Recaps

Nalan Ye revealed that the Azure Lotus Core Flame was somewhere outside Stone Desert City and proposed waiting for Medusa to find it before stealing it and killing her. Yun Yun warned that she could delay Medusa if the queen carried the Flame, but might not be able to stop her if she abandoned it.

• Nalan Jie questioned Nalan Ye about his plan and the Flame’s location, and Nalan Ye admitted he knew only that it was outside Stone Desert City.
• Nalan Jia challenged the source and reliability of Nalan Ye’s information, while Nalan Jie asked whether the clan should search the surrounding area.
• Hai Bodong noted that the Flame was too deeply buried for ordinary experts to sense, and Nalan Ye explained that it was the Azure Lotus Core Flame, born in magma underground.
• Nalan Ye proposed waiting for Medusa, who was also searching for the Flame, then taking it from her and killing her if she was weakened while collecting it.
• Yun Yun said she could hold Medusa off if the queen carried the Flame, but might fail to stop her if Medusa abandoned it.

Nalan Ye proposed using Qing Lin’s bloodline to detect Medusa near Stone Desert City, and the group planned how to surround and kill her after she took the azure lotus core flame. The chapter left the detailed preparations underway, with Nalan Ye following the strategy only loosely.

• Yun Yun warned Nalan Ye that Medusa’s injury from taking the azure lotus core flame was unpredictable and promised to do her best to help.
• Nalan Jia raised the problem of detecting Medusa in time, and Nalan Ye revealed that Qing Lin could sense her bloodline pressure from within fifty li of Stone Desert City.
• Nalan Jie praised Nalan Ye’s idea, while Yun Yun ignored his smug attempt to get her attention.
• Nalan Jie, Nalan Tie, Nalan Jia, Hai Bodong, and Yun Yun discussed troop deployments, Medusa’s fighting techniques, and plans for unexpected developments.
• Nalan Ye struggled to follow the military planning and left the tactical details to his subordinates, while Nalan Dong rested with his eyes closed.

After the battle discussion, Nalan Jie questioned Nalan Ye about his role in the Amethyst Winged Lion King fight and whether he had mistreated Mo Wang. Nalan Ye left for the Desert Iron Mercenary Group’s compound, unaware that a guard was secretly listening and that the four elders had reunited in a secret chamber to discuss him.

• Nalan Jie put Nalan Jia in charge of the army and ordered him to prepare for the agreed battle plan.
• Nalan Jie challenged Nalan Ye’s claim that he had commanded the fight outside Wu Si City, then praised Mo Wang and asked whether Nalan Ye had pressured him into joining the Nalan Family.
• Nalan Ye reassured Nalan Jie that Mo Wang had been treated well, and Nalan Jie dismissed the family members after the discussion.
• Nalan Ye met Mo Wang and ten Nalan Family guards outside the shop, then told Mo Wang that Nalan Jie had praised him and offered him a bright future.
• An unremarkable guard secretly memorized Nalan Ye’s conversation with Mo Wang as they walked toward the Desert Iron Mercenary Group’s compound.
• Nalan Jie, Nalan Tie, and two other elders gathered in a secret chamber, where Nalan Jie asked Nalan Tie how Nalan Ye had been lately.

Nalan Jie and the other Nalan elders suspected that a powerful outside organization was secretly supporting Nalan Ye, based on his unusual knowledge and actions. They decided to appoint him Young Clan Leader while investigating the organization in secret, and Nalan Tie hoped his grandson would not disappoint him.

• Nalan Jia listed Nalan Ye’s unexplained knowledge about the Exotic Flame, Hai Bodong, and Yun Yun’s danger, and proposed that an outside organization was supporting him.
• Nalan Jia said he had sent guards to watch over Nalan Ye, but admitted they might not discover much.
• Nalan Jie rejected questioning Nalan Ye and proposed appointing him Young Clan Leader so his actions might reveal the organization’s purpose and origins.
• Nalan Tie argued that the family should prepare either to oppose the organization or rely on Nalan Ye’s protection if it proved too powerful.
• Nalan Jie and the other elders agreed to keep their discussion secret, support Nalan Ye’s appointment, and investigate the organization.
• After the elders left the secret chamber, Nalan Tie watched the dawn and hoped Nalan Ye would not disappoint him.

