Chapter Summaries

Xuanzhenzi explained the Everlasting Spring Art’s life-extending and healing effects, then told his disciples he planned to leave Green Ox Gate after a few more years. He described the martial world’s search for the Scripture of Great Peace, which Huang Xiao recognized from the Scripture of Southern Florescence, and stressed that true masters had to develop their own cultivation arts.

• Xuanzhenzi said the Everlasting Spring Art could help its practitioners recover from injuries and live longer, while Huang Xiao questioned why the Green Ox Gate’s founding patriarch had not lived to the present.
• Xuanzhenzi revealed that his master had left to roam the world and that he intended to leave Green Ox Gate after staying another three to five years.
• Huang Xiao asked Xuanzhenzi about the martial world, and Xuanzhenzi described its righteous and evil factions and the supreme arts held by major sects.
• Xuanzhenzi told the disciples that martial sects were searching for the Scripture of Great Peace, and Huang Xiao recognized its name from the Scripture of Southern Florescence.
• Xuanzhenzi explained that the Scripture of Great Peace could yield different cultivation arts depending on the reader, and that legendary experts had to create their own arts.

Huang Xiao learned about Daoist scriptures and began training in the Everlasting Spring Art and the temple’s techniques. Half a month later, his unusual meridians had let him absorb Qinghe’s internal power, rapidly strengthening Huang Xiao while helping Qinghe advance as well.

• Xuanzhenzi told Huang Xiao that cultivation methods could be created through insight into classic works and explained that the Daoist Canon was believed lost.
• Huang Xiao asked about the Scripture of Southern Florescence and the Daoist Canon, but decided not to reveal what he knew about the scriptures.
• Xuanzhenzi took Huang Xiao to the rear hall to teach him the Everlasting Spring Art and the Green Ox Temple’s supreme techniques.
• After half a month of sparring, Huang Xiao and Qinghe discussed how Huang Xiao’s meridians absorbed Qinghe’s internal power and how Qinghe’s recovery had advanced him to the second-rate lower grade.
• Qinghe praised Huang Xiao’s rapid progress in the Everlasting Spring Fist Method and advised him to keep improving his internal power cultivation.

Qingyun brought Qinghe and Huang Xiao to meet Hu Guyi, the Iron Sword Sect’s master, who arrived with Liu Dacheng and Hu Qingqing. After asking Xuanzhenzi for an Origin-Enhancing Pill to help Liu Dacheng advance, Hu Guyi offered rare medicinal ingredients and began to kneel.

• Qingyun interrupted Qinghe and Huang Xiao’s practice and led them to the Main Hall to greet Hu Guyi.
• Huang Xiao met Hu Guyi’s disciples, Liu Dacheng and Hu Qingqing, and was struck by Hu Qingqing’s beauty.
• Hu Guyi said he planned to travel with Xuanzhenzi to the Huaqing Sect in half a month, and Xuanzhenzi invited him to stay at Green Ox Temple.
• Hu Guyi asked Xuanzhenzi for an Origin-Enhancing Pill because Liu Dacheng had reached Third-rate Upper Grade and was unlikely to break through using the Iron Sword Sect’s methods.
• Hu Guyi offered Xuanzhenzi two jade boxes containing hundred-year-old ginseng and he shou wu, then prepared to kneel when Xuanzhenzi tried to refuse them.

Xuanzhenzi agreed to give Liu Dacheng an Origin-Enhancing Pill after explaining that Qinghe had broken through without using his own. After Hu Guyi and his companions spent time at Green Ox Temple, Xuanzhenzi and Huang Xiao set out with them for Bai Tianqi’s birthday celebration at the Huaqing Sect.

