Chapter Summaries

Xia Mo and Xiao Yan trained in the Tagor Desert, using Blood Burning ointments to absorb its intense Fire Elemental Energy while traveling west toward a flame marker. Their harsh cultivation quickly brought them close to their next Dou Qi breakthroughs.

• Xia Mo chose to lead the group west toward the flame marker near Xiao Yan’s two brothers, and Xiao Yan agreed despite the long journey and danger near the Snake People Tribe.
• Xia Mo crushed a Yellow Sand Scorpion hiding beneath the sand, and Xiao Yan collected its venomous stinger before they continued across the desert.
• At Old Yao’s request, Xia Mo and Xiao Yan began desert training and used Blood Burning ointments to increase their sensitivity to Fire Elemental Energy.
• Xia Mo cultivated with Enhanced Blood Burning and felt his strength approaching the peak of one-star Dou Ling, while Xiao Yan neared two-star Dou Shi.
• Xiao Yan roared that he was close to advancing, and Xia Mo challenged him to see who would break through first as Old Yao encouraged them.

Xia Mo and Xiao Yan encountered an injured man from the Iron Mercenary Group fleeing Snake People and changed course after learning the group’s captains were Xiao Ding and Xiao Li. They reached the dune overlooking the battle, where more than ten Snake People surrounded the mercenaries, and Xia Mo noticed a fierce-looking woman among them.

• Xia Mo and Xiao Yan found an unconscious, injured man in the desert, and Xiao Yan revived him with water.
• The man asked them to seek help for his mercenary group, but Xia Mo initially refused and continued toward Stone Desert City.
• After the man named Xiao Ding and Xiao Li as the group’s captains, Xiao Yan treated his snakebite and Xia Mo agreed to go with him.
• Xiao Yan leapt onto a dune, and the man led the camel-horse cart there to show them the battle below.
• Xia Mo saw more than ten Snake People surrounding the Iron Mercenary Group’s mercenaries and focused on the group’s lone woman.

Xiao Yan and Xia Mo arrived to find the Iron Mercenary Group fighting snake people, and Xiao Yan quickly defeated two attackers. He reunited with his brothers Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, but the snake-person leader ordered an attack, leaving both groups poised to fight.

• Xiao Yan struck down two snake people with his Black Heavy Ruler, shocking the mercenaries.
• Liu Hai returned to Xiao Ding and Xiao Li and explained that Xiao Yan and Xia Mo had come as reinforcements.
• Xiao Li recognized Xiao Yan and embraced him, and Xiao Yan reunited with both Xiao Li and Xiao Ding.
• The snake-person leader ordered his subordinates to kill Xiao Yan and capture Xue Lan.
• Xiao Ding ordered the unwounded mercenaries to follow him into battle.

A sandstorm forced Xia Mo, Xiao Yan, and several rival groups to shelter in a cave, where a group of late arrivals tried to drive Xia Mo and Zi Yan out. Xia Mo killed their leader with a single strike and warned the Snake People Tribe and the others not to challenge him.

• Xia Mo spotted an approaching sandstorm and rushed with Zi Yan and the others to shelter in a cave alongside Xiao Yan, the Snake People Tribe, and two merchant caravans.
• A late-arriving caravan crowded the cave entrance, and a mole-faced Seven-Star Dou Shi demanded that Xia Mo and Zi Yan leave.
• Xia Mo struck the mole-faced man with an invisible ripple, killing him and injuring two people caught behind him.
• Xiao Li and Xiao Yan wondered at Xia Mo's strength, while the Snake People Tribe's Da Dou Shi considered him a threat.
• Xia Mo warned the Snake People Tribe's group and the rest of the cave that he would kill anyone who attacked him, and they backed down.

Xia Mo and his companions waited out a sandstorm, then traveled with the Iron Mercenary Group to Stone Desert City. They reached the group’s compound, where Xiao Ding checked that everything was safe.

• Xia Mo cooked Fire Python meat soup during the sandstorm, while Zi Yan and Xiao Yan ate with him and the other travelers held back.
• The sandstorm lasted all day, and the Snake People Tribe and merchant caravans left as soon as it ended.
• Xiao Ding asked Xia Mo and the others to travel with the Iron Mercenary Group to Stone Desert City, and Xiao Li retrieved their camel carts.
• Xia Mo, Xiao Yan, and the others arrived in Stone Desert City and went with Xiao Ding’s group to the Iron Mercenary Group compound.
• Xiao Ding reassured a burly member that the group was safe and asked whether anything had happened at the compound.

