Chapter Summaries

Princess Yao Ye visited the Xiao Household to pay her respects to former General Xiao Lin and ask him about military strategy. As their conversation ended, Xiao Lin formed a plan involving his grandson, Xiao Li.

• Xiao Zhan brought Yao Ye to Xiao Lin's courtyard, where Xiao Lin, Xiao Li, and Ji Li were relaxing on reclining chairs.
• Xiao Lin rose to greet Yao Ye, who recognized Xiao Li and Ji Li as the men she had mistaken for enemy spies near her military camp.
• Yao Ye paid her respects to Xiao Lin and asked him about commanding troops, warfare, strategy, and planning.
• Xiao Lin answered Yao Ye's questions insightfully, and she came away admiring his knowledge and experience.
• Xiao Lin noticed Xiao Li's boredom and began plotting to trap him next, making Xiao Li shudder under his grandfather's meaningful stare.

After confirming Xiao Li and Ji Li were not enemy spies, Princess Yao Ye left the Xiao Household. Xiao Lin then proposed matching Xiao Li with Yao Ye and planned to arrange marriages for all three grandsons, leaving Xiao Li unable to argue against his reasoning.

• Princess Yao Ye left after clearing up her suspicions about Xiao Li and Ji Li, and Xiao Zhan told them why she had visited.
• Xiao Lin asked Xiao Li what he thought of Princess Yao Ye, then suggested she become his wife.
• Xiao Li objected and pointed out that his older brother, Xiao Ding, was still unmarried.
• Xiao Lin promised to arrange a match for Xiao Ding too, saying the three brothers should be a matching set.
• Xiao Lin argued that an Earth Tier Cultivation Method could persuade the Imperial Family to agree, and cited Xiao Yan and the Nalan Family girl as an example of a successful betrothal.

Xiao Lin and Ji Li arranged a marriage alliance between Xiao Li and Princess Yao Ye, despite Xiao Li’s initial misgivings. Ji Li proposed on Xiao Li’s behalf, and the Jia Ma Royal House accepted the engagement, bringing renewed attention to the Xiao Household.

• Xiao Lin and Ji Li persuaded Xiao Li that marrying Yao Ye made sense and decided to arrange the match despite his protests.
• Ji Li offered to represent Xiao Li as an elder from his sect, keeping the Xiao Household out of the negotiations.
• Xiao Lin and Ji Li informed Xiao Zhan and Yang Xiyue, who approved and asked Xiao Lin to find a wife for Xiao Ding as well.
• Ji Li took Xiao Li to the Gama Imperial Capital and presented an Earth Tier Cultivation Method to the Jia Ma Royal House.
• The Jia Ma Royal House agreed to Xiao Li and Yao Ye’s engagement, and the announcement made the Xiao Household a focus of attention across the Jia Ma Empire.

After their engagement, Xiao Li and Yao Ye took an awkward stroll through the Imperial Capital and talked about Yao Ye’s lack of control over her royal life. Xiao Li’s promise not to force her into anything softened her feelings toward him, and they parted on warmer, more familiar terms.

• Xiao Li apologized to Yao Ye for the engagement, and she explained that she had long expected her royal status to limit her choice of spouse.
• Yao Ye told Xiao Li she had joined the army to escape the constraints of her royal status, and Xiao Li sympathized with her.
• Xiao Li said their marriage could be good for Yao Ye because he would not force her to do anything she did not want.
• Yao Ye blushed and realized she was beginning to fall for Xiao Li, deciding that marrying someone she did not dislike might be a good outcome.
• Yao Ye asked Xiao Li to call her by her name, and she ran into the palace after he addressed her as Yao Ye.

After hearing of Xiao Li and Yao Ye’s engagement, Yun Shan refused to send congratulations to the Xiao Household, deepening Yun Yun’s confusion over his changed attitude. Yun Leng misread Yun Shan’s intentions and began targeting the Xiao Household, escalating the conflict until the household could no longer ignore it.

• Xiao Lin and Ji Li teased Xiao Li about his engagement to Yao Ye, while the young couple left their wedding date undecided.
• Yun Yun asked Yun Shan whether the Misty Cloud Sect should send a gift, but he dismissed the idea and sent her away.
• Yun Leng overheard their conversation and concluded that Yun Shan wanted the Xiao Household suppressed, so he would act on his behalf.
• Yun Leng found faults in joint ventures, cut off the sect’s support, and reclaimed properties previously given to the Xiao Household.
• Yun Leng ordered Misty Cloud Sect disciples to injure Xiao Household stewards working away from home, prompting the household to take notice.

