Chapter Summaries

Fang Shuwen learned that the Fang family had lost a son twenty years earlier and suspected they were his birth family. When he and Zhou Qingmei went to the Fang residence that night, they discovered the young mistress had been kidnapped again, and Fang Shuwen helped rescue her as a fight unfolded.

• Fang Shuwen heard that the Fang family had once had a son who went missing about twenty years ago, and he suspected he was that child.
• Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei left the inn at night and heard that the Fang family's young mistress had been kidnapped again.
• Fang Shuwen raced after the kidnapper and crossed the city wall with Zhou Qingmei's help and his internal force.
• They found the man in black intercepted by a swordsman, and Fang Shuwen helped the young mistress to her feet.
• Zhou Qingmei called out to the swordsman, addressing him as Brother Zhang and asking him to show mercy.

Zhou Qingmei and Zhang Fang returned to the Fang residence with Fang Shuwen after Zhang killed the man in black, who had been a lead in their investigation of the Black Sha Cult. Zhou Qingmei discovered that Miss Fang had been born with all four yin extremes, and Fang Shuwen asked Fang Mingxuan about the Great Xuan Bank.

• Zhang Fang killed the man in black before Zhou Qingmei could stop him, then explained that he had come to help her.
• Zhou Qingmei, Zhang Fang, and Fang Shuwen returned Miss Fang to the Fang residence, where Fang Shuwen recognized Fang Mingxuan as his father but chose not to reveal their relationship.
• Zhou Qingmei asked for Miss Fang’s birth date and hour and realized she had been born in a yin year, month, day, and hour.
• Zhang Fang warned that the Black Sha Cult was too serious a threat for the two of them and proposed asking the Pavilion Master for help.
• Fang Shuwen asked Fang Mingxuan whether he knew of the Great Xuan Bank, and Fang Mingxuan confirmed that he did.

Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei investigated the Great Xuan Bank’s possible connection to the Black Sha Cult and agreed to stay at the Fang residence while Zhang Fang kept watch and sought help. That night, Fang Shuwen began to tell Zhou Qingmei something, while a masked Black Sha Cult agent ordered his people to hand over Fang Lingxin and avoid confronting their powerful enemy directly.

• Fang Shuwen showed Fang Mingxuan banknotes linked to the Great Xuan Bank, and Fang Mingxuan described its mysterious manager, Qi Zhifei.
• Fang Shuwen asked Zhang Fang to watch the bank, and Zhang Fang agreed to find help and write to his sect for reinforcements.
• Fang Mingxuan invited Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei to stay at the Fang residence, where a steward told them the eldest young master had been missing for nearly twenty years.
• Fang Shuwen entered the courtyard with Zhou Qingmei and said he had something to tell her.
• A masked Black Sha Cult agent ordered his subordinate to deliver Fang Lingxin to the young cult master and chose to appease their opponents rather than attack them head-on.

Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei spent time with Fang Lingxin after saving her, learning about her family and her missing eldest brother. When Zhang Fang discovered that the Great Xuan Bank was linked to the Black Sha Cult through Qingyang Manor, Fang Shuwen arranged to raid the manor that night.

• Fang Lingxin thanked Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei for saving her and admired Fang Shuwen's martial arts.
• Fang Lingxin told Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei that her parents worried over her and prayed for her missing eldest brother.
• Fang Shuwen, Zhou Qingmei, and Fang Lingxin spent the next few days chatting and sharing martial arts insights.
• Zhang Fang reported that the Great Xuan Bank's staff belonged to the Black Sha Cult and identified their hideout as Qingyang Manor, thirteen li outside the city.
• Fang Shuwen decided to go to Qingyang Manor that night, and Fang Mingxuan agreed to help gather people.
• After night fell, Fang Shuwen, Zhou Qingmei, Zhang Fang, and their allies split into groups and headed for Qingyang Manor.

Fang Shuwen and his companions raided Qingyang Manor and discovered a hidden passage concealing members of the Black Sha Cult. Fang Shuwen decided to investigate underground with Zhou Qingmei, while Zhang Fang and Fang Mingxuan volunteered to join them.

