Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao learned more about the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art from the patriarch, who revealed that he had reached the ninth Rejuvenation and expected someone on their side to enter the second realm soon. After discussing Huang Xiao’s possible ties to the Medicine King Hall, the patriarch decided to guide him personally.

• The patriarch explained the cultivation method’s demanding Rejuvenations and said he had reached the ninth, while the Founding Patriarch was the only known disciple to enter the second realm.
• The patriarch told Huang Xiao that someone on their side would soon break through to the second realm, but said he himself was not that person.
• Huang Xiao learned that the patriarch was over a hundred and fifty and that the Founding Patriarch had lived to three hundred.
• The Valley Master of the Poison God Valley and Junior Brother Qi discussed whether Huang Xiao might be connected to the Medicine King Hall and whether he should be guided and watched.
• The patriarch joined the Valley Master and Junior Brother Qi, praised their wine, and announced that he would take Huang Xiao back to guide him personally.

Jiang Ying told Dragon-Seeking Envoy Xiao Yingda that Huang Xiao had returned to Poison God Valley with the Seven Spirit Blades and had learned some details about his origins and secret protection. Xiao Yingda decided to stay nearby to protect Huang Xiao, then met a Princess on a hill outside Huaqing City, who welcomed his assignment and criticized Jiang Ying’s limited ability.

• The Valley Master and Junior Brother Qi concluded that Granduncle’s personal instruction confirmed Huang Xiao had no connection to Medicine King Hall.
• Jiang Ying briefed Xiao Yingda on Huang Xiao’s return to Poison God Valley and confirmed that Huang Xiao still possessed the Seven Spirit Blades.
• Jiang Ying admitted Huang Xiao had learned he had birth parents and that Jiang Ying had secretly been assigned to protect him, and Xiao Yingda told him to follow Huang Xiao’s wishes while guarding what he revealed.
• Xiao Yingda announced that he would stay long-term and share responsibility for Huang Xiao’s safety, while warning Jiang Ying not to pry into why the Jade-Faced Rakshasa returned the blades.
• Xiao Yingda went to a hill west of Huaqing City and paid his respects to a Princess, who said his assignment reassured her and that Jiang Ying’s weakness had caused problems.

The Princess explained that she had let Huang Xiao keep the Seven Spirit Blade to repay Poison God Valley for saving him, while warning Xiao Yingda that Medicine King Hall might threaten both valleys. A month later, Huang Xiao left Poison God Valley for Green Ox Temple, where he arrived to find it in ruins.

• The Princess told Xiao Yingda she would resume using the name Jade-Faced Rakshasa and had allowed Huang Xiao to keep the blade as repayment to Poison God Valley.
• Xiao Yingda warned that Medicine King Hall's hall master might soon emerge from seclusion and target Poison God Valley and Medicine God Valley, and the Princess ordered him to watch over Huang Xiao.
• After a month of consolidating his cultivation and studying the Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art, Huang Xiao departed Poison God Valley for Green Ox Temple.
• Qingyun, Qinghe, Fang Du, and other disciples saw Huang Xiao off, and Fang Du said Li Yuncong and Xu Yan were in seclusion.
• Huang Xiao reached the summit of Zhongnan Mountain and discovered that Green Ox Temple had been reduced to ruins.

Huang Xiao found Green Ox Temple burned to ruins, with two of Qingfeng’s disciples dead and no sign of his eldest senior brother or Demon Slayer. He asked Jiang Ying to investigate and left for Kaifeng, while Xiao Yingda decided to follow and protect him.

• Huang Xiao searched Green Ox Temple’s ruins, found two skeletons, and feared that powerful attackers had killed Qingfeng and taken Demon Slayer.
• Huang Xiao’s Heavenly Demon True Qi surged with his killing intent, and he worried that the demonic art was weakening his control.
• Huang Xiao went to the Heavenly Qilin Pawnshop and asked Jiang Ying to investigate the attack and discover whether Qingfeng had survived.
• Huang Xiao left for Kaifeng, and Jiang Ying promised to send him any news about the attack or Qingfeng.
• Xiao Yingda told Jiang Ying to investigate while he followed Huang Xiao himself, concerned about the unsettled Jianghu and the demonic aura he had sensed.

