Chapter Summaries

Queen Medusa won the Great Elder’s surrender and took charge of negotiating with Su Baichen to rescue the Third Elder. Meanwhile, Su Baichen waited in a desert cave with Caidie and saved his unused check-in chance for a higher realm.

• The Great Elder admitted defeat and pleaded with Queen Medusa to take over the crisis.
• Queen Medusa ordered the Second Elder to open the clan treasury and prepare the tribe’s finest treasures before accompanying her to meet Su Baichen.
• The Second Elder accepted Queen Medusa’s authority and agreed to obey her command.
• In a distant cave, Caidie cooked soup while Su Baichen rested, and the captured Third Elder stood outside with the injured Fourth Elder.
• Su Baichen inspected the System Shop and chose to save his check-in chance until he reached a higher level in the Dou Zun realm.

Su Baichen found Caidie distracted and asked what was on her mind, but she mistook his question for a threat to dismiss her. After he and Cao Ying cleared up the misunderstanding, Su Baichen asked Caidie again what had distracted her.

• Su Baichen noticed Caidie had burned the meat while staring into the campfire and called her over to talk.
• Caidie feared Su Baichen would punish and dismiss her, so she knelt and tearfully begged him for another chance.
• Cao Ying saw Caidie crying and pleaded with Su Baichen to forgive her without knowing what had happened.
• Su Baichen explained that he had not scolded or punished Caidie, and she admitted she had misunderstood his intentions.
• Su Baichen set the misunderstanding aside and asked Caidie what had distracted her.

Caidie explained the Snake-People Tribe’s danger to Su Baichen, who assured her he had a plan to protect them. After dinner, Caidie brought the leftovers outside to the injured Fourth Elder and Third Elder, who discussed Su Baichen’s overwhelming strength before she approached them.

• Caidie told Su Baichen about the Snake-People Tribe’s predicament and Third Elder’s concerns, and Su Baichen said he had a way to handle it.
• Cao Ying complained that she was hungry, so Caidie cooked dinner for the three of them.
• After dinner, Caidie gathered the remaining food with Su Baichen’s permission and went out of the cave.
• Third Elder finished treating Fourth Elder’s injuries, and Fourth Elder admitted that he had nearly brought disaster upon their tribe by challenging Su Baichen.
• Third Elder and Fourth Elder agreed that Su Baichen was likely a Dou Zong or stronger, and Caidie greeted them at the cave entrance.

Caidie brought food and healing pills to Third Elder and Fourth Elder after they had pursued and fought her, telling them that the Young Master had agreed not to make things difficult for the Snake-People Tribe. She left them moved by her kindness and reaffirmed that she would do her best to protect her home.

• Caidie approached Third Elder and Fourth Elder with a meal and explained that she had brought the extra food because they might be hungry.
• Third Elder worried that Senior Su might punish Caidie, but she reassured the elders that the Young Master had approved her visit and promised to spare the Snake-People Tribe.
• Third Elder and Fourth Elder realized Caidie had helped them despite their recent pursuit of her, and Fourth Elder apologized for his actions.
• Caidie said the elders had watched her grow up and that the Snake-People Tribe was still her home, then urged them to eat.
• Caidie gave the elders two fifth-grade pills for their injuries and returned to the cave, leaving them speechless with gratitude.

Queen Medusa and the Snake-People Tribe waited outside Su Baichen’s cave until dawn, then received permission to enter. After reuniting with Caidie, Queen Medusa led the Great Elder inside to meet Su Baichen while the rest of the tribe stayed behind.

• Su Baichen sensed Queen Medusa and the Snake-People Tribe waiting outside overnight and told Caidie at dawn to let them in.
• Third Elder told Queen Medusa and the tribespeople how Caidie had pleaded with Su Baichen to protect the tribe, leaving them ashamed of how they had treated her.
• Caidie rushed into Queen Medusa’s embrace, and the sisters exchanged affectionate reproaches about Caidie’s use of a Forbidden Technique and her decision to leave.
• Caidie told Queen Medusa that Su Baichen had already known they wanted an audience and had sent her to bring them inside.
• Queen Medusa ordered the others to wait outside, then entered the cave with the Great Elder and Caidie to pay their respects to Su Baichen.

