In the distance, an immense column of ice spiraled up into the sky like a pillar supporting the heavens. Upon reaching the heights, it reversed direction and, with the force of gravity, came crashing down toward the ground where the Daoist stood.

Song You, with his gaze lowered and his steps unbroken, formed a hand seal.

“

Boom

!”

A dragon of fire surged upward, piercing through the column of ice.Shards of ice, sharp as blades, scattered and fell like a shower.

The blizzard in the distance continued advancing.

The land was a vast expanse of white, the sky dark and murky. Amidst the hazy world, the Daoist leaned on his staff and walked slowly westward, appearing as nothing more than a tiny black dot—so small, so solitary.

Around him, the metal and stone giants clashed fiercely with the demonic horde, filling the air with thunderous crashes. Blood splattered across the snow, and occasionally, a giant would fall.

All around, columns of ice spiraled up into the sky.

Some formed towering pillars, others morphed into enormous hands that slammed down, while still others scattered into countless icy blades.

Fire dragons rose once more, clashing head-on with the ice and snow. They were truly worthy of being the spirit of the marshlands.

This must be a form of water manipulation.

If the land had remained a plain, covered with marshes and wetlands, controlling it would have been far easier for the demon. However, to weaken the power of Duke of Thunder Zhou, it had transformed the plains into Snowy Plains, turning the marshes into glaciers. While ice and snow are more solid and firm than flowing water, controlling them isn’t quite as effortless.

The Daoist continued westward, leaning on his staff. At last, the blizzard overtook him.

Although it was still daytime, it seemed as if dusk had fallen. The wind became visible, swirling in strands and streams, sweeping up snow from the ground and bringing fresh snow along with it.

Walking became much harder.

The temperature plummeted, and the fierce wind was strong enough to blow a person off their feet. The snow had become loose and powdery; without the aid of magic, a single step could easily swallow half of one’s body.

In the midst of this blizzard, the demon soldiers thrived, becoming even more fierce and battle-hardened. Among them, the more powerful ones rode the wind, their figures stretching gracefully through the air. Within the storm, only their dark silhouettes could be seen.

Though it would be an exaggeration to say they had the aura of great demons, they certainly resembled the flying evil spirits and monsters from old folk tales.

The metal and stone giants stepped heavily into the snow, sinking several feet with each step. Yet their movement was unimpeded. With their immense strength, each stride pushed aside the snow with brute force, breaking through the wind and storm.

However, there were too many flying demons, making even the giants appear overwhelmed.

“Wind, stop…!”

The nearby gale abruptly stopped.

Demons without natural flight abilities plummeted to the ground. Those capable of flying were met with a single breath from the Daoist, instantly igniting into flames, becoming bright, flickering lights in the blizzard. 𝔯α₦ŏВÈš

Amid the murky sky, flashes of light flickered intermittently.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

If an observer were watching from afar, they would be suffocated by the might of the land and sky, and awestruck by this incredible scene. Alas, the only witnesses now were the heavens and the earth.

The Daoist’s pace remained steady throughout, unshaken by the relentless assaults and disturbances from the Snowy Plains demon king. He walked from day into night, and from night back into day.

Resolutely, he passed through the blizzard until he reached the westernmost edge of the Snowy Plains.

The Daoist halted his steps, looked around, and then sat down cross-legged on the spot.

The metal and stone giants, having been replaced batch after batch, surrounded him once more, forming a protective circle.

With eyes closed and mind focused, the Daoist began forming hand seals. Streams of light flew forth from his fingertips.

The twenty-four solar terms: from Beginning of Autumn, End of Heat, White Dew[1], Autumn Equinox, to Cold Dew and Frost Descends. Each spell represented a year of cultivation over his two decades of practice—each varying in strength, over a hundred in total. They flew off into the distance, dispersing across the vast sky.

Meanwhile, the Snowy Plains demon king did not relent.

Despite having lost nearly all of its demon soldiers and generals over the past two days, it now poured forth its full demonic power, raising a massive surge of snow along the distant horizon.

This was still a water manipulation technique, but applied to the Snowy Plains.

The snow surge was like a colossal wave on the Snowy Plains, akin to an avalanche sweeping across flat land. It rolled in from afar with a deafening, continuous roar. From a distance, it appeared like a wall of snow pushing forward, an unstoppable force barreling towards the Daoist.

Truly, this was the might of a spirit born of the earth—a manifestation of nature's power.

