Chapter Summaries

After marrying Dongfang Bai, Gu Hui withdrew from social obligations and focused on Mount Hua and his martial arts. A year later, he had revised the Hunyuan Skill and Nurturing Self Sword Art, while speculating about the nature of intent and the soul.

• Gu Hui and Dongfang Bai hosted Mount Hua’s departing guests, and Gu Hui teased Linghu Chong about his relationship with Ren Yingying.
• Gu Hui stayed on Mount Hua and sent Linghu Chong to the Five Mountains Alliance Assembly, where Zuo Lengchan was again chosen as alliance leader.
• Gu Hui trained his junior brothers and sisters with qin-driven sword qi while continuing to develop Mount Hua.
• A year later, Gu Hui examined his revised Hunyuan Skill and described the Offensive and Defensive Volumes of his Nurturing Self Sword Art to Dongfang Bai.
• Gu Hui speculated that intent might connect to consciousness and the soul, and Dongfang Bai asked whether cultivation had made him mad.

Dongfang Bai told Gu Hui she was pregnant, and months later she gave birth to their daughter, Gu Xi, whom her doting parents cherished. The family settled into life on Mount Hua, where Linghu Chong returned from his travels with Ren Yingying.

• Dongfang Bai told Gu Hui she was pregnant, and he celebrated with her while Feng Qingyang overheard and congratulated them.
• Gu Hui spent more time caring for Dongfang Bai as her pregnancy progressed, and she eventually gave birth to a daughter on Mount Hua.
• Gu Hui named the baby Gu Xi and doted on her, while Feng Qingyang and Yue Buqun responded to the new arrival.
• Gu Hui and Dongfang Bai devoted themselves to raising Gu Xi, and Gu Hui stopped training his junior brothers and sisters.
• Linghu Chong returned from a year of travel with Ren Yingying, whom Gu Hui recognized and welcomed as family.
• Dongfang Bai found Gu Hui holding Gu Xi and took their daughter from him after he admitted he had carried her out while Dongfang was away.

Gu Hui and Dongfang Bai enjoyed family life on Mount Hua as their daughter, Gu Xixi, grew into a toddler. Their quiet days were interrupted when Ren Woxing arrived, demanded to know where Linghu Chong was, and insulted the Mount Hua disciples.

• Dongfang Bai scolded Gu Hui for repeatedly taking Gu Xixi ahead of their agreed schedule, then let him spend the day with her.
• Gu Hui and Dongfang Bai raised Gu Xixi on Mount Hua, where Gu Hui also treated patients in Huayin County and trained her meridians with his inner force.
• Ren Woxing shouted across Mount Hua and challenged Gu Hui’s reputation while Gu Hui shielded Gu Xixi and led his family to the training ground.
• Ren Woxing confronted Dongfang Bai and Yue Buqun, then asked where Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying had gone.
• Cheng Buyou said Linghu Chong had not returned to Mount Hua and challenged Ren Woxing for demanding answers there.
• Ren Woxing insulted Cheng Buyou as a former Mount Hua outcast and Gu Hui’s lapdog, while Gu Hui’s expression stayed calm and his eyes turned cold.

Ren Woxing challenged Gu Hui and the Mount Hua disciples, but Gu Hui overwhelmed him and ordered him dumped in Huayin County. The chapter ended with Gu Hui warning the martial world against causing trouble on Mount Hua.

• Gu Hui rebuked Ren Woxing for his rule over the Sun Moon Divine Cult, prompting Ren to attack him.
• Lao Denuo, Lu Dayou, and the other Mount Hua disciples fought Ren Woxing, but his Star-Sucking Great Skill defeated them after a hundred moves.
• Lin Ke stepped in to protect Gu Hui, and Ren Woxing recognized him as one of the masked fighters who had once confronted him.
• Gu Hui stopped Lin Ke and let Ren attack, but Ren’s Star-Sucking Great Skill could not absorb Gu Hui’s inner energy.
• Gu Hui beat Ren Woxing and warned him to behave, then ordered Lu Dayou to leave him in Huayin County and spread word of his conduct.

Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying found Ren Woxing injured outside Huayin County after Gu Hui defeated and humiliated him, and Linghu Chong warned him against challenging Mount Hua again. After tending to Ren Woxing, the couple visited Mount Hua, where they learned Gu Hui had secluded himself on the Cliff of Repentance to refine the Nurturing Self Sword Art.

• Ren Woxing remained badly injured outside Huayin County, and locals refused to help him after hearing about his behavior at Mount Hua.
• Ren Yingying hurried to Huayin County with Linghu Chong, and Linghu Chong carried Ren Woxing into the city while warning him about Gu Hui and Mount Hua's strength.
• Linghu Chong treated Ren Woxing's injuries and realized how greatly Gu Hui's skill exceeded his own.
• Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying went up Mount Hua, paid their respects to the elders, and learned Gu Hui was in seclusion on the Cliff of Repentance.
• Gu Hui practiced the Nurturing Self Sword Art and developed six offensive forms, including the Five Mountains Style, alongside the defensive Hunyuan Style.

Gu Hui learned that Qinghai Water Bandits had robbed the Mount Hua Escort Agency, taking a shipment and killing two elders and several disciples. He ordered Zhou Zheng and a force of assassins to wipe out the bandits, and the experts set out for Qinghai.

• Gu Hui welcomed Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying back to Mount Hua, urged Ren Yingying to persuade her father to preserve the balance between the righteous and demonic paths, and suggested she inherit the Sun Moon Divine Cult.
• Gu Hui encouraged Mount Hua's disciples to train, reach the first-rate ranks, and travel the martial world.
• Feng Buping reported that Qinghai Water Bandits had taken one hundred thousand taels of silver and killed Junior Brothers Cong and Cheng and several other Mount Hua disciples.
• Gu Hui ordered Zhou Zheng to gather his followers and kill every member of the Qinghai Water Bandits, while arranging care for the dead elders' families.
• Ren Yingying recognized Zhou Zheng as connected to the assassins who had besieged her father, and Feng Buping wondered how many such fighters Gu Hui controlled.
• A group of peak experts assembled and set out for Qinghai.

After Cheng Buyou, Cong Buqi, and Mount Hua disciples were killed by the Qinghai Water Bandits, Gu Hui decided to mobilize Mount Hua’s full strength and strengthen the sect’s organization. The bandits were wiped out, and Gu Hui announced their destruction at the funeral, leaving the other sects impressed and wary of Mount Hua.

• Zuo Lengchan, Fangzheng, and leaders of other sects learned that the Mount Hua Escort Agency had been robbed and Cheng Buyou, Cong Buqi, and several disciples had been killed.
• Gu Hui told Yue Buqun and Mount Hua’s leaders that he would send all ten supreme martial artists to destroy the bandits and punish anyone secretly provoking Mount Hua.
• Gu Hui proposed establishing Mount Hua Academy and a system for educating, screening, and assigning disciples and business staff, and the leaders approved.
• Mount Hua held a grand funeral for the dead, and representatives from the Five Mountains sects, Shaolin, and Wudang came to pay their respects.
• Gu Hui announced that the Qinghai Water Bandits had vanished and that Mount Hua had recovered its silver along with the bandits’ plunder.
• The other sects congratulated Gu Hui for avenging the dead and eliminating the bandits, and he thanked them for attending.

After restoring peace to the martial world, Gu Hui left Mount Hua with Dongfang Bai and Gu Xi to travel for years, strengthening their skills and helping Gu Xi grow into a gifted young martial artist. They eventually returned to Mount Hua, where Yue Buqun and his wife scolded Gu Hui for staying away so long.

