Xiao Yan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Xiao Yan (萧炎)
Alias(es)	Xun Xiao, his alchemy competition identity; Flame Emperor, his self-proclaimed title after reaching Dou Di 116 325
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Xiao Clan; founder and leader of the Blood God Hall 3 291 302
Occupation/Role	Cultivator; fourth-tier alchemist; Hall Master of the Blood God Hall 116 302
Origin	Wutan City, Dou Qi Continent 302 303
Age	Approximately seventeen or eighteen during the Three-Year Agreement 116
Highest Cultivation	Mid-stage Dou Di 328
Status	Deceased; defeated by Ling Feng during their final confrontation 328 333
First Appearance	Chapter 3 3

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Peak Nine-Star Dou Shi	105	Retrospectively identified as his cultivation before absorbing the Wind Fury Dragon Flame.
Five-Star Da Dou Shi	86 105	Reached in a single leap after obtaining the Wind Fury Dragon Flame, encountered following his failure to secure the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Dou Emperor — temporary borrowed power	116	Yao Chen lends him power after Nalan Yanran defeats him. This is not a permanent cultivation breakthrough.
Dou Zong	192	Advances through the Evil God's power while cultivating inside the Evil God Hall in the void; the inheritance also transforms his appearance.
Peak Dou Sheng	291	Reaches the realm by devouring souls and vitality and sacrificing major Central Plains factions.
Early-stage Dou Di	323 325 328	Receives Tou She Ancient God's inheritance and emerges as a Dou Di, proclaiming himself the Flame Emperor. His initial stage is clarified during the final battle.
Mid-stage Dou Di	328	Sacrifices hundreds of millions of Ancient Tribesmen and merges with the summoned Evil God to strengthen himself against Ling Feng.

Background / History

Xiao Yan comes from the Xiao Clan of Wutan City. Xiao Zhan is his father, while Xiao Ding and Xiao Li are his elder brothers. Gu Xun’er stayed with his family during childhood, and Xiao Yan later describes them as childhood sweethearts 95 128 302.

His talent once disappeared, leaving him regarded as a cultivation failure within the clan. Xun’er continued supporting him during this period. Under Yao Chen's mentorship, he trained to overcome his humiliation and fulfill the Three-Year Agreement with Nalan Yanran 114 115 304.

Xiao Yan enrolled at Jia Nan Academy but never attended because successive upheavals interrupted his plans. Yao Chen later recommended going there after the Three-Year Agreement to obtain the Fallen Heart Flame 105 318.

Appearance

• Initially: A black-clad youth with a handsome, resolute face and black eyes 3 303.
• After the Evil God inheritance: Deathly pale skin, scarlet eyes, a sinister bearing, and two pairs of visible fangs. His transformation is severe enough that Xun’er initially doubts his identity 192 303.
• Evil Emperor Body: A blood-red giant tens of thousands of feet tall, covered in blood-colored armor and retaining his pale skin, scarlet eyes, and sharp fangs 327.
• Other transformation: Appears as a gigantic bat surrounded by an aura of bloodshed before returning to human form after his Dou Di breakthrough 325.

Personality

Early in the story, Xiao Yan is confident and pragmatic about securing opportunities. He outbids Ling Feng for the Black Iron Fragment while concealing his real interest in it. His loyalty to his family is equally pronounced: he refuses to leave Wutan City when doing so would expose his father, Xun’er, and the clan to danger 3 4 16.

He can accept guidance when his anger subsides. Yao Chen persuades him to investigate their enemy rather than retaliate blindly, and later helps him recover from losing the Green Lotus Core Flame. However, Xiao Yan's pride becomes increasingly difficult to restrain. His defeat by Nalan Yanran leads him to reject the result, borrow his teacher's power, and attack Ling Feng 30 86 116.

