Chapter Summaries

Xiao Fan attended the empire-merger meeting with Queen Medusa and Die, whose jealousy kept him pinned between them and away from Yao Yue and Nalan Yanran. The meeting ended with Die publicly declaring her determination toward him.

• Die arrived with Queen Medusa and accused Xiao Fan of changing his heart, prompting the sisters to activate his Snake Marks and make him roll on the ground.
• Hai Bodong saw the two Medusas at the meeting and moved away from them after noticing Die's resentful stare.
• Xiao Fan tried to approach Yao Yue, but Die wrapped her tail around him and threatened him until he agreed to stay seated.
• Yun Yun arrived with Nalan Yanran after reforming the Misty Cloud Sect, and Die grew jealous when Nalan Yanran greeted Xiao Fan.
• Die questioned Xiao Fan about his interest in younger girls, then lifted his chin with her tail and declared her determination in front of the meeting.

Xiao Fan helped secure a favorable peace between the Jia Ma Empire and the Snake-People Tribe, then accepted rare medicinal ingredients and gave Jia Xingtian a Break Sect Pill in exchange for a promise of peaceful coexistence. He began considering how to develop the empire into a new force, while Yao Yue remained nervous around him.

• Queen Medusa and Die left after the factions agreed to give the Snake-People Tribe Mo City, nearby cities, and shared governance of the Tagor Desert.
• Jia Xingtian gave Xiao Fan soul-related medicinal ingredients and other gathered resources as thanks for healing the Nether Sea Flood Dragon Beast and helping the Imperial Family.
• Xiao Fan offered to help Jia Xingtian attempt a breakthrough to Dou Zong, then asked him to maintain peace with the Snake-People Tribe.
• Jia Xingtian promised peaceful coexistence, and Xiao Fan gave him the Break Sect Pill.
• Afterward, Xiao Fan considered building a new force around the Jia Ma Empire and wondered what Jia Xingtian meant about leaving Yao Yue in his care.

Xiao Fan asked Yao Yue to enter the Alchemist Tournament and congratulated Fa Ma on becoming a Tier 6 Alchemist. He arranged for Fa Ma to guide Xue Mei, then spent the night with Zi Yan and Qing Lin while Yao Yue studied.

• Xiao Fan ordered Yao Yue to compete in the Alchemist Tournament and warned her not to call herself his disciple if she failed to place.
• Xiao Fan congratulated Fa Ma on refining a low-tier Tier 6 Medicinal Pill, and Fa Ma credited Xiao Fan's guidance.
• Xiao Fan asked Fa Ma to guide Xue Mei, and Fa Ma agreed despite learning that she was already Frank's disciple.
• That night, Zi Yan and Qing Lin crowded onto Xiao Fan's bed while Yao Yue studied her assignments alone.
• Qing Lin offered Xiao Fan candied hawthorn, and the two shared the skewer.

Xiao Fan spent the night with Qing Lin and Zi Yan before Die sneaked into his bed and Queen Medusa caught her. Queen Medusa took Little Cai form and stayed in Xiao Fan’s sleeve, accepting Die’s attachment to him even as she felt sadness.

• Xiao Fan praised Qing Lin and told her he liked her, making her blush before she fell asleep with a smile.
• Zi Yan complained that Xiao Fan had neglected her, and he teased her about hiding her Storage Ring before she bit his hand.
• Die sneaked into Xiao Fan’s room and wrapped her tail around him, but Queen Medusa arrived and caught her.
• Queen Medusa tried to take Die back, then let her stay for the night and transformed into Little Cai to hide in Xiao Fan’s sleeve.
• Xiao Fan spent a restless night crowded between Qing Lin, Zi Yan, Die, and Queen Medusa.

Xiao Fan attended the Jia Ma Empire’s Alchemist Tournament as a specially invited guest, bringing Qing Lin and meeting Die at the crowded venue. After shielding Die from hostile looks, he heard rumors about his tastes as Chairman Fa Ma opened the tournament.