Queen Medusa and the Great Elder met Su Baichen in his cave and faced his anger over how the Snake-People Tribe had treated Caidie. After the two promised reforms and offered an apology, Su Baichen left the tribute with Caidie, whose restraint further earned his approval.

• Queen Medusa and the Great Elder entered Su Baichen’s cave and were shaken by his appearance and spiritual pressure.
• Su Baichen reproached the two for how Caidie had been treated and pressed the Great Elder with his spiritual force.
• Queen Medusa promised to abolish the tribe’s outdated rules and protect Caidie, and the Great Elder agreed.
• Queen Medusa offered Su Baichen a Storage Ring filled with valuable items as an apology.
• Su Baichen sent the Storage Ring to Caidie, saying he had nowhere to put it, and she obediently accepted it.
• Su Baichen approved of Caidie for not interrupting him or defending the tribe while he confronted its leaders.

Su Baichen asked Queen Medusa and the Great Elder to find the Green Lotus Core Flame in the Tagore Desert and rewarded them with pills and a promise to help Medusa break through to Dou Zong. He ordered them to conceal his true identity, and they left the cave to mobilize the Snake-People Tribe.

• Su Baichen told Queen Medusa and the Great Elder that he had come to the Tagore Desert seeking the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Queen Medusa and the Great Elder promised to mobilize the Snake-People Tribe to search the desert for the Heavenly Flame.
• Su Baichen gave them jade bottles containing Dou Ling Pills and Huangji Pills and promised to help them complete the task, including helping Queen Medusa break through to Dou Zong.
• Su Baichen ordered Queen Medusa and the Great Elder to conceal his existence and identity as an Eighth-tier Alchemist, and Queen Medusa agreed.
• Su Baichen told Queen Medusa to have Caidie contact him when they found news, and the two women respectfully left the cave.

As rival factions converged on the Tagor Desert to find the treasure sought by the Snake-People Tribe, Queen Medusa attacked Hai Bodong after tracing him to her wounded subordinate. Hai Bodong escaped with a powerful seal on his cultivation, while Medusa abandoned the pursuit to return to the awakened commander.

• The Jia Ma Empire, the Chu Yun Empire, and other factions learned that a powerful alchemist had hired the Snake-People Tribe to search for a valuable treasure and sent experts into the desert.
• Queen Medusa traced the ice-attributed Dou Qi on her wounded subordinate to Hai Bodong and attacked him.
• Hai Bodong struggled against the stronger Medusa, then used Mystic Ice Mirror and his essence blood to flee.
• Medusa struck Hai Bodong with a sealing attack that weakened his cultivation, but he escaped beyond the horizon.
• A Snake-People Dou Wang reported that the unconscious commander had awakened, so Medusa gave up pursuing Hai Bodong and returned to her tribe.

Su Baichen and Queen Medusa searched beneath the desert for the Green Lotus Core Flame, and Queen Medusa broke through the sand to reach an underground lava lake. Su Baichen sensed the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake hiding beneath the magma and moved to pull it out.

• Queen Medusa told Su Baichen that scouts had detected Heavenly Flame fluctuations beneath the desert, and he confirmed the fire energy was underground.
• Queen Medusa transformed into her Purple Flame Snake form and smashed a deep passage through the sand.
• Su Baichen followed the passage underground and found Queen Medusa beside a lava lake, where she sensed the Green Lotus Core Flame below it.
• Su Baichen detected the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake hiding in the lava and formed a giant energy hand to seize it.

Su Baichen forced the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake out of its hiding place and recruited it to guide him and Queen Medusa to the Heavenly Flame beneath the lava. The eager snake carried them toward the place where the Green Lotus Core Flame had been born.

• Su Baichen used a giant Dou Qi hand to pull the terrified Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake from its lava lair.
• The Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake immediately fawned over Su Baichen and Queen Medusa instead of resisting.
• Su Baichen asked the snake to lead them to the Heavenly Flame beneath the lava, and it confirmed that it knew the location.
• Su Baichen promised the snake compensation for guiding them, and it eagerly offered its back as a ride.
• Queen Medusa and Su Baichen climbed aboard as the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake swam toward the Green Lotus Core Flame's birthplace.

