Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan’s soul was protected by the Scrolls Wan Guniang had left behind, revealing her recorded message and the Past Emperor Soul Decision. After learning to circulate the method, he steadied his soul and prepared to refine the Beast Spirit.

• The Scrolls activated when Xiao Yan was endangered, shielding him from the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire and calming his boiling soul.
• Xiao Yan saw a recorded image of Yao Wan, who explained that her protective Divine Sense had activated and that the Scrolls would assess his Soul Power.
• The Scrolls opened and revealed the Past Emperor Soul Decision, a method for cultivating the soul through the Mortal, Spirit, Sky, and Emperor realms.
• Xiao Yan learned to circulate the method, calming his soul and easing the pain caused by the Beast Spirit.
• Yao Lao urged Xiao Yan to refine the weakened Beast Spirit, and Xiao Yan covered it with his Soul Power.

Xiao Yan used his Soul Cultivation Method to gain the upper hand over the Amethyst Winged Lion King's beast spirit and began refining it, bringing him close to obtaining the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire. Yao Wan sensed the unexpected heavenly flame and went to find Xiao Yan, discovering him underground with Yao Lao.

• Xiao Yan blocked and refined the beast spirit more effectively with his Soul Cultivation Method, and told Yao Lao that refining it would let him claim the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire.
• Yao Wan sensed a reaction from something she had left behind and decided to investigate the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Yao Wan told Nalan Yanran to stay and cultivate, then flew west toward Xiao Yan's location.
• Yao Wan sensed a heavenly flame in the mountains and realized Xiao Yan had encountered an opportunity from a future she did not recognize.
• Yao Wan opened a passage into an underground cavern and found Xiao Yan meditating before a fire, then sensed that Yao Lao was with him.

Xiao Yan successfully devoured the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire, but the fusion with the Netherworld Poison Flame left him struggling with a powerful surge of desire. Yao Lao suggested Yun Zhi as a way to relieve it, and Xiao Yan refused, saying he would endure it himself.

• Yao Wan recognized that Yun Yun had stayed in the Magical Beast Mountain Range with Xiao Yan and watched as he began refining the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire.
• Xiao Yan drew the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire into his body, where it clashed violently with the Netherworld Poison Flame.
• Xiao Yan used the Flame Mantra to pull both Strange Fires into his Na Ling Space and, after taking a Clear Spirit Pill, subdued the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire.
• Yao Wan watched for signs of an aftermath as the two Strange Fires settled, while Xiao Yan swallowed a Purification Pill to suppress his rising desire.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan the desire was his own and gestured toward Yun Zhi; Xiao Yan rejected the suggestion and said he would endure it.

Yao Wan secretly used her Life Spirit Flame to remove Xiao Yan’s Evil Fire and knocked him unconscious before he could recognize her. She then reunited with Yao Lao and asked how he had found traces of a Heavenly Flame in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

• Xiao Yan resisted Yao Lao’s teasing and struggled to suppress the Evil Fire burning inside him.
• Yao Wan revealed herself to Yao Lao and used her Life Spirit Flame to absorb the excess Flame Mantra energy and calm Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan opened his eyes, caught a glimpse of Yao Wan, and was knocked unconscious by her before he could speak.
• Yao Wan greeted Yao Lao and explained that she had rushed to the Magical Beast Mountain Range because she feared Xiao Yan was in danger.
• Yao Wan asked Yao Lao how he had discovered traces of a Heavenly Flame in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Yao Wan reassured Yao Lao that she did not mind Xiao Yan taking responsibility for Yun Zhi, then worried that events were straying from the future she knew. She and Yao Lao discussed the Yao Clan, but he refused to return, concerned that her bringing back a disgraced clan member would damage her standing.

• Yao Lao explained how Xiao Yan discovered the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire after saving Yun Zhi, and Yao Wan said she did not mind if Xiao Yan took responsibility for her.
• Yao Wan considered matching Xiao Yan with someone else and worried that recent events were making the future harder to predict.
• Yao Wan decided she needed to stop being lazy and get busy, then prepared to leave while Xiao Yan slept.
• Yao Lao asked about the Yao Clan, and Yao Wan told him that Yao Dan was its current Clan Leader and had raised her.
• Yao Wan asked Yao Lao whether he wanted to return to the clan, but he refused and warned her to consider what the clansmen would think if she brought back a sinner.

