Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao took the half-finished Sinew-Strengthening Pill, endured its painful effects, and partially healed his meridians, regaining First-Class Realm strength. He went to the mountain lake for a swim and accidentally startled the princess while she was bathing, then apologized.

• Huang Xiao swallowed the half-finished Sinew-Strengthening Pill and endured hours of pain as its medicinal power battered his meridians.
• Huang Xiao discovered that the pill had healed about half his injuries and restored him to roughly eighty percent of his former strength.
• Huang Xiao circulated his power to stabilize his meridians, then headed to the lake behind the mountain to bathe.
• Huang Xiao accidentally stepped on a branch and startled the princess, who was bathing in the lake.
• Huang Xiao turned away and respectfully asked the princess to forgive him.

Huang Xiao and Zhao Yunhui discussed his martial arts after an awkward midnight encounter at the lake, and she later recognized the formations in his self-created footwork. She gave him her Eight Trigrams Annotations to help him improve.

• Huang Xiao assured Zhao Yunhui that he had not seen her bathing, then explained that Poison God Valley had taught him the Blazing Yang Palm and Heart-Severing Finger.
• Zhao Yunhui praised Huang Xiao’s progress and explained why he could not yet match Zhang Hu, whose Heavenly Demon Canon and age gave him an advantage.
• Huang Xiao escorted Zhao Yunhui back to Green Ox Temple and the next morning practiced his Snake-Traveling Tiny Steps, which he had refined using insights from the Eight Trigrams Footwork and Zhang Hu’s movements.
• Zhao Yunhui recognized the eight-trigrams formations in Huang Xiao’s footwork and sent Lü Ling to fetch her book of formation insights.
• Zhao Yunhui offered Huang Xiao her Eight Trigrams Annotations, despite Lü Ling’s protest that it contained her painstakingly developed insights.

Zhao Yunhui gave Huang Xiao the Eight Trigrams Annotations and arranged for Lü Ling to notify the Six Gates in Huaqing City that the Heavenly Demon Canon had surfaced. While Huang Xiao escorted Zhao Yunhui to Zhongnan Mountain’s historic sites, she recognized the Path to Heaven as a possible fulfillment of a cryptic prophecy and wondered whether Huang Xiao might bring her a fortunate opportunity.

• Zhao Yunhui gave Huang Xiao the Eight Trigrams Annotations as his cultivation method from the Six Gates, while warning that Yan Zhong could be in danger competing for the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• Zhao Yunhui sent Lü Ling to inform the Six Gates branch in Huaqing City about the Heavenly Demon Canon, and Huang Xiao promised to protect the princess while Lü Ling was away.
• Zhao Yunhui asked Huang Xiao to show her Zhongnan Mountain’s historic sites, and he led her toward the Scripture Lecture Platform.
• At the mountain steps, Zhao Yunhui called the Path to Heaven a “Ladder to Heaven” and wondered whether it fulfilled part of a prophecy about meeting an old acquaintance and gaining a fortunate opportunity.
• Zhao Yunhui set off up the stairs with Huang Xiao, still pondering whether he was connected to the prophecy.

Zhao Yunhui discovered that the nine ancient cypresses and ruins of the Palace of the Ancestral Sage formed the remains of the powerful Nine Palaces Grand Mystery Formation. She discussed the lost Scripture of Great Peace with Huang Xiao, who said he had found insight into the phrase “Heaven and Earth's Destiny.”

• Zhao Yunhui and Huang Xiao visited the ruins of the Palace of the Ancestral Sage and examined its nine ancient cypresses.
• Zhao Yunhui recognized that the cypresses and stone foundations were part of the damaged Nine Palaces Grand Mystery Formation.
• Zhao Yunhui explained the formation's immense power and said she had only uncovered a few of its mysteries.
• Zhao Yunhui told Huang Xiao that the Scripture of Great Peace had contained extraordinary formations and was probably truly lost.
• Huang Xiao said he had pondered the phrase “Heaven and Earth's Destiny” and gained some insights, prompting Zhao Yunhui to ask what he had discovered.

