Chapter Summaries

Chu Qiuzi explained the origins of Xuanhuang Dao and identified Wang Chong’s Correct Explanation of the Four Marks as a dangerous scripture tied to the western Vajrasana Monastery. She revealed that the fourth Dao Lord had called it a Supreme Demon Scripture and forbidden his disciples to read it, leaving Wang Chong with the mystery of what made it so perilous.

• Chu Qiuzi explained that Xuanhuang Dao had been destroyed after backing the King of Chongxiao, Yang Sui, against the Founding Emperor, though its surviving disciples founded new sects.
• Wang Chong showed Chu Qiuzi the Correct Explanation of the Four Marks, and she warned him to keep its existence secret before identifying it as a work connected to the Fundamental Scripture for Cultivating the Divine Transformations of the Thirty-Two Marks.
• Chu Qiuzi recounted how Ronakasantī created the Fundamental Scripture and how Moon-Hidden Auspicious Wisdom later wrote the Correct Explanation of the Four Marks.
• Chu Qiuzi explained that the fourth Dao Lord of Xuanhuang Dao obtained both scriptures from Vajrasana Monastery and called the Correct Explanation of the Four Marks a Supreme Demon Scripture, forbidding his disciples to read it.
• Moon-Hidden Auspicious Wisdom declared himself an enemy and destroyer of the Buddha and Dharma, and a heavenly demon unlike any the world had seen.

Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi read together through the night, and Chu recommended a Qingcheng junior as his book attendant. They met Su Luoyan, who invited them to her garden, where Wang Chong’s poem impressed Jiangzhuer and made Chu Qiuzi uneasy.

• Chu Qiuzi warned Wang Chong that the Correct Explanation of the Four Marks was too dangerous for anyone but a rare master to understand, and he refused to practice it.
• After reading through the night, Chu Qiuzi offered a Qingcheng junior as Wang Chong’s book attendant, and Wang Chong accepted.
• Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi met Su Luoyan, who was passing through on her way to Chang'an, and Wang Chong told her that Qin Han had killed White Chrysanthemum.
• Su Luoyan invited Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi to a garden banquet and introduced her maid Jiangzhuer.
• Wang Chong praised Jiangzhuer with a line of poetry, and she responded warmly while Chu Qiuzi privately felt that he gave her no peace of mind.

Wang Chong impressed Su Luoyan, Chu Qiuzi, and Jiangzhuer with his poetry, calligraphy, and painting, then prepared to continue toward Chang'an with new companions. The chapter ended with Su Luoyan offering him her maid Liuxian, while Chu Qiuzi revealed that a Qingcheng junior would also accompany him.

• Wang Chong explained that his mother trained him strictly in writing, prompting Su Luoyan and Chu Qiuzi to ask him to recite a poem.
• At Jiangzhuer's urging, Wang Chong wrote a lyric and calligraphy that awed Su Luoyan, Chu Qiuzi, and Jiangzhuer.
• Wang Chong asked Jiangzhuer to provide painting supplies instead of apologizing, then painted Chu Qiuzi's figure on his Folding Fan.
• After learning Wang Chong was traveling to Chang'an, Su Luoyan offered him her maid Liuxian as a companion.
• Chu Qiuzi said she had already arranged for a Qingcheng junior to accompany Wang Chong as his page.

Wang Chong received a maid from Su Luoyan and learned about Xuangang’s exceptional martial prowess before news arrived that Qian Luoyi had challenged Qin Han over White Chrysanthemum’s murder. Su Luoyan rode out with Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi to confront Qian Luoyi and his companions, and they spotted three fine horses ahead.

• Su Luoyan gave Liuxian to Wang Chong as a maid, and Wang Chong reassured the frightened girl.
• Su Luoyan told Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi that Xuangang was an Innate Realm prodigy with a promising future.
• A maid reported that Qian Luoyi had challenged Qin Han, wounded him in fewer than twenty moves, and escaped a surrounding attack with two Western Regions helpers.
• Su Luoyan learned that Qian Luoyi’s helpers were Huo Qingge and Xiao Yiguli, then decided to confront them with Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi.
• Su Luoyan assembled her household’s armed attendants and led the party out of Pengshan County, where they saw three magnificent horses grazing.

