Chapter Summaries

After healing Huang Xiao, the Valley Master revealed that the Heavenly Yin Silkworm’s cold energy had left him with only six months to live, or three if he used his internal power. Huang Xiao accepted the prognosis and decided to leave Poison God Valley, bound by strict limits on his strength and forbidden from using the Death Seal.

• The Valley Master repaired many of Huang Xiao’s meridians but explained that he had only suppressed the Heavenly Yin Silkworm’s cold energy in Huang Xiao’s dantian, leaving him six months to live or three if he used his internal power.
• The Valley Master told Huang Xiao that his damaged dantian and meridians could not withstand further powerful treatment or cultivation breakthroughs, and that Huang Xiao had to replenish the suppressing power himself.
• Huang Xiao accepted his shortened lifespan and asked about Xiao Yan and Sun Bang, whom the Valley Master said were recovering.
• Huang Xiao said he wanted to leave the valley, and the Valley Master warned that he could exert no more than second-rate upper-grade strength.
• The Valley Master warned Huang Xiao not to use the Death Seal because reversing his true qi would immediately sever his damaged meridians.

Huang Xiao learned that the Sinew-Strengthening Pill’s formula had been lost and that his injuries left him little time to live. The Valley Master offered him a possible chance of survival at Everlasting Spring Valley on Immortal Peak in Dali, while Huang Xiao resolved to pursue his personal affairs if he could.

• The Valley Master told Huang Xiao that no one in the sect knew how to refine the Sinew-Strengthening Pill, which might have restored his meridians and dantian and prolonged his life.
• The Valley Master examined Godslayer, praised it as a divine weapon, and told Huang Xiao that Yuan Tu could help him with any needs before he left the valley.
• Huang Xiao asked the Valley Master to keep his injuries secret from his two senior martial brothers, and the Valley Master agreed.
• Huang Xiao shared his theory that three chapters in the Scripture of Southern Florescence were the Scripture of Great Peace, but the Valley Master said the clue had produced many unverified interpretations.
• As he left, the Valley Master urged Huang Xiao to seek a thread of hope at Everlasting Spring Valley on Immortal Peak in Dali.
• Huang Xiao considered traveling to Dali after settling his affairs, including avenging his master by killing Bai Tianqi and possibly seeing Zhao Xin'er again.

Huang Xiao recovered enough to prepare to leave Poison God Valley and visit Qingfeng, then comforted Xu Yan after learning that her hair had turned white from overexerting herself. He remained puzzled by Xu Yan’s apparent lack of memory about the strange presence that had frightened off the Heavenly Yin Silkworm.

• Qingyun and Qinghe visited Huang Xiao, and he told them he planned to travel using his Six Gates identity to visit Eldest Senior Brother and investigate Bai Tianqi.
• Huang Xiao learned that Sun Bang had been sentenced to ten years of confinement, then visited Xu Yan after discovering she had shut herself away despite recovering from her injuries.
• Xu Yan revealed that nearly a third of her hair had turned white, and Huang Xiao and Li Yuncong reassured her that she could restore its color with He Shou Wu.
• Xu Yan thanked Huang Xiao for driving away the Heavenly Yin Silkworm, but she did not remember shouting at it or frightening it with her presence.
• Huang Xiao decided not to press Xu Yan about the incident, while she asked to see his dagger and claimed she could have saved everyone herself.

Huang Xiao met the young Shaolin monk Liaochen at the Elegant Abode in Huaqing City and learned that Bai Tianqi, the former leader of the Huaqing Sect, was connected to the recent sect-annihilation massacres. The revelation that Bai Tianqi was still alive left Huang Xiao laughing wildly as the other diners watched.

