Recaps

Qin Tiexin and the Flowing Cloud Sect arrived at Wind and Snow Pass, where True Person Jianyun recounted how True Lord Snow Wind sacrificed herself to create the fortress and protect the Azure Xuan Region. As the sect entered the pass for its early three-year deployment, Qin Tiexin understood that his life had changed.

• Qin Tiexin stepped off the Cloud Shuttle Boat and adjusted to the pass's bone-deep cold with his cultivation and physical strength.
• True Person Jianyun led the Flowing Cloud Sect in paying homage to the statue of True Lord Snow Wind, Jiang Yi.
• True Person Jianyun explained how Jiang Yi slew the Devil Race commander and gave her life to raise the three-hundred-li ice wall that became Wind and Snow Pass.
• True Person Jianyun told the disciples that the sects rotated garrisons at the pass and that unusual Devil Race movements had brought their deployment forward by three years.
• Qin Tiexin followed the Flowing Cloud Sect into the inner city, looking back at Jiang Yi's statue and recognizing that everything had changed.

The Flowing Cloud Sect disciples arrived at Wind and Snow Pass and learned how the fortress, its assignments, and its devil-core merit system operated. After True Person Jianyun departed, Qin Tiexin prepared to begin his three-year posting at the frontier.

• Qin Tiexin and the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples explored the busy inner city and saw its markets, residents, and wounded cultivators.
• Senior Sister Shen explained the pass’s layout, combat and support duties, and the merit earned through devil cores and service.
• Qin Tiexin registered as an artifact refiner and received a key and map for artifact-forging room Number Seven in Section C.
• Nangong Yao received her combat assignment and told Qin Tiexin she would find him after settling in.
• True Person Jianyun ordered the disciples to hold the pass for three years, then departed on the Cloud Shuttle Boat.
• Qin Tiexin watched the eastern wall at dusk, holding his room key and Edgeless’s hilt as the sect faced the frontier alone.

Qin Tiexin settled into his assigned artifact-refining workshop at Wind and Snow Pass and received his first batch of battle-damaged Law Artifacts. He repaired a chipped flying sword and then began work on a broken spear.

• Qin Tiexin found C Zone Number Seven, arranged his familiar forging tools, cleaned the workshop, and cultivated overnight.
• Deacon Lin delivered damaged Law Artifacts and explained Qin Tiexin’s monthly repair quota, merit rewards, and workshop rules.
• Qin Tiexin used Spirit Rune Weakness Insight to find the flying sword’s broken runes and hidden crack.
• Qin Tiexin repaired the flying sword by reshaping its edge, engraving its runes, filling the crack, and finishing the blade.
• Qin Tiexin set the repaired flying sword aside and picked up the broken iron-spined spear.

Qin Tiexin repaired a shattered middle-grade saber by reinforcing it against the Northern Frontier's cold, earning its owner’s gratitude and a demon core. As he prepared to cultivate, Nangong Yao visited him at his workshop.

• Qin Tiexin completed seven lower-grade law artifact repairs in two days, and Deacon Lin began assigning him more difficult work.
• Deacon Lin gave Qin Tiexin a broken saber and approved his plan to reinforce its fracture with scarlet fire copper and nested spirit runes.
• Qin Tiexin repaired the saber, improving its toughness and cold resistance while restoring its spiritual power flow.
• The saber’s owner tested the repair, praised Qin Tiexin, and gave him a Devil Soldier-level demon core as extra payment.
• Nangong Yao arrived at Qin Tiexin’s door with a food box and teased him about gaining a reputation as an artifact refiner in Zone C.

Nangong Yao visited Qin Tiexin, brought him roast beast meat, and told him about Refined Blood Pills that could aid his body refining and cultivation. After she shared news of the battlefield and an Ice Devil’s weakness, Qin Tiexin decided to investigate a mysterious pearl Edgeless had produced and discovered three Refined Blood Pills hidden in the food box.

• Nangong Yao praised Qin Tiexin’s artifact-refining work and explained that his body tempering might let him safely take Refined Blood Pills.
• Nangong Yao told Qin Tiexin that Li Yun was in her combat squad and described how the squad defeated an Ice Devil by cutting it off from the Cold Qi that replenished its armor.
• Nangong Yao warned that Devil Race harassment near Wind and Snow Pass was growing more frequent and offered to help Qin Tiexin if he needed anything.
• Qin Tiexin examined the red-and-black pearl Edgeless had spat out after killing a Blood Devil and resolved to ask about it at the Pill Hall.
• Qin Tiexin found three Refined Blood Pills in a hidden compartment in Nangong Yao’s food box.

