Chapter Summaries

Nalan Ye exploited Qing Lin’s Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils to attack Medusa, but she recovered before he could kill her and severely injured him. Hai Bodong and the others intervened, and Nalan Dong warned Nalan Ye that his meridians were damaged.

• Qing Lin’s Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils stunned Medusa and disrupted her Dou Qi Armor.
• Nalan Ye used explosive pills and a secret technique to strengthen his attacks, but Medusa recovered and knocked him away after he failed to land a killing blow.
• Medusa pursued the injured Nalan Ye until Nalan Jia, Nalan Dong, and Hai Bodong attacked her together.
• Hai Bodong restored his cultivation to the Dou Wang level and struck Medusa, sending her crashing into the Great Snow Mercenary Group’s position.
• Nalan Dong caught Nalan Ye, examined his injuries, and ordered him to take pills and avoid using Dou Qi until his meridians healed.

The narrator watched Medusa overwhelm the assembled forces after transforming into her true serpent form, until Qing Lin’s Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils drew her attention. Medusa forced back Nalan Jie and Hai Bodong and fled into the Tagor Desert to complete her evolution, still carrying the Exotic Flame.

• The narrator recovered with Qing Lin’s help as Medusa fought off the mercenaries and Nalan Jie and Hai Bodong joined forces against her.
• Reinforcements led by Mo Cheng and Nalan Zhan arrived, and Nalan Jia organized the combined army to surround Medusa.
• Medusa swallowed her Ring of Holding and transformed into a giant purple snake, resisting the army’s weapons and slaughtering its soldiers.
• The narrator urged Qing Lin to use her Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils, and Medusa sensed the ability and recognized Qing Lin’s Saint Pupils.
• Medusa repelled Nalan Jie and Hai Bodong, then flew toward the depths of the Tagor Desert to complete her evolution.

After Medusa Queen’s devastating assault, the Nalan Family’s battered forces watched her escape while Xiao Yan considered pursuing her for the Azure Lotus Core Flame. Yao Lao revealed that Yun Yun might be waiting to ambush Medusa, and Xiao Yan flew after her as a girl watched from a distant dune.

• Medusa Queen escaped after killing hundreds and crippling the Nalan Family’s army, while Nalan Jie and Hai Bodong stayed behind with the wounded.
• Nalan Jie learned that Qing Lin’s Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils could stun even Medusa, and Mo Cheng eyed the girl with concealed greed.
• From a dune, Xiao Yan urged Yao Lao to chase Medusa for the Azure Lotus Core Flame, but Yao Lao warned him that taking it could harm the Nalan Family, their relatives by marriage.
• Xiao Yan realized Yun Yun had not appeared and guessed she was lying in wait along Medusa’s route; Yao Lao agreed the battlefield might have served as a smokescreen for her ambush.
• Yao Lao flew off with Xiao Yan in pursuit of Medusa, while an old man and a girl watched from another dune and the girl wondered whether Xiao Yan wanted the Azure Lotus Core Flame.

Medusa escaped the Nalan and Miteer forces, but Yun Yun ambushed her in the desert and severed her spine. As Yun Yun dove in to kill her, Medusa began burning through her Dou Qi and charged back at her in a desperate bid to take them both down.

• Medusa fled toward her God Hall and suspected that someone had leaked her search for the Azure Lotus Core Flame to the Nalan Family.
• Yun Yun emerged from a cloud and struck Medusa from behind with a sword light, severing her spine and bringing her crashing into the desert.
• Medusa returned to her snake-person form and faced Yun Yun, who said she had been entrusted to kill her.
• Medusa recalled her plan to evolve with the Azure Lotus Core Flame, lead the Snake-People Tribe out of the desert, and reclaim their ancestral land.
• Medusa recklessly forced her damaged body to circulate Dou Qi, formed purple light wings, and charged at Yun Yun.

Yun Yun and the wounded Medusa battled across the Tagor Desert while Xiao Yan and Yao Lao watched. Nalan Jia and Nalan Jie arrived with an elite force, but Yue Mei led a Snake-People army to reinforce Medusa, leaving both sides preparing for battle.

• Medusa and Yun Yun exchanged powerful attacks as Yun Yun raised her cultivation to Five Star Dou Huang and Yao Lao predicted Medusa would soon fall.
• Yao Lao sensed reinforcements approaching from both directions and warned that the Snake-People side had two Dou Wangs.
• Nalan Jia and Nalan Jie arrived with nearly four hundred Nalan Family soldiers as a three-thousand-strong Snake-People army advanced from the north.
• Yun Yun warned the Nalan forces about the approaching army, and Nalan Jie ordered his soldiers to form a defensive line with crossbows, shields, and spears.
• Yue Mei flew toward Medusa and declared that the humans would not leave Tagore alive, while Nalan Jie charged to confront her.