• After the Qinghai Water Bandits were wiped out, Gu Hui used their treasure to reward his followers and fund Mount Hua, while the Five Mountains and martial world settled into peace.
• Two years later, Gu Hui agreed to travel with Dongfang Bai and three-year-old Gu Xi so Dongfang Bai could clear her mind and Gu Xi could experience the world.
• Gu Hui took his family across the Great Ming, and they spent seven years traveling; he found an ancient snow lotus on Heavenly Mountain and refined it into pills that greatly improved his and Dongfang Bai's cultivation.
• Gu Xi grew into an exceptional young martial artist, reaching the peak of third-rate skill by about age ten and learning to wield two sword techniques at once.
• Dongfang Bai became pregnant again, so the family returned to Mount Hua, where Yue Buqun and his wife scolded Gu Hui for his long absence.
• During Gu Hui's absence, several of his former students, including Lin Pingzhi, Yue Lingshan, and Feng Qing'er, advanced to first-rate martial artist rank.

Gu Hui warned the Mount Hua elders that Great Ming might descend into chaos and urged them to prepare hidden refuges to preserve the sect. Years later, he raised his children while continuing to study Taiji and refine his sword control.

• Gu Hui told Mount Hua's elders to prepare isolated refuges for elite disciples in case Great Ming fell into chaos, and they accepted his command.
• Dongfang Bai gave birth to a son, Gu Lin, whom Gu Hui began educating strictly from an early age.
• Gu Xi reached the first-rate realm at sixteen and practiced the Gu Sword Formula while Gu Lin admired her.
• Gu Hui explained the origins of the Gu Sword Formula to Gu Xi and defended his strict discipline of Gu Lin.
• Gu Hui practiced Taiji and the Gu Sword Formula on Cliff of Repentance, gradually training himself to control his sword for longer.

Feng Qingyang died, and the passage of time brought the deaths of many older martial artists as new generations rose within Mount Hua. Gu Hui eventually retired from leadership and failed to persuade the emperor to address the turmoil, while Mount Hua continued to flourish amid a chaotic age.

• Feng Qingyang died at eighty-nine, and people from across the martial world attended his memorial service.
• Zuo Lengchan died of melancholy, and Gu Hui became alliance leader with the support of the Five Mountains.
• Gu Xi, Mu Renqing, and Gu Lin emerged as Mount Hua's outstanding younger talents, and Gu Hui passed the sect leadership to Mu Renqing.
• Japanese raiders ravaged the borders, while Mount Hua disciples fought them and Gu Hui and Dongfang Bai continued seeking a path beyond the acquired realm.
• Feng Buping, Yue Buqun, Ning Zhongze, and other elders died over the following decades as Gu Xi advanced in exploring the Ren and Du Meridians.
• Gu Hui sent disciples to develop Kunlun Valley and Heartbreak Valley, then unsuccessfully urged the emperor to address the crisis; Mu Renqing watched for a wise ruler he could assist.

Gu Hui reflected on the turmoil under the Chongzhen Emperor while traveling with his new disciple A'Jiu, then revealed his identity and brought her to Mount Hua. After years of training, A'Jiu returned to the imperial palace with Gu Hui secretly arranging for two of his agents to protect her.

• Gu Hui watched the suffering and rebellions across Great Ming and told A'Jiu that no rebel leader seemed capable of restoring order.
• A'Jiu urged Gu Hui to help a worthy ruler, and he explained why Great Ming was difficult to save before continuing to train her.
• Gu Hui revealed that he was the former Mount Hua sect leader, and he took A'Jiu back to Mount Hua.
• A'Jiu trained for several years, mastered the revised Evil-Warding Sword Art, and descended the mountain to return to the imperial palace.
• Gu Hui ordered one of his two secretly trained women to protect A'Jiu without revealing herself and to intervene if her life was in danger.

Gu Hui watched dynasties rise and fall while protecting Mount Hua and the martial arts world, as A'Jiu survived the fall of the Ming with Fang Rong's help. Decades later, Gu Hui had outlived his junior brothers and disciples, including Mu Renqing and Dongfang Bai.

• Gu Hui scolded Gu Lin for suggesting a match between their children, then ordered Gu Yang to accompany Mu Renqing's youngest disciple down the mountain with Lan Ya secretly following them.
• Li Zicheng captured the Ming capital, and Fang Rong rescued A'Jiu from Chongzhen as he was about to kill her.
• Gu Hui comforted A'Jiu and told Mu Renqing that the Rebel King's betrayal had been difficult to foresee.
• After Dajin became Great Qing, Gu Hui entered the palace and forced Shunzhi to recall the army besieging the martial arts sects.
• By the time Gu Hui reached a hundred, he had outlived his junior brothers and disciples, including Mu Renqing and Dongfang Bai.

