Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan killed the Ancient Devouring Insect leader with soul attacks, then seized its unusually resilient corpse. The enraged swarm pursued him as he fled toward the passage to the Heavenly Tomb’s second level.

• The Ancient Devouring Insect leader devoured Xiao Yan’s Ancient Emperor Seal and withstood his Heavenly Flames, but Xiao Yan struck its soul twice with Shadow Piercing Needles and killed it.
• With the leader dead, the insect swarm fell into confusion and stopped attacking Xiao Yan, giving him a chance to recover and summon the Black Flame back.
• Xiao Yan sent the Black Flame through the swarm and grabbed the leader’s corpse, hoping to keep its valuable shell.
• The swarm renewed its attack when Xiao Yan took the corpse, so he fled toward the light curtain leading to the Heavenly Tomb’s second level.

Xiao Yan used his soul power to stop and send the pursuing Ancient Devouring Insects back through the barrier into the first layer. After recovering in the second layer, he resolved to reach the fourth layer to meet Xiao Xuan and benefit from its cultivation environment.

• Xiao Yan used the Soul Puppet Control Technique to halt the Ancient Devouring Insects and gradually command them to return through the light curtain.
• After the last insects left, Xiao Yan rested and worried about how Xun Er, Huo Zhi, and Lei Jingxiao were faring in the vast Heavenly Tomb.
• Xiao Yan examined the Ancient Devouring Insect leader’s resilient corpse and stored it in his Storage Ring.
• Xiao Yan began cultivating in the second layer and discovered that its abundant Dou Qi greatly accelerated his recovery and cultivation.
• Xiao Yan decided to reach the fourth layer as soon as possible to meet his ancestor Xiao Xuan and make the most of his three years in the Heavenly Tomb.

Xiao Yan discovered that the Heavenly Tomb’s undead energy bodies left crystals whose Dou Qi could strengthen him and restore his energy. Using the Soul-Turning Secret Technique and the crystals to replenish his Dou Qi, he set out to hunt energy bodies at a pace no other prodigy could match.

• Xiao Yan killed an undead energy body with one punch and collected the diamond-shaped energy crystal it left behind.
• Xiao Yan absorbed the crystal’s Dou Qi, recovered from his exertion, and felt his strength improve.
• Xiao Yan decided to hunt undead energy bodies and collect their crystals to advance his cultivation.
• Xiao Yan discovered that the crystals could replenish the Dou Qi spent in battle, travel, and using his abilities.
• Xiao Yan used the Soul-Turning Secret Technique and raised his soul power from the early to the middle Heavenly State, allowing him to locate and harvest energy bodies far faster than the other prodigies.

Xiao Yan hunted undead energy forms on the Heavenly Tomb’s second layer and absorbed their energy cores to strengthen his cultivation. At the barrier to the third layer, he reunited with Ling Fengzhui, whose calm greeting left their intentions unclear.

• Xiao Yan used his soul power to find and defeat several undead energy forms, including one at the peak Dou Zun level.
• Xiao Yan absorbed the energy cores and felt his cultivation approach the middle Half-Saint stage, while weaker cores became less useful to him.
• Xiao Yan continued toward the third layer, harvesting energy forms along the way.
• Xiao Yan reached the barrier between the second and third layers and encountered Ling Fengzhui.
• Ling Fengzhui greeted Xiao Yan calmly, despite their earlier interrupted fight.

Xiao Yan confronted Ling Fengzhui beneath the screen leading to the Heavenly Tomb’s third level, where Ling Fengzhui spoke of their similar burdens as descendants of Dou Di clans. Xiao Yan rejected the comparison, and Ling Fengzhui, accepting his answer, drew his sword and challenged him to a fair fight to the death.

• Xiao Yan prepared to kill Ling Fengzhui but grew wary when his enemy appeared sorrowful and showed no fighting intent.
• Xiao Yan searched the area with his soul power and found no ambush, while Ling Fengzhui said he only wanted to talk.
• Ling Fengzhui compared the declining Spirit Clan’s plight with the Xiao Clan’s troubles and said their backgrounds burdened them both.
• Xiao Yan rejected the comparison, condemning the Spirit Clan’s choices and explaining that the Ancient Clan had broken its word and threatened his family.
• Ling Fengzhui praised Xiao Yan, drew his broadsword, revealed his mid-stage Half-Saint strength, and challenged him to fight to the death.