Wang Chong met Qian Luoyi’s challenge and fought him to an even draw with his Folding Fan, impressing Huo Qingge and Xiao Yiguli. As he began to fall behind, he paused to take a sword from a maid and announced that Qian Luoyi was in trouble.

• Huo Qingge recognized Su Luoyan as her intended opponent, while Qian Luoyi challenged Wang Chong to resume their unfinished fight.
• Wang Chong and Qian Luoyi exchanged 117 blows with fan and saber, then resumed fighting with Qian Luoyi’s Wolf God’s Twelve Kills and Wang Chong’s Hundred Styles of Wind and Cloud.
• Wang Chong and Qian Luoyi remained evenly matched, though Huo Qingge and Xiao Yiguli judged that Wang Chong would soon fall behind.
• Xiao Yiguli offered Wang Chong mutton if he could last thirty moves, and Wang Chong called for a pause to change weapons.
• A maid tossed Wang Chong her sword, which he drew and praised before telling Qian Luoyi he was in trouble.

Wang Chong broke through during his duel with Qian Luoyi and won their exchange with the Candle-Bearing Sword Technique, though Qian Luoyi concealed his own injury and withdrew. Su Luoyan and Chu Qiuzi then offered to help Wang Chong recover, while Qian Luoyi left confident he could defeat him next time.

• Wang Chong broke through in the middle of his fight with Qian Luoyi and struck with the Candle-Bearing Sword Technique.
• Qian Luoyi retreated after their exchange, recognized Wang Chong’s sword art, and agreed to end the duel without resolving their misunderstandings about White Chrysanthemum’s death.
• Huo Qingge and her junior sister left with Qian Luoyi after he signaled them to withdraw instead of challenging Su Luoyan.
• After riding away, Qian Luoyi spat blood and told Huo Qingge and Xiao Yiguli that Wang Chong had genuinely broken through, but lacked experience and killing intent.
• Su Luoyan offered to treat Wang Chong to mutton and invited him to recuperate with her, while Chu Qiuzi proposed giving him Qingcheng’s Five Dragons Pill.

After defeating Qian Luoyi, Wang Chong discovered that his cultivation had advanced to pure yang and mastered a new level of swordsmanship. Su Luoyan recognized his cultivation method and gave him a sword, while Wang Chong wondered about his mysterious origins.

• Wang Chong learned that the charming maid who had lent him a sword was named Yuzao.
• During the journey back, Wang Chong sensed his internal power shedding yin impurities and remembered that he practiced the Innate Pure Yang Formula.
• Wang Chong secluded himself for fourteen to sixteen hours, then demonstrated that his sword strokes could ignite and destroy a dry twig.
• Su Luoyan congratulated Wang Chong and explained that the next stage of his cultivation was the Pure Yang Sword-Refining Formula.
• Wang Chong questioned how he had learned Wudang's secret cultivation art, while Su Luoyan and Chu Qiuzi each admired him and privately considered their own plans.
• Su Luoyan presented Wang Chong with a newly commissioned sword, which he accepted and opened.

Wang Chong prepared to leave for Chang'an with Yuzao as his maid and Wang Dong as his page, while Chu Qiuzi helped arrange his new companions. He left the inn with a house deed from Qin Han and a growing household, though Yuzao’s motives remained hidden from him.

• Yuzao replaced Liuxian as Wang Chong’s maid after secretly encouraging Liuxian to beg Su Luoyan to stay, and Su Luoyan approved the exchange.
• Wang Chong gave Yuzao the longsword and accepted her offer to sew him new clothes for the journey.
• Chu Qiuzi introduced Wang Chong to Wang Dong, a poor young Qingcheng lay disciple who became his page.
• Wang Chong went to say goodbye to Qin Han, who planned to recover in Pengshan County and gave him the deeds to a furnished house in Chang'an.

Wang Chong left Pengshan County with gifts and his new attendants, Wang Dong and Yuzao, then Li Qingge caught up with him to question him about the White Chrysanthemum case. She asked whether he had killed Sun Yanqi and requested that he demonstrate his swordsmanship, leaving Wang Chong facing a potentially revealing test.

