Chapter Summaries

Gu Shao'an left Emei for the capital and met Huang Xuemei at a post station, where she offered to serve him for a year and he agreed to travel with her. Elsewhere, a masked white-haired man ordered his followers to test Gu Shao'an and further his plans involving Pang Ban, while learning that Zhu Wushi had nearly uncovered Bat Island's operations.

• Gu Shao'an told Abbess Miejue he would seek Dragon Guard Manor's help in advancing Emei's status, then departed for the capital.
• Abbess Miejue sent Mei Jiangxue with her and ordered Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan to focus on cultivation.
• Gu Shao'an bought supplies in Jiading Prefecture and encountered Huang Xuemei at a post station two hundred li away.
• Huang Xuemei offered to let Gu Shao'an command her for a year, and he agreed that she could travel with him and exchange martial pointers.
• A masked white-haired man dismissed a proposal to retaliate against Gu Shao'an, but ordered someone to test him and sent a furnace vessel to Pang Ban to aid his cultivation.
• The white-haired man's attendant reported that Zhu Wushi had dismantled most of Bat Island's forces in Great Wei, and the white-haired man learned that Zhu Wushi might soon have traced matters to Bat Island.

Gu Shao'an traveled toward the capital with Huang Xuemei, who protected him and demonstrated her skill with the Sky Demon Qin. Her sound-based attack bypassed Gu Shao'an's Gang Qi shield and triggered a violent reaction inside his body, leaving the demonstration unresolved.

• Huang Xuemei tested their breakfast for poison, then traveled with Gu Shao'an toward the capital.
• After Huang Xuemei's true essence weakened during their fast journey, Gu Shao'an stopped with her beside a river, where she caught fish and prepared a meal.
• Gu Shao'an cultivated the Diamond Body Divine Skill while Huang Xuemei recovered, then asked to see her perform the Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Dragon.
• Huang Xuemei transformed her qin case into a sturdy stand and played the Sky Demon Qin for Gu Shao'an.
• Gu Shao'an endured the music's subtle internal pressure with his Gang Yuan, but Huang Xuemei's silent sound blade passed through his Gang Qi shield and made his heart and blood surge violently.

Gu Shao'an tested himself against Huang Xuemei’s Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Dragon and used what he learned to develop a sound-wave technique from Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. After Huang Xuemei stood guard while he practiced, they resumed their journey.

• Gu Shao'an blocked Huang Xuemei’s sound-blade attacks and learned that she had cultivated Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Dragon to its sixth level, including Melody Severing Gold and Soul-Seizing Tune.
• Gu Shao'an wondered whether the dragon roars of Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms could be shaped into sound waves, then gained insight through his [Sudden Enlightenment] trait.
• Gu Shao'an refined the dragon roars into layered vibrations and eventually produced pale-golden sound ripples that crushed leaves and stones within five zhang.
• Huang Xuemei stood guard while Gu Shao'an practiced and quietly turned away passing martial artists drawn by the dragon-shaped streams of force.
• Gu Shao'an thanked Huang Xuemei for guarding him, and the two resumed their journey after he said he was ready to continue.

Zhang Sanfeng warned Wudang that the jianghu was nearing chaos and revealed that Gu Shao'an had defeated Pang Ban, crushing Zhang Wuji’s hopes of catching up to him. In Nantong, Gu Shao'an learned Huang Xuemei had rare medicinal plants, then found an unfamiliar medicinal scent in his room.

• Zhang Sanfeng overwhelmed the Wudang disciples with his aura, then ordered them to avoid leaving the mountain because the jianghu was about to descend into chaos.
• Zhang Wuji asked to visit Emei and challenge Gu Shao'an, but Zhang Sanfeng told him Gu Shao'an had reached Condensing Essence into Astral Force and severed one of Pang Ban’s arms.
• Zhang Wuji left with Song Yuanqiao and the others, stunned by the gap between himself and Gu Shao'an.
• Huang Xuemei offered Gu Shao'an a Black Wood Xunbo Flower and other unusual plants from the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s treasury.
• After dinner in Nantong Prefecture, Gu Shao'an opened his inn-room door and detected a medicinal scent that should not have been there.

Gu Shao'an investigated a mysterious invitation and went with Huang Xuemei to Tianxiang Tower, where he discovered that his hostess had prepared an aphrodisiac-laced honey trap. He entered her private room alone and waited to learn who she was and what she wanted.

