Chapter Summaries

Lin Taichu and Tang Yun fought Tang Song after exposing his betrayal, but Tang Song underwent a monstrous mutation that gave him an unknown power. The transformed Tang Song overwhelmed their attacks and lunged at Tang Yun, leaving him to block a deadly strike with his arm.

• Lin Taichu struck Tang Song’s wrist with a Wind-Breaking Nail, freed Tang Kun, and revealed that he had pretended to submit while gathering evidence.
• Lin Taichu and Tang Yun, aided by the elder and other disciples, drove the injured Tang Song into retreat.
• Tang Song smashed his head against a boulder, but his wound grew a strange purple eye as his body transformed into a monster.
• Lin Taichu and Tang Yun tested Tang Song’s strength, but he wounded Lin Taichu with his claws and shattered Tang Yun’s hidden weapons.
• Tang Song charged at Tang Yun and clawed for his throat, forcing Tang Yun to raise his arm to block.

Tang Song overwhelmed Lin Taichu and Tang Yun after his mutation, then fled into the mountain forest. He returned to a hidden cave, where masked allies berated him for failing his mission and ordered him to wait for another chance to obtain the core ingredient.

• Tang Song injured Tang Yun and drove back Lin Taichu, while the other disciples were too afraid to intervene.
• The leading elder chose not to pursue Tang Song and led the group to rescue Tang Kun and return to the Tang Sect.
• Tang Song fled into the forest and reached a hidden cave occupied by masked people, where his mutation began to fade.
• A tall masked man condemned Tang Song for exposing his identity and failing to seize the medicinal herbs and core ingredient.
• Tang Song pleaded for another chance, and the masked man ordered him to wait outside the Tang Sect and explain what had gone wrong with his mutation.

Lin Taichu reported Tang Song’s mutation and escape to Tang Xuan, who ordered the Tang Sect to investigate the modification and search for accomplices. While Lin Taichu and Tang Yun recovered, Tang Song’s condition worsened in the cave, and he realized the masked men had abandoned him.

• Tang Song told the masked man that he needed a core component to stabilize his mutation, and the masked man ordered him to recuperate and stay out of trouble.
• Lin Taichu and the elders reported Tang Kun’s rescue and Tang Song’s escape to Tang Xuan, explaining the strange mutation, rapid healing, and unfamiliar sinister energy.
• Tang Xuan ordered the Scripture Pavilion elder to search the archives, the security elder to strengthen defenses and investigate the mountains, and Lin Taichu and Tang Yun to monitor the Inner Disciples once healed.
• Lin Taichu visited Tang Yun in the medical hall and told him they would investigate Tang Song’s remaining accomplices after recovering.
• Over three days, Tang Song’s mutations grew more frequent and his bloodthirsty thoughts intensified, while the masked men left him without medicine or the core component.
• Tang Song realized the masked men had abandoned him and resolved to obtain the medicinal herbs and complete his modification rather than become a mindless monster.

Tang Song broke into the Tang Sect to obtain medicinal herbs, but his worsening mutations drove him into a rampage before he could reach the storehouse. After Tang Song badly wounded Lin Taichu and attacked the Disciples, Lin Taichu decided to lure him to the Elders' Hall, where the elders and guardian Formation might stop him.

• Tang Song slipped into the Tang Sect through a hidden drainage outlet and searched for a way past the heightened defenses around the medicinal herbs storehouse.
• Tang Song's unstable energy nearly exposed him as he tried to steal a guard's token, so he hid in an abandoned house while his mutations and loss of reason worsened.
• Tang Song charged toward the medicinal herbs storehouse, transformed into a towering monster, and killed or injured the Disciples who tried to stop him.
• Lin Taichu arrived and attacked Tang Song with the Wind-Breaking Nail, but Tang Song wounded him and proved too powerful to subdue.
• Lin Taichu decided to lure Tang Song to the Elders' Hall, where Tang Xuan, the elders, and the guardian Formation might be able to trap him.

Lin Taichu lured the mutated Tang Song into the sect-protecting formation, but Tang Song broke free and overwhelmed the elders. Hoping to stabilize Tang Song with the mutation’s core ingredient, Lin Taichu searched the Scripture Pavilion and turned toward the elder’s restricted private storage.

• Lin Taichu drew Tang Song to the Elders' Hall, where Tang Xuan and the elders trapped him in the sect-protecting formation.
• Tang Song’s mutation worsened until he broke through the formation and knocked an elder unconscious, forcing Tang Xuan and the others to fight him directly.
• After receiving treatment at the Medical Hall, Lin Taichu recalled that Tang Song’s core ingredient might stabilize his mutation.
• Lin Taichu entered the Scripture Pavilion through a concealed passage and searched the rare-herb shelves for the ingredient.
• When he found nothing, Lin Taichu headed for the Scripture Pavilion elder’s restricted storage, which required an elder’s token.