• Xuanzhenzi told Hu Guyi that Qinghe had not used an Origin-Enhancing Pill to reach the second-class realm and promised to have Qinghe give his pill to Liu Dacheng.
• Hu Guyi gave Xuanzhenzi Old Mountain Ginseng and He Shou Wu, and Xuanzhenzi warned him that the pill might make Liu Dacheng’s later progress difficult.
• Qinghe and Liu Dacheng went to spar, while Huang Xiao showed Hu Qingqing around Green Ox Temple.
• After Hu Guyi had stayed at the temple for ten days, Xuanzhenzi departed for the Huaqing Sect with Huang Xiao, Hu Guyi, Liu Dacheng, and Hu Qingqing.
• Xuanzhenzi brought Huang Xiao along to broaden his experience before Bai Tianqi’s birthday celebration.

Heavenly Qilin Pawnshop manager Boss Wu inspected three forfeited treasures at the Huaqing City branch, finding the jade carving and coral unremarkable before examining a Jade Thumb Ring. Boss Wu noticed something surprising about the ring, leaving Chen Gui hopeful that his discovery would advance his prospects.

• Chen Gui welcomed Boss Wu to the Huaqing City branch and reported on its business.
• Chen Gui presented a Glazed Jadeite Nine Galloping Horses, which Boss Wu valued at no less than three thousand taels of silver.
• Boss Wu examined a Gold and Jade Coral but showed little interest in it.
• Chen Gui presented a pale bluish-white Jade Thumb Ring that he had nearly misjudged.
• Boss Wu studied the ring, called it ordinary, then suddenly reacted with surprise.

After discovering the character "Huang" engraved inside the jade thumb ring, Boss Wu ordered a secret search for the young man who had pawned it. He classified the mission as the highest level and sent a message by pigeon, hoping the ring was genuine.

• Boss Wu recognized the engraved character "Huang" on the jade thumb ring and demanded that Chen Gui identify its former owner.
• Chen Gui said a young man had pawned the ring three days earlier, and Boss Wu ordered him to find the man and commission a portrait.
• Boss Wu warned Chen Gui to keep the matter secret, then instructed Old Yue to organize their men and search using copies of the portrait.
• Boss Wu asked Old Yue to bring him a messenger pigeon, wrote a note, and released it.
• Boss Wu hoped the jade thumb ring was genuine and that finding its owner would earn him great merit.

Huang Xiao and Xuanzhenzi arrived in Huaqing City for Bai Tianqi’s birthday celebration, where the crowds forced them to settle for ordinary rooms. After Xuanzhenzi and Hu Guyi went to deliver their visiting cards, Huang Xiao set out to explore the city with Liu Dacheng and Hu Qingqing.

• Huang Xiao arrived in Huaqing City with Xuanzhenzi and saw that martial artists had crowded the city for Bai Tianqi’s birthday celebration.
• Hu Guyi discovered that Fortune Inn could only provide ordinary rooms, and Xuanzhenzi accepted the inconvenience.
• Xuanzhenzi explained to Huang Xiao why the Green Ox Gate had to attend the celebration and told him to avoid wandering alone.
• Xuanzhenzi and Hu Guyi went to deliver their visiting cards to the Huaqing Sect.
• Liu Dacheng and Hu Qingqing invited Huang Xiao to explore Huaqing City, and Hu Qingqing led them around as she browsed and bought things.

Huang Xiao, Hu Qingqing, and Liu Dacheng ate vegetarian food at a crowded restaurant in Huaqing City and overheard martial artists discussing Bai Tianqi’s birthday celebration. Hu Qingqing then encountered Zhang Long, the son of the Huaqing Sect’s acting leader, and introduced him to her companions.

• Hu Qingqing led Huang Xiao and Liu Dacheng to the popular Elegant Abode restaurant for lunch.
• Huang Xiao and Liu Dacheng agreed to order vegetarian dishes, and Hu Qingqing chose six dishes without wine.
• Huang Xiao listened as nearby martial artists compared Bai Tianqi’s birthday celebration with a grander one hosted by the Ten Thousand Blades Sect.
• Zhang Long greeted Hu Qingqing and explained that he was in the city purchasing supplies for his grandmaster’s celebration.
• Hu Qingqing introduced Zhang Long to Huang Xiao and Liu Dacheng, and she said Zhang Long’s father, Zhang Ming, was likely to become the Huaqing Sect’s next sect master.

