Chapter Summaries

After waking in a temple full of slaughtered monks, amnesiac Chen Fan learned that he had grown up there and that masked attackers had come seeking a hidden treasure. He found an old book and a wooden box, then disguised himself, gathered supplies, and burned the temple before setting out alone.

• Chen Fan woke during a fight between seven poisoned monks and masked attackers, then lost consciousness again.
• He awoke the next day with no memories and found a dying monk, who identified him as Chen Fan and revealed that he had grown up in the temple.
• The monk died after directing Chen Fan to look beneath a Buddha statue in the rear hall.
• Chen Fan searched the statue and found an old book and a wooden box hidden inside its hollow foot.
• He gathered supplies and basic cultivation manuals, changed out of his monk's robes, and took a short sword from the courtyard.
• Chen Fan set fire to the temple to conceal his survival and escape with the treasure, then left alone.

After losing his memory, Chen Fan studied the martial arts manuals he had taken from Golden Wheel Temple and learned how cultivation worked in this world. He began practicing the temple’s Golden Wheel Scripture by the mountain spring, hoping to strengthen himself and perhaps recover his memories.

• Chen Fan worried that the temple’s mysterious master could lead treasure hunters to him, then stopped at a mountain spring to rest and examine the manuals he had brought.
• Chen Fan read the Elementary Martial Arts Treatise and learned about the three cultivation categories—Internal Qi, External Force, and Soaring—and their realms and methods.
• Chen Fan considered whether the book hidden in the Buddha’s foot was a high-grade method but decided to study the temple’s manuals first.
• Chen Fan began studying the Golden Wheel Scripture, recognized that its Internal Qi method felt familiar, and found that practicing it eased the lingering effects of the poison.
• Chen Fan ate some dried provisions and meditated through the night, cultivating the Golden Wheel Scripture in the deserted mountains.

Chen Fan studied the Poisoncraft Manual and examined its deadly concealed weapons before meeting two mountain folk who guided him out of the forest. He learned that Swordcry Mountain was holding its once-in-ten-years disciple selection and decided to go see it.

• Chen Fan finished cultivating, destroyed the Golden Wheel Staff Technique, and read the Poisoncraft Manual, discovering its methods for making and using poison.
• Chen Fan identified the God-Sealing Needles, Venomheart Darts, and dagger in the wooden box, then decided he would need to keep the weapons ready at hand.
• Chen Fan met a middle-aged mountain man and his elderly second uncle, claimed he was lost, and accepted their offer to lead him out of the mountains.
• The middle-aged man told Chen Fan that the mountains were called the Swordcry Mountains and that Swordcry Mountain stood on the Main Peak.
• After reaching the foot of the mountain, Chen Fan learned that Swordcry Mountain was selecting new disciples and said he wanted to go have a look.

Chen Fan arrived at Swordcry Mountain to take its entrance assessment, unsure whether his lost memories had left him capable of meeting the requirements. After Senior Brother Li and Junior Brother Wu examined his Internal Qi, they discovered that his cultivation had reached the second realm and was nearing the third, and Senior Brother Li asked whether he had also practiced an External Force technique.

• Chen Fan learned that Swordcry Mountain required entrants to be under eighteen and to have cultivated two types of techniques, with at least one reaching the second realm, or all three reaching the first realm.
• Chen Fan chose to attempt the assessment despite doubting his External Force cultivation and worrying about the black-clothed men who might be searching for him.
• Senior Brother Li questioned Chen Fan about his cultivation, then seized his wrist to probe his Internal Qi after Chen Fan admitted he did not know its level.
• Senior Brother Li called on Junior Brother Wu to examine Chen Fan, and both examiners concluded that Chen Fan had reached the second realm and was approaching the third.
• Senior Brother Li told Chen Fan he had passed the Internal Qi requirement and asked whether he had cultivated an External Force technique.

Chen Fan passed Swordcry Mountain’s entrance assessment after Li Hui judged his crude sword technique to have reached the first level, while revealing that Chen Fan’s Internal Qi had reached the peak of the second level. Steward Liu examined Chen Fan at the main mountain gate and, concerned about his lack of External Force training, assigned him to the outer sect.

• Chen Fan struck the sword-testing stone with a crude slash, and Li Hui announced that he had passed the assessment.
• A young onlooker accused Li Hui of unfairly lowering the entrance requirements, but Li Hui clarified that Chen Fan’s Internal Qi was not at the first level.
• Wu Xu led Chen Fan up the mountain, explained Swordcry Mountain’s three inner court halls, and described his and Li Hui’s different strengths.
• Wu Xu brought Chen Fan before Steward Liu, who sensed that Chen Fan’s Internal Qi had reached the peak of the second level.
• After learning that Chen Fan’s External Force was barely at the first level, Steward Liu assigned him to the outer sect to study first.

