Recaps

Xiao Fan brought Yun Yun to the secluded valley where he and Xiao Yi Xian had once lived, hoping to find traces of her. The abandoned cottage and poisonous insects left behind suggested Xiao Yi Xian had been away for months and connected her to the Chu Yun Empire.

• Xiao Fan flew with Yun Yun to the hidden valley, where he found the cottage’s herb beds overgrown and abandoned.
• Xiao Fan discovered a grave marked Xiao Lan and felt relief that Xiao Yi Xian had not been buried there.
• Xiao Fan entered the dusty cottage and found no clues about Xiao Yi Xian’s whereabouts.
• Xiao Fan stopped Yun Yun from touching bottles beside the bed and explained Xiao Yi Xian’s woeful poison body.
• Xiao Fan opened the bottles and found swarms of purple, blue, and red poisonous insects, which Yun Yun identified as a method used by poison masters in the Chu Yun Empire.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun entered the Chu Yun Empire, where Yun Yun explained how the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect had poisoned a vast stretch of land into a deadly border zone. They reached Flowing Light City, the empire’s true border stronghold, and descended as night approached.

• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun flew from the Jia Ma Empire toward the Chu Yun Empire to seek information about Xiao Yi Xian.
• At the border, Yun Yun explained that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect had poisoned over a hundred li of land, transforming a forest into a dead zone filled with poisonous black weeds.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun flew across the dead zone and surveyed Shoushan City, finding only a small, poorly organized garrison and poisonous gas in the air.
• They traveled about fifty li farther to Flowing Light City and found a busy, well-guarded stronghold without traces of the poisonous gas.
• As night approached, Xiao Fan and Yun Yun descended into Flowing Light City.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun entered Flowing Light City and learned from a waiter about the Chu Yun Empire’s poison masters and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect’s hunt for the killer of its hall masters. The waiter exposed how locals used hidden poison-detection tools and concealed weapons to identify outsiders, then pointed Xiao Fan toward the Heavenly Fragrance House for information.

• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun entered Flowing Light City in disguise and asked a restaurant waiter about recent events.
• The waiter told Xiao Fan that the Imperial Family was recruiting poison masters and that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect was offering rare medicinal ingredients for information about its hall masters’ killer.
• The waiter explained that Chu Yun Empire locals carried poison detectors and hidden weapons, allowing them to recognize Xiao Fan and Yun Yun as newcomers.
• Xiao Fan rewarded the waiter, who explained that ordinary people relied on small tricks to survive and recommended the Heavenly Fragrance House as a source of information.
• Yun Yun told Xiao Fan she did not know the Heavenly Fragrance House but suspected it had powerful backing.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun reached a Heavenly Fragrance House branch to seek information, and its manager, Old Wan, eagerly welcomed them upstairs. The chapter ended before Xiao Fan revealed what information he wanted.

• Xiao Fan disguised himself and Yun Yun as poison masters by giving them poison pouches to wear.
• Xiao Fan asked locals for directions and learned how the Heavenly Fragrance House operated before reaching its nine-story branch with Yun Yun.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun declined an attendant’s offer to guide them and looked around the first and second floors.
• Old Wan introduced himself as the branch manager and invited Xiao Fan and Yun Yun upstairs after Xiao Fan said he wanted to ask about something.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun paid the Heavenly Fragrance House for information about the Chu Yun Empire’s recruitment of Poison Masters and the deaths of three Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect hall masters. After reading the reports, Xiao Fan asked Old Wan to look into another person.

• Old Wan led Xiao Fan and Yun Yun to a private compartment on the Sixth Floor and recorded their two inquiries.
• The Heavenly Fragrance House reported that the Chu Yun Imperial Family was recruiting Poison Masters to cure sixth princess Sikou Ning, whose meridians were being destroyed by a strange poison.
• The report said three Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect hall masters and their families had died from an unidentified poison, prompting the sect to raise its bounty for information.
• Xiao Fan was impressed by how quickly the Heavenly Fragrance House had gathered the information, then asked Old Wan about someone else.

Xiao Fan failed to find information about Xiao Yi Xian at the Heavenly Fragrance House branch, but learned that its Headquarters in Tianrong City might have records. After Xiao Fan left with Old Wan’s recommendation token, Old Wan secretly sent an urgent report to Headquarters identifying the Heavenly Poison Woman.

