grandfather refused to hand it over.
• Gu Lingxiao said the Gu Lineage faced poor odds against the Barbarian Tribe but planned to secure his riches and flee if the Border Pass fell; Gu Chenfeng chose to return rather than help move the treasure.
• Gu Lingxiao led Gu Chenfeng through a hidden route in the Northern Plains Forest to a stone chamber filled with powerful Sword Qi.
• Gu Chenfeng saw an Ancient Sword sealed inside a huge Natural Crystal, surrounded by dimming golden inscriptions.
• Gu Lingxiao identified the sealed sword as a Forbidden Artifact.

Gu Chenfeng learned that Gu Lingxiao was trying to unseal a powerful Forbidden Artifact before the Barbarian Tribe invaded, then returned to Blackwater City and prepared for war while rapidly improving his strength. In the Imperial Capital, Gu Yanshuang worried about him, but Gu Beiwu assured her that Gu Lingxiao could protect him and urged her to cultivate a new technique.

• Gu Lingxiao explained the power and value of the Forbidden Artifact longsword and said he was working to break its seal before the Barbarian Tribe could claim it.
• Gu Chenfeng refused to leave the Blackwater Army, parted from Gu Lingxiao, and learned that his father had three-star Source Core Realm cultivation.
• Gu Chenfeng returned to Blackwater City with Zuo Yutang and Xiao Lie, where the army began preparing for the Barbarian Tribe's coming invasion.
• Gu Chenfeng cultivated with Holy Crystals and the Enlightenment Platform, studied the shaman's tome, and patrolled the Northern Plains Forest to test his growing strength.
• Gu Yanshuang told Gu Beiwu she feared for Gu Chenfeng, but Gu Beiwu reassured her about Gu Lingxiao and directed her to cultivate the Source Qi Technique he had given her.

Gu Chenfeng watched Blackwater City repel the Barbarian Tribe’s beast tides with the Startling Dragon Bell, then joined the Blackwater reinforcements sent to Heavenly Journey City. There, nearly two hundred thousand Barbarian troops suddenly launched an all-out assault at dawn.

• The Startling Dragon Bell disrupted the shamans’ links to the Origin Beasts, letting Blackwater’s defenders repel repeated beast tides while both sides fought small clashes.
• Xiao Lie warned that the Barbarian Tribe was hiding its real plan, and Gu Chenfeng assessed his growing strength as he watched the enemy camp.
• Ten days later, three Barbarian armies broke camp and concentrated most of their forces outside Heavenly Journey City.
• The Great Li border forces reinforced Heavenly Journey City, including the Blackwater Seventh Thousand-Household Battalion led by Zuo Yutang and Gu Chenfeng.
• At dawn, the Barbarian Tribe sounded its horns and sent a vast beast tide and nearly two hundred thousand troops into a sudden assault on Heavenly Journey City.

The Great Li Border Army defended Heavenly Journey City against a massive Barbarian Tribe assault, but the Spirit-Commanding Giant Horn countered the Startling Dragon Bell and drove the Origin Beasts into a frenzy. In the Barbarian camp, Marshal Wanyan Bulin declared that something from the previous night had given him complete confidence in crushing Great Li.

• The Barbarian Tribe Army launched a full-scale attack on Heavenly Journey City with a vast tide of Origin Beasts, and Great Li’s defensive works inflicted heavy losses.
• The Startling Dragon Bell disrupted the beast tide, restoring clarity to some of the charging Origin Beasts.
• The Barbarian Tribe sounded the Spirit-Commanding Giant Horn, weakening the bell’s effects and driving many beasts into a berserk charge.
• Xin Ruonan explained that the horn was a powerful treasure once destroyed by Gu Beiwu, leaving the generals puzzled over its return.
• The Sixth Prince watched the horn’s effects as Marshal Wanyan Bulin warned that the Futu Army remained dangerous and claimed the previous night had secured his confidence in victory.