Xia Mo met Qing Lin, recognized her snake scales and latent Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, and treated her kindly despite the prejudice she faced. After Qing Lin recalled her painful past, Xia Mo encouraged her, and she began to trust that her life had meaning.

• Xia Mo woke, learned the timid maid was Qing Lin, and accidentally shattered a wooden stand with his newly gained two-star Dou Ling strength.
• Xia Mo noticed Qing Lin's blue-green scales, reassured her they were beautiful, and showed her his Phoenix Wings.
• Xia Mo recognized the three green dots in Qing Lin's eyes as signs of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, though they vanished again.
• Xia Mo took Qing Lin around the Iron Mercenary Group, where the mercenaries' disgusted looks made her tremble.
• Qing Lin recalled being rejected and abused, losing her mother, and surviving alone before finding work with the Iron Mercenary Group.
• Xia Mo told Qing Lin she was unique and would surpass everyone there, and three green dots reappeared in her eyes as she thanked him and followed.

Xiao Yan told Xiao Ding and Xiao Li that he and Xia Mo were Alchemists seeking a Heavenly Flame, and showed them a map pointing to the southeast of Stone Desert City. Qing Lin recalled sensing a powerful, possibly Queen Medusa’s, aura there half a year earlier, and agreed to lead them to the place the next day.

• Xiao Yan revealed that he and Xia Mo were Alchemists searching for a Heavenly Flame, surprising Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.
• Xiao Yan showed the brothers a map marking a possible Heavenly Flame location, but they could not identify anything unusual in the area.
• Qing Lin said she had sensed a powerful aura in the southeastern part of Stone Desert City half a year earlier, one that seemed connected to her bloodline.
• Qing Lin recalled that the mysterious visitor had stayed there for a night amid violent energy and had seemed injured when leaving.
• Xia Mo and Xiao Yan asked Qing Lin to locate the place, and she agreed to guide them there the next day.

Xiao Yan and Xia Mo searched the Tagor Desert with Qing Lin for the underground source of the Green Lotus Core Flame. The Iron Mercenary Group began surveying the area, drawing a growing crowd as the Sand Mercenary Group’s interference seemed imminent.

• Qing Lin led Xiao Yan and the others to the place where she had sensed a disturbance, and Xia Mo proposed that the hidden site lay underground.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li explained that a search could attract the Sand Mercenary Group, but Xia Mo and Xiao Yan said they would handle Sha Luo if he came.
• Xiao Ding sent Xue Lan to bring terrain surveyors from the Iron Mercenary Group, and she returned with them shortly afterward.
• The surveyors searched the sealed-off area while curious mercenaries gathered outside, despite the Iron Mercenary Group’s claim that they were hunting a magical beast.
• Xiao Ding predicted that the Sand Mercenary Group would soon send people, and Xia Mo and Xiao Yan prepared for trouble.

Xia Mo stopped the Sand Mercenary Group from interfering with the Iron Mercenary Group’s work after Mo Xing’s death sparked a conflict. He left Luo Bu intimidated into keeping his men away, while Xiao Ding and Xiao Li continued guarding the site.

• Xiao Yan struck Mo Xing down, and Xia Mo killed him with a skewer when he tried to flee.
• Xia Mo told Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to guard the site, then rode toward Stone Desert City to confront the Sand Mercenary Group.
• Luo Bu agreed to seize the Iron Mercenary Group’s territory after Scarface urged him to act before they found treasure.
• Xia Mo appeared in Luo Bu’s room and demanded that the Sand Mercenary Group stay away from the site.
• Xia Mo froze Scarface and pinned the others with his aura, forcing Luo Bu to promise that his group would not interfere.

Xia Mo and Xiao Yan joined the Iron Mercenary Group after Qing Lin sensed a hidden underground passage connected to the Green Lotus Core Flame. With Qing Lin guiding them and the others guarding the entrance, Xia Mo, Xiao Yan, Xiao Ding, and Zi Yan descended into the tunnels.

• Xiao Li and Xiao Ding noted that the Sand Mercenary Group was absent and wondered about Xiao Yan's strength.
• An Iron Mercenary Group member reported that his squad had found a possible underground passage, which Qing Lin had located by sensing a lingering aura.
• Xia Mo and Xiao Yan examined the twisting tunnels and decided to search them for the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Qing Lin offered to guide them toward the passage containing the aura, and Xia Mo agreed to bring her with Zi Yan.
• Xia Mo left Xiao Li in command above while Xiao Bai and the Iron Mercenary Group guarded the entrance, then Xia Mo, Zi Yan, Qing Lin, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Ding entered the passage.

