Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan, Cai Lin, and Zi Yan explored Black-Seal City during its New Year celebration, where the prosperous streets revealed how much the Black Corner Region had changed. They discovered a statue honoring Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian, and the chapter ended when a familiar voice called out that someone had seen Father.

• Xiao Yan entered Black-Seal City with Cai Lin and Zi Yan and found its streets crowded with New Year festivities.
• Cai Lin privately reflected on her pregnancy and chose not to tell Xiao Yan yet, then affectionately held his arm as they strolled together.
• Xiao Yan and Cai Lin recognized the figures on a statue in the plaza as themselves, while a resident explained that the people had built it to honor their supposed deaths and their leadership of Evil Prison.
• As Xiao Yan stood admiring the statue, a familiar voice called, “Brother Zijing! I saw Father!”

Xiao Yan returned to the Black Corner Region with Cai Lin and reunited with Yun Xiao, Zijing, and the Xiao Family, who had believed he was dead. The family’s grief turned to joy when Xiao Zhan and the others saw him alive, while Xiao Yan prepared to take responsibility and reveal the truth to everyone.

• Xiao Yan arrived in the Black Corner Region and reunited with Yun Xiao, Zi Yan, and Zijing, who had believed he was dead.
• Zijing told Xiao Yan that the family and their friends had gathered to celebrate the new year, and Xiao Yan agreed to join them and share important news.
• Xiao Yan told Cai Lin he would be honest with Yun Yun and accept responsibility rather than avoid the truth.
• At the Evil Prison Headquarters, Xiao Zhan and the others grieved for Xiao Yan, while Yun Yun struggled to decide how to tell Yun Xiao that her father was supposedly dead.
• Yun Xiao announced that she had returned with her Daddy, and Xiao Yan entered the courtyard, where Xiao Zhan and the Xiao Jing sisters confirmed he was alive.

Xiao Yan celebrated his return with his family and allies, then took Yun Yun and Cai Lin into Evil Prison Headquarters for a private conversation. Xiao Jing learned that Cai Lin might be pregnant and guessed that Xiao Yan was about to complicate matters further.

• Xiao Yan reunited with his family and friends at the banquet, while Xiao Mei clung to him and Xiao Ning was punished for his crude suggestion.
• Cai Lin told Yue Mei that she might return soon and instructed her to prepare clothes and food for newborn children, leaving Yue Mei shocked.
• Xiao Yan promised the Great Elder he would do everything he could to save Xiao Yu, then thanked Ya Fei and Yao Ye for managing Evil Prison during his absence.
• Xiao Yan asked Yun Yun to accompany him, signaled Cai Lin to follow, and led them both into Evil Prison Headquarters.
• Xiao Jing questioned Yue Mei about Cai Lin's earlier words, learned the queen might be pregnant, and realized Xiao Yan could be involved with both women.

Xiao Yan confessed to Yun Yun that he had entered the same relationship with Cai Lin, and Yun Yun accepted the news without blaming him. After an unknown eavesdropper escaped from their room, Xun'er learned Xiao Yan was alive and resolved to grow stronger so she could leave the Gu Clan and protect him.

• Xiao Yan told Yun Yun that he and Cai Lin had become husband and wife, and Yun Yun calmly accepted his confession.
• Yun Yun reassured Xiao Yan that she trusted his character and would not blame him, then Cai Lin asked him to leave so she could speak privately with Yun Yun.
• After waiting outside, Xiao Yan heard an explosion and found that Cai Lin had blasted apart the wall while chasing an eavesdropper who escaped as a black shadow.
• In the Gu Clan, Ling Ying reported Xiao Yan's survival to Xun'er and said he would continue watching him.
• Xun'er ordered Ling Ying to keep monitoring Xiao Yan, then returned to cultivation, determined to grow stronger and leave the clan to protect him.

Xiao Yan reunited with Yun Yun and their daughter, then discussed Xiao Yu’s abduction with Xiao Jing. Xiao Jing revealed that the Soul Hall may have captured Xiao Yu by mistake while pursuing an Ancient Jade tied to the Xiao Family and possibly to Xun’er, leaving Xiao Yan with a new clue about the Soul Hall’s motives.

