Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan survived the fusion of his three Heavenly Flames by grasping a newly born flame and awakening the Flame Sun. After it absorbed the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor’s attack and entered its Sunshine state, Xiao Yan began its final Sunset stage.

• Xiao Yan’s three Heavenly Flames began fusing, setting his Divine Pattern Space ablaze and burning his soul until he fell into a near-death vision.
• Xiao Yan understood the cycle of sunrise, sunshine, and sunset, while the Hourglass Divine Pattern rewound his body and reversed the flames’ partial fusion.
• Xiao Yan seized the newly fused flame and formed a Flame Sun that followed him and absorbed most of the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor’s Darkburn Annihilation Break.
• The Flame Sun grew to the size of a house, entered its Sunshine state, and burned the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor while rapidly draining his Dou Qi.
• The Hourglass Divine Pattern finished restoring Xiao Yan’s injuries and entered a month-long cooldown, and Xiao Yan plucked down the Flame Sun to begin its Sunset stage.

Xiao Yan nearly killed the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor with the Flame Sun, but Qing Lin and Lu Man intervened before he could deliver the final blow. Qing Lin chose to go with the Heavenly Snake Mansion, and Xiao Yan collapsed after she left; a moon-robed girl later recognized him.

• The Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor used his bloodline secret art, but Xiao Yan's Flame Sun destroyed his Blood Python Dharma Body and left him near death.
• As Xiao Yan approached to kill the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor, Qing Lin and Lu Man arrived and stopped his sword with plants.
• Lu Man explained that the Heavenly Snake Mansion would nurture Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, and Xiao Yan let Qing Lin decide for herself.
• Qing Lin chose to go with Lu Man, promising to grow stronger, while Xiao Yan warned Lu Man to treat her well.
• Lu Man put the injured Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor into her Myriad Snake Pouch, and Qing Lin gave Xiao Yan a Heavenly Snake Token before departing.
• Xiao Yan collapsed unconscious in the crater, and a moon-robed girl returned and recognized him.

Xiao Yan woke aboard a Misty Cloud Sect flying beast and learned that Nalan Yanran’s mysterious illness was erasing her memories and emotions. He chose to travel with her to the Imperial Capital, where he planned to take the Third-Rank Alchemist examination.

• Xiao Yan woke in Nalan Yanran’s cabin after she rescued him from the battlefield.
• Nalan Yanran told Xiao Yan that her illness had erased many of her memories and that she remembered taking a mysterious pill to grow stronger for his sake.
• Nalan Yanran explained that her teacher had found a possible cure but had left to search for something vital.
• Nalan Yanran told Xiao Yan that the flying beast was heading to the Imperial Capital, and he decided to go with her and take the Third-Rank Alchemist examination.

Xiao Yan arrived in the Imperial Capital with Nalan Yanran, who asked him to use his Heavenly Flames to treat her grandfather, Nalan Jie, for a deadly poison. When Nalan Yanran forgot where her family lived, Xiao Yan decided to visit the Mittel Auction House first and buy techniques for his brothers.

• Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran reached the Imperial Capital, and she asked him to visit the Nalan Family.
• Nalan Yanran explained that her grandfather, Nalan Jie, was dying from the poison of a Branding Iron Poison Seal Python, which could only be treated with a precisely controlled Heavenly Flame.
• Xiao Yan agreed to try to cure Nalan Jie but warned Nalan Yanran that he could not promise to eradicate the poison completely.
• Nalan Yanran led Xiao Yan to the Mittel Auction House after forgetting where the Nalan Family lived.
• Xiao Yan decided to shop for cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques before going to the Nalan Family, since Nalan Jie could hold on for another month.

Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran visited the Mittel Auction House in the Imperial Capital, where he reunited with Ya Fei and arranged to buy two high-level cultivation technique sets. After seeing Xiao Yan’s wealth and learning he was an Alchemist, Ya Fei invited him to visit the Heaven Tier Auction House.

• Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran entered the Mittel Auction House and encountered Ya Fei, who recognized Xiao Yan from Wutan City.
• Xiao Yan realized Nalan Yanran had disappeared while he was speaking with Ya Fei and assumed she had gotten lost.
• Xiao Yan asked Ya Fei to send two Black Tier, Advanced Level cultivation techniques with matching Dou Techniques to the leaders of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group in Stone Desert City.
• Xiao Yan showed Ya Fei a Black Card holding nearly ten million gold coins, and she learned he had become an Alchemist.
• Ya Fei agreed to arrange Xiao Yan’s purchase and invited him to see the Heaven Tier Auction House.

Xiao Yan accepted Ya Fei’s invitation to the Heaven-Tier Auction and followed her into the Mittel Auction House’s restricted area. There, Lei Le harassed Ya Fei and insulted Xiao Yan, who offered to kill him and even his grandfather; the chapter ended as Lei Le’s grandfather confronted them.

