Chapter Summaries

A zither player investigated Zhu Chen’s forces and planned to recruit allies against him, while Wei He considered the danger facing the Wanqing Sect and chose to strengthen himself quickly. He failed to advance all eight of the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal arts at once and began with the Shrinking Mist Technique.

• After her performance, the zither player learned that Zhu Chen had four powerful lieutenants and discussed recruiting Sun Zhu and Wei He into an alliance.
• As rain fell at Thousand Bat Water Pavilion, Wei He told Wan Qingqing to prepare to retreat into Black House Mountain while he made arrangements.
• Wei He decided that improving the remaining true arts of the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal was the fastest way to raise his strength.
• He tried to use the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to advance all eight arts together, but it did not respond, so he chose the Shrinking Mist Technique.
• The Boundary-Breaking Pearl began supplying heat for the technique, but rejected Wei He’s imagined Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird feathers as a catalyst.

After advancing the Shrinking Mist Technique, Wei He decided to avoid Zhu Chen while he strengthened the Wanqing Sect’s other True Arts. He arranged for Xie Yan and Xiao Qingyu to handle contact with Zhu Chen, then secretly left Xuanjing as Zhu Chen considered whether he could eliminate Wei He and the sect.

• Wei He used the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to advance the Shrinking Mist Technique and gained a new layer of protective vigor and explosive speed.
• Wei He resolved to avoid Zhu Chen until all nine True Arts of the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal entered the Force Realm.
• Wei He asked Xie Yan to handle matters involving Zhu Chen with Xiao Qingyu, and she agreed despite her fears.
• Wei He told Xie Yan he would leave Xuanjing and send regular letters, then vanished with his newly heightened speed.
• Wang Shaojun told Zhu Chen that Wei He had suffered a cultivation deviation and would no longer appear in person.
• Zhu Chen asked Cold Poison Master Ouyang Zhao whether they could eliminate Wei He and the Wanqing Sect, but decided to wait until they captured Sun Zhu.

Wei He watched as the Imperial Army attacked Decision Hall, forcing its master, Sun Zhu, to emerge and fight Zhan Heng and another masked Organ Refining expert. Sun Zhu fled their coordinated assault, only to find a huge ghost-masked man blocking his path.

• Imperial Army troops overwhelmed Decision Hall's fighters while Wei He watched from the shadows, hoping Sun Zhu would escape capture and buy him time to grow stronger.
• Sun Zhu appeared and wounded Zhan Heng while killing four soldiers who tried to ambush him.
• A second masked expert joined Zhan Heng, and the two used coordinated force attacks to gain the advantage over Sun Zhu.
• Sun Zhu unleashed five sword shadows, then fled as Zhan Heng and the masked expert pursued him.
• Sun Zhu stopped after rounding a corner when a towering ghost-masked man appeared in his path, and his pursuers caught up behind him.

Wei He drove off Zhan Heng and his companion without revealing his identity, then met Mo Shiyan, who warned him that Zhu Chen was capturing martial masters for the Nest in the Prefectural City. Mo Shiyan offered a way to keep Wei He safe and restrain Zhu Chen, leaving Wei He poised to hear her proposal.

• Wei He wounded Zhan Heng and the masked man with a surprise attack, then let them flee so he would not provoke Zhu Chen into sending stronger experts.
• Sun Zhu thanked Wei He and rushed to save the remaining members of Decision Hall while Wei He left to seek a place for further breakthroughs.
• Mo Shiyan revealed that she had recognized Wei He by scent and led him to a riverside meeting place.
• Mo Shiyan told Wei He that Zhu Chen was a Ming Gan expert and warned that Wanqing Sect would become his eventual target.
• Mo Shiyan explained that Zhu Chen's arrests served the Nest in the Prefectural City and said her side had a method to protect Wei He and keep Zhu Chen in check.

Wei He considered Mo Shiyan’s offer to help prolong Sun Zhu’s escape in exchange for intelligence, while continuing his cultivation. Two months later, Liang Zhen sought a martial arts teacher for his nephew in Xuanjing, but Liang Shen became distracted by the city’s women and drew the attention of a frivolous young master.

