Chapter Summaries

Xiao Lin assured Golden Snake that Jia Nan Academy would remain neutral during the Heavenly Serpent Empire’s Founding Ceremony unless provoked. The ceremony then began with the Heavenly Serpent Emperor performing the ritual of sacrificing to Heaven, while the empire’s people—including Heavenly Serpent Mansion—watched solemnly.

• Xiao Lin realized Golden Snake was asking about Jia Nan Academy’s stance because the academy could influence the conflict between Heavenly Serpent Mansion and the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family.
• Xiao Lin told Golden Snake that Jia Nan Academy would stay neutral and would not ally with either side unless provoked.
• Golden Snake welcomed Xiao Lin as a friend, and they continued chatting with Wood Snake and Earth Snake until noon.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor climbed the altar’s ninety-nine steps and began the ritual of sacrificing to Heaven before the assembled guests.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor completed the lengthy ritual, which the people of the Heavenly Serpent Empire, including Heavenly Serpent Mansion, observed with solemn sincerity.

At the Heavenly Serpent Empire’s Founding Ceremony, Xiao Lin suspected the imperial family had plans for Heavenly Serpent Mansion and resented being drawn into their schemes. The Heavenly Serpent Emperor presented the assembled Dou Zong experts with Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid, a rare treasure brewed over a hundred years.

• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor welcomed the guests and toasted them with fragrant medicinal fruit wine.
• Xiao Lin recalled that the imperial family had not followed up on its dealings with Jia Nan Academy and decided he might support Heavenly Serpent Mansion if conflict broke out.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor announced a special gift and had a Dou Emperor attendant serve each Dou Zong expert liquid from an exquisite jade bottle.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor identified the flaming liquid as Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid and said it had been brewed over a hundred years and rivaled top-grade Tier 7 medicinal pills.

At the Heavenly Serpent Empire’s Founding Ceremony, the Heavenly Serpent Emperor revealed that Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid could increase a Dou Zong’s strength and cure hidden injuries. The Dou Zong guests were thrilled, while Xiao Lin remained wary of the imperial family’s motives.

• A Sea Emperor Hall expert asked the Heavenly Serpent Emperor about the Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid’s effects.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor said the liquid could raise a Dou Zong’s strength by one to two stars, exciting the gathered experts while Xiao Lin suspected a hidden scheme.
• After a Gray Wolf Valley expert questioned the claim and apologized, the Heavenly Serpent Emperor said the liquid could also heal hidden injuries.
• An old Dou Zong from the Dark Abyss Sect stood up in excitement because severe hidden injuries had long afflicted him and limited his strength.

At the Heavenly Serpent Empire’s eight-hundredth Founding Ceremony, the Heavenly Serpent Emperor offered the Dou Zong guests Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid, claiming it could heal hidden injuries and extend their lives. Xiao Lin and the Heavenly Serpent Mansion suspected a scheme, and Golden Snake ordered his men not to drink it.

• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor announced the Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid’s benefits and invited the Dou Zong experts to drink it as a gift.
• The gathered experts praised the Heavenly Serpent Emperor, while Xiao Lin remained skeptical despite finding nothing suspicious in the liquid.
• Wood Snake asked Golden Snake what the Heavenly Serpent Emperor was planning, and Earth Snake suggested he was trying to win people over.
• Golden Snake concluded the gift was part of a larger scheme and ordered Wood Snake and Earth Snake not to drink their cups.

Xiao Lin drank the Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid alongside the other Dou Zong experts, while secretly watching for the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family’s plan. He discovered that the liquid was not poison but an unfinished product whose promised benefits could not yet take effect.

• Xiao Lin suspected the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family had an ulterior motive but decided to drink the liquid, trusting his Astral Dou Qi to protect him.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor drank the liquid and appeared to advance from an Eight-Star to a Nine-Star Dou Zong, persuading the other guests that it worked.
• The Dark Abyss Sect’s old Dou Zong drank his cup first, and the other Dou Zong experts, including Xiao Lin, followed.
• Xiao Lin recognized that the Heavenly Serpent Emperor had already been a Nine-Star Dou Zong and had only revealed his true cultivation.
• Xiao Lin examined the liquid with his Astral Dou Qi and realized it was genuine but half-finished Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid, so its effects could not yet be realized.

Xiao Lin and the other Dou Zong experts learned that the half-finished Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid could only be absorbed by cultivating in a place of extreme cold. The Gray Wolf Valley expert asked the Heavenly Serpent Emperor for access to the Heavenly Water Cold Pool, and the Heavenly Serpent Mansion’s members reacted with alarm.

