Chapter Summaries

Half a month after leaving cultivation, Ling Li and Zi Yan accompanied Ya Fei to Cloud Mist Mountain, where Nalan Yanran prepared to become the Cloud Mist Sect’s young sect master on the day of her Three-Year Agreement with Xiao Yan. Ling Li recognized that the ceremony placed Xiao Yan in a difficult position and noticed a hostile Dou Zun watching him from the shadows.

• Ling Li and Zi Yan met Ya Fei outside the inn, and the three rode in her carriage to Cloud Mist Mountain.
• Ling Li arrived at the damaged Cloud Mist Sect plaza and saw its remaining disciples, elders, and Nalan Yanran awaiting her young sect master ceremony.
• Ling Li observed that Nalan Yanran had advanced from Dou Spirit to Dou Wang and appeared hardened by battle ahead of her agreement with Xiao Yan.
• Ling Li noticed Yun Yun’s Flower Sect ally, a two-star Dou Zun, and sensed another hostile Dou Zun concealed behind Nalan Yanran.
• Ling Li recognized Ling Ying’s aura and suspected that Gu Xun Er had come to Cloud Mist Mountain.

Ling Li attended Nalan Yanran’s Cloud Mist Sect succession ceremony and learned that Yun Yun was facing trouble after seeking help from the Flower Sect. Xiao Yan arrived to fulfill the Three-Year Agreement, and Nalan Yanran prepared to settle the matter before the assembled sect and regional powers.

• Ling Li greeted Nalan Yanran and Elder Mu, and Nalan Yanran said Yun Yun was occupied with urgent matters while Hua Ying urged her to ask Ling Li for help.
• Ling Li, Ya Fei, and Zi Yan joined Fa Ma, Nalan Jie, and Mu Chen atop an ironwood tree, where Mu Chen recounted the Three-Year Agreement and teased Nalan Jie.
• As Elder Mu began announcing Nalan Yanran’s succession, Ling Li sensed the arrivals of Xiao Yan and his companions, and Mu Chen taunted Nalan Jie about Xiao Yan’s Dou Spirit advancement.
• Xiao Yan entered the square and declared that he had come to fulfill the Three-Year Agreement, drawing the anger of the Cloud Mist Sect disciples.
• Nalan Yanran rose, introduced herself to Xiao Yan, and prepared to settle the matter once and for all.

Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan began their Three-Year Agreement duel before the gathered powers, with Elder Mu presiding. Nalan Yanran suppressed her strength to match Xiao Yan’s, and the chapter ended as she attacked and Xiao Yan countered with a crystal-armored punch.

• Elder Mu agreed to preside over the Three-Year Agreement, but Xiao Yan insisted that the duel be settled by life and death.
• Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan took their positions and drew their weapons: she wielded a pale-green sword, while he wore dark-red gauntlets made from the same source as the Black Heavy Ruler.
• Nalan Yanran revealed her killing intent and raised her aura to match Xiao Yan’s seven-star Dou Spirit level, astonishing the gathered factions.
• Nalan Yanran launched her Flower Sword technique, Swift Plum, and Xiao Yan prepared to counter with Earth Spirit? Mountain-Shaking!

Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran’s duel intensified when they revealed that they each wielded a Mysterious Flame. As their flames clashed across the square, Ling Li considered taking Xiao Yan’s flame but held back because powerful Dou Zuns were watching.

• Xiao Yan caught Nalan Yanran’s sword with his gauntlet and used the Volcanic Stone Flame to heat and grip the blade.
• Liu Qing and Lin Xiuya warned the crowd not to covet Xiao Yan’s Mysterious Flame, citing their families from the Central Continent.
• Nalan Yanran used her own Mysterious Flame, the Wind Dragon Fury Flame, to shape her petals into a flaming dragon and attack Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan countered with the Volcanic Stone Flame, and Hua Ying shielded the square from the shockwaves as the crowd recognized both flames.
• Ling Li considered taking Xiao Yan’s flame but decided the watching Dou Zuns and their factions made it too risky to act.

Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran fought to a standstill until Xiao Yan’s dwindling Dou Qi left him trapped at the plaza’s edge. Refusing to end the Three-Year Agreement, he suddenly surged to One-Star Dou Wang and struck Nalan Yanran into the defensive barrier.

• Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran exchanged powerful earth-based attacks and Flower Sect sword techniques, remaining evenly matched at first.
• After a quarter hour, Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi weakened while Nalan Yanran maintained her strength and forced him to the plaza’s edge.
• Nalan Yanran urged Xiao Yan to stop fighting and end their marriage contract and Three-Year Agreement, but he refused.
• Xiao Yan’s strength suddenly rose from Seven-Star Dou Spirit to One-Star Dou Wang as he absorbed energy from heaven and earth.
• Xiao Yan seized Nalan Yanran’s sword, hurled her away, and struck her with his flaming Sealing Mountain palm, sending her crashing into the defensive barrier.

Xiao Yan used a Life Devouring Pill to reach Dou Wang and challenged Nalan Yanran, but she outmatched him with her Flower Sect techniques. As Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran were about to clash decisively, Ling Li intervened and declared Xiao Yan the loser.

• Ling Li recognized that Xiao Yan had used a Life Devouring Pill, which temporarily granted Dou Wang strength but would kill him within three years unless he reached Dou Huang.
• Nalan Yanran stood by the Three-Year Agreement, raised her strength to one-star Dou Wang, and attacked Xiao Yan with Flower Intent Fractal Sword techniques.
• Nalan Yanran avoided Xiao Yan’s attacks in the air and struck him down, smashing the plaza and leaving him badly outmatched.
• As Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan prepared for a potentially fatal clash, Nalan Yanran briefly lost focus, and Ling Li appeared between them to block both attacks.
• Ling Li shielded Nalan Yanran from an incoming shadow and intercepted a spatial attack from the void before telling Xiao Yan that he had lost.

Ling Li stopped the Gu Clan Dou Zun from killing Nalan Yanran, and Nalan Yanran forced the Three-Year Agreement to end in a draw. Xiao Yan left Cloud Mist Mountain in despair, while Gu Xun Er attacked Ling Li and had her flames suppressed.

• Ling Li used Dark Night and the Dark Devouring Hand to stop the Gu Clan Dou Zun’s attack on Nalan Yanran, and the wounded Dou Zun fled as Hua Ying and Zi Yan pursued him.
• Nalan Yanran struck Xiao Yan with his own fist, stabbed him away from his vital points, and asked Elder Mu to end the match.
• Gu Xun Er attacked Ling Li, but he caught her fist and told Elder Mu to announce a draw and void the Three-Year Agreement.
• Xiao Yan left Cloud Mist Mountain repeating that he had lost, while Lin Xiuya, Mu Chen, and others followed him.
• Gu Xun Er used Flame Devouring against Ling Li, who sealed her meridians with the Yin Yang Twin Flames and extinguished her Golden Emperor Blazing Heaven Flame.

After Xiao Yan won the Three-Year Agreement, Ling Li and his companions left the Cloud Mist Sect with Gu Xun Er, while Gu Kui escaped and decided to abduct Xiao Zhan to secure the Tou She Ancient God Jade. Gu Kui succeeded briefly, but Star-Plucking Old Ghost attacked him and tore a phantom from his body.

• Ling Li knocked Gu Xun Er unconscious, and the Cloud Mist Sect's succession ceremony continued as Nalan Yanran left to treat her injuries.
• Zi Yan told Ling Li that Gu Kui had escaped into the Endless Sea, and she kicked Gu Xun Er unconscious again before Ling Li gave her medicine.
• Gu Kui emerged from the Endless Sea, mistook Ling Li for Hun Tiandi's avatar, and decided to abduct Xiao Zhan and claim the Tou She Ancient God Jade as a token of allegiance.
• The Xiao Family gathered in Pan City to await news of Xiao Yan's Three-Year Agreement, but Gu Kui suddenly appeared and abducted Xiao Zhan.
• Star-Plucking Old Ghost pierced Gu Kui with a black chain and pulled a phantom from his body into a soul pouch.

Star-Plucking Old Ghost captured Gu Kui, the Xiao Clan patriarch, and set out to claim credit from the Soul Hall. In Da Ling City, Ling Li and Ling Ying planned to exhaust Gu Xun Er’s Summoning Jade Slips, then learned Xiao Zhan had disappeared as Xiao Yan arrived seeking help.

