Chapter Summaries

Hun Ruoruo continued secretly modifying the Misty Cloud Sect’s formation while Yun Leng pressed her to complete her Soul Hall mission. She then offered Nalan Yanran a chance to face the power of the Third Young Master’s move, which Hun Ruoruo claimed she could use herself.

• Hun Ruoruo studied the Cloud-Veiling Sun-Covering Formation and prepared to add a Reversal Array before Yun Leng interrupted her.
• Yun Leng warned Hun Ruoruo not to delay her mission, and she assured him she would complete it by the three-month deadline.
• Hun Ruoruo left Yun Leng and went to watch Nalan Yanran practice her Wind Spirit Fractal Sword.
• Hun Ruoruo criticized Nalan Yanran’s technique and asked whether she knew about the Third Young Master’s performance at Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment.
• Nalan Yanran admitted she wanted to understand the Third Young Master’s power, and Hun Ruoruo said she could use his move despite not learning it from Elder Frost.

Hun Ruoruo demonstrated a seemingly Earth-tier Dou Technique to show Nalan Yanran how powerful Xiao Yan was, then offered her sinister techniques when Nalan insisted she still wanted to fight him. The chapter ended with Hun Ruoruo asking whether Nalan’s Soul Force differed from that of ordinary people.

• Nalan Yanran agreed to watch Hun Ruoruo demonstrate a technique, after Hun accepted Candied Hawthorn as tuition.
• Hun Ruoruo used two water waves to destroy a wooden post and convinced Nalan that Xiao Yan had access to powerful techniques.
• Nalan Yanran said she still intended to fight Xiao Yan and accepted that she would bear the consequences of her choices.
• Hun Ruoruo teased Nalan about becoming Xiao Yan’s maid and offered her a selection of vicious, low-grade Earth-tier Dou Techniques.
• Nalan Yanran rejected the sinister techniques, and Hun Ruoruo asked whether her Soul Force was unusual.

Hun Ruoruo planted a Soul Seal in Nalan Yanran to advance her plans within the Misty Cloud Sect, then prepared for a breakthrough to Dou Emperor. Xiao Yan learned that Qingshan Town was his next training stop and set out from Wutan City, bound for the Tagor Desert and the Green Lotus Core Flame.

• Hun Ruoruo exploited Nalan Yanran's strong Soul Force to plant a Soul Seal, leaving her unconscious in the View Pavilion.
• Hun Ruoruo prepared for her long-awaited breakthrough to Dou Emperor by compressing the Dou Qi in her body.
• Xiao Yan told Old Man Yao that Hun Ruoruo had not returned, and Old Man Yao advised him to travel to Qingshan Town before heading toward the Tagor Desert.
• Xiao Yan agreed to leave Wutan City the next morning to improve his strength before pursuing the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Xiao Yan said goodbye to Xiao Zhan, then headed toward the residential district to see someone before departing.

Xiao Yan left Wutan City to train, determined to grow stronger before the Three-Year Pact and to find out why Hun Ruoruo had left without saying goodbye. He headed toward Qingshan Town carrying the Mysterious Black Ruler, with Old Man Yao warning that he would not intervene unless Xiao Yan faced mortal danger.

• Xun'er asked Xiao Yan whether he was leaving to train with An Ruoruo, then accidentally revealed Ruoruo's surname before hurrying away.
• Xiao Yan reassured Xun'er that he needed to become stronger, teased her with a secret, and left the Xiao Family.
• Xiao Yan asked Old Man Yao whether Ruoruo would return, and Old Man Yao reminded him that she had promised they would meet again.
• Old Man Yao teased Xiao Yan about Xun'er's jealousy and feelings for him, while Xiao Yan struggled to respond.
• Xiao Yan traveled toward Qingshan Town with the Mysterious Black Ruler and Qi Replenishing Pills, while Old Man Yao refused to help unless his life was in danger.
• Xiao Yan vowed to find Ruoruo and ask why she had left without saying goodbye.

Xiao Yan arrived in Qingshan Town, learned about its factions, and secretly obtained a rare medicinal ingredient before setting out alone for the Monster Beast Mountain Range. He entered the forest after disguising his scent and headed deeper into the mountains.

• Xiao Yan explored Qingshan Town and ignored mercenaries who mocked the Mysterious Black Ruler he carried.
• Xiao Yan visited the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, recognized a rare Blood Lotus Essence, and paid extra to question a clerk about the town.
• The clerk explained Qingshan Town’s factions and introduced Xiao Yan to the reputation of the physician Xiao Yi Xian.
• Xiao Yan avoided the crowd gathered to see Xiao Yi Xian and chose to enter the Monster Beast Mountain Range alone rather than join a party.
• Xiao Yan smeared Bitter Grass juice on himself and ventured deeper into the forest.

