Chapter Summaries

Yan Qingshan sowed chaos across the Black Corner Region, then infiltrated Demonic Flame Valley by impersonating an elder and persuading Old Ghost of Earth Demon to lead his experts north. The chapter ended with Yan Qingshan and Ziyan reaching the guarded entrance to the valley’s treasury.

• Yan Qingshan and Ziyan looted treasures from factions across the Black Corner Region, helping rumors and conflicts plunge the region into chaos.
• Yan Qingshan disguised himself as Elder Wang Lin and claimed that Han Feng, Mo Tianxing, and the Golden-Silver Elders had ambushed Fang Yan’s group and stolen the Transformed Flame.
• Yan Qingshan showed Old Ghost of Earth Demon a recording of Han Feng taking the Starry Sky Fire Phoenix, provoking the Patriarch to gather Demonic Flame Valley’s Dou Wang and stronger experts and head north.
• Old Ghost of Earth Demon gave Yan Qingshan a token to collect healing medicine, while Yan Qingshan pretended to be too injured to join the rescue mission.
• Yan Qingshan and Ziyan used the token and Ziyan’s guidance to find the treasury, arriving at its guarded stone chamber.

Yan Qingshan and Ziyan entered Demonic Flame Valley’s treasure vault, where Yan Qingshan collected rare treasures, including the Heavenly Demon Puppet art. After leaving the valley, he headed with Ziyan into the Magical Beast Forest to erase the energy marks on the stolen items before anyone could track them.

• Yan Qingshan used Old Ghost of Earth Demon’s token to enter the treasure vault with Ziyan and passed the sleeping guardian beast.
• Ziyan reached through the barrier protecting four ancient boxes and retrieved them for Yan Qingshan.
• Yan Qingshan found Earth-tier lightning techniques, the Flame Manipulation Art, a seventh-tier fire Magic Core, and the Heavenly Demon Puppet art.
• Yan Qingshan collected medicinal ingredients and pills, including a Sect Breaking Pill, while avoiding taking so much that he would raise suspicion.
• Yan Qingshan left Demonic Flame Valley with Ziyan, nailed the token to a tree, and hurried into the Magical Beast Forest to remove the energy marks from the treasures.

The survivors of the three factions escaped the volcanic eruption, but the disaster left them badly injured and cost them many lives. Han Feng refused to return Demonic Flame Valley’s Transformed Flame and, after winning Mo Tianxing’s cooperation with a Sect Breaking Pill, offered another pill to incite the valley’s survivors against its three Grand Elders.

• The surviving experts emerged from the magma after the eruption, and Mo Tianxing questioned Han Feng about what had triggered it.
• Han Feng blamed the eruption on the Heavenly Flame acting in self-defense, then promised the injured experts doubled compensation and a meeting in Maple City.
• Fang Yan demanded the return of Demonic Flame Valley’s Transformed Flame, but Han Feng refused and threatened to eliminate the three Grand Elders.
• Han Feng persuaded Mo Tianxing to withdraw by offering a sixth-grade Sect Breaking Pill refined by Venerable Yao.
• Han Feng ordered the surrounding experts to trap Demonic Flame Valley’s people and offered a Dou Spirit Pill to anyone who killed the three Grand Elders and concealed their deaths.

Han Feng tried to keep the Transformed Flame by bargaining with Old Ghost of Earth Demon, but the Demonic Flame Valley master arrived and rejected his offer. Han Feng then asked Mo Tianxing to help him resist Old Ghost of Earth Demon, leaving the gathered forces facing a wider conflict.

• Han Feng pressured Fang Yan’s surviving elders to turn against him, and one elder attacked while the Golden-Silver Elders restrained Fang Yan.
• Old Ghost of Earth Demon arrived, froze Yuan Yi and the Earth Flame Sect Master, shattered Fan Lao’s arm, and killed the elder who had attacked Fang Yan.
• Old Ghost of Earth Demon demanded the Transformed Flame and compensation, while Han Feng refused to surrender it and offered rare medicinal pills instead.
• Fang Yan and the other two elders pleaded for justice, but Old Ghost of Earth Demon rejected Han Feng’s offer because he suspected a hidden motive.
• Han Feng appealed to Mo Tianxing for support, offering pills and warning that the rising forces would be threatened if Old Ghost of Earth Demon prevailed.