• Third Princess Zhao Yunhui discussed an unfulfilled divination with Uncle Yan at the Elegant Abode.
• Huang Xiao returned to Huaqing City while traveling toward Green Ox Gate to see his eldest senior brother and return the sect leader position.
• Huang Xiao invited Liaochen, a Shaolin monk, to share a vegetarian meal and introduced himself as Green Ox Gate’s sect leader.
• Liaochen told Huang Xiao that he had left Shaolin to investigate the destruction of six great sects and suspected an unknown force rather than the five obvious heterodox and demonic sects.
• Liaochen identified Bai Tianqi, the former leader of the Huaqing Sect, as one person involved in the massacres and reminded Huang Xiao that Bai Tianqi had killed his master, Xuanzhenzi.
• Huang Xiao learned that Bai Tianqi was still alive and burst into wild laughter.

Huang Xiao learned that Bai Tianqi was alive and may have reached the Peak Realm, making direct revenge impossible. As Shaolin recalled Liaochen over a new lead, the Princess and her companions recognized Huang Xiao and discussed the looming turmoil in the Jianghu.

• Huang Xiao demanded Bai Tianqi's whereabouts from Liaochen, who warned him that Bai Tianqi's cultivation had become extraordinarily powerful and might have reached the Peak Realm.
• Huang Xiao resolved not to act recklessly and planned to seek help from Poison God Valley if he found Bai Tianqi.
• Liaoping summoned Liaochen back to Shaolin over a new lead, but said it had nothing to do with Bai Tianqi and refused to reveal what it concerned.
• The Princess, Uncle Yan, and Lü Ling recognized Huang Xiao and recalled that the Princess's Life-Prolonging Pill had saved him after he was poisoned protecting her.
• The Princess and Uncle Yan discussed Bai Tianqi's possible strength and feared that the new unrest would bring further deaths in the Jianghu.

Huang Xiao learned that the Fierce Tiger Sect was heading to Green Ox Temple and hurried to Zhongnan Mountain to protect Qingfeng. The Princess and her companions also set out for the mountain after connecting a clue from their divination to the Zhongnan Shortcut, while Zhang Bao confronted Qingfeng with three experts.

• Huang Xiao overheard that the powerful Fierce Tiger Sect had sent men to Green Ox Temple, seized a horse, and rode toward Zhongnan Mountain.
• The Princess reconsidered her divination, identified the Zhongnan Shortcut as a possible clue, and decided to visit Zhongnan Mountain with Lü Ling and Uncle Yan.
• Zhang Hu learned that his son Zhang Bao had gone to Green Ox Temple and set out to retrieve him, hoping to deal courteously with the alchemy sect.
• Zhang Bao arrived at Green Ox Temple with three second-class experts and threatened to burn it down unless Qingfeng kowtowed to him.

Huang Xiao arrived at Green Ox Temple just as Zhang Bao and three Fierce Tiger Sect fighters threatened Qingfeng and his two young disciples. Huang Xiao defeated Yang Heng with one strike, leaving the others stunned and the confrontation unresolved.

• Zhang Bao threatened Qingfeng and claimed he had come to kill everyone at Green Ox Temple.
• Zhang Bao assigned Liu Jin to fight Qingfeng and said he would deal with Qingfeng's two young disciples.
• Huang Xiao arrived at the temple and attacked Zhang Bao's group before they could strike.
• Yang Heng charged Huang Xiao, but Huang Xiao dodged and struck him with the Blazing Yang Palm, sending him flying to Qingfeng's feet.
• Hu Jun and Liu Jin were shocked by Yang Heng's defeat, while Zhang Bao struggled to understand what had happened.

Huang Xiao reunited with Qingfeng and joined him against the Fierce Tiger Sect, where Qingfeng killed Yang Heng and Huang Xiao faced Liu Jin. Huang Xiao revealed his superior techniques as Liu Jin prepared to use the Fierce Tiger Fist, leaving their fight poised to intensify.

• Huang Xiao reunited with Qingfeng and learned that his eldest senior brother had changed after their master's death.
• Qingfeng crushed Yang Heng's chest and killed him, declaring that he would no longer show mercy to certain villains.
• Liu Jin recognized Huang Xiao as Green Ox Gate's missing youngest disciple and sought to learn his cultivation method.
• Huang Xiao and Qingfeng agreed to fight Liu Jin and Hu Jun separately, with Huang Xiao taking on Liu Jin.
• Huang Xiao's elusive footwork and palm technique alarmed Liu Jin, who announced that he would use the Fierce Tiger Fist.

