Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan endured the pain of opening his meridians and absorbed the remaining power of a Peak Fourth-Grade Pill as he compressed his overflowing Dou Qi. He formed a Dou Crystal and broke through to Da Dou Shi, then told Elder Yao he had succeeded.

• Xiao Yan opened tiny meridians throughout his body, greatly increasing the speed at which he could absorb and circulate energy.
• Xiao Yan filled his Dou Qi vortex to its limit while refining the pill, then began compressing the liquid energy to prevent it from bursting.
• As the vortex spun faster, Xiao Yan’s Battle Qi gauze gathered into the rudimentary form of armor.
• Xiao Yan compressed the vortex’s liquid energy until a diamond-shaped Dou Crystal formed at its center.
• Xiao Yan opened his eyes and told Elder Yao that he had succeeded.

After breaking through to Da Dou Shi, Xiao Yan tested his new strength and prepared to face Nalan Yanran. He reached the foot of Misty Cloud Mountain and began climbing toward the duel.

• Xiao Yan demonstrated his new Da Dou Shi strength by releasing Dou Qi and punching through a pillar.
• Xiao Yan left the inn, abandoned his Yan Xiao disguise, and tested the Black Ruler against boulders and trees outside the capital.
• Elder Yao warned Xiao Yan to end the duel quickly, and Xiao Yan took a pill to replenish his Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan passed the military camp beneath Misty Cloud Mountain and reached the ancient stone steps leading to the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Xiao Yan began climbing the steps, determined to make Nalan Yanran repay the humiliation she had brought upon his family.

Gu He and Yun Yun prepared for Nalan Yanran’s duel with Xiao Yan by giving her protective inner armor in case the soul body accompanying Xiao Yan interfered. Nalan Yanran set out confidently, joined by Liu Ling, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin, as the duel approached.

• Yun Yun worried that the soul body hidden with Xiao Yan might attack Nalan Yanran during the duel, and Gu He agreed that they should prepare for that possibility.
• Gu He gave Yun Yun a white inner armor that could protect its wearer from attacks stronger than Dou Wang, and Yun Yun brought it to Nalan Yanran.
• Nalan Yanran initially insisted she did not need protection because she was a Dou Wang, but Yun Yun persuaded her to wear the inner armor as a gift.
• After Nalan Yanran changed into the inner armor, she left the building and greeted Liu Ling, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin, who had come to watch her duel with Xiao Yan.

The Misty Cloud Sect gathered its disciples and prominent Jia Ma Empire figures to witness Nalan Yanran’s duel, while the guests discussed Gu He and watched Xiao Yi Xian with growing wariness. Xiao Yan arrived at the plaza, where he and Nalan Yanran faced each other as the three-year agreement’s confrontation was about to begin.

• Fa Ma, Jia Xing Tian, Hai Bodong, and other notable figures arrived at the Misty Cloud Sect plaza and observed the disciples’ coordinated formation.
• Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma questioned Gu He’s strength, and Hai Bodong said he believed Gu He had reached at least the High-Level Dou Huang realm two years earlier.
• Liu Ling, Xiao Yi Xian, Nalan Yanran, and Qing Lin emerged from the main hall, and Nalan Yanran walked alone to the center of the plaza.
• Jia Xing Tian, Fa Ma, and Hai Bodong sensed that Xiao Yi Xian seemed stronger than before and grew wary of her.
• Xiao Yan climbed the steps carrying his Black Ruler and met Nalan Yanran’s gaze in the plaza.

Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran prepared to duel at the Misty Cloud Sect, where Xiao Yan rejected the proposed friendly terms. The match was declared one where life and death would be left to fate.

• Xiao Yan announced his name before the Misty Cloud Sect disciples, and Nalan Yanran answered for the Nalan Clan.
• Fa Ma suspected Xiao Yan was the alchemist Yan Xiao and told Jia Xing Tian and Hai Bodong that Xiao Yan was not ordinary.
• Mu Chen and Nalan Jie discussed how much Xiao Yan had changed since his engagement to Nalan Yanran was broken.
• Yun Leng began to explain the friendly terms of the match, but Xiao Yan interrupted and declared that life and death would be left to fate.
• Nalan Yanran accepted Xiao Yan's terms, and Yun Leng agreed to let the duel proceed that way.

Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran began their long-awaited three-year agreement duel, each confronting the grievances between them. Nalan Yanran’s seemingly ordinary technique proved far stronger than Xiao Yan expected, leaving him injured and disarmed.