Huang Xiao heard that the Shaolin monk Liaochen was wounded and fleeing from six young monks, so he hurried off to find them. The chapter ended with Huang Xiao racing toward the pursuers while the tea-stall patrons wondered who he was.

• Huang Xiao stopped at a roadside tea stall while traveling to Kaifeng to seek Retainer status and gather information about his Eldest Senior Brother Qingfeng.
• At the stall, Huang Xiao overheard Jianghu travelers discussing rumors that Liaochen had been injured and was being chased by six monks.
• The travelers said the six pursuers were young monks from Great Song, though they did not recognize which temple they belonged to.
• Huang Xiao pressed the eyewitness for the direction of the chase, paid him generously, and immediately departed to pursue Liaochen and the six monks.

Huang Xiao found Liaochen being cornered by six Dharma Flower Sect monks and intervened, striking Zhili aside before helping heal Liaochen. Mingyi urged Huang Xiao to stay out of the dispute, while Liaochen feared the six monks would target him next.

• Huang Xiao left the tea stall and hurried after the man who had pointed him toward Liaochen.
• Mingyi and the other five monks confronted the gravely wounded Liaochen, and Yuankong challenged him to a duel.
• Liaochen countered Yuankong’s Wonderful Dharma Lotus Finger with the Shaolin Formless Calamity Finger and drove him back.
• Mingyi ordered all six monks to attack Liaochen, whose strength had dwindled to less than thirty percent.
• Huang Xiao appeared, struck Zhili away, and began channeling internal power into Liaochen to heal him.
• Liaochen warned Huang Xiao to flee, but Zhili demanded another fight and Mingyi told Huang Xiao not to interfere.

Huang Xiao defended the injured Liaochen from six disciples of the Six Buddhist Sects, using his uncanny footwork to keep them at bay while Liaochen recovered. When the monks tried to capture Liaochen instead, Huang Xiao blocked their path and was forced to face all six directly.

• Huang Xiao refused to abandon Liaochen, treated his injuries, and urged him to recover while he held off the monks.
• Huang Xiao provoked the Six Buddhist Sects disciples into attacking him and fought them with the Lingbo Ethereal Steps.
• Huang Xiao used his speed to isolate and overpower the monks in individual exchanges, frustrating their attempts to strike him together.
• Mingyi ordered Yuankong and Zhili to capture Liaochen, so Huang Xiao rushed to block them.
• Mingyi and the other monks surrounded Huang Xiao, forcing him to meet all six attacks head-on.

Huang Xiao struggled to keep six powerful monks from capturing the injured Liaochen, but Hong Yi and Beggar Gang Leader Zhu Zhentong arrived before he had to use the Heavenly Demon Skill. Mingyi insulted the Beggar Gang, then led the six monks away after Zhu Zhentong warned them not to harm Huang Xiao or Liaochen.

• Huang Xiao mocked Mingyi and the five other monks while defending Liaochen, but their combined attacks pushed him to the edge of his strength.
• Hong Yi arrived with Zhu Zhentong, and Huang Xiao recognized the Beggar Gang Leader by his Demon Slayer Staff.
• Hong Yi saw Liaochen's injuries and suspected the six men were impersonating Shaolin monks, but Mingyi denied it.
• Mingyi disparaged Zhu Zhentong and the Beggar Gang, and Zhu Zhentong ordered Hong Yi to stand down when he challenged one of the monks.
• Zhu Zhentong warned the six monks not to harm Huang Xiao or Liaochen, and Mingyi led them away after threatening to remember Huang Xiao.

After the Six Buddhist Sects wounded Liaochen, Huang Xiao agreed to escort him toward Shaolin and learned that the Beggar Gang had lost its senior experts in the Profound Ice Sect incident. The story left Huang Xiao stunned by Ling Tianya’s power and uncertain whether the sect master had survived.

