Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan and his companions secured Nether Old Ghost’s puppet secret art, supplies, and directions to a dangerous Poisonous Marsh in the southwest. As they began the journey with Yinger leading the way, Xiao Yan suddenly felt his cultivation breakthrough approaching.

• Xiao Yan treated Nether Old Ghost’s poison while Lion King sealed the hall and contained the rapidly strengthening puppet.
• After the puppet attacked Xiao Yi Xian, Nether Old Ghost agreed to compensate her with a Human Skin Scroll, a Storage Ring of poisons, and information about a poisonous marsh.
• Nether Old Ghost introduced Yinger as their guide, and Xiao Yan’s companions set out toward the Poisonous Marsh with her flying ahead of Lion King.
• Medusa noticed that Xiao Yan’s soul and flame auras had weakened, and suspected he was refining the protector’s soul essence.
• Xiao Yan explained that Xiao Yi Xian should absorb and seal poison for the group, then the party began its long journey.
• Xiao Yan suddenly sensed a breakthrough and sat down as the aura of his Dou Ling Peak cultivation fluctuated.

Xiao Yan broke through to Dou Wang, demonstrated the power of his Purple Cloud Wings, and revealed that his abilities could range from Dou Ling to Dou Emperor. After reaching Corpse Gu City in the Ten Thousand Scorpion Mountain Range, he considered raiding the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect’s treasury, but Yinger warned him against it and suggested trading with Centipede Sky Mansion instead.

• Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian learned that Xiao Yan’s breakthrough had only brought his Dou Qi realm to Dou Ling, and Medusa struggled with the realization that his earlier strength had seemed much greater.
• Xiao Yan advanced to Dou Wang, discovered that his Dou Qi could heal his injuries, and used the Purple Cloud Wings to fly and unleash a spectacular spread of Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan concealed his cultivation again and explained that his power could be considered anywhere from Dou Ling to Dou Emperor, leaving Medusa astonished.
• Medusa argued that strength earned respect, and Xiao Yan briefly pretended to examine her before revealing that he had only been testing her obedience.
• Yinger led the group to Corpse Gu City and explained its connection to Centipede Sky Mansion and the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect.
• Xiao Yan considered raiding the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect’s mountain headquarters, but Yinger warned that its allied factions could retaliate and recommended trading with Centipede Sky Mansion.

Xiao Yan visited Corpse Gu City with Yinger, Medusa, and the Lion King, drawing the attention of Centipede Sky Mansion and its leader, Wu Ya. At the auction house, Xiao Yan deliberately demanded rare Ice Spirit Flame Grass, and Wu Ya appeared to handle the request while testing the group.

• Yinger warned Xiao Yan that the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect's Xie Bi Yan was a powerful three-star Dou Zong, but the Lion King dismissed the danger and Yinger escorted the group into the city.
• A man watching from a statue sent a centipede to report the outsiders' arrival, worried that they might affect the balance of power in Chuyun.
• Yinger brought Xiao Yan's group to Centipede Sky Mansion's auction house, where Medusa sensed a hidden watcher who Xiao Yan identified as Wu Ya.
• Xiao Yan demanded ten portions of Ice Spirit Flame Grass, then instructed the auction house manager to split a single stalk with extraordinary precision.
• Wu Ya emerged, used the power of heaven and earth to pin the manager in place, and ordered him to fetch the medicine before greeting Medusa and Yinger.
• Wu Ya split the Ice Spirit Flame Grass into two portions with a flick of his fingers and presented it to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan exposed Wu Ya’s fake Ice Spirit Flame Grass and fought him in Corpse Gu City, with Medusa helping him survive the counterattack. After defeating Wu Ya, Xiao Yan set his sights on the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect, while Medusa proposed that they exchange Essence Blood.

• Xiao Yan refined the Ice Spirit Flame Grass into two unrelated medicinal liquids, provoking Wu Ya into threatening him and Medusa.
• Medusa immobilized Wu Ya while Xiao Yan struck him with a Fire Lotus, and her Heaven Swallowing Python technique absorbed the blast’s energy.
• Wu Ya survived by using a secret technique, but Xiao Yan defeated him with Flame Splitting Wave Ruler and Eight Extremities Collapse.
• Medusa tasted Xiao Yan’s blood and suggested they exchange Essence Blood for mutual benefit, leaving Xiao Yan wary and uncertain.
• The Lion King brought captured Dou Wangs to Xiao Yan and reported they could lead the group into the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect, so Xiao Yan ordered them to attack its stronghold.

