Chapter Summaries

After receiving Xiao Yan’s news that he had subdued a Heavenly Flame, Xiao Ling decided to return to Starfall Pavilion. He left Ancient Dragon Island through Zi Yan’s Space Passage and reunited with Rayquaza in the Heavenly Star Mountain Range.

• Xiao Ling received a letter from Xiao Yan through Elder Yao, who said Xiao Yan had subdued a Heavenly Flame and was waiting at Starfall Pavilion.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin chose to remain on Ancient Dragon Island, while Xiao Ling agreed to return to Starfall Pavilion.
• Xiao Ling told Zi Yan he was leaving, and she opened a Space Passage connecting Ancient Dragon Island to Starfall Pavilion while promising to help if he faced danger.
• Xiao Ling traveled through the passage and arrived in the Heavenly Star Mountain Range.
• Rayquaza flew to Xiao Ling and affectionately greeted him.

Master Xiao Ling returned to Starfall Pavilion and reunited with Yao Chen and Feng Xian while Xiao Yan refined a pill with his Volcanic Stone Flame. The pill summoned Three-colored Pill Lightning, and Xiao Yan sent his Heavenly Demon Puppet to face the descending bolt.

• Master Xiao Ling opened Starfall Pavilion's spatial barrier and entered the sect after sending Rayquaza back toward the mountains.
• Yao Chen and Feng Xian watched Xiao Yan refine a pill with the Volcanic Stone Flame and praised his progress in Alchemy.
• Master Xiao Ling joined Yao Chen and Feng Xian, recounted the turmoil on Ancient Dragon Island, and told Feng Xian that Zi Yan would visit once clan affairs settled.
• Xiao Yan completed his pill refinement, summoning Three-colored Pill Lightning above the mountains.
• Xiao Yan summoned his Heavenly Demon Puppet and sent it charging toward the massive bolt of lightning.

Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Demon Puppet survived and absorbed the lightning tribulation, while Xiao Yan captured his sentient Grade 8 pill. After hearing Xiao Yan’s account of a second, stronger Heavenly Flame trapped in the Blazing Dome Ancient Region, Xiao Ling decided to investigate it and told Xiao Yan to remain at Starfall Pavilion to hone his Alchemy and prepare for a trial.

• The Heavenly Demon Puppet withstood the Three-colored Lightning Cloud’s successive bolts, absorbed their power, and emerged with its energy strengthened despite cracked armor.
• Xiao Ling warned Xiao Yan to secure his pill, and Xiao Yan pulled the fleeing crimson-gold pill back and sealed it in a jade bottle.
• Xiao Ling congratulated Xiao Yan on becoming an Eighth-grade Alchemist and offered him medicinal ingredients, then asked for details about the Heavenly Flame Xiao Yan had found.
• Xiao Yan explained that the Volcanic Stone Flame had revealed a stronger Heavenly Flame restricted in the Blazing Dome Ancient Region, and Xiao Ling resolved to investigate it himself.
• Xiao Ling instructed Xiao Yan to stay at Starfall Pavilion, seek guidance from Yao Chen, and prepare for a trial; Xiao Yan offered to accompany him, but Xiao Ling declined.

After preparing at Starfall Pavilion, Xiao Ling traveled to the Blazing Dome Ancient Region and followed the Exotic Flame Map to a volcano at the heart of the region. He plunged into its crater, where the powerful Exotic Flame sensed him and attacked, but his flame armor held as he pressed deeper.

• Xiao Ling studied records of the Blazing Dome Ancient Region while Xiao Yan settled into Starfall Pavilion and advanced his Alchemy with guidance from Elder Yao and Xiao Ling.
• After half a month, Xiao Ling left Starfall Pavilion and reached the Blazing Dome Ancient Region three days later.
• Xiao Ling used the Exotic Flame Map to locate the Blazing Heaven Volcano Group and flew toward its central peak.
• At the crater, Xiao Ling sensed an ancient Exotic Flame whose aura rivaled or surpassed the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, then leaped inside and descended through the magma.
• The Exotic Flame attacked Xiao Ling with torrents of magma, but his crimson-gold flame armor deflected them as he continued toward its source.

