Chapter Summaries

Yun Yun learned that the Taiping Golden Pill could greatly stabilize her foundation and improve future breakthroughs, and Xiao Tianci gave her one despite her initial concerns. After she left to rejoin Gu He’s group, Xiao Tianci followed them toward a Snake-People settlement, hoping to take advantage of the coming confrontation and find rare ingredients.

• Yun Yun realized the Taiping Golden Pill could strengthen her foundation and improve her chances of advancing, but warned Xiao Tianci that others might target him for it.
• Xiao Tianci showed Yun Yun five Taiping Golden Pills and said they were easy for him to make, so Yun Yun accepted one.
• Yun Yun left to rejoin Gu He and the others, noting that Yue Mei might warn Queen Medusa about their plans to seek the Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Tianci considered the dangers of Gu He’s negotiations with Queen Medusa and decided to follow, seeking rare ingredients, the Azure Cloud Sacred Ice, and the Sand Mandala.
• Xiao Tianci flew toward a Snake-People settlement and spotted its brightly lit fortress, where signs of unrest were visible.

Xiao Tianci reached the Charmer Snake Tribe’s fortress and was spotted by its sentry, prompting the angry defenders to attack him. The tribe’s leader ordered a volley of poisoned spears at Xiao Tianci as he hovered above the fortress.

• Xiao Tianci arrived above the fortress and saw that Gu He and his group had smashed a passage through its defenses.
• A strange giant bird spotted Xiao Tianci and alerted the snake-people guards.
• Xiao Tianci killed the giant bird with sword light and ice.
• A cold, beautiful snake-woman ordered several hundred guards to throw their poisoned spears at Xiao Tianci.

Xiao Tianci repelled the Snake-People Tribe’s attack and devastated their settlement with Two-Sleeve Green Snake before disappearing. The tribe’s leader ordered repairs and called for reinforcements, while Snake-People patrols searched the desert without knowing what had prompted the heightened security.

• Xiao Tianci burned the poisoned spears with a flame and unleashed Two-Sleeve Green Snake, which destroyed two towers and rampaged through the Snake-People Tribe.
• Xiao Tianci warned the Snake-People that his attack was only a small gift, then vanished from the sky.
• The cold, stunning snake-woman ordered the tribe to repair the damage, treat the wounded, alert nearby settlements, and request experts from the seven great tribes.
• A Snake-People patrol captain complained about the humans, while his squad questioned why security had suddenly tightened.

After hearing how Xiao Tianci’s attack on the Charm Snake Tribe had triggered a rapid mobilization, he considered the danger facing Gu He’s group and studied a map of Queen Medusa’s heavily guarded Temple. He resolved that he could not stay out of the coming conflict, while the Snake-People Tribe’s forces converged on the Temple.

• The snake-person squad leader reported that human experts had breached the Charm Snake Tribe, and a lone young human had killed Wolf Owl and devastated the tribe.
• The squad leader said the Snake-People Tribe had declared martial law and that the leaders of the Eight Great Tribes were heading to Queen Medusa’s Temple.
• Xiao Tianci emerged from hiding after the squad left and realized the Snake-People Tribe had mobilized faster than he expected.
• Xiao Tianci worried that Gu He’s group could not withstand the combined strength of the Eight Great Tribes and Queen Medusa.
• Xiao Tianci examined his map and considered the Temple’s defenses and the elite Medusa Snake Guard.

Xiao Tianci reached the city where Queen Medusa lived and watched its defenses while waiting for Gu He and his group. Before they arrived, Mo Basi, chief of the Black Snake Tribe, appeared and requested an audience with Queen Majesty.

• Xiao Tianci flew toward Queen Medusa’s city, avoiding patrols and destroying the Snake-People squads he could not bypass.
• Xiao Tianci observed the city’s closed gates, patrolling guards, and circling black birds, then concealed himself nearby to wait for Gu He and his group.
• Xiao Tianci sensed a powerful aura approaching and saw Mo Basi arrive alone at the city.
• Mo Basi announced himself as chief of the Black Snake Tribe and requested an audience with Queen Majesty.

Yue Mei told Mo Basi that two powerful human groups had entered the Tagor Desert, and one group was seeking Queen Majesty. As Mo Basi tried to reach the queen despite her refusal to meet anyone, he and Yue Mei sensed the intruders arriving.

• Mo Basi arrived at the hall and asked Yue Mei why she had issued three martial-law orders.
• Yue Mei said one human group consisted of a lone, terrifyingly strong person, while the other had a Dou Emperor, three Dou Wangs, and four Dou Lings.
• Yue Mei told Mo Basi that the second group seemed to be searching for Queen Majesty.
• Mo Basi learned that Queen Majesty had not met Yue Mei and was communicating through Hua She'er, but he insisted on seeing her.
• Yue Mei and Mo Basi sensed the humans arriving.

