Recaps

Xiao Yan took the eleven azure lotus seeds while the narrator accepted the Azure Lotus Pedestal, and the group escaped as the barrier collapsed and magma surged around them. The narrator resolved to become a Dou Zong, and the group continued swimming upward through the magma.

• Yao Lao advised Xiao Yan to take the eleven azure lotus seeds instead of the Azure Lotus Pedestal, and Xiao Yan collected them without provoking Yun Yun.
• The narrator reflected on the lotus’s eleven-hundred-year growth and declared to Yun Yun that he would become a Dou Zong.
• Yun Yun gave the Azure Lotus Pedestal to the narrator and warned him to tread the cultivation road carefully.
• Xiao Yan left the chamber, and the narrator invited Yun Yun to return to the city before they escaped the unstable barrier.
• The barrier shattered as Yun Yun, Qing Lin, and the narrator rode the Fire Spirit Snake through raging magma currents, with Yun Yun protecting them until they reached calmer waters.

Nalan Jie and the others secured the Azure Lotus Core Flame in the Azure Lotus Pedestal, while Qing Lin soothed the Fire Spirit Snake that emerged from the cavern. Nalan Jie praised Qing Lin’s ability to control the magical beast and insisted she join the Nalan Family.

• Chu Sha She warned Nalan Jie that the Snake-People Tribe might seek revenge and urged him to prepare for a major war.
• Yun Yun returned from the cavern with Qing Lin and the narrator, who showed Nalan Jie the Azure Lotus Pedestal.
• The narrator persuaded Nalan Jie to place the Azure Lotus Core Flame in the pedestal, which contained the flame after he withdrew his Dou Qi.
• The soldiers mistook the Fire Spirit Snake emerging from the cavern for a threat, but Qing Lin calmed it.
• The narrator explained Qing Lin’s control over the Fire Spirit Snake, and Nalan Jie praised her talent and demanded that she join the Nalan Family.

On the army’s return to Stone Desert City, Ye Er persuaded the Nalan elders to offer Qing Lin the position of Guest Elder so the family could recruit her. The army reached the city, where its lord hurried to welcome them, while Ye Er planned to speak with Qing Lin.

• Nalan Jie asked Ye Er to recruit Qing Lin into the Nalan Family because of her talent and control over a Dou Ling-level magical beast.
• Ye Er argued that Qing Lin deserved generous treatment, and the elders debated whether outsiders could be trusted with important roles.
• Nalan Jie overruled Nalan Tie and approved giving Qing Lin the position of Guest Elder with the same treatment as the elders.
• Ye Er watched Qing Lin travel beside the Fire Spirit Snake and decided to discuss the offer with her after reaching Stone Desert City.
• The army arrived in Stone Desert City, and the city lord hurried to the east gate with officials to welcome the Anbei Protector-General and his troops.

After the army entered Stone Desert City, Mo Cheng recognized Qing Lin’s Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils and became convinced they could help him reach Dou Emperor. He ordered Mo Li to marry Qing Lin into the Mo Family, promising him the family leadership if he succeeded.

• Mo Cheng gathered with Mo Lin and the Mo Family elders after the Nalan Family army entered the city.
• Mo Cheng identified Qing Lin’s ability to control a serpent magical beast as the Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils recorded in the Mo Family Secret Tradition.
• Mo Cheng and the elders imagined the Mo Family rising to power by transplanting Qing Lin’s eyes, while Mo Li warned that other powers might be watching her.
• Mo Lin argued that the Nalan Family was the Mo Family’s main rival for Qing Lin, and Mo Cheng decided to use Mo Li to secure her.
• Mo Cheng ordered Mo Li to marry Qing Lin into the Mo Family and promised him the next position as family head if he succeeded.

The narrator attended a Nalan Family banquet celebrating the defeat of the Snake-People Queen and tried to help Qing Lin avoid drinking strong liquor. After they exchanged wine bowls, he teased her that they had shared wedding cross-cupped wine.