• After Monk Mingyi and the other five left, Liaochen thanked Zhu Zhentong and Hong Yi and identified the six monks as members of the Six Buddhist Sects.
• Huang Xiao offered to escort Liaochen toward Shaolin, while Zhu Zhentong and Hong Yi departed west on their own business.
• As they traveled, Liaochen told Huang Xiao that the Six Buddhist Sects had been hidden from the Jianghu for nearly a thousand years.
• Liaochen explained that the Beggar Gang’s older-generation experts had nearly all died thirty years earlier during the Profound Ice Sect incident.
• Liaochen revealed that Ling Tianya had killed at least seven Beggar Gang peerless experts, including one peerless upper grade expert, along with experts from Shaolin and other sects.
• Huang Xiao fell silent as he considered Ling Tianya’s overwhelming strength and the possibility that he had been invincible within the peerless realm.

Huang Xiao learned from Liaochen how the eight Buddhist sects were devastated in a war with the Heavenly Demon Sect a thousand years earlier. Liaochen revealed that the Taixuan Sect’s master had deceived the eight sects into striking first, leaving both sides weakened before the Heavenly Demon Sect later broke apart.

• Huang Xiao reconsidered how weak he was compared with the hidden masters of the Jianghu, and Liaochen encouraged him to keep training.
• Huang Xiao asked Liaochen about the eight Buddhist sects, and Liaochen explained that six had nearly vanished after losing their masters in a conflict with the Heavenly Demon Sect.
• Liaochen told Huang Xiao that the eight sects had attacked first after receiving false information that the Heavenly Demon Sect planned to eliminate them.
• Liaochen revealed that the Taixuan Sect’s master had supplied the trusted but deceptive information, drawing the eight sects into war and weakening both sides.
• Liaochen said the Taixuan Sect had used the conflict to its advantage, and that the Heavenly Demon Sect later broke apart.

Huang Xiao learned from Liaochen that the Taixuan Sect had secretly manipulated the Jianghu and that the Six Sects were preparing to challenge Shaolin’s influence. They hurried to Shaolin to warn the temple, where Liaochen’s bloodstained robes immediately drew the young monks’ attention.

• Huang Xiao and Liaochen discussed how the Taixuan Sect had used the Eight Sects to destroy the Heavenly Demon Sect and continued to influence the Jianghu through other sects.
• Liaochen explained that the Six Sects resented Shaolin’s rise during their long withdrawal and had attacked him to undermine Shaolin’s prestige before returning to the Jianghu.
• Liaochen described the Six Sects’ Buddhist scriptures and cultivation traditions, while Huang Xiao argued that Shaolin’s larger numbers and long development gave it reason not to fear them excessively.
• Huang Xiao and Liaochen set out for Shaolin so Liaochen could warn the abbot, then agreed to visit the temple when they reached Shaoshi Mountain.
• After Huang Xiao and Liaochen arrived at Shaolin, the young monks noticed Liaochen’s torn, bloodstained robes and wondered how he had been injured.

Huang Xiao returned to Shaolin Temple with Liaochen and listened as Liaochen reported the Six Buddhist Sects’ challenge to Masters Kongming and Kongcheng. The masters prepared to consult the abbot, while Huang Xiao noticed that Kongming had advanced to the upper peerless realm.

• Huang Xiao and Liaochen crossed the hill to Shaolin’s rear hall, where Liaoping hurried them to see Master Kongming after hearing Liaochen had been injured and pursued.
• Huang Xiao joined Liaochen’s meeting with Masters Kongming and Kongcheng, and Liaochen recounted what had happened with the Six Buddhist Sects.
• Master Kongcheng left to report the matter to the abbot, while Master Kongming warned that the united sects could pose a serious threat to Shaolin.
• Huang Xiao praised Liaochen’s fighting ability and noticed that Master Kongming had recently advanced in cultivation.
• Master Kongming credited his breakthrough to insights from the battle in Xiazhou and a month of secluded practice, and Huang Xiao judged that he had reached upper peerless strength.

