Chapter Summaries

Xia Liang agreed to teach Dugu Yan Ring Fusion under three conditions, and the two began training at her home. The chapter leaves them preparing for another attempt to transfer Xia Liang’s Ring Fusion energy into Dugu Yan.

• Dugu Yan asked Xia Liang to teach her Ring Fusion, and he agreed if she promised to protect him from Dugu Bo, let him control any future joint technique, and train only on rest days.
• Dugu Yan hurried home after academy dismissal, while Yu Tianheng, Osler, and Yu Feng assumed her grandfather had returned.
• Xia Liang entered Dugu Manor with Dugu Yan’s key and waited for her, then they ate dinner and discussed her progress.
• Xia Liang and Dugu Yan went to the backyard to practice, and she relaxed her body so she could better feel the energy entering it.
• Xia Liang formed a Black-Purple Light Ball by merging his first and Second Soul Rings with his Soul Power.

Xia Liang transferred Ring Fusion Energy to Dugu Yan, who used it to experiment with combining their Martial Souls. Her Jade Phosphorous Serpent briefly transformed beneath his bone armor, but the attempt failed, leaving Xia Liang waiting for a Third Soul Ring to provide enough bones.

• Xia Liang sent Ring Fusion Energy into Dugu Yan and instructed her to study its flow through her body.
• Dugu Yan absorbed the energy into her Soul Power and summoned her Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul.
• Black-Purple bone material covered the serpent as their Martial Soul colors exchanged, but the transformation stopped and the bone armor receded.
• Xia Liang concluded that his Necromancer Skeleton Martial Soul needed more bones, possibly from a Third Soul Ring, to complete a Two-in-One Fusion Skill.
• Xia Liang wondered whether Dugu Yan's serpent could coil around his Necromancer Skeleton if he led the fusion, then thought about Meng Shenji's month-long search for a Bone Dragon in Dragon Valley.

Xia Liang and Dugu Yan cultivated together, and Dugu Yan secretly mastered Ring Fusion while hiding her progress from him. When Dugu Bo returned home, Dugu Yan sent Xia Liang out through the kitchen window, and he escaped before her grandfather could find him.

• Xia Liang restored his Soul Power while Dugu Yan sensed the Ring Fusion Energy in her body.
• Dugu Yan and Xia Liang teased each other about the academy gossip and their relationship before Xia Liang went to make noodles.
• Dugu Yan secretly demonstrated that she had mastered Ring Fusion, then reflected on her parents’ deaths and her wish to overcome the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison.
• Dugu Yan discovered that Dugu Bo had returned and pushed Xia Liang to flee through the kitchen window.
• Xia Liang concealed his scent and aura, then rode Black-Purple Ghost Fire away as Dugu Bo entered the manor.

Dugu Yan told Dugu Bo that Xia Liang had taught her Ring Fusion and other techniques, then watched her grandfather leave when his Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison Backlash flared up. After suppressing the poison at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Bo noticed that the two Deadly Poison Ice and Fire Herbs had been reduced to roots.

• Dugu Yan cooked noodles and explained to Dugu Bo how Xia Liang had taught her Ring Fusion and a possible Two-in-One Fusion Skill.
• Dugu Bo guessed that Dugu Yan and Xia Liang were more than friends, but his Serpent Poison Backlash suddenly struck and he hurried to his secluded dwelling.
• Dugu Bo endured the poison's torment beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, using the spring's spiritual energy to suppress it.
• Dugu Bo worried that Dugu Yan would suffer the same poison and realized the two Deadly Poison Ice and Fire Herbs were missing, leaving only their roots.

Dugu Bo investigated the missing herbs around the Red and Blue Hot Spring Water and began to suspect Xia Liang, whom his granddaughter had mentioned. Xia Liang returned to Heaven Dou City after removing every trace of the Immortal Herbs from his storage pouch and prepared for Dugu Bo to confront him.

