Chapter Summaries

As Xiao Yan cultivated toward Heaven Realm Great Perfection, Elder Yao and Venerable Feng discussed the approaching Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame and Soul Hall's movements. Xiao Yan's growing soul pressure became a trial that strengthened Starfall Pavilion's disciples, while Wei Yang refused to let his children join the coming contest.

• Elder Yao praised Xiao Yan's soul achievement and said he would take Wei Yang and Xiao Yan to the Yao Clan after the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame affair to honor his promise to his parents.
• Venerable Feng warned that Soul Hall was secretly gathering strength for the flame, and Elder Yao ordered everyone to stay a thousand zhang away from Xiao Yan's mountain.
• Wei Shuo asked Wei Yang to bring her, Wei Ye, and Little Xiao Xiao to see the flame, but he refused and sent them back to their cultivation.
• Over the following month, Xiao Yan's soul fluctuations spread across the Star Realm, forcing most Starfall Pavilion members to travel on foot under his immense pressure.
• Starfall Pavilion's disciples adapted to the pressure and strengthened their Soul Power, while Xiao Yan let pure Soul Origin drift outward to nourish any disciple who absorbed it.

After nearly two months of Xiao Yan’s soul pressure, Wei Yang came close to but did not reach Heaven Realm Great Perfection. Xiao Yan then completed his breakthrough, leaving the Star Realm in awe of the power of his tangible Great Perfection soul.

• Wei Yang decided not to force a breakthrough after falling just short of Heaven Realm Great Perfection.
• Xiao Yan absorbed the remaining Soul Origin power, and his crystalline soul form erupted with light and swept the Star Realm with its fluctuations.
• Wei Yang, Elder Yao, Zi Yan, and the others watched the storm and lightning caused by Xiao Yan’s breakthrough.
• Elder Yao said Xiao Yan’s soul could contend with a Two-Star or Three-Star Dou Sheng, while Wei Yang and Elder Yao explained how a Great Perfection soul became tangible and could fight alongside its main body.

Xiao Yan’s Heaven Realm soul reached Great Perfection, but while surveying the world he wandered into the sealed space of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame and was attacked by Soul Extinction. The Pill Tower Ancestor rescued him, and Xiao Yan and his companions realized the flame would soon break free, leaving Xiao Yan determined to obtain it.

• Xiao Yan spread his soul perception across a vast area, then recoiled in pain after touching the space where the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame was sealed.
• The Pill Tower Ancestor intervened when Soul Extinction attacked Xiao Yan’s roaming soul, allowing Xiao Yan to return safely.
• Xiao Yan told Wei Yang and Elder Yao what had happened and described the mysterious cow-riding shepherd boy who helped him.
• Elder Yao and Wei Yang identified the rescuer as the Pill Tower Ancestor and acknowledged that Starfall Pavilion owed the Pill Tower a favor.
• Xiao Yan and Elder Yao concluded that powerful factions were guarding the flame’s seal because it was close to breaking, and Xiao Yan resolved to claim it.

The Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame emerged as the Heaven and Earth Tide began, drawing powerful factions across the Central Plains toward the northwest. Wei Yang led Xiao Yan, Elder Yao, Zi Yan, and Ah Da toward the blazing phenomenon to reach the area and assess the situation.

• Starfall Pavilion scouts and other factions investigated the region where Xiao Yan had sensed the flame as interest in its return spread.
• Wei Yang witnessed twin moons and nine aligned stars heralding the Heaven and Earth Tide, while Xiao Yan and the others gathered at Starfall Pavilion.
• The Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame broke through its seal, causing Xiao Yan's sphere of light from the Demonic Flame Ancient Map to react.
• Wei Yang set out with Xiao Yan, Elder Yao, Zi Yan, and Ah Da as factions across the Central Plains rushed toward the northwest.
• Within a thousand miles of the flame's blazing light, Wei Yang's group encountered many rival parties and accelerated toward the site.

Wei Yang, Xiao Yan, and their companions arrived at the desert created by the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame and waited for the ancient clans before entering its sealed space. The Hall of Souls Hall Master appeared and confronted Xiao Yan and Wei Yang, leaving Wei Yang to identify him as Soul Extinction.

• Wei Yang and the others saw that the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame had burned a mountain range into a desert, and Xiao Yan explained that the flame remained inside the ruptured sealed space.
• Wei Yang advised the group to wait rather than enter first, noting that the ancient clans had not yet appeared and that the sealed space was dangerous.
• The Hall of Souls Hall Master arrived with the Vice Hall Master and another figure, drawing wary attention from those gathered.
• The Hall of Souls Hall Master recognized Xiao Yan's talent and said he might become another Xiao Xuan, while the Vice Hall Master defended the Young Clan Head.
• The Hall of Souls Hall Master turned his attention to Wei Yang, and Wei Yang met his gaze and asked if he was Soul Extinction.

