Chapter Summaries

Ning Fa let Mo Xingkong and the female cultivator escape after secretly marking her, then discovered a hidden pool of spirit liquid and Water Origin Crystal Stone beneath Lightless Valley. After cultivating there for two days, he greatly strengthened his mana and helped Little Ice prepare for its breakthrough, leaving the pair with valuable gains.

• Mo Xingkong and the female cultivator fled after the woman signaled him, while Ning Fa kept a Moon Chasing Mark on her to track her later.
• Ning Fa found a deep pool beneath Lightless Valley and followed Little Ice into a bubble containing milky-white spirit liquid and Water Origin Crystal Stone.
• Ning Fa and Little Ice cultivated in the spirit liquid for two days, greatly increasing their power.
• Little Ice reached the peak of the late-stage first-rank realm, and Ning Fa gave it the Ice Marrow Crystal Stone to aid its coming breakthrough.

Ning Fa returned to the rendezvous after finishing his Profound Cauldron Array Points, where Wu Qifeng accused him of sacrificing two Wu Family members and attacked him. Ning Fa defended Chu Ge and fought back, ending the chapter with his lightning spear attack bearing down on Wu Qifeng.

• Ning Fa collected the Water Origin Crystal Stones, set up three more Profound Cauldron Array Points, and led his group to the rendezvous outside East Marsh City.
• Ning Fa found Duanmu Tai and the others injured, and Wu Zesheng and Wu Qifeng questioned him about the missing Wu Kai and Wu Yong.
• Ning Fa mocked the group for their own losses, while Wu Qifeng accused him of using the Wu Family members as cannon fodder and pressured him with Spiritual Pressure.
• Chu Ge resisted Wu Qifeng's pressure and defended Ning Fa, so Wu Qifeng attacked him with a hand of yellow spiritual light.
• Ning Fa stepped in front of Chu Ge, shattered Wu Qifeng's attack, and knocked away his golden short hammers with the Dragon-Breaking Spear.
• Ning Fa launched a silver lightning pillar at Wu Qifeng, tearing through his defensive dharma robe and continuing toward him.

Ning Fa returned from East Marsh Oasis after Duanmu Tai stopped his clash with Wu Qifeng, and the group traveled to Soaring Flame Volcano. Duanmu Ling prepared them for a hard battle in two days, while Cui Hong told Ning Fa that the West Marsh Oasis team had suffered a death and a grave injury.

• Wu Qifeng and Wu Zesheng prepared to attack Ning Fa, but Duanmu Tai intervened and ordered them to stop.
• Duanmu Tai took the group by flying boat to Yongze Oasis, where Ning Fa privately spoke with Chu Ge.
• The group arrived at Soaring Flame Volcano and entered Duanmu Ling's camp, where many cultivators were injured or weakened.
• Duanmu Ling confirmed that the East Marsh Oasis array points had been set up and told the group to rest before a hard battle in two days.
• Cui Hong welcomed Ning Fa and reported that one Foundation Establishment cultivator from the West Marsh Oasis team had died and another was gravely wounded.

Cui Hong told Ning Fa about Duanmu Ling’s costly campaign against the clans defending Soaring Flame Volcano and the powerful Wind Capital Heavenly Sun Array. Ning Fa then learned Chu Ge’s history and offered him a chance to work for him after the Southern Reach ended, which Chu Ge eagerly accepted.

• Cui Hong explained that Duanmu Ling’s forces had suffered heavy losses against the three clans and the Black Spirit Church at Soaring Flame Volcano.
• Cui Hong told Ning Fa that Duanmu Ling planned a final assault to seize the volcano and its valuable spirit mines.
• Ning Fa summoned Chu Ge and gave him a bottle of Cloud Heart Pills.
• Chu Ge recounted his mortal martial arts past, the loss of his family, his cultivation journey, and how Feng Jue brought him onto the expedition.
• Ning Fa asked Chu Ge to work for him after the Southern Reach ended, and Chu Ge knelt and accepted.

Ning Fa accepted Chu Ge as a subordinate and gave him a high-grade magic artifact. At a meeting to plan an assault on Soaring Flame Volcano, Duanmu Ling recruited cultivators to destroy the Fengdu Skyfire Array’s subsidiary Array Eyes and offered Ning Fa a reward to join them.

