Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: The Crisis at Jia Nan Academy

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jia Nan Academy, which had remained uninvaded for over a century, is suddenly attacked by a coalition of forty-three powerful experts led by Han Feng, the Medicine Emperor of the Black-Corner Region.
• Han Feng demands that Grand Elder Su Qian surrender the academy’s Fallen Heart Flame, claiming that Heavenly Flames should not be imprisoned. Su Qian rejects his justification and refuses to hand it over.
• Han Feng also demands the surrender of Xiao Meng, suspecting that he may be attempting to subdue the Heavenly Flame. Su Qian realizes that Han Feng’s true objective is the flame.
• The academy’s strongest reinforcements, the Qian-Bai Elders, are prevented from arriving. Earth Demon Old Ghost, now a Peak Eight-Star Dou Zong, holds back Elder Bai, while a mysterious Nine-Star Dou Zong clashes with Elder Qian.
• Han Feng’s forces include experts from several major powers, including Flame Demon Valley, the Blood Sect, and the Li Sheng Brothers. Fan Lao, the Blood Sect Leader, reveals that he has advanced to the Five-Star Dou Emperor level.
• The Li Sheng Brothers unexpectedly appear and announce that they have not come at Han Feng’s invitation. They view Jia Nan Academy as an unnatural force in the Black-Corner Region and support its destruction.
• While Han Feng and the others distract Su Qian, the Li Sheng Brothers—assisted by a mysterious force connected to the Misty Cloud Sect—seal the entire academy beneath a powerful transparent barrier.
• Han Feng leaves the main confrontation and heads toward the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower to seize the Fallen Heart Flame.
• Su Qian orders all academy forces to defend Jia Nan Academy to the death. A massive battle begins, but the academy is immediately disadvantaged because it has fewer powerful Dou Emperor and Dou Wang experts.
• Senior academy figures such as Fire Elder, Hu Gan, Wu Tianlang, and others are forced into separate battles against enemy experts.
• Students, including Yan Hao, Liu Qing, Lin Yi, and others, join the fighting to support injured instructors. Their efforts are brave but largely ineffective against the stronger invaders.
• The battle causes extensive destruction throughout the academy. Numerous experts are injured, and several Dou Wangs are killed.
• Fan Lao exploits Hu Gan’s distraction to strike him from behind, severely injuring him. The chapter ends as the enemy prepares to kill the students, leaving the academy’s fate uncertain.

Character Developments

• Han Feng is shown as confident, manipulative, and ruthlessly opportunistic. He presents his invasion as a philosophical quest to “free” the Heavenly Flame, but his real goal is clearly to obtain it for himself.
• Su Qian demonstrates strong leadership and resolve. Although alarmed by the overwhelming enemy force, he refuses to surrender and rallies the academy’s people to defend it.
• Hu Gan remains defiant despite the desperate situation, warning the Black-Corner experts that Han Feng may abandon them after taking the flame. He later suffers a serious injury while trying to fight.
• Fan Lao is revealed to have grown significantly stronger and is driven by a personal desire to destroy the academy because one of its students killed his son.
• Liu Qing, Yan Hao, Lin Yi, and the other students show courage by confronting an enemy Dou Wang despite the vast difference in strength. Their willingness to fight reflects their loyalty to the academy.
• Xiao Xun’er and the Little Demoness are forced to remain observers because they lack the strength to influence the battle, highlighting the overwhelming scale of the crisis.
• The Li Sheng Brothers emerge as independent and hostile forces rather than mere allies of Han Feng, revealing that Jia Nan Academy is threatened by a broader political and ideological coalition.

Significant Themes

• The defense of home and community: Academy members, from elders to students, choose to fight despite knowing they are outmatched.
• Power and opportunism: Han Feng uses the crisis and the ambitions of other factions to pursue the Fallen Heart Flame while allowing others to create chaos for him.
• Unity against overwhelming odds: The academy’s experts and students cooperate despite their differences, transforming the invasion into a collective struggle for survival.
• The danger of hidden alliances: The attack is carefully coordinated, involving outside forces, the Misty Cloud Sect, Earth Demon Old Ghost, and a mysterious Nine-Star Dou Zong.
• The gap between courage and strength: The students’ bravery cannot compensate for their lack of power, emphasizing the brutal hierarchy of the cultivation world.
• Revenge and resentment: Fan Lao’s personal hatred gives the assault an especially violent dimension, showing how individual vendettas can contribute to large-scale conflict.

Important Character Interactions

• Han Feng and Su Qian: Their verbal confrontation establishes the central conflict. Han Feng demands the Heavenly Flame, while Su Qian mocks his false ideals and refuses to submit.
• Su Qian and Hu Gan: They exchange information about the battles outside the academy. Hu Gan’s report confirms that the academy’s strongest elders have been deliberately neutralized.
• Hu Gan and Fan Lao: Hu Gan warns Fan Lao and the other factions against helping Han Feng, but Fan Lao instead declares that Jia Nan Academy should be destroyed. Later, Fan Lao wounds Hu Gan when he becomes distracted.
• Su Qian and the Li Sheng Brothers: Su Qian is shocked to learn that the brothers are not acting as Han Feng’s hired allies but independently support the academy’s destruction.
• Academy elders and students: The elders attempt to protect the students, while the students insist on joining the battle. Their cooperation reflects the academy’s sense of solidarity.
• Liu Qing and his fellow students: Liu Qing, Yan Hao, Lin Yi, and others work together to restrain a powerful Dou Wang. Their teamwork briefly allows them to resist, but the enemy’s superior strength quickly overwhelms them.
• Han Feng and the academy’s defenders: Han Feng uses the main battlefield as a distraction, abandoning the large-scale conflict to pursue the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower and the Fallen Heart Flame.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Meng arrives at Jia Nan Academy during the siege, accompanied by Zi Yan and Big Old Two. He kills an Eight-Star Dou Wang immediately, then shoots down a Nine-Star Dou Wang before the attackers can react.
• He mocks Su Qian for struggling against the Golden and Silver Elders, then kills the gold-robed elder—a Peak Dou Emperor—with a powerful shot. The weapon’s recoil badly wounds Xiao Meng’s arm, but he treats it quickly.
• Xiao Meng learns that Han Feng has entered the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower to seize the Heavenly Flames. He kills more black-robed Dou Wangs on the way.
• Han Feng emerges pursued by the rampaging Fallen Heart Flame. Xiao Meng summons and subdues the flame, then rides it into battle. It burns Fan Lao and the fleeing attackers, while the academy’s forces join the fight.
• The attackers’ escape is blocked because Big Old Two reveals that Xiao Meng had tampered with the barrier. The academy’s fighters defeat the remaining invaders, and Su Qian kills the silver-robed elder. Han Feng is captured rather than killed, at Xiao Meng’s request.
• Su Qian publicly introduces Xiao Meng as the academy’s savior and a new student, but Xiao Meng interrupts him to demand a more tangible reward. He then prompts the students to chant that he is handsome. Once the barrier is removed, Su Qian sends forces to assist the Outer Academy.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Meng proves vastly more powerful than the academy’s defenders expected. He is bold, irreverent, and theatrical, but decisive in defending the academy and protecting his family. His control over the Fallen Heart Flame is a major revelation.
• Su Qian shifts from desperate resistance to relief and confidence once Xiao Meng turns the battle around. He follows Xiao Meng’s calls and ultimately directs the academy’s counterattack.
• Han Feng goes from confident threats against Xiao Meng’s family to shock and fear when the Fallen Heart Flame obeys Xiao Meng. He is captured after his allies are defeated.
• Zi Yan shows concern for Xiao Meng after his arm is injured. Xiao Xun’er remains impressed but is embarrassed by his shameless antics. Big Old Two taunts the enemies and exposes the tampered barrier.
• The academy’s leaders and students move from terror and disbelief to admiration and renewed fighting spirit. Even Xiao Meng’s former rivals recognize how narrowly they avoided provoking him.

Significant themes

• Unexpected salvation and reversal of power: Xiao Meng’s entrance transforms an apparently hopeless siege into a decisive victory.
• Power and humility—or its absence: Xiao Meng’s strength inspires awe, but his boasting, teasing, and demands for praise keep him comically irreverent.
• Loyalty and protection: His anger at Han Feng’s threats against Xiao Yan and the Xiao Clan underscores his commitment to family.
• Collective resistance: Xiao Meng creates the opening, but Su Qian and the academy’s forces rally together to finish the battle.

Chapter Summary:

The Elders’ Astonishment

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Meng returns to the Outer Academy riding the intelligent Fallen Heart Flame after helping repel Earth Demon Old Ghost and the mysterious attacker.
• Qian-Bai Elders are stunned by Xiao Meng’s strength and by the events in the Inner Academy. After a lengthy discussion, they adopt several of his strategies for dealing with the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Xiao Meng gives the elders over a dozen powerful formations and proposes eventually cleansing the Black-Corner Region of its criminal forces to consolidate power and prepare for war.
• Back at the Inner Academy, Xiao Meng attracts enormous attention by riding the Heavenly Flame. He quickly flees the excited students and returns to the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
• The system reveals that the Fallen Heart Flame Xiao Meng currently possesses is not the true Heavenly Flame, but a mutated magma flame contaminated by a trace of the true Fallen Heart Flame’s origin. The genuine flame is hidden in Heavenly Flame Square.
• Xiao Meng decides to nurture the intelligent flame, teaching it the Heavenly Evolution Scripture so it can develop its intelligence and eventually assume human form.
• He informs Su Qian that another Fallen Heart Flame exists beneath the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. However, Xiao Meng warns that the underground magma world is extraordinarily dangerous, possibly deadly even for high-level Dou Saints.
• Xiao Meng reveals that the powerful creature below is related to Zi Yan and promises to take her there after making proper preparations. He plans to obtain the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade to make the journey safer.
• He provides a wisp of Fallen Heart Flame for the Gathering Flame Pot, giving the academy a temporary replacement while he prepares to search for the true young flame.
• Xiao Meng inspects Han Feng’s imprisonment and discovers that Han Feng’s Sea Heart Flame has already weakened many of the academy’s seals. He reinforces the prison with numerous formations and the Primordial Origin Flame, preventing Han Feng from escaping.
• Xiao Meng begins gathering herbs to refine pills for his family and spends days preparing a large collection of pill formulas. Zi Yan, Big Old Two, and later Mu Zichen help gather ingredients.
• While Xiao Meng refines a powerful pill, an immense energy fluctuation attracts the attention of the academy’s elders. Everyone assumes he may be refining a Sixth-Grade Pill.
• Zi Yan shocks the elders by casually eating a Fifth-Grade Pill and revealing that she possesses roughly 2,700 such pills, consuming several every day. The elders are further astonished when they learn Xiao Meng has been giving her a percentage of his pill production.
• The chapter ends with Xiao Meng emerging from the hall after completing his refinement, while Su Qian and the elders ask whether he has successfully refined a Sixth-Grade Pill.

2. Character Developments

• Xiao Meng becomes increasingly influential within Jia Nan Academy. The elders now rely on his strategic judgment, formations, pill-making ability, and knowledge of hidden dangers.
• He shows a more nurturing side toward the intelligent Fallen Heart Flame, choosing to raise it rather than devour it and viewing it as a potential companion and powerful helper.
• Xiao Meng also demonstrates caution. Although confident in his abilities, he refuses to immediately descend beneath the tower because he understands the danger and wants better preparations first.
• He takes responsibility for protecting Han Feng’s imprisonment, showing both strategic foresight and consideration for Yao Chen, who has a personal grudge against Han Feng.
• Su Qian shifts from gratitude and relief to renewed determination. The academy’s near-destruction has intensified his anger toward its enemies, making him eager to help Xiao Meng cleanse the Black-Corner Region.
• Zi Yan remains childish, gluttonous, and carefree, but her mysterious connection to the creature below the tower becomes more significant. Her immense pill consumption and apparent ability to tolerate Fifth-Grade Pills emphasize her extraordinary nature.
• The elders repeatedly find themselves overwhelmed by Xiao Meng’s knowledge, cultivation, formations, pill refinement, and resources. Their awe becomes even greater after learning about Zi Yan’s pill collection.
• Han Feng is revealed to be more dangerous than expected because of Sea Heart Flame’s ability to erode his restraints, though Xiao Meng successfully eliminates the threat of escape.

