Chapter Summaries

After leaving the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion, Xiao Tian Ce returned to Jia Nan Academy, briefly met Zhu Kun and Zi Yan, then traveled to the Jia Ma Empire after receiving news about Xiao Yan. There, Xiao Tian Ming reported on Xiao Yan's progress and the Soul Hall's disappearance, leaving Xiao Tian Ce impressed by the young man's rapid cultivation.

• Xiao Tian Ce restored the array at the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion, nurtured a newborn fallen heart flame with a Level Seven Spirit Gathering Array, and imprisoned another fallen heart flame before leaving the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.
• Xiao Tian Ce met Zhu Kun and Zi Yan at Jia Nan Academy's Back Mountain, reminded Zhu Kun of their agreement, and departed through a spatial passage.
• Zi Yan accused Zhu Kun of pretending to be invincible after seeing how nervous he had been around Xiao Tian Ce, and Zhu Kun admitted he had exaggerated his strength.
• Xiao Tian Ce received Xiao Tian Ming's message that Xiao Yan had entered the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Gathering and helped a Nalan Family youth remove brand poison, then traveled to the Imperial Capital.
• Xiao Tian Ming told Xiao Tian Ce that the Soul Hall had vanished, Hun Tiandi might need five or six years to recover, and Xiao Yan had reached the Da Dou Shi level in three years while evolving the Flame Mantra to the black tier.

Xiao Tian Ce decided to recruit Ya Fei by offering her an eighth-tier pill, hoping her administrative skill would help the Xiao Clan and keep Gu Yue in check. He left Gu Yue’s conduct as a test for Xiao Qing, while Xiao He arrived at the Mittel Auction House to deliver the offer.

• Xiao Tian Ce asked Xiao Tian Ming about Ya Fei and learned that she had little cultivation talent but strong management ability.
• Xiao Tian Ming reported that Gu Yue had sent Xiao Clan resources to the Gu Clan and influenced other clanspeople, and Xiao Tian Ce judged her loyalty to the Xiao Clan inadequate.
• Xiao Tian Ce ordered Xiao He to offer Ya Fei an eighth-tier Meridian- and Marrow-Cleansing Pill, telling him to give it to her even if she refused to work for the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Tian Ce told Xiao Tian Ming not to intervene, saying Xiao Qing must show she could handle Gu Yue herself before inheriting the patriarch’s role.
• Xiao He took the pill to the Mittel Auction House, where Mittel Tengshan and the elders came out to welcome him.

Xiao He offered Ya Fei an Eighth-Tier Pill and invited her to work for the Heavenly Secret Tower, whose power stunned Xiao Yan. When the Mittel Family considered taking Ya Fei’s gift for an auction, Xiao Yan stepped forward to defend her and warned them of the Tower’s retaliation.

• Xiao He met Ya Fei privately, offered her a Meridian- and Marrow-Cleansing Pill, and invited her to join the Heavenly Secret Tower without demanding an immediate answer.
• Ya Fei told Mittel Tengshan, Hai Bodong, and Xiao Yan about Xiao He’s offer, and Xiao Yan confirmed that the vial held a genuine six-colored Eighth-Tier Pill.
• Yao Chen warned Xiao Yan that the Heavenly Secret Tower was a Central Plains superpower far beyond the Misty Cloud Sect and cautioned him not to offend it.
• Xiao Yan urged Ya Fei to take the pill before its possession attracted danger, but a Mittel Family elder proposed auctioning it and Tengshan appeared to agree.
• Xiao Yan stood beside Ya Fei and warned the Mittel Family that taking her gift or auctioning it could provoke the Heavenly Secret Tower.

Ya Fei accepted the Heavenly Secret Tower’s invitation after Xiao Yan defended her claim to the Eighth-Tier Pill. Meanwhile, Xiao Tian Ce broke through to Half-Emperor after reflecting on what he truly wanted, then asked Xiao Tian Ming to keep the breakthrough secret.

• Ya Fei decided to join the Heavenly Secret Tower, and Hai Bodong ordered the Mittel Family to leave her Eighth-Tier Pill alone.
• Xiao Yan reassured Ya Fei about the Tower’s power and insisted he was confident about his upcoming Three-Year Agreement with Nalan Yanran.
• Xiao He reported Ya Fei’s decision to Xiao Tian Ce and Xiao Tian Ming, who discussed Xiao Tian Ce’s plan to secure her loyalty with the pill.
• Xiao Tian Ming asked Xiao Tian Ce what he truly pursued, prompting Xiao Tian Ce to reflect on his choices and the people he had waited for.
• Xiao Tian Ce’s Dou Qi erupted and destroyed the Tower’s top floor, then he restored it and revealed he had reached Half-Emperor.
• Xiao Tian Ce told Xiao Tian Ming to keep his breakthrough quiet and take the blame for the disturbance.

