Recaps

Huang Xiao encountered a party of Jianghu travelers at a tea stall, where Uncle Qi stopped his subordinate from mistreating him after noticing the frozen tea on his table. Uncle Qi learned that an immortal was said to live on Everlasting Spring Mountain, and his party set out to find him.

• A Jianghu party arrived at the tea stall, and one of its men tried to drive Huang Xiao away from his table.
• Elder Qi ordered the man to apologize to Huang Xiao and noticed the bowl of frozen tea, which suggested Huang Xiao had abilities beyond his apparent cultivation.
• Elder Qi asked the proprietor about the immortal rumored to live in Dali, and the proprietor described someone who had supposedly brought the dead back to life.
• The proprietor directed the party to Everlasting Spring Mountain, three hundred li south, and Uncle Qi and the young master departed with their companions.
• The author explained that earlier references to Western Xia had been revised because the state had not yet been founded at this point in the story.

Huang Xiao learned from an inn proprietor about immortals on Everlasting Spring Mountain and concluded that the mountain might be the Everlasting Spring Valley he had been told to seek. Believing it offered his only chance to survive his grave wounds, he set off for the mountain.

• Huang Xiao asked the proprietor whether immortals on Everlasting Spring Mountain could bring the dead back to life.
• The proprietor recounted how an immortal had revived his dead nephew after nearly half a day, and explained that visitors waited or searched the vast, treacherous mountain for immortals.
• Huang Xiao reasoned that the so-called immortal might be a skilled healer who used formations to conceal himself.
• Huang Xiao asked whether Everlasting Spring Valley was on the mountain, and the proprietor suggested it might be one of its many valleys.
• Huang Xiao decided the mountain was the place he had been seeking, paid the proprietor, and hurried south toward Everlasting Spring Mountain.

Huang Xiao, weakened by the cold energy in his body, came upon bandits raiding a village and tried to stop their chief, One-Eyed Wolf. After injuring the chief but failing to defeat him, Huang Xiao faced him again as his strength began to give out.

• Huang Xiao reached a village at night and found One-Eyed Wolf’s bandits capturing villagers, seizing their belongings, and taking women and villagers as forced labor.
• Huang Xiao challenged One-Eyed Wolf despite knowing his injuries left him badly outnumbered and weakened.
• One-Eyed Wolf underestimated Huang Xiao and held back his saber strike, allowing Huang Xiao to disarm him and land a palm strike to his chest.
• One-Eyed Wolf attacked Huang Xiao with his fists, and Huang Xiao evaded or endured several blows before retreating as the cold energy stirred within him.
• Huang Xiao declared that One-Eyed Wolf could die as he prepared to continue fighting.

Huang Xiao killed One-Eyed Wolf and helped the villagers defeat the bandits with the arrival of Uncle Qi’s party. He declined to travel with them that night, choosing to recover from a slight injury before continuing toward Everlasting Spring Mountain.

• Huang Xiao used One-Eyed Wolf’s Steel Saber to behead him, then killed the bandits who charged at him.
• Uncle Sun and the village head urged the villagers to fight, and the villagers attacked the remaining bandit guards.
• Uncle Qi and his party arrived, killed the bandits pursuing them, and joined Huang Xiao in confronting the survivors.
• Uncle Qi ordered his men to kill the bandits who begged for mercy, and the village head thanked the heroes.
• Huang Xiao told Uncle Qi that he was headed toward Everlasting Spring Mountain but declined to travel with the party because he wanted to recover overnight.

After defeating the bandits, Huang Xiao’s worsening injuries overwhelmed him, and the villagers brought him to Uncle Sun for treatment. Uncle Sun began an unusual remedy using ice, then sensed something unexpected in Huang Xiao’s internal power.