3. Significant Themes

• Power and responsibility: Xiao Meng’s strength is not used merely for personal advancement; he applies it to defend the academy, organize resistance, protect prisoners, and support his family.
• Preparation against overwhelming enemies: The planned formations, consolidation of the Black-Corner Region, reinforced prison, and preparations to enter the magma world all stress the importance of planning before confronting powerful forces.
• Hidden truths and deeper lore: The system reveals that the visible Heavenly Flames are only fragments or manifestations, while the true flames remain sealed in Heavenly Flame Square. Xiao Yan’s unexplained relationship with the flames hints at larger mysteries.
• Nurturing versus consuming power: Xiao Meng’s decision to cultivate the intelligent Fallen Heart Flame introduces an alternative to the usual practice of devouring Heavenly Flames for strength.
• Humor through contrast: The elders treat Fifth-Grade Pills as priceless treasures, while Zi Yan eats them like snacks. Their stunned reactions highlight the extraordinary resources surrounding Xiao Meng.
• Loyalty and personal bonds: Xiao Meng’s concern for his family, Yao Chen, Zi Yan, and the academy shows that his ambitions are tied to protecting and supporting those close to him.

4. Character Interactions

• Xiao Meng and the elders discuss the Misty Cloud Sect, with the elders accepting his advice and formations.
• Xiao Meng and Su Qian agree to cleanse the Black-Corner Region and prepare it as a unified force.
• Xiao Meng tells Su Qian about the second Fallen Heart Flame and the dangers beneath the tower, shocking Su Qian and Hu Gan.
• His affectionate treatment of Zi Yan—rubbing her head and explaining that the underground creature is her relative—contrasts with his teasing and dismissive manner toward the elders.
• Xiao Meng and Zi Yan negotiate over her share of his pills; she initially complains about receiving only ten percent, then happily accepts his promise of half his future production.
• Zi Yan guards Xiao Meng’s pill refinement and refuses to let Su Qian enter, amusing and irritating him.
• Mu Zichen admires Xiao Meng’s pill-refining talent and compares him favorably to Pill King Gu He.
• The elders’ interaction with Zi Yan becomes a comic centerpiece when they realize she casually consumes thousands of Fifth-Grade Pills.
• Xiao Meng visits the First Elder to inspect Han Feng, reinforcing Han Feng’s restraints while explaining that he intends to leave him alive for Yao Chen to deal with.

Chapter Summary: Cultivation Is Important, but Don't Forget Home

Key Plot Points and Events

• The academy elders discover that Xiao Meng has refined a Sixth-Grade Pill after sensing its energy fluctuations. They are astonished, though Old Man Huo initially doubts the ugly, pitch-black pill’s authenticity.
• To punish Old Man Huo for his disbelief, Xiao Meng gives him another pill to inspect and then disappears with Mu Zichen, Zi Yan, and Big Old Two. After Old Man Huo realizes how extraordinary the pill is, he frantically searches for Xiao Meng and begs him to return.
• Xiao Meng eventually reappears after two days and spends another two days teaching Old Man Huo alchemy.
• Xiao Meng continues managing the Medicine Garden, helping Zi Yan process herbs, teaching Fallen Heart Flame the Heavenly Evolution Scripture, and answering the Qian-Bai Elders’ questions about formation construction.
• Academy experts gather to prepare a defensive array system. After Xiao Meng resolves the remaining technical problems, more than a dozen formations—including the Heaven-Locking Formation, Nine-Palace Qi-Gathering Formation, and Heavenly Wave Illusion Formation—are completed over a month and a half. The formations protect Jia Nan Academy from even powerful Dou Venerables.
• Xiao Meng enters seclusion and emerges stronger, with the patterns in his body changing from red to orange.
• Zi Yan’s increasingly enormous appetite is revealed to be connected to the awakening of a trace of Void Divine Dragon bloodline. The system explains that Void Divine Dragons are rare, immensely powerful descendants of the Ancestor Dragon, giving Zi Yan extraordinary potential.
• Excited by her potential, Xiao Meng commits to cultivating Zi Yan and rapidly refines six or seven hundred pills for her.
• Xiao Meng returns to Wutan City to visit the Xiao Clan. He reunites with the Nether Emperor, whose strength has increased through absorbing energy from the Taishi Tree.
• He distributes thousands of pills to Xiao Ding, his other relatives, Xiao Zhan, and the clan’s younger disciples, carefully providing instructions for their safe use.
• Xiao Meng visits Xiao Chen and gives him pills to restore his internal organs. He also inspects the rapidly developing Netherworld Realm and the growing Taishi Tree.
• He provides Hai Bo Dong with pills and asks him to negotiate with the Jia Ma Imperial Family for Heavenly Azure Stone and half of Wutan City’s land, which Xiao Meng plans to convert into a massive Medicine Garden.
• Xiao Meng gives the imperial family three top-grade Fifth-Grade Heavenly Origin Nirvana Pills to heal their guardian magical beast, using the pills as both compensation and leverage.
• Before leaving, Xiao Meng advises Hai Bo Dong to reconsider his estrangement from the Mittel Auction House and Ya Fei. He then returns to Jia Nan Academy carrying the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meng demonstrates overwhelming alchemical ability, formation expertise, cultivation talent, and generosity. Despite his power, he remains playful, mischievous, and easily irritated by others’ doubts or demands.
• Old Man Huo changes from skeptical and boastful to humbled and desperate to learn after witnessing the pill’s miraculous effects.
• Zi Yan grows stronger rapidly, breaking through two cultivation levels and developing an even greater appetite. Her hidden Void Divine Dragon bloodline becomes a major revelation, shifting Xiao Meng’s attitude toward her from annoyance to enthusiastic investment in her future.
• Fallen Heart Flame continues developing intelligence and is taught the Heavenly Evolution Scripture by Xiao Meng.
• Hai Bo Dong is portrayed as respectful but emotionally distant, particularly regarding Ya Fei and the Mittel Auction House. Xiao Meng’s advice forces him to reflect on his relationships and priorities.
• The Xiao Clan benefits greatly from Xiao Meng’s support, receiving vast quantities of pills, resources, and plans for territorial expansion.
• The Nether Emperor grows stronger through the Taishi Tree’s Divine Power and remains openly affectionate and loyal toward Xiao Meng.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation versus family and ordinary life: The chapter’s central message is that pursuing immortality and martial power should not come at the expense of family, companionship, and everyday happiness.
• Power used for protection and responsibility: Xiao Meng’s abilities are not limited to personal advancement; he uses them to protect Jia Nan Academy, strengthen the Xiao Clan, aid allies, and heal others.
• Hidden potential and nurturing talent: Zi Yan’s bloodline reveals that seemingly troublesome traits may conceal extraordinary potential. Xiao Meng recognizes this and chooses to cultivate her seriously.
• Generosity and the value of resources: Xiao Meng treats powerful pills as commonplace, allowing him to distribute treasures that others consider priceless.
• Rest and balance: Despite his constant work, Xiao Meng repeatedly emphasizes the need for sleep, relaxation, and a comfortable life, embodying the chapter’s balance between cultivation and home.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Meng and Old Man Huo engage in humorous conflict over the appearance and quality of the Sixth-Grade Pill, ending with Old Man Huo becoming an eager student.
• Xiao Meng and Zi Yan maintain a bickering, almost familial relationship. She constantly demands more pills, while he complains about her appetite but ultimately indulges and supports her.
• Xiao Meng works closely with Su Qian, the Qian-Bai Elders, and the academy’s experts to complete the defensive formations, earning their admiration and gratitude.
• Xiao Meng reunites warmly with the Nether Emperor and treats him as a trusted companion.
• With Xiao Chen, Xiao Meng speaks candidly about enjoying mortal life rather than isolating oneself from the world.
• Xiao Meng treats Hai Bo Dong as a valued subordinate and friend, supplying him with pills while also offering personal guidance about family, relationships, and the meaning of life.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After returning to Jia Nan Academy, Xiao Meng takes Zi Yan into the magma world beneath the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, using Fallen Heart Flame to travel safely.
• Zi Yan senses a familiar summons, leading Xiao Meng to believe that her father, Zhukun—the Ancient Void Dragon Emperor—is nearby. They follow the signal through the vast magma sea.
• A mysterious force transports Xiao Meng, Zi Yan, and Fallen Heart Flame to an ancient sealed space containing the enormous stone gate of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor’s Cave Mansion.
• Zhukun appears in his colossal violet-gold dragon form. His overwhelming aura terrifies Xiao Meng, but he quickly calms down after Xiao Meng invokes Zi Yan’s displeasure.
• Zhukun recognizes Zi Yan as his daughter, but she initially rejects him, resentful over his long absence. Xiao Meng explains that Zhukun was trapped rather than intentionally abandoning her.
• Zhukun apologizes and reveals that the Tuoshe Ancient God imprisoned him. Xiao Meng immediately begins exploiting Zhukun’s love for his daughter, persuading him to give Zi Yan gifts and treasures.
• Zhukun gives Zi Yan an ancient Storage Ring filled with cultivation techniques, spiritual herbs, and other valuable resources. Xiao Meng insists that she accept the gifts even if she refuses to acknowledge Zhukun.
• Zhukun explains that he can only escape after at least four pieces of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade are gathered. Xiao Meng learns that the jade is connected to the Ancient Clan and will be difficult to obtain.
• Xiao Meng exaggerates the danger facing the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, claiming that the other Dragon Kings are rebelling and that Zi Yan must return to inherit the Dragon Emperor’s throne.
• Enraged, Zhukun gives Zi Yan nine powerful dragon scales, each containing a large portion of his strength and capable of protecting her from danger.
• After Xiao Meng provocatively pretends to leave, Zhukun gives him the Dragon-Slaying Saber and appoints him Enforcement Elder of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan. The saber can suppress most dragon clan members, summon nine powerful Ancient Void Dragons, and enforce discipline within the clan.
• Zhukun also provides Xiao Meng with three additional dragon scales, each containing thirty percent of his strength and usable three times.
• Xiao Meng promises to gather the necessary Ancient Emperor Jade and reunite Zhukun and Zi Yan, after which he and Zi Yan leave the sealed space.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meng demonstrates his usual shameless cleverness and opportunism. Although he genuinely intends to rescue Zhukun, he repeatedly manipulates Zhukun’s affection for Zi Yan to obtain treasures and protection.
• Zi Yan begins the chapter unaware of Zhukun’s identity and initially reacts coldly when he calls her “child.” Her anger gradually softens after hearing his explanation and witnessing his sincere guilt and love, though she remains suspicious of Xiao Meng’s schemes.
• Zhukun is introduced as an overwhelmingly powerful but emotionally vulnerable father. His immense strength and intimidating presence disappear when dealing with Zi Yan, whom he desperately wants to reconcile with. His protective instincts return fiercely when Xiao Meng describes threats to her and the Dragon Clan.
• Fallen Heart Flame serves mainly as transportation and reacts fearfully to Zhukun’s overwhelming aura, emphasizing the difference between Zhukun’s power and Xiao Meng’s current strength.

