Chapter Summaries

Zhou Wuji traveled to White Sand Bay to investigate a ghost and encountered two Lesser Yin Sect Daoists who challenged him to a contest. As they waited for the ghost to emerge, Leng Wuming wagered his sword against Zhou Wuji’s, while Sun Wufei objected.

• Yigeng warned Zhou Wuji that White Sand Bay was Lesser Yin territory, but Zhou accepted the assignment and traveled there by cargo boat.
• An old villager told Zhou Wuji that a ghost from a deep whirlpool had killed people aboard moored cargo boats, and Zhou gave the old man a Golden Light Talisman before heading to the river.
• Zhou Wuji sensed a powerful ghost beneath the whirlpool and waited for it to surface beneath the moonlight.
• Leng Wuming and Sun Wufei of Lesser Yin approached Zhou Wuji, and Leng challenged him over entering their sect’s territory.
• Sun Wufei recognized Zhou Wuji’s reputation and proposed that they compete to slay the ghost when it emerged.
• Leng Wuming added a wager that the loser would leave behind their sword, and Zhou Wuji accepted despite Sun Wufei’s objection.

Zhou Wuji joined Leng Wuming and Sun Wufei at the river, where they fought a Fifth Rank Ghost General and lost a wager over their swords. He destroyed the ghost with one strike of lightning, returned Sun Wufei’s sword, and rode upstream as Leng Wuming vowed the matter was not over.

• Leng Wuming warned Sun Wufei that Zhou Wuji might be plotting, but insisted they could defeat him and wagered their swords.
• When a Fifth Rank Ghost General emerged from the whirlpool, Sun Wufei and Leng Wuming attacked it with sword talismans and the Cold Light Sword.
• Zhou Wuji struck the Ghost General with deep blue lightning and reduced it to ash.
• Zhou Wuji claimed Leng Wuming’s Cold Light Sword but returned Sun Wufei’s Azure Shadow Sword because she had not joined the wager.
• Zhou Wuji rode his white horse across the river and invited Sun Wufei to visit Jingyang Upper Court, while Leng Wuming angrily vowed revenge.

After returning to Jingyang, Zhou Wuji heard warnings about the sword cultivators of Lesser Yin and Greater Yin and discussed how to deal with Lu Zhijing without opposing the sect itself. He rejected Zhang Dingyang’s invitation, prompting the Great River Gang deputy leader to consider reporting Zhou Wuji’s alleged extortion to the Heavenly Master’s Manor.

• Zhou Wuji told Yigeng about his encounter with Leng Wuming, and Yigeng warned him to be careful around sword cultivators.
• Zhou Wuji and Yigeng filed the White Sand Bay incident at the Demon-Expelling Hall.
• Zhiyuan explained why the Upper Court tolerated Lesser Yin and Greater Yin in Jingyang and urged Zhou Wuji to distinguish his enemies from the sect’s authority.
• Zhou Wuji stayed in his room reading and guided Yang Tie Ying’s cultivation as the boy neared the perfection of the seventh rank.
• Zhou Wuji refused Zhang Dingyang’s invitation to River Moon Tower despite Wufeng’s warning that the refusal might offend the Great River Gang deputy leader.
• Zhang Dingyang told his subordinate to wait and seek an inspector from the Heavenly Master’s Manor to expose Zhou Wuji’s alleged taking of twenty thousand taels.

Zhang Qingning, Leng Wuyou, and Yue Wuying discussed Zhou Wuji’s reputation and his refusal of an invitation while he studied Jingyang Lake and refined his Xiaoxiang Sword. When an inspector arrived to investigate accusations of extortion and improper conduct, Zhou Wuji welcomed the chance to turn a fate into Origin Profound Spirit and perfected his Water Mirror Technique.

• Zhang Qingning invited Zhou Wuji to River Moon Tower, but he refused, while Leng Wuyou and Yue Wuying discussed his formidable record as a sword fighter.
• Zhou Wuji used the Big Dipper Star Eye to glimpse Leng Wuyou and Yue Wuying across Jingyang Lake, then spent several days observing nature and gaining insights into the Xiaoxiang Sword.
• Yang Tie Ying told Zhou Wuji that an inspector from the Heavenly Master's Manor had arrived after someone reported him for improper conduct and extortion.
• Zhou Wuji converted a fate weighing just over three taels into Origin Profound Spirit and perfected his Water Mirror Technique, leaving Yang Tie Ying bewildered.

Zhou Wuji faced an investigation in Heavenly Pivot Hall over an accusation that he had extorted twenty thousand taels, but calmly challenged Inspection Envoy Zhang Zhian’s evidence and conduct. True Person Zhihua backed Zhou Wuji and went to fetch his witness, leaving Lu Zhijing suspicious of her support for him.