Huang Xiao fought Liu Jin and used the Blazing Yang Palm and Heart-Severing Finger to wound the Fierce Tiger Sect expert. Liu Jin staggered back bleeding, leaving Zhang Bao and Hu Jun stunned by Huang Xiao’s strength.

• Huang Xiao agreed to face Liu Jin’s Fierce Tiger Fist, confident he could defeat him despite the danger of offending the Fierce Tiger Sect.
• Liu Jin unleashed Tiger Emerging from the Cage, and Huang Xiao raised his Blazing Yang Palm’s power to eighty percent to break through the attack.
• Huang Xiao followed with the Heart-Severing Finger as Liu Jin tried to retreat.
• Liu Jin blocked the finger strike with his arm, but the force pierced his arm and left a bloody hole in his chest.
• Zhang Bao was shocked to see Liu Jin wounded, while Hu Jun realized their group had challenged an unexpectedly powerful opponent.

Huang Xiao fought Liu Jin and Hu Jun after they threatened Green Ox Gate, killing Hu Jun and then defeating Liu Jin when he tried to flee with Zhang Bao. With Liu Jin dead, Huang Xiao prepared to kill Zhang Bao, but someone suddenly shouted for him to stop.

• Liu Jin called Hu Jun to help him fight Huang Xiao, and the two attacked together.
• Liu Jin kicked Hu Jun toward Huang Xiao, then grabbed Zhang Bao and tried to escape; Huang Xiao killed Hu Jun and pursued them.
• Huang Xiao intercepted Liu Jin and killed him after Liu Jin shoved Zhang Bao aside to protect him from a finger strike.
• Zhang Bao begged Huang Xiao to spare him, then threatened him with his father, Zhang Hu.
• Huang Xiao prepared to strike Zhang Bao, but an angry voice suddenly ordered him to stop.

Huang Xiao killed Zhang Bao, but Zhang Hu arrived and badly outmatched him in their first exchange. Qingfeng revealed that his strength had grown greatly and offered to face Zhang Hu, leaving Huang Xiao surprised by his eldest senior brother’s confidence.

• Zhang Hu rushed to Green Ox Gate, but Huang Xiao killed Zhang Bao before he could finish calling for help.
• Zhang Hu struck Huang Xiao with the Fierce Tiger Fist, sending him flying and making him cough blood.
• After mourning Zhang Bao, Zhang Hu threatened to kill everyone at Green Ox Gate, and Huang Xiao recovered and challenged him.
• Qingfeng stopped Huang Xiao from attacking and said he would face Zhang Hu first.
• Qingfeng told Huang Xiao that he had noticed Huang Xiao was holding back and claimed that even at full strength Huang Xiao would not equal him.

Qingfeng fought Zhang Hu to avenge the victims of the Fierce Tiger Sect, revealing that he had created the powerful Xiantian Wuji Skill. After Zhang Hu unleashed the third layer of his Fierce Tiger Fist, Qingfeng evaded the attack and appeared behind him, poised to strike.

• Qingfeng revealed his strength to Huang Xiao and confronted Zhang Hu, while Huang Xiao realized his senior brother had advanced far beyond him.
• Qingfeng and Zhang Hu exchanged dozens of blows as Huang Xiao helped Qingfeng's two disciples retreat from the battle.
• Qingfeng told Zhang Hu that he had created the Xiantian Wuji Skill, and Zhang Hu raised his power and explained the three layers of his Fierce Tiger Fist.
• Zhang Hu struck with the first and then the second layer of force, injuring Qingfeng, who managed to divert or block the blows.
• Zhang Hu feigned a third-layer attack and drove his fist toward Qingfeng's chest, but Qingfeng evaded him and appeared behind him, shouting that he would die.