• Ning Fa recognized Chu Ge’s intelligence and took him on as a subordinate, promising to help him reach Foundation Establishment if he proved himself.
• Duanmu Ling gathered the Foundation Establishment Cultivators and explained that the Fengdu Skyfire Array had seven Array Eyes that must be destroyed before the assault on Soaring Flame Volcano.
• Duanmu Ling offered ten thousand Contribution Points for each volunteer, and Fellow Daoist Pu agreed after she promised to release him from his debt to the Duanmu Family.
• Duanmu Ling persuaded Wu Tianxiang and three other powerful late-stage cultivators to join by offering them favors and valuable items.
• Duanmu Ling asked Ning Fa to destroy an Array Eye and offered him the choice of any of the three largest oases in the Black Flame Desert as a place for his family to settle.

Ning Fa agreed to help Duanmu Ling destroy a secondary Array Eye of the Fengdu Skyfire Array. As the assault began, he reached the altar but was knocked back by its Wall of Flames.

• Duanmu Ling chose Ning Fa as one of six cultivators assigned to destroy the array’s secondary Array Eyes, and Ning Fa agreed.
• Ning Fa waited near his assigned altar until the Flame Spirit Bird attacked the Fengdu Skyfire Array and the main assault began.
• Ning Fa rushed toward the altar while the array’s defenses were under pressure.
• A black-robed Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator attacked Ning Fa with flaming spears, but Ning Fa destroyed them with lightning-laced punches.
• Ning Fa used Illusory Demon Escape to reach the altar, but its Wall of Flames repelled him and alarmed the black-robed cultivator.

Ning Fa fought the black-robed cultivator’s Flame Beasts while the array repeatedly healed them, then faced a devastating barrage of Giant Fireballs. After his Silver Thunder Armor and Thunder Lock Array broke, a Blue Great Bird emerged from the Blue Star Cloud.

• The black-robed cultivator used the Flame Mystic Disc to summon seven Second-tier Flame Beasts, which attacked Ning Fa.
• Ning Fa unleashed the Dragon-Breaking Spear’s Black Flood Dragon and fought the remaining Flame Beasts himself, but the array’s Red Light Beam continually restored them.
• The black-robed cultivator formed a vast Red Fire Cloud and sent Giant Fireballs crashing down on Ning Fa.
• Ning Fa raised a Silver Thunder Armor and Meng Ruoqi’s Thunder Lock Array to defend himself, but both defenses shattered under the attack.
• A Blue Great Bird with seven star-like eyes appeared from the Blue Star Cloud beneath Ning Fa.

Ning Fa used the Seven Star Bird’s divine ability to suppress the falling fireballs and attack the black-robed cultivator, then fought him while trying to reach the Array Eye. Ning Fa resisted the cultivator’s blood lightning and illusion technique and killed him, leaving the crimson flames at the Array Eye still burning.

• Ning Fa activated the Star Martial Battle Suit’s Seven Stars Piercing Sun, weakening the fire cloud and wounding the seven Flame Beasts.
• Ning Fa struck the Wall of Flames with a Thunder Calamity Bead, then countered the black-robed cultivator’s talismans as he rushed toward the Array Eye.
• Ning Fa caught and seized the black-robed cultivator’s flying needle artifact, erasing its connection to its owner.
• Ning Fa’s combined lightning overcame the Blood-colored Gourd’s lightning and forced the black-robed cultivator to defend himself with several treasures.
• Ning Fa resisted the black-robed cultivator’s Black Spirit Eye illusion, caught his dagger-wielding wrist, and crushed his neck.

Ning Fa destroyed one of the Fengdu Skyfire Array’s secondary array eyes after defeating its black-robed guard, then withdrew to recover. The battle at the main array eye continued as the weakened formation eased pressure on the other fronts, and the Black Spirit Church’s Pseudo Core Cultivator noticed a red star dimming.

