Chapter Summaries

Gu Shao'an fought Tu Baichuan and used the clash to deepen his understanding of the Emei Sword Manual. He awakened a second Domain of Intent and unleashed Sword Five: Afterglow, which drew in Heaven and Earth Power as the battle continued.

• Gu Shao'an met Tu Baichuan's Asura Path saber strike with a palm, then drifted away after dissolving the saber Qi in his body.
• Tu Baichuan charged again, but Gu Shao'an drew his Heavenly Sword and parried the saber before they exchanged dozens of moves.
• Gu Shao'an's precise swordplay and ability to redirect Tu Baichuan's force kept the Heavenly Human Realm fighter from gaining an advantage.
• As they fought, Gu Shao'an grew more skilled with the Emei Sword Manual and used Tu Baichuan as a sparring partner.
• Gu Shao'an awakened another Domain of Intent and thrust with Sword Five: Afterglow, drawing Heaven and Earth Power into his sword.

Gu Shao'an defeated Tu Baichuan after breaking through with his sword and drawing on Heaven and Earth Power. Tu Baichuan’s suppressed killing intent drove him into qi deviation, but Gu Shao'an had already poisoned him with Blood Seed Bodhi, and the chapter ended with Gu Santong learning how the poison had been planted.

• Gu Shao'an’s Sword Five: Afterglow drew on Heaven and Earth Power, and his dawn-like sword strike overwhelmed Tu Baichuan’s saber and wounded him deeply.
• Gu Shao'an redirected the remaining saber qi with his Immovable as a Mountain trait, while Gu Santong watched the devastating exchange.
• Tu Baichuan’s killing intent surged after he used the third Abhidharma Three Blades technique, and Gu Shao'an recognized that he was suffering qi deviation.
• Tu Baichuan charged in a blood-mad state, then abruptly collapsed; Gu Shao'an pierced his limbs with the Finger Flicking Divine Skill to disable him.
• Gu Santong noticed unusual blood and signs of poison on Tu Baichuan, and Gu Shao'an explained that Blood Seed Bodhi had been triggered by blood and had been created by altering the poison he had secretly administered.

Gu Shao'an uncovered why Tu Baichuan had come to cripple him, then helped Gu Santong absorb Tu Baichuan's cultivation before killing and disposing of him. The resulting treasure chest gave Gu Shao'an a Saint-Hand Level Sub-profession Card, a Medicine King Pill, and a Martial Arts Enlightenment Card.

• Gu Shao'an used the Soul Shifting Great Law to learn that Tu Baichuan had acted on his own after overhearing Zhu Houzhao's advisers worry about Gu Shao'an's growing power.
• Gu Santong proposed absorbing Tu Baichuan's cultivation, and Gu Shao'an gave him an antidote to the Blood Seed Bodhi poison.
• Gu Santong absorbed Tu Baichuan's cultivation and Essence, Qi, and Spirit, but failed to enter the Heavenly Human Realm.
• Gu Shao'an killed Tu Baichuan, dissolved his corpse with Corpse Dissolving Water, and warned Gu Santong against cultivating the Abhidharma Three Blades.
• Gu Shao'an opened the achievement treasure chest and received a Saint-Hand Level Sub-profession Card, a Medicine King Pill, and a Martial Arts Enlightenment Card.

Gu Shao'an introduced Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan to the Exquisite Chess Game, whose illusions could refine a player’s heart and spiritual energy. After both women faced painful memories in the game, Zhou Zhiruo learned that Abbess Miejue and Abbot Juechen had already been using it for a month.

• At breakfast, Gu Shao'an promised to seek medicinal ingredients that could preserve Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan's appearances.
• Gu Shao'an played Zhou Zhiruo in the Exquisite Chess Game, drawing her into an illusion of their youth in which Ding Minjun threatened them and stabbed Gu Shao'an.
• Gu Shao'an explained that the game used illusions to help players face their obsessions and improve their state of mind and spiritual energy.
• Yang Yan tried the game and was also drawn into a vivid illusion, while Abbess Miejue and Abbot Juechen quietly arrived.
• Zhou Zhiruo asked whether the game could help their masters, and Abbess Miejue revealed that Gu Shao'an had already arranged daily games for her and her two martial aunts.