After receiving the Evil God inheritance, he becomes a cruel, expansionist ruler. He kills a subordinate for failing to locate Ling Feng, sacrifices populations for strength, and turns defeated experts into servants. His attachment to Xun’er becomes possessive: learning that she carries Ling Feng's child prompts abuse, threats of sexual violence, and an attempted massacre of her clan 291 304.

Even as a Dou Di, Xiao Yan remains preoccupied with recognition and humiliation. He tries to make Gu Yuan regret choosing Ling Feng and cannot accept that his rival continues to surpass him. This obsession culminates in mass sacrifice and an attempted suicidal attack 326 328.

Abilities & Skills

Flame Mantra and Heavenly Flames

Xiao Yan's Flame Mantra remains his cultivation foundation even after he receives the Evil God inheritance. Its connection with Heavenly Flames allows him to resonate with Tou She Ancient God's inheritance 323.

• Wind Fury Dragon Flame: The eighteenth-ranked Heavenly Flame; appears as earthen-yellow fire and greatly accelerates his cultivation after absorption 86 105 116.
• Combat applications: Envelops his body in flame and coats the Heavy Black Ruler to strengthen attacks 116 119.
• Protection: His Heavenly Flames help him survive turbulent currents and a storm after entering the void 125.
• Beast flame: As Xun Xiao, displays a crimson flame that Fa Ma identifies as likely originating from a sixth-rank Red Demon Dragon 112.

Alchemy

• Can refine fourth-tier pills by the time of the Three-Year Agreement 116.
• Competes under the name Xun Xiao, revealing a beast flame before displaying his Heavenly Flame in the final round 112 116.
• Advances through the Windwalk Pill round, which tests contestants' ability to detect flawed ingredients 112.
• Relies on Yao Chen's higher-tier pill refinement to help counter the Xiao Clan's commercial blockade; those pills are his teacher's work, not evidence of Xiao Yan's own rank 19 30.

Dou Techniques

Technique	Application
Flame Splitting Wave Ruler	Channels flame through the Heavy Black Ruler to release a vast crescent-shaped energy attack against Ling Feng 116.
Eight Extremes Collapse	A close-range technique used against Mo Cheng; despite meeting the attack head-on, Xiao Yan is knocked back 119.
Emperor Seal Art	Possesses the scroll given to him by Xun’er and later uses it to prove his identity to her 303.

Evil God Inheritance

The inheritance supplies the power behind Xiao Yan's later transformation, rapid advancement, and control over the Blood God Hall 192 291.

• Soul and vitality consumption: Devours living beings to increase his strength 291.
• Evil God Fang: Those bitten become puppets under his lifelong control 291.
• Blood Servant cultivation: Grants selected Dou Sheng experts Evil God power, allowing them to strengthen themselves by devouring living beings 291.
• Resurrection: Uses the Evil God Method to revive slain experts as loyal Blood Servants 301.
• Essence blood: Restores Hun Tiandi's injuries after enslaving him, though Hun Tiandi's fighting strength is diminished 316.
• Evil God's Wrath: Combines blood-red lightning, the Evil God Sword, and an enormous Evil God phantom; overwhelms Hun Tiandi's resistance 315.

Spatial Control and Infiltration

• Seals the Medicine Realm, preventing escape and outside communication during the assault on the Yao Clan 300.
• Seals the Soul Realm before fighting Hun Tiandi, denying him an escape route 315.
• Secretly enslaves infiltrators such as Hun Li and Hun Miesheng, using them to obtain intelligence and undermine their factions from within 311 315.
• Creates a spatial passage through which he brings the Central Plains into the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion during the final battle 328.

Evil Emperor Body

• A physical Dou Di transformation rather than an energy construct 327.
• Forms after Xiao Yan swallows his Blood Sea, producing a gigantic armored body 327.
• Ling Feng's Eight Talisman Hands shatters it in their first exchange, forcing Xiao Yan back into ordinary form 327.

Spirit-Devouring Life-Extinguishing Array

Also called the Emperor-Slaying Array, this formation becomes one of Xiao Yan's final weapons 328.