Outside Heavenly Journey City, the Great Li cavalry charged into the beast tide as Xin Ruonan ordered an offensive against the Barbarian Tribe Army. Gu Chenfeng discovered how an army formation amplified his power, restrained his attacks to preserve the formation, and advanced with the cavalry as the Barbarian Tribe began to respond.

• A one-star Source Core Realm beast detonated its Inner Core and opened a breach in the defensive line, allowing Origin Beasts to attack the garrison’s final line beneath the city walls.
• Xin Ruonan decided the Great Li forces should take the initiative, and the four cavalry forces assembled to attack.
• Gu Chenfeng and Zuo Yutang led their troops forward, drawing on the strength and fighting spirit of the army formations.
• Gu Chenfeng unleashed a powerful spear attack that tore through the Origin Beasts, then heeded Zuo Yutang’s warning to conserve his strength and keep pace with the formation.
• The Great Li cavalry charged more than a li into the beast tide, and the Barbarian Tribe Army finally responded.

The Great Li Iron Cavalry used four smaller Startling Dragon Bells to disrupt the Barbarian Tribe’s control of the beast tide, then met the enemy cavalry in a massive clash. Gu Chenfeng and Zuo Yutang helped the Blackwater Army gain an advantage, and the battle began turning in Great Li’s favor before a new development emerged behind the Barbarian Tribe Army.

• Xin Ruonan’s four smaller Startling Dragon Bells resonated with the city’s bell, disrupting the Barbarian Shamans’ control and throwing the beast tide into chaos.
• The Barbarian Tribe’s Iron Cavalry charged head-on into the Great Li Iron Cavalry, and the two armies became locked in a bloody melee.
• Gu Chenfeng and Zuo Yutang won an early advantage with the Seventh Thousand-Household Battalion, while Gu Chenfeng secretly struck enemy officers and experts.
• The Barbarian Tribe’s berserk fighters gained ground, but Great Li troops regrouped into smaller Army Formations and attacked through the enemy ranks and flanks.
• The Blackwater Army’s growing momentum helped stabilize the Great Li front and turn the battle, astonishing the other garrison commanders.
• A startling development appeared at the rear of the Barbarian Tribe Army.

The Barbarian Tribe awakened the Barbarian God Statue, whose blessing empowered its soldiers and overturned Great Li’s advantage on the battlefield. As Great Li’s cavalry withdrew, Origin Beasts threatened to trap them, and Yu Chi Zhong ordered the Futu Army to sortie.

• A towering phantom of the Barbarian God appeared above the Barbarian Tribe’s camp, and Xin Ruonan and Yu Chi Zhong identified it as the sacred Barbarian God Statue.
• The Barbarian God’s blessing sent the Barbarian soldiers into a powerful but clearheaded berserk state, allowing them to break Great Li’s formations and drive back its cavalry.
• Gu Chenfeng killed a Barbarian battalion captain and recognized that Great Li’s army had fallen into a dangerous disadvantage.
• Great Li ordered its cavalry to retreat, but Origin Beast herds surged in from both flanks to block the withdrawal.
• The Barbarian God’s roar cracked the Startling Dragon Bells and weakened their power, prompting Yu Chi Zhong to order the Futu Army to sortie and relieve the army.

The Futu Army charged through the Origin Beast horde to rescue the encircled Great Li Iron Cavalry, then split into two forces and attacked the Barbarian Tribe Army’s flanks. Its elite soldiers and formidable Army Formation cut through the enemy and joined together in the center of its ranks.

• The Futu Army rode out of Blackwater City and tore through the Origin Beast tide as the Barbarian Tribe commander sent more beasts to stop its advance.
• The Great Li Iron Cavalry became trapped between the beast tide and the pursuing Barbarian Tribe Army, while Gu Chenfeng and Zuo Yutang fought to hold off the enemy at the rear.
• The Great Li soldiers recognized the Futu Army’s banner, and their hope of survival revived as the reinforcements approached.
• The Futu Army split into two forces, swept around the beast horde, and charged into both flanks of the Barbarian Tribe Army.
• The Futu Army’s two forces cut through the Barbarian Tribe cavalry and joined in the center of its ranks, attacking together from two directions.