• Nalan Jie toasted the guests for fighting together and killing the Snake-People Queen, and the narrator drank Osmanthus Wine that he had arranged to have served.
• The narrator noticed Qing Lin struggling with the strong liquor at her table and offered her his milder Osmanthus Wine.
• Qing Lin asked the narrator to drink the strong liquor she could not finish, and he drained the bowl despite its burning taste.
• The narrator gave Qing Lin his bowl of Osmanthus Wine, which she enjoyed, then joked that their exchanged drinks counted as wedding cross-cupped wine.

The narrator took Qing Lin outside to meet the Fire Spirit Snake and offered to pay for its food so she could keep it. Qing Lin accepted his help but worried that he would soon leave Stone Desert City for Gama City.

• The narrator led Qing Lin out of the banquet hall while the Nalan Family and others watched them leave.
• Qing Lin soothed the Fire Spirit Snake at the shop’s back entrance and learned that the narrator had brought her there to discuss its food.
• Qing Lin worried that she could not afford to feed the Fire Spirit Snake and considered releasing it.
• The narrator insisted on paying for the snake’s food, then teased it until Qing Lin told him not to bully it.
• Qing Lin quietly asked whether the narrator would return to Gama City after finishing his business in Stone Desert City.

The narrator tried to persuade Qing Lin to leave Stone Desert City and return with him to Gama City, but she remained attached to Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, who had treated her kindly. Qing Lin agreed only to ask the brothers first, leaving the narrator’s plan unresolved.

• Qing Lin explained that she felt grateful to Xiao Ding and Xiao Li for accepting and caring for her despite her Snake-People blood.
• The narrator argued that Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, and he were one family because Xiao Meier was his fiancée, and promised Qing Lin she could see the brothers again.
• When Qing Lin shivered in the cold, the narrator draped a robe over her, and she blushed and moved away.
• Qing Lin asked about Gama City, and the narrator described its supposed wonders and promised to buy her rouge and powder from Chen Jin's.
• Qing Lin said she needed to ask Xiao Ding and Xiao Li before deciding, and the narrator returned to his room disappointed.

Nalan Ye invited the mysterious intruder Ling Ying to tea before negotiating the price of the Azure Lotus Core Flame. Ling Ying examined Nalan Ye’s demands and called him far too greedy.

• Nalan Ye brewed tea beside the Azure Lotus Core Flame and invited an unseen Senior to join him.
• Ling Ying appeared and demanded that Nalan Ye name a price for the exotic flame.
• Nalan Ye suspected Ling Ying was Xun Er’s guard and repeatedly offered him tea instead of naming a price.
• Ling Ying eventually sat down, drank the tea, and accepted Nalan Ye’s scroll of demands.
• Ling Ying read the scroll and told Nalan Ye that he was far too greedy.

The narrator negotiated with Ling Ying over the price of the Azure Lotus Core Flame and persuaded him to serve as a bodyguard for thirty years in exchange for a Po Zong Pill. Ling Ying rejected the request for a Heaven Rank Cultivation Method, revealing that it was one path to advancing to Dou Zong, and the narrator realized why the Gamma Empire lacked such experts.

• The narrator defended his demands for the Azure Lotus Core Flame and three Po Zong Pills by emphasizing the flame’s long maturation and Ling Ying’s years of service without a pill.
• The narrator offered one Po Zong Pill to the Dou Huang who protected him for thirty years, then suggested Ling Ying take the position and receive the pill early if their relationship deepened or the narrator advanced to Dou Emperor.
• Ling Ying questioned when he would receive the Po Zong Pill, and the narrator left its timing dependent on their circumstances and future relationship.
• Ling Ying agreed to protect the narrator for thirty years but refused to provide a Heaven Rank Cultivation Method on behalf of the Ancient Clan.
• Ling Ying explained that one could advance to Dou Zong either with outside aid such as a Po Zong Pill or through sufficient talent and cultivation of a Heaven Rank Cultivation Method.
• The narrator concluded that the Gamma Empire’s lack of a Heaven Rank Cultivation Method explained why its Dou Zong breakthroughs had depended on rare, unrepeatable outside aid.

