Chapter Summaries

Gu Hui and Mu Nianci settled in Jiaxing, visited Yang Kang’s grave, and then went to Zhongnan Mountain to see Yang Guo. After observing Yang Guo and Little Dragon Girl, Gu Hui prepared four books and hid them in a cave so Yang Guo could find them.

• Gu Hui named his daughter with Mu Nianci Gu Nian, and the family left the Gu Clan after a farewell ceremony.
• In Jiaxing, Mu Nianci visited Yang Kang’s grave at Iron Spear Temple, where Gu Hui comforted her and promised to care for Yang Guo.
• Gu Hui and Mu Nianci learned that Yang Guo had gone to Zhongnan Mountain and entered the Ancient Tomb as Little Dragon Girl’s disciple.
• Gu Hui dismissed Liu Jing from her assignment to secretly protect Yang Guo, then judged that Yang Guo’s martial arts suited subtle, changing techniques.
• Gu Hui wrote the Nine Yin Manual, Heavenly Mountain Six-Yang Palm, Nine Swords of Dugu, and Medical Classic, then hid the books in a prepared cave near the Ancient Tomb.

Gu Hui secretly gave Yang Guo several manuals, then settled with Mu Nianci and their daughter in Gusu while keeping a low profile. Gu Wei and Gu Xin arrived with news of their cultivation progress, and Gu Hui agreed to let Mei Chaofeng help at the pharmacy before planning to return to the clan.

• Gu Hui and Mu Nianci lured Yang Guo to a cave, where he memorized three martial arts manuals and a medical book before destroying the manuals.
• Gu Hui overheard Yang Guo mock the Medicine Immortal and punished him, leaving him bruised after a fall.
• Gu Hui spent three years running a modest pharmacy in Gusu with Mu Nianci and their daughter Gu Nian, whom he trained in martial arts, medicine, and music.
• Gu Wei and Gu Xin arrived in Gusu, reporting that Gu Wei had liquefied his true essence and Gu Xin had begun transforming her true qi into true essence.
• Gu Wei brought Mei Chaofeng to meet Gu Hui and asked her to help at the pharmacy; Gu Hui told her to keep their presence secret from Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Huang Yaoshi, and Yang Guo.
• Gu Hui told Gu Wei he planned to return to the clan and later travel with Mu Nianci once the younger children could establish themselves.

Gu Hui planned a sheltered but independent upbringing for his daughter, Gu Nian, while Mei Chaofeng defended the medicine hall from the Scarlet Serpent Immortal. Years passed as Gu Nian began training and Yang Guo’s story unfolded without Gu Hui’s family intervening.

• Gu Hui rebuked Gu Wei, forbade him and Mei Chaofeng from revealing martial arts to Gu Nian, and said he would arrange secret protection and opportunities for her to cultivate.
• Six months later, Mei Chaofeng treated a man poisoned by Ice Soul Needles, and the Scarlet Serpent Immortal attacked her for healing him.
• Gu Hui’s power drove the Daoist nun from the medicine hall, and he told Mu Nianci he planned to leave Gu Nian on her own when she was eleven or twelve.
• Gu Hui’s family stayed out of the martial world as Yang Guo obtained powerful techniques, suffered the Heartbreak Flower poison crisis with Little Dragon Girl, and began wandering after her sixteen-year promise.
• Gu Nian followed Gu Hui’s plan, entering a martial arts school at seven and reaching the level of a Third-rate Martial Artist within three years.

Gu Nian traveled the martial world with Yang Guo, growing into a renowned young martial artist, while Yang Guo uncovered clues suggesting that she might be his half-sister. Years later, Gu Hui and Mu Nianci spotted a spirited young woman drinking with Beggars' Sect disciples outside Xiangyang.

• Gu Hui, Mu Nianci, and Mei Chaofeng secretly followed Gu Nian after faking their deaths, and Gu Hui punished anyone who harmed or cheated her.
• In Lin'an, Gu Nian met Yang Guo, who felt an immediate closeness to her and took her in as his younger sister and martial arts student.
• Gu Hui and Mu Nianci stopped following Gu Nian, and Gu Hui later parted ways with Mei Chaofeng, who traveled alone.
• Over the next several years, Yang Guo taught Gu Nian martial arts, and she became a seventeen-year-old Peak Martial Artist known throughout the martial world.
• Yang Guo learned that Gu Nian's mother was Mu Nianci, found his own mother's grave empty, and speculated that Gu Nian might be his half-sister.
• Outside Xiangyang, Gu Hui and Mu Nianci saw a clever, spirited young woman drinking and laughing with Beggars' Sect disciples.