Xiao Tianci watched Gu He’s group confront the Snake-People Tribe outside the city while secretly discovering Xiao Yan hiding nearby. As Yan Shi and Mo Basi traded insults, Xiao Tianci waited to see how the confrontation would unfold.

• Xiao Tianci saw Gu He and his companions arrive outside the city and noticed Yue Mei and Mo Basi on the walls.
• Mo Basi warned Gu He that the leaders of the Eight Great Tribes were heading to the Temple, while Gu He politely asked to speak with Queen Medusa.
• Xiao Tianci discovered Xiao Yan hiding behind a boulder and realized he had come seeking Heavenly Flames.
• Yan Shi urged Gu He to attack the city, and Mo Basi and Yan Shi exchanged taunts about their past rivalry.

Gu He called for Queen Medusa to discuss a matter, while Xiao Tianci watched from nearby, hoping to see her. Queen Medusa appeared before the assembled Snake-People Tribe and Gu He's group, leaving Xiao Tianci to wonder whether Gu He intended to pursue the Heavenly Flames.

• Gu He stopped Yan Shi from escalating the argument with Mo Basi and called out to Queen Medusa, asking to meet and discuss a matter.
• Yue Mei persuaded Mo Basi to let Queen Medusa appear, and Xiao Tianci hoped her arrival would let him see her for himself.
• After a long silence, Queen Medusa twisted the space above the city wall and appeared before the watching groups.
• The Snake-People Tribe knelt and hailed Queen Medusa, while Gu He and Yan Shi moved closer to Yun Yun.
• Xiao Tianci admired Queen Medusa's beauty and wondered whether Gu He planned to target the Heavenly Flames.

Xiao Tianci considered negotiating with Queen Medusa for Azure Cloud Sacred Ice and decided to wait for Gu He’s talks to reveal her situation. Gu He began negotiating with Queen Medusa, while Xiao Tianci watched from hiding and kept track of Xiao Yan.

• Xiao Tianci reasoned that he could offer Queen Medusa rare pills in exchange for Azure Cloud Sacred Ice, then chose to wait and observe Gu He’s negotiations.
• Queen Medusa confronted Gu He and acknowledged his reputation as a sixth-tier alchemist, while warning that he owed compensation for entering Snake-People territory.
• Yue Mei blamed Gu He for the damage to the city wall and the Charm Snake Tribe, including destruction she suspected Xiao Tianci had caused.
• Gu He prepared to explain why he had come, aware that Queen Medusa was powerful and that Yun Yun’s presence was mainly to help them escape if talks failed.
• Xiao Tianci wondered whether Gu He had lost his nerve, then checked on Xiao Yan and found him still lying motionless behind a rock.

Gu He revealed that he had traced Queen Medusa’s Heavenly Flame and offered rare pills in exchange for it. Queen Medusa had not accepted or rejected his proposal by the chapter’s end.

• Gu He told Queen Medusa that he had come for the Heavenly Flame she possessed, stunning the snake-people who had not known she had one.
• Mo Basi and Yue Mei realized Queen Medusa might be seeking the Heavenly Flame to break through to Dou Zong, despite the risks to her and their tribe.
• Gu He explained that he had followed the Heavenly Flame’s aura half a year earlier and found bloodstained scales that led him to suspect Queen Medusa had been injured while obtaining it.
• Xiao Tianci connected Gu He’s discovery to Queen Medusa’s injuries, her search for the Red Water Spirit Root, and Qing Lin noticing her unstable aura.
• Gu He offered two sixth-tier Dou Ling Pills and one seventh-tier Humanoid Transformation Pill for the Heavenly Flame, leaving the gathered experts astonished.

Gu He offered Queen Medusa a sixth-tier Dou Ling Pill and a seventh-tier Humanoid Transformation Pill in exchange for the Heavenly Flames, but she refused despite finding the offer tempting. Xiao Tianci realized the Queen Medusa before them was only an energy projection and wondered whether to approach her with an offer of his own.

• Gu He offered Queen Medusa a Dou Ling Pill and a Humanoid Transformation Pill for the Heavenly Flames, astonishing the onlookers.
• Xiao Tianci noticed Queen Medusa lacked a Dou Emperor's aura and realized she was an energy projection, then suspected the real Medusa was in the imperial city.
• Queen Medusa refused Gu He's offer, saying the Heavenly Flames were too important to her right now.
• Yue Mei and Mo Basi understood Queen Medusa's refusal, while Gu He accepted that his generous terms had not been enough.
• Xiao Tianci considered whether to make his entrance and negotiate with Queen Medusa.