Qin Tiexin used Nangong Yao’s Refined Blood Pills to strengthen his blood, then sought experts to identify a mysterious bead Edgeless had produced after absorbing a Blood Devil’s Sha Qi. After swallowing it, he discovered it greatly advanced his cultivation and considered seeking more Devil Race enemies to obtain further Blood Beads.

• Qin Tiexin appreciated Nangong Yao’s care and swallowed a Refined Blood Pill, advancing his body tempering eighth-layer blood strengthening.
• Qin Tiexin visited Snow Pill Workshop and other shops, but the Alchemists could only identify the bead as containing pure Qi and Blood.
• Qin Tiexin swallowed the red-and-black bead and used the Cauldron Eating Art to absorb its fierce torrent of power.
• Qin Tiexin found the bead’s effect far stronger than a Refined Blood Pill and realized Edgeless had condensed it after absorbing a Blood Devil’s Sha Qi.
• Qin Tiexin considered obtaining more Blood Beads by fighting the Devil Race, but recognized that his logistics duties and the pass’s regulations restricted him from leaving.

After three months at Wind and Snow Pass, Qin Tiexin reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and the peak of Blood Strengthening, then used his accumulated merits to buy hundred-year Earth Marrow Milk. He finished brewing Marrow Cleansing Liquid, preparing to pursue the Body Tempering Ninth Layer.

• Qin Tiexin chose to improve his strength before considering leaving Wind and Snow Pass.
• Over three months, Qin Tiexin increased his artifact-repair quota while cultivating and advanced to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and the peak of Blood Strengthening.
• Qin Tiexin learned that a bottle of hundred-year Earth Marrow Milk cost one thousand service merits and spent that amount to buy one from the Ice and Snow Pavilion.
• Qin Tiexin combined the Earth Marrow Milk with the other ingredients and brewed Marrow Cleansing Liquid over six hours.

Qin Tiexin completed a second marrow cleansing by enduring the painful effects of the Marrow Cleansing Liquid. After sensing the medicinal potency beginning to transform his bones, he went to the Ice and Fire Cave to continue the marrow-replacement process.

• Qin Tiexin prepared the Marrow Cleansing Liquid with ice spring water Nangong Yao had brought back from the Eternal Night Sea.
• Qin Tiexin soaked in the medicinal solution and endured an unbearable marrow-deep itch as the potency penetrated his bones.
• Qin Tiexin absorbed all the medicinal potency, washed away the expelled impurities, and sensed a faint golden sheen beneath his skin.
• Qin Tiexin recalled that alternating extreme cold and heat could complete marrow replacement and produce spirit marrow.
• Qin Tiexin traveled through Wind and Snow Pass and entered the Ice and Fire Cave.

Qin Tiexin used alternating heat and cold to drive the Marrow Cleansing Liquid into his bones, then adapted the tempering process to his artifact-forging work. After half a month, he cultivated his first drop of Spirit Marrow and reached minor accomplishment in the ninth layer of Body Tempering.

• Qin Tiexin rented adjacent ice and fire chambers at Wind and Snow Pass for ten days.
• He endured three daily cycles of heating his bones in the fire chamber and cooling them in the ice spring, activating the Marrow Cleansing Liquid.
• After seven days, Qin Tiexin completed the basic tempering stage and returned to his artifact-forging room.
• He enlarged his quenching pool and began alternating furnace work with ice-water immersion, increasing his tempering cycles while repairing Law Artifacts.
• Half a month later, Qin Tiexin discovered a drop of Spirit Marrow forming in his bones and reached Body Tempering Ninth Layer, marrow replacement minor accomplishment.

After reaching initial attainment in the ninth layer of body tempering, Qin Tiexin tested his new strength and continued training and forging weapons. Nangong Yao invited him to join an outing beyond the pass in five days, and he considered the chance to test his cultivation and Edgeless’s ability to produce Blood Beads.

• Qin Tiexin struck a strength-testing stele and recorded twelve thousand jin, stunning the cultivators nearby.
• Qin Tiexin resumed cold-and-heat tempering and forged throwing spears, including a Bursting Spear.
• Nangong Yao visited Qin Tiexin, discovered he had reached the ninth layer of body tempering, and brought him dried Ice Plain Bear meat.
• Nangong Yao invited Qin Tiexin to accompany her and Li Yun to explore an ice crystal vein beyond the pass, advising him to apply for a gathering mission as cover.
• Qin Tiexin considered the outing as a chance to test his recent progress and whether Edgeless could again condense Blood Beads after killing members of the Devil Race.

