Chapter Summaries

After returning from Chu Yun, Sun Buxiao encountered Mu Gu, a Hall of Souls Elder who had come to demand a jade fragment and recruit him. Sun Buxiao concealed the Fallen Heart Flame and Heavenly Fire Venerable before Mu Gu arrived, and the chapter ended as Mu Gu made his demands.

• Sun Buxiao judged the Chu Yun Empire’s treasury disappointing, then used its Magic Core to refine another Heavenly Demon Puppet and returned to the Black-Corner Region with Zi Yan.
• After a month of searching without finding another seventh-rank magical beast, Sun Buxiao sensed a powerful Hall of Souls Elder approaching and sent Zi Yan to Jia Nan Academy.
• Sun Buxiao hid the Fallen Heart Flame inside his soul and concealed the recovering Heavenly Fire Venerable in his Storage Ring.
• Mu Gu arrived and was surprised by Sun Buxiao’s formidable soul power, which forced back his own.
• Mu Gu identified himself as a Hall of Souls Elder and demanded Sun Buxiao hand over a jade fragment and join the Hall of Souls.

Mu Gu attacked Sun Buxiao to seize his treasures, forcing Sun Buxiao to reveal the Fallen Heart Flame and the Heavenly Fire Venerable and fight back with the Netherworld Poison Flame. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan fused with the Fallen Heart Flame and tried to leave the Magma World with Medusa, but Su Qian intervened when she attacked him.

• Mu Gu decided to kill Sun Buxiao and take his treasures, then attacked him with his origin flame and a Dou Technique.
• Sun Buxiao unleashed the Netherworld Poison Flame, revealed the Fallen Heart Flame and the Heavenly Fire Venerable, and counterattacked Mu Gu.
• Xiao Yan told Medusa he would take responsibility, while she threatened to kill him after recovering her strength.
• Xiao Yan displayed his power as a Three-Star Dou Emperor, and Medusa fell silent because she needed to escape and find out how the Snake-People Tribe was faring.
• As Xiao Yan and Medusa prepared to leave the Magma World, Medusa attacked him, and Su Qian appeared to block her palm strike.

Xiao Yan emerged from the Magma World after nearly two years and reunited with Su Qian, while Medusa fled after threatening him. Meanwhile, Sun Buxiao broke through to Dou Zong during his battle with Mu Gu, then attacked again as Xiao Yi Xian, Hai Bodong, Su Qian, and Xiao Yan arrived to support him.

• Medusa escaped the Skyburner Qi Refining Tower after threatening Xiao Yan, and Su Qian found him naked and asked about her.
• Xiao Yan dressed and learned from Su Qian that nearly two years had passed since he entered the Magma World.
• Sun Buxiao fought Mu Gu and called on the Heavenly Fire Venerable to hold him off while he prepared to break through.
• Sun Buxiao counted down, absorbed power from heaven and earth, and advanced to Dou Zong, repelling Mu Gu's attack.
• Xiao Yi Xian, Hai Bodong, Su Qian, and Xiao Yan arrived, and Sun Buxiao launched another attack on Mu Gu.

Sun Buxiao and Xiao Yan failed to stop Mu Gu, who escaped using his spatial abilities, and they headed for Black Seal City. In Yao Chen’s inner world, his Inner Demon revealed herself as Han Shanshan and used her power to help him before darkness swallowed him.

• Sun Buxiao explained that Mu Gu’s escape had foiled his attempt to infiltrate the Hall of Souls, and he proposed going to Black Seal City to explain everything.
• The Inner Demon confronted Yao Chen over Han Shanshan’s death and asked whether he would treat her as he had treated Han Shanshan.
• Yao Chen admitted that he could not treat the Inner Demon as Han Shanshan because she would disappear.
• The Inner Demon embraced Yao Chen, confessed that she had grown tired of their exchanges, and said she had lost.
• The Inner Demon revealed that her name was Han Shanshan and used her power to help Yao Chen as darkness engulfed him.

Sun Buxiao explained his encounter with Mu Gu and his plan to infiltrate the Hall of Souls, then witnessed Yao Lao awaken with a trace of Han Shanshan’s spirit preserved in the bone spirit cold flame. After hearing about the Hall of Souls and Mu Gu, Yao Lao asked Sun Buxiao why he intended to infiltrate it.

