Chapter Summaries

Li Ping'an watched Gu Xizhou leave Demon-Suppressing Pass for his long-awaited battle, then shared the quiet routines and companionship of life there with Zhang Song and Changqing. After Zhang Song revealed that his late swordsmanship master had been framed and denied her place in the Sword-Guarding Pavilion, he challenged Demon-Suppressing Pass with his sword.

• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, Zhang Song, and Changqing waited through the night among the crowds to witness Gu Xizhou’s decisive battle, though they could only feel the winds from the fight.
• Gu Xizhou returned at dawn and soon soared away; people later said he had defeated three peak Eighth Rank demons and ascended to the next realm.
• Li Ping'an and Zhang Song shared their different views of life as Zhang Song’s habits, sword sharpening, and noisy snoring continued.
• Over dinner, Zhang Song told Li Ping'an that his master had been a swordswoman who guarded Demon-Suppressing Pass and died before he mastered her swordsmanship.
• Zhang Song said his master had been framed and denied her place in the Sword-Guarding Pavilion, then rose into the sky and challenged Demon-Suppressing Pass with his sword.

Zhang Song challenged Demon-Suppressing Pass and broke through its Sword Pavilion Grand Formation. He revealed that he had come to place the sword of the late swordswoman Tang Xuan in the Sword-Guarding Pavilion.

• Kong Yang and Yang Jianbai learned that Zhang Song had issued a sword challenge, and the city’s representatives sent twelve figures to face him.
• Zhang Song swiftly defeated two talisman generals and forced another opponent to retreat before the Sword Pavilion Grand Formation trapped his movements.
• Remembering the woman who had told him he could become the greatest swordsman under heaven, Zhang Song unleashed a powerful strike and broke through the formation.
• Zhang Song reached the Sword Pavilion, where an old man asked why he had issued the challenge.
• Zhang Song said he had come for Tang Xuan, a deceased swordswoman of Demon-Suppressing Pass, and to place her sword in the Sword-Guarding Pavilion.
• The old man agreed that Tang Xuan’s sword belonged in the Sword Pavilion because she had died fighting there.

Zhang Song fought his way into the Sword-Guarding Pavilion to place Tang Xuan’s sword, No Regrets, in the Sword Pool after years of seeking justice for her. He fulfilled his vow but emerged aged and near the end of his strength, declaring that his master would be proud of him.

• Zhang Song confronted Demon-Suppressing Pass, said Tang Xuan had been framed, and demanded that someone face him.
• Zhang Song fought the blue-robed old man and survived three moves, though the effort left him aged and frail.
• Kong Yang ordered an investigation into the swordswoman Zhang Song had mentioned and allowed him to enter the Sword Pavilion.
• Zhang Song entered the Sword Pavilion and declared that he was bearing Tang Xuan’s personal sword, No Regrets, into the Sword Pool.
• Zhang Song murmured that his foolish disciple had made his master proud.

Li Ping'an buried Zhang Song after carrying his body away from the Demon-Suppressing Pass, then spent several more months there before deciding to leave as war with the Demon Race threatened. He said goodbye to the Myriad Affairs Pavilion clerk, who offered him money for the road.

• Li Ping'an collected Zhang Song's body despite young swordsmen demanding an apology, then fought them off when they blocked his way.
• Li Ping'an and Monk Changqing buried Zhang Song, and Li Ping'an played a tune at his grave and privately decided to call him Zhang Yingqi.
• Li Ping'an sharpened Fine Rain with Zhang Song's Sword-Grinding Stone and watched fights around the Demon-Suppressing Pass; Monk Changqing was beaten after trying to mediate one.
• After more than four months at the pass, Li Ping'an decided to return home because the Demon Race was preparing for war.
• Li Ping'an visited the Myriad Affairs Pavilion clerk to say goodbye, and the clerk offered him a red envelope for his journey.

Li Ping'an left Demon-Suppressing Pass and continued his journey with Old Ox, then took shelter from the rain at an ancient temple with Chang Jian and his family. After a dark figure fled through the temple, Chang Jian's servant discovered a room containing vacant women and enormous centipedes, while Li Ping'an stopped him from drawing his halberd.

• Li Ping'an said farewell to Changqing and the others before setting out with Old Ox.
• Chang Jian, his wife, child, and dark-faced servant arrived at an ancient temple on their way to his new post.
• Chang Jian invited Li Ping'an and Old Ox inside out of the rain, and the abbot provided them with a room and a meal.
• After night fell, Li Ping'an and the dark-faced servant noticed a shadow and the servant chased it into the rear courtyard.
• The dark-faced servant found vacant women and arm-length centipedes in a brightly lit room, but Li Ping'an grabbed his halberd and told him to stay calm.

