Chapter Summaries

Ye Xuan tormented Ji Chang by forcing him to face the prospect of eating his own son, Bo Yikao, and used the choice to threaten Xiqi’s fortune. Ji Chang was left holding a dagger, unsure what to do and regretting that he had come to Chaoge.

• Ye Xuan taunted Ji Chang with a basin of stewed corpses and urged him to eat so he could return to Xiqi sooner.
• Ye Xuan led Ji Chang into the courtyard and revealed Bo Yikao hanging from hooks through his collarbones.
• Bo Yikao woke and cursed Ye Xuan, who declared that he should be eaten instead of the stewed meat.
• Ye Xuan handed Ji Chang a dagger and urged him to kill and eat Bo Yikao, warning that refusing would leave him to starve.
• Ji Chang stared at the dagger and his son, regretting that he had obeyed the imperial decree and come to Chaoge.

Ji Chang was forced by Ye Xuan to choose between letting Bo Yikao die or keeping him alive for endless torment, and he chose to eat his son so he could return to Xiqi. Ye Xuan watched Ji Chang eat Bo Yikao’s severed arm, then left with Wushuang.

• Bo Yikao urged Ji Chang to eat his severed arm so Ji Chang could survive and return to Xiqi.
• Ji Chang cut off Bo Yikao’s right arm, bound the wound, and began grilling and eating the limb.
• Ye Xuan offered to use magic to keep Bo Yikao alive indefinitely so Ji Chang could eat from him each day.
• Ji Chang refused the offer and chose to finish eating Bo Yikao rather than prolong his suffering.
• Ye Xuan left with Wushuang after watching Ji Chang eat, and Ji Chang knelt to see him off.

Ye Xuan rescued Zhenzhen, the White-Faced Divine Monkey, by severing the golden chains imprisoning her primordial spirit. After telling her that her husband Wuzhiqi had become one of his generals, Ye Xuan invited her to serve him as well, and she agreed.

• Ye Xuan found the injured White-Faced Divine Monkey and cut through the chains binding her primordial spirit.
• Zhenzhen recovered, took human form, and thanked Ye Xuan for saving her.
• Zhenzhen explained that enemies of her husband Wuzhiqi had captured and imprisoned her in Xiqi.
• Ye Xuan told Zhenzhen that Wuzhiqi had become one of his leading generals and recounted how he had rescued him.
• Ye Xuan invited Zhenzhen to join him and offered to summon Wuzhiqi from Northern Darkness; Zhenzhen accepted his offer.

Ye Xuan welcomed Zhenzhen into the Twelve Zodiac Animals and considered the strength of his growing forces. When the Eastern Yi invaded Eastern Lu in force, he summoned Wen Zhong, who offered to lead a campaign against them.

• Ye Xuan introduced Zhenzhen to the Twelve Zodiac Animals, bringing their gathered members to eight.
• Ye Xuan returned to secluded cultivation while Chaoge remained peaceful and Bo Yikao’s disappearance went unmentioned.
• Su Daji brought Ye Xuan a memorial reporting that the Eastern Yi had invaded Eastern Lu and inflicted heavy losses.
• Ye Xuan summoned Wen Zhong, who explained why the Eastern Yi raided Eastern Lu and offered to lead troops against them.

Ye Xuan personally led two hundred thousand troops to Eastern Lu to aid Marquis of the East Jiang Hengchu against the Eastern Yi. After hearing how the enemy’s mounted archers wore down Eastern Lu’s forces, Ye Xuan met his young brother-in-law Jiang Wenhuan and asked him to raise his head.

• Ye Xuan refused Grand Tutor Wen’s offer to lead the campaign, ordered him to manage Chaoge’s supplies, and summoned Huang Feihu with the War Elephant Cavalry.
• Ye Xuan set out from Chaoge with two hundred thousand veteran troops and reached Eastern Lu within five or six days.
• Jiang Hengchu welcomed Ye Xuan, apologized for losing more than a dozen cities, and explained that the Eastern Yi relied on mounted archery and cavalry to wear down his soldiers.
• Ye Xuan stayed with his troops outside the city and returned to Jiang Hengchu’s residence the next morning, where he noticed Jiang Wenhuan trying to look at him.
• Ye Xuan told Jiang Wenhuan to raise his head so he could get a good look at him.

Ye Xuan visited Qingzhou and agreed to let Jiang Wenhuan show him around, only to be brought to the Wind and Moon Pavilion brothel. After dinner and drinks with Jiang Wenhuan, Ye Xuan rejected the woman who approached him while Jiang Wenhuan embraced the other.

