Chapter Summaries

Chen Jianduan, Mu Bai, and Chen Shichong intervened when snow bandits attacked the Luming Tribe, killing the bandit leaders and helping the tribespeople wipe out the raiders. As Chen Jianduan urged his companions to use their swords to protect the innocent, Mu Bai reflected that tribes needed strength of their own to survive.

• Chen Jianduan spotted snow bandits demanding food and women from the Luming Tribe and descended with Mu Bai and Chen Shichong to intervene.
• When the bandits attacked, Mu Bai and Chen Shichong joined the tribespeople while Chen Jianduan confronted the three powerful leaders.
• Chen Jianduan swiftly killed two bandit leaders, then cut down the chief after refusing to spare him.
• Mu Bai and Chen Shichong helped the Luming tribespeople pursue and kill every fleeing bandit.
• Lu Nanshen and the tribespeople thanked their rescuers, and Chen Jianduan told Chen Shichong and Mu Bai that wielding a sword meant protecting the innocent.
• Mu Bai reflected that a tribe needed to grow strong itself rather than depend on a chivalrous warrior appearing by chance.

Chen Jianduan and Mu Bai learned that nearby snow bandits threatened the Luming Tribe, but when two bandits abducted Xue'er as a hostage, Mu Bai disguised himself as their chief and set out to intercept them. The chapter left Xue'er in the bandits’ hands and Mu Bai pursuing them alone.

• Lu Nanshen asked Chen Jianduan to eliminate the nearby snow bandits, and Chen Jianduan agreed to hear the details.
• Mu Bai mistook the young Xue'er for Ling'er and startled her, then apologized after realizing his mistake.
• Lu Nanshen arranged women to attend Chen Shichong and Mu Bai, but both men sent them away and defended the tribe’s women.
• Chen Jianduan pursued two snow bandits, who seized Xue'er and threatened to kill her if anyone followed.
• Mu Bai took an Appearance-Changing Pill, disguised himself as the earlier bandit chief, and left to intercept the abductors.

Mu Bai rescued Xue'er from the snow bandits, and Chen Jianduan defeated Xue Shan and wiped out the bandit force. The Luming Tribe welcomed back its abducted women and children, while Chen Jianduan distributed the bandits’ plunder among nearby tribes.

• Mu Bai disguised himself as Hall Master Xue, lured the two snow bandits into helping him, then killed them and freed Xue'er before collapsing from his chest wound.
• Chen Jianduan arrived as Xue Shan and dozens of snow bandits confronted the group, and he defeated Xue Shan and killed the attacking bandits.
• Chen Jianduan took Mu Bai and Xue'er back to the Luming Tribe, where Mu Bai recovered and Xue'er cared for him.
• Chen Jianduan returned with five abducted women and three children, and Lu Nanshen welcomed them home as the families reunited.
• Chen Jianduan distributed the wealth taken from the snow bandits among several nearby tribes and urged them to use it to raise strong cultivators.

Mu Bai and Chen Jianduan returned to the Sword Sect with Chen Shichong, where Chen Shichong reunited with his parents and welcomed Mu Bai as family. Mu Bai settled into the sect, received help obtaining a soul sword, and learned that Xue Dongming might pose a threat.

• The Luming Tribe celebrated Mu Bai and Chen Jianduan before tearfully seeing them off the next morning.
• Chen Jianduan and Chen Shichong brought Mu Bai to the Sword Sect, where Chen Shichong arranged his stay and went to report to his father, Chen Jianli.
• Chen Shichong reunited with his parents on Third Peak and introduced Mu Bai, while the household warmly welcomed him.
• Chen Jianli gave Mu Bai ten-thousand-year cold iron for a soul sword and invited him to stay with the family.
• Madam Chen tried to match Mu Bai with Chen Qi, who blushed and fled after warning them to beware of Xue Dongming.
• Chen Shichong escorted Mu Bai back to the Guest Reception Hall, where Mu Bai settled in and explored the Sword Sect.

Mu Bai accompanied Chen Shichong to the Cold Ice Cavern, where Chen Shichong attempted the Early Third Level Hundred Puppet Path. After fighting for five days and nights, Chen Shichong defeated all one hundred ice puppets and earned recognition as a prodigy of the Sword Sect.