After entering Swordcry Mountain’s outer sect, Chen Fan focused on cultivation and discovered that the Golden Wheel Scripture worked far better for him than the sect’s comparable Internal Qi art. As the monthly swordsmanship lesson began, Murong Zhu invited him to the martial arts arena.

• Steward Liu arranged for Chen Fan to enter the outer sect, with a chance to seek promotion to the inner court in two years.
• Chen Fan settled into the outer sect and learned its routines while recovering most of his memories of life at Golden Wheel Temple.
• Chen Fan found that he cultivated the Golden Wheel Scripture far more effectively than the Qi Condensation Art and decided to pursue it to the third level.
• Chen Fan studied the Poisoncraft Manual alongside his cultivation.
• Murong Zhu invited Chen Fan to attend the monthly swordsmanship lesson, and Chen Fan agreed to go with him and the other disciples.

Chen Fan attended Ye Wan’s lesson on the Azure Mountain Sword Art, where she recognized his Internal Qi talent and gave him a Swordheart Hall token. He returned to his residence after declining the afternoon Internal Qi lesson, carrying new hope for breaking through his cultivation bottleneck and entering the inner court.

• Chen Fan and the other disciples gathered for a swordsmanship lecture taught by Ye Wan, an accomplished inner court disciple from Swordheart Hall.
• Ye Wan taught the Azure Mountain Sword Art and guided the disciples as they practiced its first three forms.
• Ye Wan noticed Chen Fan’s Internal Qi while he practiced, learned he had little prior sword experience, and told him his cultivation could qualify him for Swordheart Hall.
• Ye Wan gave Chen Fan a Swordheart Hall token and offered to help him if he encountered a cultivation bottleneck.
• Ye Wan led the disciples through group practice, announced the next lesson, and departed.
• Chen Fan declined Murong Zhu’s invitation to attend the afternoon Internal Qi lesson and returned to his residence to rest.

Chen Fan practiced and fused two sword arts, continued studying poisoncraft, and went to the back mountain to gather plants. After getting lost and finding a giant venomous snake, he entered its cave hoping for a treasure but found only rotting remains and bloodstains.

• Chen Fan learned the first eight forms of the Clear Wind Art and fused it with the Azure Mountain Sword Art, improving his sword speed and power.
• Chen Fan failed to break through his cultivation bottleneck by combining the Golden Wheel Scripture with the Qi Condensation Art, then decided to search the back mountain for plants.
• Chen Fan gathered plants listed in the Poisoncraft Manual but got lost as darkness fell and wandered into a dangerous part of the mountain.
• Chen Fan sensed danger in the forest and discovered a giant patterned venomous snake guarding a cave; he hid until it left.
• Chen Fan entered the snake's cave in search of a heavenly treasure but found only rotting flesh, bloody water, and bloodstains.

Chen Fan discovered two giant serpent eggs, then encountered Qin Ziyan while she practiced swordsmanship in the back mountain. After the serpent attacked and poisoned them, Chen Fan brought it down with a God-Sealing Needle, but woke alone and realized Qin Ziyan was missing.

• Chen Fan found two glowing eggs in the serpent’s cave, took them, and fled toward the sect grounds.
• Chen Fan met Qin Ziyan practicing swordsmanship, exchanged blows with her, and explained that he was a newly promoted inner court disciple who had gotten lost.
• A giant serpent appeared and poisoned Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan with its breath, forcing them to fight for their lives.
• Chen Fan wounded the serpent’s tail and struck its vital point with a God-Sealing Needle, disabling it before he collapsed from the poison.
• Chen Fan woke, recovered his strength with the Golden Wheel Scripture, harvested the dead serpent, and remembered that Qin Ziyan was missing.

Chen Fan found Qin Ziyan near death from the giant snake’s venom and used a crude poison pill and Origin Qi to keep her alive. After Qin Ziyan recovered enough to travel, they began returning to the sect, while Ye Wan searched for Chen Fan at the outer sect’s martial arts arena.

• Chen Fan found Qin Ziyan unconscious and barely alive, then used a poison made from gathered herbs and his Origin Qi to suppress the snake venom.
• Qin Ziyan swallowed the crude pill and cultivated through the night as Chen Fan stood guard and recovered.
• Qin Ziyan woke, thanked Chen Fan for saving her, and explained that her Starforce Formula made nighttime cultivation especially effective.
• Qin Ziyan asked how Chen Fan had recovered from the venom so quickly, and he claimed his body had adapted to poison.
• After cultivating through the night, Qin Ziyan accepted wild fruits from Chen Fan, and they set off together for the sect.
• At Swordcry Mountain’s outer sect, Ye Wan taught at the martial arts arena while repeatedly searching the crowd for Chen Fan.

