Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan awakened on the seventy-ninth day of seclusion and spoke with Queen Medusa about her soul conflict and his plan to use the Falling Heart Flame to resolve it. Medusa agreed to consider his request to protect his family, while privately believing his real interest in her was romantic and expecting him to pursue her after reaching Battle Ancestor.

• Xiao Yan broke through to Five-Star Dou Spirit and addressed Queen Medusa, who had been watching him from the cultivation chamber.
• Queen Medusa confronted Xiao Yan about abducting her and keeping Canaan Academy's Battle Ancestor nearby as a deterrent.
• Xiao Yan identified the conflict between Queen Medusa's soul and the Devouring Sky Python's soul, then proposed refining the rival soul with the Falling Heart Flame.
• Queen Medusa tested the Falling Heart Flame's effect on souls and confirmed it could burn away a strand of her soul power, but questioned Xiao Yan's motives.
• Xiao Yan said he wanted Queen Medusa to protect his family while he eventually went to the Central Plains; she told him she would decide before he left seclusion.
• Queen Medusa released Xiao Yan and privately believed he had taken a fancy to her, while deciding that his strength and usefulness made him worth considering.

On his ninetieth day in seclusion, Xiao Yan refined a Dou Spirit Pill, but Ziyan appeared and tried to take it. He won her over with candy pills and made a deal to refine more for her in exchange for medicinal herbs, leaving them newly declared friends.

• Xiao Yan refined a Dou Spirit Pill using the ingredients he had gathered, but Ziyan suddenly appeared and reached for it.
• Xiao Yan stopped Ziyan from taking the Dou Spirit Pill and offered her other pills instead.
• Ziyan eagerly ate Xiao Yan's Fourth-Grade candy pills and asked him to make more.
• Xiao Yan told Ziyan she would need to provide medicinal herbs, and she happily agreed.
• Ziyan declared Xiao Yan her friend and promised to defend him if anyone bullied him.

During his 200 days of seclusion, Xiao Yan advanced to Peak Nine-Star Dou Spirit while cultivating, refining pills, and strengthening his body. He began using the Dragon-Elephant Body Tempering Formula and swallowed three Dragon-Elephant Pills as he prepared to break through to Dou King.

• Xiao Yan broke through to Seven-Star Dou Spirit on the 108th day and learned from Xiao Yu on the 120th day that the Xiao Clan had grown stronger, while Xiao Yu herself had reached Dou Master.
• Xiao Yan refined Queen Medusa's seized Dou Qi to reach Eight-Star Dou Spirit, then refined energy from the Yin-Yang Twin Flames to reach Nine-Star Dou Spirit.
• Xiao Yan focused on consolidating his strength, pill refining, Dou Skills, and the Stargazing Art, while candy pills he made helped Ziyan improve her cultivation.
• Xiao Yan reached Peak Nine-Star Dou Spirit on the 200th day and entered a vat of medicinal liquid to cultivate the Dragon-Elephant Body Tempering Formula.
• Xiao Yan swallowed three Dragon-Elephant Pills to strengthen his body and waited for a chance to break through, while Ziyan craved the pills and Queen Medusa watched in surprise.

After more than ten days absorbing the medicinal liquid, Xiao Yan broke through to Dou King, stirring up the elders on the eighth floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. He emerged with both his body and Dou Qi at the Dou King level and prepared to apologize to those whose cultivation he had interrupted.

• Xiao Yan's breakthrough aura swept through the eighth floor and alarmed the elders cultivating there.
• The elders gathered outside cultivation chamber eighteen, argued over who was breaking through, and suspected Xiao Yan after learning he had been in seclusion for half a year.
• Ziyan stepped out of Xiao Yan's chamber, confirmed he was inside, and threatened the noisy elders until they quieted down.
• Xiao Yan opened his eyes after reaching Dou King in both body and Dou Qi, and his aura gradually receded as he mastered his power.
• Xiao Yan sensed the crowd outside, dressed in a black robe, told Queen Medusa they would meet again in half a year, and walked out to apologize.

After seven months in seclusion, Xiao Yan emerged from the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower as a Dou King and reunited with Ziyan. Meanwhile, Hu Jia and Mo Shishi learned that Han Yue had not returned from an academy mission; Xiao Yan arrived back at Heavenly Gate as they discussed her absence.

