Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan returned to save Yue Mei, choosing to face the Snake-people leaders rather than abandon the woman who had protected him. He prepared to fight Yin Shi and the others, asking them to keep his death from his family if he fell.

• Yin Shi's purple snake attack was about to kill Yue Mei when Xiao Yan returned and blocked it with the Black Xuan Heavy Ruler.
• Xiao Yan and Yue Mei crashed into the sand, and Yue Mei angrily demanded to know why he had come back.
• Xiao Yan explained that he could not abandon the person who had saved him or let Xiao Jing feel responsible for Yue Mei's death.
• Yue Mei agreed to leave with Xiao Yan, and Yin Shi asked him why he had returned.
• Xiao Yan declared that he would fight the leaders and asked them not to tell his eldest sister if they killed him.

After Xiao Yan’s plea convinced Yin Shi that he would never threaten the Snake-people, Yin Shi suspected a traitor had been helping humans target their tribes. He abruptly accused Yue Mei of treason and attacked her, but a mysterious old man intervened with a wall of ice.

• Yue Mei challenged Yin Shi and the other leaders to trust Xiao Yan, and Yin Shi concluded Xiao Yan was sincere and would never oppress the Snake-people.
• As reinforcements arrived, Yin Shi suspected a Snake-person was betraying their race by helping humans locate vulnerable tribes.
• Yin Shi unexpectedly accused Yue Mei of shielding the human who had slaughtered the Yaqiuchiu Tribe, and Kui Xing, Hua She Wang, and Nan She supported his charge.
• Yin Shi ordered the Snake-people to seize Yue Mei and Xiao Yan, then sent a venomous snake toward Yue Mei while secretly holding back his strength.
• Xiao Yan rushed in front of Yue Mei to block the attack, but an ice wall stopped the giant snake and a purple-eyed old man appeared, saying Xiao Li had paid him to come.

A sealed human youngster rescued Xiao Yan from Yin Shi and the other Snake-people leaders, then fled with him while Yue Mei and the leaders gave chase. A massive explosion lit the night, leaving the Snake-people behind too frightened to follow.

• The youngster appeared before Xiao Yan, dispelled Yin Shi’s ice wall, and revealed that he had recovered to Dou Wang strength despite the Queen’s seal.
• Yin Shi mocked the youngster for having been defeated and sealed by the Snake-people Queen, provoking him to attack with blocks of ice.
• The youngster realized Yin Shi’s earlier attack had been a show and decided to escape with Xiao Yan, lamenting that he had wasted a Qi Explosion Pill.
• The youngster grabbed Xiao Yan and flew away, while Yue Mei and Yin Shi’s group pursued them.
• A huge explosion erupted in the distance, and the Snake-people decided to stay where they were rather than follow.

After the Snake-people leaders announced that Yue Mei and Xiao Yan had been executed, those who cared about Xiao Yan reacted with grief and fury. Xiao Jing began questioning the official account, while Xiao Li, Xiao Yi Xian, and Yun Yun prepared to strike back against the Snake-people.

• The Snake-people leaders announced Yue Mei and Xiao Yan's executions and ordered the tribes to relocate to the Holy Land; Hua She Wang and Nan She imprisoned Yue Mei's protesting clan members.
• The cloaked woman and Qing Lin learned of Xiao Yan's death, and the woman urged Qing Lin to honor his sacrifice by continuing toward the Holy Land.
• Xiao Li heard that Xiao Yan had been killed and ordered the Desert Iron Mercenary Group to march on the Snake-people territory.
• Xiao Yi Xian swallowed a pill that surrounded her with a purple aura and vowed revenge against the Snake-people.
• Xiao Jing studied the report, doubted that Xiao Yan had massacred the Yaqiuchiu Tribe, and noticed the phrase “Carcass Annihilation,” which led her to suspect something was wrong.
• Yun Yun destroyed half an inn after reading the report, then ordered Gu He, Feng Li, and Yan Shi to leave for the Snake-people tribes so she could avenge Xiao Yan.

