Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan defeated Protector Wu after Yao Lao revealed himself, while Yun Shan explained how Protector Wu had helped him break through to Dou Zong and tampered with his soul. After learning that Nalan Yanran was Xiao Yan’s fiancée who had once broken off their engagement, Yun Shan regretted her choice; Xiao Yan returned from the mountainside after apparently killing Protector Wu.

• Yao Lao appeared and frightened Protector Wu, while Yun Shan thanked Yun Yun for warning him about Xiao Yan.
• Yun Shan told Yun Yun that Protector Wu had helped him reach Dou Zong and had apparently used a secret art to tamper with his soul.
• Protector Wu tried to seize Nalan Yanran as a hostage, but Xiao Yan intercepted him and struck him with Eight Extremes Collapse, blasting him into a mountainside.
• Yun Shan learned that Nalan Yanran was his granddisciple, Nalan Jie's granddaughter, and Xiao Yan’s fiancée, who had previously broken off their engagement.
• Xiao Yan returned from the exploding mountainside, and Yun Shan concluded that Protector Wu was likely dead.

Xiao Yan removed Protector Wu’s hidden mark from Yun Shan’s soul and learned that the Misty Cloud Sect’s Gate of Life and Death was an inheritance site requiring recognition to enter. Yun Shan then led Xiao Yan to the gate, leaving Xiao Yan wondering whether they thought he would fail to gain its recognition.

• Yun Shan thanked Xiao Yan for killing Protector Wu, and Nalan Yanran urged Xiao Yan to treat Yun Shan in exchange for the Misty Cloud Sect’s resources.
• Xiao Yan examined Yun Shan’s soul and explained that Protector Wu’s mark could have gradually turned him into a puppet.
• Xiao Yan used the Beast King Lotus Heart Flame to burn away the mark, and Yun Shan thanked him.
• Yun Shan agreed to show Xiao Yan the Gate of Life and Death and explained that it was an inheritance site that only those it recognized could enter.
• Yun Shan said that only Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran had gained the gate’s recognition, and Xiao Yan wondered if they expected him to fail.

Xiao Yan learned about the Gate of Life and Death’s trials and arrived with Yun Yun, Yun Shan, and Nalan Yanran at the Misty Cloud Sect’s forbidden ground. When he touched the gate, its patterns shone and it resonated with him, leaving the three witnesses astonished.

• Yun Yun explained that the Gate of Life and Death sent waves of phantoms whose defeat granted energy, and advised Nalan Yanran to save Dou Qi between rounds.
• Yun Yun revealed that she had fought a final wave of ten Seven-Star Dou Wangs, defeating six before she was forced to leave.
• Yun Shan explained that the gate had not been created by Yun Potian and recognized only a few people over nearly a thousand years.
• Xiao Yan asked to test whether the Gate of Life and Death would recognize him, and Yun Shan agreed.
• Xiao Yan touched the gate, causing its patterns to shine brightly as it resonated with him.

Xiao Yan gained the Gate of Life and Death’s acknowledgment, and Yun Shan welcomed him into the Misty Cloud Sect’s inheritance trials. News of Yun Shan’s return and apparent breakthrough unsettled the Jia Ma Imperial Family, while Xiao Yan began refining pills with the sect’s support.

• The Gate of Life and Death resonated with Xiao Yan, and Yun Shan agreed that he could enter it with Nalan Yanran after the Three-Year Agreement.
• Yao Ye told Jia Xingtian that Yun Shan had emerged from seclusion looking younger and was rumored to have become a Dou Zong, prompting Jia Xingtian to plan a visit to the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Jia Xingtian learned that Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran had returned with a mysterious man, while Nalan Jie and Mittel Tengshan recognized him as Xiao Yan, leader of the Flame Alliance.
• Yun Shan showed Xiao Yan the Misty Cloud Sect’s treasury and gave him all its stored magic cores.
• Xiao Yan began refining pills in a hall inside the Misty Cloud Sect.

