Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan secretly retrieved the Sound Valley Secret Token from the dungeon and left a disguised replacement, while Mo Yi stayed behind to protect the imprisoned disciples. Outside, Protector Ying brought Venerable Qinghai to meet Xiao Yan, and the chapter ended with Ying Mo bewildered after hearing them converse as if the meeting had gone smoothly.

• Xiao Yan realized Protector Ying had likely misled him about who knew of Sound Valley, but Mo Yi insisted he could not leave because he had to protect the 382 imprisoned disciples.
• Mo Yi told Xiao Yan where the prisoners' belongings were stored and asked him to retrieve the Sound Valley Secret Token, then asked Xiao Yan to erase his memories before leaving.
• Xiao Yan used Protector Ying's Soul Token to enter the storage chamber, retrieved the Secret Token with his Spirit Realm soul, and replaced it with a disguised token.
• Xiao Yan left Mo Yi in the dungeon and returned to the main hall, where Heavenly Fire Venerable anxiously waited as Venerable Qinghai approached with Protector Ying.
• Protector Ying tried to delay Venerable Qinghai from reaching Xiao Yan, but Qinghai insisted on meeting him and walked into the room.
• Protector Ying heard Xiao Yan and Venerable Qinghai speaking pleasantly, then stood stunned, unable to understand how events had taken such an unexpected turn.

Xiao Yan received the Heavenly Protector token from Venerable Qinghai, then learned that Protector Ying had secretly planned his actions to help Sound Valley. Protector Ying revealed his identity as Mo Ying and sacrificed himself after the Soul Seal began eroding his soul, leaving Xiao Yan with his Storage Ring and a charge to revive Sound Valley.

• Venerable Qinghai promoted Xiao Yan to Heavenly Protector and allowed him to choose whether to establish a Soul Hall or join a branch hall.
• After leaving the branch hall, Xiao Yan confronted Protector Ying for manipulating him and unleashed Black Flame against the circling crows.
• Protector Ying revealed that his true name was Mo Ying, that he served Soul Hall as a Sound Valley member, and that he had used the threat of his soul's self-destruction to protect Xiao Yan.
• Mo Ying's Soul Seal began eroding his soul, and he gave Xiao Yan his Storage Ring before urging him to revive Sound Valley.
• Mo Ying tore off his Soul Robe and let the crows devour him, calling on them to taste his blood vengeance.

After burying Protector Ying, Xiao Yan was urged by Heavenly Fire Venerable to preserve his life and help rebuild Sound Valley by recruiting members, so he set out for the Four Pavilion Grand Competition. Meanwhile, Hun Ruoruo awaited him and showed Old Man Yao a secret Tier 6 pill she had prepared to make Xiao Yan confess the truth.

• Xiao Yan buried Protector Ying's Soul Robe, and Heavenly Fire Venerable reflected on karma and warned Xiao Yan to restrain his impulses to protect those who depended on him.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable argued that Sound Valley's urgent need was to add new members, and Xiao Yan eagerly agreed to depart for the Four Pavilion Grand Competition.
• Hun Ruoruo wondered whether Xiao Yan would reach the competition and recalled failing to recognize him when he had disguised himself as a Protector.
• Old Man Yao visited Hun Ruoruo, who said she could refine Tier 6 Medicinal Pills and credited her progress to an unusual shortcut.
• Hun Ruoruo handed Old Man Yao a jade bottle containing a pill she had prepared as a meeting gift for Xiao Yan, intending to make him tell the truth.

Venerable Feng brought Hun Ruoruo and Mu Qingluan to the Four Pavilion Grand Competition, where Hun Ruoruo's arrival drew attention. When a man questioned her strength and insinuated she had risen through improper means, a black-robed figure killed him in front of the crowd and slipped away.

