Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan arranged for Yaoye to help manage the Alliance’s expansion and promised her his friendship before heading into Misty Cloud Sect territory. The sect’s patrol disciples mistook him for a powerful direct disciple and wondered if he was already a Da Dou Shi expert.

• Yaoye told Xiao Yan that the Jia Ma garrison had begun withdrawing from Misty Cloud Mountain, and Xiao Yan discussed her future role in the Alliance and offered her his friendship.
• Yaoye accepted Xiao Yan’s proposal and promised to support the Alliance, while privately reflecting on her feelings for him.
• Xiao Yan instructed Yaoye to prepare for the Alliance’s public establishment and expansion, then set off toward Misty Cloud Sect.
• Misty Cloud Sect patrol disciples greeted Xiao Yan as a direct disciple because of his robe, and they were stunned when he moved away without them sensing his strength.

Xiao Yan arrived at the Misty Cloud Sect and clashed with Yun Han and Ge Ye after they challenged him. Yun Yun revealed Xiao Yan was her final disciple, backed him, and let him choose Ge Ye’s punishment; Xiao Yan sent Ge Ye and Yun Han tumbling down the mountain before he and Yun Yun flew to the great hall to discuss business.

• Xiao Yan ignored Yun Han’s challenge and used his power to send him rolling down the mountain.
• Ge Ye confronted Xiao Yan and threatened to report him, but Yun Yun arrived and revealed Xiao Yan was her final disciple.
• Yun Yun rebuked Ge Ye for favoring Yun Han and let Xiao Yan decide how Ge Ye should be handled.
• Xiao Yan sent Ge Ye flying down the stairs, where he collided with Yun Han, and both disappeared down the mountain.
• Yun Yun offered Xiao Yan the positions of Great Elder or Deputy Sect Leader, and he chose Deputy Sect Leader before flying with her to the great hall.

After Xiao Yan revealed his Dou Wang wings and left with Yun Yun, Yun Han and Ge Ye conspired to turn his punishment into a grievance against him. They persuaded Yun Leng to seek Yun Shan’s intervention, leaving Yun Leng heading for the Forbidden Ground to request an audience with the former Sect Leader.

• Misty Cloud Sect disciples recognized Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi wings as proof that he was a Dou Wang and gossiped about his connection to Nalan Yanran and Ya Fei.
• Ge Ye stopped Yun Han from pursuing Xiao Yan, but Yun Han declared that he would seek help from his grandfather and revealed that Yun Shan had emerged from seclusion.
• Ge Ye accompanied Yun Han to Yun Leng in the Founder's Ancestral Hall and falsely portrayed Xiao Yan as an arrogant aggressor who had humiliated them with Yun Yun’s support.
• Yun Leng recalled Xiao Yan’s past and was astonished to learn he had reached the Dou Ling realm at around fifteen.
• Yun Han and Ge Ye urged Yun Leng to ask Yun Shan to uphold justice, and Yun Leng left for the Forbidden Ground to request an audience.

Xiao Yan returned to Misty Cloud Sect with Yun Yun, defended his actions against Yun Han, and agreed to help her build an alliance. After they reunited privately in the Sect Leader Main Hall, Yun Shan emerged from seclusion and directed his powerful aura at Xiao Yan.

• Xiao Yan teased Yun Yun about supporting him after he threw Yun Han and Ge Ye down the mountain, and she asked him to help secure the elders' support for an alliance.
• Xiao Yan and Yun Yun entered the Sect Leader Main Hall hand in hand, where Yun Yun embraced him and they kissed.
• Yun Yun told Xiao Yan about the upcoming Sect Assembly, and Xiao Yan agreed to bring people and compete there after the alliance was settled.
• Yun Shan released a powerful aura from the Back Mountain that targeted Xiao Yan, and Yun Yun warned him that the visitor was likely trouble.

Yun Shan emerged from seclusion and met Xiao Yan, whose true strength and relationship with Yun Yun quickly changed his attitude. After discovering Yun Leng had misled him into confronting the Misty Cloud Sect’s Deputy Sect Leader, Yun Shan condemned him, and Yun Leng begged Xiao Yan for mercy.