Su Baichen and Queen Medusa found the mature Green Lotus Core Flame within a colossal lotus in the magma. Su Baichen collected the flame, its lotus platform, and the Earth Fire Lotus Seeds while leaving the parent lotus intact to preserve its ability to nurture another Heavenly Flame.

• The Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake brought Su Baichen and Queen Medusa through the magma to an enormous green lotus.
• Su Baichen and Queen Medusa entered the lotus and found the Green Lotus Core Flame floating above a jade-like platform.
• Su Baichen identified the flame as the nineteenth-ranked Heavenly Flame and discovered more than a dozen Earth Fire Lotus Seeds in the platform.
• Su Baichen lifted the Green Lotus Core Flame, its platform, and the seeds, explaining that he would leave the parent lotus behind to preserve its spirituality and potential to produce another flame.

Su Baichen and Queen Medusa discovered and took the Green Lotus Pedestal before leaving the underground magma. The Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake escorted them to the surface and waited anxiously for the promised payment, but Su Baichen had not given it anything yet.

• Su Baichen explained that the Green Lotus Pedestal was a treasure, and Queen Medusa realized his insistence on accompanying her had helped her avoid overlooking it.
• Su Baichen preliminarily refined and stored the pedestal, then left the Giant Cyan Lotus with Queen Medusa.
• The Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake waited outside the lotus for the payment Su Baichen had promised in exchange for its help.
• The Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake carried Su Baichen and Queen Medusa through the magma and up to the desert surface.
• Su Baichen praised the snake’s attentive service but did not offer a reward, leaving it to fear he would break his promise.

Su Baichen gave the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake rare treasures, and the snake’s parting words left Queen Medusa flustered. Queen Medusa fled to the Snake-People Holy City, while Su Baichen remained oblivious to what the snake had implied.

• Queen Medusa urged Su Baichen to stop teasing the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake because its intelligence was like that of a young child.
• Su Baichen apologized and gave the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake a drop of seventh-tier snake-beast essence blood and three Fire Lotus Seeds.
• The Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake bowed to Su Baichen and Queen Medusa, hissed a wish for them, and burrowed back beneath the sand with its gifts.
• Su Baichen asked Queen Medusa what the snake had said, but she blushed, claimed she did not understand, and hurried away toward the Snake-People Holy City.
• Su Baichen dismissed the incident as childish thanks, unaware that the snake had called them sir and madam and wished them well.

After learning that Xiao Lin was likely murdered by a powerful traitor, Xiao Zhan decided the Xiao Clan had to abandon Jia Ma Holy City and relocate to Wutan City to survive. The clan accepted his decision, leaving its pursuit of vengeance for a later day.

• Nalan Jie warned the Xiao Clan that Xiao Lin had likely been betrayed and murdered, and that a hidden enemy was driving the clan toward destruction.
• Xiao Zhan told the clan council that they had to leave the capital and consider relocating to Wutan City.
• Xiao Li and other clan members protested, demanding vengeance for Xiao Lin rather than flight.
• Xiao Zhan explained that staying would risk the clan's extermination and that retreat was necessary to preserve its bloodline and future chance for revenge.
• Great Elder Xiao Shan and the council accepted Xiao Zhan's decision to relocate the Xiao Clan to Wutan City.

Nalan Jie secretly arranged for the Xiao Clan to be protected after they left the Imperial Capital, while accepting that he could not avenge Xiao Lin. In the Snake-People Tribe, Su Baichen successfully forged the Exotic Flame Lotus Platform for Cao Ying and considered its affinity for Heavenly Flames.

• Nalan Jie learned that the Xiao Clan had left the Imperial Capital safely and ordered trusted men to follow and protect them until they settled.
• Nalan Jie regretted that he lacked the strength to avenge Xiao Lin, promised to protect his clansmen, and said he would honor the younger generation's marriage agreement if Xiao Zhan's third child was a talented boy.
• Su Baichen completed the Exotic Flame Lotus Platform, containing its surging energy with a concealment formation.
• Su Baichen examined the finished treasure and explained that he had forged it from the lotus born alongside the Green Lotus Core Flame for Cao Ying's cultivation of the Shenyou Fire-Refining Art.