Xiao Yan fought the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion in the Ten Thousand Scorpion Mountain Range, surviving its deadly counterattack while Medusa intercepted the poison beam. As members of the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect rushed toward them, Xiao Yan and his companions prepared for the next confrontation.

• Xiao Yan, Medusa, and Xiao Yi Xian traveled through the poisonous mountain ravine, where the toxins avoided Xiao Yi Xian and Medusa absorbed them without difficulty.
• Xiao Yan attacked the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion with Flame Splitting Wave Slash: Buddha's Wrath and Fire Lotuses, badly burning the beast.
• The wounded Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion fired a deadly beam at Xiao Yan, who used his soul technique to shove himself out of its path as Medusa blocked the attack with her scaled palm.
• Xiao Yi Xian declined to absorb the poison corroding Medusa's hand, and Xiao Yan promised to prepare pills to improve her strength.
• Several powerful members of the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect arrived, and Xiao Yan explained that he had been holding back to lure Xie Bi Yan into a trap.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian searched the depths of Mountain Valley for the source of its poison and triggered an eruption of poisonous energy. They discovered naturally formed gu worms in the resulting Poisonous Marsh and began collecting them before the energy dispersed.

• Xiao Yan left Medusa to handle their enemies and carried Xiao Yi Xian into Mountain Valley, urging her to release the aura of her Woeful Poison Body.
• Xiao Yi Xian sensed a source of poison beneath the ground, and Xiao Yan used the Green Lotus Core Flame and lotus platform to draw it upward.
• The underground energy erupted, blasting Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian back toward the top of Mountain Valley and flooding the area with poisonous liquid.
• Xiao Yan identified wormlike creatures in the Poisonous Marsh as naturally formed gu worm embryos that could invade minds and consume flesh.
• Xiao Yan sealed a Living Corpse Gu in a jade bottle and told Xiao Yi Xian the gu worms could serve as nourishment for her Woeful Poison Body.

Xie Bi Yan learned that outsiders had killed Wu Ya and left to investigate, while Xiao Yan and his companions trained in a poisonous marsh. Xiao Yan realized that fusing Heavenly Flames could leave him dangerously out of control and warned Xiao Yi Xian to stay calm if something happened.

• Xie Bi Yan received a message about Wu Ya's death and learned outsiders were involved, then left Xie Shan to guard the sect while he went to investigate.
• Xiao Yan urged Medusa to consume the poisonous sludge and Spirit Gu to strengthen herself, but she refused.
• Xiao Yan immersed himself in the Poisonous Marsh to temper his body, enduring severe corrosion as his flesh repeatedly regenerated.
• Xiao Yi Xian ate a Spirit Gu and found that it converted into purer Dou Qi, while Medusa remained unwilling to try the sludge.
• Xiao Yan worried that combining Heavenly Flames could overwhelm his mind and decided his companions, especially the Lion King, must stay away.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Yi Xian that a future event might test their bond and asked her to stay calm when it happened.

Xie Bi Yan returned to the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect and found it deserted, only to be ambushed by Medusa and the Lion King. After breaking their seals and enduring Medusa’s powerful devouring attack, he unleashed the Blood Soul Resolution to transform and regain his strength, leaving the battle poised to escalate.