• Yun Yun introduced Xiao Yan to Yun Shan as the Misty Cloud Sect’s Deputy Sect Leader and explained that the sect’s members had offended him.
• Xiao Yan described his reasons for joining the sect and stood calmly against Yun Shan’s pressure, convincing Yun Shan of his strength and talent.
• Yun Shan accepted Xiao Yan, asked about his former engagement to Yanran, and privately urged him and Yun Yun to mind appearances.
• Yun Leng arrived, realized Xiao Yan was a Dou Emperor, and fell to his knees when Yun Shan angrily accused him of twisting the truth for private gain.
• Yun Leng admitted fault and pleaded with Xiao Yan to spare him.

Xiao Yan intervened when Yun Shan moved to cripple Yun Leng, helping secure a punishment that spared Yun Leng’s cultivation and earned Xiao Yan appointment as Misty Cloud Sect’s Deputy Sect Leader. As Yun Shan departed to consolidate his realm, Xiao Yan secretly planned to kill Yun Leng, Yun Han, and Ge Ye, while considering whether he could help Yun Shan escape the Soul Hall’s control.

• Xiao Yan stopped Yun Shan from crippling Yun Leng and suggested that Yun Leng be allowed to atone through service to the sect.
• Yun Shan confined Yun Leng to the ancestral hall for twenty years, ordered Yun Han’s cultivation abolished and expelled him, and ordered Ge Ye’s cultivation abolished, one hundred strokes, and expulsion.
• Yun Shan appointed Xiao Yan Deputy Sect Leader, and Xiao Yan accepted the authority to help protect the Misty Cloud Sect and advance his alliance plan.
• Xiao Yan revealed that he had planted a Soul Seal and a wisp of Fallen Heart Flame in Yun Leng, Yun Han, and Ge Ye, intending to refine all three later.
• Yun Shan endorsed Xiao Yan and Yun Yun’s relationship, said the sect’s future rested on them, and left to consolidate his realm for two months.
• After Yun Shan departed, Yun Yun relaxed beside Xiao Yan as the sect’s disciples and elders realized the Misty Cloud Sect was facing a major upheaval.

Xiao Yan publicly took his place as Deputy Sect Leader of the Misty Cloud Sect, while Yun Yun affirmed his equal authority before the sect. Back in the Sect Leader Main Hall, the two were alone together again, and Xiao Yan took the lead in their intimate encounter.

• Xiao Yan teased Yun Yun in the air, then flew with her down to address the gathered Misty Cloud Sect disciples and elders.
• Xiao Yan announced himself as Deputy Sect Leader and revealed his overwhelming Dou Qi pressure to the crowd.
• Yun Yun declared Xiao Yan her equal in status and ordered the sect to treat him with the same respect as the Sect Master.
• The elders and disciples bowed to Xiao Yan, and he dismissed them before returning to the Sect Leader Main Hall with Yun Yun.
• Xiao Yan embraced Yun Yun in the hall, and the two kissed and moved to the couch.
• Xiao Yan pinned Yun Yun to the bed and arranged her in a stretching-cat pose as she blushed.

Yun Yun recovered from her night with Xiao Yan as he cared for her, and they discussed his plans to leave after the Misty Cloud Sect's Sect Assembly. In the sect's Back Mountain, Yun Shan confronted Yun Leng about sending away the punished disciples, then was surprised by the sudden appearance of a Soul Hall figure.

• Xiao Yan fed Yun Yun medicinal porridge and comforted her as she regained her strength.
• Yun Yun asked when Xiao Yan would leave, and he said he would wait until after the Sect Assembly before possibly heading to the Central Plains.
• Xiao Yan promised Yun Yun she could come find him or he would return for her, and she accepted the prospect of their reunion.
• Yun Leng told Yun Shan that he had crippled the disciples' Dou Qi and sent them down the mountain after one night of rest.
• Yun Shan reflected on his fear of Soul Hall and his hope that Xiao Yan could eventually help protect the Misty Cloud Sect.
• A mass of black mist appeared near Yun Shan, and its unseen speaker greeted him.

Wu Protector arrived at the Misty Cloud Sect and demanded a Sixth-Grade Alchemist, prompting Yun Shan to try to protect Xiao Yan by offering Gu He instead. Yun Leng exposed Yun Shan’s deception, and Wu Protector recognized Xiao Yan as a target before Yun Shan attacked him.