• Zhian questioned Lu Zhijing about the extortion report, and Zhiyuan and Zhixing worried about the consequences for Zhou Wuji.
• Zhou Wuji arrived and denied extorting money, challenging Zhian for relying on Zhang Cheng’s testimony without first establishing the facts.
• Zhian shouted at Zhou Wuji in Heavenly Pivot Hall, prompting Lu Zhijing, Zhiyuan, and Zhixing to rebuke him for his disrespect.
• True Person Zhihua arrived, insisted that the witnesses be brought to the hall, and agreed to fetch Wuyun of Jade Star Temple at Zhou Wuji’s request.
• Lu Zhijing suspected Zhihua was grooming Zhou Wuji to undermine the Heavenly Pivot Lineage, while Zhiyuan asked Zhou Wuji if he was all right.

Zhou Wuji defended himself against the Great River Gang’s accusation of extortion by presenting records, compensation accounts, and a Water Mirror recording that proved Zhang Cheng had lied. With True Person Zhihua restraining Zhang Dingyang, Zhou Wuji killed Zhang Cheng for lying under oath, leaving the hall stunned.

• Zhiyuan explained that Zhang Zhian was a minor member of the Chunan Zhang Household, while Wuyun returned with a ledger documenting the compensation Zhou Wuji had paid to the victims’ families.
• True Person Zhihua and the Northern Pole Sect elders rallied behind Zhou Wuji, and Lu Zhijing agreed that the Great River Gang would have to answer if Zhou Wuji was innocent.
• Zhang Dingyang arrived with Zhang Zhian and Zhang Cheng, who accused Zhou Wuji of extorting twenty thousand taels; Zhou Wuji challenged Zhang Cheng to swear before the Heavenly Pivot Star Lord.
• Zhou Wuji presented Yigeng’s case file and Wuyun’s ledger, showing that he had recorded the ten-thousand-tael transaction and used the money to compensate the dead and injured villagers.
• Zhang Cheng claimed Zhou Wuji had pocketed half the money, but Zhou Wuji used a jade token to project a Water Mirror recording that showed Zhang Cheng agreeing to pay ten thousand taels.
• After Zhang Cheng denied agreeing to the oath and Zhang Dingyang objected, True Person Zhihua restrained Zhang Cheng with sword Qi, and Zhou Wuji beheaded him, declaring that the good were blameless and the wicked deserved death.

Zhou Wuji killed Zhang Cheng after Zhang Zhian falsely accused him, prompting the Great River Gang to retreat and plan an apology. True Person Zhihua warned Zhou Wuji to keep cultivating while they awaited news from the Heavenly Master's Manor in the ninth month.

• Zhou Wuji killed Zhang Cheng in Heavenly Pivot Hall after True Person Zhihua exposed Zhang Cheng's false accusation, and Zhang Dingyang and Zhang Zhian left with the body.
• Zhang Dingyang reported Zhang Cheng's death to Zhang Jinbao, who told him to apologize to the Upper Court and let the matter rest.
• True Person Zhihua rebuked Lu Zhijing for criticizing Zhou Wuji, while the other Daoists praised Zhou Wuji's sword strike.
• Zhou Wuji thanked True Person Zhihua, who warned him about possible trouble and said the sect leader was waiting for the Heavenly Master's Manor to verify a matter, with news expected in the ninth month.

Zhou Wuji’s reputation spread through Jingyang after the Great River Gang apologized, and Heavenly Master's Manor publicly awarded him the title Dharma Master Hongde. As Lu Zhijing and Lu Wuyuan saw Zhou Wuji’s influence grow, they decided to restrict his access to the Tianshu Secret Method.

• Leng Wuyou told Yue Wuying that Zhou Wuji had supposedly killed Zhang Cheng, a fifth-rank martial artist, with one strike, while rumors turned the incident into a tale of heroic justice.
• Zhang Dingyang took a large convoy of goods to Jingyang Upper Court to apologize, making Zhou Wuji even more famous and earning him greater respect from the court’s members.
• At the end of August, Yuan Zhifeng and Zhichong arrived at Jingyang Upper Court and announced that Zhou Wuji had received an imperial commendation for his virtue and compassion.
• Zhichong read the decree investing Zhou Wuji as Dharma Master Hongde and granting him a golden belt, and Zhou Wuji’s Heavenly Pivot Token was changed to reflect his new title.
• Lu Zhijing summoned Lu Wuyuan after the ceremony and decided to restrict Zhou Wuji’s study of the Tianshu Secret Method to hold him back.

