Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan held Yao Wan as she struggled with the fear and helplessness of losing her strength, and he promised to protect her. The chapter ended with Yao Wan telling him she really hated him.

• Xiao Yan held Yao Wan close, and she felt both uneasy and comforted in his arms.
• Xiao Yan told Yao Wan he was glad she no longer seemed so distant, but unhappy that she still forced herself to appear strong.
• Xiao Yan recognized that Yao Wan feared others seeing her weakness, and promised to protect her.
• Yao Wan admitted she could no longer protect Xiao Yan, revealing the source of her fear and dejection.
• Xiao Yan insisted he would protect her even if he could not protect himself, and Yao Wan told him she really hated him.

Xiao Yan comforted Yao Wan, and the two spent the night together before waking in each other’s arms. Meanwhile, the Spirit Devouring Clan’s Demon Chief discussed the failed vanguard and ordered Shi Xiao to take the injured Shi Yu to the Blood Sacrifice Altar as the Sacred King’s awakening drew near.

• Xiao Yan held Yao Wan and reassured her until she calmed, and they fell asleep together.
• Shi Xiao reported the failed attack near Heaven Sword Palace and Shi Jiao’s death to the Demon Chief, who spared him for now and said he would settle the matter after the Sacred King awakened.
• The Demon Chief learned that two human Dou Zong with Heavenly Flames had defeated Shi Jiao and ordered that they be separated and killed when an opportunity arose.
• Shi Yu admitted that he had encountered the same man and woman and had spent much of his strength escaping, so the Demon Chief ordered Shi Xiao to take him to the Blood Sacrifice Altar for Blood Food.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Wan woke beside each other, and Yao Wan tidied her clothes and disguise while Xiao Yan noticed that her spirits had improved.

Xiao Yan spent the morning with Yao Wan before Han Shanshan called him to refine pills. After recognizing his alchemy technique as Yao Chen’s, Han Shanshan revealed that she was his teacher’s master and told Xiao Yan to call her Grandmaster.

• Yao Wan teased Xiao Yan about their night together, and Han Shanshan called from outside, asking him to help refine pills.
• Han Shanshan teased Xiao Yan about Yao Wan as they walked to the Alchemy Room and advised him to be more proactive with her.
• Xiao Yan used his Five-Colored Strange Fire to refine about ten Grade Seven Pills, meeting Han Shanshan’s request.
• Han Shanshan recognized Xiao Yan’s alchemy technique and guessed that Yao Chen was his teacher.
• Han Shanshan revealed that Yao Chen had to call her Master and told Xiao Yan to call her Grandmaster.

Xiao Yan learned how Han Shanshan had saved Yao Chen at the cost of being erased from everyone’s memories, and she advised him and Yao Wan to think carefully before making sacrifices. After several peaceful days of pill refining, Xiao Yan and Yao Wan sensed that danger was approaching.

• Xiao Yan realized Han Shanshan was Yao Chen’s master and asked how they had met.
• Han Shanshan recounted how she and Yao Chen had grown close before she sacrificed herself to save him on the ice plains.
• Han Shanshan explained that saving Yao Chen erased her existence and everyone’s memories of her, but she did not regret it and found meaning in the Bone Spirit Cold Flame he retained.
• Han Shanshan urged Xiao Yan and Yao Wan to consider the cost of reckless sacrifices, then left them to continue refining pills.
• Xiao Yan warned Yao Wan not to do anything stupid, and she told him to take care of himself too.
• Xiao Yan refined pills for several days and improved his alchemy, until he and Yao Wan sensed an ominous danger.

Xiao Yan and Yao Wan joined Heaven Sword Palace’s response to an unusually early Spirit Devouring Clan offensive, while Yun Potian reflected on the sealed Demon Chief’s embryo and the danger of destroying it. The two reached the eastern battlefield together and faced a Demon General who recognized them.

• Xiao Yan, Yao Wan, and Han Shanshan sensed an impending threat, and Heavenly Flame Honored One announced that the Spirit Devouring Clan had split into three attacking forces.
• Heavenly Flame Honored One sent Xiao Yan and Yao Wan east with him and Demon Ghost Honored One to confront the vanguard, while Yun Potian inspected the sealed demon embryo beneath Heaven Sword Hall.
• Heavenly Flame Honored One told Yun Potian that the battle’s arrangements were complete and suggested Xiao Yan and Yao Wan might offer a chance to destroy the embryo, but Yun Potian rejected risking the two juniors.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Wan traveled with the Heaven Sword Palace forces toward the battlefield, and Xiao Yan held Yao Wan’s hand as her unease grew.
• Heavenly Flame Honored One and Demon Ghost Honored One charged into battle, while Xiao Yan and Yao Wan joined the fighting Dou Zongs and confronted a Demon General.
• The Demon General recognized Xiao Yan and Yao Wan, then tore through their Heavenly Flame barrier with Demonic Qi.

