Hu Ge was involved in a car accident on 29 August 2006 while travelling from Hengdian to Shanghai on the highway, resulting in the shooting of the series being delayed due to recovery from his injuries. and Bryan Leung as Hong Qigong respectively in the series. Screen captures of the original shot and reshot. During the shooting delay due to Hu Ge's recovery from the accident, the filmmakers started a new project The Fairies of Liaozhai to keep the crew members occupied while waiting to resume work on The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Sun Xing was originally cast as Hong Qigong but was later replaced by Bryan Leung due to the delay resulting from Hu Ge's recovery, which made Sun decide to move on, causing legal conflict. Sun filmed some scenes prior to his replacement, and those scenes were reshot again later with Leung taking over Sun's role. Segments from The Young Warriors were reused for the flashback scene depicting Yang Zaixing's death. The Song military costumes were originally made for The Young Warriors. The Mongol military costumes were later reused in A Weaver on the Horizon.
Reception
The series was generally well received in China, despite courting some controversy by changing certain portions of the novel for aesthetic purposes to reach modern audiences. Some antagonists, such as Yang Kang and Wanyan Honglie, also deviate from their counterparts in the novel, to the point that they are portrayed in a more positive light. Other significant deviations from the original story include: greater drama in the rivalry between Guo Jing and Yang Kang; the Yangs' troubled relationship with each other before they acknowledge themselves as family and Yang Kang's desire for vengeance after his parents' deaths; Yang Kang meeting his newborn son and raising the child with Mu Nianci months before his death; Yang Kang's final repentance before letting Ouyang Feng kill him. This resulted in criticism from the audience, who said that the series resembled a Chiung Yao drama where there are often unnecessary and exaggerated conflicts inserted into the storyline.
