Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan found the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion and camped nearby while waiting for its seal to weaken. A Green-Clothed Girl suddenly sought refuge in his tent, followed by a young man from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, and Xiao Yan tried to hand her over and avoid getting involved.

• Xiao Yan followed his map through the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range and reached the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion, where several groups had already camped.
• Xiao Yan avoided the nearby stalls and settled in a secluded spot to wait for the tomb mansion to open.
• A Green-Clothed Girl rushed into Xiao Yan’s tent, embraced him, and called him her brother.
• An Effeminate Youth from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect arrived with an old man, and Xiao Yan pushed the Green-Clothed Girl toward them while insisting he had nothing to do with her.

Xiao Yan tried to hand the fugitive girl and her supposed treasure back to the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, but its members accused him of stealing the item and provoked him into fighting. With his temper worsened by the side effects of fusing Heavenly Flames, Xiao Yan left the sect’s young master and a hemp-robed elder dead as the remaining elders faced him.

• Xiao Yan offered the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect the green-clad fugitive and told them to ask her for their treasure.
• The hemp-robed elder accused Xiao Yan of taking the item and threatened him with the arrival of the sect master.
• Xiao Yan punched the gray-robed young master, revealed as the sect’s young master, and beat him while cursing the sect members for ignoring his explanation.
• The elders demanded that Xiao Yan release their young master, but he used Burst Step to crush the young man’s chest.
• Xiao Yan struck the hemp-robed elder with Lion Mountain Split, tearing his body apart with a burst of crimson energy.

Xiao Yan killed the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect pursuers and their young sect master, then used an Interrogation Secret Art to question Ye Xiaolian about the treasure map. Ye Xiaolian fell under his control, but the map’s destination remained unrevealed.

• Xiao Yan used Mad Lion's Roar and the Xuan Heavy Ruler to kill the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect followers, then burned their corpses.
• Xiao Yan crushed the young sect master's skull after rejecting his threat that his father would seek revenge.
• Xiao Yan stopped Ye Xiaolian from leaving and learned that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect had hunted her for a treasure map.
• Xiao Yan used the Interrogation Secret Art to put Ye Xiaolian under his control and asked what the map led to.

Xiao Yan used the Interrogation Secret Art to learn that Ye Xiaolian’s map led to the Great Beast Den, a burial ground for powerful magical beasts with special bloodlines. After Ye Xiaolian reluctantly handed over the map, Xiao Yan caught her wrist, disarmed its hidden blade, and held the weapon to her neck.

• Xiao Yan questioned Ye Xiaolian about trivial details to lower her guard and confirm her identity.
• Ye Xiaolian revealed that the treasure map pointed to the Great Beast Den, a magical-beast burial ground outside the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion and Chu Yun Empire.
• Xiao Yan explained that he wanted the map’s valuable magical-beast blood essence and demanded that Ye Xiaolian give it to him for safekeeping.
• Ye Xiaolian resisted but handed over the map after Xiao Yan threatened her.
• Xiao Yan twisted Ye Xiaolian’s wrist, caught the falling map, and uncovered a concealed blade inside it.

Xiao Yan forced Ye Xiaolian to surrender a genuine treasure map after thwarting her attempt to poison herself. He recognized the map as a route through the Magical Beast Mountain Range and, after revealing his interest in the location, refused to let Ye Xiaolian go.

• Xiao Yan absorbed the poison Ye Xiaolian used to try to kill herself and threatened her until she agreed to hand over the map.
• Ye Xiaolian produced the real Treasure Map, and Xiao Yan used the Interrogation Secret Art to verify it.
• Under hypnosis, Ye Xiaolian said she had taken the map from a Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect disciple and did not know where its marked terrain was.
• Xiao Yan recognized the map as a route through the Magical Beast Mountain Range leading near the Great Beast Den.
• After Xiao Yan released her, Ye Xiaolian asked to leave, but he told her he had never promised to let her go.