• Venerable Feng advised Mu Qingluan to become more capable of making judgments for herself, and Hun Ruoruo encouraged Qingluan by hinting at her recent progress.
• Venerable Feng arrived with Hun Ruoruo and Mu Qingluan at Wind Thunder Pavilion's East Pavilion for the competition.
• The crowd praised Hun Ruoruo, but a sinister-looking man questioned her strength and suggested she had reached her position through improper means.
• A ghostly shadow struck the man between the brows, killing him and sending the crowd into a panic.
• A black-robed figure brushed past the arriving enforcement personnel and dismissed the dead man as an idiot.

Hun Ruoruo attended the Four Pavilion Grand Competition but declined to compete, prompting Venerable Feng to defend her against Venerable Huangquan. As contestants gathered, a black-robed man tried to attack Xiao Yan but recognized him as Lin Yan.

• Venerable Jian and Venerable Lei praised Hun Ruoruo, while Venerable Huangquan suggested Wang Chen could win the competition and seek a match with her.
• Venerable Lei announced the start of the Four Pavilion Grand Competition, and the contestants entered the arena without Hun Ruoruo.
• Venerable Huangquan mocked Venerable Feng for keeping Hun Ruoruo out of the contest, and Venerable Feng threatened him for insulting his disciple.
• Venerable Jian learned that Hun Ruoruo called Venerable Feng her Martial Uncle and asked whom she favored; she said she did not know whether that person would come.
• A black-robed man approached Xiao Yan intending to attack him, then recognized him as Lin Yan and stopped his punch in shock.

Xiao Yan reunited with Lin Yan at the Four Pavilion Grand Competition and teamed up with him to clear out contestants while concealing his identity. Their conspicuous performance drew Ruoruo’s attention and provoked Wang Chen, whom Xiao Yan knocked out of the arena.

• Xiao Yan dragged Lin Yan back, revealed himself with the Falling Heart Flame, and learned Lin Yan had entered the competition to build connections.
• Lin Yan offered Xiao Yan his qualifying slot, but Xiao Yan instead helped him target a rival contestant and strip him of his valuables.
• Xiao Yan secretly kicked contestants from the stage while Lin Yan dodged attacks with his strange movement technique, leaving only a small group in the arena.
• Ruoruo watched the two black-robed men, while Mu Qingluan wondered why Xiao Yan seemed familiar and Wang Chen grew hostile toward them.
• Wang Chen and other contestants cornered Lin Yan, but Xiao Yan used the Soul Illusion to evade the attack and kicked Wang Chen out of the arena.

Xiao Yan knocked Wang Chen out of the qualifiers, then confronted him after Wang Chen returned to the arena by exploiting a teammate’s withdrawal. Xiao Yan turned Wang Chen’s Power of Life and Death against him, leaving him shattered as Xiao Yan emerged from the ruins and met a distant gaze.

• Xiao Yan kicked Wang Chen out of the arena, and Mu Qingluan confirmed that the competition rules did not forbid cheating.
• Wang Chen accused Xiao Yan of cheating, then returned to the stage when a Yellow Springs Pavilion disciple withdrew and gave up his place.
• Xiao Yan asked Mu Qingluan about the rules for sparring and challenged Wang Chen over his attempt to kill Lin Yan and his interest in Hun Ruoruo.
• Wang Chen used his Power of Life and Death to envelop Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan’s vast vitality overwhelmed the Yin-Yang Fish and made it explode.
• The blast shattered Wang Chen’s body, and Xiao Yan emerged from the ruins holding him before meeting the gaze of someone across the arena.

Xiao Yan crippled Wang Chen and faced Venerable Huangquan’s attempt to punish him, while defending the competition’s rules. As Venerable Huangquan prepared to attack, Hun Ruoruo arrived and stood beside Xiao Yan.

• Venerable Huangquan demanded an explanation after Wang Chen’s cultivation was crippled, and Venerable Lei refused to shield Xiao Yan from the Yellow Springs Pavilion’s wrath.
• Venerable Huangquan threatened Xiao Yan and used his Dou Zun pressure to force the crowd to kneel, but Xiao Yan awakened Lin Yan with the Falling Heart Flame.
• Xiao Yan challenged Venerable Huangquan’s authority by appealing to the competition rules and asking the other Venerables whether lone cultivators were allowed to win.
• Venerable Huangquan demanded that Xiao Yan produce a faction he feared or surrender, while the injured Wang Chen taunted him.
• Hun Ruoruo defied Venerable Huangquan’s pressure, joined Xiao Yan, and held his black robe as they faced the Venerable together.