• Wang Chong accepted gifts from the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance and departed Pengshan County with a carriage, horses, money, and goods.
• Yuzao rode in the carriage and privately imagined the possibilities of serving Wang Chong, while Wang Chong asked Wang Dong about his Qingcheng Sect martial arts.
• Li Qingge caught up to Wang Chong on horseback and announced that she had come to investigate the White Chrysanthemum case.
• Wang Chong denied killing Sun Yanqi and admitted that he had learned some swordsmanship in Wudang.
• Li Qingge asked Wang Chong to demonstrate a few sword moves, and Yuzao offered him the sword Su Luoyan had given him.

Wang Chong joined Li Qingge’s investigation of White Chrysanthemum and learned from the case files that the rapist’s first recorded victim was Mo Yuncong. The details of that killing resembled Wang Chong’s own swordsmanship, leaving him worried that he might somehow be connected to the crimes.

• Wang Chong displayed Wudang swordsmanship, convincing Li Qingge that he was not White Chrysanthemum, and agreed to help investigate the rapist.
• Li Qingge led Wang Chong to a Daoist temple she had established for girls rescued from trafficking and gave him White Chrysanthemum’s case files.
• Wang Chong found that White Chrysanthemum’s first recorded crime was killing Mo Yuncong with Wudang swordsmanship after abducting Xiangxiang.
• Wang Chong noticed that the killing technique resembled his own Candle-Bearing Sword Technique and wondered whether he could be White Chrysanthemum.
• Wang Chong reviewed the remaining cases and asked Li Qingge about three incidents in which survivors had escaped White Chrysanthemum.

Li Qingge explained the suspected origins and martial arts of White Chrysanthemum, and Wang Chong proposed that several people might be using the same criminal identity. After refusing an official post, Wang Chong agreed to investigate under the alias Ma You and returned to his companions, where he asked Yuzao about her martial arts training.

• Li Qingge described how a Shaolin laborer and a Wudang renegade founded the Green Mountain Sect and created ruthless martial arts, but said White Chrysanthemum's skills offered only a tentative link to it.
• Li Qingge explained that the Empress had killed Jade Taoist and was the only likely person to have learned the Ice Soul Finger from him.
• Wang Chong wondered whether White Chrysanthemum could be multiple people, and Li Qingge agreed that the possibility deserved consideration while maintaining that Sun Yanqi remained suspicious.
• Li Qingge offered Wang Chong an eighth-rank position in the Ministry of Justice, but Wang Chong declined because his family wanted him to pursue scholarly distinction.
• Li Qingge gave Wang Chong a crude human-skin mask and the identity of Ma You, head constable of Pine City, so he could assist the investigation in disguise.
• Wang Chong returned to Yuzao and Wang Dong, then asked Yuzao what martial arts she had learned in the Su Family.

Wang Chong assessed Yuzao and Wang Dong’s martial arts, then prepared to help Li Qingge investigate White Chrysanthemum’s latest crime. The chapter ended as Wang Chong, Li Qingge, and Yuzao rode to meet the abducted Li Miaomiao.

• Wang Chong watched Yuzao demonstrate the Thirteen Heavenly Fox Melodies of a Thousand Tricks and a Hundred Illusions, then corrected flaws in her saber technique.
• Wang Chong judged Wang Dong’s martial arts foundations solid and sent him to watch the luggage while he gave Yuzao an assignment.
• Wang Chong cultivated the Innate Pure Yang Formula and considered the risks of his chosen path to harmonizing yin and yang.
• Li Qingge arrived and told Wang Chong that White Chrysanthemum had committed another crime, so they set out with Yuzao to see the victim, Li Miaomiao.

Wang Chong visited Golden Light Temple and met Master Kong Chan, who spoke mysteriously about White Chrysanthemum and warned him about lust. After Wang Chong recited Buddhist scriptures from memory, Kong Chan reacted with startling intensity, leaving Wang Chong afraid he had exposed himself as a demon.