• Xiao Yan woke with Yun Xiao asleep on him, and Yun Yun visited before she planned to return to the sect.
• Xiao Yan decided to visit an auction house for items that could restore Elder Yao and Elder Tianhuo’s souls.
• Xiao Jing asked whether Xiao Yan had reconciled with Medusa and Yun Yun, then learned he planned to go to Central Continent to rescue Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Jing reasoned that the Soul Hall may have captured Xiao Yu after an order was passed along incorrectly, mistaking her for something else.
• Xiao Jing showed Xiao Yan an ancient, incomplete piece of jade passed down through the Xiao Family and suggested the Soul Hall had originally sought it.
• Xiao Jing told Xiao Yan that Xun’er’s powerful clan was in Central Continent and proposed that Xun’er may also have come to the Xiao Family for the Ancient Jade.

Xiao Jing gave Xiao Yan the Ancient Jade, which might be connected to Xiao Yu's kidnapping, and Xiao Yan took Yun Xiao out for a day together. At the Black-Seal City Auction House, he ordered rare ingredients to restore Soul Power, and a staff member recognized his name and hurried off with his registration form.

• Xiao Jing gave Xiao Yan the Ancient Jade and told him that Xiao Jing, their Father, and the Elders had agreed he should keep it.
• Xiao Yan took Yun Xiao out while Yun Yun stayed behind; Cai Lin joined Yun Yun and Xiao Jing for a stroll around the city.
• Xiao Yan brought Yun Xiao to the Black-Seal City Auction House and ordered several rare ingredients used to restore Soul Power, paying a ten-thousand-Gold-Coin deposit.
• After Xiao Yan left, the staff member recognized his name on the form, closed her counter, and hurried away with the registration.

Xiao Yan spent time with Yun Xiao and reunited with Elder Eagle Mountain, who asked how Xiao Yan endured the Black Corner Region's hostility while changing it. Xiao Yan explained that he acted according to his own ideals rather than seeking admiration, and remained resolved to protect people without thinking of himself as a hero.

• Xiao Yan took Yun Xiao through the Black Corner Region and recognized Elder Eagle Mountain at a teahouse.
• Xiao Yan introduced Yun Xiao as his daughter, and Elder Eagle Mountain recalled his grief at hearing that Xiao Yan had died.
• Elder Eagle Mountain asked whether Xiao Yan had ever doubted his efforts after the people he helped mocked and cursed him.
• Xiao Yan said he pursued his own ideals rather than other people's approval and would not harm people for mistreating him.
• Xiao Yan told Elder Eagle Mountain that he did not consider himself a hero and would continue along his own path regardless of how others judged him.

Xiao Yan learned from Elder Eagle Mountain about the Soul Hall and the overwhelming power of the Eight Ancient Clans, then resolved to protect those close to him. Meanwhile, Cai Lin prepared to tell Xiao Yan about her pregnancy but remained determined to accompany him to Central Continent.

• Elder Eagle Mountain told Xiao Yan that the Soul Hall served the Soul Clan, one of the Eight Ancient Clans, and targeted alchemists to gather souls.
• Elder Eagle Mountain warned Xiao Yan to beware the Eight Ancient Clans and urged him to grow strong enough to protect his loved ones; Xiao Yan vowed to protect them.
• A Black-Seal City Auction House staff member found Xiao Yan, promised to gather his requested medicinal ingredients, and excitedly asked him for an autograph.
• Cai Lin bought many clothes while Yun Yun and Xiao Jing urged her to tell Xiao Yan that she was pregnant.
• Cai Lin agreed that Xiao Yan should know about the child but insisted she would accompany him to Central Continent and make him accept it.

Xiao Yan and Cai Lin clashed over whether she should accompany him to the dangerous Central Continent while pregnant, and Xiao Jing arranged for Xiao Zhan to counsel him. Their talk led Xiao Yan to confront why he made decisions for his family and whether he should pursue his mission to save Xiao Yu; Xiao Zhan said he would not stop him.