Hun Ruoruo rallied the other pavilions against Venerable Huangquan’s attempt to kill Xiao Yan, but Wang Chen then accused Xiao Yan of entering the competition without a slot. As Huangquan renewed his threat, Ruoruo revealed that Starfall Pavilion had prepared a surprise for Xiao Yan: the disciples hailed him as their Young Pavilion Master.

• Hun Ruoruo challenged Venerable Huangquan’s demand to kill Xiao Yan, and Mu Qingluan, Feng Qing'er, and Tang Ying joined her in opposing Yellow Springs Pavilion.
• Venerable Feng backed Hun Ruoruo’s position, forcing Venerable Huangquan to admit his misjudgment and begin withdrawing his threat.
• Wang Chen claimed Xiao Yan was not a registered contestant, and Venerable Lei confirmed that Xiao Yan did not appear to be one.
• Xiao Yan admitted to Hun Ruoruo that he had borrowed someone else’s competition slot, and she scolded him for leaving registration too late.
• As Venerable Huangquan threatened Xiao Yan again, Hun Ruoruo called for her prepared surprise, and Starfall Pavilion’s disciples proclaimed Xiao Yan their Young Pavilion Master.

Xiao Yan and Starfall Pavilion turned the Four Pavilion Grand Competition against Yellow Springs Pavilion, with Hun Ruoruo helping expose the opponent’s hypocrisy. After Starfall Pavilion won the championship, Xiao Yan teased Hun Ruoruo about her interest in his exploits, leaving both her and Mu Qingluan stunned.

• Lin Yan learned that Xiao Yan was Starfall Pavilion’s Young Pavilion Master, while Hun Ruoruo revealed she had staged the surprise and playfully embraced Xiao Yan.
• Venerable Huangquan challenged Xiao Yan’s appointment and accused him of breaking the competition rules, but Hun Ruoruo had a Starfall Pavilion disciple withdraw and take Xiao Yan’s place in the contest.
• Wang Chen fainted after Starfall Pavilion mirrored Yellow Springs Pavilion’s replacement tactic, and Venerable Huangquan left with him after agreeing to pay compensation under pressure from Venerable Feng and the other Dou Zuns.
• Xiao Yan used his Black-gold Flame to lead Starfall Pavilion to the championship after Yellow Springs Pavilion withdrew.
• At Wind Thunder Pavilion, Xiao Yan drank with the gathered disciples while Hun Ruoruo and Mu Qingluan asked about his exploits, and he invited Hun Ruoruo to sit on his thigh to hear the story.

At the Four Pavilion Conference banquet, Xiao Yan reunited with Hun Ruoruo and teased her into sitting on his lap before telling her what he knew about Sound Valley and her Mother. He presented the token honoring their old agreement, and Hun Ruoruo embraced him in response.

• Xiao Yan flirted with Hun Ruoruo at the banquet until she sat beside him on his lap, leaving Mu Qingluan stunned.
• Xiao Yan told Hun Ruoruo that he had learned information about her Mother and that Sound Valley’s hidden location might hold clues, though its people knew nothing of her whereabouts.
• Hun Ruoruo asked what had happened to Sound Valley, and Xiao Yan said its situation was not good.
• Xiao Yan showed Hun Ruoruo the ancient white token and said he had kept their agreement.
• Hun Ruoruo stood to shield them from view, pulled Xiao Yan into an embrace, and asked if he had felt human warmth yet.

Xiao Yan teased Hun Ruoruo about having children together to help rebuild Sound Valley, startling her into fleeing. Lin Yan and Mu Qingluan arrived just in time to overhear, and Hun Ruoruo threatened them into silence.

