Chapter Summaries

Nalan Yanran confronted Hun Ruoruo about the fake Elder Council and their false relationship, learning that Hun Ruoruo had indeed trained her so she could challenge Xiao Yan. As Nalan Yanran left to spend time with her Teacher before a journey, she revealed that the destination was the Tagor Desert, unsettling Hun Ruoruo.

• Nalan Yanran reasoned that Yun Leng's claim about the Elder Council was false, and Hun Ruoruo's reaction confirmed her suspicion.
• Nalan Yanran accused Hun Ruoruo of using her, and Hun Ruoruo admitted she had helped strengthen her as a whetstone for Xiao Yan.
• Nalan Yanran said she would defeat Xiao Yan in the Three-Year Pact and ask him about Hun Ruoruo's purpose.
• Nalan Yanran explained she planned to spend the next few days with her Teacher before her Teacher's journey.
• Nalan Yanran told Hun Ruoruo that her Teacher was going to the Tagor Desert, leaving Hun Ruoruo visibly uneasy.

Xiao Yan helped Xiao Yi Xian manage her poison constitution while advancing his cultivation and Disguise Dou Technique in the valley. Xiao Yi Xian explained why she called Ruoruo “Water Girl,” leaving Xiao Yan wondering about the title and asking whether she had ever told Xiao Yi Xian her name.

• Xiao Yan agreed to refine a poison pill for Xiao Yi Xian and used Heavenly Flames to help her control her poison technique.
• Xiao Yan's cultivation surged with the help of Magic Cores and Companion Purple Crystal Source Hun Ruoruo had given him, and he practiced the Disguise Dou Technique.
• Old Man Yao teased Xiao Yan about the women's clothes Ruoruo had left among his belongings, and Xiao Yan sent him back into the Storage Ring.
• Xiao Yan went to the grass hut and spoke with Xiao Yi Xian, who asked why he practiced a yin-natured Dou Technique.
• Xiao Yi Xian said Ruoruo had never told her her name, so she had called her Water Girl, and asked Xiao Yan whether he would reveal it.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian discussed Ruoruo’s name and their impressions of her before talking about their impending separation. Xiao Yi Xian planned to travel to the dangerous Chu Yun Empire to grow stronger, while Xiao Yan prepared to leave and was teased about seeking Water Girl.

• Xiao Yi Xian asked Xiao Yan about Ruoruo’s name, and he explained that she had likely called Xiao Yi Xian Nameless because Xiao Yi Xian had not introduced herself first.
• Xiao Yi Xian teased Xiao Yan into revealing Ruoruo’s name, and he said someone had once told him her surname might be An.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian shared a quiet moment before he said he might soon leave the valley.
• Xiao Yi Xian said she planned to go to the Chu Yun Empire to grow stronger and repay those who had helped her, then joked that she might catch up to Water Girl.
• Xiao Yi Xian teased Xiao Yan about leaving to find Water Girl, shocking Old Man Yao, who had been listening from Xiao Yan’s ring.

Xiao Yi Xian teased Xiao Yan until he admitted he could not bear the thought of Ruoruo being with another man, and convinced him that he had a chance with her. Xiao Yan resolved to work hard for a future with her, then abruptly retreated to his room and said he was heading to the Tagor Desert to seek a Heavenly Flame.

• Xiao Yi Xian told Xiao Yan that he was secretly in love with Ruoruo, while he denied it and checked his face in a mirror.
• Xiao Yi Xian asked how Xiao Yan would feel if Ruoruo were held by another man, and Xiao Yan admitted he could not stand it.
• Xiao Yi Xian argued that Ruoruo cared about Xiao Yan's opinion and that their closeness gave him a chance with her.
• Xiao Yan said he would work hard and worried about giving Ruoruo the life she deserved.
• Xiao Yan said he was going to the Tagor Desert to seek a Heavenly Flame, then shut the door and left Xiao Yi Xian to worry that he might reveal her words to Ruoruo.

After Xiao Yi Xian confessed her feelings, Xiao Yan confronted his own love for Ruoruo and the fear she had planted in him through Jia Lie Ao’s death. He resolved to help Ruoruo and committed himself to training before the journey to the Tagor Desert.

• Xiao Yan admitted to Old Man Yao that Xiao Yi Xian’s direct confession had left him confused and restless.
• Old Man Yao pointed out that Xiao Yan still could not let go of Ruoruo and reminded him of Jia Lie Ao’s death.
• Xiao Yan recalled how Ruoruo had manipulated Jia Lie Ao’s death to plant fear in him, burying his feelings for her.
• Old Man Yao suggested Ruoruo might not understand true friendship and warned that her Soul Dou Technique could have unknown side effects.
• Xiao Yan decided to help Ruoruo, and Old Man Yao told him to keep cultivating before they set out for the Tagor Desert in half a month.