Xiao Yan and Ling Fengzhui resumed their battle, trading powerful weapon techniques and testing each other's clones and defenses. Ling Fengzhui unleashed a tide of blades that filled Xiao Yan's vision, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Ling Fengzhui charged Xiao Yan with his ice-coated saber, but Xiao Yan blocked the strike and sent him flying with the Heavy Profound Ruler.
• Ling Fengzhui unleashed a rapid series of saber slashes, which Xiao Yan perceived and deflected with his ruler.
• Xiao Yan struck with Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler, and Ling Fengzhui countered with Shadow Slash; their attacks collided in a violent explosion.
• Ling Fengzhui attacked through the blast with Shadow Claw while his Ink Shadow split off to stab Xiao Yan from behind, but Xiao Yan's Three Thousand Lightning Phantom Body intercepted it and was badly damaged.
• Xiao Yan used Ancient Emperor Seal and Soul Flow Black Vortex against Ling Fengzhui's attacks, but Ling Fengzhui launched Blade Tide Shattering Shadow, filling the battlefield with countless saber lights.

Xiao Yan and Ling Fengzhui fought fiercely, each unleashing powerful techniques until their clan marks and bloodline abilities raised the stakes. The chapter ended with Ling Fengzhui shattering Xiao Yan’s soul vortex, just as Xiao Yan prepared a counterattack with the Power of Devouring.

• Xiao Yan used the Wind-Driving Palm and Red Lotus Star Flame to withstand Ling Fengzhui’s blade tide, then broke through it with Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler.
• Ling Fengzhui sent Ink Shadow and its black spikes at Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan located and shattered Ink Shadow with Wild Desolation Ruler while burning away the spikes.
• Xiao Yan used the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Fire to raise his aura to the late Half-Saint stage, revealing a clan mark beneath his skin.
• Ling Fengzhui activated the Spirit Clan clan mark, raising his power to the peak of the late Half-Saint stage and near the one-star Dou Sheng threshold.
• Ling Fengzhui used Spirit Fusion to combine Dou Qi and soul power, then shattered Xiao Yan’s soul vortex with one slash.
• Xiao Yan poured Dou Qi into his right arm and launched Power of Devouring, Void Devours Heaven.

Xiao Yan and Ling Fengzhui exchanged powerful attacks, with Xiao Yan’s hidden devouring vortex and Shadow Piercing Needles forcing Ling Fengzhui to rely on Ink Shadow. After Elder Xin released Ling Fengzhui from feeling bound by the Spirit Clan, Ling Fengzhui fused Ink Shadow into his right arm and blade as the battle’s storm began to subside.

• Ling Fengzhui used Ink Shadow and a blade strike to escape Xiao Yan’s devouring vortex and break a Shadow Piercing Needle.
• Xiao Yan and Ling Fengzhui clashed with their strongest attacks, and the resulting blast sent them both flying.
• Ink Shadow intercepted another Shadow Piercing Needle, but the collision shattered both the needle and Ink Shadow’s black blade.
• Ling Fengzhui heard Elder Xin tell him not to treat the Spirit Clan as a burden, and he resolved to fight without regret.
• Ling Fengzhui concentrated Ink Shadow into his right arm and blade while Xiao Yan stood by and let the destructive storm subside.

Xiao Yan and Ling Fengzhui prepared their strongest attacks to decide their battle. Xiao Yan’s Ninefold Crimson Tide was underway, and Ling Fengzhui unleashed his True Spirit Severing Heaven Slash as the second wave approached.

• Ling Fengzhui told Xiao Yan that his next blade strike was the culmination of more than ten years of effort, and Xiao Yan insisted he would take Ling Fengzhui’s life.
• Ling Fengzhui gathered the Ink Shadow’s power into his blade while Xiao Yan summoned the Ninefold Crimson Tide with his Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan’s first molten wave surged toward Ling Fengzhui, who split it apart with a faint, nearly invisible blade aura.
• Xiao Yan’s stronger second wave roared in as Ling Fengzhui completed charging his blade.
• Ling Fengzhui shouted “True Spirit Severing Heaven Slash!” and brought his blade down, sending its unseen blade intent toward Xiao Yan.

Ling Fengzhui's all-out slash broke through Xiao Yan's first eight waves of the Ninefold Crimson Tide, but Xiao Yan's Crimson Lotus Karma Flame overwhelmed the weakened blade light and defeated him. Ling Fengzhui was swallowed by the final sea of fire.

• Ling Fengzhui's slash split apart Xiao Yan's first five waves of crimson tide, though its speed steadily slowed.
• Xiao Yan's Green Lotus Core Flame and Sea Heart Flame further checked Ling Fengzhui's attack, with the Sea Heart Flame delaying it for ten extra breaths.
• Ling Fengzhui struggled against Xiao Yan's Three Thousand Burning Flame until he used Space Imprisonment to bind the flaming dragon and shatter the eighth wave.
• Xiao Yan unleashed the Crimson Lotus Karma Flame, which melted Ling Fengzhui's remaining blade light and broke through the ninth wave.
• Ling Fengzhui, exhausted and deathly pale, gripped his blade and let the final sea of fire swallow him.