• Xie Bi Yan arrived at the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect and found its mountain base empty, with purple patterns covering the buildings.
• The Lion King ambushed Xie Bi Yan with the Amethyst Seal as Medusa attacked, and the seal weakened his cultivation.
• Xie Bi Yan broke the seal at the cost of some Dou Qi, then fought Medusa and the Lion King inside the purple crystal barrier.
• Medusa transformed into a rainbow serpent and tried to devour Xie Bi Yan, forcing him to sacrifice part of the Blood Demon Scorpion Emperor’s soul to escape.
• After the explosion shattered the barrier and injured Medusa, Xie Bi Yan activated the Blood Soul Resolution and transformed into a powerful scorpion-like form.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian prepared a massive flame-and-poison trap to defeat Xie Bi Yan, who was battling Medusa and the Lion King. The explosion devastated the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect grounds, and the survivors found Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian stunned by its force.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian made hundreds of ice crystals containing flames and poisonous blood to use against Xie Bi Yan.
• Medusa kept Xie Bi Yan occupied while the Lion King blocked his attacks and pressured him with the Amethyst Seal.
• Xiao Yan sent a Storage Ring filled with the prepared crystals into Xie Bi Yan's poison cloud, then sheltered with Xiao Yi Xian beneath the Black Demon Cauldron.
• The crystals exploded in a vast blast that consumed Xie Bi Yan and flattened the remaining sect ruins.
• Medusa and the Lion King found Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian alive but dazed, and Medusa helped Xiao Yi Xian recover.

Xiao Yan and his companions defeated Xie Bi Yan, searched the remains for treasures, and discussed the threat of another Dou Zong tied to the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect. When Tie Hufa contacted Xie Bi Yan’s Storage Ring, he saw Xiao Yan instead and demanded to know who they were.

• Xiao Yan recovered Xie Bi Yan’s surviving flesh and soul remnants, identified the Blood Soul Resolution, and took the Storage Ring and most of its contents.
• Xiao Yan told Yinger that the mysterious Dou Zong was headed to the Tianxin Empire and would likely not return for five years.
• Yinger offered the Chuyun Empire’s resources in exchange for Xiao Yan’s help, but Xiao Yan refused to build a faction and told her to relay his terms to Nether Old.
• Xiao Yan gave Yinger a small Fire Lotus to show Nether Old, then Tie Hufa’s soul projection appeared from Xie Bi Yan’s Storage Ring and asked who Xiao Yan and the others were.

Xiao Yan bluffed Tie Hufa into believing that he and his companions served Wu Ying, then asked him to register them as Soul Envoys. Tie Hufa agreed to find them a higher-ranking patron, while Xiao Yan planned to hurry to Heavenly Heart Stream to seek a Heavenly Flame; at the Northwest Branch Hall, a powerful Hufa examined the information and was stunned by Xiao Yan’s abilities.

• Tie Hufa questioned Xiao Yan about Xie Bi Yan’s Storage Ring, and Xiao Yan claimed that he and his companions were Wu Ying’s subordinates who had defeated Xie Bi Yan.
• Xiao Yan impressed Tie Hufa with claims about his alchemy, physical training, and poison-master studies, then showed him Wu Ying’s protector token.
• Tie Hufa agreed to register the group as Soul Envoys and offered to attach them to someone more influential than Wu Ying.
• After Tie Hufa’s phantom departed, Xiao Yan decided to prioritize searching for a Heavenly Flame at Heavenly Heart Stream and worried he was running out of time.
• At the Northwest Branch Hall, an eight-star Dou Zong Hufa nearly attacked Tie Hufa over his quota before hearing that he had come to register a Soul Envoy.
• Tie Hufa presented Xiao Yan’s information, and the Hufa who had dismissed the idea of a remarkable talent from the Northwest Continent reconsidered.

Xiao Yan bluffed Tie Hufa into believing that he and his companions served the Hall of Souls, then persuaded him to register them as Soul Envoys. Tie Hufa brought their case to a powerful Heaven-grade protector, who was stunned by the genius Xiao Yan’s profile.

• Tie Hufa questioned Xiao Yan about Xie Bi Yan’s Storage Ring, and Xiao Yan claimed they had eliminated Xie Bi Yan as agents of Wu Ying.
• Xiao Yan presented Wu Ying’s hufa token and described his talents, convincing Tie Hufa that he was a promising subordinate.
• Tie Hufa agreed to register Xiao Yan and his companions as Soul Envoys and promised to find them a stronger backer.
• Tie Hufa arrived at the Northwest Branch Hall, where an Eight-Star Dou Zong nearly attacked him before he explained that he had completed his quota and needed to register a Soul Envoy.
• The Heaven-grade protector examined Tie Hufa’s information about Xiao Yan and realized that she had underestimated the talent emerging from the Northwest Continent.

The Hall of Souls investigated Yan Xiao’s exceptional talent, and Hun Miesheng approved his promotion and a trove of cultivation resources. Xiao Yan received the order and gifts, leaving him torn between fearing the Hall of Souls and being tempted by its generosity.