Mo Tianxing joined Han Feng against Old Ghost of Earth Demon to protect the balance of power, and the two sides’ forces began fighting. Han Feng and Mo Tianxing battled the stronger Old Ghost of Earth Demon with their full strength, but he remained dangerous as the chapter ended.

• Old Ghost of Earth Demon attacked Han Feng, but Mo Tianxing intercepted the strikes and joined Han Feng’s side.
• Old Ghost of Earth Demon challenged Han Feng and Mo Tianxing to fight him together, offering to settle the matter if they forced him back.
• The Golden-Silver Elders led an attack on Demonic Flame Valley’s experts while Fang Yan and the other Grand Elders tried to hold them off.
• Han Feng struck Old Ghost of Earth Demon with the Sea Flame Halberd, but the patriarch countered with ice techniques and shattered the attack.
• Han Feng summoned the Sea Heart Illusory Beast, and Mo Tianxing blocked Old Ghost of Earth Demon while Han Feng supported him.
• Han Feng and Mo Tianxing used their strongest attacks together, preventing Old Ghost of Earth Demon from immediately overpowering them.

Black Emperor City, Maple City, and Demonic Flame Valley were thrown into crisis as factions blamed one another for widespread raids and rumors. Han Feng and Mo Tianxing agreed to cooperate against the turmoil, while Han Feng left to investigate Soul Hall and secure allies.

• Elder Yu told Mo Tianxing that Soul Hall, Earth Demon Valley, and Han Feng had looted the Black Emperor Pavilion, while Han Beng reported that Black Emperor Sect forces had plundered Maple City and chaos had spread across the region.
• A messenger warned Old Ghost of Earth Demon that Demonic Flame Valley was under attack after its treasury map leaked and rumors drew Old Man Yingshan and other intruders there.
• Han Feng persuaded Mo Tianxing that they had all been manipulated, and Old Ghost of Earth Demon withdrew when urgent news arrived from his valley.
• Han Feng gave Mo Tianxing pills, and the two agreed to join forces to suppress the chaos and resist Demonic Flame Valley while Han Feng investigated Soul Hall.
• Han Feng sent the Golden-Silver Elders to bring Old Man Yingshan to Maple City, then departed as fighting continued across the Black Corner Region.

Yan Qingshan led Azure King City forces in an ambush on Fan Lao and the Blood Sect as they returned to Twilight City. After Yan Qingshan defeated Fan Lao and Fan Ling, he revealed that he had arranged the entire operation.

• Fan Lao and Fan Ling were ambushed in a valley by Wang Mang and Azure King City elites.
• Fan Lao tried to send Fan Ling away, but Yan Qingshan blocked their escape and sent Fan Ling crashing back into the battlefield.
• Yan Qingshan used Dragon Transformation and his lightning technique to overpower Fan Lao’s sea of blood.
• Fan Lao attempted to escape with a blood technique, but Yan Qingshan’s Azure Dragon phantoms defeated him and Fan Ling.
• Yan Qingshan told Fan Lao that he was a Jia Nan Academy student and the Azure King of Azure King City, and that he had arranged the ambush.

Yan Qingshan killed Fan Lao and his son, then seized Twilight City and Black Seal City for Azure King City. After learning that the Dou Emperors of the Eight Gates Sect and Earth Flame Sect had also died, he subdued the Eight Gates Sect and established Azure King City's control over three major cities.

• Yan Qingshan ordered Wang Mang to wipe out Fan Lao's Blood Guards, then rode toward Twilight City with his magical beasts.
• Yan Qingshan arrived in Twilight City, displayed Fan Lao and Fan Ling's corpses, and claimed the city for Azure King City as the crowd overwhelmed the Blood Guards.
• Yan Qingshan ordered Wang Mang to pacify Twilight City and drive out foreign Dou Wangs before setting out for Black Seal City.
• After the Eight Gates Sect learned that Yuan Yi had died, Yan Qingshan confronted its elders and announced that Azure King City was taking Black Seal City.
• Yan Qingshan seized an elder and offered the Eight Gates Sect a choice; three of its five Dou Wangs submitted, while two left with their followers.

