Chapter Summaries

Xun Er learned that the Soul Clan may have ordered Soul Hall to target Xiao Yan, while the Ancient Clan grew unhappy with her devotion to him. The Ancient Clan’s force arrived at Starfall Pavilion, led by the formidable Gu Yao.

• The Heavenly Luan Clan’s elders became more willing to accept Xiao Yan as their future master after his feats at Starfall Pavilion, though they still hesitated to call him Master.
• The white-haired elder told Xun Er that Wind Lightning Pavilion, Yellow Spring Pavilion, and Ice River Valley had attacked at Soul Hall’s urging, possibly on the Soul Clan’s orders.
• Xun Er worried that the Soul Clan was targeting Xiao Yan, but hoped Huo Xuan’s involvement would keep Soul Hall in check.
• The Ancient Clan’s elders grew dissatisfied that Xun Er had left to be with Xiao Yan and decided they could compensate him if he objected.
• More than twenty Four-Winged Unicorns carrying Ancient Clan figures broke into Starfall Pavilion and smashed through Chen Wei’s illusion formation.
• The Ancient Clan elders recognized the leader of the arriving force as Gu Yao, an Asura Commander and contender to become the next Black Void King.

Gu Yao arrived at the Starfall Pavilion to take Xun Er back to the Ancient Clan, and his confrontation with her escalated when he threatened to involve Xiao Yan. Xun Er began preparing to leave before Xiao Yan's voice suddenly interrupted her farewell.

• Gu Yao ordered Xun Er to return to the Ancient Clan, but she refused to obey him.
• Ling Quan said the Black Void Army was following the clan elders' order, and Gu Yao backed him.
• Venerable Wind offered to host the visitors, but Gu Yao attacked him with Dou Qi, which Xun Er stopped with her golden flames.
• Gu Yao invoked Xiao Yan to pressure Xun Er, and she decided to leave rather than risk Xiao Yan being drawn into trouble at the Ancient Clan.
• Xun Er asked Xiao Yi Xian to pass a message to Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan's voice called out before she could finish.

Xiao Yan recovered and reunited with Xun Er at Starfall Pavilion, then confronted Gu Yao and Ling Quan over their hostility toward him. He accepted Ling Quan’s challenge and prepared to fight as he declared that he would marry Xun Er.

• Xiao Yan arrived at the gathering after recovering from his injuries and embraced Xun Er.
• Xiao Yi Xian watched their reunion and privately wondered what might have happened if she had met Xiao Yan first.
• Gu Yao insulted Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan challenged him to test his strength.
• Ling Quan, jealous of Xiao Yan’s relationship with Xun Er, demanded a chance to teach him a lesson.
• Xun Er let Xiao Yan handle Ling Quan, and Xiao Yan declared that he would marry her before Ling Quan charged at him.

Xiao Yan effortlessly defeated Ling Quan with a single punch, exposing the gap between them to the Black Void Army. He then confronted Gu Yao, who invoked the Ancient Clan’s authority, and Xiao Yan openly challenged him as well.

• Ling Quan attacked Xiao Yan with a lightning spear, but Xiao Yan caught it, blocked its fragments, and dismissed Ling Quan’s combat skill.
• Ling Quan used the Mountain Opening Seal, but Xiao Yan smashed through it and struck him in the chest with his transplanted Dou Saint right arm.
• Xiao Yan’s punch sent Ling Quan flying hundreds of zhang and left him bloodied and badly injured.
• Xiao Yan pulled Ling Quan from the ruins and tossed him before Gu Yao, criticizing the Ancient Clan’s information network.
• Gu Yao warned Xiao Yan to consider the dog’s owner, and Xiao Yan answered that he would beat the owner too.

Xiao Yan accepted Gu Yao’s challenge to settle their conflict with one move, despite Xun Er’s warning and an urgent order for her return. As Gu Yao unleashed his Great Nirvana Finger, Xiao Yan completed a four-colored Buddha Fury Fire Lotus and prepared to counter.