Nalan Ye sparred with Xiao Li, using a heavy shield to withstand his lightning spear technique until they called the match a draw. Qing Lin then told Nalan Ye that she sensed a powerful aura like the one inside her east of the city, leaving him with a new lead to investigate.

• Xiao Li attacked Nalan Ye with a lightning spear technique, but Nalan Ye blocked the blows with his heavy shield and resisted the numbing effect with his lightning Dou Qi.
• Xiao Li stopped when he could not break Nalan Ye’s defense, and they tacitly agreed to call the spar a draw.
• The Desert Iron mercenaries accused Nalan Ye of cheating, while he left them and spoke with Xiao Meier and Xiao Yu about the match.
• Qing Lin brought Nalan Ye tea and revealed that she sensed a powerful aura like the one inside her east of the city.

Nalan Ye gathered the Nalan Family’s allies after Qing Lin sensed a powerful Snake-People aura moving around Stone Desert City. They confirmed the aura belonged to Medusa and waited for her to locate the Azure Lotus Core Flame before acting.

• Nalan Ye told Xiao Ding that Medusa had arrived and asked Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to prepare for battle while Xiao Yan watched over Xiao Meier.
• Nalan Ye brought Qing Lin to the Council Hall, where Nalan Tie, Nalan Jia, Nalan Dong, Hai Bodong, and Yun Yun gathered.
• Qing Lin reported that a powerful aura matching her bloodline was moving outside Stone Desert City, first east and then north.
• Nalan Jia questioned whether the aura belonged to Medusa, so Yun Yun tested Qing Lin against Dou Ling, Dou Wang, and Dou Emperor pressure.
• Qing Lin sensed that the moving aura was stronger than Yun Yun’s Dou Emperor pressure, and Nalan Ye concluded that it was Medusa.
• Nalan Ye and the others waited for Medusa to find the Azure Lotus Core Flame before they could make their move.

Nalan Ye was appointed to command the operation against Medusa, though Nalan Jia would lead the troops, and Qing Lin located the presence outside Stone Desert City. After the elders deployed the army, Nalan Jia summoned Nalan Ye onto the war chariot as the force prepared to set out.

• Nalan Jie appointed Nalan Ye the nominal commander of the operation, while Nalan Jia would command the battle.
• Qing Lin sensed that the presence had stopped about twenty or thirty li northeast of Stone Desert City and indicated its approximate location on the map.
• Nalan Jie, Yun Yun, and Nalan Tie left the Council Hall to scout the location ahead of the others.
• Nalan Jia deployed the troops throughout the city, then led Nalan Ye, Qing Lin, Nalan Dong, and Hai Bodong out of the hall.
• Nalan Ye found nearly two hundred elite Nalan Family soldiers assembled beside a war chariot, and Nalan Jia ordered him to climb aboard.

Nalan Ye led the central column of the Nalan Family’s force toward Medusa’s location, where Qing Lin’s sensing helped Nalan Jia pinpoint the area. Medusa appeared carrying the azure lotus core flame and demanded to know what the Nalan Family was planning, leaving Nalan Ye facing her while the other forces had yet to arrive.

• Nalan Ye marched out with Nalan Jia, Qing Lin, and the central column while the northern and southern forces took separate routes.
• Nalan Jia sent the Great Snow Mercenary Group to search for caves near the spot where Qing Lin sensed Medusa.
• An enormous crash erupted behind a distant hill before the northern and southern forces arrived, and Medusa appeared above the desert with the azure lotus core flame in her hand.
• Nalan Ye greeted Medusa and offered her Osmanthus Wine, but she ignored him and asked Nalan Jie what the Nalan Family was trying to do.

Medusa confronted the Nalan Family after Nalan Jie declared that the azure lotus core flame belonged to the Gamma Empire, and the two sides began fighting over it. As the army’s crossbow volleys helped Nalan Jie hold Medusa back, she broke away and dove toward the chariot where the narrator stood.

