Chapter Summaries

Lin Ran defeated Yun Potian and began purifying and repairing the Gate of Life and Death to make it the Saint Rain Sect’s base. Outside, Yun Yun sent Nalan Yanran to cultivate in the Saint Flame Qi Refining Room, where Nalan endured the flame’s painful refinement and felt her unstable Dou Qi growing more solid.

• Lin Ran burned Yun Potian to ashes, then destroyed the dim light that tried to possess Nalan Yanran.
• Lin Ran sent Nalan Yanran out of the Gate of Life and Death and began purifying and repairing its pocket space.
• Nalan Yanran returned to the sect and told Yun Yun what had happened to Yun Potian and the Gate of Life and Death.
• Yun Yun brought Nalan Yanran to the Saint Flame Qi Refining Room and explained how to cultivate beside Lin Ran’s subsidiary flame.
• Nalan Yanran’s first attempt ended when she coughed up blood, but she recovered and insisted on trying again.
• Nalan Yanran endured the Saint Gold Fallen Heart Flame’s searing refinement and felt her unstable Dou Qi become more solid.

Yao Ye sent her younger sister Yao Yue to Jia Nan Academy as the Jia Ma Empire faced war and political upheaval, while Queen Medusa ordered the Snake-People Tribe to migrate to the Mulan Empire. Xiao Yan returned to Wutan City to see his family, unaware that Han Feng was watching him with an ancient jade fragment and a plan to provoke his growth.

• Yao Ye learned that the great families had offered money and supplies but not troops, then ordered Elder Xing to offer Gu He the position of Imperial Preceptor if he refined the Primordial Bone-Shaping Pill.
• Yao Ye summoned Yao Yue and ordered her to leave for Jia Nan Academy, despite her protests.
• Queen Medusa rejected her commanders’ calls to expand into Jia Ma territory and ordered the Snake-People Tribe to migrate through the Black Corner Region to the Mulan Empire.
• Xiao Yan flew from the Imperial Capital toward Wutan City, stopping along the way to gather medicinal ingredients before finally entering the city.
• Han Feng watched Xiao Yan arrive in Wutan City, examined an ancient jade fragment, and planned to use a surprise to stir up his junior brother’s hatred and anger.

Xiao Yan returned to Wutan City and discovered that a Soul Clan attacker had killed his father and two elders, while his teacher had likely been taken by the Soul Hall. Learning how vast and dangerous his enemies were, he resolved to grow stronger at Jia Nan Academy and ordered the Xiao Family to evacuate to the Imperial Capital.

• Xiao Yan returned to Wutan City and found the Xiao Family residence bloodied and devastated.
• Xiao Qing and the Third Elder told Xiao Yan that a black-robed expert had killed Xiao Zhan, the Grand Elder, and the Second Elder.
• Two elders revealed that traces of Soul Clan Dou Qi marked the attack and explained that the Soul Hall served the Soul Clan and hunted powerful souls.
• Xiao Yan vowed to avenge his father and teacher, then chose Jia Nan Academy as the place to seek the strength he needed.
• Xiao Yan ordered the Xiao Family to relocate immediately to the Imperial Capital and arranged for the Miter Auction House to manage their marketplaces.

Xiao Yan traveled alone to the Tagor Desert to rescue Xiao Li, unaware that the Snake-People Tribe had already left the Jia Ma Empire. While Nalan Yanran and Yun Yun cultivated in seclusion, Lin Ran strengthened the spatial realm he had claimed, named it the Sacred Domain, and discovered that Nalan Yanran was undergoing a heartflame trial.

• Xiao Yan left for the Tagor Desert after the Xiao Family sold its assets and contacted the Mittel Family, but the Snake-People Tribe had already migrated toward the Black Corner Region under Medusa's orders.
• The Snake-People Tribe's departure drew attention to Yun Yun's promise to deal with Medusa, while the Jia Ma Empire faced an overwhelming coalition from three empires.
• Nalan Yanran made rapid progress after a week in the Saint Flame Qi Refining Room, and Yun Yun entered seclusion after taking a Sect Breaking Pill to pursue a true Dou Zong breakthrough.
• Lin Ran reinforced the space inside the Gate of Life and Death with a Heavenly Flame Barrier Membrane, planted a portion of his source flame as a protective Holy Sun, and named the realm the Sacred Domain.
• Lin Ran returned to the Misty Cloud Sect and found Nalan Yanran undergoing an intense heartflame soul-tempering trial; when he entered her vision, he was shocked by the person manifested there.

