Chapter Summaries

Gu Long learned that Xiao Yan had killed Ya Ya’s grandfather and rescued the girl, who identified Xiao Yan as the killer. Gu Long arranged for Ya Ya to be cared for and trained while planning to use her testimony and the Dragon Domain’s records to expose Xiao Yan to Hu Gan.

• Gu Long received Zhou Yu’s report that Xiao Yan had killed a six-year-old girl’s grandfather and that a Dragon Domain patrol was bringing her to the Inner Academy.
• Gu Long welcomed Ya Ya, offered her food and water, and listened as she recounted Xiao Yan’s murder of her grandfather.
• Ya Ya described the killer’s appearance and yellow flames, confirming Xiao Yan’s identity, and vowed to take revenge.
• Gu Long arranged for Ya Ya to be cared for and taught basic cultivation so she could grow stronger.
• Gu Long decided to use Ya Ya’s testimony and the Dragon Domain’s evidence to reveal Xiao Yan’s crimes to Hu Gan.

Xiao Yan entered the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower to cultivate and broke through to Three-star Dou Grandmaster, but the Mysterious Yellow Flame inside him nearly spiraled out of control. Gu Long secretly observed Xiao Yan’s dangerous condition and chose to let his suffering continue as he prepared to use him as a pawn.

• Xiao Yan spent Fire Energy to enter the tower and, with Han Feng’s guidance, began cultivating in a first-floor room to break through to Three-star Dou Grandmaster.
• The Heart Fire aggravated Xiao Yan’s damaged meridians and stirred painful memories and violent emotions, but he suppressed them and broke through.
• The Mysterious Yellow Flame erupted from Xiao Yan’s body and rampaged through his unstable meridians, so Han Feng used his Soul Power to help contain it.
• Gu Long secretly examined Xiao Yan’s condition and concluded that the Heavenly Flame’s backlash could destroy him, but decided to wait and exploit his growing desperation.
• Xiao Yan forced the flame back under control, then began stabilizing his precarious new realm despite his pain and exhaustion.

As the Falling Heart Flame’s attacks threatened to break the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower’s seal, Gu Long offered to enter the tower’s base and suppress its intelligence while the Inner Academy reinforced the seal. Su Qian agreed, unaware that Gu Long intended to mark the flame as preparation for devouring it.

• Inner Academy Elders warned Su Qian that the seal was deteriorating and might fail within half a month.
• Gu Long told Su Qian that Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Flame had stirred the Falling Heart Flame by attracting its desire to devour a weaker kindred flame.
• Gu Long proposed using a Soul Array Formation near the seal’s core to put the Falling Heart Flame into temporary dormancy while the Elders repaired the seal.
• Su Qian agreed to seal off the tower and prepare the workers and materials, and Gu Long set his entry for the next day at noon.
• After Su Qian left, Gu Long revealed that he planned to analyze and mark the Falling Heart Flame so he could later devour it in a controlled setting.

Gu Long descended to the seal chamber beneath the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower and used his Imperial Command talent to subdue the rampaging Falling Heart Flame. He left it contained so the seal could be reinforced, while planning to harvest the flame later and anticipating Xiao Yan's next move against Han Feng.

• Su Qian led Gu Long to the lowest level of the tower, where the damaged seal strained to contain Falling Heart Flame.
• Falling Heart Flame sensed Gu Long and attacked him as a giant flaming dragon, but his Imperial Command pressure halted its charge.
• Gu Long ordered the flame to be quiet, and it retreated docilely to the pit, allowing the energy chains to stabilize.
• Gu Long left the flame alive to avoid provoking Jia Nan Academy and returned to tell Su Qian that it was temporarily subdued.
• Su Qian led the Elders into the tower to reinforce the seal, while Gu Long looked forward to what Xiao Yan might do to Han Feng.

Xiao Yan struggled to refine a Sixth Grade Earth Spirit Pill and, urged on by Han Feng, resolved to use the sinister Soul Devouring Pill Nurturing Art. Gu Long learned of the plan and began preparing a trap for Xiao Yan and Han Feng.