• Chen Shichong told Mu Bai that his weapons were being forged and invited him to explore the Cold Ice Cavern, where Mu Bai planned to try the Heart Refining Path.
• Chen Shichong entered the Hundred Puppet Path and fought through the ice puppets while Mu Bai watched and other cultivators debated his talent.
• After reaching the ninetieth puppet, Chen Shichong pressed on despite severe wounds and exhaustion, and Mu Bai shouted to wake him when he began to collapse.
• Chen Shichong used the One Soul, Ten Thousand Arts Sword Formation to defeat the final puppet, then collapsed as the watching cultivators cheered.
• A Third Peak expert gave Chen Shichong a pill and took him away, while elders praised his feat and his reputation rose throughout the Sword Sect.

Mu Bai fought his way through the Hundred Puppet Path, matching Chen Shichong’s feat while relying on his resilience and the Autumn Sun Sword. He destroyed the final Ice Puppet after a brutal close-range struggle, then collapsed as Chen Shichong rushed to him.

• Mu Bai entered the Hundred Puppet Path and smashed through the early Ice Puppets with decisive attacks guided by his divine sense.
• After reaching the ninetieth Ice Puppet in four days and three nights, Mu Bai transformed and accepted the Autumn Sun Sword from Chen Shichong.
• Mu Bai fought on through severe injuries, destroying the ninety-sixth Ice Puppet and learning to wield the sword with increasing control.
• Mu Bai reached the final Ice Puppet with his left arm useless and his right arm mangled, then closed in and traded blows while targeting its dantian.
• Mu Bai shattered the final Ice Puppet after more than an hour of punches, completed the trial in five days and five nights, and collapsed as Chen Shichong reached him.

Mu Bai recovered from the Hundred Puppet Path with his strength greatly enhanced, then shared wine and bleak reflections about fate, ambition, and Ling'er with Chen Shichong and Chen Qi. Their gathering ended in violence when Beishan Lie destroyed the Frost Wine and Chen Qi stabbed him, prompting two Xiu Zun cultivators to attack her as Mu Bai and Chen Shichong rushed to intervene.

• Mu Bai awoke fully recovered after the Hundred Puppet Path and discovered that the ordeal had activated the medicinal power in his body and greatly strengthened him.
• Mu Bai and Chen Shichong drank together on Lin Yuan Peak and debated whether cultivators could defy heaven and control their destinies.
• Chen Qi joined them, and Mu Bai spoke of his lost younger sister Ling'er while Chen Shichong urged him to take Chen Qi away from the Chen Household.
• Chen Qi brought six jars of her father's Frost Wine, and she and Mu Bai drank together in the snow.
• Beishan Lie arrived with two Xiu Zun cultivators, crushed the Frost Wine, and provoked Chen Qi to stab him; the cultivators struck at her as Mu Bai and Chen Shichong charged forward.

Mu Bai attempted the Heart Refining Path and was repeatedly drawn into illusions of his past, fighting to recognize them and keep moving along the icy chain. The chapter left him advancing toward the far end of the trial after celebrating Hai Ang’s breakthrough into the Mighty Realm, which Mu Bai made possible with an Ice-Fire Pill.

• Beishan Lie stopped his attendants from attacking Chen Qi, stabbed himself on her sword as an apology, and left while threatening Mu Bai.
• Mu Bai entered the Heart Refining Path with Chen Shichong and began crossing its illusion-covered chain, while Beishan Lie ordered Elder Zuo to arrange for Mu Bai to disappear.
• Mu Bai overcame illusions of Hai Ling'er and his childhood encounter with the Black-Horned Python, recognizing each vision and continuing along the chain.
• Mu Bai gave Hai Ang an Ice-Fire Pill that broke through his barrier and raised his body to the Mighty Realm.
• The tribe celebrated Hai Ang’s breakthrough for three days as Mu Bai continued across the Heart Refining Path.

The attackers slaughtered Hai Ya’s tribe, and Mu Bai fought the enemy leader in a desperate battle, killing him at the cost of his own life. Mu Bai then awoke to find that he and Chen Shichong were falling through the illusion into the ice abyss.