• Xiao Lin confirmed the Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid left harmless energy in his body that he could not absorb.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor explained that an object of extreme cold would complete the liquid’s effects and that the guests could absorb the energy by cultivating in such a place.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor revealed that he had absorbed the energy because he had previously consumed a medicinal pill with an extreme cold attribute.
• The Gray Wolf Valley Dou Zong asked the Heavenly Serpent Emperor to let them cultivate in the Heavenly Water Cold Pool.
• The three members of the Heavenly Serpent Mansion reacted in unison to the request.

The Heavenly Serpent Emperor maneuvered the visiting Dou Zong experts into pressuring Heavenly Serpent Mansion to let them use the Heavenly Water Cold Pool to refine the energy in their Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid. Golden Snake recognized the Emperor’s scheme but faced a choice that could alienate the gathered factions, while Xiao Lin watched the confrontation unfold.

• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor secretly celebrated his plan to surpass Heavenly Serpent Mansion but kept his intentions hidden.
• When the visiting Dou Zong experts asked to use the Heavenly Water Cold Pool, the Heavenly Serpent Emperor claimed it was controlled by Heavenly Serpent Mansion, not the Imperial Family.
• The Dou Zong experts turned to Golden Snake, Earth Snake, and Wood Snake, demanding an answer about access to the pool.
• Wood Snake warned Golden Snake that the Heavenly Serpent Emperor had cornered their mansion, and Golden Snake acknowledged that refusing could offend more than thirty Dou Zong experts.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor pressed Golden Snake to respond as Xiao Lin watched the two sides clash.

Xiao Lin watched as the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family and the Heavenly Serpent Mansion’s conflict came into the open, then followed Golden Snake and more than thirty Dou Zong experts to the Heavenly Water Cold Pool. A massive magical beast emerged from the pool, and Golden Snake identified it as the Water Serene Demon Python, an ally of the mansion.

• Golden Snake agreed to let the Dou Zong experts use the Heavenly Water Cold Pool, while recognizing that the Heavenly Serpent Emperor’s scheme had ended any chance of reconciliation.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor and Golden Snake concealed their hostility as Golden Snake led the experts away from the imperial palace.
• Xiao Lin and the group traveled north from the Imperial Capital into a mountain range, where their presence kept the magical beasts at bay.
• The Dou Zong experts reached the Heavenly Water Cold Pool, and the Water Serene Demon Python burst from the water.
• Golden Snake stopped the experts from attacking and said the Water Serene Demon Python had a peace pact with the Heavenly Serpent Mansion.

Golden Snake brought more than thirty Dou Zong experts to the Heavenly Water Cold Pool, where the Water Serene Demon Python agreed to let them enter and went to alert the Former Mansion Lord. After the experts entered, Golden Snake and the Heavenly Serpent Emperor openly confronted each other over the imperial family's claim to rule Heavenly Serpent Mansion.

• The Water Serene Demon Python questioned Golden Snake about bringing the group to the Heavenly Water Cold Pool, and Golden Snake explained the situation.
• The Water Serene Demon Python recognized the conflict had reached a breaking point, then sank into the pool to warn the Former Mansion Lord.
• Golden Snake allowed the Dou Zong experts, including Xiao Lin, to enter the pool and cautioned them not to venture too deep.
• After the experts entered, Golden Snake accused the Heavenly Serpent Emperor of acting dishonorably, and the two sides' conflict erupted openly.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor argued that Heavenly Serpent Mansion's control of the Heavenly Water Cold Pool and Spatial Wormhole undermined the imperial family's authority, while Golden Snake refused to surrender his ancestors' legacy.

The Heavenly Serpent Emperor confronted Golden Snake and demanded that Heavenly Serpent Mansion’s Former Mansion Lord leave seclusion, intending to prevent his breakthrough to Dou Venerable. The Former Mansion Lord emerged, while Xiao Lin finished refining the Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid and reached Nine-Star Dou Zong with his internal injuries healed.

• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor and Golden Snake acknowledged their factions’ irreconcilable conflict and prepared to fight.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor revealed that he had reached Nine-Star Dou Zong years earlier and challenged Golden Snake to summon the Former Mansion Lord.
• The Water Serene Demon Python alerted the Former Mansion Lord that more than thirty Dou Zong experts were in the Heavenly Water Cold Pool, forcing him to stop cultivating and emerge.
• Golden Snake, Wood Snake, and Earth Snake welcomed the Former Mansion Lord as he appeared above the Heavenly Water Cold Pool.
• Xiao Lin finished refining the Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid, advanced to Nine-Star Dou Zong, and healed his hidden internal injuries.