Jia Xingtian learned that his great-granddaughter Yao Ye had gone to the Tagor Desert to investigate the Snake-people and ordered half the Jia Ma Empire's armies to protect her. Nalan Jie arrived and warned him not to mobilize such a massive force.

• Jia Xingtian furiously demanded news of Yao Ye, who had been missing for nearly a week.
• Yao Ye's personal maid revealed that Yao Ye had secretly gone to the Tagor Desert one week earlier.
• The maid explained that Yao Ye had told her to conceal the journey until a week passed without news; Jia Xingtian rebuked her but postponed punishment.
• Jia Xingtian ordered five armies to the Snake-people Territory to ensure Yao Ye's safety.
• Nalan Jie entered the hall and warned Jia Xingtian against mobilizing such a large force.

Jia Xingtian and Nalan Jie discussed a report claiming Yue Mei had been executed for sheltering Xiao Yan, who was accused of massacring a snake-people tribe. Jia Xingtian remained wary of the report and the risks to relations between humans and the snake-people, while Nalan Jie insisted Xiao Yan would never kill without cause.

• Nalan Jie told Jia Xingtian that the First Princess’s disappearance did not justify sending half the army to the Tagor Desert because the situation had changed.
• Nalan Jie gave Jia Xingtian a report stating that Yue Mei had been declared a traitor and executed by the other snake-people leaders for sheltering Xiao Yan after the Yaqiuchiu Tribe was massacred.
• Jia Xingtian considered how Xiao Yan’s death could drive Xiao Jing and the Desert Iron Mercenary Group to retaliate, escalating conflict between humans and the snake-people.
• Jia Xingtian asked Nalan Jie what he thought of Xiao Yan’s alleged massacre, and Nalan Jie declared that Xiao Yan would never kill a snake-people tribe without cause.
• Jia Xingtian remained suspicious of the report because he could not accept the snake-people account without further proof.

Jia Xingtian and Nalan Jie concluded that Xiao Yan was likely framed for the Snake-people massacre and suspected a spy within the race, so they set out for the Tagor Desert. At the Snake-people Holy Land, Yin Shi defended his decisions while anticipating the arrival of whoever was stirring up trouble.

• Nalan Jie argued that Xiao Yan had not massacred the Snake-people tribe because Yue Mei had risked her life to protect him.
• Jia Xingtian noticed the words “Carcass Annihilation” in the report and suspected a Snake-people spy was helping unidentified attackers target the tribes.
• Jia Xingtian asked Nalan Jie to accompany him to the Tagor Desert, and Nalan Jie agreed.
• A Snake-people Elder confronted Yin Shi for executing Yue Mei and withdrawing the tribes to the Holy Land without the Queen’s permission.
• Yin Shi claimed the leaders had authority to act while the Queen was absent, but privately admitted the report was a dangerous scheme and waited for its instigator to arrive.

The cloak woman and Qing Lin entered the Snake-people Holy Land by having Qing Lin’s Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake swallow them and burrow beneath the sand. After emerging inside the palace, they followed Qing Lin’s sense of smell toward Leader Xiao Jing while avoiding guards, and continued deeper into the Holy Land.

• The cloak woman realized the gathered Snake-people made entering the Holy Land too dangerous, so Qing Lin offered to take them underground with Little Spirit.
• Qing Lin summoned the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake, and the cloak woman reluctantly agreed to be swallowed so it could carry them beneath the sand.
• The Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake burrowed into the Holy Land and spat out the cloak woman and Qing Lin in a courtyard, where the cloak woman vomited and cleaned herself with sand.
• The cloak woman and Qing Lin entered the palace, and Qing Lin said she could smell Leader Xiao Jing and led the way through its corridors.
• Qing Lin pulled the cloak woman behind a Stone Pillar to hide from two guards, whose sharp sense of smell failed to detect them because the snake’s saliva masked their scent.

The cloak woman and Qing Lin tried to reach Xiao Jing but encountered Mo Bass, who destroyed Qing Lin’s Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake and left Qing Lin gravely injured. The cloak woman pleaded for Mo Bass to spare the girl, and his reaction showed that his encounters with her and Xiao Yan had challenged his beliefs about humans.