Wei Yang’s display of strength alarmed Soul Extinction and the Soul Clan Young Clan Head as they assessed his cultivation, Heavenly Flame, and mysterious bloodline. The Soul Hall trio decided to report the threat to their clan while the struggle for the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame loomed.

• Wei Yang acknowledged Soul Extinction but treated him with such indifference that the Soul Hall Master restrained his anger after the Young Clan Head warned him Wei Yang was a Five Star Late-stage Dou Saint.
• The Young Clan Head identified Wei Yang’s Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame as Saint-tier and at least comparable to a mid-stage Dou Saint, shocking Soul Extinction and the Vice Hall Master.
• Soul Extinction concluded that Wei Yang’s presence would complicate the fight for the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame and told the others to send the information back to the clan.
• The Vice Hall Master doubted the intelligence describing Wei Yang as an ordinary mercenary’s son and resolved to replace the officials responsible for it.
• The Young Clan Head sensed an unidentified, powerful bloodline in Wei Yang, and Soul Extinction suspected the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame was its inherited Heavenly Flame.

The Soul Clan trio assessed Xiao Yan and the strength gathered against them, deciding they would retreat rather than risk a losing fight. As the groups waited for the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame’s seal to weaken, Huo Xuan arrived and reunited with Xiao Yan, revealing that he had refined the Eight Desolations Destruction Flame.

• The Soul Clan Young Clan Head identified Xiao Yan’s six Heavenly Flames and suspected he used Yao Chen’s method for fusing them, while the trio agreed to retreat if a fight proved too dangerous.
• Xiao Yan and Elder Yao judged that the gathered fighters were waiting for the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame to weaken the seal before making their move.
• Zi Yan offered to drive off the Soul Clan trio, but Xiao Yan stopped her, and Wei Yang noted that the three were already prepared to flee.
• Huo Xuan arrived with a veiled woman and an elderly man, and Xiao Yan greeted his old acquaintance from the Yan Clan.
• Xiao Yan discovered that Huo Xuan had reached the High-level Half-Saint level and had refined the Eight Desolations Destruction Flame with help from his clan’s elders.

The Yan Clan arrived with several powerful Heavenly Flames, and Huo Zhi challenged Ah Da to a future contest between their flames. As the gathering grew, Gu Xun'er arrived with Gu Qingyang and an elder, reuniting with Xiao Yan.

• Wei Yang and Xiao Yan recognized that Huo Xuan possessed the sixth-ranked Eight Desolations Destruction Flame.
• Huo Zhi and Ah Da's Red Lotus Karmic Fire and Nine Nether Wind Flame clashed briefly, and Huo Xuan stopped Huo Zhi from escalating their encounter.
• Huo Xuan introduced Elder Huo Yao and his sixteenth-ranked Fire Cloud Water Flame to Wei Yang's group.
• Wei Yang sensed another arrival, and Gu Xun'er emerged with Gu Qingyang and a powerful-looking elder.
• Xiao Yan recognized Gu Xun'er and greeted her with delight.

Gu Xun'er reunited with Xiao Yan as the Ancient Clan joined Starfall Pavilion at the site of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. Wei Yang explained the rules limiting the factions’ strongest experts and urged Xiao Yan to think like a leader, while the rival groups maintained a tense peace ahead of entering the Demonic Flame Space.

• Gu Xun'er and the Ancient Clan arrived, drawing attention from the Soul Clan and the Hall of Souls, while Soul Extinction recognized Gu Nanhai.
• Gu Xun'er embraced Xiao Yan and greeted Elder Yao and Wei Yang, then exchanged courtesies with the group.
• Gu Nanhai and Gu Xun'er explained that the Ancient Clan wanted to keep the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame from the Soul Clan and that the factions' experts were bound by a five-star Dou Saint limit.
• Xiao Yan suggested driving away the Hall of Souls, but Wei Yang and Gu Nanhai advised preserving the peace until everyone entered the Demonic Flame Space.
• Wei Yang reminded Xiao Yan to adopt the mindset of a leader, and Xiao Yan accepted that provoking the Soul Clan could bring stronger forces into the conflict.
• Zi Yan complained that Wei Yang's medicinal pills were not sweet, and he told her to savor them slowly while warning that powerful observers were watching.

Wei Yang, Xiao Yan, and Gu Xun'er waited with the imperial clans for the sealed space around the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame to open, while the disappearance of the Ling Clan deepened mistrust among the clans. As more experts gathered, a medicinal fragrance heralded another arrival.