• Xiao Fan described Xiao Yi Xian to Old Wan, but Old Wan said the clues were too vague to identify her.
• Old Wan explained that the Heavenly Fragrance House’s Headquarters in Tianrong City might hold information unavailable at the Flowing Light City branch.
• Old Wan offered Xiao Fan a recommendation for the Imperial Family’s Poison Master recruitment and gave him a token for the Headquarters.
• Xiao Fan accepted the token and left the Heavenly Fragrance House with his companion.
• Old Wan entered a hidden information facility and ordered a secret report sent to Headquarters immediately.
• After returning to his secret chamber, Old Wan grimly said, "The Heavenly Poison Woman..."

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun stayed at an inn in Flowing Light City after hearing troubling news about the Chu Yun Empire and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect. The next morning, they flew toward Tianrong City, where they could investigate further.

• Xiao Fan told Yun Yun he was thinking about the poison and deaths reported by Old Wan, and she let him hold her hand despite suspecting he was distracted by Xiao Yi Xian.
• Xiao Fan rented a room for himself and Yun Yun, but Yun Yun shut him out and told him to find his own place to stay.
• Xiao Fan rented the room next door and heard the innkeeper mock him as an “embroidered pillow.”
• During the night, Xiao Fan climbed into Yun Yun’s bed to sleep, while she kept him from reaching for her by threatening to polish her longsword.
• Xiao Fan checked out of the inn with Yun Yun and flew toward Tianrong City using the map he had bought.

While traveling toward Tianrong City, Xiao Fan and Yun Yun overheard Ling Lifu of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect tormenting the poisoned Mo Qiancheng, who exposed a plot involving human sacrifices and renewed war with the Jia Ma Empire. Yun Yun urged Xiao Fan to intervene, and he stepped forward just as Ling Lifu was about to finish Mo Qiancheng.

• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun stopped to barbecue on their way to Tianrong City and concealed themselves when they sensed someone approaching.
• The poisoned Mo Qiancheng collapsed before Ling Lifu, who mocked and abused him while demanding the names of imperial family infiltrators in the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.
• Mo Qiancheng accused Ling Lifu's sect of sacrificing people to magical beasts and conspiring to reignite war between the Chu Yun Empire and the Jia Ma Empire.
• Ling Lifu dodged Mo Qiancheng's hidden needle and kicked him into a tree, leaving the poison to torture him.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun decided they could not ignore the revelations, and Xiao Fan interrupted Ling Lifu as he moved to kill Mo Qiancheng.

Xiao Fan stopped Ling Lifu from killing Mo Qiancheng and learned that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect had manipulated the Chu Yun Empire and planned to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of people to create a poisonous magical beast. Mo Qiancheng pleaded for Xiao Fan to deliver the warning to the Imperial Family.

• Ling Lifu attacked Xiao Fan, but Xiao Fan restrained him with a glance and left him unable to move.
• Xiao Fan suppressed the poison in Mo Qiancheng long enough for him to speak, though he could not save him.
• Mo Qiancheng revealed that he had spent ten years infiltrating the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect on the Imperial Family's orders.
• Mo Qiancheng explained that the sect had forced the Imperial Family to issue decrees for poison experiments, creating the Dead Zone outside Shoushan City.
• Mo Qiancheng told Xiao Fan that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect planned to provoke war between the Chu Yun Empire and the Jia Ma Empire and sacrifice hundreds of thousands of people to a magical beast.

Mo Qiancheng died after Xiao Fan agreed to carry his warning to the Imperial Family, and Xiao Fan questioned Ling Lifu about the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect’s plans. Ling Lifu revealed the sect’s scheme to spread poison sources through the Jia Ma Empire, and Yun Yun asked whether the sect had caused the cities destroyed during the previous war.

• Xiao Fan agreed to Mo Qiancheng’s request, and Mo Qiancheng died with his hand clutching Xiao Fan’s sleeve.
• Yun Yun appeared beside Xiao Fan, and he introduced himself to the frightened Ling Lifu.
• Xiao Fan pressured Ling Lifu to explain the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect’s plan, and Ling Lifu said its Elders aimed to provoke another war between the Chu Yun Empire and the Jia Ma Empire.
• Ling Lifu explained that the sect planned to plant poison sources in vulnerable Jia Ma Empire cities and harvest useful mutations from affected people.
• Yun Yun asked whether the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect had also caused the cities destroyed by Poison Masters during the war between the two empires.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun learned that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect planned to revive its deadly experiments on civilians, and they resolved to oppose the sect. After killing Ling Lifu and burying Mo Qiancheng, they left together for the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.