• Ya Fei told Xiao Yan that the Heaven-Tier Auction would begin within ten minutes and used her authority as acting Supervising Elder to bring him inside.
• Xiao Yan and Ya Fei passed the second-floor guards and talked about the Xiao Clan’s growing strength in Wutan City.
• Lei Le confronted Ya Fei, accused her of bringing Xiao Yan into a restricted area, and made lewd insults about her.
• Xiao Yan offered to kill Lei Le in exchange for a discount, then raised the offer to include Lei Le’s grandfather.
• Lei Le’s grandfather appeared and challenged Xiao Yan to prove his boast.

Xiao Yan killed Lei Le after the steward threatened Ya Fei, then defeated Lei Ou when he attacked in revenge. He left for the Heaven-Tier Auction after telling Ya Fei to blame him for any trouble, and she secretly gave him the Mittel Auction House’s Defense Map.

• Lei Le appealed to his grandfather Lei Ou, who threatened Ya Fei’s position as Acting Supervisory Elder.
• Xiao Yan burned Lei Le to ashes and told Ya Fei that she owed him a favor.
• Lei Ou attacked Xiao Yan with his Golden Radiance Piercing Thrust, but Xiao Yan caught the spear with two fingers and sent him flying.
• Ya Fei stopped Xiao Yan from killing Lei Ou, warning that doing so would mean declaring war on the Mittel Family.
• Xiao Yan told Ya Fei to pin any trouble on him, and she gave him the Mittel Auction House’s Defense Map before they headed toward the Heaven-Tier Auction.

Xiao Yan entered the Mittel Auction House’s Heaven-Tier Auction and watched several rare items sell while he waited for something useful. When the fifth item was revealed as an earth-tier low-grade fire Dou Technique, the Great Flame Heaven-Shattering Fist, he immediately became interested.

• Ya Fei gave Xiao Yan an identification card and parted ways with him before he entered the auction venue.
• Xiao Yan took box forty-two and learned that the Heaven-Tier Auction had begun under chief auctioneer Hua Zheng.
• Bidders bought the Stone Mountain Flame for eight million eight hundred thousand gold coins and the sealed Thunderstorm Lion for thirteen million one hundred thousand.
• Xiao Yan ordered a large spread of complimentary food while the first four auction items passed without interest.
• Hua Zheng introduced the Great Flame Heaven-Shattering Fist, prompting Xiao Yan to sit up and pay attention.

Xiao Yan won the Earth Tier Dou Technique Great Flame Heaven-Shattering Fist at the Mittel Auction House for eighteen million gold coins, paying with a Green Lotus Seed and nearly all the funds on his Black Card. He left with the technique and a renewed sense that he needed to grow much stronger.

• Ya Fei tipped Xiao Yan off about the auction, and he decided he needed an Earth Tier Dou Technique to strengthen his combat ability.
• Xiao Yan outbid the guest in private room thirty-three, securing Great Flame Heaven-Shattering Fist for eighteen million gold coins.
• Xiao Yan offered a Green Lotus Seed and his remaining Black Card funds to cover the cost.
• The Mittel Auction House appraised the seed, confirmed it covered the payment, and delivered the scroll to Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan took possession of the Earth Tier Dou Technique and felt excited to finally have one.

Xiao Yan learned the Earth Tier Dou Technique Great Flame Heaven-Shattering Fist, then watched the Emperor-Breaking Pill auction turn into a dangerous commission to kill a Shadow Tower chief tower master. After the bidders refused, Xiao Yan volunteered from private box forty-two.

• Xiao Yan studied the soul-infused Great Flame Heaven-Shattering Fist and exhausted the scroll's power as he learned the technique.
• Hua Zheng introduced the sixth-grade Emperor-Breaking Pill, which offered peak Dou Wang experts a thirty percent chance to break through to Dou Emperor.
• Hua Zheng revealed that the pill's owner wanted a soul-bound promise to kill a Shadow Tower chief tower master within ten years.
• The assembled experts stayed silent after hearing the terms, fearing the Shadow Tower's reach and strength.
• Xiao Yan spoke from private box forty-two and accepted the commission.

Xiao Yan won the Emperor-Breaking Pill by accepting a commission to kill a Shadow Tower master, then learned of an Ancient Undersea City revealed in the Endless Sea. After the auction, he confronted the Mittel Family’s Enforcement Team and subdued Juwa before a senior family member arrived to negotiate.

• Xiao Yan secured the Emperor-Breaking Pill by accepting the task of killing a Shadow Tower master within ten years.
• Hua Zheng announced that the auction’s free final item was news of an Ancient Undersea City revealed where the Endless Sea’s tides converged.
• Xiao Yan considered the distant city a possible destination for a future journey, and the Heaven-Tier Auction concluded.
• Juwa and the Mittel Family’s Enforcement Team confronted Xiao Yan over his earlier attack on a steward and an elder.
• Xiao Yan defeated Juwa with a Heavenly Flames Greatsword and held it to his neck.
• A ruddy-faced elder arrived with the injured Mittel elder and asked Xiao Yan to stay his hand.