• Gu Yao challenged Xiao Yan, while Xun Er warned that Gu Yao was a four-star Dou Zun and urged Xiao Yan not to fight.
• An urgent order instructed Gu Yao to bring Xun Er back immediately, so he proposed settling the matter with one move instead.
• Xiao Yan agreed and used two changes of the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Fire to reach the initial one-star Dou Zun level.
• Xiao Yan began fusing his three Heavenly Flames as Gu Yao prepared his Heaven-tier Dou Technique, the Great Nirvana Finger.
• Gu Yao summoned a massive black finger from the clouds, while Xiao Yan completed a flame lotus that had gained a fourth, golden flame.

Xiao Yan and Gu Yao unleashed their strongest attacks against each other, and their clash threatened Starfall Pavilion. As both attacks reached their targets, Xiao Yan used a black vortex to absorb Gu Yao’s finger while Gu Yao summoned a turtle phantom to shield himself from Xiao Yan’s flames.

• Xiao Yan fused four Heavenly Flames into a four-colored fire lotus and launched it at Gu Yao’s enormous black finger.
• Xiao Yan’s fire lotus melted the finger’s tip before both attacks erupted, forcing the experts nearby to shield Starfall Pavilion from the shockwaves.
• Xiao Yan drove a pillar of four-colored flames toward Gu Yao while Gu Yao spent his remaining Dou Qi to resist and continued pressing his weakened finger toward Xiao Yan.
• Xun Er prepared to intervene if Xiao Yan faltered and murmured that she would only marry him.
• Xiao Yan opened a black vortex to devour Gu Yao’s incoming finger as his pillar of flame engulfed Gu Yao, who protected himself with an azure-black turtle phantom.

Xiao Yan defeated Gu Yao in their clash, then rejected Gu Yao’s accusations of unfairness by pointing out the advantages he had enjoyed as an Ancient Clan prodigy. After Gu Yao vowed revenge and left, Xun Er healed Xiao Yan and he asked when he could visit the Ancient Clan.

• Xiao Yan’s Four-Colored Fire Lotus overwhelmed Gu Yao, while Xiao Yan was thrown backward by the remaining force of Gu Yao’s Heaven-tier Dou Technique.
• Two Ancient Clan elders and Mu Que rescued Gu Yao from Xiao Yan’s flames, and Xiao Yan’s gaze made clear that Gu Yao had lost.
• Gu Yao accused Xiao Yan of relying on Xun Er’s help, but Xiao Yan challenged him about the unfair advantages of his birth and upbringing.
• Gu Yao admitted that being born into the Ancient Clan was his advantage and vowed to defeat Xiao Yan when they met again.
• Xun Er replenished Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi and embraced him, and Xiao Yan asked when he could go to the Ancient Clan.

Xiao Yan assured Xiao Yi Xian that he would seek the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva to resolve her Woeful Poison Body, then asked Mu Yaoyin whether the Heavenly Luan Clan would continue to support him against Soul Hall. After Mu Yaoyin pledged the clan’s loyalty, Xiao Yan planned to travel with Qing Lin, and he suspected Mu Yaoyin intended to deal with Tang Qiying.

• Xiao Yan promised Xiao Yi Xian that they would go to Sound Valley to obtain the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva once he had settled other matters.
• Xiao Yan asked Mu Yaoyin whether the Heavenly Luan Clan would stand behind him despite the danger of opposing Soul Hall.
• Mu Yaoyin pledged that the Heavenly Luan Clan would support Xiao Yan without hesitation, even if the clan faced annihilation.
• Xiao Yan said he would go to Sound Valley and then the Dan Clan for the Pill Gathering, while Mu Yaoyin noted that the clan’s presence might cause trouble in the human regions.
• Xiao Yan named Qing Lin, now a six-star Dou Zun with Dou Zun-level magical beast companions, as the most suitable companion for the journey.
• Mu Yaoyin suggested they could use the journey to handle other matters, and Xiao Yan asked whether she meant Tang Qiying.