• Medusa demanded to know why Nalan Jie had brought an army into Tagor, and Nalan Jie claimed the azure lotus core flame for the Gamma Empire.
• The narrator revealed that the Nalan Family had learned of the flame through the promise of profit, prompting Medusa to threaten them and attack Nalan Jie.
• Nalan Jie met Medusa’s violet Dou Qi serpent with his spear, then ordered the Nalan army to attack with its Dragon Hunting and Dragon Slayer Crossbows.
• The Nalan guards surrounded Medusa and fired repeated volleys while Nalan Jie kept her occupied, exploiting her injury and the heavy cost of maintaining her Dou Qi Armor.
• Medusa summoned five giant serpents to drive Nalan Jie back, then abandoned him and dove toward the chariot carrying the narrator.

Nalan Jia and the mercenaries fought Medusa with crossbows, javelins, and Dou Techniques, but her attack scattered their forces and knocked the narrator and Qing Lin to the ground. Medusa approached the helpless narrator, who desperately yearned for power as she raised her hand, while Qing Lin pleaded for his life.

• The narrator promised Black Wolf and Heavy Snow mercenaries a large reward to strengthen their resolve against Medusa.
• Nalan Jia ordered the crossbows and mercenaries to fire, but Medusa dodged most of the bolts and scattered the javelins with a gale.
• Medusa sent a giant purple serpent toward the chariot, and the narrator, Nalan Jia, and the elite troops combined their attacks to destroy it.
• The serpent's explosion blasted the troops apart, and the narrator fell from the chariot as Qing Lin rushed to help him.
• Medusa approached the fallen narrator and raised her hand, while Qing Lin begged her not to kill him.

Qing Lin stunned Medusa long enough for Nalan Ye to break through her Dou Qi Armor, but Medusa recovered and gravely injured him. Nalan Dong rescued Nalan Ye while Hai Bodong and the Nalan fighters attacked Medusa, leaving the battle unresolved and Nalan Ye forbidden from using Dou Qi until his meridians healed.

• Qing Lin's Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils stunned Medusa and disrupted her control of her Dou Qi.
• Nalan Ye used pills and a secret art to strengthen himself, then pierced Medusa's faltering Dou Qi Armor with repeated Flickering Thrusts.
• Medusa recovered, deflected Nalan Ye's attacks, and struck him hard enough to injure his meridians and send him flying.
• Nalan Jia, Nalan Dong, and Hai Bodong attacked Medusa together, and Hai Bodong's strength surged back to the Dou Wang level.
• Hai Bodong struck Medusa and sent her crashing into the Great Snow Mercenary Group's position, while Nalan Jia rallied the forces and ordered them to attack.
• Nalan Dong caught Nalan Ye, gave him pills, and warned him not to use Dou Qi until his meridians healed.

Medusa transformed into a giant serpent and overwhelmed the Nalan and Mo forces, but Qing Lin’s Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils startled her. Medusa forced back Nalan Jie and Hai Bodong, then fled into the Tagor Desert to complete her evolution with the Exotic Flame.

• Nalan Jie and Hai Bodong joined forces against the injured Medusa as reinforcements led by Mo Cheng and Nalan Zhan arrived.
• Medusa swallowed her Ring of Holding and transformed into a giant serpent, resisting the elders’ attacks and the army’s weapons.
• Medusa attacked the army and drove back Nalan Jie and Hai Bodong, causing heavy casualties.
• The narrator urged Qing Lin to use her Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils, and faint green marks appeared in Qing Lin’s eyes.
• Medusa sensed Qing Lin’s Saint Pupils, forced back her opponents, and flew into the Tagor Desert to complete her evolution.

After Medusa devastated the Nalan Family’s forces and escaped, Xiao Yan weighed whether to pursue the Azure Lotus Core Flame, while Yao Lao revealed that Yun Yun might still be waiting to ambush her. Xiao Yan and Yao Lao flew after Medusa, watched from afar by a purple-dressed girl who wanted him to obtain the flame.

