Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan parted from Xiao Yixian and settled into her cottage before reviewing his plans for the months ahead. He aimed to grow stronger, advance his alchemy, improve his Dou Techniques, reforge his black greatsword, and refine poisons for Xiao Yixian.

• Xiao Yixian left Xiao Yan at the cottage, telling him she would blame him if the Wolf Head Mercenary Group or Myriad Medicine Hall caused her trouble.
• Xiao Yan entered the cottage, read the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, and considered refining stronger poisons to help Xiao Yixian.
• Xiao Yan flew to a cliff, carved a cave into the rock with a Heavenly Flame, and set his goals for the four months before returning to his clan.
• Xiao Yan planned to reach the Dou Master level, become a Fourth-Grade Alchemist, practice pill refinement, and fuse and improve his Dou Techniques.
• Xiao Yan examined the Artifact Refining Secret Manual, its materials, and a massive cauldron as he planned to reforge his black greatsword into a saber and a longsword.

Xiao Yan organized medicinal ingredients for refining pills and expected to approach Fifth-Grade after using them. He reunited with Xiao Yi Xian, heard about Mu She’s search for Mu Li, and caught her secretly testing Tear-Inducing Powder on him.

• Xiao Yan sorted ingredients for Tier 3 and Tier 4 pills and estimated that refining them would bring him to the threshold of Fifth-Grade.
• Xiao Yi Xian told Xiao Yan that Mu She had searched for Mu Li and questioned the temporary mercenaries, but had only asked the Myriad Medicine Hall a few questions.
• Xiao Yan reassured Xiao Yi Xian that Mu She could investigate him, and the two shared a meal at the Small Thatched Cottage.
• Xiao Yi Xian watched for a reaction after Xiao Yan drank the fish soup, and Xiao Yan revealed that he knew she had added Tear-Inducing Powder.

Xiao Yixian tried to get revenge on Xiao Yan by putting Tear-Inducing Powder in his fish soup, but he pranked her in return with a poison that made her dance among the flowers until nightfall. After carrying her back to the Small Thatched Cottage, Xiao Yan gave her the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, leaving her determined to poison him another time.

• Xiao Yixian admitted she had put Tear-Inducing Powder in Xiao Yan's fish soup, and asked why it had not affected him.
• Xiao Yan led Xiao Yixian to a patch of flowers and tricked her into dancing with a poison that kept her moving until nightfall.
• Xiao Yan sat nearby with a chair and watched as Xiao Yixian cursed him and struggled to regain control of her body.
• When the poison wore off, Xiao Yixian collapsed, and Xiao Yan carried her to the Small Thatched Cottage and gave her water.
• Xiao Yixian threatened to poison Xiao Yan next time, and he handed her the Seven-Colored Poison Manual.

Xiao Yan tested Mad Lion's Roar on a mountain peak and then spent the night trying to transform it into a dragon-themed technique. His noisy experiments drove Xiao Yixian to leave the valley, while Xiao Yan continued working on his techniques and planned to refine medicinal pills after finishing them.

• Xiao Yixian accepted the Seven-Colored Poison Manual from Xiao Yan and complained about his teasing before he left the cabin.
• Xiao Yan flew to the mountain peak and used Mad Lion's Roar to shatter a boulder, startling Xiao Yixian with the blast.
• Xiao Yan experimented through the night with turning the lion technique into a dragon technique, and his strange roars kept Xiao Yixian awake.
• Xiao Yixian left for Myriad Medicine Hall on Little Lan, exhausted and angry at Xiao Yan's experiments.
• Xiao Yan cooked for himself and continued researching the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and a fusion of Flame Fist and Eight Extremes Collapse before planning to refine medicinal pills.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian challenged each other to eat poisons they had prepared, each relying on their unusual resistance to toxins. They both pretended to suffer after the meal, and Xiao Yixian considered Xiao Yan forgiven as he left.

• Xiao Yan completed a fiery dragon technique and flew down the mountain to visit Xiao Yixian.
• Xiao Yixian served Xiao Yan a meal laced with One-Day Death Powder, and Xiao Yan showed her his Laughing Half-Step Fatal.
• Xiao Yixian poured her poison into Xiao Yan's soup, while Xiao Yan added his poison to hers, and they ate together.
• Xiao Yan pretended to suffer severe stomach pain, and Xiao Yixian teased him while pretending to be unaffected.
• Xiao Yan left the hut, then revealed he had been acting; Xiao Yixian also chuckled and decided to forgive him.