The narrator learned from Ling Ying that Heaven Rank Cultivation Methods were guarded by the Ancient Clan, while Po Zong Pills came in nine attributes and carried grave risks. He left uncertain who should receive the remaining pill after discovering that each had only a thirty percent chance of success and could permanently damage the user’s meridians.

• Ling Ying described his failure to advance from Nine-Star Dou Huang to Dou Zong, and the narrator vowed that they would both reach Dou Zong.
• Ling Ying refused to share a Heaven Rank Cultivation Method but agreed that the Ancient Clan could provide Po Zong Pills.
• Ling Ying explained that Po Zong Pills had nine attributes, and the narrator requested two lightning-attribute pills alongside one dark-attribute pill.
• Ling Ying warned that a failed pill would severely damage the user’s meridians, then revealed that the success rate was only thirty percent.
• The narrator considered Qing Lin, Yun Yun, and Xiao Meier as possible recipients for the remaining pill, but concluded that none seemed to need it.

The narrator negotiated a deal with Ling Ying and let him take the Azure Lotus Core Flame in exchange for a seventh-rank antidote for the old clan leader. Ling Ying escaped the shop with the flame as Yun Yun confronted him and another hidden Dou Emperor, recognizing their connection to the Magma Cave encounter.

• The narrator chose to reserve the wind-attribute Po Zong Pill for Nalan Yanran and revised the terms of his deal with Ling Ying.
• Ling Ying gave the narrator a seventh-rank Mystic Dew Detoxification Pill for the old clan leader and a sixth-rank Po E Pill to break a Dou Emperor's seal.
• The narrator handed Ling Ying the detoxification pill to exchange for the Azure Lotus Core Flame, then asked Ling Ying to knock him unconscious as a cover story.
• Ling Ying left the shop carrying the Azure Lotus Pedestal and revealed his Dou Emperor aura, drawing Yun Yun into pursuit.
• A second black-robed Dou Emperor blocked Yun Yun, who suspected the pair had been with the Dou Emperor she encountered in the Magma Cave.

During the victory feast, three Dou Emperors attacked the Nalan Family’s forces, and poison left nearly everyone in the Banquet Hall unconscious. Ling Ying offered Nalan Jie a Seventh-Rank antidote in exchange for the Azure Lotus Core Flame, then escaped as another Dou Emperor blocked Nalan Jie, revealing the attackers’ overwhelming strength.

• Nalan Jie and Chu Sha She sensed multiple Dou Emperor auras approaching and ordered everyone to purge the alcohol, muster, and prepare to repel an attack.
• Poison caused the guests, including Nalan Dong and Nalan Tie, to collapse unconscious, leaving only Nalan Jie and Chu Sha She standing.
• Nalan Jie and Chu Sha She confronted Ling Ying in the sky as he carried the Azure Lotus Core Flame.
• Ling Ying offered Nalan Jie a Seventh-Rank Mystic Dew Detoxification Pill for the Exotic Flame and explained that Four Everlasting Powder had poisoned the hall’s occupants.
• Nalan Jie attacked Ling Ying as he flew away, but another black-robed Dou Emperor appeared and blocked him while Yun Yun fought a third Dou Emperor.

Nalan Ye pretended not to know that the Azure Lotus Core Flame had been stolen, then acted remorseful when Nalan Yiling told him about the raid. He insisted that Nalan Jie punish him, but Nalan Jie grew irritated and threatened to beat him, leaving Nalan Ye wondering why his apology had gone wrong.

• Nalan Ye woke to Nalan Yiling and feigned ignorance when she asked whether he knew what had happened the previous night.
• Nalan Yiling told Nalan Ye that three Dou Huang experts had stolen the Azure Lotus Core Flame after poisoning the victory banquet and knocking him unconscious; no one had died.
• Nalan Ye secretly rejoiced that the attackers had escaped Stone Desert City, then followed Nalan Yiling to the Council Hall.
• Nalan Ye knelt before Nalan Jie and repeatedly blamed himself for failing to protect the flame, though Nalan Jie told him he could not have stopped Dou Emperors.
• Nalan Jie became angry at Nalan Ye's insistence on taking blame and threatened to beat him, while Nalan Ye wondered why his attempt at a heartfelt apology had failed.