Qingfeng’s strike against Zhang Hu backfired, leaving Qingfeng badly injured and revealing that Zhang Hu possessed a strange surge of internal power. Jiang Ying arrived to defend Green Ox Temple and prepared to fight Zhang Hu, but the sudden sound of a qin made Zhang Hu tremble in terror.

• Qingfeng struck Zhang Hu from behind, but Zhang Hu’s internal power rebounded through him and badly injured him.
• Huang Xiao helped Qingfeng expel Zhang Hu’s internal power while Uncle Yan, Lü Ling, and Princess Zhao Yunhui watched from nearby.
• Jiang Ying arrived, and Qingfeng introduced him to Huang Xiao as an old friend of their master who had protected the Green Ox Gate.
• Jiang Ying challenged Zhang Hu for threatening Green Ox Temple, and Zhang Hu declared that he feared neither Jiang Ying nor his strength.
• A qin suddenly sounded, and Zhang Hu trembled with terror.

A veiled young zither player confronted Zhang Hu, whose uncontrollable demonic cultivation method had been stirred into a dangerous frenzy by her music. After securing Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong’s promise not to interfere, she demanded that Zhang Hu surrender the method, but he threatened to reveal its secret to them.

• Jiang Ying’s shout broke the gathering’s spell, while the zither music stirred Zhang Hu’s demonic internal power until it began to run wild.
• Jiang Ying and the others realized Zhang Hu’s unusual cultivation method had caused Qingfeng’s injuries and that Zhang Hu could no longer control it.
• A veiled young woman appeared with an ancient zither and asked Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong to let her deal with Zhang Hu.
• Yan Zhong and his companions revealed themselves, and Huang Xiao greeted Zhao Yunhui, whom he had not seen for two years.
• The woman offered to spare Zhang Hu if he surrendered his cultivation method, warning that its power would eventually destroy his meridians.
• Zhang Hu refused and threatened to expose the method’s secret, angering the woman as the others grew curious about it.

Zhang Hu revealed that he possessed the Heavenly Demon Canon, a cultivation method linked to the legendary Netherworld Demon Zither and the long-lost Heavenly Demon Sect. The woman demanded the Canon for her sect, but Jiang Ying refused to let her claim it without challenge.

• Jiang Ying questioned the woman about Zhang Hu's cultivation method, and Zhang Hu explained that practicing it had damaged his body and left him with little time to live.
• Zhang Hu refused to surrender the method, saying that Bao'er's death left him with nothing to fear, and his aura surged with alarming power.
• Zhao Yunhui recognized the woman's ancient zither as the Netherworld Demon Zither, and Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong connected it to the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• The woman admitted that she had come for Zhang Hu because she suspected he possessed the Canon, and Zhang Hu confirmed that his cultivation method was the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• The woman warned Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong not to interfere, but Jiang Ying declared that the Canon belonged to whoever was destined to obtain it.

A woman wielding the Netherworld Demon Zither fought Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong after they demanded the Heavenly Demon Canon, while Zhang Hu claimed only one survivor could receive its location. Her music began damaging everyone nearby, and Huang Xiao, Qingfeng, Lü Ling, and Zhao Yunhui retreated to the protection of Zhao Yunhui's formation.

• Zhang Hu refused to reveal the Heavenly Demon Canon unless only one of the three contenders remained, leaving Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong to confront the woman with the Netherworld Demon Zither.
• Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong attacked together, but the woman used the zither to drive them back and then intensified her music.
• The music disrupted Huang Xiao's and Lü Ling's internal energy, while Zhao Yunhui resisted and called on Yan Zhong to stop it.
• Yan Zhong's shout briefly broke the music's effect, allowing Huang Xiao to carry Qingfeng toward Zhao Yunhui's formation, where the music weakened.
• Huang Xiao revealed that Zhao Yunhui was the Third Princess, and the group retreated farther when the music grew stronger.