Xiao Lin learned that the Misty Cloud Sect had been persecuting the Xiao Household, and he discovered that Yun Leng had acted without Yun Shan’s knowledge. Yun Shan promised to handle the matter while keeping Protector Wu from growing suspicious, then summoned Yun Leng, who expected praise.

• Xiao Zhan told Xiao Lin that the Misty Cloud Sect’s actions against the Xiao Household had escalated, and Xiao Lin sent him to calm the household while he investigated.
• Xiao Lin visited Yun Shan and told him what the Misty Cloud Sect had done over the past three months.
• Yun Shan realized that Yun Leng was likely responsible and asked Xiao Lin to let him resolve the internal sect matter.
• Xiao Lin warned Yun Shan that stopping Yun Leng outright could alert Protector Wu, and Yun Shan said he would find a way to handle it.
• Yun Shan summoned Yun Leng, who eagerly expected the former sect master to praise him.

Yun Shan tried to keep Yun Leng from targeting the Xiao Household by urging him to pursue a breakthrough to the Dou Huang Realm. Yun Leng decided to leave and temper himself near the Tagor Desert, while Yun Shan took responsibility for handling the Xiao Household matter.

• Yun Shan learned that Yun Leng had followed him for fifty-two years and had reached Peak Dou Wang without breaking through.
• Yun Shan urged Yun Leng to set aside sect affairs and focus on reaching the Dou Huang Realm, hoping to stop him from secretly targeting the Xiao Household.
• Yun Leng misunderstood Yun Shan’s words as praise and vowed to seek a breakthrough near the Tagor Desert.
• Yun Leng offered to deal with the Xiao Household before leaving, but Yun Shan insisted that he clear his mind of distractions.
• Yun Leng accepted Yun Shan’s explanation and resolved to stop fixating on the Xiao Household matter.

Yun Leng left the Misty Cloud Sect to seek a breakthrough to the Dou Huang Realm, ending his campaign against the Xiao Household. After months of fruitless wandering in the Tagor Desert, he encountered Protector Wu, who had secretly followed him and now intended to make him a pawn.

• Yun Leng handed his sect duties to the other elders and set aside his campaign against the Xiao Household to seek a breakthrough.
• Xiao Lin saw the persecution of the Xiao Household stop and spent the following months waiting in Wutan City.
• Yun Leng wandered the Tagor Desert for over two months without finding an opportunity to overcome his bottleneck.
• Yun Leng found an oasis and decided to rest there for the night.
• Protector Wu revealed himself to Yun Leng after secretly following him from the Misty Cloud Sect.

Protector Wu recruited Yun Leng into the Soul Hall by promising to help him break through to Dou Emperor and invoking Yun Shan’s alliance with him. A month later, Yun Leng emerged as a Dou Emperor and became the Soul Hall’s Cloud Soul Envoy, his soul tampered with by Protector Wu.

• Protector Wu revealed that he was Wu Ying of the Soul Hall and offered to help Yun Leng break through to Dou Emperor.
• Protector Wu told Yun Leng that Yun Shan was already working with him and claimed their alliance explained Yun Shan’s actions against the Xiao Household.
• Protector Wu promised Yun Leng a breakthrough in exchange for continuing to help Yun Shan handle matters involving the Xiao Household, and Yun Leng accepted.
• After a month, Yun Leng emerged from the oasis as a Dou Emperor, and Protector Wu named him the Soul Hall’s Cloud Soul Envoy.
• Yun Leng bowed to Protector Wu as a dark glint flashed in his eyes, revealing that Protector Wu had tampered with his soul.

After Queen Medusa took the green lotus core flame, Xiao Yan arrived at the Earth Core Lava Cavern too late to claim it but obtained the lotus seat and seeds. Yao Lao suggested that Xiao Yan use the Xiao Household’s relationship with the Snake-People Tribe to negotiate for the flame, leaving him considering a peaceful trade.

• News spread that a heavenly flame might lie beneath the collapsed ground near Stone Desert City, and Queen Medusa reportedly took it after being injured in the Earth Core Lava Cave.
• Gu He gathered Yun Yun, Yan Shi, and Feng Li and set off for the Tagor Desert to pursue the heavenly flame.
• Xiao Yan reached the cavern after Queen Medusa had taken the green lotus core flame, but he collected its lotus seat and seeds.
• Yao Lao explained that Queen Medusa’s Snake-People nature made refining the flame difficult and suggested Xiao Yan offer something in trade.
• Xiao Yan realized that his family’s cooperation with the Snake-People Tribe might let him seek the flame without stealing it.

Xiao Yan decided to seek a peaceful trade for the green lotus core flame, while Gu He’s group and Protector Wu and Yun Leng entered the Tagor Desert to pursue it. Queen Medusa prepared the Snake-People Tribe’s forces to defend the flame as rival factions closed in.