• Sun Buxiao told the group about Mu Gu and said he would stay in the Black-Corner Region in case Mu Gu returned.
• Sun Buxiao sent Su Qian, Hai Bodong, and Zi Yan away, then asked Xiao Yan to stay because Yao Lao was about to awaken.
• Yao Lao emerged from Xiao Yan’s Storage Ring and revealed that someone had used most of their power to strengthen Han Shanshan’s spirit within the bone spirit cold flame.
• Sun Buxiao inferred that Yao Lao’s Inner Demon had sacrificed its power to preserve Han Shanshan’s spirit.
• Sun Buxiao told Yao Lao about the recent events involving the Hall of Souls, Mu Gu, and Han Feng.
• Yao Lao asked Sun Buxiao why he intended to infiltrate the Hall of Souls.

Sun Buxiao explained that the Xiao Clan's jade fragment was one of eight pieces that could open the last Dou Di's cavern abode, then revealed the Xiao Clan's ancient ties to the Central Plains' greatest powers. He left Xiao Yan stunned by the revelations and embarrassed by Sun Buxiao's teasing about his private life.

• Sun Buxiao showed Xiao Yan the Xiao Clan's jade fragment and said that assembling all eight fragments would open the last Dou Di's cavern abode.
• Yao Tianhuo introduced himself to Yao Lao and revealed that Sun Buxiao had rescued him from the Underground Magma World after he failed to fuse two fallen heart flames.
• Sun Buxiao identified five Nine-Star Dou Shengs from a thousand years earlier, including Xiao Xuan, as the Central Plains' greatest figures.
• Sun Buxiao told Yao Lao that Xiao Yan had reached three-star Dou Emperor, and Yao Lao worried about how quickly he had advanced.
• Sun Buxiao reassured Xiao Yan that his foundation was sound, then embarrassed him by revealing that he had sensed Xiao Yan with a woman.

Sun Buxiao explained that the Tou She Ancient God Jade was central to his plan to reach the Ancient Emperor’s Cave Mansion and seize the Emperor Grade Nascent Pill, while Xiao Yan learned the Xiao Clan had been moved to the Black-Corner Region. After Xiao Yan and Yao Lao left, Sun Buxiao and Xiao Yi Xian reunited privately.

• Sun Buxiao told Xiao Yan and Yao Lao how Hun Tiandi and Gu Yuan were connected to Xiao Xuan and the Xiao Clan’s decline.
• Sun Buxiao said he would kill Mu Gu if he came looking for trouble, and Yao Lao offered to help fight him.
• Sun Buxiao explained that he intended to use the Tou She Ancient God Jade and Zi Yan to enter the Ancient Emperor’s Cave Mansion and take the Emperor Grade Nascent Pill before Hun Tiandi.
• Sun Buxiao revealed that Xiao Yan was his backup plan if his attempt to become a Dou Di failed.
• Sun Buxiao told Xiao Yan that he had moved the Xiao Clan to the Black-Corner Region, leaving Xiao Yan stunned.
• After Xiao Yan and Yao Lao left, Sun Buxiao and Xiao Yi Xian embraced and spoke about how much they had missed each other.

Mu Gu recovered from Sun Buxiao’s poison and decided to report the Heavenly Poison Gate to the Hall Master rather than risk fighting it again. Xiao Yan reunited with his family in the Black-Corner Region, learned why Sun Buxiao had moved the Xiao Clan there, and wondered how he could help Sun Buxiao’s plans.

• Mu Gu used pills to suppress the poison in his body, but some toxins remained, and he realized he could not safely take on Sun Buxiao and the Heavenly Poison Gate again.
• Mu Gu decided to report Sun Buxiao to the Hall Master, hoping the Hall Master would kill him and reward Mu Gu with the fallen heart flame.
• Xiao Yan met Xiao Zhan, Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, and the rest of the Xiao Clan in a nearby city after emerging from seclusion as a Three-Star Dou Emperor.
• Xiao Zhan explained that Sun Buxiao had moved the Xiao Clan from Wutan City to the Black-Corner Region and promised them a city and its businesses.
• Yao Lao explained that the Ancient Eight Clans might covet the Xiao Clan, and Xiao Yan asked whether he could support Sun Buxiao’s plans.

Sun Buxiao and Xiao Yi Xian discussed preparing to face Hun Tiandi and his powerful ally, then he gathered the Heavenly Poison Gate’s Elders to set its plans and introduce Xiao Yan. He left the sect focused on absorbing the Black-Corner Region, building its strength, and keeping Xiao Yan’s identity secret.