Gu He failed to persuade Queen Medusa to give up the Heavenly Flames, and she warned him to leave before the Snake-People Tribe’s leaders arrived. Xiao Tianci then appeared in disguise and announced that he also wanted to make a deal, leaving Gu He suspicious and Yun Yun close to identifying him.

• Gu He asked Queen Medusa why she wanted the Heavenly Flames, but she refused to explain and told him to leave without compensation.
• Queen Medusa warned Gu He that the Snake-People Tribe’s eight leaders were approaching and that some hated humans.
• Xiao Tianci emerged from the boulder in a black robe, and Queen Medusa initially suspected he was Gu He’s hidden backup.
• Gu He denied knowing Xiao Tianci, and Queen Medusa asked the stranger who he was and why he had come.
• Xiao Tianci concealed his voice and said he had come to make a deal, while Yun Yun recognized his manner of speaking and Gu He wondered if he was the young man from the oasis.

Xiao Tianci told Queen Medusa he wanted Azure Cloud Sacred Ice and Sand Mandala, not the Heavenly Flames, and offered a Limitless Dou Ling Pill in exchange. Queen Medusa showed interest but argued that one pill was too little, leaving Xiao Tianci to clarify the value of his offer.

• Yan Shi and Gu He doubted that the black-robed man could offer terms better than Gu He's Humanoid Transformation Pill, while Xiao Yan and Yao Lao watched and wondered whether they recognized him.
• Queen Medusa refused to trade the Heavenly Flames, but Xiao Tianci said he had come for Azure Cloud Sacred Ice and Sand Mandala instead.
• Mo Basi said the Snake-People Tribe had both requested treasures, while Gu He recognized Sand Mandala but had never heard of Azure Cloud Sacred Ice.
• Xiao Tianci offered Queen Medusa a Limitless Dou Ling Pill for the Azure Cloud Sacred Ice, drawing the interest of the Snake-People Tribe and Gu He's scrutiny.
• Queen Medusa said one Dou Ling Pill was too little, and Xiao Tianci realized she had mistaken his Limitless Dou Ling Pill for an ordinary Dou Ling Pill.

Xiao Tianci revealed that his self-created Limitless Dou Ling Pill could raise a Dou Wang’s strength by up to four stars per pill, be taken twice, and bypass the bottleneck to Dou Emperor. Queen Medusa, eager to gain the pills for her tribe, invited him to the Snake-People Tribe and promised him access to its treasury.

• Yan Shi, Feng Li, Gu He, and Yun Yun considered the mysterious alchemist and his pill, while Xiao Yan asked Yao Lao about the unfamiliar Limitless Dou Ling Pill.
• Xiao Tianci explained the pill’s powerful effects, leaving Queen Medusa, the human Dou Wangs, and the Snake-People Tribe’s leaders stunned and eager to obtain it.
• Queen Medusa asked how Xiao Tianci would prove the pill’s effects, and he produced a Limitless Dou Ling Pill and offered to let her test it before trading for the Azure Cloud Sacred Ice.
• Queen Medusa invited Xiao Tianci to the Snake-People Tribe and offered him a choice of treasures, while Mo Basi warned the snake-people to treat him as an honored guest.

Xiao Tianci revealed that he possessed the Limitless Dou Ling Pill, which could greatly strengthen the Snake-People Tribe, and Queen Medusa agreed to exchange it for the Azure Cloud Sacred Ice. He accepted her invitation to the Snake-People Tribe’s city, where its leaders promised to protect him.

• Queen Medusa and the others reacted with shock and greed to the claimed effects of the Limitless Dou Ling Pill, while Xiao Yan and Yao Lao questioned whether such a pill could exist.
• Queen Medusa cautiously asked Xiao Tianci how he could prove the pill’s effects.
• Xiao Tianci produced a Limitless Dou Ling Pill and offered to hand it over for testing before receiving the Azure Cloud Sacred Ice.
• Queen Medusa invited Xiao Tianci to the Snake-People Tribe’s city and offered access to its treasury in hopes of obtaining more pills.
• Queen Medusa, Yue Mei, and Mo Basi warned the Snake-People Tribe’s subordinates to treat Xiao Tianci as an honored guest.

Xiao Tianci approached the Snake-People Tribe’s imperial city with the Limitless Dou Ling Pill, and its leaders welcomed him warmly. Yan Shi and Feng Li offered access to their collections in hopes of obtaining the pill, leaving Xiao Tianci to enter the city amid eager attention from the Snake-People Tribe.

