The series is set in 12th-century China against the backdrop of the wars between the Jin and Song dynasties. Tiansheng, who has been groomed to be the next master of the Taoist School, falls in love with Cheng Ruoshi. After Cheng Ruoshi becomes pregnant with Tiansheng's child, they elope and live in an ancient tomb in the Zhongnan Mountains. Upon learning that his treacherous senior Xuansheng is collaborating with Jin forces to steal the Nine Yin Manual, Tiansheng works together with the Song general Huo Jingshan to stop them.
Xuansheng leads Jin forces to attack the Zhongnan Mountains and holds Cheng Ruoshi and Tiansheng's newborn son hostage to force Tiansheng to surrender. Both Tiansheng and Cheng Ruoshi perish in the fight; their son is saved by Lin Lingsu and Huang Chang. Lin Lingsu and Huang Chang are later poisoned with aphrodisiac by Xuansheng and end up having sex against their will, deepening their misunderstanding. Xuansheng takes advantage of the chaos to steal half of the Nine Yin Manual. Huang Chang, carrying Tiansheng's son, falls off a cliff.
Tiansheng's son survives and grows up in the wild under the name "Dog". One day, he saves Lin Chaoying from trouble, but she mistakenly thinks that he has bad intentions and wants to kill him. It turns out later that Lin Chaoying is the daughter of Lin Lingsu and Huang Chang, and she has been influenced by her mother to think that Huang Chang is her enemy. Dog meets and befriends Wanyan Feng, a Jin prince, and they become sworn brothers. At Wanyan Feng's suggestion, Dog also renames himself "Wang Chongyang". Later, Wanyan Feng meets and falls in love with Huo Wushuang.
Meanwhile, Xuansheng is plotting with Jin forces to dominate the wulin. When Wang Chongyang learns that Xuansheng is responsible for his parents' deaths, he organises a militia and joins forces with Lin Chaoying to confront Xuansheng and fight the Jin forces.