Su Baichen completed and named the powerful, fire-refining Lotus Platform Wanhuo Qinglian before leaving his secret chamber. While waiting for him, Cao Ying learned why Caidie enjoyed patting her head, setting her up to tease younger disciples in the future.

• Su Baichen named the Lotus Platform Wanhuo Qinglian, stored it in his Storage Ring, and left the secret chamber.
• Cao Ying complained to Caidie that Su Baichen had been shut away for days and might have forgotten about her.
• Caidie reassured Cao Ying and gently smoothed her tangled hair.
• Cao Ying asked why Caidie and Su Baichen liked patting her head, and Caidie explained that she would understand when she had someone younger to care for.
• Cao Ying took Caidie's explanation to heart and later planned to pat the heads of younger disciples for her own amusement.

Caidie tried to persuade Cao Ying to continue cultivating, while Cao Ying attempted to dodge her lessons with excuses. After Cao Ying challenged Caidie’s story about being a diligent child by comparing their cultivation levels, Caidie froze and prepared to invent an explanation, privately apologizing to Queen Medusa for making her take the blame.

• Caidie reminded Cao Ying to cultivate from Eight-Duan Dou Qi toward Nine-Duan and eventually break through to Dou Zhe.
• Cao Ying begged Caidie to let her take a break, unaware that Su Baichen was hidden nearby and had heard her plotting.
• Cao Ying felt a sudden chill and an ominous ache, but Caidie dismissed her unease as an excuse to avoid cultivation.
• Caidie claimed she had cultivated diligently as a child and had been praised by Queen Medusa and the elders.
• Cao Ying questioned why Caidie was only a Dou Wang if she had worked so hard, while Queen Medusa was a Nine-Star Dou Emperor.
• Caidie froze, then privately apologized to Queen Medusa as she prepared to invent a reason for their difference in strength.

Caidie tricked Cao Ying into believing a fabricated story about sacrificing her cultivation and the throne for Queen Medusa, then used the tale and a threat of punishment to make Cao Ying cultivate. An unseen figure left the room carrying a mirror that had recorded their conversation.

• Caidie invented a tale claiming she gave up her cultivation and the throne to support her sister, Queen Medusa, and Cao Ying believed her.
• Queen Medusa sneezed while handling official business and wondered whether Mr. Su was thinking of her.
• Caidie reminded Cao Ying to cultivate and warned that Young Master might punish her if she fell behind.
• Cao Ying hurried to her meditation cushion and began cultivating.
• After Cao Ying settled into cultivation, a concealed figure departed through a spatial crack with a mirror that had recorded the scene.

Su Baichen was summoned to Queen Medusa’s palace, while she prepared to meet him in a more youthful, approachable guise. The chapter ended with Medusa resolving to pursue the man she loved.

• Su Baichen praised Caidie’s clever deception and admired Cao Ying’s rapid, stable Dou Qi progress.
• A Snake-People guard told Su Baichen that Queen Medusa requested his presence, and he agreed to go to her hall.
• Queen Medusa recalled Su Baichen’s talents and care for others and realized she had fallen in love with him.
• Medusa dressed in a lively outfit and decided to change her approach because she believed Su Baichen preferred approachable women.

Queen Medusa dressed in the gentler style she had favored when young before meeting Su Baichen, whose astonishment delighted her. A maid reported the queen’s unusual appearance and behavior to the Great Elder and Second Elder, leaving them alarmed and eager to hear more.

• Queen Medusa checked her appearance and ordered the maid to admit Su Baichen and send everyone else away.
• Su Baichen, the maid, and a guard were stunned by Queen Medusa’s changed appearance, while she secretly took pleasure in their reactions.
• The maid hurried to the Great Elder’s residence to report the queen’s unusual meeting with Su Baichen.
• The Second Elder choked on his tea and pressed the maid to explain exactly what had happened.