Xiao Yan offered to help the Chu Yun Imperial Family grow powerful in exchange for its unconditional obedience. Ye Xiaolian agreed on the condition that he make her empress, and Xiao Yan accepted.

• Xiao Yan blocked Ye Xiaolian from leaving and proposed a deal.
• Xiao Yan offered to strengthen the Chu Yun Imperial Family so it could rival the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.
• Xiao Yan demanded that the Imperial Family obey his commands in exchange for his support.
• Ye Xiaolian agreed to the deal on the condition that she become empress of the Chu Yun Empire.
• Xiao Yan agreed to help Ye Xiaolian become empress.

Xiao Yan waited for the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion to open, then used his poison-control abilities to enter while keeping the other treasure hunters out. After the survivors recognized the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect emblem on him, they vowed to seek an explanation as he proceeded into the tomb.

• After three days, the barrier around the tomb mansion faded, and Xiao Yan stopped Ye Xiaolian from rushing into its deadly poisonous mist.
• Xiao Yan warned Ye Xiaolian to leave before the other treasure hunters turned against her, and she fled the area.
• Xiao Yan absorbed the poisonous mist at the entrance, then released it with added toxins to engulf the people who rushed toward him.
• Xiao Yan taunted the surviving treasure hunters, declared the road closed, and entered the tomb mansion to collect its treasures.
• The survivors recognized the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect emblem on Xiao Yan and threatened to demand an explanation.

Xiao Yan searched the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion, collected its poisoned treasures, and confronted a Tier 6 Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion guarding the final burial chamber. After evading its charge with the Flame-Treading Sky-Soaring Step, he prepared to test his strength against it.

• Xiao Yan used his soul force to avoid traps and gathered the tomb mansion’s medicinal ingredients, cultivation methods, and Dou Techniques despite their deadly poison.
• Xiao Yan smashed through the final stone door and was knocked into a wall by a powerful creature rushing out of the burial chamber.
• Xiao Yan recognized the attacker as a Tier 6 Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion and decided to fight it without using the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations.
• Xiao Yan evaded the scorpion’s next charge with the Flame-Treading Sky-Soaring Step.

Xiao Yan used Flame-Treading Sky-Soaring Step and a series of attacks to overwhelm the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion in the burial chamber. He ended the fight with Annihilation Flame Eyes, a soul-targeting technique from his former life, while the other arts of the Demon Fury Nine Arts remained beyond his current strength.

• Xiao Yan evaded the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion with Flame-Treading Sky-Soaring Step and struck its shell with Flame Splitting Wave Ruler.
• The Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion sent its stinger at Xiao Yan, but his heavenly flame armor protected him from the blow.
• Xiao Yan fired Annihilation Flame Eyes, bypassing the scorpion's energy barrier and driving it into a frenzy of soul-wrenching pain.
• Xiao Yan swallowed medicinal pills and watched the scorpion thrash as he explained that Annihilation Flame Eyes was one of the Demon Fury Nine Arts from his previous life.
• Xiao Yan recalled that the nine arts were his most terrifying techniques, though his current strength allowed him to use only Annihilation Flame Eyes and the Demon Fury Fire Lotus.

Xiao Yan killed the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion and secured the Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast’s magic core and blood essence. With the tomb entrance blocked by enemies, he began digging a tunnel to escape.

• Xiao Yan waited for Annihilation Flame Eyes to kill the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion, then extracted its magic core and stored its body.
• Xiao Yan entered the final burial chamber and used the nine nether illusion demon flame to refine the Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast’s corpse.
• Xiao Yan collected the beast’s draconic wings, magic core, and blood essence.
• Xiao Yan considered traveling to the Black-Corner Region to find bodhi body-transforming saliva and investigate a heavenly flame.
• Xiao Yan avoided the guarded entrance and began drilling a tunnel through the tomb floor.

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.