Xiao Yan refined a Seven-Tier Energy-Gathering Pill, bringing him close to becoming a Seventh-Rank Alchemist. As Jia Xingtian visited Yun Shan at the Misty Cloud Sect, he was astonished by Nalan Yanran’s strength and mistakenly concluded that Gu He was refining the seventh-tier pill.

• Xiao Yan used Yao Lao’s Black Demon Cauldron to refine a Seven-Tier Energy-Gathering Pill while Yao Lao watched.
• Jia Xingtian and Yao Ye arrived at the Misty Cloud Sect, where Yun Shan greeted them warmly and invited them inside.
• Jia Xingtian was shocked to discover that Nalan Yanran had reached Dou Wang, and Yun Shan modestly attributed her progress to a small opportunity.
• A thunderous boom signaled that a seventh-tier pill was about to emerge, and Yun Yun said Xiao Yan would handle it.
• Jia Xingtian mistook the pill’s appearance for proof that Gu He had become a Seventh-Rank Alchemist.

Xiao Yan refined a seventh-rank pill at the Misty Cloud Sect, drawing pill lightning that he used to temper his body. After the tribulation, Jia Xingtian met him and hoped to secure his help refining a Sect Breaking Pill.

• Dark clouds and a lightning tribulation formed over the Misty Cloud Sect, and Yun Shan sent Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran to keep the disciples away from Xiao Yan's palace.
• Yun Shan revealed to Jia Xingtian that Mr. Xiao was Xiao Yan, Nalan Yanran's former fiancé and the leader of the Flame Alliance in the Black-Corner Region.
• Xiao Yan flew into the pill lightning and used the Ancient Saint Body Tempering Art to temper his body until the storm dispersed.
• Xiao Yan apologized to Yun Shan for the disturbance, then greeted Jia Xingtian, who hoped their cordial meeting might lead to a Sect Breaking Pill.
• Yun Shan led Xiao Yan and Jia Xingtian into the Misty Cloud Sect Main Hall, where Yao Ye watched Xiao Yan with curiosity.

Xiao Yan accepted Jia Xingtian’s request for Sect Breaking Pills and quickly refined three of them, then chose treasures from the Imperial Family Treasury. He left the Imperial City to search the Alchemist Association’s Black Market for the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations.

• Yun Shan treated Xiao Yan to Millennium Earth Core Brew, and Xiao Yan accepted one jar after Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran urged him to take more.
• Jia Xingtian asked Xiao Yan to refine a Sect Breaking Pill and offered three sets of ingredients and a choice of treasures; Xiao Yan agreed.
• Jia Xingtian repeatedly promoted his great-granddaughters Yao Ye and Yao Yue to Xiao Yan, while Nalan Yanran resented his matchmaking and Yao Ye blushed when Xiao Yan met her gaze.
• The next day, Xiao Yan refined three Sect Breaking Pills before Jia Xingtian could leave the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Xiao Yan chose a Seventh-tier Magic Core, two sixth-tier magic cores, and rare medicinal herbs from the Imperial Family Treasury, then declined Jia Xingtian’s invitation to stay and headed to the Black Market to search for the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations.

Xiao Yan searched the Alchemist Guild’s trading area for the incomplete Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations and found it disguised as a broken jade fragment. After securing it, he spotted Yan Li, the Chu Yun Empire alchemist who had come to compete and undermine the Jia Ma Empire’s guild.

• Xiao Yan searched the trading stalls, bought several magic cores, and passed Xue Mei and Lin Fei without recognizing them.
• Xiao Yan found a broken black jade fragment carrying faint spiritual fluctuations and traded medicinal herbs and a Second-Grade Energy-Gathering Pill for it.
• Xiao Yan recognized the gray-robed Yan Li as the Chu Yun Empire Guild vice president who planned to enter the Alchemist Competition and damage the Jia Ma Empire’s reputation.
• Xiao Yan recalled that Yan Li had nearly won the competition in the original story before Xiao Yan defeated him with a Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill.