• Li Qingge told Wang Chong that Lu Moniang had rescued Li Miaomiao, while Lu Moniang's junior brother had driven White Chrysanthemum away after exchanging twenty-eight moves with him.
• Wang Chong accompanied Li Qingge to Yanyun Mountain, then took Yuzao into Golden Light Temple while Li Qingge went to question Li Miaomiao at Ruyi Nunnery.
• Monk Xuangang summoned Wang Chong and Yuzao to meet his master, Master Kong Chan, who greeted Wang Chong as though they had met before.
• Kong Chan said Sun Yanqi had not been White Chrysanthemum, declined to identify White Chrysanthemum, and warned Wang Chong about lust before reciting a Buddhist sutra for him.
• Wang Chong memorized Kong Chan's sutra and recited the Heart Sutra, prompting Kong Chan to form a mudra as Wang Chong feared he had revealed himself as a demon.

Monk Kong Chan forced Wang Chong to become his disciple and gave him the Dharma name Xuande, insisting that Buddhist scriptures would suppress the demonic Qi he sensed in him. Wang Chong left Golden Light Temple and met Li Qingge and Li Miaomiao, whose terror of him deepened his suspicion that his unknown identity was tied to White Chrysanthemum.

• Kong Chan threatened to subdue Wang Chong unless he became his disciple, while Xuangang sealed Yuzao's acupoints to stop her intervening.
• Wang Chong bowed to Kong Chan and accepted discipleship; Kong Chan named him Xuande and allowed him to keep his hair and remain in the secular world.
• Kong Chan taught Wang Chong a Buddhist sutra and instructed him to recite it morning and night before Xuangang escorted him from Golden Light Temple.
• Wang Chong met Li Qingge and Li Miaomiao outside Ruyi Nunnery, where Li Miaomiao reacted to him with terror despite claiming they had never met.
• Li Qingge took Li Miaomiao along with them and grew more suspicious of Wang Chong as the nun refused to explain her fear.

Wang Chong returned to Li Qingge’s temple, then used a day of seclusion to master the first level of the Nine-Headed Dragon King Aspect, which gave him powerful control and perception over his True Qi. After accidentally wrecking his lodgings, he moved to another courtyard and prepared to impersonate Ma You, while Li Qingge caught him with Yuzao after her bath.

• Wang Chong asked Li Qingge to delay their departure for a day so he could calm himself and prepare for the possibility that he was exposed as White Chrysanthemum.
• Wang Chong studied the Fundamental Sutra for Cultivating the Divine Transformations of the Thirty-Two Aspects and awakened the Nine-Headed Dragon King Aspect through the Sutra of Mahasthamaprapta Buddha Enlightening the Sea Dragon King.
• Wang Chong’s newly awakened True Qi surged out of control as he punched apart the beams, bricks, doors, windows, and furnishings of his lodgings.
• Li Qingge told Wang Chong that the ruined house counted as a favor owed, and a young Daoist nun led him, Yuzao, and Wang Dong to another courtyard.
• Yuzao explained that Li Qingge had provided Wang Chong with black robes and a saber to help him impersonate Ma You, the head constable of Pine City.
• After Wang Dong returned to the temple and Yuzao finished bathing, Li Qingge praised Wang Chong for behaving like a gentleman and embarrassed Yuzao.

Wang Chong and Li Qingge reviewed the White Chrysanthemum case before setting out to question Lu Moniang and Su Luoyan. As the group departed, Sun Mingke displayed his improved swordsmanship, and Su Luoyan wondered whether White Chrysanthemum had really killed her younger brother.

• Li Qingge told Wang Chong that Lu Moniang and Su Luoyan had agreed to meet them with Li Miaomiao the next morning, and Wang Chong asked whether the Qingcheng women were still in Pengshan County.
• Wang Chong concealed his mastery of the Nine-Headed Dragon King Aspect and told Li Qingge that he had gained insight into the Pure Yang Formula.
• Wang Chong and Li Qingge examined his case table, and Li Qingge concluded that White Chrysanthemum’s Ice Soul Finger killings and the cases involving women might conceal other circumstances.
• After meditating, Wang Chong felt his strength increase and set off with Li Qingge and Yuzao to visit Lu Moniang and Su Luoyan.
• Sun Mingke demonstrated improved swordsmanship while Su Luoyan asked Lu Moniang whether she was certain that White Chrysanthemum had killed her younger brother.

Li Qingge concluded that the lecher called White Chrysanthemum was likely several criminals, including a Western Regions martial artist who used the Vajra Prajna Palm. Wang Chong and Sun Mingke fought briefly before clearing up their misunderstanding, and the group left Li Miaomiao’s strange reaction to Wang Chong for later investigation.