Huang Xiao stayed behind when Zhang Long took Hu Qingqing and Liu Dacheng to another restaurant, then shared his table with a swordsman named Dugu Sheng. The two introduced themselves and began a friendly meal together.

• Zhang Long invited Hu Qingqing to dine elsewhere, and she agreed despite Liu Dacheng’s reluctance.
• Huang Xiao declined to join them, so Liu Dacheng paid for the meal and left with Hu Qingqing and Zhang Long.
• Huang Xiao reflected on Zhang Long as a rival for Hu Qingqing before the waiter brought the six vegetarian dishes he had ordered.
• Dugu Sheng, unable to find another table, asked to share Huang Xiao’s table, and Huang Xiao welcomed him.
• Dugu Sheng ordered more vegetarian dishes and wine, then introduced himself as being from Dugu Manor; Huang Xiao gave his Daoist name as Qingxiao and identified the Green Ox Gate.

Huang Xiao met Dugu Sheng and Wu Yong at an inn in Huaqing City, where Wu Yong proposed that the Heavenly Qilin Pawnshop partner with Dugu Bank. As Wu Yong departed, three young men challenged Dugu Sheng’s reputation by claiming saber techniques surpassed swordsmanship.

• Huang Xiao admitted he knew little about the martial world or Dugu Manor, and Dugu Sheng spoke dismissively of Bai Tianqi.
• Wu Yong, the Heavenly Qilin Pawnshop’s Youzhou manager, joined Dugu Sheng and Huang Xiao, and the guests recognized both men as prominent figures.
• Wu Yong learned Huang Xiao belonged to Green Ox Temple of the Green Ox Gate and told Dugu Sheng that the pawnshop wanted to establish a bank and was considering partnering with Dugu Bank.
• Dugu Sheng agreed to relay Wu Yong’s proposal to his father, Manor Lord Dugu, and Wu Yong prepared to leave.
• Three young men mocked Dugu Sheng’s swordsmanship and claimed saber techniques were superior, while Dugu Sheng calmly drank his wine.

Dugu Sheng clashed verbally with three Ten Thousand Blades Sect disciples over the rivalry between their blade and sword traditions and the Young Eagle Ranking. When one disciple tried to take a nearby table, Dugu Sheng struck all three with a palm and sent them crashing through the inn.

• Three Ten Thousand Blades Sect disciples mocked Dugu Sheng, who dismissed their senior brother Mu Qiang’s One Blade, Hundred Jins achievement as unimpressive.
• Wu Yong explained that Dugu Sheng had mastered the fourth form of the Nine Heavenly Sword Forms and that the Young Eagle Ranking honored ten young martial artists every five years.
• Dugu Sheng told the disciples to leave him alone, but one of them claimed a nearby table despite other guests already sitting there.
• Dugu Sheng struck the three disciples with a single palm technique, sending them flying into tables and chairs.

Wu Yong tracked down Huang San, who had pawned Huang Xiao’s jade thumb ring, and learned that Huang Xiao might not be the biological child of his elderly parents. He ordered a portrait made and continued the search for Huang Xiao, hoping to learn the truth about him.

• Dugu Sheng drove off the Ten Thousand Blades Sect disciples, thanked Qingxiao, and left without paying for his meal.
• Wu Yong learned from Old Yue that Chen Gui had verified the jade thumb ring and went with him to question its former owner.
• Huang San admitted that he had stolen the ring from Huang Xiao and pawned it for silver.
• Wu Yong learned that Huang Xiao was a sixteen-year-old licentiate whose elderly parents were rumored not to be his biological parents.
• Wu Yong ordered Old Yue to have Huang Xiao’s portrait made and use it to find him.

Huang Xiao and his companions were invited to the Huaqing Sect after Bai Tianqi summoned Xuanzhenzi and Hu Guyi. Bai Tianqi thanked Xuanzhenzi for the medicines Green Ox Gate had supplied, and his praise left the reason for the summons still unfolding.

