Chapter Summaries

The young lady learned that Huang Xiao was likely responsible for destroying the God-Burying Hall’s Qinyang City Branch Altar and was traveling with Ou Jin, the Craftsman God. To protect Huang Xiao and preserve their lead to Senior Li, she ordered Nanny Liu to conceal the evidence and sent Zhu Yang to serve Huang Xiao for a year.

• Nanny Liu warned the young lady that Huang Xiao might be in danger because he had likely destroyed the God-Burying Hall’s Branch Altar in Qinyang City.
• Nanny Liu identified Huang Xiao’s companion as Ou Jin, the Craftsman God, whom the Demon Hall had searched for over many years.
• The young lady ordered Nanny Liu to silence witnesses who had seen Ou Jin or Huang Xiao at the Swift Sword Inn, while sparing the Liu family.
• The young lady made Lin Feng and Lin Jiao Jiao promise to keep the secret, then approved Zhu Yang’s plan to redeem Lin Jiao Jiao for ten million taels of silver.
• The young lady instructed Lin Jiao Jiao to tell Zhu Yang to follow Huang Xiao and serve him for one year.

Huang Xiao accepted Zhu Yang as his servant after Zhu Yang insisted on atoning for his earlier wrongdoing, and promised to help him repay ten million taels within a year. After discussing the Liu Family’s connection to Senior Li, Huang Xiao asked about rare treasures that could neutralize poison.

• Lin Jiao Jiao returned to the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency and proposed that Zhu Yang serve Huang Xiao, while Zhu Yang insisted on accepting any punishment for his mistakes.
• Liu Jinyi confirmed that Huang Xiao had learned the Transcendent Immortal Swordsmanship from an accomplished senior, but he knew little about Senior Li beyond his meeting with Liu Douqi.
• Zhu Yang reported that he had failed to kill every Swift Sword Sect elder, and Huang Xiao told him that Zhou Kun’s death had ended the threat to the escort agency.
• Huang Xiao agreed to take Zhu Yang as his servant and arranged for Liu Jinyi to give Zhu Yang two million taels, while promising to help him meet Lin Jiao Jiao’s one-year deadline to raise ten million taels.
• Huang Xiao asked Liu Jinyi about his late father’s relationship with Senior Li, then asked whether the Rare Treasures Pavilion had anything that could counter unusual poisons.

Huang Xiao stayed at the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency while seeking information about a cure for his Demon-Ghost Blood Curse and considering a visit to the Rare Treasures Pavilion. Liu Jinyi brought him to the family ancestral hall, where he began to reveal something he believed Huang Xiao deserved to know because of his connection to Senior Li.

• Liu Jinyi and Zhu Yang discussed the Rare Treasures Pavilion's rare detoxifying treasures, and Huang Xiao said he would look into them later.
• Zhu Yang warned Huang Xiao that his enemies might bring trouble, but Huang Xiao said he was willing to face them and take their money.
• Liu Jinyi invited Huang Xiao and Zhu Yang to the rear courtyard to offer incense to the Liu Family ancestors and honor his late father's regret about Senior Li.
• Mute Uncle went to retrieve the ancestral hall key, and a wooden box in a cabinet shuddered before he left with the key.
• Huang Xiao and Zhu Yang offered incense at the ancestral tablets, after which Liu Jinyi said he wanted to disclose something because Huang Xiao was connected to Senior Li.

Huang Xiao learned that the Demon-Ghost Blood Curse had suddenly flared up and left him with less than a year to live. A masked old man offered to lift the curse in exchange for unknown conditions, then recognized Huang Xiao’s Heavenly Demon Skill.

• Liu Jinyi told Huang Xiao that his late father had ordered him to preserve the little courtyard, but Huang Xiao had no answers about why.
• Huang Xiao’s Demon-Ghost Blood Curse flared up after he returned to his room, and he decided he needed to find a way to remove it.
• A powerful stranger sent Huang Xiao a note telling him to follow, and Huang Xiao tracked him beyond Qinyang City.
• The masked old man said Huang Xiao would not live another year and identified his affliction as a curse linked to the Ghost Dao and Monster Dao.
• The old man offered to lift the curse for conditions he would not yet reveal, then stopped Huang Xiao’s punch with one finger and recognized his Heavenly Demon Skill.