Xiao Ling descended through the volcano toward the heavenly flame, but the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire exploited the Malevolent Qi accumulated from his past slaughter and trapped him in memories of killing. The Spirit of the Ancestral Stone purified the Malevolent Qi and restored his clarity, leaving him aware that a special flame had attacked him.

• Xiao Ling used a crimson-gold flame barrier to withstand the increasingly violent magma attacks as he descended deeper into the volcano.
• The Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire stirred Xiao Ling's accumulated Malevolent Qi, filling his mind with memories of past killings and engulfing him in blood-red flames.
• Xiao Ling's reason began to fade, his descent stopped, and the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire continued burning around him.
• The Spirit of the Ancestral Stone examined Xiao Ling, recognized the flames as a heart tribulation born from his Malevolent Qi, and released purifying white light.
• The purifying light suppressed the Malevolent Qi and cleared Xiao Ling's mind, restoring his azure eyes and awareness.
• The Spirit of the Ancestral Stone explained that a special flame had triggered Xiao Ling's past Malevolent Qi and that it had saved him from the resulting heart tribulation.

Xiao Ling recovered from the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire’s assault and followed its energy into a hidden space beneath the magma. He found the heavenly flame sleeping above an altar and approached an ancient stone stele to investigate the mysteries surrounding its seal.

• Xiao Ling realized the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire had stirred his malevolent aura while he was distracted, and the Spirit of the Ancestral Stone helped him regain control.
• Xiao Ling thanked Yan, then resumed his descent through the magma to pursue the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire.
• Xiao Ling sensed a concealed spatial barrier and opened a passage through it using the Power of Space.
• Xiao Ling entered a vast plaza containing an altar, a towering black stele, and the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire, which had not noticed him.
• Xiao Ling suppressed his presence and walked toward the stone stele to search for clues about the heavenly flame’s seal.

Xiao Ling discovered that Venerable Red Lotus had hidden the Red Lotus Exotic Flame to protect his family, then challenged the flame after learning its origins. When it attacked him, Xiao Ling resisted its assault on his consciousness and summoned an Ice Lotus to confront it.

• Xiao Ling read Venerable Red Lotus’s stele and learned why the Red Lotus Exotic Flame had been sealed in the Yanqiong Ancient Domain.
• Xiao Ling realized Venerable Red Lotus’s family had likely disappeared and decided to probe the Red Lotus Exotic Flame.
• The Red Lotus Exotic Flame destroyed Xiao Ling’s Dou Qi palm seal and mistook him for a descendant of Venerable Red Lotus.
• The Red Lotus Exotic Flame demanded that Xiao Ling free it and offered him a Red Lotus Child Flame, but Xiao Ling instead demanded its submission.
• The Red Lotus Exotic Flame attacked Xiao Ling with flames and corrosive spiritual energy, but the Destiny Talisman neutralized the mental assault.
• Xiao Ling summoned a hundred-zhang Ice Lotus and prepared to take the Red Lotus Exotic Flame’s origin.

Xiao Ling used the Law of Ice and his Destiny Talisman to overwhelm the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire, which detonated its accumulated Flame Energy to escape. Its hidden origin slipped through a Space Rift into the underground magma, where it began to recover.

• Xiao Ling’s Ice Lotus and Law of Ice blocked the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire’s attacks and began freezing its hundred-zhang flame lotus.
• Xiao Ling unleashed a storm of ice and suppressed the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire until its lotus shrank and its flames dimmed.
• The Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire detonated its accumulated Flame Energy, shaking the space and tearing open a Space Rift.
• The Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire hid its origin in the blast and escaped through the rift into the underground magma.
• The origin absorbed Fire Attribute energy from the magma and began to recover.