Gu Hui and Mu Nianci settled in Xiangyang, where Guo Xiang became Gu Hui’s disciple and began learning the Formless Skill. When Guo Jing and Huang Rong visited, they reunited with Gu Hui and Mu Nianci, learned about their family and Yang Guo, and Gu Hui agreed to contact the young travelers.

• Gu Hui and Mu Nianci opened a medical clinic in Xiangyang, and Guo Xiang frequently visited to study medicine.
• Gu Hui took Guo Xiang as his disciple and taught her the Formless Skill and Heavenly Mountain Six-Yang Palm.
• Guo Jing and Huang Rong visited the clinic and discovered that Gu Hui was Guo Xiang’s master and that Mu Nianci was alive and married to him.
• Gu Hui told Guo Jing and Huang Rong that he and Mu Nianci had a daughter, Gu Nian, who was traveling with Yang Guo, and explained that they had secretly watched over the pair.
• Gu Hui criticized Guo Jing’s loyalty to the Southern Song and gave permission for his martial arts to be passed on to the children.
• Guo Jing asked whether Gu Hui would send for Yang Guo and Gu Nian, and Gu Hui agreed to arrange their meeting.

Yang Guo reunited with Mu Nianci and Gu Nian, learned that Gu Hui had protected and trained him, and heard the story of his father Yang Kang’s past. Gu Hui told him where Yang Kang was buried, leaving Yang Guo to decide how to reckon with his father’s history.

• Gu Nian returned to the clinic and reunited with Gu Hui, while Mu Nianci welcomed her and Yang Guo with tears of joy.
• Gu Hui revealed that he and Mu Nianci were Innate Realm experts and explained that Yang Guo’s and Gu Nian’s martial arts had benefited from opportunities he arranged.
• Yang Guo accepted that Gu Hui treated Mu Nianci well, then confronted him about the trials and cave that had led him to martial arts manuals.
• Gu Hui recounted how Yang Kang was raised as Wanyan Kang, described his conflict with Yang Tiexin and his later misdeeds, and explained how Ouyang Feng’s poisoned armor led to his death.
• Gu Hui told Yang Guo that Qiu Chuji had buried Yang Kang outside Iron Spear Temple in Jiaxing and advised him to visit the grave.

Yang Guo learned that Gu Hui had protected Little Dragon Girl, and the reunited couple returned to the Gu Residence. Gu Hui welcomed them, urged them to marry, and proposed turning Heartbreak Valley into a refuge from the coming upheaval.

• Gu Hui told Yang Guo that the South Sea Divine Nun story was a ruse and that Little Dragon Girl was waiting at the Bottom of Heartbreak Valley.
• Gu Nian befriended Guo Xiang and learned how their family and martial siblings were related; she also helped Guo Xiang practice the Formless Skill.
• Yang Guo returned with Little Dragon Girl, and the Guo family and the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan gathered at the medicine hall to greet them.
• Gu Hui recounted the history of the martial world and warned the group not to sacrifice themselves for a doomed dynasty.
• Gu Hui praised Little Dragon Girl, encouraged her and Yang Guo to marry, and proposed developing Heartbreak Valley as a secluded refuge protected by a formation.

Gu Hui turned Heartbreak Valley into Free and Easy Manor and welcomed his family there, then explained the clan’s vast wealth and hidden power. He left the clan’s leadership decision to its elders and proposed checks to prevent a future Patriarch from abusing authority.

