Chapter Summaries

Chen Guan left Xiao Yi Xian to prepare for the Tagor Desert and traveled to Desert City, where he sought Hai Bodong and his maps. The chapter ended with Hai Bodong threatening him over a Purifying Demonic Flame Partial Map.

• Chen Guan reassured Xiao Yi Xian that he had prepared for the dangers of the desert and promised to help awaken her Poison Body of Misfortune when he returned.
• Xiao Yi Xian accepted his plan to travel with him afterward, then spent the night alone processing the revelation about her poison body.
• Chen Guan and the Wang Brothers reached Desert City, where he sent them to Shimo City to find Qing Lin without frightening her.
• Chen Guan entered Ancient Map, found two Tagor Desert maps and a Purifying Demonic Flame Partial Map, and ignored Hai Bodong's demand to put the partial map down.
• Hai Bodong released an icy pressure through the shop and warned Chen Guan to leave the map and go.

Chen Guan fought Hai Bodong in a fierce clash of ice and flame, revealing his exceptional strength and Soul Skill. After their battle ended without a clear victor, the two recognized that they were both disguising their true identities.

• Hai Bodong attacked Chen Guan with ice spikes, but Chen Guan dispelled them with Beast Flame and countered with sword qi.
• Chen Guan and Hai Bodong exchanged blows with their weapons and Dou Skills, damaging and ultimately collapsing the shop.
• Hai Bodong summoned an ice dragon, while Chen Guan dodged, struck him with a Soul Skill, and countered with thirty waves of sword qi.
• Chen Guan shattered the weakened ice dragon, and Hai Bodong retaliated with an Ice Blade Storm as Chen Guan answered with Fleeting Beauty.
• After the clash ended, Chen Guan and Hai Bodong exchanged a knowing look and realized they were both posing as someone else.

Chen Guan and Hai Bodong fought fiercely in Desert City, then spoke privately outside town about a map fragment Hai had kept for years. Hai refused to give it up without a satisfactory bargain, and Chen Guan asked what he wanted.

• Chen Guan and Hai Bodong unleashed their strongest attacks, and Chen Guan used Myriad God Calamity to catch Hai off guard and gain a slight advantage.
• The exhausted fighters stopped their sparring, and Chen Guan apologized before assessing his strength against experienced Dou Lings.
• Hai Bodong asked about Chen Guan’s connection to the imperial family, and Chen Guan said he had grown up there.
• Chen Guan paid compensation for the destroyed shops and led Hai Bodong outside Desert City to talk.
• Chen Guan explained that he wanted to collect the map fragments, and Hai Bodong said he would not hand over his piece without a suitable exchange.
• Chen Guan asked Hai Bodong what he needed.

Chen Guan and Hai Bodong struck a deal: Chen Guan would find a way to refine the Barrier Breaking Pill and help lift Hai Bodong’s Snake Sealing Curse. After leaving, Chen Guan considered several ways to obtain the pill, favoring a plan involving Han Feng and a Tool-Man Puppet.

• Hai Bodong told Chen Guan how Queen Medusa’s Snake Sealing Curse had sealed his strength and aged his appearance, and asked him to help break the seal in the future.
• Chen Guan rejected a vague future obligation and agreed to find someone who could refine the Barrier Breaking Pill within three years.
• Hai Bodong handed Chen Guan the pill formula, ingredients, and remaining half of the fragmentary map, and explained that he still lacked Sand Mandara.
• Chen Guan left for Shimo City after assuring Hai Bodong he would deliver the pill once it was refined.
• Chen Guan considered using Fama, refining the pill himself, asking Yao Chen, or involving Han Feng, and favored the Han Feng plan because of a Tool-Man Puppet he had found.

Chen Guan reunited with the Wang brothers in Shimo City and arranged to find Qing Lin, who had been stopped from being taken away by a soldier. After meeting her, he gently earned her trust through conversation, leaving her more at ease about following him.

• Wang Yan and Wang Dalang told Chen Guan that their search had not yet found Qing Lin, but Old General Huang had sent people to look for her.
• A soldier reported that Qing Lin had been found with the Desert Iron Mercenary Group’s deputy commander, who handed her over without conflict.
• Chen Guan rewarded the soldier with a bottle of First-Grade Pills and went to meet Qing Lin at the City Lord’s Mansion.
• Chen Guan introduced himself to Qing Lin and chatted with her until she relaxed and began to laugh softly.
• Qing Lin privately thought that following Chen Guan might make her happy.