Zhou Wuji received his Fourth Rank title and learned that his merit for uncovering the barbarians’ movements would earn him a hundred days in the Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven. To protect himself from Lu Zhijing’s influence, he persuaded True Person Zhiyun to conduct his initiation and confer his register, then asked True Person Zhihua to teach him more swordsmanship.

• Zhou Wuji tried on his gold belt, tallied his money, and arranged for Zhiyuan to buy gifts for Zhichong and Yuan Zhifeng.
• Zhichong praised Zhou Wuji, explained that his merit had been converted into a major merit for secrecy, and urged him to cultivate with the Upper Court’s resources.
• True Person Zhihua told Zhou Wuji he could exchange the major merit for resources or a hundred days in the Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven, and Zhou Wuji chose the grotto-heaven.
• Zhou Wuji asked True Person Zhiyun to conduct his initiation and confer his register, and True Person Zhiyun agreed.
• True Person Zhihua praised Zhou Wuji for gaining the abbot’s protection against Lu Zhijing, then warned him that the struggle for the sect master’s True Disciple would bring stronger opponents.
• Zhou Wuji agreed that he needed to surpass rival contenders and their supporters, then asked True Person Zhihua to teach him another sequence of the Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword.

Zhou Wuji impressed True Person Zhihua with his swordsmanship and learned the Tianshu Sword, then waited for news from Yizhen and Wuming as rumors of Devil Cultivator attacks spread. The chapter ended with Yizhen reaching the lower court and hearing warnings about dangerous Devil Cultivators active near Yunyang.

• True Person Zhihua tested Zhou Wuji, praised his Tianquan and Tianxuan Sword attainments, and offered to teach him another style.
• Zhou Wuji refused to abandon his pursuit of becoming the sect leader's True Disciple, and True Person Zhihua taught him the Tianshu Sword.
• Zhou Wuji used Origin Profound Spirit to raise his Tianshu Sword to the proficient level and recognized its value as the foundation of the Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword.
• Zhou Wuji saw special envoys Yuan Zhifeng and Zhichong off at the docks, and Zhichong's public warmth helped his Xiaoxiang Sword Lord title spread among cultivators.
• Yizhen arrived at the Cloud Dragon Lower Court with Wuming and the others, where Abbot Zhihe warned him that formidable Devil Cultivators were causing trouble in Yunyang and targeting Northern Pole cultivators.

Daoist Yizhen and his family set out from Cloud Dragon Lower Court for Jingyang, with Zhou Wuji accompanying them. Myriad Devils Sect’s Chen Chaohai and Hundred Poisons Sect’s Bai Zhenghong planned to ambush them at Blue Marsh, and Zhou Wuji sensed danger as their ship approached.

• Wuming persuaded Daoist Yizhen to rest at Cloud Dragon Lower Court before continuing their journey, and he agreed to stay several days.
• Chen Chaohai and Bai Zhenghong planned to kill Daoist Yizhen’s household, lure Zhou Wuji into their trap, and use the Northern Pole Sect’s retaliation to eliminate the Yin Yang Dao and Heavenly Ghost Sect.
• When Daoist Yizhen’s party boarded a ship for Jingyang, Chen Chaohai and Bai Zhenghong recognized Zhou Wuji and decided to ambush the travelers at Blue Marsh.
• Chen Chaohai and Bai Zhenghong reached Blue Marsh first and waited for the passenger ship, while Bai Zhenghong ordered his people not to harm Wuming.
• Zhou Wuji heard the attackers’ voices and spotted a suspicious boat ahead, realizing that Devil Cultivators were waiting for them.

Zhou Wuji traveled to Yunyang to protect Wuming from the Devil Cultivators gathering there, then ambushed a boat carrying members of the Myriad Devils Sect and the Hundred Poisons Sect. He overwhelmed them with Yangming Divine Thunder, but Chen Chaohai noticed signs that Zhou Wuji had exhausted his Law Power and urged Bai Zhenghong to attack.

• Zhou Wuji learned that Devil Cultivators in Yunyang were seeking Fu Tianji's hidden treasure and worried that the unrest could endanger Wuming.
• When Zhou Wuji sensed an ambush on the water, he told Wuming to prepare for battle and flew ahead to scout the single-masted fast boat.
• Zhou Wuji launched Yangming Divine Thunder at Chen Chaohai, Bai Zhenghong, and the Devil Cultivators aboard the boat, but the two Fourth Rank leaders blocked his first strike.
• Zhou Wuji followed with repeated volleys of lightning, driving Chen Chaohai and Bai Zhenghong onto the defensive and burning two Fifth Rank Devil Cultivators to ashes.
• Zhou Wuji taunted the Devil Cultivators, but Chen Chaohai declared that Zhou Wuji had run out of Law Power, prompting Bai Zhenghong to charge at him.