Xiao Yan fused Eight Extremes Collapse with Flame Fist and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, then advanced to Nine-star Dou Zhe. Worried that Xiao Yixian had been missing for over ten days, he flew toward Qingshan Town and spotted mercenaries being attacked by Magical Beasts, where two women faced a Randy Ape.

• Xiao Yan fused Eight Extremes Collapse with Flame Fist and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, creating two more powerful battle skills.
• Xiao Yan absorbed the energy of heaven and earth and rose to Nine-star Dou Zhe.
• Xiao Yan realized Xiao Yixian had not returned for more than ten days and flew toward Qingshan Town, fearing something had happened to her.
• Xiao Yan spotted a golden-scaled Magical Beast attacking a middle-aged man while a Randy Ape pursued fleeing mercenaries.
• The Randy Ape caught up with Sister Qing and Ling'er, and Sister Qing drew her daggers to hold it back while Ling'er begged her to run.

Xiao Yan rescued Qingye and Ling'er from the Randy Ape and killed the beast with two attacks. After Qingye and Ling'er begged him to save their commander, Xiao Yan questioned why the Randy Ape had been chasing the Blood Battle Mercenary Corps.

• Sister Qing was badly injured by the Randy Ape, and Ling'er could not bring herself to kill her or escape.
• Xiao Yan swooped in and pulled Ling'er and Qingye away just as the Randy Ape reached for them.
• Xiao Yan gave Qingye a healing pill, then killed the Randy Ape with Cloud-Discharging Palm and its eighteen strands of Hidden Force.
• Xiao Yan introduced himself as Bu Jingyun after Qingye thanked him for saving them.
• Qingye and Ling'er begged Xiao Yan to save the commander, and Xiao Yan asked why the Randy Ape had pursued their mercenary corps.

Xiao Yan saved the Blood Battle Mercenary Corps, defeated a golden crocodile, and learned that Xiao Yixian had been transferred from Myriad Medicine Hall to the Wolf Head Mercenary Group’s headquarters. He left with news that she was being held there over rumors of a Seven-Colored Poison Manual and a treasure trove.

• Xiao Yan rebuked Ling'er for endangering the mercenaries and then pursued the fleeing golden crocodile.
• Xiao Yan killed the golden crocodile with his Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and claimed its Magic Core.
• Fei Lei thanked Xiao Yan, who gave him medicine and Qi-Replenishing Pills in exchange for information.
• Fei Lei told Xiao Yan that Mr. Yao had placed Xiao Yixian under house arrest at Myriad Medicine Hall after rumors spread about her Seven-Colored Poison Manual.
• Fei Lei explained that Mu She later took Xiao Yixian to the Wolf Head Mercenary Group’s headquarters after learning of the treasure trove and connecting her to his son Mu Li’s death.

Xiao Yan learned where Xiao Yixian was being held and set out alone to rescue her despite Fei Lei’s warnings. He reached the Wolf Head Mercenary Group’s heavily fortified headquarters and faced its guards at the main gate.

• Fei Lei recognized Xiao Yan and warned him that more than two hundred men and two Dou Masters guarded Xiao Yixian, but Xiao Yan insisted on going alone.
• Fei Lei offered to accompany Xiao Yan, then agreed to let him go by himself because the Blood Battle Mercenary Corps needed to recover.
• Qingye returned the Randy Ape’s Magic Core to Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan gave the mercenaries healing medicines before departing.
• Fei Lei told Qingye that Xiao Yan had gone to rescue Xiao Yixian and predicted that the Wolf Head Mercenary Group and Myriad Medicine Hall would be destroyed.
• Xiao Yan reached the Wolf Head Mercenary Group’s fortress, surveyed its defenses, and ignored the guards’ warning to leave.

Xiao Yan entered the Wolf Head Mercenary Group’s headquarters to rescue Xiao Yixian and confronted Mu She and Mister Yao. After revealing that their poison could not harm him, Xiao Yan faced the group while Xiao Yixian remained a hostage.

• Xiao Yan entered the Wolf Head Mercenary Group’s headquarters alone and told Mu She he had killed Mu Li.
• Mu She attacked Xiao Yan with his saber, but Xiao Yan stopped the blade with one hand.
• Mu She brought Mister Yao and the weakened Xiao Yixian to meet Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan confirmed she had no other injuries.
• Mister Yao poisoned Xiao Yan with Heartbreak Powder and demanded the treasure, but Xiao Yan revealed the poison had no effect on him.