Xiao Yan set out from Starfall Pavilion for Sound Valley with Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and Mu Qingluan as their guide, while Mu Yaoyin pledged to deal with Tang Qiying and disloyal members of the Heavenly Luan Clan. On the journey, Xiao Yan examined Venerable Lei and Venerable Yellow Spring’s storage rings and began searching through Yellow Spring’s collection.

• Mu Yaoyin apologized for failing to recognize Tang Qiying’s dangerous nature and vowed to hunt him down and purge disloyal members of the Heavenly Luan Clan.
• Xiao Yan prepared to leave for Sound Valley with Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin, and Mu Qingluan joined them as their guide.
• Venerable Wind sent Xiao Yan off and heard him promise to return after the Pill Gathering to bring Yao Chen back.
• Xiao Yan’s group boarded Fei Tian’s spatial ship, and Qing Lin and Mu Qingluan took turns piloting it.
• Xiao Yan examined Venerable Lei’s damaged body as a possible vessel for Yao Chen’s resurrection, then searched the storage rings of Venerable Lei and Venerable Yellow Spring.
• Xiao Yan sorted through the rings’ pills and scrolls before turning with anticipation to Venerable Yellow Spring’s collection.

Xiao Yan searched Venerable Lei and Venerable Yellow Spring’s storage rings and found the Phantom Shadow combat skill and the final three forms of the Emperor Seal Art to study. He also gathered useful supplies, but lacking medicinal herbs, he planned to look for them in Road Mountain City before seeking the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva at Sound Valley.

• Xiao Yan finished reading both Venerable Lei and Venerable Yellow Spring’s collections but did not find the method for crafting Heartblood Clay Puppets.
• Xiao Yan chose to study Phantom Shadow, a defensive combat skill that used spatial power to make parts of the body briefly incorporeal.
• Xiao Yan examined Xun Er’s golden scroll and grasped the hand seals for the Earth Overturning Seal, Heaven Annihilating Seal, and Ancient Emperor Seal.
• Xiao Yan found a Lightning Storage Pearl in Venerable Lei’s storage ring and organized the valuable items from both rings.
• Xiao Yan realized he lacked the medicinal herbs needed to prepare pills for his visit to Sound Valley, so he planned to seek herbs in Road Mountain City.

Xiao Yan and the three women arrived in Road Mountain City, where he learned that the Cliff Gang controlled the region’s medicinal herb markets. After exploring the busy city, Xiao Yan reached the Spiritual Medicine Tower and noticed someone in the crowd.

• Xiao Yan emerged from the spatial passage with Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and Mu Qingluan and learned that Road Mountain City lay at the intersection of the Pill Tower, Burning Flame Valley, and Sound Valley.
• Xiao Yan used his soul power to frighten away people who were watching the group, then asked a guard captain where to buy high-grade medicinal herbs.
• The guard captain told Xiao Yan about the Cliff Gang, which controlled the medicinal herb markets in Road Mountain City and two nearby cities, and gave him a map.
• Xiao Yan decided to visit the Cliff Gang for rare ingredients needed to make seventh-tier medicinal pills and stopped at a medicine shop along the way.
• Xiao Yi Xian said she wished things could always stay as they were, and Xiao Yan noticed someone in the crowd as the group reached the Spiritual Medicine Tower.

Xiao Yan’s group encountered a mysterious young man and a Dou Zun elder in Road Mountain City, then went to the Spiritual Medicine Tower to gather ingredients for the approaching Pill Convention. Steward Tao told Xiao Yan that the Cliff Gang might have the high-grade herbs he needed.

