Tales of the Guanzhong and Luoyang Turmoil

This is Sima Ling's debut novel. Its plot is rich and intricate, its characters' emotions subtle and finely drawn, and its portrayal of human nature profound. One thrilling moment follows another, and the story is deeply moving. Orphaned Shi Xuanzhong was taken in as the final disciple of Zhenren Xiaxu, the tenth-generation leader of the Kongtong Sect. As Xiaxu lay on his deathbed, he entrusted Shi Xuanzhong with the lower volume of the Kongtong Sect's treasured manual, The Secret Record of Shangqing, the Azure Nether Sword, and fifty stances of the Great Cosmic Sword Art. Shi Xuanzhong was sent down the mountain to find the lost upper volume of The Secret Record of Shangqing and fulfill the twenty-year pact with Yin Ji, the Ghost Mother, leader of the Xuanyin Cult and the greatest demon under heaven. As fate would have it, just after entering the martial world, Shi Xuanzhong encountered Zhu Ling, the Ghost Mother's disciple known as the White Phoenix, who was disguised as a man. The two hit it off at once and stirred up countless troubles along the way. To obtain the medicinal pill Stone Chi Elixir and heal Zhu Ling's internal injuries, Shi Xuanzhong relied on his astonishing self-control to pass through the Foolish Old Man Gongsun Pu's Heavenly Fragrance Illusion. But he was tricked into entering the central pool of the Ninefold Returning Gate Formation, where he found the inner core of a giant carp and the Shaolin Sect's Three Demon-Slaying Forms in a cave in the pool wall. He then went to Mount Biji to challenge Yin Ji, the Ghost Mother and leader of the Xuanyin Cult. Though her Gate-Striking Netherwind technique sent him tumbling down a ten-thousand-foot cliff, the clash severely depleted her true essence and forced her into seclusion to cultivate. Shi Xuanzhong became famous overnight.