• Yun Yun grew furious when Ling Lifu confirmed that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect planned to resume experiments involving poison and Magical Beasts, repeating atrocities that had killed hundreds of thousands.
• Xiao Fan told Yun Yun he would fight the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, and she smiled with relief at his answer.
• Ling Lifu begged Xiao Fan to spare him and offered to guide him to the sect, but Xiao Fan killed him with a palm strike.
• Xiao Fan buried Mo Qiancheng on the mountaintop and carved a gravestone bearing a message about pressing on through wind and rain.
• Xiao Fan took Yun Yun's hand, and they vanished toward the horizon.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun arrived in Tianrong City and headed toward the Heavenly Fragrance House after learning it was about to make a major announcement. They joined the crowds rushing to hear news that could affect the Chu Yun Empire, though the announcement itself had not yet been revealed.

• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun concealed themselves in an alley after arriving in Tianrong City and set out for the Heavenly Fragrance House.
• Xiao Fan learned about the city's powerful factions and the Heavenly Fragrance House's reputation as an influential information-trading organization.
• Xiao Fan noticed crowds hurrying toward the Heavenly Fragrance House and stopped a young man to ask what was happening.
• The young man explained that the Heavenly Fragrance House was preparing an announcement with major consequences for the empire and gave an example of news affecting fire-lotus trade.
• Xiao Fan gave the young man a bottle of Grade Two Pills, and the young man hurried on toward the announcement.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun entered the Heavenly Fragrance House to hear its announcement, and Xiao Fan considered how the Imperial Family might use its influence to weaken the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect. The crowd fell silent as a manager prepared to reveal the news, but the announcement itself had not yet begun.

• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun went to the Heavenly Fragrance House and used Old Wan's token to secure a private room on the fourth floor.
• Xiao Fan studied the crowd and reasoned that the Heavenly Fragrance House's public news releases could build commoners' trust and serve the Imperial Family's effort to escape the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect's control.
• A slightly plump, pale-blue-clad manager appeared at the entrance, and the surrounding crowd quieted to hear the announcement.

Manager Liu announced shocking news from the Jia Ma Empire to the townsfolk of the Chu Yun Empire, while Xiao Fan and Yun Yun listened from above. The revelations left the crowd stunned and raised new questions about the Misty Cloud Sect and the Snake-People Tribe.

• Manager Liu told the crowd that the news concerned events in the Jia Ma Empire, prompting them to fear another war.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun listened from a fourth-floor window as Manager Liu clarified that the news was not about war.
• Manager Liu announced that Yun Yun had severed ties with the Misty Cloud Sect and that Yun Shan had survived and entered the Dou Zong realm.
• Manager Liu revealed that Medusa had reached the Dou Zong realm, defeated Yun Shan at the Misty Cloud Sect, and relocated the Snake-People Tribe to the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Manager Liu announced news about Medusa’s rise to Dou Zong, the Snake-People’s relocation, and Xiao Fan’s role in the conflict involving Yun Yun and the Misty Cloud Sect. As the crowd dispersed and considered how to respond, Xiao Fan and Yun Yun prepared to meet the Heavenly Fragrance House’s manager.

• Manager Liu announced that Medusa had become a Dou Zong and that the Snake-People had relocated to the Magical Beast Mountain Range, prompting merchants to anticipate rising slave prices.
• Manager Liu revealed that Yun Yun’s departure from the Misty Cloud Sect and Medusa’s attack on it were connected to Xiao Fan, then recounted how Xiao Fan had stolen Yun Yun from her wedding and escaped Yun Shan.
• Xiao Fan listened awkwardly as the crowd praised him, while Yun Yun teased him about Xiao Yi Xian and then leaned into his embrace.
• After the crowd dispersed, factions considered the consequences of Yun Shan’s return, the fate of Snake-People slaves, and whether they could recruit Xiao Fan.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun waited in their private room, and Xiao Fan said they should meet the Heavenly Fragrance House’s manager.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun met Sikou Thirteen, the Chu Yun Imperial Family’s poisoned prince, who asked them to help oppose the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect. Xiao Fan accepted after hearing about Mo Qiancheng’s covert mission, while Sikou Thirteen began arranging to recover the agent’s body.