• Gu Xun'er warned Xiao Yan and Wei Yang that Hun Feng was a ruthless Soul Clan prodigy expected to become its next Clan Head.
• Huo Yao said the Yan Clan wanted the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame to remain ownerless and remained wary of the Ancient Clan over the Ling Clan's disappearance.
• Gu Xun'er suspected the Soul Clan had destroyed the Ling Clan to divide the ancient clans, but Gu Nanhai said they had no evidence to prove it.
• Gu Nanhai urged everyone to wait for an opportunity to enter the sealed space as its heat melted the desert and drew numerous experts.
• The Thunder Clan and Stone Clan arrived, kept their distance from the Ancient Clan and Soul Hall, and a medicinal fragrance accompanied a new arrival on the horizon.

Wei Yang, Xiao Yan, and Elder Yao encountered the Yao Clan delegation and learned of Yao Ling’s extraordinary soul talent. Yao Wangu and Yao Tian mocked Elder Yao for his expulsion and refusal to return to the clan, leaving Wei Yang and Xiao Yan quietly intent on killing Yao Wangu.

• Gu Xun'er introduced Yao Tian as a late Heaven Realm soul alchemist and Yao Ling as a Half-Saint with a rare talent that could lead her to the Emperor Realm Soul.
• Elder Yao identified Yao Wangu as the Yao Clan elder who had expelled him, and Wei Yang and Xiao Yan resolved to kill Yao Wangu.
• Yao Wangu and the other Yao Clan members noticed Elder Yao, and Yao Wangu mocked him for surviving and reaching the Dou Saint level.
• Yao Tian revealed that the Yao Clan had offered Elder Yao a chance to return, which he had refused.
• Yao Tian and Yao Wangu ridiculed Elder Yao for refusing to return and acting proud after gaining fame outside the clan.

Wei Yang overwhelmed Yao Wangu and the Yao Clan members after they provoked him, while Gu Xun'er and Gu Nanhai intervened to calm the confrontation. Elder Yao challenged Yao Wangu over his parents’ names on the Ancestral Clan Monument, and the Yao Clan departed without resolving the dispute.

• Yao Wangu and Yao Tian disparaged Elder Yao, prompting Wei Yang to crush the space around the Yao Clan trio and repel their combined counterattack.
• Wei Yang mocked Yao Wangu’s strength and threatened to kill him if he spoke again, leaving Yao Wangu nearly coughing blood from anger.
• Yao Tian summoned his Turtle Spirit Earth Fire and prepared to attack Wei Yang, but Yao Ling stopped him.
• Gu Xun'er and Gu Nanhai stepped between the sides and persuaded Yao Wangu to end the confrontation.
• Elder Yao told Yao Wangu he would visit the Yao Clan to put his parents’ names on the Ancestral Clan Monument, and Yao Wangu left with Yao Tian and Yao Ling after Wei Yang silenced his reply.

After the milky-white ring opened, Wei Yang and the others entered the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame’s domain, where they faced a seemingly endless sea of flames. Wei Yang flew through the barren space searching for his companions, but none of the other experts appeared.

• Yao Wangu and the others withdrew, and Xiao Yan promised to accompany Elder Yao to the Yao Clan after they dealt with the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.
• The shattered space expanded and formed a milky-white ring, prompting the assembled experts to enter.
• Gu Xun'er warned the group that emotional turmoil could cause demonic flames to ignite inside their bodies, while Wei Yang told Zi Yan to stay outside and gave her jade bottles of pills.
• Wei Yang entered the ring and found himself surrounded by scorching milky-white flames, which he shielded himself from with the Life-Extinguishing Flame.
• Wei Yang flew through the apparently endless flame-filled space for nearly ten minutes without seeing any of the other experts.

Wei Yang entered the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame’s mist and was nearly driven to Demonization by an illusion of Soul Extinction killing his children. He broke free, devoured the flame burning him, and saw other entrants perish as he assessed the deadly trial.

• Wei Yang encountered Soul Extinction and the Yao Clan trio, who appeared to be waiting for him.
• Soul Extinction showed Wei Yang illusory Soul Bodies of Wei Ye and Wei Shuo, then made them vanish while claiming Starfall Pavilion and Wei Yang’s wives had been destroyed.
• Wei Yang realized the scene was an illusion after the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame began burning him and the six enemies disappeared.
• Wei Yang used the Life-Extinguishing Flame to devour the demonic flame inside him and judged its power manageable.
• Wei Yang saw the mist around him and watched several other entrants burn to ash without intervening.

Wei Yang escaped the Nightmare Heavenly Mist with Ah Da and reunited with Xiao Yan, Elder Yao, Gu Xun'er, and the others on a platform before a giant gate. After learning the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame had trapped them in its domain, the group faced a swarm of Fire Slaves and began fighting them.