• Acquires control of the formation through the enslaved Hun Tiandi 328.
• Sacrifices the Central Plains and Blood God Hall members to forge the Emperor-Slaying Ghost Blood Blade 328.
• The blade has records of killing a Dou Di, but Ling Feng catches Xiao Yan's attack between two fingers 328.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Heavy Black Ruler — Carried on his back and used to channel Dou Qi and Heavenly Flame attacks 86 115 116.
• Bone Flame Ring / Storage Ring — Yao Chen resides within the ring and communicates with Xiao Yan through it 18 60 114.
• Black Iron Fragment and wooden hairpin — Obtained by outbidding Ling Feng in the Wutan City marketplace, initiating their personal grudge 3 4.
• Damaged spatial scroll — Used to escape into the void; its condition leaves him exposed to dangerous spatial turbulence rather than safely transporting him 125 127.
• Evil God Sword — Used against Hun Tiandi, particularly with Evil God's Wrath 315.
• Tou She Ancient God Jade — Receives the Xiao Clan's fragment from his father and eventually gathers all eight pieces, fusing them to reveal Tou She Ancient God's apparition 128 311 316.
• Emperor Seal Art scroll — A gift from Xun’er and the evidence that convinces her of his identity after his transformation 303.
• Emperor-Slaying Ghost Blood Blade — Sacrificial weapon forged during his last battle with Ling Feng 328.

Relationships

• Yao Chen / Yao Lao — Teacher, protector, and early source of borrowed power. Guides Xiao Yan's cultivation, helps his clan, and is forcibly extracted from his body during the Misty Cloud Sect battle 16 19 116 119.
• Ling Feng — Principal rival and eventual killer. Their marketplace dispute escalates into clan warfare, revenge for Xiao Yan's brothers, and a continent-threatening final confrontation 3 4 95 328.
• Xiao Zhan — Father. Entrusts him with the ancestral jade and dies concealing its whereabouts from Ling Feng's attackers 128.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li — Elder brothers, killed on Ling Feng's orders. Xiao Yan mourns at their graves and vows revenge 88 95.
• Gu Xun’er / Xiao Xun’er — Childhood companion and former romantic attachment. Supports and protects him for years, but rejects him after his abuse and attack on the Gu Clan 31 103 302 304.
• Nalan Yanran — Opponent in the Three-Year Agreement. Her decisive victory undermines his attempt to reclaim his dignity 115 116.
• Gu Yuan — Xun’er's father and later a leading opponent. Xiao Yan initially treats him deferentially, then threatens his clan and repeatedly battles him 302 304 319 326.
• Xiao Xuan — Xiao Clan predecessor. A blood-replacement passage describes him restoring Xiao Yan's remaining clan bloodline power 322.
• Blood Servant — Devoted subordinate cultivated to Peak Dou Sheng and assigned to search for Ling Feng and attack the Heavenly Palace 291.
• Hun Tiandi — Defeated enemy converted into a Blood Servant. Supplies the final two jade fragments and helps expose the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion 315 316 319.
• Nihility Devouring Flame — Enslaved guide whose knowledge leads Xiao Yan through the cave mansion toward its inheritance 317 321 323.
• Hun Li and Hun Miesheng — Controlled infiltrators. Hun Li steals the Gu Clan's jade, while Hun Miesheng betrays Hun Tiandi during the Soul Clan's defeat 311 315.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Wutan City Rivalry

• Interrupts Ling Feng's purchase of the Black Iron Fragment and wins it through a higher offer, creating a lasting personal grudge 3 4.
• Refuses Yao Chen's advice to leave Wutan City because his family and Xun’er would remain exposed 16.
• Secures Yao Chen's assistance against the economic pressure on the Xiao Clan. As the conflict escalates, he accepts his teacher's warning to investigate their enemy before striking back 19 30.
• After Ling Feng escapes an ambush, learns that both Ling Feng and Xun’er possess formidable backing and resolves to train harder 34.

