Chapter Summaries

Maidafa offered Huang Xiao the first four levels of the Black Fire Sect’s Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method in exchange for help avenging his father against Habibullah. Huang Xiao agreed to let Maidafa witness Habibullah’s death, while he and Ran Chou suspected Maidafa might possess the method’s remaining levels.

• Huang Xiao questioned why Habibullah had pursued Maidafa for nearly half a year and suspected he wanted something beyond his death.
• Maidafa presented Huang Xiao with a newly written book containing the first four levels of the Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method, translated into the script of the Central Plains.
• Maidafa asked Huang Xiao to let him witness Habibullah’s death in return for the cultivation method, and Huang Xiao promised to notify him when he moved against the Black Fire Sect.
• Huang Xiao told Maidafa he would be safe in the Heavenly Demon Sect, and Maidafa bowed to Huang Xiao and Ran Chou before leaving.
• Ran Chou and Huang Xiao discussed whether Maidafa might have the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method, with Ran Chou believing Habibullah’s pursuit suggested he did.

Huang Xiao prepared to meet an unexpected envoy from the Thousand Demons Sect, while Ran Chou learned the envoy was Xiao Yan and realized Huang Xiao’s women were gathering at the Heavenly Demon Sect. Maidafa returned to his quarters after discussing the Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method with Huang Xiao, leaving his Persian envoys frustrated about giving away four levels.

• Ran Chou urged Huang Xiao to make Maidafa hand over the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method, and Huang Xiao tacitly agreed to let him handle it.
• A disciple reported that an envoy from the Thousand Demons Sect had arrived, and Huang Xiao decided to meet the envoy himself.
• After Huang Xiao left, Ran Chou learned the envoy was Xiao Yan and reflected that she would join Huang Xiao’s other women at the Heavenly Demon Sect.
• Huang Xiao learned that You Lian'er had received the envoy and taken her to her residence, so he changed course to visit Lian'er.
• Maidafa returned to his quarters, where two Persian envoys questioned whether Huang Xiao had agreed to help and complained that Maidafa had shared four levels of the method.

Maidafa and the Black Fire Sect envoys worried that the Heavenly Demon Sect would demand the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method, leaving them dependent on the sect and unsure how to protect themselves. After learning about Xiao’s engagement to Huang Xiao and his other future wives, Maidafa heard a guard announce the Commander’s arrival.

• Maidafa told Wind Envoy and Thunder Envoy that they had little choice but to rely on the Heavenly Demon Sect.
• Thunder Envoy objected to handing over the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method, but Wind Envoy warned him against confronting the sect.
• Maidafa and the envoys saw You Lian'er welcoming Third Miss Xiao, and Maidafa learned that Xiao was betrothed to Huang Xiao.
• A Heavenly Demon Sect disciple told Maidafa that Huang Xiao would have four wives, including Eldest Miss You, Xiao, and the two Great Song princesses.
• After the three returned indoors and sat in silence, a guard called out to the Commander, and Maidafa hurried to his feet.

Ran Chou demanded that Maidafa surrender the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method in exchange for the Heavenly Demon Sect’s support against Habibullah, threatening him with force if he refused. After Ran Chou gave him three days to decide, Maidafa and the Wind and Thunder Envoys debated whether they had any choice but to comply.

• Ran Chou visited Maidafa and asked whether he possessed the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method.
• Ran Chou said the Heavenly Demon Sect might limit its support against Habibullah if the cost grew too high, and demanded the method as payment for greater aid.
• Maidafa protested that the method safeguarded the Black Fire Sect, but Ran Chou threatened him and warned that he would use force if Maidafa did not decide within three days.
• After Ran Chou left, Maidafa slumped in his chair, and the Wind and Thunder Envoys learned what he had demanded.
• The Wind Envoy argued that Maidafa should hand over the method, while the Thunder Envoy worried that they would lose their value to the Heavenly Demon Sect once they did.

Maidafa decided to trade the Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method for help avenging his father, while the Wind Envoy urged him to win favor with the Heavenly Demon Sect’s four women. Huang Xiao arrived at You Lian'er’s residence and recognized a familiar fourth woman laughing with You Lian'er, Zhao Yunhui, and Zhao Xin'er.