• Xiao Yan declared that he had come to settle the humiliation Nalan Yanran had brought upon the Xiao Family.
• Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran traded defiant words before Yun Leng announced the start of their duel.
• Xiao Yan charged at Nalan Yanran with his Heavy Black Ruler, but Elder Yao urgently warned him to retreat when she formed a powerful wind vortex.
• Nalan Yanran’s wind vortex struck Xiao Yan, cutting his hand and sweeping away the Heavy Black Ruler.
• Nalan Yanran became tense when Xiao Yan was injured by her supposedly suppressed attack, while Elder Yao sighed as Xiao Yan retreated in pain.

Xiao Yan unleashed hidden power that seemed to reach Dou Wang, but Nalan Yanran revealed that she had reached the same realm. As Nalan Yanran gathered energy for her next attack, Elder Yao urged Xiao Yan to stop and live to pursue her again.

• Xiao Yan's sudden burst of power shattered Nalan Yanran's wind vortex, and Fa Ma identified him to Jia Xing Tian and Hai Bodong as Yan Xiao from the Alchemist Conference.
• Liu Ling claimed Xiao Yan had borrowed another person's soul power before, while Xiao Yi Xian warned that she would intervene if Xiao Yan used it to attack Nalan Yanran.
• Nalan Yanran put aside her contempt for Xiao Yan and challenged him to fight without holding back, while Xiao Yan believed he had already lost and began to concede.
• Nalan Yanran rose into the air with Dou Qi wings, revealing that she had reached Dou Wang and shocking Xiao Yan and the spectators.
• Nalan Yanran gathered energy into her sword as Elder Yao urged Xiao Yan to stop and pursue her again in three years.

Xiao Yan remained dazed as Nalan Yanran unleashed a powerful sword technique, forcing Elder Yao to take control of his body and block the attack. Before she could use an even stronger technique, Xiao Yan admitted defeat and vowed to return to Misty Cloud Mountain in three years.

• Nalan Yanran’s Wind Extreme: Setting Sun Radiance struck Xiao Yan, who was too dazed to evade.
• Elder Yao took control of Xiao Yan’s body and formed an energy shield that blocked Nalan Yanran’s attack without damage.
• Xiao Yi Xian stood ready to intervene when she sensed Xiao Yan’s aura change.
• Nalan Yanran gathered energy for the Earth-tier Advanced Dou Technique Sky Severing Sword Art, and Yun Leng ordered the Misty Cloud Sect disciples to leave the plaza.
• Xiao Yan admitted defeat and declared that he would return to Misty Cloud Mountain in three years.

Xiao Yi Xian confronted Xiao Yan after he admitted defeat and tried to leave the Misty Cloud Sect, accusing him of borrowing another person's soul power. Their clash revealed that both had reached the Dou Zong realm, and the spectators evacuated as Xiao Yi Xian took over the matter.

• Xiao Yan conceded to Nalan Yanran and flew away from the Misty Cloud Sect, renewing his promise to return in three years.
• Xiao Yi Xian blocked Xiao Yan's path and accused him of borrowing another person's soul power and leaving without explaining his surrender.
• Fa Ma realized Xiao Yi Xian was referring to the soul of a senior residing within Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yi Xian struck Xiao Yan, and he met her palm with his own, producing a shockwave that shook the plaza.
• Jia Xing Tian, Fa Ma, and Hai Bodong recognized both fighters as Dou Zong experts and worried about the Misty Cloud Sect's strength.
• Yun Leng ordered the disciples to evacuate, while Liu Ling led Qing Lin away and told Nalan Yanran to let Xiao Yi Xian handle the matter.

Xiao Yi Xian trapped the soul possessing Xiao Yan inside a spatial Poison Mist Prison, where she revealed her Netherworld Poison Fire. The soul struggled against the prison’s poison and launched a powerful attack at her.

• Xiao Yan’s possessor burned away Xiao Yi Xian’s poison and declared that he could escape, while Nalan Yanran rejected Xiao Yan and flew to Liu Ling and Qing Lin.
• Xiao Yi Xian warped the space around the plaza into a prison and filled it with poisonous mist that hindered movement and prevented the possessor from replenishing his Dou Qi.
• The prison blocked outsiders’ view and rebounded Fa Ma’s soul perception, while Ling Ying watched from hiding and Liu Ling reassured Nalan Yanran and Qing Lin.
• Xiao Yi Xian summoned a giant Purple Butterfly, which the possessor recognized as Netherworld Poison Fire, and its presence intensified the poison and drained his strength.
• The possessor summoned the Heavy Black Ruler and fired a crescent-shaped energy blade at Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Yi Xian defeated the power controlling Xiao Yan and forced Elder Yao to retreat, then secured Nalan Yanran’s victory in the three-year agreement. The spectators realized that Gu He’s Dou Zong disciple would greatly raise the Misty Cloud Sect’s standing in the Jia Ma Empire.