• Cai Lin told Xiao Yan she was pregnant and insisted on accompanying him to the Central Continent, but Xiao Yan refused to take her because of the danger.
• Cai Lin and Xiao Yan argued and nearly fought until Xiao Jing and Yun Yun separated them, after which Xiao Yan left the room.
• Xiao Jing explained that she had expected the conflict and had prepared for Xiao Zhan to speak with Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yi Xian told Xiao Yan that Cai Lin's protection would make his journey safer, and Xiao Yan wondered whether he had been wrong to oppose her.
• Xiao Zhan reminded Xiao Yan that fear of losing his family had shaped his choices and urged him to act without regretting his decisions.
• Xiao Yan asked whether Xiao Zhan still wanted him to go to the Central Continent despite the risk of death, and Xiao Zhan said he would not stop him.

Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan that Cai Lin was pregnant, then reconciled with her over whether she would accompany him to the Central Continent. Cai Lin chose to go with Xiao Yan, and she left him alone with Yun Yun for the night.

• Xiao Yan revealed Cai Lin's pregnancy to Xiao Zhan, who realized Xiao Jing had hidden it while asking him to persuade Xiao Yan to take Cai Lin to the Central Continent.
• Xiao Zhan withdrew his earlier advice, and Xiao Yan returned to Cai Lin, apologized, and asked her to decide for herself whether to go with him.
• Cai Lin said she wanted to accompany and protect Xiao Yan, and he agreed after asking her to tell him if she felt unwell.
• Xiao Jing left to face Xiao Zhan's scolding after Xiao Yan thanked her for looking after him.
• Cai Lin threw Xiao Yan toward Yun Yun, locked the room until morning, and left them alone together.

Cai Lin told Xiao Yan to prepare a Heavenly Soul Blood Bone Pill for their unborn child, and he agreed to refine it before the child was born. As the Xiao Family departed Black-Seal City for the Jia Ma Empire, Xiao Yan discovered that Zi Yun was staying behind.

• Cai Lin gave Xiao Yan the Snake-people race’s secret pill formula and asked him to refine the highest-grade Heavenly Soul Blood Bone Pill for her child.
• Xiao Yan agreed to gather the materials and refine the pill within the three to five years before Cai Lin’s child was born.
• Yun Xiao learned that Cai Lin was expecting a baby and promised to protect her future sibling.
• The Xiao Family prepared to leave Black-Seal City, and Xiao Yan said farewell to his family, Yun Yun, and Yun Xiao.
• Yao Yue urged Yao Ye to act on her feelings for Xiao Yan, while Yao Ye said she admired his work in the Black Corner Region.
• After the flying carriages departed for the Jia Ma Empire, Zijing told Xiao Yan he would leave Zi Yun to him, and Xiao Yan realized Zi Yun was not returning.

Zijing secretly arranged for Zi Yun to accompany Xiao Yan to the Central Continent, hoping to create a chance for him to become her father. Xiao Yan remained oblivious, while Cai Lin took Zi Yun and Zi Yan to eat; afterward, Xiao Yan collected medicinal ingredients from Yuan Yi and headed to Evil Prison Headquarters to awaken two sleeping seniors.

• Zijing told Yun Yun that Zi Yun planned to travel with Xiao Yan to protect him, while privately resolving to bring her mother and Xiao Yan together.
• Zi Yun revealed that Zijing had claimed Xiao Yan asked her to accompany him, and Cai Lin recognized the girl’s matchmaking scheme while Xiao Yan stayed confused.
• Cai Lin invited Zi Yun and Zi Yan to eat, and the two followed her away as Xiao Yan wondered whether Zi Yun would join their journey.
• Xiao Yan dodged Xiao Mei’s invitation to shop, and Yao Ye took her back toward Evil Prison Headquarters.
• Yuan Yi welcomed Xiao Yan, warned that the Black Corner Region still relied on Xiao Yan’s authority, and gave him the medicinal ingredients he had requested.
• Xiao Yan declined to pay for the ingredients and hurried to Evil Prison Headquarters to help awaken the two sleeping seniors.

Xiao Yan spent three days refining medicinal ingredients and guiding their essence into Yao Chen and Yao Tianhuo’s sleeping souls, restoring them enough to awaken. After updating them on his progress and telling them Cai Lin was pregnant, he proposed using colliding Heavenly Flames as a deterrent before traveling to Central Continent.

