Chapter Summaries

Gu He spent one last night with Xiao Yi Xian and Zi Jing before leaving the valley. He headed toward the Tagor Desert and assigned Zi Jing to establish a foothold in the Black Corner Region.

• Gu He made a place for the Little Purple Crystal Winged Lion King to sleep and explained that Zi Jing had once been the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King before taking human form.
• Gu He agreed to stay for the night, and Xiao Yi Xian prepared a meal for him and Zi Jing.
• The three shared dinner and talked through the night, with Gu He promising Xiao Yi Xian they would reunite after he dealt with his troubles.
• Gu He left the valley at sunrise, and Zi Jing comforted Xiao Yi Xian before flying after him.
• Gu He told Zi Jing he would travel to the Tagor Desert to subdue a Heavenly Flame, while she went ahead to establish a force in the Black Corner Region.

Gu He sent Zi Jing to the Misty Cloud Sect and then the Black Corner Region to gather information and establish a force, before traveling to Tagor Desert to search for the Green Lotus Core Flame. He found an underground passage beneath the sands near Stone Desert City and descended into it.

• Gu He gave Zi Jing his Ring and instructed her to seek the Misty Cloud Sect’s information about Elder Yun Ling’s investigation, conceal his true cultivation, and establish a force in the Black Corner Region.
• Gu He placed a Soul Imprint on Zi Jing and supplied her with pills to fund her new force, then warned her to avoid challenging major powers before she departed.
• Gu He flew alone to Tagor Desert, identified Stone Desert City, and began searching the surrounding sands for the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Gu He sensed a passage beneath a sunken patch of sand where fire-attributed energy grew denser, then used his Soul Power to uncover its entrance.
• Gu He summoned his Dou Qi Wings and flew down the passage, declaring that he had come for the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Gu He found the Green Lotus Core Flame deep beneath a magma cavern and fed its roots Fire Pattern Pills mixed with Soul Power to help it mature. After the flame absorbed the energy, he sensed a connection to it and waited to witness its evolution.

• Gu He followed his Soul Power through the tunnels and reached the magma world, where he chose not to kill the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake yet.
• Gu He descended through the magma, endured its heat and violent currents, and found the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• The Green Lotus Core Flame flared in response to Gu He's approach and forced him back with its destructive power.
• Gu He fed the Green Lotus's roots energy from Fire Pattern Pills, mixing in Soul Power to help the flame mature and let him sense its location and condition.
• After more than two hours, the roots stopped absorbing energy, and Gu He waited for the Green Lotus Core Flame to evolve.

Gu He watched the Green Lotus Core Flame mature, then returned to Stone Desert City and began looking for Qing Lin. He found a shivering girl with pale green eyes, who warned him that she was cursed by misfortune.

• Gu He watched the Green Lotus Core Flame absorb magma for five days until it formed a soybean-sized flame seed.
• The newly formed flame released a surge of energy that blasted Gu He out of the magma, and he decided its birth would draw Queen Medusa.
• Gu He left the magma, returned to Stone Desert City, and entered the city to bathe and look for Qing Lin.
• Gu He wandered the alleys during curfew and found a shivering girl, offering her a meal if she answered his questions.
• The girl told Gu He she had not been exiled and urged him to stay away because she believed she brought misfortune.

Gu He met Qing Lin, a mistreated girl with Snake People scales, and gave her warmth, acceptance, and a place as his attendant. As they left the alley together, Qing Lin asked whether the hatred between humans and Snake People could ever be ended.

• Gu He asked the frightened girl why people had driven her away, and she showed him the scales on her hand.
• Gu He told her the scales were beautiful, comforted her, and learned her name was Qing Lin.
• Gu He offered Qing Lin a position as his attendant and promised to help her cultivate; she accepted and asked him not to send her away.
• Gu He took Qing Lin out to buy clothes and food, while townspeople stared at her scales with disgust.
• Gu He explained that people blamed Qing Lin for Snake People blood in her veins, and Qing Lin asked whether the two races' hatred could be dispelled.

Gu He defended Qing Lin against prejudice in Stone Desert City and took her to another shop to buy clothes. Qing Lin admired a fine green dress but worried about its price, and Gu He had it wrapped and asked the shopkeeper to choose another outfit.