• Medusa killed hundreds and crippled the Nalan Family’s army before flying away, while Nalan Jie and Hai Bodong recovered from their wounds.
• Nalan Jie noticed Qing Lin’s Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils, and the Mo Family Great Elder secretly looked at the girl with greed.
• Xiao Yan urged Yao Lao to pursue Medusa and seize the Azure Lotus Core Flame, but Yao Lao warned that taking it could put Xiao Yan at odds with the Nalan Family.
• Yao Lao pointed out that Yun Yun had not appeared and suggested the battle was a smokescreen for her planned ambush; Xiao Yan realized she might be waiting along Medusa’s route.
• Yao Lao carried Xiao Yan into the air to pursue Medusa, while a purple-dressed girl watched them and hoped Xiao Yan would obtain the Azure Lotus Core Flame.

Medusa escaped the battle with the Nalan Family and headed toward her God Hall, suspecting someone had leaked her search for the Azure Lotus Core Flame. Yun Yun ambushed her from a cloud, severed her spine, and prepared to kill her, but Medusa charged back at Yun Yun in a desperate bid to die with her.

• Medusa escaped the battle, vowed not to forget the Nalan Family and Miteer, and suspected someone had exposed her search for the Azure Lotus Core Flame.
• Yun Yun emerged from a cloud and struck Medusa from behind with a sword light, severing her spine and sending her crashing into the desert.
• Medusa returned to her Snake-People form, and Yun Yun told her she had been entrusted to kill her before diving down to attack.
• Medusa recalled her plan to lead the Snake-People Tribe out of the Tagor Desert and reclaim their ancestral land, then unleashed her Dou Qi and flew at Yun Yun, vowing they would die together.

Yun Yun and the weakened Medusa fought across the Tagor Desert as Xiao Yan and Yao Lao watched. Nalan Jie and the narrator arrived with Nalan Family troops, but a large Snake-People army led by Yue Mei appeared, and Nalan Jie flew out to confront her.

• Yun Yun used her superior condition to wear down Medusa, then fought her in a fierce clash after Medusa tried to escape.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that Yun Yun was likely to win because Medusa had been weakened by earlier battles and Yun Yun's ambush.
• Nalan Jie and the narrator arrived with around four hundred Nalan Family elites as reinforcements for Yun Yun.
• Yun Yun warned that three thousand Snake-People, including a Dou Wang, were approaching from the north.
• Nalan Jie ordered his troops to form a defensive line, then flew to meet Yue Mei as she rushed toward the battle.

The narrator’s four-hundred-strong force struggled to hold off three thousand Snake-People while the battles overhead remained undecided. After a second Snake-People Dou Wang attacked and the Dragon Hunting Crossbows came under threat, the narrator handed command to Mo Wang as three enemy Dou Lings led a charge.

• The Snake-People hurled successive javelin volleys at Nalan Jia’s formation, while its shields and crossbows returned fire and casualties mounted on both sides.
• The narrator warned Nalan Jia that about three hundred Snake-People were circling toward the Dragon Hunting Crossbows, but a concealed Snake-People Dou Wang ambushed him and knocked him and the narrator off the chariot.
• Nalan Jia and the returning Nalan Tie fought the Snake-People Dou Wang, while more than two thousand Snake-People charged with three Dou Lings at their head.
• The narrator ordered the Dragon Hunting Crossbow crews to put away their weapons and join the formation after the enemy surrounded their position.
• Seeing no way to stop the three charging Dou Lings, the narrator told Mo Wang to take command.

Mo Wang and the narrator’s outnumbered forces struggled to hold off the Snake-People while Yun Yun fought Medusa in the sky. Yun Yun wounded Medusa, lifting the defenders’ morale, but Yin Shi flew to aid her until Chu Sha She appeared and revealed his intent to kill Medusa.

• Mo Wang ordered the Dragon Slayer Crossbows to keep firing and rallied the Nalan Family elites to hold their defensive formation.
• The Snake-People’s three-thousand-strong army overwhelmed the defenders, breaking their orderly lines and forcing them into a shrinking circle.
• Yun Yun struck Medusa and split her Dou Qi Armor, prompting the narrator to rally the remaining defenders into a counterattack.
• Yue Mei urged Yin Shi to assist Medusa, and Yin Shi broke away from his fight with Nalan Jia and Nalan Tie to fly toward the sky battle.
• Chu Sha She appeared on a nearby sand dune and shot an arrow at Yin Shi, then urged Yun Yun to kill Medusa.