• Sun Buxiao told Xiao Yi Xian that they needed to build their strength secretly and that she would have to hold off nihility devouring flame while he fought Hun Tiandi.
• Sun Buxiao gathered the Yellow Badge Elders in Black Seal City, and Hai Bodong reported that the Heavenly Poison Gate controlled roughly two-thirds of the Black-Corner Region.
• Sun Buxiao rejected expanding beyond the region immediately and said he wanted the Heavenly Poison Gate to become a Dou Sheng-level faction within ten years.
• Sun Buxiao introduced Xiao Yan as a Seventh-Grade Alchemist in theory and told the Elders to keep his identity secret while letting him refine pills and gain experience.
• Sun Buxiao ordered Yuan Yi to provide Xiao Yan with medicinal ingredients without requiring approval and urged Bai Kun to learn from Xiao Yan and strengthen his alchemy.

Xiao Yan struggled to correct Bai Kun’s deeply ingrained alchemy mistakes, while Sun Buxiao arranged for Xiao Yan to receive the Five-Wheel Leaving Fire Method. Sun Buxiao then began discussing a possible infiltration of the Hall of Souls with Xiao Yan.

• Xiao Yan angrily stopped instructing Bai Kun and told Sun Buxiao that Bai Kun wasted much of his ingredients’ energy because of terrible fundamentals.
• Sun Buxiao urged Bai Kun to treat Xiao Yan’s guidance as a rare opportunity, and Bai Kun thanked them both.
• Sun Buxiao introduced Xiao Yan to Yao Tianhuo and offered Xiao Yan the Five-Wheel Leaving Fire Method in exchange for helping him.
• Yao Tianhuo approved the exchange, and Xiao Yan eagerly accepted the earth tier high grade Dou Technique.
• Sun Buxiao called Xiao Yan over to discuss a possible plan to infiltrate the Hall of Souls.

Sun Buxiao interrupted Medusa’s fight with Hai Bodong in Black Seal City and recognized that her fused soul was unstable. Medusa stopped attacking but remained wary of Sun Buxiao, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Sun Buxiao reflected on Mu Gu’s disappearance and his plans to infiltrate the Hall of Souls.
• Yuan Yi reported that a powerful female Dou Zong was fighting the Great Elder, and Sun Buxiao realized she was Medusa.
• Medusa fought Hai Bodong, shattered his ice armor, and sent him flying with her lightning whip.
• Sun Buxiao intervened, kicked apart Medusa’s whip, and warned her that her two fused souls were dangerously unbalanced.
• Medusa revealed through her thoughts that the Soul Solution had stabilized her soul but left her unable to complete its fusion.

Sun Buxiao tried to recruit Medusa and the Snake-People Tribe by offering to help with her soul problem, then brought Xiao Yan to Black Seal City to address his history with her. Xiao Yan agreed to negotiate with Medusa, while Sun Buxiao aimed to secure five Dou Zong experts for the Heavenly Poison Gate.

• Sun Buxiao offered Medusa a chance to resolve her soul problem in exchange for the support of the Snake-People Tribe and its four Peak Dou Emperor elders.
• Medusa stayed behind as Sun Buxiao and Hai Bodong returned to Black Seal City.
• Sun Buxiao sent Yuan Yi to Canaan to bring Xiao Yan back, hoping Xiao Yan could help negotiate with Medusa.
• Xiao Yan initially misunderstood Sun Buxiao's request that he keep a woman company, but agreed after learning the woman was Medusa and hearing their conflict explained.
• Sun Buxiao proposed that Xiao Yan and Medusa resolve their personal dispute while he negotiated for the Snake-People Tribe's needs, potentially bringing five Dou Zong experts into the Heavenly Poison Gate.

Medusa came to Black Seal City to negotiate a place for the Snake-People Tribe in the Heavenly Poison Gate’s territory. After Sun Buxiao offered land and a way to help her elders advance, Medusa accepted his terms and agreed that the tribe would join the sect.

• Medusa chased Xiao Yan after Sun Buxiao revealed him, pinned him down, and nearly lost her temper when Sun Buxiao called her his sister-in-law.
• Medusa agreed to discuss cooperation with Sun Buxiao and asked what terms he could offer the Snake-People Tribe.
• Xiao Yi Xian showed Medusa a map of the Black-Corner Region and explained that the Heavenly Poison Gate had ample land in a cool, damp environment.
• Sun Buxiao offered the Snake-People Tribe a place in the region in exchange for joining the Heavenly Poison Gate and serving him.
• Sun Buxiao presented Soul Solution as a way to help the tribe’s four Elders break through to Dou Zong, and Medusa accepted the terms.