• After Yao Lao reminded Xiao Yan of the Xiao Household’s alliance with the Snake-People Tribe, Xiao Yan planned to negotiate with Queen Medusa for the green lotus core flame.
• Xiao Yan entered the Tagor Desert, and Gu He, Yun Yun, Yan Shi, and Feng Li also headed there.
• Protector Wu and Yun Leng pursued the flame after learning it had already been taken by Queen Medusa.
• Queen Medusa summoned the Eight Great Commanders and ordered the Holy City’s elders to prepare for an attack.
• Queen Medusa made her final preparations with the Four Great Elders beside her, while Kui Xing patrolled outside the Holy City.

Medusa prepared to risk her life using the green lotus core flame to awaken her bloodline and break her limits, despite the Four Great Elders’ warnings. As Gu He’s party reached the Snake-People Tribe’s Holy City, Xiao Yan and Protector Wu with Yun Leng also arrived unseen nearby.

• Medusa rejected the Four Great Elders’ objections and resolved to use the green lotus core flame to evolve her bloodline.
• The Four Great Elders withdrew, saying they would intervene only if the Snake-People Tribe’s safety was threatened.
• Gu He, Yun Yun, Yan Shi, and Feng Li approached the Holy City and requested an audience with Medusa.
• Mo Bass refused Gu He’s request and told his party to leave because Medusa was occupied.
• Xiao Yan and Protector Wu with Yun Leng arrived on opposite sides of the confrontation without noticing one another or Gu He’s party.

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao watched Gu He, Yun Yun, Yan Shi, and Feng Li confront the Snake-People Tribe over Queen Medusa’s green lotus core flame. Protector Wu persuaded Yun Leng to help engineer Yun Yun’s death so he could seize the Misty Cloud Sect leadership and move against the Xiao Household, while Yun Yun remained unaware of the plot.

• Xiao Yan spotted Gu He, Yun Yun, Yan Shi, and Feng Li near the Snake-People Tribe Holy City and agreed with Yao Lao to stay hidden and wait for an opening.
• Yun Leng recognized Yun Yun and Gu He, while Protector Wu saw their presence as an opportunity to advance his plans.
• Protector Wu asked Yun Leng whether he wanted to become the Misty Cloud Sect Master and argued Yun Leng could take the position if Yun Yun died.
• Yun Leng worried that the Snake-People Tribe might not be strong enough to kill the Nine-Star Dou Emperor Yun Yun.
• Protector Wu proposed secretly helping the Snake-People Tribe kill Yun Yun, and Yun Leng agreed to follow his arrangements.
• Protector Wu prepared to use Yun Leng to take control of the Misty Cloud Sect and target the Xiao Household, while Yun Yun remained unaware of the conspiracy.

Gu He tried to trade with Queen Medusa for the green lotus core flame, but she refused and Yun Yun exposed that the Medusa before them was only an energy body. As Yun Yun struck at the avatar and the Snake-People commanders prepared to act, Xiao Yan readied himself to pursue the flame too.

• Gu He called for Queen Medusa and offered two Battle Spirit Pills, a Human Shape Pill, and a favor in exchange for the green lotus core flame, but she refused.
• Yun Yun recognized that Queen Medusa was an energy body while her true self was elsewhere, preparing to transform her bloodline.
• Yun Yun vanished and appeared behind Medusa, reaching for her back as the Snake-People commanders readied themselves to intervene.
• Protector Wu and Yun Leng welcomed the prospect of a fight, while Yao Lao told Xiao Yan to prepare.
• Xiao Yan decided he would not yield the green lotus core flame and began preparing to make his move.

Yun Yun exposed and dispersed Queen Medusa’s energy clone, triggering a battle between the humans and the Snake-People Tribe as Gu He and Xiao Yan pushed toward the palace. Xiao Yan reached the temple where Medusa was performing her Bloodline Transformation Ceremony, but Kui Xing appeared and drove Gu He, Yan Shi, and Feng Li back.

• Yun Yun struck Queen Medusa’s energy clone and dispersed it, prompting the Snake-People Tribe to attack the humans.
• Yun Yun held off the Snake-People Tribe’s Eight Great Commanders while Gu He, Yan Shi, and Feng Li charged toward the Imperial Palace.
• Yao Lao persuaded Xiao Yan to enter the Holy City during the chaos, and Xiao Yan followed the green lotus core flame’s aura to a temple.
• Kui Xing emerged from the temple and blasted Gu He, Yan Shi, and Feng Li backward.