Chu Sha She and the Anbei Cavalry arrived as Medusa was driven toward defeat, and Medusa named Yue Mei her successor and entrusted her with the Azure Lotus Core Flame. To stop Yue Mei from taking it to the Snake-People Holy City, I urged Medusa to surrender the flame in exchange for the safe withdrawal of the Snake-People.

• Chu Sha She arrived with several thousand Anbei Cavalry, forcing the Snake-People surrounding us to pull back and regroup.
• Medusa struck Nalan Jie away, then gave Yue Mei the Ring of Holding and the Azure Lotus Core Flame and ordered her to return to the Holy City as queen.
• Medusa transformed into a giant serpent and fought Yun Yun, while Yin Shi transformed and joined her to hold off their enemies.
• I asked Mo Wang to tell Medusa that the Snake-People would be destroyed if they lost their queen and kept the Exotic Flame, then revealed that Medusa had seized it to try to evolve into a Dou Zong.
• I offered to let the Snake-People leave safely if Medusa gave the Exotic Flame to my Nalan Family.

The Nalan Family tried to secure the Azure Lotus Core Flame through a deal with Medusa, but Chu Sha She opposed the Snake-People’s retreat and nearly reignited the battle. Medusa gave the flame to Yue Mei and ordered the Snake-People to withdraw while the Nalan forces blocked the Anbei Cavalry, leaving her surrounded and gravely weakened.

• The narrator and Nalan Jie supported negotiating with Medusa, but Chu Sha She demanded that every Snake-Person be killed.
• Nalan Jie proposed letting the Snake-People retreat while concentrating on Medusa, but Chu Sha She ordered the Anbei Cavalry to attack.
• The narrator and Nalan Jia positioned Nalan Family soldiers to block the cavalry, and reinforcements arrived from the southeast.
• Medusa ordered Yue Mei to leave the Azure Lotus Core Flame and withdraw with the Snake-People, then took the flame from her.
• Yue Mei led the Snake-People away as Nalan Jia’s troops and the arriving Nalan army prevented the Anbei Cavalry from charging.
• Medusa remained surrounded by the narrator’s allies, including Yun Yun and Chu Sha She, as the narrator feared another complication.

Medusa detonated herself after hurling the Azure Lotus Core Flame toward the Anbei Cavalry, and the blast scattered the armies across the desert. The narrator survived, unknowingly absorbed a mysterious blood essence that changed his eyes pale purple, and ended the chapter in Yun Yun’s arms.

• Medusa withdrew her Dou Qi from the Azure Lotus Core Flame and hurled it toward the Anbei Cavalry, forcing Yun Yun to try to subdue it.
• As Chu Sha She and Nalan Jie attacked and the Nalan forces fired their crossbows, Medusa plunged toward them and began a self-detonation.
• Nalan Tie carried the narrator away, but the blast wave caught them; the narrator used the Purple Cloud Wings to lift them before the shock wave swept them apart.
• A bead of Medusa’s blood essence and a wisp of white mist entered the narrator’s forehead, briefly turning his pupils pale purple.
• Yun Yun caught the injured narrator in the air, and he greeted her as she asked whether he was all right.

After Medusa’s self-detonation devastated the battlefield, Nalan Jie and his allies suppressed and claimed the Azure Lotus Core Flame. Xiao Yan chose not to steal it, but Yao Lao then told him about the valuable Azure Lotus Seeds and urged him to retrieve them before the Nalan Family could.

• The narrator survived Medusa’s self-detonation with severe injuries, while hundreds of soldiers died in the blast.
• Yun Yun carried the narrator to the Azure Lotus Core Flame, where Nalan Jie and Chu Sha She joined her in suppressing it.
• The narrator told Nalan Jie that an Azure Lotus Pedestal could contain the flame, and Nalan Jie ordered the group to return to Stone Desert City.
• Xiao Yan watched the Nalan Family claim the flame, but decided against stealing it and prepared to return to Stone Desert City with Yao Lao.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that an azure lotus held valuable Azure Lotus Seeds, prompting Xiao Yan to rush back toward the flame’s location.