• Uncle Qi and the young master rode on toward Everlasting Spring Mountain, wary of Huang Xiao’s strange aura.
• Huang Xiao refused the village chief’s invitation to stay at his home, but the cold inside him surged and he collapsed.
• The villagers carried Huang Xiao to Uncle Sun’s home, struggling against the freezing cold radiating from his body.
• Uncle Sun examined Huang Xiao and ordered the villagers to prepare medicinal ingredients, a bathing tub, and stored ice instead of hot water.
• Uncle Sun recognized that Huang Xiao’s meridians and dantian were severely damaged, but promised to preserve his life.
• Uncle Sun checked Huang Xiao’s pulse again and was startled by the internal power he detected.

Uncle Sun treated Huang Xiao’s ruptured meridians by combining the Heavenly Yin Silkworm’s cold energy with an Iceflame Pill and medicinal herbs. Huang Xiao’s meridians began to repair themselves, and he stirred from unconsciousness.

• Uncle Sun discovered that the Heavenly Yin Silkworm’s icy energy had nearly consumed Huang Xiao’s internal power.
• Uncle Sun had Huang Xiao placed in a bathtub of crushed ice and medicinal decoction, then sent everyone else out of the room.
• Uncle Sun ground his rare Iceflame Pill into powder and added it to the bath, releasing intense cold.
• Uncle Sun inserted golden needles into Huang Xiao’s major acupoints and stimulated them, drawing the cold energy through his damaged meridians.
• The medicinal cold energy helped Huang Xiao’s meridians and dantian begin to heal, and Huang Xiao murmured as he started to stir.

Uncle Sun treated Huang Xiao’s shattered meridians and dantian, giving him enough time to regain consciousness and take control of the cold inside him. Huang Xiao began converting the dangerous cold into Everlasting Spring True Qi, survived the immediate threat, and opened his eyes to find Uncle Sun beside him.

• Uncle Sun rapidly struck Huang Xiao’s acupoints, reconnecting his meridians and stabilizing the cold while Huang Xiao remained unconscious.
• Huang Xiao regained consciousness and recognized that an unfamiliar medicinal chill entering through his acupoints was repairing his meridians and dantian.
• Unable to expel the Heavenly Yin Silkworm’s cold, Huang Xiao used the Northern Darkness Absorption Method to draw a small wisp into his dantian and assimilate it.
• The cold violently resisted, but Huang Xiao repeatedly broke it down until it produced Everlasting Spring True Qi, then continued the process with increasing success.
• Uncle Sun sensed Huang Xiao’s cultivation recovering, though he knew the damage to Huang Xiao’s meridians and dantian would limit his strength.
• Huang Xiao opened his eyes and recognized Uncle Sun as the elder who had called for resistance against the bandits.

Uncle Sun treated Huang Xiao’s severe injuries and warned him not to rush in trying to dispel the cold energy in his meridians. Huang Xiao learned that he might recover seventy or eighty percent of his strength, then revealed that he practiced Poison God Valley’s Everlasting Spring Art, which surprised Uncle Sun.

• Uncle Sun removed the golden needles from Huang Xiao’s vital acupoints and told him to rest while his injuries healed.
• The village chief and villagers carried Huang Xiao to bed and arranged food for him.
• Uncle Sun warned Huang Xiao not to circulate his power to dispel the cold energy until his meridians and dantian were stronger.
• The next day, Uncle Sun examined Huang Xiao and said his meridians and dantian might recover seventy or eighty percent, but not completely.
• Huang Xiao told Uncle Sun that he practiced Poison God Valley’s Everlasting Spring Art, and Uncle Sun realized it was what he had suspected.

Huang Xiao discussed his injuries and the limits of human life with Old Sun, whose questions about longevity revealed his despair over an approaching ordeal. After Huang Xiao’s words stirred a new insight, Old Sun resolved to give him a great opportunity.