Nalan Ye received fifteen strokes for failing to protect the Azure Lotus Core Flame, while Nalan Dong confirmed that the Mystic Dew Detoxification Pill was an antidote. Nalan Jie decided the Nalan Family would leave for Gama City that afternoon, with the elders staying behind to guard against the Snake-People Tribe.

• Nalan Jie ordered Nalan Ye to receive fifteen strokes, and Nalan Yiling pleaded for him while Nalan Dong criticized him for losing the Azure Lotus Core Flame.
• A black-clad punishment officer read Nalan Ye's sentence and struck him fifteen times with the military rod.
• Nalan Ye refused the guards' help and walked back into the hall despite his bleeding back.
• Nalan Dong confirmed that the Mystic Dew Detoxification Pill was a detoxification pill, and Nalan Jie accepted his judgment.
• Nalan Jie said the Nalan Family could not recover the Azure Lotus Core Flame from three Dou Emperors and ordered the younger members to leave for Gama City that afternoon.

Nalan Jie and the other Nalan elders discovered that Nalan Ye had secretly hosted the Dou Emperor who stole the Azure Lotus Core Flame, and debated whether he was connected to a powerful outside force. They left the question of Nalan Ye’s role unresolved as Nalan Dong challenged the elders’ theory.

• Nalan Ye left the hall with Nalan Yiling, pleased that he had secured a Dou Emperor bodyguard, pills, and a Po Zong Pill, though his back wound still hurt.
• Nalan Jie and the others went to visit the injured Nalan Jia, who had avoided the Four Everlasting Powder and promptly mobilized the troops during the previous night’s incident.
• Nalan Tie showed the elders a teapot and two cups he had found in Nalan Ye’s room, and they realized they were likely the tea set used to entertain Ling Ying.
• Nalan Dong angrily accused Nalan Ye of colluding with outsiders and tried to leave to punish him, but Nalan Jie ordered him to sit down and discuss the matter.
• Nalan Jie suggested that Nalan Ye had joined an outside force that might include the three Dou Emperors, while Nalan Dong questioned why such a force would have let the Nalan Family retrieve the flame before stealing it.

The Nalan elders deduced that the force behind the Azure Lotus Core Flame had arranged for Nalan Ye to gain credit for Medusa’s death, raising his standing for its future plans. They concluded that Nalan Ye’s connection to a powerful organization could become a chance for the Nalan Family to rise.

• Nalan Tie reasoned that the Azure Lotus Core Flame affair was meant to make the Nalan Family appear responsible for slaying the Medusa Queen, rather than to stir conflict with Gu He or the Snake-People Tribe.
• Nalan Jie, Nalan Jia, and Nalan Tie agreed that Nalan Ye’s role in planning the operation let them claim he had killed Medusa and that this would raise his standing.
• Nalan Jie inferred that the force had at least five Dou Emperors and possibly a Dou Zong or a seventh-rank alchemist, based on its strength and the Mystic Dew Detoxification Pill.
• Nalan Tie argued that Nalan Ye’s place in the force was an opportunity for the family, and Nalan Jie resolved to help Ye Er establish himself and possibly reach Dou Zong.

Nalan Yiling treated Ye Gege’s back while the Xiao Family visited and teased him. Xiao Meier began applying ointment to his bruises after Nalan Yiling explained that Ye Gege had been beaten with military rods, not injured fighting the Medusa Queen.