Yao Wan left after asking Yao Lao to protect Xiao Yan and keep her visit secret. Xiao Yan woke to find his Heavenly Flames stable, then discovered the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire had raised him to Nine Star Dou Shi and evolved his Flame Mantra to Profound High-Rank.

• Yao Lao told Yao Wan that returning with him could damage her standing in the clan, and she agreed to wait until after his revival before raising the matter again.
• Yao Wan asked Yao Lao to take care of Xiao Yan, then flew away without waiting for him to wake.
• Xiao Yan woke and noticed the Heavenly Flames inside his Na Ling Space had settled, while Yao Lao claimed he had suppressed the Evil Fire.
• Xiao Yan recognized Yao Wan's Orchid Fragrance and realized she had saved him and asked Yao Lao to conceal her visit.
• Xiao Yan summoned beast spirits and found that the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire let him control them and influence some low-rank Magical Beasts.
• Xiao Yan discovered he had advanced to Nine Star Dou Shi and that his Flame Mantra had evolved from Profound Rank Low Level to Profound High-Rank.

After returning from the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Yao Wan decided to leave Nalan Yanran and prepare for the uncertain future. She spent their last night together encouraging Nalan Yanran to rely on herself, and left her with a cultivation pill and a promise to visit again.

• Yao Wan realized that Xiao Yan’s future could no longer be counted on to follow its original course and began preparing for what came next.
• Yao Wan returned to Nalan Yanran and told her she could not stay by her side anymore, despite the Three-Year Agreement still being nearly a year away.
• Nalan Yanran asked to travel with Yao Wan, but Yao Wan refused and urged her to keep cultivating for the Three-Year Agreement.
• Yao Wan gave Nalan Yanran a cultivation pill to take when she broke through to Da Dou Shi and told her to return to the Yun Lan Sect the next day.
• Yao Wan comforted Nalan Yanran for their last night together, urging her to become independent before they met again.

Yun Yun realized that Nalan Yanran’s Purification Pill linked Yao Yan to the Medicine Fairy, making her suspect Yao Yan’s true identity. Meanwhile, Yao Wan reached Desert City in the Tagor Desert to search for Hai Bodong and other things of interest, but drew attention from the guards at the gate.

• Yun Yun returned to the Yun Lan Sect with the Violet Spirit Crystal and found Nalan Yanran there, while the Medicine Fairy had left.
• Nalan Yanran gave Yun Yun the Purification Pill the Medicine Fairy had given her and said she had saved it for the sect.
• Yun Yun recognized the pill and concluded that the Medicine Fairy was Yao Yan’s friend, leaving her to suspect Yao Yan’s identity.
• Yao Wan traveled east to the Tagor Desert, searching its settlements for the city where Ice Emperor Hai Bodong lived.
• Yao Wan found Desert City and approached its gate, where the guards noticed her and stared.

Yao Wan entered Desert City and found the map shop containing fragments of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame map. She confronted the shopkeeper, Hai Bodong, and offered to restore his former Dou Emperor cultivation in exchange for the map.

• Yao Wan knocked out a soldier with her Stone Hammer and made the other soldiers clear the way into Desert City.
• Yao Wan sensed the fragment maps in a map shop and selected one from the shelf.
• The shopkeeper refused to sell the map and tried to take it back, but Yao Wan held onto it.
• Yao Wan recognized the shopkeeper as Hai Bodong, a former Dou Emperor now reduced to Dou Ling.
• Yao Wan offered to use Hai Bodong's Dou Emperor cultivation as payment for the map.

Yao Wan negotiated with Hai Bodong, proving she could help him by revealing her Life Spirit Flame. Hai Bodong agreed to trade his two remnant maps, and Yao Wan offered to restore his cultivation and raise him to Dou Zong if he served as her bodyguard for two years.