Xiao Tian Ce confronted Zhu Kun outside the Jia Ma Imperial Capital after a terrifying aura shook the city, and Zhu Kun tried to learn whether Xiao Tian Ce had obtained the emperor's origin. When Zhu Kun tricked him into revealing he had not, Xiao Tian Ce unleashed his aura and refused to let him leave.

• Xiao Tian Ming appeared before Xiao Yan and the others, apologized for the disturbance caused by his breakthrough, and departed after praising Xiao Yan's heavenly flames.
• Yao Chen told Xiao Yan that the powerful figure was beyond the Dou Zun realm and advised him to focus on the Alchemist Grand Meeting and the three-year agreement.
• Xiao Tian Ce left the Heavenly Secret Tower Branch and met Zhu Kun outside the capital, where Zhu Kun demanded to know what he had taken from Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion.
• Zhu Kun offered to trade the emperor's origin for the Emperor Grade Nascent Pill, then realized from Xiao Tian Ce's response that he had not obtained the emperor's origin.
• Zhu Kun laughed at having confirmed his suspicion and prepared to leave, but Xiao Tian Ce unleashed his aura and declared he would not let Zhu Kun walk away.

Xiao Tian Ce fought Zhu Kun outside the Imperial Capital to test his new Half-Emperor strength and forced Zhu Kun to pay for his life. After Zhu Kun fled, Xiao Tian Ce returned to the Heavenly Secret Tower Branch, where Xiao Tian Ming asked about the disturbance.

• Xiao Tian Ce trapped Zhu Kun in a spiritual array and overwhelmed him with repeated Heaven Tier Dou Techniques.
• Xiao Tian Ce explained that his jade pendant let him convert stored spiritual energy into Dou Qi, allowing him to fight without tiring.
• Zhu Kun offered a peak ninth-tier medicinal herb and apologized, but Xiao Tian Ce demanded three peak ninth-tier Ancient Void Dragon Clan magic cores as well.
• Xiao Tian Ce formed a grandmaster-level spiritual array, and Zhu Kun agreed to the demand rather than face its lethal power.
• Zhu Kun handed over the three magic cores and the herb, then escaped after Xiao Tian Ce dismissed the arrays.
• Xiao Tian Ce returned to the Heavenly Secret Tower Branch, where Xiao Tian Ming asked whether he had been fighting.

Xiao Tian Ce began refining another Dou Qi Converter after recovering from his battle, while Xiao Yan advanced to the finals of the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Grand Meeting. Ya Fei appeared at the event as a deputy Branch Master of the Heavenly Secret Tower, and Fa Ma opened the finals.

• Xiao Tian Ce examined the three magic cores he had obtained from Zhu Kun and prepared to refine a Dou Qi Converter.
• Xiao Tian Ce recovered his Dou Qi, sealed himself inside a ninth-level spiritual array, and began purifying the converter's materials with the golden emperor burning heaven flame.
• Xiao Yan dominated the Alchemist Grand Meeting's qualifying rounds and reached the finals, where his green lotus core flame stunned the crowd.
• Jia Xingtian and others praised Ya Fei's rise in the Heavenly Secret Tower, while the Head of the Mu Family mocked Mittel Tengshan and provoked Hai Bodong.
• Ya Fei arrived with Wang Chao, and Yao Chen recognized that her rapid growth to One-Star Great Dou Master came from a powerful cultivation method that did not harm her body.
• Fa Ma declared the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Grand Meeting finals officially open.

Xiao Yan began the Alchemist Tournament as Yan Li secretly gained the upper hand, leaving Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma torn over whether to intervene. Far away, the North Dragon King discovered Huang Min and Huang Lingyun in the Beast Region, and Huang Min challenged him to stay and fight.

• Xiao Yan's heavenly flame drew attention at the tournament, while Ya Fei told Jia Xingtian that she expected Yan Xiao to win.
• Wang Chao recognized that the rival alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire was Yan Li in disguise, but Ya Fei advised the others to wait rather than interfere.
• Jia Xingtian urged Fa Ma to kill Yan Li before he could damage the Jia Ma Empire's reputation, but Fa Ma chose to wait and see whether a contestant could surpass him.
• Xiao Tian Ming left the tournament and found Xiao Tian Ce refining materials behind a spiritual array at the Heavenly Secret Tower Branch.
• Huang Min and Ling Yun encountered the North Dragon King, who mocked the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and announced his intention to capture the Heavenly Huang Clan survivors.
• Huang Min concealed her strength with Xiao Tian Ce's spiritual array and challenged the North Dragon King, saying he would serve as a warm-up for her appetite.