Xiao Yan and Medusa negotiated a deal over a soul-balancing pill, with Medusa agreeing to protect him in the Central Plains for a year. Sun Buxiao then suggested Xiao Yan escort the Snake-People Tribe from Tagor and revealed a faint soul fluctuation in Medusa’s belly, leaving Xiao Yan shocked and panicked.

• After Sun Buxiao and Xiao Yi Xian left, Medusa confronted Xiao Yan about what happened in the Magma World.
• Medusa asked Xiao Yan to refine a soul-balancing pill, and Xiao Yan demanded that she protect him in the Central Plains for a year in exchange.
• Medusa accepted Xiao Yan’s terms, and Yao Lao gave him the pill formula while reminding him that Sun Buxiao also needed a seventh-grade pill.
• Sun Buxiao suggested Xiao Yan accompany Medusa to bring the Snake-People Tribe from Tagor, prompting Xiao Yan to protest.
• Sun Buxiao told Xiao Yan that he sensed a faint soul fluctuation inside Medusa’s belly, and Xiao Yan panicked at the implication.

Sun Buxiao stirred up trouble after discovering that Medusa was pregnant with Xiao Yan’s child, while Xiao Yan accepted that he had to take responsibility. Back at the Heavenly Poison Gate, Sun Buxiao hit a bottleneck in his body cultivation before learning that scouts had found a heavenly flame, possibly the Sea Heart Flame.

• Sun Buxiao told Xiao Zhan that Medusa was carrying Xiao Yan’s child, and Xiao Zhan summoned Xiao Yan and demanded that he kneel.
• Xiao Yi Xian reported that Medusa would consult the Snake-People Tribe’s elders about possible territory before returning to Tagor.
• Xiao Yan traveled with Medusa and resolved to take responsibility for their child, while Medusa remained unaware of her pregnancy and worried about her worsening soul condition.
• Mu Gu entered Heaven Hall after telling the Great Heavenly Venerate that he had information about an Ancient Jade Fragment.
• Sun Buxiao and Xiao Yi Xian discussed the limits of Medicinal-Toxin Conversion, and Sun Buxiao recognized that his body cultivation had reached a bottleneck.
• Yuan Yi reported that scouts had found a heavenly flame in an underwater cave, likely the Sea Heart Flame, and Sun Buxiao recalled Bai Kun’s Medicine Emperor nickname.

Sun Buxiao and his companions found the Sea Heart Flame and helped Bai Kun begin refining it, while Xiao Yan persuaded Medusa to spare their unborn child by pledging his support to her and the Snake-People Tribe. The chapter left Bai Kun refining the flame and Sun Buxiao considering how to help Zi Yan grow stronger.

• Three months later, Sun Buxiao brought Bai Kun, Xiao Yi Xian, and Zi Yan to a strait where he and Xiao Yi Xian descended into an underwater cave to find the Sea Heart Flame.
• In the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Medusa attacked Xiao Yan after realizing she was pregnant, but the Heaven Swallowing Python's soul interrupted her assault.
• Xiao Yan promised Medusa he would support her, their child, and the Snake-People Tribe, including refining pills for the tribe's elders, and Medusa agreed to spare the child while refusing to call Xiao Yan her husband.
• Sun Buxiao, Xiao Yi Xian, and Zi Yan brought the Sea Heart Flame to the surface, where Bai Kun subdued its flame seed and began refining it.
• Sun Buxiao and Xiao Yi Xian shared an affectionate moment while Zi Yan teased them, and Sun Buxiao considered using the Lizardmen's Red Crystals to help Zi Yan evolve.

Sun Buxiao gathered powerful Lizardmen from beneath the Skyburner Qi Refining Tower to feed Zi Yan and strengthen her, while Medusa returned toward the Snake-People Tribe. The chapter ended with Su Qian misreading Sun Buxiao’s concern for Zi Yan as romantic interest, while Sun Buxiao kept his plans involving Zhu Kun and the Ancient Emperor’s Cave Mansion secret.