An enigmatic old man gave Huang Xiao the Three Forms Demon Saber, ordered him to return to Qinyang City in one year for the promised removal of his Demon-Ghost Blood Curse, and strengthened its suppression with his own immense power. Huang Xiao memorized and destroyed the manual, began investigating the Demon Hall’s saber arts, and learned that others knew of no technique matching the one he had received.

• The old man revealed that the Heavenly Demon Skill had twelve stages, gave Huang Xiao the Three Forms Demon Saber, and demanded that he keep it secret and return in a year.
• The old man placed his power in Huang Xiao to suppress the Demon-Ghost Blood Curse, then vanished after warning Huang Xiao to practice the saber technique and take care of his saber.
• Huang Xiao examined the manual, decided to focus on the Heavenly Demon Demon Saber, considered seeking another cure for his curse, and destroyed the manual after memorizing it.
• The next morning, Huang Xiao asked Liu Jinyi, Liu Yu, and Zhu Yang about the Demon Hall and its saber techniques.
• Liu Yu and Zhu Yang described the legendary Supreme Demon Saber Technique, while Liu Jinyi mentioned the three great halls’ separate techniques; Huang Xiao noticed none of them knew of the Three Forms Demon Saber.

Huang Xiao visited the Rare Treasures Pavilion with Liu Yu and Zhu Yang after learning that the Three-Form Demon Saber Technique might belong to the Demon Hall. When a Divine Might Escort Agency procession mocked Liu Yu, Huang Xiao recognized its deputy chief escort Gao Jin as a Peerless Upper Grade expert, then used a message about their meeting two days earlier to secure an audience with Shopkeeper Chen Biao.

• Huang Xiao asked Liu Jinyi and Zhu Yang about the Three-Form Demon Saber Technique, and they said they had never heard of it outside rumors about the Demon Hall.
• Huang Xiao set out for the Rare Treasures Pavilion with Liu Yu and Zhu Yang, and Liu Yu explained that the Divine Might Escort Agency had taken business from the declining Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency.
• Du Qiu blocked the three and taunted Liu Yu about his agency's losses and Liu Douqi's death before Gao Jin called him back to the procession.
• Huang Xiao and Zhu Yang identified Gao Jin as a Peerless Upper Grade expert, and Liu Yu acknowledged how much stronger the Divine Might Escort Agency had become.
• At the Rare Treasures Pavilion, Huang Xiao asked to see Chen Biao and told an attendant to pass on that the guest from the west-side guest room wanted to meet him.
• The steward welcomed Huang Xiao, explaining that Chen Biao had instructed the staff to attend to him, and brought the three to a private room.

Huang Xiao learned from Chen Biao that Li Bai had once defeated the Sword Pavilion’s master but withdrew from the Jianghu to avoid its legendary Sword God. Chen Biao warned that the Sword Pavilion might send a young expert after Huang Xiao, who wondered what the shopkeeper hoped to gain by sharing so much.

• Chen Biao told Huang Xiao that Li Bai had fought the Sword Pavilion after defeating its disciples and its master, then concealed his identity because of the Sword God.
• Chen Biao explained that the Sword Pavilion had killed Liu Yu’s grandfather after he learned swordsmanship from Li Bai, and warned that Huang Xiao might also be targeted.
• Zhu Yang declared that he was now Huang Xiao’s servant, surprising Chen Biao, who mistakenly connected Zhu Yang’s decision to Jiaojiao.
• Huang Xiao asked how the Heavenly Sword Sect compared with the Sword Pavilion, and Chen Biao said the Pavilion stood beyond the struggle for Wulin’s supreme position.
• Huang Xiao thanked Chen Biao and wondered why the shopkeeper had revealed so much to him.