• Gu Shao'an found an invitation in his room and told Huang Xuemei that someone had entered while they were away, leaving medicinal herbs behind.
• Gu Shao'an decided to accept the invitation to Tianxiang Tower, and Huang Xuemei accompanied him despite his warning that the matter concerned him alone.
• At Tianxiang Tower, Gu Shao'an recognized the storyteller as Sun Baifa and asked Huang Xuemei to keep an eye on him while Gu Shao'an went upstairs alone.
• Gu Shao'an detected that the hostess's fragrance contained herbs that aroused lust, then entered the private room after confirming the attendant was no ordinary person.
• A woman played the qin behind a screen and apologized for not welcoming Gu Shao'an; he realized she had arranged a honey trap and grew curious about her identity and purpose.

Gu Shao'an met Lin Xian'er, the Azure Dragon Society's agent, and saw through her attempt to seduce him. She offered to help appease Meng Chixing in exchange for a future favor, adding herself as another inducement; the chapter ended with her awaiting Gu Shao'an's answer.

• Gu Shao'an recognized Lin Xian'er as the capital's famed beauty and remained unmoved by her music, perfume, and flirtation.
• Lin Xian'er claimed she had wanted to meet Gu Shao'an because she admired his defeat of Demon Master Pang Ban, but Gu Shao'an tried to leave.
• Lin Xian'er dropped her coy act and revealed that she wanted to make a deal with Gu Shao'an.
• Lin Xian'er showed Gu Shao'an an Azure Dragon Token and warned that Meng Chixing might seek revenge for Fang Yeyu and Pang Ban.
• Lin Xian'er offered to help appease Meng Chixing in exchange for Gu Shao'an's future help with one matter, and offered to spend the night with him.

Gu Shao'an rebuffed Lin Xian'er and exposed the truth she could not bring herself to deny, then agreed to help Huang Xuemei treat Six-Fingered Master. Sun Baifa summoned Gu Shao'an to a quiet tavern, where he reunited with a woman he had known years earlier.

• Gu Shao'an told Lin Xian'er that he had deliberately let Pang Ban leave and asked her to relay a warning to the faction behind her.
• When Lin Xian'er tried to tempt him, Gu Shao'an explained that he could see from her complexion how her past indulgence had affected her; she was left unable to answer and later confronted her memories and regret.
• Gu Shao'an joined Huang Xuemei downstairs and told her a powerful shadowy faction wanted to make a deal with him, but he did not want to provoke it without cause.
• Huang Xuemei asked Gu Shao'an to treat her grandmaster, Six-Fingered Master, whose injuries had worsened after a failed breakthrough; Gu Shao'an agreed to go after settling matters with Emei Sect.
• After Sun Baifa invited Gu Shao'an to meet at the Drunken Immortal tavern, Gu Shao'an arrived with Huang Xuemei and greeted the woman beside Sun Baifa as someone he had not seen in many years.

Sun Xiaohong reunited with Gu Shao'an at Tianxiang Tower, where Sun Baifa warned him about Lin Xian'er and learned that Gu knew of the forces behind her. Gu and Sun Baifa went outside the city to test their skills, and their duel left Sun Baifa astonished at Gu's mastery of Lifting the Light as if Heavy.

• Sun Xiaohong removed her Human Skin Mask and greeted Gu Shao'an, revealing that they had met years earlier.
• Sun Baifa recognized Huang Xuemei as Six-Fingered Master's successor and warned Gu Shao'an to stay away from Lin Xian'er.
• Gu Shao'an revealed that he knew about Shangguan Jinhong and the force behind him, while Sun Baifa realized Huang Xuemei did not know about the Azure Dragon Society.
• Gu Shao'an and Sun Baifa went outside the city to spar, and Gu's palm strike broke through Sun's Thousand Layered Waves and forced him back half a step.
• Sun Baifa recognized that Gu had mastered Lifting the Light as if Heavy, then evaded Gu's renewed attack with slippery, drifting footwork.

Gu Shao'an used the Heaven and Earth Great Shift, his Domain of Intent, and the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms to gain the upper hand against Sun Baifa, who answered with a staff-like fist technique and his own domain. Their clash continued beneath the moon as Gu Shao'an launched a relentless series of heavy kicks against Sun Baifa’s raised arms.