• Maidafa told the Wind and Thunder Envoys he would reveal the cultivation method in return for help killing Habibullah.
• The Wind Envoy advised Maidafa not to hand the method directly to Huang Xiao, but to use it to gain support from the Heavenly Demon Sect’s senior figures.
• Maidafa realized the Wind Envoy meant the four women close to Huang Xiao and decided to consider how to make them owe him a favor.
• Huang Xiao learned that You Lian'er was hosting the Thousand Demons Sect envoy in her rear garden with Zhao Yunhui and Zhao Xin'er.
• Huang Xiao heard a fourth woman’s familiar voice and realized who was among them.

Huang Xiao visited the pavilion where You Lian'er, Xiao Yan, Zhao Xin'er, and Zhao Yunhui were getting along and teasing him. After they sent him away to discuss a saber technique, he headed to his cultivation chamber to examine the Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method.

• Huang Xiao found the four women together, and they settled Xiao Yan's place among them as an honored sister rather than a guest.
• Xiao Yan told Huang Xiao she had come to see him and You Lian'er, and Huang Xiao arranged for her accommodations.
• You Lian'er pushed Huang Xiao away from the pavilion, while Zhao Xin'er and Zhao Yunhui urged him to attend to sect affairs.
• Huang Xiao went to his cultivation chamber to read the four levels of the Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method given to him by Maidafa.
• After Huang Xiao left, You Lian'er asked Zhao Yunhui about the saber technique, and Zhao Yunhui began explaining its moves to her and Xiao Yan.

Huang Xiao studied the four levels of Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth and planned the sect’s response to a possible alliance operation in Dali. He left Ran Chou to guard the Heavenly Demon Sect while he went to Dali with the Water and Earth Banner Guards, and gave Ran Chou the cultivation method to study.

• Huang Xiao grasped some of the principles of Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth and thought Yunhui might benefit from reading it.
• Ran Chou told Huang Xiao that he had contacted the Medicine King Hall and sent the Fire and Earth Banner Guards to Dali in disguise.
• Huang Xiao decided to send only the Water and Earth Banner Guards to Dali and ordered Ran Chou and the Heavenly Demon Imperial Guards to remain at the sect in case Habibullah attacked.
• Huang Xiao said he would go to Dali with Old Sun and Duan Siping, trusting that Wu Longfeng would focus on the Seven-Spirit Disc and Seven Spirit Blades.
• Huang Xiao gave Ran Chou the four levels of Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth to study.

Ran Chou urged Huang Xiao to resolve his marriage arrangements, and Huang Xiao decided he should not leave any of the four women feeling neglected. When he went to visit You Lian'er, he learned that she was meeting with Xiao Yan and both princesses and had barred everyone, including him, from entering.

• Ran Chou told Huang Xiao that Maidafa had three days to provide the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method, and Huang Xiao agreed to wait for an answer.
• Ran Chou reminded Huang Xiao that You Lian'er had served him for five years and that Xiao Yan was his acknowledged fiancée, so he should treat them fairly.
• Huang Xiao decided to arrange matters in order of age and set out to visit Xiao Yan, but realized he did not know where You Lian'er was staying.
• Huang Xiao went to You Lian'er's residence, where a maidservant told him You Lian'er had barred even him from entering while she met with Xiao Yan and both princesses.
• Huang Xiao accepted that You Lian'er was busy and left without learning how long the women would remain together.

Ran Chou sent three Heavenly Demon Imperial Guards to bring Maidafa to him, but Maidafa refused until he produced a written decree from You Lian'er. The guards stopped their attack on his envoys after reading it, leaving them to discover what You Lian'er had ordered.

• After Maidafa failed to answer within three days, Ran Chou ordered three Heavenly Demon Imperial Guards to bring him in alive.
• The guards arrived to find Maidafa and his two envoys waiting, and Maidafa refused to go with them.
• When Maidafa refused, two guards moved to kill his envoys, so Maidafa shouted that he had a written decree.
• Maidafa presented a golden-silk decree from You Lian'er, and the guards stopped their attack after reading it.

Maidafa avoided being taken away after You Lian'er intervened, while Ran Chou gave him a few more days to obtain the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth. At You Lian'er's residence, Huang Xiao discovered that she, Xiao Yan, Zhao Yunhui, and Zhao Xin'er had joined forces and were testing their combined saber and sword art against him.

• The Wind and Thunder Envoys and the Heavenly Demon Imperial Guards accepted You Lian'er's handwritten order and left Maidafa's fate for Ran Chou to decide.
• Ran Chou learned that You Lian'er had intervened, paused the three-day deadline, and decided to wait a few more days for Maidafa to obtain the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth.
• Huang Xiao went to You Lian'er's residence and found Xiao Yan, Zhao Yunhui, and Zhao Xin'er waiting with her in the back garden.
• The four women demonstrated their coordinated Yin-Yang Two Principles Saber and Sword Art and told Huang Xiao to instruct them.
• Huang Xiao sparred with the four women, struggled against their combined attacks even at eighty percent of his power, and called for them to stop.