• Ya Fei misunderstood Xiao Fan’s request for a larger bed and upgraded his room with a huge pink bed, where Zi Yan promptly curled up to sleep.
• Xiao Fan left the Mittel Family to attend the Alchemist Tournament, while Qing Lin nervously asked whether she could avoid going on stage.
• Hai Bodong complained that his sister-in-law had been fierce, then fled far from the venue after spotting Die.
• Die teased Xiao Fan and dismissed Hai Bodong as weak, while Xiao Fan used his soul pressure to stop alchemists from giving her hostile looks.
• Alchemists recognized Xiao Fan and whispered about his tastes as Fa Ma officially opened the tournament.

At the Alchemist Tournament, Xiao Fan added an Earth-rank Qi Method as the first-place prize, drawing excitement and attracting the attention of the disguised Yan Li. He returned to Die, teased her about what she wanted, and was caught in her Snake Curse Seal.

• Die asked Xiao Fan whether he truly planned to refine a Human-Shaping Pill for her and marry her, but he was called to speak before he could hear her full question.
• Xiao Fan wished the contestants good results, then offered an Earth-rank Qi Method to the tournament's first-place winner.
• Fa Ma asked whether he could participate, and Xiao Fan told him to release the prize in the Alchemist Guild's name.
• Xiao Fan recognized the black-robed alchemist as Yan Li, a woman from the Chu Yun Empire disguised as a seventeen-year-old youth, but chose not to expose her.
• Die complained that Xiao Fan offered her no good cultivation methods, and Xiao Fan teased her by saying he would give her whatever she wanted that night.
• Die realized Xiao Fan meant cultivation methods, grabbed him as he tried to run, and cast the Snake Curse Seal.

At the Alchemist Tournament, Yao Yue competed in the extraction round while Xiao Fan watched and amused himself by collecting gifts from influential figures. Yan Li appeared to lead with an eighth-grade result, but Yao Yue surpassed her with a tenth-grade, superior score.

• After Fa Ma announced the extraction round, Xiao Fan took Qing Lin around to meet people and collected gifts, then maneuvered Fa Ma into giving gifts to Qing Lin and Zi Yan.
• Yao Yue entered her assigned room, resolved to meet her master's expectations, and extracted the Green Spirit Crystal Grass.
• Yan Li earned an eighth-grade, rank A result, drawing praise as Xiao Fan and Zi Yan noticed her disguise and the unusual item in her Storage Ring.
• Fa Ma sensed something suspicious about Yan Li, and Xiao Fan confirmed she was disguised but chose not to intervene yet.
• Yao Yue earned a tenth-grade, superior score, beating Yan Li's result, and Xiao Fan praised her for not wasting the ingredient.

Yao Yue passed the Alchemist Tournament’s first two rounds, impressing Fa Ma and Xiao Fan with her skill and judgment. Xiao Fan became suspicious when Yan Li used an alchemy method nearly identical to his own.

• Yao Yue achieved perfect medicinal-herb extraction, earning Fa Ma’s praise and making Yan Li doubt his chances of winning.
• Yao Yue reunited with Xiao Fan, who reminded her that the tournament had only just begun before she returned to the waiting area.
• The contestants began the second round by refining a Blood-Generating Pill, and many cauldrons exploded because the supplied formula included a conflicting Green Flame Grass.
• Yao Yue recognized the flaw and delayed refining, while Xiao Fan encouraged her to question the formula rather than blindly follow it.
• Yao Yue and Yan Li both discarded the Green Flame Grass and refined the remaining ingredients together, prompting Xiao Fan to notice Yan Li’s strikingly similar technique.
• Yao Yue passed the second round with a stronger result than Yan Li, while most contestants remained confused by their failed pills.