Huang Xiao and Zhao Yunhui searched the Palace of the Ancestral Sage for the eye of the Nine Palaces Grand Mystery Formation, and Zhao Yunhui found it in a small statue of Lao Jun. As she studied the formation, Windward Sword Gu Yi arrived and addressed her as Your Highness.

• Huang Xiao suggested that the Scripture of Great Peace's phrase “Heaven and Earth's Destiny” referred to three essays in Zhuangzi, but Zhao Yunhui only said she might reread them.
• Zhao Yunhui and Huang Xiao searched the Palace of the Ancestral Sage for the formation's eye, but found nothing at first.
• A mountain breeze revealed a small statue of Lao Jun hidden in the weeds, and Zhao Yunhui recognized it as the formation's eye.
• Zhao Yunhui refused to let Huang Xiao move the statue and began studying how it had been placed in the formation.
• Gu Yi came up the mountain, and Huang Xiao recognized him as Windward Sword Gu Yi.

Huang Xiao confronted Gu Yi, who had tracked down Zhao Yunhui to abduct her, and stalled him in a three-move fight. Huang Xiao revealed his hidden strength and used the Blazing Yang Palm to counter Gu Yi’s yin-based internal power, but Gu Yi’s piercing laughter left the confrontation unresolved.

• Huang Xiao recognized Gu Yi, and Gu Yi revealed that he had followed Zhao Yunhui, hoping to seize her while her coachman was absent.
• Zhao Yunhui told Huang Xiao through voice transmission to hold Gu Yi off for half a quarter-hour, and Huang Xiao challenged him.
• Gu Yi claimed he could kill Huang Xiao in three moves, but Huang Xiao endured the first two attacks while hiding his true strength.
• Huang Xiao raised his power to the first-rate lower grade and struck Gu Yi with the Blazing Yang Palm, then followed with a finger strike that forced Gu Yi to retreat.
• Huang Xiao explained that his hard-yang palm technique countered Gu Yi’s soft-yin internal power, and Gu Yi answered with a piercing laugh.

Huang Xiao fought Gu Yi, who drew his sword and overwhelmed him with the Remnant Demon Sword Technique. Huang Xiao was trapped under Gu Yi’s sword force, unable to use the Northern Darkness Absorption Method without risking his already injured meridians.

• Huang Xiao noticed Zhao Yunhui arranging loose stones and chose to trust her while he taunted Gu Yi.
• Gu Yi drew his sword and unleashed the Remnant Demon Sword Technique, forcing Huang Xiao to defend with his Godslayer dagger.
• Gu Yi wounded Huang Xiao, but Huang Xiao evaded a thrust with an afterimage and used Snake-Traveling Tiny Steps to keep moving.
• Gu Yi pinned Huang Xiao’s dagger against his chest and drove sword force into him, causing him to cough up blood.
• Huang Xiao considered using the Northern Darkness Absorption Method but realized his injured meridians could not withstand it.

Huang Xiao fought Gu Yi with a blood-ice attack and tried to stall him by claiming he had been poisoned. Zhao Yunhui drew Gu Yi into a formation that separated their senses, then revealed she had noticed him following her and intended to kill him herself.

• Huang Xiao reversed his internal power and launched a blood-ice crystal into Gu Yi's arm, but Gu Yi forced it out and recognized the Death Seal of Poison God Valley.
• Huang Xiao bluffed that Gu Yi had been poisoned and would die in two hours to buy time, though he had used no poison.
• Zhao Yunhui called Huang Xiao back, and he entered her formation, where he could no longer see her or Gu Yi.
• Gu Yi pursued Huang Xiao into the formation and realized Zhao Yunhui had trapped him, fearing she would escape.
• Zhao Yunhui appeared before Gu Yi and told him she had noticed him following her and intended to kill him herself.

Zhao Yunhui killed Gu Yi with his own sword inside a formation and returned safely to the Green Ox Gate with Huang Xiao. There, Yan Zhong reported that Zhang Hu had escaped with the Heavenly Demon Canon and that Bai Tianqi had become powerful enough to challenge even him.