• Star-Plucking Old Ghost collected Gu Kui’s body and decided to escort the Xiao Clan patriarch back to the Soul Hall, leaving the other Xiao Clan members for later.
• Ling Ying met Ling Li in Da Ling City and learned that Ling Li had reached Dou Zun and taken control of Starfall Pavilion.
• Ling Ying explained that Gu Xun Er had already used two Summoning Jade Slips, and Ling Li planned to lure her into using the last one.
• Ya Fei reported that Mu Chen and Xiao Yan had come to visit, and that Xiao Yan’s visit might concern Xiao Zhan’s disappearance three days earlier.
• Ling Li was startled to hear that Xiao Zhan had gone missing despite the Soul Hall Protectors’ departure from the northwest.

After Xiao Yan returned to the Xiao Family, he learned that Xiao Zhan had disappeared and asked Ling Li to find him. Ling Li took Xiao Yan’s Mysterious Flame and the power hidden in his severed fingertip, then revealed that the force behind Xun Er had abducted Xiao Zhan to obtain the ancient jade; Xiao Yan was left to decide whether to trust Ling Li with it.

• Xiao Yan returned to the Xiao Family with Mu Chen and Xiao Yu, learned Xiao Zhan had vanished, and went with Ling Li to explain what had happened.
• Ling Li told Xiao Yan that Xiao Zhan was probably in no immediate danger and offered to find him in exchange for payment.
• Xiao Yan gave Ling Li his Storage Ring and severed fingertip, and Ling Li took the Volcanic Stone Flame and gained Greed.
• Ling Li returned the Storage Ring, gave Xiao Yan two pills, and advised him to relocate the Xiao Family.
• Ling Li told Xiao Yan that the force behind Xun Er had taken Xiao Zhan to obtain the Tou She Ancient God Jade, then offered to test the jade if Xiao Yan handed it over.

Xiao Yan handed Ling Li the Tou She Ancient God Jade and asked him to spare Xun Er, while Xiao Yu mistakenly believed Xiao Yan had paid for Xiao Zhan’s rescue with his finger and the jade. Ling Li began a plan to force Xun Er to use her last Summoning Jade Slip, and Xiao Yu offered herself to him; the chapter ended with Xun Er asking Ling Ying to investigate outside.

• Xiao Yan gave Ling Li the Tou She Ancient God Jade and asked him not to make things difficult for Xun Er, while Ling Li made no promise to release her.
• Xiao Yan concealed the deal from Xiao Yu, who noticed his missing finger and the vanished jade and concluded he had paid Ling Li with both.
• Ling Li arranged for Zi Yan to watch Xun Er and for Ling Ying to feed her false information, while Ya Fei gathered ingredients for an Eighth-grade Pill.
• Xiao Yu came to Ling Li believing Xiao Yan’s payment had been insufficient and offered her body, which Ling Li accepted.
• Xun Er found herself under additional seals and, unable to use her Dou Qi or perception, asked Ling Ying to check what was happening outside.

Gu Xun Er tried to use her final Summoning Jade Slip to escape, but Ling Ying and Zi Yan had anticipated her plan and stopped it. The chapter ended with Zi Yan knocking Gu Xun Er unconscious and preparing to deal with her.

• Ling Ying let Gu Xun Er spy on Ling Li with Xiao Yu and Zi Yan, then Gu Xun Er used a Space Jade Slip that Zi Yan quickly disrupted.
• Over the next three days, Ling Li called Xiao Yu to accompany him each night while Gu Xun Er watched and waited for another chance to escape.
• Gu Xun Er sent Ling Ying away to scout, then crushed her last Summoning Jade Slip, but violet Dou Qi stopped the Space Channel from forming.
• Ling Ying revealed that Gu Xun Er had fallen into their trap, and she discovered that someone had removed the soul fragment she had planted in him.
• Zi Yan knocked Gu Xun Er unconscious and threatened to deal with her, while Ling Ying warned her not to kill Gu Yuan's daughter.