Reborn as Wuyazi’s young martial uncle, Gu Hui studied Free-and-Easy Imperial Wind and later acquired three martial arts from Murong Bo’s coffin. After transforming Star-Shifting Transposition into the Great Shift of the Universe, he discovered a path toward the innate realm and prepared to resume traveling the martial world.

• Gu Hui left Su Xinghe and Wuyazi a note saying he would travel the martial world, then spent four years building a reputation through his medical skills.
• Gu Hui secretly visited Swallow Dock and took the Dragon City Sword Technique, Star-Shifting Transposition, and the Joining Finger from Murong Bo’s coffin.
• Gu Hui secluded himself for seven years, restoring his internal power to its former peak and adapting the acquired arts.
• Gu Hui transformed Star-Shifting Transposition into the Great Shift of the Universe, which increased his strength, stimulated his potential, and opened acupoints along his Conception Vessel.
• Gu Hui gathered his medicine chest and jade flute and set out to travel again after completing much of his study.

Gu Hui treated Wang Jiantong, became sworn brothers with Qiao Feng, and left the Beggars' Sect after Wang recovered. While searching the mountains afterward, Gu Hui discovered Ye Erniang with an infant and realized the other Four Evildoers might be nearby.

• Qiao Feng recognized Gu Hui as the Medicine Immortal and brought him to treat his injured master, Wang Jiantong.
• Gu Hui diagnosed Wang Jiantong's physical illness, treated him with silver needles, and said his emotional troubles could only be resolved by himself.
• Qiao Feng hosted a feast for Gu Hui, and the two became sworn brothers.
• Gu Hui stayed at the Beggars' Sect headquarters until Wang Jiantong recovered, then said farewell to Qiao Feng and Wang Jiantong.
• While traveling through the mountains, Gu Hui heard an infant crying and found Ye Erniang holding a baby, prompting him to suspect the other Four Evildoers were nearby.

Gu Hui rescued a baby from Ye Erniang and returned to Deaf-Mute Valley, where he left the child with Su Xinghe and visited Wuyazi. The child remained in the valley as a possible hope for the Free and Unfettered Sect, while Gu Hui admitted he could not yet heal Wuyazi.

• Gu Hui immobilized Ye Erniang with needles, took the baby from her, and warned her to stop doing evil if she wanted to see her child again.
• After traveling for a month, Gu Hui returned to Deaf-Mute Valley with the baby and asked Su Xinghe to care for him.
• Su Xinghe worried the valley was too dangerous for the child, but Gu Hui insisted that he take him and suggested the child might one day avenge them.
• Gu Hui visited Wuyazi and said he could not heal him for now, though Wuyazi could live for decades with his abundant inner power.
• Wuyazi became angry at Gu Hui's remarks about their sect and sent him away.

Gu Hui spent years studying and refining his insights before visiting Su Xinghe’s expelled disciples and helping them return to the sect. He then urged Su Xinghe to oppose Ding Chunqiu and angered Wuyazi with blunt comments about his romantic past, leaving Wuyazi ordering him to leave Thunder Drum Mountain.

• Gu Hui focused on study and meditation, memorized Thunder Drum Mountain’s knowledge, and contemplated creating his own internal cultivation method.
• Gu Hui visited Kang Guangling, Fan Bailing, Xue Muhua, and the other expelled disciples, repeatedly challenging them in their specialties until he left after half a year.
• Su Xinghe later agreed to take the eight back as disciples, though they could not publicize their return.
• Gu Hui dismissed formal greetings and suggested using physicians’ influence and a bounty to deal with Ding Chunqiu and his disciples.
• Su Xinghe explained that Wuyazi was also hiding from other former romantic partners, and Gu Hui mocked Wuyazi for his love affairs.
• Wuyazi attacked Gu Hui with force from inside the cave, then ordered him to leave and wander the martial world.