• Gu He told Qing Lin that peace between Snake People and humans might come through a powerful leader who could unite and restrain both sides.
• A shopkeeper refused to serve Qing Lin because she was part Snake Person, and Gu He rebuked him before leaving with her.
• Gu He took Qing Lin to another clothing shop, where the shopkeeper welcomed them and offered to select clothes for her.
• The shopkeeper recommended a green dress, and Qing Lin hesitated because she thought it would be expensive.
• Gu He ordered the shopkeeper to wrap the green dress and choose another outfit for Qing Lin.

Gu He helped Qing Lin settle in at an inn in Stone Desert City, making sure she washed, changed clothes, and ate carefully after her prolonged starvation. He arranged for the proprietor to find a house with a large courtyard for training and took Qing Lin around the city, where he bought her desert berries.

• Gu He bought Qing Lin a light green outfit and paid the inn proprietor to let her stay in an adjacent room.
• Qing Lin washed and changed, and Gu He took her downstairs for porridge, explaining why she needed to eat small portions after starving.
• Gu He paid the proprietor a deposit to find a suitable house with a courtyard large enough for dozens of people to practice Dou Techniques.
• The proprietor agreed to ask a knowledgeable friend to help Gu He view houses, with the search to be settled within three days.
• Gu He took Qing Lin around Stone Desert City, bought sea buckthorn berries, and continued giving her small amounts of food as her stomach adjusted.

Gu He arranged to view a house in Stone Desert City with Qing Lin, hoping to buy a home with a large courtyard for his stay. On the way there, he introduced himself to the guide, Lan Tian, who mistook his name for a coincidence with Pill King Gu He.

• Gu He gave Qing Lin the Sea-buckthorn Fruit she enjoyed and promised to teach her cultivation the next day.
• Gu He paid the innkeeper to arrange an immediate house viewing and asked Qing Lin to get ready to go with him.
• Gu He met Lan Tian, paid him part of the commission, and set off with Lan Tian and Qing Lin toward the south of the city.
• Gu He told Lan Tian he would stay in the city for only a few months and introduced himself as Gu He.
• Lan Tian joked that Gu He shared a name with Pill King, not believing he was the famous alchemist.

Gu He viewed a large courtyard house in the southern part of the city, hoping to buy it for cultivation. After diagnosing the elderly owner’s old injuries and offering a slow treatment plan, Gu He left the price negotiation unresolved when the owner offered to waive the cost if Gu He cured him.

• Lan Tian brought Gu He and Qing Lin to see a house with a spacious courtyard and explained why its owner wanted to sell it.
• The elderly owner dismissed Gu He as an unserious buyer until Gu He identified his symptoms and revealed himself as an alchemist.
• Gu He said the owner’s old battle injuries required a Fifth-grade Recovery Pill for quick recovery, or a second-grade Bone-Growing Pill and medicinal baths over half a year.
• The owner showed Gu He the house, and Gu He approved of its large, hard-packed courtyard.
• The owner offered to sell the house for five thousand gold coins, or waive the price and pay Gu He another five thousand if Gu He cured him.
• Gu He declined to treat the owner, saying he could not refine a second-grade pill.

Gu He bought a house in Stone Desert City and trained Qing Lin while waiting for Queen Medusa to seek the Green Lotus Core Flame. After Queen Medusa claimed the flame, Gu He continued raising Qing Lin’s strength and eventually took her toward another city.

• Gu He paid the old man five thousand gold coins for the house, then began teaching Qing Lin how to cultivate.
• Gu He waited for Queen Medusa while training Qing Lin, and on the eighth day he sensed Queen Medusa arrive and face the Green Lotus Core Flame beneath the earth.
• Queen Medusa suppressed and took the Green Lotus Core Flame, while Gu He comforted Qing Lin after the queen’s aura left her trembling.
• Gu He helped Qing Lin cultivate to the fourth stage of Fighting Energy in two months, then took her out of Stone Desert City and flew with her toward another city.

Gu He brought Qing Lin to Mo City and asked Hai Bodong to look after her while he investigated Queen Medusa’s acquisition of the Heavenly Flames. He offered to refine a Calamity Breaking Pill for Hai Bodong in exchange for his help, then prepared to leave for the desert.