Abbess Miejue offered Gu Shao'an the Emei Sect leadership, but he declined so he could focus on cultivation while she continued handling sect affairs. Months later, Gu Santong told him that a Lover's Resplendent Flower was in Baoding Prefecture and asked him to treat an ill benefactor and escort Gu Santong's son Cheng back to Emei.

• Abbess Miejue proposed that Gu Shao'an succeed her as Emei Sect Leader, but he declined and urged her to remain in charge.
• By late autumn, Gu Shao'an had spent months cultivating and repeatedly defeating Gu Santong at Go.
• Gu Santong said Sun Baifa had found a Lover's Resplendent Flower in a Qin household in Baoding Prefecture.
• Gu Shao'an explained the flower's medicinal uses and decided he would travel to obtain it himself.
• Gu Santong asked Gu Shao'an to treat the ill benefactor who had helped his friend and Cheng at the border, and to escort them back to Emei.
• After Gu Shao'an left, Gu Santong crushed the Go board and declared that he would abstain from Go.

Gu Shao'an stopped at a relay station on his way toward Baoding Prefecture and overheard that Emei Sect disciples and elders in Tienan Prefecture had been poisoned, allegedly by the Baishui Gang. He turned toward Tienan Prefecture to investigate, leaving the escorts who had discussed the rumor to face Yang Changlin’s anger.

• Gu Shao'an paused at a relay station, where several travelers recognized him by the Heavenly Sword.
• Wang Houde told the young escorts that Emei Sect members in Tienan Prefecture had been poisoned and that the Baishui Gang was suspected of targeting them over lost businesses.
• Yang Changlin silenced Wang Houde and the other escorts after noticing Gu Shao'an listening.
• Gu Shao'an decided the poisoning required his attention, paid the assistant, and headed toward Tienan Prefecture at full speed.
• Yang Changlin watched Gu Shao'an disappear and glared at Wang Houde and the other escorts.

Gu Shao'an arrived at the Emei Sect residence in Tienan Prefecture, cured Shitai Jueyuan, Mei Jiangxue, and the poisoned disciples, and investigated who had poisoned them. He suspected the Baisha Gang might be a scapegoat in a plot designed to provoke conflict, and decided to visit the gang.

• Gu Shao'an reached the Emei Sect residence and learned that more than seventy percent of its disciples, including Shitai Jueyuan and Mei Jiangxue, had been poisoned.
• Gu Shao'an used medicinal powder and Gang Yuan to expel the poison from Shitai Jueyuan, Mei Jiangxue, and the poisoned disciples.
• Shitai Jueyuan told Gu Shao'an that bandits had appeared outside the city and that a Baisha Gang Thunder Hall token had been found at their stronghold, but she doubted the gang was necessarily responsible.
• Gu Shao'an reasoned that the bandits and poisoning might be part of a scheme to make the Emei Sect and Baisha Gang fight, with someone else profiting.
• Gu Shao'an identified the poison as nonfatal Heartbreak Powder and said he would visit the Baisha Gang to investigate.

Gu Shao'an left the Emei encampment to confront the Baisha Gang over the poisoning of Shitai Jueyuan and Mei Jiangxue, intending to demand an explanation while withholding judgment until he had evidence. Shitai Jueyuan explained to Mei Jiangxue why defending Emei’s reputation required a firm response, and Gu Shao'an vanished before the watching eyes outside the gates.

• Gu Shao'an told Shitai Jueyuan that the Baisha Gang should investigate the poisoning and warned that he would destroy the gang if necessary, though he would not act without conclusive evidence.
• Gu Shao'an declined Shitai Jueyuan's offer to accompany him, urged her and Mei Jiangxue to use his antidote pills, and set out for the Baisha Gang on his way to Baoding Prefecture.
• After Gu Shao'an left, Shitai Jueyuan explained to Mei Jiangxue that his forceful stance protected Emei's standing and warned other factions against harming its disciples.
• Shitai Jueyuan promised to have Gu Shao'an take Mei Jiangxue out for training once her cultivation advanced, and Mei Jiangxue teased her about becoming a hands-off master.
• Gu Shao'an passed through the encampment gates and vanished in the sunlight as hidden watchers stared.