Huang Xiao lost a sparring match against his four wives, then met with them to discuss the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method Maidafa had given them. He discovered that the method’s seventh layer contained a fatal flaw, and the group concluded the flaw was likely part of the method itself rather than a deliberate alteration by Maidafa.

• Huang Xiao conceded defeat to You Lian'er, Zhao Xin'er, Zhao Yunhui, and Xiao Yan after they overwhelmed him with their saber-and-sword technique.
• Huang Xiao learned that Zhao Yunhui had refined the Yin-Yang Two Principles Saber-and-Sword Technique and that the women had obtained all the layers of the Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method from Maidafa.
• Huang Xiao agreed to allow Maidafa and his associates some freedom within the Heavenly Demon Sect, provided they did not break its rules.
• Huang Xiao noticed that practicing the method’s seventh layer as written could cause cultivation deviation and death, prompting You Lian'er to suspect Maidafa.
• Huang Xiao reasoned that Maidafa lacked the skill to conceal a deliberate alteration and concluded the flaw was likely in the cultivation method itself.

Huang Xiao and the four women discussed the incomplete seventh layer of the Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method, with Zhao Yunhui confident she could help perfect it. Later, Huang Xiao went to Xiao Yan while she was bathing, but his surprise entrance frightened her and left her sobbing as he apologized.

• Huang Xiao explained that the method's creator had never mastered its seventh layer, which might have been untested and unfinished.
• You Lian'er suggested Huang Xiao could complete the seventh layer, but Huang Xiao said Zhao Yunhui's formation skills made her more suited to the task.
• The women discussed the method's value and its connection to the Yin-Yang Two Principles saber-and-sword art, then Huang Xiao left them to practice on their own.
• That night, Xiao Yan wondered whether Huang Xiao would spend the night with her or one of the other women as he entered her courtyard carrying hot water.
• Xiao Yan mistook Huang Xiao for a maidservant and asked him to massage her back, then turned in alarm when she recognized his hands.
• Huang Xiao apologized for startling Xiao Yan and tried to comfort her as she cried and struck his chest.

Huang Xiao reconciled with Xiao Yan before turning to the Heavenly Demon Sect’s plans concerning Maidafa and a message from the Medicine King Hall. The chapter left Ran Chou with the complete Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth Heart Method, though Huang Xiao warned him that its Seventh Layer appeared incorrect.

• Huang Xiao apologized to Xiao Yan, promised to make up for not holding a grand wedding, and stayed with her for the night.
• The next morning, Huang Xiao told Ran Chou about Maidafa and gave him the heart method formulas for the final three layers.
• Huang Xiao and Ran Chou discussed the Medicine King Hall’s letter, which arranged a meeting in Dali City one month later, and decided not to inform Ling Tianya.
• Huang Xiao ordered Ran Chou to gather intelligence on Persia and spread word that Maidafa was at the Heavenly Demon Sect.
• Huang Xiao warned Ran Chou that the Seventh Layer’s formulas seemed wrong, and they agreed the problem probably had nothing to do with Maidafa.

Huang Xiao planned to visit Zhao Yunhui, but she urged him to go to You Lian'er instead so Lian'er would not feel neglected. He arrived at Lian'er's quarters, where she welcomed him after waiting five years, and stayed with her.

• Huang Xiao finished handling sect affairs and went to Zhao Yunhui's quarters that night.
• Zhao Yunhui told Huang Xiao to visit You Lian'er, explaining that she and Zhao Xin'er had agreed he should not leave Lian'er feeling wronged.
• You Lian'er prepared for bed, expecting Huang Xiao to visit Zhao Yunhui instead.
• Huang Xiao arrived at You Lian'er's quarters, surprising her and delighting the maidservants.
• Huang Xiao told You Lian'er that Zhao Yunhui had sent him, and Lian'er welcomed him and said she would not let him leave.

Huang Xiao left the Heavenly Demon Sect for Dali, where he planned to wrest the Imperial Court from Duan Siying despite the Taixuan Sect’s growing presence. A scout reported that a Taixuan Sect deputy sect master might be leading the response, leaving Huang Xiao uncertain about the strength he would face.

