Chapter Summaries

Nie Yun negotiated with Qun Liao to free General Zhi Yao, while Qun Liao tried to exploit the auction-house patron’s wealth. Qun Liao demanded one hundred million Fire God Coins, and Nie Yun agreed to pay.

• Wei Buxin warned Qun Liao that Nie Yun’s patronage could give him influence and high standing within the sect.
• An armored warrior advised Qun Liao to sell General Zhi Yao to Nie Yun and use the money to settle trouble with the eight great forces.
• Nie Yun told Qun Liao that General Zhi Yao was his friend and demanded a price to take him away.
• Qun Liao and the armored warrior discussed their asking price, then Qun Liao demanded one hundred million Fire God Coins.
• General Zhi Yao urged Nie Yun not to accept the exorbitant price, but Nie Yun agreed and produced a heap of Fire God Coins.

Nie Yun paid Qun Liao three hundred million Fire God Coins to free General Zhi Yao, winning the loyalty of Zhi Yao Camp. After Qun Liao accepted the payment and tried to leave, Nie Yun offered one billion Fire God Coins for anyone who could kill him.

• Qun Liao took one hundred million Fire God Coins, then demanded another two hundred million to clear General Zhi Yao’s charges.
• Nie Yun paid the additional two hundred million, and General Zhi Yao and his men were moved by his willingness to save their general.
• Fan Zhong, Yang Shuo, and others resolved to serve Nie Yun after seeing his generosity and comparing him favorably with Prince Duobo.
• Nie Yun warned Qun Liao not to invent another excuse, and Qun Liao accepted the money and released General Zhi Yao.
• As Qun Liao tried to leave, Nie Yun announced a one-billion-Fire-God-Coin reward for whoever killed him.

Nie Yun used a ten-billion-Fire-God-Coin bounty to turn Qun Liao’s greedy subordinates against him and free General Zhi Yao. After sending Zhi Yao’s troops toward the Pu Tian Dynasty, Nie Yun received Qun Liao’s belongings from Wei Buxin.

• Nie Yun offered ten billion Fire God Coins to whoever killed Qun Liao, prompting the armored warriors and Wei Buxin to attack him as he tried to flee.
• Wei Buxin joined the fight, and Qun Liao was killed; Wei Buxin ultimately claimed nearly all the bounty.
• Nie Yun removed Qun Liao’s restriction from General Zhi Yao, who wondered whether Nie Yun had reached the mid-stage Emperor Realm.
• Nie Yun sent General Zhi Yao and the Zhi Yao Camp soldiers toward the Pu Tian Dynasty on flying divine beasts, while he stayed behind.
• Wei Buxin presented Nie Yun with Qun Liao’s Storage Ring.

Nie Yun examined Qun Liao’s belongings and found Divine Stones that could speed his cultivation, along with part of an ancient map that might lead to a Fire God Sect senior’s ruin. He left the map in his Storage World and entrusted Wei Buxin with handling the trouble caused by Qun Liao’s death.

• Wei Buxin handed Qun Liao’s Storage Ring to Nie Yun without disputing who would receive it.
• Nie Yun found several dozen Divine Stones and absorbed one, speeding up his cultivation.
• Nie Yun discovered a damaged map in the ring and restored its markings in his Storage World.
• Nie Yun suspected the map led to the ruin Gu Yang had mentioned and found Gu Yang’s communication jade talisman among Qun Liao’s belongings.
• Nie Yun found no Emperor Realm divine weapon in the ring and told Wei Buxin to handle the consequences of Qun Liao’s death.

Nie Yun learned from Wei Buxin why Emperor Realm Divine Weapons were rare and difficult to buy: Emperor Realm experts nurtured them with limited Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi, making each weapon deeply bonded to its owner. Wei Buxin demonstrated the qi for Nie Yun, who remained curious about it.

• Nie Yun asked Wei Buxin to help him find an Emperor Realm Divine Weapon after searching Fire God City without success.
• Wei Buxin explained that Emperor Realm and King Realm Divine Weapons used the same materials, but Emperor Realm weapons gained domain power by being nurtured with Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi.
• Wei Buxin said Emperor Realm experts could nurture several weapons, but doing so took time and divided their limited qi, so owners rarely sold their weapons.
• Wei Buxin showed Nie Yun his unfinished defensive weapon, which was only slightly stronger than a Perfected King Realm weapon.
• Nie Yun asked what Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi looked like, and Wei Buxin sent a pale yellow stream of qi from his fingertip.