Li Ping'an investigated whether the temple’s mind-controlling centipedes were valuable Thousand-Legged Centipedes while staying with Chang Jian’s family. That night, he caught a masked intruder hiding in a tree as they attempted to enter the temple again.

• Li Ping'an asked the Rune Fragment group about centipedes that burrowed into people’s brains, and Happy Big Boy and Charging Eagle explained the uses and dangers of Thousand-Legged Centipedes.
• Li Ping'an stayed at the temple with Chang Jian and his family, planning to investigate after dark.
• Villagers came to worship Buddha, chanting as if they were puppets on strings.
• The dark-faced man told Li Ping'an that his master, the newly appointed county magistrate, had sent him to gather men.
• Li Ping'an hid in a tree and caught the masked intruder at knifepoint when they returned to the temple.

Li Ping'an learned that an abbot had used enchanted centipedes to control villagers and infiltrated the temple with a girl who had escaped the plague. After killing the monks guarding the captives, he found centipedes inside the villagers and identified one with Aura Lock.

• The girl told Li Ping'an that the abbot had given villagers centipedes during a plague, and that they eventually lost control of themselves.
• The girl explained that the monk Huìnéng had revealed the abbot's scheme, while the other monks had become accomplices.
• Li Ping'an and the girl entered the temple's rear courtyard, where Li Ping'an killed the monks in the meditation rooms and called his method the highest assassin's technique.
• They found chained villagers whose minds had been taken over, and Li Ping'an beheaded one despite the girl's warning that ordinary blades would not work.
• A huge centipede emerged from the villager, and Li Ping'an used Aura Lock to assess its power.

Li Ping'an traded one Thousand-Legged Centipede for information about the creatures, then killed several and discovered their inner cores kept them alive. He saved Chang Jian’s family from the Warrior Monks, but the monks surrounded them just as the dark-faced man arrived with government reinforcements.

• Li Ping'an coaxed Happy Big Boy, Advancing Eagle, and Soaring Fish into lowering their prices, and traded one Thousand-Legged Centipede for their knowledge.
• Happy Big Boy explained the centipedes’ inner cores, their connection to a Thousand-Legged Centipede King, and their value to cultivators of the Six Mysteries of the Human Body.
• Li Ping'an confirmed that the centipedes survived decapitation while their inner cores remained intact, then found and destroyed their cores before bagging the bodies.
• Li Ping'an heard Warrior Monks threatening Chang Jian’s family and used Fine Rain to kill the monks and rescue them.
• Chang Jian thanked Li Ping'an, and his wife apologized for her earlier behavior.
• Dozens of monks surrounded the meditation quarters as the dark-faced man arrived with government reinforcements, accusing the group of trying to murder his master.

Li Ping'an battled the monks and the possessed soldiers at the temple, then killed the Thousand-Legged Centipede King underground. By morning, the surviving villagers had awakened, and Li Ping'an and Old Ox were cutting up the giant monster to take it with them.

• The temple bell stirred the ironclad soldiers and villagers into a hostile frenzy, so Li Ping'an sent Chang Jian's family and the girl into hiding while the dark-faced man fought the soldiers.
• Li Ping'an fought past the monks, found Huìnéng, and forced him to lead the way to the abbot; Li Ping'an killed the abbot and entered the underground passage.
• Huìnéng revealed that the abbot's lineage had worshipped the Thousand-Legged Centipedes and used human sacrifices to make them reproduce.
• Li Ping'an faced the Thousand-Legged Centipede King and sliced it in half with the Staff-Sword to reach its inner core.
• By morning, some victims had recovered while the others had died; Chang Jian planned to report the disaster, and the girl said Li Ping'an was a top assassin.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox began cutting up the enormous centipede, celebrating that they would be rich.

Li Ping'an endured the terrible taste of Thousand-Legged Centipedes and improved his cultivation before reaching the war-torn Sal'er Pass with Old Ox. He rescued Great Sui Company Banner Officer Zhao Mu, learned that Turkic forces had surrounded the battlefield, and heard footsteps approaching.

• Li Ping'an ate several Thousand-Legged Centipedes despite their foul taste, then cultivated as their energy stirred his Mud Pellet.
• At Sal'er Pass, Zhao Mu crawled from a pile of corpses and killed a Turkic soldier who attacked him.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox found the gravely wounded Zhao Mu, and Li Ping'an gave him strong liquor that restored some of his strength.
• Zhao Mu told Li Ping'an that Great Sui had launched an offensive with three hundred thousand troops and that Turkic forces had surrounded the area.
• Li Ping'an introduced himself to Zhao Mu and checked his cultivation progress before footsteps sounded nearby.