The battle between Nalan Jia’s forces and the snake people worsened as a second snake person Dou Wang and three Dou Lings joined the fight. With the Dragon Hunting Crossbows under attack and no spare troops to protect them, the narrator handed command to Mo Wang as the enemy closed in.

• Three thousand snake people attacked Nalan Jia’s four hundred soldiers with javelins while the defenders answered with shields and crossbows.
• The narrator spotted about three hundred snake people circling toward the Dragon Hunting Crossbow position, and Nalan Jia prepared to withdraw the weapons.
• A concealed snake person Dou Wang appeared and struck Nalan Jia, then attacked him as Nalan Tie joined the fight.
• More than two thousand snake people charged, led by three Dou Lings, while the Dragon Hunting Crossbows remained threatened at the rear.
• The narrator ordered the crossbow operators to pack up and join the formation, then put Mo Wang in command.

The Nalan Family’s dwindling forces struggled to hold back the snakefolk while Yun Yun fought Medusa overhead. Just as Medusa was wounded and the defenders rallied, Chu Sha She arrived and prepared to join the battle against her.

• Mo Wang ordered the Dragon Slayer Crossbows to fire and the Heavy Shields and spears to hold the line against the advancing snakefolk.
• The snakefolk broke into the defenders’ formation, killing and wounding soldiers as the encircled force steadily lost ground.
• Yun Yun struck Medusa and broke her Dou Qi Armor, prompting the remaining defenders to cheer and counterattack.
• Yue Mei urged Yin Shi to reinforce Medusa, and he broke away from Nalan Jia and Nalan Tie to fly toward the sky battle.
• Chu Sha She appeared on a nearby dune, evaded Yin Shi’s arrow, and called for Yun Yun to keep attacking Medusa.

Chu Sha She and the Anbei Cavalry arrived as Medusa’s defeat became inevitable, forcing her to pass the throne and Azure Lotus Core Flame to Yue Mei. The narrator tried to stop Yue Mei from taking the flame by warning Medusa that the Snake-People would be invaded if she died, then offered safe passage for her people in exchange for the flame.

• Chu Sha She arrived with several thousand Anbei Cavalry, and the Snake-People withdrew from the narrator’s forces before both armies formed up for battle.
• Medusa was badly wounded and, after knocking Nalan Jie away, gave Yue Mei the Ring of Holding and Azure Lotus Core Flame, ordering her to return to the Holy City and inherit the throne.
• Medusa transformed into a giant snake and continued fighting Yun Yun, while Yin Shi transformed to help her hold off their enemies.
• The narrator had Mo Wang warn Medusa that the Snake-People would face invasion from five nations if she died with the Exotic Flame still in their possession.
• The narrator told Medusa that Yue Mei could not use the Exotic Flame to evolve and offered to let the Snake-People leave safely if Medusa gave the flame to the Nalan Family.

The narrator brokered a deal with Medusa while stopping Chu Sha She from attacking the Snake-People Tribe, and Medusa ordered her forces to retreat after handing over the Azure Lotus Core Flame. The Snake-People withdrew as the Nalan Family and Anbei Protectorate faced off, leaving Medusa surrounded and gravely weakened.

• Chu Sha She rejected the narrator’s plea and ordered the Anbei Three Thousand Cavalry to attack the Snake-People Tribe.
• Nalan Jie and the narrator blocked the Anbei Cavalry, while Nalan Jia positioned the Nalan Family’s remaining soldiers between the armies.
• The Nalan Family’s three thousand troops arrived, and the narrator offered to help cover the Snake-People’s retreat in exchange for the Azure Lotus Core Flame.
• Medusa took the Azure Lotus Core Flame from Yue Mei and ordered Yue Mei and Yin Shi to lead the Snake-People away.
• The Nalan Family’s forces halted the Anbei Cavalry, while Yun Yun, Nalan Jie, and Chu Sha She surrounded the exhausted Medusa.

Medusa unleashed the Azure Lotus Core Flame toward the Anbei Cavalry, then sacrificed herself in a massive explosion that devastated the battlefield. The shockwave carried Nalan Tie and the narrator away, and Yun Yun caught the injured narrator as Medusa’s blood essence mysteriously entered him.

• Yue Mei and Yin Shi withdrew into Tagor Desert, and Medusa released the Azure Lotus Core Flame toward the Anbei Cavalry.
• Yun Yun moved to contain the flame while Chu Sha She and Nalan Jie attacked Medusa, who charged the Nalan Family formation despite its crossbow fire.
• Yun Yun realized Medusa intended to self-destruct, and the narrator fled with Nalan Tie as Medusa’s body erupted into purple energy.
• The blast swept away the narrator and Nalan Tie; 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 he coughed blood.