• Gu Shao'an used the Heaven and Earth Great Shift to restrain Sun Baifa, redirect his palm force, and strike him hard enough to make him stagger back three steps.
• Gu Shao'an expanded his Domain of Intent and pressed Sun Baifa, who countered with a powerful fist technique that made his arm seem like an iron staff.
• Gu Shao'an and Sun Baifa’s domains collided as their palm and fist met, shaking the ground and revealing that Gu Shao'an’s inner strength rivaled Sun Baifa’s.
• Gu Shao'an used the collision’s rebound to rise into the air, then sank his weight and brought his right leg down toward Sun Baifa.
• Sun Baifa braced with both arms as Gu Shao'an repeatedly stomped at his defenses beneath the moon, watched by Huang Xuemei and Sun Xiaohong.

Gu Shao'an sparred with Sun Baifa and learned that Sun's Heavenly Machine Rod could invoke the Heaven and Earth Momentum through the realm of unity between man and rod. After Sun Baifa questioned Gu Shao'an's own ability to invoke that force, Gu Shao'an asked the elder to guide him in swordsmanship.

• Sun Baifa drew the Heavenly Machine Rod and vanished from Gu Shao'an's perception, prompting Gu Shao'an to retreat and ready himself.
• Sun Baifa attacked with countless rod shadows, and Gu Shao'an met the assault with Emei Sword Manual—Sword Eight: Startling Wind.
• Sun Baifa ended the exchange by resting the rod tip on Gu Shao'an's shoulder, and he privately marveled at the young man's strength and talent.
• Gu Shao'an asked whether Sun Baifa had reached unity between man and rod, and Sun Baifa confirmed that this mastery let him invoke the Heaven and Earth Momentum.
• Sun Baifa asked how Gu Shao'an had invoked the Heaven and Earth Momentum, and Gu Shao'an credited guidance from Zhang Zhenren and a martial art he had created.
• Gu Shao'an asked Sun Baifa to guide him because his sword-path attainments had stalled despite creating several powerful Sword Moves.

Sun Baifa explained the three realms of weapon cultivation to Gu Shao'an and showed him how sword intent progressed from focused intent to instinctive movement and unity between weapon and wielder. He gave Gu Shao'an a method to advance his sword path, then Gu Shao'an asked what Sun Baifa wanted from him.

• Gu Shao'an told Sun Baifa that he had reached the first level of the sword path but remained unable to progress further.
• Sun Baifa demonstrated how intent became an instinctive flow, then showed how unity between man and weapon could interact with Heaven and Earth Momentum.
• Sun Baifa explained that Gu Shao'an could reach the second sword-path realm by integrating his Domain of Intent martial art into his Sword Moves and practicing them ten thousand times.
• Sun Baifa assessed Gu Shao'an as among the Great Wei Kingdom's top ten first-rate experts and said advancing his sword path would further increase his strength.
• Gu Shao'an quickly understood Sun Baifa's guidance, thanked him, and asked what matter Sun Baifa wished to discuss.

Sun Baifa explained that Shangguan Jinhong and the Golden Coin Gang were likely tied to the Azure Dragon Society, then arranged to settle with Sun Xiaohong near the Emei Sect. Gu Shao'an parted from them and met Huang Xuemei at the city gate, where he noticed a strange change in her True Yuan.

• Sun Baifa told Gu Shao'an that Shangguan Jinhong was searching for him and might be an Azure Dragon Society Dragon Head.
• Sun Baifa asked to settle in Jiading Prefecture, and Gu Shao'an welcomed him and gave him the Emei Sect Young Sect Leader's token.
• Gu Shao'an declined Sun Baifa's offer to accompany him to the capital and urged him to take Sun Xiaohong to Jiading Prefecture at once.
• Sun Baifa praised Gu Shao'an's potential, then scolded Sun Xiaohong for her slow progress and ordered her to train more.
• Gu Shao'an reunited with Huang Xuemei near the city gate and sensed that her True Yuan had become fiercer and faintly scorching despite her internal art not breaking through.

Gu Shao'an and Huang Xuemei went to Dragon Guard Manor with Shangguan Haitang to file for Emei Sect’s promotion in status. Shangguan Haitang tried to recruit Gu Shao'an to help Dragon Guard Manor against the Eastern Depot, but he refused, and a deep voice answered from outside the hall.