Ye Wan found Chen Fan returning from the back mountain with Qin Ziyan and stopped two Swordheart Hall disciples from attacking him by confirming she had taught him their sword art. After Chen Fan explained how he had saved Qin Ziyan, they returned safely to the sect, where the inner-court disciples were relieved to see her alive.

• Ye Wan learned that Chen Fan had been missing for several days and hurried toward the back mountain.
• Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan met two Swordheart Hall disciples, who accused Chen Fan of stealing their sword art and attacked him.
• Chen Fan defended himself until Ye Wan arrived and told the disciples that she had taught him the Azure Mountain Sword Art.
• Ye Wan asked where Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan had been, and Chen Fan recounted their dangerous journey and how he had saved her.
• Qin Ziyan promised to repay Chen Fan for saving her life, and the three returned to the sect.
• The inner-court disciples saw Qin Ziyan return and finally relaxed after their search ended.

Qin Ziyan returned safely to Sword-Imperial Pavilion and explained how Chen Fan saved her, prompting the elders to investigate his background. Ye Wan brought Chen Fan back to the outer court, where she gave him a sword manual and announced she would stop teaching next month.

• Ye Wan returned Qin Ziyan to Sword-Imperial Pavilion, then took Chen Fan back to the outer court.
• Qin Ziyan apologized to the elders and recounted how Chen Fan used a poison-against-poison pill to save her from the Three-Green Flower Python’s venom.
• The elders learned that Chen Fan was an outer court recruit with exceptional cultivation and sword talent, and the First Elder arranged a reward for Li Hui.
• Ye Wan told Chen Fan she had watched his fight with Bu Shi and Sha Ye, and said someone else would have protected him if she had not stepped in.
• Ye Wan gave Chen Fan the Green Mountain Sword Manual and told him she would not teach next month.

After testing his homemade venom, Chen Fan discovered that surviving poison helped his cultivation and broke through to the third level. Seeking answers about his unusual constitution, he went with Qin Ziyan to the Scripture Pavilion, where his Swordheart Hall token let him enter.

• Chen Fan processed his gathered materials into bottles of venom and pills, then cautiously tested a mouthful of venom on himself and purged it with the Golden Wheel Scripture.
• Chen Fan found that circulating the Golden Wheel Scripture after consuming venom repeatedly strengthened his Origin Qi, and he broke through to the third level.
• Chen Fan stabilized his new cultivation and decided to investigate his strange constitution in the Scripture Pavilion.
• Qin Ziyan visited Chen Fan and offered to take him to the Scripture Pavilion, then led him through the inner court.
• Chen Fan showed Qin Ziyan his Swordheart Hall token and entered the Scripture Pavilion after Senior Brother Lu checked his credentials.

Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan secretly studied cultivation manuals in the Scripture Pavilion, while the elders decided to overlook Qin Ziyan’s rule-breaking book loans. Chen Fan tested the borrowed arts against the Golden Wheel Scripture and later heard a crack from the snake egg in his room.

• Qin Ziyan guided Chen Fan through the Scripture Pavilion and helped him study its books, where he learned about the Central Forest Continent and the Four West Ridge Sects.
• Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan returned to the pavilion the next day, and Qin Ziyan proposed borrowing manuals for them to read outside it.
• Qin Ziyan borrowed the Blood-Coagulation Technique and the Rejuvenation Formula, and the elders chose not to intervene after learning why she had taken the books.
• Chen Fan practiced the two recovery arts and found that the Golden Wheel Scripture remained far stronger at the second level.
• Chen Fan continued studying and practicing sword arts until a crackling sound came from the snake egg in his room.

Chen Fan raised the newly hatched Three-Green Flower Pythons, then received two cultivation texts from Qin Ziyan through Ye Wan. A year later, his training had made him one of the outer sect’s strongest disciples, and he considered traveling to seek an opportunity beyond his current bottlenecks.

• Chen Fan named the two snakes Eastern Evil and Western Poison, discovered they only ate poison pills, and decided to raise them.
• Ye Wan delivered Qin Ziyan’s handwritten copies of the Blood-Coagulation Technique and Rejuvenation Formula, then took back Chen Fan’s Swordheart Hall token after noticing his progress.
• A year later, Chen Fan defeated Murong Zhu in a sparring match, demonstrating his refined swordsmanship and third-level Internal Qi.
• Chen Fan described his studies of poisons and cultivation methods, including destroying the Golden Wheel Scripture manual after reaching consummate mastery.
• Chen Fan learned that Qin Ziyan was in seclusion and Ye Wan had gone traveling, then wondered whether he should travel as well to seek an opportunity.

