Chapter Summaries

Gu Sheng and Huang Shan destroyed the Azure Cloud Sect forces and returned to Cloud Sea, where Gu Sheng helped the Peerless Hermit investigate poisonous herbs and begin sorting seeds for an antidote. After working through the night, Gu Sheng had sorted half the seeds, and the group gathered to finish the task so they could prepare the antidote and later confront the Fan Sect.

• Gu Sheng withdrew his allies, and Huang Shan activated the Peerless Hermit's formation, killing every remaining Azure Cloud Sect disciple.
• Huang Shan told Gu Sheng that he still wanted to kill True Man Lingxiao himself, and Gu Sheng promised to give him the chance.
• Back in Cloud Sea, Gu Sheng, Lan Yao, and Bai Yu identified the Peerless Hermit's herbs as highly poisonous, and Gu Sheng gave her two spirit stones to help cultivate antidotes.
• The group began sorting the Peerless Hermit's seeds, while the Peerless Hermit and the others teased Hong Mei and Gu Sheng about their closeness.
• After meditating and recovering his strength, Gu Sheng sorted half the seeds overnight, and Hong Mei and the others joined him to finish sorting them.

Gu Sheng and his companions traveled toward Eastern Mountain to investigate rumors that the Fan Sect possessed a spirit pearl, suspecting Saintly Hermit had spread the story to lure martial artists into danger. After joining forces with the leader of the Seven Aperture Gate, they reached the mountain ahead of the other groups, where only a few martial artists had gathered.

• Gu Sheng noticed an unusual crowd heading toward Eastern Mountain and suspected Saintly Hermit was behind the activity.
• A black-robed man told Gu Sheng he had come for the Fan Sect’s spirit pearl, but Gu Sheng warned him that the rumor might be a trap and that the Fan Sect was tied to Demon.
• Gu Sheng explained why he would not publicly spread the warning, believing Saintly Hermit’s followers might be among the travelers.
• Gu Sheng discovered the leader of the Seven Aperture Gate hiding along the road and learned he had warned many sects about the danger.
• Gu Sheng’s group and the leader of the Seven Aperture Gate hurried to Eastern Mountain and arrived before most of the martial artists, finding only a few people setting up camp.

Gu Sheng suspected the Fan Sect had lured the sects to East Mountain to use their lives to recover, and he and Bai Yu stopped a demonic group from attacking a camp. After the attackers were captured, the camp's leader accused the North Wind Sect of supporting the Fan Sect and called the spirit pearl invitation a trap.

• Gu Sheng learned the sects had to wait until everyone arrived before entering East Mountain and warned a spiritually powerful group that the Fan Sect might be plotting to sacrifice them.
• Luo Chuan sensed that King Luo and Saintly Hermit had left, while Gu Sheng and the others remained at the foot of the mountain.
• Gu Sheng and Bai Yu caught demonic figures preparing to attack the group Gu Sheng had warned, then Gu Sheng woke the camp while Bai Yu distracted the attackers.
• The camp fought back with help from other sects, and Gu Sheng and Bai Yu returned to join the crowd after the attackers were captured.
• The camp's leader accused the North Wind Sect of supporting the Fan Sect and claimed the spirit pearl news had lured everyone into a trap.

Gu Sheng uncovered an attempt to poison sect members and led the gathered martial sects in defeating the attackers. After saving the victims, he persuaded everyone that the Fan Sect was behind the nightly attacks, and the assembled sects agreed to strike back.

• Gu Sheng suspected another attack and kept watch through the night while the other sects rested.
• Gu Sheng detected evil aura as attackers approached a camp, alerted another team, and followed them with his companions.
• The attackers blew poison into a tent, but Gu Sheng and the other sects surrounded and killed them before they could escape.
• Gu Sheng treated the poisoned sect members with pills, silver needles, and spiritual energy until they recovered.
• Gu Sheng told the gathered sects that the Fan Sect was linked to the attacks, and they agreed to destroy it.
• Someone asked Gu Sheng which sect he belonged to, leaving him rubbing his brow in discomfort.

Gu Sheng led the martial sects in a night assault on Fan Sect, where he provoked the poisoned leader until she died and helped defeat her followers. After uncovering Fan Sect members hiding among the martial artists, he learned they had been acting on Saintly Hermit's orders, and the surviving infiltrators were killed.

