Chapter Summaries

Hong Yi uncovered Commander Liu’s plot after realizing that the two guards sent to report to General Yang had disappeared. Commander Liu’s men were arrested and one confessed to acting on Liu’s orders, leaving General Yang to decide how to proceed.

• Hong Yi returned to the city gate and confronted Commander Liu about the missing guards, then seized him when he realized Liu was lying.
• Hong Yi subdued Commander Liu’s personal guards and knocked down a nearby wall, revealing the two murdered messengers and more of Liu’s men inside.
• The city defense commander arrested the men in the house and sent for General Yang, who arrived and ordered Commander Liu to speak.
• A captured guard confessed that Commander Liu had ordered the killings, while denying that he had colluded with the Khitan.
• Hong Yi said Commander Liu still needed to be made to talk, but General Yang replied that the truth was already clear whether Liu confessed or not.

Hong Yi exposed Commander Liu as a Khitan spy before he could open the Border Pass gates, and General Yang prepared the defenses. The Khitan army launched its siege, leaving the defenders braced for a more dangerous close-quarters assault.

• Hong Yi helped General Yang uncover Commander Liu’s betrayal, and the Garrison Commander took Liu into custody.
• Commander Liu revealed that Xiao Dalin had planned to use him to open the gates, but the timing changed after Dalhe ordered an immediate attack.
• General Yang thanked Hong Yi for saving the Border Pass and joined Hong Yi, Meng Jiu, and Liaochen on the walls as the Khitan army approached.
• The Khitan army assembled its siege engines and attacked with catapults and arrows while Great Song forces returned fire.
• The defenders inflicted heavier casualties, but the Khitan soldiers had not yet begun their assault with scaling ladders.

General Yang stayed at the border pass as Khitan forces attacked, while Hong Yi and the Jianghu fighters fought off enemy experts. The battle worsened as more Esoteric Sect fighters arrived, including experts from the Persian Black Fire Sect.

• General Yang refused to leave the border pass, rallied the defenders, and shattered a boulder hurled at him.
• Three Khitan experts charged General Yang, but Hong Yi killed one and drove the other two away before protecting the general.
• Meng Jiu warned that the general's residence might also be targeted, and Hong Yi told General Yang to move back while the commander returned to direct the defense.
• Khitan troops stormed the walls as Meng Jiu rushed to fight an enemy expert, and Hong Yi recognized that the opposing fighters were unusually powerful.
• Hong Yi identified a group of newcomers as experts from the Persian Black Fire Sect and warned the others to be careful.

Liaochen fought Habibullah, the Black Fire Sect Master, and discovered that Habibullah’s Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth method could redirect attacks and turn them back on his enemies. Liaochen mocked Habibullah’s diminished status in the Esoteric Sect, provoking his killing intent as their battle continued.

• Liaochen ordered the Jianghu fighters to retreat from Habibullah and engaged the Persian himself.
• Liaochen used finger-force blasts to restrict Habibullah’s movements, but Habibullah caught one blast and redirected it into a crowd, killing three fighters and injuring several more.
• Liaochen and Habibullah traded palm strikes until Liaochen was driven back and spat blood.
• Liaochen recognized Habibullah’s Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth technique and confirmed that he was the Black Fire Sect Master.
• Liaochen taunted Habibullah for serving as the Esoteric Sect’s vanguard after losing his standing, and Habibullah’s killing intent surged.

Hong Yi joined Liaochen and Meng Jiu in attacking Habibullah, but the Black Fire Sect Master avoided fighting them directly. The Khitan State Preceptor Dalha arrived and challenged Hong Yi, while Habibullah was left to deal with Liaochen and Meng Jiu.

• Hong Yi sent Beggar Gang experts to protect General Yang, then joined Liaochen and Meng Jiu in pursuing Habibullah.
• Habibullah retreated from the three attackers and refused to fight, pointing out that their side could not afford to prolong the battle.
• Dalha leaped onto the wall and taunted Hong Yi over his master’s death at the hands of the Esoteric Sect.
• Hong Yi suppressed his anger as Dalha offered to fight him and assigned Liaochen and Meng Jiu to Habibullah.

Hong Yi faced Dalha while Meng Jiu and Liaochen fought Habibullah, and the battle grew increasingly dangerous as Hong Yi attacked with reckless abandon. Meng Jiu remained unable to help his friend and vowed to bring Habibullah down even if it cost him his life.