• Old Sun assessed Huang Xiao’s injuries and said medicine and the Everlasting Spring Art could repair his meridians and dantian, while Huang Xiao would need to neutralize the cold energy over about a month.
• Old Sun questioned Huang Xiao about poison and remarked that using it was a lesser path, leaving Huang Xiao wondering whether Old Sun’s explanation concealed something.
• Old Sun asked how long a person could live, and Huang Xiao recited a passage from Zhuangzi before estimating that even exceptional people might live around 130 years.
• Old Sun said that people could defy heaven and alter their fate, then arranged medicine for Huang Xiao and left the village.
• At a camphor tree, Old Sun lamented that his allotted time was nearly up and that he had failed to find a way through his latest ordeal.
• Old Sun realized Huang Xiao’s words had awakened an insight and decided to bestow a great opportunity on him because of their bond of fate.

Huang Xiao continued recovering from the cold energy while worrying that Old Sun was troubled by their earlier conversation. That night, Old Sun entered his room, brought him into a dreamscape, and offered him an opportunity.

• The village chief told Huang Xiao that Old Sun had spent three days alone beneath the camphor tree, and Huang Xiao went with him to look from a distance.
• Huang Xiao continued dissolving the cold energy and fell into a deep sleep that night.
• Old Sun entered Huang Xiao's room, sealed his acupoints, and said he would give him an opportunity before leaving.
• Huang Xiao found himself in a dreamscape behind the village and spoke with Old Sun beneath the tree.
• Old Sun offered Huang Xiao an opportunity, and Huang Xiao accepted.

Old Sun passed Huang Xiao the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art, explaining its connection to the Everlasting Spring Art and its power to heal his injuries. He identified Medicine King Hall as the source of the tales about immortals and warned Huang Xiao never to use the art in front of its people.

• Old Sun recited the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art and made Huang Xiao swear not to pass on the complete method.
• Huang Xiao recognized similarities between the new art and his Everlasting Spring Art, and Old Sun confirmed that his sect’s method had been derived from it.
• Old Sun accepted Huang Xiao as a Poison God Valley descendant and taught him that the art could restore his meridians to about ninety percent, with full recovery requiring a tribulation.
• Old Sun warned Huang Xiao to keep the method secret and never use it before anyone from Medicine King Hall.
• Huang Xiao explained why he had come to Dali, and Old Sun revealed that Medicine King Hall was located in Everlasting Spring Valley on Immortal Peak and could have treated his injuries at great cost.

After Huang Xiao dreamed that Old Sun healed him and taught him the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art, he awoke uncertain whether the encounter was real. He discovered that his injuries had been repaired and the art’s power-circulation method was in his mind, leaving him determined to rebuild his strength and advance further.

• Old Sun told Huang Xiao to hide the cultivation art until he was strong enough to face the Medicine King Hall and the Jianghu, then said he would help him once more.
• Huang Xiao awoke at dawn and found Old Sun’s room empty, leaving him unsure whether their conversation had been a dream.
• Huang Xiao examined himself and discovered that the cold energy had vanished, his dantian and meridians had recovered, and the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art’s true qi remained within him.
• Huang Xiao circulated the art’s power and realized Old Sun had placed its introductory method in his mind; he named its stronger true qi Everlasting Spring Ageless True Qi.
• With his strength restored to nearly ninety percent of its former level, Huang Xiao resolved to study the art and surpass the elders of Poison God Valley.

After Elder Sun left the village to pursue unfinished business, Huang Xiao studied the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art and its extraordinary promise of extending life through three realms. He began preparing to cultivate with his transformed true qi, while the villagers set out to search for Elder Sun.

• Huang Xiao found Elder Sun's letter saying he had left the village to travel before his death, and the village chief arrived to ask about him.
• The village chief read Elder Sun's letter and insisted on sending villagers to search for him; Huang Xiao agreed and told the chief he would spend a few days in seclusion.
• Huang Xiao learned that One-Eyed Wolf's remaining bandits had already scattered, so he no longer needed to clear White Wolf Mountain.
• Huang Xiao considered the three realms of the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art, which promised repeated rejuvenation and a possible lifespan of more than nine hundred years, but also caused temporary loss of power during natural rejuvenation.
• Huang Xiao resolved to circulate his power, noting that the Heavenly Yin Silkworm's cold energy had become Everlasting Spring Ageless True Qi and that he could use the Northern Darkness Absorption Method more easily.