• Hun Ruoruo admitted she had grown jealous of other women who spent time with Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan said Sound Valley needed loyal core members and suggested that he and Hun Ruoruo could fill the gap by having children.
• Hun Ruoruo panicked at the thought of bearing Xiao Yan's children and tried to leave.
• Lin Yan and Mu Qingluan appeared and accidentally revealed that they had overheard the conversation.
• Hun Ruoruo warned Lin Yan not to spread what he had heard, and he collapsed in fear.

Lin Yan declined Hun Ruoruo’s offer to join Starfall Pavilion, while Xiao Yan reunited with his teacher, Old Man Yao. The reunion ended with Xiao Yan accidentally injuring Old Man Yao, who ordered him to have Hun Ruoruo purify his soul.

• Lin Yan praised Starfall Pavilion but refused Hun Ruoruo’s invitation to stay, saying he would not live off Xiao Yan or become his burden.
• Lin Yan teased Hun Ruoruo about wedding candy before joining Xiao Yan, and Hun Ruoruo wondered if happiness was within reach.
• Mu Qingluan took Lin Yan to a guest room while Hun Ruoruo led Xiao Yan to Venerable Feng’s chamber.
• Venerable Feng revealed that he was Xiao Yan’s martial uncle, and Old Man Yao appeared to greet his returning disciple.
• Xiao Yan hugged Old Man Yao and accidentally cracked his body, prompting Old Man Yao to order him to find Hun Ruoruo and have her purify his soul.

Hun Ruoruo treated Xiao Yan after he was injured and asked why his behavior had changed. Xiao Yan explained that Void Spirit Devouring Flame had eaten the memories of defeated Soul Bodies, and Hun Ruoruo ordered him to purify his soul.

• Hun Ruoruo tended to Xiao Yan's injured head and teased him for pretending to be pitiful.
• Hun Ruoruo asked what had made Xiao Yan change, and he named Void Spirit Devouring Flame as the cause.
• Xiao Yan explained that the flame had consumed Soul Light Clusters from Soul Bodies he killed while serving a temporary Soul Hall branch.
• Hun Ruoruo realized the flame had eaten the clusters out of hunger rather than deliberately influencing Xiao Yan's mind.
• Xiao Yan joked that the flame's appetite came from Hun Ruoruo, so she tugged at his face and ordered him to purify his soul.

Hun Ruoruo began the Spirit Ascension Technique while healing Xiao Yan’s face, and they discussed how their true selves and desires had changed. Xiao Yan realized he wanted to build a home with Hun Ruoruo, and the black fire vanished from his eyes.

• Hun Ruoruo reassured Xiao Yan that his corrupted soul had not changed who he truly was and began nourishing it with Soul Water.
• Hun Ruoruo healed Xiao Yan’s facial scars and explained that the scar on her wrist came from Soul Clan bloodline power.
• Xiao Yan asked why Hun Ruoruo seemed different after Spirit Ascension, and she said her true heart remained the same but what she wanted had changed.
• Hun Ruoruo asked Xiao Yan what he truly desired, and he realized that he wanted to protect her and create a home of their own.
• Xiao Yan stood up and declared that he wanted a home with Hun Ruoruo, and the black fire disappeared from his eyes.

Xiao Yan and Hun Ruoruo flirt in the Grotto-Heaven, where an Imprint Stone reveals his recorded confession and then exposes an embarrassing scene from his past. Hun Ruoruo’s teasing leaves Xiao Yan furious and flustered as the chapter ends with him warning that she is playing with fire.

• Hun Ruoruo asked whether Xiao Yan had recovered, and he told her the Void Spirit Devouring Flame had purified much of the resentment from the Soul Light Clusters.
• Hun Ruoruo made Xiao Yan choose between the version of her he could read and the one he could not, and he said he liked her exactly as she was.
• Hun Ruoruo played an Imprint Stone recording of Xiao Yan’s earlier confession, leaving him mortified while she accepted his words as proof of his sincerity.
• Hun Ruoruo gave Xiao Yan more Imprint Stones, but he activated one showing the Monster Beast Mountain Range, and they fell into the lotus pond while she tried to take it back.
• The Imprint Stone revealed Hun Ruoruo had recorded Xiao Yan emerging from a cave without clothes, and she admitted she had also put women’s clothes in his Storage Ring.
• Hun Ruoruo tried to appease Xiao Yan by letting her wet clothes slip from her shoulder, and he warned her that she was playing with fire.