Pill King Gu He prepared to lead a powerful group from the Misty Cloud Sect into the Tagor Desert to seek a Heavenly Flame from Queen Medusa. The group waited for a mysterious expert, who arrived at the end and introduced herself as Shuang.

• Gu He warned his disciple Liu Ling to focus on his Alchemy training and promised him a wisp of Heavenly Flame if the expedition succeeded.
• Gu He left the Alchemy Hall and joined Yun Yun, Yan Shi, and other powerful experts who were preparing to enter the Tagor Desert.
• Gu He explained that Queen Medusa might resist their negotiations and said he had recruited another expert to strengthen their group.
• Yan Shi guessed that Gu He had invited Hai Bodong, but Gu He did not reveal the recruit's identity.
• A black-robed woman arrived and introduced herself as Shuang of the Misty Cloud Sect.

Hun Ruoruo, disguised as Elder Shuang, joined Gu He's expedition to the Tagor Desert and revealed that her strength matched Yun Yun's, earning the group's trust. She persuaded them to wait five days before approaching the Snake People, while secretly knowing the timing would leave them too late to claim the Heavenly Flames.

• Yan Shi teased Gu He about Elder Shuang, and Hun Ruoruo warned him that her strength was comparable to Yun Yun's.
• Yan Shi realized Elder Shuang was a Dou Emperor and nervously apologized for his teasing.
• Yun Yun, Hun Ruoruo, Gu He, and the other experts traveled for nearly three days before reaching the Tagor Desert and stopping outside the city to rest and gather information.
• Feng Li worried that Queen Medusa might absorb the Heavenly Flames while the group waited, but Hun Ruoruo explained that the snake people could not refine them easily.
• Hun Ruoruo advised the group to wait five days and approach the Snake People Holy City when the Fire Element was weakest, and Gu He's party agreed.
• Hun Ruoruo privately recognized that Queen Medusa or Xiao Yan would claim the Heavenly Flames before Gu He's group arrived.

Hun Ruoruo traveled to Mo City to find a map seller while concealing her Soul Hall affiliation and preparing to recruit more allies against the hidden Protector. She found the quiet Ancient Maps shop and asked its startled owner about a map floating in the air.

• Hun Ruoruo and the other experts agreed on a rendezvous point before splitting up to gather intelligence on the Snake People Tribe.
• Hun Ruoruo reflected that her Soul Robe and disguise technique would conceal her identity, and decided to seek more allies because she feared the four-star Dou Zong Protector.
• Hun Ruoruo entered Mo City, observed the desert customs, and searched several streets for a map shop.
• Hun Ruoruo found the Ancient Maps shop, where an old map floated in midair and startled the old shopkeeper.
• Hun Ruoruo appeared before the counter and asked the old man whether he sold the floating map.

Hun Ruoruo visited the Ice Emperor's map shop and unsettled him with her concealment and tricks, leading him to reveal his icy power and surrender the map. After removing her hood, she scolded him for refusing to sell it and crushing her scorpion.

• Hun Ruoruo asked to buy a map, but the old shopkeeper snatched it and warned her to leave.
• Hun Ruoruo revealed that she had swapped the map in his hand for a poison scorpion and recovered the map herself.
• The old shopkeeper unleashed his Ice Field, but Hun Ruoruo recognized him as the Ice Emperor and casually admired the display.
• The Ice Emperor gave up and offered Hun Ruoruo the map after realizing he could not afford to offend her.
• Hun Ruoruo removed her hood and reprimanded the Ice Emperor for refusing to sell the map and killing her pet scorpion.

Hun Ruoruo negotiated with Hai Bodong for his two halves of an Incomplete Map by promising help breaking his seal. She left him believing Xiao Yan would personally refine the required pill.

• Hun Ruoruo persuaded Hai Bodong to move their negotiation into the back room of his shop.
• Hai Bodong proposed trading the Incomplete Map for help from an Alchemist capable of breaking his seal.
• Hun Ruoruo pointed out that Hai Bodong had split the map in two and demanded both halves for the deal.
• Hai Bodong agreed to offer both halves after Hun Ruoruo reassured him he would not suffer a loss.
• Hun Ruoruo revealed that her Young Master could refine the pill and told Hai Bodong to find him.

Hun Ruoruo reassured Hai Bodong that Xiao Yan was a powerful alchemist with a Heavenly Flame and left him the fragmentary map and a jade bottle. The next day, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian reached Mo City on their way to the Tagor Desert, where Xiao Yan planned to complete his cultivation for the Three-Year Pact.