• Ning Fa used a Silver Lightning Ball to extinguish the array eye’s flames, causing the Seven Star Bird and Flame Beasts to vanish and one red star to disappear.
• Ning Fa took the black-robed cultivator’s Storage Bag and Blood-colored Gourd, then fled to a secluded spot to recover his depleted mana and divine sense.
• The destruction of the secondary array eye weakened the Fengdu Skyfire Array and reduced the pressure on the forces fighting at the other six array eyes.
• At the main array eye, Feng Jue battered the Flame Beasts and attacked the Wall of Flames while Hu Shiquei moved to intercept him.
• The Black Spirit Church’s black-skirted Pseudo Core Cultivator watched the battle without joining in, then noticed one of the seven red stars dim.

As the destruction of four secondary Array Eyes weakened the great array, Duanmu Ling unleashed the Top-grade Spirit Artifact Profound Green Bow against the main Array Eye. Its arrow struck the Lotus-shaped Altar while the black-dressed woman summoned a mysterious star-shaped defense.

• Ning Fa destroyed an Array Eye, helping the sickly cultivator surnamed Pu seize an opening to defeat his opponent at another Array Eye.
• The cultivator surnamed Pu destroyed his Array Eye, and two more Array Eyes fell soon afterward, weakening the great array.
• Wen Xiuxin fought Duanmu Ling near the altar as the remaining Flame Beasts and falling fireballs diminished.
• Duanmu Ling revealed the Profound Green Bow and used Thousand Year Spirit Milk to restore her Mana while forming a powerful azure arrow.
• The black-dressed woman summoned a black five-pointed star pattern as Duanmu Ling fired the arrow, which swept through everything in its path and struck the Lotus-shaped Altar.

After the Fengdu Skyfire Array was destroyed, Ning Fa entered Soaring Flame Volcano and sensed a mysterious aura tied to his Supreme Fire Divine Thunder. Deep beneath the volcano, Duanmu Ling’s group faced Ji Suguan and the remaining Black Spirit Church cultivators.

• The black-robed cultivators retreated after the black pentagram cracked, while Mo Xingkong, Hu Shiquei, and Wen Fuyong tried to protect their Qi Condensation clansmen.
• The azure arrow destroyed the main Array Eye, killing more than sixty cultivators and completing the destruction of the Fengdu Skyfire Array.
• Duanmu Ling ordered the cultivators to pursue the enemy into Soaring Flame Volcano.
• Ning Fa entered the volcano, sensed an aura that strongly stirred his Supreme Fire Divine Thunder, and rushed into a mine tunnel on the right.
• Deep beneath the volcano, Duanmu Ling’s stronger force confronted the Black Spirit Church survivors, and she asked whether their leader was Ji Suguan.

Duanmu Ling and the allied cultivators battled the Black Spirit Church as the black-clad woman drew a powerful scepter from the magma. Its Heavenly Star Primordial Flame Stone overwhelmed Duanmu Ling’s Azure Wood Bow, leaving her side badly battered and the battle unresolved.

• The black-clad woman refused Duanmu Ling’s offer to spare her and used her ancient scroll to summon black warriors and pull a scepter from the magma.
• Duanmu Ling recognized the stone atop the scepter as the Heavenly Star Primordial Flame Stone, prompting greed among the knowledgeable cultivators.
• The black-clad woman used the scepter’s Purple Flame to block and melt Duanmu Ling’s arrow, injuring Duanmu Ling through their divine-sense link.
• The black-clad woman sent purple spirit flowers after Duanmu Ling, Feng Jue, and other cultivators, causing explosions and screams.
• Duanmu Ling’s jade-bowl defensive artifact survived but was badly damaged, and she used a silver net to shield her side from further attacks.

The beautiful woman in black used the Black-Red Scepter’s Purple Flame to devastate Duanmu Ling’s allies, but Duanmu Ling revealed a Thought-Carrying Yuanqi and summoned the divine sense of True Lord Xuanqi. The woman then unleashed nine flame dragons from the scepter, leaving the confrontation poised for a clash with Duanmu Qi.