Huang Xiao set out to return to Green Ox Temple and Poison God Valley, but learned that the Jianghu was converging on Dali to pursue Zhang Hu and the Heavenly Demon Canon. After hearing that Heavenly Mountain Pavilion disciples had come, he turned toward Everlasting Spring Mountain in hopes of seeing Zhao Xin'er, where he learned Zhang Hu had been spotted.

• Huang Xiao left Mountain Forest Village for the return journey while Jiang Ying secretly followed him, believing his mission was nearly complete.
• Huang Xiao encountered many Jianghu travelers and learned that Zhang Hu had escaped with the Heavenly Demon Canon and was believed to be in Dali.
• Huang Xiao overheard Jianghu people mention that Heavenly Mountain Pavilion disciples had come down the mountain and turned his horse around, hoping Zhao Xin'er was among them.
• Huang Xiao followed the crowds toward Everlasting Spring Mountain and learned that Zhang Hu had been spotted there before disappearing into the mountains.
• Huang Xiao wondered why Zhang Hu had traveled to Dali so quickly and suspected he had come there for a purpose.

Huang Xiao reasoned that Zhang Hu had come to Everlasting Spring Mountain seeking treatment, then hurried toward the mountain hoping to help Zhao Xin'er obtain the Heavenly Demon Canon. On the road, he rescued an injured young man and confronted Tan Tong, one of Bai Tianqi's companions, who had been killing travelers.

• Huang Xiao concluded that Zhang Hu was likely seeking the mysterious immortals for treatment and hoped to help Zhao Xin'er secure the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• Huang Xiao hurried toward Everlasting Spring Mountain, but realized he had traveled along a road deserted by the Jianghu fighters.
• An injured young man stumbled toward Huang Xiao and collapsed, pursued by Tan Tong, whom Huang Xiao recognized as one of Bai Tianqi's companions.
• Huang Xiao gave the young man a healing pill, placed him across his horse, and challenged Tan Tong over his killings.
• Tan Tong explained his rivalry with Bai Tianqi and his plan to gain merit by pursuing the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• Huang Xiao and Tan Tong traded threats, and Huang Xiao attacked first.

Huang Xiao used his improved Snake-Traveling Tiny Steps to seize the advantage against Tan Tong, who answered with his signature Stone-Shattering Foot. The chapter ended as Huang Xiao met the kick with his palm and activated the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art against Tan Tong’s surging, oppressive power.

• Tan Tong underestimated Huang Xiao, but Huang Xiao’s palm strike staggered him and sent him five steps back.
• Huang Xiao feinted a direct charge, slipped behind Tan Tong with Snake-Traveling Tiny Steps, and struck him hard enough to send him flying and spitting blood.
• Huang Xiao chased Tan Tong down before he could recover, forcing Tan Tong to counter with his signature Stone-Shattering Foot.
• Huang Xiao met Tan Tong’s kick with his palm and activated the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art when Tan Tong’s power suddenly surged.

Huang Xiao used his Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art to overpower Tan Tong, who was killed when Duan Ying struck a vital acupoint during their contest. Duan Ying revealed he was the Dali Kingdom’s second prince, while his guard Liao Yi suggested the attack might have involved more than bad luck.

• Huang Xiao’s everlasting spring ageless true qi dissolved Tan Tong’s corrosive internal power and began overwhelming him.
• As Tan Tong tried to break free, Duan Ying struck him with a finger technique, throwing his internal power into chaos and allowing Huang Xiao’s true qi to destroy his meridians.
• Huang Xiao stopped Liao Yi from attacking him, and Duan Ying explained that Huang Xiao had saved his life.
• Huang Xiao recognized Duan Ying’s unusual finger technique as the Dali Kingdom’s Profound Finger Sword and learned that Duan Ying was the kingdom’s second prince.
• Duan Ying blamed the attack on the many experts drawn by the Heavenly Demon Canon, but Liao Yi warned that the matter was not so simple.

