Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan and Yao Qingyu arrived at the Flower Sect to discuss an alliance, but learned that its Supreme Elder had ordered Yao Chen turned away. Yao Chen found another way into the sect, and Xiao Yan decided to enter with Yao Qingyu to continue their talks.

• Yao Qingyu explained that they had to wait for an attendant before entering and told Xiao Yan that the sect master's position was vacant after Hua Xuan died during a breakthrough.
• Hua Xia arrived with nine disciples and welcomed Xiao Yan and Yao Chen, but said the Flower Sect would not allow anyone surnamed Yao to enter because of Supreme Elder Fairy Qing's order.
• Yao Qingyu challenged Hua Xia's refusal, while Yao Chen accepted it with a bitter smile.
• Yao Chen vanished toward another part of the Flower Sect, and Xiao Yan sensed that his teacher had deliberately let him track his movements.
• Xiao Yan agreed to enter the Flower Sect with Yao Qingyu to discuss their important matter.

Xiao Yan and Yao Qingyu entered the Flower Sect and met its acting sect master, Hua Jin, while seeking rare medicinal ingredients and hoping to locate Yao Lao. Xiao Yan agreed to spend two days surveying the sect’s flowers and herbs before discussing a possible trade, and Hua Jin eagerly offered to meet his needs.

• Hua Xia welcomed Xiao Yan and Yao Qingyu into the Flower Sect, where curious disciples watched Xiao Yan as they passed.
• Hua Xia told Xiao Yan that Elder Hua Jin was overseeing the sect, and Yao Qingyu warned him that Hua Jin had a forceful, utilitarian reputation.
• Hua Jin arrived, greeted Xiao Yan enthusiastically, and exchanged brief pleasantries with Yao Qingyu.
• Xiao Yan said he wanted to spend two days surveying the Flower Sect’s rare flowers and medicinal herbs before revising his ingredient list.
• Hua Jin welcomed the proposed visit and promised that the Flower Sect could provide the herbs and negotiate cooperation with Starfall Pavilion.

Xiao Yan proposed a medicinal-pills-and-herbs partnership with the Flower Sect, but suspected Acting Sect Master Hua Jin had ties to the Soul Hall. He and Yao Qingyu went to seek her teacher, Fairy Hua, leaving the matter of an alliance unresolved.

• Hua Jin welcomed Xiao Yan’s offer of a long-term exchange with Starfall Pavilion and hoped to secure the deal and strengthen her position as Acting Sect Master.
• After Xiao Yan left, Hua Jin assigned her disciple Hua Shu to attend to him, while Hua Xia accepted the decision.
• Yao Qingyu asked Xiao Yan why he had not raised an alliance, and Xiao Yan revealed that he had sensed Soul Hall aura from Hua Jin.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Qingyu decided to speak directly with Fairy Hua rather than reveal their plans to Hua Jin.
• Yao Qingyu brought Xiao Yan to Fairy Hua’s secluded courtyard, where Fairy Hua greeted her warmly.

Xiao Yan and Yao Qingyu met Fairy Hua at the Flower Sect, where they discussed the sect’s ties to Yao Qingyu’s family and the growing conflict in the Central Plains. Xiao Yan revealed that Hua Jin carried the aura of the Soul Hall, and Fairy Hua asked him to explain what he had discovered.

• Yao Qingyu reunited affectionately with Fairy Hua and introduced Xiao Yan as her senior brother.
• Fairy Hua learned that Yao Chen had been stopped from entering the Flower Sect because of Fairy Qing, then explained that Fairy Qing was devoted to Yao Chen.
• Xiao Yan told Fairy Hua that the Dou Di bloodline clans were in conflict, the Spirit Clan had attacked the Pill Tower, and the Soul Clan had destroyed the Flame Clan.
• Xiao Yan proposed an alliance between Starfall Pavilion and the Flower Sect and questioned why Fairy Hua had not directed him to Hua Jin.
• Xiao Yan said Hua Jin bore the aura of the Soul Hall, suggesting she had been in intimate contact with someone from it, and Fairy Hua asked what he had learned.