• Xiao Yan shut himself away and refined medicinal ingredients, eventually guiding their essence into Yao Chen and Yao Tianhuo’s souls so they could recover.
• Yao Chen and Yao Tianhuo awakened, and Xiao Yan told them he had absorbed the Fallen Heart Flame, advanced the Flame Mantra, and reached Nine Star Dou Huang.
• Xiao Yan revealed that Cai Lin was pregnant with his child, and Yao Chen teased him after learning they had spent ten days and ten nights together.
• Xiao Yan asked Yao Chen for a formidable Dou Technique whose reputation alone could dissuade opponents before he went to Central Continent.
• Xiao Yan suggested gathering different Heavenly Flames and making them collide, reasoning that the resulting explosion could deter enemies; Yao Chen appeared to understand his plan.

Xiao Yan successfully fused three Heavenly Flames into a lotus whose explosion carved a massive crater into the plain. The Black Corner Region’s experts rushed to investigate, and Cai Lin scolded Xiao Yan after realizing how dangerous his experiment had been.

• Xiao Yan fused three Heavenly Flames into a stable lotus after a day of work, with Yao Chen and Yao Tianhuo guiding him and Cai Lin standing by to rescue him.
• Xiao Yan threw the lotus into the air, and Cai Lin used her spatial abilities to pull him away before it struck the ground and exploded.
• The distant blast shook Elder Eagle Mountain’s home and drew him, Yuan Yi, Su Mei, Hai Bodong, Zi Yun, and other prominent figures toward its source.
• The gathered figures found a crater several thousand meters wide and spotted Xiao Yan, Cai Lin, and Yao Tianhuo nearby.
• Cai Lin grabbed Xiao Yan by the collar and angrily demanded to know if he wanted to die, while Xiao Yan apologized and privately celebrated the lotus’s power.

Xiao Yan tested a devastating new Dou Technique and decided to depart for Central Continent with Cai Lin. In Star River City, Feng Qing'er cared for the children at her orphanage before learning that Nalan Yanran had killed members of the Hong Family outside an ancient ruin.

• Xiao Yan explained how he had combined three Heavenly Flames into a chain-reaction Fire Lotus, then told Cai Lin to prepare for their immediate departure to Central Continent.
• Feng Qing'er cooked for the orphanage children, whose meal left them and a Wind Lightning Pavilion disciple incapacitated until Yu Ying gave them stomach medicine.
• Feng Qing'er recalled the children who had died in the Black Corner Region and her guilt over leaving them vulnerable, then entrusted the orphanage to Yu Ying and went to meet the Pavilion Master.
• A Wind Lightning Pavilion disciple told Feng Qing'er that the Hong Family's expedition members had been killed after safely leaving an ancient ruin.
• Feng Qing'er learned that the woman responsible was Nalan Yanran, who had gained fame by sweeping through ancient ruins.

Feng Qing'er was ordered by Lei Zun Zhe to kill Nalan Yanran for killing members of the Hong Family, but she questioned the order and heard Fei Tian’s account of how the Hong Family had attacked Nalan Yanran to seize her ruin treasures. After learning that Fei Tian considered the Hong Family’s deaths deserved, Feng Qing'er was left facing the conflict between the headquarters’ command and what she knew had happened.

• Lei Zun Zhe ordered Feng Qing'er to go to Wind Lightning North Pavilion and kill Nalan Yanran, dismissing Feng Qing'er's argument that the Hong Family had attacked first.
• Feng Qing'er left Wind Lightning East Pavilion reflecting on her growing dissatisfaction with the Wind Lightning Pavilion’s tyranny and its alliance with the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan.
• At Wind Lightning North Pavilion, Fei Tian told Feng Qing'er that he had refused the Hong Family’s request for help after they bypassed him to complain to headquarters.
• Fei Tian explained that the Hong Family members had pursued the wounded Nalan Yanran after failing to claim treasures from the ruins, and that she killed them when they tried to rob her.
• Fei Tian revealed that he had witnessed Nalan Yanran tear apart two Dou Zongs and concluded that the Hong Family had brought its deaths upon itself.