Huang Min and Huang Lingyun trapped the North Dragon King in an Eight-Level Spiritual Array and began discussing how to cook him as hot pot. Before they could finish, a nine-star Dou Sheng arrived and asked them to release him.

• Huang Lingyun and Huang Min fought the North Dragon King, matching his strength with their attacks.
• Huang Min and Huang Lingyun used their heavenly flames to distract the North Dragon King, then trapped him with an Eight-Level Spiritual Array.
• Ling Yun explained that the array would drain the North Dragon King’s Dou Qi, while Huang Min decided to make hot pot from him and save a leg for their teacher.
• The North Dragon King struggled against the array and demanded to know who had made it, but Huang Min attacked him and told Ling Yun to prepare the hot pot base.
• Huang Min sensed a nine-star Dou Sheng approaching and called for Sister Xiao Qing and Lord Heavenly Net; the newcomer asked them to release the North Dragon King.

Zhu Kun returned to the Central Plains and freed the North Dragon King from Huang Min’s Spiritual Array, but Xiao Qing, Heavenly Net, and a Nine-Star Dou Sheng Heavenly Demon Puppet arrived before he could leave. Huang Min and Ling Yun demanded that Zhu Guang surrender an arm, and the confrontation ended with Xiao Qing and Heavenly Net preparing to fight Zhu Kun.

• Zhu Kun shattered Huang Min’s Eight-Level Spiritual Array and freed the North Dragon King, Zhu Guang.
• Zhu Kun confirmed that Huang Min and Ling Yun were Xiao Tian Ce’s disciples and promised not to harm them, but insisted on taking Zhu Guang away.
• Huang Min warned that her Spiritual Array had left energy inside Zhu Guang that Xiao Tian Ce could use to track him, while Ling Yun explained the threat to Zhu Kun.
• Xiao Qing and Heavenly Net arrived, and Xiao Qing released a Nine-Star Dou Sheng-level Heavenly Demon Puppet from his Storage Ring.
• Ling Yun and Huang Min demanded that Zhu Guang leave behind an arm; Zhu Kun refused, so Xiao Qing and Heavenly Net challenged him to fight.

Zhu Guang severed his own arm to end the conflict between the Ancient Void Dragon Clan and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, while Xiao Tian Ce completed a powerful token during his seclusion. After learning about events across the continent, Xiao Tian Ce prepared to return to the Central Plains, and Ya Fei’s farewell to Xiao Yan ended with Yao Chen urgently asking whether the Soul Hall had been destroyed.

• Zhu Guang severed his own arm and offered it to the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, prompting Zhu Kun to leave with him after warning Xiao Qing and Heavenly Net that he would return.
• Xiao Qing and Heavenly Net departed, while Ling Yun noticed Huang Min’s unusual behavior and left her alone.
• Xiao Tian Ce successfully fused three ninth-rank Ancient Void Dragon magic cores into his token and gave Xiao Tian Ming the Heaven-Tier High-Level Wind Fury Technique.
• Xiao Tian Ming reported Ya Fei’s promotion, Xiao Yan’s Alchemist Tournament victory, and the confrontation involving Zhu Kun, Huang Min, and Ling Yun.
• Xiao Tian Ce decided to return to the Central Plains with Ya Fei and suspected Huang Min’s behavior was connected to the past between the Ancient Void Dragon Clan and the Heavenly Huang Clan.
• Ya Fei told Xiao Yan she was leaving for the Heavenly Secret Tower Headquarters, and Yao Chen urgently asked her whether the Soul Hall had been destroyed.

Ya Fei told Yao Chen that the Soul Hall had been destroyed, then left for the Heavenly Secret Tower headquarters under Xiao Tian Ce’s protection. Xiao Tian Ce welcomed her with a high-level Heaven-Tier cultivation method, while Xiao Qing prepared to discuss an important matter with him.

