Chapter Summaries

Chen Cang visited Xiao Yi Xian and warned her mother that the girl had a dangerous woeful poison body nearing its first eruption. He left gold and rode away, telling them to find him in Wutan City after the eruption.

• Chen Cang asked Xiao Yi Xian’s mother for directions to Wutan City and learned that the girl was being called a jinx.
• Chen Cang offered to examine Xiao Yi Xian, then identified her as having the woeful poison body.
• Chen Cang warned Xiao Yi Xian’s mother that the poison body could erupt soon and kill everyone nearby, urging her to take the girl somewhere isolated.
• Chen Cang left the mother gold coins, told her to bring Xiao Yi Xian to him in Wutan City after the first eruption, and rode away.

Chen Cang arrived in Wutan City and joined the Xiao Clan as a Guest Elder after revealing that he was a Da Dou Shi. He settled into the clan residence, where he met the young Xiao Yan for the first time.

• Chen Cang entered Wutan City and startled a marketplace stallholder by criticizing his supposedly fresh meat.
• Captain Enqi and the onlookers were stunned when Chen Cang briefly displayed his Dou Qi Armor, revealing that he was a Da Dou Shi.
• Enqi escorted Chen Cang to the Xiao Clan, where Xiao Zhan welcomed him and asked why he wanted to join.
• Chen Cang told Xiao Zhan he had come to wait for someone and accepted a Guest Elder position for convenience.
• A servant showed Chen Cang his Elegant Courtyard, where he spotted the young Xiao Yan practicing fist techniques next door.

Chen Cang continued cultivating and advising the Xiao Clan’s younger generation, while Xiao Zhan asked him to become Xiao Yan’s teacher. Chen Cang refused, choosing to keep his distance from Xiao Yan’s future troubles and preserve his plans to join the Soul Hall.

• The Ao Ba Family and Jia Lie Family began moving toward an alliance after Chen Cang joined the Xiao Clan, while he spent the next six months cultivating and guiding Xiao Clan members.
• Chen Cang struggled to advance toward four-star Da Dou Shi and lamented that he lacked pills to speed his cultivation.
• Xiao Zhan visited Chen Cang and said four-year-old Xiao Yan had sensed Dou Qi within a day, showing greater talent than Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.
• Xiao Zhan asked Chen Cang to become Xiao Yan’s teacher and guide his cultivation.
• Chen Cang declined, saying his role as Guest Elder was enough and that becoming Xiao Yan’s teacher would make their relationship awkward.

Chen Cang joined Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, and Xiao Yan to watch Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment in Wutan City. After losing interest in the uneventful testing, he caught a mysterious message directing him to a run-down inn east of the city.

• Chen Cang agreed to accompany the three Xiao brothers to watch Jia Nan Academy recruit students.
• Xiao Li explained that applicants had come from several cities, and Xiao Ding led the group to a good viewing spot.
• Chen Cang judged the recruiting instructor to be an Outer Academy member with limited knowledge.
• The recruitment testing began, but little unusual happened, and Chen Cang soon grew bored.
• Chen Cang caught a paper ball bearing the message, “Five li east outside the city. A run-down inn. Three cups of tea, two people.”

Chen Cang met Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa outside Wutan City, learned they were probing his loyalties, and returned unharmed. Back in the Xiao Clan, he recognized a letter about an incoming Xiao Clan branch as a sign that the Gu Clan—and likely Gu Xun'er—was coming to Wutan City.

• Chen Cang followed a note to a ruined inn, where Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa invited him to tea and questioned his intentions toward their families.
• Chen Cang said he had no particular intentions toward the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families but might help the Xiao Clan if Xiao Zhan offered enough sincerity, then left.
• Jia Lie Bi decided that Chen Cang was unlikely to stay in Wutan City and that the balance could hold as long as they did not corner Xiao Zhan.
• Xiao Ding and his brothers searched for Chen Cang after he vanished, prompting Xiao Zhan to send Xiao Clan members to look for him.
• Chen Cang returned to the Xiao Clan, where Xiao Zhan showed him a letter announcing that people from a Xiao Clan branch would arrive in Wutan City.
• Chen Cang recognized the letter as a likely sign that the Gu Clan and Gu Xun'er were coming, though he waited for their arrival to confirm it.

Chen Cang learned that Gu Xun'er had arrived at the Xiao Clan, though he missed Gu Yuan and held back from meeting her because Ling Ying was nearby. After Ling Ying discovered the Void Pegasus Beast, Chen Cang realized he might use the investigation to approach Gu Xun'er without raising suspicion.