• Gu Sheng refused offers to leave Stone Village and persuaded the gathered sects to withdraw their camps and attack Fan Sect on Eastern Mountain.
• Gu Sheng confronted the Fan Sect leader, realized she was still suffering from poison, and angered her into spitting blood and dying.
• Lan Yao confirmed the leader was dead and used her corpse to frighten Fan Sect's fighters, helping the allied sects wipe them out.
• Gu Sheng warned everyone that Fan Sect's members had poisonous blood, then detected and killed a hidden Fan Sect infiltrator among the martial artists.
• The infiltrators confessed that Saintly Hermit had ordered them to select spiritually powerful victims as nourishment, and Bai Yu and the others killed them when they attacked Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng and the others agreed to burn East Mountain to prevent Saintly Hermit’s venomous parasites from being used again, then prepared to seek out King Luo and Saintly Hermit. They reached a town, where Hong Mei began gathering herbs to disguise Luo Chuan before their journey to King Luo’s residence.

• Gu Sheng convinced the gathered sects to wait until Saintly Hermit revealed herself, and the Seven Aperture Gate’s sect master stayed behind to help him burn East Mountain.
• Gu Sheng carried Hong Mei away from the fire while Bai Yu and the others set the mountain ablaze, then kept the group nearby for three days to watch the flames.
• After extinguishing the remaining fires, Gu Sheng decided to visit King Luo with Luo Chuan, who agreed to guide them but asked to conceal his identity.
• Hong Mei offered to disguise Luo Chuan as an ordinary person and said she needed herbs from a shop in town to do it.
• Gu Sheng treated the group to a meal and rented rooms at an inn before they went to the herbal medicine shop, where Hong Mei insisted the assistant prepare her list exactly as written.

Hong Mei disguised Luo Chuan so he could meet his father and the Saintly Hermit without revealing his true face, then went shopping with Gu Sheng. True Man Lingxiao ambushed and wounded her, but escaped in a crowd, and Gu Sheng began treating her injuries back at the inn.

• Hong Mei prepared a Disguise Technique that transformed Luo Chuan’s appearance into that of a stranger and assured him the disguise could be reversed.
• Gu Sheng accompanied Hong Mei shopping and bought the items she admired.
• True Man Lingxiao stabbed Hong Mei in the waist, and Gu Sheng wounded him before ordinary people obstructed the pursuit and he escaped.
• Gu Sheng carried Hong Mei back to the inn, where his companions gave him their medicines and waited outside as he began treating her wound.

Gu Sheng healed Hong Mei’s wound and nearly kissed her before Lan Yao interrupted them, then sent Lan Yao away while he bought Hong Mei new clothes. After the group spent the night drinking, they left town and headed south, with Gu Sheng checking that Hong Mei had fully recovered.

• Gu Sheng healed Hong Mei’s wound with spiritual power and a spirit stone, and the two nearly kissed before Lan Yao called from outside.
• Gu Sheng sent Lan Yao to search for Thousand-year Ginseng, then bought Hong Mei several outfits and admitted to his companions that he liked her.
• Hong Mei tried on the red dress and thanked Gu Sheng, while the others teased them about their closeness and Lan Yao’s ill-timed interruption.
• Lan Yao returned without finding Thousand-year Ginseng, and Gu Sheng told him Hong Mei was already better; the group ate, drank, and went to bed.
• Gu Sheng woke everyone at daylight, and they traveled south until evening, when he checked Hong Mei’s pulse and confirmed she had recovered.

Gu Sheng and his companions killed True Man Lingxiao, then traveled to Ping City to investigate King Luo and prepare to approach him. Their attempt to buy new clothes ended with a shop assistant insulting Lan Yao, and Gu Sheng stepped in to confront him.

• Gu Sheng and Hong Mei collapsed the cave with True Man Lingxiao inside, then sent poisonous mist into the rubble and had the others uncover him.
• Huang Shan killed True Man Lingxiao and hacked apart his body, finally avenging the brothers who had died.
• Gu Sheng asked Luo Chuan about King Luo's territory and learned they were about two days from King Luo's Manor, though Luo Chuan knew little about its allies.
• The group traveled to Ping City, where Lan Yao led them to a clothing shop to buy new clothes and gather information.
• A shop assistant refused to let Lan Yao inspect a robe and mocked his ability to pay, so Gu Sheng restrained Lan Yao and confronted the assistant.