At Shaolin, Huang Xiao told Master Kongming and Liaochen that he needed a Six Gates Retainer position to investigate his missing Eldest Senior Brother, but feared the emperor would block him. Master Kongming offered to gather support and decided to travel with Huang Xiao to Kaifeng the next morning, where he was already due to relieve another Shaolin Retainer.

• Master Kongming invited Huang Xiao to stay at Shaolin, but Huang Xiao said he needed to leave for Kaifeng because his Eldest Senior Brother had disappeared.
• Master Kongming promised to ask Shaolin disciples to gather information about the Six Sects and Huang Xiao's affairs.
• Huang Xiao explained that he wanted a Retainer position so he could use the Six Gates' intelligence network to search for his senior brother, and admitted he had probably angered the emperor.
• Liaochen suggested that Master Kongming propose Huang Xiao for the position, since the emperor could not openly give the real reason for opposing him; Master Kongming agreed to seek support from his old friends.
• Master Kongming said he would accompany Huang Xiao to Kaifeng the next morning to relieve a fellow Shaolin Retainer, and invited Huang Xiao and Liaochen to tour the area.

Huang Xiao returned to Kaifeng and learned that Zhao Yunya would soon step down as the Yellow Gate’s Arrest Sage amid pressure from Huang Qitao’s faction. Zhao offered to use her remaining authority to investigate Huang Xiao’s senior brother’s whereabouts and hinted that Huang Xiao might know her successor, leading him to guess Tuoba Xing.

• Huang Xiao and Master Kongming rode from Shaolin to Kaifeng and went to the Six Gates headquarters.
• Huang Xiao learned that his assignment protecting the Princess counted only as half-completed, so Zhao Yunya could not grant him the Retainer position he wanted.
• Zhao Yunya said she would leave the Arrest Sage post in three days and offered to order an investigation into Huang Xiao’s eldest senior brother while she still held authority.
• Zhao Yunya explained that Huang Qitao’s faction was forcing her and other opponents out of the Six Gates, with the next Yellow Gate Arrest Sage likely to come from his faction.
• Zhao Yunya hinted that Huang Xiao might be a candidate for the position, and Huang Xiao guessed that she meant Tuoba Xing.

Zhao Yunya told Huang Xiao that Tuoba Xing was the leading candidate for Arrest Sage, but Huang Xiao could challenge him and gain greater authority to search for his Eldest Senior Brother. Confident in his strength, Huang Xiao left to find Du Ge and learn what had happened in the Six Gates.

• Zhao Yunya explained that Huang Qitao had used the Lin'an Tuoba Family's influence to set up Tuoba Xing as a candidate for Arrest Sage, while senior Retainers and many younger rivals were barred or restrained from competing.
• Zhao Yunya urged Huang Xiao to compete, noting that Poison God Valley had not been drawn into the sects' arrangements and that the position could help him search for his Eldest Senior Brother.
• Huang Xiao agreed to give his all and told Zhao Yunya he could contend with opponents at mid peerless and fight someone at upper peerless if he risked his life.
• Zhao Yunya went to the palace to report Huang Xiao's strength, while Huang Xiao left in high spirits and resolved to defeat Tuoba Xing.
• Huang Xiao asked a First-Class Constable where Du Ge was, learned he was at home, and hurried to his residence.

Zhao Yunya told Zhao Guangyi that Huang Xiao could contend with Tuoba Xing for the position of Arrest Sage, giving the emperor hope of countering Huang Qitao’s faction. Zhao Guangyi ordered Dragon Guards to protect Huang Xiao, while Zhao Yunya visited Zhao Yunhui, who sensed that something good had happened.

• Zhao Guangyi told Wang Jin that Huang Xiao’s martial prowess had improved enough to challenge Tuoba Xing for the position of Arrest Sage.
• Zhao Guangyi ordered Dragon Guards to guard Huang Xiao in secret and hoped he would win the position in three days.
• Zhao Yunya visited Zhao Yunhui and urged her not to risk her life again after her escape from the Remnant Demon Sect.
• Zhao Yunhui noticed Zhao Yunya’s unusually happy mood and asked what had happened.