• Hai Ya and the tribespeople fought back against the invading cultivators, but the attackers killed Hai Zhan, Hai Lin, Hai Ya, and every person in the tribe.
• Hai Ang, Hai Chen, and Mu Bai battled the remaining experts, killing several while Hai Chen and Mu Bai fought with reckless fury.
• Mu Bai confronted the enemy leader, destroyed his silver snake Soul Spirit, and decapitated him, but the leader stabbed Mu Bai through the heart.
• As Mu Bai fell, he realized he was inside the illusion and saw Chen Shichong falling beside him into the ice abyss.

Mu Bai and Chen Shichong reached the bottom of the Ice Abyss, where Mu Bai witnessed a vision of the Sword Sect’s founding and the alliance between Beishandao and Chen Yuanpeng. The vision ended with Chen Yuanpeng swearing lifelong loyalty to Beishandao and helping transform the Sword Sect into an orthodox sect.

• Mu Bai descended to the bottom of the Ice Abyss with the unconscious Chen Shichong and witnessed Beishandao and Chen Yuanpeng seeking the Heavenly Demon Supreme’s legacy beneath the glacier.
• Beishandao and Chen Yuanpeng founded the Sword Sect, then fought Mist-Hidden Valley’s invasion as Chen Yuanpeng broke through its formation and Beishandao defeated Jiang Feilong.
• Tuoba Jiang and his snow bandits joined the battle, helping the Sword Sect defeat Mist-Hidden Valley and establish a foothold in the Northern Plains.
• Chen Yuanpeng led the Sword Sect to crush its enemies and eventually destroy Mist-Hidden Valley, where Beishandao found Qingtian’s severed arm.
• After Chen Yuanpeng became a Dao Zun, Tuoba Jiang spread rumors of a coup, but Chen Yuanpeng swore before the sect to support Beishandao and the Beishan Clan for life.
• Beishandao became a Dao Zun, while Chen Yuanpeng taught in the Merit Transmission Hall and helped the Sword Sect shed its bandit ways.

Mu Bai explored the abyss beneath the Heart Refining Path, collected rare herbs and God-Devouring Insects, and struggled upward with the unconscious Chen Shichong before an Ice-Soul Crystal Dragon sent them plunging back down. Chen Jianli rescued them, and after recovering, the two assessed the gains from their trial.

• Mu Bai captured Flying-Catkin Beasts with a Soul-Feeding Pill, named them God-Devouring Insects, and gathered aged herbs from the abyss.
• Mu Bai carried Chen Shichong up the icy cliff, collected two Ice-Soul Snow Lotuses, and was frozen and knocked back into the abyss by an Ice-Soul Crystal Dragon.
• Chen Jianli arrived, drove the Ice-Soul Crystal Dragon aside, and rescued Mu Bai and Chen Shichong from their fall.
• Mu Bai and Chen Shichong slept for three days at the Third Peak master's residence, then woke hungry and ate a feast prepared by Madam Chen.
• Mu Bai and Chen Shichong reviewed their gains: Chen Shichong neared the third level in physical strength, while Mu Bai reached the second-level peak in physical strength and mental power and planned to refine pills from his harvested herbs.

Chen Jianli gave Mu Bai the high-grade Twin Fish Sword, and Mu Bai tested it in sword practice and a friendly exchange with Chen Shichong and Chen Qi. The practice turned dangerous when Chen Qi's sword attacked Mu Bai on its own, leaving him badly injured and struggling to block another strike.

• Chen Jianli presented Mu Bai with the Twin Fish Sword and explained how to bond with its Silver Swordfish bone and nurture it into a top-grade soul weapon.
• Mu Bai bonded with the sword, then practiced the Green Duckweed Sword Art in the Guest Reception Hall courtyard as onlookers gathered.
• Beishan Lie, jealous of Mu Bai's closeness to Chen Qi, ordered Xue Dongming to kill him.
• Chen Shichong joined Mu Bai in a sword exchange, and Chen Qi entered afterward to demonstrate the One Soul, Ten Thousand Arts Sword.
• Chen Qi's sword suddenly plunged toward Mu Bai; he evaded the first strike, but the sword attacked again and forced him to block it with the Twin Fish Sword, injuring his wrists and making him spit blood.

After Xue Dongming secretly attacked Mu Bai, he recovered on Third Peak while Chen Qi and the Chen Household protected him from Beishan Lie’s threats. The chapter leaves Chen Jianduan publicly declaring that anyone who tries to harm Mu Bai will have to face him.