Qin Tiexin secured permission to gather materials beyond Wind and Snow Pass and prepared to travel with Nangong Yao and Li Yun. After receiving protective armor and cold-resisting pills, the group set out from the eastern gate.

• Qin Tiexin convinced Deacon Wang to issue him a gathering permit with strict limits on how far and how long he could remain outside the pass.
• Nangong Yao gave Qin Tiexin an Ice Silkworm Armor and tested its defenses, then set rules for their trip beyond the pass.
• Qin Tiexin checked his equipment, including fifty javelins and the wolf-fang bracelet, before departure.
• Li Yun gave Qin Tiexin third-grade Warm Yang Pills to protect against the cold during their outing.
• Qin Tiexin joined Nangong Yao and Li Yun at the eastern gate, and the group set out across the ice field.

Qin Tiexin left Wind and Snow Pass with Nangong Yao and Li Yun to gather materials beyond its walls. After reaching the Devil Domain Forest, the group headed north along its edge toward an area where profound ice crystal marrow could form.

• Qin Tiexin, Nangong Yao, and Li Yun passed the inner-wall checkpoint and crossed the passage between the walls.
• At the outer gate, a Golden Core cultivator checked their identities, marked them for reentry, and warned them to return before dark.
• The three left Wind and Snow Pass and crossed the frozen plain toward the Devil Domain Forest.
• Li Yun explained that the ten-li cleared area was the agreed boundary between human and Devil Race territory.
• Li Yun led Qin Tiexin and Nangong Yao north along the forest's edge toward terrain rich in ice spiritual Qi.

Qin Tiexin entered the Devil Domain Forest with Nangong Yao and Li Yun, discovering that the forest suppressed Divine Sense while his Spirit Material Sense remained effective. When Nangong Yao detected three approaching Horned Demons, Qin Tiexin prepared to ambush them and waited for a clear opportunity to attack.

• Qin Tiexin found that the forest reduced his Divine Sense range to fifty paces, while Li Yun explained that Nangong Yao's stronger Divine Sense helped the squad keep watch.
• Nangong Yao reminded Qin Tiexin to retreat from Demon Generals, never act alone, and follow her commands.
• Qin Tiexin activated Spirit Material Sense and found it could detect metal and ore much farther than his suppressed Divine Sense.
• Nangong Yao detected three high-ranking Devil Soldiers approaching, and the squad concealed themselves and moved closer.
• Qin Tiexin identified the targets as Horned Demons, set out four throwing spears, and waited for them to approach within range.

Qin Tiexin killed three Horned Demons with a rapid volley of javelins, collected their Devil Cores, and discovered that Edgeless absorbed their Sha Qi without producing a Blood Bead. As the trio continued north, his Spirit Material Sense detected a buried fragment of an artificially refined Law Artifact.

• Qin Tiexin threw four javelins in quick succession, crippling the Horned Demons with the Parent-Child Spear and killing them with three Armor-Piercing Spears.
• Qin Tiexin absorbed the demons' Sha Qi with Edgeless, but no Blood Bead appeared, then extracted three Devil Cores from their skulls.
• Nangong Yao and Li Yun let Qin Tiexin keep the Devil Cores and praised his ranged attacks as the trio cleared the scene and continued north.
• Qin Tiexin used Spirit Material Sense and detected a buried fragment of an artificially refined Law Artifact ahead.

Qin Tiexin found a buried sword, ruined belongings, and the remains of a Great Yan Sect disciple while traveling with Nangong Yao and Li Yun. After learning the disciple had likely died in a Devil Domain Forest battle, he gathered the bones and token to take back to the pass, and the group continued north.

• Qin Tiexin sensed something buried beneath the snow and led Nangong Yao and Li Yun to investigate.
• Qin Tiexin dug up a broken Upper-Grade Law Artifact made mostly of moonlight copper, along with scraps of clothing and a ruined Storage Bag.
• Qin Tiexin uncovered a skeleton bearing fatal wounds and carefully arranged the bones on a piece of cloth.
• Qin Tiexin found a bronze token identifying the dead man as a member of the Great Yan Sect.
• Nangong Yao recalled that the Great Yan Sect disbanded after most of its members died in a battle with a Devil Marshal in the Devil Domain Forest.
• Qin Tiexin kept the ruined sword and Storage Bag, planned to deliver the bones and token to the registration office, and continued north with Nangong Yao and Li Yun.

Qin Tiexin, Nangong Yao, and Li Yun turned back from the Devil Domain Forest when they realized they could not reach their destination before nightfall. On the way back, Qin Tiexin recovered three sets of remains and brought them to the Heroic Spirit Shrine, where the old cultivator promised to register and enshrine them.