• Huang Xiao told Ran Chou to manage the sect and warned him to watch for the Black Fire Sect while he traveled to Dali.
• Huang Xiao said goodbye to You Lian'er and the other women, who urged him to be careful and promised to grow stronger before he returned.
• Huang Xiao arrived in Dali, where the Fire Banner Guard and Earth Banner Guard had already gone undercover for the operation.
• A Heavenly Demon Sect scout reported that more Taixuan Sect experts had arrived and that one of its four deputy sect masters might be in charge.

Huang Xiao learned that Dali had fallen into chaos under Emperor Duan Siying and reached Dali City while concealing his identity. At the city gates, he watched a powerful stranger stop a reckless carriage whose crash injured its fat marquis passenger.

• Huang Xiao questioned the tea stall proprietor, who explained that banditry, hunger, and danger had made travel and hiring people risky.
• Huang Xiao recalled how Duan Siying’s heavy taxes and disasters had driven Dali into ruin, and resolved that the emperor should not remain alive.
• Huang Xiao entered Dali City in disguise and planned to find an inn and make contact with Senior Sun and the others.
• A speeding carriage struck pedestrians near the city gates, and a man leapt from a wine shop to attack its driver and stop the horses.
• The carriage cabin broke loose and crashed, injuring the fat marquis inside, while the driver turned furiously toward the man who had stopped them.

Dugu killed the Southern Pacification Marquis after his men’s rescuers were intercepted, while Huang Xiao watched from the crowd. The coachman tried to flee but found his path blocked.

• The coachman threatened the young man and identified the Southern Pacification Marquis, while Huang Xiao learned from an old man that the Marquis was a powerful, notorious figure.
• The young man attacked the coachman, then drew a purple flexible sword and prepared to kill the Marquis.
• Five experts rushed to rescue the Marquis, but three people intercepted them, and one urged the young man to hurry.
• The young man, whom his companion called Brother Dugu, killed the Southern Pacification Marquis with a flurry of sword strikes.
• The coachman tried to escape, but someone blocked his path.

Huang Xiao reunited with Dugu Sheng, Hong Yi, Meng Jiu, and Li Wujing after they fled Dali City. The group reached Bear Cang Mountain to await Duan Siying’s expected showdown with the Five Divine Temple, and they prepared for the coming battle.

• Huang Xiao killed a coachman who attacked him, then recognized Dugu Sheng and the others as they fought off pursuers.
• Dugu Sheng, Hong Yi, Meng Jiu, Li Wujing, and Huang Xiao escaped Dali City and restored their appearances at the foot of a mountain.
• Li Wujing explained that he had come to help oppose the Taixuan Sect and avenge his master.
• Dugu Sheng and Hong Yi told Huang Xiao that the group intended to go to the Five Divine Temple on Bear Cang Mountain and was waiting for Duan Siying to make his move.
• Meng Jiu unpacked food and wine beneath a tree, and the group shared a meal while conserving their strength for the coming battle.

Huang Xiao and his companions watched Duan Siying’s party enter the mountain and discussed the Taixuan Sect’s deputy sect masters. They learned that the First Deputy Sect Master might rival Wu Longfeng, leaving Huang Xiao worried that their side could not defeat the Taixuan Sect head-on.

• Hong Yi led Huang Xiao and the others to wait near the mountain route for Duan Siying’s party.
• Huang Xiao’s group concealed themselves as Duan Siying, disguised as the elder Duan Si, and his powerful followers passed.
• Li Wujing confirmed Duan Si’s identity and explained that the Taixuan Sect’s four deputy sect masters were far stronger than its elders.
• Li Wujing said the First Deputy Sect Master had the highest seniority and was surpassed only by sect master Wu Longfeng.
• Huang Xiao worried that their side would be outmatched if they confronted the Taixuan Sect directly.

Duan Siying attacked the Five Divine Temple and demanded that Duan Sicong surrender the Five Elements Canon. Duan Sicong refused, and the confrontation erupted into battle.

• Huang Xiao, Hong Yi, Dugu Sheng, Meng Jiu, and another companion followed Duan Siying's group up the mountain to assess the Five Divine Temple's position.
• Duan Siying's men forced their way into the temple, and Duan Sicong protected the young monks they had struck aside.
• Duan Siying demanded the Five Elements Canon and threatened to kill the temple's monks, but Duan Sicong refused to hand it over.
• Duan Siying dismissed Duan Sicong's warnings and welcomed the news that his father, Duan Siping, was coming to Dali.
• Duan Siying ordered his followers to attack and fought Duan Sicong, knocking him back before demanding the Five Elements Canon again.