• After breaking through to four-star Da Dou Shi, Xiao Yan worried that his Peak Fourth Grade alchemy skills could not produce the Earth Spirit Pill needed to devour Falling Heart Flame.
• Han Feng proposed the Soul Devouring Pill Nurturing Art, which used a living being’s soul as fuel, and urged Xiao Yan to use a Dou Ling Expert as a “Medicine Guide.”
• Xiao Yan’s reluctance gave way to ruthless resolve as Han Feng invoked his humiliation and desire to surpass Gu Long.
• Xiao Yan repeatedly failed to refine Fifth Grade Pills, grew more frustrated, and concluded that he needed to return to the Black Corner Region to find resources and a suitable Medicine Guide.
• Gu Long learned from the Dragon Domain that Xiao Yan’s aura had grown sinister, recognized Han Feng’s technique, and began forming a trap for them.

After repeated failures refining pills, Xiao Yan followed Han Feng’s forbidden method and used Luo Bu’s soul to create an Earth Spirit Pill. He left the valley with the pill, unaware that a hidden observer had witnessed the killing.

• Xiao Yan agreed to use the Soul Devouring Pill Nurturing Art and chose Luo Bu, a fire-cultivating One-Star Dou Ling, as its target.
• Xiao Yan disguised himself as a wounded treasure carrier and lured Luo Bu and his mercenaries into a secluded valley.
• Han Feng’s Soul Power incapacitated the mercenaries while Xiao Yan subdued Luo Bu with his Mysterious Yellow Flame and Han Feng activated the Soul Devouring Formation.
• Xiao Yan extracted Luo Bu’s Soul Essence and used it with medicinal ingredients to refine an Earth Spirit Pill.
• Xiao Yan took the pill and left the valley, while an unseen figure appeared and recorded what had happened.

Xiao Yan used Han Feng’s Soul Devouring Pill Nurturing Art to hunt cultivators and refine Soul Pills, rapidly growing stronger while his soul and emotions deteriorated. Gu Long kept the killings secret and planned to expose Xiao Yan at the moment he believed he was closest to obtaining the Falling Heart Flame.

• Han Feng taught Xiao Yan more pill formulas, and Xiao Yan began hunting lone Dou Ling cultivators to use their souls and Dou Qi as ingredients.
• Xiao Yan refined and consumed Soul Pills, advancing to Seven Star Dou Grandmaster while suffering worsening pain, violent impulses, and a baleful aura.
• Xiao Yan sold Soul Pills through shady channels in the Black Corner Region and concealed his activities behind the appearance of an ordinary, struggling alchemist in the Inner Academy.
• Xiao Yan told Han Feng that his soul felt unstable, and Han Feng reassured him that devouring the Falling Heart Flame would purify its impurities.
• Gu Long reviewed Zhou Yu’s records of Xiao Yan’s victims and ordered the Dragon Domain to keep monitoring him rather than reveal the evidence yet.
• Gu Long told Zhou Yu to continue nurturing Ya Ya and planned to expose Xiao Yan to Jia Nan Academy when he was most confident of obtaining the Falling Heart Flame.

Qing Lin found Ya Ya grieving over her grandfather’s death and learned that Xiao Yan had killed him in front of her. She comforted Ya Ya, promised to care for her, and began helping her recover while recognizing that Ya Ya’s hatred might matter in the future.

• Qing Lin met Ya Ya crying alone in a courtyard at Dragon Domain Headquarters.
• Dragon Domain members said that Xiao Yan had killed Ya Ya’s grandfather in the Black Corner Region in front of her.
• Qing Lin embraced Ya Ya, listened to her grief, and promised to protect and care for her.
• Qing Lin brought Ya Ya to her residence, cleaned and dressed her, and cheered her up with food and stories.
• Qing Lin continued to support Ya Ya, who gradually showed more liveliness but still woke at night mourning her grandfather.