• Meng Jiu assigned Hong Yi to fight Dalha while he and Liaochen confronted Habibullah.
• Hong Yi and Dalha exchanged three palm strikes and retreated evenly, surprising Dalha with Hong Yi's power.
• Dalha insulted Hong Yi's late master, but Hong Yi resisted the provocation and attacked again.
• Hong Yi and Dalha traded repeated palm strikes as Hong Yi fought with such reckless fury that Dalha began to fear him.
• Meng Jiu shouted at Hong Yi, but Habibullah seized the distraction and attacked him before Liaochen intervened.
• Meng Jiu admitted he could not leave the fight to help Hong Yi and vowed to kill Habibullah even if he died.

Hong Yi used a life-burning forbidden art to regain the advantage against Dalha, but Dalha evaded him and waited for the technique to exhaust him. Meng Jiu and Liaochen fought desperately to reach Hong Yi, yet Habibullah kept them blocked.

• As Hong Yi weakened, Dalha decided to kill him before he could become a threat to the Esoteric Sect.
• Hong Yi bluffed with a weakened attack, then unleashed a forbidden art that dramatically increased his strength.
• Dalha avoided fighting Hong Yi head-on, while Hong Yi pursued him despite the forbidden art consuming his life force.
• Meng Jiu and Liaochen realized Hong Yi was in mortal danger and attacked Habibullah more fiercely.
• Habibullah blocked Meng Jiu and Liaochen, leaving them unable to reach Hong Yi.

Hong Yi exhausted himself using a Forbidden Art to wound Dalha, who moved to kill him before Dugu Sheng intervened and stabilized his True Qi. With Dugu Sheng and Li Wujing joining the battle, Hong Yi saw a better chance of defending the border pass.

• Hong Yi used his Forbidden Art to overwhelm Dalha briefly and landed several palm strikes, but his power collapsed and his injuries worsened.
• Dalha prepared to kill Hong Yi while Meng Jiu rushed to help and Liaochen held Habibullah back.
• Dugu Sheng arrived, interrupted Dalha's attack, and used his True Qi to suppress Hong Yi's rampaging energy after stopping the Forbidden Art.
• Dugu Sheng confronted Dalha as Li Wujing and two others attacked Habibullah, forcing him to retreat.

Dugu Sheng confronted Dalha and used his swift, shifting swordsmanship to overwhelm the injured Khitan State Preceptor. Hong Yi joined the fight with a surprise attack, and Dalha fled over the city wall after Dugu Sheng stabbed him in the lower abdomen.

• Dugu Sheng charged at Dalha and forced him to defend against a rapid series of changing sword moves.
• Dugu Sheng wounded Dalha's forehead and kept him on the defensive, exploiting his injured state and the speed of his swordsmanship.
• Hong Yi appeared behind Dalha and struck him, creating an opening for Dugu Sheng.
• Dugu Sheng thrust at Dalha's heart, but Dalha twisted aside and took the sword through his lower abdomen.
• Dalha leaped from the city wall to escape before Dugu Sheng could strike again.

Dugu Sheng and Hong Yi helped repel the first Khitan assault on Border Pass, but the defenders suffered heavy losses and the Jianghu fighters remained outmatched by the Esoteric Sect experts. General Yang began preparing to withdraw toward Chanzhou City, while the Khitan commanders sought an explanation for Dalha and Habibullah's defeat.

• Dugu Sheng stopped pursuing the retreating Dalha and helped stabilize Hong Yi's injuries as the Esoteric Sect experts and Khitan army withdrew under a rain of arrows.
• General Yang learned that Great Song had lost over two thousand soldiers and more than five thousand wounded in the assault, then ordered the wounded treated and the defenses reorganized.
• Hong Yi told General Yang that the Esoteric Sect experts gave the Jianghu fighters a serious disadvantage, and General Yang decided to prepare a withdrawal toward Chanzhou City.
• Meng Jiu urged the group to treat their wounded comrades first, and Dugu Sheng agreed to explain his return later.
• Xiao Dalin was shocked when Dalha and Habibullah returned in defeat, and Dalhe asked them what had happened.

Dalhe heard Dalha’s account of the battle with Hong Yi and Dugu Sheng, rebuked Dalha for accepting defeat, and warned Habibullah to fight seriously next time. He decided Xiao Chuo and Yelü Longxu should lead the campaign alongside Xiao Dalin, while Huang Xiao and the others reached Yama Ridge.