Yao Wan and Xiao Yan faced two Spirit Devouring Clan Demon Generals, and Xiao Yan used their merged strange fires to gain temporary Dou Venerate power. As both battles continued, the Thin Demon General began to suspect Yao Wan was the outsider from the prophecy.

• Yao Wan considered sacrificing her Soul Division to kill the Spirit Devouring Clan, but Xiao Yan reminded her that she had promised not to do anything foolish.
• Yao Wan trusted Xiao Yan with her strange fire, and their powers combined with his Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations to give him near-Dou Venerate strength.
• The Fat Demon General charged Xiao Yan while the Thin Demon General attacked Yao Wan, aiming to kill her and break their secret technique.
• Xiao Yan suppressed the Fat Demon General with his strange fire, while Yao Wan held her own against the Thin Demon General using her golden stone hammer.
• The Thin Demon General realized Yao Wan might not belong to the Forgotten Ruins and wondered if she was the person in the prophecy.

Yao Wan defeated the Thin Demon General with the Black-Red Flame greatsword, but the Evil Core escaped toward Xiao Yan’s battle with the Fat Demon General. Despite suffering backlash from the flame, she chased after it.

• The Thin Demon General intensified his attacks on Yao Wan with the Soul Devouring Seal, then forged a strange long blade and unleashed Soul Severance.
• Yao Wan transformed her stone hammer and Black-Red Flame into a greatsword, then cut through the Thin Demon General’s attack and split him in two.
• Yao Wan burned away the Thin Demon General’s vitality while preserving his Evil Core for research and energy.
• Yao Wan suppressed the Ash Extinction Flame’s backlash and reached for the Evil Core, but it flew toward Xiao Yan and the Fat Demon General, so she pursued it.

Yao Wan failed to stop the Fat Demon General from absorbing the Thin Demon General’s Evil Core, and Xiao Yan faced the transformed enemy while she was too injured to help. As the Fat Demon General’s attacks threatened to overwhelm him, Xiao Yan summoned his Glass Forged Golden Body.

• Yao Wan chased the Evil Core into Xiao Yan’s battle with the Fat Demon General, but the General’s shock wave swept her aside and Xiao Yan caught her as she coughed blood from using Ash Extinction Flame.
• The Fat Demon General seized the Evil Core and fused it into his chest, causing his power and size to surge as Demonic Qi gathered around him.
• Yao Wan urged Xiao Yan to flee and offered to hold the General off, but Xiao Yan sealed her away behind a spatial barrier and chose to fight.
• The Fat Demon General attacked Xiao Yan with a Bone Blade, and Xiao Yan judged that the absorbed Evil Core had raised the General’s strength to around an Eight Star Dou Zun or higher.
• With his escape routes sealed by the Fat Demon General’s blade lights, Xiao Yan activated Glass Forged Golden Body to block the attack.

Xiao Yan risked his life to unleash the Ash Extinction Fire Lotus and kill the Fat Demon General, then collapsed from his injuries. As he lay helpless, Yao Wan arrived and her tears fell on his lips.

• Xiao Yan used the Ash Extinction Flame to sever the Fat Demon General's hand, then fused it with his five Heavenly Flames to form an Ash Extinction Fire Lotus.
• The Ash Extinction Fire Lotus devastated the Fat Demon General and the surrounding Spirit Devouring Clan forces, but the Fat Demon General survived with severe injuries.
• Xiao Yan charged into the blast's aftermath and repeatedly punched the weakened Fat Demon General with Black Flame until he stopped moving.
• Xiao Yan collapsed on the scorched ground, unable to hear or sense clearly, and felt tears fall onto his lips as Yao Wan arrived.

After Xiao Yan unleashed the Ash Extinction Fire Lotus, Yao Wan found him barely alive and carried him away while using her Life Spirit Flame to protect him. When two Spirit Devouring Clan Dou Zongs blocked her path, she killed them in a rage, then sensed that the other battles were nearing their end and reinforcements were approaching.

• Yao Wan searched the scorched battlefield and found Xiao Yan collapsed, critically injured but still alive thanks to his Life Spirit Flame.
• Yao Wan transferred her Life Spirit Flame to Xiao Yan, collected the purified Evil Core, and prepared to leave with him.
• Two Spirit Devouring Clan Dou Zongs blocked Yao Wan and threatened to kill her, prompting her aura to surge.
• Yao Wan killed one Dou Zong, brutally crushed the other, and extracted both of their Evil Cores.
• Yao Wan picked Xiao Yan up again as the other battlefields neared their conclusions and a Dou Zun with several Dou Zongs arrived from the west.