• Gu He flew with Qing Lin to Mo City, where he used his Soul Power to locate the city’s lone Dou Ling powerhouse.
• Hai Bodong sensed Gu He’s approach at his map shop and recognized the visitor as the Pill King.
• Gu He told Hai Bodong that he had found signs of Queen Medusa and the Heavenly Flames near Stone Desert City.
• Gu He offered to refine a Calamity Breaking Pill for Hai Bodong if he obtained Heavenly Flames, asking him to care for Qing Lin and help with a future matter.
• Gu He left Qing Lin with Hai Bodong, and Hai Bodong questioned whether Gu He could challenge Queen Medusa and reclaim the Heavenly Flames.

Gu He secured Hai Bodong’s agreement to teach and protect Qing Lin in exchange for a Calamity Breaking Pill and a future Revival Purple Pill. He collected the lotus platform and Earth Fire Lotus Seeds from the magma, advanced to Dou Huang Seven-star, and set out for the Snake People Tribe while Hai Bodong began training Qing Lin.

• Gu He offered Hai Bodong a Calamity Breaking Pill and a Revival Purple Pill in return for teaching and protecting Qing Lin and his disciple, and Hai Bodong agreed to help for up to half a year.
• Gu He returned to the magma, found the Green Lotus Core Flame gone and scattered snake scales on the lotus platform, then collected the platform and twelve Earth Fire Lotus Seeds.
• Gu He swallowed an Earth Fire Lotus Seed, advanced to Dou Huang Seven-star, and flew toward the Snake People Tribe.
• Hai Bodong asked Qing Lin about her progress and learned she had reached the Fourth Duan of Fighting Energy after two months of cultivation.
• Hai Bodong made a cultivation plan for Qing Lin and examined the pills and instructions Gu He had prepared for her.

Gu He disguised himself as Han Feng and entered the Snake-People Tribe’s desert temple, where he met Hua She'er and Queen Medusa. After learning he was a sixth-grade alchemist, Medusa invited him to join her tribe, leaving Gu He to consider her offer.

• Gu He reached the desert city, disguised his appearance, and revealed his Dou Huang aura to draw out its leaders.
• Hua She'er confronted Gu He and demanded to know why he had entered the Snake-People Tribe’s holy land.
• Gu He claimed he was Han Feng, the Medicine Emperor from the Black Corner Region.
• Queen Medusa appeared and asked Gu He what grade of alchemist he was.
• Gu He declared himself a sixth-grade alchemist, and Queen Medusa invited him to join the Snake-People Tribe with a status equal to Hua She'er's.

Gu He offered Queen Medusa pills in exchange for the Heavenly Flames, but she refused and he attacked her. The two Dou Emperors clashed above the city as Hua She'er evacuated the Snake People and prepared to seal off the area.

• Queen Medusa offered Gu He a place with the Snake-People Tribe, a marriage to Hua She'er, and access to the tribe's treasury in return for refining pills exclusively for them.
• Queen Medusa explained that the Snake People needed an alchemist, and Gu He offered an Imperial Pill, two Spirit Dou Pills, and two more pills in exchange for the Heavenly Flames.
• Queen Medusa refused the trade because the Heavenly Flames were essential to her, despite finding Gu He's offer tempting.
• Gu He unleashed his aura and Soul Power against Queen Medusa, and she met his attack with her Peak Dou Emperor aura.
• Queen Medusa ordered Hua She'er to evacuate the people and arrange for the eight major tribes to seal off the area.
• Hua She'er blocked the clash's force from the city wall and led the Snake People away.

Gu He rejected Queen Medusa’s offer to join the Snake-People Tribe, and she launched a full-strength attack against him. He fought back with Purple Eagle Incineration, but the attack was less condensed than Medusa’s colored snake, leaving the clash unresolved.

• Gu He narrowly avoided Queen Medusa’s opening strike and realized his combat experience against Dou Emperor opponents was limited.
• Queen Medusa offered Gu He the Heavenly Flames if he joined the Snake-People Tribe, but he refused because he feared being controlled and distrusted by the tribe.
• Queen Medusa attacked again, and Gu He used his soul perception to evade her ordinary strikes as he adapted to her fighting rhythm.
• Queen Medusa unleashed her full power, changing the nearby weather and forming a rotating seven-colored crystal while Gu He covered himself in orange flames.
• Queen Medusa charged Gu He with a snake-shaped streak of colored light, and he countered with Purple Eagle Incineration, sending a giant fiery eagle against it.