• Xiao Yan left the cultivation chamber, apologized to the elders for disturbing them during his breakthrough, and eased their tense reception.
• Xiao Yan left the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower with Ziyan and said he would return to refine the Falling Heart Flame.
• Hu Jia and Mo Shishi discussed Han Yue's overdue extermination mission against Fan Sha, a Nine-Star Great Dou Master in Green Snake Town.
• Xiao Yan returned to Heavenly Gate, knocked Hu Jia on the forehead, and greeted Mo Shishi.

Han Yue tracked down Fan Sha in the forest near Green Snake Town and froze him after he slaughtered the town’s bait team. As she prepared to return him to the townspeople, a pale young man and two powerful attendants appeared and surrounded her.

• Green Snake Town’s people showed Han Yue that the Soul Lamps of the team sent to hold Fan Sha back had gone out, and she rushed north to find them.
• Han Yue found Fan Sha gathering the remains of his victims and launched a surprise ice attack that began freezing him.
• Fan Sha drew blood energy from the corpses to resist, but Han Yue overwhelmed him and sealed him in ice.
• Han Yue told the captured Fan Sha that she would return him alive so Green Snake Town’s people could punish him.
• A pale young man and two Mid-Tier Dou Spirit attendants emerged from the forest and surrounded Han Yue.

Fan Ling lured Han Yue into a trap, killed Fan Sha, and had Bone Elder capture her before taking her to Black-Sha City. Two days later, Fan Ling went to assault Han Yue after drugging her, but a blazing fireball suddenly appeared over his head.

• Fan Ling revealed that Fan Sha had been used as bait, then killed him with a palm strike while Han Yue watched.
• Han Yue tried to seize Fan Ling and escape, but Bone Elder ambushed her, crushed her resistance, and helped the Blood Sect group abduct her.
• Fan Ling took Han Yue to Black-Sha City, where she resisted his attempts to subdue her for two days.
• A guard told Fan Ling that he had forced a powerful aphrodisiac down Han Yue's throat and warned him to dispose of her in case Canaan Academy tracked her through a Soul Lamp.
• Fan Ling dismissed the warning and left the hall, where a blazing fireball suddenly appeared above him and crashed down.

Xiao Yan rescued Han Yue after killing Fan Ling and the Blood Sect guards who had captured her, then found that she had been drugged. He stayed with her until the drug wore off and promised to take responsibility for her.

• Xiao Yan killed Fan Ling with a fire attack and learned from a terrified guard that Han Yue was being held in a nearby courtyard.
• Xiao Yan killed the guard after noticing the bloody stench of his Dou Qi, while Bone Elder fled and abandoned another guard.
• Xiao Yan tracked Bone Elder and killed him with a black flame before extinguishing the estate's fires and going to find Han Yue.
• Han Yue mistook Xiao Yan for Fan Ling and attacked him with an ice sword, then relaxed when he told her the captors were dead.
• Xiao Yan realized Han Yue had been drugged, and after the drug took control of her, he stayed with her through the night.
• In the morning, Xiao Yan gave Han Yue a healing pill and promised to take responsibility for her.

Xiao Yan and Han Yue parted after making their relationship official, while he concealed his plans to visit Ya Fei. Ziyan reunited with him and asked whether mouths really tasted sweet.

• Xiao Yan told Han Yue to write to him at his friend’s auction house in Maple City, and she accepted his explanation about the friend.
• Xiao Yan teased Han Yue, kissed her, and watched her leave for Canaan Academy.
• Xiao Yan worried that Han Yue might suspect he was going to see another woman, then discovered Ziyan had come looking for him after he missed their agreed meeting.
• Ziyan admitted she had arrived while Xiao Yan and Han Yue were kissing, then asked whether mouths really tasted sweet.

Xiao Yan chose Maple City as the site for Mittel's branch, planning to take advantage of Han Feng's trade networks after defeating him. He entered the city in disguise with Ziyan, who insisted that only she could pat his shoulder.

• Xiao Yan remembered Ya Fei's plan to expand Mittel's business into the Black-Corner Region and chose Maple City as the branch's location.
• Xiao Yan considered Maple City a useful stronghold because it was near Canaan Academy and held Han Feng's medicinal-ingredient and pill-trading networks.
• Outside Maple City, Xiao Yan persuaded Ziyan to wear a concealing black cloak by promising her a feast.
• Xiao Yan and Ziyan entered the city in disguise, and Ziyan declared that she was the boss and the only one allowed to pat his shoulder.