Gu He and his companions discovered that Kui Xing, a high-ranking Dou Emperor, guarded Queen Medusa and fled after failing to seize the green lotus core flame. With Kui Xing pursuing them, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao slipped into the temple and found the flame at the heart of Queen Medusa’s transformation preparations.

• Gu He, Yan Shi, and Feng Li realized that Kui Xing was a high-ranking Dou Emperor guarding the temple and that their attempt to take the green lotus core flame had failed.
• Gu He and his companions swallowed speed-boosting pills and fled as Kui Xing ordered the patrol guards to remain at the temple and pursued them.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that Kui Xing’s departure gave them a chance to enter the temple, and Xiao Yan worried about Gu He and the others.
• Xiao Yan used Yao Lao’s spiritual power to evade the guards, crossed the poisonous-water lake, and reached an island within the temple.
• Xiao Yan found a pool of ice spirit cold spring and saw the green lotus core flame flickering at its center.

Queen Medusa began her mysterious evolution as Xiao Yan watched from hiding, while battles raged across the Snake-People Tribe Holy City. Protector Wu stayed in the shadows, planning to let the fighting weaken his rivals before stealing the Green Lotus Core Flame and helping Yun Leng replace Yun Yun.

• Queen Medusa released the Green Lotus Core Flame from its crystal lotus pedestal and began her evolution, warning that the humans would die if she succeeded.
• Xiao Yan watched a vortex of energy form as Yao Lao explained that the evolution's outcome was unpredictable, though it would remain connected to snakes.
• Queen Medusa transformed into a giant purple serpent, drawing the attention of Yun Yun, the Eight Great Commanders, Gu He, and their pursuers.
• Yun Yun and Yan Ci exchanged words about whether Queen Medusa's evolution would succeed, while Yue Mei insisted that it would.
• Yun Leng asked Protector Wu whether they should interrupt Medusa's evolution, but Protector Wu planned to wait, steal the Green Lotus Core Flame from Gu He, and use the Snake-People Tribe to eliminate Yun Yun.

Queen Medusa began evolving by plunging into the Green Lotus Core Flame, while Xiao Yan watched from the bamboo grove. When the grove burned away and she discovered him, Xiao Yan used his prepared pills to provide her with energy, and Medusa resumed her transformation.

• Medusa formed an energy barrier around the temple and plunged into the Green Lotus Core Flame to begin her evolution.
• The Heavenly Flame scorched Medusa's body and soul as Snake-People Tribe experts watched anxiously from outside the barrier.
• Xiao Yan prepared pills to help Medusa recover and supply her with energy while he watched her suffer.
• The Ice Spirit Cold Spring ran dry, the bamboo grove burned away, and Medusa discovered Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan hurled his pills into the flames, and Medusa realized he was helping her before focusing again on her bloodline transformation.

Xiao Yan lent Queen Medusa energy during her Green Lotus Core Flame evolution ritual, hoping to honor the Xiao Household’s ties with the Snake-People Tribe. After Medusa appeared to burn to death, the ritual triggered a sudden surge of heaven-and-earth energy and strange black clouds over the Snake-People Tribe’s Holy City.

• Xiao Yan explained to Yao Lao that helping Medusa would make it easier to justify taking the Green Lotus Core Flame after the ritual.
• Yao Lao teased Xiao Yan about being attracted to Medusa, and Xiao Yan denied it before falling silent.
• Medusa focused entirely on her evolution as the Green Lotus Core Flame grew more violent and burned her purple snake body down to a charred, motionless form.
• Xiao Yan, the Snake-People, Yun Yun and Gu He's party, Yun Leng, and Protector Wu believed Medusa had failed, and the Snake-People prepared to attack the human intruders.
• Yao Lao recognized that heaven-and-earth energy was running wild as black clouds suddenly covered the Snake-People Tribe’s Holy City.

Xiao Yan watched the heavenly tribulation end and feared Queen Medusa had died, but her enormous snake body began to shed its charred skin as a new aura appeared. He gathered the green lotus core flame and escaped the temple, unknowingly carrying a Seven-Colored Little Snake coiled around his arm.

• Yao Lao suspected Queen Medusa’s evolution had caused the strange heavenly phenomenon as silver lightning struck the green flame and shattered her barrier.
• Xiao Yan found the charred snake motionless and believed Queen Medusa had failed to survive the tribulation.
• The snake’s outer skin peeled away, its corpse exploded, and a powerful aura made the Snake-People rejoice before it quickly faded.
• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan that Snake-People were approaching, and Xiao Yan used the Green Lotus Platform to gather the green lotus core flame.
• A tiny seven-colored shape shot into Xiao Yan’s sleeve, and he fled the ruined temple before patrol guards arrived.
• The Seven-Colored Little Snake remained coiled around Xiao Yan’s left arm as he escaped.