• Huang Xiao told Xuanzhenzi that Liu Dacheng and Hu Qingqing had left with Zhang Long, a Huaqing Sect disciple.
• Zhang Long arrived with Hu Qingqing and Liu Dacheng and invited Xuanzhenzi to the Huaqing Sect at Bai Tianqi's request.
• Xuanzhenzi accepted the invitation, and Zhang Long also welcomed Huang Xiao and the others to stay at the sect.
• Zhang Ming greeted Xuanzhenzi at the Huaqing Sect and led him to a courtyard where Bai Tianqi and Hu Guyi were waiting.
• Bai Tianqi thanked Xuanzhenzi for the healing medicines and pills Green Ox Gate had supplied to the Huaqing Sect, praising their benefits to its disciples.

Hu Guyi revealed to Bai Tianqi that Xuanzhenzi could refine a first-grade Sixty-Year Pill, prompting Bai Tianqi to ask for one to help him reach the first-class realm. Xuanzhenzi realized that his past confidence to Hu Guyi had exposed him and could bring danger to him and the Green Ox Gate.

• Bai Tianqi praised Xuanzhenzi’s pill-refining skills, and Hu Guyi revealed that Xuanzhenzi was preparing Sixty-Year Pills.
• Zhang Ming learned why Hu Guyi had insisted on meeting Xuanzhenzi and understood the pill’s value in helping a second-class expert reach the first-class realm.
• Xuanzhenzi denied that he could refine a Sixty-Year Pill, but Bai Tianqi asked him to name any conditions for providing one.
• Hu Guyi urged Xuanzhenzi to give Bai Tianqi a pill, then admitted he wanted one because he had been unable to advance beyond the second-rate middle grade.
• Hu Guyi explained that Xuanzhenzi had told him five years earlier that Green Ox Gate sect leaders refined a first-grade pill for their successors, and Xuanzhenzi realized that disclosure had put his sect in danger.

Hu Guyi revealed that he had befriended Xuanzhenzi to learn about the Sixty-Year Pill, and Bai Tianqi demanded the pill for the Huaqing Sect. When Xuanzhenzi refused to surrender it, Zhang Ming and Hu Guyi attacked him, but he knocked them both flying without leaving his chair.

• Hu Guyi confessed that he had deceived Xuanzhenzi for years to discover when the Sixty-Year Pill would be ready.
• Xuanzhenzi denied knowing how to refine the Sixty-Year Pill but admitted that a first-grade pill was being refined in his secret chamber.
• Bai Tianqi threatened Xuanzhenzi and the Green Ox Gate unless Xuanzhenzi handed over the pill.
• Bai Tianqi ordered Zhang Ming and Hu Guyi to seize Xuanzhenzi after he refused to cooperate.
• Xuanzhenzi evaded their attack in his chair and kicked Zhang Ming and Hu Guyi, sending them flying.

Bai Tianqi confronted Xuanzhenzi over the Sixty-Year Pill, but Xuanzhenzi revealed cultivation above Zhang Ming’s and escaped with Huang Xiao. Bai Tianqi, Zhang Ming, and Hu Guyi caught up after Xuanzhenzi succumbed to Heart-Burning Powder, leaving him poisoned and cornered.

• Xuanzhenzi offered to double his pill supply, but Bai Tianqi demanded the Sixty-Year Pill and challenged him to fight.
• Xuanzhenzi fought off Bai Tianqi’s men, then fled the Huaqing Sect carrying Huang Xiao as Bai Tianqi and the others pursued them.
• Xuanzhenzi stumbled and coughed up black blood, revealing that his injuries had worsened during their escape.
• Bai Tianqi caught up with Xuanzhenzi and Huang Xiao, while Hu Guyi refused to help and urged Huang Xiao to accept the situation.
• Bai Tianqi revealed that he had poisoned Xuanzhenzi with Heart-Burning Powder, which he said would kill him before the day ended.

Xuanzhenzi fought Bai Tianqi, Zhang Ming, and Hu Guyi after learning that Hu Guyi had poisoned him with Heart-Burning Powder. He sent Huang Xiao to warn the Green Ox Temple, but Hu Guyi caught up with him as Xuanzhenzi was held back.