• The Purple Flame killed Wu Qifeng and another cultivator, while Feng Jue, Wu Tianxiang, and others survived with severe injuries or costly defensive measures.
• The cultivator surnamed Pu and the middle-aged Daoist abandoned Duanmu Ling, while Cui Hong, Pan Jiao, and several others stayed.
• The beautiful woman in black offered to spare Duanmu Ling if she surrendered, but Duanmu Ling remained calm and said she would take the scepter as well as the Heavenly Star Primordial Flame Stone.
• The beautiful woman in black drank from a jade bottle and prepared to strike, but Duanmu Ling opened a jade case and summoned the avatar of True Lord Xuanqi, Duanmu Qi.
• The beautiful woman in black recognized the Thought-Carrying Yuanqi, then swung the Black-Red Scepter and sent nine Purple Flame-covered dragons pouncing toward Duanmu Ling and True Lord Xuanqi.

True Lord Xuanqi destroyed the black-robed beautiful woman's flaming dragons, but an ancient phantom emerged and restored her strength. Wen Xiuxin then attacked the phantom, sacrificed Wen Fuyong, Mo Xingkong, and Hu Shiku to strengthen the Azure Oil Lamp, and pursued the woman toward the volcanic crater as True Lord Xuanqi followed.

• True Lord Xuanqi used the Azure Wood Bow to destroy the nine flaming dragons and reached for the Black-Red Scepter.
• The black ancient scroll marked the black-robed beautiful woman with a Black Symbol, summoning a phantom that shattered True Lord Xuanqi's azure hand and greatly increased her power.
• True Lord Xuanqi fired a powerful white arrow, but Wen Xiuxin sent an Azure Flame spirit bird to wound the phantom, leaving the black-robed beautiful woman vulnerable to the arrow.
• The black-robed beautiful woman struck Wen Xiuxin with Purple Flame, but Wen Xiuxin countered with the Azure Oil Lamp and declared that Wen Fuyong, Mo Xingkong, and Hu Shiku would become sacrifices.
• Wen Xiuxin drained the three cultivators' life force to empower the Azure Oil Lamp, then pursued the black-robed beautiful woman toward the volcanic crater as True Lord Xuanqi followed.

Ning Fa pursued Wen Xiuxin into Soaring Flame Volcano’s magma after spotting her with a piece of Heavenly Star Primordial Flame Stone, while Duanmu Ling received another fragment from True Lord Xuanqi. Ning Fa followed the Blue Compass into a hidden place beneath the volcano.

• Wu Tianxiang and his allies attacked the Mo, Hu, and Wen Families cultivators and the Black Spirit Church cultivators after the others left.
• Ning Fa found Wen Xiuxin carrying a fragment of mysterious purple-and-blue spirit stone, but she escaped into the magma.
• True Lord Xuanqi gave Duanmu Ling another fragment of Heavenly Star Primordial Flame Stone and told her to keep it safe.
• Duanmu Ling lamented her group’s losses, while Feng Jue said the stone was worth the cost.
• Ning Fa layered protective treasures and techniques over himself, then dove into the magma to pursue Wen Xiuxin.
• Ning Fa used the Blue Compass to enter a hidden place beneath the magma.

Ning Fa entered the Fire Worship Hall, seized the Heavenly Star Primordial Flame Stone from Wen Xiuxin, and learned she knew about his Bing Fire Yang Thunder. After Wen Xiuxin proposed a cooperation and secretly attacked him, he struck back, but she summoned a mysterious flame figure that unleashed overwhelming Divine Soul Pressure.

• Ning Fa recognized the Fire Worship Hall and spotted Wen Xiuxin on the altar beside the Heavenly Star Primordial Flame Stone.
• Ning Fa destroyed Wen Xiuxin's Flame Beast with Bing Fire Yang Thunder and took the scorching stone for himself.
• Wen Xiuxin revealed that Ning Fa's Bing Fire Yang Thunder could let him enter a place containing something vital to advancing the thunder.
• Wen Xiuxin sent a Fire Snake at Ning Fa, but he caught and destroyed it before attacking her with the Dragon-Breaking Spear.
• Wen Xiuxin's Azure Flame Spiritual Mark knocked the Dragon-Breaking Spear away and summoned a mysterious flame figure, which pointed a crushing finger shadow at Ning Fa.

Ning Fa survived the fiery figure’s Divine Soul attack and killed Wen Xiuxin, who vanished in altar flames along with the Azure Oil Lamp. He discovered a True Flame Fire Seed that could trace back the Five Extremes True Flame Art, remained trapped in the sealed hall, and reached for the mysterious spirit stone his Supreme Fire Divine Thunder craved.