How could mere mortal strength possibly withstand it?

“

Boom... Boom...”

All the metal and stone giants began to charge.

The metal and stone giants, which had previously scattered around the Daoist, ranging from tens to hundreds of zhang away, now all gathered together. They lined up in rows, all facing the same direction, forming a stone wall to resist the incoming snow surge.

For a moment, the earth itself seemed to tremble.

As the snow surge drew closer, it became clear that at the very front, the ice and snow had transformed into an army of demons and soldiers.

The smaller figures resembled common tigers, leopards, and wolves, as well as soldiers from human armies. Among them were foot soldiers clad in armor, wielding spears, and heavily armored cavalry mounted on tall horses. One could faintly discern the forms of northern steppe warriors and soldiers of the Central Plains dynasty.

Larger figures took the shapes of monstrous demons—tiger demons, ox demons, bear demons, and even rhinoceros spirits, as well as Yakshas and evil ghosts, ranging from over a zhang to several zhang in height.

There were even hawks, cranes, and flying demon spirits in the sky.

It seemed they were the spirits of the beasts, humans, and monsters that had died on this land over the past decade, their spirituality collected by the Snowy Plains demon king to become the vanguard of the snow surge.

Even if the most elite northern border troops of the Great Yan dynasty were summoned here, few would survive such an onslaught.

The metal and stone giants bent low, almost kneeling, ready to brace against the impact. At that moment, over twenty streams of spiritual energy shot in from behind.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...”

The streams of light resembled beams of pure white radiance.

But they were neither the scorching midsummer energy nor the sunniest summer solstice spiritual energy. Quite the opposite—these twenty or so beams of light were a pristine white, purer even than the snow itself. They were the spiritual energy of the winter solstice.

The spiritual energy surged past the metal and stone giants, crossing the sky, and sank into the advancing snow surge.

The light spread out, silently, without a sound. In that instant, all vitality was sealed, and the spiritual resonance withdrew.

“

Clink, clink, clink

...”

The transformed creatures—the birds and beasts, armored cavalry, demonic spirits—turned into ice sculptures. Still driven by their previous momentum, they continued their charge. But the moment they moved, they shattered into pieces.

Fragments of ice collided, producing a cascade of clinking sounds. The charge came to a sudden halt, and everything fell into stillness.

The snow surge, undeterred, rolled forward and swallowed them up in an instant. At last, the snow surge reached the Daoist, crashing into the stone wall formed by the metal and stone giants.

“

Boom

!”

The metal and stone giants pressed tightly against one another, shoulder to shoulder, front to back. Despite their immense strength, they were pushed back, sliding under the force of the snow surge.

Yet none of them were swept away, nor did any of them collapse. This stone wall stood firm, like boulders resisting a raging current or an island splitting a giant wave, forcefully dividing the torrent of snow and ice.

It was as if even the might of the heavens was not invincible. Alas, there were no witnesses to this scene. And the heavenly force, too, would eventually exhaust itself.

As mentioned before, this place was not a marshland, making it difficult for the spirit of the marsh to control. Nor was it a snowy mountain with natural slopes; although the snow surge was powerful, it was ultimately forced and unsustainable.

The metal and stone giants were gradually pushed back, their colossal forms—each as tall as a two- or three-story building—slowly fell to their knees, one leaning against the other, one pushing the next. The stone wall was driven closer and closer to the Daoist, who remained seated cross-legged with his eyes closed.

The snow surge finally came to a halt when the last metal and stone giant was just two chi away from the Daoist.

Two chi—a seemingly ample distance. Yet from afar, compared to the roaring snow surge and the towering metal and stone giants, it was minuscule, as if the snow had nearly brushed the Daoist’s very nose.

“…” The Daoist calmly stood up, unhurried, not even glancing at the distant snow surge as he began walking again.

This time, he headed north. Once again, he left no trace on the snow.

After several encounters, Song You had already discerned that the spirit of the marshlands here in He Plains was not as powerful as the Mountain God of the vast, hundred-li range in Pingzhou. Even after absorbing the blood, bones, and souls of hundreds of thousands of living beings, it was still hard to say if it had become stronger than that Mountain God.

Moreover, water is inherently softer while mountains are harder. A mountain typically remains still, but when it moves, its destructive power far exceeds that of water.

The Heavenly Palace had conducted two major purges, and the Thunder Division suppressed it yearly. Its strength was likely diminished further.