• Xiao Yi Xian and Elder Yao, controlling Xiao Yan’s body, exchanged powerful attacks inside the Poison Mist Prison, and the poisonous mist briefly threatened the spectators.
• Fa Ma sensed that Xiao Yan’s borrowed power was weakening, and Elder Yao suddenly coughed up black blood as poison spread across Xiao Yan’s body.
• Elder Yao decided not to continue fighting and fled into the mountains, while Xiao Yi Xian let him go after achieving her goal.
• Xiao Yi Xian ordered the elders to announce the result, and Yun Leng declared Nalan Yanran the winner of the three-year agreement.
• Xiao Yi Xian, Liu Ling, Nalan Yanran, and Qing Lin went to Gu He’s courtyard as Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma considered the consequences of her victory.

Gu He and Yun Yun reunited with their disciples after Nalan Yanran’s agreement with Xiao Yan ended, and received Jia Xing Tian, Fa Ma, and Hai Bodong as guests. Gu He then asked the three seniors to witness his marriage agreement with Yun Yun.

• Liu Ling told Gu He and Yun Yun about Nalan Yanran’s completed agreement and the soul body accompanying Xiao Yan.
• Gu He said the imperial seniors would soon visit and that he and Yun Yun had an announcement to make.
• Jia Xing Tian, Fa Ma, and Hai Bodong arrived at Gu He’s courtyard and praised his disciples.
• Gu He introduced Liu Ling, Xiao Yi Xian, Nalan Yanran, and Qing Lin to the three seniors.
• Gu He took Yun Yun’s hand and asked the seniors to witness their marriage agreement, which Jia Xing Tian welcomed.

Gu He and Yun Yun announced their marriage, and Yun Shan joined the Misty Cloud Sect gathering after breaking through to Dou Zong with Gu He's help. Yun Shan left the elders with the news that the wedding would take place in half a month.

• Yun Yun welcomed Jia Xing Tian, Fa Ma, and Hai Bodong to the Misty Cloud Sect and promised a banquet, saying Yun Shan would emerge from seclusion.
• Gu He and Yun Yun sat together with their companions in the main hall, where the elders recognized their close relationship.
• Yun Shan arrived at Dou Zong strength, and the elders respectfully greeted him.
• Jia Xing Tian, Fa Ma, and Hai Bodong exchanged remarks with Yun Shan about his breakthrough and their generation growing old.
• Yun Shan announced that Yun Yun and Gu He would hold their wedding in half a month.

The Misty Cloud Sect prepared for Yun Yun and Gu He's wedding while Gu He refined two hundred years of returned cultivation and advanced to the middle stage of Seven-star Dou Zun. Two days before the wedding, his four disciples celebrated the preparations and discussed the gifts awaiting the guests.

• Yun Shan ordered Yun Leng to oversee the wedding, and the elders assigned invitations to Gu He's four disciples and other preparations to Yun Leng and the elders.
• Yun Yun encouraged Gu He to cultivate in seclusion and promised to handle the wedding arrangements.
• Gu He extracted and refined two hundred years of cultivation, breaking through to Six-star Dou Zun and then reaching the middle stage of Seven-star Dou Zun.
• Gu He postponed refining the Five Hundred Years of Cultivation because the wedding was only two days away.
• Liu Ling told the gathered disciples that more than a thousand invitations had been sent, while Nalan Yanran and Qing Lin discussed the wedding and its guests' Third-grade Pill gifts.

Liu Ling and his fellow disciples discussed their future plans before the Misty Cloud Sect hosted Gu He and Yun Yun’s wedding. The bride arrived, and Gu He went to meet her as the ceremony began.

• Xiao Yi Xian warned Nalan Yanran that she would shoulder more responsibility for the Misty Cloud Sect after Gu He and Yun Yun married, and Liu Ling suggested she eventually pass the position to a disciple.
• Liu Ling said he planned to return to Stone Desert City and build the greatest mercenary corps, while Xiao Yi Xian said she would spend most of her time at the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Qing Lin struggled to explain her plans, and Liu Ling told her to stay in Nine-Colored Valley and cultivate for two years, prompting her to storm out of the pavilion.
• Guests from across the Jia Ma Empire gathered at the Misty Cloud Sect for Gu He and Yun Yun’s wedding.
• The bride arrived in a red gown, and Liu Ling urged Gu He to go meet Yun Yun; Gu He walked toward her as the guests watched.

Gu He and Yun Yun celebrated their wedding at the Misty Cloud Sect, while guests marveled at the lavish ceremony and sought marriage matches with Gu He's disciples. After the celebrations, Gu He returned with Yun Yun to the bridal chamber, where he chased away their spying disciples and prepared to consummate their marriage.

• Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yi Xian handed Gu He a red knot before he led Yun Yun to the ceremonial platform, where Yun Shan announced their marriage.
• Gu He and Yun Yun completed their wedding amid cheers, and the Misty Cloud Sect gave every guest, including children, a fourth-tier medicinal pill.
• Jia Xing Tian, other influential figures, and wealthy clans sought marriage matches with Gu He's disciples, but Gu He declined their proposals according to the disciples' wishes.
• Spies reported that Xiao Yi Xian had unified the Cloud Mist Empire under the Poison Sect, prompting Jia Xing Tian, Hai Bodong, and Fa Ma to treat her with greater reverence.
• Gu He returned to the bridal chamber with Yun Yun and kissed her, while Qing Lin, Nalan Yanran, Liu Ling, and Xiao Yi Xian spied through a hole in the wall.
• After Qing Lin spotted Gu He's shadow and the disciples fled, Gu He sealed the bridal chamber and approached Yun Yun.

After arranging for Nalan Yanran to succeed Yun Yun as Sect Leader and telling his disciples that he and Yun Yun planned to visit the Central Plains, Gu He entered seclusion to refine stored cultivation. He reached the peak of Nine-star Dou Zun and considered beginning the Nine Revolutions to Sainthood.

• Gu He asked Nalan Yanran to take over as Sect Leader, and she confidently accepted.
• Gu He told his disciples that he and Yun Yun would leave for the Central Plains within a month and encouraged them to choose their own paths.
• Yun Yun formally retired, and Nalan Yanran succeeded her as Sect Leader of the Misty Cloud Sect.
• After twenty-four days in seclusion, Gu He refined the stored cultivation and broke through to the peak of Nine-star Dou Zun.
• Gu He reflected on the Nine Revolutions to Sainthood and concluded that his cultivation returns would keep him supplied with Dou Qi for the refinement process.

After emerging from seclusion as a peak Nine-star Dou Zun, Gu He reunited with Yun Yun and boosted his four disciples’ cultivation before setting off with his wife on a leisurely honeymoon. They reached the Black Region Great Plain, where Gu He sensed several familiar auras ahead.

• Gu He told Yun Yun he was a peak Nine-star Dou Zun, and they spent time together after he left seclusion.
• Gu He summoned Liu Ling, Xiao Yi Xian, Nalan Yanran, and Qing Lin, then raised their cultivation and warned them to conceal their strength.
• Gu He gave Xiao Yi Xian a new Void Jade Talisman, reminded Nalan Yanran to use hers in danger, and told Qing Lin she could not leave the mountain.
• The next day, Gu He and Yun Yun left the Misty Cloud Sect on the Black Scaled Cold Flood Dragon to enjoy a honeymoon across the continent.
• After half a month of travel, Gu He and Yun Yun reached the Black Region Great Plain, where Gu He sensed several familiar auras ahead.

A Soul Hall Protector ambushed Xiao Yan’s caravan on the Black Region Great Plain, seeking the powerful soul body of Elder Yao. Elder Yao took control of Xiao Yan and fought back, but after revealing the Bone Spirit Cold Fire, he was recognized as Yao Chen.

• A Soul Hall Protector blocked the caravan and demanded that Xiao Yan hand over Elder Yao’s soul body.
• Xiao Yan stepped forward to spare the caravan, but the Protector refused and attacked with three black chains.
• Xiao Yan let Elder Yao control his body, and Elder Yao repelled the chains with the Black Ruler as the caravan fled.
• The Protector darkened the sky with black mist and vanished, forcing Elder Yao to reveal the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.
• Elder Yao struck the hidden Protector, who recognized the Bone Spirit Cold Fire and exclaimed that he was Yao Chen.

Yao Chen revealed his soul form and fought the Soul Hall Protector with Bone Spirit Cold Fire, resisting the Protector’s soul-binding chain. As Yao Chen pursued him, a gigantic black Flood Dragon appeared, leaving Xiao Yan and the caravan overwhelmed by its terrifying aura.

• The Soul Hall Protector recognized Yao Chen inside Xiao Yan and attacked him with a chain designed to restrain soul bodies.
• Yao Chen repelled the chain with Bone Spirit Cold Fire and formed a flaming ruler, warning the Protector to fight seriously or die.
• The Soul Hall Protector retreated and threatened that Soul Hall would hunt Yao Chen across the continent, but Yao Chen pursued him.
• A vast aura emerged from the distant sky, and a gigantic black Flood Dragon appeared above the plains.
• Xiao Yan and the caravan struggled under the beast’s pressure, and someone feared they were doomed.