Nalan Yanran endured the Heart Fire Body Tempering, experienced an intimate illusion of Lin Ran, and woke to find he had covered her with his robe. Lin Ran then helped Yun Yun break through to Dou Zong and revealed a Sacred Domain connected to her.

• Nalan Yanran endured the heart fire until an illusion of Lin Ran comforted her, then woke to realize the experience had been a trial illusion.
• Lin Ran left Nalan Yanran and went to guard Yun Yun as she cultivated for her breakthrough.
• Lin Ran supplied Yun Yun with Dou Qi and Saint Gold Fallen Heart Flame energy, helping her become a One-Star Dou Zong whose power rivaled a Two-Star Dou Zong.
• Yun Yun asked Lin Ran about his encounter with Yun Potian, and he reassured her that he was unharmed and explained the Gate of Life and Death might be gone.
• Lin Ran guided Yun Yun into a vast space and revealed that it was her Sacred Domain.

Lin Ran showed Yun Yun the restored Sacred Domain and supported her plan to end the war and take control of the Jia Ma Empire. After Han Feng returned with the jade fragment from the Xiao Family, Lin Ran was suddenly summoned to nourish Gu Xun'er's Dou Qi meridians.

• Lin Ran showed Yun Yun the Sacred Domain, entrusted her with its development, and agreed that the Misty Cloud Sect should end the war.
• Yun Yun brought Nalan Yanran into the Sacred Domain, then left to prepare the sect for the front lines while Lin Ran stayed to help Nalan Yanran stabilize her cultivation.
• Han Feng gave Lin Ran the jade fragment he had taken from the Xiao Family and admitted killing Xiao Zhan; Lin Ran sent him back to the Black Corner Region with orders concerning the Mulan Empire.
• Lin Ran comforted Nalan Yanran about her Heart Fire Body Tempering, but she realized he knew what had happened during her inner trial and fainted.
• A spatial force pulled Lin Ran to a mountain peak, where Gu Xun'er confronted him and accused him of sordid behavior before their monthly meridian nourishment.

Lin Ran nourished Gu Xun Er's meridians with his Pure Yang Dou Qi, strengthening her body and meridians despite her anger and embarrassment. After learning that Soul Hall had attacked the Xiao Family and killed Xiao Zhan, Xun Er refused to return to the Ancient Clan and decided to wait for Xiao Yan.

• Lin Ran persuaded Gu Xun Er to remove her clothes and began nourishing her meridians with Pure Yang Dou Qi and the power of their Golden Emperor Heavenly Burning Flames.
• Lin Ran completed the half-hour treatment, left Xun Er a gauze robe, and departed; Xun Er later found her meridians and Dou Qi circulation had improved.
• Elder Lin and Elder Han told Xun Er that Soul Hall had killed Xiao Zhan, the Grand Elder, and the Second Elder, and stolen the Xiao Clan Ancient Jade.
• Elder Lin relayed Gu Yuan's order for Xun Er to return within a month and warned that the Ancient Clan disapproved of her bond with Xiao Yan.
• Xun Er chose to stay until Xiao Yan arrived, worrying that losing his teacher and father would devastate him, then blamed Lin Ran for killing Xiao Yan's teacher.

Lin Ran visited Jia Nan Academy during the Inner Academy Selection Tournament, offered to add prizes to the Library Pavilion, and agreed to guide Hu Gan’s granddaughter Hu Jia. As Hu Jia faced the bloodlust-filled Wu Hao in her next match, Lin Ran watched with interest.

• Lin Ran met Vice President Hu Gan, accepted his invitation, and learned that the Outer Academy was holding its Inner Academy Selection Tournament.
• Xun Er defeated her opponent and advanced, while Lin Ran noted that Xiao Yan was away and would miss the tournament.
• Lin Ran offered to place treasures and techniques in the Library Pavilion as prizes for the students.
• After Lin Ran assessed Hu Jia’s potential, Hu Gan asked him to guide her, and Lin Ran agreed to give her pointers rather than take her as a disciple.
• Hu Jia was matched against Wu Hao, whose bloodlust impressed Lin Ran, and she climbed onto the platform with her whip despite fearing his fighting style.