Gu He and Queen Medusa fought at full strength, and his Soul Power shattered her energy hand and diverted her Snake Seal Technique into Hua She'er. Queen Medusa flew to save Hua She'er while Gu He pursued and attacked her, leaving Hua She'er falling with her strength sealed.

• Gu He used nearly half his Soul Power to counter Queen Medusa's attack, and she acknowledged him as a true opponent.
• Gu He shattered Queen Medusa's energy hand and struck her multicolored snake off course, sending it into Hua She'er.
• The Snake Seal Technique drained Hua She'er's Dou Qi and aged her as she fell from the sky.
• Queen Medusa flew to rescue Hua She'er while Gu He pursued her and repeatedly attacked with Soul Power weapons.
• Hua She'er formed armor as she fell and begged Queen Medusa to focus on the battle instead of saving her.

Queen Medusa saved Hua She'er and drove Gu He away, but he secretly returned to the Desert Temple while the Snake-People Tribe gathered there. The chapter left the tribe’s experts assembled in the grand hall as Queen Medusa watched a quarrel from her throne.

• Queen Medusa rescued Hua She'er and urged her to seek an inheritance in the Snake Crypt to reach the Dou Emperor realm.
• Queen Medusa attacked Gu He, but he used three Soul Power strikes to create an opening and flee toward the outskirts of the city.
• Queen Medusa decided she needed to evolve soon, while Hua She'er warned that Gu He could gather powerful reinforcements.
• Gu He concealed his aura, doubled back toward the Desert Temple, and avoided Snake-People patrols along the way.
• Hua She'er returned to her youthful appearance and Dou Wang cultivation, and the tribe’s experts assembled in the grand hall as Queen Medusa watched them quarrel.

Queen Medusa prepared to use the Heavenly Flame to evolve despite her chiefs’ fears, while Gu He secretly entered the city after nightfall. The chapter ended with Gu He inside the city, moving closer to Queen Medusa.

• Yue Mei and Mo Bass urged Queen Medusa not to risk evolving with the Heavenly Flame, but she left without changing her mind.
• Mo Bass explained that Queen Medusa was rushing to evolve because the Snake-People Tribe faced threats after offending a Sixth-grade Alchemist.
• Gu He waited outside the city, sensed that Queen Medusa had not begun evolving, and watched as night fell and several tribal chiefs departed.
• Gu He climbed a poorly guarded stretch of the city wall and used Soul Power to make a patrol member stumble, distracting the nearby guards.
• Gu He slipped across the wall and climbed down into the city.

Gu He infiltrated Queen Medusa’s temple as she began evolving by entering the Green Lotus Core Flame. While she endured the Heavenly Flame, Gu He swam through the poisonous lake toward the island, where magical beasts rushed at him.

• Gu He avoided the city patrols and hid near the temple until Queen Medusa’s evolution began.
• Queen Medusa removed the barrier around the Green Lotus Core Flame, transformed into a giant purple snake, and plunged into the fire.
• Gu He entered the temple and approached the island while Queen Medusa’s body burned and shrank in the Heavenly Flame.
• Gu He crossed the poisonous lake under a protective orange-yellow flame, and magical beasts charged toward him near the island.

Gu He reached the island where Queen Medusa was undergoing her evolution and watched her endure the Green Lotus Core Flame and a lightning tribulation. After collecting the flame, he prepared for the possibility that the new life within her charred body had become a powerful Dou Zong.

• Gu He suppressed his aura, evaded the underwater magical beasts, and made his way toward Queen Medusa and the Heavenly Flame.
• Mo Bass ordered the city sealed while Yue Mei, Hua She'er, and the Snake People waited anxiously for Queen Medusa to complete her evolution.
• Gu He watched Queen Medusa's body burn nearly motionless in the Azure Flame and sensed that her life was barely holding on, but chose not to intervene.
• A lightning bolt pierced the purple barrier and struck the Azure Flame, convincing Gu He that Queen Medusa's Transformation Tribulation had begun and her evolution had succeeded.
• Gu He used the Green Lotus Seat to collect the Green Lotus Core Flame, then shielded himself and watched the new life forming inside Queen Medusa's charred body.