• The cloak woman and Qing Lin nearly ran into Yan Ci and Hei Du, but both leaders let them pass without explanation.
• After Qing Lin was frightened into collapsing, the cloak woman carried her toward Xiao Jing’s room and met Mo Bass.
• The cloak woman attacked Mo Bass and he shattered her spear, while Qing Lin summoned the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake to protect her.
• Mo Bass destroyed the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake, causing Qing Lin to suffer severe backlash and faint.
• Mo Bass blocked the cloak woman’s escape, and she pleaded with him to spare Qing Lin, prompting him to recall Xiao Yan and reconsider his view of humans.

After learning that Xiao Yan had sincerely saved the Yaqiuchiu Tribe and apologized to its survivors, Mo Bass began questioning his hatred of humans and sought a conversation with Xiao Jing. He helped Yao Ye and Qing Lin reach Xiao Jing, and Yao Ye finally revealed that she was the First Princess of the Jia Ma Imperial Family.

• Mo Bass heard how Xiao Yan had rescued the Yaqiuchiu Tribe and apologized to its survivors, causing him to question his beliefs and his role in Yue Mei's death.
• Mo Bass went to Xiao Jing's room, where he subdued the cloak woman and Qing Lin, then concealed them from the Snake-people Guards and released the woman.
• Mo Bass broke Yin Shi's restriction on Xiao Jing's room and invited the cloak woman inside to speak with Xiao Jing.
• Xiao Jing recognized the injured Qing Lin, took her in, and agreed to talk with Mo Bass and the cloak woman.
• The cloak woman removed her cloak and identified herself to Xiao Jing as Yao Ye, the First Princess of the Jia Ma Imperial Family.

Qing Lin woke to find Xiao Jing beside her and broke down in relief, while Xiao Jing discussed reconciliation between humans and the snake-people race with Yao Ye and Mo Bass. Xiao Jing explained how trade and the prospect of better living conditions could gradually pressure the snake-people to seek reconciliation, leaving Mo Bass unable to refute her examples.

• Qing Lin woke in an unfamiliar room, recognized Xiao Jing, and sobbed as she told her about Xiao Yan's death and Little Spirit's injury.
• Xiao Jing comforted Qing Lin until she fell asleep in her arms, then resumed her discussion with Yao Ye and Mo Bass.
• Xiao Jing acknowledged that the Jia Ma Empire had persecuted the snake-people, while Yao Ye admitted the imperial family could not yet end the slave trade because a powerful force protected it.
• Xiao Jing told Mo Bass that the snake-people needed reconciliation to leave the harsh desert, and that her Trading Post encouraged them to seek outside resources and a better life.
• Mo Bass argued that the Ink Snake Tribe would not be swayed, but Xiao Jing described how its members might leave if the other tribes gained better lives through trade and reconciliation.
• Xiao Jing said she would use any method she considered worthwhile to achieve her goal, leaving Mo Bass speechless.

Xiao Jing explained her strategy for reconciling humans and the Snake-people race, prompting Mo Bass to reconsider his leadership and pledge to help her. After asking him to confront her sister without killing anyone, Xiao Jing turned to Yao Ye to discuss the buyers behind the slave traders.

• Yao Ye realized Xiao Jing had built grassroots support for reconciliation through Trading Posts while also earning the Snake-people leaders’ trust by opposing the slave trade.
• Mo Bass asked whether Xiao Jing sincerely wanted reconciliation, and she explained that sincerity had brought her this far but tangible benefits were necessary for groups to negotiate.
• Mo Bass apologized for his prejudice, accepted blame for Xiao Yan’s death, and begged Xiao Jing to continue working toward reconciliation.
• Xiao Jing asked Mo Bass to fight her sister when she arrived, striking hard but sparing lives and maintaining his hostility toward humans; he agreed and restored the seal on the door.
• Xiao Jing told Yao Ye she believed the princess had risked entering Snake-people Territory to find her because of information about the buyers behind the slave traders.