Lin Ran watched Hu Jia lose to Wu Hao, then donated powerful cultivation resources to Jia Nan Academy’s Library Pavilion. After returning to the Inner Academy, he found Zi Yan asleep with a medicinal herb, and she greeted him eagerly while eyeing his Storage Ring.

• Hu Jia attacked Wu Hao with her whip, but he outmaneuvered her and defeated her within a few exchanges.
• Lin Ran told Hu Gan that Hu Jia needed to change her fighting style or weapon, and suggested she might join the Saint Rain Sect if she improved.
• Lin Ran followed Hu Gan and Elder Qian Bai to the Library Pavilion and placed cultivation methods, combat skills, pills, and herbs into its core.
• Lin Ran secretly tampered with the donated items before leaving the Outer Academy for the Inner Academy.
• Lin Ran woke Zi Yan, who threw aside her medicinal herb and rushed into his arms while staring at his Storage Ring.

Lin Ran secretly strengthened Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin while they cultivated, then sensed trouble and went to meet someone with Zi Yan. As Medusa led the Snake-People into the Black Corner Region, a Soul Hall elder attacked her and knocked her from the sky.

• Lin Ran gave Zi Yan pills and told her she could take supplies from the Saint Rain Sect’s Pill Hall, then learned Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin were cultivating in the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower.
• Lin Ran watched Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin cultivate, secretly infused them with Saint Gold Fallen Heart Flame, and left them undisturbed.
• Lin Ran sensed something, took Zi Yan with him, and tore through space to meet someone.
• After nearly half a month of travel, Medusa led the Snake-People to the Black Domain Great Plain, where a Soul Hall elder emerged from black fog and demanded her loyalty.
• Medusa attacked the Soul Hall elder, but he blocked her strike and used spatial force to wound her and send her falling from the sky.

Mu Gu attacked Medusa to learn who owned the power in her Saint Jade Token, but Lin Ran returned and confronted the Soul Hall Elder. Lin Ran overwhelmed Mu Gu with his Heavenly Flame and unleashed the Great Sun Sacred Sun Palm, leaving their battle unresolved.

• Mu Gu wounded the Snake-People and tried to capture Medusa, but the Saint Jade Token shielded her and she transformed into her Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python form.
• Mu Gu shattered Medusa's defenses and prepared to search her soul, but Lin Ran and Zi Yan arrived; Lin Ran healed Medusa and asked Zi Yan to look after her.
• Mu Gu introduced himself and demanded Lin Ran hand over the Sea Heart Flame, but Lin Ran denied possessing it and revealed he had another Heavenly Flame.
• Mu Gu attacked Lin Ran with a black dragon, but Lin Ran dispersed it and struck Mu Gu with a flaming palm, badly burning and injuring him.
• Mu Gu launched an all-out attack, and Lin Ran countered with the Heaven Tier Great Sun Sacred Sun Palm.

Lin Ran fought Old Man Mu Gu and Gray Heavenly Venerate after Mu Gu summoned the Soul Hall elder, and his Pure Yang Physique let him overpower them despite being a One-Star Dou Zun. As the two elders struggled to defeat him, Mu Gu summoned Star-Picking Old Ghost to join the battle.

• Lin Ran’s Great Sun Sacred Sun Palm devastated the Black Domain Great Plain, and Medusa protected the Snake-People Tribe from the shockwaves.
• Old Man Mu Gu crushed a Space Jade Slip and summoned Gray Heavenly Venerate, a Peak Five-Star Dou Zun, to help him capture Lin Ran.
• Lin Ran sent Medusa, Zi Yan, and the Snake-People Tribe toward the Saint Rain Sect, then fought off attacks from both Soul Hall elders.
• After learning Lin Ran had a Pure Yang Physique, Heavenly Flames, and a Heaven Tier Dou Technique, Gray Heavenly Venerate joined Mu Gu in attacking him.
• Lin Ran activated Sacred Origin Blood Burn and battled both elders, overpowering them with the strength of his Pure Yang Sacred Body.
• Mu Gu opened another spatial fissure and summoned Star-Picking Old Ghost, another Peak Five-Star Dou Zun, to reinforce the fight.