• Mo Shiyan offered to help Sun Zhu evade capture if Wei He supplied intelligence, and she proved her sincerity by presenting Zhan Heng’s head.
• Mo Shiyan explained Ming Gan’s effects and told Wei He to burn a patterned wooden pellet if he accepted her plan; Wei He sealed it away and returned to cultivating.
• By May, heavy rains had flooded parts of Xuanjing, raised food prices, and left the Wang Family managing the city’s troubles.
• Liang Zhen asked two rice merchants to help find a martial arts teacher for his nephew Liang Shen, who secretly fixated on women in the city.
• Liang Shen slipped out of his residence and watched a young woman riding past before a pale-faced young master approached him.

Liang Shen met his senior brother and learned which places in Xuanjing to avoid while investigating the missing martial masters, then eagerly accepted an offer to have Wang Shuyi brought to his room. Wang Shuyi secretly obtained the location of the Myriad Poison Sect’s base to curry favor with Zhu Chen, while Wei He completed the Cloud Patterns of his Gathering Cloud Bone Structure and learned his sect’s base might be in danger.

• Liang Shen told his senior brother he was investigating the disappearances of martial masters, and his senior brother warned him about Xunri Liuye, the Three Great Families, and the Thousand Bat Water Pavilion.
• Liang Shen’s senior brother offered to deliver Wang Shuyi to his room, and Liang Shen enthusiastically accepted.
• Wang Shuyi argued with Wang Shaojun over the Wang Family’s support for the Wanqing Sect and Myriad Poison Sect, then received a note revealing the Myriad Poison Sect’s base in Black House Mountain.
• Wei He refined Cloud Patterns across all eighteen chosen bones but needed a catalyst to connect them into a new innate bone system.
• Mo Shiyan warned Wei He that his sect’s base might be in trouble, and Wei He declared that he would slaughter Zhu Chen’s entire household if Zhu Chen attacked.

Mo Shiyan sent Wei He to Jushui Canyon to test the strength of a strange beast and learn more about Ming Gan, while they planned to pressure Zhu Chen by attacking Xunri Liuye. Zhu Chen let Xiao Qingyu leave but set a two-month deadline for the Wanqing Sect to capture Sun Zhu, and Wei He arrived at the canyon prepared to face its beast.

• Mo Shiyan urged Wei He to threaten Zhu Chen by wiping out Xunri Liuye and gave him a jade token directing him to a strange beast at Jushui Canyon.
• Xiao Qingyu told Zhu Chen that Wei He was gravely injured and away from the sect, and Zhu Chen ordered her to leave.
• Zhu Chen confirmed that Zhan Heng had disappeared and assigned Wang Shuyi men to watch the Wanqing Sect and eliminate it if it failed.
• Zhu Chen gave the Wanqing Sect two months to capture Sun Zhu, warning that its members would otherwise be held responsible.
• Wei He reached Jushui Canyon with the jade token and preparations to test the beast and gauge Ming Gan's strength.

Wei He entered Jushui Canyon to assess the danger posed by Zhu Chen’s strength and encountered a gigantic three-headed fox. Meanwhile, a fair-faced young master plotted to abduct Wang Shuyi, and Wei He was left facing the monster’s attack.

• Wei He used a poison antidote and a metal claw to explore the misty canyon, where he found a thousand-year-old stele bearing a farewell message from the Wu Dynasty.
• Wei He descended into the canyon’s white, fog-shrouded depths, heard immense breathing, and saw three gray-black fox heads emerge from the mist.
• A fair-faced young master watched Wang Shuyi leave the Wang residence and decided to abduct her as a gift for his junior brother.
• Wei He faced the three fox heads as a heartbeat drew near, then dodged when a black maw burst from the ground and the monster attacked.
• Wei He saw the creature in full: a black Three-headed Giant Fox with six white eyes and a tail shaped like a giant mouth.

Wei He survived the Three-headed Fox’s attack and realized how far Ming Gan strength surpassed his own, then settled near Jushui Canyon to cultivate while waiting for the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to recharge. A month later, with the Pearl full, he prepared to perfect his Gathering Cloud Bone Structure, while turmoil over Wang Shuyi’s abduction and renewed threats to Xuanjing unfolded elsewhere.

