The novel is set in the late Ming dynasty. The protagonist, Yuan Chengzhi, is the son of Yuan Chonghuan, a patriotic military general who was wrongly put to death by the Chongzhen Emperor. The orphaned Yuan was brought to the Mount Hua Sect, where he was tutored in martial arts by Mu Renqing. After he grows up to become a fine young martial artist, he leaves Mount Hua in search of adventure. Serendipitous incidents lead him to discover the Golden Serpent Sword and a martial arts manual, which once belonged to Xia Xueyi, a long dead enigmatic swordsman. Yuan inherits Xia's possessions and skills and becomes more powerful than before.
Yuan Chengzhi wanders around the land and meets Wen Qingqing, a young maiden from a family of brigands. Wen is actually Xia Xueyi's daughter and she follows Yuan after being expelled from her family. Yuan initially wanted to seek redress for his father, but eventually decides to join Li Zicheng's rebel army to overthrow the corrupt Ming government. He helps the rebels retrieve the gold robbed by the Wen family, sabotages a battery of cannons supplied to the Ming army by foreigners, and finances the rebellion with part of the treasure he discovered in Nanjing. Yuan also befriends several martial artists, who pledge allegiance to him out of respect for his heroism. He organises his followers to form an army and they pledge to serve and defend the Ming Empire from invaders from Manchuria.
Eager to prove his loyalty to his fellow countrymen, Yuan Chengzhi infiltrates the Manchu capital, Mukden, and attempts to assassinate the Manchu emperor, Huangtaiji, but fails. Later, despite having a grudge against the Chongzhen Emperor for his father's death, he saves the emperor from a coup launched by a treacherous noble, Prince Hui. Around the same time, he meets He Tieshou, one of Prince Hui's allies and the leader of the Five Poisons Cult. Yuan succeeds in reforming her and accepts her as his apprentice. He also develops romantic relationships with Wen Qingqing and another maiden, A'jiu, who is actually Princess Changping, a daughter of the Chongzhen Emperor.
Yuan Chengzhi's decision to support Li Zicheng eventually makes him regret, because after overthrowing the Ming government, Li not only fails to fulfil his promises to restore peace and stability, but also condones his followers' brutality towards the common people. Yuan is disappointed with Li and decides to leave. Wu Sangui, a former Ming general, later defects to the Manchus and allows them to pass through Shanhai Pass. The Manchus eventually conquer the rest of China and establish the Qing dynasty. Yuan realises that he is unable to do anything to reverse the situation and decides to leave for good, so he sails to a distant land with his companions.
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