• Gu Hui renamed Heartbreak Valley Free and Easy Valley, built medicine fields and a protected manor, and invited Gu Wei and the others to stay there.
• Gu Wei teased Gu Hui about his comfortable life, and Gu Hui kicked him before assuring the family they could all make the manor their home.
• Gu Wei told Gu Hui that the Council of Elders wanted to elect a clan Patriarch after Gu Xin refused the role.
• Gu Hui told the Council to elect the Patriarch and three vice patriarchs, with a supermajority empowered to remove them, and proposed that Innate clan members serve as Supreme Elders.
• Gu Wei explained to Guo Jing, Huang Rong, and Mu Nianci that the clan controlled nearly half the world’s wealth and maintained tens of thousands of assassins under the Council of Elders.

Gu Hui intervened at Xiangyang, killed Möngke and the Golden Wheel Dharma King, and warned Guo Jing that the city would eventually fall. Over the following decades, he rescued Guo Jing’s family, while many of the heroes died and Zhang Junbao, Guo Xiang, and others reached the Innate Realm and founded new sects.

• After Yang Guo’s attacks on the Mongol army, the Golden Wheel Dharma King captured Guo Xiang and used her to threaten Xiangyang.
• Gu Hui took Gu Nian to Xiangyang, halted the fighting, and urged the Wu Lin fighters to retreat behind the city walls.
• When Möngke ordered an attack, Gu Hui devastated the Mongol forces with his palm and killed Möngke and the Golden Wheel Dharma King.
• Gu Hui warned Guo Jing that Xiangyang would eventually fall and advised him to prepare for the city’s destruction and evacuation.
• When the Mongols later attacked again, Gu Hui secretly rescued Guo Jing, Huang Rong, and their children, then brought them to Free and Easy Manor.
• Over the following decades, many heroes died; Zhang Junbao founded Wudang, Guo Xiang founded Emei, and both reached the Innate Realm.

Gu Hui visited Wudang Mountain, helped Yu Daiyan recover, and discussed Zhang Cuishan, the Ming Cult, and Yang Dingtian’s lineage with Zhang Sanfeng. After a century away, Gu Hui entered the martial world disguised as a third-rate martial artist and spent ten years around Butterfly Valley as the Dragon Slaying Saber remained missing.

• Gu Nian broke through to the Innate realm after seeing a giant serpent, while the Gu Clan grew into a vast overseas clan and dealt with attacks on its Gu Manlou establishments.
• Gu Hui met Zhang Sanfeng on Wudang Mountain and healed Yu Daiyan until he could walk again.
• Gu Hui and Zhang Sanfeng discussed Zhang Cuishan’s disappearance, the Ming Cult, and the family connections between Yang Dingtian and Yang Xiao.
• Gu Hui returned to the martial world disguised as a third-rate martial artist and became an apprentice in Butterfly Valley.
• Gu Hui spent ten years in Butterfly Valley as the Dragon Slaying Saber stayed missing and Zhang Cuishan’s return raised hopes it would reappear.

Gu Hui returned to Butterfly Valley, where Zhang Wuji had become a gifted young healer, and intervened when Miejue threatened Ji Xiaofu. Guo Xiang arrived, recognized Gu Hui as her master, and rebuked Miejue and her disciples, leaving Emei's future in question.

• Gu Hui heard news that Zhang Wuji had been captured and poisoned, while Zhang Sanfeng had searched for him without success.
• Gu Hui met Zhang Wuji in Butterfly Valley and learned that Hu Qingniu had taken the boy under his care.
• Ji Xiaofu and Yang Buhui arrived, followed by Miejue and her Emei disciples and an old woman who challenged them.
• Gu Hui drove off the old woman when she threatened Hu Qingniu and his wife, then rescued Ji Xiaofu from Miejue's descending palm.
• Guo Xiang appeared, identified Gu Hui as her master, and ordered Miejue and the others to pay their respects.
• Gu Hui criticized Miejue's leadership and warned that killing Ji Xiaofu could leave Emei near ruin.

Gu Hui brought Yang Buhui, Ji Xiaofu, and Zhang Wuji to meet Mu Nianci at the Ancient Tomb after revealing their ties to the Yang family. He gave Ji Xiaofu the Nine Yin Manual and Zhang Wuji the Nine Yang Manual, and the chapter ended with Yang Buhui learning that Mu Nianci was her ancestor and Yang Guo’s mother.