• Xiao Yan reached three-stage dou qi in eight months while Chen Cang advanced to five-star Da Dou Shi, leaving Xiao Yan determined to catch up.
• Xiao Yu told Chen Cang that a guest had arrived and that the clan leader was receiving them.
• Chen Cang learned from Xiao Zhan that a young girl from the Gu Clan had been settled in the courtyard beside his, and he realized she was Gu Xun'er.
• Chen Cang saw someone putting things away in Gu Xun'er's room but chose not to approach because Ling Ying might be watching.
• Chen Cang read the Void Pegasus Beast's memories and learned that Ling Ying had appeared and examined it.
• Chen Cang realized Ling Ying's investigation might let him approach Gu Xun'er without arousing suspicion.

Chen Cang waited for Gu Xun'er and Ling Ying to investigate him, expecting them to approach him so he could control what they learned. After Ling Ying urged Gu Xun'er to question him, she met Chen Cang at the training square and introduced herself as Xiao Xun'er.

• Chen Cang kept to his routine while Gu Xun'er stayed out of sight for several days.
• Ling Ying told Gu Xun'er that his investigation had revealed little about Chen Cang and urged her to draw information from him herself.
• Gu Xun'er agreed to approach Chen Cang by asking him for cultivation advice.
• Gu Xun'er went to the training square and asked Chen Cang if she could ask him a question.
• Chen Cang asked who she was, and Gu Xun'er introduced herself as Xiao Xun'er; both privately considered their first step successful.

Chen Cang used Xiao Xun'er’s question about painful cultivation to inspect some of her memories and learn about her prepared cultivation methods. After choosing the gentler Two Poles Flame Spirit Method, he began switching to it that night.

• Xiao Xun'er asked Chen Cang why cultivating Dou Qi caused her pain, and he suggested that her meridians were fragile and could be gradually soothed with someone’s Dou Qi.
• Xiao Xun'er thanked Chen Cang and asked if she could bring him future questions, and he agreed as long as they were within his abilities.
• Chen Cang reviewed the memories he had accessed and discovered Xiao Xun'er had read the Low Earth Tier methods Heavenly Flame Art and Two Poles Flame Spirit Method.
• Chen Cang compared the two methods, chose the gentler Two Poles Flame Spirit Method, and immediately began switching his cultivation method.

After changing to a higher-grade cultivation method, Chen Cang grew closer to Xiao Xun'er while she and Ling Ying investigated his past. Ling Ying left Wutan City to verify Chen Cang’s story, giving him an opportunity he immediately recognized.

• Chen Cang practiced the Sea-Splitting Palm after switching cultivation methods and told Xiao Xun'er he had made gains but had not broken through.
• Xiao Xun'er visited Chen Cang to ask cultivation questions, and Ling Ying later confirmed that Chen Cang had likely acquired an Earth Tier Cultivation Method.
• Over the next month, Chen Cang and Xiao Xun'er became friends as he shared details of his past, including his journey through the Chu Yun Empire and across the Tagor Desert.
• Ling Ying pieced together Chen Cang’s background and asked to leave for about two months to verify his account; Xiao Xun'er agreed.
• Chen Cang discovered during Xiao Xun'er's customary visit that Ling Ying had left, and he realized it was a perfect opportunity.

Chen Cang left Wutan City for the Imperial Capital to buy cultivation resources, leaving Xiao Yu to keep watch over Xiao Yan while he was away. After several days of auctions, he finally found a pill he desperately wanted: the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.

• Chen Cang told Xiao Xun'er he was leaving for the Imperial Capital and asked her to keep cultivating while he was gone.
• Chen Cang arranged for Xiao Yu to stay in his Small Courtyard and supervise Xiao Yan before setting out on the Void Pegasus Beast.
• Chen Cang reached the Imperial Capital in less than a day, read a local's memories to learn the city's layout, and went to the Mittel Auction House.
• Chen Cang sold two portions of Qi Gathering Powder and spent one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins on a Storage Ring at his first auction.
• Chen Cang attended auctions for eight days, then eagerly urged the auctioneer to hurry as the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill was presented.

Chen Cang bought a Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill in the Imperial Capital and returned toward Wutan City before heading to the Magical Beast Mountain Range. At the Xiao Clan, Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yan both missed him, and Xiao Yan rushed to greet him when he returned.