Zhao Yunhui discussed Huang Xiao’s strength and the Arrest Sage contest with Zhao Yunya, while Huang Xiao told Du Ge he intended to challenge Tuoba Xing for the position. Their conversation was interrupted when Master Kongming arrived to speak privately with Huang Xiao.

• Zhao Yunya told Zhao Yunhui that Tuoba Xing’s recent improvement made the Arrest Sage contest uncertain, but Zhao Yunhui said she trusted Huang Xiao to defeat him.
• Lü Ling reported that Zhao Xin'er had left the palace, and Zhao Yunhui invited Zhao Yunya to walk with her in the Imperial Garden.
• Huang Xiao visited Du Ge, who praised his survival and asked about the Jade-Faced Rakshasa and the Seven Spirit Blades.
• Du Ge explained that Yellow Gate constables opposed Tuoba Xing, and Huang Xiao declared that he would compete for the Arrest Sage position and would not let Tuoba Xing win.
• Master Kongming of Shaolin Temple arrived at Du Ge’s residence, and Huang Xiao recognized that the monk had come to speak with him.

Huang Xiao learned that he could not obtain a retainer position and prepared to compete for the Yellow Gate’s Arrest Sage post, while meeting Zhao Xin'er privately at a restaurant. As Zhao Xin'er prepared to return to the palace, Huang Xiao overheard people next door congratulating Tuoba Xing as the future Arrest Sage.

• Master Kongming told Huang Xiao that his efforts to secure a retainer position had failed, but encouraged him to pursue the Arrest Sage post against Tuoba Xing.
• Huang Xiao left Du Ge's residence and went to a restaurant where Zhao Xin'er had arranged to meet him.
• Zhao Xin'er embraced Huang Xiao, promised to keep his cultivation method secret, and urged him to be cautious about Tuoba Xing.
• Huang Xiao and Zhao Xin'er shared food and wine before she prepared to return to the palace.
• Huang Xiao heard people in the neighboring room proclaiming that Tuoba Xing would win the Arrest Sage position.

Huang Xiao confronted Tuoba Xing and his retainers over Tuoba Xing’s bid to become Arrest Sage, mocking their claims and rejecting the Six Gates hierarchy. The retainers tried to prove their loyalty to Tuoba Xing, and the confrontation remained unresolved.

• Huang Xiao overheard Tuoba Xing confidently discussing his bid for the position of Arrest Sage and went to approach him.
• Huang Xiao questioned a first-class constable about who was qualified to become Arrest Sage, prompting Tuoba Xing to leave his private room and challenge him.
• Huang Xiao mocked Tuoba Xing and his retainers, while the retainers urged him to show respect to his superiors.
• Huang Xiao dismissed the Six Gates hierarchy, and Tuoba Xing warned him that he was only a reserve constable.
• Retainer Yu and the two other retainers shouted at Huang Xiao to demonstrate their loyalty to Tuoba Xing, and Huang Xiao applauded their display.

Huang Xiao gravely wounded Retainer Yu and two other retainers with a single sound-art shout, then confronted Tuoba Xing over their rivalry for the position of Arrest Sage. Tuoba Xing left without fighting, intending to settle matters during the contest.

• Retainer Yu and two other retainers stepped forward to seize Huang Xiao, while Tuoba Xing watched.
• Huang Xiao's furious shout gravely wounded the three retainers, leaving them bleeding and kneeling.
• A first-class constable kowtowed to Huang Xiao, who ordered him to remove the injured retainers; Tuoba Xing refused to defend them.
• Huang Xiao declared that he would compete with Tuoba Xing for the position of Arrest Sage and taunted him about their past fight.
• Tuoba Xing left the tavern, planning to kill Huang Xiao during the contest, and the spectators hurriedly dispersed.