Xiao Yan used Soul Origin Pills and a High-Level Cultivation Room to force his breakthrough from Seven Star Dou Grandmaster to one-star Dou Ling, at the cost of worsening his bloodlust and unstable aura. He left determined to hunt stronger targets in the Black Corner Region, while Gu Long monitored his progress and considered setting a trap.

• Xiao Yan paid for thirty days in a High-Level Cultivation Room and swallowed Soul Origin Pills to accelerate his cultivation despite their dangerous effects.
• With Han Feng helping suppress the remnant souls and stabilize his Dou Qi, Xiao Yan broke through to Eight Star and then Nine Star Dou Grandmaster.
• Xiao Yan consumed his last two Soul Origin Pills and, with Han Feng's guidance and the Mysterious Yellow Flame, condensed liquid Dou Qi and reached one-star Dou Ling.
• Xiao Yan left the tower intent on hunting stronger cultivators in the Black Corner Region for his Soul Devouring Pill Nurturing Art.
• Gu Long reviewed a Jade Slip tracking Xiao Yan's movements and cultivation, then decided the time had come to cast a net.

Xiao Yan used four evil Sixth Grade Pills to force his breakthrough to One Star Dou Wang, though the process left his body and soul dangerously damaged. Han Feng urged him to rely on devouring the Falling Heart Flame to repair his foundation, while Gu Long began the next stage of his plan after learning of Xiao Yan’s breakthrough.

• Xiao Yan swallowed the Spirit Roaring Pill, Soul Solidifying Pill, Meridian Quenching Pill, and King Breaking Pill, gaining power while accumulating severe injuries and baleful soul energy.
• With Han Feng’s help, Xiao Yan broke through the Dou Wang barrier and reached One Star Dou Wang.
• Xiao Yan discovered that his Dou Qi, meridians, and soul were unstable, and Han Feng told him that devouring the Falling Heart Flame could burn away the hidden dangers.
• Xiao Yan left the cultivation room, and news of his breakthrough spread through the Inner Academy.
• After hearing the news, Gu Long told Zhou Yu to begin the next step and arrange for prepared gifts to reach Great Elder Su Qian and Jia Nan Academy’s senior officials.

A Jade Slip exposed Xiao Yan’s murders and soul-based pill refining, prompting Jia Nan Academy to strip him of student status and issue a wanted order. Xiao Yan fled into the Black Corner Region while Gu Long prepared to reveal more evidence and drive him toward the plan’s final stage.

• Su Qian read evidence of Xiao Yan murdering people and using their souls to refine Soul Pills, then learned copies had spread through the academy.
• Hu Gan ordered Xiao Yan stripped of his student status and issued a joint wanted order, dead or alive, while Hu Jia recoiled from her former affection for him.
• Students across the Inner Academy condemned Xiao Yan as he fled his empty residence and disappeared into the Black Corner Region.
• Gu Long said the Dragon Domain’s intelligence network had tracked Xiao Yan’s approximate location and planned to push him toward the final stage.
• Gu Long prepared to give Su Qian a Jade Slip detailing Xiao Yan’s Earth Spirit Pill and his plan to devour the Falling Heart Flame.

Hunted by Jia Nan Academy, Xiao Yan and Han Feng recruited Black Corner Region magnates with promises of pills and rewards, planning to use their attack as cover to seize the Falling Heart Flame. Gu Long learned of their alliance and prepared to turn the gathering into a trap.

• Xiao Yan blamed Gu Long for ruining his plan to enter the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, and Han Feng proposed recruiting powerful allies with pills.
• Xiao Yan and Han Feng summoned the Golden Silver Elders, Fan Lao, and other Black Corner Region leaders to Magic Flame Valley.
• Han Feng offered Soul Origin Pills, Sect Breaking Pills, shares of Jia Nan Academy’s wealth, and free pill refining in exchange for their help attacking the academy.
• The Golden Silver Elders and the other magnates accepted, agreeing to help Han Feng and Xiao Yan create chaos and obtain the Falling Heart Flame.
• A hidden observer recorded the meeting and sent the information to Gu Long, who decided to take the news to Su Qian and prepare a trap.