After Medusa’s self-destruction devastates the battlefield, Yun Yun and Nalan Jie help suppress and claim the Azure Lotus Core Flame. Xiao Yan gives up on stealing it, but Yao Lao reveals the nearby Azure Lotus contains valuable seeds, and Xiao Yan rushes to retrieve it before the Nalan Family can.

• The narrator surveys the destruction caused by Medusa’s self-destruction, which kills at least five hundred people, and Yun Yun carries him to the Azure Lotus Core Flame.
• Nalan Jie asks Yun Yun for help suppressing the flame, and Chu Sha She joins them until Nalan Jie can hold it safely in green Dou Qi.
• The narrator tells Nalan Jie that the flame’s Azure Lotus Pedestal should still be where the flame appeared, and Nalan Jie orders everyone back to Stone Desert City.
• Xiao Yan complains to Yao Lao that the Nalan Family took the Exotic Flame, but decides against stealing it and prepares to return to Stone Desert City.
• Yao Lao tells Xiao Yan that the Azure Lotus contains seeds that can aid fire-attribute cultivation, and Xiao Yan urges him to fly back and retrieve it.

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao headed into the tunnels where the Azure Lotus Core Flame had been nurtured, while Xun Er worried that Xiao Yan might learn she had followed him. They reached a vast underground cavern filled with magma, where the search for the Exotic Flame continued.

• Xun Er learned that Ling Ying had not identified Yao Lao and warned him not to threaten Xiao Yan, then decided they should return to Stone Desert City unnoticed.
• Ling Ying revealed that Yao Lao had discovered their presence, alarming Xun Er until Ling Ying assured her Xiao Yan likely did not know.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao flew to the burrow where the Azure Lotus Core Flame had emerged, and Yao Lao explained that the Snake-People might have guarded it for centuries.
• Yao Lao followed traces through the winding tunnels while Xiao Yan noticed the abundant fire-attributed energy and was scolded for being pleased with the leftovers.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao emerged into a huge underground cavern filled with churning magma.

While the army returned to Stone Desert City, the narrator recovered from his injuries and joined Yun Yun and Qing Lin in the underground magma cavern to search for the Azure Lotus Pedestal. He proposed using Qing Lin to control a Fire Spirit Snake as their guide, and Yun Yun struck one from the magma.

• The army began its slow return journey, and the narrator and Nalan Jia joked together despite their injuries.
• After waking near the cavern, the narrator told Nalan Jie that the Azure Lotus Pedestal lay deep in the magma and that only Yun Yun could withstand the heat.
• The narrator persuaded Nalan Jie to let him and Qing Lin accompany Yun Yun into the cavern, despite Nalan Dong's objections.
• In the magma cavern, the narrator explained that Qing Lin could control a Fire Spirit Snake and use it to guide them to the pedestal.
• Yun Yun spotted a Fire Spirit Snake in the magma and struck it with an azure sword beam.

Qing Lin used her Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils to control a Fire Spirit Snake and guide the group through the magma toward the Azure Lotus Pedestal. They entered the pale-blue magma, but Yun Yun warned that her Dou Qi could protect them for only a limited time, and a powerful undercurrent nearly threw Qing Lin and the narrator from the snake.

• Qing Lin awakened a connection with the Fire Spirit Snake and learned to command it, despite being frightened of it.
• The narrator, Qing Lin, and Yun Yun rode the Fire Spirit Snake toward the Azure Lotus Pedestal, with Yun Yun shielding them in Azure Dou Qi.
• Yun Yun warned that her Dou Qi would last only about an hour, leaving them at most half an hour in the magma for the search.
• The Fire Spirit Snake swam deeper as the group approached pale-blue magma, which the narrator recognized as a sign that the Azure Lotus Pedestal was nearby.
• A powerful magma undercurrent knocked the Fire Spirit Snake off balance, but Yun Yun dispersed the force and pushed the narrator and Qing Lin back onto its back.
• Yun Yun judged the area dangerous, and the narrator told Qing Lin to slow the Fire Spirit Snake down.

Nalan Ye and Yun Yun reached the Azure Lotus Pedestal in the magma lake, where Xiao Yan arrived disguised as the Dou Emperor Yan Xiao and demanded the treasure. Nalan Ye recognized the deception and offered Xiao Yan the Azure Lotus Seeds, leaving the dispute over the pedestal unresolved.

• The Fire Spirit Snake led Nalan Ye, Yun Yun, and Qing Lin through the magma to the Azure Lotus Pedestal, which was protected by a cool green light curtain.
• Yun Yun prepared to retrieve the pedestal, but Xiao Yan entered the light curtain wrapped in the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and confronted them.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao realized Nalan Ye had beaten them to the treasure, and Xiao Yan insisted they should not leave empty-handed.
• Xiao Yan claimed to be the senior alchemist Yan Xiao and demanded the Azure Lotus Pedestal, threatening the group if they refused.
• Nalan Ye recognized Xiao Yan's disguise, addressed him as Senior Yan, and offered him the Azure Lotus Seeds in exchange for forming a good bond.