• Qin Tiexin killed four high-ranking Devil Soldiers and divided their Devil Cores with Nangong Yao and Li Yun.
• Li Yun determined that the group had gone the wrong way and could not reach their destination before dark, so they headed back.
• Qin Tiexin used [Spirit Material Sense] to find and collect three sets of remains and their surviving belongings along the return route.
• The three returned to Wind and Snow Pass before its gates closed, and Nangong Yao and Li Yun waited for Qin Tiexin near the market.
• Qin Tiexin brought the remains to the Heroic Spirit Shrine, where the old cultivator agreed to register them and try to identify the deceased.

Qin Tiexin improved his combat skills and cultivation while hunting the Devil Race with Nangong Yao and Li Yun, and learned that Edgeless formed Blood Beads mainly from Demon General-level enemies. The chapter ended with Zhou Chongshan telling him that the Sixth Squad had been ambushed, leaving two dead and one severely injured.

• Qin Tiexin developed a routine for hunting Devil Race enemies with Nangong Yao and Li Yun, improving his accuracy and learning how to counter common Devil types.
• Li Yun froze a fleeing high-ranking Flame Demon, allowing Qin Tiexin to kill it, and explained that a Thousand-Year Profound Frost Crystal might transform her Water Spirit Root into an Ice Spirit Root.
• Qin Tiexin, Nangong Yao, and Li Yun killed two Demon Generals, while Qin Tiexin established that Edgeless formed Blood Beads from Demon General Sha Qi and only rarely from Devil Soldier Blood Devils.
• Qin Tiexin advanced his Body Tempering and Qi Refining cultivation while working on a dagger made from the Wind-Rending Tiger's wing bone.
• Zhou Chongshan told Qin Tiexin that several high-ranking Demon Generals had ambushed the Sixth Squad during reconnaissance, killing two members and severely injuring another.

Qin Tiexin learned that an ambush on the Flowing Cloud Sect’s Sixth Squad had killed two disciples and left another gravely wounded. After attending the fallen disciples’ farewell ceremony, he accepted Nangong Yao’s warning that more deaths could come at Wind and Snow Pass.

• Qin Tiexin went with Zhou Chongshan to the medical hall and learned that one member of the Sixth Squad had survived with severe injuries while two others had died.
• Nangong Yao and Li Yun explained that three high-ranking Demon Generals had ambushed the Sixth Squad, killing the Formation Hall disciple and the Sword Hall captain, who sacrificed himself to help the others escape.
• Several days later, Elder Hong presided over a farewell ceremony for the two dead disciples at the Heroic Spirit Shrine, and Qin Tiexin paid his respects before their memorial tablets.
• Qin Tiexin remained at the shrine after the ceremony, where Nangong Yao warned him that more disciples might die at Wind and Snow Pass.
• Qin Tiexin nodded and returned, accepting that he needed to grow stronger.

Qin Tiexin broke through to the Qi Refining eighth layer at Wind and Snow Pass, then improved his Water Phase Steps with Li Yun’s help. He also turned the Wind-Rending Tiger wing bone into a dagger with added spirit runes and a sheath that restored its spiritual power.

• After half a year of cultivation at Wind and Snow Pass, Qin Tiexin formed an eighth Qi vortex and advanced to the Qi Refining eighth layer.
• Qin Tiexin struggled to master Water Phase Steps and asked Li Yun to help him practice by following the flow of her water spiritual power.
• After half a month of practice, Qin Tiexin learned to use Water Phase Steps in combat alongside his Wood Phase and Metal Phase Steps.
• Qin Tiexin tested the Wind-Rending Tiger wing bone and found that its spell struck powerfully but took four breaths to charge and had short range.
• Qin Tiexin carved the wing bone into a dagger, added the Gale and Profound Sundering runes, and made a sheath bearing the Return to Origin Array.

Qin Tiexin and Li Yun searched the outskirts of Wind and Snow Pass for profound frost crystals but found nothing at the marked sites. Qin Tiexin sensed a powerful ice-attributed deposit behind an artificial-looking ice cliff, leaving them poised to investigate.

• Nangong Yao became known for her far-reaching Divine Sense and took on scouting requests from other squads, leaving Qin Tiexin and Li Yun to patrol together.
• Qin Tiexin and Li Yun recalled killing a lone mid-ranking Shadow Devil, but their search for suitable profound frost crystals continued to fail.
• Li Yun checked several marked locations and found only exhausted mines and low-quality crystals.
• Qin Tiexin sensed an unusually rich source of ice-attributed spiritual material southeast of their position and led Li Yun toward it.
• Qin Tiexin and Li Yun discovered an enormous ice cliff, and Qin Tiexin sensed a pure deposit behind its surface and noticed signs that the ice had been worked by someone.