Yao Wan brought the critically wounded Xiao Yan back to the Medicine Department, where Han Shanshan discovered that he was barely alive. The Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill and Heaven and Earth Energy crystals revived him and helped Yao Wan recover, and seven days later Xiao Yan was still absorbing energy as he approached a breakthrough.

• A Dou Zun sent Yao Wan and the unconscious Xiao Yan back to Sword Mountain while he went to deal with the remaining battle.
• Yao Wan refused to let anyone touch Xiao Yan and carried him back to the Medicine Department, where Han Shanshan found his life force nearly extinguished.
• Yao Wan insisted she could save Xiao Yan, but the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill activated and restored his failing life force.
• Yao Wan placed three Heaven and Earth Energy crystals beside Xiao Yan, and their energy healed him while also flowing through their Strange Fire connection to help restore her.
• Han Shanshan sealed off the Medicine Department and left them alone, and seven days later Xiao Yan was still absorbing energy as Yao Wan watched him approach a breakthrough.

Xiao Yan awakened after breaking through to Dou Zun, and Yao Wan hid how badly she had suffered to save him. After learning the battle had been contained and that Yao Wan had refused to let anyone take him from her, Xiao Yan returned to her room as she struggled with the Ash Extinction Flame.

• Xiao Yan woke in the Medicine Department of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain and learned he had advanced to Dou Zun.
• Yao Wan ordered Xiao Yan to stabilize his cultivation, then angrily sent him out of her room.
• Han Shanshan told Xiao Yan the Spirit Devouring Clan had been repelled and that Yao Wan had carried him back while badly wounded.
• Han Shanshan said Yao Wan had refused to let anyone touch Xiao Yan and might have cried while holding him.
• Yao Wan struggled with the Ash Extinction Flame alone until Xiao Yan entered her room and said he had come back to sleep.

Xiao Yan insisted on staying with Yao Wan through the Ash Extinction Flame’s impending backlash, despite her objections. When he confronted her about crying after believing he was going to die, Yao Wan’s fear and resentment erupted into tears.

• Yao Wan refused to let Xiao Yan sleep in her room, but he insisted he wanted to protect her from the Ash Extinction Flame’s backlash.
• Xiao Yan climbed into bed with Yao Wan and held her despite her rules, then noticed her restlessness and the signs of the flame’s backlash.
• Xiao Yan pressed Yao Wan to explain why she had returned without bathing, and revealed that he knew she had cried for him.
• Yao Wan denied caring about Xiao Yan, then broke down and demanded to know why he had ignored her warning and risked his life.

Xiao Yan argued that he would risk his life rather than let Yao Wan sacrifice herself, then kissed her as she struggled. He promised not to force her, but his actions immediately made Yao Wan furious.

• Yao Wan accused Xiao Yan of making her sacrifice herself, and he insisted he would rather die than watch her do so.
• Xiao Yan confessed that he liked Yao Wan and kissed her while holding her still.
• Yao Wan gradually stopped struggling and touched Xiao Yan’s face as their kiss ended.
• Xiao Yan said Ash Annihilation’s reaction seemed to have weakened and suggested they sleep, while Yao Wan worried he might take advantage of her.
• Xiao Yan promised he would not force Yao Wan, but a strange sensation made her realize his actions contradicted his words, and she cursed at him in anger.

Yao Wan awoke without the expected backlash from the Ash Extinction Flame and suspected her dream had revealed why. She and Xiao Yan discovered that an unusual tree growing from a broken branch absorbed the flame, and Yao Wan took a leaf to have it identified by the Yao Clan.

• Yao Wan was shaken by Xiao Yan’s physical reaction after they kissed, but trusted him enough to fall asleep beside him.
• Yao Wan dreamed of twisted branches absorbing the Ash Extinction Flame until its sea of fire vanished.
• Yao Wan woke without the flame’s expected backlash and asked Xiao Yan to show her the broken branch he had kept.
• Xiao Yan found that the branch had grown into a small tree, and Yao Wan’s Ash Extinction Flame faded into its leaves.
• Yao Wan stored a leaf in her Storage Ring so she could ask the Yao Clan’s Clan Leader or Progenitor to identify the tree.

After Xiao Yan advanced to Dou Venerate, Yun Potian summoned Sword Mountain’s experts and warned that the Demon Fetus was stirring and the Spirit Devouring Clan would soon attack. Yun Potian prepared to face the Demon Chief himself, while Xiao Yan and the other Venerates were tasked with fighting the coming Demon Generals.