• Wu Protector confronted Yun Shan, reminded him of his debt to the Soul Hall, and asked him to hand over the Sixth-Grade Alchemist Yun Yun had brought back.
• Yun Shan realized Wu Protector meant Xiao Yan, fabricated a story about him being a Dou Zun expert’s disciple, and offered Gu He instead.
• Wu Protector accepted Yun Shan’s explanation but ordered him to investigate the Xiao Families in the Jia Ma Empire.
• Yun Leng revealed that Xiao Yan was a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old Dou Emperor without the claimed background and accused Yun Shan of shielding him.
• Yun Shan attacked Yun Leng, but Wu Protector blocked the strike and declared that he would take Xiao Yan.
• Yun Shan unleashed the Great Sorrow Wind-Tearing Hand at Wu Protector and told him he should die.

Yun Shan fought Wu Protector to keep him from capturing Xiao Yan, but Wu Protector overwhelmed him with Soul Hall techniques. Xiao Yan took over the fight and countered the Soul Locks with Heavenly Flames and Eight Extremities Hundred Break Fist before Wu Protector unleashed a soul-devouring torrent, which Xiao Yan answered with the Five Wheel Separation Fire Method.

• Yun Shan’s attacks failed to stop Wu Protector, who trapped him with Soul Locks and forced him to retreat toward the Sect Leader Main Hall.
• Yun Shan urged Xiao Yan and Yun Yun to flee, but Xiao Yan refused and told Yun Yun to form the Cloud Smoke Covering Sun Array.
• Wu Protector destroyed Yun Shan’s Dou Qi clone and sent Soul Locks at Xiao Yan, who formed blue Heavenly Flame armor and shattered the chains with a barrage of punches.
• Wu Protector unleashed Ten Thousand Souls Heart Devour, staggering Yun Shan and Yun Yun, while Xiao Yan formed the Five Wheel Separation Fire Method and summoned a gigantic fire python.

Xiao Yan countered Wu Protector’s soul attacks with Fallen Heart Flame, overwhelmed him, and captured his exposed soul after using Space Lock to stop his attempted self-destruction. As Xiao Yan caught the wounded Yun Yun, he saw that Yun Shan had struck her and appeared dangerously deranged.

• Xiao Yan’s Invisible Fire Python burned through Wu Protector’s Ten Thousand Souls Heart Devour, so Wu Protector formed a chained black python and sent it against him.
• Xiao Yan struck Wu Protector with Flame Splitting Devouring Wave Ruler and two Emperor Seal Art palm techniques, exposing his true form and badly injuring his soul.
• Wu Protector began burning his Soul Origin to self-destruct, but Xiao Yan used Heavenly Fire Three Profound Transformations to reach the Two-Star Peak Dou Zong realm and trapped him with Space Lock.
• Xiao Yan seized Wu Protector’s soul, sealed it in a jade bottle, and captured him.
• Xiao Yan saw Yun Yun fall from the sky, caught her, and turned toward Yun Shan, who had struck her and appeared crazed.

Xiao Yan subdued Yun Shan after the corrupted sect leader attacked him with the Cloud Smoke Covering Sun Array and the Wind Brake Annihilation Gang. With Yun Shan and Wu Protector sealed, Xiao Yan reassured Yun Yun and took charge of stabilizing the ruined Misty Cloud Sect.

• Yun Shan’s corruption drove him to attack Yun Yun, and Xiao Yan explained that Wu Protector’s methods had likely affected Yun Shan’s soul and body.
• Yun Shan seized control of the Cloud Smoke Covering Sun Array and launched the Wind Brake Annihilation Gang, but Xiao Yan countered it with his overlapping Mountain Opening Seal and Sea Overturning Seal.
• Xiao Yan overpowered Yun Shan, sealed his Dou Qi and soul, and carried him down unconscious; Yun Yun thanked Xiao Yan as he promised that Yun Shan’s life was not in danger.
• Xiao Yan confirmed that Wu Protector was sealed in a jade bottle, then used his Heart Fire Seeds to kill Yun Leng, Yun Han, and Ge Ye for betraying the sect.
• Yun Yun took Yun Shan to rest while Xiao Yan ordered the elders to tend to the disciples, distribute healing pills, seal the sect, and begin repairs.