Nie Yun discovered that the Storage World’s abundant energy was Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi and used it to greatly improve a King Realm sword. After learning it could only bring weapons to half a step into the Emperor Realm for now, he received Gu Yang’s message and set out for Fire God City’s gates.

• Nie Yun confirmed that the energy in his Storage World was Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi, though less pure than Wei Buxin’s supply.
• Nie Yun nurtured a Peak King Realm longsword in the energy and found it could cut through an identical-grade weapon, improving it to half a step into the Emperor Realm.
• Nie Yun returned his consciousness to his main body and told Wei Buxin to collect the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi.
• Nie Yun received Gu Yang’s message moving their treasure hunt forward and arranging to meet outside the gates of Fire God City.
• Nie Yun left Yuan Jiu behind to recover, gave Wei Buxin instructions, and flew toward the city gates on a divine beast.

Nie Yun joined Gu Yang’s expedition to a ruin after learning that Qun Liao was among the group, suggesting the map he had obtained was connected to their destination. The group assembled under Luo Hao, but Zhao Ran questioned Nie Yun’s identity after seeing through his concealed cultivation.

• Nie Yun met Gu Yang at the agreed location and learned that the expedition had been moved up because its plans might have leaked.
• Gu Yang said the expedition party included Luo Hao, Qun Liao, Cui Yao, and Chen Zhu, and that Luo Hao would lead them.
• Luo Hao arrived with Zhao Ran, Cui Yao, and Chen Zhu, and Gu Yang prepared to introduce Nie Yun.
• Zhao Ran mocked Nie Yun for appearing to be only at the peak King Realm, while Luo Hao identified Zhao Ran as a Core Disciple and Elder Yu Lian’s personal disciple.

Nie Yun’s calm response to Zhao Ran’s status led Zhao Ran to suspect that Nie Yun was secretly a disciple of the sect master. After they sparred, Zhao Ran became convinced of his theory, while Nie Yun remained unaware of the misunderstanding.

• Zhao Ran introduced himself as Elder Yu Lian’s True Disciple, but Nie Yun showed no particular reaction.
• Zhao Ran questioned Nie Yun about his master, and Nie Yun said he was forbidden to reveal his identity until his cultivation satisfied his master.
• Zhao Ran interpreted Nie Yun’s secrecy as a sign that he might be a hidden disciple of the sect master, like Fan Que.
• Zhao Ran asked Nie Yun to spar so they could learn each other’s strength before facing danger, and Nie Yun reluctantly agreed.
• Zhao Ran and Nie Yun struck palms, their forces canceling each other out, and Zhao Ran became certain Nie Yun was a sect master’s disciple.

Luo Hao explained that the group had discovered a sealed ruin believed to belong to the renowned Fire God Sect elder Hao Yuan and invited Nie Yun and Zhao Ran to help open it. The group offered the two Core Disciples seventy percent of whatever they found inside.

• Zhao Ran mistook Nie Yun's strength for that of a powerful Core Disciple and bowed to him, prompting Luo Hao and the others to treat Nie Yun with respect.
• Gu Yang introduced Nie Yun to Luo Hao, Cui Yao, and Chen Zhu.
• Luo Hao explained that Qun Liao's accident had forced them to advance their expedition to the ruin.
• Nie Yun identified Hao Yuan as a famous, eccentric Fire God Sect elder who had never taken a disciple.
• Luo Hao said only a Core Disciple's flame power could break the ruin's seal and offered Nie Yun and Zhao Ran seventy percent of its contents.

Nie Yun joined Luo Hao, Zhao Ran, and the others in an alliance to explore Elder Hao Yuan’s ruins, while concealing how much he knew about the elder’s legacy. The group set off toward the ruins, with their companions mistaking Nie Yun’s inability to fly for a deliberate disguise of his strength.

• Luo Hao offered Nie Yun and Zhao Ran seventy percent of the ruins’ items, while keeping the most valuable legacy—the martial arts Hao Yuan created—for himself.
• Nie Yun recognized Luo Hao’s strategy and concealed his knowledge of Hao Yuan’s history when Luo Hao questioned him.
• Nie Yun turned the question back on Luo Hao, who claimed the sect had no records about Hao Yuan.
• Zhao Ran urged the group to stop discussing the elder and head for the ruins, and Luo Hao led them into the air.
• Unable to fly, Nie Yun summoned their flying divine beast and rode after the others, who assumed he was hiding his cultivation.