Xia Mo led the group into the underground passages and followed Qing Lin’s sensing to find the route where Queen Medusa had lingered. They endured growing heat and dense Fire Elemental Energy until they reached the entrance to a fiery underground world.

• Xiao Ding descended into the passage and mistook Xiao Yan’s Purple Cloud Wings for Dou Qi Manifested Wings, but Xiao Yan explained they were a Flying Dou Technique.
• Qing Lin sensed the lingering aura in the passages and identified the left passage as the one where Queen Medusa had stayed longest.
• Xia Mo led the group onward while Xiao Yan and Xiao Ding placed Moonlight Stones along the walls as markers.
• The group encountered increasingly dense and violent Fire Elemental Energy, and Xia Mo warned Qing Lin to speak up if she could not endure it.
• Xia Mo spotted red light at the end of the passage, and the group emerged before a fiery world, leaving Xiao Ding, Xiao Yan, and Qing Lin shocked.

Xia Mo and Xiao Yan reached the underground magma lake, where Qing Lin sensed a powerful creature hidden beneath the surface. As Xia Mo flew out to investigate, the creature attacked him from below.

• Xia Mo told Xiao Ding to remain at the passage entrance while he and Xiao Yan went to investigate the magma, and asked Zi Yan to protect the others.
• Qing Lin sensed a concealed creature in the magma and said its aura was stronger than Luo Bu's; Xia Mo judged it to be a Fourth-tier Magical Beast.
• Xiao Yan insisted that he needed to search the magma for what he sought, but Xia Mo went ahead alone to test the area.
• Xia Mo flew over the magma lake, protected by Dragon Phoenix Flame, while scanning with his soul perception.
• Qing Lin warned that something was following Xia Mo, and a huge creature burst from the magma and lunged at him.

Xia Mo fought the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake in the magma lake, enduring its fiery attacks and defeating it with his Dragon Phoenix Heavenly Pattern Sound, Golden Flame, and Profound Breaking Saber. The wounded snake sank beneath the lava, while Xiao Yan and the others watched from the tunnel.

• The Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake attacked Xia Mo, who dodged its strikes and magma blasts with his Phoenix Wings.
• The snake’s fire pillars triggered a chain of eruptions across the lava lake, leaving Xiao Yan and the others worried about Xia Mo.
• Xia Mo appeared above the snake and struck its head with the Profound Breaking Saber, but it surrounded him with dark red flames and formed more than ten fiery snake copies.
• After the copies detonated around him, Xia Mo used Dragon Phoenix Heavenly Pattern Sound to stun the snake and smashed it into the magma.
• Xia Mo charged through the snake’s magma pillars with Golden Flame and battered it with the Profound Breaking Saber until it sank beneath the lava, badly wounded.

Xiao Yan searched the magma cavern for the Heavenly Flames while Xia Mo waited, but the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake attacked the others in the passage. Qing Lin awakened her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, subdued the snake, and discovered she could sense its thoughts, leaving the group with a possible lead on the Heavenly Flames.

• Xiao Yan searched the magma lake for the Heavenly Flames for half an hour but found no trace of them.
• The Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake emerged from the magma and charged at Zi Yan, Qing Lin, and Xiao Ding in the passage.
• Qing Lin awakened her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils as Zi Yan battered the snake, and her power forced a bond on it before she fainted.
• Qing Lin woke and called the now-docile Fire Spirit Snake to the passage, saying she could sense its thoughts and might know where the Heavenly Flames were.
• Old Yao explained to Xiao Yan and Xia Mo that Qing Lin's pupils could control snake-type magical beasts and had compelled the Fire Spirit Snake into a contract.

Qing Lin learned from the Fire Spirit Snake that the Heavenly Flame lay beneath the magma, and Xiao Yan and Xia Mo plunged in to search for it. Protected by their flames, they survived and discovered that Xia Mo possessed the fourth-ranked Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame; Old Yao explained that it could not be used to revive him, leaving them to seek another method.

• Qing Lin reported that the Fire Spirit Snake sensed the Heavenly Flame beneath the magma lake.
• Xia Mo pressured the Fire Spirit Snake to lead the way, and Xiao Yan and Xia Mo jumped into the magma while Xiao Ding and Qing Lin watched anxiously.
• Xiao Yan and Xia Mo emerged safely, protected by Xiao Yan's pale flames and Xia Mo's Golden Flame.
• Old Yao identified Xia Mo's Golden Flame as the fourth-ranked Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame and warned him not to reveal it in crowded places.
• Old Yao told Xiao Yan that Xia Mo's flame could not be separated for him to refine, so they would need another way to revive Old Yao.