After reaching Nine-Star Dou Zong, Xiao Lin secretly left the Heavenly Water Cold Pool and headed for the Heavenly Serpent Empire's imperial palace to take advantage of the conflict. At the pool, Earth Snake betrayed the Heavenly Serpent Mansion, revealing that he had long been an imperial-family spy and using the Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid to increase his strength.

• Xiao Lin quietly departed the Heavenly Water Cold Pool after breaking through to Nine-Star Dou Zong and made for the imperial palace.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor confronted the Former Mansion Lord, whose unstable aura showed that his secluded cultivation had been interrupted.
• Earth Snake attacked the Former Mansion Lord, Golden Snake, and Wood Snake from behind, then drank the half-finished Crimson Flame Immortal Spirit Liquid and rose to Three-Star Dou Zong.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor revealed that Earth Snake had been planted in the Heavenly Serpent Mansion as a child and had served the imperial family as a spy.
• Earth Snake celebrated his return to the imperial family while Golden Snake condemned the betrayal and blamed himself for failing to uncover it.

The Heavenly Serpent Emperor’s attack on the Heavenly Serpent Mansion appeared to have failed when the Former Mansion Lord revealed that he had secretly been a One-Star Dou Venerable for more than a decade. With the Water Serene Demon Python kept occupied by the Imperial Family’s allies, the Emperor drew the Son of Heaven Sword and declared that his own strength was his final trump card.

• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor dismissed Golden Snake’s accusation and taunted the Former Mansion Lord as the injured Mansion Lord leaders faced the Imperial Family.
• The Former Mansion Lord compressed the space around the Heavenly Serpent Emperor, revealing that he was a Dou Venerable.
• The Former Mansion Lord explained that he had secretly reached One-Star Dou Venerable years earlier, though his later attempt to advance to Two-Star had failed.
• Golden Snake and Wood Snake fought Earth Serpent, Yellow Serpent, and Earth Snake while the Former Mansion Lord faced the Heavenly Serpent Emperor.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor revealed that the Dark Abyss Sect and Gray Wolf Valley were keeping the Water Serene Demon Python occupied.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor declared his strength to be his final trump card and drew the Son of Heaven Sword to challenge the Former Mansion Lord.

The Heavenly Serpent Emperor revealed his Sword Dao and wounded the Former Mansion Lord of Heavenly Serpent Mansion, turning their clash into a battle between a Nine-Star Dou Zong and a One-Star Dou Venerable. While the imperial family and Heavenly Serpent Mansion fought, Xiao Lin slipped into the imperial palace to search for treasure.

• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor drew the Son of Heaven Sword and wounded the Former Mansion Lord with Wind's Extremity: Annihilation.
• The Former Mansion Lord recognized the Heavenly Serpent Emperor's Sword Dao, and the two began fighting without restraint.
• Dou Zong experts emerging from the Heavenly Water Cold Pool saw the battle, and one who tried to take advantage of the chaos was killed.
• The Dark Abyss Sect and Gray Wolf Valley experts continued fighting the Water Serene Demon Python while the other Dou Zongs stayed out of the conflict.
• Xiao Lin left the battlefield unseen, evaded the palace guards, and headed toward the imperial palace's deepest chambers to seize its treasures.

Xiao Lin infiltrated the Heavenly Serpent Empire’s imperial palace while its forces were fighting the Heavenly Serpent Mansion, then found and seized control of a guarded treasure hall’s formation. He left the guards trapped inside the formation as it began attacking them.

• Xiao Lin slipped into the imperial palace and identified a heavily guarded hall as his likely target.
• Xiao Lin discovered the Spirit-Transforming Feather Serpent Formation around the hall and studied it for half an hour.
• Xiao Lin used his Spirit Array Master abilities to take control of the fourth-grade formation and activate it against the guards.
• The formation revealed and targeted the guards, killing a Dou Emperor and a Dou Wang with sudden attacks.
• The surviving Dou Emperor commander ordered the guards to move, but Xiao Lin’s formation continued to threaten them.

Xiao Lin used the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family’s Spirit-Transforming Feather Serpent Formation to kill the palace guards, then discovered the building was an ancestral shrine rather than a treasure vault. He hid as Mystic Serpent arrived to search for a secret treasure of his own, revealing plans to abandon the imperial family and flee.

• Xiao Lin controlled the Spirit-Transforming Feather Serpent Formation and killed the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Palace guards, mastering his first Fourth-Level Spirit Formation in the process.
• Xiao Lin entered the palace and found portraits and memorial tablets instead of treasure, realizing he had broken into the imperial family’s ancestral shrine.
• Hearing someone approach, Xiao Lin concealed himself with Heavenly Realm Soul Power.
• Mystic Serpent entered the shrine, searched for the intruder, and assumed the person who had killed the guards had already left.
• Mystic Serpent came seeking a secret treasure and planned to seize it during the conflict with the Heavenly Serpent Mansion, then leave the empire and live for himself.