Gu Xun Er tried to tell Xiao Yan about the Devouring Spirit Clan, but instead stabbed him in the heart. The next morning, Xiao Yan gave Ling Li the Tou She Ancient God Jade and asked him to erase his memories of Xun Er before leaving with Xiao Yu and Mu Chen.

• Gu Xun Er escaped Ling Li's confinement and went to Xiao Yan, hoping he would pass a warning about the Devouring Spirit Clan to Gu Yuan.
• When Xiao Yan opened his door, Gu Xun Er attacked him with a dagger and stabbed him in the heart.
• The next morning, Xiao Yan arrived at Ling Li's residence with Xiao Yu and Mu Chen to say farewell.
• Xiao Yan handed Ling Li a piece of Tou She Ancient God Jade, explaining that the Xiao Family could not risk keeping it.
• Xiao Yan asked Ling Li to erase his memories of Gu Xun Er, and Ling Li removed a small piece of Xiao Yan's soul to do so.

Ling Li began refining the Eight Illusions Nirvana Pill for Queen Medusa after the missing ingredients were found, drawing alchemists and Hua Ying to Da Ling City. After nine days of work, he formed a Nascent Pill as dark clouds gathered overhead.

• Ya Fei told Ling Li that the Han Family had found the Crimson Dragon Scale Fruit and White Elk Frost Leaf, completing the ingredients needed for an Eighth-grade Pill.
• Hua Ying and Nalan Yanran arrived in Da Ling City, and Ling Li’s Soul Power freed the city’s residents from Hua Ying’s influence.
• Ling Li brought out the Black Demon Cauldron, prompting Hua Ying to suspect he had inherited Yao Chen’s legacy.
• Ling Li refined the eighty-eight supplementary ingredients and eight main ingredients, taking nine days to prepare their medicinal essences.
• Ling Li combined the medicinal essences with the Eight-Colored Raw Stone and condensed them into an eight-colored Nascent Pill, while dark clouds gathered above the plaza.

Ling Li completed the Eight Illusions Nirvana Pill after ten days of refining and subdued its pill beast with a Pill Binding Curse. He gave the pill to Queen Medusa to help her advance toward the Dou Zun realm, while Zi Yan and Little Doctor Fairy remained part of his plans to strengthen his allies.

• Ling Li finished refining the Eight Illusions Nirvana Pill, whose completion drew five-colored Pill Lightning and crushed onlookers beneath its pressure.
• Ling Li drew the Pill Lightning into the Dark Realm while concealing his method from the observers.
• The pill transformed into a squirrel-like beast, and Ling Li restrained it with a Pill Binding Curse before sealing it in a jade bottle.
• Ling Li gave the Eight Illusions Nirvana Pill to Queen Medusa and said its power could help her break through to the Dou Zun realm.
• Queen Medusa thanked Ling Li, and Zi Yan asked him for a pill too.

Ling Li learned how Yun Yun’s search for help at the Flower Sect unexpectedly led her to inherit its Sect Master position. As Hua Jin challenged Yun Yun’s authority, Ling Li realized Yun Yun had surrendered the Sect Master Jade Token and left herself at a disadvantage.

• Ling Li spoke with Hua Ying and Nalan Yanran after finishing several Eighth-grade Pills, while secretly observing Gu Xun Er’s slow attempts to break her seals.
• Nalan Yanran explained that the Flower Sect had made Yun Yun and her clean its grounds for a month instead of agreeing to help the Cloud Mist Sect.
• Yun Yun befriended a paralyzed elderly woman, treated her legs, and learned that she was Hua Yu, the Flower Sect’s Sect Master.
• Hua Yu gave Yun Yun the Sect Master Jade Token and required her to take the position before she could request Flower Sect aid against the Barbarian Tribe.
• Hua Jin challenged Yun Yun’s claim to the Sect Master position, and Yun Yun handed over the token when Hua Jin demanded it.
• Ling Li recognized that Yun Yun had surrendered her leverage and privately compared her handling of the dispute unfavorably with Queen Medusa’s.

Ling Li agreed to help Yun Yun face Hua Jin and spent the next month improving his strength while Queen Medusa broke through to the Fighting Venerable realm. He returned to Central Continent with Queen Medusa and Little Doctor Fairy, built a Space Channel linking Da Ling City to Starfall City, and saw five Starfall Pavilion disciples arrive through a spatial array.