Xiao Fan left the alchemy trial venue to find a Beast Flame for Yao Yue and traded for a mysterious iron shard after learning of a secret realm in the Black-Corner Region. He secured a Peach Blossom Fire and prepared to return to the competition with it.

• Xiao Fan decided Yao Yue would need another flame to compete with Yan Li and left the venue while the third trial was underway.
• Xiao Fan took Zi Yan and Qing Lin to the Mittel Family's free-trade area, where Zi Yan led him to a secretive old vendor.
• Xiao Fan traded an Azure Underworld Longevity Pill for a black iron shard and learned that a secret realm in the Black-Corner Region held Bodhi Body Saliva.
• Xiao Fan reassured Zi Yan about the iron shard and gave her new-flavored Sugar Pills, which quickly cheered her up.
• Xiao Fan found a fifth-rank Peach Blossom Fire and traded a Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill for it.

Fa Ma obtained Xiao Fan’s Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and watched the alchemists begin the third round, where Yao Yue’s Heavenly Flame astonished him. Back at the Mittel Family, Xiao Fan uncovered an incomplete Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations scroll, then fled after Die confronted him; Die later taught Qing Lin the Snake Curse Seal before Queen Medusa caught her leading Qing Lin astray.

• Fa Ma traded the merchant a fifth-tier pill for Xiao Fan’s peak fourth-tier Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and returned to the competition venue.
• The third round began, and Yao Yue’s Heavenly Flame overwhelmed the other contestants’ flames while Fa Ma recognized it as a gift from Xiao Fan.
• Xiao Fan burned away the coating on the iron sheet and discovered an incomplete Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations secret technique containing only its first transformation.
• Die confronted Xiao Fan for leaving her at the venue, used the Snake Curse Seal on him, and later agreed to teach Qing Lin the seal.
• Die told Qing Lin about the Snake Curse Seal and shared secrets about Xiao Fan until Queen Medusa arrived and grabbed Die by the ear.

Queen Medusa punished Die while Qing Lin learned to form a Snake Curse Seal. Xiao Fan reassured Yao Yue that he still believed in her, prepared her for the Alchemist competition’s final round, and left her ready to challenge the Chu Yun Empire’s Alchemist.

• Queen Medusa made Die hold a difficult pose as punishment, then explained that a true Snake Curse Seal had to be planted on the heart.
• Qing Lin formed an emerald Snake Curse Seal on her first attempt, but Die advised her to plant it rather than maintain it with Dou Qi, prompting Queen Medusa to scold Die.
• Yao Yue cried because she thought Xiao Fan had stopped supporting her, but he clarified that he had skipped her match because he trusted her and was gathering ingredients for the final.
• Xiao Fan gave Yao Yue the formula for a Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill and the Peach Blossom Fire, then taught her to switch between three kinds of flames using the Flame Control Art.
• Yao Yue practiced controlling the flames and promised to defeat the Alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire, while Xiao Fan hoped nothing would go wrong.

Xiao Fan comforted Ya Fei before leaving for the night, then faced jealousy and possessive affection from Die and Zi Yan at the Alchemist Competition. The final round began with contestants free to refine any medicinal pill.

• Ya Fei gave Xiao Fan a Peace Talisman, kissed his cheek, and he agreed to spend the night with her.
• Die questioned Xiao Fan about where he had been, while Zi Yan detected Ya Fei's scent and accepted Sugar Pills to keep quiet.
• Die saw Yao Yue at the competition, grew jealous, and kissed Xiao Fan possessively in front of the crowd.
• Zi Yan joined Die in clinging to Xiao Fan, and Jia Xingtian prompted Chairman Fa Ma to start the competition.
• Chairman Fa Ma announced that the final round required contestants to freely refine one medicinal pill.

Yao Yue struggled to refine a peak fourth-tier Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill in the alchemy competition while Yan Li mocked her and Xiao Fan encouraged her. She used the Five Elements Flame Spirit Art to fuse three Heavenly Flames and successfully formed the pill just as the incense burned out.