• A middle-aged attendant led Xiao Fan and Yun Yun to the seventh floor, where Sikou Thirteen introduced himself as the Heavenly Fragrance House’s proprietor.
• Sikou Thirteen revealed that he wanted to make a deal and asked Xiao Fan what he thought of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.
• Xiao Fan told Sikou Thirteen that Mo Qiancheng had been a covert agent for the Chu Yun emperor and explained the sect’s plans before reporting Mo Qiancheng’s death.
• Sikou Thirteen thanked Xiao Fan and Yun Yun, vowed to send men to recover Mo Qiancheng’s body, and recognized that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect was preparing to ignite another war.
• Sikou Thirteen asked Xiao Fan to help the Chu Yun Imperial Family oppose the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, and Xiao Fan accepted after choosing the mission option against the sect.

Xiao Fan agreed to secretly help Sikou Thirteen oppose the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect and learned that the Heavenly Poison Woman had cooperated with the Sikou Family. Sikou Thirteen could not reveal her whereabouts, so Xiao Fan left to seek information through Sikou Ning.

• Xiao Fan agreed to assist Sikou Thirteen against the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect while remaining in the shadows.
• Sikou Thirteen said he had no direct information about the Heavenly Poison Woman, but explained that she had helped the Sikou Family kill three Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect elders.
• Sikou Thirteen revealed that the Heavenly Poison Woman communicated through his Imperial Elder Sister, Sikou Ning, and that the family had faked news of her poisoning to conceal their movements.
• Xiao Fan realized he would need to contact Sikou Ning for information about the Heavenly Poison Woman.
• Sikou Thirteen warned that meeting outside would attract attention, and Xiao Fan left the Heavenly Fragrance House with Yun Yun.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun headed to the Chu Yun Empire’s imperial palace, but Xiao Fan spotted and bought a foul-smelling wooden hairpin that he identified as the rare Hundred-Foot Fragrance. They left the shop with the treasure and continued toward their meeting with the empire’s sixth princess.

• Xiao Fan told Yun Yun he had agreed to help the Chu Yun Empire’s Imperial Family oppose the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, and guessed Xiao Yi Xian was nearing the Dou Zong realm.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun walked through Tianrong City toward the imperial palace and heard people discussing the news from the Heavenly Fragrance House.
• Xiao Fan doubled back to a quiet shop and asked the assistant to bring out a sealed wooden hairpin.
• The assistant opened the container, releasing a powerful stench that woke the shopkeeper and made the assistant retch.
• Xiao Fan bought the hairpin from the shopkeeper for five gold coins and told Yun Yun it was Hundred-Foot Fragrance, a treasure that could aid breakthroughs and cleanse the meridians and marrow.

Xiao Fan revealed the essence of the hundred-foot fragrance and placed it in Yun Yun’s hair before they entered the palace to meet Sikou Ning. Sikou Ning thanked them for offering to oppose the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, while Xiao Fan made clear he would not risk his life if the fight became impossible.

• Xiao Fan explained how to safely remove the hundred-foot fragrance’s shell and extracted its glowing blue essence.
• Xiao Fan placed the hundred-foot fragrance in Yun Yun’s hair as a hairpin.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun entered the palace using Old Wan’s waist token and were escorted by Chunlai to Sikou Ning.
• Sikou Ning introduced herself and asked why they were willing to help the Sikou Family oppose the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.
• Xiao Fan said he opposed the sect’s atrocities but would retreat rather than throw his life away, and Sikou Ning thanked him.

Xiao Fan learned about the Heavenly Poison Woman’s past dealings with the Sikou Family and left a message for her through Sikou Thirteen, deciding to look for her in Dinggu City. After leaving the palace with Yun Yun, they evaded a black-clad follower and chose to find an inn for the night.

• Sikou Ning told Xiao Fan that she had met the Heavenly Poison Woman in Dinggu City, where she treated injured mercenaries and later cooperated with the Sikou Family in exchange for potent poisonous ingredients.
• Sikou Ning refused to reveal why the Heavenly Poison Woman had gained her title, but Sikou Thirteen suggested Xiao Fan search for her in Dinggu City.
• Xiao Fan asked Sikou Ning to pass on the message, “Qingshan, unforgotten; a promise beneath the stars,” if the Heavenly Poison Woman contacted her again.
• After Xiao Fan and Yun Yun left the palace, Sikou Ning scolded Sikou Thirteen for revealing the Dinggu City lead, while he privately considered Xiao Fan an asset to their side.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun noticed a black-clad man following them, vanished from his sight, and decided to stay at an inn before traveling to Dinggu City.