Gu Hui learned that Ye Erniang’s son was alive and being raised at Shaolin, then recruited her as his medicine-chest carrier and began helping her recover. The chapter left them fleeing a martial artist who had tried to force Gu Hui to treat him, with Ye Erniang wounded but safe.

• Ye Erniang told Gu Hui she suspected her missing child had been Kang Min’s son, and Gu Hui revealed that the child was alive at Shaolin under his father’s nose.
• Gu Hui offered to treat Ye Erniang’s scars and help her regain her composure in return for her carrying his medicine chest, and she agreed.
• Gu Hui brought Ye Erniang to Thunder Drum Mountain and told Su Xinghe and the others that he would guide her toward goodness.
• Gu Hui took Ye Erniang along to treat common people and gather herbs, while she came to see him as a mysterious and eccentric physician.
• A martial artist tried to force Gu Hui to treat him, so Gu Hui fled with Ye Erniang, who was wounded during their escape.

Gu Hui trained Ye Erniang, then took her and Gu Yu on years of wandering through several kingdoms while treating the sick and helping people. In Dali, they spotted Ye Erniang’s former companions fighting members of the royal family, and Gu Hui urged her not to interfere in the family dispute.

• Gu Hui gave Ye Erniang the Evil-Warding Sword Art, and her martial arts improved until she became a first-rate martial artist.
• Gu Hui and Ye Erniang raised Gu Yu on Thunder Drum Mountain, where Ye Erniang studied medicine and grew to regard Gu Hui as her master and younger brother.
• When Gu Yu was over six, Gu Hui took him and Ye Erniang from Thunder Drum Mountain, carrying books for Gu Yu and a medicine chest for Ye Erniang.
• The three wandered through Great Song, Liao, Western Xia, and Tubo for seven years, while Gu Yu trained and Gu Hui collected cultivation methods.
• In Dali, Gu Hui, Ye Erniang, and Gu Yu saw members of the Dali royal family fighting Ye Erniang’s former companions, and Gu Hui advised her not to interfere.

Gu Hui and Ye Erniang helped Duan Zhengming’s group, and Gu Hui examined Duan Yu’s unusual internal energy. Duan Zhengchun recognized the jade pendant worn by Gu Yu and realized that Gu Yu was the son Kang Min had abandoned.

• Ye Erniang attacked Duan Zhengchun’s group before Gu Hui stopped her and reunited her with Duan Yanching and Yue Laosan.
• Duan Yanching and the others left after learning Ye Erniang had found herself again, while Duan Zhengming thanked Gu Hui for his aid.
• Gu Hui recognized that Duan Yu’s mixed internal energy could be refined and explained that the One Yang Finger was also a healing technique.
• Duan Zhengchun questioned Gu Yu’s origins, and Gu Yu said Gu Hui had found him as an infant and that he had no feelings for unknown parents.
• Gu Hui asked Gu Yu to examine Duan Yu, and Duan Zhengchun recognized the jade pendant at Gu Yu’s waist as the one he had given Kang Min, realizing Gu Yu was their abandoned son.

Gu Hui learned One Yang Finger from the Duan Clan manual and used it to purify the inner energy in Duan Yu’s body. Afterward, he explained his sect’s connections and warned Gu Yu that he could leave only after defeating him.

• Duan Zhengming and Duan Zhengchun tried to guide Duan Yu’s inner energy with One Yang Finger, but it began draining their energy until Gu Hui knocked Duan Yu unconscious.
• Duan Zhengchun gave Gu Hui the One Yang Finger manual, and Gu Hui quickly mastered it and demonstrated second-rank skill.
• Gu Hui used One Yang Finger to refine Duan Yu’s inner energy and expel its impurities, leaving Duan Yu with the potential to become a first-rate martial artist.
• Gu Hui explained that Duan Yu had learned a fragment of the Northern Abyss Divine Skill and described his ties to the Heavenly Mountain Child Elder, Ding Chunqiu, and the Hangu Eight Friends.
• Gu Hui told Gu Yu to keep studying medicine until he could defeat him, and Gu Yu confidently predicted that he would win.