• Dalha told Dalhe that Hong Yi had formidable strength and Dugu Sheng’s swift swordsmanship had made him difficult to fight.
• Dalhe explained that Dugu Sheng might have learned the Taixuan Sword, then reprimanded Dalha for feeling relieved about being defeated by it.
• Dalhe spared Habibullah but warned him to give his utmost in the next battle.
• Dalhe told Xiao Dalin that Xiao Chuo and Yelü Longxu should lead the army, saying he wanted Xiao Dalin’s clan to become the only Xiao Clan in Khitan.
• Xiao Dalin agreed to organize another assault the following day and vowed to capture Kaifeng and the Song emperor Zhao Yuankan.
• Huang Xiao and his companions reached Gaozhou and arrived at Yama Ridge in less than a day.

Huang Xiao and his companions secretly searched the valley beneath Yama Ridge for the Seven Spirit Blades’ secret, returning to the cliff where Huang Xiao had once fallen. They entered the cave where Brother Peng had lived and found a lit stone chamber, but the secret remained undiscovered.

• Wu Longfeng agreed to have everyone search separately, with a long cry to alert the others if anyone found the secret location.
• Huang Xiao led Old Sun, Tong Jiuyang, and Duan Siping to the cliff where his fight with Zhang Ma had once sent him falling.
• The four descended the cliff and found the remains of the giant python Huang Xiao had killed years earlier.
• Huang Xiao pointed out Brother Peng’s cave, and the group climbed up to its entrance.
• Huang Xiao and his companions followed the cave passage to a stone chamber illuminated by Night Pearls.

Huang Xiao, Old Sun, Duan Siping, and Tong Jiuyang found a hidden stone door deep beneath the chamber, but they could not determine how to open it. Wu Longfeng, Wan Qingteng, Tuoba Xiongzhen, and the others arrived, revealing they had secretly followed them and would need to investigate the door together.

• Huang Xiao and the others searched the stone chamber, found nothing useful, and followed a passage down a long stairway.
• The group discovered a large underground chamber with a stone door featuring a circular recess and an oversized key-shaped groove.
• Old Sun suspected the Seven-Spirit Disc might fit the circular recess, though he could not be sure without testing it.
• Huang Xiao prepared to notify Wu Longfeng and the others, but Wan Qingteng's laughter revealed that they had been following the group.
• Wu Longfeng accused Old Sun of trying to claim the secret alone, while Tuoba Xiongzhen explained they had stayed close because they trusted Old Sun's knowledge.

Wu Longfeng and the others learned that Huang Xiao had obtained Godslayer near the cave, then agreed to assemble the Seven Spirit Blades and the Seven-Spirit Disc to unlock the secret. With Demon Slayer as the final blade, all seven were placed in the disc, leaving the group poised for what would happen next.

• Old Sun explained that Huang Xiao had found Godslayer at the bottom of the valley, not inside the cave.
• Wu Longfeng proposed gathering all seven Seven Spirit Blades and the Seven-Spirit Disc, then competing for whatever they revealed.
• Wu Longfeng placed Demon Subduer and Immortal Slayer in the disc, followed by Tuoba Xiongzhen's Earth Annihilator and Wan Qingteng's Heaven Burner.
• Old Sun and Tong Jiuyang added Godslayer and Ghost Slayer while Huang Xiao kept Demon Slayer back until the others moved away from the disc.
• Huang Xiao sent Demon Slayer into the final empty slot, completing the Seven-Spirit Disc.

Wu Longfeng and the others gathered all seven Seven Spirit Blades and placed the Seven-Spirit Disc in the stone wall, but it remained still until underground moonlight began flowing into it. After four hours the moonlight stopped, leaving everyone waiting for the secret to be revealed.

• Wu Longfeng questioned Old Sun when the Seven-Spirit Disc showed no change, and Old Sun said the time had not yet come.
• Tuoba Xiongzhen noted that the secret might only unlock on the Seventh Day of the Seventh Month, so the group waited while watching one another.
• Mu Jingfei noticed glowing lines above the disc, and Old Sun identified them as moonlight seeping underground.
• The moonlight strands entered the Seven-Spirit Disc, which filled with glowing specks and grew increasingly bright.
• After four hours the moonlight stopped flowing into the disc, and the group waited for the secret to appear.

On the Seventh Day of the Seventh Month, moonlight melted the Seven Spirit Blades into golden liquid that flowed into a key-shaped recess in the stone wall. As the liquid solidified, the wall and underground chamber began to shake, and everyone waited for the stone door to open.