• Fang Mingxuan told Fang Shuwen about Qingyang Manor’s history and the Xu family’s decline as they rode to the manor.
• Fang Shuwen’s group surrounded Qingyang Manor, broke through its barred gates, and found it apparently deserted.
• Fang Shuwen captured a man preparing to use the Black Sha Demonic Art, crushed his shoulders, and killed him after the man refused to answer questions.
• The group discovered a hidden passage in a room and debated how to deal with the Black Sha Cult members underground.
• Fang Shuwen asked Zhou Qingmei to investigate the passage with him, and Zhang Fang and Fang Mingxuan volunteered to go along.

Fang Shuwen and his companions discovered the Black Sha Cult’s underground lair beneath Qingyang Manor, where girls were imprisoned as cultivation materials. After freeing them, Fang Shuwen led the group to the cult’s cultivation chamber and confronted its members.

• Fang Mingxuan insisted on descending with Fang Shuwen, and they entered the underground complex with Zhou Qingmei and another companion.
• Fang Shuwen killed two Black Sha Cult guards, then learned from the imprisoned girls that the cult members were cultivating in a room at the back.
• Fang Shuwen broke open the cages and freed the girls, while Zhang Fang asked Zhou Qingmei where her powerful bodyguard had come from.
• Fang Shuwen and the others brought help from above, forced open the cultivation room’s iron door, and disrupted the Black Sha Cult members’ training.
• Fang Shuwen entered the chamber and told the cult members that he had come to slaughter them all.

Fang Shuwen and his allies attacked the Black Sha Cult in a stone chamber, where he overwhelmed Qi Zhifei and helped kill every cult member. When Fang Shuwen went to question the defeated manager, he found Qi Zhifei dead.

• Fang Shuwen launched the attack and killed several Black Sha Cult members with his martial arts.
• Zhou Qingmei, Zhang Fang, Fang Mingxuan, and the recruited fighters joined the battle, while Fang Shuwen noticed Fang Mingxuan and the fighters were more capable than they appeared.
• Qi Zhifei attacked Fang Shuwen, but Fang Shuwen shattered his arm and captured him.
• The Black Sha Cult members refused to surrender and tried to break through, but Fang Shuwen and his allies killed them all.
• Fang Shuwen returned to Qi Zhifei and discovered that he had died.

After the Black Sha Cult was destroyed, Fang Shuwen and his companions rescued its captives and settled the aftermath in Guangning City. As Zhou Qingmei and Zhang Fang traveled back to their sect, Zhang revealed that he served the Black Sha Cult and attacked her, leaving her demanding to know the truth before she died.

• Fang Shuwen examined the Black Sha Cult's Azure Corpse Record and learned its brutal training method only described cultivation up to the green-skin stage.
• Fang Mingxuan arranged to report the cult's destruction and use its wealth to compensate Great Xuan Bank's depositors, while the group brought the rescued women to Guangning City.
• Zhou Qingmei and Zhang Fang left for the Pearl Pavilion, and Fang Lingxin reluctantly saw Zhou Qingmei off with Fang Mingxuan.
• On the road, Zhang teased Zhou Qingmei about Fang Shuwen, then asked whether she had noticed anything suspicious on the night of the attack.
• Zhang Fang drew his sword against Zhou Qingmei and revealed that the young cult leader had ordered her and her family killed because she had rescued Fang Lingxin.
• Zhou Qingmei blocked Zhang Fang's strike and asked him to let her die knowing the truth about the young cult leader.

Zhang Fang revealed that Li Nanchen was the young master of the Black Sha Cult and explained why the cult planned to eliminate Zhou Qingmei and her family. When Zhou Qingmei’s question exposed that she had lured him into talking, Fang Shuwen ambushed and defeated Zhang Fang.