While hunting in the forest, Xiao Yan discovered that the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame could detect Magical Beasts with Magic Cores. He encountered Xiao Yi Xian near a mercenary camp and, after saving her from a fall, confronted her when she tried to attack him with a pouch of powder.

• Xiao Yan used the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame to locate and collect a Magical Beast’s Magic Core, realizing the flame could sense beasts that possessed them.
• Xiao Yan spotted a merchant caravan and mercenaries near the forest and investigated their camp from cover.
• Xiao Yan found Xiao Yi Xian hanging from a cliff and pulled her to safety.
• Xiao Yi Xian gave Xiao Yan a White Orchid Fruit and tried to leave, but Xiao Yan questioned why she had hidden from him.
• Xiao Yi Xian pulled out a pouch of powdered medicine, and Xiao Yan seized her wrist and demanded to know what she was hiding.

Xiao Yan discovered that Xiao Yi Xian had been hiding a cave beneath a cliff and agreed to explore it with her. As they descended together, her teasing about a girl he liked provoked him into tightening his hold around her, leaving her embarrassed and angry.

• Xiao Yan found that the medicine Xiao Yi Xian had dropped was a sleeping drug, then made her explain that she had been searching for a route to a cave beneath the cliff.
• Xiao Yan insisted Xiao Yi Xian lead him to the cave and claimed the larger share of any treasure they found.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian secured a rope at the cliff top and began climbing down, but Xiao Yi Xian could not see where to place her feet in the darkness.
• Xiao Yi Xian asked Xiao Yan to catch her, and she leaned against him as he held her while they descended.
• Xiao Yi Xian teased Xiao Yan about having a girl he liked, so he tightened his hold around her and threatened to throw her down if she moved.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian explored a cave containing a fallen expert’s legacy, where Xiao Yan protected her from a Rock Snake and revealed his ability to spot hidden traps. They reached a Stone Gate, and Xiao Yi Xian began searching for its mechanism while Xiao Yan let her take the lead.

• Xiao Yi Xian entered the cave ahead of Xiao Yan and was ambushed by a Rock Snake.
• Xiao Yan killed the Rock Snake with his Blood-red Flame and collected its Magic Crystal, shocking Xiao Yi Xian.
• Xiao Yan spotted a hidden trap by tossing a pebble, then guided Xiao Yi Xian through the dangerous passage.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian reached a Stone Gate blocking the cave, and Xiao Yi Xian offered to find its mechanism herself.
• Xiao Yan agreed to let Xiao Yi Xian handle the mechanism and quietly compared her words to Ruoruo’s.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian opened a hidden cave in the ruins, where they found medicinal treasures and three Stone Boxes. Xiao Yan discovered a mysterious map and a Flying Dou Technique, then heard footsteps outside and saw Xiao Yi Xian react with shock.

• Xiao Yi Xian opened the Stone Gate, and Xiao Yan found a large Medicine Garden inside the cave.
• Xiao Yan took the Ice Spirit Flame Grass and found an Incomplete Map on the Withered Bone that stirred the Void Spirit Devouring Flame.
• Xiao Yan gave Xiao Yi Xian a Poison Scripture from the first Stone Box.
• Xiao Yan discovered the Flying Dou Technique Eagle's Wing in the second Stone Box and kept its contents secret.
• Xiao Yan heard footsteps outside the cave and told Xiao Yi Xian someone might have come to pick her up; Xiao Yi Xian exclaimed that it was impossible.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian were cornered in the cave by Mu Li and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, but Xiao Yan killed them all and erased the evidence. Xiao Yi Xian summoned her flying beast Xiao Lan to take them away, and she learned Xiao Yan’s name as they prepared to leave.

• Mu Li revealed that he had followed Xiao Yi Xian to the cave after learning about it from her assistant, then ordered his mercenaries to surround her and Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yi Xian offered Mu Li the treasure in exchange for sparing Xiao Yan and quietly urged Xiao Yan to escape and seek help from the Myriad Medicine Pavilion.
• Xiao Yan killed a mercenary with poison, then used the Heavy Ruler to slaughter the attacking mercenaries and killed Mu Li.
• Xiao Yan burned the corpses and blood with Evil Flame, and Xiao Yi Xian thanked him before they left the cave area.
• Xiao Yi Xian summoned her flying beast Xiao Lan, learned Xiao Yan’s name, and offered him a ride.

Xiao Yan parted from Xiao Yi Xian and learned from Old Man Yao that feeding Magic Cores to the Myriad Beast Flame could restore the Void Spirit Devouring Flame. He realized that strengthening it beyond the Void Child Flame would require a great many Magic Cores.