• Hun Ruoruo told Hai Bodong that Xiao Yan would soon arrive in Mo City and warned him not to try to deceive her Young Master.
• Hun Ruoruo described how Hai Bodong could recognize Xiao Yan, returned the fragmentary map, left a jade bottle, and vanished from the chamber.
• Hai Bodong realized Hun Ruoruo had noticed that he had split the map and examined the jade bottle she left behind.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian arrived in Mo City, and Xiao Yan used his new Alchemist Badge to enter the city easily.
• Xiao Yan asked Old Man Yao whether they should head straight into the Tagor Desert, and Old Man Yao warned him about getting lost or dying of thirst.

Xiao Yan prepared for a training journey into the Tagor Desert and unexpectedly found another fragment of an ancient map. The mapmaker Hai Bodong recognized Xiao Yan and eagerly agreed to sell it to him.

• Old Man Yao advised Xiao Yan to buy maps and water for his upcoming desert training, and Xiao Yan set aside thoughts of Xiao Yi Xian to prepare.
• Xiao Yan bought waterskins, medicinal ingredients, and antidotes, then followed locals' recommendations to a quiet map shop.
• While browsing the shop, Xiao Yan found a second fragment of the incomplete map and asked the mapmaker Hai Bodong about it.
• Hai Bodong scrutinized Xiao Yan, mistook him for a dangerous young master, and offered the fragment after Xiao Yan asked to buy it.
• Hai Bodong immediately agreed to sell the map fragment, leaving Xiao Yan puzzled by his behavior.

Xiao Yan traveled through the desert toward the Snake People Tribe’s Holy City while cultivating and searching for Heavenly Flames. At an oasis, he entered a lake to wash and encountered a naked woman swimming there.

• Xiao Yan questioned Old Man Yao about the strange shopkeeper, but Old Man Yao dismissed his suspicions and urged him to prepare for the journey.
• Xiao Yan cultivated while traveling through the desert, conserving water by avoiding his Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan visited the Desert Iron Mercenary Group in Shimo City, caught up with his brothers, and left after a night of heavy drinking.
• Xiao Yan reached an oasis near the Snake People Tribe’s Holy City and slipped past the patrols to bathe in its lake.
• A woman surfaced in the lake and surprised Xiao Yan, who shut his eyes and lamented that Ruoruo had left him no longer pure.

Xiao Yan was caught bathing by a Snake Woman Dou Wang and tried to keep her occupied while waiting for help. Hun Ruoruo sensed the Snake Woman and arrived at the oasis, where she was shocked to see Xiao Yan and the woman nearly pressed together in the lake.

• Xiao Yan realized the Snake Woman was a Dou Wang and kept his eyes shut while pretending he had only come to bathe.
• Xiao Yan told Old Man Yao he wanted to kill the Snake Woman, but Old Man Yao said he could not help and urged him to stall her because others were approaching.
• The Snake Woman questioned Xiao Yan and teased him while he silently waited for rescue.
• Gu He’s group flew toward the Snake People Holy City, and Hun Ruoruo sensed a Dou Wang’s aura nearby.
• Hun Ruoruo left the group, reached the oasis, and secretly watched Xiao Yan and the Snake Woman in the lake.

Xiao Yan resisted Yue Mei’s attempt to capture him and fought back with his ruler and bloodline-suppressing flames. Hun Ruoruo emerged from hiding as a powerful black-robed expert, but interrupted Xiao Yan to tell Yue Mei to put on clothes.

• Yue Mei tried to coax Xiao Yan into staying with the Snake People, but he refused and said he loved someone else.
• Hun Ruoruo overheard Xiao Yan’s words and realized she had mistaken his encounter with Yue Mei for romantic interest.
• Yue Mei attacked Xiao Yan with her venomous tail, and he evaded it before fighting back with his Mysterious Black Ruler and Void Spirit Devouring Flame.
• Xiao Yan’s bloodline suppression startled Yue Mei, who recognized that he was not an ordinary human, but she still believed she could overpower him.
• Yue Mei sensed someone hiding in the bushes, and Hun Ruoruo appeared in a black robe as a Dou Emperor-level expert.
• Hun Ruoruo stopped Xiao Yan from addressing her and told Yue Mei to put on clothes.

Xiao Yan watched as a Black-Robed Woman confronted Yue Mei, a Snake People Commander, after interrupting them at the oasis. Yue Mei escaped to warn Queen Medusa, while Gu He and the others arrived and realized the Black-Robed Woman had provoked a dangerous confrontation.

