Chapter Summaries

Xiao Lin and the Old Man of Sound Valley exchanged movement techniques and Soul Dou Techniques, damaging the Sound Valley square as their battle escalated. They agreed to settle the sparring match with one final strike.

• The Old Man of Sound Valley attacked Xiao Lin with Illusory Sound Step, and Xiao Lin blocked his erhu with Moon-Chaser.
• Xiao Lin used Seven-Star Void Step to match the Old Man of Sound Valley’s rapid movements, and they traded blows across the square.
• Xiao Lin and the Old Man of Sound Valley unleashed Heavenly Sound Soul Annihilation and Great Annihilation Sound, cracking the square with their collision.
• The Old Man of Sound Valley proposed deciding the battle with a single strike to prevent further damage, and Xiao Lin agreed.

Xiao Lin faced the Old Man of Sound Valley in a contest of soul techniques and defeated him with his newly comprehended Three Paths of the River Styx. The Old Man of Sound Valley conceded, and Xiao Lin revealed that the technique refined swallowed souls into pure Soul Origin.

• The Old Man of Sound Valley unleashed his Soul Dou Technique, Asura Killing Realm, surrounding Xiao Lin with soul-made Skeleton Soldiers.
• Xiao Lin used his newly comprehended Three Paths of the River Styx to swallow the Skeleton Soldiers and shatter the Asura Killing Realm.
• The Old Man of Sound Valley suffered a backlash as the river trapped him, and he admitted defeat.
• Xiao Lin withdrew the river and explained that it refined swallowed souls into pure Soul Origin, allowing him to strengthen his soul without the usual side effects.

After defeating the Old Man of Sound Valley while hiding his true strength, Xiao Lin promised to protect Sound Valley’s secret route through Mist Valley and proposed an alliance against the Soul Hall. Yan Suxin invited him to the main pavilion to discuss the alliance.

• The Old Man of Sound Valley realized Xiao Lin was a Dou Sheng because their displayed cultivation and soul realm had matched too perfectly, and he accepted his defeat.
• The Old Man of Sound Valley and the people of Sound Valley bowed to Xiao Lin and asked him not to reveal the method of passing through Mist Valley to the Soul Hall.
• Xiao Lin promised to keep the method secret and asked Sound Valley to form an alliance with his side against the Soul Hall.
• Xiao Lin proposed an equal defensive alliance in which each side would aid the other if the Soul Hall attacked.
• Yan Suxin invited Xiao Lin to Sound Valley’s main pavilion to discuss the alliance, and Xiao Ding watched Xiao Lin with admiration.

Xiao Lin negotiated an alliance between the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace and Sound Valley, then remained in Sound Valley to cultivate. After three months, he broke through to Two-Star Dou Saint and received congratulations from Sound Valley’s leaders.

• Xiao Lin and Xiao Ding negotiated alliance terms with Yan Suxin, the Old Man of Sound Valley, and Sound Valley’s elders.
• Xiao Lin and Sound Valley agreed to exchange cultivation knowledge and support each other fully if the Soul Hall attacked.
• Xiao Lin sensed he was close to a breakthrough and stayed in Sound Valley to cultivate, while Xiao Ding remained with him.
• After three months, Xiao Lin emerged from secluded cultivation and broke through to Two-Star Dou Saint.
• The Old Man of Sound Valley and Yan Suxin flew to congratulate Xiao Lin on his advancement.

Xiao Lin and Xiao Ding prepared to return to the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace, accompanied by Yan Suxin and a Sound Valley delegation. As they left Mist Valley, Soul Hall members appeared to block their way.

• Xiao Lin announced his departure from Sound Valley, and Yan Suxin decided to accompany him with three Dou Venerable elders and several disciples.
• Xiao Lin asked Yan Suxin about her long isolation, and she told him the Soul Hall had killed the other disciples sent out for training and that the Former Valley Master had died saving her.
• Xiao Lin promised Yan Suxin that the Soul Hall would eventually pay for its actions, and she said she believed him.
• Xiao Lin, Xiao Ding, Yan Suxin, and the Sound Valley delegation left Mist Valley for the first time in years.
• Soul Hall members appeared to block the group’s way, and the people of Sound Valley recognized their sinister laugh.