• Xiao Yan teased Xiao Yi Xian before asking whether the Wolf Head Mercenary Group would cause her trouble, and she said her ties to the Myriad Medicine Pavilion protected her.
• Xiao Yi Xian offered Xiao Yan the medicine bottles from the ruins, but he kept only a few and gave her the rest in a Storage Ring.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian said goodbye, with Xiao Yan heading to the Monster Beast Mountain Range and Xiao Yi Xian returning to camp.
• Old Man Yao warned Xiao Yan not to treat the Monster Beast Mountain Range like an easy training ground and explained that collecting Magic Cores was its main purpose.
• Old Man Yao told Xiao Yan that feeding Magic Cores to the Myriad Beast Flame would strengthen the Void Spirit Devouring Flame, leaving Xiao Yan concerned about how long the process would take.

Xiao Yan refined the Purple Cloud Eagle’s Beast Soul to strengthen the Void Spirit Devouring Flame and then set his sights on hunting magical beasts near Qingshan Town. Two months later, Hun Ruoruo had nearly completed the Reversal Array and prepared to break through to the Dou Emperor realm before her Soul Hall mission deadline.

• Xiao Yan used the Void Spirit Devouring Flame to devour most of the Purple Cloud Eagle’s Beast Soul, then recovered fragments to preserve the spirituality of his Purple Cloud Wings.
• Xiao Yan cultivated the Purple Cloud Wings and found that the Beast Soul had strengthened the Void Spirit Devouring Flame and improved the circulation of his Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan asked Old Man Yao about the magical beasts near Qingshan Town, then prepared to hunt them and feed their Magic Cores to the flame.
• Two months later, Hun Ruoruo reviewed the nearly completed Reversal Array and decided to focus on breaking through to the Dou Emperor realm before her first Soul Hall mission deadline.
• Hun Ruoruo compressed the Dou Qi in her body and concluded that she could not stir it casually for the time being.

Hun Ruoruo trained Nalan Yanran in the Spirit Devouring Art while secretly preparing to use her for a scheme. Nalan Yanran believed the technique could help her defeat Xiao Yan, unaware that it strengthened Soul Force by devouring souls.

• Hun Ruoruo recalled how greedy Dou Ling cultivators had attacked her during a vulnerable breakthrough, and how she had used Soul Force to consume their souls.
• Nalan Yanran arrived at Hun Ruoruo’s Grotto-Heaven and began cultivating the Spirit Devouring Art, hoping to improve her chances against Xiao Yan.
• Nalan Yanran struggled to sense Heaven and Earth Energy, and Hun Ruoruo taunted her that her Soul Force was too weak to comprehend the technique alone.
• After Nalan Yanran resumed cultivating, Hun Ruoruo secretly planted a Reversal Array in her body and fed a weak Soul Light Cluster into her sea of consciousness.
• Hun Ruoruo revealed that the Spirit Devouring Art did not absorb Heaven and Earth Energy but instead required its user to devour other souls.

Nalan Yanran continued training under Hun Ruoruo, whose guidance rapidly improved her Soul Force and Dou Qi, while privately resenting Yanran’s happy life and admitting they were both bad people to someone. After Yanran demonstrated her growing strength at the Misty Cloud Sect training ground, her sword hummed, and she realized Yun Yun had emerged from seclusion.

• Nalan Yanran thanked Hun Ruoruo for helping her Soul Force and Dou Qi advance, then offered to ask Yun Yun for a favor in return.
• Hun Ruoruo declined to involve Yun Yun and, after Nalan Yanran left, envied her fulfilling life while thinking of how they were both bad people to someone.
• Nalan Yanran defeated Yun Cheng with a precise Thousand Wind Seal during a sparring session, impressing the observing disciples.
• Nalan Yanran heard the disciples praise her improved strength and felt relieved that they no longer compared her with Xiao Yan.
• Nalan Yanran sensed her sword humming and recognized that Yun Yun had emerged from seclusion.

After emerging from seclusion, Yun Yun reunited with Nalan Yanran and learned that Elder Frost had helped her disciple advance rapidly. Yun Yun then questioned Yun Shan about Yun Leng’s conduct, while Yun Leng reported Elder Frost’s lack of progress and secretly looked forward to claiming a Dou Wang soul.

• Nalan Yanran sensed Yun Yun’s return and hurried to meet her, revealing that she had reached Four-star Dou Master with Elder Frost’s help.
• Yun Yun gave Nalan Yanran a jade bottle containing the pill Gu He had prepared and told her to get into her best condition before taking it.
• Yun Yun flew to the suspended hall and asked Yun Shan about Yun Leng’s actions and his decision to recruit Elder Frost.
• Yun Shan told Yun Yun that recruiting Elder Frost had been his decision, then dismissed her and warned Yun Leng not to act rashly before the three-month deadline.
• Yun Leng complained to Yun Shan that Elder Frost had not acted, then privately anticipated gaining enough of a Nine-star Dou Wang soul to advance his cultivation.

