On the borderlands between north and south, where ice and fire intertwine, a bloodline mystery spanning two generations quietly unfolds. Chu Mingzhao, born with the battle spirit of a snow wolf, is drawn from birth into the twin-worm plot devised by the late emperor. She and the Sacred Maiden of the Blood Phoenix in the southern lands are mirror images of each other, making them key pawns in the struggle to control the battle spirits of north and south. Qin Ye's lodestone conspiracy, the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion's sinister poison schemes, and the Lu family's secret blood oath close around her like layers of a spiderweb.
From the blood-red mists of Ghostcry Gorge to the return of the battle spirits to their source on the far northern ice fields; from the life-and-death gamble of a blood sacrifice in the furnace to the final showdown between twin puppets, Chu Mingzhao continues to awaken to the power of ice and flame. When she discovers that the balance between north and south is a curse bought with sacrifice, she resolutely cuts through the shackles of fate and joins hands with her younger sister to unravel the thousand-year-old mystery of the twin battle spirits.
“The snow wolf at my left, the blood phoenix at my right, ice and flame in my bones, faith in my soul.” The battle spirits' furious roar pierces the mists of history. With passion and conviction, Chu Mingzhao rewrites her fate, bringing the ice and fire of north and south together at last in the dawn of peace.