Xiao Yan took the eleven Azure Lotus Seeds while Yun Yun claimed the Azure Lotus Pedestal, and the narrator reflected on the long life of the Azure Lotus and resolved to become a Dou Zong. After they left the hidden chamber, its barrier shattered and they struggled through violent magma currents as the Fire Spirit Snake carried them upward.

• Yao Lao explained the Azure Lotus Pedestal's cultivation benefits and advised Xiao Yan to take the Azure Lotus Seeds instead.
• Xiao Yan collected all eleven Azure Lotus Seeds, which had formed over the Azure Lotus's one thousand one hundred years underground.
• The narrator reflected on the brevity of human life and told Yun Yun that he would become a Dou Zong.
• Yun Yun took the Azure Lotus Pedestal, and Xiao Yan left the chamber without joining them for a gathering.
• The three of them mounted the Fire Spirit Snake, but the blue barrier shattered as they entered the magma and sent violent currents surging around them.
• Yun Yun protected the group as the Fire Spirit Snake swam out of the currents and continued upward.

Yun Yun and the others returned from the underground cavern with the Azure Lotus Pedestal, and Nalan Jie placed the Azure Lotus Core Flame inside it. After the army mistook Qing Lin’s Fire Spirit Snake for an enemy beast, Nalan Jie learned of Qing Lin’s ability to control it and demanded that she join the Nalan Family.

• Chu Sha She warned Nalan Jie that the Snake-People Tribe might attack after Yue Mei completed the ceremony to become Medusa Queen, and urged him to prepare for war.
• Yun Yun brought Qing Lin and the narrator out of the cavern with the Azure Lotus Pedestal, and the narrator told Nalan Jie that an unfamiliar Dou Emperor had taken the lotus core.
• Nalan Jie placed the Azure Lotus Core Flame into the Azure Lotus Pedestal, which contained the flame and left the narrator celebrating his success.
• The Fire Spirit Snake emerged from the cavern and alarmed the soldiers, but Qing Lin soothed it and the narrator explained that she could control the beast.
• Nalan Jie praised Qing Lin’s talent and declared that she must join the Nalan Family.

As the army returned to Stone Desert City, Nalan Jie and the others agreed to recruit Qing Lin into the Nalan Family as a Guest Elder, and Ye Er planned to speak with her after the march. The army reached the city, where the confused city lord hurried to welcome the Anbei Protector-General.

• Nalan Jie asked Ye Er to recruit Qing Lin, and Ye Er argued that the family should offer her meaningful status and treatment.
• Nalan Jia supported recruiting outsiders, while Nalan Tie argued that the family should rely on its own clansmen.
• Ye Er emphasized that Qing Lin was a young orphan whose exceptional talent made her worth welcoming into the family.
• Nalan Jie decided to grant Qing Lin the position and treatment of a Guest Elder, despite Nalan Tie's objections.
• The army arrived at Stone Desert City, and the city lord met them at the eastern gate.

After the Mo Family learned that Qing Lin possessed the Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils, Mo Cheng became determined to seize her power and raise the family’s standing. He ordered Mo Li to marry her into the family, promising him the position of next family head if he succeeded.

• Mo Cheng returned to the Mo Family residence and asked whether the others had noticed Qing Lin controlling a snake-type magical beast.
• Mo Cheng identified Qing Lin’s ability as the Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils recorded in the family’s secret tradition.
• Mo Cheng and the elders imagined that transplanting Qing Lin’s eyes could help him become a Dou Emperor and let the Mo Family rise.
• Mo Li warned that the Nalan Family and other factions might watch over Qing Lin, while Mo Lin argued that the Nalan Family was their main obstacle.
• Mo Cheng summoned the young Mo Li and ordered him to marry Qing Lin into the Mo Family, offering him the family headship if he succeeded.

At the Nalan Family banquet celebrating the defeat of the Snake-People Queen, the narrator tried to help Qing Lin enjoy the wine without wasting it. After they exchanged drinks, he teased her that they had shared nuptial wine, leaving her reaction unknown.

• Nalan Jie toasted the gathered guests and celebrated their victory over the Snake-People Queen.
• The narrator noticed Qing Lin struggling with strong liquor and offered her his Osmanthus Wine.
• Qing Lin asked the narrator to drink the strong liquor left in her bowl, and he forced it down to avoid wasting it.
• The narrator gave Qing Lin the Osmanthus Wine, which she happily drank, then joked that they had shared nuptial wine.