Huang Xiao learned that the Demon-Ghost Blood Curse affecting his body, true qi, and mind was a rare third-category curse that might require a remedy from the Rare Treasures Pavilion's headquarters in Imperial Province. He agreed to escort a shipment with the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency toward Mist City, where a newly announced treasure appreciation gathering offered another reason to go.

• Chen Biao explained the three categories of curses, and Huang Xiao revealed that he needed a remedy for a curse in the third category.
• Chen Biao said the mixed Monster Dao and Ghost Dao curse would be extremely difficult to lift and suggested that the caster might hold the remedy, but Huang Xiao knew Tuoba Ao was dead.
• Chen Biao offered Huang Xiao a letter of introduction to the Rare Treasures Pavilion headquarters, and Huang Xiao said he would travel to Imperial Province soon.
• Chen Biao asked Huang Xiao to escort a large shipment toward Mist City, and Liu Yu offered the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency for the job.
• Huang Xiao accepted the escort assignment, and Chen Biao received a letter announcing a treasure appreciation gathering in Mist City.

Huang Xiao learned that the Rare Treasures Pavilion’s five-yearly Rare Treasures Appreciation Gathering would be held in Mist City and prepared to travel there with Chen Biao’s escort. The Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency accepted two commissions, while a mysterious Miss arranged to travel with them so she could investigate Huang Xiao’s connection to Senior Li; the Rare Treasures Pavilion planned to depart the next morning.

• Chen Biao told Huang Xiao that the Rare Treasures Appreciation Gathering would display rare treasures in Mist City, prompting Huang Xiao to decide he would go in search of an antidote.
• Liu Jinyi accepted the Rare Treasures Pavilion’s escort commission and assigned Liu Yu to lead that escort, while he planned to personally escort the Miss who had offered five thousand taels.
• The Miss told Xiao Qing and Nanny Liu that she had hired the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency to observe Huang Xiao and trace his connection to Senior Li.
• The agency’s escort informed Huang Xiao and Zhu Yang that the Rare Treasures Pavilion would leave for Mist City the following morning.

Huang Xiao and Zhu Yang prepared to leave for Mist City with Chen Biao, while a veiled young lady from the Embroidered Spring House commissioned the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency for the same journey. She learned that Huang Xiao would be traveling tomorrow and returned without meeting him.

• Huang Xiao asked Zhu Yang whether he would visit Jiaojiao before leaving, and Zhu Yang said he would see her only when he returned to take her away.
• The veiled young lady hired the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency to escort her party of three in two carriages to Mist City, offering a thousand taels.
• Xiao Qing asked about the agency's young expert, and Liu Jinyi said Huang Xiao was a friend rather than a member of the agency.
• The young lady learned that a consignment would leave early the next morning and arranged for her party to depart at the same time.
• After returning to the Embroidered Spring House, the young lady told Xiao Qing she had expected Chen Biao to hire the agency for the Rare Treasures Appreciation Gathering and had not known Huang Xiao would join him.

Huang Xiao and the Rare Treasures Pavilion’s escort party prepared to travel to Mist City for the Rare Treasures Appreciation Gathering. After the young lady revealed a Jade Water Token, Chen Biao agreed to combine his party with Liu Jinyi’s, and he hinted that the arrangement might have something to do with Huang Xiao.

• Chen Biao told Huang Xiao and Liu Yu that he was transporting only five treasures among the thirty wagons.
• At Qinyang City’s gate, Liu Jinyi brought Chen Biao to speak with the young lady in his carriage.
• Xiao Qing showed Chen Biao a Jade Water Token, and he immediately agreed to let the young lady’s party travel with his.
• Chen Biao asked Liu Jinyi to combine their escort parties for the trip to Mist City.
• After the parties joined and set out, Chen Biao told Huang Xiao that the arrangement might concern him.

Huang Xiao learned from Chen Biao that Zhangsun Youyue, a powerful Bishui Palace disciple, was likely traveling with them to seek Senior Li Bai and had turned her attention to him. The convoy encountered a group approaching in the distance, and Huang Xiao recognized Du Qiu fleeing at their head, suggesting the Divine Might Escort Agency’s shipment had been robbed.