• Dugu Bo found the Ice and Fire Herbs and several other herbs missing, and concluded that a knowledgeable Soul Master had taken them.
• Dugu Bo noticed scorched clothing by the red spring and considered whether the thief had died or been killed there.
• Dugu Bo connected the missing herbs and the lost Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch to the Two-Ring Master Xia and decided to inspect it.
• Xia Liang returned from Skywater City and rested at a hotel in Heaven Dou City.
• Xia Liang had the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch repeatedly cleansed, hid his potted Immortal Herbs, and prepared escape plans in case Dugu Bo uncovered the truth.

Xia Liang tested the abilities granted by Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew before learning that Meng Shenji had returned with a Bone Dragon for his fourth Soul Ring. He asked Meng Shenji to torment the Bone Dragon with nightmares, secretly hoping that killing it brutally would increase his chance of obtaining a Soul Bone.

• Xia Liang used Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew’s X-ray Vision to observe a nearby Soul Master and gauge her cultivation, then unsuccessfully tried to search his own soul with the Undead Domain.
• Qin Ming told Xia Liang that Meng Shenji had returned and summoned him to the academy.
• Xia Liang reached the rear mountain and found Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin waiting beside a five-thousand-year Bone Dragon.
• Meng Shenji explained that his Black Demon Martial Soul trapped the Bone Dragon in a recurring dream that would eventually kill it.
• Xia Liang asked Meng Shenji to turn the Bone Dragon’s dream into a nightmare before he killed it and absorbed its Soul Ring.

Xia Liang killed the Bone Dragon and absorbed its five-thousand-year soul ring, then discovered that he had gained a rare External Soul Bone. After hiding it from the Three Education Commissioners, he found himself in his Spiritual World.

• Meng Shenji used Nightmare to torment the Bone Dragon while Xia Liang and the other commissioners prepared to kill it.
• Bai Baoshan helped Xia Liang sever the Bone Dragon’s neck, and Xia Liang absorbed its purple soul ring to form his third soul ring.
• Xia Liang’s Necromancer Skeleton Martial Soul grew a skull, shoulder blades, and rudimentary wing bones, which the Three Education Commissioners attributed to the soul ring.
• Xia Liang discovered a black dragon-claw External Soul Bone covering his left palm and withdrew it into his body before the commissioners could see it.
• Xia Liang experienced a sudden pain in his brain and awoke in a mysterious gray space that he recognized as his Spiritual World.

After absorbing the Bone Dragon soul ring, Xia Liang gained a Spiritual World and learned the powers of his new Soul Bone and Third Soul Skill. He created an eight-meter-tall first form of Susanoo but found it drained his Soul Power quickly, so he began testing whether Ring Fusion could strengthen it.

• Xia Liang formed a Spiritual World after advancing to Soul Elder, while Meng Shenji and Zhilin watched over him as he recovered from absorbing the Bone Dragon soul ring.
• Xia Liang learned that his Bone Dragon External Left Palm Bone granted Space Attribute abilities and the lethal Bone Dragon Thrust skill.
• Xia Liang discovered that his Third Soul Skill, Bone Dragon Transformation, enhanced his skeleton and let him use Spatial Jump for half an hour.
• Xia Liang combined his three Soul Skills to create an eight-meter-tall black-purple Susanoo, but could maintain it for only three minutes before exhausting his Soul Power.
• Xia Liang decided to fuse his three Soul Rings first and channel their power into his Martial Soul to test whether he could create a stronger Susanoo.

After absorbing his Third Soul Ring, Xia Liang tested his improved skeletal defenses in a spar with Yu Tianheng. The chapter left the battle underway as Xia Liang revealed his eight-meter-tall Bone Transformation Susanoo.