Li Yun discovered that Profound Ice Crystal Marrow lay behind a formation in the ice wall, but only her water-element spiritual power could enter it. She passed into the wall while Qin Tiexin stayed outside to guard her and wait for her return.

• Li Yun sensed Profound Ice Crystal Marrow inside the ice wall, and Qin Tiexin's saber strike failed to break through its formation.
• Li Yun used her water-element spiritual power to enter the ice, but Qin Tiexin could not make the formation respond to his own power.
• Li Yun told Qin Tiexin to hide nearby and return to Wind and Snow Pass if she did not emerge within two hours or respond to his warning.
• Li Yun entered the ice wall, and Qin Tiexin concealed their tracks, set up a concealment formation, and hid nearby to keep watch.

Li Yun discovered a cavern of exceptionally pure profound frost crystal and found a pool of profound ice crystal marrow liquid, a treasure that could transform her water Spirit Root. She surveyed the chamber and realized it had been made by someone whose jade-like skeleton rested beside a stone stele.

• Li Yun entered an intensely cold ice cavern and recognized its walls, floor, and ceiling as profound frost crystal.
• She followed the passage deeper, ignoring valuable crystal clusters as the profound frost crystal grew purer and the cold intensified.
• Li Yun reached a chamber containing a pool of unfrozen profound ice crystal marrow liquid.
• She spotted an intact skeleton seated beside a stone stele and concluded that the cavern was man-made.

Li Yun met Su Qiao’s lingering obsession in a hidden cavern, where he told her the story of Jiang Yi and offered her the Profound Ice Crystal Marrow fluid in exchange for three promises. The chapter ended with Su Qiao asking Li Yun to carry out his final wishes, including guarding Wind and Snow Pass for ten years.

• Li Yun protected herself with talismans and a jade pendant before approaching the stone stele, where Su Qiao’s lingering obsession appeared in her sea of consciousness.
• Li Yun told Su Qiao that a thousand years had passed and that Wind and Snow Pass still stood, guarded by True Lord Snow Wind.
• Su Qiao recounted how he had met Jiang Yi, who later sacrificed herself to defeat a Devil King and raise Wind and Snow Pass.
• Su Qiao explained that he had killed two lurking Ice Devils and sealed them with his Qi and Blood in the cavern, creating the pool of Profound Ice Crystal Marrow fluid.
• Su Qiao offered Li Yun the marrow fluid if she agreed to take his body to Jiang Yi’s statue, deliver the stele to Frost Peak of the Star Sect, and guard Wind and Snow Pass for ten years.

Li Yun accepted Su Qiao’s conditions and began refining the Profound Ice Crystal Marrow Liquid to develop an ice-attribute spirit root. As a powerful fragrance seeped through the ice wall, Qin Tiexin concealed the site and prepared to defend her from whatever it attracted.

• Li Yun agreed to Su Qiao’s three conditions, and he transmitted the refining method before his lingering image vanished and the pool’s restrictions fell away.
• Li Yun entered the Profound Ice Crystal Marrow Liquid and, after struggling to move her frozen spiritual power, began guiding its essence into her Dantian.
• The marrow liquid began purifying Li Yun’s water spirit root as a layer of ice-attribute power formed around it.
• Qin Tiexin smelled a potent fragrance coming from the ice cliff and realized that something inside might be releasing it.
• Qin Tiexin tried to conceal the fragrance with formation discs, then set out weapons near the ice wall and waited for an approaching threat.

Qin Tiexin ambushed and killed a pack of seven Ice-Spined Wolves drawn by the strange fragrance near the ice wall. He collected their corpses, replenished his javelins, and returned to his hiding place to wait for more creatures while Li Yun remained inside.

• Qin Tiexin used Frost Spears to cripple the lead Ice-Spined Wolf and followed with wind blades and Edgeless, killing it in a single attack.
• Qin Tiexin killed a charging wolf with a horizontal saber slash, then evaded the others and cut them down as they attacked.
• Qin Tiexin stopped the final fleeing wolf with an Armor-Piercing Spear and finished it with Edgeless.
• Qin Tiexin absorbed Sha Qi from the wolves with Edgeless, found no Blood Bead, and stored the seven corpses for their materials and meat.
• Qin Tiexin cleaned the blood, replenished his javelins, and returned behind the rock to wait for more creatures and for Li Yun.