• The Hall of Souls figure persuaded Tie Hufa to report Yan Xiao’s talent upward, and summoned a Venerable to investigate.
• Lord Star-Plucking sent Qing Hai to respond to the summons while Blood River slaughtered a hidden sect to collect soul origin for the Hall of Souls.
• Hun Miesheng reviewed the report on Xiao Yan, ordered Blood River to oversee matters in the northwest, and granted Xiao Yan a chance.
• Xue He and Old Ghost Zhai Xing exaggerated Xiao Yan’s age and planned to inflate his treatment to protect themselves if his talent disappointed.
• Tie Hufa visited Xiao Yan and delivered his promotion to Earth Grade Protector, along with cultivation time, pill recipes, and Dou Techniques.

Xiao Yan’s group encountered a poisonous Spirit Body, which his Heavenly Flames destroyed, and continued toward the poisonous marsh. Along the way, he gave Medusa a Blood Fire method and fire seed, endured the pain of her refining it, and prepared Xiao Yi Xian to manage her Woeful Poison Body.

• The Lion King sealed a poisonous cloud in a crystal, but Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Flames burned the Spirit Body inside it away.
• Xiao Yan sent Yinger to find a safe place to wait while he and the others continued toward the poisonous marsh.
• Xiao Yan gave Medusa Blood Fire Body Refining and a condensed Blood Fire seed, which she swallowed and began refining.
• Xiao Yan suffered intense pain as Medusa refined the fire seed, and Xiao Yi Xian dulled it by feeding him poisonous blood.
• Xiao Yan gave Xiao Yi Xian a sealed Sub-fire to help cleanse the deadly poison whenever she released her Woeful Poison Body.

Xiao Yan and his companions struggled through the increasingly toxic Poisonous Marsh while searching for the Netherworld Poison Fire. He devised torpedoes and a cauldron trap to explore and handle threats, just as Yao Lao woke and questioned where his cauldron had gone.

• Xiao Yan and the Lion King found that the marsh's poison was overwhelming their defenses, and Medusa explained that poison masters endured it by gambling away their lives.
• The group encountered a sixth-rank magical beast, which retreated after sensing the Lion King's roar, while Xiao Yan noted that Xiao Yi Xian was asleep after consuming too much poison.
• Medusa asked how Xiao Yan would locate the Netherworld Poison Fire, and he used a gu-controlled eel carrying a Fire Lotus to probe suspected locations beneath the mud.
• Xiao Yan cleaved through the poisonous fog with Heavenly Flames, then baited approaching poison clouds toward the Black Demon Cauldron and had the Lion King crystallize them with an Amethyst Seal.
• Yao Lao woke and asked Xiao Yan where the cauldron he had left in the Storage Ring had gone.

Xiao Yan and his companions encountered the Netherworld Poison Fire beneath the Muddy Marsh, and Yao Lao used the Bone Chilling Flame to defeat it. Afterward, Yao Lao explained that the Bone Chilling Flame had once devoured souls and flames, while the origin of its human-shaped spirit remained uncertain.

• Xiao Yan noticed that the eruption beneath the Muddy Marsh had not revealed the Netherworld Poison Fire’s location, while Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian questioned his careful cleaning of the Black Demon Cauldron.
• Xiao Yan sensed a threat, and Yao Lao possessed his body and used his Soul Power to find the Netherworld Poison Fire lurking underground.
• The Netherworld Poison Fire attacked Medusa and Lion King, but Yao Lao redirected its poisonous stream and trapped the fire spirit inside a spatial cauldron.
• Yao Lao sent the Bone Chilling Flame to freeze and consume the Netherworld Poison Fire, though the technique left him drained.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that the Bone Chilling Flame had once cultivated by devouring souls and flame seeds, and he was unsure where its human-shaped spirit had come from.

Xiao Yan endured the Netherworld Poison Fire’s lethal poison and began refining it, while Yao Lao planned for his future cultivation. As he uncovered old soul fragments within the flame, Xiao Yan found evidence that the Soul Clan had reached the Northwest Continent centuries earlier and may have hunted Xiao Clan descendants there.