Xiao Lin secretly watched Mystic Serpent enter the ancestral shrine and learned that Mystic Serpent had fabricated the deal with Jia Nan Academy. Mystic Serpent uncovered a blood-locked hidden door behind the imperial spirit tablets, leaving Xiao Lin poised to discover what lay beyond it.

• Mystic Serpent cursed the Heavenly Serpent Mansion and the imperial family as he approached the ancestral shrine, while Xiao Lin hid and observed him.
• The chapter revealed that Mystic Serpent had invented the deal with Jia Nan Academy, deceiving both the academy and the Heavenly Serpent Emperor for his own purposes.
• Mystic Serpent swept the ancestral spirit tablets onto the floor, and Xiao Lin resolved to kill him for his disrespectful actions.
• Mystic Serpent found a hidden door behind the tablets and cut his palm, using his blood to activate its bloodline lock.

Xiao Lin followed Mystic Serpent into the hidden chamber of the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Ancestral Shrine and watched him reveal the ten Earth Rank Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques. Xiao Lin ambushed and killed Mystic Serpent before he could take them, leaving Mystic Serpent’s soul trapped behind a wall of soul power.

• Mystic Serpent opened the hidden door with his blood and waited inside to make sure no one had followed him.
• Mystic Serpent went to the sandalwood boxes and explained his long-standing resentment over Heavenly Serpent’s having chosen the two strongest treasures.
• Mystic Serpent opened all ten boxes, revealing five Earth Rank Cultivation Methods and five Earth Rank Dou Techniques.
• Xiao Lin attacked Mystic Serpent from behind and blasted his head apart before he could store the treasures.
• Mystic Serpent’s soul fled his corpse and tried to reach the treasures, but Xiao Lin stopped it with a wall of soul power.

Xiao Lin trapped Mystic Serpent’s soul and rejected his attempts to bargain, deciding to kill him and make him take the blame. Mystic Serpent was left helpless in Xiao Lin’s grasp.

• Mystic Serpent tried to flee after failing to break Xiao Lin’s soul light wall, but Xiao Lin caught his soul.
• Mystic Serpent threatened that killing him would provoke a war, while Xiao Lin pointed out that the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family would punish him for his actions.
• Mystic Serpent tried to negotiate and claim he could speak for the imperial family, but Xiao Lin refused to trust him.
• Xiao Lin began crushing Mystic Serpent’s soul, and Mystic Serpent offered him everything in the palace in exchange for his life.
• Xiao Lin said the palace already belonged to him and revealed that he planned to kill Mystic Serpent and make him take the blame.

Xiao Lin killed Mystic Serpent and looted ten Earth Rank Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques from the hidden chamber. He discovered that several items might have originated with the Misty Cloud Sect and planned to ask Yun Shan about their history after returning to the Jia Ma Empire.

• Xiao Lin crushed Mystic Serpent's soul and erased the remains, leaving the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family unlikely to suspect him.
• Xiao Lin examined five Earth Rank Dou Techniques and five Cultivation Methods in the chamber.
• Xiao Lin recognized the Cloud Mist Sword Canon and Wind's Extremity: Earth Rank Chapter as possibly connected to the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Xiao Lin stored all ten treasures and Mystic Serpent's Storage Ring.
• Xiao Lin speculated that the Xun Wind Art, Sword Aura Treasure Record, and Heaven-Raising Nine Swords might also have belonged to the Misty Cloud Sect, and planned to ask Yun Shan about them.

The Former Mansion Lord of Heavenly Serpent Mansion defeated the Heavenly Serpent Emperor after the Son of Heaven Sword broke, leaving the emperor trapped in a spatial storm and mortally defeated. The Heavenly Serpent Emperor accepted Heavenly Serpent Mansion’s rule and named Xiao Lin and Jia Nan Academy as witnesses to the transfer of power.

• The Son of Heaven Sword broke during the clash, and the Former Mansion Lord of Heavenly Serpent Mansion survived the Heavenly Serpent Emperor’s final strike with a severe chest wound.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor admitted defeat and asked the Former Mansion Lord of Heavenly Serpent Mansion to spare the other members of the imperial family.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor said Earth Serpent, Yellow Serpent, and the others would accept Heavenly Serpent Mansion’s rule, and the Former Mansion Lord promised the empire would not decline under its leadership.
• The Heavenly Serpent Emperor declared that Heavenly Serpent Mansion would rule the empire and asked Xiao Lin to let Jia Nan Academy witness the change of power.
• Xiao Lin accepted the role and declared that he bore witness.