Xia Mo and Xiao Yan followed the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake deep into the magma, where the rising heat strained Old Yao’s protection. They reached an azure glow and saw a lotus that Old Yao recognized as the Green Lotus Core Flame.

• Xia Mo revealed that someone in the Black Corner Region possessed a Heavenly Flame, and Old Yao proposed making plans after Xiao Yan went to Jia Nan Academy.
• Xia Mo and Xiao Yan plunged into the magma behind the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake, using their Heavenly Flames to withstand the heat and evade violent currents.
• Old Yao warned Xiao Yan that he had only an hour and a half before the Bone Spirit Cold Flame could no longer protect him in the increasingly hot magma.
• Xia Mo asked the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake how much farther they had to go, and it sped up after indicating they were close.
• The Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake stopped beside an azure lotus, and Old Yao identified it as the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Xia Mo and Xiao Yan found the Green Lotus but discovered that Queen Medusa had already taken its Green Lotus Core Flame. Old Yao explained the remaining treasures’ value, leaving them with the lotus platform and its seeds to collect.

• Xia Mo and Xiao Yan entered the green glow and found an ancient eight-petaled lotus surrounded by tendrils that absorbed Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan discovered the lotus heart was empty and grew furious, but Old Yao and Xia Mo urged him to consider who had taken the flame.
• Xia Mo spotted a Seven-Colored Snake Scale, and Old Yao identified it as Queen Medusa’s, linking her to the missing Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Xia Mo reasoned that Medusa could not absorb a Heavenly Flame herself and must have taken it for another purpose, prompting Xiao Yan to consider how to obtain it from her.
• Old Yao stopped Xiao Yan from leaving and explained that the green lotus platform could aid cultivation and escape, while its Earth Fire Lotus Seeds were exceptionally valuable.

Xia Mo and Xiao Yan harvested the green lotus and its seeds from the magma, leaving its stem intact. The Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame absorbed energy, transformed into a small golden Dragon Phoenix, and Xia Mo and Xiao Yan then headed back toward the surface.

• Xia Mo used a Jade Ruler made by Old Yao to cut off the green lotus, and Old Yao counted eleven Earth Fire Lotus Seeds inside it.
• Old Yao explained that they should leave the stem so the Green Lotus Core Flame could grow again, and Xia Mo and Xiao Yan divided up the lotus pedestal and seeds.
• A golden lotus appeared over the roots and absorbed energy from the magma, so Xia Mo asked Xiao Yan and Old Yao to wait while the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame benefited from it.
• After golden flames erupted with the sound of a Dragon's Roar Phoenix's Cry, the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame reappeared as a small golden Dragon Phoenix and showed increased strength.
• Xia Mo and Xiao Yan left the green glow, met the Fire Spirit Snake, and followed it back along their route.

Xiao Yan and Xia Mo returned from the lava cavern after learning that Queen Medusa had already obtained the Heavenly Flames. The group left the underground passage and headed back to Stone Desert City, while Xiao Yan planned to pursue the flames in the Tagor Desert.

• Xiao Ding and Qing Lin waited anxiously until Xia Mo and Xiao Yan emerged from the magma unharmed.
• Xia Mo revealed that Queen Medusa had reached the Heavenly Flames first and showed Xiao Ding the Seven-Colored Snake Scales.
• Xiao Yan reassured Xiao Ding that they would try to take the Heavenly Flames from Queen Medusa, then said they would head into the Tagor Desert the next day.
• Qing Lin recalled the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake into her sleeve, and the group left the lava cavern through the tunnel.
• The group reached the surface, where Xiao Li welcomed them and explained that the heat had prevented his men from going farther down.
• Xiao Li's men filled in the hole, and the group headed toward Stone Desert City.

Xia Mo cultivated with energy returned by Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame and advanced to a three-star Dou Ling. The next morning, he left the Iron Mercenary Group's headquarters with Xiao Yan and Xiao Bai, promising Qing Lin that he would return and take her to the Imperial Capital.

• Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame returned a small portion of its refined energy to Xia Mo, who used it to cultivate throughout the day.
• Xia Mo's Monster Core advanced, making him a three-star Dou Ling.
• After dinner, Xiao Yan asked Xia Mo to prepare healing medicine for the Iron Mercenary Group, and Xia Mo agreed.
• Before sunrise, Xia Mo, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Bai prepared to leave while Zi Yan stayed behind.
• Xia Mo reassured Qing Lin that he would return, told her to stay with Zi Yan, and asked the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake to protect her.
• Qing Lin watched Xia Mo's group disappear and softly asked him to come back.