• Xiao Yan told Yao Wan that, with her amplification, he could defeat a Demon General fused with the Evil Core without borrowing the power of Ash Extinction Flame.
• Yun Potian summoned the Dou Venerates and Dou Zongs at Sword Mountain to Heaven Sword Hall, where experts recognized Xiao Yan as the Fated Person who had reached Dou Venerate.
• Xiao Yan and the Venerates discussed the recent attack and the spread of Demonic Qi, while two Heavenly Flame wielders went to purify affected territory.
• Yun Potian announced that the Demon Fetus was stirring and ordered the experts to prepare for an attack, saying the Demon Chief would likely appear within two days.
• Yun Potian said Xiao Yan would help face at least fifteen Demon Generals, then declared that he had a ten-out-of-ten chance of defeating the Demon Chief.

Xiao Yan and Yao Wan helped Han Shanshan prepare for the coming battle and offered her a chance to leave the Forgotten Ruins and see Yao Chen, but she declined. As the Demon Chief arrived at Sword Mountain and targeted Xiao Yan, Yun Potian intervened, and the two began to fight.

• Xiao Yan and Yao Wan went to help Han Shanshan with the Medicine Department’s pill dispatch as Sword Mountain prepared for the Demon Chief’s arrival.
• Yao Wan asked Han Shanshan whether she wanted to leave the Forgotten Ruins and see Yao Chen, but Han Shanshan declined and said she would not disturb him.
• Yao Wan offered to help Han Shanshan leave if she was worried she could not get out, but Han Shanshan put off the question.
• The Demon Chief’s Demon Cloud covered Sword Mountain, and Yun Potian’s sword intent destroyed the spreading Demonic Qi.
• The Demon Chief recognized Xiao Yan as the suspected Fated Person and tried to kill him, but Yun Potian struck first and forced the Demon Chief to turn away.
• The Demon Chief summoned countless Demonic Shadows as Yun Potian drew his sword to face him.

The Demon Chief and Yun Potian left Sword Mountain to fight while their forces clashed around the Azure Cloud Terminating Star Grand Formation. Xiao Yan joined the battle to protect the formation, and the demons recognized him as a threat they needed to kill.

• Heavenly Flame Honored One activated the Azure Cloud Terminating Star Grand Formation, and the Demon Chief ordered Shi Yu to carry out his secret instructions.
• Yun Potian engaged the Demon Chief and drew him away from Sword Mountain as Shi Yu ordered the demon generals to attack the formation.
• The demon generals battered the formation, and Xiao Yan recognized Shi Yu as a hidden threat while Yao Wan urged him to help defend Sword Mountain.
• Yao Wan gave Xiao Yan her Azure Pendants and told him how to handle the situation before he charged through the formation and blocked the demons with his Glass Image.
• The demons recognized Xiao Yan as the human race’s Fated Person and called for his death before he could grow stronger.

Xiao Yan used his five-colored Strange Fire to hold back the Spirit Devouring Clan while Yun Potian fought the Demon Chief five thousand li away. Yun Potian split the Demon Chief in half with a decisive sword strike, but discovered that another Half Demon Fetus was missing, leaving the outcome of the wider battle uncertain.

• Xiao Yan faced the demons before the Azure Cloud Terminating Star Grand Formation, and his Strange Fire forced them to hesitate.
• Several demon generals attacked Xiao Yan together, but he evaded them through folded space and hurled a Five-Colored Fire Lotus that drove the nearby demons back.
• Xiao Yan and the human fighters, aided by the grand formation, temporarily suppressed the demons as other Dou Zun joined the battle.
• Yun Potian and the Demon Chief exchanged a thousand attacks, and the Demon Chief mocked Yun Potian after judging his strength.
• Yun Potian unleashed a sword strike that split the demonic tide and severed half the Demon Chief's body, shattering his Evil Core.
• Yun Potian realized the Demon Chief had hidden another Half Demon Fetus, while the Demon Chief taunted him and claimed the human race had already lost.

Yao Wan discovered Yun Potian’s warning and the sealed Half Demon Fetus beneath Heaven Sword Hall, then used her Ash Extinction Flame to destroy it. Before she could finish, a Demonic Shadow attacked her, and Xiao Yan arrived to knock it aside.

• The Demon Generals broke through the Azure Cloud Terminating Star Grand Formation, and the Venerables and Dou Zongs fought to defend the breach.
• Yao Wan found Yun Potian’s image-retaining crystal in Heaven Sword Hall and followed its projection to the sealed Half Demon Fetus.
• Yun Potian explained that the Spirit Devouring Clan had invaded to restore the Demon Fetus and asked Yao Wan to destroy it with her Heavenly Flame.
• Yao Wan rejected the Demon Fetus’s offer to submit and sent her Ash Extinction Flame into the sword formation to kill it.
• A Demonic Shadow smashed through Heaven Sword Hall and attacked Yao Wan, but Xiao Yan kicked it into a wall.