Emperor Sikou Qingtian learned that Sikou Ning had met with Xiao Fan and Yun Yun, while privately recalling a debt to the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect. After Sikou Shisan warned Xiao Fan that the sect planned to poison a city and provoke war, Xiao Fan received a five-day mission and decided to investigate the sect's branch in Tianrong City.

• Sikou Qingtian questioned Black Feather about Sikou Ning's meeting with Xiao Fan and Yun Yun, then murmured that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect had debts to settle.
• An attendant summoned Xiao Fan and Yun Yun to the Heavenly Fragrance House, where Sikou Shisan revealed that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect was preparing to poison a city and blame the Jia Ma Empire.
• Xiao Fan asked Sikou Shisan where the attack would happen, but Sikou Shisan said he had no information about the target.
• The system gave Xiao Fan a five-day mission to stop the massacre, but offered no hints about the sect's target.
• Xiao Fan asked whether any high-ranking Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect members were in Tianrong City, and Sikou Shisan confirmed that an elder was stationed at its local branch.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun confronted Sha Qing, a Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect elder, to learn which city the sect planned to sacrifice. Xiao Fan revealed his overwhelming strength and threatened to extract the secret, but Sha Qing still refused to talk.

• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun went to Sha Qing’s mansion after Sikou Thirteen revealed his address.
• Xiao Fan noticed Sha Qing’s Seven-Colored Toad had detected their arrival, and Sha Qing emerged from his room.
• Sha Qing tried to intimidate the pair with his Seven-Star Dou Wang pressure, but Xiao Fan suppressed him and revealed he was a Dou Emperor.
• Xiao Fan asked whether the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect planned to start a war with the Jia Ma Empire and which city it would target for a sacrificial massacre.
• Sha Qing refused to reveal the target city, so Xiao Fan warned that his Sixth-Tier Alchemist soul strength could uncover the secret by force.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun forced Sha Qing to reveal that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect planned to attack Zhanyun City, where it could frame the Jia Ma Empire and destroy a hostile family. After the system confirmed the target, they flew toward the city, while a masked figure killed Sha Qing and took his venomous snake.

• Sha Qing admitted he knew little about the sacrifice plan, then recalled that sect members had been sent to the southwest.
• Sha Qing identified Zhanyun City as the likely target and explained its proximity to the Jia Ma Empire and the Zhan Family's opposition to the sect.
• The system confirmed that Zhanyun City was the sacrificial site, and Xiao Fan and Yun Yun departed for it.
• A black-clad figure in a crimson mask appeared and killed Sha Qing, whose body dissolved into bloody liquid.
• The masked figure beckoned a venomous snake from Sha Qing's clothes and let it coil around his hand.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun rushed to Zhanyun City to stop the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect from sacrificing its people. After entering the city, they discovered that the city lord’s residence was controlled by the sect, while the poison source had not yet arrived.

• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun learned about Zhanyun City from Sha Qing, reported to Sikou Thirteen, and hurried toward the city.
• Xiao Fan let Yun Yun rest outside Zhanyun City before they entered under cover of night.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun decided to investigate the Zhan Family because the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect’s forces should have been noticed by the city’s rulers.
• Xiao Fan detected many Dou Ling and two Dou Wangs inside the city lord’s residence but found no poison source.
• Xiao Fan concluded that the poison source had not yet arrived and that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect had likely taken control of the Zhan Family.

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun watched Zhantai Su seal Zhanyun City as the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect prepared to act, but they still did not know the poison source. At the Misty Cloud Sect, violent fluctuations from the Gate of Life and Death heralded the emergence of Yun Yun's disciple.

• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun learned that Zhantai Su had taken charge of Zhanyun City while Zhantai Ling was in seclusion and Zhan Ziang was away.
• Zhantai Su posted an order sealing Zhanyun City for three days, and a guard refused to let a merchant pay for an exception.
• Xiao Fan and Yun Yun suspected the lockdown meant the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect was about to begin its operation and decided to keep watch.
• At the Misty Cloud Sect, powerful fluctuations came from the Gate of Life and Death, drawing Yun Shan, the elders, and disciples to see who was emerging.
• A blurry figure slowly stepped out of the Gate of Life and Death.