The Futu Army broke through the Barbarian Tribe's cavalry with the Futu Blood Baleful Formation, giving Great Li's battered troops a chance to regroup and prepare to withdraw. As the Futu Army tried to retreat, Wanyan Bulin sent his elite Blood Frenzy Army against them, and the Sixth Prince watched, expecting it to defeat them.

• The Futu Army commander raised a dark red banner and ordered the Futu Blood Baleful Formation, whose blood tide crushed the Barbarian troops ahead and opened a gap through their ranks.
• The Futu Army charged through the gap, disrupting the Barbarian cavalry and giving Great Li's troops time to regroup and clear a retreat route.
• Twenty thousand Blood Frenzy Army cavalrymen riding Rock-Armored Beasts charged out of the Barbarian camp toward the Futu Army.
• The Sixth Prince praised Wanyan Bulin's plan to use Great Li's troops as bait, and Wanyan Bulin explained how he had created the Blood Frenzy Army.
• The Sixth Prince watched as the Blood Frenzy Army prepared to challenge the Futu Army.

The Futu Army met the Barbarian Tribe’s Blood Frenzy Army in a desperate head-on battle, but enemy shamans and Origin Beasts turned the fight against it. As the Futu Army became surrounded, Yu Chi Zhong ordered a counterattack to rescue it, leaving the battle’s outcome unresolved.

• Luo Heng led the Futu Army into a frontal charge against the Blood Frenzy Army, and their forces clashed in a fierce, initially even melee.
• Wanyan Bulin told the Sixth Prince that the Futu Army would eventually lose because its soldiers and mounts were exhausted.
• Wanyan Bulin summoned more than a thousand powerful Origin Beasts with the aid of the Barbarian Tribe shamans, while Barbarian Tribe infantry began encircling the battlefield.
• Gu Chenfeng and the Great Li commanders realized the Barbarian Tribe had targeted the Futu Army, which was now surrounded and taking mounting losses.
• Yu Chi Zhong ordered Xin Ruonan to hold Heavenly Journey City, sent Source Spirit Realm fighters to strike the enemy rear, and directed Li Yuanqi to lead the Four Towns’ cavalry in tying down the Barbarian Tribe troops.

The Great Li Border Army launched its counterattack, but the Futu Army remained trapped and close to collapse while the two sides’ elite fighters battled across the battlefield. Gu Chenfeng sensed the Phantom Martial Divine Ruins react to the Sixth Prince’s treasure, and as Xin Ruonan faced Wanyan Bulin, someone on the battlefield finally made a decision that began to change the fight.

• Li Yuanqi led more than ten thousand Great Li cavalry in a renewed charge, while Yu Chi Zhong and six other Source Spirit Realm experts met seven Barbarian Tribe experts in the sky.
• Wanyan Bulin left the viewing platform to oversee the battle, but the Sixth Prince stayed behind to watch the Barbarian Tribe’s advance.
• The Futu Army’s repeated breakout attempts failed, and its wounded generals struggled to hold formation against the Blood Frenzy Army, high-rank Origin Beasts, and Barbarian Tribe infantry.
• Gu Chenfeng sensed the Phantom Martial Divine Ruins stir as he looked toward the Sixth Prince, then worried over the Great Li Border Army’s worsening position.
• Xin Ruonan joined the battle and fought Wanyan Bulin, as the advantage remained with the Barbarian Tribe.
• After an intense internal struggle, someone on the battlefield made a decision, and the battle began to change.

Gu Chenfeng led the Blackwater Army in a charge that broke through the Barbarian Tribe’s heavy cavalry and turned the battle’s momentum. As his force grew to nearly ten thousand, First Prince Li Yuanqi saw him tearing through the enemy and wondered whose officer he was.