Zi Yan learned that Xiao Yan had returned and decided to wait before visiting him, while Xiao Yan and Hun Ruoruo awkwardly reconciled after their earlier fight. Hun Ruoruo left Xiao Yan with her wet clothes to wash, and he eagerly accepted the task.

• Lin Yan told Zi Yan that Xiao Yan had returned to Starfall Pavilion, and she set out to find him.
• Lin Yan persuaded Zi Yan to wait until Xiao Yan left Hun Ruoruo's residence so she would not interrupt them.
• Xiao Yan and Hun Ruoruo exchanged worried glances, and Xiao Yan laughed when he realized she had been concerned about his injuries.
• Hun Ruoruo left the room to bathe after ordering Xiao Yan to clean the bedding.
• Hun Ruoruo tossed her wet clothes to Xiao Yan and teased him to finish the whole job, and he enthusiastically agreed to wash them.

Xiao Yan told Hun Ruoruo what he had learned about Sound Valley and the sacrifices made to find her mother. Ruoruo proposed that they build a home together after they saw her mother, regardless of the outcome.

• As Hun Ruoruo finished bathing, Xiao Yan reflected on her feelings for him and resolved to help her find her mother.
• Hun Ruoruo explained that she had hurried because she wanted to ask about her mother's whereabouts and teased Xiao Yan about his other self.
• Xiao Yan used the Cleansing Technique and recounted what he knew about Sound Valley, including Mo Yi and Protector Ying.
• Hun Ruoruo said she cared more about protecting those close to her than Sound Valley, but recognized that its burdens had become hers.
• Hun Ruoruo kissed Xiao Yan and asked him to build a home with her after they saw her mother, whatever the outcome.

Xiao Yan learned from Old Man Yao that Ruoruo may have loved him from the beginning, but he remained uneasy about her Bloodline Power and vowed to confront her father. Mu Qingluan then warned him that Yellow Springs Pavilion had allied with Ice River Valley to target Starfall Pavilion and demand Xiao Yi Xian.

• Old Man Yao advised Xiao Yan to train toward the eighth tier and give Senior Heavenly Fire the first chance at resurrection.
• Xiao Yan told Old Man Yao that Ruoruo had promised to start a family with him after they found his mother, and Old Man Yao suggested she had liked him all along.
• Xiao Yan reflected on Ruoruo's feelings and worried that her Bloodline Power could erupt despite the medicinal bath.
• Xiao Yan vowed to punch Ruoruo's father for the suffering he had caused her.
• Mu Qingluan told Xiao Yan that Yellow Springs Pavilion had submitted to Ice River Valley and that they planned to join forces against Starfall Pavilion and demand Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Yan learned that Ice River Valley had threatened Starfall Pavilion with all-out war unless it handed over Xiao Yi Xian, and he rejected the idea of treating her as a burden. The chapter left Xiao Yi Xian stunned by Xiao Yan’s casual claim that involving Water Girl made no difference.

• Mu Qingluan told Xiao Yan that Xiao Yi Xian had not joined Starfall Pavilion and that Ice River Valley’s hostility began after one of its members encountered her.
• Xiao Yan threatened to destroy Ice River Valley if its actions delayed his search for Sound Valley, then appeared in the crowded plaza.
• A disciple told Xiao Yan that Ice River Valley and its allies demanded Xiao Yi Xian within half a month or they would declare all-out war.
• Xiao Yan learned that most Starfall Pavilion disciples opposed risking conflict over Xiao Yi Xian, then went to speak with her.
• Xiao Yi Xian said they were friends and should not become each other’s subordinates, and Xiao Yan insisted that he did not see her as one.
• Xiao Yi Xian challenged Xiao Yan about involving Water Girl in everything, and his reply left her stunned.