• Jiang Hengchu asked Ye Xuan to keep his idle son Jiang Wenhuan by his side so he could learn and become a worthy successor to Eastern Lu.
• After discussing military affairs with Jiang Hengchu, Ye Xuan saw Jiang Wenhuan waiting furtively by the city gate and agreed to follow him.
• Jiang Wenhuan led Ye Xuan to the Wind and Moon Pavilion, where the madam recognized Jiang and arranged an extravagant private suite for them.
• Two women entered the suite and approached the men; Ye Xuan pushed away the woman reaching for him, while Jiang Wenhuan pulled the other into his arms.

Ye Xuan and Jiang Wenhuan visited the Wind and Moon Pavilion, where Ye Xuan recognized Xiao Yue'er as a powerful cultivator and resisted the illusion woven into her guqin performance. He challenged her to play again, leaving their encounter unresolved.

• Ye Xuan stopped Linlin from getting close and asked her and her companion to sing instead.
• Jiang Wenhuan angrily dismissed the two women’s singing and demanded that the madam bring out the pavilion’s top courtesans.
• The madam introduced Xiao Yue'er and explained that the other top courtesan, Hu Feng'er, was away sick.
• Ye Xuan sensed that Xiao Yue'er had cultivation beyond the Heavenly Immortal realm and asked her to play a piece.
• Xiao Yue'er's strange guqin music drew Ye Xuan into a nightmare-like illusion, but he awakened after the performance ended.
• Ye Xuan mocked her failed attempt to ensnare him and asked her to play again until he fell completely into the heart demon.

Ye Xuan thwarted King Yueji’s attempt to bewitch him, then took command of the campaign against the Eastern Yi. As he prepared to lead 400,000 troops, Huang Feihu arrived with Yin Shang’s terrifying War Elephant Cavalry.

• King Yueji revealed that she had lured Ye Xuan to Qingzhou and tried to control him with Heavenly Demon Sound, but admitted defeat and left.
• Ye Xuan let King Yueji go, and Jiang Wenhuan awoke without knowing what had happened.
• After the Eastern Yi forces gathered, Ye Xuan stripped the Marquis of the East of command and decided to lead 400,000 troops against them.
• A force of 10,000 armored riders on giant mammoths charged toward Qingzhou City, frightening the Eastern Lu soldiers and Jiang Hengchu.
• Huang Feihu arrived and paid his respects to Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan led Yin Shang’s army to confront the Eastern Yi, whose warriors and beast-mounted cavalry posed a serious threat. After reaching Jiaozhou City, he asked who commanded the Eastern Yi army and how capable their leader was, but the general had not yet answered.

• Huang Feihu warned Ye Xuan that the Eastern Yi consisted of more than three hundred tribes and could rival the Seventy-Two Tribes of the North Sea in strength.
• Ye Xuan rallied the warriors by accusing the Eastern Yi of raiding Yin Shang’s homes and supplies, then ordered the army to advance.
• More than four hundred thousand troops marched toward Jiaozhou City, with Huang Feihu’s ten thousand War Elephant Cavalry in the vanguard and Jiang Hengchu’s troops in the rear guard.
• At Jiaozhou City, Ye Xuan learned that four or five hundred thousand Eastern Yi soldiers had gathered fifty li east of the city, many riding tigers, bears, cattle, or horses.
• Ye Xuan asked who commanded the Eastern Yi army and how skilled its commander was, and the general defending Jiaozhou City paused before responding.

Ye Xuan and his commanders faced the Eastern Yi army at Jiaozhou City, where Huang Feihu defeated and killed one of the enemy’s champions. The Eastern Evil King ordered an attack, but two powerful cavalry forces suddenly appeared on either side of the city.

• Ye Xuan learned that the Eastern Yi leaders included the mighty Eastern Evil King and the cunning King Yueji.
• The Eastern Yi army arrived at Jiaozhou City, and the Eastern Evil King demanded the city’s surrender while insulting Ye Xuan.
• Huang Feihu rode out to challenge the Eastern Yi, and a warrior mounted on a bear came forward to fight him.
• Huang Feihu defeated the warrior in dozens of exchanges and killed him with a spear thrust.
• The enraged Eastern Evil King ordered his army to attack Jiaozhou City, but two torrents of steel cavalry appeared on either side.

The Eastern Yi leaders debated whether to attack Jiaozhou City after Chaoge’s cavalry routed their forces, then chose a direct assault. Wang Yong delivered the Human Emperor’s challenge to fight the next day, and the Eastern Evil King vowed to lead the Eastern Yi army against him.