• Gu Shao'an warned Huang Xuemei about the abnormal change in her true essence and asked her to tell him if anything unusual happened during cultivation.
• At Drunken Immortal Tower, Shangguan Haitang reunited with Gu Shao'an and offered to help him file Emei Sect’s promotion with Dragon Guard Manor.
• Shangguan Haitang led Gu Shao'an and Huang Xuemei out of Capital City, explaining that she wanted to avoid the Eastern Depot interfering with the filing.
• At Dragon Guard Manor, Shangguan Haitang explained the filing process and warned that Cao Zhengchun might tamper with the documents to pressure Gu Shao'an.
• Shangguan Haitang asked Gu Shao'an to help Dragon Guard Manor oppose the Eastern Depot, but Gu Shao'an declined, saying court matters belonged to the court and jianghu matters to the jianghu.
• A deep voice outside the main hall praised Gu Shao'an’s words.

Gu Shao'an visited Dragon Guard Manor to register the Emei Sect’s expanded territory, where Zhu Wushi and Cao Zhengchun maneuvered against each other over control of government officials. After Cao Zhengchun left the hall, Zhu Wushi questioned Gu Shao'an about the Ghost Hand Gang, and Gu Shao'an mentioned a peculiar scent he had noticed on its members.

• Zhu Wushi welcomed Gu Shao'an and agreed to process his registration without further verification.
• Cao Zhengchun arrived, challenged Zhu Wushi’s influence, and offered to handle Emei’s promotion himself.
• Gu Shao'an named seven prefectures for Emei’s expanded territory, and Zhu Wushi ordered Duan Tianya to record them using his token.
• Cao Zhengchun exposed Zhu Wushi’s plan to use Gu Shao'an’s business to protect his allies in the Ministry of Revenue, and Zhu Wushi admitted the scheme.
• After Cao Zhengchun stepped outside, Zhu Wushi asked Gu Shao'an about the Ghost Hand Gang, and Gu Shao'an recalled a peculiar scent on its members.

Gu Shao'an explained how he had traced the Ghost Hand Gang to the Eastern Sea, then made clear to Cao Zhengchun that he would stay out of court struggles unless the Eastern Depot provoked Emei Sect. As Gu Shao'an and Huang Xuemei headed back to Emei to prepare for guests, they sensed something and looked up at the sky.

• Gu Shao'an told Zhu Wushi that the Ghost Hand Gang members had carried the scent of Di Mu Ma Huang and the sea, suggesting they had spent years in the Eastern Sea region.
• Zhu Wushi and Shangguan Haitang discussed Cao Zhengchun’s efforts to keep Gu Shao'an from joining Dragon Guard Manor, then turned their attention to containing the Eastern Depot’s growing influence.
• Cao Zhengchun escorted Gu Shao'an and Huang Xuemei from Dragon Guard Manor, and Gu Shao'an told him he would remain a man of the martial world and avoid conflict so long as the Eastern Depot left Emei alone.
• Cao Zhengchun ordered his men not to provoke Emei Sect and praised Gu Shao'an’s courtesy and bearing.
• Gu Shao'an told Huang Xuemei they needed to return to Emei Sect and prepare to host guests, then both looked up after sensing something in the sky.

After learning that her master’s condition had worsened, Huang Xuemei asked Gu Shao'an to accompany her to Shannan Prefecture, and he agreed to stop at an Emei outpost on the way. Meanwhile, the Great Dragon Head learned that Gu Shao'an had resisted both Lin Xian'er’s seduction and Zhu Wushi’s recruitment, and began planning to meet him while pursuing a scheme involving Zhang Sanfeng and the Longevity Art.

• A Soul Chasing Falcon delivered Huang Xuemei a message that her master's injuries had worsened, and she asked Gu Shao'an to travel with her to Shannan Prefecture.
• Gu Shao'an agreed to go with Huang Xuemei and said he would send word to Emei from an outpost as they passed through sect territory.
• The Great Dragon Head punished Lin Xian'er by striking her calf with a fishing hook, then released her after learning that Gu Shao'an had resisted Zhu Wushi's recruitment as well as her advances.
• The Great Dragon Head decided to have his attendant invite Gu Shao'an to examine his worsening illness.
• The Great Dragon Head explained that Zhu Wushi's breakthrough and a trip to the Great Yuan Kingdom were part of a plan to throw both nations' jianghu into chaos, and he ordered a warning sent to Cihang Jingzhai.
• The Great Dragon Head learned that Bai Xiaosheng was seeking the Longevity Art and declared that he would become the master of the divided world and jianghu.

Gu Shao'an practiced transforming “Immortal Caresses My Crown” into a sword move before discovering Huang Xuemei’s fierce True Yuan was causing her pain. They reached the Heavenly Dragon Gate, where Huang Xuemei learned her master was injured and insisted Gu Shao'an accompany her to treat him.