• Yao Lao loaded the Black Demon Cauldron with medicinal ingredients and Fen Blood to help Xiao Yan withstand refining the Netherworld Poison Fire, while the Lion King exhausted himself preparing crystals for the lord.
• Xiao Yan swallowed the Netherworld Poison Fire, but its poison rapidly rotted his organs until he drank concentrated medicinal liquid and used the Flame Mantra to bring the flame under control.
• Yao Lao shielded Xiao Yan as he refined the poison, anticipated a major cultivation breakthrough, and considered how to obtain the Fallen Heart Flame from Jia Nan Academy.
• Xiao Yan learned to guide the flame’s Poison Gas through his meridians and discovered transparent soul fragments embedded in its fire seed.
• Xiao Yan examined the fragments and glimpsed black-robed figures whose power had once forced the Chuyun Empire to submit.
• Xiao Yan recognized the figures’ aura as belonging to the Soul Clan and suspected they had either pursued the Xiao Clan after its destruction or discovered and wiped out Xiao Clan descendants in the Northwest Continent.

Xiao Yan began fusing his Heavenly Flames to evolve the Flame Mantra, but the fusion’s overwhelming effects left him unable to control himself. Xiao Yi Xian entered Yao Lao’s barrier to help him, while Medusa prepared a powerful strike outside.

• Xiao Yan hesitated to fuse the Heavenly Flames until Yao Lao urged him to act and claimed he had a way to deal with the side effects.
• Xiao Yan swallowed the flame seeds and began the fusion, releasing an aura that strengthened the Lion King and triggered Xiao Yi Xian’s Woeful Poison Body.
• As the fusion overwhelmed Xiao Yan, Yao Lao sealed him inside a powerful barrier and left him to handle the crisis himself.
• Xiao Yi Xian entered the barrier and bit Xiao Yan to stabilize her consciousness, while Medusa remained outside, unable to break through.
• After hearing screams and receiving no reply, Medusa unleashed her High Di Class Devouring Heaven Sword at the barrier.

Xiao Yan stabilized the fused blue Heavenly Flame, considered ways to use it in combat, and named it the Azure Fall Lotus Heart Flame. He then found a black jade fragment through which he activated a hidden Soul Imprint, while Xiao Yi Xian wondered whether her Poison Body could amplify Dou Techniques.

• Xiao Yan gave Medusa pills to restore her depleted blood and qi, while both avoided discussing what Medusa had glimpsed inside the curtain of flame.
• Xiao Yi Xian inhaled the poison aura from Xiao Yan and asked for a strand of Sub-fire, so Xiao Yan told her to build her tolerance and rely on pills before he would consider it.
• Xiao Yan shaped the fused Heavenly Flame into a lotus, asked Yao Lao about sound-based techniques, and decided to obtain the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations before going to Canaan.
• Xiao Yi Xian drew poison from a mercenary's wound as Xiao Yan emerged and took the black jade fragment the mercenary had offered a stall owner.
• Xiao Yan gave the mercenary a Storage Ring, then used Azure Fall Flame to activate the fragment's buried Soul Imprint and discussed developing a Dou Technique for Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Yan tested the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations, discovered that golden energy in his chest could interfere with it and resemble a weak Dou Di bloodline, then reached the power of a three-star Dou Emperor by using the Azure Fall Lotus Heart Transformation. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi Xian advanced to Dou Wang by consuming pills, though her body struggled to bear the rapid cultivation.

• Yao Lao explained his past attempt to obtain Burning Flame Valley's Three Mysterious Transformations, and Xiao Yan activated its Amethyst Transformation to rise to the peak of Dou Wang.
• Golden energy in Xiao Yan's chest disrupted the technique, so Yao Lao helped stabilize him and asked him to activate it again with a weaker flame.
• Xiao Yan guided the golden energy out of his body, and Yao Lao compared its effects to a weak Dou Di bloodline and considered its potential as a clan mark.
• Xiao Yan used the Azure Fall Lotus Heart Transformation and the Three Mysterious Transformations together, reaching the strength of a three-star Dou Emperor.
• Yao Lao asked Xiao Yan to practice alchemy with his new flame, and Xiao Yan chose to start with low-grade ingredients to avoid damaging the Black Demon Cauldron.
• Xiao Yi Xian reached Dou Wang after consuming many pills, but she felt pain from the strain on her body and meridians.