Recaps

After escaping the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion, Xiao Yan manipulated the Chu Yun Empire’s succession crisis and left Ye Xiaolian to prove herself. He then headed for the Tagor Desert to recruit Hai Bodong and investigate rumors of a heavenly flame held by the Snake-People Tribe.

• Xiao Yan flooded the tunnel into the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion with poisonous mist, then gave Ye Xiaolian pills laced with poison and arranged for the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect to be distracted.
• Xiao Yan slaughtered the Chu Yun Imperial Family’s princes, princesses, vassal kings, and relatives, sterilized the emperor and his consorts, and framed Ye Xiaolian for the killings.
• Xiao Yan left the Chu Yun Empire, intending to return only if Ye Xiaolian had made the imperial family rise to power.
• Xiao Yan traveled to the Tagor Desert to seek out Hai Bodong, whose strength had been sealed and who possessed part of a map fragment.
• Xiao Yan planned to investigate rumors that the Snake-People Tribe possessed a heavenly flame before deciding how to approach Queen Medusa.

Xiao Yan stopped in Black Rock City to raise money before entering the Tagor Desert, auctioning surplus pills and a cultivation method at the Mittel Auction House. He accepted a VIP card and went to a private room to watch the auction.

• Xiao Yan discovered he had almost spent all his gold coins and decided to auction his unused fourth-tier pills and the Profound Cauldron Art.
• Xiao Yan disguised himself and brought his items to the Mittel Auction House in Black Rock City.
• The woman in red appraised Xiao Yan’s pills at close to two million five hundred thousand gold coins and agreed to prioritize them in the upcoming auction.
• Xiao Yan also submitted the Profound Cauldron Art for auction and accepted an invitation to attend.
• The woman in red gave Xiao Yan a Mittel VIP card and led him to a private room.

Xiao Yan bought a sickly human and Snake-People hybrid after recognizing the rare Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils in her eyes, and wondered whether she was the future Heavenly Snake Mansion Master. His medicines then sold for high prices at the auction, while his cultivation art scroll fetched much less.

• Xiao Yan regretted attending the auction and bought a Medicine Cauldron because his previous one had exploded.
• Xiao Yan bid five thousand gold coins for a young hybrid girl after spotting the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils in her eyes.
• Xiao Yan considered the powers of the girl's eyes and wondered if she was the Heavenly Snake Mansion Master he had fought in his previous life.
• Xiao Yan's three doses of Qi Gathering Powder sold for nine hundred thousand gold coins, and his five Beast Strength Pills sold for eight hundred thousand.
• The two Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills sold for one million five hundred thousand gold coins, while Xiao Yan's Profound Cauldron Art scroll sold for three hundred thousand.

After the auction, Xiao Yan brought Qing Lin to his lodgings, freed her from her shackles, and treated her injuries while she recovered in Black Rock City. He grew her trust as he cared for her, but he still considered whether to transplant her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and decided to wait.

• Xiao Yan had the auction house deliver his purchases to his lodgings and removed Qing Lin's shackles.
• Xiao Yan learned Qing Lin's name and reassured her that he was not afraid of the scales on her body.
• Xiao Yan bathed Qing Lin, treated her whip wounds, and postponed returning to the desert so she could recover.
• Xiao Yan bought Qing Lin new clothes after her health improved and considered the possible side effects of transplanting her eyes.

After Qing Lin recovered, Xiao Yan set off with her for the Tagor Desert, where he planned to train and search for a few things. During the journey, Qing Lin’s trust reminded Xiao Yan of a girl from his past whom he had killed, leaving him briefly shaken.

• Xiao Yan spent another month in Black Rock City caring for Qing Lin and cultivating until his Dou Qi reached the level of a Two-Star Dou Wang.
• Xiao Yan prepared cooling pills for Qing Lin and took her with him to the Tagor Desert aboard a Thick-Winged Bird.
• Qing Lin asked about their destination, and Xiao Yan explained that he planned to train in the desert and look for a few things.
• When Qing Lin trembled at the mention of the Snake-People, Xiao Yan reassured her that he would protect her.
• Qing Lin said she was not afraid as long as she could stay with Xiao Yan, prompting him to remember a former student he had killed.
• Xiao Yan came out of his daze, assured Qing Lin he was fine, and told her to enjoy herself while he cultivated during the journey.

