The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber

Set in 14th-century China towards the end of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, the novel revolves around the struggle for two legendary weapons – the Heaven-Reliant Sword and the Dragon-Slaying Saber – believed to grant supremacy over the wulin, which is broadly divided between "orthodox" sects such as Shaolin, Wudang and Emei and "unorthodox" groups like the Ming Cult, with longstanding mistrust and hostility between the two sides.

The two weapons' origins trace back to the aftermath of the previous novel when Guo Jing and Huang Rong's younger daughter, Guo Xiang, preserves her family's martial arts traditions that later develop into the Emei and Wudang lineages. Decades later, the focus shifts to Zhang Wuji, the son of Wudang swordsman Zhang Cuishan and the Ming Cult-affiliated Yin Susu.

Zhang Wuji spends his early childhood on a remote island with his parents and his godfather Xie Xun, who possesses the Dragon-Slaying Saber. After returning to the mainland, the family is besieged by martial artists seeking the Saber's whereabouts. Refusing to betray Xie Xun, Zhang Wuji's parents take their own lives, leaving their son orphaned. Zhang Wuji is also afflicted by a deadly cold poison inflicted by the Xuanming Elders.

While searching for a cure, Zhang Wuji discovers the long-lost Jiuyang Zhenjing, using its teachings to purge the poison and cultivate immense neigong. Using that as a foundation, he later learns the Ming Cult's most powerful skill, the "Heaven and Earth Great Shift", becoming a formidable martial artist.

Zhang Wuji gets deeply involved in the conflict between the orthodox sects and the Ming Cult. When the six leading "orthodox" sects form an alliance to attack the cult, he intervenes to prevent a massacre and exposes underlying misunderstandings. His actions ease tensions between the two sides, and he is subsequently chosen to be the cult's leader despite his reluctance.

As the cult's leader, Zhang Wuji leads the rebellion against the Yuan government. He rescues members of the six sects from captivity in the capital Dadu and uncovers a conspiracy orchestrated by the Shaolin monk Cheng Kun, who seeks to manipulate both the "orthodox" and "unorthodox" sides of the wulin into mutual destruction for his own ends.

Parallel to these events is Zhang Wuji's complex personal life, particularly his romantic entanglements with four women: his maternal cousin Yin Li; the perceptive servant Xiaozhao; the Emei Sect member Zhou Zhiruo; and the Mongol princess Zhao Min. Zhou Zhiruo, acting under her master's ambitions, manages to acquire both of the legendary weapons and breaks them to obtain hidden items, leading to further conflict and eventual exposure of her treachery.

The secret items from the weapons later aid the rebels in opposing Yuan government forces. Zhang Wuji ultimately thwarts Cheng Kun's schemes and rescues his captured godfather, bringing an end to the prolonged conflicts in the wulin. Although he plays an important role in uniting various wulin factions against the Yuan government, the real political power is seized by Zhu Yuanzhang, one of his subordinates, who eventually establishes the Ming dynasty and becomes the emperor.

Disillusioned with power struggles, Zhang Wuji relinquishes his position as the Ming Cult's leader. He chooses to leave the wulin with Zhao Min, bringing the trilogy to a close.^[3]

The two titular weapons, the Heaven-Reliant Sword (倚天劍) and the Dragon-Slaying Saber (屠龍刀), were forged from weapons used by Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü, the protagonists of The Return of the Condor Heroes. The Heaven-Reliant Sword was originally the Gentleman and Lady Swords, while the Dragon-Slaying Saber came from the Heavy Iron Sword, which once belonged to Dugu Qiubai. When Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü retired from the wulin, they left their weapons with Guo Jing and Huang Rong. The weapons were then melted and reforged into the two titular weapons.

Hidden in the blades of the weapons are two halves of an iron-plated map of Peach Blossom Island^[4] pointing to a location where the following items are hidden: a military treatise called Book of Wumu by the Song dynasty general Yue Fei; the Nine Yin Manual; and the manual for the skill "Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms". The Dragon-Slaying Saber was given to the Guos' son Guo Polu, while the Guos' younger daughter Guo Xiang received the Heaven-Reliant Sword. The secret of the weapons, in addition to the fact that the weapons can only be damaged when used against each other, were the source of the claim that whoever possesses the Dragon-Slaying Saber can rule the wulin and whoever has the Heaven-Reliant Sword can stand against the Saber's wielder. The secret of the weapons was passed down from Guo Xiang, who founded the Emei Sect, to the next leader of Emei. Zhou Zhiruo eventually learns the secret and acquires both weapons, breaking them by clashing them against each other to obtain the two halves of the iron-plated map.