Lin Ran faced Old Man Mu Gu, Gray Heavenly Venerate, and Star-Picking Old Ghost, whose combined attacks finally pushed him to unleash the Great Sun Nirvana Palm. The three Soul Hall Venerates summoned their Lifebound Soul Locks to resist the devastating technique, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Star-Picking Old Ghost joined Old Man Mu Gu and Gray Heavenly Venerate in attacking Lin Ran and pierced his shoulder with a black chain, but Lin Ran healed the wound almost immediately.
• Old Man Mu Gu explained that Lin Ran's Pure Yang Physique granted rapid healing and inexhaustible Dou Qi, so the three Venerates launched a united assault.
• Lin Ran used the Great Sun Nirvana Palm, shattering the Star Shattering Slash and Great Soul Devouring Lock before its giant black palm bore down on the three Venerates.
• Gray Heavenly Venerate urged the others to summon their Lifebound Soul Locks, and all three produced enormous black chains to face Lin Ran's descending palm.

Lin Ran defeated Gray Heavenly Venerate with the Great Sun Nirvana Palm, while Old Man Mu Gu and Star-Picking Old Ghost escaped after being wounded. After rejoining Medusa and helping the Snake-People Tribe prepare to enter the Mulan Empire, Lin Ran saw Medusa offer him a Ten Thousand Year Green Spirit Vine.

• Old Man Mu Gu, Star-Picking Old Ghost, and Gray Heavenly Venerate bound Lin Ran's Great Sun Nirvana Palm with the Lifebound Soul Lock Formation, but the palm's hidden power shattered the locks and injured Gray Heavenly Venerate.
• Lin Ran trapped and killed Gray Heavenly Venerate with the Great Sun Nirvana Palm, then struck Old Man Mu Gu and Star-Picking Old Ghost as they fled through a spatial rift, leaving them badly wounded.
• Lin Ran collected Gray Heavenly Venerate's corpse to make a Dou Zun-level Corpse Soul Puppet and resolved to strengthen the Saint Rain Sect against the Soul Hall.
• Zi Yan praised Lin Ran's power, and he returned with her to Medusa and the Snake-People Tribe.
• Lin Ran offered to help the Snake-People Tribe establish itself in the Mulan Empire, and Medusa's elders praised him before leaving the two alone.
• Medusa gave Lin Ran a dark-green vine, which he recognized as the Ten Thousand Year Green Spirit Vine.

Medusa gave Lin Ran a Ten Thousand Year Green Spirit Vine and other rare herbs, and he named her Cai Lin while warning her about the Soul Hall. After the Snake-People Tribe settled in the Black Corner Region and began its campaign against the Mulan Empire with Saint Rain Sect support, Zi Yan chose to travel with Lin Ran, who then sensed an old acquaintance being pursued by Golden Goose Empire experts.

• Medusa gave Lin Ran a Ten Thousand Year Green Spirit Vine and a Storage Ring filled with rare herbs, allowing him to gather the ingredients for the Adamantine Dragon Bone Pill.
• Lin Ran named Medusa Cai Lin, embraced her, advised her on ruling the Mulan Empire, and warned her about the Soul Hall.
• Cai Lin led the Snake-People Tribe into the Black Corner Region, where she met Green Yi and secured Saint Rain Sect support for the invasion of the Mulan Empire.
• Zi Yan refused to follow Cai Lin and persuaded Lin Ran to let her travel with him in exchange for pills.
• Lin Ran took Zi Yan through a spatial rift to a desolate plain and sensed Golden Goose Empire experts pursuing someone he knew.

Lin Ran rescued Xue Mei and Princess Yao Yue from two pursuing Dou Wangs, then invited Xue Mei to join his sect. Xue Mei accepted and asked him to save her teacher, who was trapped in Stone Spirit City.

• An elderly guard fled with Yao Yue and Xue Mei, pursued by two Dou Wangs from the Luoyan Empire after Xue Mei escaped the fallen Stone Spirit City.
• The pursuers cornered the group, but a barrier of golden light appeared and Lin Ran arrived to protect them.
• Xue Mei explained that her teacher had sacrificed himself to help her escape, while the two Dou Wangs attacked Lin Ran and Zi Yan.
• Zi Yan defeated both Dou Wangs with a single punch each, stunning Yao Yue, Xue Mei, and the elderly guard.
• Lin Ran offered Xue Mei a place in his sect, and she accepted the silver token he gave her.
• Xue Mei knelt before Lin Ran and begged him to rescue her teacher from Stone Spirit City.