Xiao Yan arrived in the Tagor Desert with Qing Lin and discovered that her unusual resistance to the heat came from chilling energy connected to her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. He found Hai Bodong’s Ancient Map shop and took a map fragment after Hai Bodong refused to sell it.

• Xiao Yan reached the Tagor Desert and considered searching there for ice spirit cold spring to aid his future heavenly flame refinement.
• Xiao Yan sensed chilling energy within Qing Lin and suspected it came from her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, which might conflict with his Annihilation Flame Eyes.
• Xiao Yan paid the gate fee and brought Qing Lin into Desert City, then settled her at an upscale inn before going out alone.
• Xiao Yan found Hai Bodong at the Ancient Map shop and picked out one half of a tattered map fragment.
• Hai Bodong refused to sell the fragment, so Xiao Yan put it away and said he would take it by force.

Xiao Yan confronted Hai Bodong to take the map fragment and easily overcame the sealed Dou Huang’s attacks. The chapter ended with Hai Bodong bound by Xiao Yan’s purple-black flames and unable to continue fighting.

• Hai Bodong shut the door and demanded Xiao Yan hand over the map fragment, but Xiao Yan refused.
• Hai Bodong attacked, and Xiao Yan dodged before striking him with a punch that shattered his Ice Condensation Mirror and sent him flying.
• Hai Bodong launched ice spikes at Xiao Yan, but they broke apart against an invisible barrier.
• Hai Bodong unleashed Mysterious Ice Spiral Kill, forming an Ice Blade Storm, but Xiao Yan stopped it and destroyed it with a gesture.
• Hai Bodong insisted he had not lost, then saw that Xiao Yan’s purple-black flame threads had bound his hands and feet.

Xiao Yan negotiated with Hai Bodong for the other half of the map fragment by offering to break the seal that had weakened him. Hai Bodong agreed to explain what he needed, and Xiao Yan took on the task of finding the missing ingredient in exchange for the map and a future favor.

• Xiao Yan demanded Hai Bodong hand over the other half of the map fragment, but Hai Bodong refused to yield to threats.
• Xiao Yan offered to restore Hai Bodong's strength with a Sixth-Grade Pill, and Hai Bodong revealed that Queen Medusa had sealed him, reducing him to Dou Ling level.
• Hai Bodong explained that the pill formula required a heavenly flame and that he had gathered nearly all the ingredients, but still needed sand mandala from the Tagor Desert.
• Xiao Yan agreed to find the sand mandala and refine the pill, but demanded the map fragment and a favor from Hai Bodong in return.

Xiao Yan persuaded Hai Bodong to help him in exchange for finding the medicinal ingredient needed to refine Hai Bodong’s pill, and obtained a detailed map of the Tagor Desert that marked possible Heavenly Flame locations. After leaving Hai Bodong bound in his shop, Xiao Yan suspected the Snake-People Tribe had used a Heavenly Flame to help Queen Medusa evolve and advance to Dou Zong.

• Xiao Yan convinced Hai Bodong that he owed him help in return for searching for the missing medicinal ingredient and refining his pill.
• Hai Bodong gave Xiao Yan his detailed map of the Tagor Desert, which marked three possible Heavenly Flame locations and warned him to avoid Queen Medusa’s territory.
• Xiao Yan left Hai Bodong bound by purple-black flames and headed out to investigate the Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan recalled that Queen Medusa had later advanced to Dou Zong around the time the Snake-People Tribe acquired a Heavenly Flame.
• Xiao Yan concluded that Queen Medusa might have used a Heavenly Flame as the fortuitous opportunity needed for her evolution.

Xiao Yan took Qing Lin into the Tagor Desert while searching for Heavenly Flames, protecting her from the desert’s hazards and discovering that he could not safely transplant her eyes. When a Snake-Person squad led by a Dou Wang approached at night, Xiao Yan hid with Qing Lin beneath a blanket to avoid a fight.

• Xiao Yan concluded that transplanting Qing Lin’s Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils into himself would risk failure and lasting complications, so he abandoned the idea.
• Xiao Yan brought Qing Lin into the Tagor Desert, used his Dou Qi to shield her from the sandstorms, and neutralized magical beasts beneath the dunes with his soul force.
• When night temperatures left Qing Lin shivering, Xiao Yan let her sleep in his arms and continued cultivating as a Two-Star Dou Wang.
• Xiao Yan sensed a Snake-Person squad led by a Dou Wang approaching, then hid with Qing Lin beneath a golden blanket buried by the windblown sand.