Xiao Jing explained why the Jia Ma Imperial Family could not convince the Snake-people race that the Misty Cloud Sect was behind the attacks, then revealed that Xiao Yan might still be alive because the report of his death was suspicious. She remained uncertain of his fate and vowed to punish everyone responsible if he had died.

• Xiao Jing told Yao Ye that the Snake-people race would not trust the Imperial Family’s claims against the Misty Cloud Sect without tangible evidence, since the sect belonged to the Jia Ma Empire.
• Yao Ye apologized for delaying the information that might have helped Xiao Yan, and Xiao Jing realized Xiao Li would blame herself for his apparent death.
• Qing Lin woke and asked about Xiao Yan, and Xiao Jing told her and Yao Ye that he might still be alive.
• Xiao Jing explained that Yue Mei’s reported carcass annihilation could have been staged and that a spy among the Snake-people race was likely directing attacks away from the Eight Great Leaders.
• Xiao Jing said she could not confirm whether Xiao Yan had survived and vowed to settle accounts with everyone responsible if he had died.

Yun Ying came to Mo City after learning of the false report that Xiao Yan had died, determined to protect him and fascinated by his commitment to righteousness. At the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, she found Xiao Li and Xiao Yi Xian preparing to avenge him, and joined them as a kindred friend.

• Yun Ying saw through Yin Shi's report about Xiao Yan's supposed death and decided to keep him from dying.
• Yun Ying met Xiao Li at the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and offered to join her revenge mission, but Xiao Li refused.
• Xiao Yi Xian revealed her innate Calamitous Poison Body and explained that she had traded her lifespan for the power to avenge Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yi Xian told Xiao Li that Xiao Yan would have gone to the Snake-people Territory regardless, easing some of Xiao Li's guilt.
• Yun Ying insisted that abandoning a friend out of fear would leave her without honor, and Xiao Li recognized her as Xiao Yan's kindred friend.

Yin Shi and the snake-people leaders planned how to protect Xiao Li and preserve Xiao Jing’s reconciliation efforts, while Mo Bass insisted on taking the frontline role. As Queen Medusa attempted an evolution using Heavenly Flames, an outsider named Wu Ya appeared in the Holy Land, and Yin Shi was authorized to hear his proposal.

• Yin Shi and the leaders struggled to choose someone to lead the frontline plan, since they feared Xiao Li might be killed if Mo Bass confronted her.
• Mo Bass insisted on going to the frontline, and Yin Shi agreed, assigning Yan Ci and Hei Du supporting roles to keep the plan on track.
• Yin Shi tasked Hua She Wang, Nan She, and Kui Xing with protecting their tribes while he and the Elders guarded Queen Medusa.
• Yin Shi sensed Queen Medusa’s aura inside the palace and learned she had attempted to use Heavenly Flames to evolve.
• Wu Ya of Wu Tian Fu appeared before the palace, and Queen Medusa gave Yin Shi full authority to discuss Wu Ya’s purpose on her behalf.

Yin Ke, a spy for the Mo Family, weighed whether Yin Shi’s report of Xiao Yan’s death was true as he watched snake-people leaders gather at the frontline. The chapter ended with Xiao Li leading a group of Black Shadows toward the Snake-people Holy Land.

• Yin Ke withheld intelligence after suspecting Yin Shi’s report of Xiao Yan’s death and Yue Mei’s execution was false.
• The Mo Family Head also doubted the report and ordered the Mo Family Envoy not to contact Yin Ke unless Yin Ke reached out first.
• Yin Ke volunteered for frontline duty so he could verify the report and considered telling the Mo Family that reconciliation had failed.
• Mo Bass, Yan Ci, and Hei Du arrived at the frontline, strengthening Yin Ke’s belief that the snake-people leaders opposed reconciliation.
• Mo Bass warned the soldiers as Black Shadows approached, and Yin Ke recognized Xiao Li at their head.