Zhou Wuji fought Bai Zhenghong while Chen Chaohai rushed to join the battle, using his swordsmanship to overcome Bai Zhenghong’s poison and staff. He killed Bai Zhenghong with a strike that pierced his consciousness just as Chen Chaohai arrived.

• Bai Zhenghong attacked Zhou Wuji with the Five Gu Dragon Transformation Hand, but Zhou Wuji blocked the poison with the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Incantation.
• Zhou Wuji decided to kill Bai Zhenghong before Chen Chaohai could join the fight and cut through Bai Zhenghong’s next poison strike with his sword.
• Bai Zhenghong attacked with his Five Dragon Staff, but Zhou Wuji redirected it with a circular sword move and shredded the Gu insects it released.
• Bai Zhenghong abandoned his staff and launched another palm strike as Chen Chaohai closed in.
• Zhou Wuji used Army-Breaking Sword Qi to cut through Bai Zhenghong’s palm force, then pierced his consciousness with the White Rainbow Sword.
• Bai Zhenghong realized he had been killed as Chen Chaohai shouted for him to fall back.

Zhou Wuji killed Chen Chaohai after a fierce duel in which his swordsmanship overcame the fourth-rank martial artist’s strength. He then pursued the fleeing Devil Cultivators and cut them down as they tried to escape.

• Chen Chaohai saw Zhou Wuji kill Bai Zhenghong with his sword and resolved to attack, guarding his mind against Zhou Wuji’s Sword Intent.
• Chen Chaohai charged across the water and hammered Zhou Wuji with the Ninefold Mountain-Collapsing Force, but Zhou Wuji’s sword circle endured the blows.
• Zhou Wuji countered with shifting wheels of light and the Night Rain Sword, while Chen Chaohai used his martial will and strength to break through the sword’s subtle attacks.
• Chen Chaohai’s full-power eruption left him unable to sense Zhou Wuji, who reappeared with a lightning strike and used concealed Night Rain Sword Qi in the iron rulers to slow his defense.
• Zhou Wuji pierced Chen Chaohai’s neck with the White Rainbow Sword and beheaded him.
• The sixth-rank Devil Cultivators fled, but Zhou Wuji pursued and killed them one by one.

Zhou Wuji defeated an ambush of Devil Cultivators, recovered valuables, and safely brought Daoist Yizhen’s group to the Upper Court. True Person Zhihua warned him to avoid Fu Tianji’s treasure trail and urged him to cultivate for next year’s Jingyang Dharma Assembly.

• Zhou Wuji killed the Devil Cultivators, destroyed the Five Yin Devil Banner, and used its Yin Devils to strengthen his Five Spirit Pouch.
• Zhou Wuji collected gold and weapons, destroyed the corpses, and found Fu Tianji’s water-damaged notes linking the Devil Cultivators to Yunyang’s hidden treasures.
• Zhou Wuji met Daoist Yizhen, Wuming, and the others aboard the passenger boat, then arranged for them to sail through the night and told Daoist Yizhen about the ambush.
• Zhou Wuji and the group reached Jingyang Commandery City safely, and Daoist Yizhen went to see Elder Zhixing.
• Zhou Wuji told True Person Zhihua about the Devil Cultivators; she suspected Fu Tianji had planted the notes to lure them toward his treasures and advised Zhou Wuji to cultivate for the next Jingyang Dharma Assembly.

Zhou Wuji prepared to enter seclusion after reporting the Devil Cultivators in Yunyang and arranging for Yizhen and Yang Tie Ying. In the Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven, he perfected the Tianshu Sword and opened all five organ apertures, but his cultivation was interrupted when a heart demon began emerging from his reflection.

• True Person Zhihua told Zhou Wuji that winning first place at the Jingyang Dharma Assembly could make him a True Disciple candidate, and Zhou Wuji prepared for a hundred days of cultivation.
• Zhou Wuji gave Yang Tie Ying the Green Edge Sword, visited Zhiyuan, and asked him to look after Yizhen.
• Zhou Wuji told True Person Zhiyun about the Devil Cultivators gathering in Yunyang, and Zhiyun gave him a token to enter the Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven.
• Zhou Wuji explored the grotto-heaven, invested a Devil Cultivator's fate in the Tianshu Sword, and perfected it, uniting five Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword arts.
• In fewer than fifty days, Zhou Wuji opened all five organ apertures and began preparing to form their spiritual temples.
• Zhou Wuji saw his reflection on the pillar of light twist as if something were crawling out, and realized a heart demon had appeared.