Xiao Yan and Qing Lin hid from Mo Bass and his Snake-People squad, then learned the group was heading for Stone Desert City. Xiao Yan rushed there to protect the city and reach the nearby heavenly flame, while an alluring woman followed close behind.

• Xiao Yan concealed himself and Qing Lin beneath the sand as Mo Bass searched for humans nearby.
• Mo Bass gave up the search and led his squad toward a human city for amusement.
• After Mo Bass's group left, Xiao Yan and Qing Lin emerged and saw on Hai Bodong's map that Stone Desert City lay along their route.
• Xiao Yan hurried toward Stone Desert City, worried the Snake-People might attack the city and find the heavenly flame first.
• An alluring woman appeared where Xiao Yan and Qing Lin had been and flew after them at comparable speed.

Xiao Yan rescued survivors from a Snake-People massacre near Stone Desert City and left Qing Lin in their care before flying to the city. There, Princess Yao Ye led the defense against a Snake-People invasion as the city prepared for another attack.

• Xiao Yan killed the Snake-People searching a ruined village and found survivors hiding in a cellar.
• Xiao Yan left Qing Lin with the survivors, protecting her with a Soul Imprint and a ring containing the Nine Nether Illusion Demon Flame.
• Xiao Yan flew toward Stone Desert City after spotting flames rising above it.
• Princess Yao Ye directed the city’s soldiers as they held off the Snake-People, then ordered the defenses repaired before the next wave.

Princess Yao Ye used a Qi-Piercing Triple Crossbow to break the Snake-People’s assault, but Mo Bass, a Dou Wang commander, arrived and threatened to destroy Stone Desert City’s defenses. Xiao Yan intervened to stop Mo Bass’s attack, leaving Yao Ye to command the troops while Xiao Yan faced the enemy leader.

• Yao Ye had the Qi-Piercing Triple Crossbow assembled and used it to kill three Snake-People, halting their attack.
• Yao Ye ordered all three bolts fired at the Snake-People’s leader, but a powerful force destroyed them.
• Mo Bass, a Dou Wang commander of the Snake-People Tribe’s Eight Great Tribes, flew toward Stone Desert City and attacked Yao Ye with an energy python.
• Xiao Yan arrived and shattered Mo Bass’s attack, then told Yao Ye to keep commanding her troops.
• Yao Ye agreed to lead the counterattack while Xiao Yan took on Mo Bass.

Xiao Yan defeated and gravely wounded Mo Bass with Eight Extremes Collapse, then moved to kill him. Queen Medusa appeared and stopped Xiao Yan’s final blow, leaving him facing the Snake-People Tribe’s queen.

• Xiao Yan ignored Mo Bass’s attack and struck him with Eight Extremes Collapse, shattering his Dou Qi Armor.
• Xiao Yan detonated the technique’s eight layers of hidden force inside Mo Bass, leaving him grievously injured.
• Mo Bass tried to retreat, but Xiao Yan caught him and knocked him into the ground.
• Xiao Yan swooped down to finish Mo Bass, but a woman stopped his fist and forced him back.
• Yao Ye and the onlookers recognized the woman as Queen Medusa.

Xiao Yan confronted Queen Medusa in Stone Desert City and fought to survive against the vastly stronger Snake-People queen. After using the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations and breaking through her tracking sword images, he launched a powerful counterattack.

• Queen Medusa recognized Xiao Yan as a growing threat and attacked him, while he prepared to fight back.
• Xiao Yan dodged Medusa’s seven-colored energy attack but was overpowered in a direct clash with her.
• Xiao Yan activated the first transformation of the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations, raising his strength to Peak Dou Wang.
• Medusa formed a seven-colored sword and sent tracking energy blades after Xiao Yan, who evaded them with the Flame-Treading Sky-Soaring Step.
• Xiao Yan used Mad Lion’s Roar to stall the blades and briefly daze Medusa, then struck her with Flame Splitting Wave Ruler.

Xiao Yan struck Queen Medusa with the Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, but she survived with little injury and revealed her petrification ability. He evaded her counterattack and launched a flaming Eight Extremes Collapse at her from behind.