• Chen Cang outbid the Mu Family and bought the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill for seven hundred thousand gold coins.
• Chen Cang assessed his cultivation plans, left the Imperial Capital, and rode toward Wutan City.
• Chen Cang reached Wutan City at dawn and turned his horse toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Xiao Xun'er stayed in her courtyard and missed Chen Cang and Ling Ying after they left the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Yu agreed to stop following Xiao Yan just as Chen Cang returned, and Xiao Yan ran to greet him while Xiao Xun'er came out of her room.

Chen Cang returned to the Xiao Clan and grew closer to Xiao Xun'er as she accompanied him through his daily life. After Ling Ying uncovered Chen Cang’s true age and origins, Chen Cang completed a double breakthrough and revealed he had reached Seven-Star Great Dou Master.

• Xiao Yan persuaded Chen Cang to stop having Xiao Yu supervise his cultivation, then left happily.
• Chen Cang praised Xiao Xun'er’s cultivation progress and shared a fabricated story about his discoveries in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Over the following month, Xiao Xun'er accompanied Chen Cang and learned secrets about his poison-making and Purple Cloud Wings.
• Ling Ying reported that Chen Cang was actually thirteen and had been taken in by Ding Dian in Tianying City.
• Chen Cang completed two breakthroughs to become a Seven-Star Great Dou Master, and Xiao Xun'er teased him by calling him “brother.”

Chen Cang helped Xiao Xun'er nourish her meridians after she pushed herself too hard cultivating, then spent eight more months with the Xiao Clan as his reputation spread. When Xiao Yi Xian arrived in Wutan City, Chen Cang decided it was time to leave.

• Chen Cang learned that Ling Ying had returned early and Xiao Xun'er had discovered his true age, leading her to call him Brother Chen Cang.
• Chen Cang found Xiao Xun'er pale after she overexerted herself cultivating and warned her to stop pushing her limits.
• Xiao Xun'er explained that she wanted to grow stronger so Chen Cang would not have to focus on protecting her, and Chen Cang carefully nourished her meridians with Dou Qi.
• Chen Cang left Xiao Xun'er's courtyard after the treatment, while she prepared to persuade Ling Ying not to interfere with her cultivation.
• Eight months passed, and Chen Cang's fame as the Xiao Clan's young Da Dou Shi Guest Elder spread beyond Wutan City.
• Chen Cang received a letter in Xiao Yi Xian's handwriting and decided to leave the Xiao Clan now that she had arrived in Wutan City.

Xiao Yi Xian and her mother reunited with Chen Cang and pledged to serve him in gratitude for saving their lives, while asking him to cure Xiao Yi Xian’s dangerous condition. Three days later, Chen Cang gathered the Xiao family and Xiao Xun'er to announce that he was preparing to leave.

• Xiao Zhan received Xiao Yi Xian and her mother, then left them alone with Chen Cang.
• Xiao Yi Xian’s mother recounted how they fled to the Magical Beast Mountain Range, where Xiao Yi Xian’s woeful poison body erupted and poisoned the valley.
• Xiao Yi Xian and her mother knelt and offered to become Chen Cang’s slaves and maids in exchange for his help controlling her condition.
• Chen Cang promised to do everything he could to resolve the danger within Xiao Yi Xian, then settled her and her mother in his courtyard.
• Xiao Xun'er grew angry that Xiao Yi Xian’s arrival ended her exclusivity with Chen Cang, while Chen Cang waited for a chance to address it.
• Three days after their arrival, Chen Cang gathered Xiao Yan, his two brothers, Xiao Zhan, and Xiao Xun'er and announced that he planned to set out.

Chen Cang left the Xiao Clan to travel through the Tagor Desert and arrived in Desert City, where he sought out Ice Emperor Hai Bodong. As Chen Cang approached the famous Map Shop, Hai Bodong suddenly fled in terror, leaving Chen Cang bewildered.

• Chen Cang told Xiao Zhan and the Xiao Clan that he planned to leave Wutan City and travel, promising Xiao Xun'er he would return.
• Xiao Zhan offered Chen Cang a letter of introduction to the Nalan Family in the imperial capital.
• Chen Cang departed on the Void Pegasus Beast, and Xiao Xun'er watched him go while Ling Ying reassured her about his strength.
• Chen Cang reached Desert City at night and went straight to its famous Map Shop to meet Ice Emperor Hai Bodong.
• As Chen Cang approached the Map Shop, Hai Bodong burst out, brought the shop crashing down, and fled in panic.