Li Ping'an traveled with Zhao Mu and the wounded Commander Deng Qiankun as they fled the battlefield and sought shelter at a house. When Deng Qiankun tried to assault the woman sheltering there, Li Ping'an stopped him and killed him, leaving Old Ox to bury the body.

• Deng Qiankun joined Li Ping'an and Zhao Mu, ate some of Li Ping'an's foul-smelling food, and ordered them to flee toward the Great Sui main force.
• The three found a house where a mother and her one-armed daughter lived, and Li Ping'an paid the woman for food and hot water.
• Li Ping'an spoke with the daughter, who explained that Turkic men had assaulted her and cut off her arm.
• Deng Qiankun tried to force himself on the woman, but Li Ping'an restrained him after Zhao Mu objected.
• Li Ping'an cut Deng Qiankun's throat and threw his corpse out the window, and Old Ox went to bury it.

Li Ping'an and Zhao Mu endured a meager meal while Li Ping'an struggled with hunger and avoided trouble with nearby Turkic soldiers. When Er Dezi brought Turkic men to seize Zhang Shi and her daughter, Zhao Mu burst from hiding and attacked one of them.

• Li Ping'an and Zhao Mu ate rice-bran porridge, wild greens, and pickles, and Zhao Mu learned that Li Ping'an had killed Deng Qiankun.
• Li Ping'an searched for food, joked and fought with Old Ox, then left when he heard Er Dezi approaching with Turkic soldiers.
• Zhao Mu hid in the cellar after learning Er Dezi had come to take Zhang Shi and her daughter.
• Er Dezi told Zhang Shi and her daughter to go with the Turkic officers, and the soldiers moved toward them.
• Zhao Mu sprang from the cellar and drove his saber toward a Turkic soldier's heart.

Li Ping'an and Zhao Mu escaped the Turkic soldiers’ house after killing the attackers, then set out through the snow along a route chosen to avoid enemy troops. Their journey ended when hurried footsteps and crossbow bolts warned them that enemies were ahead.

• Zhao Mu and Zhang Shi killed the Turkic soldiers, and Zhao Mu beat Er Dezi while Zhang Shi handed him a knife.
• Li Ping'an comforted the girl with a story about regrowing his lost arm and searched the dead soldiers for valuables.
• Li Ping'an and Zhao Mu planned an escape route, took a small amount of food, and told Zhang Shi and her daughter about a hidden cave.
• The two groups parted under cover of darkness, and the girl wished Li Ping'an’s eyes would recover.
• Li Ping'an warmed Zhao Mu as they traveled through heavy snow for fourteen to sixteen hours, then stopped when footsteps and crossbow bolts sounded ahead.

Li Ping'an and Zhao Mu ambushed a group of Turkic soldiers and joined up with Zhou Shun and other scattered Great Sui troops as they traveled through the snowy battlefield. Huyan Zhuo killed a Great Sui officer and later appeared in the woods near the group, where he encountered Zhou Shun.

• Li Ping'an killed several pursuing Turkic soldiers from behind, and Zhao Mu rallied the scattered Great Sui soldiers to fight back until the Turkic group was defeated.
• Zhou Shun thanked Li Ping'an and agreed to follow him as they gathered scattered troops and continued toward safety.
• The group stripped the Turkic dead for warm clothing and later ate wolf meat before resting.
• Huyan Zhuo killed a Great Sui officer, then ordered his men to kill everyone in a village and burn it down while blaming the attack on Great Sui survivors.
• While Li Ping'an cultivated and the others slept, Zhou Shun went into the woods and encountered Huyan Zhuo, then returned as though nothing had happened.

Li Ping'an fought Huyan Zhuo on a frozen river, using his skill with Aura Lock and a hidden attack to survive the stronger swordsman’s assault. The battle ended with Huyan Zhuo pierced through, though the chapter did not reveal what had struck him.

• Li Ping'an went fishing on the frozen river, where Huyan Zhuo arrived and challenged him.
• Li Ping'an and Huyan Zhuo clashed with their Flying Swords, and Li Ping'an held off Huyan Zhuo’s rapid attacks with his Staff-Sword.
• Zhao Mu and several brothers found the fight, and Zhao Mu shot an arrow at Huyan Zhuo before Li Ping'an told them to stay back.
• Li Ping'an shattered the ice beneath them and plunged into the river, then attacked Huyan Zhuo from the water and threw his Staff-Sword at him.
• Huyan Zhuo prepared to kill Li Ping'an, but a blade pierced him through and drained his strength.