• Xiao Yan's Flame Splitting Wave Ruler drove Queen Medusa into the sand, but her rainbow barrier absorbed most of its force.
• Queen Medusa rose with few injuries and recognized Xiao Yan's attack as an Earth Tier Dou Technique.
• Queen Medusa used the Medusa Clan's petrification ability, but Xiao Yan countered it with his Annihilation Flame Eyes.
• Queen Medusa attacked from above, but Xiao Yan evaded with the Flame-Treading Sky-Soaring Step and sent his ruler flying toward her as a distraction.
• Xiao Yan appeared behind Queen Medusa and smashed a purplish-black flame-wreathed fist toward her head with Eight Extremes Collapse.

Xiao Yan fought Queen Medusa in close combat, relying on his skill and Heavenly Flames Armor to withstand her stronger attacks. As Queen Medusa unleashed a massive seven-colored serpent, Xiao Yan answered with the Gu Clan’s Mountain Splitting Seal, leaving their clash unresolved.

• Xiao Yan’s Eight Extremes Collapse failed to penetrate Queen Medusa’s multicolored energy, and she caught his arm and thrust her sword at his throat.
• Xiao Yan blocked the sword with Heavenly Flames Armor, escaped Queen Medusa’s grip, and pressed her with a rapid series of close-combat attacks.
• Queen Medusa regained the advantage with serpent-shaped energy attacks, but their exchange left blood at the corner of her mouth and injured Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan swallowed healing pills while Queen Medusa formed an enormous seven-colored energy serpent.
• Xiao Yan used Mountain Splitting Seal, the first seal of the Gu Clan’s Emperor Seal Art, to confront Queen Medusa’s attack.

Xiao Yan wounded Queen Medusa with the Mountain Splitting Seal, then argued that continuing their fight would hurt them both more than it helped. Queen Medusa did not accept a truce outright, but she stopped challenging his claim that he could escape and retaliate against the Snake-People Tribe.

• Xiao Yan’s Mountain Splitting Seal shattered Queen Medusa’s energy serpent and barrier, struck her, and left her bleeding and injured.
• Xiao Yan, drained by the attack, recovered with pills and asked Queen Medusa to end the battle.
• Queen Medusa pointed out that Xiao Yan’s powerful Dou Technique and strength-enhancing secret art had limits.
• Xiao Yan said he could flee before his secret art wore off, cultivate, and later become strong enough to threaten Queen Medusa and the Snake-People Tribe.
• Queen Medusa did not respond to Xiao Yan’s threat, recognizing that fighting over Stone Desert City could leave them both badly injured.

Xiao Yan forced Queen Medusa to withdraw from Stone Desert City by bluffing that he could unleash a powerful three-colored Fire Lotus. After leaving, he revealed that he was near his limit and resolved to grow stronger before he crossed paths with her again while seeking the Heavenly Flames.

• Xiao Yan offered Queen Medusa a truce, but she threatened to kill him rather than leave a potential threat alive.
• Xiao Yan summoned black and purple flames and implied he could use a stronger Fire Lotus, prompting Queen Medusa to withdraw her Snake-People Tribe.
• Queen Medusa demanded Xiao Yan's name, and he gave her the false name Yan Xiao before she warned him they would meet again.
• Princess Yao Ye invited Xiao Yan to a gathering to thank him, but he refused and flew away to continue his journey.
• Xiao Yan found a secluded spot, revealed his pale, weakened state, and swallowed pills after his secret technique's effects began to wear off.
• Xiao Yan realized Queen Medusa had likely come seeking the Heavenly Flames and resolved to increase his strength quickly before encountering her again.

Xiao Yan decided to strengthen his body so he could withstand the second transformation of the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations. After creating a simplified body-tempering technique, he detected magma beneath the flame symbol on Hai Bodong’s map and wondered if a Heavenly Flame lay within it.

• Xiao Yan ruled out raising his cultivation or learning a stronger Dou Technique and chose to improve his physical strength instead.
• Xiao Yan adapted the Heaven Rank Low Grade Diamond Glazed Body into the mid-grade Earth Tier Lesser Glazed Golden Body.
• Xiao Yan determined that tempering his body with intense external forces would let him cultivate the Lesser Glazed Golden Body and use the second transformation of the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations.
• Xiao Yan searched underground with his Soul Force and detected magma beneath the flame symbol on Hai Bodong’s map.
• Xiao Yan wondered whether a Heavenly Flame was hidden in the magma.