Xiao Yan arrived at the Mitel Auction House and reunited with Ya Fei, who was delighted to see him. After revealing that he and Ziyan were both Dou Kings, Xiao Yan admitted he needed Ya Fei’s help, then pulled her close and called for them to discuss “business” first.

• Xiao Yan presented Ya Fei’s highest-tier VIP badge and was admitted to the Mitel Auction House, where Ya Fei recognized him and embraced him.
• Ziyan introduced herself as Xiao Yan’s boss, asked for food, and left with an attendant to eat.
• Xiao Yan told Ya Fei that Ziyan was a Dou King and that he had also reached the Dou King realm, shocking her.
• Ya Fei realized Xiao Yan had come to ask for her help, but he drew her close and teased her about discussing business first.

Ya Fei asked Xiao Yan to have a child because she feared growing older while his cultivation extended his lifespan and drew more young women to him. Xiao Yan agreed without precautions, then remembered the Mandarin Duck Pill could help her cultivate alongside him, leaving them discussing their future and his promise.

• Ya Fei told Xiao Yan she wanted a child and explained that her age and uncertain cultivation made her anxious about the future.
• Xiao Yan understood her worry and agreed to try for a child, abandoning his usual precautions.
• An hour later, Xiao Yan remembered the Mandarin Duck Pill and explained that it could help Ya Fei absorb pills beyond her realm with his support.
• Ya Fei realized the pill and dual cultivation could keep her cultivation within one or two major realms of Xiao Yan's, though the effect ended at the Dou Saint realm.
• Ya Fei reminded Xiao Yan that he had agreed to her request and told him not to regret it.

Xiao Yan left Ya Fei after gathering information on criminal factions around Maple City, taking Ziyan with him. They arrived at Netherworld Gorge to target the Blood Moon Cult, a faction that supplied victims to the Blood Sect.

• Xiao Yan compiled a list of more than a dozen criminal factions and resolved to eliminate them.
• Ya Fei said goodbye to Xiao Yan and entrusted Ziyan with protecting him; Ziyan happily accepted Ya Fei’s promise of more food.
• After Xiao Yan and Ziyan left, Ya Fei discovered Ziyan’s three-day food bill had reached three hundred thousand gold coins.
• Xiao Yan and Ziyan arrived near Netherworld Gorge, where Xiao Yan explained that Blood Moon Cult leader Fan E served as a Blood Sect front man collecting blood victims.
• Xiao Yan told Ziyan to follow their plan, and she agreed.

Xiao Yan infiltrated the Blood Moon Cult by slaughtering disciples outside its gates and luring the sect master, Fan E, out of the formation. As Fan E chased him through the gorge, Xiao Yan's hidden ambush began.

• Xiao Yan saw the Blood Moon Cult's bone-built gate and decided to leave none of its members alive.
• Xiao Yan killed Jing Sha and dozens of nearby disciples while disguised as a grieving father.
• Fan E mistook Jing Sha's ashes for his own son's remains and charged after Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan led Fan E into the narrow gorge, where a small, fair fist emerged from rippling space and struck toward Fan E's head.

Xiao Yan and Ziyan pursued Fan E to the Blood Moon Cult and killed him, then broke through the sect’s defenses and slaughtered its members. Xiao Yan ended the chapter carrying out the massacre alone after sending Ziyan away.

• Ziyan battered Fan E, but Xiao Yan’s fireball revealed that he had survived and was fleeing toward the Blood Moon Cult.
• Ziyan caught Fan E with her spatial movement, and Xiao Yan killed him with the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler, which also shattered the sect-protecting formation.
• The Blood Moon Cult’s Great Elder forced the disciples to resume defending the formation, but Ziyan killed him when she appeared behind him.
• The disciples panicked, and Xiao Yan arrived to massacre them after finding that every member had cultivated blood-fed Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan sent Ziyan away and continued the slaughter alone, his eyes filled with coldness.

After wiping out the Blood Moon Cult, Xiao Yan and Ziyan looted its treasury and discovered rare medicinal treasures, including a Dragon Bone Grass Xiao Yan needed. In a hidden chamber, they found a pulsing fruit growing from a blood lotus, which Xiao Yan recognized as the Blood Lotus Dragon Fruit.