• Chaoge’s giant mammoth cavalry and more than a hundred thousand elite horsemen crushed the Eastern Yi forces, forcing the Eastern Evil King to retreat.
• The Marquis of the East Jiang Hengchu watched the rout from Jiaozhou City and gained confidence in the strength of Yin Shang’s army.
• The Eastern Yi leaders argued over their next move before deciding to attack Jiaozhou City, despite King Yueji’s objections and doubts about the city’s defenses.
• The leaders recalled the power of Chaoge’s cavalry and the warrior who had struck a giant dragon with one palm, killing or wounding about a hundred people.
• Wang Yong arrived as an envoy and presented the challenge, “Borderland barbarians, do you dare fight tomorrow?”
• The Eastern Evil King accepted the challenge and promised to lead the Eastern Yi army into battle the next day; Wang Yong flew away.

The Eastern Yi army faced Ye Xuan’s forces, and King Yueji challenged Yin Shang after the Priest King’s request for a duel was rejected. She killed one general with three arrows, then shot Jiang Wenhuan’s horse out from under him while declaring that she wanted Ye Xuan as her live-in son-in-law.

• The Yin Shang army formed its battle lines, and the Eastern Yi leaders arrived to find Ye Xuan’s forces waiting for them.
• The Eastern Evil King asked to meet the emperor, and Ye Xuan came forward and condemned the Eastern Yi for crossing Yin Shang’s borders.
• The Priest King challenged Ye Xuan to exchange blows, but Ye Xuan dismissed him as an old man relying on Witch Clan tricks.
• King Yueji charged forward to defend the Priest King’s honor and challenged the Yin Shang soldiers.
• King Yueji killed a Yin Shang general with three arrows, then fought Jiang Wenhuan and shot his warhorse, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Zhang Guifang used his Name-Calling Horse-Unseating Technique to help capture King Yueji, and Yin Shang’s army overwhelmed the Eastern Yi Clan in battle. As the Eastern Yi forces began to collapse, the Sacrifice King empowered his soldiers with black smoke that made them immune to injury while it lasted.

• Zhang Guifang called out to King Yueji and knocked her from her white tiger, allowing Jiang Wenhuan to capture her.
• The Eastern Yi Clan charged, and Huang Feihu led Yin Shang’s War Elephant Cavalry and infantry into battle.
• Yin Shang’s heavily armored troops routed the Eastern Yi cavalry, while their mounts panicked and fled.
• The Eastern Evil King warned the Sacrifice King that the Eastern Yi Clan faced destruction if they lost the battle.
• The Sacrifice King raised a black flag and chanted, covering Eastern Yi soldiers in black smoke that shielded them from injury.
• Ye Xuan examined the black smoke, realized the soldiers could not be harmed while it remained, and smiled coldly.

The Eastern Yi Clan’s black mist failed to turn the tide, so the Sacrifice King summoned two Great Witches as their final trump card. Ye Xuan captured both beasts with golden light, leaving the Eastern Yi leaders with little hope of continuing the battle.

• The black mist thinned as Yin Shang’s soldiers kept cutting down the Eastern Yi troops, and the Sacrifice King and Eastern Evil King realized they were losing.
• The Sacrifice King gathered black Qi and opened a rift in the sky, summoning a massive beast and a three-headed serpent that Ye Xuan recognized as Great Witches, including Xiang Liu.
• Ye Xuan enveloped both beasts in golden light and captured them before they could react.
• The Eastern Yi soldiers and their kings were stunned, and the Sacrifice King spat blood as his presence withered.
• The Eastern Evil King considered ordering a retreat, but the Sacrifice King made another move.

Ye Xuan’s Human Emperor providence defeated the Priest King’s curses, and the Priest King died as Yin Shang broke the Eastern Yi Clan’s remaining resistance. After a decisive victory, Ye Xuan received the casualty report in Jiaozhou City and asked about Eastern Lu’s losses.

• The Priest King’s curse and Puppet Curse-Killing Technique failed against Ye Xuan’s Human Emperor providence, and the backlash killed him.
• Ye Xuan recognized that the Priest King’s death ended the Eastern Yi Clan’s last major resistance, and the Eastern Evil King ordered a full retreat.
• Yin Shang’s army won a resounding victory and returned to Jiaozhou City after suffering fewer than five hundred casualties.
• Huang Feihu reported that Chaoge had more than two hundred and ten dead and more than two hundred and eighty seriously injured, with no deaths among the War Elephant Cavalry.
• Ye Xuan asked for the casualty tally from the soldiers of Eastern Lu.