Xiao Lin and Yan Suxin encountered a Soul Hall ambush led by Shuo Wu, but Xiao Lin’s strength far exceeded the Soul Hall’s outdated estimate. The Soul Hall members had targeted Xiao Lin as well as Sound Valley, setting the stage for a battle that Xiao Lin believed was already decided.

• Shaluo emerged from a Spatial Passage with other Soul Hall members and mocked Xiao Lin, who pretended not to recognize him.
• Xiao Lin humiliated Shaluo by acting as if they had never met, and Angry Sword ridiculed Shaluo for no longer attracting Xiao Lin’s attention.
• Angry Sword called for unity against their enemies, and Shuo Wu emerged as the operation’s leader, a Nine-Transformation Dou Venerable.
• Xiao Lin judged that the Soul Hall’s force could not threaten him because he was a Two-Star Dou Saint, and realized the Soul Hall had underestimated him based on old intelligence.
• The Soul Hall had learned that Xiao Lin entered Mist Valley and had included him among its targets because it sought the souls of powerful cultivators.

Heavenly Venerable Shuowu offered Xiao Lin a place in the Soul Hall, but Xiao Lin mocked the offer and refused. When Angry Sword attacked, Xiao Lin effortlessly destroyed his technique and swallowed him in the River Styx, beginning to devour a soul for the first time in this life.

• Heavenly Venerable Shuowu offered Xiao Lin Angry Sword’s position as Fourth Heavenly Venerate if he joined the Soul Hall, and Angry Sword reluctantly accepted the proposal.
• Xiao Lin rejected the offer and taunted Shuowu by saying he might consider joining only as Soul Hall Master, prompting Shuowu to order an attack.
• Angry Sword attacked Xiao Lin with Soul Black Hole, but Xiao Lin calmly erased the violet vortex and told Yan Suxin and the people of Sound Valley to stand back.
• Xiao Lin summoned the River Styx, which swallowed Angry Sword before Shuowu could save him.
• A tributary of the River Styx flowed into Xiao Lin as he began devouring Angry Sword’s soul origin for the first time in this life.

Xiao Lin devoured Fourth Heavenly Venerate Nu Jian’s soul and revealed power far beyond the Soul Hall’s estimate of his cultivation. As he unleashed the Three Paths of the River Styx against the Soul Hall party, Third Heavenly Venerate Shuo Wu realized Xiao Lin had surpassed the Nine-Transformation Dou Venerable level, and Xiao Lin sent the river sweeping toward him.

• Xiao Lin devoured Nu Jian’s soul origin, which barely strengthened his already late Heavenly Realm soul.
• Third Heavenly Venerate Shuo Wu and the Soul Hall members reacted in shock, while Sixth Heavenly Venerable Shaluo feared becoming Xiao Lin’s next target.
• Xiao Lin spread the blood-colored Sanzu River beneath and above the Soul Hall members, trapping them in its currents.
• Third Heavenly Venerate Shuo Wu attacked Xiao Lin with Myriad Souls Return to the Void, but the river swallowed the black light.
• Shuo Wu realized Xiao Lin had surpassed the Nine-Transformation Dou Venerable level, and Xiao Lin sent the river toward him.

Xiao Lin used the Three Paths of the River Styx to overwhelm the Soul Hall members, leaving only Heavenly Venerable Shuowu fleeing. Shuowu’s final attack failed, and Xiao Lin devoured the group’s Soul Origins, eager for more Soul Hall members to come after him.

• Heavenly Venerable Shuowu fled Xiao Lin’s pursuing River of the Underworld while Sound Valley watched in admiration.
• Shuowu seized Shaluo and sacrificed him as a shield, briefly halting the river before it swallowed most of the Soul Hall members.
• Xiao Lin rejected Shuowu’s pleas to be spared and taunted him to join the others in the river.
• Shuowu launched Ten Thousand Souls Devour Life, but Xiao Lin’s river swallowed him and the ten thousand ghosts accompanying him.
• Xiao Lin devoured the Soul Origins of the Soul Hall group, gained a substantial boost to his soul power, and lamented that more members had not come.

After Xiao Lin killed the Soul Hall ambushers, he brought Yan Suxin and Sound Valley’s people toward the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace and persuaded her to help spread a false account of his strength. The Soul Hall believed Xiao Lin was gravely injured and only a Nine-Transformation Dou Venerable nearing the Half-Saint realm, leaving him poised to lure its forces into another trap.