• Zhao Yunhui killed Gu Yi in the formation, then led Huang Xiao out while Gu Yi remained trapped; Gu Yi's corpse was discovered when the formation faded half an hour later.
• Zhao Yunhui explained that she had used remnants of the Nine Palaces Grand Mystery Formation to create the formation, and Huang Xiao agreed to keep their encounter secret.
• Yan Zhong returned to the Green Ox Gate wounded and said Zhang Hu had escaped amid the fight over the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• Yan Zhong identified Bai Tianqi of the Huaqing Sect among the experts he had faced and warned Huang Xiao and Qingfeng that Bai Tianqi's strange martial arts made him difficult to withstand.
• Qingfeng vowed to avenge their master, while Zhao Yunhui suggested Bai Tianqi may have obtained an extraordinary martial art, as Zhang Hu had obtained the Heavenly Demon Canon.

Zhao Yunhui visited a bookshop in Huaqing City and discovered that three familiar essays might conceal the Scripture of Great Peace. She left with three other books, keeping her discovery secret as her party continued toward the capital.

• Zhao Yunhui agreed to return to the capital with Yan Zhong after finding inspiration in an incomplete Nine Palaces Grand Mystery Formation.
• The next day, Zhao Yunhui's party entered Huaqing City, where Yan Zhong went to report the Heavenly Demon Canon struggle to the Six Gates branch.
• Zhao Yunhui visited a bookshop with Lü Ling and reread Heaven and Earth, The Revolution of Heaven, and The Way of Heaven.
• Zhao Yunhui realized the essays' words formed mysterious arrays and suspected they were the Scripture of Great Peace.
• Zhao Yunhui concealed her excitement, browsed other books, and bought three of them.

Zhao Yunhui and Lü Ling bought books while Yan Zhong reported that the Six Gates were taking the Heavenly Demon Canon seriously. Huang Xiao descended Zhongnan Mountain to investigate Bai Tianqi and visit Jiang Ying, but a Ten Thousand Blades Sect checkpoint stopped him and ordered him searched.

• Zhao Yunhui bought nine books after Lü Ling paid the shopkeeper with a tael of silver.
• Yan Zhong told Zhao Yunhui that the Six Gates were taking the Heavenly Demon Canon seriously, though he had no details.
• Huang Xiao told Qingfeng he wanted to descend the mountain and learn more about Bai Tianqi, and Qingfeng agreed after warning him to be careful and visit Jiang Ying.
• Huang Xiao traveled toward Huaqing City, where he encountered many Jianghu fighters heading for Zhongnan Mountain to find Zhang Hu and the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• A Ten Thousand Blades Sect disciple demanded Huang Xiao's name and sect, then ordered him searched after learning he belonged to the Green Ox Gate.

Huang Xiao confronted Ten Thousand Blades Sect disciples who were extorting and mistreating martial artists at a road checkpoint, then fought Senior Brother Gao and drew the attention of Mu Qiang. Du Ge recognized Huang Xiao as a fellow Six Gates recruit, and Mu Qiang ordered his disciples to clear the road, though he remained hostile toward Huang Xiao.

• Huang Xiao realized the Ten Thousand Blades Sect disciples were taking bribes and abusing martial artists who could not pay.
• When a disciple struck at him, Huang Xiao restrained him, threw him into Senior Brother Gao, and defeated Gao’s saber attack.
• Mu Qiang arrived and clashed with Huang Xiao using One Blade, Hundred Jins, but Huang Xiao blocked the saber force with Godslayer.
• Du Ge recognized Huang Xiao and reminded Mu Qiang that the three of them had joined the Six Gates together two years earlier.
• Du Ge urged them to let the dispute go, and Mu Qiang scolded his disciples and ordered them to remove the roadblocks.
• Huang Xiao introduced himself as a Six Gates constable, then told the passing martial artists to thank Mu Qiang, prompting Mu Qiang to snort coldly.

Huang Xiao visited the Heavenly Qilin Pawnshop to thank Jiang Ying for saving the Green Ox Gate, but he recognized a jade thumb ring on Jiang Ying’s hand and asked how long he had owned it. The chapter ended before Jiang Ying answered.