• Zhang Fang told Zhou Qingmei that Li Nanchen was the Black Sha Cult’s young master and said she and her family had to die to prevent her suspicions from reaching Zhou Feixiong.
• Zhang Fang explained that he had used the attack on Qingyang Manor as bait to make Fang Shuwen believe the danger had passed, so he could return to Guangning City and capture Fang Lingxin.
• Zhou Qingmei asked Zhang Fang about the cult’s great undertaking, and he realized her eager expression meant he had fallen into a trap.
• Zhang Fang fled, but Fang Shuwen struck him down and appeared beside Zhou Qingmei.
• Zhang Fang asked how he had given himself away, and Fang Shuwen replied that he had done so in many ways.

Fang Shuwen explained how he had suspected Zhang Fang and secretly followed him, then revealed Zhang Fang’s role in the Black Sha Cult. After Zhang Fang refused to disclose where the cult’s forces had gone, Fang Shuwen proposed guessing what had compelled him to serve the cult.

• Fang Shuwen recalled the clues that made him suspect Zhang Fang and described how he sent Zhang Fang to investigate the Great Xuan Bank.
• After Zhang Fang’s lead pointed to Qingyang Manor, Fang Shuwen concluded that Zhang Fang had likely killed Qi Zhifei and planned with Zhou Qingmei to draw out the truth.
• Fang Shuwen secretly followed Zhou Qingmei and Zhang Fang, and Zhang Fang eventually exposed his true allegiance and the identity of the young cult master.
• Fang Shuwen confronted Zhang Fang and explained how he had uncovered the scheme, then asked why Zhang Fang had severed his own arm.
• Zhang Fang said the young cult master had ordered him to kill Zhou Qingmei and capture Fang Lingxin, and that the cult’s remaining forces could not defeat Fang Shuwen.
• Zhang Fang refused to reveal where the cult’s people had gone, and Fang Shuwen suggested they guess why Zhang Fang had joined the Black Sha Cult.

Fang Shuwen deduced that the Black Sha Cult planned to destroy the Pearl Pavilion within five days, but Zhang Fang claimed he knew little about the plot's masterminds. Zhou Qingmei killed Zhang Fang for betraying the righteous path, and she and Fang Shuwen set out for Nine-Congealing Mountain.

• Fang Shuwen deduced that the Black Sha Cult's major undertaking targeted the Pearl Pavilion and that Zhou Qingmei could expose Li Nanchen's role in it.
• Zhang Fang said the Pearl Pavilion would fall in five days, before they could reach Nine-Congealing Mountain, which was at least eight days away.
• Fang Shuwen tortured Zhang Fang with a method he had devised, and Zhang Fang claimed the plot's masterminds had saved the Black Sha Cult and planned the attack.
• Zhou Qingmei killed Zhang Fang according to the Pearl Pavilion's rules for harming fellow disciples and betraying the righteous path.
• Fang Shuwen gave Zhou Qingmei Zhang Fang's Stillwater Sword, and they set off to reach Nine-Congealing Mountain in five days.

Zhou Qingmei and Fang Shuwen raced toward Nine-Congealing Mountain, where they discovered the dead Cloudflight Escort Agency escorts and found Zhou Qingmei’s Senior Sister Lu trapped in an underground cavern. Senior Sister Lu warned that Li Nanchen and other Black Sha Cult enemies might be connected to their sect, and Fang Shuwen prepared vines so Zhou Qingmei could attempt a rescue.

• Zhou Qingmei used Fang Shuwen’s seemingly inexhaustible inner force to travel swiftly, and they reached sight of Nine-Congealing Mountain on the fourth night.
• Fang Shuwen heard a woman calling for help, so he and Zhou Qingmei followed the voice through the mountains.
• They found the Cloudflight Escort Agency escorts dead, and Zhou Qingmei recognized wounds from the Thousand-Character Sword Technique and traces of the Black Sha Demonic Art.
• Fang Shuwen cleared the branches covering a hole, and Zhou Qingmei realized the woman below was her Senior Sister Lu.
• Senior Sister Lu said Li Nanchen had knocked her into the cavern and warned Zhou Qingmei to report suspected Black Sha Cult infiltrators to the Pearl Pavilion Master.
• Fang Shuwen gave Zhou Qingmei vines and offered to hold her as she climbed down to rescue Senior Sister Lu.