Chen Cang chased down Hai Bodong after the Ice Emperor mistook him for Queen Medusa, and the two fought until Hai Bodong chose to stop. Hai Bodong explained that he had recognized Medusa’s aura on Chen Cang, leaving the reason for the mark unexplained.

• Chen Cang ordered the Void Pegasus Beast to catch Hai Bodong, who fled believing Queen Medusa was pursuing him.
• Hai Bodong attacked Chen Cang with Mysterious Ice Thorn, but Chen Cang reflected it with Swallow Return Strike and wounded his face.
• Chen Cang fought Hai Bodong with his spear and Bagua Palm, overwhelming his defenses until Hai Bodong had little Dou Qi left.
• Chen Cang stopped after venting his anger, and Hai Bodong decided not to continue the fight because they were not true enemies.
• Chen Cang introduced himself and asked why Hai Bodong had mistaken him for Queen Medusa.
• Hai Bodong said Chen Cang bore Medusa’s hidden aura and had moved at a speed he associated with her.

Chen Cang bought maps from Hai Bodong, took a Fragmented Map, and left after refusing to be pressured into revealing what he knew. When Hai Bodong returned to his hidden chamber, he discovered that Chen Cang had already stolen the other Fragmented Map.

• Hai Bodong told Chen Cang that Medusa had secretly marked him to track his location, and Chen Cang resolved to examine himself for the mark.
• Chen Cang searched Hai Bodong's maps, judged that the Ice Emperor's seal left him badly weakened, and took a Fragmented Map after paying for another map.
• Hai Bodong revealed that the Fragmented Map had been split in two and threatened to destroy his remaining piece unless Chen Cang shared what he knew.
• Chen Cang dismissed the threat and left with the Void Pegasus Beast, while Hai Bodong wondered whether he truly had no interest in the other piece.
• Hai Bodong returned to his underground chamber and found that the Fragmented Map hidden in a Redwood Box was missing, replaced by a note saying Chen Cang was not planning to take on a disciple.

Chen Cang stayed in a ruined house in Stone Desert City, where he found and erased a hidden mark Hai Bodong had placed on him. Meanwhile, Medusa prepared to enter seclusion again, leaving Hua She'er in charge of the Holy City.

• Chen Cang accepted the little girl’s offer to stay, recognizing her as the child he had given food to two years earlier.
• Chen Cang examined his body with Soul Perception and discovered a faint snake-shaped mark on his spine.
• Chen Cang erased Hai Bodong’s mark and found no other abnormalities in his body.
• Chen Cang left the house at dawn and wondered whether Pill King Gu He could help him test his Soul Perception.
• Medusa recalled the man and horse who had caught her interest two years earlier, then ordered Hua She'er to manage the Holy City while she entered seclusion.

Chen Cang searched the Tagor Desert for the Green Lotus Core Flame, using Sandfish Lizards to track clues in their memories. Hai Bodong mistook Medusa’s aura for proof that Chen Cang had died and fled Stone Desert City, while Medusa watched Chen Cang’s search with growing curiosity.

• Chen Cang used Sandfish Lizards to search the desert around Stone Desert City for the Green Lotus Core Flame, hoping it would grant him the wood attribute needed to become an Alchemist.
• After searching more than a hundred li without finding a clue, Chen Cang returned to Stone Desert City and lodged at an inn.
• Hai Bodong tracked Chen Cang to Stone Desert City, planning to demand a share of the map’s treasure or compensation.
• Hai Bodong sensed Medusa’s aura, assumed she had killed Chen Cang and taken the map fragment, and fled toward the city gates.
• Medusa recognized Hai Bodong but ignored him, then focused her interest on Chen Cang and the secret he was searching for in the desert.

Chen Cang wrote to Xiao Xun'er about his plan to use Queen Medusa's strength in the Tagor Desert, then prepared to advance his cultivation. He successfully broke through from peak Nine-Star Great Dou Master, while the Void Pegasus Beast had already advanced to the fifth tier.

• Chen Cang wrote Xiao Xun'er a letter explaining his secret goal in Tagor, Queen Medusa's interest in him, and the Void Pegasus Beast's advancement.
• Chen Cang sent the letter and stayed close to the Void Pegasus Beast, which he considered his trump card against Queen Medusa.
• Chen Cang began cultivating after reaching the peak of Nine-Star Great Dou Master.
• Chen Cang's Dou Crystal transformed as he absorbed energy, and a surge of power marked his breakthrough.
• The Void Pegasus Beast woke to the commotion and saw Chen Cang delighted amid the wrecked room.