• Huang Xiao met Du Ge and learned that powerful masters, including Peerless Experts, had joined the search connected to Zhang Hu.
• Huang Xiao reached the Heavenly Qilin Pawnshop and identified himself as the Green Ox Gate’s Sect Leader, prompting Chen Gui to bring him to Jiang Ying.
• Huang Xiao thanked Jiang Ying for intervening to save the Green Ox Gate, and Jiang Ying accepted his gratitude.
• Huang Xiao told Jiang Ying he had spent the past two years in Poison God Valley, where his martial prowess had improved.
• Huang Xiao noticed Jiang Ying’s Jade Thumb Ring and asked how long he had owned it.

Huang Xiao recovered his family’s jade thumb ring from Jiang Ying and learned that Bai Tianqi was somewhere on Zhongnan Mountain, though he was warned not to seek revenge yet. After Huang Xiao left, the Dragon-Seeking Envoy ordered Jiang Ying to protect him secretly and not kill Bai Tianqi, while the Heavenly Demon Canon and the Netherworld Demon Zither remained in the hands of competing forces.

• Jiang Ying recognized Huang Xiao’s jade thumb ring by the carved character “Huang” and returned it to him.
• Jiang Ying advised Huang Xiao to stay away from Green Ox Temple for now and warned him that Bai Tianqi was too powerful to confront; he said Bai Tianqi was likely tracking Zhang Hu on Zhongnan Mountain.
• The Dragon-Seeking Envoy and Jiang Ying discussed Bai Tianqi’s Ghost Gate cultivation, the girl carrying the Netherworld Demon Zither, and the danger surrounding the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• The Dragon-Seeking Envoy tasked Jiang Ying with secretly protecting Huang Xiao, forbade him from killing Bai Tianqi, and told him to intervene only if Huang Xiao faced mortal danger.
• Jiang Ying agreed to the assignment and told a servant that he was entering seclusion, allowing only people from Green Ox Gate to disturb him.

Huang Xiao visited the Six Gates Branch to report that he was alive, but learned that he would need to travel to the capital to receive a higher constable rank. He reunited with Dugu Sheng and Hong Yi at the Elegant Abode, where he revealed that he had joined Poison God Valley.

• Huang Xiao met Dugu Sheng outside the Six Gates Branch, and Dugu Sheng offered to accompany him inside.
• Huang Xiao presented his Reserve Constable token, but the branch steward said he could not be appointed First-Class Constable without passing an assessment in the capital.
• Huang Xiao declined to change his token and left with Dugu Sheng.
• Dugu Sheng brought Huang Xiao to meet Hong Yi, and the three went to the Elegant Abode to drink.
• Huang Xiao told Dugu Sheng and Hong Yi that he had become a disciple of Poison God Valley, and they toasted his progress.

Huang Xiao, Dugu Sheng, and Hong Yi discussed the Heavenly Demon Canon and the history of Ling Tianya, whose mastery of a demonic art had once brought ruin to the Jianghu. Hong Yi explained that the Canon could make its possessor the leader of the fractured Heavenly Demon Sect, and Dugu Sheng questioned how that could matter when the sect no longer existed.

• Huang Xiao asked Dugu Sheng and Hong Yi about the Heavenly Demon Canon, and they discussed Ling Tianya’s past slaughter and the destruction of the Profound Ice Sect.
• Hong Yi argued that Ling Tianya’s vengeance followed the Jianghu’s persecution of him, while Huang Xiao privately related the story to his own desire to avenge his master.
• Dugu Sheng and Hong Yi said they hoped Ling Tianya might still be alive, citing both vengeance and a wish to witness the Ten Thousand Demons Formless Art.
• Dugu Sheng warned that the real Heavenly Demon Canon would make the Jianghu more violent than earlier rumors of secret manuals had done.
• Hong Yi explained that the Heavenly Demon Sect had splintered into many factions and that the Canon’s possessor was entitled to lead it.
• Dugu Sheng challenged Hong Yi’s claim, asking how anyone could lead a Heavenly Demon Sect that no longer existed.

Hong Yi explained why the Righteous, Heretical, and Demonic Three Paths might destroy the Heavenly Demon Canon rather than let the Heavenly Demon Sect rise again. Huang Xiao then learned that Bai Tianqi had reached at least the pinnacle level, making his revenge far more difficult.