• Xiao Yan recognized the young man’s companion as a powerful Dou Zun, while Qing Lin sensed that the elder’s strength rivaled her own.
• The young man and Elder Yan identified Xiao Yan’s group and chose not to challenge them, citing Huo Xuan’s protection and their mission for the Spirit Clan.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian reminisced about meeting in a pharmacy before a clerk brought them to Steward Tao.
• Steward Tao gave Xiao Yan lists of the medicinal ingredients available at the Spiritual Medicine Tower and those obtainable from other shops in Road Mountain City.
• Steward Tao said the Cliff Gang would have the high-grade herbs Xiao Yan needed, prompting Xiao Yan to plan a visit.

Xiao Yan bought a large supply of herbs from the Spiritual Medicine Tower and learned how the Cliff Gang coordinated the herb trade across three cities. At the Cliff Gang Medicine Estate, he resisted Hua Li’s charm technique after she tried to cut ahead in line, prompting one of her companions to confront him.

• Steward Tao explained that Lin Xiuya had built the Cliff Gang’s influence with the support of Sound Valley and had organized transparent herb sales across three cities.
• Xiao Yan waited for herbs from two other pharmacies to arrive, paid for the large order, and left the Spiritual Medicine Tower with his group.
• Xiao Yan and his companions reached the Cliff Gang Medicine Estate, where an inspector required visitors to be fifth-tier alchemists or above Dou Emperor level.
• Hua Li and five men pushed past the line, and Hua Li used her charm technique to try to persuade the inspector and Xiao Yan to give way.
• Xiao Yan’s cold snort broke Hua Li’s influence over the inspector and her companions, after which Hua Li apologized and one of the men demanded that Xiao Yan apologize to her.

Xiao Yan visited the Cliff Gang to buy medicinal herbs, where Gang Leader Lin Xiuya recognized him and helped him obtain a large supply at a favorable price. Lin Xiuya then hinted that the Cliff Gang had even rarer treasures not available to ordinary buyers.

• Hua Li and her companions tried to cut in line, but the Cliff Gang's middle-aged man apologized to Xiao Yan and offered a discount.
• Lin Xiuya arrived, welcomed Xiao Yan's group, and stopped the middle-aged man from explaining himself, praising how he had handled the situation.
• Lin Xiuya recognized Xiao Yan as the young master of the Starfall Pavilion and introduced himself as a fellow Jia Nan Academy alumnus.
• Lin Xiuya hosted Xiao Yan's group as Xiao Yan bought a large quantity of high-grade medicinal herbs, paying partly with medicinal pills.
• Lin Xiuya hinted that the Flower Sect had come to Road Mountain City for treasures beyond the herbs openly displayed at the Cliff Gang.

Xiao Yan accepted Lin Xiuya’s invitation to a barter-only trade fair in North Mountain City and settled into the Cliff Gang’s lodging with his companions. He encountered a mysterious young man again, while the man’s followers confirmed that an ancient item would appear at the fair.

• Lin Xiuya invited Xiao Yan to the trade fair and gave him a card for the Cliff Gang’s lodging.
• Xiao Yan considered trading cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, or pill formulas, then took his companions to Cliff Corner.
• Xiao Yan met the mysterious white-clothed man from the Spiritual Medicine Tower again and sensed his powerful soul force, but Mu Qingluan did not recognize him.
• Xiao Yan and the three women settled into their rooms, and Xiao Yi Xian said Elder Mu’s seal kept her Woeful Poison Body stable.
• The white-clothed man’s followers reported that something passed down from ancient times would appear at the trade fair, and he welcomed the news.

After failing to refine a peak seventh-tier pill, Xiao Yan rested with Xiao Yi Xian and asked whether they could obtain the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva from Sound Valley. Xiao Yi Xian began to reveal that she had a painful past from before they met.