Nie Yun and the others followed Luo Hao through a hidden underground passage to search for Elder Hao Yuan’s ruin. They reached a vast hollow beneath the mountain, where immense pressure barred the way forward.

• Luo Hao revealed an ordinary crack beneath a boulder and explained that it concealed Elder Hao Yuan’s ruin.
• Luo Hao told Nie Yun and Zhao Ran that he and his companions had discovered the passage while chasing an Ink Rhyme Spirit Fox.
• Nie Yun and the others traveled through the crack for half a day, then swam through its water-filled depths for another half day.
• The group reached a huge naturally formed hollow where intense pressure forced the passage’s water back.
• Luo Hao entered the hollow by shielding himself with his power, while Nie Yun paused to study it.

Nie Yun entered the pressure-filled cave by coating his body in Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi, causing Luo Hao and the others to mistake him for a Perfected Emperor Realm expert. Inside, he found a stone stele bearing the name Hao Yuan, carved by the relic’s immensely powerful owner.

• Nie Yun realized the cave’s pressure would crush him without an Emperor Realm Domain, then used Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi to shield his body.
• Nie Yun stepped into the cave and effortlessly resisted the pressure, convincing Luo Hao and the others that he might be a Perfected Emperor Realm expert.
• Luo Hao decided to be more careful around Nie Yun, while Zhao Ran and the others looked at him with fear and reverence.
• Nie Yun examined a stone stele and recognized the two carved characters as “Hao Yuan.”
• Nie Yun discovered that someone had carved the characters into the exceptionally hard stone with their fingers, revealing the relic’s owner’s extraordinary strength.

Nie Yun and the others discovered that Elder Hao Yuan’s ruins were hidden in a world within a painting, accessed through a boat emerging from the Blood Transformation Pool. The boat turned back before reaching them, and Luo Hao said their Bloodline Purity was too low to bring it closer.

• Luo Hao revealed the Blood Transformation Pool and said Elder Hao Yuan’s ruins were beyond it.
• Luo Hao formed Fire God Sect hand seals, causing a tiny boat to emerge from the pool and grow larger.
• Nie Yun recognized the boat as Immortal in Painting and explained that it led into a world created through spatial laws.
• Luo Hao confirmed that the boat was their way into and out of the painting.
• Nie Yun warned the others not to approach until the boat fully left the painting, or they would fall into the pool.
• The boat began retreating, and Luo Hao explained that their Bloodline Purity was insufficient to bring it closer.

Nie Yun and the others discovered that the ancient ship’s progress depended on Bloodline Purity, but even Zhao Ran could not bring it out of the painting. When Nie Yun’s flame produced no response, everyone suspected that he had no Fire God Sect bloodline.

• Luo Hao asked Zhao Ran to test his Bloodline Purity, and the ancient ship sailed closer in response.
• Nie Yun warned everyone not to approach the ship, and Chen Zhu’s mechanical bird failed to cross the seemingly short distance before falling into the Blood Transformation Pool.
• The ancient ship began retreating, leaving Zhao Ran disappointed that his bloodline could not free it from the painting.
• Under the others’ expectant gazes, Nie Yun copied the hand seals and sent a flame into the pool, but the ship kept retreating.
• The others concluded that a flame without any Fire God Sect bloodline would have no effect and turned suspiciously toward Nie Yun.

Nie Yun and the others escaped the closing cave walls by jumping onto the ancient ship, which carried them back into the painting. As the ship sailed toward a spatial vortex that might lead to the Painted World, Nie Yun urged everyone to work together to survive.

• After Nie Yun’s bloodline seal failed to turn the ancient ship around, the cave walls began closing in on him, Zhao Ran, Luo Hao, Gu Yang, and the others.
• Gu Yang spotted the ancient ship stopped above the Blood Transformation Pool, and it suddenly surged toward them as the pool’s waters began to churn.
• Nie Yun shouted for everyone to jump onto the approaching ship, and the group leapt across the pool to escape the crushing walls.
• The ancient ship caught them and sailed back into the painting, while Nie Yun suspected his unusually pure flames had triggered its response.
• Nie Yun warned the group to cooperate, then watched as the ship headed toward a huge spatial vortex that he thought led into the Painted World.