• Xia Liang saw signs that his Necromancer Skeleton Martial Soul was growing new bones, then nearly collapsed after spending eighteen hours in the Spiritual World; he gained a Third Soul Ring, an External Soul Bone, and Soul Power level thirty-six.
• The Three Education Commissioners let Xia Liang take the bone dragon corpse after Zhilin checked it for soul bones, and Xia Liang secretly kept his External Left Palm Bone concealed.
• At the academy, Dugu Yan and Xia Liang teased each other while Yu Tianheng challenged Xia Liang to a spar on the Academy Back Mountain.
• Xia Liang used his Third Soul Skill to teleport around Yu Tianheng, then endured Yu Tianheng's attacks without his rib defense breaking.
• Xia Liang activated all three Soul Rings, transforming his ribs into an eight-meter-tall upper-body skeleton with a skull and giant bone hands.

Xia Liang overwhelmed Yu Tianheng in their spar, using teleporting blade strikes and his skeletal arms to restrain and burn him. The battle ended with Yu Tianheng screaming in Xia Liang’s grasp as Dugu Yan and the others watched in alarm.

• Xia Liang dismissed Bone Transformation Susanoo when Yu Tianheng could not face its power, then Yu Tianheng attacked with Thunder Dragon Claw.
• Xia Liang blocked Yu Tianheng’s lightning with Black-Purple Ribs and used Finger Bullets to numb his limbs before striking him with the Iron Bone Blade.
• Xia Liang repeatedly teleported around Yu Tianheng and slashed him, while Yu Tianheng endured the wounds and demanded another attack.
• Xia Liang kicked Yu Tianheng into the air and brought down a Skeleton Left Arm, but Yu Tianheng used Thundering Myriad Jun to escape its palm.
• Xia Liang seized Yu Tianheng with a Skeleton Right Arm and covered him in black ghost fire as Dugu Yan, Osler, and the others grew tense and Ye Lingling watched calmly.

Xia Liang defeated Yu Tianheng in a soul battle before returning from Sunset Forest and encountering Dugu Bo on the road to Heaven Dou City. Dugu Bo demanded that Xia Liang hand over the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch.

• Ye Lingling healed Yu Tianheng, who conceded defeat to Xia Liang and congratulated him on his Third Soul Skill.
• Dugu Yan warned Ye Lingling against Xia Liang, while Yu Tianheng considered bringing Ye Lingling back to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
• Xia Liang trained in Sunset Forest, where he killed a newly ten-thousand-year Cave Demon Spider and decided he needed a powerful backer.
• Xia Liang encountered Dugu Bo on the Official Road, pretended to be affected by his poison, and swallowed an Anti-Poison Pill.
• Dugu Bo demanded that Xia Liang hand over the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch.

Xia Liang convinced Dugu Bo that he had not stolen herbs from the Red and Blue Hot Springs, and Dugu Bo returned the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch and gave him Anti-Poison Pills. As Xia Liang prepared to leave, he warned Dugu Bo that Dugu Yan’s Internal Mixed Poison might be harming her, leaving Dugu Bo wary of what he intended to say.

• Dugu Bo inspected Xia Liang’s Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch, found ordinary cooking ingredients inside, and returned it to him.
• Xia Liang explained the restorative soup he had made, and Dugu Bo judged that its ingredients could not be the herbs stolen from his hot springs.
• Dugu Bo realized Xia Liang’s Anti-Poison Pills and Skeleton Martial Soul might have let him cross the Poison Array, then gave him a bottle of pills.
• Dugu Bo offered Xia Liang a reward for helping Dugu Yan, but Xia Liang said the pouch and pills were enough because he had helped her as a friend.
• Xia Liang told Dugu Bo that Dugu Yan’s darkening hair and eyes might be signs of harm from Internal Mixed Poison, and Dugu Bo asked what he was trying to say.

Xia Liang proposed using a Soul Bone to store Yan Yan’s serpent poison and discussed researching nourishing foods with Dugu Bo. Dugu Bo brought Xia Liang through his Poison Array to his herb garden, where Xia Liang began examining the rare plants.

