In the thirty-fifth year of Yong'an under the Great Yan, the northern lands are swept by knife-like snow and wind.
The border city of Youdu is a lawless place, where all kinds of people mingle. Only the Shen family's ironclad rules keep the chaos in check.
Lin Yanci, son of the thousand-year-old Lin clan of Qingzhou, was born with first-grade inner strength. Seeking a cultivation manual that could help him break through, he travels alone across the northern lands. Amid the snow and wind, he rescues Wen Jirou, a young woman on the verge of death. He intends to use her to gain an audience with the northern sect Jingyutang and seek its peerless martial arts, but instead finds himself caught up in a vast conspiracy. Jingyutang is burned to the ground overnight, its entire membership wiped out. The young woman becomes its sole surviving orphan, carrying a shocking treasure and hunted relentlessly by forces from all sides.
Shen Jinghan, the governor of Youdu, watches like a tiger poised to pounce, while his daughter Shen Qiuyue barges into the fray with brazen confidence. Jin An, the Eighth Prince of Beiting, arrives in Youdu in person, as political schemes stir beneath the surface. The mysterious Miao saber assassin Beizhai closes in step by step, with danger lurking everywhere. Qinghe, a loyal maidservant, travels a thousand miles to find her mistress. She has cultivated first-grade strength through medicinal training and vows to follow her to the death. A reclusive old woman teaches him the sword intent of the plum blossom…
Martial arts have their limits, but the human heart knows none.
Snow and wind engulf Youdu; one sword will decide the fate of the martial world.