• Chen Jianli stopped Chen Qi from striking Mu Bai again and exposed Xue Dongming as the attacker, then brought Mu Bai to Third Peak to recover.
• Chen Qi stayed by Mu Bai’s side, blamed herself for his injuries, and learned from him that Beishan Lie had likely controlled her with Soul Power.
• A blade carrying a death threat against Chen Shichong was hurled into Mu Bai’s room, prompting Chen Shichong to warn his father about Beishan Lie and the Beishan Household.
• Chen Jianli and Madam Chen argued over how to respond, while Chen Qi left to inform her father and Chen Jianli promised to negotiate with Beishan Fengyun.
• Chen Jianduan arrived on Third Peak and drove his Giant Sword into the courtyard as a warning to the Sword Sect not to harm Mu Bai.

Beishan Lie brought betrothal gifts to the Third Peak and demanded Chen Qi marry him, but the Chen household rejected him and drove him and his entourage away. Beishan Lie left threatening Chen Qi and Mu Bai, while Beishan Fengyun vowed that the Chen household would be destroyed.

• Chen Jianduan guarded Mu Bai on the Third Peak as Beishan Lie and Xue Dongming discussed their hatred of the Chen household.
• Beishan Lie arrived with the Left and Right Elders and attendants bearing betrothal gifts, then asked Chen Jianduan to betroth Chen Qi to him.
• Chen Qi rejected Beishan Lie, and Chen Jianduan refused the proposal and warned him to take the gifts away.
• Beishan Lie ordered his attendants to carry the gifts into the residence, but Chen Jianduan raised ice walls and Chen Jianli arrived to block their advance.
• Chen Jianli scattered the betrothal gifts across the Sword Sect, and Chen Jianduan and Chen Shichong forced Beishan Lie and his entourage off the Third Peak.
• Beishan Fengyun smashed the Cold Crystal Throne and threatened the Chen household, while Beishan Lie vowed to obtain Chen Qi and kill Mu Bai.

Chen Jianli asked Mu Bai to marry Chen Qi to protect her from the Beishan household, but Mu Bai refused because he loved Ling'er, and Chen Qi asked him only to pretend to court her. After Mu Bai recovered enough to join Third Peak’s Spring Hunting ride, he and Chen Qi clashed with Beishan Lie over a snow leopard, leaving Beishan Lie and Mu Bai both claiming it.

• Beishan Lie withdrew from Third Peak, and Chen Jianli and Chen Jianduan discussed resisting the Beishan household and protecting the Chen family.
• Chen Jianli asked Mu Bai to marry Chen Qi and take her away, but Mu Bai refused to promise marriage because he already loved Ling'er.
• Chen Qi asked Mu Bai to pretend to be with her, then ran into the snow with Chen Shichong after Mu Bai said he needed time to consider.
• Chen Jianduan guarded Mu Bai’s room for days, and Chen Shichong told Mu Bai about the sacrifices their father had made for Chen Qi and her mother.
• Chen Jianli led a hundred riders from Third Peak on a Spring Hunting ride, where Chen Qi, Mu Bai, and Chen Shichong pursued a snow leopard.
• Beishan Lie arrived with his riders and shot the snow leopard at the same time as Mu Bai; Beishan Lie claimed the animal, and Mu Bai declared that it was his.

Mu Bai rescued Chen Qi’s snow leopard from Beishan Lie’s grasp, prompting a confrontation between the Chen Household and the Sword Sect’s forces. Beishan Fengyun stopped the fight and forced his son to kneel, and the chapter ended with the Chen family riding out to hunt.

• Mu Bai challenged Beishan Lie over Chen Qi and her snow leopard, while Chen Jianduan’s sword drove back Xue Dongming.
• Mu Bai raced Beishan Lie to the snow leopard, grabbed it, and returned to the summit as Chen Jianduan threatened Beishan Lie and his troops.
• Beishan Lie ordered an attack, but Chen Jianli’s archers held the charge at bay as he called for Sect Master Beishan Fengyun.
• Beishan Fengyun slapped Beishan Lie down and forced him to kneel before the Chen brothers, then ordered both groups to resume the spring hunt.
• Chen Jianduan warned Xue Dongming to leave, and the Third Peak riders set out to hunt across the snowfields.
• Chen Qi asked Mu Bai for the snow leopard, and she, Mu Bai, and Chen Shichong rode ahead together.