Xiao Yan cared for Yun Shan after sealing his unstable Dou Qi and soul, then used the Blood Soul Art and Fallen Heart Flame to remove the Soul Seed and Soul Seal. Yun Shan’s condition stabilized, leaving him to recover in bed while Yun Yun thanked Xiao Yan.

• Xiao Yan found Yun Yun beside the gravely weakened Yun Shan and explained that his seals had temporarily stopped the Soul Hall corruption.
• Xiao Yan reassured Yun Yun, treated Yun Shan with medicinal pills and Heavenly Flame, and studied the Blood Soul Art techniques for removing the Soul Seed and Soul Seal.
• After Yun Yun recovered and raised a barrier, Xiao Yan carefully extracted Yun Shan’s Soul Seed and purified the Soul Seal without damaging his Soul Origin.
• Xiao Yan lifted the seals on Yun Shan and told Yun Yun that his Dou Zong aura had returned and he needed several days to recover.
• Yun Yun embraced Xiao Yan and thanked him, and Xiao Yan teased her into calling him husband.

Xiao Yan stabilized Yun Shan, reassured Yun Yun, and interrogated Wu Protector about the Soul Hall before refining and absorbing his Soul Origin. The boost raised Xiao Yan’s soul realm to Mortal Realm Peak, making him a Seventh-Tier Alchemist, and Old Yao emerged to assess his Alchemy.

• Xiao Yan told Yun Yun that Yun Shan would recover after more than a month of rest and careful cultivation, while Yun Yun prepared to handle the Misty Cloud Sect’s affairs.
• Xiao Yan tortured Wu Protector into revealing that the Soul Hall was searching the Northwest Region for an ancient jade, with the nearest branch hall in the Tianxin Empire, and that Yun Shan was the only person he had infiltrated into the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Xiao Yan refused Wu Protector’s offer to remove Yun Shan’s Soul Seal and Soul Seed, refined Wu Protector into pure Soul Origin, and absorbed it.
• Xiao Yan’s soul realm reached Mortal Realm Peak, making him a Seventh-Tier Alchemist, and he planned to cultivate his Alchemy before heading to the Central Plains.
• Old Yao emerged from the Storage Ring and told Xiao Yan to begin so he could see how far his Alchemy had progressed.

Xiao Yan successfully refined a Seventh-Grade Sect Breaking Pill, astonishing the Misty Cloud Sect and drawing Gu He back to the sect. Gu He arrived just in time to see Yun Yun’s affection for Xiao Yan and learned that she was his fiancée.

• Xiao Yan refined the Seventh-Grade Sect Breaking Pill with Old Yao’s guidance, producing a pillar of light that drew attention across the Misty Cloud Sect and Imperial Capital.
• Xiao Yan revealed his Seventh-Grade Alchemist achievement to Yun Yun and the elders, who congratulated him and dispersed at his request.
• Gu He returned to the Misty Cloud Sect after seeing the pillar of light and hurried to the Sect Leader Main Hall.
• Gu He found Yun Yun tenderly adjusting Xiao Yan’s collar and watched them exchange affectionate words.
• Yun Yun introduced Xiao Yan as the Deputy Sect Leader, a Dou Emperor, a Seventh-Tier Alchemist, and her fiancé, leaving Gu He heartbroken.

Xiao Yan persuaded Gu He to remain with the newly formed alliance by promising him a chance to study at the Danta, then Yun Shan awoke after Xiao Yan cleared the danger in his body. Xiao Yan asked Yun Shan to help unite the Jia Ma Empire’s factions, and Yun Shan agreed.

• Gu He examined Xiao Yan’s Seventh-Grade Sect Breaking Pill and, after hearing Xiao Yan’s offer of a future visit to the Danta, pledged his service to the alliance.
• Xiao Yan and Yun Yun returned to the Sect Leader Main Hall, where they shared an intimate moment.
• Two days later, Yun Shan awoke and learned from Yun Yun that Xiao Yan had cleared the hidden danger in his body.
• Xiao Yan told Yun Shan that Wu Protector was dead and claimed his teacher was an elder of the Danta.
• Xiao Yan asked Yun Shan to help gather the Jia Ma Empire’s factions into an alliance, and Yun Shan agreed.