Han Feng’s Black Alliance learned that Azure King City had killed Fan Lao and taken several cities, then examined its ties to Jia Nan Academy and Beast King Valley. Han Feng concluded that Yan Qingshan’s expansion formed a buffer between the region’s major powers, and the Black Alliance, Black Emperor Sect, and Demonic Flame Valley all chose not to oppose it for now.

• Han Feng told the Black Alliance’s leaders that Azure King City had taken Twilight City, destroyed the Blood Sect, and driven out the Earth Flame Sect and Eight Gates Sect, and that Azure King had killed Fan Lao.
• Old Man Ban reported that Azure King City’s Lord, Wang Mang, was a former top Jia Nan Inner Academy student who relied on medicinal pills supplied through Azure King Yan Qingshan and Beast King Valley.
• Han Feng studied a map and determined that Azure King City’s four cities were deliberately positioned to buffer the Black Alliance, Demonic Flame Valley, and the Black Emperor Sect.
• Han Feng ordered the Black Alliance not to clash with Azure King City, and the Black Emperor Sect and Demonic Flame Valley likewise refrained from acting against its expansion.

Yan Qingshan confirmed that his plan to seize a city had succeeded and revealed the Green Lotus Core Flame while discussing his alchemy progress with the academy elders. He arranged for the Yao Clan Three Brothers to leave the Black Corner Region with him and negotiated to keep two Library Pavilion treasures, leaving the elders to bargain over a flying skill scroll.

• Wang Mang received a message confirming Yan Qingshan's plan had succeeded without provoking a major response, and the elders praised Yan Qingshan's success.
• Yan Qingshan revealed the Green Lotus Core Flame, and Elder Huo learned that Yan Qingshan had reached peak fifth-grade alchemy but needed stronger cultivation to refine sixth-grade pills.
• Yan Qingshan arranged for the Yao Clan Three Brothers to travel with him to the Jia Ma Empire and oversee a trade route, then rewarded them with three Dou Spirit Pills and promised Emperor Extreme Pills if they reached Dou Emperor.
• Yan Qingshan offered the academy three treasures in exchange for keeping the Profound Wood Azure Dragon Art and Azure Dragon Claw Strike, including the Flame Manipulation Art, Three Thousand Lightning Movements, and a method for crafting Flying Dou Skills.
• Elder Huo accepted Yan Qingshan's notes on the Flame Manipulation Art, while Hu Gan tried to obtain the Flying Dou Skill method.
• Yao Er produced the flying skill scroll the brothers had recovered, and Yan Qingshan urged them to negotiate its sale with Hu Gan.

Yan Qingshan attended the Xiao Family’s annual clan assessment with Xiao Yu and watched the family’s declining younger generation compete. The assessment ended with Xiao Yan’s meager cultivation exposed, and Yan Qingshan suspected that something had caused his fall.

• Xiao Ning brought a group of youths to the First Elder’s courtyard, where Xiao Yu scolded him for disturbing Yan Qingshan.
• Xiao Ning told Xiao Yu that the First Elder had summoned her to the annual clan assessment, and she brought Yan Qingshan along.
• At the family’s training ground, the First Elder explained that Xiao Yu had brought Yan Qingshan from Jia Nan Academy and worried that he was not a suitable match for her.
• Yan Qingshan noticed Xiao Xun’er and sensed something unusual about her before watching the assessment continue.
• The examiner announced that Xiao Yan had only three stages of Dou Power, prompting mockery from the crowd.
• Xiao Yu explained Xiao Yan’s decline, and Yan Qingshan said his cultivation must have diminished for a reason.

Yan Qingshan examined Xiao Yan’s inexplicable loss of Dou Qi and used Soul Nourishing Saliva to test his condition. The trial confirmed that something was interfering with Xiao Yan’s cultivation, and Yan Qingshan suspected Old Ya was not fully asleep.

• Xiao Yu asked Yan Qingshan to examine Xiao Yan, and Xiao Zhan agreed to call his son over.
• Yan Qingshan met Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er, then revealed that he had seen Xiao Yan in Wutan City three years earlier.
• Yan Qingshan examined Xiao Yan as he circulated his Dou Qi and noticed the ancient black ring glimmer faintly.
• Yan Qingshan gave Xiao Yan a drop of Soul Nourishing Saliva, but Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi was devoured again before the medicine could take effect.
• Yan Qingshan put the jade bottle away and inferred that Old Ya might not be completely asleep.