• Xuanzhenzi revealed that Heart-Burning Powder had no antidote outside Poison God Valley, and Hu Guyi admitted he had poisoned him at the Green Ox Gate.
• Xuanzhenzi attacked Hu Guyi and Zhang Ming, while Bai Tianqi ordered them to fight and waited for the poison to weaken Xuanzhenzi.
• Xuanzhenzi urged Huang Xiao to return to the Green Ox Temple and warn Qingfeng and the others to flee.
• Bai Tianqi sent Hu Guyi after Huang Xiao, and Xuanzhenzi blocked Hu Guyi while Bai Tianqi and Zhang Ming joined the fight.
• Hu Guyi caught up with Huang Xiao and asked whether he thought he could escape.

Hu Guyi attacked Huang Xiao and used him to force Xuanzhenzi to surrender, but Xuanzhenzi rescued his disciple and quickly disarmed and wounded Hu Guyi. As Bai Tianqi and Zhang Ming joined the fight, Huang Xiao struggled to suppress the foreign internal power ravaging his meridians.

• Hu Guyi struck Huang Xiao, leaving him gravely injured as his internal power rampaged through Huang Xiao's meridians.
• Hu Guyi seized Huang Xiao and threatened Xuanzhenzi, but Xuanzhenzi charged him and caught Huang Xiao when Hu Guyi threw him aside.
• Xuanzhenzi disarmed Hu Guyi with a blow to his wrist and kicked him away, prompting Hu Guyi to call for Bai Tianqi's help.
• Bai Tianqi and Zhang Ming faced Xuanzhenzi, who explained that opening his Ren and Du Meridians let him sustain his strength despite the poison.
• Huang Xiao realized he had absorbed Hu Guyi's incompatible internal power and worked to suppress it, feeling its assault on his meridians gradually weaken.

Xuanzhenzi used the Green Ox Gate’s secret art to strike Bai Tianqi with a blood-red ice crystal, then escaped with Huang Xiao while Bai Tianqi and his men hesitated. A mysterious middle-aged man appeared and identified Xuanzhenzi’s technique as the Poison God Valley’s Death Seal, questioning why its user had succumbed to Heart-Burning Powder.

• Xuanzhenzi weakened by Heart-Burning Powder fought off Bai Tianqi, Hu Guyi, and Zhang Ming until he could barely stand.
• Xuanzhenzi cut his palm and formed a blood-red ice crystal, which shot into Bai Tianqi’s forehead and made him scream.
• Xuanzhenzi seized the chance to reach Huang Xiao and flee, while Hu Guyi and Zhang Ming stayed back.
• Bai Tianqi recovered and ordered his men to pursue Xuanzhenzi, believing the strange current in his meridians had vanished.
• A middle-aged man appeared before Bai Tianqi, Hu Guyi, and Zhang Ming, saying Xuanzhenzi had used the Poison God Valley’s Death Seal and wondering why it had not countered the poison.

Bai Tianqi learned that Xuanzhenzi had struck him with Poison God Valley’s Death Seal and ordered his men to seize Green Ox Temple while he returned to the Huaqing Sect to enter seclusion. In Huaqing City, Wu Yong recognized Huang Xiao from a portrait, then welcomed the Dragon-Seeking Envoy, who was the man who had identified the Death Seal.

• The Dragon-Seeking Envoy explained that Xuanzhenzi had used a half-finished Death Seal and warned Bai Tianqi that its poison would be difficult to remove.
• Bai Tianqi ordered Zhang Ming and Hu Guyi to take control of Green Ox Temple and its Sixty-Year Pills, then returned to the Huaqing Sect and sent disciples to search for Xuanzhenzi and Huang Xiao.
• Wu Yong received a portrait of Huang Xiao, recognized him as the young Daoist Qingxiao he had met at the Elegant Abode, and set out to find him.
• The Dragon-Seeking Envoy arrived at Wu Yong’s manor, and Wu Yong greeted him as the altar master of the Youzhou Branch Altar.