• Gu Chenfeng led a thousand cavalrymen of the Blackwater Army’s Seventh Thousand-Household Battalion into the barbarian defensive line and shattered the opposing formation.
• Zuo Yutang exploited the breach, and her troops joined Gu Chenfeng’s force as it widened the gap in the enemy ranks.
• Gu Chenfeng used the army formation’s power to kill several barbarian commanders and drive deeper into the enemy army.
• Other Blackwater Army units charged through the breach, swelling Gu Chenfeng’s force to nearly ten thousand and opening the front.
• Li Yuanqi witnessed Gu Chenfeng crush barbarian commanders and their formations with a spear sweep, then wondered whose officer the young commander was.

Gu Chenfeng led the Great Li cavalry through the Barbarian Tribe’s cavalry and infantry formations, heading toward the besieged Futu Army. As high-rank Origin Beasts rushed to stop his charge with self-detonations, Gu Chenfeng sent a strange divine-sense fluctuation into their minds.

• Gu Chenfeng’s charge broke the Barbarian Tribe cavalry formation, and Li Yuanqi ordered the other garrisons to follow through the breach.
• Gu Chenfeng led tens of thousands of Great Li cavalry across the battlefield and charged toward the infantry encircling the Futu Army.
• Wanyan Bulin and other Barbarian Tribe commanders were shocked by the breakthrough, while Xiao Lie recognized Gu Chenfeng as the young commander leading the Blackwater Army.
• Gu Chenfeng smashed through the Barbarian Tribe infantry formations with his army’s power and advanced toward the battle between the Blood Frenzy Army and the Futu Army.
• The Barbarian Tribe’s five High-Rank Shamans sent High-Rank Origin Beasts to stop Gu Chenfeng’s vanguard with self-detonations, and Gu Chenfeng sent a strange divine-sense fluctuation into their minds.

Gu Chenfeng disrupted the Barbarian Tribe’s beast horde and led Great Li cavalry through the Blood Frenzy Army to reach the trapped Futu Army. With their forces stretched thin and surrounded, Li Yuanqi proposed withdrawing, but another voice insisted they keep charging.

• Gu Chenfeng seized control of several Origin Beasts, then struck the five High-Rank Shamans with divine sense attacks to distract them while his army crossed the beast horde.
• Gu Chenfeng’s cavalry collided with the Blood Frenzy Army and struggled against its superior strength and organization.
• Li Yuanqi arrived with a thousand elite armored horsemen and joined Gu Chenfeng’s charge, breaking through the Blood Frenzy Army’s resistance.
• Gu Chenfeng and Li Yuanqi led their troops through the encirclement and joined the battered Futu Army, which had lost nearly three thousand soldiers.
• Li Yuanqi urged Commander Luo Heng to gather the Futu Army and fight back toward the main force, but another voice declared that they could not retreat and ordered them to keep charging.

Gu Chenfeng defied Li Yuanqi’s order to retreat, raised the Futu Blood Banner, and led the battered Futu Army in a charge toward the Barbarian Tribe Army’s rear camp. Li Yuanqi reluctantly followed with his thousand soldiers and resolved to challenge Gu Chenfeng to a duel after the battle.

• Gu Chenfeng argued that charging into the enemy camp would disrupt the Blood Frenzy Army and protect the troops from suffering heavy losses during a retreat.
• Li Yuanqi rejected Gu Chenfeng’s plan and ordered Luo Heng to lead the army in retreat.
• Gu Chenfeng revealed the Futu Blood Banner, formed up the remaining seven thousand Futu Army soldiers, and ordered them to charge.
• Li Yuanqi’s commands were ignored, so he ordered his thousand soldiers to follow the Futu Army into the enemy camp.
• Li Yuanqi accepted that he had to cooperate with Gu Chenfeng, but planned to challenge him to a duel after the charge.

Gu Chenfeng led the Futu Army and Li Yuanqi’s cavalry toward the Barbarian Tribe’s main camp, forcing Wanyan Bulin to race back to protect the Sixth Prince. As the combined force closed in on the Blood Frenzy Army, Gu Chenfeng absorbed the army’s gathered energy and killing intent, then demanded that they unleash everything they had.