• Yan Suxin praised Xiao Lin for killing the Soul Hall members, and he explained that the ambush had primarily targeted him.
• Xiao Lin and Yan Suxin resumed their journey to the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace, and he proposed pretending to be gravely injured to mislead the Soul Hall.
• Yan Suxin agreed to Xiao Lin’s plan, hoping he could use the deception to weaken the Soul Hall again.
• News spread across the Central Plains that Third Heavenly Venerate Shuo Wu had been killed while leaving Lin Xiao gravely injured, prompting widespread condemnation of the Soul Hall.
• The Soul Hall revised its estimate of Lin Xiao’s strength to a Nine-Transformation Dou Venerable nearing the Half-Saint realm, achieving Xiao Lin’s goal.

Xiao Lin used his staged grave injuries to conceal his plans while the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace and Sound Valley finalized an alliance. Sound Valley returned to public affairs, and other factions began reassessing the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace’s strength, though they still knew little of its true reserves.

• Xiao Lin and Xiao Ding returned to the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace with Sound Valley’s people, making Xiao Lin’s injuries seem severe and Xiao Ding’s hatred seem directed at the Soul Hall.
• Xiao Lin explained the deception to Ji Li and his friends, while the palace leadership reassured everyone that he was recovering with the essence of life.
• The Myriad Formation Spirit Palace and Sound Valley announced their alliance three days later, prompting smaller factions near Sound Valley to gather under its protection.
• The Soul Hall held back from attacking Sound Valley as it dealt with the loss of Shuo Wu and other Hun Clan Experts and focused on Hun Tiandi’s recovery and Danta.
• Central Plains factions judged the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace to rival the Three Valleys and surpass the Four Pavilions, unaware of its full strength.

After breaking through to two-star Dou Master, Xiao Yan trained in the Magical Beast Mountain Range with the Heavy Xuan Ruler and encountered Xiao Yi Xian fleeing a wolf pack. The chapter ended with Xiao Yan striking down a Wind-Chasing Wolf to save her.

• Xiao Yan reached two-star Dou Master and began training with the Heavy Xuan Ruler and new Dou Techniques from Yao Lao.
• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan that a wolf pack could overwhelm him, so Xiao Yan turned to flee when he heard howls.
• Xiao Yan met the bedraggled Xiao Yi Xian, who had entered the mountain range looking for him and was escaping the wolves.
• A Wind-Chasing Wolf charged at Xiao Yi Xian, and Xiao Yan rushed in and knocked it down with the Heavy Xuan Ruler.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian were surrounded by a large Windchaser Wolf pack, and Xiao Yan stayed to protect her instead of fleeing. As the wolves overwhelmed them, Yao Lao lent Xiao Yan Dou Ling-level power, setting him up to fight back.

• Xiao Yi Xian arrived as Xiao Yan faced a pack led by a third-order wolf king, and he insisted that he would not leave her behind.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian fought the attacking wolves, killing several first-order beasts while Xiao Yan rapidly spent his Dou Qi.
• The second-order wolves joined the battle, wounded Xiao Yan, and drove the pair back against a boulder.
• Xiao Yan called on Yao Lao for help, and Yao Lao lent him the power of a Dou Ling.

With Yao Lao’s support, Xiao Yan unleashed Dou Ling power and nearly wiped out the Wind-Chasing Wolf pack, driving off the wolf king without using borrowed power to kill it. He vowed to defeat the wolf king himself before returning to the Xiao Household.

• Xiao Yan used Yao Lao’s power to kill a second-order Wind-Chasing Wolf with one blow, startling the pack and its wolf king.
• The wolf king ordered his underlings to keep attacking, hoping Xiao Yan’s burst of power would fade, but Xiao Yan continued killing the wolves with ease.
• Xiao Yi Xian watched in astonishment as Xiao Yan fought, while the surviving wolves fled into the forest despite the wolf king’s commands.
• Xiao Yan formed a ring of fire, but the wolf king fled before he could attack, and Xiao Yan let him go.
• Xiao Yan told Yao Lao he wanted to defeat the wolf king with his own strength before returning to the Xiao Household, and Yao Lao encouraged him.

After Xiao Yan drove off the wolf king, he lost Yao Lao’s borrowed strength and collapsed from his wounds, so Xiao Yi Xian helped him escape to his cave. There, she prepared to treat his injuries but became flustered when she saw him remove his shirt.