Li Ping'an killed Huyan Zhuo with Old Ox's help, looted his belongings, and gathered scattered Great Sui soldiers while fleeing the Turkic forces. When a Turkic unit pursued them, Li Ping'an challenged the routed troops to turn around and fight, provoking one man and kicking him aside as he shouted, "Who else?"

• Old Ox caught Li Ping'an's Staff-Sword and drove it into Huyan Zhuo, allowing Li Ping'an to kill him and free the bearded man from the secret art.
• Li Ping'an carried Huyan Zhuo's corpse to safety, looted his treasures, and rested with Zhao Mu and the others.
• Li Ping'an's group gathered a little over twenty stragglers as they traveled, while larger groups of routed soldiers also moved through the woods.
• Zhao Mu reported that more than a hundred Turkic soldiers were following them, and Li Ping'an urged the group to turn around and attack.
• When the routed soldiers ignored Li Ping'an's call, he insulted them, kicked a man who charged him, and demanded to know who else would fight.

Li Ping'an rallied routed Great Sui soldiers, ambushed the Turks, and led his growing band toward Sal'er Pass. With the pass defended by thousands of Turks and their pursuers closing in, he prepared to lead the men in a desperate breakout.

• Li Ping'an gathered more than forty routed soldiers and ambushed a Turkic unit, killing many and capturing its commander at the cost of eleven men.
• Li Ping'an led several more counterattacks over the following days, building his band into a force of roughly a thousand while repelling Turkic scouts.
• Li Ping'an and Zhao Mu reached Sal'er Pass, where the Turks had sealed their escape route and prepared to face the defenders rather than be trapped by the pursuing army.
• Zhao Mu asked whether they could win and said he would marry Yao Mei if he survived; Li Ping'an warned him not to tempt fate.
• Li Ping'an decided to use the men’s strength to break through Sal'er Pass, and he and Old Ox advanced toward the Turkic defenses as snow fell.

Li Ping'an led routed Great Sui soldiers in a desperate attempt to break through the Turkic encirclement and return to their army. After using a wind talisman to scatter the Turkic arrow formation, they charged into the enemy ranks, where fierce fighting continued.

• Li Ping'an rode Old Ox and led nearly a thousand routed Great Sui soldiers in a surprise assault on the Turkic camp.
• A Turkic martial artist killed several Great Sui soldiers, but Li Ping'an and elite fighters exploited the enemy’s distraction to tear open a breach.
• The Turkic soldiers formed a dense arrow formation against the advancing Great Sui troops.
• Li Ping'an and Zhao Mu used their wind characters, and Li Ping'an called up a gale that swept away the arrows.
• The routed soldiers charged through the opening and into the Turkic ranks, fighting to escape the encirclement.

Li Ping'an killed the Turkic general Qiyan and led the Great Sui survivors to break through the encirclement, while Zhao Mu reported their success to the Eldest Princess Liu Yun. The chapter left Liu Yun asking where Li Ping'an was, and Zhao Mu saying he had gone to the latrine.

• Li Ping'an used Shrinking Earth into Inches to pierce Qiyan's protective gang qi and kill him with the Staff-Sword.
• Li Ping'an rallied the Great Sui soldiers, who attacked the Turkic forces and broke through the encirclement.
• The tale of the black-ox-riding Bull Warrior spread among storytellers.
• Liu Yun learned that survivors had escaped Sal'er Pass and summoned Zhao Mu to her tent.
• Zhao Mu credited Brother Li with most of the breakout's success, and Liu Yun asked where Li Ping'an was.
• Zhao Mu told Liu Yun that Li Ping'an had gone to the latrine.

Li Ping'an returned to the Anbei Four Garrisons with Old Ox and found the town damaged by war and many old acquaintances gone. After learning Duha had gone to Yumen Pass with the Wang Family, he left the ruins behind and set out to find a quiet place to rest and cultivate.

• Liu Yun abandoned the search for Li Ping'an and called her generals to discuss important matters.
• Old Ox accidentally dropped Li Ping'an back into a well, and the two then continued their journey homeward.
• Li Ping'an reunited with Old Liu at the noodle stall and learned that the Anbei Four Garrisons had been devastated by a battle between Great Sui and the Turkic Lands.
• Li Ping'an found his courtyard and Aliya's house reduced to ruins, then learned from Brother Zhang that Duha had gone to Yumen Pass with the Wang Family.
• Li Ping'an asked after his friends, including Liu Er, but received no news of them amid the town's military occupation and conscription.
• Li Ping'an spent one last night in his ruined courtyard, then left with Old Ox to find a quiet place to rest and cultivate.