This spirit of the marsh was born from the spiritual spring and was strongest there, while weaker elsewhere. Yet, it was connected to the entire marsh’s spiritual resonance, making it elusive and difficult to pin down.

Especially for Song You, who was not a celestial deity—he lacked the diverse powers of divine officials to restrain the demon king, nor did he have the Thunder God’s ability to travel freely with the thunder across the skies. Capturing this spirit was no easy feat.

Furthermore, water is innately gentle, making it resilient and hard to eradicate.

Thus, Song You resorted to using the seasonal spiritual energy to lay down a grand formation, matching spiritual resonance against spiritual resonance. He sealed off the spiritual resonance of He Plains, supplemented by the power of thunder, to drive the spirit back to its origin at the spiritual spring. This was necessary to prevent the spirit from spreading everywhere before dealing with it using other methods.

Facing an inherent god with a mortal body—

It was no easy task. This was destined to be a troublesome and lengthy endeavor.

Three days passed as he walked to the north. Another three days, and he reached the east. Three more days, and he arrived at the southern edge.

By this time, he had completed a full circuit around He Plains.

The Daoist was very patient.

The Snowy Plains demon king seemed to understand his intentions but had no way to counter them, or perhaps it decided to play along, preparing to return to the spiritual spring and face him there. In the earlier days, it often launched counterattacks, occasionally devising strategies that took several days to prepare, which did indeed give the Daoist some trouble.

But when it realized it could not hinder him, it stopped interfering altogether, waiting silently for the Daoist to arrive.

Now, everything was in place.

When Song You rose again, he walked directly toward the spiritual spring. It took another day to reach it.

Curiously, the land was currently besieged by what might be the strongest blizzard in its history, yet the area surrounding the spiritual spring was perfectly calm.

The ground was covered in snow several feet deep, stretching out in a vast, uninterrupted white expanse. There wasn’t a single patch of black or a single tree in sight. And yet, the area around the spring was marked by vivid shades of orange and red, likely caused by mineral deposits over a long period.

In the center was a circular spring, with deep greenish-blue water bubbling up, occasionally spilling over to form small streams. These rivulets, stained by the same minerals, painted the ground in hues of orange, yellow, and red, like veins spreading out across the snow.

From above, it would certainly be a beautiful sight.

“

Splash

!”

Suddenly, a figure rose from the water, formed from the deep green and blue hues of the spring. It took the shape of a middle-aged man, dressed like a peasant from Hezhou, even wearing a headscarf.

The spirit form of the demon king bore a look of anger, mixed with a hint of disdain:

“As long as the waters of He Plains's marsh remain, I cannot die.

“As long as the earth’s vitality endures, I will persist.

“Even your master could not do anything to me when she passed through here years ago. Even the combined forces of the Thunder Division’s legitimate gods and the Gold Spirit Official could not subdue me. What power do you possess to defeat me?”

As the spirit spoke, the blizzard from all directions surged inward, pressing down on the area. Waves of snow surged in from every side.

Above the snow waves, a massive figure made of ice and snow took shape, resembling a fearsome ghost. It stood a hundred zhang tall, reaching up to the clouds, looming over the mortal on the ground. With its arms spread wide, it seemed as if it could tear apart entire mountains.

Song You took a deep breath and said nothing. He simply struck his bamboo staff against the ground.

“

Boom

!”

A wave of spiritual light rippled outward, quickly spreading to the edges of the area. The seasonal spiritual energy surged forth, compressing the spiritual resonance of the marsh while also summoning thunder from the skies.

“Duke of Thunder Zhou, assist me.”

Duke of Thunder Zhou responded almost instantly.

“

Crash

!”

A second layer of thunder resounded across the heavens. The lightning shattered the towering ghostly figure. The earth’s flames incinerated the ice and snow that filled the sky, and the seasonal spiritual energy unleashed its full power simultaneously.

Spring arrived from the east, bringing vibrant life, dispelling the deathly aura of the land. Summer rose from the south, embodying supreme yang energy, amplifying the power of the thunder. Autumn winds blew from the west, reducing moisture and weakening the spiritual resonance of the marsh. Winter descended from the north, sealing away all life, locking down the power of the demon king.

The Four Seasons sometimes stood together at the cardinal points, sometimes rotating in unison. They formed an earthly prison, trapping the spiritual resonance of the demon king, grinding away its spiritual form like a relentless millstone.

1. White Dew is the 15th solar term. ☜