• Xiao Yan’s strength returned to that of a two-star Dou Master, and Xiao Yi Xian caught him as he stumbled from pain and exhaustion.
• Xiao Yan warned that the smell of blood could attract more magical beasts and guided Xiao Yi Xian east toward his cave behind a waterfall.
• Xiao Yi Xian supported Xiao Yan on the journey, and the two agreed to address each other by their names.
• At the cave, Xiao Yan took out medicines he had made, and Xiao Yi Xian offered to treat his wounds.
• Xiao Yi Xian realized she had never applied medicine to anyone herself and blushed when she saw Xiao Yan’s bare torso.

Xiao Yi Xian overcame her shyness to apply medicine to Xiao Yan’s wounds, which he had suffered while protecting her. She finished treating his back and front, leaving them both flushed and embarrassed by the intimate moment.

• Xiao Yi Xian blushed at the sight of Xiao Yan’s bare upper body, but insisted on treating him because he had been injured while protecting her.
• Xiao Yan turned his back, and Xiao Yi Xian applied medicine to his wounds, soothing the pain as she spread the powder.
• Xiao Yan praised Xiao Yi Xian’s skill after accidentally saying that it felt good, and she happily continued.
• Xiao Yi Xian finished treating Xiao Yan’s back, then faced him and applied medicine to the wounds on his front despite his offer to do it himself.

Xiao Yi Xian treated Xiao Yan’s wounds, and the two awkwardly settled into their close quarters. After Yao Lao teased Xiao Yan about romance and tried to bait him into spying on Xiao Yi Xian, the pair began living together in the cave.

• Xiao Yi Xian applied medicine and bandaged Xiao Yan’s wounds while both tried to hide their embarrassment.
• Xiao Yi Xian went outside to wash, and Xiao Yan told her to call him if anything happened before realizing how awkward that sounded.
• Yao Lao teased Xiao Yan, claiming Xiao Yi Xian had fallen for him after he rescued her.
• Yao Lao bet Xiao Yan would not be punished if he sneaked a peek at Xiao Yi Xian washing, but Xiao Yan refused.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian began their life under one roof.

Xiao Yan invited Xiao Yi Xian to explore a cliffside cave he had discovered, and the two grew closer during their dangerous journey inside. They found a hidden door at the cave’s end and located the mechanism to open it.

• Xiao Yan told Xiao Yi Xian about the cave and invited her to join him on an adventure, and she agreed.
• Xiao Yan used Wind Wings to carry Xiao Yi Xian to the cave entrance on a cliff ledge.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian entered the cave together, and Xiao Yan killed the Rock Snakes they encountered.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian reached the cave’s end, discovered a hidden door, and found its opening mechanism.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian explored a hidden chamber and claimed its treasures, including the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture. After learning that Xiao Yi Xian’s Woeful Poison Body could eventually kill her, Xiao Yan vowed to find a way to stop its outbreaks permanently.

• Xiao Yan opened the hidden door, and he and Xiao Yi Xian gathered the medicinal herbs and gold coins inside the chamber.
• Xiao Yan found an ancient fragmentary map near the skeleton, while Yao Lao recognized its significance but stayed silent.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian opened the three stone boxes and found two High Xuan Tier Dou Techniques and the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.
• Xiao Yi Xian chose the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture and revealed that she had the Woeful Poison Body.
• Yao Lao explained the Woeful Poison Body to Xiao Yan, who learned it could kill Xiao Yi Xian and vowed to cure it permanently.

As Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian cultivated in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Protector Wu discovered that the Xiao Household might be connected to the former Xiao Clan remnants sought by the Soul Hall. After spotting Gu Clan guard Ling Ying at the Xiao Household, he abandoned a direct attack and went to approach Yun Shan of the Misty Cloud Sect instead.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian cultivated in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and Xiao Yi Xian's poison-based training quickly surpassed Xiao Yan's.
• Xiao Lin returned to the Xiao Household Ancestral Residence after the alliance between the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace and Sound Valley went smoothly.
• Protector Wu entered the Jia Ma Empire, investigated the Xiao Household, and concluded that its members were likely remnants of the former Xiao Clan.
• Protector Wu found Ling Ying at the Xiao Household and withdrew rather than risk the Gu Clan discovering the Soul Hall's involvement.
• Protector Wu decided to use the Misty Cloud Sect against the Xiao Household and slipped into the mountain behind it to meet Yun Shan.