Yan Qingshan used Soul Nourishing Saliva to confirm that Old Ya had awakened and was deliberately absorbing it from Xiao Yan. The next morning, Ge Ye brought Nalan Yanran to the Xiao Family hall with a request from Misty Cloud Sect leader Yun Yun, leaving Xiao Zhan bracing for news connected to Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran’s childhood betrothal.

• Yan Qingshan told Xiao Zhan he might have found something about Xiao Yan’s condition and said he would examine him again in a few days.
• Yan Qingshan deduced that Old Ya had awakened and deliberately absorbed the Soul Nourishing Saliva from Xiao Yan.
• The Xiao Family’s First Elder invited Yan Qingshan to meet distinguished guests, and Yan Qingshan went to the assembly hall with Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Yan arrived at the hall and took a seat beside Xiao Xun’er after she called to him.
• Ge Ye introduced Nalan Yanran and said he had come with a request concerning her that Misty Cloud Sect leader Yun Yun had personally raised.
• Xiao Zhan realized the request might concern Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran’s betrothal, then suppressed his anger and asked Ge Ye to explain.

Nalan Yanran sought to dissolve her engagement to Xiao Yan, but he rejected the Misty Cloud Sect’s compensation, issued her a divorce letter, and made a Three-Year Agreement that risked the Xiao Family’s safety. After Xiao Yan regretted his impulsiveness and threw away his ring, Venerable Yao revealed himself, then hid when someone approached.

• Ge Ye asked Xiao Zhan to dissolve Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran’s engagement, and Xiao Zhan nearly fought him before stopping at the Three Grand Elders’ urging.
• Xiao Yan rejected the Qi Gathering Powder, challenged Nalan Yanran to a Three-Year Agreement, and handed her a divorce letter; Xiao Zhan then sent the Misty Cloud Sect’s party away with the powder.
• Yan Qingshan judged that Nalan Yanran’s approach and Xiao Yan’s public challenge could bring disaster upon the Xiao Family.
• Xiao Yan brooded on a cliff, cursed his impulsive agreement, and threw his black Storage Ring away.
• Venerable Yao revealed himself to Xiao Yan and explained that he had absorbed his Dou Qi for three years before hiding in the ring when someone approached.

Yan Qingshan warned Xiao Yan that his agreement with Nalan Yanran had put the Xiao Family at risk from the Misty Cloud Sect, then revealed that Old Ya was Venerable Yao. Yan Qingshan offered Soul Nourishing Saliva in exchange for Venerable Yao’s knowledge of the Poisonous Body of Misfortune, leaving the old alchemist to decide whether to accept.

• Yan Qingshan explained the Misty Cloud Sect’s power and warned Xiao Yan that Yun Shan’s breakthrough to Dou Zong made the Xiao Family’s opposition especially dangerous.
• Old Ya appeared and admitted he had awakened earlier than he let Xiao Yan believe, prompting Xiao Yan to confront him about absorbing his Dou Qi for three years.
• Yan Qingshan identified Old Ya as Venerable Yao and told him about Han Feng’s power and his Sea Heart Flame.
• Yan Qingshan offered several portions of fifth-tier Soul Nourishing Saliva in exchange for information about the Poisonous Body of Misfortune, including the Poison Pill method and the location of an inheritance in the Central Plains.

Yan Qingshan exchanged the Poison Pill Method from Yao Chen and explained how it could help Xiao Yi Xian control her Poisonous Body of Misfortune. He then revealed the Xiao Family’s ancient origins and warned that the Soul Hall, tied to the Xiao Clan’s old enemies, could endanger the family.