• Wei Yang left the mist, sensed Ah Da was still trapped, and called him out safely.
• Wei Yang and Ah Da joined Xiao Yan, Elder Yao, Gu Xun'er, and the others on a floating platform before a giant gate.
• Gu Xun'er and Gu Nanhai explained that the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame had used the Nightmare Heavenly Mist and controlled the space around them.
• The group learned they would have to pass through obstacles beyond the gate to reach the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.
• Milky-white flames poured through cracks in space, revealing a vast army of Fire Slaves.
• Wei Yang crushed more than a hundred Fire Slaves with a distant grasp as Xiao Yan, Elder Yao, and the others attacked the advancing swarm.

Wei Yang and the others pushed through the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame’s halls, where increasingly powerful Fire Slaves tried to wear them down. Wei Yang abandoned the trials’ rules and used Black Sun Calamity to smash through each hall, determined to force the flame to appear.

• Wei Yang, Gu Nanhai, Xiao Yan, and the others entered the Demonic Flame Hall and found thousands of Dou Venerate Fire Slaves blocking their way.
• Xiao Yan and the group realized the endless trials would exhaust them, while Gu Nanhai explained that the Demonic Flame Space erased their path of retreat.
• Wei Yang told everyone to gather near him and unleashed Black Sun Calamity, incinerating the Fire Slaves and wrecking the hall.
• Wei Yang repeatedly cleared the later halls with the black sun, destroying Fire Slaves that grew from low-level to high-level Dou Venerates.
• Wei Yang vowed to keep smashing through the trials until the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame emerged, then blasted open another hall.

Wei Yang and the others reached the final trial, where they faced an intelligent Fire Slave wielding a blood-red axe. Elder Yao and Gu Nanhai fought him, and the clash left the guardian revealing a glowing rune on his brow.

• Wei Yang grew exhausted from repeatedly using Black Sun Calamity, while Xiao Yan gave him a pill to recover.
• The group entered a hall containing a gaunt Four-Star Late-stage Dou Saint who Gu Nanhai identified as the final guardian before the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame’s true body.
• Wei Yang recognized the guardian as Blood Axe Xiao Chen, and Elder Yao and Gu Nanhai stepped forward to fight him.
• Xiao Chen summoned a massive blood-red axe and battled Elder Yao and Gu Nanhai, gradually falling behind their combined assault.
• After being driven back, Xiao Chen roared as a profound rune appeared on his brow.

Xiao Yan recognized the Clan Mark on the gaunt Fire Slave, and Gu Nanhai identified him as Xiao Chen, a long-lost Xiao Clan ancestor. As the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame tried to reclaim control of Xiao Chen, Wei Yang extracted it from his body.

• The gaunt man activated his Clan Mark, gained five-star strength, and knocked Gu Nanhai and Elder Yao back with a single axe strike.
• Wei Yang blocked the man's next attack, and Xiao Yan revealed his own Clan Mark to make contact with him.
• Xiao Chen recognized Xiao Yan as kin but could not remember his own identity, so Gu Nanhai identified him from ancient records as Xiao Chen, Xiao Xuan's cousin.
• The Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame began emerging from Xiao Chen's body as it tried to control him again.
• Wei Yang told Xiao Chen to guard his mind and used a gray current to extract the struggling demonic flame from his body.

Wei Yang extracted the Demonic Lotus Flame from Xiao Chen, and Xiao Yan led the group toward the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame’s true body. On the altar, Xiao Yan and Wei Yang realized that they were still trapped in the Nightmare Heavenly Mist’s illusion.

• Wei Yang removed the milky-white flame from Xiao Chen, who learned from Xiao Yan that the Xiao Clan had fallen and that Xiao Xuan was dead.
• Xiao Yan asked Xiao Chen to lead the group to the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, and Xiao Chen guided them through the final gate to an altar.
• A white-robed figure on the altar challenged the group to defeat him or become Fire Slaves.
• Xiao Yan and Wei Yang recognized that the altar scene was another illusion created by the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.
• Xiao Yan explained that the group and Xiao Chen were real, but that most of the Fire Slaves they had fought were illusions designed to trap them.

Wei Yang and Xiao Yan exposed the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame’s thousand-year illusion and showed Gu Nanhai and the others how to weaken it by refusing to believe in its power. After Wei Yang shattered the illusion realm, the group found themselves on a boulder above an endless sea of milky-white magma, with a silver spatial passage behind them.

• Wei Yang and Xiao Yan explained that the man in white had used the Nightmare Heavenly Mist to trap them in an illusion modeled on the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint.
• The man in white attacked with a flaming spear, but Xiao Yan urged everyone not to resist or believe the illusion was powerful, and the spear vanished before it could harm them.
• Wei Yang released Black Sun Calamity, which dissolved the illusion realm and the man in white.
• Wei Yang and the others emerged above an endless sea of milky-white magma and landed on a floating boulder.
• The group spotted a slowly revolving silver spatial passage behind them, though they did not know where it led.