Nie Yun and the other Fire God Sect disciples entered Hao Yuan’s Painted World, where they were told that only five of the six could enter the first trial and that the others would die. As the ship neared the world, Luo Hao proposed a way to choose who would die without the group slaughtering one another.

• Nie Yun sensed the spatial laws in the Blood Transformation Pool as the ship approached a floating world.
• Hao Yuan announced that he would take one disciple, and that one of the six had to die before the others could enter the first trial.
• Nie Yun urged the group not to trust Hao Yuan’s threat, but the disciples grew suspicious of one another.
• Luo Hao suggested that the group comply with the rule and let someone die with dignity rather than kill each other.
• Zhao Ran asked whether Luo Hao meant that one of them should commit suicide.

Nie Yun stopped Cui Yao from killing himself after a rigged-looking lottery selected him, then offered to die in his place. The others had not yet accepted his proposal.

• Luo Hao proposed drawing identical black flags, with whoever drew the yellow one required to die, and the others agreed.
• Nie Yun, Zhao Ran, Luo Hao, and the others drew and crushed their flags; Cui Yao's flag glowed yellow.
• Luo Hao and the others urged Cui Yao to kill himself, and Cui Yao began to strike his own head.
• Nie Yun stopped Cui Yao and said it was wrong to kill one another before facing any danger.
• When Luo Hao and the others challenged him to offer another solution, Nie Yun said that if one person had to die, it should be him.
• Cui Yao protested that Nie Yun was more important and said he should be the one to die.

Nie Yun jumped into the Blood Transformation Pool in Cui Yao’s place, but discovered that Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi protected him from its corrosive power. As the others were transported into the world within the painting, Nie Yun stayed in the pool and reasoned that Elder Hao Yuan had concealed a purpose there.

• Nie Yun stopped Cui Yao from taking his own life and leapt into the Blood Transformation Pool, leaving the others convinced he had died.
• Cui Yao mourned Nie Yun, while Zhao Ran was pleased that his rival was gone and Gu Yang grieved over the loss.
• The ancient ship reached the world within the painting, and a vortex transported everyone who had disembarked.
• Nie Yun found that Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi protected his soul from the pool’s corrosive power.
• Nie Yun recalled the contradictions in Elder Hao Yuan’s clues and concluded that Hao Yuan had a hidden purpose for the Blood Transformation Pool.

Nie Yun explored the Blood Transformation Pool and discovered that patterns on its indestructible wall formed a complete map of the Painted World. The map led him to a Bronze door that appeared to be the passage out, but his attempt to light its oil lamp failed when the pool water extinguished his flame.

• Nie Yun examined the bluish-gray wall in the Blood Transformation Pool and recognized its connected patterns as part of the map from Qun Liao's stone tablet.
• Nie Yun copied the wall's patterns into his Storage World, where he assembled and clarified them into what he suspected was a map of the Painted World.
• Nie Yun used the map and his route through the pool to locate an exit and found a Bronze circular door with a beast-head carving and an oil lamp.
• Nie Yun tried to ignite the oil lamp with a Fire God Sect flame, but the boiling pool water extinguished it.

Nie Yun escaped the Blood Transformation Pool and entered Elder Hao Yuan’s Picture World, where he was ordered to reach Tiger Hill Slope within one incense stick’s time without flying. As he raced against the deadline, he realized flames might help him pass the trial and used a martial art from Qun Liao’s Storage Ring, but his increased speed still seemed insufficient.

• Nie Yun lit the oil lamp with his flame power, causing the Bronze round door to retract and revealing a passage out of the Blood Transformation Pool.
• Elder Hao Yuan welcomed Nie Yun to the Picture World and ordered him to run to Tiger Hill Slope within one incense stick’s time, forbidding flight and threatening to erase him if he failed.
• Nie Yun used Three Thousand Qingyun Dao and Phoenix Wings to accelerate, but calculated that he still could not reach Tiger Hill Slope in time.
• Nie Yun suspected the trial tested his use of flames to increase speed and recalled a relevant martial art in Qun Liao’s Storage Ring.
• Nie Yun instantly learned and activated the flame-based martial art, gaining speed, but still doubted he could meet the deadline.