Fairy Hua agreed to an alliance with Starfall Pavilion and asked Xiao Yan to kill a Soul Hall spy hiding in the Flower Sect. Hua Jin discovered that Demon Flower Evil Lord, whom she had trusted to support her leadership, was connected to Soul Hall, leaving her horrified as Xiao Yan’s arrival threatened their plans.

• Fairy Hua confirmed that Hua Jin had ties to Soul Hall and agreed to ally the Flower Sect with Starfall Pavilion.
• Fairy Hua asked Xiao Yan to kill the Soul Hall infiltrator, and Xiao Yan accepted.
• Hua Jin told Demon Flower Evil Lord that Xiao Yan had arrived and expected Starfall Pavilion’s support to secure her position.
• Demon Flower Evil Lord revealed that Soul Hall controlled the Flower Sect and warned that Xiao Yan could ruin their plan.
• Hua Jin realized that Demon Flower Evil Lord had deceived her about the Heavenly Nether Sect’s support and that she had let Soul Hall into the Flower Sect.

Demon Flower Evil Lord revealed that he had trapped Hua Jin with Soul Hall’s secret technique and helped Soul Hall breach the Flower Sect’s defenses. Xiao Yan impersonated Soul Hall’s lord to question him, then knocked him unconscious and decided to exploit Soul Hall’s plans against the Flower Sect.

• Demon Flower Evil Lord admitted to Hua Jin that he was working with Soul Hall and used a secret technique to make her collapse in pain.
• Hua Jin realized Demon Flower Evil Lord had planted the technique in her during their intimacy and felt guilty about betraying the Flower Sect.
• Demon Flower Evil Lord failed to contact Soul Hall’s lord with his spatial jade, but a man claiming to be the lord appeared before him.
• Demon Flower Evil Lord reported that he had controlled Hua Jin and altered the Flower Sect’s protective formation for Soul Hall.
• Xiao Yan, disguised through the Soul Puppet Control Technique, questioned Demon Flower Evil Lord and learned Soul Hall was behind the plot.
• Xiao Yan knocked Demon Flower Evil Lord unconscious, spared his life, and decided to use the situation to his advantage.

Xiao Yan proposed using the captured Demon Flower Evil Lord to lure Soul Hall’s forces into an ambush at the Flower Sect, and Fairy Hua agreed to the plan. The chapter ended with Xiao Yan healing Demon Flower Evil Lord and taking control of him with his Heavenly State Soul.

• Fairy Hua ordered Yao Qingyu to take Hua Jin to the Hall of Discipline and named Hua Luoling acting sect master of the Flower Sect.
• Xiao Yan proposed using Demon Flower Evil Lord to send false information to Soul Hall and draw its forces into an ambush.
• Fairy Hua questioned whether the Flower Sect could withstand the expected Dou Sheng-level attackers, and Xiao Yan argued that his arrival and his teacher’s presence gave them the advantage.
• Fairy Hua recognized that Xiao Yan also wanted to bind the Flower Sect to Starfall Pavilion’s alliance, but agreed to strike Soul Hall and use the sect’s grand formation to trap the invaders.
• Xiao Yan gave Demon Flower Evil Lord a medicinal pill to heal him, then used his Heavenly State Soul to take control of him.

Xiao Yan kept Demon Flower Evil Lord under his control and sent Soul Hall a false message that the Flower Sect had been infiltrated. Hun Yan led a small force toward the sect, hoping to seize it and restore his standing, unaware that Xiao Yan and the others were waiting to ambush them.

• Xiao Yan erased Demon Flower Evil Lord's memories, made him report that the infiltration had succeeded, and put him back into a coma.
• Fairy Hua kept Hua Jin as acting sect master and told the others to pretend they knew nothing until Soul Hall arrived.
• Hun Yan, a two-star Dou Sheng and Soul Hall deputy hall master, planned to capture the Flower Sect to regain the clan's favor and advance his ambitions.
• Hun Yan brought one one-star Dou Sheng and two Half-Saints, keeping his force small to prevent the plan from leaking and ensure he received the credit.
• Hun Yan's subordinates praised his prospects, and he promised them powerful positions before they arrived at the Flower Sect's gates.