Gu Shao'an traveled to Zhanjiang Prefecture and learned where the Baisha Gang was based. He arrived at Baisha Fort, subdued its gate guards, and announced that he had come to hold the gang accountable.

• Gu Shao'an practiced using chess principles to control force but remained dissatisfied with his progress toward merging chess and swordsmanship.
• Gu Shao'an entered Zhanjiang Prefecture and paid a waiter at Jiangyue Tower for directions to the Baisha Gang's headquarters at Baisha Fort.
• Gu Shao'an left the city and approached Baisha Fort, where eight guards challenged him.
• Gu Shao'an lodged a red calling card in the Baisha Gang plaque and used his force to pin the eight guards to the ground.
• Gu Shao'an introduced himself as the Emei Sect's Young Sect Leader and declared that he had come to hold the Baisha Gang accountable.

Gu Shao'an confronted the Baisha Gang and used his overwhelming power to force its leaders and disciples to their knees while explaining that Baisha Gang members had poisoned Emei Sect fighters. After the gang denied responsibility, Gu Shao'an tossed Yi Ye a token, leaving the reason for it unclear.

• Gu Shao'an waited outside the Baisha Gang's gates as nearly a thousand disciples gathered, then demanded that its leader, Hao Baitong, be summoned.
• Deputy leaders Zhou Ruifu and Yi Ye met Gu Shao'an, and Yi Ye challenged his conduct while asking why he had come.
• Gu Shao'an advanced and unleashed his Domain of Intent, pinning the Baisha Gang's disciples and forcing Yi Ye and Zhou Ruifu to kneel.
• Gu Shao'an accused the Baisha Gang of sending a mountain bandit leader to poison sixty-seven Emei Sect elders and disciples in Tienan Prefecture.
• Yi Ye denied the accusation, and Gu Shao'an withdrew his pressure before tossing him a token, which Yi Ye caught.

Gu Shao'an confronted the Baisha Gang over a Thunder Hall token found on a mountain bandit and demanded that the gang investigate the poisoning of Emei Sect members, compensate the sect, and announce the truth. Hao Baitong challenged him to a fight, but when their palms met, Hao Baitong's eyes suddenly cleared.

• Gu Shao'an showed Yi Ye and Zhou Ruifu a Thunder Hall identity token found on a mountain bandit, and both confirmed it was genuine.
• Hao Baitong arrived at Baisha Fort, examined the token, and argued that it did not prove the Baisha Gang had poisoned the Emei Sect.
• Gu Shao'an demanded that the Baisha Gang investigate the poisoning, compensate the Emei Sect, and announce its findings, threatening to destroy the gang if Hao Baitong refused.
• Hao Baitong challenged Gu Shao'an to demonstrate his strength, and the two prepared to fight without weapons.
• Hao Baitong attacked with Angry River Palm, and Gu Shao'an answered with Repentant Dragon from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.
• When Gu Shao'an's palm struck Hao Baitong's, Hao Baitong's eyes suddenly cleared, and Gu Shao'an sensed something was wrong.

Gu Shao'an exposed Zhou Ruifu as the one who poisoned Emei Sect members with Heartbreak Powder to turn the Emei Sect against the Baisha Gang and seize its leadership. Hao Baitong offered compensation, but Gu Shao'an recognized the Great Returning Pill as a poor bargain because it would exhaust its user’s potential.

• Gu Shao'an defeated Hao Baitong with one palm strike, then withdrew most of the force and left the Baisha Gang leader injured but alive.
• Gu Shao'an explained that a poisoned Baisha Gang token carried Heartbreak Powder; Yi Ye and Hao Baitong discovered they had been poisoned and took Yi Ye’s antidote.
• Gu Shao'an questioned Zhou Ruifu for avoiding direct contact with the token, then sealed his acupoints and used the Soul Shifting Great Law to interrogate him.
• Under interrogation, Zhou Ruifu confessed that he had poisoned the Emei Sect to eliminate Yi Ye, gain influence, and steal Yi Ye’s Great Returning Pill.
• Yi Ye explained that he had found the pill and a book of poison techniques in a cave after a shipwreck, while Hao Baitong apologized and offered compensation to Gu Shao'an.
• Gu Shao'an recognized that the Great Returning Pill could grant twenty years of cultivation but would leave its user with almost no potential for future growth.