Significant Themes

• Family, abandonment, and reconciliation: The central emotional conflict is Zi Yan’s resentment toward Zhukun and his regret over being unable to raise her. Their reunion begins the process of repairing their relationship.
• Parental love and protectiveness: Zhukun’s affection for Zi Yan overrides his usual judgment, making him easy for Xiao Meng to manipulate but also showing the depth of his devotion.
• Shameless opportunism versus genuine loyalty: Xiao Meng takes advantage of Zhukun’s emotions, yet his schemes are partly motivated by a real desire to protect Zi Yan and eventually free Zhukun.
• Power and inheritance: Zi Yan’s identity as Zhukun’s daughter and future Dragon Emperor becomes increasingly important, while Xiao Meng receives authority as the clan’s Enforcement Elder.
• Ancient legacies and imprisonment: The Tuoshe Ancient Emperor’s cave, the Ancient Emperor Jade, and Zhukun’s imprisonment establish the larger conflict surrounding ancient powers, sealed realms, and the struggle to obtain the jade.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Meng repeatedly coaches Zi Yan on what to say and tries to control her behavior so Zhukun will not misunderstand their relationship.
• Zi Yan questions Xiao Meng’s motives and becomes angry when she realizes he brought her partly to obtain treasures from her father.
• Xiao Meng mediates between father and daughter, explaining Zhukun’s circumstances while also pressuring Zi Yan to accept his gifts.
• Zhukun responds intensely to Zi Yan’s rejection, apology, and eventual acceptance of his presents, showing how deeply he longs for her acknowledgment.
• Xiao Meng and Zhukun engage in a humorous battle of manipulation: Xiao Meng exaggerates the danger facing Zi Yan and the Dragon Clan, while Zhukun reluctantly rewards him to ensure Zi Yan’s safety.
• By the end, Zi Yan’s hostility has weakened, Zhukun has regained hope of reunion, and Xiao Meng has acquired major treasures and an official position while taking responsibility for freeing Zhukun.

Plot points and events

• Xiao Meng, Zi Yan, and the Fallen Heart Flame return through the Magma World to the Skyfire Venerable’s remains. Xiao Meng summons the Venerable’s remnant soul and pressures him into joining, promising to restore him and give him a body. He also captures the younger Fallen Heart Flame, which Zi Yan delivers to Su Qian and the academy elders.
• Xiao Meng gives the Venerable a Soul-Nourishing Pill and later arranges for him to recover in the Medicine Garden. After two months, the Venerable’s soul has grown powerful enough for Xiao Meng to provide the materials and formula he needs to form a body.
• Back at the academy, Zi Yan confronts Xiao Meng about whether she should acknowledge Zhukun as her father. Xiao Meng says Zhukun genuinely cares for her, though his teasing frustrates her.
• Xiao Meng and Su Qian lead Jia Nan Academy forces in a campaign against several Black-Corner Region factions. They quickly defeat the Blood Sect, Eight Gates, Han Feng’s forces, and the Earth Flame Sect, killing those who resist and establishing control through formations.
• Xiao Meng then spends two months cultivating in the Magma World. His body’s markings progress from orange through yellow and green to black, making him immune to the magma’s heat. His soul power also grows substantially, and his combat ability rises sharply.
• During Xiao Meng’s absence, Zi Yan breaks through from Dou Wang to Dou Emperor. She reveals that she ate more than four thousand pills and medicinal herbs while waiting, upsetting the elders. Xiao Meng responds by making her Sixth-Grade Pills.
• Xiao Meng scatters soil from the Netherworld Realm in the Medicine Garden, causing its plants to grow explosively. He also feeds Big Old Two two rare treasures, putting him into a deep sleep, and feeds divine flame to the Primordial Origin Flame, strengthening it. The chapter ends with Xiao Meng fishing again and somehow ending up underground.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Meng grows markedly stronger through cultivation and pill-making, while extending his influence by recruiting the Skyfire Venerable and helping the academy expand. He remains blunt, controlling, and casual about other people’s pride and concerns.
• The Skyfire Venerable abandons his pride to accept Xiao Meng’s offer, then becomes deferential after experiencing the pill’s effects. He is hopeful about regaining a body.
• Zi Yan shows affection and anger toward Xiao Meng, chasing and hitting him before asking his advice about Zhukun. Her rapid breakthrough reveals her exceptional potential, as well as her enormous appetite.
• Su Qian and the elders support Xiao Meng’s campaign and are thrilled by the prospect of another Dou Emperor, but are devastated by Zi Yan’s consumption of thousands of pills.
• Xiao Meng’s teasing, encouragement, and bargaining shape his relationships with Zi Yan, the Venerable, and the academy leadership; his generosity is often paired with a dismissive, humorous manner.

Significant themes

• Power and ambition: Xiao Meng’s growing strength enables both personal advancement and the academy’s conquest of the region.
• Pride versus survival: The Skyfire Venerable chooses a chance at life over the pride of his former status.
• Loyalty and family: Zi Yan’s uncertainty about Zhukun’s place in her life contrasts with Xiao Meng’s confidence that Zhukun cares for her.
• Resourcefulness and cultivation: Pills, rare materials, and unusual discoveries drive growth for individuals, the academy, and the Primordial Origin Flame.
• Humor amid escalation: The dramatic battles and breakthroughs are repeatedly undercut by Xiao Meng’s blunt jokes, Zi Yan’s appetite, and the chapter’s absurd final mishap.

Chapter Summary: The Jia Ma Empire’s Crisis

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Yan completes a major breakthrough after refining Yao Chen’s Bone Spirit Cold Flame and the Yin-Yang Twin Flames. He reaches the peak of the True Flame Realm and believes he can now contend with a Dou Emperor.
• Yao Chen, having regained a physical body and recovered to the Dou Venerable realm, urges Xiao Yan to leave their hiding place because the mysterious purple-robed enemy is still pursuing them.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Chen discuss the unknown enemy’s terrifying, unnatural power. Xiao Yan’s mysterious flame is the only force capable of resisting and devouring it.
• They plan to obtain additional Heavenly Flames, particularly the Green Lotus Core Flame from the Snake-People tribe and the Fallen Heart Flame from Jia Nan Academy, in order to strengthen Xiao Yan’s mysterious flame.
• Their escape is interrupted when the purple-robed man appears again. He claims he will kill Xiao Yan, devour his fortune, and take everything he possesses. Another life-and-death chase begins.
• Meanwhile, a black-robed figure connected to the Misty Cloud Sect investigates the death of the Purple Crystal Lion King and considers whether Xiao Yan or the mysterious purple-robed man was responsible.
• The black-robed figure learns that the Chu Yun Empire, Falling Wild Goose Empire, and Mulan Empire are attacking Black Mountain Fortress with seemingly invulnerable puppets. Jia Ma Empire has already suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties, and the fortress is expected to fall soon.
• At Black Mountain Fortress, Jia Xing Tian and Yaoye oversee the desperate defense. Jia Xing Tian refuses to fight recklessly because enemy Dou Emperors are waiting to intervene, and he hopes the Nethersea Flood Dragon Beast will emerge from seclusion and provide aid.
• The Three Mulan Elders suddenly challenge Jia Xing Tian. Working together, they overwhelm and severely injure him. As they prepare to deliver the killing blow, Yaoye and the defenders can only watch helplessly.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yan grows considerably stronger, reaching the peak of the True Flame Realm. His repeated humiliation and near-death experiences have also intensified his hatred of the purple-robed enemy.
• Yao Chen has successfully reconstructed his physical body and regained Dou Venerable strength, but he remains injured and weakened after sacrificing the Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Chen become more dependent on cooperation and strategy. Rather than confronting their enemy directly, they prioritize escape and the search for more Heavenly Flames.
• The purple-robed man is established as an immensely powerful and malicious figure who seems familiar to Xiao Yan. His motives remain unclear, but he intends to kill Xiao Yan and steal his destiny or fortune.
• The black-robed system-user becomes increasingly anxious and suspicious. He recognizes that unprecedented powers and possible transmigrators are disrupting the original course of events, leaving him uncertain about future enemies.
• Jia Xing Tian is portrayed as a self-sacrificing guardian. Despite understanding that the war is designed to trap and exhaust him, he remains at the fortress to protect the empire’s soldiers.
• Yaoye shows loyalty and courage but is overwhelmed by helplessness as she watches her great-grandfather approach death.

Significant Themes

• Uncontrolled upheaval and fate: The appearance of multiple abnormal powerhouses and possible transmigrators has destabilized the Dou Qi Continent and altered its expected future.
• Survival through strength and adaptation: Xiao Yan must continually grow stronger, acquire new Heavenly Flames, and evade an enemy who currently outclasses him.
• Sacrifice and responsibility: Jia Xing Tian knowingly risks his life to defend the empire, while Yao Chen sacrifices his flame and safety to protect Xiao Yan.
• Mysterious power and uncertainty: The origin of Xiao Yan’s flame, the purple-robed man’s identity, and the puppet army’s creator remain unknown.
• Political and military crisis: The Jia Ma Empire is being systematically weakened through prolonged warfare, psychological pressure, and the targeting of its strongest defender.

Important Character Interactions

• Xiao Yan and Yao Chen: Their teacher-student relationship is marked by mutual concern. Xiao Yan worries about Yao Chen’s injuries, while Yao Chen encourages Xiao Yan’s progress and helps plan the acquisition of new flames.
• Xiao Yan and the purple-robed man: Their relationship is openly hostile. The purple-robed man repeatedly pursues Xiao Yan, while Xiao Yan vows to destroy him.
• The black-robed figure and his system: He relies on the system to interpret the crisis but becomes frustrated when even it cannot identify the forces behind the puppet army or the purple-robed man.
• Jia Xing Tian and Yaoye: Yaoye wants to fight beside her great-grandfather, but Jia Xing Tian restrains her to preserve their limited chances of survival. Their exchange highlights both familial devotion and the burden of leadership.
• Jia Xing Tian and the Three Mulan Elders: Their confrontation reveals the empire’s military disadvantage. The elders exploit Jia Xing Tian’s weakened condition and attack together, driving him to the brink of death.

Chapter Summary: “Facing Qiong Leng Again”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Black Mountain Fortress is on the verge of falling as the Three Mulan Elders prepare to kill Jia Ma Empire’s guardian, Jia Xing Tian. The defenders are overwhelmed by Qiong Leng’s puppet army.
• Xiao Meng suddenly arrives by falling from the sky, revealing that he can now fly—a sign that he has reached the Dou Zong realm.
• Recognizing the danger, Xiao Meng rescues the severely wounded Jia Xing Tian and orders the soldiers to retreat.
• When one of the Three Mulan Elders threatens him, Xiao Meng instantly kills two of them with powerful fireballs. The surviving elder is left enraged and devastated.
• Xiao Meng releases thousands of flames that completely incinerate the puppet army, saving the fortress from destruction.
• Hai Bo Dong arrives to aid Jia Ma but is stunned to discover that Xiao Meng is now a Dou Zong and that Xiao Meng is powerful enough to annihilate Peak Dou Emperors effortlessly.
• Xiao Meng demands that the surviving Mulan Elder lead him to Qiong Leng. Before the elder can resist, the system announces that Qiong Leng has arrived.
• Qiong Leng appears with a powerful group of Dou Emperors and Dou Zongs, including Yan Luotian, Xie Biyan, and Wu Ya. He mocks Xiao Meng and orders his subordinates to kill him.
• Xiao Meng unveils the Dragon-Slaying Saber and destroys the entire attacking force with a single slash. The strike kills more than ten experts, including three Dou Zongs and the Peak Four-Star Dou Zong Xie Biyan.
• Although the saber’s power is overwhelming, it severely strains Xiao Meng’s body, leaving cracks in his arms. He realizes he can only use its full power a few times.
• Xiao Meng and Qiong Leng finally charge at each other, beginning their long-awaited confrontation.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meng: Makes a dramatic return as a newly emerged Dou Zong. He displays overwhelming confidence and ruthlessness, effortlessly saving the fortress and killing powerful enemies. His control over flames has become vastly stronger, and he now possesses the Dragon-Slaying Saber. However, the saber’s destructive power comes with a serious physical cost.
• Jia Xing Tian: Once the strongest defender of the fortress, he is badly wounded and forced to rely on Xiao Meng. His attitude shifts from despair to gratitude and cautious hope.
• Yaoye: Initially devastated by the impending defeat, she is emotionally overwhelmed upon seeing Xiao Meng alive. Her concern for him becomes clear when she calls out a warning during his battle.
• Hai Bo Dong: Arrives expecting to help Jia Ma but discovers that Xiao Meng has surpassed his expectations. He becomes even more respectful, addressing Xiao Meng as “Young Master,” while also recognizing the danger surrounding him.
• Qiong Leng: Returns as Xiao Meng’s principal enemy, confident in his greater power and supported by numerous experts. His confidence is shaken after Xiao Meng annihilates his forces, though he continues to challenge him.
• The Three Mulan Elders: Their combined strength is broken when Xiao Meng kills two members instantly. The surviving elder becomes consumed by grief and hatred.