Xiao Yan recovered after defeating Ling Fengzhui with Ninefold Crimson Tide, then found his opponent alive but gravely wounded. Ling Fengzhui explained that he had refused to self-destruct because he did not want to leave only a remnant soul in the Heavenly Tomb.

• Xiao Yan replenished some of his Dou Qi and reflected on the immense cost of using Heaven Class Dou Techniques.
• Xiao Yan sensed Ling Fengzhui's faint aura and found him charred, crippled, and still gripping his blade.
• Xiao Yan told Ling Fengzhui that he had lost and asked why he had not self-destructed to escape.
• Ling Fengzhui said he had chosen not to self-destruct because the resulting remnant soul in the Heavenly Tomb would have been too undignified.

Ling Fengzhui used a surge of strength to sit up and offered Xiao Yan his inheritance in exchange for a promise to pass it on. He then revealed that the Spirit Clan submitted to the Soul Clan after attacking the Pill Tower, leaving Xiao Yan with the explanation for the clan’s immunity and Ling Fengzhui’s despair.

• Ling Fengzhui drew a little strength from the glow of his blade and sat up to speak with Xiao Yan.
• Ling Fengzhui offered Xiao Yan his Storage Ring and asked him to pass its inheritance to a talented young person.
• Xiao Yan agreed to inspect the inheritance and pass it on, and Ling Fengzhui said the energy cores could serve as payment.
• Ling Fengzhui told Xiao Yan that the weakened Spirit Clan had submitted to the Soul Clan after attacking the Pill Tower.
• Ling Fengzhui explained that the Spirit Clan handed over its original Tou She Ancient God Jade in return for the Soul Clan’s promise to help it weather the backlash.

Ling Fengzhui explained how the Soul Clan exploited the Spirit Clan’s failed attack on the Pill Tower to force its submission and obtain its Gu Yu. He also revealed that the Soul Clan had sent a powerful stranger into the Heavenly Tomb under the Spirit Clan’s name, likely to target Xiao Xuan’s tomb, and warned Xiao Yan that both the Soul Clan and the Ancient Clan might threaten him.

• Ling Fengzhui told Xiao Yan that the Soul Clan had used the Spirit Clan’s failed assault on the Pill Tower as an opportunity to seize its Gu Yu and make it submit.
• Ling Fengzhui lamented that the Spirit Clan’s cooperation with the Soul Clan had left it dependent on a stronger power, though he understood why its elders had agreed.
• Xiao Yan asked about the unfamiliar Spirit Clan member who had entered the Heavenly Tomb, and Ling Fengzhui revealed that the man had been sent by the Soul Clan and was stronger than a Half-Saint.
• Ling Fengzhui suspected the Soul Clan’s agent had entered under the Spirit Clan’s name to pursue a goal connected to Xiao Xuan, and Xiao Yan resolved to stop him.
• Ling Fengzhui warned Xiao Yan that the Soul Clan and Ancient Clan might both target him in the dangerous Heavenly Tomb.

Xiao Yan questioned the dying Ling Fengzhui about the Soul Clan’s plans and the Spirit Clan’s strength before honoring Ling Fengzhui’s request to preserve his inheritance. Afterward, Xiao Yan worried about his companions in the Heavenly Tomb and prepared to use the energy cores Ling Fengzhui left him to advance his strength.

• Xiao Yan asked Ling Fengzhui about the person who took over Huo Xuan’s body, and Ling Fengzhui said Hun Yu had alerted him to act.
• Ling Fengzhui revealed that the Spirit Clan chief, Ling Yuan, had been at the peak of six-star Dou Sheng when he left the clan.
• Ling Fengzhui asked Xiao Yan to take his inheritance out of the Heavenly Tomb and find it a successor, then admitted he would have killed Xiao Yan if he had won.
• Xiao Yan used Red Lotus Star Flame to erase Ling Fengzhui’s body and soul, granting him his final wish.
• Xiao Yan worried about Xun Er, Lei Jingxiao, and especially Huo Zhi, who had entered the Heavenly Tomb alone.
• Xiao Yan resolved to use the hundred energy cores in his Storage Ring to break through to the middle stage of Half-Saint.

Huo Zhi fought Tang Qiying, who controlled Huo Xuan’s body, until Huo Xuan briefly regained control and forced her to escape to the Heavenly Tomb’s third level. Huo Zhi left in tears, while her brother remained behind to face Tang Qiying.