• Xia Liang suggested strengthening Yan Yan’s body through dietary treatment and using a Soul Bone as a Poison Sac to keep serpent poison from damaging her flesh.
• Dugu Bo considered the method for Yan Yan and himself, then questioned Xia Liang about his research into advanced herbs.
• Dugu Bo took Xia Liang to his herb garden in the Sunset Forest’s Core Area, carrying him through the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison Array.
• Dugu Bo cleared the dangerous mist around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and led Xia Liang to the garden’s rare herbs.
• Xia Liang recognized some plants from botanical books and asked Dugu Bo to come look at a Golden Great Chrysanthemum.

Xia Liang identified the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and Earth Dragon Golden Gourd in the medicine garden, convincing Dugu Bo that he was not the herb thief. He proposed that Yan Yan could use the gourd’s earth-control power to contain her serpent poison, but left open the possibility of finding another remedy.

• Dugu Bo recognized the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, and Xia Liang explained that Chrysanthemum Douluo’s martial soul was based on the herb.
• Dugu Bo decided Xia Liang was not the person who stole six herbs and invited him to identify other plants.
• Xia Liang found an Earth Dragon Golden Gourd and explained that it could give Yan Yan power over the earth and potentially help her control or overcome her serpent poison.
• Dugu Bo considered using the gourd to spread his poison underground but gave it to Xia Liang for Yan Yan instead.
• Xia Liang regretted that he lacked the herbal knowledge to identify the other plants near the hot spring.

Xia Liang arranged with Dugu Bo to help him acquire the Speed Clan’s Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng and gathered several rare herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He planned to trade Dugu Bo’s Anti-Poison Pills to the Breaking Clan for herbal knowledge and set out to find the clan in the Star Luo Empire.

• Xia Liang told Dugu Bo he would learn herbal knowledge to help Yan Yan resolve her Serpent Poison Backlash, and Dugu Bo questioned his feelings for her.
• Xia Liang warned that approaching Chrysanthemum Douluo with rare herbs could expose Dugu Bo’s collection, then asked Dugu Bo to buy the Speed Clan’s Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng in Poison Douluo’s name.
• Dugu Bo agreed to help, and Xia Liang collected the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and other rare herbs, including the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, Aromatic Silk Beauty, Narcissus Jade Bone, Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King, and Nine-Rank Purple Ganoderma.
• Xia Liang planned to exchange Dugu Bo’s Anti-Poison Pills with the Breaking Clan for herbal knowledge, reasoning that the pills would help them safely handle ingredients while refining medicines.
• Xia Liang recalled that the Breaking Clan was secluded in the Star Luo Empire and planned to search near its imperial city, then ask about Tang San and Xiao Wu on his return.

After collecting herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Xia Liang accepted Dugu Bo’s invitation to stay at Dugu Manor so Dugu Bo could confront him and Dugu Yan about their relationship. Dugu Bo pressured Dugu Yan to act on her feelings and produced an aphrodisiac, but she hid it when Xia Liang returned with dinner.

• Xia Liang collected about seven herbs and accepted Dugu Bo’s invitation to stay at Dugu Manor.
• Dugu Bo explained that Dugu Yan would return that night and said he wanted to clear up the academy rumors by questioning them face-to-face.
• Dugu Yan returned home and found Xia Liang cooking dinner at her manor.
• Dugu Bo confronted Dugu Yan about the rumors and her feelings for Xia Liang, while she denied that he had confessed to her and admitted they had only accidentally held hands.
• Dugu Bo produced an aphrodisiac and urged Dugu Yan to put it in the food, but she hid the bottle when Xia Liang came out with the final dish.

Dugu Bo tried to bring Xia Liang and Dugu Yan together over drinks, but Xia Liang respected Dugu Yan’s request to wait. The next morning, Xia Liang evolved Gastly into Haunter, advanced to Soul Power rank thirty-seven, and examined the Bone Dragon dagger’s spatial connection.