Xiao Yan rescued Xiao Yixian from Mr. Yao and Mu She, but took four giant crossbow bolts through his body while shielding her. He unleashed the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms to destroy the Wolf Head Mercenary Group’s fortress, then found Mu She still alive as his own Dou Qi ran out.

• Xiao Yan pretended to surrender to save Xiao Yixian, then used Dragon-Grasping Hand to overwhelm Mu She, Mr. Yao, and their men and pull her to safety.
• Mu She ordered his men to shoot Xiao Yixian, so Xiao Yan shielded her and was pierced by four giant crossbow bolts.
• Xiao Yan tore the bolts from his body, drank strong liquor to suppress the pain, and unleashed the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms against the fortress.
• Thirty-six golden dragons devastated the Wolf Head Mercenary Group’s headquarters, and Fei Lei and Qingye watched in shock from nearby.
• Xiao Yan found Mu She alive amid the ruins, while his Dou Qi was exhausted and Xiao Yixian was left vulnerable.

Xiao Yan killed Mu She and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group and Myriad Medicine Hall forces, then escaped with Xiao Yixian as other mercenaries arrived. He brought her to the Small Valley, where she tended his wounds, while the Snake Nest Mercenary Group plotted to seize the fallen factions’ assets.

• Xiao Yan recovered enough Dou Qi to kill Mu She, then fled with Xiao Yixian when he sensed approaching people.
• The Snake Nest Mercenary Group and Blood Battle Mercenary Corps arrived at the devastated base, and Fei Lei revealed that Xiao Yan had destroyed the enemy forces after saving his group.
• Fei Lei left the Snake Nest leader a Qi-Replenishing Pill, while the leader resolved to claim the assets of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group and Myriad Medicine Hall.
• Xiao Yan carried Xiao Yixian to the Small Valley, where she saw his wounds and insisted on treating him despite his attempts to reassure her.

After Xiao Yixian cared for Xiao Yan's wounds, they shared a kiss and grew closer, but Xiao Yan prepared to enter seclusion rather than remain in the Small Valley. He reassured her that he would return and promised to help cure her Calamity Poison Body.

• Xiao Yixian discovered that Xiao Yan's wounds had healed overnight, and he pretended that they needed to test whether his kidneys still worked by kissing him.
• Xiao Yixian kissed Xiao Yan, and the two shared a tender moment before she went to make breakfast.
• Xiao Yan reflected that he could not stay in the Small Valley because of his obligations and Xun'er, and he said he would enter seclusion.
• Xiao Yan promised to return to the Small Valley and stay with Xiao Yixian, who asked him not to reject her if her condition changed.
• Xiao Yan revealed that he knew about Xiao Yixian's Calamity Poison Body and promised he could help cure it, then embarrassed her with a joke about their future marriage.

Xiao Yan secluded himself in a Medicinal Cauldron to refine pills, forge weapons from a black greatsword, temper a Magical Beast egg, and strengthen his body with Heavenly Flame. Forty-nine days later, a storm of lightning struck the cave and began tempering Xiao Yan further as Xiao Yixian and Xiao Xun'er worried about him.

• Xiao Yan began refining a black greatsword, a Magical Beast egg, medicinal ingredients, and his body inside the Medicinal Cauldron.
• Over ten days, Xiao Yan refined Tier 3 Pills, strengthened his body, and forged the melted greatsword into a saber and a longsword.
• Xiao Yixian studied the Seven-Colored Poison Manual while waiting for Xiao Yan to finish his seclusion.
• After forty-nine days, powerful lightning began striking Xiao Yan's cave, and Xiao Yixian held back from interfering.
• Xiao Xun'er asked Elder Ling to investigate the lightning, suspecting it might be connected to Xiao Yan.
• Lightning struck the Medicinal Cauldron repeatedly, tempering Xiao Yan's body as he sat inside surrounded by black-and-white flames.

Xiao Yan broke through to Dou Master while the Magical Beast egg hatched into a giant golden-feathered bird. He named the bird Black Feather and prepared to ride it outside the cave.

• After eighty-one lightning strikes, dense heaven and earth energy gathered around Xiao Yan and the Magical Beast egg.
• Xiao Yan absorbed and refined the energy, condensed liquid Dou Qi, and broke through to Dou Master with a greatly strengthened body.
• The egg hatched into a black-and-white bird with golden feathers, which affectionately recognized Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan named the bird Black Feather, and it nodded in agreement when he guessed it might be a Golden-Winged Roc.
• Xiao Yan and Black Feather left the Medicinal Cauldron, and Black Feather enlarged itself, prompting Xiao Yan to prepare to ride it.