• Nalan Yiling carefully applied ointment to Ye Gege’s wounds while he tried to hide his pain.
• The Xiao Family arrived, and Xiao Yu teased Nalan Yiling before Ye Gege introduced her to everyone.
• Xiao Yu poked Ye Gege’s wound, then Xiao Ding rebuked her and Ye Gege for joking about the battle’s dead.
• Nalan Yiling asked Xiao Meier to apply ointment to Ye Gege’s bruises, and Xiao Meier reluctantly agreed.
• When Xiao Meier asked whether the injuries came from fighting the Medusa Queen, Nalan Yiling explained that Ye Gege had been beaten with military rods.

Nalan Ye concealed his role in losing the Azure Lotus Core Flame by telling Xiao Meier how close he had come to death, then invited Xiao Yan and the others to travel with him to Gama City. The group had yet to decide whether to go, while Xiao Yu teased Xiao Meier about meeting Nalan Ye’s parents.

• Nalan Ye explained that three Dou Emperors had stolen the Azure Lotus Core Flame and used the danger to reassure Xiao Meier and draw her into caring for him.
• Xiao Meier applied ointment to Nalan Ye’s bruises while Xiao Yan asked about the attackers and the lost flame.
• Nalan Ye said the Nalan Family could not challenge three Dou Emperors and invited Xiao Yan and his companions to travel with him to Gama City.
• Xiao Meier grew nervous at the prospect of meeting Nalan Ye’s parents, and Xiao Yu teased her about meeting her future in-laws.

Xiao Yan urged Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to leave Stone Desert City before the Snake-People Tribe retaliated, but I persuaded them to join the imperial establishment instead. Xiao Ding chose an army post and Xiao Li chose to become a city lord, while Qing Lin would go to Gama City with me.

• Xiao Ding urged Xiao Yan to travel to Canaan Academy soon, and Xiao Yan warned that the Snake-People Tribe would retaliate after the Medusa Queen's death.
• I offered Xiao Ding and Xiao Li positions as imperial officers or city lords and the option to bring the Desert Iron Mercenary Group under their command.
• Xiao Li asked what posts and cities I could arrange, and I offered them a Sima position or third-tier principal cities.
• Xiao Li proposed that Xiao Ding join the army while he became a city lord, and I agreed to arrange it after returning to Gama City.
• Xiao Li agreed that Qing Lin should travel to Gama City with me instead of continuing to roam with him and Xiao Ding.

Xiao Yan said goodbye to the Xiao Family before visiting the dying Hai Bodong, who had lost his strength after breaking Medusa’s Serpent Sealing Art. Xiao Yan gave Hai Bodong a Rank 6 Po E Pill that could break the seal, leaving him with hope of recovering his Dou Emperor strength.

• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li urged Xiao Yan to train hard at Canaan Academy and protect Xiao Yu, Xiao Meier, and Xiao Xun'er, while Xiao Yu doubted he could defend them.
• The narrator left the Xiao Family’s farewell gathering and visited Hai Bodong, who was bedridden and weakened after killing the Medusa Queen.
• Hai Bodong said he had accepted his approaching death after spending more than twenty years trying to break the seal, and the narrator resolved that he would not die.
• The narrator showed Hai Bodong a Rank 6 Po E Pill, and Hai Bodong recognized that it could break the seal.
• The narrator gave Hai Bodong the pill without asking for anything in return and called him a hero.

Nalan Ye said goodbye to Yun Yun and agreed to carry a scroll to Yun Leng before leaving Stone Desert City with Xiao Yan, Qing Lin, and their companions. As the group prepared to fly toward Gama City, Mo Li of the Mo Family arrived and asked to join them on the way to Salt City.

• Nalan Ye told Yun Yun that he was returning to Gama City, and she said they were even after he had delivered the Azure Lotus Core Flame to her.
• Yun Yun wrote a scroll for Yun Leng, and Nalan Ye accepted it before leaving her room.
• Nalan Ye gathered Xiao Yan, Xun Er, Qing Lin, the Xiao Family members, and their guards, and they headed to the flying magical beasts' station.
• The party boarded two flying magical beasts, and Nalan Ye invited Mo Li of the Mo Family to join them on their route through Salt City.