• Dugu Bo invited Xia Liang to drink toxic wine, hoping to bring him and Dugu Yan together, but Dugu Yan stayed silent and nervous.
• After five jugs, Dugu Bo suffered a Serpent Poison Backlash and left; Xia Liang agreed to Dugu Yan’s request not to rush their relationship and suggested they cultivate together.
• The next morning, Xia Liang formed Haunter in his Spiritual World and discovered that its detached claws could move and grab targets from a distance.
• Xia Liang found that Haunter was stronger than Gastly without requiring more Soul Power or Spiritual Power to summon.
• After refining two pieces of Ten-Thousand Year Icy Marrow, Xia Liang’s Soul Power rose from rank thirty-six to rank thirty-seven, and he inspected the Bone Dragon dagger’s link to his Bone Dragon Soul Ring.

Xia Liang prepared Bone Dragon Daggers to improve his escape options, then met with Xue Qinghe, who gave him a Crown Prince’s Golden Token and encouraged him to visit the Imperial Palace. Meanwhile, Dugu Yan learned Xia Liang had gone to Star Luo City to seek medicinal knowledge that might help her, and she worried about whether he would return.

• Xia Liang planned to use Haunters to turn the remaining Bone Dragon bones into daggers that could serve as teleportation points.
• Xue Qinghe summoned Xia Liang, asked about his five-thousand-year Third Soul Ring and outdoor training plans, and gave him a Golden Token.
• Xue Qinghe urged Xia Liang to visit the Imperial Palace and consult the academy before choosing his Fourth Soul Ring.
• Dugu Yan asked Dugu Bo whether Xia Liang would return from Star Luo City, and Dugu Bo told her he had gone to learn about medicinal herbs for her Serpent Poison Backlash.
• Dugu Yan realized she missed Xia Liang and felt heartache after their separation.

Xia Liang and Dugu Bo reunited in Star Luo City after separately negotiating with the Speed Clan and Breaking Clan. Xia Liang obtained the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng and planned to stay with the Breaking Clan to study its herbal knowledge in hopes of curing Yan Yan’s Serpent Poison Backlash.

• Xia Liang met Dugu Bo in Star Luo City, and they agreed that Dugu Bo would buy the Speed Clan’s Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng while Xia Liang traded Anti-Poison Pills for the Breaking Clan’s herbal knowledge.
• Dugu Bo gave Xia Liang a Jade Phosphorous identity token for protection, and they went to negotiate with their respective clans.
• Two days later, Dugu Bo gave Xia Liang the genuine Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng in a jade box.
• Xia Liang told Dugu Bo that the Breaking Clan had agreed to teach him herbal knowledge in exchange for Anti-Poison Pills, but he would need to stay with them to study.
• Dugu Bo urged Xia Liang to keep his identity token and be cautious with the Breaking Clan as Xia Liang prepared to study there and seek a cure for Yan Yan.

After parting from Dugu Bo, Xia Liang secretly set out alone with the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng and headed through the Star Dou Great Forest. There, he discovered Soul Masters surrounding a Cat Martial Soul user and went to investigate, leaving the encounter unresolved.

• Dugu Bo left the Tea House after warning Xia Liang not to flirt with the Breaking Clan patriarch's granddaughter, and Xia Liang departed with tea leaves.
• Outside Star Luo City, Xia Liang examined the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng and considered it a possible match for Dugu Yan, though she would need an auxiliary Immortal Herb to absorb it safely.
• Xia Liang used the herbal books he had obtained from the Breaking Clan to complete his studies and continued alone toward Heaven Dou City, planning to collect the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone and Blue Silver Emperor Seedling.
• Three days later, Xia Liang entered the Star Dou Great Forest at level thirty-eight and traveled through its Outer Area with Haunter helping him.
• That night, a Haunter reported that Soul Masters had cornered a female Soul Master with a Cat Martial Soul, so Xia Liang approached with several Haunter and used his X-ray Vision to survey the group.