• Ning Fa endured the fiery figure’s attack with the help of his Five Elements Thunder Body and Moon God Heart, then pierced Wen Xiuxin’s chest with the Dragon-Breaking Spear.
• Wen Xiuxin said they would meet again before flames swallowed her and the Azure Oil Lamp, leaving Ning Fa unable to find them.
• Ning Fa recovered a purple bead from the altar’s ash and learned through the Mysterious Scroll that it was a True Flame Fire Seed linked to the Five Extremes True Flame Art.
• Ning Fa considered spending his Origin Points to trace back the art’s upper volume but put the fire seed away without deciding.
• Ning Fa found no exit from the sealed hall and stopped attacking its restricted walls, planning to wait a month until the Blue Compass could be used again.
• Ning Fa took out the mysterious spirit stone, felt his Supreme Fire Divine Thunder react to it, and reached for it with his lightning-fire-covered hand.

Ning Fa absorbed the Heavenly Star Primordial Flame Stone, advancing his Bing Fire Yang Thunder into Life-Annihilation Purple Thunder and gaining a weak wisp of Zi Wei Heavenly Fire. After discovering its connection to the purple fire pearl and the Five Elements True Flame Art, he decided to trace the art back to its source.

• Ning Fa absorbed the mysterious spirit stone, causing his Supreme Fire Divine Thunder to advance from first-grade to second-grade.
• Ning Fa learned that his Bing Fire Yang Thunder had become Life-Annihilation Purple Thunder, which could replenish lost vitality by consuming the thunder's origin power.
• Ning Fa identified the spirit stone as a fragment of Heavenly Star Primordial Flame Stone and realized that advancing his other divine thunders would require similarly rare treasures.
• Ning Fa discovered that absorbing the stone had also produced a weak wisp of Zi Wei Heavenly Fire, an ancient exotic fire that he could not yet control.
• Ning Fa found that the Zi Wei Heavenly Fire reacted to the purple fire pearl and concluded that the pearl's fire seed came from the same source.
• Ning Fa decided to trace the Five Elements True Flame Art back to its source so he could attempt to cultivate the Zi Wei Heavenly Fire.

Ning Fa studied the Five Extremes True Flame Art and used Zi Wei Heavenly Fire to cultivate its first fire seed. After successfully controlling the flame, he demonstrated its power by burning a massive stone pillar to ashes.

• Ning Fa activated the scroll, spent a hundred Origin Points to trace the Five Extremes True Flame Art, and learned that it could cultivate and ultimately fuse five kinds of true flames.
• Ning Fa recognized Zi Wei Heavenly Fire as a suitable flame for the art and decided to condense its fire seed while trapped in the Fire-Worship Hall.
• After ten days of preparation and half a month of effort, Ning Fa condensed a purple fire seed and swallowed it to begin cultivating.
• Ten days later, Ning Fa completed the fire seed's growth in his dantian, forming a lotus with one solid purple petal and four illusory petals.
• Ning Fa gained control over Zi Wei Heavenly Fire and used it to burn a nearby stone pillar to ashes in two breaths.

Ning Fa tested the costly Zi Wei Heavenly Fire and considered how to obtain the rare resources needed to advance his cultivation. He planned to build up the Ning Clan as a future source of support, then left the Fire-Worship Hall and emerged from the lava.

• Ning Fa found that the Zi Wei Heavenly Fire consumed nearly a fifth of his mana and much of his spiritual sense, leaving him able to use it only once more for now.
• Ning Fa reviewed the scarce ingredients required for Burning Origin Pills and worried that his cultivation arts demanded too many high-grade resources.
• Ning Fa decided not to depend solely on Wei Shiqin and the Xudong Merchant Guild, whose Golden Core backer belonged to a different faction in the Huayu Sect.
• Ning Fa considered developing the Ning Clan and eventually establishing a merchant guild, though he postponed the plan until he had greater strength.
• Ning Fa left the Fire-Worship Hall after more than a month, endured the lava's heat with his Life-Annihilation Purple Thunder, and reached the empty high platform.