• Chen Biao told Huang Xiao about Bishui Palace’s influence and explained that Zhangsun Youyue carried its Jade Water Token and was likely interested in finding Senior Li Bai.
• Huang Xiao agreed to cooperate with Zhangsun Youyue during the journey, and Chen Biao promised him another reward upon reaching Mist City.
• Huang Xiao spotted figures ahead, and Liu Jinyi ordered the convoy to halt and prepare for danger.
• Huang Xiao and Liu Yu recognized Du Qiu among the fleeing group and suspected that the Divine Might Escort Agency’s shipment had been robbed.

Du Qiu and Gao Jin sought help after the Divine Might Escort Agency’s shipment was robbed, but Chen Biao and Liu Jinyi refused to escort them away from their current commission. A group of nearly one hundred armed men then blocked Huang Xiao’s party and demanded to know where the two had gone, leaving Liu Jinyi facing a confrontation under Zhangsun Youyue’s orders.

• Du Qiu reached Liu Jinyi’s party with Gao Jin and asked the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency to escort them to Huaiyin City, but Liu Yu refused on the agency’s behalf.
• Gao Jin explained that bandits had killed their men and employer, while Du Qiu checked that the bundle on his back was still safe.
• Xiao Qing relayed Zhangsun Youyue’s order to deal with the delay quickly, so Chen Biao insisted that Liu Jinyi honor his existing commission and offered to pay the agency five times its fee.
• Gao Jin and Du Qiu left, and Liu Jinyi warned his escorts to stay alert as they continued down the road.
• Nearly one hundred armed men blocked the party and demanded to know where the Divine Might Escort Agency’s men had gone; Chen Biao pointed them in Du Qiu and Gao Jin’s direction.
• Xiao Qing told Liu Jinyi that the escort agency had to protect its commission, and Chen Biao urged him to kill the armed men while Liu Jinyi prepared to negotiate.

Zhu Yang defended the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency from a large group of armed men and killed their leader. Before dying, the leader revealed that the Divine Might Escort Agency had taken a treasure and warned that powerful lords were on their way.

• Chen Biao urged the group to stand their ground, and Zhu Yang charged the attackers after Huang Xiao offered to handle the fight.
• Zhu Yang killed one of the leader’s strongest subordinates with a single saber stroke, then cut down nearly half the attackers.
• The leader recognized Zhu Yang and tried to withdraw, but Zhu Yang pursued him and forced him into a duel.
• Liu Jinyi led the escort agency’s experts against the remaining attackers while Zhu Yang fought their leader.
• Zhu Yang stabbed the leader through the chest, and the dying man said the Divine Might Escort Agency had taken a treasure and that the lords would soon arrive.

Zhu Yang and his companions learned that the Divine Might Escort Agency was carrying Inugami, one of the Three Great Ancient Evil Blades. Chen Biao revealed that Fan Zhongkun had fled to Chaotic Province with the blade after hundreds of sects attacked the Lanshan Gang, leaving the treasure’s pursuers on their trail.

• Liu Jinyi urged the escort party to change routes after Zhu Yang killed the attackers’ leader, and the others agreed to follow his safety arrangements.
• Huang Xiao, Zhu Yang, and Chen Biao wondered what the Divine Might Escort Agency had been carrying, and Zhu Yang recalled that the dying leader had said “Inugami.”
• Chen Biao explained that Inugami was one of the Three Great Ancient Evil Blades, alongside Dragon Fang and Tiger Wing, and that the blades were said to emerge together.
• Chen Biao told the group that the Lanshan Gang acquired Inugami six months earlier, then was attacked by hundreds of sects three months ago.
• Chen Biao said Fan Zhongkun had vanished after the Lanshan Gang’s destruction and revealed that he had apparently fled to Chaotic Province with Inugami.

Huang Xiao refused to pursue Inugami, while Gao Jin and Du Qiu tried to escape with the saber in its sealed box. Their route was blocked before they could reach safety.