Xiao Yan exposed Yan Li as a spy from the Chu Yun Empire and delivered him to the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Guild. Fa Ma recognized Xiao Yan as the Seventh-Rank Alchemist behind the spiritual pressure and invited him to support the guild.

• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan that Yan Li's disguise concealed his age and identity, and Xiao Yan deduced that Yan Li was likely targeting the Alchemist Grand Competition for the Chu Yun Empire.
• Xiao Yan seized Yan Li with a blood-colored hand, announced that he was a Chu Yun Empire spy, and carried him away as the crowd watched.
• Fa Ma and other Alchemist Guild leaders felt Xiao Yan's spiritual pressure and linked it to the suspected Seventh-Rank Alchemist whose pill refining had caused a lightning tribulation.
• Xiao Yan arrived at the guild and dropped Yan Li at Fa Ma's feet, explaining that Yan Li was a high-ranking Alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire.
• Fa Ma thanked Xiao Yan for removing a hidden threat and invited him to lend his support to the Alchemist Guild.

Xiao Yan guided Fa Ma in alchemy, earning his gratitude after Fa Ma realized Yao Lao had once taught him. Later, Xiao Yan revealed the first transformation of the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations from a jade fragment and began cultivating it, hoping his strong bloodline would bring an unexpected benefit.

• At Yao Lao's request, Xiao Yan gave Fa Ma pointers that helped him see a path toward becoming a sixth-grade Alchemist.
• Xiao Yan told Fa Ma that Yao Lao had once instructed him, and Fa Ma bowed in gratitude to his benefactor's disciple.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao discussed Fa Ma's achievements in the luxurious quarters provided by the Alchemist Guild.
• Xiao Yan burned the broken jade fragment with the Beast King Lotus Heart Flame, revealing the first transformation of the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations.
• Yao Lao explained that the secret art increased strength through flames, and Xiao Yan began cultivating it, expecting his bloodline might react differently.

Xiao Yan mastered the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations and discovered that it resonated with his Xiao Clan bloodline, briefly forming the Xiao Clan Mark. After the Alchemist Guild rewarded him with magic cores and rare materials, he shared his insights into the Pill Dao with its high-ranking alchemists.

• Xiao Yan mastered the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations and sensed its connection to his Dou Di bloodline.
• At Yao Lao's suggestion, Xiao Yan used the first transformation and briefly formed the Xiao Clan Mark.
• Fa Ma and Chemir sensed Xiao Yan's powerful aura and decided to visit him and repay his help to the Alchemist Guild.
• Fa Ma gifted Xiao Yan two Seventh-tier Magic Cores, three sixth-tier magic cores, and rare materials from the Guild's treasury.
• Xiao Yan gathered the Guild's high-ranking alchemists and spent three days teaching them his insights into the Pill Dao.

Xiao Yan accepted tuition from the Alchemists who had listened to his Pill Dao lectures, then visited the Nalan Family. Nalan Jie recounted how the Xiao Clan had migrated to the Jia Ma Empire and gradually declined, leaving the clan vulnerable and forcing it to retreat to Wutan City.

• Xiao Yan finished three days of Pill Dao lectures, prompting Fa Ma to enter seclusion and the attending Alchemists to send him tuition through Chemir.
• Xiao Yan accepted the tuition fees Chemir brought him.
• Nalan Jie welcomed Xiao Yan to the Nalan Family, where Xiao Yan reunited with Nalan Yanran and Nalan Su.
• Nalan Jie explained that the Xiao Clan had migrated to the Jia Ma Empire after its Dou Emperor suffered lingering injuries and later died.
• Nalan Jie told Xiao Yan that Xiao Lin and Nalan Jie had become friends during a war with the Chu Yun Empire, leading Xiao Lin to arrange Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran's childhood betrothal.
• Nalan Jie explained that the Xiao Clan's decline had left it exposed to powerful factions, so it had retreated from the Imperial Capital to Wutan City.