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao entered the cavern where the Azure Lotus Core Flame had formed, following Medusa’s traces toward its underground depths. Xun Er learned that her surveillance had been noticed by Yao Lao and decided to help him find a body; Xiao Yan and Yao Lao reached a vast magma-filled cavern.

• Xun Er guessed Xiao Yan had abandoned the Azure Lotus Core Flame to avoid taking something from the Nalan Family, then warned Ling Ying not to harm Yao Lao.
• Ling Ying told Xun Er that Yao Lao had noticed their movements, and Xun Er worried that Xiao Yan would find out she had followed him.
• Xun Er decided to help Yao Lao find a body because he had helped Xiao Yan and taught him alchemy.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao flew to the cavern entrance, and Yao Lao explained that the Snake-People might have waited centuries for the Azure Lotus Core Flame to mature.
• Yao Lao used his soul power to navigate the winding tunnels and scolded Xiao Yan for being pleased by the remaining fire-attribute energy.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao emerged into a huge underground cavern filled with churning magma and sulfur fumes.

While Xiao Yan searched the magma for the Azure Lotus, Ye Er and the wounded army returned to the first battlefield, where Ye Er recovered enough to join Yun Yun and Qing Lin in seeking the Azure Lotus Pedestal. The group entered the Magma World, and Yun Yun spotted a Fire Spirit Snake for Qing Lin to control.

• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao plunged into the magma to search for the Azure Lotus while Ye Er waited with the returning army.
• Ye Er and Nalan Jia joked together despite their injuries, then the army began its slow journey back toward Stone Desert City.
• After waking near the first battlefield, Ye Er told Nalan Jie that the Azure Lotus Pedestal lay deep in the magma and proposed that he and Qing Lin accompany Yun Yun.
• Yun Yun carried Ye Er and Qing Lin into the Magma World, where Ye Er explained that Qing Lin could control a Fire Spirit Snake to guide them.
• Yun Yun struck the magma with a streak of sword light and revealed a Fire Spirit Snake.

Qing Lin used her Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils to control a Fire Spirit Snake, and she, Yun Yun, and the narrator rode it into the magma to search for the Azure Lotus Pedestal. They reached azure-tinted currents but were nearly thrown off by a powerful undercurrent, so Yun Yun saved them and told Qing Lin to slow the snake down.

• Qing Lin activated her Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils and formed a connection with the Fire Spirit Snake.
• Qing Lin called the snake ashore, and the narrator helped her climb onto its back with Yun Yun.
• Qing Lin directed the Fire Spirit Snake into the magma, while Yun Yun's Dou Qi shielded the riders from the heat.
• Yun Yun warned that her Dou Qi would last only two hours, so the narrator ordered Qing Lin to make the snake hurry and threatened to kill it if it failed to find the Azure Lotus Pedestal.
• The riders spotted azure-tinted magma, but a powerful undercurrent knocked the snake aside and nearly threw Qing Lin and the narrator into the magma.
• Yun Yun used her Dou Qi to save them and urged the group to slow down, and the narrator told Qing Lin to comply.

Nalan Ye and Yun Yun reached the Azure Lotus Pedestal, but Xiao Yan arrived and demanded it under the false name Yan Xiao. Nalan Ye offered him the Azure Lotus Seeds instead, leaving the negotiation unresolved.

• The Fire Spirit Snake led Nalan Ye, Yun Yun, and Qing Lin through the magma to the Azure Lotus Pedestal.
• Yun Yun prepared to collect the lotus, but Xiao Yan burst through the light curtain surrounded by Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao realized they had arrived after Nalan Ye and his group, and Xiao Yan refused to leave empty-handed.
• Nalan Ye recognized Xiao Yan and Yao Lao but pretended not to know them, while Xiao Yan introduced himself as Yan Xiao and claimed the Azure Lotus Pedestal.
• Nalan Ye offered Xiao Yan the Azure Lotus Seeds as a goodwill gesture and asked what he thought.