• After the date changed, the Seven-Spirit Disc dimmed and its light made the Seven Spirit Blades glow gold.
• When Fang Chongyi tried to rush toward the melting blades, Old Sun stopped him, and the others warned him to stay back.
• The Seven Spirit Blades melted into golden liquid and flowed through a groove into the key-shaped recess.
• Old Sun and the others waited nearly four hours for the golden liquid to fill the recess and begin solidifying.
• Cracking sounds shook the stone wall and chamber, and Wan Qingteng worried that the underground room might collapse.

Huang Xiao and the other experts opened the stone gate and discovered a hidden valley filled with rare plants, then triggered a formation that revealed a lake, an island, and a thatched hut. The lake displayed the words “Three shichen,” leaving the group unsure what would happen next.

• The stone gate rose, revealing a passage that Wu Longfeng, Huang Xiao, and the others followed.
• Huang Xiao and the experts emerged into a secluded valley where Tuoba Xiongzhen called it a blessed land.
• Old Sun reacted strangely to the valley, and Huang Xiao silently realized it was the place connected to the Seven Spirit Blades’ secret.
• Wu Longfeng and Zhuge Zheng rushed into the valley, triggering a formation that revealed a lake with an island and a thatched hut.
• Wan Qingteng recognized the formation, and Tong Jiuyang pointed out the words “Three shichen” appearing on the lake’s surface.

The masters discovered that the formation kept them from reaching the lake and agreed they had to break it to find the secret. Tuoba Xiongzhen and Wu Longfeng turned against Old Sun and his companions, leaving the group on the brink of a fight.

• Duan Siping pointed out that the valley and the Thatched Hut might be illusions, and the group realized they had to break the formation to reach the secret.
• Tuoba Xiongzhen, Wu Longfeng, and the others entered the formation, but found that racing toward the Small Lake did not bring them any closer.
• Wan Qingteng suggested that everyone try breaking the formation separately, but Tuoba Xiongzhen said the group had too many unwanted bystanders.
• Tuoba Xiongzhen declared that Fang Chongyi and the other two were not qualified, and Wu Longfeng agreed that they should be removed.
• Wu Longfeng revealed that he had known Tuoba Xiongzhen's identity as Tu Zhangyuan and agreed to join forces with him against Old Sun and his three companions.

Wu Longfeng and Tuoba Xiongzhen joined forces against Sun Simiao’s group while trying to recruit Wan Qingteng, Mu Jingfei, and Fang Chongyi. Tuoba Xiongzhen revealed his role in past events involving Ling Tianya, and Mu Jingfei and Fang Chongyi chose to confront him themselves.

• Wu Longfeng demanded that Wan Qingteng and the others choose a side, while Tuoba Xiongzhen urged them to join him.
• Mu Jingfei rejected Tuoba Xiongzhen and accused him of betraying their past plan; Tuoba Xiongzhen defended his actions and offered Fang Chongyi power in the Heavenly Demon Sect.
• Huang Xiao confronted Tuoba Xiongzhen, who admitted that he had revealed the clue that led Ling Tianya to obtain the Ten Thousand Demons Canon.
• Wu Longfeng said he was not yet worried about Huang Xiao, but intended to eliminate him before he could become a threat to the Taixuan Sect.
• Fang Chongyi declared that he would face Tuoba Xiongzhen without relying on anyone, and Mu Jingfei joined him.
• Mu Jingfei and Fang Chongyi ended their alliance with Wan Qingteng and let him choose his own side.

Old Sun assigned opponents as the factions prepared for battle, then accused Tuoba Xiongzhen of being Tuoba Ao, the former head of the Tuoba Family. Zhuge Zheng recognized the name, while the others were left astonished as the confrontation began.

• Wan Qingteng chose to side with Wu Longfeng after Mu Jingfei and Fang Chongyi refused to join him against Old Sun.
• Tuoba Xiongzhen challenged Fang Chongyi, and Old Sun assigned Duan Siping to Zhuge Zheng, Tong Jiuyang to Wan Qingteng, Huang Xiao to Wu Longfeng, and himself to Tuoba Xiongzhen.
• Old Sun asked Mu Jingfei and Fang Chongyi to fight Gui Jiu first, but Fang Chongyi insisted on facing Tuoba Xiongzhen while Mu Jingfei agreed to confront Gui Jiu.
• Old Sun accused Tuoba Xiongzhen of being Tuoba Ao, the former head of the Tuoba Family.
• Zhuge Zheng recognized Tuoba Ao and explained that he had investigated Tuoba Xiongzhen's identity and studied the Tuoba Family genealogy.