The Vast Jianghu of Wuxia Novels

The wuxia novel *Vast Jianghu* Zhao Yufei, a supreme master of the Shaolin Sect, uses the Buddhist “Great Golden Bell Divine Skill” to break the “Seven Demonic Notes” of the Water Immortal Palace at Water Immortal Boat No. 3. His peerless bearing wins him the heart of Wu Xianke, its hostess. Later, at Water Immortal Boat No. 1, Zhao Yufei elopes with the hostess Yu Biting and steals the “Sound Measuring Device,” throwing the Water Immortal Palace into chaos. To save a beauty’s life, Zhao Yufei braves the twin deadly hazards of “Earthfire” and “Black Wind” in the “Demon-Locking Cliff and Fragrance-Imprisoning Cave” on Mount Huang. After narrowly escaping death time and again, he finally obtains the rare “Fire Lotus.” But he learns that the Water Immortal Palace has already been usurped by Xu Ruyu, the “Nine-Tailed Jade Fox,” a wanton woman whose infamous name once spread across the jianghu. Enraged, he kills the Nine-Tailed Jade Fox with a “Five-Thunder Pearl,” ending Xu Ruyu’s ambitions and driving her into hiding. Wang Bufan, younger brother of the notorious pirate Wang Zhi and master of the Gathering Heroes Tower, secretly aids the Nine-Tailed Jade Fox in her bid to rise again. He schemes to seize five hundred thousand taels of silver that the government is transporting to Hangzhou to build coastal defenses. Acting on his master’s orders, Zhao Yufei returns to the jianghu. First, in Zhenjiang, he exposes Wang Bufan’s plot involving the so-called “Lei Furong Treasure.” With the help of his capable aide Pu Dunong, he repeatedly thwarts the enemy’s schemes, safely delivers the silver to Hangzhou, and destroys the last surviving Water Immortal Boat, No. 2. In the end, Zhao Feiyu uses his transcendent martial arts to kill the old demon Wang Bufan, master of the Gathering Heroes Tower, with a single stroke, and drives the Nine-Tailed Jade Fox to poison herself. He wipes out the great scourges of the martial world in one fell swoop, and Zhao Feiyu, the “Number One Master Under Heaven,” becomes a great hero admired by the beauties of the jianghu.