Gu Shao'an punished the Baisha Gang for its attack on Emei and demanded rare medicinal ingredients as compensation before continuing toward Baoding Prefecture. At a Baoding inn, Fan Sanshan told Cheng Shifei about Li Xunhuan and Gu Shao'an as they waited for a physician, while a carriage arrived outside another inn.

• Gu Shao'an crippled Zhou Ruifu, then offered Hao Baitong a choice between crippling 670 Baisha Gang members or gathering nine rare herbs for Emei within a year.
• Hao Baitong agreed to deliver the herbs, and Gu Shao'an warned him not to obtain them through theft or bullying before leaving for Baoding Prefecture.
• At the Facing Wind Inn, Cheng Shifei asked Fan Sanshan about Li Xunhuan, and Fan identified him as the famed Little Li Tanghua, whose Flying Dagger Li never missed.
• Fan Sanshan told Cheng Shifei that Gu Shao'an was considered the foremost expert beneath the Heavenly Human Realm and warned him not to pry into other people's affairs.
• Cheng Shifei wondered whether the physician summoned for the coughing Li Xunhuan could cure him, while a carriage stopped outside the Welcoming Inn in the western part of the city.

Li Xunhuan returned to Baoding Prefecture with Tie Chuanjia and met Fan Sanshan and Cheng Shifei, who were seeking a physician for his lingering illness. At Xingyun Manor, Long Xiaoyun learned of Li Xunhuan’s return and plotted to exploit him to restore his son’s crippled dantian.

• Li Xunhuan arrived at an inn in Baoding Prefecture and joined Fan Sanshan and Cheng Shifei, who told him that a physician was expected within two days.
• Fan Sanshan received a letter bearing an orchid fragrance and said the physician’s identity was unknown, though a trusted friend had arranged the visit.
• Long Xiaoyun learned that Mr. Mei Er could not be found and lamented that ordinary physicians could not repair his son’s crippled dantian.
• Xu Jiang reported that Li Xunhuan had returned to Baoding Prefecture, and Long Xiaoyun feared losing his status, manor, and wife.
• Long Xiaoyun ordered Xu Jiang to contact He Baiyao and lure her to Baoding Prefecture with news of a handsome man who would appeal to the Great Joy Bodhisattva.

Li Xunhuan and his companions were ambushed in Baoding Prefecture by the Five Poisons Sect, whose leader He Baiyao demanded that he attend to someone. The Great Joy Bodhisattva appeared to make the demand herself, while an unseen golden-white figure arrived nearby.

• Li Xunhuan gave a beggar ten copper coins, and the beggar later revealed himself as one of Long Xiaoyun's men, Hu Bugui.
• Fan Sanshan secretly paid the group's tavern bill, and Li Xunhuan led everyone back into the quiet streets.
• Masked attackers launched poisonous powder at Li Xunhuan and his companions, but Fan Sanshan blew most of it away with his steel fan.
• Li Xunhuan identified the surrounding attackers as members of the Five Poisons Sect, and their leader He Baiyao confronted him.
• He Baiyao said she had been entrusted to ask Li Xunhuan to attend to someone, and the Great Joy Bodhisattva appeared and answered that she meant herself.
• As the group reacted to the Great Joy Bodhisattva, an unidentified golden-white figure silently descended beneath an eave.

He Baiyao and Great Joy Bodhisattva attacked Li Xunhuan and his companions after poisoning them with Five Poisons Green Vine Smoke. Li Xunhuan tried to help the others escape but was badly injured by Great Joy Bodhisattva, and Cheng Shifei returned to support him as the fight continued.

• He Baiyao revealed that the Five Poisons Sect had poisoned Fan Sanshan, Tie Chuanjia, Cheng Shifei, and Li Xunhuan with Five Poisons Green Vine Smoke.
• Li Xunhuan forced some of the poison from his body and told Fan Sanshan, Tie Chuanjia, and Cheng Shifei to flee while he held off He Baiyao and Great Joy Bodhisattva.
• Li Xunhuan used his Gang Yuan to shield the others from poisoned Hidden Weapons, but Great Joy Bodhisattva intercepted him and shattered his defenses with a powerful charge.
• Cheng Shifei caught the wounded Li Xunhuan and chose to stay and fight alongside him, while Fan Sanshan and Tie Chuanjia were kept busy defending against the Five Poisons Sect.
• Great Joy Bodhisattva charged Li Xunhuan again after he refused to become her male concubine.