Significant Themes

• Despair transformed into hope: The fortress defenders believe defeat is inevitable until Xiao Meng’s arrival completely changes the situation.
• Overwhelming power and hierarchy: Xiao Meng’s advancement to Dou Zong places him far above the ordinary experts on the battlefield, while the Dragon-Slaying Saber demonstrates an even more terrifying level of strength.
• The cost of power: Despite his overwhelming attack, Xiao Meng’s body cannot withstand unlimited use of the saber, suggesting that victory may come with serious consequences.
• Revenge and confrontation: Xiao Meng’s arrival is driven partly by his desire to settle matters with Qiong Leng, whose forces have caused widespread slaughter and turned people into puppets.
• Loyalty and recognition: Hai Bo Dong’s respectful submission and Yaoye’s emotional reaction highlight Xiao Meng’s growing influence and the loyalty he inspires.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Meng reassures and teases Yaoye despite her distressed condition, creating an emotional reunion.
• He rescues and rebukes Jia Xing Tian, treating him familiarly while criticizing his defeat.
• Jia Xing Tian gratefully acknowledges Xiao Meng’s aid and follows his commands to withdraw the soldiers.
• Hai Bo Dong recognizes Xiao Meng as his superior and obeys when ordered to return to the fortress.
• Xiao Meng taunts the surviving Mulan Elder and threatens him with death.
• Xiao Meng and Qiong Leng exchange insults before ordering their forces into battle, culminating in a direct clash between the two.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Qiong Leng transforms into a powerful mechanical body and attacks Xiao Meng outside the fortress. Their battle begins with close-quarters combat, as Qiong Leng’s extendable limbs and overwhelming physical strength clash against Xiao Meng’s Dragon-Slaying Saber.
• Xiao Meng powers himself up with battle seals and counters Qiong Leng’s attacks with increasingly powerful saber strikes. Although Qiong Leng can block or catch many of the blows, Xiao Meng gradually discovers that the avatar’s energy is finite and that its regeneration is not truly infinite.
• Xiao Meng reveals the Desolate Demon Eye, firing destructive gray beams at Qiong Leng. However, Qiong Leng’s mechanical body proves extraordinarily durable, withstanding attacks that deform rather than destroy him.
• Realizing that the Dragon-Slaying Saber can severely damage Qiong Leng, Xiao Meng uses lightning to briefly restrain him and lands a full-powered strike that severs one of Qiong Leng’s arms.
• Xiao Meng immediately captures the severed arm and has the Taixu Divine Lotus devour and refine it. The arm contains immense, unusual energy, but absorbing it begins to mechanize and damage Xiao Meng’s own body.
• To keep Qiong Leng from retrieving the arm, Xiao Meng summons nine violet-gold Ancient Void Dragons from the Dragon-Slaying Saber. They do not fight directly but delay Qiong Leng while Xiao Meng struggles to stabilize himself.
• Qiong Leng envelops the dragons in black energy and binds them with chains. In response, Xiao Meng unleashes the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, creating a massive vortex that draws in energy from the surrounding land, corpses, vegetation, and even living beings.
• Qiong Leng recognizes the technique as the legendary ancient Heaven-Devouring Demon Art and becomes genuinely alarmed. Xiao Meng is also surprised by the technique’s expanded ability to absorb life force and living energy.
• Xiao Meng uses the absorbed energy to replenish himself while the Taixu Divine Lotus refines Qiong Leng’s severed arm and the black energy. Qiong Leng realizes that Xiao Meng’s abilities directly counter his own and attempts to escape.
• The nine dragons block Qiong Leng’s retreat, while Xiao Meng uses the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art and the Desolate Demon Eye to pull him into the vortex. Despite sustaining catastrophic injuries, Xiao Meng succeeds in dragging Qiong Leng’s avatar into his Heavenly Abode.
• Inside the Heavenly Abode, Xiao Meng surrounds Qiong Leng with the Primordial Origin Flame while the Taixu Divine Lotus penetrates and absorbs his energy. Qiong Leng is horrified by Xiao Meng’s ability not merely to suppress or destroy his power, but to consume it.
• The chapter ends with Xiao Meng confidently claiming that Qiong Leng is “food,” while Qiong Leng insists that he cannot be absorbed so easily, setting up the continuation of their confrontation.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meng demonstrates greater combat power, tactical creativity, and willingness to endure severe self-inflicted damage to achieve victory. He combines the Dragon-Slaying Saber, Desolate Demon Eye, Ancient Void Dragons, Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, Primordial Origin Flame, and Taixu Divine Lotus in coordinated succession.
• Xiao Meng’s priorities become clear: he is not merely trying to defeat Qiong Leng but to capture and refine him, hoping to use the avatar’s unusual energy to strengthen the Taixu Divine Lotus.
• His greed for the mysterious energy creates a dangerous weakness. He initially refuses to use the Primordial Origin Flame because it would destroy energy valuable to the lotus, even as that energy begins transforming his body into a machine.
• Qiong Leng is portrayed as an exceptionally resilient and adaptable opponent. He regenerates damaged limbs, willingly trades injuries, and uses advanced martial skills once Xiao Meng forces him to take the battle seriously.
• This version of Qiong Leng’s avatar is more intelligent than the one Xiao Meng previously fought, allowing it to use defensive techniques and analyze Xiao Meng’s intentions more effectively.
• Qiong Leng’s confidence gradually turns into alarm and desperation. He first mocks Xiao Meng, then recognizes the threat posed by the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art and attempts to flee when he realizes Xiao Meng can refine his energy.
• The fortress spectators are left stunned and fearful by the scale of the battle, Xiao Meng’s increasingly terrifying abilities, and the appearance of the nine Ancient Void Dragons.

Significant Themes

• Predation and reversal of power: Qiong Leng initially treats Xiao Meng as prey, but Xiao Meng repeatedly describes him as a “feast” and ultimately turns the supposedly superior mechanical being into something to be consumed.
• Power at a cost: Xiao Meng’s techniques are devastating but physically destructive. His body cracks apart, his internal organs are damaged, and he risks mechanization while absorbing Qiong Leng’s energy.
• Adaptation versus overwhelming strength: Qiong Leng relies on durability, regeneration, and direct attacks, while Xiao Meng wins ground through varied techniques, traps, restraint, and layered abilities.
• Consumption and transformation: The Taixu Divine Lotus and Heaven-Devouring Demon Art emphasize the cultivation-world idea that defeating an enemy can mean refining and incorporating their energy rather than simply killing them.
• Limits of immortality: Qiong Leng’s avatar appears nearly indestructible, but Xiao Meng identifies its weakness: its energy supply can be depleted. The chapter contrasts the avatar’s finite nature with the alleged true body’s genuine immortality.
• Hidden significance of ancient techniques: Qiong Leng’s fear of the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art suggests that Xiao Meng possesses a technique of much greater historical and destructive importance than he previously understood.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Meng and Qiong Leng exchange constant taunts throughout the fight. Qiong Leng recalls defeating Xiao Meng in their previous encounter, while Xiao Meng repeatedly challenges his arrogance.
• Their fighting styles reflect their personalities: Qiong Leng attacks directly and confidently, trusting his body to endure damage, while Xiao Meng uses deception, restraint, summoned creatures, and multiple techniques to create openings.
• Xiao Meng’s capture of Qiong Leng’s severed arm intensifies their conflict. Qiong Leng becomes furious because the limb contains rare energy that his avatar cannot easily regenerate or replace.
• Once Qiong Leng realizes Xiao Meng can absorb his power, the balance of the confrontation changes. His former contempt becomes fear, while Xiao Meng becomes increasingly excited and determined to refine him completely.
• The chapter closes with Xiao Meng boasting inside his Heavenly Abode and Qiong Leng resisting verbally, preserving the conflict even after Xiao Meng appears to have gained the upper hand.

Chapter Summary: “Self-Destruction and the Rusty Blade”

Plot Points and Major Events

• Qiong Leng reveals that his apparent surrender was a deception. He claims he allowed Xiao Meng to absorb him so he could learn how Xiao Meng refined his power and leave a mark that would alert his true body and pursuers.
• Xiao Meng seals his body, Heavenly Abode, and surroundings with the Primordial Origin Flame and True Essence, confident that Qiong Leng cannot transmit information or leave a tracking mark.
• Qiong Leng reveals his real plan: he has secretly prepared to self-destruct inside Xiao Meng’s body. His energy rapidly expands, threatening to destroy Xiao Meng and the Heavenly Abode.
• Just before the explosion, a mysterious rusty, broken blade appears and pierces Qiong Leng. The blade completely suppresses his ability to self-destruct, saving Xiao Meng.
• With Qiong Leng immobilized, the Taixu Divine Lotus gradually refines and absorbs him. The lotus grows several times larger, though Xiao Meng does not use it to heal himself.
• Xiao Meng, severely injured and with the nine Ancient Void Dragons badly damaged and contaminated by black energy, returns to Black Mountain Fortress. The Primordial Origin Flame purifies the dragons’ corruption.
• Hai Bo Dong carries Xiao Meng to a healing chamber, where Jia Xing Tian and the others arrange for him to recover. Xiao Meng consumes numerous high-grade healing pills with casual disregard, shocking everyone.
• Xiao Meng remains in seclusion for over a month. Hai Bo Dong, Jia Xing Tian, and later the Nethersea Flood Dragon Beast guard the chamber while Yaoye handles the fortress’s affairs.
• During his recovery, Xiao Meng not only heals completely but advances in cultivation. The patterns within his body change from black to green, becoming more mysterious and powerful.
• After emerging, Xiao Meng recognizes the Nethersea Flood Dragon Beast as the creature that once dragged him underground after biting a red crystal. He angrily beats him, while the beast refuses to retaliate because Xiao Meng previously gave him the pill that enabled his breakthrough to Dou Zong.
• At a feast after Xiao Meng’s recovery, Yaoye reports that more than a dozen cities in the Chu Yun, Falling Wild Goose, and Mulan Empires have been completely slaughtered. The massacres occurred shortly after Xiao Meng arrived at Black Mountain Fortress, strongly suggesting a connection to Qiong Leng or his faction.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meng: Demonstrates cleverness and confidence but is nearly killed by Qiong Leng’s deception. After surviving, he becomes even stronger through recovery and cultivation advancement. His rough, irreverent personality remains intact, especially in his comical treatment of the Nethersea Flood Dragon Beast.
• Qiong Leng: Reveals himself to be ruthless, calculating, and willing to sacrifice himself to destroy Xiao Meng. His plan fails because of the mysterious rusty blade, after which he is helplessly refined by the Taixu Divine Lotus.
• Hai Bo Dong: Becomes increasingly respectful and loyal toward Xiao Meng. He personally carries the injured Xiao Meng and remains outside his chamber to protect him.
• Jia Xing Tian: Is deeply shocked by Xiao Meng’s strength and resources but takes responsibility for organizing his recovery and guarding him.
• Yaoye: Develops stronger admiration—and a sense of painful distance—toward Xiao Meng. She believes he has reached a level far beyond her and may never be someone she can stand beside.
• Nethersea Flood Dragon Beast: Breaks through to the Dou Zong realm thanks to Xiao Meng’s pill. Though initially alarmed by Xiao Meng’s anger, he accepts the beating out of gratitude and does not fight back.