• Mo Basi and Yue Mei assured Xiao Tianci that the Snake-People Tribe would not harm him, and he headed toward the city walls with the pill.
• Gu He resented the Snake-People Tribe’s warmer treatment of Xiao Tianci, while Yan Shi offered his collection and ten sets of Dou Ling Pill materials in exchange for one Limitless Dou Ling Pill.
• Xiao Tianci agreed to visit Yan Shi after matters were settled, and Yan Shi warned Mo Basi to treat him well.
• Feng Li invited Xiao Tianci to visit his treasury too, and Xiao Tianci agreed to stop by if he had time.
• Xiao Tianci landed before Mo Basi and Yue Mei, who welcomed him with smiles and hoped to earn a pill through their hospitality.

Xiao Tianci, posing as the Medicine King, secured a warm welcome from the Snake-People Tribe and permission to visit Queen Medusa's treasury. As Mo Basi led him into the imperial city to see the Azure Cloud Sacred Ice, Queen Medusa pressed Gu He and his companions to leave.

• Xiao Tianci gave Queen Medusa the Limitless Dou Ling Pill, and she kept it rather than choosing between Mo Basi and Yue Mei.
• Xiao Tianci called himself the Medicine King and asked to see the Azure Cloud Sacred Ice and be given a private room.
• Mo Basi led Xiao Tianci toward the imperial city and offered access to his tribe's treasury, while Yue Mei offered her own tribe's treasury.
• Queen Medusa watched the chiefs court Xiao Tianci and felt relieved that he was staying with the Snake-People Tribe.
• Queen Medusa urged Gu He and his companions to leave, and Gu He told Yan Shi they could not take the pill by force.

Yun Yun revealed that Queen Medusa needed Heavenly Flames to undergo an evolution that could make her a Dou Zong, and exposed that the Queen before them was only an energy body. The revelation unsettled the Snake-People, while Yun Yun vanished from the city wall.

• Gu He accepted that his bargaining chips were insufficient to trade for the Heavenly Flames, and Yan Shi and Feng Li asked Yun Yun for her opinion.
• Yun Yun said an ancient record described Queen Medusa's evolution, which required Heavenly Flames and could raise her strength to Dou Zong.
• Xiao Tianci overheard Yun Yun's explanation, realized why Queen Medusa refused the exchange, and went with Mo Basi and Yue Mei to a guest residence.
• Mo Basi told Xiao Tianci that Azure Cloud Sacred Ice would be delivered later, then he and Yue Mei hurried back to the city wall.
• Yun Yun told Queen Medusa that the present figure was only an energy body and that the real Queen was preparing to evolve; Mo Basi and Yue Mei grew alarmed.
• Yun Yun confirmed Yan Shi's question with a nod and vanished from where she stood.

Yun Yun destroyed Queen Medusa’s energy body and led the defense against the Snake-People Tribe’s attack. She urged Gu He to seize the chance to enter while Queen Medusa absorbed the Heavenly Flames, leaving Xiao Yan hoping to exploit the chaos.

• Yun Yun struck Queen Medusa’s energy body, which vanished into pale purple smoke, while Yan Shi and Feng Li blocked Yue Mei and Mo Basi.
• Xiao Yan asked Yao Lao about taking a Limitless Dou Ling Pill, but Yao Lao warned him not to offend its unknown master and told him to wait for a chance to sneak in.
• Mo Basi ordered the Snake-People Tribe’s guards to attack Yun Yun, Gu He, and the others with poisoned spears.
• Yun Yun summoned a green tornado that swept aside most of the poisoned spear barrage.
• Yun Yun told Gu He to force their way into the tribe while Queen Medusa was weakened by absorbing the Heavenly Flames.

Gu He and his allies attacked the Imperial City so he could search for the Heavenly Flames, while Xiao Tianci watched the unrest from his guarded courtyard. Gu He entered the city, and Xiao Tianci considered how to slip past the guards as the Snake-People warned him to stay inside.

• Gu He decided to enter the Imperial City for the Heavenly Flames and ordered Yan Shi and Feng Li to hold back Mo Basi and Yue Mei.
• Yan Shi and Feng Li intercepted Mo Basi and Yue Mei while Gu He fought past the Medusa Snake Guards.
• Yun Yun stopped Hua She'er, allowing Gu He to enter the city, while an unidentified shadow also slipped in from outside the wall.
• Xiao Tianci sensed Gu He and Xiao Yan entering the city and realized Queen Medusa's treasury would not be opened for him soon.
• Xiao Tianci considered leaving his courtyard unnoticed after recognizing that two Dou Ling Snake-People had been assigned to watch him.
• One of the guards told Xiao Tianci that unrest had broken out in the city and asked him to limit his outings for his safety.