Mountain Range and Desert

• Suffers an explosive-tag trap and a hidden clone's Thousand Years of Death attack while sheltering in the Magical Beast Mountain Range 60.
• Infiltrates Medusa's city with Yao Chen controlling his body, hoping to seize the Green Lotus Core Flame amid a clash between human experts and the Snake-People 80.
• Fails to obtain that flame but encounters the Wind Fury Dragon Flame soon afterward 86.
• Returns to Stone Desert City and discovers his brothers' deaths. Despite Yao Chen's promise to help him pursue more Heavenly Flames, he chooses to fulfill the Three-Year Agreement first 95.

Three-Year Agreement and Escape

• Enters the alchemy competition as Xun Xiao; his identity is publicly exposed when he releases the Wind Fury Dragon Flame during the duel 112 116.
• Loses to the Dou Wang Nalan Yanran, refuses to concede, and borrows Yao Chen's power before turning his attack toward Ling Feng 115 116.
• Is separated from Yao Chen by the Six Paths of Pain and left to face Mo Cheng 119.
• Escapes through a damaged spatial scroll and survives a void storm, ending up gravely wounded near the Evil God Hall 125.
• While his fate remains uncertain to Xun’er, Ling Feng's forces destroy the relocated Xiao Clan in Qimu City 127 128.

Blood God Hall and Ancient Tribe Conquests

• Receives the Evil God inheritance and later emerges in the Central Plains. After destroying Wind Thunder Pavilion, he sacrifices additional major factions to fuel his rise 192 291.
• Builds the Blood God Hall through enslavement and the cultivation of Blood Servants, then attacks the Yao Clan and subdues the Yan, Lei, and Stone Clans 291 300 301.
• Attempts to massacre the Gu Clan after discovering Xun’er's pregnancy. Four Peak Dou Sheng allies of Ling Feng intervene, forcing his retreat and killing most of his attacking followers 303 304 305.
• Obtains the Gu Clan's jade through Hun Li's infiltration and defeats the Soul Clan, completing his collection of all eight fragments 311 315 316.

Ancient Emperor Inheritance and Death

• Leads the Blood God Hall against Gu Yuan's coalition at Jia Nan Academy. Hun Tiandi exposes the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion while Xiao Yan keeps Gu Yuan occupied 318 319.
• His Flame Mantra and Heavenly Flames resonate with Tou She Ancient God's legacy, allowing him to enter the inheritance and reach Dou Di 323 325.
• Overwhelms the Allied Army until Ling Feng arrives and defeats his Evil Emperor Body 325 326 327.
• Sacrifices populations and his own followers to strengthen himself and forge an emperor-slaying weapon, but neither reverses the battle 328.
• After Ling Feng's eight Ancestral Talismans damage his body and soul, attempts to self-destruct. Ling Feng swallows him in a black hole and contains the explosion; Xiao Yan's death is later explicitly confirmed 328 333.

Notable Quotes

“If I leave, what will happen to my father, Xun'er, and the others? I can't abandon them to their fate just to save my own skin.” 16

“From this day forth, I shall be known as the Flame Emperor! I shall rule supreme over this world!” 325

Trivia

• Created Xiao Yans are separate from the original character. Ling Feng deploys ten identical Xiao Yans as loyal fighters in the Martial Universe; their Nine-Turn Peak Dou Zun cultivation and equipment should not be treated as documented stages or possessions of the original Xiao Yan 213 256.
• Spirit Imbuement likewise uses a separate version of Xiao Yan. Ling Feng gains techniques from a Peak Dou Zun Xiao Yan through this ability, including access to knowledge relevant to the Poison Pill Method 195 199.
• The system identifies Xiao Yan's intended Dou Di breakthrough as part of the Heavenly Dao's plan to reopen access to emperor source power and strengthen itself through additional controlled Dou Di 321.