Significant Themes

• Deception and counter-deception: Qiong Leng’s false explanation hides a suicide attack, showing that apparent surrender may conceal a deadlier plan.
• Survival through unexpected power: Xiao Meng is saved not by his own defenses or the System, but by the unexplained rusty blade, introducing a mysterious new force or artifact.
• Growth through destruction: Xiao Meng’s near-death experience leads to both physical recovery and a breakthrough in cultivation, reinforcing the idea that destruction can precede renewal.
• Power and social distance: Xiao Meng’s overwhelming strength causes others to revere him and makes Yaoye feel increasingly separated from him.
• Gratitude and debt: The Nethersea Flood Dragon Beast’s willingness to endure Xiao Meng’s anger reflects his gratitude for the pill that transformed his cultivation.
• Hidden larger threat: The slaughter of numerous cities suggests that the conflict extends beyond Qiong Leng and that a major enemy or organized force is acting across the three empires.

Important Character Interactions

• Qiong Leng taunts Xiao Meng before attempting to destroy him through self-destruction; Xiao Meng later mocks him once the rusty blade disables the attack.
• Hai Bo Dong carries Xiao Meng to safety and guards him, while Jia Xing Tian coordinates the fortress’s response.
• Yaoye and her subordinates discuss Xiao Meng’s origins and immense status, emphasizing how far beyond ordinary cultivators he has become.
• The Nethersea Flood Dragon Beast respectfully meets Xiao Meng, only to be attacked when Xiao Meng recalls their earlier encounter. Their conflict ends humorously because the beast accepts the punishment.
• After recovering, Xiao Meng questions Yaoye about the wider war and learns of the mass city massacres, shifting the chapter from personal survival to a broader political and supernatural crisis.

Chapter Summary: “Migration”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Meng, Jia Xing Tian, and Hai Bo Dong investigate a growing catastrophe: sixteen cities across the Chu Yun, Falling Wild Goose, and Mulan Empires have been completely massacred, with no survivors.
• Determined to save the remaining civilians, Xiao Meng orders Jia Xing Tian to:
  • Gather Dou Masters of five stars and above.
  • Clear and develop habitable land around Wutan City.
  • Relocate border populations into safer regions.
  • Take control of the three affected empires within fifteen days.
  • Move their populations to the Black-Corner Region, now effectively controlled by Jia Nan Academy.
• Xiao Meng reveals that the migration is connected to a system mission, whose reward is eight fishing attempts. He also claims to have a method to solve the enormous food shortage created by relocating hundreds of millions of people.
• Jia Xing Tian begins organizing the operation from Black Mountain Fortress, while Hai Bo Dong returns to the Xiao Clan with a sealed jade slip containing Xiao Meng’s instructions.
• The Xiao Clan organizes Wutan City’s factions into a massive preparation effort. Over three days and nights, they create rules, assign responsibilities, clear land for housing, and prepare farmland.
• Xiao Zhan wins the factions’ cooperation by promising to erase former grudges and provide training, resources, battle skills, and pills to their most talented disciples.
• Xiao Meng reaches Jia Nan Academy and asks Grand Elder Su Qian to coordinate the relocation to the Black-Corner Region. Su Qian agrees to create a detailed plan once Xiao Meng assures him that food and shelter can be handled.
• Upon returning to the Medicine Garden, Xiao Meng reunites with Zi Yan, who has been angrily waiting for him and complaining about his absence.
• Zi Yan reveals that the Medicine Garden’s herbs have begun growing and reproducing at an extraordinary rate. Xiao Meng realizes this may be connected to the broader supernatural changes occurring in the world.
• Xiao Meng spends two days refining large quantities of Sixth-Grade Pills for Zi Yan. The academy elders are shocked and envious when they see how many pills he has produced.
• Mu Zichen, now stronger after another breakthrough, is invited to accompany Xiao Meng on future missions.
• The chapter ends with Xiao Meng meeting Su Qian and the academy elders to hear their proposed relocation plan.

2. Character Developments

• Xiao Meng becomes increasingly decisive, ruthless, and leadership-oriented. The massacres strengthen his resolve to protect civilians, even if doing so requires forcibly taking control of entire empires or executing those who resist.
• Jia Xing Tian shifts from shock and concern to committed cooperation. Though initially worried about the logistical impossibility of relocation, he accepts Xiao Meng’s plan and agrees to shoulder the responsibility.
• Hai Bo Dong demonstrates loyalty and resourcefulness by carrying out Xiao Meng’s instructions and understanding the importance of preserving crop seeds.
• Xiao Zhan emerges as an effective organizer and negotiator, using generous rewards and promises of reconciliation to unite Wutan City’s factions.
• Su Qian remains cautious and practical, focusing on the difficulties of feeding and housing enormous populations. Despite his concerns, he trusts Xiao Meng and agrees to help.
• Zi Yan remains greedy, childish, aggressive, and fiercely attached to Xiao Meng. She has consumed huge quantities of pills and medicinal resources but is also useful because of her strength and future importance.
• Mu Zichen continues to grow rapidly in strength and proves eager to follow Xiao Meng into real combat and experience.

3. Significant Themes

• Humanity amid catastrophe: The slaughter of entire cities highlights the cruelty of the enemy and forces the protagonists to confront the value of ordinary lives.
• Responsibility and leadership: Xiao Meng takes responsibility for millions of displaced civilians rather than focusing solely on personal revenge.
• Practicality during crisis: The chapter emphasizes that saving people requires more than defeating enemies; food, shelter, land, manpower, transportation, and administration are equally important.
• Unity through shared danger: Formerly divided factions cooperate because the crisis threatens everyone. Xiao Zhan’s offer to forgive old grievances reinforces the importance of collective action.
• Moral flexibility: Xiao Meng is willing to use authoritarian methods, including force and exemplary punishment, to ensure the migration succeeds.
• Abundance and supernatural change: The rapidly reproducing medicinal herbs and Xiao Meng’s effortless creation of Sixth-Grade Pills suggest that the world is undergoing unexplained transformations, possibly connected to the coming disaster.

4. Character Interactions

• Xiao Meng and Jia Xing Tian argue over the feasibility of mass relocation, with Xiao Meng confidently dismissing concerns about food and safety.
• Hai Bo Dong supports Xiao Meng and helps transmit secret instructions to the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Zhan rallies Wutan City’s factions by promising rewards and the end of past disputes.
• Xiao Meng and Su Qian discuss the logistical difficulties of moving civilians to the Black-Corner Region, establishing mutual trust and cooperation.
• Xiao Meng and Zi Yan reunite humorously: she angrily accuses him of abandoning her and withholding pills, while he privately resents her enormous appetite but still agrees to refine more medicine.
• Zi Yan clashes with Su Qian and the elders over her Sixth-Grade Pills, refusing to share them and treating the Medicine Garden as her personal territory.
• The elders warmly praise Mu Zichen while simultaneously envying Xiao Meng’s alchemical abilities.
• Xiao Meng asks the academy elders to support the Medicine Garden by assigning Xiao Clan disciples and constructing additional storage facilities, further integrating the Xiao Clan into Jia Nan Academy’s preparations.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Meng, leading Jia Nan Academy’s campaign to reform and control the Black-Corner Region, forces the Mad Lion Gang of Mad Lion City to submit.
• Mad Lion Gang leader Wu Tie accepts, understanding that resistance would mean the destruction of his faction. Xiao Meng allows the gang to continue ruling the city but imposes new laws and demands:
  • The surrounding wastelands must be developed within twenty days.
  • New houses must be constructed according to his plans.
  • Martial cultivators’ Storage Rings must be collected, documented, and later returned.
  • Anyone who violates the new rules will be killed.
• Xiao Meng leaves Mad Lion City and proceeds toward Rakshasa City. Wu Tie, intimidated by Xiao Meng’s previous destruction of rebellious factions, immediately begins organizing compliance.
• During the journey, Mu Zichen reports that more than a dozen major powers—including the Black Emperor Sect and Flame Demon Valley—have allied against Jia Nan Academy.
• Xiao Meng refuses to request help from the Qian-Bai Elders, confidently claiming he can handle the alliance himself. He deliberately slows his forces so the enemy has time to gather, intending to destroy them all at once.
• Jia Nan Academy’s broader reorganization effort is explained:
  • Xiao Meng is responsible for cleansing the Black-Corner Region.
  • Su Qian oversees population relocation, assisted by Zi Yan.
  • Hu Gan manages supplies and post-relocation affairs.
  • Old Man Huo supervises city construction and wasteland development.
  • The Qian-Bai Elders lead the construction of a massive defensive wall across the Black Domain Great Plains.
  • Academy students and instructors are mobilized for labor and training, with generous rewards encouraging their participation.
• Xiao Meng subdues Rakshasa Gate, the Yin Sect, and several other factions. He also destroys multiple rebellious organizations, making the remaining powers too frightened to resist openly.
• While resting in Yin City, Xiao Meng refines numerous Tier Six pills, producing more than twenty in a single batch. He distributes several dozen pills to his allies, greatly exciting them and helping their cultivation.
• In Black Emperor City, Mo Tianxing of the Black Emperor Sect gathers the allied powers. Since Xiao Meng has not attacked them, they decide to strike first by surrounding Yin City, capturing Xiao Meng, and using him as bait to lure Su Qian and the Qian-Bai Elders into a trap.
• Xiao Meng unexpectedly appears in Black Emperor City before they can depart, openly mocking their plan and challenging them.
• Earth Demon Old Ghost, founder of Flame Demon Valley and a peak Dou Zong, arrives to confront Xiao Meng. His first attack is powerful enough to force Xiao Meng backward, revealing the gap between them but also demonstrating that Xiao Meng possesses strength comparable to a Dou Zong.
• Realizing Xiao Meng is far stronger than expected, Mo Tianxing and the other leaders change tactics. They ask Earth Demon Old Ghost to deal with Xiao Meng while they attempt to handle the Heavenly Flame.
• Xiao Meng offers the uninvolved factions a final chance to submit, but the Black Emperor Sect, Flame Demon Valley, and Kui Wolf Gang refuse. Earth Demon Old Ghost then launches another attack, and the chapter ends as Xiao Meng’s forces prepare to respond.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meng is portrayed as a ruthless but organized conqueror. He combines intimidation, administrative reform, military strategy, and alchemy to establish control over the region. His confidence grows increasingly apparent: he intentionally gives his enemies time to assemble and personally enters their stronghold.
• Xiao Meng also shows generosity toward his allies by distributing valuable Tier Six pills, strengthening the people supporting his campaign.
• Wu Tie changes from a powerful gang leader to a frightened subordinate. His initial reluctance disappears once he understands that Xiao Meng has both the ability and willingness to annihilate those who resist.
• Mu Zichen demonstrates strategic insight by quickly understanding Xiao Meng’s plan to allow the enemy alliance to gather. His relationship with Xiao Meng appears close and trusting.
• Mo Tianxing is revealed as calculating and ambitious. He seeks to exploit Xiao Meng as bait but becomes visibly shaken when Xiao Meng appears and displays unexpected strength.
• Earth Demon Old Ghost enters as the primary immediate threat. Though initially dismissive of Xiao Meng, he recognizes that the young man is unusually powerful and prepares to kill him personally.