• Gu Hui explained to Guo Xiang why he had intervened to protect Yang Buhui and said he would bring her to meet Mu Nianci.
• Gu Hui told Annihilation to restrain herself and let Xiaofu cultivate before returning to succeed as Emei’s sect leader.
• Gu Hui gave Ji Xiaofu the Nine Yin Manual and Zhang Wuji the Nine Yang Manual, then reclaimed both manuals after they memorized them.
• Gu Hui, Guo Xiang, Ji Xiaofu, Zhang Wuji, and Yang Buhui traveled for a month to the Ancient Tomb on Zhongnan Mountain.
• Gu Hui introduced Yang Buhui to Mu Nianci, who told the girl that she was Yang Guo’s mother.

Gu Hui reunited with Mu Nianci and their family before returning with her to Free and Easy Manor. Years later, he worried that the giant Pusiqu Snakes in Snake Valley might threaten the manor, while Gu Nian voiced concern about Yang Lin’s condition.

• Gu Hui teased Mu Nianci and introduced Yang Lin to the family, including Guo Xiang, Ji Xiaofu, Zhang Wuji, and Yang Buhui.
• Gu Hui and Mu Nianci left the Ancient Tomb, while Zhang Wuji, Guo Xiang, and Ji Xiaofu departed separately.
• Gu Hui visited Yang Xiao without revealing his identity, then returned to Free and Easy Manor with Mu Nianci.
• Years later, Gu Hui killed a giant snake in Snake Valley and worried the snakes might endanger the manor if they kept growing and multiplying.
• Gu Nian suggested introducing the snakes’ natural enemies after they and Gu Hui were gone, and worried that Yang Lin remained at Innate Great Perfection despite his advancing age.

Gu Hui sensed that Gu Wei had departed into the unknown, attended his funeral, and set out to wander the martial world. He joined Miejue’s party on their way to Bright Summit and, by the campfire, remarked on Zhou Zhiruo’s unusual qualities.

• Gu Hui sensed that Gu Wei’s Primordial Spirit had left, and Gu Nian worried that her brother had ventured into the unknown.
• The Gu Clan held a grand funeral for Gu Wei, attended by Gu Hui, Mu Nianci, Gu Nian, Gu Xin, Guo Xiang, and Zhang Sanfeng.
• Gu Hui left Gu Sword Manor, traveled through the martial world, and encountered Miejue and her disciples at an inn.
• Miejue invited Gu Hui to travel with her party to Bright Summit, and he agreed.
• On the journey, Zhou Zhiruo brought food to Gu Hui by the campfire, and he told her she was rather different.

Wei Yixiao attacked the Emei party and left Jingxu seemingly dead, but Gu Hui revived her and helped her advance to the first-class ranks. The group continued toward Bright Summit, where Miejue confronted hidden fighters along the road.

• Wei Yixiao seized an Emei disciple, evaded Miejue's sword attacks, and fled after warning the sect away from Bright Summit and leaving a drained corpse behind.
• Miejue ordered the Emei disciples to continue toward Bright Summit and told Zhou Zhiruo to leave Jingxu's body behind.
• Gu Hui revived Jingxu with a Blood-Replenishing Pill and helped her break through several meridians, raising her to the first-class ranks.
• Gu Hui declined Miejue's request to help destroy the Ming Cult and continued toward Bright Summit with Yin Li, Zeng A Niu, and the Emei Sect.
• Miejue sensed people hiding beside the road, drew the Heaven Sword, and struck toward the weeds on the right.

Miejue attacked Chang Yuchun and the Ming Cult ambushers, but Zeng A Niu endured three palm strikes to secure their release. Gu Hui then reached Bright Summit’s Holy Flame Hall and found Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, and the Four Wanderers locked in a clash while Zhou Dian accused Yang Xiao of causing the crisis.

• Miejue’s Emei disciples fought the Ming Cult ambushers, and Zeng A Niu asked her to spare the survivors, including Chang Yuchun.
• Zeng A Niu wagered that he could take three of Miejue’s palm strikes; after the third strike sent Miejue flying, she ordered the Emei disciples to leave.
• Gu Hui traveled alone to Bright Summit and entered the Holy Flame Hall.
• Gu Hui saw Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao exchanging palm force while the Four Wanderers supported Wei Yixiao.
• Zhou Dian rejected a warning about the approaching Six Great Sects and blamed Yang Xiao for the siege, demanding that he stop acting as Cult Master.