• Xiao Yan confirmed that he and Ziyan had cleared the Blood Moon Cult, leaving its grounds empty of living people.
• Ziyan sensed the sect treasury, and she and Xiao Yan broke into a Treasure Pavilion and took its contents.
• Ziyan opened the restriction on a hidden pavilion, where they found shelves of rare medicinal herbs and treasures.
• Xiao Yan discovered and stored away Sixth-Rank Dragon Bone Grass, a main ingredient for the Middle-Grade Dragon-Elephant Pill.
• Ziyan called Xiao Yan to a scarlet blood pool, where he recognized a pulsing fruit growing at the center of a blood lotus as the Blood Lotus Dragon Fruit.

Xiao Yan explained that the Blood Lotus Dragon Fruit was a rare herb that resonated with Ziyan, leading her to wonder whether her parents were alive. He told her she was likely a descendant of the Void Ancient Dragons and that her people might be on Ancient Dragon Island, then gave her the fruit they collected.

• Xiao Yan recognized the mature Blood Lotus Dragon Fruit and explained its properties to Ziyan.
• Ziyan became tearful when the fruit’s dragon aura felt familiar and asked whether it had grown from true dragon blood.
• Xiao Yan told Ziyan she was likely descended from the Void Ancient Dragons and pointed her toward Ancient Dragon Island as her possible home.
• Xiao Yan warned Ziyan to be careful because Ancient Dragon Island had problems, then reassured her that her clan was strong.
• Xiao Yan and Ziyan collected the fruit, and he gave it all to her; Ziyan happily embraced him.

Xiao Yan and Ziyan continued destroying factions allied with the Blood Sect, then lured three Blood Sect Dou Kings into an ambush. Ziyan struck down the weakest pursuer, but Fan Zeng, a High-Rank Dou King, remained.

• Xiao Yan and Ziyan spent half a month destroying nearby Dou King-level factions and gathering their treasures.
• Xiao Yan lured three Blood Sect Dou Kings away from their sect, while Ziyan hid in the void to ambush them.
• Fan Zeng warned his two companions that Xiao Yan likely had an accomplice waiting nearby.
• Xiao Yan signaled Ziyan to target the One-Star Dou King, and she moved into position.
• Ziyan suddenly emerged from the void and crushed the One-Star Dou King's head with a single strike.

Xiao Yan and Ziyan used a Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus to defeat Fan Zeng and kill the Blood Sect Dou Kings pursuing them. They left with several Storage Rings after escaping the destructive blast.

• Ziyan killed one of Fan Zeng's Dou Kings, then joined Xiao Yan as Fan Zeng and another Dou King moved to surround them.
• Xiao Yan and Ziyan fled while Xiao Yan secretly gathered three Heavenly Flames and soul power into a violet fire lotus.
• Ziyan carried Xiao Yan through space, and Xiao Yan sent the fire lotus back at Fan Zeng, whose bloody attack was destroyed in the explosion.
• The fire lotus's blast penetrated the void, forcing Xiao Yan and Ziyan to flee deeper through space until its power faded.
• Xiao Yan killed the crippled Fan Zeng and took his Storage Ring, while Ziyan killed the surviving Dou King and took the bodies' rings.
• Xiao Yan burned the bodies, and he and Ziyan flew away together with several Storage Rings.

Xiao Yan and Ziyan used their spoils from defeating Dou Kings and wicked sects to refine medicinal liquid and cultivate in a mountain cave. After three months, Xiao Yan used a Dou Spirit Pill to break through to Four-Star Dou King, while Ziyan began advancing under the influence of the medicinal liquid.

• Xiao Yan and Ziyan inventoried the Storage Rings they had taken from defeated Dou Kings and wicked sects.
• Xiao Yan refined hundreds of medicinal ingredients into potent medicinal liquid for Ziyan to absorb in a bath.
• Ziyan questioned Xiao Yan's request that she remove her clothes, then moved into a secluded hollow to cultivate.
• Xiao Yan refined another batch of medicinal liquid for himself, and he and Ziyan cultivated in separate barrels for three months.
• When his breakthrough stalled at Three-Star Dou King, Xiao Yan swallowed a Dou Spirit Pill and advanced to Four-Star Dou King.
• Ziyan sensed Xiao Yan's breakthrough and began charging toward the next realm, releasing powerful energy fluctuations and dragon might.