Spoilers Below!

In the time of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1367-1643) Ku Sheng-chai lives with his mother in a remote village in Northern China.   A girl moves into a deserted fort near Ku’s house and befriends his mother.   One night, the girl invites Ku to her house and he spends the night.   The following morning, they are awoken by Ou-yang Nien, who taunts the girl into a duel.   He is chased away, and Ku discovers the girl is a wanted criminal.   The girl admits to Ku that she is really Yang Hui-chen, the daughter of the late Grand Censor Yang Lien, who was tortured to death by the notorious eunuch-controlled Eastern Group.   Yang fled with two of her father’s loyal guards and was pursued by Ou-yang Nien.  They were rescued by a priest named Hui-yuan, a Buddhist priest who taught Yang the art of self-defence in the intervening years.   She is now in hiding, awaiting her opportunity to avenge her father’s death and rid the country of the dreaded Eastern Group.

Ou-yang Nien returns with others, but Ku and Yang manage to defeat them.   They must then confront Men Ta, a captain of the Eastern Group, and his second-in-command.   Realising they are vastly out-numbered, Ku devises a number of skirmishes designed to crush the enemy’s spirit before the ultimate battle.   They succeed in defeating Men Ta and his men, but at a cost of many lives.   Hearing of this, Hui-yuan performs a ritual for their spirits, after which they escort, after which they escort Yang back to the monastery.

Yang gives birth to Ku’s baby, and sends it on to him while she remains in the monastery.   However, Hui-yuan, realising that she is still attached to the outside world, sends her to Ku.

While Ku is carrying their baby back home, he is spotted by a villager who reports him to Hsu Hsien-chun, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Group in the North.   Yang and her friend attempt to come to Ku’s rescue as Hsu Hsien-chun and his forces move in.   They are on the verge of defeat when Hui-yuan once again saves them.   Hsu feigns penitence and wounds Hui-yuan while he is off-guard.   Yang and her friend fight Hui-yuan in anger and he falls over a cliff edge.  Hui-yuan, mortally wounded, seeks and finds Nirvana.