Gu Sheng and his companions exposed and punished a shop assistant before discovering the shopkeeper, Orchid, was an ally of Peerless Hermit. Orchid shared intelligence that Saintly Hermit and King Luo were raising dead soldiers together and revealed that King Luo’s power ran through the Qingcheng Sect, led publicly by his son Luo Qin.

• Gu Sheng restrained the shop assistant with divine power, and the shopkeeper later threw him out for mistreating customers.
• Luo Chuan sensed Saintly Hermit’s and King Luo’s auras in the shop; Gu Sheng then used their auras to test the shopkeeper, who led the group to a private courtyard.
• Gu Sheng identified the group as members of the Mirror Sect, and Orchid confirmed her ties to Peerless Hermit through her master Wufang and Gu Sheng’s token.
• Orchid revealed that Saintly Hermit had met King Luo and that they were training another force of dead soldiers.
• Gu Sheng told Orchid that his group had killed Demon and the Two White Ghosts and destroyed the Fan Sect; Orchid said King Luo had to be eliminated alongside Saintly Hermit.
• Orchid named the Qingcheng Sect as King Luo’s organization and Luo Qin as its public leader, prompting Luo Chuan to explain King Luo’s favoritism toward his youngest son.

Orchid told Gu Sheng and the others that Luo Qin planned to recruit martial artists at the upcoming Recruitment Convention, and they agreed to undermine his efforts by using Orchid’s intelligence and preparing a better welcome gift. After disguising themselves in wealthy attire, they encountered Luo Qin in a shop and learned he had ordered a Purple Jade Dagger, so Gu Sheng led the group toward the back entrance to investigate.

• Orchid explained that the Qingcheng Sect would attend the Recruitment Convention in three days to recruit martial artists for Luo Qin, and Gu Sheng offered the group’s help in stopping him.
• Gu Sheng arranged for Lan Yao to fund a welcome gift that could outdo Luo Qin’s, while Orchid agreed to watch Luo Qin and report what she learned.
• The group changed into wealthy-looking clothes, bought accessories, and accepted Orchid’s offer to stay at her home.
• At a shop, Gu Sheng and the others encountered Luo Qin, who rebuked the shopkeeper over his Purple Jade Dagger and entered with his guards.
• After leaving the guarded shop, Gu Sheng told Bai Yu that they would investigate the dagger through the back entrance.

Gu Sheng learned that Luo Qin was abusing a jeweler over the Purple Jade Dagger and arranged for Orchid to set up a private meeting with the shopkeeper, Wang. Wang arrived at Orchid's shop and made advances toward her, but she revealed that Gu Sheng and others had been waiting nearby and surrounded him.

• Gu Sheng secretly watched Luo Qin whip the jewelry shopkeeper and threaten him with death unless the Purple Jade Dagger met his demands within three days.
• Back at Orchid's shop, Gu Sheng revealed that Luo Chuan was King Luo's son, and Bai Yu and Gu Sheng promised to help him avenge his mother.
• Orchid's subordinate reported that Shopkeeper Wang was hiding valuables and preparing to flee, so Gu Sheng asked Orchid to arrange a private meeting with him.
• Orchid arranged for Shopkeeper Wang to meet them at dusk, and Gu Sheng offered to pay the expenses involved.
• Shopkeeper Wang arrived and insulted Orchid's shop before grabbing her hand and demanding that she sleep with him.
• Orchid clapped her hands, and several figures emerged from hiding to surround Shopkeeper Wang.

Gu Sheng struck a deal with Shopkeeper Wang to obtain the Purple Jade Dagger, delay Luo Qin’s preparations for the Recruitment Convention, and escape safely. After arranging Shopkeeper Wang’s departure and learning more about Luo Qin’s forces, Gu Sheng left Orchid with Hong Mei to discuss the Heavenly Cang Sect, and Orchid learned that Hong Mei was the Peerless Hermit’s disciple.