Feng Qing'er confronted Hong Chen over his family’s conduct and his disrespect at the Wind Lightning North Pavilion, while Fei Tian intervened to prevent her from killing him. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan’s group remained lost while traveling across the Central Plains, and Xiao Yi Xian scolded him for missing the reason Ya Fei and Yao Ye had seemed reluctant to part with him.

• Feng Qing'er learned that Hong Chen had sent the Hong Family into the secret realm and had come to complain about their losses.
• Feng Qing'er and Fei Tian heard Hong Chen order a disciple to find him a female companion, and Fei Tian grew alarmed by her anger.
• Hong Chen mistook Feng Qing'er for a woman brought to entertain him and insulted her, so Fei Tian slammed him into the tea table and revealed her identity.
• Feng Qing'er spared Hong Chen for Fei Tian’s sake, warned him there would be no next time, and arranged to stay overnight before returning to the main pavilion.
• Fei Tian kicked Hong Chen out of the North Pavilion, while Hong Chen fled without raising Nalan Yanran’s matter again.
• Xiao Yan’s group wandered lost across the Central Plains, and Xiao Yi Xian berated him for failing to understand why Ya Fei and Yao Ye had wanted to say something before he left.

Xiao Yan and his companions joined Han Xue’s caravan to travel toward Tianbei City, where they encountered the Demon Snake Xia Mang demanding a toll. The caravan paid him, but Xia Mang then demanded that Han Xue stay behind.

• Xiao Yan stopped Han Xue’s Han Clan caravan to ask for directions, and she agreed to take his group to Tianbei City in exchange for his help hauling cargo.
• Xiao Yan and Han Xue each found the other’s name strangely familiar, while Han Chong teased Xiao Yan about his marriage to Cai Lin.
• The caravan camped for the night, and Cai Lin warned Han Chong after he criticized Xiao Yan for bringing his beautiful wife on the journey.
• Han Xue warned the caravan to stay quiet as they entered Myriad Snake Gorge, where Han Chong explained that Xia Mang controlled the venomous snakes and demanded tolls.
• Xia Mang trapped the caravan with hundreds of snakes, accepted Han Chong’s Storage Ring, and demanded that Han Xue remain behind.

Xiao Yan confronted Xia Mang and the Hong Family ambushers when they threatened Han Xue, but Cai Lin emerged from the carriage and revealed her overwhelming Dou Zun strength. She killed Xia Mang and the surrounding Dou Wangs, leaving Hong Mu and Hong Lie helpless before her.

• Xia Mang demanded that Han Xue be left with him, and Xiao Yan stepped forward to protect her.
• Xiao Yan exposed Hong Mu, Hong Lie, and their hidden Dou Wang allies, then revealed that he was a Nine Star Dou Huang.
• Cai Lin stopped Xiao Yan from attacking and emerged from the carriage, terrifying everyone with her presence.
• Cai Lin instantly killed Xia Mang and several nearby Dou Wangs, while Hong Mu and Hong Lie realized she was a Dou Zun.
• Han Xue, Han Chong, and the guards recognized how fortunate they had been to travel with Xiao Yan and Cai Lin, as Cai Lin turned her attention to the two surviving Hong Family elders.

Feng Qing'er decided to seek permission to remove the Hong Family from the Wind Lightning Pavilion, then accompanied Fei Tian to the Hong Chen and Han Family wedding. At the wedding, Han Xue returned safely with Hong Mu and Hong Lie captured, and Xiao Yan appeared with the Han Family convoy.

• Feng Qing'er told Fei Tian she would seek Lei Zun Zhe's approval to remove the Hong Family from the Wind Lightning Pavilion.
• Feng Qing'er read the Hong Family's invitation to Hong Chen's wedding to the Han Family Sisters and chose to accompany Fei Tian to the banquet.
• Hong Chen threatened Han Yue and claimed he had taken Han Xue from Myriad Snake Gorge to force the sisters into marriage.
• Han Xue arrived safely and revealed that the Han Family convoy had captured Hong Mu and Hong Lie after defeating them.
• Han Xue credited her survival to the people who had helped her, and Han Yue recognized Xiao Yan as he walked out of the convoy.