Lin Taichu lured the rampaging Tang Song away from the Tang Sect, leaving the exhausted elders and Disciples behind. When Tang Song cornered him in the wilderness, a white figure appeared and struck Tang Song with a sword.

• Lin Taichu abandoned his search for the core ingredient and rushed out of the Scripture Pavilion as Tang Song overwhelmed the elders.
• Tang Song shattered Tang Xuan's arm, and Lin Taichu drew his attention before leading him toward the wilderness.
• Lin Taichu ran for roughly an hour while Tang Song pursued him, ordering the Disciples to return and guard the gate.
• Exhausted in the wilderness, Lin Taichu fired his Wind-Breaking Nails at Tang Song, but Tang Song knocked them aside and lunged at him.
• A white figure flashed past and wounded Tang Song across the chest with a sword, making him howl and freeze.

A white-robed swordsman killed the mutated Tang Song and saved Lin Taichu, then vanished without giving his name. Lin Taichu brought Tang Song’s corpse back to the Tang Sect so the elders could investigate the mutation and the masked faction behind it.

• A white-robed swordsman severed Tang Song’s limbs and wounded him with sword qi that suppressed his healing.
• The swordsman stabbed Tang Song through the heart, killing him, then left before Lin Taichu could learn his name.
• Lin Taichu carried Tang Song’s corpse toward the Tang Sect despite his severe injuries and exhaustion.
• Tang Sect disciples helped Lin Taichu bring the corpse to the council hall, where Tang Xuan asked how he had survived.
• Lin Taichu told Tang Xuan that an unnamed Senior had killed Tang Song and left immediately.

After recovering from his injuries, Lin Taichu treated the Tang Sect elders and joined Tang Du Zi in examining Tang Song’s corpse to uncover the strange drug’s secret. They identified most of its ingredients and discovered that the formula appeared to be an unfinished experiment.

• After five days of recuperation, Lin Taichu gathered medicinal herbs and treated Tang Xuan and the other injured elders, dispersing much of the cold, sinister energy in their meridians.
• Tang Xuan assigned Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi to investigate Tang Song’s corpse and uncover the drug’s secret.
• Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi examined the corpse and found that the black fluid contained unstable violent energy and an unknown toxin that could erode meridians and control the mind.
• Over several days, Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi separated the drug’s components and identified most of its ingredients.
• Tang Du Zi showed Lin Taichu the ingredient list, and Lin Taichu recognized herbs that stirred violent emotions, increased strength, and controlled the mind; the strange proportions suggested the drug was an unfinished experiment.

Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi traced a dangerous experimental potion to Qingming Grass, which grew only on Qingming Mountain, and led a team to investigate the area. The seven-person team left the Tang Sect at dusk and continued toward the mountain, wary that the mysterious force might be waiting for them.

• Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi determined that the potion could turn people into uncontrollable, greatly strengthened monsters and feared the enemy might be developing altered soldiers in large numbers.
• Lin Taichu recognized Qingming Grass as an indispensable potion ingredient found only on Qingming Mountain, and he and Tang Du Zi concluded that the mysterious force might have a base there.
• Tang Du Zi and Lin Taichu reported their findings to Tang Xuan and the elders, who ordered Lin Taichu to lead an investigation team with Tang Du Zi.
• Lin Taichu selected five experienced Inner Disciples, and the seven-person team set out for Qingming Mountain after receiving supplies and safety instructions.
• By nightfall, Lin Taichu's team had left the Tang Sect's territory and continued toward Qingming Mountain as he suspected the enemy might be laying a trap.

Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi led the team onto Qingming Mountain to investigate the Qingming Grass and the medicine linked to Tang Song. They found a hidden stronghold where enemies were refining test products and planning to use a perfected medicine against the Tang Sect, then the entire Jianghu.

• Lin Taichu led the team to Qingming Mountain, where Tang Du Zi sensed medicinal traces and eight concealed guards.
• Lin Taichu chose a steep rear route, and the team climbed to the summit without alerting the guards.
• Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi found recently harvested Qingming Grass and followed a strong medicinal aura toward a wooden hut.
• Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi overheard the people in the hut discussing medicine samples, Tang Song's death, and plans to destroy the Tang Sect with a perfected medicine.

Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi discovered a temporary stronghold refining the strange medicine and called Tang Sect reinforcements to attack it. They captured the stronghold’s five workers and guards, and Lin Taichu began questioning them about their Commander and other bases.

• Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi observed five workers refining medicine in a wooden house and decided to return for reinforcements rather than risk alerting the guards.
• The other Disciples reported footprints and discarded bottles linked to the medicine, and Lin Taichu sent a fast Disciple to request help from the Tang Sect.
• Elder Tang Shi arrived with twenty elite Disciples, and Lin Taichu divided the forces to surround and attack the stronghold.
• Lin Taichu charged into the wooden house and subdued its five workers with help from the Tang Sect Disciples.
• Tang Du Zi reported that the eight guards below had been dealt with and no other hidden people were nearby.
• Lin Taichu questioned the captured workers about their Commander, other strongholds, and the medicine’s ingredients.

Lin Taichu uncovered the mysterious force’s plan to control Mutated Soldiers with the Supreme Potion and led the Tang Sect to evacuate and hide. Five days later, he saw the Mutated Soldier army approach the abandoned Tang Sect, led by powerful Commanders.

• A captured subordinate told Lin Taichu and Tang Du Zi that the Commanders had taken the Supreme Potion and were assembling a controlled Mutated Soldier army to attack the Tang Sect and conquer the Jianghu.
• Lin Taichu ordered the group to take the potion samples, refining equipment, and experimental data, then burn the base and destroy its Qingming Grass.
• Lin Taichu reported the threat to Tang Xuan and the elders, who decided the wounded Tang Sect could not withstand an attack and ordered an evacuation.
• The Tang Sect packed its supplies, contacted other sects for support, and withdrew to a secluded valley, where the Disciples established defenses.
• Five days later, Lin Taichu saw the Mutated Soldier army approaching the Tang Sect, with several powerful Commanders leading it.

After the Mutated Soldiers found the Tang Sect abandoned, Lin Taichu arranged to seek Rice Country’s aid against the mysterious force and traveled to its capital. He reached the city under a strict martial lockdown and asked the guards to let him enter without a travel permit so he could meet the King.

• The Mutated Soldier force searched the empty Tang Sect, then withdrew without finding clues or revealing its base.
• Lin Taichu told Tang Xuan and the elders that he would seek Rice Country’s military support, while Tang Du Zi researched the potions and Tang Shi contacted the Jianghu sects.
• Lin Taichu left for Rice Country with three Inner Disciples, carrying supplies and traveling through mountains and forests to avoid patrols.
• After three days and nights, Lin Taichu and the disciples found Rice Country’s capital under strict guard, with inspections and travel permits required at the gate.
• Lin Taichu approached the city gate and asked the Soldiers to make an exception, explaining that he and his companions were Tang Sect disciples seeking an urgent audience with the King.

Lin Taichu and his three disciples entered Rice Country’s capital under the guise of physicians and secured an audience with King Zhao Yuanhao. Lin Taichu warned the king about the Dark Race’s puppet army and asked for help, leaving Zhao Yuanhao to face the threat.

• Lin Taichu persuaded the soldiers at the city gate to admit the group as physicians, and the city guards issued them temporary permits.
• Lin Taichu led Tang Feng, Tang Yue, and their companion through the capital’s heavily patrolled streets toward the palace.
• At the palace gate, Lin Taichu used the jade pendant Zhao Yuanhao had given him to request an audience.
• Zhao Yuanhao welcomed Lin Taichu into the Imperial Study and dismissed his ministers and generals so they could speak privately.
• Lin Taichu explained that the Dark Race was turning people into mutated puppets, slaughtering across the Jianghu, and planning to build an army to conquer the nations.

Lin Taichu told Zhao Yuanhao that the Dark Race was building a puppet army in Black Wind Valley and could soon attack Rice Country, then requested military support. Zhao Yuanhao agreed and, after consulting his ministers and generals, decided to send an army to join the Tang Sect and Jianghu sects in attacking the Dark Race's lair.

• Zhao Yuanhao told Lin Taichu that Rice Country had discovered potion-controlled patients and learned the Dark Race was behind them.
• Lin Taichu explained that the Dark Race had infiltrated Jianghu sects, created potions to control people, and was preparing to attack the sects and nations.
• Lin Taichu shared the location of the Dark Race's base in Black Wind Valley and warned that Rice Country might be its next target.
• Zhao Yuanhao summoned his ministers and generals to plan a response while Lin Taichu rested in the Side Hall.
• Zhao Yuanhao decided to send one hundred thousand soldiers under General Li and General Zhang to join the Tang Sect and other Jianghu sects in attacking Black Wind Valley.

Lin Taichu and Tang Li discovered Dark Race spies planning to poison the capital’s water while Rice Country prepared to march against the Dark Race. Lin Taichu pursued two spies to the river, but they poured their black medicine into it before he could stop them.