Significant Themes

• Order versus chaos: Jia Nan Academy’s campaign aims to replace the Black-Corner Region’s brutal, lawless system with centralized rules, development, and organized governance.
• Power and submission: The chapter repeatedly shows that weaker factions submit not because they are convinced, but because Xiao Meng’s overwhelming strength makes resistance impossible.
• Fear as a tool of governance: Public executions, destruction of rebellious factions, and explicit warnings ensure obedience, while Xiao Meng attempts to prevent factions from exploiting the transition to settle personal grudges.
• Reform and forced progress: Construction, population relocation, resource collection, and wasteland development suggest that Jia Nan Academy’s conquest is intended to create a functioning society, though it is imposed through coercion.
• Underestimation and hidden strength: The enemy alliance assumes Xiao Meng is merely a young cultivator protected by the Fallen Heart Flame and Jia Nan Academy’s elders. His ability to withstand Earth Demon Old Ghost shocks them and shifts the balance of the confrontation.
• Strategic patience: Xiao Meng deliberately delays attacking so that multiple enemies can gather in one place, allowing him to eliminate them efficiently.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Meng dominates Wu Tie through calm orders and veiled threats, while Wu Tie responds with fear and obedience.
• Mu Zichen acts as Xiao Meng’s trusted aide and understands his strategic intentions better than the others.
• Xiao Meng’s confidence contrasts with the Dou Emperor middle-aged man’s caution; the latter worries about confronting a nine-star Dou Zong, while Xiao Meng dismisses the danger.
• Xiao Meng and the Black Emperor Sect leaders exchange escalating insults. Xiao Meng uses mockery and deliberately provocative humor to anger Mo Tianxing and undermine his authority.
• Mo Tianxing and Fang Yan cooperate in planning the ambush, but after discovering Xiao Meng’s true strength, they rely on Earth Demon Old Ghost to fight him.
• Xiao Meng challenges Earth Demon Old Ghost directly, insulting him as a “stray dog” and daring him to attack. Earth Demon Old Ghost responds with murderous hostility, setting up the chapter’s cliffhanger battle.

Plot and events

• Earth Demon Old Ghost attacks Xiao Meng, but the Skyfire Venerable intervenes and kills him instantly. Although Xiao Meng had wanted to capture him for information about making a Heavenly Demon Puppet, he orders the Skyfire Venerable to kill two other Dou Zong leaders without destroying their bodies, then wipe out the Black Emperor Sect, Flame Demon Valley, and Kui Wolf Gang.
• The surviving regional factions submit. Xiao Meng avoids forcing them to take Poison Pills, but warns them that betrayal will bring severe consequences. He assigns them tasks connected to his plans and organizes control of Black Emperor City and Kui Wolf City.
• Xiao Meng and the Skyfire Venerable take over Flame Demon Valley and order its people to prepare for relocation. Searching its hidden storehouse, Xiao Meng finds valuable scrolls and medicinal herbs but discovers that the Sky Demon Puppet method has already been taken—likely by the mysterious Misty Cloud Sect figure.
• The pair search the vast Black-Corner Region for hidden experts, recruiting some and warning others to obey the region’s rules. After weeks without finding the suspected black-robed figure or reaching the region’s edge, they return to Jia Nan Academy.
• The first wave of migrants—nearly a million people—has reached Maple City. Xiao Meng sees Hu Gan struggling to manage their housing and supplies. To ease future migrations, he proposes using pills to sustain travelers, then reveals that divine soil can rapidly grow food. He gives Su Qian soil for the fields and begins preparing a mass production of Fasting Pills for the next, much larger migration.
• Little Zi Yan visits to complain about the journey; Xiao Meng gives her more than two thousand pills, quickly improving her mood.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Meng demonstrates authority and ruthlessness, but also practical concern for civilians: he delegates military and administrative work, seeks to reduce the hardship of migration, and plans supplies on a huge scale. He remains ambitious about the Sky Demon Puppet method and the unidentified figure who may threaten his plans.
• The Skyfire Venerable is revealed as an immensely powerful but overzealous protector. Xiao Meng reprimands him for killing Earth Demon Old Ghost when capture was intended; the Venerable accepts correction and follows orders without question.
• Su Qian is exhausted by the logistical burden of migration. His exchanges with Xiao Meng shift from frustration to amazement as he learns about the feeding pills and divine soil, though he is skeptical that such precious resources should be used on ordinary crops.
• The regional factions submit out of fear after witnessing the Venerable’s power. Xiao Meng offers them conditional trust rather than immediate bodily control, while making clear that disobedience will be punished.
• Little Zi Yan remains playful and easily won over by treats, providing a light contrast to the chapter’s large-scale political and logistical concerns.

Significant themes

• Power and authority: The Venerable’s overwhelming strength swiftly reshapes control of the Black-Corner Region, while Xiao Meng directs that power toward consolidation and expansion.
• Pragmatism versus violence: Xiao Meng uses lethal force against major threats but chooses to conscript Flame Demon Valley’s population rather than massacre them.
• Leadership and responsibility: The migration reveals that governing and feeding vast populations may be harder than defeating powerful opponents.
• Abundance and ingenuity: Divine soil and Fasting Pills turn seemingly impossible supply problems into manageable ones, emphasizing Xiao Meng’s confidence and resourcefulness.
• Unresolved danger and ambition: The stolen puppet-making method and the missing black-robed figure leave a threat—and a goal—unsettled.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• A massive relocation of more than twenty million people from the Jia Ma Empire and surrounding regions toward the Black-Corner Region is underway.
• Nearly one million flying magical beasts, hundreds of thousands of terrestrial beasts, and countless carriages transport the population. Children, women, and the elderly receive priority on the more stable flying beasts, while stronger men travel below.
• Over fifty Dou Emperors and two hundred Dou Kings patrol the migration route to prevent accidents or attacks.
• Zi Yan leads the procession despite her young appearance. The others question the decision, but Su Qian trusts Xiao Meng’s judgment and senses a terrifying hidden power within her.
• Xiao Chen, a hidden Dou Saint, secretly watches over the relocation from the void. Xiao Meng chose not to expose him or rely on him to move the entire population directly because the relocation required extensive preparations and Xiao Chen’s identity had to remain concealed.
• Xiao Meng’s medicinal pills greatly ease the relocation by providing food, improving health, reducing illness, and allowing the magical beasts to travel continuously. He has already refined tens of thousands of pills at astonishing speed.
• At the Xiao Clan residence, Xiao Li delivers Xiao Meng’s request for the clan to send its medicinal herbs to Jia Nan Academy.
• The Xiao Clan continues expanding its territory, building roads, residences, and infrastructure. Xiao Li and his elder brother plan to construct a major road connecting the clan to the Black-Corner Region.
• Wutan City has developed far more efficiently than neighboring cities, while corrupt officials and factions exploiting the relocation effort have been brutally punished by the Ice Emperor, who killed more than two thousand offenders and several important officials.
• Rumors spread that Xiao Meng has killed more than twenty Dou Emperors and destroyed resistant factions throughout the Black-Corner Region. Xiao Zhan defends him, arguing that Xiao Meng was likely forced to act harshly by the region’s dangerous conditions.
• At the Black Domain Great Plains, Jia Nan Academy and allied forces construct an enormous city wall intended to separate the Black-Corner Region from the outside world. The wall is being built with exceptionally durable Mystic Heavenly Stone.
• The Black-Corner Region is becoming more orderly and civilized. Wastelands are being reclaimed, residences built, and cities prepared for the incoming population.
• Fire Elder enjoys a relatively comfortable role overseeing construction, while Hu Gan struggles with the enormous administrative burden of preparing food, housing, and supplies for the next wave of settlers. He unsuccessfully attempts to recruit Fire Elder.
• Xiao Meng has entered seclusion beneath the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower after refining another massive quantity of pills.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meng is revealed as extraordinarily capable and influential. His alchemy, strategic planning, and ruthless governance have become central to the relocation and transformation of the Black-Corner Region. His reputation outside the family is far more fearsome than his relatives expect.
• Zi Yan appears playful and childish but is trusted with a crucial defensive role because she possesses a terrifying, undisclosed trump card.
• Su Qian demonstrates strong faith in Xiao Meng’s decisions and confidence in Zi Yan’s hidden strength.
• Xiao Chen acts as a secret guardian, remaining concealed to protect his identity while supporting the relocation from afar.
• Xiao Zhan remains responsible and cautious, personally managing the Medicine Garden and inspecting development projects. He is proud of Xiao Meng and refuses to believe rumors that his son is needlessly violent.
• Xiao Li has advanced to the Two-Star Dou Ling realm after enduring brutal training. Though he complains about the process, he recognizes that the suffering was worthwhile.
• Xiao Li and his elder brother are becoming important contributors to the Xiao Clan’s expanding infrastructure, with one focusing more on planning and the other on physical execution.
• Hu Gan is overwhelmed by administrative responsibilities, contrasting with Fire Elder’s comparatively relaxed workload.
• Fire Elder has become comfortable with his successful management of transportation and construction and resists Hu Gan’s attempts to draw him into additional work.

Significant Themes

• Large-scale organization and nation-building: The relocation is not merely a migration but the foundation of a new society, requiring roads, housing, food distribution, medicine, cultivation, and defensive walls.
• Power and reputation: Xiao Meng’s actions have created a terrifying public image, while his family sees him as practical and protective rather than inherently cruel.
• Hidden strength and appearances: Zi Yan’s childish appearance conceals immense power, while Xiao Chen’s presence remains unknown. Similarly, Xiao Meng’s calm family persona contrasts with his ruthless reputation.
• Efficiency versus corruption: Wutan City’s success is attributed to discipline and strong leadership, while other cities suffer because officials exploit the crisis for personal gain.
• Sacrifice and reward: Xiao Li’s painful training and the enormous effort invested in the relocation demonstrate that advancement and stability require hardship.
• Family loyalty and trust: The Xiao family continues supporting Xiao Meng’s plans, even when they do not fully understand his actions or the dangers he faces.