• Yao Tianhuo offered Sun Buxiao body-refining Dou Techniques as references, and Sun Buxiao asked Su Qian to let him descend to the bottom of the Skyburner Qi Refining Tower for Zi Yan’s food.
• Medusa returned toward the Holy City, releasing her Dou Zong aura as she considered the Snake-People Tribe’s future and planned to move them to the Black-Corner Region.
• Sun Buxiao fought three Dou Zong-level Lizardmen in the magma, brought their corpses and other red crystals to the surface, and gave Zi Yan a Storage Ring full of food.
• Sun Buxiao told Su Qian that the red crystals could help Zi Yan reach seventh-rank magical beast strength and eventually switch between her human and ancient void dragon forms.
• Su Qian mistook Sun Buxiao’s promise to take care of Zi Yan for a confession of romantic intentions, but Sun Buxiao denied it and kept his reasons for seeking strength against Zhu Kun secret.
• Sun Buxiao began processing the Lizardman corpses, intending to turn them into Demon Puppets for the Sect.

Sun Buxiao declined the Northwest Sect Convention and asked Xiao Yi Xian for advice about his feelings for Zi Yan. In the Snake-People Holy City, Medusa reunited with her tribe and presented the Heavenly Poison Gate’s proposal for a partnership, leaving the elders to weigh their distrust of humans against the benefits.

• Sun Buxiao rejected the invitation to the Northwest Sect Convention and told Su Mei to have the disciples focus on cultivation and foreign trade.
• Medusa reunited with Hua She'er, then brought Xiao Yan to meet the Snake-People Tribe's Four Elders and revealed that she was pregnant with his child.
• Medusa showed the elders a map, a Token, and Soul Solution, and announced that the Heavenly Poison Gate offered the Snake-People Tribe new territory and access to its resources.
• Sun Buxiao told Xiao Yi Xian he was unsure how to handle his feelings for Zi Yan, and she urged him to follow his own feelings.
• Xiao Yan explained the Heavenly Poison Gate's proposed partnership to the elders, who questioned the risks and his role in stealing the green lotus core flame.
• Xiao Yan said he was the child's father and would consider the child's future, catching Medusa off guard as he turned her earlier pressure back on her.

Sun Buxiao accepted Protector Xuan’s soul-cultivation insights and began exploring how body, soul, and Dou Qi worked together. Meanwhile, Medusa’s elders agreed to relocate the Snake-People Tribe, and Xiao Yan faced a hostile suitor as the relocation began.

• Sun Buxiao confronted Protector Xuan, who warned him that an important Hall of Souls figure was coming and traded a scroll of soul-cultivation insights for Sun Buxiao’s recommendation.
• Medusa’s elders agreed to relocate the Snake-People Tribe and treat Xiao Yan courteously, prompting Medusa to beat all four elders for their plans to arrange her affairs.
• Sun Buxiao studied Protector Xuan’s scroll, tested his soul power with Soul Capture Net and Soul Piercing, and discussed his cultivation insight with Xiao Yi Xian.
• Medusa announced the Snake-People Tribe’s relocation, while Hei Du challenged Xiao Yan and accused him of being unworthy of standing beside the queen.
• Medusa gave Xiao Yan permission to act, and Xiao Yan prepared to fight Hei Du with his flames.

Zi Yan emerged from her cocoon, gave Sun Buxiao ancient dragon essence blood that strengthened his body, and began recovering. Meanwhile, Yun Shan confronted Hai Bodong as the Snake-People migration passed through Misty Cloud Sect territory, bringing a battle between Dou Zong to the brink.

• Sun Buxiao told Su Qian that Zhu Kun had brought Zi Yan to the Northwest to keep her safe, though he refused to explain how the Old Dragon Emperor disappeared.
• Xiao Yan and Medusa led the Snake-People toward the Black-Corner Region, while Xiao Yan arranged for Hai Bodong and Yin Gu Lao to take over their escort duty.
• Xiao Yi Xian received Qing Lin's worried letter about Sun Buxiao and decided to find a way to help Qing Lin.
• Zi Yan emerged from her cocoon, and Sun Buxiao woke her by biting her sensitive tail before she got dressed.
• Zi Yan gave Sun Buxiao a drop of ancient dragon essence blood, which strengthened his body and led him to consider seeking other heavenly treasures.
• Yun Shan blocked Hai Bodong's group and challenged him to fight, while Yin Gu Lao hurried to summon Medusa and Xiao Yan.