Xiao Yan and Fairy Hua ambushed Hun Yan’s Soul Hall party at the Flower Sect, killing one Half-Saint and gravely wounding another. Hun Yan realized the Flower Sect had turned his scheme against him, and Fairy Hua declared that they would kill him.

• Hun Yan gloated that the Flower Sect’s mountain gate would soon belong to the Soul Hall.
• Xiao Yan appeared and used his soul power to suppress all four Soul Hall members and seal away their five senses.
• Xiao Yan killed one Half-Saint with the Shadow Piercing Needle while Fairy Hua’s surprise attack grievously wounded the other.
• Hun Yan recovered from the soul suppression, saw his dead subordinate, and feared the unknown power of Xiao Yan’s methods.
• Hun Yan tried to stall by asking Fairy Hua what the Flower Sect meant, and Fairy Hua declared that they would grant death to those who plotted against the sect.

The Flower Sect’s grand formation sealed the battlefield as Xiao Yan and Fairy Hua fought Hun Yan and Hun Hu. Xiao Yan recognized Hun Yan as an old enemy, and the chapter ended with Xiao Yan boosting his strength with the Xiao Clan’s clan mark and the Crimson Lotus Karma Flame.

• Fairy Hua activated the Flower Sect’s grand formation, sealing the mountain gate and strengthening her position against Hun Hu.
• Xiao Yan charged at Hun Yan to settle their old grudge while Fairy Hua confronted Hun Hu.
• Xiao Yan attacked Hun Yan with the Eight Wastelands Star Lotus Flame, and the two exchanged powerful blows.
• Hun Yan recognized Xiao Yan from the failed mission years earlier and sent Hun Hu a message to hold Fairy Hua back.
• Xiao Yan activated two clan marks and summoned the Crimson Lotus Karma Flame, raising his aura to the peak of one-star Dou Sheng.

Xiao Yan tested his newly strengthened abilities against Hun Yan, a stronger Soul Hall Dou Saint, and suppressed him through their prolonged battle. Though Hun Yan was badly wounded and overwhelmed, Xiao Yan concluded that killing him would still be difficult.

• Hun Yan awakened his Eighth-Tier Clan Mark, raising his cultivation to Mid-Stage Two-Star Dou Sheng, and Xiao Yan eagerly challenged him.
• Xiao Yan and Hun Yan traded powerful Dou Techniques as Yao Qingyu watched from the Flower Sect formation.
• Xiao Yan tested his soul attacks and Shadow Piercing Needle while assessing how his techniques performed against a Dou Saint.
• After half an hour, Xiao Yan's Black Flame, soul power, Heavenly Flames, and Ancient Insect Emperor Armor had overwhelmed Hun Yan.
• Xiao Yan said he could suppress Hun Yan but would have trouble killing him, shocking Hun Yan and Fairy Hua.

Xiao Yan called on Yao Lao and Fairy Qing to help capture Hun Yan and Hun Hu alive. Yao Lao sealed their souls and handed their bodies to Xiao Yan, then introduced Fairy Qing as Xiao Yan’s Mistress Qing Yao.

• Xiao Yan asked Yao Lao to preserve Hun Yan and Hun Hu’s Dou Sheng bodies and Heavenly State Souls.
• Yao Lao appeared with Fairy Qing and created a powerful soul avatar as Hun Yan prepared to self-destruct.
• Yao Lao used Soul-Sealing Consciousness Suppression to immobilize Hun Yan and Hun Hu, while Hun Yan destroyed his Storage Ring.
• Yao Lao gave Xiao Yan the sealed souls and intact bodies of Hun Yan and Hun Hu, and Xiao Yan said he would take them to the Heavenly Tomb under Ancestor Xiao Xuan’s protection.
• Fairy Qing criticized Yao Lao for lamenting the loss of the Storage Rings, and Yao Lao introduced her to Xiao Yan as his Mistress Qing Yao.