• Yao Wan showed Hai Bodong her Life Spirit Flame, convincing him she was an alchemist capable of breaking his seal.
• Hai Bodong admitted he could no longer endure his life in the desert and agreed to trade a map for the seal's removal.
• Yao Wan revealed that Hai Bodong had two remnant maps and proposed a separate price for each.
• Yao Wan offered to break the seal for one map and raise Hai Bodong's cultivation for the other.
• Yao Wan promised to guarantee Hai Bodong's advancement to Dou Zong if he became her bodyguard for two years.

Yao Wan agreed to help Hai Bodong break his seal and examined the Rank 6 Barrier Breaking Pill formula he had prepared. She used her Soul Power to understand it and began revising its ingredients, leaving Hai Bodong watching in astonishment.

• Hai Bodong accepted Yao Wan's offer, and she learned that Queen Medusa had sealed his Dou Qi decades earlier.
• Hai Bodong led Yao Wan to his secret chamber and showed her the Barrier Breaking Pill formula and its ingredients, explaining that he lacked Sand Mandala.
• Yao Wan said she would visit the Snake-People Forbidden Ground later, then studied the formula with her Soul Power.
• Yao Wan replaced Sand Mandala with Scale Fat Root and changed other ingredients, modifying the formula while Hai Bodong watched.

Yao Wan modified the Purple Qi Breaking Pill formula and refined the pill for Hai Bodong using the Life Spirit Flame. Hai Bodong waited outside the Secret Chamber, wary of Yao Wan and the powerful force he believed stood behind her, then opened the door when he sensed the pill was ready.

• Yao Wan returned the Breaking Pill formula to Hai Bodong, saying it was useless to her.
• Hai Bodong left the Secret Chamber and worried about his next transaction with Yao Wan after recovering as a Dou Emperor.
• Yao Wan used the Life Spirit Flame to refine the ingredients and condense the improved Purple Qi Breaking Pill.
• Hai Bodong opened the Secret Chamber door and saw Yao Wan throw the pill toward him.

Yao Wan gave Hai Bodong the Barrier Breaking Pill, which broke Queen Medusa’s seal and restored him to Dou Emperor while revitalizing his strength. Hai Bodong honored their first bargain by handing over the fragmentary map, and the two prepared to leave as Yao Wan asked about nearby cities.

• Yao Wan led Hai Bodong to his ice-attribute basement, where he swallowed the Barrier Breaking Pill.
• The pill broke Queen Medusa’s seal and restored Hai Bodong to Dou Emperor, with his vitality and strength renewed.
• Hai Bodong thanked Yao Wan and gave her the fragmentary map as promised.
• Yao Wan asked Hai Bodong to call her Wan Guniang, and he agreed to travel with her.
• Yao Wan asked about large cities in the Tagor Desert, and Hai Bodong identified Stone Desert City as the closest one, a day’s journey northwest.

Yao Wan and Hai Bodong left Desert City and flew toward Stone Desert City, where Yao Wan intended to go for reasons she did not explain. After reaching the city in half a day with her Light Feather Pills, she chose to fly directly inside.

• Yao Wan decided to travel to Stone Desert City, surprising Hai Bodong, who wondered whether she knew someone there.
• Yao Wan and Hai Bodong spent the night in Desert City, then left early the next morning as Hai Bodong said a quiet farewell to the place where he had lived for decades.
• Hai Bodong flew with Yao Wan and explained that his seal had been lifted and his vitality restored, though his hair remained white.
• Yao Wan gave Hai Bodong a Light Feather Pill that improved their flying speed and reduced their Dou Qi consumption.
• Yao Wan and Hai Bodong reached Stone Desert City in half a day, and Yao Wan told him they would fly straight into the city.

Yao Wan and Hai Bodong arrived in Stone Desert City, where she visited the Mo Tie Mercenary Group to ask whether Xiao Yan had arrived. Xiao Ding and Xiao Li recognized her from their father’s letter, learned Xiao Yan was still away, and tried to stop her as she prepared to leave.

• Yao Wan told Hai Bodong that she had grown used to unwanted attention and entered Stone Desert City with him.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li heard that a guest connected to the Xiao Clan was at their gate and went to meet her.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li recognized Yao Wan as the woman mentioned in Xiao Zhan’s letter and asked whether she was the Wan Guniang who had stayed with the Xiao Clan.
• Yao Wan asked if Xiao Yan had arrived, and Xiao Li told her that he had not yet reached Stone Desert City.
• Yao Wan asked the brothers to pass a message to Xiao Yan, saying she would wait at the place he needed to go, then prepared to leave.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li stopped Yao Wan and asked her to wait.