Lin Ran agreed to help Xue Mei reclaim Stone Spirit City and planned to join Jia Ma Empire’s war against the invading alliance. At Black Mountain Fortress, Jia Xingtian and the defenders faced an imminent assault, hoping to hold out until Yun Yun arrived.

• Xue Mei told Lin Ran that Luoyan Empire had seized Stone Spirit City, killed or detained its residents, and captured her teacher Frank, so Lin Ran agreed to help her.
• The old woman recognized Lin Ran as the Dou Zun from Cloud Mist Peak, and Lin Ran said he would join the battlefield the next day.
• Lin Ran sent Zi Yan with Xue Mei to handle Stone Spirit City, then agreed to take Yao Yue and the old woman to Black Mountain Fortress.
• Yao Yue said she wanted to help her grandfather Jia Xingtian defend the fortress, and Lin Ran agreed to bring her there after Stone Spirit City was settled.
• At Black Mountain Fortress, Jia Xingtian, Hai Bodong, Nalan Jie, and the other defenders expected the allied armies to launch their final assault, while they hoped to hold out until Yun Yun arrived.

Yan Luotian and the Mulan Three Elders invaded Black Mountain Fortress, killed Jia Xingtian, and overwhelmed the Jia Ma Empire’s defenders. Yun Yun arrived with the Misty Cloud Sect and summoned a much larger force of experts, including a Dou Zong, leaving the battle poised to turn.

• Yan Luotian and the Mulan Three Elders demanded Jia Xingtian surrender, but he refused and fought Yan Luotian alone.
• Yan Luotian defeated Jia Xingtian and threw his lifeless body to the ground as the Mulan Three Elders overwhelmed the Jia Ma Empire’s defenders.
• Yun Yun arrived and confronted Yan Luotian, who claimed the Jia Ma Empire had already lost.
• Yun Yun raised the Sacred Sect Jade Token and commanded its followers to heed her call.
• Dozens of powerful experts appeared on the fortress wall, including several Dou Huangs and a black-robed Dou Zong.

Yun Yun and reinforcements from the Black Corner Region defeated the allied armies at Black Mountain Fortress, killing Yan Luotian and the Mulan Three Elders. With the Misty Cloud Sect’s power and prestige rising, Yun Yun addressed the gathered survivors as Lin Ran’s group arrived.

• Dozens of Misty Cloud Sect reinforcements, including a three-star Dou Zong, arrived at Black Mountain Fortress and attacked the allied forces.
• Yun Yun fought Yan Luotian, restrained him with wind techniques, and wounded him with Raging Wind Sword Qi.
• The black-robed Dou Zong killed the Mulan Three Elders and then pierced Yan Luotian’s heart while Yan Luotian was focused on Yun Yun.
• The allied forces retreated after their leaders died, and Yun Yun returned to the fortress amid cheers.
• Lin Ran, Yao Yue, Xue Mei, Zi Yan, and an elderly woman arrived after learning that Frank had been killed in Stone Spirit City and that Xue Mei and Zi Yan had slaughtered the Luoyan Empire’s forces there.
• Hai Bodong and the others recognized that the Misty Cloud Sect’s rise was unstoppable, and Yun Yun began addressing the gathered crowd.

After Misty Cloud Sect defeated the allied armies, Yun Yun declared that she would replace the Jia Ma Imperial Family and establish the Yunlan Empire. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan arrived in Desert City and discovered that the Desert Iron Mercenary Group’s former base had become a blacksmith’s shop, where he learned that a man called City Lord Xiao had taken office.

• The allied armies withdrew after Yan Luotian and the Mulan Three Elders died, leaving Misty Cloud Sect dominant in Jia Ma Empire.
• Yun Yun announced that she would establish the Yunlan Empire and replace the Jia Ma Imperial Family, drawing cheers from the soldiers at Black Mountain Fortress as Yao Yue fainted beside Jia Xingtian’s corpse.
• Yao Ye learned that Jia Xingtian had died and that Yun Yun had proclaimed a new empire, then fainted after spitting blood.
• Factions and palace servants abandoned the Imperial Family as news of its collapse spread through the capital.
• Xiao Yan entered Desert City and found the former Desert Iron Mercenary Group base converted into a blacksmith’s shop.
• A blacksmith told Xiao Yan that City Lord Xiao had taken office half a year earlier and had once led a mercenary group, but Xiao Yan interrupted before he could explain further.