• Xiao Yan failed to refine a peak seventh-tier pill and left his quiet room to calm himself.
• Xiao Yan found Xiao Yi Xian reading and agreed to rest while she massaged his back.
• Xiao Yan asked whether they could obtain the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva, and Xiao Yi Xian explained that Sound Valley might not surrender it easily because of its connection to the Bodhi Tree.
• Xiao Yi Xian admitted she felt she had already lived longer than she deserved, and Xiao Yan reassured her that she was not to blame for the Woeful Poison Body losing control.
• Xiao Yi Xian told Xiao Yan that she had only described her time in the Chuyun Empire and said she would tell him about her life before they met.

Xiao Yi Xian told Xiao Yan how her Woeful Poison Body killed her mother, father, and the people of her village, as well as countless others. After revealing her guilt and fear that she brought misfortune to everyone around her, she asked Xiao Yan whether she deserved to live.

• Xiao Yi Xian recalled her childhood in a mountain village, where her ill mother and mercenary father hoped to find a cure for her mother.
• On Xiao Yi Xian's sixth birthday, purple poisonous mist erupted from her body and killed her playmate and the villagers, including her mother.
• Xiao Yan held Xiao Yi Xian as she broke down in tears, then listened as she continued her story.
• Xiao Yi Xian explained that her father later raised graves for the villagers and took her away, but his health deteriorated after living with her.
• Xiao Yi Xian said her father died when she was fifteen, and the poisonous mist surged again as she buried him beside her mother.
• Xiao Yi Xian confessed that she had killed hundreds of thousands of people and asked Xiao Yan whether someone like her deserved to live.

Xiao Yan comforted Xiao Yi Xian over her guilt and fear that she brought misfortune to those around her, promising to face the burden with her. Xiao Yi Xian accepted his feelings, and they ended the night together in her room.

• Xiao Yan reminded Xiao Yi Xian that she had saved many people and promised to help her bear her guilt and travel with her to help others.
• Xiao Yi Xian worried that her presence had nearly cost Xiao Yan his life, but Xiao Yan rejected the idea that she brought misfortune.
• Xiao Yi Xian embraced Xiao Yan, and they hurried to her room when they heard movement from Mu Qingluan's room.
• Xiao Yi Xian explained why she had abandoned her birth name and said she wanted to take the surname Xiao so she could be Xun Er's older sister.
• Xiao Yi Xian kissed Xiao Yan, and the two became intimate in her room.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian tried to hide their new intimacy from Qing Lin and Mu Qingluan, then prepared to attend Lin Xiuya’s trade fair. At Lin Xiuya’s medicine estate, Xiao Yan learned that the event’s powerful participants suggested a hidden force stood behind the Cliff Gang.

• Xiao Yi Xian woke beside Xiao Yan and blushed as she remembered their night together.
• When Qing Lin asked where Xiao Yan had gone, Xiao Yi Xian covered for him, and Xiao Yan slipped out through the window before re-entering through the main door.
• Mu Qingluan questioned Xiao Yan about when he had gone out, and he claimed he had left to clear his head after a failed pill refinement.
• Xiao Yan refined a mid-tier seventh-grade pill, then set out with Xiao Yi Xian, Mu Qingluan, and Qing Lin for the trade fair.
• Xiao Yan’s group encountered other powerful guests on the way to Lin Xiuya’s medicine estate, where Lin Xiuya welcomed them and hinted that he was only the public face of the event.

Xiao Yan and the others entered the Cliff Gang’s trading fair, where Lin Xiuya explained the rules and a powerful presence warned guests to obey them. The first auction item was the first change of Burning Flame Valley’s Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Fire, and Lin Xiuya urged the alchemists to bid for it.

• Xiao Yan concealed his identity with a mask as he and the three women entered the underground trading venue.
• Xiao Yan’s group waited in a private room, where he noticed the Clear Mind Grass placed on the desk.
• Lin Xiuya welcomed the guests and explained the auction and free-trade stages of the fair.
• A powerful aura swept through the venue, and a white-robed man and Elder Yan recognized that someone from the Pill Tower had produced it.
• Lin Xiuya presented the first auction item, the cultivation method for the first change of the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Fire, and encouraged guests to bid for it.