• Yao Yue failed her first attempt at the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill, and Yan Li mocked her for it.
• Yao Yue recovered her focus and began again with her backup ingredients while Fa Ma explained the difficulty of transforming the flame.
• Xiao Fan told Yao Yue he believed in her, and she drew strength from his words.
• Yao Yue used the Five Elements Flame Spirit Art to control three flames and fuse the pill, despite Fa Ma warning that the cauldron might explode.
• Yan Li finished refining his Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill but held back from cheating under Xiao Fan's watchful gaze.
• Yao Yue successfully refined the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill as the incense burned out and told Xiao Fan she had done it.

Yao Yue won the Alchemist Tournament with her Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill, and Xiao Fan exposed Yan Li’s cheating before letting her escape. He tracked Yan Li to Xiao Yi Xian and reunited with her outside the Imperial Capital, where they argued and Xiao Fan asked why she had come to Jia Ma Empire.

• Yao Yue collapsed after refining the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill, and Xiao Fan praised her before Fa Ma awarded her the championship over Yan Li.
• Yan Li accused the Jia Ma Empire of rigging the tournament, but Xiao Fan pointed out the superiority of Yao Yue’s pill and her violation of the rules.
• Hai Bodong, Jia Xingtian, and Fa Ma pursued Yan Li, and Xiao Fan deliberately let her escape so he could follow her.
• Yan Li met the sect master Xiao Yi Xian outside the city, and Xiao Fan revealed that he had tracked her there.
• Xiao Fan and Xiao Yi Xian reunited, exchanged teasing and angry words, and Xiao Fan asked what she had come to Jia Ma Empire to do.

Xiao Fan learned why Xiao Yi Xian had come to the Jia Ma Empire and prepared to leave after spending time with her and Zi Yan. He gave Yao Yue advanced alchemy knowledge before departing, and she vowed to become an alchemy grandmaster before they met again.

• Xiao Fan teased and reconciled with Xiao Yi Xian, who revealed that the Poison Sect planned to absorb the Chu Yun Empire's Alchemist Guild through its bet over the Alchemist Tournament.
• Xiao Fan gave Zi Yan the box Xiao Yi Xian had prepared for her, and Zi Yan ran off happily with it.
• Xiao Fan returned Yao Yue's Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill and told her it could help her break through from Dou Shi to Da Dou Shi.
• Xiao Fan rewarded Yao Yue with the third volume of his Alchemist's Compendium, sharing alchemy knowledge that reached seventh- and eighth-tier pills.
• Xiao Fan told Yao Yue he was leaving for a while, and she tearfully promised to become an alchemy grandmaster before he returned.

Xiao Fan left the Imperial Capital after saying goodbye to Queen Medusa, Die, and Ya Fei, intending to return to the Xiao Family before heading to the Black-Corner Region. At the Xiao Family, Xiao Yu was still losing to Gu Xun'er and thinking about Xiao Fan, who had been gone for nearly two and a half years.

• Die protested being left behind, but Queen Medusa ordered her to guard the Snake-People Tribe and gave her a jade pendant containing a powerful strike and the Yellow Spring Finger battle technique.
• Xiao Fan fed Little Cai, learned Die had left, and prepared to depart with Qing Lin, Zi Yan, Little Cai, and Xiao Lv.
• Xiao Fan left the Imperial Capital on a flying griffin, planning to visit the Xiao Family before going to the Black-Corner Region.
• At the Xiao Family training field, Xiao Yu lost to Gu Xun'er in one move again, while Xiao Ning tried to comfort her.
• Xiao Yu lamented that Xiao Fan had been gone for nearly two and a half years and admitted to thinking about him.

Xiao Fan traveled to Wutan City with Qing Lin, Zi Yan, and Little Cai, reflecting on the family waiting for him there. After Xiao Ning spotted his return, Xiao Yu rushed off to bathe while the Great Elder and Xiao Ning prepared to welcome him.