• Zhangsun Youyue asked Huang Xiao to chase after Du Qiu and Inugami, but he declined to avoid the danger.
• Huang Xiao urged Liu Jinyi to hurry away as the saber drew Jianghu fighters to the area.
• Gao Jin told Du Qiu they could not return directly to the Divine Might Escort Agency and would have to take a detour.
• Du Qiu celebrated the prospect of bringing Inugami to his family, while Gao Jin warned that they were still in danger.
• Gao Jin spotted people blocking their way from ahead, leaving him and Du Qiu with no path forward.

Gao Jin and Du Qiu returned to the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency’s convoy after escaping their pursuers, while Huang Xiao and Chen Biao helped the group pass through the Jianghu fighters seeking the Evil Blades. The chapter ended with Liu Jinyi warning Gao Jin and Du Qiu to leave before the people hunting them arrived.

• Gao Jin persuaded Du Qiu to return to the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency’s convoy, hoping its men and the Rare Treasures Pavilion could help them escape.
• Liu Jinyi asked a group of fighters to let the convoy pass, and Chen Biao showed his Rare Treasures Pavilion token to secure their passage.
• Huang Xiao pointed the fighters toward the route Gao Jin and Du Qiu had taken, and the convoy continued through Chaotic Province with little trouble.
• Chen Biao told Liu Jinyi, Liu Douqi, and Huang Xiao that the Evil Blades might draw the evil Dao and other forces into the growing Jianghu turmoil.
• Gao Jin and Du Qiu caught up with the convoy, and Liu Jinyi warned them to leave before their pursuers arrived.

Gao Jin and Du Qiu tried to force their way into Chen Biao’s convoy to escape the people pursuing them, but the hunters caught up and demanded the Evil Blade, Inugami. Du Qiu offered to surrender the saber on one condition, while Huang Xiao sensed the Minghong Saber reacting to something nearby.

• Gao Jin and Du Qiu asked Chen Biao to shelter them in his convoy, but Chen Biao refused and Zhu Yang threatened to keep them there if they would not leave.
• Gao Jin recognized Zhu Yang as the Left-Handed Saber and decided to leave, but Huang Xiao warned that it was too late as their pursuers surrounded them.
• Chen Biao told Gao Jin and Du Qiu to choose between their lives and the Evil Blade, while the pursuing crowd demanded Inugami.
• Huang Xiao felt the Minghong Saber tremble and warned Zhu Yang to guard the convoy against a possible attack.
• Du Qiu agreed to hand over Inugami if the crowd granted him one condition, and one pursuer invited him to state it.

Du Qiu and Gao Jin gave up trying to keep Inugami and persuaded the Jianghu fighters to open its wooden box. Once Gao Jin shattered the box and revealed the black saber, the fighters erupted into a battle over it, and the man who seized it eventually threw it away while surrounded.

• Du Qiu offered Inugami to anyone who destroyed the caravan, but the fighters hesitated when they learned its goods belonged to the Rare Treasures Pavilion.
• Gao Jin urged Du Qiu to open the wooden box so everyone could see Inugami, and the fighters agreed.
• Gao Jin shattered the box with one saber strike, revealing a long, pitch-black saber.
• The Jianghu fighters rushed for Inugami, and Gao Jin pulled Du Qiu away from the ensuing fight.
• A fighter seized Inugami and tried to escape, but after he was surrounded, he threw the saber away.

Huang Xiao watched a bloody fight over Inugami and sensed that his Minghong Saber was reacting to something nearby. Zhong Gu claimed the evil blade and slaughtered his challengers, leaving the crowd afraid to approach.

• Chen Biao ordered the convoy to regroup and stay guarded while Huang Xiao promised to defend it from anyone who attacked.
• Huang Xiao sensed that Minghong Saber was restless and directed his attention away from Inugami toward another crowd.
• Gao Jin urged Du Qiu to wait for a chance to reclaim Inugami rather than join the battle immediately.
• Zhong Gu seized Inugami and killed more than twenty fighters, while Huang Xiao judged that Zhong Gu's existing skill—not the blade alone—accounted for much of his strength.
• Zhong Gu boasted that Inugami let him challenge a Half-Step Martial Realm expert, and the surviving fighters backed away in fear.