Huang Xiao helped the wounded Duan Ying escape and continued toward Everlasting Spring Mountain despite warnings about the danger surrounding Zhang Hu and the Heavenly Demon Canon. After learning that Zhang Hu had been located, Huang Xiao followed the Jianghu fighters into the mountain.

• Duan Ying recognized Huang Xiao as a Poison God Valley disciple and warned him not to pursue Zhang Hu, but Huang Xiao insisted he had to go.
• Duan Ying borrowed Huang Xiao's horse and left with Liao Yi to return to the Imperial City.
• Two men examined Tan Tong's corpse, identified Huang Xiao's Everlasting Spring True Qi and Duan Ying's Mysterious Finger Sword, then left to report back.
• Huang Xiao reached Everlasting Spring Mountain and learned that clashes among the searchers had caused nearly a thousand casualties.
• When word spread that Zhang Hu's traces had been found, Huang Xiao followed the crowd into the mountain.

Zhang Hu confronted You Lian'er after Jianghu pursuers drove them into the mountains, accusing her of misleading him about finding safety and healing. You Lian'er insisted she would keep her promise and revealed she had called in a long-guarded favor; she prepared to face the approaching experts at the mountain hollow.

• Zhang Hu berated You Lian'er for leading him to Everlasting Spring Mountain, where Jianghu experts had quickly caught up with him.
• You Lian'er calmly reminded Zhang Hu that he had once led a sect and promised to honor their bargain for the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• Zhang Hu threatened to withhold the Canon, then said he would demand that the pursuers destroy the Green Ox Gate to avenge his son.
• You Lian'er explained that the You Family planned to heal Zhang Hu and preserve his cultivation by calling in a favor it had guarded for centuries.
• You Lian'er told Zhang Hu to wait for the pursuers and declared that the hollow would become their burial ground.

You Lian'er trapped the Jianghu pursuers in the Seven Stars Formation while she and Zhang Hu waited inside its safe boundary. As the factions sought experts to break the formation, Huang Xiao heard someone mocking the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion and rushed toward the sound, hoping to find Zhao Xin'er.

• Jianghu pursuers spotted Zhang Hu and You Lian'er, then charged at them while arguing over the Heavenly Demon Canon and You Lian'er.
• You Lian'er struck a tree with a stone, activating the Seven Stars Formation and turning the pursuers against one another.
• You Lian'er told Zhang Hu the formation could only delay the attackers, and said they had to wait because the area was surrounded.
• You Lian'er explained that the Seven Stars Formation had evolved from Zhuge Kongming's Seven-Star Lamps Formation.
• The factions outside summoned people skilled in formations to break through, while Huang Xiao approached with the Jianghu groups.
• Huang Xiao heard someone ridicule the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion and rushed toward the voice, hoping to find Zhao Xin'er.

Huang Xiao interrupted Jiang Yu and Liu Kui as they were about to assault Dong Yan and Hu Qiao, two immobilized disciples of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion. The Peaceful Heaven Sect pair turned on him, and the chapter ended with them preparing to fight.

• Jiang Yu and Liu Kui captured Dong Yan and Hu Qiao, sealed their acupoints, and plotted to assault them and conceal the crime.
• Liu Kui urged Jiang Yu to take advantage of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion disciples to improve their cultivation, and Jiang Yu gave in to temptation.
• Jiang Yu chose Dong Yan while Liu Kui moved to assault Hu Qiao, and Dong Yan wept helplessly as Jiang Yu tore her dress.
• Huang Xiao arrived and shouted for Jiang Yu and Liu Kui to stop.
• Liu Kui tried to mislead Huang Xiao while Jiang Yu threatened to kill him, and the two Peaceful Heaven Sect disciples prepared to attack.