• Ya Fei told Yao Chen that the Soul Hall had been destroyed, and he celebrated before giving her an Earth Tier Dou Technique in thanks.
• Ya Fei asked Xiao Yan to spare Nalan Yanran if he won their three-year agreement, and Xiao Yan promised he would.
• Xiao Tian Ce escorted Ya Fei through the void to the Heavenly Secret Tower headquarters and introduced her to Xiao Qing as a talented manager.
• Xiao Tian Ce revealed more than a hundred heaven-tier cultivation methods and Dou Techniques, and Xiao Qing selected two lightning-attribute techniques.
• Xiao Tian Ce gave Ya Fei a high-level heaven-tier fire-attribute cultivation method as a welcome gift and asked Xiao Qing to arrange her work.

Xiao Tian Ce heard Xiao Qing’s reports, ordered her to resolve Gu Yue’s faction-building, and decided the Xiao Clan would not seize Old Man Shennong’s Life Spirit Flame. After Xiao Qing returned to Heaven Beyond, she confronted Gu Yue about her political maneuvering.

• Xiao Qing told Xiao Tian Ce about the Beast Region, and he ordered her to monitor Zhu Kun and settle Gu Yue’s conduct within a month.
• Xiao Qing reported a sealed space suspected to contain the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, and Xiao Tian Ce said he would inspect its barrier after Gu Yue’s situation was handled.
• Xiao Qing asked whether to seize Old Man Shennong’s Life Spirit Flame, and Xiao Tian Ce refused, saying the strong should respect the freedom of the weak.
• Xiao Qing reported on the Spirit Clan, Stone Clan, and Yao Clan before returning to Heaven Beyond.
• Gu Yue welcomed Xiao Qing home, but Xiao Qing dismissed the servants and confronted her about recruiting dozens of Dou Zun experts and stirring up trouble.

Xiao Qing confronted Gu Yue over her attempts to gather support within the Xiao Clan, then returned to the Heavenly Secret Tower after Xiao Tian Ce trusted her to manage the clan. At the Misty Cloud Sect, Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran began the Three-Year Agreement before a crowd of powerful spectators, and Xiao Yan declared that the fight could end in death.

• Xiao Qing confronted Gu Yue about secretly winning over Xiao Clan Dou Zun, then warned her to remain within her role as the Young Clan Leader's Wife.
• Xiao Qing returned to Xiao Tian Ce, who let the matter pass and entrusted her with handling the Heavenly Secret Tower's affairs.
• Jia Ma Empire's leading figures gathered at the Misty Cloud Sect to watch the Three-Year Agreement between Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan flew into the arena with his Purple Cloud Wings, surprising Yun Yun, who recognized him as Yao Yan.
• Nalan Yanran accepted Xiao Yan's challenge, and Xiao Yan rejected Yun Leng's rules by declaring that each fighter would accept the consequences of life or death.

Xiao Yan defeated Nalan Yanran in a single exchange and formally severed her ties to the Xiao Clan, but Yun Leng then accused him of killing Mo Cheng and revealed that he was also the alchemist Yan Xiao. The chapter ended with Yun Yun asking Xiao Yan whether the accusation was true.

• Xiao Yan shattered Nalan Yanran’s sword and defeated her with Eight Extremes Collapse, ending the Three-Year Agreement.
• Yun Yun declared Xiao Yan the winner, and Xiao Yan burned the Divorce Letter and declared that Nalan Yanran had no further ties to the Xiao Clan.
• Yun Leng ordered Misty Cloud Sect Elders to block Xiao Yan and asked whether he had killed Mo Cheng.
• Yun Leng claimed that Xiao Yan was the alchemist Yan Xiao and identified his heavenly flame as evidence linking him to Mo Cheng’s death.
• Nalan Yanran woke, realized Xiao Yan and Yan Xiao were the same person, and tried to take her own life before Yun Yun stopped her.
• Yun Yun asked Xiao Yan whether Yun Leng’s accusation was true.

Yun Yun tried to resolve Xiao Yan’s admission that he killed Mo Cheng by asking him to explain and offering a light penalty, but Yun Leng attacked before Xiao Yan could agree. Xiao Yan wounded Yun Leng and escaped into the air, where Yun Leng pursued him while Yun Yun ordered the sect’s disciples to stand down.

• Yun Yun confronted Xiao Yan over Mo Cheng’s death, and Xiao Yan admitted killing him while waiting to learn whether she would punish him.
• Yun Leng pressured Yun Yun to act, but she defended her authority and let Xiao Yan explain that Mo Cheng had abducted his friend and practiced an evil art.
• Yun Yun accepted Xiao Yan’s explanation and offered to forgive the matter in exchange for ten fourth-grade pills, but Yun Leng attacked Xiao Yan and demanded that he serve ten years in the sect.
• Xiao Yan countered Yun Leng with the Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, wounding and disfiguring him, and Yun Leng ordered the disciples to seize Xiao Yan.
• Yun Yun stopped the disciples from attacking, but Yun Leng pursued Xiao Yan himself; Yao Chen briefly took control to help Xiao Yan evade an attack, and Xiao Yan fled through the air as Yun Leng chased him.