• Zuo Yutang watched Li Zicheng lead the cavalry through the enemy lines and pursued him, her suspicions about him rekindled.
• Wanyan Bulin realized the cavalry had joined the Futu Army and that their charge threatened the Sixth Prince in the Barbarian Tribe’s main camp.
• Wanyan Bulin ordered the camp’s defenders to stop the attackers, while Xin Ruonan urged Great Li’s source spirit realm experts to hold the Barbarian commanders back.
• Gu Chenfeng led the Futu Army and Li Yuanqi’s elites toward a Blood Frenzy Army formation assembled between them and the main camp.
• Luo Heng offered to take the lead, but Gu Chenfeng gathered the force’s energy and killing intent into a huge blood-colored spear projection.
• As the armies neared collision, Gu Chenfeng challenged the Futu Army to unleash all its strength, declaring that he could take it.

Gu Chenfeng led the Futu Army in a full-strength charge that crushed the Blood Frenzy Army and drove toward the Barbarian Tribe's main camp. He used the Earth-Splitting Form to destroy the camp's cavalry defenses, then charged through the cleared path with his army.

• Gu Chenfeng urged the Futu Army to unleash all its energy and led its charge through the Blood Frenzy Army, routing it and scattering its formation.
• Huyan Ji watched the Blood Frenzy Army fall and withdrew from the observation platform as the Futu Army advanced toward the main camp.
• Li Yuanqi suggested circling around the camp's fortifications, but Gu Chenfeng refused and gathered the army's energy.
• Gu Chenfeng drove his spear into the ground with the Earth-Splitting Form, collapsing the ground and destroying the traps and obstacles ahead.
• Gu Chenfeng ordered the Futu Army to follow him through the cleared path and attack the main camp.

Gu Chenfeng led the Futu Army through the Barbarian Tribe camp and found Huyan Ji, forcing the Sixth Prince to flee while Barbarian Tribe experts attacked the pursuing army. As Huyan Ji’s group pulled ahead, Gu Chenfeng leaped from his mount and charged toward them alone.

• Gu Chenfeng’s charge broke through the Barbarian Tribe camp defenses, and the Futu Army routed the infantry and poured inside.
• Huyan Ji hid in a tent under a defensive array, but learned that the Futu Army had breached the camp and chose to stay concealed.
• Gu Chenfeng led the Futu Army toward Huyan Ji’s tent, guided by the Phantom Martial Divine Ruins, while Li Yuanqi questioned his choice of route.
• Gu Chenfeng shattered the tent and damaged its array, but Huyan Ji used a Jade Talisman to trigger an explosion and escape with his guards.
• Wanyan Bulin and other Barbarian Tribe experts attacked the Futu Army’s formation as it pursued Huyan Ji, slowing the charge and widening the gap.
• Gu Chenfeng used Blood Shadow Illusory Body Steps to leap from his mount and rush alone toward Huyan Ji’s fleeing group.

Gu Chenfeng charged alone at Huyan Ji, killed the Sixth Prince’s personal guards, and nearly broke through his protective treasure. Wanyan Bulin struck Gu Chenfeng into a sea of flames, but Gu Chenfeng survived and shot Huyan Ji through the heart as he tried to escape.

• Huyan Ji ordered his personal guards to kill Gu Chenfeng when the commander charged at him alone.
• Gu Chenfeng unleashed Black Tiger Devours the Moon and killed all of Huyan Ji’s personal guard officers.
• Gu Chenfeng attacked Huyan Ji, knocking away his saber and battering the prince’s azure protective barrier.
• Wanyan Bulin broke away from Xin Ruonan and struck Gu Chenfeng into the ground beneath a sea of flames.
• Huyan Ji escaped aboard a flying boat, but Gu Chenfeng fired a golden arrow from the flames and pierced his heart.
• Huyan Ji and his flying boat fell from the sky.