• Yan Qingshan pressured Yao Chen into exchanging the Poison Pill Method for Soul Nourishing Saliva.
• Yao Chen explained that controlling the Poisonous Body of Misfortune required forming a poison pill with three Heavenly Flames, though Sub-Fire from two other flames could substitute for them.
• Yan Qingshan asked whether the Xiao Family was in danger, prompting Xiao Yan and Yao Chen to question him about Xiao Xun’er.
• Yan Qingshan revealed that Xun’er came from the Gu Clan and that the Xiao Family descended from the ancient Xiao Clan, once one of the Eight Ancient Clans.
• Yan Qingshan explained that the Hun Clan had destroyed the Xiao Clan’s Mystic Realm and killed its patriarch, Xiao Xuan, more than a thousand years earlier.
• Yan Qingshan warned that the Soul Hall, allied with the Hun Clan, had ties to the Jia Ma Empire and might target the Xiao Family because of Xun’er.

Yan Qingshan persuaded Old Ya to help counter Soul Hall and left Xiao Yan with a cultivation plan that required expensive ingredients. He then went to meet Ya Fei at the Mitel Auction House, where she greeted him warmly in front of three mysterious guests.

• Yan Qingshan warned Xiao Yan and Old Ya that the Xiao Family’s feud with the Misty Cloud Sect could give Soul Hall an excuse to act, and Old Ya agreed to help strike against Soul Hall when needed.
• Yan Qingshan marked Xiao Yan’s hand with a pale blue lotus and departed, while Old Ya explained that Xiao Yan’s three years of declining strength had strengthened his foundation.
• Old Ya asked Xiao Yan to buy costly ingredients for Nourishing Spirit Liquid, leaving Xiao Yan to consider borrowing money from Xiao Yu or Yan Qingshan.
• Xiao Xun'er arrived at the mountain path, and Xiao Yan’s changed manner left her feeling that a new distance had formed between them.
• Yan Qingshan reached the Mitel Auction House banquet, where Ya Fei welcomed him warmly before three mysterious guests.

Yan Qingshan reunited with Ya Fei, who chose to stay close to him and spent the night with him. After their relationship changed, he prepared to take her and the Yao Clan Three Brothers to Desert City to meet someone.

• Yan Qingshan checked on the Yao Clan Three Brothers, told them to use Dou Spirit Pills in seclusion, and said they would soon travel with him on a potentially troublesome mission.
• Ya Fei stayed behind with Yan Qingshan after their drinking party and seduced him with Hundred Flower Brew, and they spent the night together.
• The next morning, Yan Qingshan realized he had slept with Ya Fei and continued their intimacy after discovering she was pretending to sleep.
• After lunch, Yan Qingshan asked Ya Fei about Desert City in the Tagore Desert and said he would take her to meet someone once the Yao Clan Three Brothers left seclusion.

Yan Qingshan found the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame map fragment in Desert City and confronted its owner, Hai Bodong, demanding the matching half. Hai Bodong rejected his claims of a connection to the Mittel Family and attacked him.

• Yan Qingshan entered Desert City's Gu Tu map shop and found a fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame map.
• Yan Qingshan recognized the shopkeeper as Hai Bodong and demanded the fragment and its other half.
• Hai Bodong denied having another half and warned Yan Qingshan not to try to take his map.
• Yan Qingshan revealed that Ya Fei was Mitel Tengshan's granddaughter and his beloved, but Hai Bodong suspected him of being a spy.
• Hai Bodong shut the shop doors with his Dou Qi and lunged at Yan Qingshan.

Yan Qingshan defeated Hai Bodong and demanded the Calamity Breaking Pill formula in exchange for helping restore his cultivation. Hai Bodong handed over the formula but warned Yan Qingshan that he would get the other half of the fragmentary map only if he succeeded.

• Hai Bodong attacked Yan Qingshan, but Yan Qingshan overwhelmed him with green sword threads and captured him.
• Hai Bodong refused to reveal the location of the other half of the fragmentary map, despite Yan Qingshan's attempts to persuade him.
• Yan Qingshan carried Hai Bodong outside, where Ya Fei recognized and greeted the Ice Emperor.
• Hai Bodong offered the map and promised to make Ya Fei head of the Mittel Family if Yan Qingshan lifted the seal on his cultivation.
• Yan Qingshan demanded the Calamity Breaking Pill formula and pointed out that Han Feng could provide a sixth-tier pill refined with a Heavenly Flame.
• Hai Bodong gave Yan Qingshan the formula and warned him that the map depended on successfully lifting the seal.