Xiao Yan fought Yun Leng at the Misty Cloud Sect while Hai Bodong held off three elders, and Jia Ma Empire’s powerful figures chose not to intervene. Yun Leng finally struck Xiao Yan from the sky, leaving his fate uncertain as the battle continued.

• Yun Leng and three Misty Cloud Sect elders cornered Xiao Yan, but Hai Bodong blocked their attacks and helped Xiao Yan escape.
• Hai Bodong stalled three Dou Wang elders while Yun Leng pursued Xiao Yan; Nalan Yanran and Yun Yun watched, and Yun Yun comforted her student.
• Xiao Yan fought back with the Mystic Heavy Ruler, using pills to restore his Dou Qi and surprise Yun Leng, while Jia Xingtian told Fa Ma that Yun Shan had become a Dou Zong and explained why he would not intervene.
• Jia Xingtian, Fa Ma, Nalan Jie, Mittel Tengshan, and the other assembled experts stayed out of the fight, each wary of the Misty Cloud Sect or unwilling to risk their interests.
• Yun Leng eventually struck Xiao Yan with a palm, sending him crashing into a cloud of dust, and declared that he would keep him at the Misty Cloud Sect.

Xiao Yan fused the green lotus core flame and the Amethyst Winged Lion King's purple flame into a Fire Lotus, severely injuring Yun Leng and escaping his first attack. Yun Leng trapped Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong inside the Misty Cloud Sect's protective formation, and Yao Chen took control of Xiao Yan's body to confront him.

• Xiao Yan swallowed healing and recovery pills, then decided to use a Fire Lotus against Yun Leng without killing him.
• Xiao Yan lured Yun Leng into range and released the Fire Lotus while Little Cai blocked Yun Leng's escape, badly burning him.
• Xiao Yan tried to flee with Little Cai, but Yun Leng ordered the Misty Cloud Sect disciples to activate the Smoke-Cloud Sun-Covering Formation and sealed the escape route.
• Yun Leng attacked Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong with a powerful cloud arrow, which shattered Hai Bodong's ice wall.
• Yao Chen took control of Xiao Yan's body and unleashed eerie white flames against Yun Leng.

Yun Yun stopped the Misty Cloud Sect’s attack on Xiao Yan and let him leave, but Yun Leng summoned the former sect master Yun Shan. Yun Shan arrived, overpowered Xiao Yan, Hai Bodong, and Little Cai, and tried to detain Xiao Yan for ten years.

• Yao Chen used bone spirit cold flame to destroy the Misty Cloud Sect’s attack, and Yun Yun dismantled the formation and ordered Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong to leave.
• Yun Leng summoned Yun Shan just as Xiao Yan prepared to depart, and Yun Shan appeared as a Dou Zong expert.
• Yun Shan struck Hai Bodong down, questioned Xiao Yan, and demanded that he remain as a Misty Cloud Sect guest for ten years.
• Xiao Yan refused and tried to escape, but Yun Shan intercepted him and knocked him from the sky.
• Little Cai attacked Yun Shan but was thrown back, and Yun Shan suppressed Xiao Yan along with Hai Bodong and Little Cai.

Yun Shan overwhelmed Hai Bodong and Little Cai at the Misty Cloud Sect, but Little Cai revealed herself as Queen Medusa and protected Xiao Yan. Ling Ying then arrived to help, and Xiao He and Wang Chao appeared from the Heavenly Secret Tower Branch, leaving Yun Shan facing several powerful opponents.

• Yun Shan suppressed Hai Bodong and struck Little Cai down, prompting Xiao Yan to ask Yao Chen to help him kill Yun Shan.
• Little Cai transformed into Queen Medusa, who freed Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong and declared Xiao Yan under her protection.
• Ling Ying arrived to defend Xiao Yan on Xiao Xun'er's orders, and Yun Shan challenged him to a fight.
• Xiao He and Wang Chao appeared, and those present greeted the Heavenly Secret Tower experts with respect.
• Wang Chao remarked that Yun Shan had not advanced through proper means, while Xiao He noticed another soul inside Medusa and said her advancement was incomplete.