• Lin Taichu and Rice Country’s generals agreed that the army would leave in three days to meet the Tang Sect and other major sects near Black Wind Valley.
• Lin Taichu sent a signal to the Tang Sect, then searched the capital with Tang Li and found five Dark Race members planning to steal Rice Country’s defense map and poison the water.
• The Dark Race spies split up at night to carry medicine to the capital’s wells and rivers, so Lin Taichu and Tang Li pursued them separately.
• Two Dark Race members reached the river and poured their black medicine into the water.

Lin Taichu stopped Dark Race spies from poisoning Rice Country’s river, then joined the gathered sects and army as they prepared to attack Black Wind Valley. After Elder Tang Du Zi developed a scarce antidote, the allies formed a strike team led by Lin Taichu to target the Dark Race Commanders.

• Lin Taichu diverted the poisoned river water into a lowland, then helped Tang Li capture three Dark Race spies in the capital.
• Lin Taichu, Tang Li, Tang Feng, and Tang Yue returned to the rendezvous town, where Lin Taichu reported Rice Country’s agreement to send troops and the thwarted poisoning plot to Tang Xuan.
• Rice Country’s hundred-thousand-strong army arrived, and Tang Xuan coordinated its assault plan with the sect leaders and generals.
• Elder Tang Du Zi announced that he had developed an antidote that could free puppets and weaken Dark Race Commanders, but said rare ingredients limited its supply.
• Lin Taichu proposed targeting the Commanders instead of trying to cure the entire puppet army, and the allies formed a twenty-person strike team under his leadership.

Lin Taichu and the allied forces attacked the Dark Race army at Black Wind Valley, where six Commanders controlled thousands of puppet soldiers. As the armies clashed, Lin Taichu led an ambush against the Commanders and broke through toward their leader.

• Lin Taichu scouted Black Wind Valley and discovered six Dark Race Commanders and roughly ten thousand puppet soldiers guarding its narrow entrance.
• After a Commander spotted Lin Taichu’s squad, Lin Taichu ordered a signal flare, prompting Rice Country’s army and the Tang Sect Disciples to charge.
• The allied forces clashed with the puppet army while Lin Taichu and Tang Yun split the assault squad to engage the elite Guards and target the Commanders.
• General Li and General Zhang fought the puppet soldiers, while Tang Xuan, Tang Shi, and Tang Du Zi supported the battle and treated the wounded.
• Lin Taichu used the Disciples’ attacks to distract the Guards, then shook one off and charged toward the leading Dark Race Commander.

Lin Taichu, Tang Xuan, and Elder Tang Shi fought the leading Dark Race Commander and used antidote to weaken the Supreme Potion in his body. Lin Taichu struck the potion core, while the five other commanders remained tied down and the battle against the puppet forces continued.

• The leading Dark Race Commander attacked Lin Taichu, but Lin Taichu dodged and countered, forcing him back.
• Tang Xuan and Elder Tang Shi joined Lin Taichu, and the three coordinated their attacks to restrain the Commander and target his potion core.
• The Commander pushed the Supreme Potion to its limit, injuring Lin Taichu and Elder Tang Shi before Tang Xuan hit his wounds with antidote-coated concealed weapons.
• As the antidote destabilized the potion, Lin Taichu struck the Commander's potion core, making the chilling energy dissipate and the Commander return toward human shape.
• Elder Tang Du Zi and the other sect leaders kept the five remaining Dark Race Commanders occupied, while General Li's troops continued fighting the puppet Soldiers.

Lin Taichu and the allied forces defeated the Dark Race Commanders, destroyed their potion operation in Black Wind Valley, and rescued captured civilians and Disciples. After reinforcements arrived, they assessed the heavy casualties and treated the wounded, though Elder Tang Du Zi still needed to refine more antidote.

• General Zhang's flank attack was blocked by elite puppet Guards while Tang Sect Disciples protected the medicine tents and Elder Tang Du Zi refined antidote.
• Lin Taichu killed the leading Dark Race Commander, and Elder Tang Du Zi and the sect leaders subdued the other five Commanders, causing the puppet Soldiers to collapse.
• Lin Taichu led an assault team through Black Wind Valley, eliminated hidden Dark Race members, and destroyed their potion warehouse, experimental base, and research materials.
• Tang Xuan and Elder Tang Shi cleared the valley entrance and rescued captured civilians and Disciples with Elder Tang Du Zi's antidote.
• Lin Taichu learned that the allied forces had suffered heavy casualties, and Rice Country and the other sects sent reinforcements and supplies.
• Elder Tang Du Zi told Lin Taichu that most wounded could recover, but some puppet-inflicted wounds healed slowly and another batch of antidote was needed.