• Orchid lured Shopkeeper Wang into a room where Gu Sheng offered to protect him in exchange for the Purple Jade Dagger and help hindering Luo Qin before the Recruitment Convention.
• Shopkeeper Wang revealed details about the Qingcheng Sect, its forces, and a powerful hidden group that included Demon, then agreed to deliver the dagger and help delay Luo Qin.
• Gu Sheng paid Shopkeeper Wang and arranged for Bai Yu and Shi Lou to disguise and escort him toward Stone Village, where the Heavenly Cang Sect could protect him.
• After the others prepared to leave, Orchid stayed behind to ask about the Heavenly Cang Sect, and Gu Sheng asked Hong Mei to answer her questions.
• Hong Mei explained that the Mirror Sect was affiliated with the Heavenly Cang Sect and revealed that she was the Peerless Hermit’s disciple, surprising Orchid.

Gu Sheng secured the Purple Jade Dagger and saved Shopkeeper Wang, then began plotting to undermine Luo Qin, King Luo, and Saintly Hermit. The group reached Luo Qin’s territory to investigate the Qingcheng Sect and settled at an inn connected to Orchid, while Hong Mei’s jealousy of Orchid became apparent.

• Gu Sheng took the Purple Jade Dagger from Shopkeeper Wang, honored his promise to protect him, and sent him away under a new identity with Bai Yu and Shi Lou’s help.
• Gu Sheng planned to spread rumors about Luo Qin’s greed and mistreatment of shopkeepers, then investigate the Qingcheng Sect and Saintly Hermit’s ties to King Luo.
• After Luo Qin’s men searched for Shopkeeper Wang, Gu Sheng told Orchid to release limited gossip about Luo Qin and led the group south.
• Gu Sheng sensed Saintly Hermit’s sinister aura in Luo Qin’s territory, and Luo Chuan said he had encountered it in the royal residence.
• Gu Sheng proposed targeting Luo Qin to draw King Luo and Saintly Hermit into conflict, then entered the south disguised as a merchant.
• Orchid brought the group to an inn run by an intelligence contact, while Hong Mei grew jealous of Orchid’s closeness to Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng rejected Orchid’s friend’s insinuations, openly affirmed his feelings for Hong Mei, and left the inn with his companions. Their attempt to meet Orchid and investigate the Qingcheng Sect revealed powerful hidden forces, and Gu Sheng requested Hong Mei’s deadly Ink Fragrance as they considered how to respond.

• Orchid’s friend teased Orchid about Gu Sheng, but Gu Sheng said Hong Mei was the woman in his heart and defended his friendship with Orchid.
• Orchid’s friend drove Gu Sheng and his companions from the inn, and Orchid was held back while they left for another inn.
• Gu Sheng held Hong Mei’s hand and explained why he had openly declared his feelings before taking the group to the Qingcheng Sect that night.
• Lan Yao reported that Orchid’s friend’s people had intercepted him, so Gu Sheng led the group into the Qingcheng Sect through an unguarded back gate.
• Gu Sheng sensed powerful demonic energy inside the sect, and the group narrowly avoided discovery before returning to their inn.
• After Hong Mei warned that Luo Qin’s forces were stronger than they had expected, Gu Sheng asked her for the poisonous Ink Fragrance.

Gu Sheng turned Ink Fragrance into a colorless poison and led his companions to the Qingcheng Sect, where he released it among the sleeping members of the unorthodox faction. After escaping with an injured arm and recovering through Hong Mei’s treatment, he was confronted by Orchid, who accused him of killing her friend’s subordinate.

• Gu Sheng processed Ink Fragrance into poison while his companions waited outside, then decided they would attack the Qingcheng Sect before dawn.
• Gu Sheng released the poison among the sleeping unorthodox faction, but a follower exposed their presence and Gu Sheng killed a Qingcheng Sect member while escaping.
• Gu Sheng’s companions revealed that Orchid’s friend had followed them and caused the ambush, while Hong Mei treated Gu Sheng’s arm, which had been poisoned by unorthodox qi.
• Gu Sheng ordered everyone to pack and leave, but Orchid arrived and accused him of killing her friend’s subordinate and throwing the body outside the inn.
• Er Gou admitted that he had thrown the body, and Orchid insisted that Gu Sheng had ordered the killing to retaliate against her friend.