• Hong Yi said the hidden successor sects would seek the Heavenly Demon Canon, while the Three Paths would prevent the Heavenly Demon Sect from uniting or returning to power.
• Hong Yi explained that the Three Paths might destroy the Canon if they could not obtain it, and Dugu Sheng and Hong Yi said they had come to meet experts rather than compete for it.
• Huang Xiao said he had come to avenge himself on Bai Tianqi, but revealed that Bai Tianqi's cultivation was probably at least at the pinnacle level.
• Huang Xiao said he had learned this from Liaochen of Shaolin, and Dugu Sheng revealed that Liaochen had mastered five of Shaolin's Eighty-One Supreme Arts.

Huang Xiao, Hong Yi, and Dugu Sheng set out for Zhongnan Mountain, hoping to encounter Bai Tianqi, but learned that Zhang Hu had been surrounded in Hu'ao Valley. There they met Liaochen and helped Master Kongming partially recover from a powerful unknown poison, then prepared to take him back to the city.

• Huang Xiao agreed to let Hong Yi and Dugu Sheng help him confront Bai Tianqi if they encountered him, while insisting that he would kill his enemy himself.
• The three heard that the Soul-Devouring Demon Sect had destroyed the Fierce Tiger Sect and continued toward Zhongnan Mountain, wondering whether anyone had found the Heavenly Demon Canon.
• On the way, they learned Zhang Hu was surrounded in Hu'ao Valley and hurried there, where they found Liaochen supporting the poisoned Master Kongming.
• Dugu Sheng offered his family's antidote pills, but Liaochen explained that Shaolin's antidote had already failed against the unknown poison.
• Huang Xiao gave Master Kongming Poison God Valley's Ten Thousand Antidote Pill, which neutralized sixty or seventy percent of the poison and removed the immediate danger to his life.
• Master Kongming thanked Huang Xiao, but Huang Xiao could not identify the poison, and Liaochen decided to take his martial uncle back to the city.

Master Kongming recovered enough to leave while Liaochen hurried to rejoin Shaolin’s fighters, and he told Huang Xiao, Hong Yi, and Dugu Sheng about the mysterious faction behind the Six Great Sects Massacre. As the group traveled to help Zhang Hu, they spotted figures moving through the mountain woods.

• Master Kongming told Liaochen to help Kongcheng and urged the others to be cautious, then left for the city alone.
• Liaochen said the attackers were behind the Six Great Sects Massacre and revealed that Bai Tianqi was among them.
• Liaochen explained that the mysterious faction did not belong to the righteous, heterodox, or demonic paths, and that Shaolin was waiting for reinforcements while trying to protect Zhang Hu.
• Hong Yi and Dugu Sheng welcomed the prospect of facing powerful opponents, while Liaochen said their allies might arrive within days.
• Liaochen raised a warning when the group saw several figures moving through the mountain woods.

Liaochen returned to the battle at Hu'ao Valley and rescued Master Kongcheng from Lu Jiu, a dangerous Demonic Path expert who wielded the White Bone Ghost Claw. After learning Lu Jiu's identity, Liaochen refused help from Hong Yi and Dugu Sheng and prepared to face him alone.

• Liaochen charged into the fighting, struck down a burly attacker, and sent the man's cleaver flying toward Master Kongcheng's assailant.
• Lu Jiu broke Liaoping's sword with his White Bone Ghost Claw and prepared to kill the gravely wounded Master Kongcheng.
• Liaochen's thrown cleaver forced Lu Jiu to dodge, and Liaochen reached Master Kongcheng and reported that he had mostly cleared Kongming's poison.
• Huang Xiao, Hong Yi, and Dugu Sheng rescued Master Kongliang and brought him to Master Kongcheng's side.
• Master Kongcheng identified Lu Jiu as the White Bone Claw, and Lu Jiu revealed that he had refined his technique into the White Bone Ghost Claw.
• Liaochen rejected Hong Yi and Dugu Sheng's offer to fight alongside him and challenged Lu Jiu to test Shaolin's Dragon Claw Hand.