Yao Wan stayed at the Mo Tie Mercenary Group’s residence in Stone Desert City while waiting for Xiao Yan, and her comments about him prompted Xue Lan to suspect they were romantically involved. Hai Bodong questioned Yao Wan about the Xiao Clan and her connection to Xiao Yan, and she said they had become friends after she helped him while he was dormant.

• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li persuaded Yao Wan to stay in Stone Desert City for a few days, and Xiao Ding asked Xue Lan to arrange her lodging.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li discussed Yao Wan’s possible feelings for Xiao Yan, while Xiao Ding worried about her powerful background and Xiao Yan’s unresolved trouble with Nalan Yanran.
• Xue Lan escorted Yao Wan to her room, where Yao Wan described Xiao Yan’s flaws and realized Xue Lan had mistaken her words for affection.
• Hai Bodong asked Yao Wan about the Xiao Clan’s history and its former ties to the Nalan Family.
• Yao Wan explained that she had helped Xiao Yan when he was dormant, had become his friend, and would help him while she remained in the Gama Empire.

Yao Wan met Qing Lin at the Mo Tie Mercenary Group and reassured her after discovering the scales on her body. Xiao Yan arrived in Stone Desert City and reunited with his brothers, who told him Yao Wan was waiting for him.

• Yao Wan noticed Qing Lin's scales and told her to stay close until Xiao Yan arrived, offering her a safe place among the mercenaries.
• Yao Wan grew impatient waiting for Xiao Yan, while Xiao Yan traveled toward Stone Desert City with Yao Lao.
• Xue Lan returned to camp with Xiao Yan, and Qing Lin informed Yao Wan that he had arrived.
• Xiao Yan reunited joyfully with Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, who teased him about Yao Wan coming to find him.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li urged Xiao Yan to meet Yao Wan, and Xiao Li joked that he should get the Xiao family a pretty wife.

Yao Wan reunited with Xiao Yan and asked him to resolve a misunderstanding with Xue Lan about their relationship. She wanted Xiao Yan to explain things before rumors reached his older brothers.

• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li escorted Xiao Yan to meet Yao Wan, who had come looking for him.
• Yao Wan told Xiao Yan that she had mentioned their past to Xue Lan, a mercenary company member close to his older brothers.
• Xiao Yan misunderstood Yao Wan's request to get rid of Xue Lan as an order to kill her.
• Yao Wan clarified that Xiao Yan should find Xue Lan and explain their relationship so his older brothers would not misunderstand.

Xiao Yan learned that Yao Wan’s intense reaction came from her concern for him as a friend, and Yao Lao urged him to use the situation to kindle romantic feelings. Xiao Yan rejected the idea of pressuring her and asked to pursue her another way.

• Xiao Yan left after Yao Wan told him to rest for a couple of days before they continued deeper into the desert.
• Yao Lao called the situation a heaven-sent opportunity and explained that Yao Wan cared about Xiao Yan as a friend, not romantically.
• Yao Lao advised Xiao Yan to let his brothers subtly pressure Yao Wan so she might develop romantic goodwill toward him.
• Xiao Yan said he did not want to force Yao Wan and asked Yao Lao about another way to pursue her.

After reuniting with his older brothers, Xiao Yan spent the night drinking while Yao Wan talked with Qing Lin about the things she liked. In the following quiet days, Xiao Yan worried about his relationship with Yao Wan and decided to ask Qing Lin what gifts might suit her.

• Yao Wan told Qing Lin that she liked unusual trinkets, including figurines and mechanical dolls, and encouraged her to discover her own preferences.
• Yao Wan sent Qing Lin to look after Xiao Yan after he spent the night drinking with his two older brothers.
• Over the next few days, Yao Wan focused on cultivating while Qing Lin and Xiao Yan grew closer.
• Xiao Yan admitted to Qing Lin that he was thinking about Yao Wan and asked what she liked so he could choose a thoughtful gift.
• Yao Lao criticized Xiao Yan's plan to give Yao Wan a hairpin and urged him to put more thought into catering to her tastes.