Hun Ruoruo visited Nalan Mansion to continue Nalan Jie's detoxification, while teasing Nalan Yanran and telling Nalan Jie that his granddaughter was nearing another breakthrough. Once Nalan Jie was unconscious, Hun Ruoruo revealed her intention to seize his Dou Wang-level soul, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Hun Ruoruo teased Nalan Yanran on their way to Nalan Mansion, and Nalan Yanran embarrassed herself by seeming to talk to thin air.
• Nalan Yanran told the steward that Nalan Jie should prepare to receive Hun Ruoruo, then stayed outside to cultivate.
• Hun Ruoruo warned Nalan Jie not to circulate his Dou Qi during the final stage of detoxification and said Nalan Yanran was close to another breakthrough.
• Nalan Jie dismissed the servants, and Hun Ruoruo used Soul Water Dou Qi to put him to sleep and encase him in water.
• Hun Ruoruo showed malice toward the unconscious Nalan Jie and considered taking his soul to make up for the scarcity of Dou Wang-level souls.

Hun Ruoruo secretly placed a restriction in Nalan Jie while curing him, then learned Yun Yun had never left for the Monster Beast Mountain Range. Realizing her own actions had disrupted Xiao Yan’s future, she left in a hurry, while Nalan Yanran was left confused by her behavior.

• Hun Ruoruo placed a restriction in the unconscious Nalan Jie and planned to make his poison appear to return before collecting his soul.
• Nalan Su saw Hun Ruoruo off with Nalan Yanran and remarked that Yun Yun had been absent, prompting Nalan Yanran to reveal that her teacher had been cultivating in seclusion.
• Hun Ruoruo learned Yun Yun had never gone to seek Purple Spirit Crystal and realized her own dealings had helped Gu He obtain substitute ingredients, altering events in Xiao Yan’s future.
• Hun Ruoruo refused Nalan Yanran’s offer to ask Yun Yun for Purple Spirit Crystal and asked how long remained until the Three-Year Pact.
• Hun Ruoruo congratulated Nalan Yanran on Nalan Jie’s recovery and flew away, leaving Nalan Yanran baffled and wondering if she had gone to find her Third Young Master.

Hun Ruoruo discovered that she needed the Companion Purple Crystal Source to repair the Void Spirit Devouring Flame and pursue her breakthrough, so she went to bargain with the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King. The Lion King refused to trade the source and demanded her Shaping Pill instead, trapping her in the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

• Hun Ruoruo realized she had no substitute for the Companion Purple Crystal Source and that her unstable Dou Qi made a fight especially dangerous.
• Hun Ruoruo approached the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King and offered a Shaping Pill in exchange for Purple Spirit Crystal and the Companion Purple Crystal Source.
• The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King claimed it had no Companion Purple Crystal Source and offered five additional Purple Spirit Crystals instead.
• Hun Ruoruo turned to leave after refusing the alternative, prompting the Lion King to block her escape.
• The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King demanded that Hun Ruoruo surrender the Shaping Pill or die in the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

Hun Ruoruo revealed her overwhelming strength after the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King demanded her Shaping Pill. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan hunted Magic Cores in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, broke through to the Dou Shi realm, and learned that repairing the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame required far more resources.

• The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King threatened Hun Ruoruo for her Shaping Pill, but she unleashed a massive Water Blade and invited him to charge his ultimate.
• Xiao Yan ambushed an Earth Demon Beast that stole a Magic Core, then recovered two Magic Cores from its ashes.
• Xiao Yan explained that two months of hunting had helped him reach the Dou Shi realm but had barely repaired the Void Spirit Devouring Flame.
• Old Man Yao said the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame needed many more Beast Souls and suggested Xiao Yan ask Ruoruo for high-level Magic Cores.

Xiao Yan followed a terrifying disturbance to the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King’s cave at Old Man Yao’s urgent command. There he found the bloodied Black-skirted Girl, who recognized him as the Third Young Master.

• Xiao Yan rejected Old Man Yao’s suggestion to rely on Guan Ruoruo for a high-tier Magic Core.
• A furious roar and immense Dou Qi swept through the forest, and Old Man Yao identified the presence of the Sixth-tier Purple Crystal Winged Lion King.
• Old Man Yao ordered Xiao Yan to investigate, then returned to the ring without explaining himself.
• Xiao Yan flew toward the disturbance, found the Magical Beasts fleeing, and cautiously climbed to the cave.
• Xiao Yan spotted the injured Black-skirted Girl inside the cave, and she recognized him as the Third Young Master.