Yang Wuji interrupted a Ming Cult dispute at Bright Summit, driving off Cheng Kun after the monk ambushed six Cult experts. Yang Buhui treated the wounded and revealed Yang Xiao’s ancestry, while Yang Xiao remained skeptical about her claims concerning Gu Hui.

• Yang Xiao and five other Ming Cult leaders fought over who should become acting Cult Leader, until they discovered Yang Xiao was using the Great Shift of the Universe.
• Before Yang Xiao could count to three so they could withdraw their palms, Cheng Kun attacked Zhou Dian from behind and wounded all six men.
• Cheng Kun revealed his identity, his grudge against the Ming Cult, and Yang Dingtian’s death before Zhang Wuji burst from his cloth sack and forced Cheng Kun to flee badly injured.
• Yang Buhui arrived and treated her father and the other wounded leaders while Gu Hui chased after Cheng Kun.
• Yang Buhui told Yang Xiao that he descended from Yang Guo and that Gu Hui was Yang Guo’s father, but Yang Xiao doubted her claims about Gu Hui’s age and appearance.

Gu Hui healed the Ming Cult leaders and reunited Yang Buhui with Yang Lin and Yang Qin, then withdrew to watch the confrontation at Holy Flame Hall. There, Yin Tianzheng fought Mo Shenggu and began losing ground after holding back a decisive attack.

• Gu Hui healed Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, Shuobude, Zhou Dian, and Zhang Zhong with silver needles.
• Yang Lin and Yang Qin arrived, greeted Gu Hui and Yang Xiao, and reassured Yang Buhui before departing after finding Gu Hui present.
• Gu Hui left the hall and watched from a mountaintop as the Ming Cult faced the Six Great Sects.
• Yin Tianzheng fought Mo Shenggu, initially suppressing him with his iron staffs but choosing to evade rather than land a decisive blow.
• Mo Shenggu disarmed Yin Tianzheng of one staff and drove him backward with fierce sword attacks.

Yin Tianzheng fought Mo Shenggu despite his exhaustion, won by allowing Mo Shenggu’s sword to pierce his chest, and refused to retreat from the arena. Yang Buhui stepped in to protect the wounded Yin Tianzheng and challenge the Orthodox Dao, prompting Miejue to confront her.

• Yin Tianzheng gained the upper hand against Mo Shenggu, while Song Yuanqiao urged him to stop and explained that Wudang would protect the Heavenly Eagle Cult.
• Yang Xiao, Zhou Dian, and Wei Yixiao also begged Yin Tianzheng to preserve his life, but he rebuked them and attacked Mo Shenggu with renewed killing intent.
• Yin Tianzheng let Mo Shenggu’s sword pierce his chest, trapped the blade, and defeated him while sparing his life.
• Song Yuanqiao gave Yin Tianzheng Wudang wound medicine, but Yin Tianzheng called for another opponent despite his severe injury.
• He Taichong stepped forward, and Yang Buhui sent him flying with a finger, supported Yin Tianzheng, and challenged the Orthodox Dao.
• Miejue recognized Yang Buhui as Yang Xiao’s daughter and declared that she would cleanse the sect.

Guo Xiang arrived at Bright Summit with Gu Hui and warned the six major sects that the Yuan Court had arranged their siege and a series of traps below the mountain. After treating Zhang Wuji, she left the sects to end the fighting and make their way down carefully.

• Yang Buhui fought Miejue with Nine Yin Manual techniques until Zhang Wuji intervened, then Zhang Wuji defeated fighters from several sects before Zhou Zhiruo wounded him with the Heaven Sword.
• Gu Hui and Guo Xiang watched from a nearby peak and identified the opposing group as Yuan Court agents seeking to profit from the siege.
• Guo Xiang descended to the plaza, warned that the siege was a Yuan Court scheme, and gave Zhang Wuji a pill for his wound.
• Miejue identified Guo Xiang as Emei's patriarch, and Guo Xiang praised Yang Buhui and warned Yang Xiao to treat Ji Xiaofu well.
• Guo Xiang departed without Ji Xiaofu, who bowed to her from afar and began descending the mountain.