• Tang Qiying overpowered Huo Zhi and mocked her as he blocked her attempts to escape.
• As Tang Qiying moved to finish Huo Zhi, Huo Xuan briefly suppressed him and warned his sister to run.
• Huo Zhi urged Huo Xuan to go find Xiao Yan with her, but he revealed that most of his soul had already dissipated.
• Huo Xuan told Huo Zhi not to seek revenge and urged her to live, then used his remaining strength to send her toward the third-level barrier.
• Huo Zhi passed through the barrier after seeing Huo Xuan offer her a final comforting smile, and she broke down in grief.

Tang Qiying regained full control of Huo Xuan’s body and claimed the pale-black flame, while Lei Dong pursued a mysterious figure through the Heavenly Tomb. The figure revealed himself as Hun Feng, leaving Lei Dong shocked at the end of the chase.

• Tang Qiying overcame Huo Xuan’s weakened Soul Power and declared that he would use his new strength against Xiao Yan.
• Tang Qiying examined the pale-black flame he had obtained and vowed to show Xiao Yan the power of a Flame Clan Dou Sheng.
• Lei Dong chased a black-robed figure through the third level of the Heavenly Tomb, suspecting that the supposed Spirit Clan member was hiding his true identity and strength.
• The black-robed figure stopped before the barrier to the fourth level and suppressed Lei Dong’s golden lightning with Dou Qi matching his own.
• Lei Dong recognized the figure’s voice and exclaimed that the man was Hun Feng.

Lei Dong confronted Hun Feng over the Soul Clan's plans in the Heavenly Tomb, and Hun Feng threatened to kill him. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan broke through to the middle stage of Half-Saint and headed for the third level of the Heavenly Tomb.

• Lei Dong recognized Hun Feng as a rival he had never decisively defeated and mocked him for entering the Heavenly Tomb using the Spirit Clan's quota.
• Hun Feng urged Lei Dong to stay out of his way, but Lei Dong accused him of plotting something and said Lei Jingxiao's actions had exposed the scheme.
• Hun Feng grew dangerous and told Lei Dong that insisting on interfering would leave him trapped in the Heavenly Tomb forever.
• Xiao Yan absorbed more than a hundred energy cores and a condensed Dou Qi dragon, breaking through from early to middle Half-Saint.
• Xiao Yan tested his stronger power, then entered the light screen to advance to the third level of the Heavenly Tomb.

Xiao Yan entered the third layer of the Heavenly Tomb, where stronger energy bodies and richer Dou Qi offered greater rewards. After cultivating and sensing a Half-Saint energy body, he rushed toward it while remaining alert to the search for his three companions.

• Xiao Yan caught and destroyed a Nine-Star Dou Zun energy body, then stored its energy core.
• Xiao Yan sensed numerous powerful energy bodies in the third layer and used the Soul-Turning Secret Technique before absorbing an energy core.
• Xiao Yan reflected on his unfinished goals and his worry about finding his three companions.
• Xiao Yan detected a Half-Saint energy body that was not from one of the other Eight Ancient Clans and charged toward it.
• Xiao Yan sensed nearly ten energy bodies converging around the Half-Saint energy body and realized it was calling for companions.

Xiao Yan defeated a Half-Saint energy being and collected his fifth Half-Saint energy core, then discovered that Huo Zhi’s jade pendant had turned blood-red. Following its pull southwest, he found Huo Zhi near collapse while she fought a late Half-Saint energy being.

• Xiao Yan defeated the Half-Saint energy being leading the group and took its energy core.
• Xiao Yan counted five Half-Saint energy cores, then noticed that Huo Zhi’s jade pendant had become stained with a moving crimson glow.
• Xiao Yan released his soul perception but could not find Huo Zhi, so he followed the pendant’s strongest fluctuation toward the southwest.
• Xiao Yan sensed Huo Zhi’s Crimson Lotus Karma Flame and hurried toward her, detecting that she was fighting a late Half-Saint energy being.
• Xiao Yan arrived as Huo Zhi, covered in blood and nearly collapsed, faced the late Half-Saint energy being.

Xiao Yan arrived just in time to save the gravely wounded Huo Zhi from Iron Spear Feng Qiu, a powerful energy body. When Xiao Yan activated the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Fire, Feng Qiu recognized the Xiao Clan Mark on his forehead and begged him to stop fighting.

• Xiao Yan intercepted Feng Qiu's killing blow and caught Huo Zhi as she lost consciousness, then used his Three Thousand Lightning Phantom Body to carry her away from the fight.
• Feng Qiu attacked Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan blocked the spear with the Heavy Profound Ruler and matched the late Half-Saint's force head-on.
• Xiao Yan used a soul vortex and the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Fire to prepare a decisive attack, while a strange sensation appeared on his forehead.
• Feng Qiu spotted the Xiao Clan Mark on Xiao Yan's forehead, recognized him as a descendant of Xiao Xuan, and pleaded for forgiveness.
• Xiao Yan realized the mark was likely connected to the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Fire inherited from his ancestor.