After the Flower Sect settled its leadership and joined the alliance, Xiao Yan turned to refining Dou Sheng-level War Puppets from Soul Hall’s captured experts. He sought Xiao Xuan’s advice in the Heavenly Tomb and received three suggestions for improving his method.

• Fairy Qing accepted Xiao Yan’s respectful address as her teacher’s wife, and the group returned to the Flower Sect after clearing the battlefield.
• Fairy Hua and Fairy Qing installed Hua Luoling as Flower Sect leader, and the sect agreed that the traitorous Hua Jin had to die.
• Fairy Qing helped secure the Flower Sect’s place in the alliance and prepared to accompany Yao Lao to negotiate with Burning Flame Valley.
• Xiao Yan left the alliance’s details to Xiao Yi Xian and decided to refine Dou Sheng-level War Puppets using the captured bodies and souls of Soul Hall experts.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Heavenly Tomb, explained his plan to Xiao Xuan, and received three suggestions for refining the puppets.

Xiao Yan began crafting a battle puppet from the body of a one-star Dou Sheng, following Xiao Xuan’s guidance and strengthening it with medicinal liquid, precious metals, and the Eight Wastelands Star Lotus Flame. After restoring his strength, Xiao Yan prepared to control the puppet’s Heavenly State Soul and leave his imprint on it.

• Xiao Xuan reviewed the battle-puppet modifications, then agreed to guard Xiao Yan as he began crafting one.
• Xiao Yan used medicinal herbs to create a potent liquid that restored vitality to the Soul Clan Dou Sheng’s body.
• Xiao Yan melted precious metals and infused them into the body, forming a protective layer.
• Xiao Yan filled the body with the Eight Wastelands Star Lotus Flame to raise the puppet’s power to the Dou Sheng level.
• Xiao Yan replenished his Dou Qi and soul power, then prepared to control the Heavenly State Soul and imprint his authority on the puppet.

Xiao Yan refined the Soul Hall's Heavenly State Soul and a Dou Sheng body into a War Puppet with nearly ninety percent of an ordinary one-star Dou Sheng's combat strength. His attempt to create a second puppet failed when its two-star Dou Sheng soul self-destructed, and Xiao Yan left the Flower Sect for the Flame Clan's temporary residence.

• Xiao Yan broke the seal on the Heavenly State Soul, eroded its core, and bound it with a soul imprint before fusing it with the Dou Sheng body.
• Xiao Yan tested the completed War Puppet's defenses and attacks, finding that it could withstand heavy blows and fight at roughly ninety percent of an ordinary one-star Dou Sheng's strength.
• Xiao Yan began refining a second War Puppet, but its two-star Dou Sheng soul self-destructed while he tried to imprint it, ruining the attempt.
• Xiao Yan recorded what he had learned, bid farewell to Xiao Xuan, and returned to the Flower Sect.
• Xiao Yan met with Yao Lao, left the Flower Sect, and headed for the Flame Clan's temporary residence while Yao Lao handled the Burning Flame Valley alliance matters.

Hun Feng pushed herself through brutal training in the Soul Clan, driven by her defeat to Xiao Yan in the Heavenly Tomb. A mysterious observer learned of an opportunity involving the Ancient Bodhi Tree and decided to send Hun Feng there while planning to pass Bodhi Seeds to Xiao Yan.

• Hun Feng trained with a black-gold whip against a three-star Dou Sheng elder, repeatedly choosing to counter his strongest attacks until her Dou Qi was nearly exhausted.
• The elder urged Hun Feng to rest, but she remembered Xiao Yan defeating her and refused to stop.
• Hun Feng used the Nihility Devouring Flame's Child Flame to rapidly absorb Dou Qi, then struck the elder hard enough to force him back and cut a strand of his hair.
• A mysterious observer watched Hun Feng and remarked that Soul Heavenly Emperor was misleading her about the clan's affairs.
• After receiving news about the Ancient Bodhi Tree, the observer decided to send Hun Feng there and promised to send Bodhi Seeds to Xiao Yan if she succeeded.