Xiao Yan visited the Nalan and Mittel families, received a Black Jade tied to his Xiao Clan ancestry, and unlocked the legacy sealed inside it. The jade revealed the Heavenly Flame Ancient Finger, opening a new path for Xiao Yan to recover the Xiao Clan’s inheritance.

• Nalan Yanran gave Xiao Yan treasures from the Nalan Family treasury, and Nalan Jie handed him a Black Jade that Xiao Lin had sent as a betrothal gift.
• Xiao Yan visited the Mittel Family, where Mittel Tengshan told him that Ya Fei managed the Imperial Capital auction house.
• Xiao Yan asked the Mittel Family elders to look after Ya Fei, unsettling Elder Leo’s faction because they had mistreated her.
• Xiao Yan sensed the Black Jade respond to his Xiao Clan bloodline and used the Beast King Transformation to activate his clan mark.
• Xiao Yan refined the Black Jade and learned that it contained the legacy called the Heavenly Flame Ancient Finger.

Xiao Yan inherited the high heaven tier Heavenly Flame Ancient Finger from Xiao Xuan, then left the Imperial Capital for Wutan City after preparing pills and a Storage Ring for Ya Fei. He returned to the Xiao Clan estate, now greatly transformed and prosperous.

• Xiao Xuan appeared in Xiao Yan's consciousness, passed down the Heavenly Flame Ancient Finger, and urged him to carry on the Xiao Clan's hopes.
• Xiao Yan told Yao Lao about Xiao Xuan's message and learned that the inherited Dou Technique was high heaven tier.
• Xiao Yan shared Millennium Earth Core Brew with Ya Fei, then refined pills to improve her aptitude and left them with a Storage Ring before departing.
• Ya Fei woke after Xiao Yan had left, found the untouched Storage Ring and its labeled pills, and smiled at his thoughtfulness.
• Xiao Yan reached Wutan City and returned to the transformed Xiao Clan estate, where the guards recognized him as the young clan leader.

Xiao Yan returned to the Xiao Clan and revealed that he could kill ordinary Dou Zong experts, reassuring his father and clan while discussing his Three-Year Agreement with Nalan Yanran. As the agreement’s day arrived, the Nalan family and powerful spectators traveled to Wutan City for the duel.

• Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan and the Xiao Clan elders about his adventures and said he could kill ordinary Dou Zong experts, shocking them and easing his father's worries.
• Xiao Yan reminded the clan that he had returned to fulfill his Three-Year Agreement with Nalan Yanran, and revealed that she had reached Three-Star Dou Wang.
• Xiao Zhan asked Xiao Yan to preserve Nalan Yanran's dignity, and Xiao Yan explained that her strength made defeat honorable.
• Xiao Yan cultivated the Heavenly Flame Ancient Finger while turning away most visitors seeking to meet him.
• On the day of the agreement, Nalan Yanran traveled to Wutan City with Nalan Su and Nalan Jie, while Yun Shan, Yun Yun, and Jia Xingtian also headed there to watch.

Nalan Yanran returned to honor her agreement with Xiao Yan and challenged him to a spar, but her attacks could not harm him. The chapter ended as she unleashed her strongest strike, splitting the clouds, while Xiao Yan still held back.

• Xiao Yan sensed Nalan Yanran's arrival and flew out to meet her as she entered the Xiao Clan at Dou Wang strength.
• Nalan Yanran asked Xiao Yan not to hold back and began their spar with sword attacks that only sparked against him.
• Nalan Yanran summoned twelve sword phantoms with Wind Spirit Splitting Sword, but Xiao Yan broke them apart with two fingers.
• Nalan Yanran gathered the energy of heaven and earth and prepared her Earth-tier technique, Extreme Wind: Setting Sun Radiance.
• Yun Yun and Jia Xingtian watched from afar as Yun Shan remarked that Xiao Yan was deliberately giving Nalan Yanran leeway.
• Nalan Yanran declared her final strike and sent sword qi toward Xiao Yan, splitting the clouds above them.