• Wei He expelled the Three-headed Fox’s strange force, escaped by throwing it Mo Shiyan’s jade token, and reflected on the gulf between ordinary force and Ming Gan.
• After recovering from his injuries, Wei He chose to cultivate near Jushui Canyon, sent a message to the Wanqing Sect with a homing insect, and built a secluded hut.
• The Wang Family searched for Wang Shuyi after the Meteor Bandits abducted her, but she returned less than two days later and said she had escaped during a clash between her captors and their enemy.
• Zhu Chen intensified the hunt for the Meteor Bandits while secretly capturing martial artists, as Li Tong led another army of three hundred thousand toward Taizhou and Zhu Chen focused on Incense Gathering Cult spies.
• A month later, Wei He’s Boundary-Breaking Pearl was full, and he prepared to use the White-tailed Black Snake’s inner skin to perfect his Gathering Cloud Bone Structure.

Wei He reshaped his bone structure into an upper-middle-grade Gathering Cloud Bone Structure, greatly improving his cultivation speed, and decided to attend Mo Shiyan’s meeting about destroying the nest. After learning that Xunri Liuye and the Chijing Army were closing in on the Wanqing Sect, he left his forest cabin and rushed back to Xuanjing.

• Wei He used the Boundary-Breaking Pearl and White-tailed Black Snake inner skin to complete the sixth level of the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique and raise his bone structure to upper-middle grade.
• Wei He found that his cultivation speed had greatly increased and decided to cultivate Organ Refining while using the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to advance his other true techniques.
• A masked martial master delivered Mo Shiyan’s invitation to meet aboard a ferry on the Pengjia River in Yishuang County and discuss destroying the nest, and Wei He agreed to attend.
• A Wanqing Sect messenger reported that Xunri Liuye spies had surrounded the headquarters and that Zhu Chen had stationed three elite Chijing Army divisions around the sect’s branches.
• Wei He packed his belongings and hurried back to Xuanjing, deciding that he would kill anyone who threatened the Wanqing Sect apart from Zhu Chen.

Zhu Chen led Liuye and allied family experts to surround the Myriad Poison Sect, while Wei He raced back to defend it. Wang Shaojun let Wei He pass and Zhou Xingtong ultimately chose not to stop him, leaving Wei He to face the assault on his own.

• Zhu Chen assembled Liuye experts and the You and Zhou Families to exterminate the Myriad Poison Sect and seize Wan Ling and Wan Qingqing as hostages.
• Wei He met Wang Shaojun in the forest and demanded to know whether he would help or stop him; Wang let him pass, then left in another direction.
• Wei He hurried toward the Wanqing Sect’s base and encountered Zhou Xingtong blocking the route with his Zhanmadao.
• A middle-aged scholar advised Zhou Xingtong to let Wei He go, and Zhou did not use his sound technique to stop him.

Zhu Chen surrounded the Wanqing Sect and tried to make its members surrender, while Xu Fei taunted them that Wei He would abandon them. Wei He returned at the last moment and challenged Zhu Chen, threatening to use poison as the standoff reached its breaking point.

• Zhu Chen encircled the Wanqing Sect and offered to spare those who surrendered or revealed Wei He's whereabouts.
• Xiao Qingyu, Wan Ling, and the other Wanqing Sect members refused to yield, while Xu Fei tried to turn them against Wei He.
• Xu Fei's claims made many disciples waver, but Wan Ling urged Wan Qingqing to keep believing that Wei He would return.
• Wei He arrived and challenged Zhu Chen to fight, then showed him four jade-green beads and warned that his poison might strike before Zhu Chen's blade.

Wei He used poison and a threat to expose Zhu Chen’s priorities, then lured him away from the Wanqing Sect while the two fought through the forest. The battle at the sect remained unresolved as Ouyang Zhao realized Wei He’s powder also contained Beast Bait and heard something approaching.