Xiao Li and Xiao Yi Xian joined the battle against the Snake-people, and Xiao Li fought Mo Bass with startling strength while Xiao Yi Xian poisoned Yan Ci. Just as Xiao Li was about to strike down a defenseless Mo Bass, Medusa appeared and stopped her spear.

• Mo Bass attacked Xiao Li, but she blocked his blow and countered with a lightning-fast spear strike that wounded and drove him back.
• Xiao Li led the Desert Iron Mercenary Group into battle, then clashed with Mo Bass's Black Snake Tremor and was badly injured while he was left half-charred.
• Xiao Yi Xian ambushed Mo Bass, but Yan Ci intercepted her and suffered corrosion from her poison before confronting her.
• Xiao Li charged Mo Bass again, and he apologized for Xiao Yan's death before lowering his defenses and accepting her spear thrust.
• Xiao Li's spear stopped before piercing Mo Bass, and Medusa appeared at the Holy Land entrance.

Medusa nearly killed Xiao Li before Yun Yun arrived and saved her, turning the Snake-people Holy Land into a standoff. Elsewhere, Yin Ke reached the Mo Family Envoy’s base with news of the conflict, but Yue Mei and Xiao Yan exposed the white-robed operatives and captured him.

• Medusa appeared on the battlefield, reprimanded Yan Ci, and prepared to kill Xiao Li while Xiao Yi Xian lay unconscious.
• Yun Yun rescued Xiao Li from Medusa’s attack and identified herself as the Misty Cloud Sect’s Sect Master.
• Yin Ke slipped away from the Holy Land to report to the Mo Family Envoy, while Gu He, Feng Li, and Yan Shi hurried toward the battlefield after sensing Medusa’s presence.
• At the Envoy’s base, the One-eyed White-robed Man asked about a blue-haired child, and Yue Mei appeared to confront the white-robed operatives.
• The child froze the operatives, and Xiao Yan seized Yin Ke before he could escape.

Xiao Yan nearly killed Yin Ke but was stopped so he could preserve the plan’s witnesses, then hurried toward the Snake-people Holy Land as fighting intensified. Wu Ya and Yan Luotian intercepted him, but Jia Xingtian arrived in time to protect him and confront the foreign attackers.

• Xiao Yan stopped his attack on Yin Ke when the youngster froze his arm, and Yue Mei urged them to bring the captured witnesses to the Holy Land.
• The youngster gathered Yin Ke and the white-robed witnesses and flew toward the Holy Land with Xiao Yan, but Wu Ya appeared and challenged him.
• The youngster fought Wu Ya while Xiao Yan carried Yin Ke and the One-eyed White-robed Man toward the Holy Land.
• Yan Luotian suddenly blocked Xiao Yan and attacked, but stone pillars rose to stop his strike.
• Jia Xingtian appeared, shielding Xiao Yan and warning Wu Ya and Yan Luotian that they would die if they had come to cause trouble.

Jia Xingtian tried to stop Yan Luotian and Wu Ya from interfering with the Snake-people race, but Queen Medusa rejected his appeals to keep the race within the Jia Ma Empire. As the confrontation left reconciliation looking impossible, Xiao Yan arrived and asked the Queen to hear him out.

• Jia Xingtian confronted Yan Luotian and Wu Ya, while Hai Bodong revealed his identity and Nalan Jie joined the Jia Ma Empire's side.
• Yan Luotian and Wu Ya withdrew after Nalan Jie's arrival, and Nalan Jie recognized Xiao Yan before taking him and the witnesses toward the Snake-people Holy Land.
• Queen Medusa defeated Yun Yun, then ordered the fighting to stop as Jia Xingtian, Hai Bodong, Yan Luotian, and Wu Ya arrived.
• Jia Xingtian accused Queen Medusa of treason, but she cited the Snake-people race's centuries of exile and distrust of the Jia Ma Imperial Family.
• Yue Mei pleaded for Queen Medusa to reconsider, and Jia Xingtian claimed the Imperial Family had supported Xiao Jing, but the Queen rejected his claim and said she did not trust him.
• Xiao Yan arrived before Queen Medusa and identified himself as Xiao Jing's younger brother, asking her to hear him out.