Xiao Yan visited the Flame Clan to discuss an alliance and ask to receive its clan mark, then met clan chief Yan Jin. He found the clan rebuilding after the Soul Clan’s attack and learned that Yan Jin was the only surviving member capable of inscribing clan marks.

• Huo Zhi greeted Xiao Yan and asked whether he was happy in his marriage; Xiao Yan said he was.
• Huo Zhen welcomed Xiao Yan, discussed his improved Soul Power, and explained that the clan chief alone could still inscribe clan marks.
• Huo Zhen led Xiao Yan through the relocated Flame Clan, where its members were working to rebuild.
• Xiao Yan met Yan Jin, sensed that he surpassed him in Dou Qi and Soul Power, and realized he possessed a Heavenly Flame.
• Yan Jin greeted Xiao Yan warmly and said he had heard much about his exploits.

Xiao Yan negotiated with Yan Jin for the Flame Clan’s clan pattern and an alliance, and Yan Jin agreed to the pattern and the Eight Wastelands Destruction Flame. Yan Jin then set two alliance conditions: Xiao Yan must lead it and marry a woman from the Flame Clan, leaving Xiao Yan stunned and needing to discuss the terms with his allies.

• Xiao Yan explained his request, and Yan Jin agreed to give him the Flame Clan’s clan pattern and accepted his possession of the Eight Wastelands Destruction Flame.
• Yan Jin agreed that the Flame Clan could join an alliance but insisted on two conditions.
• Xiao Yan assumed Yan Jin wanted to lead the alliance, but Yan Jin instead named Xiao Yan as its leader, citing his trust in him and the Flame Clan’s history of betrayal.
• Yan Jin offered Xiao Yan a marriage alliance with any woman from the Flame Clan and said their descendants would bear the Xiao surname.
• Xiao Yan was left unsettled by Yan Jin’s unexpected terms and agreed to discuss them with the others.

Xiao Yan refused Yan Jin’s proposed marriage alliance, and Yan Jin agreed to consider another way to secure his help for the Flame Clan. Huo Zhi also asked her great-grandfather to stop pressing Xiao Yan, then left in tears after realizing he had rejected the possibility of marrying her.

• Xiao Yan rejected the marriage alliance, saying he already loved someone and asking Yan Jin to propose another condition.
• Yan Jin asked Xiao Yan to stay with the Flame Clan while they considered the alliance, and Xiao Yan agreed.
• Huo Zhi told Yan Jin that she did not want to marry Xiao Yan, citing his existing family and her duty to lead the Flame Clan.
• Huo Zhi urged Yan Jin not to pressure Xiao Yan, and Yan Jin agreed to seek another solution.
• After leaving Yan Jin, Huo Zhi wept silently, hurt that Xiao Yan had refused without hesitation.

Huo Zhen tested Xiao Yan’s herb-extraction skills and explained the precision needed to advance from an eighth-tier to a ninth-tier alchemist. Xiao Yan received Huo Zhen’s written guidance, though his limited time still forced him to prioritize increasing his strength.

• Huo Zhen praised Xiao Yan’s soul-power progress and challenged him to extract three difficult medicinal herbs without using Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan spent ten days extracting the Cold Pool Autumn Moon Lotus, White-Haired Immortal Ginseng, and Wild Blood Flame Flower.
• Huo Zhen inspected the medicinal liquids and pointed out flaws that could cause ninth-tier pill refinement to fail or become dangerous.
• Huo Zhen warned Xiao Yan that reaching the ninth tier required extensive practice and experience, and mentioned that Yao Lao might also advance to that tier.
• Huo Zhen gave Xiao Yan a jade slip recording his experience, and Xiao Yan thanked him for the guidance.