• Wei He scattered poison powder over the Wanqing Sect grounds and knocked down Two-Fist Xu Fei, Nine-Section Sword Xu Lu, and Nine-Finger Death Grasp Zhang Yeyun as they tried to disperse it.
• Wei He told Zhu Chen he had alerted the rebel army that Xuanjing was undefended, then fled as Zhu Chen pursued him through the forest.
• Ouyang Zhao failed to find an antidote for the poison, while Wan Ling, Xiao Qingyu, Xie Yan, Wan Qingqing, and the Wanqing Sect members fought Xunri Liuye’s forces.
• Ouyang Zhao recognized Beast Bait in Wei He’s powder as a rumble grew louder nearby.

Ouyang Zhao and Wan Ling used Beast Bait to unleash a beast tide that disrupted Xunri Liuye’s attack and gave Wanqing Sect a chance to escape. Wei He drew Zhu Chen away from the others, then fled after the Three-headed Fox swallowed Zhu Chen.

• Ouyang Zhao spotted the approaching beast tide and warned the fighters to retreat as it swept through the Wanqing Sect encampment.
• Wan Qingqing led Wanqing Sect members to safety while Wan Ling stayed behind to hold off Xunri Liuye’s pursuers, and Xiao Qingyu led the others away.
• Xunri Liuye’s experts broke free of the beasts and pursued the fleeing Wanqing Sect members.
• Wei He kept Zhu Chen chasing him until Zhu Chen turned toward the escaping Wan Ling and Wan Qingqing, forcing Wei He to confront him.
• Wei He lured Zhu Chen into poison powder and dust, allowing the Three-headed Fox to swallow him before Wei He fled.

Wei He raced back to aid his allies while Zhu Chen fought the Three-headed Fox, and Wan Ling and Wan Qingqing each faced deadly battles. Wan Ling fell as her secret technique failed, while an unknown helper cut Wan Qingqing free and drove Ouyang Zhao to stop pursuing her.

• Wei He hurried through the forest toward his endangered companions as Zhu Chen escaped the Three-headed Fox’s tail maw, badly wounded and forced to keep fighting.
• Wan Ling fought off Xu Lu and the other attackers until her secret technique’s backlash left her helpless; remembering her husband’s sacrifice, she fell toward the beasts below.
• Wan Qingqing exchanged blows with Ouyang Zhao, whose poison failed to affect her, and then tried to flee.
• Ouyang Zhao snagged Wan Qingqing with silver threads, but a short dagger cut her free and narrowly missed Ouyang Zhao.
• A white shadow flashed away after slashing Ouyang Zhao’s clothes, and Ouyang Zhao chose not to pursue Wan Qingqing alone.

As Xunri Liuye’s forces closed in on the exhausted Wanqing Sect survivors, Xie Yan finally abandoned retreat and unleashed her full strength. Wei He returned, killed Xu Fei, and scattered the attackers, then left to pursue the fleeing Zhang Yeyun and vowed to destroy Xunri Liuye in Xuanjing City.

• Xunri Liuye’s fighters pressed the besieged Wanqing Sect survivors while Xu Fei and Zhang Yeyun argued over who should lead the attack.
• Xu Fei persuaded Zhao Yi, Zhong Desheng, and Zhang Qingren to fight at full strength, and the attackers began killing the survivors.
• Xie Yan refused to use her escape talisman and unleashed the full power of her Primal Chaos Unmoving Fist, wounding Xu Fei.
• Wei He appeared behind Xu Fei and helped Xie Yan kill him, startling Xie Yan, Xiao Qingyu, and Zhang Yeyun.
• Zhang Yeyun and the other Xunri Liuye fighters fled, but Wei He’s Nine Shadows Soul-Shattering Incense poisoned the escaping fighters and killed them.
• Wei He told the white-clad figure he would return, then pursued Zhang Yeyun and vowed to destroy Xunri Liuye’s forces in Xuanjing City.

Zhu Chen escaped the Three-headed Fox’s territory badly wounded, but Wei He intercepted him and used blood-circulating medicine to worsen his internal bleeding. Zhu Chen fled through the forest under Wei He’s attacks, and the chapter ended as a millstone-sized boulder came rolling toward him.