Xiao Yan defeated Nalan Yanran with a casual finger thrust, then joined the others at a banquet where Jia Xingtian revealed that Mulan Valley might still hide a trove of Magical Beast blood essence and magic cores. Xiao Yan grew interested in searching the Mulan Ruins for clues.

• Xiao Yan destroyed Nalan Yanran's sword attack with one finger, and she admitted defeat.
• Xiao Yan praised Nalan Yanran's strength as the Xiao Clan and Nalan family watched, while Yun Yun comforted her.
• Xiao Yan congratulated Jia Xingtian on breaking through to Dou Zong and invited him and the others to the Xiao Clan residence.
• At the banquet, Jia Xingtian told Xiao Yan that Mulan Valley's hidden stores of blood essence and magic cores had never been found after the valley was destroyed.
• Xiao Yan suspected Jia Xingtian might be steering him toward an attack on Mulan Valley, but Jia Xingtian explained that his ancestor had found no such stores in the ruins.
• Xiao Yan became interested when Jia Xingtian suggested that he might uncover clues to the hidden hoard.

Xiao Yan led Jia Xingtian, Yun Shan, Yun Yun, and Nalan Yanran into the Mulan Empire, killing a border commander who tried to stop them. At Mulan Valley, Xiao Yan searched for a hidden spatial realm while Yao Lao’s spiritual scan alerted the valley master, Mu Baisha.

• Xiao Yan and his companions crossed into the Mulan Empire, where a border commander challenged Jia Xingtian and Yun Shan.
• The commander swallowed a pill to strengthen himself, but Xiao Yan killed him with a single strike.
• Xiao Yan’s group reached Mulan Valley two days later, and Jia Xingtian and Yun Shan warned of its history and formidable defenders.
• Xiao Yan searched for the spatial realm he suspected held Mulan Valley’s treasures, while Yao Lao spread his spiritual power across the valley.
• Mu Baisha sensed Yao Lao’s spiritual scan and wondered whether the intruder was a master alchemist.

Xiao Yan learned from Yao Lao that a decaying Spatial Secret Realm was hidden in Mulan Valley and planned to expose it with a Dou Zun-level attack. Before he could act, Mulan Valley’s master Mu Baisha appeared, and the two sides prepared to fight.

• Yao Lao detected a concealed Spatial Secret Realm in Mulan Valley and explained that powerful external force could reveal it.
• Xiao Yan considered using his Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus to expose the hidden space.
• Mu Baisha appeared and recognized Jia Xingtian and Yun Shan, but underestimated Xiao Yan and believed he held the advantage.
• Jia Xingtian and Yun Shan asked Xiao Yan to let them fight Mu Baisha, and Xiao Yan agreed.
• Mulan Valley’s disciples and the Mulan Three Elders rushed into the sky as Jia Xingtian and Yun Shan released their Dou Zong pressure.
• Mu Baisha ordered the Mulan Three Elders to capture Xiao Yan, Yun Yun, and Nalan Yanran while he dealt with Jia Xingtian and Yun Shan.

Xiao Yan faced Mulan Valley's elders while Jia Xingtian, Yun Shan, and Mu Baisha fought elsewhere. He killed the attackers who charged him, leaving Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran to fight their own opponents.

• Zhou Xinghu rushed Xiao Yan, who instantly killed him and challenged Mulan Valley to attack together.
• The Mulan Three Elders activated the Three-Beast Desolate Art, transforming their heads into beasts and raising their strength to that of Three-Star Dou Zong experts.
• Xiao Yan shattered the lion-headed elder's energy shield with one punch and injured all three elders through their linked formation.
• The other Mulan Valley elders tried to flee, but Xiao Yan's Beast King Lotus Heart Flame pierced their hearts and killed them all.