As the group left Stone Desert City for Salt City, Qing Lin mourned leaving her hometown, while Nalan confronted Mo Li over the Mo Family’s interest in her Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils. Nalan questioned Mo Li about the Mo Family’s salt business and ended by challenging why the family used green salt instead of the finest white salt.

• Nalan set off for Salt City with Qing Lin, Mo Li, and their attendants aboard a flying magical beast.
• Qing Lin cried as Stone Desert City disappeared, and Nalan realized she was grieving the loss of her home.
• Mo Li approached Qing Lin and questioned her about controlling the Fourth-Order Fire Spirit Snake, but she hid beside Nalan.
• Nalan sent Qing Lin back to the tent and silently rebuffed Mo Li’s flattery about leading the battle against the Medusa Queen.
• Mo Li explained the Resting Pool’s importance and described the three grades of salt sold by his family.
• Nalan asked Mo Li why the Mo Family used horse-shaped green salt instead of tiger-shaped white salt.

Nalan Ye exposed the Mo Family’s attempt to recruit Qing Lin and forced Mo Li to reveal that he had been sent to marry her. Nalan Ye suspected the family was concealing its interest in Qing Lin’s Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils, then explained the Mo Family’s ancestor had used beast parts to augment human bodies.

• Nalan Ye ordered Mo Wang to seize Mo Li after suspecting the Mo Family had ulterior motives involving Qing Lin.
• Nalan Ye confronted Mo Li for approaching Qing Lin, and Mo Wang threatened to destroy his meridians until Mo Li confessed his assignment was to marry her and secure her for the Mo Family.
• Mo Li said his family had described Qing Lin as exceptionally talented but had not explained her ability, leading Nalan Ye to suspect the elders had hidden their knowledge of her Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils.
• Nalan Ye asked Mo Li about the Mo Family’s Alchemist ancestor and told the others that the ancestor attached magical-beast limbs and bones to human bodies to increase strength.
• Xiao Yan reacted in disbelief that the Mo Family could be so perverse.

Nalan exposed the Mo Family’s plan to take Qing Lin’s Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils, and Mo Li revealed the legend that the Saint Pupils could allow their people to dominate the Dou Qi Continent. Under pressure, Mo Li explained that an old record linked the pupils to the Snake-People Tribe’s return to its ancestral land, which Nalan believed was the Central Plains.

• Nalan explained that the Mo Family captured people with unusual talents and took their organs to strengthen its members.
• Nalan accused Mo Li of trying to lure Qing Lin to the Mo Family so they could take her Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils.
• Mo Li recognized Qing Lin’s eyes as the legendary Saint Pupils and said their bearer could dominate the Dou Qi Continent.
• Nalan threatened Mo Li until he told how a Mo Family ancestor found a record about the pupils among the belongings of a Snake-People Dou Wang killed in a war nearly a century earlier.
• Mo Li quoted the record’s message that the Saint Pupils’ return would signal the Snake-People Tribe’s return to its ancestral land, and Nalan suspected that land was the Central Plains.

The chapter recounted the Snake-People Tribe’s flight to the Tagor Desert, its war with the Seventeen-Nation Coalition, and its gradual decline. In the God Hall, Yue Mei told the six tribe leaders that Medusa had died after a Gamma Empire ambush, but they questioned how the humans had learned of her movements.

• After fleeing a calamity in the Central Plains, the Snake-People fought the Seventeen-Nation Coalition before settling in the Tagor Desert under an unexplained agreement.
• Over the centuries, the Snake-People Tribe weakened until Medusa, its last Dou Huang, died the day before the meeting.
• Yan Ci and the other five tribe leaders challenged Yue Mei after she announced Medusa’s death.
• Yue Mei said Medusa had gone to the vicinity of Stone Desert City for the Azure Lotus Core Flame and had been ambushed by the Gamma Empire.
• Yin Shi and Yue Mei said Medusa had been beyond healing and had ordered them to retreat, prompting a leader to ask how the Gamma Empire had discovered her plans.