Li Xunhuan used his famed flying dagger against Great Joy Bodhisattva, but she survived and destroyed the weapon. Gu Shao'an arrived with the Heavenly Sword and challenged her with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

• Li Xunhuan dodged Great Joy Bodhisattva's attacks and tried finger techniques and palm force, but her defenses left him badly wounded.
• Li Xunhuan threw a flying dagger into Great Joy Bodhisattva's right eye, revealing the unusual blade intent and Heaven and Earth Momentum behind his technique to Gu Shao'an.
• Great Joy Bodhisattva pulled out the dagger and chewed it to pieces, then continued toward Li Xunhuan as he lost hope.
• Gu Shao'an arrived beside the Heavenly Sword, prompting the Five Poisons Sect members to stop fighting and turn their attention to him.
• Great Joy Bodhisattva lunged at Gu Shao'an, who met her attack with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms—Dragon Appears in the Field.

Gu Shao'an killed Great Joy Bodhisattva with two overwhelming strikes, then exposed Long Xiaoyun's plot to poison and kill Li Xunhuan. After Hu Bugui confessed, Li Xunhuan still struggled to believe his sworn brother had betrayed him.

• Gu Shao'an struck Great Joy Bodhisattva into the ground and killed her as the onlookers watched in shock.
• Gu Shao'an seized Hu Bugui and questioned He Baiyao, who revealed that Long Xiaoyun had hired the Five Poisons Sect to ambush Li Xunhuan.
• He Baiyao explained that Long Xiaoyun intended to make Li Xunhuan believe he was dying so he would sacrifice his cultivation to restore Long Xiaoyun's crippled dantian.
• Gu Shao'an used the Soul Shifting Great Law on Hu Bugui, who confessed to secretly poisoning Li Xunhuan, Fan Sanshan, and the others while disguised as a beggar.
• Li Xunhuan refused to accept that Long Xiaoyun had plotted against him, despite He Baiyao's account and Hu Bugui's confession.

Gu Shao'an spared He Baiyao and the Five Poisons Sect after their failed attack, then reunited with Fan Sanshan, Li Xunhuan, and Cheng Shifei. After examining Li Xunhuan, he revealed that grief and a desire for death—not merely physical injury—were keeping his illness from healing.

• Gu Shao'an defeated Hu Bugui and injured He Baiyao, then ordered the Five Poisons Sect to repair the damaged street and warned them against aiding evil.
• After Gu Shao'an left, He Baiyao ordered an elder to tell Long Xiaoyun what happened and demand one million taels in compensation.
• Fan Sanshan thanked Gu Shao'an for coming to their aid, and Gu Shao'an explained that tracking medicinal powder had led him to them.
• Gu Shao'an explained to Cheng Shifei why he had spared the Five Poisons Sect, then learned how Li Xunhuan had helped Fan Sanshan and Tie Chuanjia beyond the border.
• After treating their injuries, Gu Shao'an examined Li Xunhuan and said that his illness came from grief and a wish to die, so it would return unless he resolved the knot in his heart.

Gu Shao'an explained that Li Xunhuan’s strong sense of loyalty and exposed weaknesses made him easy for schemers to exploit, and warned Cheng Shifei to be cautious about whom he befriended. Fan Sanshan then revealed that he had seen Abbess Miejue beyond the pass half a year earlier, leaving Gu Shao'an surprised.

• Gu Shao'an offered Li Xunhuan treatment in exchange for valuable medicines and a future favor, or three favors if Li could not obtain them.
• Li Xunhuan asked Tie Chuanjia whether he should kill Long Xiaoyun, but decided he could not betray his sworn elder brother and ordered wine instead.
• Gu Shao'an warned Cheng Shifei that Li Xunhuan’s predictable loyalty and attachments made him a target and could endanger those close to him.
• Gu Shao'an urged Cheng Shifei to prepare for the risks of the martial world and remember his responsibilities to his family and elders.
• Fan Sanshan told Gu Shao'an that he had seen Abbess Miejue beyond the pass half a year earlier, and Gu Shao'an reacted with surprise.