Xiao Yan founded the Yan Alliance with the Jia Ma Empire’s major powers and assigned its leaders responsibilities for integrating their forces. He announced his engagements to Yun Yun and Queen Medusa, while Nalan Yanran remained in the Gate of Life and Death.

• Yun Shan arrived at the council hall as a Dou Zong, and the assembled leaders credited Xiao Yan with helping him advance.
• Queen Medusa appeared with overwhelming power and took a seat beside Xiao Yan, leaving the other attendees in awe.
• Xiao Yan proposed the Yan Alliance and won the support of the Jia Ma Imperial Family, the Mittel Family, the Alchemist Guild, the Misty Cloud Sect, the Snake-Person Tribe, the Mu Family, and the Nalan Clan.
• Xiao Yan assigned Ya Fei and Yun Yun to oversee alliance integration and resources, Fa Ma to manage alchemist training and medicine supplies, Jia Xingtian to coordinate military strength, and Mu Chen and Nalan Jie to organize intelligence and local coordination.
• Xiao Yan announced that he and Yun Yun would hold their engagement at the Misty Cloud Sect in two days and that he and Queen Medusa would hold theirs in Wutan City in a month and a half.

After seven days with Yun Yun, Xiao Yan returned to the valley to visit his senior sisters and found that Zi Yan had advanced. Yao Ling revealed an outrageous device she had invented to gather Flame Essence Marrow, leaving Xiao Yan horrified as she resolved to cultivate until she could perfect it.

• Yun Yun kicked Xiao Yan out of the Misty Cloud Sect after their engagement, and he set out to visit his senior sisters in the valley.
• Yao Ling, Shi Xuanxuan, Huo Zhi, Ling Yanfei, and Zi Yan greeted Xiao Yan when he arrived.
• Zi Yan challenged Xiao Yan to a fight, but he caught her wrist, redirected her attack, and offered to teach her techniques.
• Xiao Yan teased Zi Yan about showing him her mature form, while she wavered between refusing and wanting to show him.
• Yao Ling showed Xiao Yan her Herb Gathering Device and explained that she hoped to use spatial power to gather Flame Essence Marrow.
• Yao Ling decided she would cultivate until she reached Dou Zun so she could develop the device, while Xiao Yan begged her to act normally.

Xiao Yan and Huo Zhi deepened their understanding of Heavenly Flames, and Xiao Yan gave her two child flames and the Heavenly Fire Three Profound Transformations to help her grow stronger. Moved by his sacrifice, Huo Zhi kissed him.

• Xiao Yan reunited with Yao Ling, Huo Zhi, Shi Xuanxuan, and Ling Yanfei, then joined them in discussing cultivation and gave each a Heart Fire Seed.
• Xiao Yan and Huo Zhi practiced controlling their Heavenly Flames together in her cave and grew closer through their exchange of insights.
• Xiao Yan taught Huo Zhi the Heavenly Fire Three Profound Transformations and gave her child flames from the Fallen Heart Flame and Sea Heart Flame.
• Xiao Yan helped Huo Zhi imprint her soul power onto the two child flames, giving her a strong connection to them for future techniques.
• Huo Zhi, deeply moved by Xiao Yan's help, kissed him.

Xiao Yan recovered in the small valley, reached Three-Star Dou Emperor, and brought his companions to meet Queen Medusa in the Snake-Person Tribe’s new settlement. Medusa welcomed the women as future family, and they began to grow closer.

• Xiao Yan gave Huo Zhi two sub-flames and stayed in the cave with her while he recovered.
• After a month of recuperation, Xiao Yan broke through to Three-Star Dou Emperor and decided to leave for Wutan City with Yao Ling, Huo Zhi, Shi Xuanxuan, Ling Yanfei, and Zi Yan.
• Xiao Yan visited the Snake-Person Tribe’s settlement outside Wutan City, where the guards welcomed him as their Prince Consort.
• Xiao Yan introduced his companions to Queen Medusa, who confirmed that the tribe’s initial settlement had gone smoothly.
• Zi Yan bonded with Queen Medusa, and Medusa welcomed the other women as future family and asked them to call her Sister Sha.