Fang Shuwen rescued Lu Xiaoqing from an underground cavern and cured her of the Black Sha True Qi. Lu Xiaoqing revealed that Li Nanchen and Zhang Fang were Black Sha Cult members, then realized their attack would likely begin when the Pavilion Master and elders entered seclusion the next day.

• Zhou Qingmei used vines to reach Lu Xiaoqing in the cavern, and Fang Shuwen pulled them both up.
• Fang Shuwen treated Lu Xiaoqing's damaged meridians and cleared the Black Sha True Qi from her body.
• Lu Xiaoqing explained that Li Nanchen had ambushed her and knocked her into the cavern while she investigated the murdered Cloudflight Escort Agency.
• Fang Shuwen revealed that Li Nanchen was the Black Sha Cult's young cult master and Zhang Fang was also one of its members.
• Zhou Qingmei set Lu Xiaoqing's broken bones and described their journey as Fang Shuwen warned that the Black Sha Cult planned to act soon.
• Lu Xiaoqing realized the next day the Pavilion Master and elders would enter secluded cultivation, leaving Li Nanchen in charge of the Pearl Pavilion.

Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei rushed toward the Pearl Pavilion after learning that Li Nanchen had taken charge while the Pavilion Master was secluded in the Mysterious Mechanism Cave. At the Pearl Pavilion, Li Nanchen gathered the sect members and announced that he had invited Guest Elders.

• Lu Xiaoqing told Zhou Qingmei and Fang Shuwen that the Pavilion Master and several elders had entered the Mysterious Mechanism Cave at the hour of the dragon.
• Fang Shuwen carried Lu Xiaoqing while Zhou Qingmei used his internal force to speed them toward the Pearl Pavilion.
• Lu Xiaoqing realized Fang Shuwen had remarkably deep internal cultivation as they traveled for a shichen without tiring him.
• At the Pearl Pavilion, Li Nanchen gathered the sect members while Xu Chongshan and Zuo Qingshuang bickered.
• Li Nanchen told the gathered members that he had invited several Guest Elders to help the Pearl Pavilion develop steadily.

Li Nanchen introduced several notorious heretics as candidates for guest elders, provoking Zuo Qingshuang and Xu Chongshan. Xu recognized Guan Tianyue, the man who had destroyed his life thirty years earlier, and unleashed a sword strike that left Guan struggling to resist.

• Li Nanchen summoned Qingyangzi, Ghost Scholar, Blissful Monk, and three hooded figures before the Pearl Pavilion elders and disciples.
• Zuo Qingshuang condemned Li Nanchen for inviting the notorious heretics, while Xu Chongshan demanded that the hooded figures reveal themselves.
• One hooded man revealed himself as Guan Tianyue, and Xu Chongshan recognized the man who had abducted and killed his fiancée thirty years earlier.
• Xu Chongshan attacked Guan Tianyue with a focused sword strike, forcing Guan to expend all his strength as the blade advanced toward his brow.

Li Nanchen and Feng Mantian revealed that the Pearl Pavilion had been poisoned and taken over by the Black Sha Cult, while Zuo Qingshuang and Xu Chongshan refused to surrender. A young man arrived in the hall with two girls and a Green-Faced Ghost's corpse just as battle was about to begin.

• Xu Chongshan's attack faltered, and Zuo Qingshuang realized she and the Pearl Pavilion members had been poisoned with Qi-Severing Powder.
• Li Nanchen announced that the Black Sha Cult was taking control of the Pearl Pavilion and demanded that its members submit.
• Feng Mantian revealed himself as the Black Sha Cult leader and declared his revenge on the seven great sects.
• Xu Chongshan and Zuo Qingshuang refused to surrender, and the Pearl Pavilion disciples vowed to fight to the death.
• A young man landed between the groups, then entered holding one girl by the hand, carrying another on his back, and dragging a Green-Faced Ghost's corpse.