• Lu Moniang and Sun Mingke said the attacker they encountered used the Great Strength Vajra Palm but not the Ice Soul Finger, leaving his identity uncertain.
• Li Qingge arrived with Wang Chong and Yuzao and identified the attacker’s palm technique as a possible Western Regions lineage art of the Green Mountain Sect.
• Sun Mingke mistook Wang Chong’s wary stare for hostility, and the two fought until Su Luoyan’s remarks helped them realize it was a misunderstanding.
• Li Qingge explained that the attacker’s sword technique might also come from the Green Mountain Sect, and Wang Chong argued that multiple criminals could be using the name White Chrysanthemum.
• Li Qingge concluded there might be three or four White Chrysanthemums and decided to focus on closing the case, while postponing the question of why Li Miaomiao had acted strangely around Wang Chong.

At a feast, Wang Chong joined Li Qingge, Su Luoyan, and Lu Moniang in investigating White Chrysanthemum, but he grew alarmed when he learned Tie Mingzhu could identify the culprit. While searching for her that night, he and Sun Mingke instead encountered a man carrying a writhing sack—and both recognized him as White Chrysanthemum.

• Wang Chong entertained Su Luoyan, Li Qingge, Lu Moniang, and Sun Mingke at a feast, while Yuzao reunited with Jiangzhuer and the other maids.
• Li Qingge asked Su Luoyan and Lu Moniang to help investigate the case, and they agreed; Wang Chong joked that he was already involved.
• Lu Moniang and Li Qingge named several victims who could identify White Chrysanthemum, including Tie Mingzhu, and Wang Chong resolved to find Tie Mingzhu in secret.
• Wang Chong went out at night to search for the victims' lodgings, but Sun Mingke joined him and they patrolled Pengshan County together.
• Wang Chong and Sun Mingke spotted a man carrying a writhing sack; Wang Chong recognized him, and Sun Mingke realized he was the White Chrysanthemum he had stabbed.

Wang Chong and Sun Mingke rescued Nan Xinlan from Zhou Shaliang, disguising themselves as members of the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance to avoid revealing their identities. After Sun Mingke killed Zhou, they returned toward Pengshan County with Nan Xinlan, while the pursuit continued behind them.

• Wang Chong and Sun Mingke covered their faces, adopted the names Pink Chrysanthemum and Black Chrysanthemum, and confronted Zhou Shaliang outside Pengshan County.
• Wang Chong and Sun Mingke fought Zhou, rescued the woman he had abducted, and fled as Qin Han and Fang Jingru raised the alarm.
• Wang Chong brought the captured Zhou to a cave, where Zhou admitted his plans for Nan Xinlan and offered Wang money to keep quiet.
• Sun Mingke realized Wang had drawn out Zhou’s confession and killed Zhou with a single sword thrust.
• Wang Chong and Sun Mingke set out to return Nan Xinlan to Pengshan County, with Sun Mingke carrying her.

Wang Chong concealed his involvement in Nan Xinlan’s ordeal while the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance blamed White Chrysanthemum for Zhou Shaliang’s death. He introduced Sun Mingke to the alliance and avoided visiting Nan Xinlan, while Tie Mingzhu realized White Chrysanthemum knew their location.

• Wang Chong and Sun Mingke found the women’s residence crowded with alliance members, so Wang Chong advised Nan Xinlan to blame White Chrysanthemum and left with Sun Mingke.
• Wang Chong and Sun Mingke changed into clean clothes to hide evidence of their outing, and Yuzao burned Wang Chong’s discarded garments.
• The alliance reported that White Chrysanthemum had abducted Nan Xinlan and killed Zhou Shaliang, prompting Wang Chong to joke that there must be seven or eight White Chrysanthemums.
• Wang Chong introduced Sun Mingke to the alliance, and Qin Han made him its sixty-third brother despite Fang Jingru’s reminder that Zhou Shaliang was dead.
• Wang Chong declined to visit Nan Xinlan and asked Li Qingge to let him practice swordsmanship with Sun Mingke in the rear courtyard.
• Tie Mingzhu warned that White Chrysanthemum already knew where they were staying.