Chen Fan descended from the sect to Pingliang City to find materials for reforging his broken sword. After narrowly escaping a gang that abducted children, he entered the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to seek cultivation-grade forging supplies.

• Chen Fan prepared for his trip, left Eastern Evil and Western Poison behind, and descended the mountain with advice and a map from Murong Zhu.
• Chen Fan reached Pingliang City, heard that young children had been disappearing, and encountered a worried woman searching for her missing son.
• Chen Fan overheard men in the inn discussing child abductions and targeting him, then resisted their poisoned smoke and escaped through a window.
• Chen Fan spent the night in a ruined temple and searched the city for a shop that sold useful cultivation goods.
• A clerk at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion recognized Chen Fan as a cultivator and led him to the back hall, where Chen Fan asked the shopkeeper for high-quality sword-forging materials.

Chen Fan attended an auction at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, traded his antidote pills for Spirit Stones, and won Wind-Veined Jade. When Spirit-Mystifying Incense linked to the poison that had harmed him appeared, he stayed behind to question the auction host.

• Chen Fan bought materials and learned that the Myriad Treasures Pavilion was holding an auction featuring Wind-Veined Jade.
• Chen Fan offered his antidote pills for appraisal and bid fifty Spirit Stones for the Wind-Veined Jade.
• The pavilion accepted Chen Fan’s pills for sixty Spirit Stones and gave him Green Gold Stone as a gift for future cooperation.
• Chen Fan heard the host explain that Spirit-Mystifying Incense was made from Spirit-Drunken Fruit peel and dregs, then watched another cultivator buy the remaining half-stick for thirty Spirit Stones.
• After the auction ended, Chen Fan waited for the host and asked whether the pavilion had obtained the incense recently.

Chen Fan learned that the Myriad Treasures Pavilion was investigating the abduction of hundreds of children and agreed to watch for clues. He traveled to Blackrock City and began searching for the traffickers, eventually following two suspicious men from a brothel.

• Chen Fan confronted the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's chief shopkeeper about the Spirit-Mystifying Incense, and the shopkeeper explained how the pavilion had uncovered the child abductions.
• The chief shopkeeper gave Chen Fan ten Spirit Stones and a piece of Wind-Veined Jade in exchange for his help finding clues about the traffickers.
• Chen Fan left Pingliang City through the south gate and traveled west toward Blackrock City, suspecting the traffickers might target it next.
• Chen Fan entered Blackrock City and began searching its inns and other possible hiding places after nightfall.
• Chen Fan noticed two men leaving a brothel suspiciously and followed them through the streets until they stopped at a corner and looked around.

Chen Fan witnessed a secret operation being canceled, then joined Ye Wan in fighting the agents behind it. After the black-clad leader escaped and Ye Wan was overcome by Blazing Dragon Powder, Chen Fan tried to treat her at an inn, but the poison led to an intimate encounter before both fell asleep.

• Chen Fan overheard a black-clad Deputy Gang Leader cancel an operation and order his men to leave the city before dawn.
• The Deputy Gang Leader discovered that he and his men were being followed, and Ye Wan confronted him with her sword.
• The black-clad man used the Heavenly Baleful Gyroscope and Blazing Dragon Powder to poison Ye Wan, while Chen Fan’s Venomheart Darts struck the three attackers.
• The two lower-realm attackers fell, and the wounded, poisoned Deputy Gang Leader fled after suspecting Chen Fan belonged to Black Dragon Pool.
• Chen Fan recognized Ye Wan, gave her an antidote pill, and carried her to an inn when the poison’s effects persisted.
• Chen Fan sent his Origin Qi into Ye Wan to suppress the poison, but she embraced and kissed him; after a long time, both fell asleep.

After waking beside Ye Wan, Chen Fan accepted responsibility for their night together and learned that she was investigating human traffickers who had poisoned her younger sister. They returned to Ye Wan’s home in a secluded valley, determined to find a way to cure her sister.

• Chen Fan and Ye Wan awoke together, and Chen Fan promised to take responsibility; Ye Wan quietly agreed.
• The innkeeper teased Chen Fan about the commotion they had caused, and Chen Fan paid him to keep quiet.
• Ye Wan questioned Chen Fan about the Poisonheart Darts, and Chen Fan claimed they had been left by a former master; Ye Wan asked him to call her Wan'er.
• Ye Wan told Chen Fan that human traffickers had poisoned her younger sister, and Chen Fan promised to help her find a cure.
• Chen Fan learned that the White Treasure Pavilion could not provide an antidote for Bewildering Soul Incense, so he and Ye Wan left Pingliang City for her home in a valley to the east.