At Mu Bai and Chen Qi’s wedding, Chen Jianduan asked Mu Bai to help protect Chen Qi from the Beishan family, and Mu Bai accepted the marriage. Beishan Lie attacked the ceremony, and Chen Jianli took Chen Jianduan’s punch to stop him from killing Beishan Lie.

• Chen Jianduan told Mu Bai that Chen Qi must not marry into the Beishan family and asked him to give her the appearance of a married woman; Mu Bai agreed to help.
• Five days later, Mu Bai and Chen Qi’s wedding drew guests from across the Sword Sect, including Beishan Fengyun and Ji Yang Xiu Zun.
• Chen Jianduan led Chen Qi across the ice bridge, and Mu Bai knelt to receive her hand before they walked together beneath fireworks.
• Beishan Lie sent scarlet flames and a sword crashing toward Third Peak, but Chen Jianduan intercepted the attack and challenged him.
• Chen Jianduan charged at Beishan Lie, and Chen Jianli took his punch to prevent him from killing Beishan Lie and igniting conflict within the Sword Sect.

At Chen Qi and Mu Bai’s wedding, Beishan Lie’s attempt to flaunt his new Xiu Zun cultivation ended with Mu Bai slapping him in public and Chen Jianli defending the Chen Household’s loyalty. Beishan Fengyun left after publicly apologizing, but privately vowed to destroy the Chen Household and kill Mu Bai.

• Beishan Lie announced that he had attained the Xiu Zun Realm and challenged Mu Bai to name any wedding gift he wanted.
• Mu Bai used Spirit-Devouring Insects to stun Beishan Lie’s Divine Sense, then slapped him across the face.
• Chen Jianduan stopped Beishan Lie’s counterattack, while Mu Bai apologized mockingly and Beishan Lie demanded that his father kill the Chen Household.
• Chen Jianli affirmed the Chen Household’s loyalty to the Sword Sect, and Beishan Fengyun apologized before leaving the wedding in disgrace.
• The guests departed, and Chen Qi wept in Mu Bai’s arms over the ruined celebration.
• Beishan Fengyun privately comforted the injured Beishan Lie, killed a maid, and vowed to destroy the Chen Household and prevent Mu Bai from leaving the Northern Plains alive.

Ji Ruxia persuaded the group to visit the Ice Ruins while Chen Jianli and Chen Jianduan attended a meeting, and the young people explored the lively, red-decorated town. Mu Bai shared Hundred Flowers Pills and showed the God-Devouring Insects, before Ji Ruxia and Chen Shichong joined a crowd watching an old man sell lifelike ice figurines.

• Ji Ruxia convinced the Chen family to visit the Ice Ruins, and Chen Jianli and Chen Jianduan gave Mu Bai and Chen Shichong Jade Slips before leaving for the Sword Hall.
• Ji Yang Xiu Zun took the five young people north to the Ice Ruins, where they changed into red clothes and began exploring.
• Chen Shichong bought the girls ice-blue flowers, and Mu Bai ordered nectar for the group.
• Mu Bai gave Ji Ruxia, Yan Ru, and Chen Shichong bottles of Hundred Flowers Pills, then revealed his God-Devouring Insects to the others.
• Ji Ruxia and Chen Shichong pushed through a crowd to see an old man demonstrating an ice figurine that looked just like him.

Mu Bai and his companions encountered a mysterious old man whose ice carving of Mu Bai shattered, then watched him behead and revive an assistant before he fled when Mu Bai volunteered. As they continued through the Ice Ruins, Mu Bai reflected on his unknown origins, and Ji Yang Xiu Zun warned that a group including Xue Dongming was following them.

• The old man carved ice dolls for Ji Ruxia, Chen Shichong, Yan Ru, and Chen Qi, but Mu Bai's doll shattered after he carved it and the old man called Mu Bai's fate both heavy and hard.
• Ji Yang Xiu Zun paid the old man and hurried the youngsters away after their dolls began eerily mimicking them.
• The group later found the old man performing a beheading and resurrection trick, and Mu Bai volunteered to be struck, but the old man packed up and flew away with his assistant.
• Chen Shichong wondered whether Mu Bai was a Holy Son, while Mu Bai considered whether he had been lost in the Dao Sea and pondered his unknown origins.
• Ji Yang Xiu Zun noticed seven or eight people following them, including Beishan Lie's lackey, Xue Dongming.