Character Interactions

• Su Qian and the patrol leaders: Su Qian receives reports about the relocation, orders continued vigilance, and reassures them that Zi Yan can protect the front line.
• Xiao Zhan and Xiao Li: Their conversation covers medicinal supplies, road construction, urban development, corruption, and rumors about Xiao Meng. Their exchanges also show their familiar father-son teasing.
• Xiao Zhan and Xiao Li regarding Xiao Meng: Xiao Li repeats frightening stories about Xiao Meng, while Xiao Zhan insists that his son is not naturally bloodthirsty and must have acted out of necessity.
• Xiao Zhan and Xiao Li regarding training: Xiao Zhan considers Xiao Li’s harsh training worthwhile, while Xiao Li remains traumatized by the experience.
• Hu Gan and Fire Elder: Hu Gan begs Fire Elder to help with the relocation preparations and offers pills as payment, but Fire Elder refuses, preferring his comfortable responsibilities.
• The wider Xiao Clan and Jia Nan Academy: Their cooperation shows the growing alliance between the two groups and their shared role in building and governing the new settlement.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After two months of secluded cultivation beneath Jia Nan Academy’s Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower, Xiao Meng completes another lifetime of the Myriad Ages Undying Scripture. His internal patterns transform from cyan to deep violet, his cultivation advances twice, and his body becomes more than twenty times stronger.
• Returning to the deserted academy, Xiao Meng visits the Medicine Garden and learns that the academy is still relocating people and magical beasts from the Black-Corner Region.
• He reunites with Zi Yan, who complains about the work and demands thousands of pills. Xiao Meng agrees to refine them, while their playful quarrel reveals their familiar relationship.
• Xiao Meng notices that Xiao Ning’s cultivation foundation is unstable. He orders him to stop taking pills, suppress his cultivation, and undergo hard labor in the Black-Corner Region. He also suggests that Xiao Ning train alongside his sister.
• Fallen Heart Flame has developed enough intelligence to speak and calls Xiao Meng “Master.” Xiao Meng tries to give it a more personal name, eventually choosing “Xiao Yun,” though Zi Yan mocks the choice.
• Xiao Meng travels through the relocated cities of the Black-Corner Region, observing residents adapting to their new homes. He speaks with homesick civilians, eats with an elderly farmer, and stays the night, showing a gentler side beneath his intimidating reputation.
• To consolidate his recent breakthroughs, Xiao Meng performs hard labor in the Black Domain Great Plains for more than twenty days, carrying stones and excavating with his Dragon-Slaying Saber.
• He then spends over a month refining enormous quantities of pills before returning to seclusion in the magma world. After another breakthrough, he spars with Hun Tiandi and accidentally destroys a fragment of Hun Tiandi’s will, receiving four additional fishing attempts from the system.
• During successive fishing attempts, Xiao Meng obtains:
  • The Netherworld Ghost Flame, which he gives to the Primordial Origin Flame to devour.
  • A Coiling Dragon Tree seed, suitable for planting in the Netherworld Realm.
  • The Bodhi Ancient Tree, which he discovers in the Wilds Ancient Domain on the Dou Qi Continent. The system compresses it into a small storage-like barrier and advises him not to plant it yet.
  • An Endless Tree seed, a powerful fire-tree seed whose flames are stronger than Samadhi True Fire and Solar True Fire.
  • The damaged Thirty-Three Heavens Treasures.
• When obtaining the Thirty-Three Heavens Treasures, Xiao Meng hears from Fang Han, the Epoch Immortal King, who warns that taking them will create a major karmic debt. The system explains that Fang Han has suffered a mysterious calamity and is currently sleeping within the Gate of Eternal Life.
• Despite the danger, Xiao Meng accepts the treasures because the system assures him that his future self can repay the debt and that the treasures may help him survive an upcoming death tribulation.
• The treasures are severely damaged and currently only function at the level of king-grade immortal artifacts. Xiao Meng can use only nine times their potential combat enhancement, but he remains excited and heads toward the northern mountains to test their power.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meng grows dramatically stronger but remains cautious about unstable foundations, karmic consequences, and future dangers. He balances intense cultivation with practical efforts to consolidate his power.
• He displays increasing responsibility toward the academy’s refugees, the Xiao family, and the magical beasts under his protection.
• His interactions with ordinary civilians reveal empathy and nostalgia for his former life on Earth.
• Zi Yan remains energetic, spoiled, sarcastic, and dependent on Xiao Meng for pills, while also serving as a close companion and source of comic relief.
• Xiao Ning is revealed to be advancing too quickly and risking an unstable foundation. Xiao Meng’s intervention redirects him toward disciplined training.
• Fallen Heart Flame, now named Xiao Yun, makes a major step toward sentience by speaking for the first time, though its communication remains extremely limited.
• Hun Tiandi suffers a setback when Xiao Meng destroys the will fragment residing in his mind, though the main Hun Tiandi survives and reacts with shock.

Significant Themes

• Power and responsibility: Xiao Meng’s growing strength is accompanied by obligations to refugees, family members, magical beasts, and the academy.
• Foundation versus speed: The warning to Xiao Ning emphasizes that rapid breakthroughs are dangerous if not supported by a stable cultivation base.
• Transformation and sentience: Fallen Heart Flame’s ability to speak marks the gradual evolution of a former natural phenomenon into an intelligent being.
• Home and displacement: The relocated citizens’ homesickness, along with Xiao Meng’s memories of Earth, highlights the emotional cost of forced migration.
• Luck and hidden danger: Xiao Meng’s extraordinary fishing luck brings rare treasures, but each reward carries risks—especially the Thirty-Three Heavens Treasures and their associated karmic debt.
• Mystery of fate and future calamity: Fang Han’s unexplained suffering and the system’s cryptic warnings suggest dangers far beyond Xiao Meng’s current understanding.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Meng and Zi Yan engage in constant teasing and bickering, but their exchanges show mutual trust and affection.
• Xiao Meng mentors Xiao Ning, sternly correcting his cultivation habits and sending him to train through hardship.
• He attempts to guide Fallen Heart Flame toward a more independent identity by rejecting “Master” and giving it the name Xiao Yun.
• Su Qian, Old Man Huo, and Hu Gan repeatedly complain that Xiao Meng avoids the relocation and logistical work, reinforcing his tendency to retreat into cultivation while others handle practical duties.
• Xiao Meng’s encounter with Hun Tiandi shifts from sparring to accidental destruction, demonstrating the widening gap between their strengths.
• Through the system and Fang Han’s warning, Xiao Meng confronts the consequences of accepting power connected to an overwhelmingly powerful figure.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Meng is nearly killed by a mysterious attacker’s devastating punch. The Taixu Divine Lotus heals him, and his prolonged recovery strengthens his body to the perfected Spirit Transformation Realm.
• At the Snake-People Tribe, Xiao Yan, Yao Chen, and Queen Medusa recover from their battle with the attacker. Xiao Yan admits he has no idea who has been hunting him. Medusa asks about the massacres that prompted Xiao Meng to evacuate millions of people; Xiao Yan promises to seek answers from his brother.
• While recovering, Xiao Meng studies the Thirty-Three Heavens Treasures and learns he has gained the Creation Divine Fist and the Epoch Divine Fist. He can use the treasures to multiply his combat strength, but their full power remains far beyond him.
• Back in the Black-Corner Region, Xiao Meng checks on the evacuation and the construction effort on the Black Domain Great Plains. The relocation is nearly complete, with millions of magical beasts also part of the enormous procession.
• Xiao Meng reunites with Zi Yan, who playfully uses her immense strength to make him carry her while hauling a stone. At the Medicine Garden, Skyfire Venerable reports that his restored body has greatly increased his strength and potential, bringing the prospect of reaching Dou Sheng within reach.
• Xiao Meng’s young companions visit and share a meal with him. Xiao Xun’er and Little Demoness later help at the Medicine Garden, where they witness the extraordinary pace of his pill-refining work.
• After resting, Xiao Meng goes fishing with his system. He catches an experience card for the Desolate Heavenly Emperor’s Self-Manifestation Great Law, consumes it, and receives the technique’s knowledge. His next catches—a huge tomb and then a person—leave him astonished.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Meng grows stronger after surviving his near-fatal injury and gains powerful new techniques, though he remains cautious about abilities he cannot safely control. He continues balancing the mass evacuation, manual labor, and pill production with his usual irreverent humor.
• Xiao Yan remains grateful to Yao Chen and Medusa for saving him, and accepts responsibility for finding out what danger threatens the evacuated populations.
• Medusa stays wary and angry over the destruction, but recognizes Xiao Yan’s role in saving her and seeks his help because she fears the danger behind the massacres.
• Yao Chen, badly weakened, reflects on the attacker’s extraordinary power and the possibility that he may be far beyond a Dou Venerable.
• Zi Yan shows off her rapidly improved strength by teasing Xiao Meng; their relationship is playful and familiar.
• Skyfire Venerable expresses deep gratitude to Xiao Meng and newfound confidence in his potential after receiving a powerful replacement body.
• Xiao Meng’s companions show the fruits of their training, while Xiao Xun’er and Little Demoness grow more involved in helping with his demanding work.

Significant themes

• Escalating danger and uncertainty: The attacker’s identity, the massacres, and the reason for the evacuation remain unresolved.
• Power gained through hardship: Xiao Meng’s near-death recovery improves his body, while rare treasures and techniques promise even greater strength.
• Duty and collective effort: Xiao Meng and others work to relocate vast populations and prepare for an unknown threat.
• Gratitude, loyalty, and camaraderie: Xiao Yan acknowledges his debts to Yao Chen and Medusa, and Xiao Meng’s allies support one another through work, training, and lighthearted teasing.

Chapter Summary: Xiao Xuan and the Heaven-Defying Ninefold Pill

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Meng uses his mysterious fishing ability to hook a soul from an ancient stone stele within the Heavenly Tomb. The soul is revealed to be Xiao Xuan, the Xiao Clan’s legendary ancestor.
• Xiao Xuan initially has no awareness or free will because of the fishing contract, but Xiao Meng releases him from it, allowing him to regain consciousness and leave the Heavenly Tomb for the first time in nearly a thousand years.
• Xiao Xuan is astonished to discover that Xiao Meng is a descendant of the Xiao Clan and questions how he was rescued. Xiao Meng refuses to explain the full truth behind his abilities, promising instead to restore Xiao Xuan’s soul and eventually help him rebuild his body.
• Xiao Meng tells Xiao Xuan about the Xiao Clan’s decline and gradual revival. Xiao Xuan is relieved that the clan has survived and produced exceptional descendants, especially Xiao Meng and Xiao Chen.
• The system reveals that the Origin Soul Stone can rapidly restore Xiao Xuan’s damaged soul. Although reluctant to give up the precious treasure, Xiao Meng hands it over and asks Xiao Xuan to use it to prepare for an approaching crisis.
• Before Xiao Xuan can return with him, the system warns Xiao Meng that an enemy system may detect Xiao Xuan. Xiao Meng learns that Xiao Chen has already been exposed after killing a One-Star Dou Saint puppet from the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Clan and being severely injured.
• Xiao Meng rushes back to the Xiao Clan, leaving Xiao Xuan temporarily hidden so he can recover. He learns that Xiao Chen is unconscious in the Netherworld Realm, suffering from powerful evil energy that has invaded his body.
• Xiao Meng spends several days using the Taixu Divine Lotus to extract the evil energy from Xiao Chen. Although the corruption is removed, Xiao Chen remains unconscious and badly injured.
• To save Xiao Chen, Xiao Meng repeatedly fishes for useful treasures. After catching several irrelevant objects, he finally obtains a Super Ninefold Pill, capable of reviving the dead, regenerating flesh, restoring the body, and increasing cultivation regardless of the user’s original realm.
• Xiao Meng decides to take Xiao Chen away from the Xiao Clan before administering the pill, since Xiao Chen’s breakthrough could create an overwhelming disturbance and expose the clan.
• Xiao Meng summons the Ice Emperor to retrieve Zi Yan and have her guard the Xiao Clan. He also reveals Xiao Chen’s true identity and the clan’s ancient origins to Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.
• Xiao Li is horrified to learn that the powerful senior he repeatedly challenged was actually their ancestor. Xiao Ding reveals that he secretly encouraged Xiao Li’s challenges, leading to a comedic fight between the brothers, which Xiao Meng enthusiastically encourages.
• After Zi Yan arrives, Xiao Meng leaves the clan at night carrying Xiao Chen. He first reunites with Xiao Xuan, who is angered by Xiao Chen’s condition.
• At a desolate plain in the northern Black-Corner Region, Xiao Meng gives Xiao Chen the Super Ninefold Pill. Xiao Chen’s injuries heal almost immediately, and his cultivation rises dramatically, eventually reaching the mid-stage of Eight-Star Dou Saint.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meng is shown to be increasingly protective and responsible toward the Xiao Clan. Despite his apparent casualness and greed over treasures, he is willing to sacrifice extremely valuable items, such as the Origin Soul Stone, to strengthen his family and allies. His mysterious abilities and hidden knowledge continue to make him more enigmatic.
• Xiao Xuan undergoes a major emotional change after escaping the Heavenly Tomb. He regains hope for the Xiao Clan, accepts Xiao Meng’s secrecy, and becomes determined to protect the clan from future threats. His reunion with Xiao Chen reveals a warmer, more personal side of him.
• Xiao Chen is revealed as Xiao Xuan’s descendant and a powerful guardian of the modern Xiao Clan. Though gravely wounded and unconscious, he is restored by the Ninefold Pill and rises to an even higher level of strength.
• Xiao Li is characterized as reckless, combative, and easily provoked. His regret after learning Xiao Chen’s identity provides comic relief, while his willingness to fight despite overwhelming odds reflects his fierce and determined nature.
• Xiao Ding appears more calculating and mischievous than Xiao Li, secretly provoking him while attempting to avoid responsibility. His practical nature contrasts with Xiao Li’s impulsiveness.
• Zi Yan and the Ice Emperor are positioned as important defensive support for the Xiao Clan while Xiao Meng leaves to deal with Xiao Chen and Xiao Xuan.