Chen Guan led a costly desert search for the Green Lotus Core Flame while Qing Lin grew closer to him and dreamed of becoming useful. On the third day, a mercenary announced that he had found the target, bringing Chen Guan close to claiming the Heavenly Flame.

• Qing Lin served Chen Guan breakfast and shared her dream of cultivating well enough to help him and someday taste Fire Fox.
• Chen Guan explained that he was searching for the Green Lotus Core Flame, and Qing Lin joined him despite not yet reaching Stage One Dou Qi.
• Chen Guan, Old General Huang, Wang Yan and His Brother led soldiers and mercenaries into the desert to survey the narrowed search area.
• Chen Guan and Qing Lin played with snakes while the group searched, and a mercenary shouted that he had found the target.

Chen Guan cleared the underground lava entrance and prepared to capture the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, which guarded the Green Lotus Core Flame. He brought Qing Lin and the two brothers into the cave, then summoned more than ten puppets to keep the snake from escaping.

• Chen Guan sensed the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake and confirmed that the Green Lotus Core Flame lay beneath the lava.
• Chen Guan sent the mercenaries to recuperate at the City Lord's Mansion while Old General Huang led them away and left a few soldiers to guard the cave.
• Chen Guan spent the evening preparing himself, and Qing Lin woke to find he had covered her with a fur coat.
• Chen Guan led Qing Lin, Wang Yan, and His Brother into the cave, where Qing Lin sensed the Fire Spirit Snake.
• Chen Guan summoned more than ten puppets and planned to overwhelm the Fire Spirit Snake before it could flee into the lava.

Chen Guan captured a Fire Spirit Snake and guided Qing Lin into using her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to subdue it. After Qing Lin succeeded and fell asleep from exhaustion, Chen Guan prepared to use the snake to find the Green Lotus Core Flame.

• Chen Guan had Wang Dalang lure the Fire Spirit Snake away from the magma before his puppets surrounded and beat it until it could no longer resist.
• Chen Guan encouraged Qing Lin to focus on the Fire Spirit Snake and communicate with it through her eyes.
• Qing Lin awakened her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and subdued the Fire Spirit Snake after a strenuous mental struggle.
• Chen Guan praised Qing Lin, who collapsed asleep in his arms, while Wang Yan and Wang Dalang reacted with astonishment at her ability.
• Chen Guan told the group to leave and revealed that they would use the snake to find the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Chen Guan retrieved the Green Lotus Core Flame from beneath the magma and hurried toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range to devour it safely. Qing Lin and the Wang Brothers stayed behind in Qingshan Town, while a graceful figure arrived at the underground site after Chen Guan had left.

• Qing Lin played with the injured Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, and Chen Guan asked her to guide him to the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Chen Guan descended through the magma on the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, enduring the heat and exhausting his Dou Qi.
• Chen Guan cut the Green Lotus Core Flame and its Lotus Platform free while leaving its roots and tendrils behind.
• Chen Guan returned to Qing Lin and the Wang Brothers, then told them to wait in Qingshan Town while he went to devour the Heavenly Flame.
• Chen Guan hurried toward his teacher's place in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and a graceful figure appeared underground and wondered if she had been beaten to it.

Chen Guan began devouring the Green Lotus Core Flame in the stone chamber beneath the lake. Meanwhile, Qing Lin and another girl waited anxiously in Qingshan Town, and Yun Shan, having failed to break through to Dou Zong, wondered why Soul Hall had missed its deadline.

• Chen Guan entered the lake chamber, prepared the necessary items, and swallowed an Earthflame Lotus Seed before separating the Green Lotus Core Flame from its Lotus Platform.
• Chen Guan used a Blood Lotus Pill to protect himself, seized the flame's fire seed, and swallowed it to begin devouring the Heavenly Flame.
• In Qingshan Town, Qing Lin asked Wang Yan when the Young Man would return, while another young girl at the Ten Thousand Medicine Hall gazed at the stars with troubled feelings.
• Yun Shan failed to break through to Dou Zong and realized he would not achieve the realm through his own efforts.
• Yun Shan reconsidered accepting Soul Hall's offer, but wondered why its representative had not appeared by the three-month deadline.

After spending over a month stabilizing his cultivation and mastering Soul Skills, Chen Guan learned from the Third Will that a severely injured Soul Hall Protector was hiding in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. The warning changed his plans, and he decided to hunt the Protector instead of baiting out his unknown enemy.