• Zhu Chen escaped the Three-headed Fox’s canyon after confirming that the monster could not cross its boundary, then took Imperial Court Healing and Hemostasis Treasure Medicine.
• Zhu Chen avoided returning to Xuanjing City because he suspected Wei He was waiting for him, but Wei He appeared nearby and blocked his escape.
• Wei He revealed that blood-circulating medicine was worsening Zhu Chen’s internal bleeding, while Zhu Chen’s poison-cleansing items failed to stop it.
• Zhu Chen dodged Wei He’s poisoned Flying Knives and fled toward Xuanjing City as Wei He attacked him with stones and another hidden Flying Knife.
• Zhu Chen warned that other Ming Gan experts at Xunri Liuye would retaliate, then turned to face a millstone-sized bluestone rolling toward him.

Wei He killed Zhu Chen after the poison and blood loss finally overcame him, then attacked Xunri Liuye’s headquarters in Xuanjing to eliminate its members and seek information about its bases. As he headed for the Commander-in-Chief’s Residence, experts from the Three Great Families blocked his way and demanded that he spare Zhu Chen’s remaining subordinates.

• Wei He crushed Zhu Chen beneath a boulder, burned him, and waited until poison and blood loss left him helpless before killing him with a blow to the head.
• Wei He reflected that Taizhou was unsafe, planned to hide the Wanqing Sect’s survivors in the Black House Mountain Range, and decided to destroy Xunri Liuye’s branches and hideouts.
• Wei He stormed the Zhu Residence, killed its defenders, and wiped out all eighty-odd people inside while nearby soldiers stayed outside.
• Wei He headed for the Commander-in-Chief’s Residence to capture Jiang Yan and obtain information about Xunri Liuye’s bases.
• You Rong, Zhou Rong, and Wang Yehe intercepted Wei He on the rooftops and asked him to spare Zhu Chen’s remaining subordinates; Wei He challenged them to stop him.

Wei He defeated the Three Great Families’ staged resistance, hunted down Seeking Sun Liuye spies and Chijing Army participants, and became known as Xuanjing’s foremost expert. The story left him absent from the city as disciples in Taizhou discussed his reputation and wondered about events in Yishuang County.

• You Rong, Wang Yehe, and Zhou Rong attacked Wei He, but they deliberately feigned defeat so they could report that they had resisted him.
• Wei He reached the Grand Commandant’s Mansion, learned Jiang Yan had fled, intercepted him outside the city, and killed him and his group after extracting the locations on the list.
• Wei He and the Myriad Poison Sect hunted down Seeking Sun Liuye bases, killing or driving away more than half of Xuanjing’s spies and eliminating Chijing Army experts and martial general families involved in the campaign against the Wanqing Sect.
• Wei He also killed some Three Great Families’ dissident elites, helping the families conceal their lack of resistance to Zhu Chen while demonstrating his overwhelming speed and strength.
• A storyteller in Taizhou Prefecture’s Prefectural City exaggerated Wei He’s battles and hailed him as Xuanjing’s foremost expert.
• A woman surnamed Jiang and her fellow disciples discussed Wei He and reports of senior masters heading toward Yishuang County; Jiang dismissed her curiosity and resolved to return to the mountain to cultivate.

Wei He traveled to Yishuang County to seek rare resources for Jiu Ying and learn about the Destroyer Nest Alliance. At a gathering aboard a private pleasure boat, he met Alliance Leader You Fu and other martial artists before Yu Qingyan suddenly appeared.

• After the Myriad Poison Sect settled in the Black House Mountain Range, Wei He left for Yishuang County to search for materials to treat Jiu Ying and investigate the Destroyer Nest Alliance.
• Wei He boarded Ferry Number One and met Han Shi of the Zhongyu Sect and Han Shi’s chief disciple on the way to the private pleasure boat.
• Mo Shiyan welcomed Wei He aboard and introduced him to You Fu, the Destroyer Nest Alliance’s Alliance Leader, while other martial artists watched and discussed Wei’s reputation.
• You Fu praised Wei’s victory over Zhu Chen and inferred that Wei had used the Three-Headed Raccoon Dog against him.
• As Wei He considered asking You Fu about Ming Gan, Yu Qingyan entered the cabin, and Wei He sprang up in shock.