• Xiao Fan told Qing Lin they were going to meet his family, and she comforted him before asking whether marrying him required the Great Elder’s permission.
• Xiao Fan questioned Little Cai about Die and Queen Medusa, but Little Cai avoided answering and Xiao Fan was struck on the shoulder.
• Zi Yan frightened the griffin, dragged it into a crash landing near Wutan City, and climbed onto Xiao Fan’s back.
• The Wutan City Lord recognized the group as important visitors from the Imperial Capital and ordered his subordinates to behave themselves.
• Xiao Ning told Xiao Yu and the Great Elder that Xiao Fan had returned, and Xiao Yu hurried to bathe while ordering Xiao Ning to stall him.
• The Great Elder left to prepare for Xiao Fan’s return, leaving Xiao Ning to steel himself for the task.

Xiao Fan returned to the Xiao Family with Qing Lin and encountered Xiao Ning, who demanded revenge on Xiao Yan. At the back mountain, Zi Yan revealed a dangerous reaction to Xiao Yan, while Gu Xun'er confronted her and realized that Zi Yan had also been reborn.

• Xiao Ning begged Xiao Fan to avenge him, claiming Xiao Yan had seen him naked, and Xiao Fan healed him before dragging him toward the back mountain.
• Xiao Ning mistook Qing Lin for Xiao Fan's daughter, then learned she was Xiao Fan's little sister.
• Gu Xun'er heard Xiao Fan had returned and hurried with Ling Ying to the Xiao Family's back mountain.
• Xiao Ning accused Xiao Yan of humiliating him, stealing his innocence by drinking his bathwater, and trying to lay hands on his sister; Xiao Fan expressed disbelief at the accusation.
• Zi Yan's eyes turned golden and she released intense killing intent as Gu Xun'er arrived, recognized her, and accused her of trying to take Xiao Fan away.

Xiao Fan rejected Gu Xun'er and comforted Zi Yan after catching her lying, then left with Zi Yan and Qing Lin to visit a hot spring in the Xiao Family's back mountain. Gu Xun'er was left distraught, while Yao Lao wondered about the Xiao Family and regretted not taking Xiao Fan as his disciple.

• Xiao Yan trembled at Zi Yan's pressure, and Yao Lao warned him that Xiao Fan's background was formidable.
• Xiao Fan told Gu Xun'er they were not familiar, then called out Zi Yan for lying about knowing her.
• Xiao Fan punished Zi Yan with a kiss, reassured her that nobody would bully her, and asked Xiao Ning to explain the conflict.
• Xiao Ning followed Xiao Fan away after taunting Gu Xun'er, while Yao Lao questioned Xiao Yan about the Xiao Family and considered recruiting Xiao Fan.
• Xiao Fan took Zi Yan and Qing Lin to the back mountain's hot spring, where they sensed someone nearby.

Xiao Fan reunited with Xiao Yu at the hot spring while trying to manage Zi Yan and Qing Lin, then reassured Zi Yan that he would choose her. He suspected Zi Yan had been reborn but chose not to expose her deception.

• Zi Yan dragged Xiao Fan into the hot spring, where he discovered Xiao Yu was bathing nearby and found Qing Lin still in the water without clothes.
• Xiao Yu mistook Xiao Fan for an intruder and attacked him, then recognized him and accidentally fell; Xiao Fan caught her with Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yu asked whether Qing Lin was Xiao Fan’s sister, and Xiao Fan said she was before Xiao Yu left, saddened by their brief reunion.
• Qing Lin told Xiao Fan she did not want to leave him, while Zi Yan asked him to tie her hair.
• Xiao Fan promised Zi Yan he would always choose her, and she confessed her fear of losing him and her happiness that he chose her.
• Xiao Fan suspected Zi Yan had deceived him because she remembered a past life, but decided not to reveal that he had noticed.