Ye Xuan reprimanded Jiang Hengchu over Eastern Lu's heavy casualties, then questioned the captured King Yueji about the Eastern Yi. He offered to let her go, but warned that Yin Shang could spread rumors that would make her own people distrust and kill her.

• Jiang Hengchu reported that Eastern Lu had suffered ten thousand casualties, including six thousand dead, and Ye Xuan scolded him for leading his army so poorly.
• Ye Xuan ordered King Yueji brought in and learned that she had come to Eastern Lu to study Yin Shang's culture before attempting to capture him.
• King Yueji refused to betray the Eastern Yi and told Ye Xuan to kill her rather than try to make her submit.
• Ye Xuan said he would let King Yueji return, then warned that Yin Shang could spread rumors portraying her as a spy and turn her own people against her.

Ye Xuan offered King Yueji a choice between the Eastern Yi Clan’s destruction and submission to Yin Shang, promising to relieve their poverty and suffering. King Yueji agreed to persuade the tribes to submit if he kept his word, but Ye Xuan worried that their long-standing enmity and lack of discipline would cause trouble.

• Ye Xuan defended his military stratagems to King Yueji and explained that he had changed his plans for the Eastern Yi Clan.
• Ye Xuan presented King Yueji with two choices: submit to Yin Shang or see the Eastern Yi Clan wiped out.
• King Yueji described the Eastern Yi Clan’s harsh land, scarcity, and raids on Yin Shang as a desperate way to survive.
• Ye Xuan promised to support the Eastern Yi Clan and ease its suffering if it submitted to Yin Shang.
• King Yueji said she would persuade the tribes to submit if Ye Xuan fulfilled his promise.
• Ye Xuan considered how to manage the Eastern Yi Clan’s lingering enmity and lack of discipline after its surrender.

Ye Xuan secured King Yueji’s cooperation in bringing the Eastern Yi Clan under Chaoge’s control, then gave her a powerful bow that deepened her admiration for him. As the Eastern Yi forces’ counterattacks failed, Wang Yong killed the Eastern Evil King and became a legend on the battlefield.

• Ye Xuan rejected King Yueji’s offer to become his servant and told her to remain ruler of the Eastern Yi Clan for him.
• King Yueji recovered from her heartbreak and attended to Ye Xuan while he taught her about fishing boats, sea fish, and fine salt production.
• Ye Xuan gave King Yueji an azure bow, demonstrated its power by splitting the clouds, and she treasured it.
• Huang Feihu, Zhang Guifang, Wang Yong, Jiang Hengchu, and the others crushed several Eastern Yi counterattacks.
• Zhang Guifang shouted the Eastern Evil King from his horse, and Wang Yong killed him with a palm strike, sending his true spirit to the Investiture of the Gods.

Ye Xuan brought the Eastern Yi Clan under Yin Shang’s rule, established policies to improve their lives, and led his army back to Chaoge. He returned to a jubilant welcome and honored heaven and earth and the fallen soldiers, promising to seek them a chance at rebirth.

• King Yueji submitted to the Human Emperor, and Ye Xuan established policies for intermarriage, trade, fishing, salt production, and farming in the Eastern Yi region.
• Ao Guang agreed to provide resources to the Eastern Yi Clan, while Chaoge would send specialists and seeds to support cultivation.
• Ye Xuan led the two hundred thousand troops back toward Chaoge, training them with a grueling march that lasted more than ten days.
• The people of Chaoge welcomed Ye Xuan and celebrated the victory and expansion of Yin Shang’s territory.
• Ye Xuan poured wine for heaven and earth, then for the fallen soldiers, and promised to ask Empress Pingxin to grant them an excellent opportunity for rebirth.

Ye Xuan welcomed the returning army and honored its fallen soldiers, then extended the victory celebrations as Chaoge's people celebrated and sought marriages with the troops. After seven days, he convened morning court, reviewed spring planting and recruitment plans, and asked his generals how to keep the army battle-ready; Zhang Guifang had no plan to offer.

• Ye Xuan welcomed the soldiers and urns of the fallen heroes to Chaoge, then raised a toast to the army and announced a three-day feast.
• The celebrations drew soldiers' families and local women seeking matches, while Madam Wang announced she would find Wang Yong a second wife and strict proposals crowded his home.
• Ye Xuan extended the feast to seven days, then summoned the officials to morning court after the celebrations ended.
• Bi Gan reported that seed distribution was nearly complete and spring planting was underway across Yin Shang.
• Ye Xuan ordered Grand Tutor Wen to recruit talented people regardless of their family or background.
• Ye Xuan asked the generals how to keep Yin Shang's army from losing its fighting spirit, and Zhang Guifang shook his head.