Significant Themes

• Family heritage and restoration: Xiao Xuan’s rescue and Xiao Chen’s recovery represent the Xiao Clan reclaiming the strength and glory of its ancient lineage.
• Sacrifice for the clan: Xiao Meng repeatedly gives up rare treasures and takes risks to protect his family, showing that preserving the clan is more important than personal gain.
• Hidden power and secrecy: Xiao Meng’s fishing ability, system, treasures, and knowledge remain unexplained. His secrecy creates tension even with Xiao Xuan, though Xiao Xuan respects his right to keep his secrets.
• Power and survival: The chapter emphasizes the dangerous political environment surrounding the Xiao Clan. Enemy systems, exposed auras, hostile sects, and powerful external forces make concealment and preparation essential.
• Healing and rebirth: Both Xiao Xuan’s soul restoration and Xiao Chen’s physical recovery symbolize the revival of people and institutions that had previously fallen into decline.
• Humor amid danger: The brothers’ panic and brawl after discovering Xiao Chen’s identity provide comic relief and highlight the ordinary, chaotic relationships within the otherwise powerful Xiao Clan.

Important Character Interactions

• Xiao Meng and Xiao Xuan: Their first meeting combines suspicion, respect, and awkward humor. Xiao Xuan questions Xiao Meng’s mysterious abilities, while Xiao Meng treats him casually as both ancestor and ally.
• Xiao Meng and Xiao Chen: Xiao Meng acts as Xiao Chen’s healer and protector, extracting the evil energy from him and risking the use of the Super Ninefold Pill to restore and strengthen him.
• Xiao Xuan and Xiao Chen: Their reunion is emotionally significant. Xiao Xuan feels genuine warmth upon seeing his descendant, then becomes furious when he learns Xiao Chen has been seriously injured.
• Xiao Li and Xiao Ding: Their conflict exposes their contrasting personalities. Xiao Li’s recklessness and Xiao Ding’s manipulation lead to a humorous physical confrontation.
• Xiao Meng with Xiao Li and Xiao Ding: After revealing the clan’s secrets, Xiao Meng enjoys provoking the brothers rather than calming them, reinforcing his playful and mischievous personality.
• Xiao Meng and his allies: He coordinates the Ice Emperor, Zi Yan, the Sky Flame Venerable, the Qian-Bai Elders, and the Nether Emperor to protect the clan while he handles the more dangerous matter of restoring Xiao Chen.

Plot points and events

• Xiao Meng leaves Xiao Chen and Xiao Xuan to reunite after Xiao Xuan’s escape from the Heavenly Tomb. The system directs him to a buried Sacred Mountain, where the Taixu Divine Lotus breaks the seal.
• The immense mountain rises from the earth. Xiao Meng, Xiao Chen, and Xiao Xuan climb it and discover a vast summit with a platform designed for planting a tree. The system explains that the mountain was made by a powerful being, once held the world’s first Bodhi Ancient Tree, and is now damaged and dormant.
• Xiao Meng fills the platform with large quantities of Divine Soil and plants the Bodhi Ancient Tree there. When its protective barrier breaks, the tree spreads its branches. The mountain briefly glows with runes and Dao resonance, signaling the start of its recovery.
• Xiao Meng assigns Xiao Chen to secure the site, open a space wormhole to the Xiao Clan, and eventually build a city there. Xiao Xuan is to remain and restore his soul and body. Xiao Meng then enters the tree to address a lingering danger.
• Inside the tree, Xiao Meng burns away the Black-Robed Dou Di’s remaining negative emotions with the Primordial Origin Flame. The tree rewards him with more than twenty Bodhi Seeds. He then begins preparing to advance beyond the Spirit Transformation Realm, asking the tree to help him cultivate Divine Radiance. The tree wraps him in a branch, floods him with energy, and puts him to sleep.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Meng reunites Xiao Xuan and Xiao Chen but keeps his methods and knowledge secret, leaving both ancestors impressed and perplexed by his abilities.
• Xiao Chen is delighted by the tree’s arrival, seeing it as a means for the Xiao Clan to stand against the other ancient clans. He accepts responsibility for protecting the mountain and clan.
• Xiao Xuan, rescued by Xiao Meng and astonished by his achievements, agrees to cultivate on the mountain and rebuild himself.
• Xiao Meng treats the Bodhi Ancient Tree as both an ally and a resource: he frees it from the barrier, helps remove its lingering corruption, and asks for its aid in return.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and extraordinary power: Xiao Meng’s achievements far exceed what his apparent cultivation should allow, and he refuses to explain how he accomplishes them.
• Recovery and renewal: The Sacred Mountain and Bodhi Ancient Tree begin healing, while Xiao Xuan is tasked with recovering his own strength.
• Family and collective security: The mountain and tree become strategic assets intended to strengthen and protect the Xiao Clan.
• Ambition and advancement: Xiao Meng’s vision extends beyond the immediate conflict, as he aims to climb toward greater heights and pursue the next stage of cultivation.

Plot and key events

• A black-robed Demon King attacks the Snake-People Tribe, confronting Xiao Yan, Yao Chen, and Medusa. He recognizes Xiao Yan and Yao Chen, hinting that events have diverged from what he expected.
• Medusa draws on a mysterious power from the Ten Thousand Snake Grotto, while Xiao Yan counters the attacker’s demonic illusions with his inner flames, the upgraded Supreme Heart Demon Scripture, and the Great Buddha Pagoda Art. His hidden Fire Lotus forces the Demon King to retreat.
• Yao Chen and Medusa destroy the attacker’s remaining clones. Although the Demon King considers killing Xiao Yan, he leaves rather than risk a full fight. He also covets the Snake-People’s power and treasure.
• Elsewhere, two awakened, powerful figures discuss Xiao Meng, Xiao Yan, and Medusa. One has been bound to Xiao Yan by a karmic connection and says Medusa wounded him with energy from the Nine Nether Sea, channeled through an ancestral python’s Heart Scale. The pair suspect the ancestral python may not be dead and agree to travel to the Central Plains, where one hopes to recover and hunt.
• At Jia Nan Academy, Su Qian learns that seventeen cities in the Sky Snake Empire and many settlements in neighboring nations have been massacred. The academy begins organizing a mass evacuation and orders preparations for housing.
• Xiao Meng awakens after more than a month inside the Bodhi Tree. His hundred lifetimes of reincarnation have transformed his body and produced Divine Radiance, bringing him to the Half-Step Divine Transformation Realm. He seeks to explore the Bodhi Flower’s mysteries, but must still open a Divine Palace to reach the full realm.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Yan shows greater power and composure than the Demon King expected. He withstands a terrifying illusion and answers the enemy’s overwhelming attack with a carefully concealed Fire Lotus, though he recognizes the gap between their strengths.
• Medusa emerges as a major threat, wielding the Snake-People’s hidden power through an ancestral python’s Heart Scale. She and Yao Chen protect Xiao Yan and force the Demon King to reconsider.
• The Demon King is ambitious and cruel, seeking Sin Value, treasure, and control over Medusa, but his caution and concern about Xiao Meng’s retaliation lead him to withdraw. His exchanges with his insulting Demon King System reveal both his arrogance and insecurity.
• Yao Chen acts as Xiao Yan’s protector and is ready to fight the Demon King, while coordinating with Medusa after the attack.
• Su Qian responds to the massacres by mobilizing the academy and nearby factions to shelter survivors. He realizes the earlier relocation plan was incomplete, though it had originally been assigned to Xiao Meng by a system.
• Xiao Meng’s recovery marks a major advancement, while the discussion between the awakened figures establishes that his interference has disrupted their plans.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Xiao Yan’s growth is impressive, but stronger enemies still force him to rely on strategy and allies.
• Hidden legacies and uncertain history: Medusa’s link to the Nine Nether Sea raises questions about the ancestral python’s fate and the power concealed within the Snake-People.
• Scheming and unintended consequences: Karmic bindings, system-driven missions, and rival plans shape events in ways characters do not fully understand.
• Mass violence and responsibility: The massacres expose the human cost of the Demon King’s ambitions and prompt a large-scale effort to protect survivors.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Meng asks the Bodhi Ancient Tree to reveal the Bodhi Flower’s mysteries. The tree draws out its Dao resonance and creates a chaos-like world for him to study.
• Using the Myriad Ages Undying Scripture, Xiao Meng records the world’s profound sounds in his Soul Lake. He gradually understands that the flower preserves the process of a world’s formation, rather than containing a world itself.
• After what feels like centuries of study, he traces many foundational runes and returns from the Bodhi space close to opening his Divine Palace.
• He spends weeks observing nature and the heavens to deepen his understanding, then travels far away to begin the process.
• Because Xiao Meng lacks a lower dantian, he must create a Divine Palace from scratch. He gathers the runes within his body, combining them with his Divine Radiance to form its foundation.
• This defiance of heaven triggers a devastating lightning tribulation. Xiao Meng withstands the strikes while trying to connect all eighty-one principal meridians to the newly formed palace.
• Xiao Xuan senses the tribulation and arrives, shocked by its scale and by Xiao Meng’s ability to endure it. A warning prevents him from intervening.
• As the lightning grows more powerful, Xiao Meng is badly injured but continues the process. The chapter ends as an unexpected change occurs.

Character developments

• Xiao Meng advances from studying world creation to applying that understanding in practice. His patience, discipline, and resolve are clear, but he is also frightened and irreverent when confronted with the tribulation.
• Xiao Xuan shifts from cultivating on the Sacred Mountain to anxious concern for Xiao Meng. He wants to help but recognizes that intervention may make things worse.

Significant themes

• Understanding through immersion: Xiao Meng learns by repeatedly comparing the Bodhi Flower’s teachings with the world around him.
• Creation and defiance: Building a Divine Palace is portrayed as creating a world—and as challenging the natural order.
• Endurance under pressure: Xiao Meng persists through escalating pain and danger to complete his cultivation.
• The limits of help: Xiao Xuan’s concern cannot translate into action, emphasizing that Xiao Meng must face the trial himself.

Character interactions

• Xiao Meng asks the Bodhi Ancient Tree to help him access the flower’s mysteries and later thanks it for the opportunity.
• The system guides Xiao Meng’s study and warns him that creating a Divine Palace will provoke heavenly punishment.
• Xiao Xuan watches Xiao Meng endure the tribulation, alarmed and eager to help, but unable to intervene.