• Nalan Yanran told Ling Li that Hua Jin planned to bring the Evil Flower Lord to fight Yun Yun, and Ling Li agreed to visit the Flower Sect after settling matters in the northwest.
• Ling Li trained Gu Xun Er while the Dark Realm absorbed energy, helping him advance to Fighting Venerable Three Stars.
• Queen Medusa refined an Eight Illusions Nirvana Pill, broke through to Fighting Venerable, and gained an Eight-colored Heaven Swallowing Python bloodline.
• Ling Li returned to Central Continent with Queen Medusa and Little Doctor Fairy, leaving Hai Bodong and Yue Mei to guard the northwest.
• Ling Li and his companions built a Space Channel from Da Ling City to Starfall City to reward Mercenary Guild members who earned enough contributions.
• Five Starfall Pavilion disciples appeared in midair through an array using the Heavenly Star Mountain Range's spatial magnetic field.

Ling Li brought Hua Ying and the others to Starfall Pavilion, where Yao Chen agreed to help with the Flower Sect’s crisis and proposed an alliance between the two sects. After Hua Ying provisionally accepted, Ling Li and a group including Yao Chen departed for the Flower Sect to support Yun Yun.

• Ling Li welcomed the Starfall Pavilion disciples and led Hua Ying and the women into the pavilion’s independent space.
• Yao Chen recognized Hua Ying as a Flower Sect elder and asked after the former Sect Master, Hua Yu.
• Ling Li had Nalan Yanran explain the Flower Sect’s situation, then asked Yao Chen to accompany them there.
• Yao Chen proposed an alliance between Starfall Pavilion and the Flower Sect, and Hua Ying provisionally agreed.
• Five days later, Ling Li, Yao Chen, Zi Yan, Little Doctor Fairy, Hua Ying, and Nalan Yanran set out for the Flower Sect through a Space Channel.

Yao Chen explained that the Calamity Poison Body came from the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body and offered Little Doctor Fairy two ways to regain the ability to become an alchemist. The second method required a Sacred Spirit Medicine Body from the Yao Clan, leaving Ling Li wary that Yao Chen meant to take revenge on his former clan.

• Yao Chen confirmed that Little Doctor Fairy had the Calamity Poison Body, and she said she would rather not have it.
• Yao Chen revealed that the Calamity Poison Body originated when a Sacred Spirit Medicine Body encountered poison, and that his research had caused the Yao Clan’s Sacred Spirit Medicine Bodies to transform.
• Yao Chen offered Little Doctor Fairy the choice of taking a Sacred Spirit Medicine Body or creating a Medicine Poison Sacred Body, but she rejected taking someone else’s body.
• Yao Chen described a method using a Sacred Spirit Medicine Body’s Medicine Pill, a Rank 8 Blood Merging Pill, and three Mysterious Flames to create the Medicine Poison Sacred Body.
• Ling Li deferred discussion until Little Doctor Fairy formed her Poison Pill and suspected Yao Chen wanted to use the method to settle his grudge against the Yao Clan.

Ling Li learned that the Netherworld Poison Flame might be in Ice River Valley and could help Little Doctor Fairy, then traveled with his companions to the Flower Sect. Hua Ying led them through the sect’s hidden Spatial Barrier, revealing its vast flower-filled realm and the defensive formation made from its precious blooms.

• Yao Chen told Ling Li that the Netherworld Poison Flame had been linked to the Calamity Poison Maiden of Luoshen Ravine and might have been taken by Ice Venerable of Ice River Valley.
• Ling Li and his group traveled for two days through a Space Channel to the northwestern Central Continent and followed Hua Ying into a mountain range.
• Hua Ying used a petal-shaped object to reveal the Flower Sect’s Spatial Barrier, and the group entered its concealed realm.
• Ling Li’s group saw the Flower Sect’s immense sea of flowers, which Yao Chen said had been cultivated over centuries by the Flower Saint.
• Zi Yan wanted to take some of the valuable flowers, but Hua Ying offered seeds and warned that the flowers formed a defensive array that could not be disturbed.