Xiao Ling captured the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire in the Yanqiong Ancient Domain, gathered fire-based treasures, and returned to Starfall Pavilion. After Yao Chen identified the Heavenly Flame and warned that trouble was approaching, Xiao Ling prepared to refine it while urging Xiao Yan to strengthen his cultivation.

• Xiao Ling used an icy battle qi palm to trap the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire's origin after it tried to escape by self-destruction.
• Xiao Ling stored the imprisoned flame in his Portable Space, searched the Yanqiong Ancient Domain for nearly a day, and collected its valuable Fire Attribute treasures.
• Xiao Ling returned to Starfall Pavilion, where Yao Chen and Xiao Yan greeted him and examined the captured flame.
• Yao Chen identified the flame as the eighth-ranked Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire and explained that refining it could strengthen Xiao Ling's battle qi and Flame Mantra.
• Yao Chen warned Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan that they would soon face trouble, so Xiao Ling decided to begin refining the flame and told Xiao Yan to cultivate for another breakthrough.

Xiao Ling began refining the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire in the Training Room, suppressing its resistance with his ice talent, Fen Jue, and his Fusion Heavenly Flame. In the Gu Clan’s Ancient Realm, Gu Xun'er cared for Little Yan Ji and told her she would soon meet her daddy.

• Xiao Ling released the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire from its ice crystal, pulled it back when it tried to flee, and swallowed it to begin refining it.
• The Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire attacked Xiao Ling’s body and consciousness, but his ice crystals, Fen Jue, and Fusion Heavenly Flame contained and subdued it.
• Xiao Ling steadily absorbed the fire’s source energy as it fell silent and the Training Room’s gathered energy supported his refinement.
• In the Gu Clan’s Ancient Realm, Gu Xun'er played with Little Yan Ji in her courtyard and told her she would soon meet her daddy.
• Little Yan Ji reacted to the mention of her daddy with bright curiosity and excited babbling.

Gu Xun'er learned that the Gu Clan had invited Xiao Ling to its Heavenly Curtain Opening, while Xiao Ling finished refining the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire and reached the High-level Half-Saint realm. After receiving the invitation from Yao Chen, Xiao Ling told Xiao Yan about the Xiao Clan's origins and the upcoming trial, leaving Xiao Yan stunned to learn he was descended from one of the Eight Ancient Clans.

• Gu Xun'er heard from Ling Ying that the Gu Clan had sent Xiao Ling an invitation and looked forward to seeing him again at the Heavenly Curtain Opening.
• Xiao Ling emerged from two months of seclusion after refining the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire, advancing to the High-level Half-Saint realm and improving Fen Jue to a mid-level Heavenly Tier cultivation method.
• Yao Chen gave Xiao Ling the Gu Clan's invitation and explained that he could enter the Heavenly Curtain Trial as a legitimate Xiao Clan descendant.
• Xiao Ling declined to provoke the Yao Clan over Yao Chen's old grievance and promised to help him seek justice when the time was right.
• Xiao Ling told Xiao Yan about the Xiao Clan's history and the invitation to the Gu Clan's Coming-of-Age Ceremony and Heavenly Curtain Trial.
• Xiao Yan was stunned to learn that he was a descendant of the Xiao Clan, one of the Eight Ancient Clans.

Xiao Ling took Xiao Yan toward the Gu Clan’s Ancient Realm for Xiao Yan’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony and training in the Heavenly Tomb. After traveling through the Eastern Domain, they arrived near Ancient Saint City and encountered the awe-inspiring pressure of its Dou Di-powered barrier.

• Xiao Ling told Xiao Yan to prepare for the ceremony and promised to take him to train in the Heavenly Tomb afterward.
• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan departed quietly the next morning and traveled toward the Gu Clan’s Ancient Realm on Rayquaza.
• Xiao Ling explained that Ancient Saint City was the gateway to the Ancient Realm and urged Xiao Yan to take responsibility for restoring the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan crossed a crowded Space Passage and arrived at the Ancient Stone Plaza near Ancient Saint City.
• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan flew toward Ancient Saint City and learned that its protective barrier contained the power of a Dou Di.

Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan entered Ancient Saint City after Xiao Ling presented the Ancient Clan invitation, then settled into their guesthouse. Xiao Ling received a message from Xun Er, who told him they would meet in a few days.

• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan walked to Ancient Saint City's gates, where Ling Quan recognized Xiao Ling and verified his invitation.
• Ling Quan arranged for a Black Mist Army soldier to escort Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan into the city, while suppressing his thoughts of making trouble for Xiao Ling.
• The soldier led Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan to the invited guests' residence, where a maid escorted them to a quiet lakeside guesthouse.
• Xiao Yan remarked on the number of experts in the city, and Xiao Ling urged him to keep working toward greater strength.
• Xun Er's jade pendant glowed, and she sent Xiao Ling a message saying they would meet in a few days.

Xiao Yan cultivated the Taiyi Soul Art and learned from Xiao Ling about the Black Mist Army’s hierarchy and the power of the Ancient Clan’s bloodline. Xiao Ling promised to help him grow stronger in the Heavenly Curtain Trial Ground, while four members of the Yan Clan recognized the Heavenly Flames within Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan.

• Xiao Yan absorbed Soul Power through the Taiyi Soul Art and reflected on how Xiao Ling had given him the technique in return for his help in the Yanqiong Ancient Domain.
• At a tavern, Xiao Yan asked Xiao Ling about Ling Quan and learned that the Black Mist Army had Eight Commanders, Four Great Commanders, and two Black Annihilation Kings.
• Xiao Yan felt pressured by the Ancient Clan’s powerful young fighters, but Xiao Ling promised to help him reach at least the level of the lower-ranked commanders in the Heavenly Curtain Trial Ground.
• Xiao Ling explained that the Dou Di Bloodline helped its inheritors before the Dou Sheng realm but could become a restraint, encouraging Xiao Yan to rely on his own cultivation.
• Four flame-marked figures in the tavern recognized Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan and discussed the Heavenly Flames within them, identifying Xiao Yan’s as the Volcanic Stone Flame but finding Xiao Ling’s impossible to identify.

Members of the Yan Clan observed Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan and discovered that Xiao Ling had subdued multiple Heavenly Flames, including a Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire. After a brief clash of flame auras, Xiao Ling warned Xiao Yan about the Hun Clan and led him away, while Huo Zhi expressed interest in challenging Xiao Ling someday.

• Huo Zhi sensed that Xiao Ling possessed a Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire, and the Yan Clan members speculated that he could fuse multiple Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan felt their Heavenly Flames react to Huo Zhi, and a flare erupted between them, burning a nearby table and chair to ash.
• Xiao Ling identified the group as members of the Yan Clan and told Xiao Yan not to provoke them, warning him instead to beware of the Hun Clan.
• Xiao Ling left the pavilion with Xiao Yan to browse nearby trades, while Huo Zhi said she wanted to test Xiao Ling's strength in a future fight.

Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan encountered three Hun Clan members on a forest path, where Xiao Ling easily repelled their attack and mocked their threats. Hun Ya warned that they would meet again in the Heavenly Tomb, but Xiao Ling reassured Xiao Yan that he would protect him.

• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan left the pavilion and wandered through the streets until they reached a secluded forest path.
• Hun Ya and two other black-robed Hun Clan members confronted Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan with hostility.
• Xiao Ling deflected the two attackers’ chains with his Heavenly Flame and taunted Hun Ya, who threatened revenge in the Heavenly Tomb before vanishing.
• Xiao Yan worried about the Hun Clan’s threat, but Xiao Ling dismissed them as clowns and promised to protect him.
• Xiao Ling headed back toward the guest rooms, and Xiao Yan followed, resolving to trust his cousin.

Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan entered the Ancient Realm after the Ancient Clan opened its gate in Ancient Saint City. They arrived in the realm’s rich cultivation environment and saw ten Ancient Clan flying warships approaching.

• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan waited in Ancient Saint City, planning to settle their feud with Hun Ya inside the Heavenly Tomb rather than risk causing trouble in Ancient Clan territory.
• Gu Xun warned the gathered visitors to follow the Ancient Realm’s rules and explained that Ancient Clan members would escort them to the Ancient Saint Mountain Range.
• Xiao Ling explained to Xiao Yan how the Ancient Clan’s descendants served as a broad base from which talented bloodlines could be selected into the main clan.
• The Ancient Clan opened the Space Gate above the lake, and Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan entered after seeing Ling Quan guarding it.
• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan arrived in the Ancient Realm and marveled at its dense energy before ten enormous flying warships appeared on the horizon.

Aboard the Gu Clan’s Void-Skipping Boat, Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan befriended Huo Xuan, who explained the Heavenly Tomb and warned them about disputes over the Xiao Clan’s entry quotas and dangers from the Hun and Yao Clans. The journey continued with the brothers better informed but facing the prospect of conflict with Gu Clan juniors and Yao Xingji.

• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan boarded the Gu Clan’s Void-Skipping Boat and watched it travel through spatial barriers.
• Huo Xuan introduced himself to Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan, and they agreed to befriend him.
• Huo Xuan explained that the Heavenly Tomb contained ancient experts’ energy imprints and had a slower flow of time than the outside world.
• Huo Xuan warned that the Gu Clan might resist returning the Xiao Clan’s two Heavenly Tomb quotas, and Xiao Ling said he had plans to resolve the matter.
• Huo Xuan cautioned Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan about the Hun Clan and Yao Clan, identifying Yao Xingji as a powerful alchemist likely to challenge Xiao Yan.

Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan assessed Huo Xuan’s hidden strength and traveled through the heavily guarded Void-Skipping Boat, where Gu Zhen invited them to tea. Gu Zhen revealed that the Black Mist Army’s security was meant partly to protect the Gu Clan’s descendants and their faint Dou Di Bloodline from being erased through unions with outsiders.

• Xiao Ling concluded that Huo Xuan’s overtures might stem from the Yan Clan’s interest in Heavenly Flames, while Xiao Yan described Huo Xuan’s concealed strength and mysterious aura.
• Xiao Ling determined that Huo Xuan had reached the Seven-Star Dou Zun realm and considered the red-clad woman with the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire the more important Yan Clan figure.
• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan noticed the Black Mist Army’s strict security aboard the Void-Skipping Boat as they traveled toward the Ancient Saint Mountain Range.
• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan found Gu Zhen waiting at the bow with tea, and Gu Zhen confirmed he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Black Mist Army.
• Gu Zhen explained that the Gu Clan guarded its descendants because outside bloodlines could erase their faint Dou Di Bloodline and prevent it from awakening in future generations.

Xiao Ling rejected Gu Zhen’s warning about the Gu Clan’s restrictions on outsiders and declared that he would surpass the clan’s power. As the warship reached the Ancient Saint Mountain Range, he spotted Xun Er waiting on a mountain peak, while Xiao Yan wondered about Xiao Ling’s connection to the Gu Clan’s young lady.

• Gu Zhen explained that the Gu Clan restricted outsiders to protect its Dou Di Bloodline and warned Xiao Ling about the consequences of his connection to the young lady.
• Xiao Ling challenged Gu Zhen’s reasoning, dismissed the pressure from the Gu Clan, and insisted that he would follow his own path and surpass what the clan prized.
• The warship arrived at the Ancient Saint Mountain Range, where Xiao Ling recognized a green-clad figure as Xun Er and silently met her gaze across the distance.
• Gu Zhen said Xun Er had personally come to welcome Xiao Ling and warned that he would need great achievements to overcome opposition within the Gu Clan.
• Xiao Ling brushed aside Gu Zhen’s assessment, said the suggested Dou Sheng and ninth-grade alchemist achievements underestimated him, and left with Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan followed Xiao Ling to the prow and asked who the Gu Clan’s young lady was and whether Xiao Ling was involved with her.