Xiao Yan rode Black Feather into the sky, where a mysterious man in black attacked them and captured the bird. Xiao Yan fought back with weapons and fists, but the man blocked every attack and sent him flying.

• Xiao Yan leaped onto Black Feather and celebrated having a mount as they flew through the sky.
• A mysterious man in black appeared, knocked Xiao Yan off Black Feather, and trapped the bird in a black sphere.
• Xiao Yan challenged the man and struck him twice with the Snow-Drinking Mad Saber, but the man easily blocked both blows with a dagger.
• Xiao Yan put away his swords and attacked with Eight Extremes Collapse, but the man blocked every punch with one hand.
• The man praised Xiao Yan's attacks as an improvement, then struck him and sent him flying backward.

Xiao Yan fused three battle skills into a pseudo-Heaven Tier attack, but the overwhelming energy nearly destroyed his body. With Medicine Elder’s help, he controlled the power and launched Three Points Return to Origin Qi at Elder Ling.

• Xiao Yan attacked the mysterious man with Wind God Leg, Cloud-Discharging Palm, and Flame Fist, combining their power into a massive sphere of light.
• Elder Ling recognized Xiao Yan’s attack as nearly comparable to a Heaven Tier battle skill and warned him that using it could kill him.
• The energy flooding into Xiao Yan’s body pushed him to the brink of bursting, and Elder Ling feared Xiao Xun’er would hold him responsible.
• Medicine Elder urged Xiao Yan to guard his mind and suppressed the violent energy inside him.
• Xiao Yan compressed the light sphere into a fist-sized orb and fired Three Points Return to Origin Qi at Elder Ling.

Xiao Yan chased Elder Ling away after Medicine Elder helped him unleash a powerful fused Dou Technique. Medicine Elder then reassured Xiao Yan, warned him about his poisonous pills and overconfidence, and withdrew into the ring when someone approached.

• Elder Ling failed to stop Xiao Yan's golden orb attack, was badly injured, and fled into a forest as Xiao Yan pursued him.
• Xiao Yan searched for Elder Ling but could not find him, then checked that Medicine Elder was unharmed.
• Medicine Elder praised Xiao Yan for surviving the Jia Ma Imperial Family's schemes and holding out against a hundred thousand cavalrymen.
• Medicine Elder warned Xiao Yan that his poison was dangerous and could draw the attention of powerful experts, and told him not to use it unless his life was at stake.
• Medicine Elder cautioned Xiao Yan against arrogance and claimed he could defeat ten opponents like Elder Ling, then returned to the ring when someone approached.

Xiao Yan reunited with Xun'er on the Xiao Clan Back Mountain and introduced her to Xiao Yixian, who followed him there. The two women met as Xiao Yan nervously anticipated their reaction to each other.

• Xun'er found Xiao Yan on the back mountain, embraced him, and accepted his apology for leaving without saying goodbye.
• Xiao Yan told Xun'er that a mysterious person had stolen a Magic Core and fled after their fight, while she suspected the person was Elder Ling.
• Black Feather arrived, and Xiao Yan realized Xiao Yixian might also be nearby; Xiao Yixian soon flew down to meet him and Xun'er.
• Xiao Yan introduced Xiao Yixian as a physician from Qingshan Town and Xun'er as his childhood companion.

Xiao Yan reunited with Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian, then told Xiao Zhan about his training, enemies, and alchemy while helping the Xiao Clan prepare for its struggle with the Jia Lie Clan. The chapter left Xiao Yan planning to stay hidden and keep his strength secret because the Nalan Clan might be watching.

• Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian greeted each other warmly and went to Xun'er's residence, leaving Xiao Yan bewildered by their sudden closeness.
• Xiao Zhan met Xiao Yan and learned that he had reached Dou Master while attracting enemies nearly as powerful as the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Xiao Zhan explained that the Jia Lie Clan had revived with a First-Grade Alchemist, but Xiao Yan's healing medicines had helped the Xiao Clan resist them.
• Xiao Yan gave Xiao Zhan a Storage Ring filled with pills and revealed that he was a Second-grade Alchemist, warning his father to keep the information secret.
• Xiao Yan refused his share of five million gold coins and told Xiao Zhan he would act in secret because the Nalan Clan might be watching them.