After learning that Han Feng and the Black Corner Region forces planned to seize the Falling Heart Flame, Su Qian and Jia Nan Academy’s Thousand Hundred Elders prepared an ambush. Soul Hall also decided to wait for the factions to weaken each other, while Gu Long revealed that he intended to claim the Falling Heart Flame himself.

• Su Qian showed the Thousand Hundred Elders Gu Long’s evidence that Han Feng, Xiao Yan, and other Black Corner Region forces planned to attack Jia Nan Academy and seize the Falling Heart Flame.
• The Thousand Hundred Elders ordered Jia Nan Academy to feign weak defenses, evacuate students, and ambush the invaders near the tower’s core.
• Wu Ying learned that Han Feng’s Soul Body had survived and ordered Soul Hall to monitor the conflict, planning to collect Han Feng’s soul and the Falling Heart Flame afterward.
• Gu Long learned from Zhou Yu that Soul Hall was entering the conflict and welcomed the growing chaos as he prepared to claim the Falling Heart Flame.

The Black Corner Region alliance attacked Jia Nan Academy while Xiao Yan and Han Feng infiltrated the Inner Academy to reach the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower. Jia Nan Academy had anticipated the assault, while Wu Ying and Gu Long watched and waited for the battle and the Falling Heart Flame to reach their desired moment.

• The Golden Silver Elders led the allied forces in attacking Jia Nan Academy's protective barrier as Hu Gan and the Outer Academy defenders resisted.
• Xiao Yan and Han Feng slipped into the Inner Academy with several Black Corner Region Dou Emperor experts and headed toward the tower while their allies created distractions.
• Su Qian and the Thousand Hundred Elders revealed their ambush, with Su Qian intercepting the infiltrators and the Thousand Hundred Elders confronting the Golden Silver Elders.
• Wu Ying and the Hall of Souls Protectors watched from the shadows, planning to exploit the battle after both sides were weakened.
• Gu Long observed Xiao Yan and the fighting from near the tower, waiting for the Falling Heart Flame and hidden enemies to reveal themselves.
• The Thousand Hundred Elders' intervention caused the Black Corner Region Allied Forces' advantage to crumble.

The Jia Nan Academy forces defeated the Black Corner Region invaders, and Su Qian struck Xiao Yan into the world beneath the tower. As the Falling Heart Flame closed in on Xiao Yan, Wu Ying and the Soul Hall arrived to seize the academy’s souls and Heavenly Flame.

• Thousand Elder and Hundred Elder killed the Golden Silver Elders, while Su Qian killed Fan Lao and the allied forces collapsed.
• The Inner Academy elders defeated Han Feng’s recruited Dou Emperors, leaving Xiao Yan and Han Feng as the last opponents.
• Su Qian’s attack shattered Xiao Yan’s Black Heavy Ruler and sent him through the tower entrance into the world beneath it.
• Wu Ying, the Soul Hall Vice Hall Master, arrived with four Dou Zong Soul Hall Protectors and declared that he would take the Falling Heart Flame, Han Feng’s soul, and the academy’s souls.
• Xiao Yan found himself beneath the tower before the awakened Falling Heart Flame, which sensed his Mysterious Yellow Flame and lunged at him.

Xiao Yan survived Falling Heart Flame’s attack by taking the Earth Spirit Pill, then struggled to endure the magma and refine the pill’s toxins while guiding the flame’s power. As Soul Hall forces overwhelmed Jia Nan Academy, Zhao Yun arrived to fight Wu Ying, while Gu Long watched and waited for Falling Heart Flame to erupt.

• Xiao Yan swallowed the Earth Spirit Pill, but Falling Heart Flame’s attack still hurled him into the magma, where he began using the Flame Mantra to endure and absorb its power.
• Wu Ying injured Thousand Elder and suppressed the Thousand Hundred Elders, while Soul Hall Protectors overwhelmed the Inner Academy Elders and captured Elder Li’s soul.
• Zhao Yun arrived and killed a Soul Hall Protector who was about to attack a weakened female Elder.
• Wu Ying broke away from the Thousand Hundred Elders and clashed with Zhao Yun in the sky.
• Gu Long watched the battles from the shadows and waited for Falling Heart Flame to erupt as Xiao Yan’s life hung in the balance.