Xiao Yan brought Qing Lin to the hidden Magma Sea after discovering signs of a Heavenly Flame, and he advanced to Three-Star Dou Wang while recovering in the village. The Nine Nether Illusion Demon Flame reacted as they entered the underground world, confirming that traces of a Heavenly Flame were nearby.

• Xiao Yan returned to the village to collect Qing Lin, then advanced to Three-Star Dou Wang while cultivating overnight.
• Xiao Yan and Qing Lin left at dawn and traveled to a stretch of desert near Stone Desert City, where he sensed heat beneath the sand.
• Xiao Yan used his Heavenly Flame to burn a passage underground and carried Qing Lin down to the Magma Sea.
• Xiao Yan flew Qing Lin to a nearby rock and sensed that the dense fire energy would aid his cultivation and Lesser Glazed Golden Body.
• Xiao Yan felt the Nine Nether Illusion Demon Flame pulse, indicating that traces of a Heavenly Flame were present in the Magma World.

Xiao Yan lured a Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake out of the magma and overpowered it, intending to subdue it for Qing Lin. He sent the wounded beast crashing onto the ground near her.

• Xiao Yan reassured Qing Lin and flew over the magma to draw out the hidden magical beast.
• A Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake attacked Xiao Yan, who recognized it and used the Flame-Treading Sky-Soaring Step to stand on the magma.
• Xiao Yan blocked the snake's tail, struck its head, and collected its blood in a jade bottle.
• The snake unleashed its beast flame and columns of magma light, but Xiao Yan suppressed its flame with the nine nether illusion demon flame and dodged its attacks.
• Xiao Yan struck the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake with his ruler and blasted it out of the magma in front of Qing Lin.

Xiao Yan helped Qing Lin awaken her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and use them to tame the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake. After the snake revealed that it knew the heavenly flame’s location, Xiao Yan sensed Queen Medusa watching nearby and called her out.

• Xiao Yan defeated the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake and offered it to Qing Lin as a pet.
• At Xiao Yan’s urging, Qing Lin activated her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and established a contract with the snake.
• Qing Lin collapsed from exhausting her soul power, and Xiao Yan gave her a medicinal pill that helped her recover.
• Qing Lin learned that her eyes could control snake magical beasts and said she would protect Xiao Yan.
• Qing Lin said the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake knew where the heavenly flame was, but Xiao Yan stopped her and called out Queen Medusa, who had been watching.

Xiao Yan encountered Queen Medusa while searching for the Heavenly Flame, and Qing Lin stopped her from attacking by explaining that Xiao Yan had saved her rather than enslaved her. Xiao Yan and Queen Medusa agreed to cooperate, with Medusa using the Heavenly Flame for her evolution before it ultimately belonged to him.

• Queen Medusa recognized Xiao Yan from their battle in Stone Desert City and weighed whether to kill him despite her lingering injuries.
• Queen Medusa saw Qing Lin and accused Xiao Yan of enslaving a Snake-People woman, then prepared to attack him.
• Qing Lin defended Xiao Yan, explaining that he had saved her and treated her like a little sister, so she had chosen to serve him.
• Queen Medusa withdrew her weapon after hearing Qing Lin's explanation and recognized that Xiao Yan had used the alias Yan Xiao.
• Xiao Yan proposed that Queen Medusa use the Heavenly Flame for her evolution and then give it to him, arguing that neither could defeat the other without suffering heavy losses.
• Queen Medusa accepted Xiao Yan's proposal and agreed to cooperate with him.

Xiao Yan, Queen Medusa, Qing Lin, and the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake descended through the magma to find the Heavenly Flame. They reached a green lotus at the magma’s heart, and Xiao Yan recognized the flame within it as the nineteenth-ranked green lotus core flame.

• Xiao Yan asked Qing Lin whether the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake knew the Heavenly Flame’s location, and she said it was beneath the magma.
• Queen Medusa ordered the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake to lead them down, then entered the magma herself despite Xiao Yan suggesting she wait above.
• Xiao Yan told Qing Lin to stay behind with a ring for emergencies, then followed Queen Medusa into the magma protected by nine nether illusion demon flame.
• As they descended, Xiao Yan discovered that the magma’s energy helped cultivate the Lesser Glazed Golden Body, while the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake guided them around hidden currents.
• After an hour of descent, Xiao Yan and the others found a green lotus at the magma’s heart, and Xiao Yan identified it as the source of the green lotus core flame.