The woman used the Netherworld Demon Zither to wound Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong, then forced them to turn their attention from her. Zhang Hu escaped down the mountain using illusory figures, and Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong pursued him while the woman vanished after him.

• Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong charged the woman, but she stopped playing and struck the strings, injuring both men with the zither’s sudden attack.
• The woman fired a powerful invisible note that blasted a deep crater into the ground, and Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong barely dodged it.
• Zhang Hu seized the chance to flee, but Jiang Ying and Yan Zhong blocked his way before he charged them and vanished among dozens of illusory figures.
• Zhang Hu laughed as he escaped down the mountain, and Jiang Ying set off after him with Yan Zhong.
• The woman disappeared from the tree, while Zhao Yunxuan told Yan Zhong not to force matters and warned him that greed invited disaster.

Huang Xiao and Qingfeng discussed Zhang Hu’s escape before Qingfeng revealed that an ancient false tomb had led him to the Pre-Heaven Scripture and the Xiantian Wuji Skill. Huang Xiao planned to leave Green Ox Gate soon to search for Bai Tianqi and Heavenly Mountain Pavilion, but Qingfeng suddenly remembered something he wanted to show him.

• Zhao Yunhui explained that Zhang Hu’s uncanny escape came from combining footwork with formations, then she and Huang Xiao joined Qingfeng inside the Daoist temple.
• Huang Xiao helped Qingfeng heal, and Qingfeng said the Everlasting Spring Art had shortened his recovery to less than three days.
• Qingfeng told Huang Xiao that he had found an ancient false tomb after falling into a pool and discovering an underwater passage.
• Qingfeng explained that the tomb contained the Pre-Heaven Scripture, from which he had comprehended the Xiantian Wuji Skill and advanced to the First-Class Realm.
• Qingfeng offered Huang Xiao the scripture and to teach him the skill, but Huang Xiao kept his plans to search for Bai Tianqi and Heavenly Mountain Pavilion in mind.
• Qingfeng suddenly said there was something Huang Xiao had to see.

Qingfeng showed Huang Xiao a dagger from an ancient tomb that matched his Godslayer and bore the name Demon Slayer, but Huang Xiao refused to keep it. They discussed Poison God Valley’s restrictions on sharing its cultivation methods, and Qingfeng agreed to manage Green Ox Gate whenever Huang Xiao was away, unknowingly taking on the role Huang Xiao expected him to hold after his death.

• Qingfeng showed Huang Xiao the ancient-tomb dagger Demon Slayer, which matched Huang Xiao’s Godslayer in shape, material, and weight.
• Huang Xiao and Qingfeng noted that the daggers might be part of a larger set, but Huang Xiao refused to keep Demon Slayer, saying one dagger was enough.
• Qingfeng warned Huang Xiao not to pass Poison God Valley’s cultivation methods to Green Ox Gate disciples, and Huang Xiao agreed to respect the restriction.
• Huang Xiao urged Qingfeng to become Green Ox Gate’s Sect Leader, but Qingfeng refused because the position had been given to Huang Xiao by their master.
• Huang Xiao persuaded Qingfeng to act as Sect Leader whenever he was away, and Qingfeng agreed.

Qingfeng gave Huang Xiao a half-finished Sinew-Strengthening Pill left by their master, explaining that it had been prepared for the next sect leader to withstand the Death Seal’s damage to the meridians. Huang Xiao recognized it as a possible chance to heal his own injuries and survive.

• Qingfeng accepted the acting sect leader position but refused to learn the Death Seal because he was not the true sect leader.
• Qingfeng took Huang Xiao to the alchemy chamber and revealed a locked box containing a First-Grade Sinew-Strengthening Pill.
• Qingfeng gave Huang Xiao the pill and their master's letter, which explained that it could toughen meridians damaged by practicing the Death Seal.
• Huang Xiao realized the pill might repair his damaged dantian and meridians, though he was unsure whether the half-finished version would be enough.
• Qingfeng urged Huang Xiao to take the pill and master the Death Seal, while Huang Xiao silently treasured it as his chance to survive.