• Chen Guan practiced the Soul Star Vine and combined it with Azure Flame to create a versatile Soul Fire Net.
• He recalled devouring the Green Lotus Core Flame, stabilizing his cultivation, and preparing Soul Skills because someone had attacked the stone door.
• As Chen Guan prepared to leave the chamber, the Third Will appeared and described a future battle in which Queen Medusa and a Soul Hall Protector killed him.
• Chen Guan realized the Protector was severely injured and hiding in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, then decided he could kill him.

Chen Guan planned a secret hunt for the badly wounded Soul Hall Protector and sought stronger allies to improve his chances. After sending Wang Yan to bring Jia Xingtian, he confronted the hidden Medusa and asked her to join him, while Yun Shan remained in agony at the Misty Cloud Sect.

• Chen Guan decided that he needed backup to hunt the wounded Soul Hall Protector and left the lake to return to Qingshan Town.
• Medusa followed Chen Guan, prioritizing her search for Heavenly Flames and a path to Dou Zong over kidnapping him.
• Chen Guan reunited with Qing Lin and told Wang Yan to deliver a letter to Yaoye requesting that she secretly arrange for Jia Xingtian to come.
• Chen Guan escorted Wang Yan and the others out of town, then called on Medusa to reveal herself and discuss joining the hunt.
• Yun Shan continued waiting in agony at the Misty Cloud Sect.

Chen Guan negotiated with Queen Medusa to help her evolve using his Heavenly Flame in exchange for her support and other terms. After he revealed his strength as a sixteen-year-old Nine-Star Da Dou Shi, Medusa accepted the deal.

• Medusa confronted Chen Guan and questioned whether his puppet gave him the confidence to face her.
• Chen Guan revealed his Azure Flame and said he knew Medusa sought a Heavenly Flame to evolve.
• Chen Guan offered to help Medusa evolve in exchange for two acts of assistance, two Sand Mandaras, and a guarantee that the Jia Ma Empire would not invade the Snake People Race unless they launched a large-scale invasion.
• Chen Guan proposed that he accompany Medusa to the Snake People Race while Jia Xingtian waited outside with forces, giving both sides leverage during her evolution.
• Medusa questioned whether the Jia Ma Imperial Family might trade Chen Guan for her, so Chen Guan revealed his aura as a sixteen-year-old Nine-Star Da Dou Shi.
• Medusa accepted Chen Guan's offer.

Chen Guan returned from negotiating with Queen Medusa and introduced Qing Lin to Xiao Yi Xian, who had awakened her Poison Body of Misfortune and grown rapidly stronger. Xiao Yi Xian decided to travel to the Chu Yun Empire to cultivate, leaving Chen Guan to accept her choice and promise her a gift when he returned.

• Chen Guan returned to the inn, found Qing Lin playing with her Fire Spirit Snake Er Long, and took her to meet Xiao Yi Xian.
• Chen Guan discovered Xiao Yi Xian had awakened the Poison Body of Misfortune and learned she had reached Dou Qi Stage Eight in two months.
• Xiao Yi Xian introduced herself by her new name, Qingyi Xian, and explained that she no longer wanted everyone to call her Xiao Yi Xian.
• Xiao Yi Xian told Chen Guan she planned to travel to the Chu Yun Empire to cultivate among its poison masters and promised to contact him if her Poison Body of Misfortune became dangerous.
• Chen Guan accepted Xiao Yi Xian's decision and promised to give her a gift when he returned from the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Chen Guan entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range to locate the hidden Soul Hall Protector before Jia Xingtian arrived. He crafted disposable Crimson Ice Snake Tracking Puppets to scout the area and explained how puppet crafting worked.

• Chen Guan left Qingshan Town alone and entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range to search for the Soul Hall Protector’s hiding place.
• He hunted Crimson Ice Snakes, carved a cave, and used one snake’s corpse to make a rudimentary Tracking Puppet.
• Chen Guan tested the puppet’s detection by sending a Dou King Level Puppet after a nearby Tier 2 Fire Fox, confirming the tracking worked.
• He animated the snake corpse and began making more disposable scouts to search the mountain range.
• Chen Guan outlined the steps of puppet crafting, the role of puppet formations and Soul Imprints, and how puppets obtained energy.

Chen Guan located the badly injured Soul Hall Protector hiding in a Mountain Breaking Rhino’s nest and gathered Medusa, Jia Xingtian, and Fama for a carefully planned ambush. With the group assembled, Chen Guan prepared to begin the hunt, while Yun Shan remained in agony at the Misty Cloud Sect.