Fang Shuwen fought his way into Pearl Pavilion and reunited Lu Xiaoqing and Zhou Qingmei with their injured master, Zuo Qingshuang. After confronting Li Nanchen, he killed Qingyangzi with one punch and caught Ghost Scholar’s strike, leaving the clash poised to continue.

• Fang Shuwen killed Black Sha Cult attackers all the way to Pearl Pavilion’s great hall while carrying Lu Xiaoqing and leading Zhou Qingmei.
• Lu Xiaoqing told Zuo Qingshuang that Li Nanchen had ambushed her after killing the Cloudflight Escort Agency, and Zhou Qingmei introduced Fang Shuwen as her protector.
• Zuo Qingshuang asked Fang Shuwen to take her disciples away, but Feng Mantian confronted him and Li Nanchen admitted ordering Zhou Qingmei’s death and seeking to abduct the Fang family’s young girl.
• Fang Shuwen charged Li Nanchen, shattered Qingyangzi’s whisk and killed him with a punch, then caught Ghost Scholar’s chopping hand with the [Plum Blossom Loose Hands].

Fang Shuwen killed Qingyangzi and Ghost Scholar with effortless strikes, then turned his attack back on Li Nanchen. Li Nanchen’s sword failed to stop him, and Fang Shuwen killed him as well.

• Ghost Scholar realized Fang Shuwen had killed Qingyangzi with one punch and tried to invent an alias to escape.
• Fang Shuwen pulled Ghost Scholar toward him, broke his arm with a palm strike, and killed him.
• The witnesses, including Xu Chongshan and Zuo Qingshuang, were shocked by Fang Shuwen’s strength as he attacked Li Nanchen again.
• Li Nanchen drew Slay Evil and used the Pearl Pavilion’s sword techniques, strengthened by his Black Sha Demonic Art, to defend himself.
• Fang Shuwen used Strike the Mountain, Shake the Demon to shatter Slay Evil, then crushed half of Li Nanchen’s head and killed him.

Fang Shuwen killed Qingyangzi, Ghost Scholar, and Li Nanchen, then attacked Feng Mantian after the cult leader grieved over his son. Guan Tianyue and Blissful Monk intervened, and Fang Shuwen launched another powerful strike as Blissful Monk invoked his Ultimate Bliss Dharma Body.

• Fang Shuwen killed Qingyangzi, Ghost Scholar, and Li Nanchen before Feng Mantian could stop him.
• Fang Shuwen threw Li Nanchen's shattered corpse toward Feng Mantian, who struck it while trying to defend himself and destroyed the remains.
• Fang Shuwen attacked Feng Mantian with Vajra Tower-Throwing, but a black-clad figure pulled Feng Mantian out of the way.
• Guan Tianyue and Blissful Monk arrived and warned Feng Mantian as they recognized the danger Fang Shuwen posed.
• Fang Shuwen followed with a powerful fist strike, and Blissful Monk stepped forward and invoked Ultimate Bliss Dharma Body.

Fang Shuwen fought Blissful Monk, whose Ultimate Bliss Dharma Body withstood his first punch but was destroyed by a light palm strike. After Blissful Monk exploded, Fang Shuwen challenged Feng Mantian, Guan Tianyue, and the remaining enemy to attack him together.

• Blissful Monk used the Ultimate Bliss Dharma Body to withstand Fang Shuwen's punch, though the impact wounded him and drove him back thirteen feet.
• Fang Shuwen praised Blissful Monk, then moved in to strike him again with Strike the Mountain, Suppress Demons.
• Blissful Monk called on Feng Mantian and the others to lend him their strength as they pressed their palms against his back.
• Fang Shuwen's palm quietly dissipated the golden light and landed on Blissful Monk's chest, causing cracks to spread across his body.
• The black-robed figure, Feng Mantian, Guan Tianyue, Xu Chongshan, Zuo Qingshuang, and the Pearl Pavilion disciples retreated before Blissful Monk exploded into bloody fragments.
• Fang Shuwen brushed off his sleeve and challenged the three remaining opponents to attack him together.