Xiao Yan descended into the magma to escape the Falling Heart Flame and discovered a mysterious jade-like skeleton. Above the tower, Gu Long suppressed the rampaging flame and confronted Wu Ying, turning the battle against the Soul Hall.

• As Xiao Yan’s body deteriorated in the battle between the Falling Heart Flame and the Mysterious Yellow Flame, Han Feng urged him to dive deeper into the magma.
• The Falling Heart Flame stopped pursuing Xiao Yan, who found a black-rock floor and a crystalline skeleton seated in meditation.
• Zhao Yun fought Wu Ying while Su Qian, the Thousand Hundred Elders, and their allies struggled against the remaining Hall of Souls Protectors.
• Gu Long appeared atop the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower and used his Imperial Command talent to suppress the Falling Heart Flame.
• Gu Long told Wu Ying that his plans had failed and locked his killing intent onto Wu Ying and the three Hall of Souls Protectors.

Zhao Yun revealed his Seven Star Dou Venerate strength and killed Wu Ying and the three fleeing Hall of Souls Protectors, ending the immediate threat to Jia Nan Academy. Gu Long then ordered Zhao Yun to seal the tower entrance and descended toward Xiao Yan, Han Feng, and the still-unsettled Falling Heart Flame.

• Zhao Yun's aura surged from One Star to Seven Star Dou Venerate, and he killed Wu Ying with a single spear thrust.
• The three Hall of Souls Protectors fled, but Zhao Yun killed all three with spear phantoms before they could escape.
• Su Qian thanked Gu Long and Zhao Yun for saving Jia Nan Academy, and Gu Long said the urgent matter was resolving the danger beneath the tower.
• Gu Long ordered Zhao Yun to seal the tower entrance, then entered the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower and descended toward Xiao Yan, Han Feng, and the Falling Heart Flame.
• Beneath the tower, Xiao Yan struggled toward the Jade Skeleton while Han Feng examined it, unaware that Gu Long had already found them.

At the bottom of the tower, Xiao Yan met Yao Tianhuo, who offered him a juvenile Falling Heart Flame in exchange for a soul-nourishing vessel and ongoing support. As Xiao Yan weighed the offer, Gu Long watched from outside the lava and revealed he was letting the encounter unfold as part of his own plan.

• Xiao Yan reached the Jade Skeleton, and Yao Tianhuo emerged from it as a powerful Soul Body.
• Yao Tianhuo revealed that he had refined the original Falling Heart Flame and offered Xiao Yan its gentle juvenile flame to heal him and stabilize his cultivation.
• Xiao Yan noticed Han Feng's unusual silence and questioned why Yao Tianhuo would give away such a valuable flame.
• Yao Tianhuo demanded a vessel for his soul and energy from Xiao Yan, while secretly intending to use Xiao Yan as a cauldron and Han Feng as a supplement.
• Gu Long watched from outside the tower, recognizing Yao Tianhuo's scheme and waiting to use the situation to eliminate hidden dangers and secure his own goals.

Xiao Yan accepted Heavenly Flame Venerate’s offer, but Han Feng revealed he had been secretly preparing to devour both the Venerate and the Falling Heart Flame young fire. As Han Feng’s ambush overwhelmed them, Gu Long appeared and halted the battle.

• Xiao Yan accepted Heavenly Flame Venerate’s terms, and the Venerate began healing him and passing over the young flame.
• Han Feng erupted from Xiao Yan’s black ring, ensnared the young flame and attacked Heavenly Flame Venerate with soul chains.
• Han Feng revealed he had used Xiao Yan to lure and weaken Heavenly Flame Venerate, leaving Xiao Yan shocked and unsure whom to trust.
• Gu Long appeared, suppressed the battle, and declared that Han Feng’s scheme was over.