• Xiao Yan hurriedly dressed after the Black-Robed Woman caught him naked with Yue Mei, then watched as she questioned the Snake Woman about being near Holy City.
• Yue Mei traded insults with the Black-Robed Woman and deliberately provoked her, hoping the distraction would help other snake people escape with news.
• The Black-Robed Woman used water-based Dou Qi to attack Yue Mei, who recognized her as a Water Attribute Dou Emperor and suspected there were others with her.
• Yue Mei broke through the water attack, sent a Little Snake to alert Queen Medusa, and vowed that the humans would not leave the desert alive.
• The Black-Robed Woman declared that she did not fear Queen Medusa, leaving Gu He and the others, who had just arrived, dumbfounded.

Xiao Yan watched Elder Frost overpower Yue Mei as Gu He and his group arrived, realizing that they were likely pursuing the Heavenly Flame too. Elder Frost exposed Xiao Yan’s presence and, despite his attempt to leave, made him accompany the group to their negotiations with Queen Medusa while carrying the unconscious Yue Mei.

• Xiao Yan concluded that Gu He’s group had come to discuss important matters with Queen Medusa and might also be seeking the Heavenly Flame.
• Elder Frost used a wave of force to knock Yue Mei unconscious, causing her to revert into a small snake.
• Elder Frost called Xiao Yan out of the woods, and Gu He recognized his unusually strong Soul Force and suspected he was an Alchemist.
• Elder Frost teased Xiao Yan about being Yue Mei’s male pet, leading Gu He to warn him against serving the Snake People Tribe.
• When Xiao Yan tried to leave, Elder Frost tossed the unconscious Yue Mei and her clothing to him and insisted he accompany the group to their negotiations with Queen Medusa.

Xiao Yan traveled with Gu He's powerful party toward the Snake People Holy City, where Yun Yun and Gu He assessed the enemy's ambush and the Snake People's defenses. Just as Xiao Yan hoped to escape the coming fight, the Black-Robed Woman took him along because his Snake Woman Commander could serve as a bargaining chip.

• Xiao Yan learned that Gu He's party included several formidable experts and grew wary of their strength and Gu He's ability to detect his exchanges with Old Man Yao.
• Xiao Yan questioned Yan Shi about the Black-Robed Woman, and Yan Shi said she was mysterious and that he had not known she was an expert of such power.
• Yun Yun sensed a strong ambush ahead, while a Dou Ling blamed Xiao Yan for the leaked news; Yun Yun silenced the complaints and explained that the Snake People's forces might be spread thin.
• Gu He confirmed that most Snake People gathered near the Holy City belonged to only three Commander tribes, and Yun Yun led the party onward to hold off Queen Medusa and seize the Heavenly Flame.
• The Black-Robed Woman seized Xiao Yan and carried him toward the Holy City, intending to use his Snake Woman Commander as a bargaining chip.

Xiao Yan and the Black-Robed Woman accompanied Gu He’s group to the Snake People Holy City to negotiate with Queen Medusa. As the negotiations began, Xiao Yan resisted Medusa’s charms and spoke of the woman he loved, leaving the Black-Robed Woman unexpectedly unsettled.

• Xiao Yan pleaded with the Black-Robed Woman to spare him and hand over the Snake Woman, but she silenced him and carried him toward the Snake People Holy City.
• Yun Yun noticed the Snake People had fortified their fortress with troops and ballistae, while the Black-Robed Woman sent Gu He and the others to negotiate and kept Xiao Yan with her.
• The Black-Robed Woman told Xiao Yan to spend time with the Snake Woman in case the negotiations failed, and Xiao Yan secretly considered using her anger to escape.
• Gu He called for Queen Medusa to appear, and she materialized above the fortress walls before Xiao Yan could look away from her beauty.
• The Black-Robed Woman teased Xiao Yan about admiring Medusa, and he explained that he avoided looking because he was devoted to someone who had never seen him as a toad, leaving her awkwardly surprised.

Hun Ruoruo attacked Queen Medusa after Gu He’s attempt to trade for the Heavenly Flame failed. She destroyed Medusa’s body in one strike, then challenged an unseen opponent to talk.

• Hun Ruoruo wondered why Xiao Yan’s feelings for Xun'er bothered her, while Xiao Yan gave up trying to speak with her.
• Gu He offered Queen Medusa two Dou Ling Pills and a Seventh-Grade Shaping Pill in exchange for the Heavenly Flame.
• Queen Medusa refused the trade and threatened to kill Gu He’s group if Yue Mei was harmed.
• Hun Ruoruo explained to Xiao Yan that Queen Medusa might have a variable capable of breaking the balance, then suddenly attacked her.
• Hun Ruoruo severed Queen Medusa’s head with a Water Blade, destroying her body, and demanded that the unseen opponent talk.