• Chen Guan searched the Fifth-Tier Magical Beast territory with Tracking Puppets and found the Soul Hall Protector hiding in a Mountain Breaking Rhino’s nest.
• Chen Guan signaled Medusa and persuaded her to wait for reinforcements instead of attacking alone.
• Jia Xingtian arrived with Fama, and Chen Guan explained the target’s threat and the plan to kill him.
• Fama warned Chen Guan to conceal his control of Heavenly Flames, and Chen Guan prepared to launch the hunt.

Chen Guan and Queen Medusa, Jia Xingtian, and Fama ambushed the wounded Soul Hall Protector in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. After his desperate counterattack failed, Chen Guan trapped the weakened soul body in a Soul Fire Net, and the group gathered around their captive.

• Medusa, Jia Xingtian, and Fama unleashed a combined attack that flattened the mountain hiding the Soul Hall Protector.
• The Soul Hall Protector rose from the rubble as a severely injured soul body and identified the three experts.
• The Soul Hall Protector tried to fight back with the Three-Stage Soul Lock, but Chen Guan struck him from behind with a Soul Skill.
• The Soul Hall Protector used Mutual Destruction, Soul Explosion, shattering the incoming attacks before the group retreated from the blast.
• Chen Guan captured the weakened Soul Hall Protector in his Soul Fire Net, and Medusa, Jia Xingtian, and Fama examined the trapped soul body.

Chen Guan captured the Soul Hall Protector’s soul and agreed to visit the Snake People Race within a year. After Medusa left, he found a Breakthrough Pill among the spoils and planned to remove its hidden trap before giving it to Jia Xingtian; he then prepared to handle one more matter before returning to the Imperial Capital.

• Two Sinister Hall figures discussed traces of the Wind Fury Dragon Flame in the Tagor Desert and ordered Zhu Hua to assist Wu Ying.
• Chen Guan sealed the Soul Hall Protector’s weakened soul in a jade bottle and reminded the others to keep the matter secret.
• Medusa asked when Chen Guan would visit the Snake People Race, and he promised to go within a year after handling another matter.
• Medusa placed a tracking mark on Chen Guan and left, while he searched the battlefield and found a storage ring containing a Breakthrough Pill.
• Chen Guan suspected the fallen Jiejie Monster might have been Protector Wu and resolved to ask Fama how to remove the pill’s hidden danger before giving it to Jia Xingtian.
• Chen Guan declined to return to the Imperial Capital with Jia Xingtian and Fama, saying he would handle a small matter and come back on his own.

Chen Guan visited Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin before Xiao Yi Xian left for the Chu Yun Empire, giving them storage rings and entrusting Xiao Yi Xian with a powerful puppet. The next morning, Qing Lin brought Chen Guan Xiao Yi Xian’s farewell letter and mourned that she had left before she could give her a gift.

• Chen Guan entered Ten Thousand Medicine Hall through a window and joined Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin for a meal.
• Chen Guan gave Xiao Yi Xian a better storage ring and Qing Lin his former low-grade storage ring.
• Chen Guan gave Xiao Yi Xian a Dou King Level Puppet for protection in the Chu Yun Empire, and she accepted it and left her Soul Imprint on it.
• Chen Guan spent the evening joking with Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin, then left with Qing Lin around midnight.
• The next morning, Qing Lin told Chen Guan that Xiao Yi Xian had left a letter and departed before receiving her small wooden Two-Headed Snake carving.

After returning to Jiama Holy City, Chen Guan worked with Fama to remove Soul Hall’s hidden mark from the Breakthrough Pill and continued learning alchemy and practicing a powerful Dou Technique. He gave the purified pill to Jia Xingtian and discussed the Primordial Bone Sculpting Pill with the Abyssal Sea Flood Dragon, while Yun Shan finally received the long-awaited visitor he had been waiting for.

• Chen Guan left Qingshan Town by carriage and reached Jiama Holy City a month later, where he joined Fama to carefully remove Soul Hall’s mark from the Breakthrough Pill.
• Chen Guan continued studying alchemy with Fama and practiced Crimson Star Flowing Flame, while Yaoyue and Qing Lin grew close and caused trouble together.
• Chen Guan gave Jia Xingtian the purified Breakthrough Pill and told the Abyssal Sea Flood Dragon that Fama would soon be able to refine the Primordial Bone Sculpting Pill.
• Chen Guan discussed Jia Xingtian’s planned seclusion to break through to Dou Zong with Jia Xingtian and the Abyssal Sea Flood Dragon.
• Yun Shan finally received the person he had long awaited in a secret chamber at the Misty Cloud Sect.