Huang Xiao intervened when Jiang Yu and Liu Kui threatened Dong Yan and Hu Qiao, then fought off their coordinated attacks with his improved movement technique. After he stopped dodging and challenged them, he wondered why the Peaceful Heaven Sect’s Scripture of Great Peace was linked to rumors that it had never surfaced.

• Hu Qiao begged Huang Xiao for help, while Dong Yan urged him to escape rather than face Jiang Yu and Liu Kui.
• Huang Xiao refused to abandon the women and recognized Jiang Yu and Liu Kui as the men he had encountered on the road to Everlasting Spring Mountain.
• Jiang Yu and Liu Kui attacked Huang Xiao together, but he evaded them with Snake-Traveling Tiny Steps.
• After several failed attacks, Huang Xiao stopped dodging and invited the two men to show the power of the Scripture of Great Peace.
• Huang Xiao recognized the Peaceful Heaven Sect’s cultivation method but could not reconcile its existence with the Jianghu rumors that the Scripture of Great Peace had never surfaced.

Huang Xiao fought Jiang Yu and Liu Kui at once after Jiang Yu tried to goad him into abandoning poison. He held his ground against their combined attacks, leaving Dong Yan and Hu Qiao stunned.

• Jiang Yu charged Huang Xiao with the Peaceful Heaven Fist Technique while Liu Kui circled behind him.
• Huang Xiao met Jiang Yu’s fist with his Blazing Yang Palm and used his Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art to overpower him.
• Jiang Yu mistook Huang Xiao’s technique for the Poison God Valley’s Everlasting Spring Art and tried to provoke him into relying on poison, but Huang Xiao said he would fight without it.
• Jiang Yu kept Huang Xiao occupied so Liu Kui could strike from behind, and Liu Kui thrust a full-powered palm at Huang Xiao’s back.
• Huang Xiao blocked Jiang Yu with his right palm and Liu Kui with his left, astonishing Dong Yan and Hu Qiao.

Huang Xiao used the Northern Darkness Absorption Method to drain Liu Kui’s internal power and drive him and Jiang Yu into retreat. He freed Dong Yan and Hu Qiao, then gave Dong Yan his outer robe because her dress had been torn.

• Dong Yan hoped Huang Xiao would hold off Jiang Yu and Liu Kui while she struggled to free herself and Hu Qiao from their sealed acupoints.
• Huang Xiao absorbed Liu Kui’s internal power with the Northern Darkness Absorption Method, converted it into Everlasting Spring Ageless True Qi, and used the resulting strength to pressure Jiang Yu.
• Liu Kui warned Jiang Yu to retreat, and Jiang Yu forced Huang Xiao back long enough for both men to break away and flee.
• Huang Xiao unsealed Dong Yan and Hu Qiao’s acupoints and told them to get dressed.
• Dong Yan explained that her dress was torn, so Huang Xiao gave her his outer robe to cover herself.

Huang Xiao rescued Dong Yan and Hu Qiao from Jiang Yu and Liu Kui, then asked them about Peaceful Heaven Sect and its Scripture of Great Peace. Dong Yan explained the sect’s manual was derived from the legendary scripture, and Huang Xiao confirmed that he had come for the Heavenly Demon Canon.

• Huang Xiao introduced himself as a disciple of Poison God Valley and stood guard while Dong Yan and Hu Qiao treated their injuries.
• Dong Yan explained that Peaceful Heaven Sect had long-standing tensions with Heavenly Mountain Pavilion and had grown bolder in recent years.
• Dong Yan told Huang Xiao that Peaceful Heaven Sect’s manual came from a predecessor’s insights into the true Scripture of Great Peace, rather than being the original scripture itself.
• Dong Yan explained that Peaceful Heaven Sect had searched for the true scripture for generations but had grown wary of false rumors, until forces from the former Heavenly Demon Sect became involved.
• Dong Yan asked whether Huang Xiao had come for the Heavenly Demon Canon, and he said that he had.