Zhou Wuji overcame the inner-demon illusions in the Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven and reached Fifth Rank Perfection during his hundred-day seclusion. He returned to Upright Heart Hall, where True Person Zhiyun praised his progress and scheduled his initiation and register bestowal for the seventh day of the new year.

• The heavenly pillar treasure radiance showed Zhou Wuji memories of Li Yiyuan, Zhang Wuding, Fang Wuzhen, and others before trapping him in an illusion of True Person Zhihua.
• Zhou Wuji used the Big Dipper Star Eye to resonate with the Big Dipper Star Domain, break the illusion, and increase his Divine Sense to eight hundred and fifty.
• Zhou Wuji cultivated for eighty days until the Star Lords completed his Five Viscera Temple and he reached Fifth Rank Perfection.
• By the ninety-ninth day, Zhou Wuji had raised his True Qi to eighteen thousand, then left the grotto-heaven on the hundredth day.
• True Person Zhiyun recognized Zhou Wuji's Fifth Rank Perfection and set his initiation and register bestowal for the seventh day of the new year.

After returning from a hundred days of secluded cultivation, Zhou Wuji learned that Lu Zhijing had been sent to oversee Yunyang and that Yan Wudong wanted to challenge him. Zhou Wuji met Yan Wudong at Jingyang Lake, where Leng Wuyou watched them through a Spirit-Illuminating Mirror.

• Zhou Wuji visited Zhiyuan, who told him that Lu Zhijing had been sent to Yunyang and that Yizhen had become a steward in the Demon-Expelling Hall.
• Zhiyuan warned Zhou Wuji that Yan Wudong had returned seeking a match, and advised him to show mercy to fellow disciples.
• Yang Tie Ying told Zhou Wuji that Yan Wudong had challenged him; Zhou Wuji scolded Yang Tie Ying for not cultivating harder.
• Zhou Wuji took Wuming to a pavilion overlooking Jingyang Lake, where they enjoyed the snowy scenery until Yan Wudong arrived and challenged him.
• Zhou Wuji and Yan Wudong descended to the lake, drawing a crowd of onlookers.
• Leng Wuyou used her Spirit-Illuminating Mirror to watch Zhou Wuji and Yan Wudong, while Leng Wuming recognized Zhou Wuji as the man who had taken her sword.

Zhou Wuji sparred with Yan Wudong on the lake and defeated him by turning the force of Yan Wudong’s Army-Breaking Divine Gang against him. Afterward, Zhou Wuji recited a poem celebrating the encounter, leaving Leng Wuyou unexpectedly flustered as the spectators realized he had won.

• Leng Wuyou used the Supreme White Spirit-Illuminating Mirror to show Sun Wufei and Leng Wuming the duel between Zhou Wuji and Yan Wudong.
• Zhou Wuji and Yan Wudong agreed that the first person whose Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Incantation broke would lose, then began their sword spar.
• Zhou Wuji evaded Yan Wudong’s fierce attacks and used his Water Moon Sword to withstand Yan Wudong’s rapid strikes.
• Yan Wudong unleashed the Army-Breaking Divine Gang, but Zhou Wuji redirected its force and tapped Yan Wudong’s chest, breaking his protective robe of light.
• Zhou Wuji sheathed his sword, accepted Yan Wudong’s concession, and recited a poem about their exchange.
• Leng Wuyou blushed at Zhou Wuji’s poem, while the spectators understood that Zhou Wuji had won.

After defeating Yan Wudong, Zhou Wuji became the most discussed cultivator in Jingyang Upper Court. Abbot Zhiyun announced that Zhou Wuji’s initiation and register-conferral ceremony would be open to observers, and invitations became highly sought after.

• Zhou Wuji defeated Yan Wudong in a spar, then returned to the pavilion and greeted the gathered disciples courteously.
• Zhou Wuji rebuked Yang Tie Ying for disparaging Yan Wudong and reminded him to respect his opponents.
• News of Zhou Wuji’s victory spread through Jingyang Upper Court and the city, while Zhang Dingyang passed it to Zhang Qingning in hopes she would seek revenge.
• At the New Year’s Eve ritual, Abbot Zhiyun gave Zhou Wuji a New Year gift and announced that he would conduct Zhou Wuji’s initiation and register conferral on the seventh day of the first month.
• As outsiders sought permission to attend, Lu Zhitong and Abbot Zhiyun arranged one hundred invitations, which quickly became prized throughout Jingyang Commandery’s capital.