Orchid learned that her friend, the innkeeper, had manipulated events to attack Gu Sheng and his companions, but Gu Sheng refused her offer of help and left with his group. They settled in an abandoned house outside the city to plan their next move, while Orchid searched for them and could not find where they had gone.

• Hong Mei and Lan Yao rebuked Orchid, and Gu Sheng explained that her friend's people had tried to use the Qingcheng Sect to kill them.
• After seeing Gu Sheng's injuries and hearing the evidence, Orchid realized her friend had misled her, but Gu Sheng refused to let her join the group and left with his companions.
• Orchid confronted the innkeeper, who admitted arranging the attack to help Orchid replace Gu Sheng's beloved, and Orchid ended their friendship.
• Gu Sheng led the group to an abandoned house outside the city, where they planned to sneak into King Luo's residence for information before heading to the Recruitment Convention.
• Shi Lou and Er Gou brought back game, and the group shared a meal prepared with Hong Mei's help while Gu Sheng urged her not to go into the mountains alone.
• Orchid searched the city for Gu Sheng's group, learned they had left on their own, and wondered whether they were hiding from her.

Gu Sheng and his companions stole treasures from King Luo's residence and learned of a plot against the White Cloud Sect. Gu Sheng rejected Orchid's attempt to reconcile, and the group left for the Recruitment Convention while Orchid realized she had lost his trust.

• Gu Sheng and the others entered King Luo's residence with Luo Chuan, took a jade dagger and chests of treasure, and overheard King Luo and his consort plot to destroy the White Cloud Sect and conquer the martial world.
• Luo Chuan revealed that one chest held his stepmother's belongings and property deeds, then gave the group most of the wealth; Gu Sheng persuaded him to keep the belongings as a future provision.
• Gu Sheng promised Bai Yu he would return with him to defend the White Cloud Sect after they dealt with the Recruitment Convention.
• Orchid visited the group to share information and apologize, but Gu Sheng refused to renew their relationship because he could not trust her judgment.
• Orchid left information outside the group's shelter, but Gu Sheng and Hong Mei destroyed it because they already knew its contents, and the group departed at dawn.
• Orchid returned with food and found the shelter empty, then broke down after realizing Gu Sheng had left without her.

Gu Sheng and his companions prepared to recruit wandering martial artists at the Recruitment Convention under Stone Village’s name. After rejecting Orchid’s request to join them, Gu Sheng approached a strong but apparently unremarkable martial artist and tried to turn him against the Qingcheng Sect; the man remained unconvinced, so Gu Sheng planned to let him hear the truth from others.

• Bai Yu paid for a cowhide entry pass, and the group set up camp near the Recruitment Convention.
• Gu Sheng chose to recruit under Stone Village’s name, avoiding ties to the Peerless Hermit, the Baiyun brand, and Lan Yao’s Elf race.
• Orchid asked Gu Sheng to let her travel with the group, but he refused, and Hong Mei and the others confronted Orchid when she accused them of excluding her.
• Gu Sheng ignored Orchid and led the group to a wandering martial artist whom he believed was concealing great strength.
• Gu Sheng learned that the man was considering the Qingcheng Sect and hinted that Luo Qin was vile, but the man accused him of slander.
• Gu Sheng returned to camp and told everyone that the man would need to hear the truth about Luo Qin firsthand.

Gu Sheng worked to keep Liu Ping from joining the Qingcheng Sect, whose leader Luo Qin was disgraced by reports of his crimes. As the Recruitment Convention began, Gu Sheng secretly took an item from Luo Qin and Liu Ping followed him to give his answer about joining Stone Village.

• Gu Sheng and his companions heard rumors that Luo Qin had abused shopkeepers and used death warriors, while another group spread the news among potential recruits.
• Gu Sheng approached Liu Ping and invited him to join Stone Village; Liu Ping said he would consider it, and Bai Yu revealed his reputation as a powerful martial-world figure.
• Gu Sheng told his companions they would investigate the Qingcheng Sect and act against it on the journey back if it truly had death warriors.
• Two days later, Luo Qin arrived at the Recruitment Convention to a crowd that whispered about him, and Gu Sheng guessed that the covered object at his waist was a luminous pearl.
• As the crowd entered, Gu Sheng bumped into Luo Qin and secretly took an item, then slipped away; Liu Ping caught up with him and said he had made his decision.