• Gu Shao'an tested his unfinished sword move, splitting a massive tree, and estimated he needed several more months to perfect it.
• Gu Shao'an examined Huang Xuemei and learned her Heavenly Dragon Heart Method made her True Yuan increasingly fierce, causing pain as it circulated.
• Huang Xuemei explained that her master had raised her after her parents died, and Gu Shao'an understood why she was eager to return to him.
• Gu Shao'an and Huang Xuemei reached the mountain approach to the Heavenly Dragon Gate, where four masked guards recognized her as their Young Sect Leader.
• The guards told Huang Xuemei that her master was at the rear mountain residence and sighed when she asked about his injuries.
• Huang Xuemei forced the guards back when they tried to stop Gu Shao'an, declaring him a friend she had brought to treat her master.

Huang Xuemei brought Gu Shao'an to the secluded residence of Six-Fingered Master, who appeared gravely ill but was secretly in far better health than he pretended. After Gu Shao'an concealed his discovery, Six-Fingered Master privately revealed his plans to refine a Heavenly Dragon Pill for Huang Xuemei and instructed her to meet him that night.

• Huang Xuemei led Gu Shao'an through the guarded mountain grounds to meet her master, Six-Fingered Master.
• Six-Fingered Master recognized Gu Shao'an from Jiading Prefecture, and Gu Shao'an examined his pulse and realized his apparent critical illness was an act.
• Gu Shao'an gave Six-Fingered Master a medicinal pill and concealed that he had detected signs of poisoning and the master's true condition.
• After Gu Shao'an left with Changbai, Six-Fingered Master confirmed Huang Xuemei had found Heavenly Heart Grass and said it would let him refine another Heavenly Dragon Pill.
• Huang Xuemei told Six-Fingered Master she had reached the sixth layer of the Heavenly Dragon Heart Method, and he planned to use the pill to advance her cultivation and resolve problems with her true essence.
• Six-Fingered Master told Huang Xuemei to meet him at the hour of the Pig and keep the plan secret.

Gu Shao'an settled into Listening to Rain Pavilion and learned that Six-Fingered Master had been feigning a grave injury for ten years. As Huang Xuemei and Six-Fingered Master performed a dangerous cultivation transfer, Li Changbai interrupted them and began draining their power.

• Li Changbai escorted Gu Shao'an to Listening to Rain Pavilion, where Gu Shao'an secretly tried to return to Six-Fingered Master's residence before Huang Xuemei arrived.
• Huang Xuemei told Gu Shao'an that Six-Fingered Master had been injured ten years earlier, prompting Gu Shao'an to suspect that the old master had concealed his true condition.
• Huang Xuemei used the Heavenly Dragon Pill to break through to the seventh layer of the Heavenly Dragon Heart Method while Six-Fingered Master guided her through the painful process.
• Six-Fingered Master transferred most of his cultivation and Gang Yuan to Huang Xuemei so she could purify it before returning their combined power to him.
• Li Changbai entered the room and revealed that he wanted the cultivation power of their Brocade Skill, then pressed a hand to Six-Fingered Master's back and began drawing out both their sources.

Li Changbai revealed that Six-Fingered Master had engineered his family’s destruction and used the Brocade Skill to drain his power, then exposed the same scheme behind Huang Xuemei’s parents’ deaths and her cultivation. As Li Changbai drained both of them, he explained how he had learned the Brocade Skill’s true method and prepared to pursue the Heavenly Human Realm, but Gu Mou’s voice suddenly interrupted.

• Six-Fingered Master and Huang Xuemei became immobilized as Li Changbai began absorbing their power, and Li Changbai explained that the Brocade Skill prevented both parties from moving.
• Li Changbai revealed that Six-Fingered Master had arranged his parents’ deaths and raised him to cultivate the Brocade Skill as a source of power.
• Li Changbai told Huang Xuemei that Six-Fingered Master had caused her parents’ deaths and cultivated her as a gu insect to fuel his breakthrough into the Heavenly Human Realm.
• Six-Fingered Master admitted the truth indirectly, and Huang Xuemei’s disbelief gave way to fury as Li Changbai continued draining their power.
• Li Changbai explained that he had discovered a stronger method of cultivating the Brocade Skill and planned to absorb both victims’ power before seeking the Heavenly Human Realm.
• As Li Changbai anticipated reaching Essence Condensation into Gang, Gu Mou’s voice rang out, saying the spectacle had opened his eyes.