Xiao Yan met Mittel Tengshan after a confrontation at the Mittel Auction House, and Tengshan dismissed Lei Ou while refusing to hold Xiao Yan responsible for the damage. After learning Xiao Yan could kill a Dou Emperor, Tengshan commissioned him to find the missing Ice Emperor Hai Bodong.

• Xiao Yan confirmed Mittel Tengshan's authority and agreed to speak with him privately.
• Mittel Tengshan dismissed Lei Ou from the Mittel Auction House, and the Enforcement Team carried him out.
• Xiao Yan followed Mittel Tengshan to his office and noticed a small ice flower left by a missing senior.
• Xiao Yan offered to compensate the auction house for killing its steward, but Mittel Tengshan refused and asked about his strength.
• Xiao Yan said he could kill a Dou Emperor using everything at his disposal, and Mittel Tengshan commissioned him to find Ice Emperor Hai Bodong.

Xiao Yan agreed to search for Hai Bodong in the Tagor Desert in exchange for a treasure and a future favor from the Mittel Family. While examining the family treasury, he chose an enigmatic embryonic pill, hoping to discover what it might become.

• Mittel Tengshan asked Xiao Yan to investigate the disappearance of Hai Bodong, a founder of the Mittel Family, and offered him a treasury treasure plus an unconditional request if he found him.
• Xiao Yan accepted the commission and promised to visit the Tagor Desert within a year and report what he learned.
• Mittel Tengshan gave Xiao Yan access to the Mittel Family's Heaven-Grade Treasury, where Xiao Yan inspected its rare treasures.
• Xiao Yan noticed a pitch-black pill that had once been identified by a passing Dou Emperor-level Alchemist as an embryonic pill, though neither Mittel Tengshan nor Gu He could determine what it was.
• Xiao Yan chose the embryonic pill as his reward, while Mittel Tengshan was pleased to trade the seemingly worthless item for Xiao Yan's services.

Xiao Yan secured Mittel Tengshan’s help and recommended Ya Fei for a full elder position before leaving the auction house with Nalan Yanran. At the Nalan residence, Liu Ling learned that Yanran had returned with an unfamiliar young man in black robes.

• Xiao Yan agreed to help Mittel Tengshan find Hai Bodong and promised an answer within a year.
• Xiao Yan suggested Ya Fei become a full Supervisory Elder, and Mittel Tengshan accepted; he also gave Xiao Yan a platinum card containing ten million gold coins.
• Xiao Yan met Ya Fei and Nalan Yanran, obtained a map of the Imperial Capital, and left with Yanran for the Nalan residence.
• Liu Ling reassured Nalan Su while waiting for Nalan Yanran and privately considered himself a better match for her than Xiao Yan.
• A servant announced that Nalan Yanran had returned with a young man in black robes, making Liu Ling frown.

Xiao Yan returned to the Nalan estate with Nalan Yanran and offered to treat Nalan Jie’s poison, despite being only a First-Rank Alchemist. He challenged Liu Ling’s doubts by revealing a Heavenly Flame, leaving the gathered guests stunned.

• Nalan Yanran returned home with Xiao Yan, and Nalan Su welcomed them while Liu Ling told her that Yun Yun had ordered her back to the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Nalan Yanran failed to recognize Liu Ling, while Xiao Yan offered to try treating Nalan Jie’s poison with his powerful flame.
• Liu Ling questioned Xiao Yan’s ability after learning he was a First-Rank Alchemist and warned that he might harm Nalan Jie.
• Xiao Yan argued that Gu He’s failure did not prove he could not succeed, then revealed a blood-red flame that Liu Ling recognized as a Heavenly Flame.

Xiao Yan used the myriad beast spirit flame to begin treating Nalan Jie's long-standing poison at the Nalan Family residence. He removed a third of the poison in one painful session and planned to finish the treatment over two more.

• Xiao Yan revealed his myriad beast spirit flame, drawing the Alchemists' attention before entering Nalan Jie's room with Nalan Yanran.
• Nalan Jie recognized Xiao Yan as his grandson-in-law and agreed to undergo the painful treatment.
• Xiao Yan channeled the Heavenly Flame through Nalan Jie's body and gradually burned away the poison while Nalan Jie endured the pain without crying out.
• Xiao Yan stopped after removing a third of the poison and told Nalan Su that three sessions would be needed.
• Nalan Su promised the Nalan Family would pay any price, even offering Nalan Yanran's hand in marriage, leaving Xiao Yan awkwardly taken aback.

Xiao Yan agreed to enter the Alchemist Conference after learning that its prize included a Spirit Fusion Pill, which stirred the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. After spending a month improving his alchemy at the Nalan Family, he headed to the Alchemist Guild headquarters on the eve of the competition.

• Nalan Su set aside the marriage discussion until Nalan Yanran recovered and invited Xiao Yan to stay with the Nalan Family.
• Liu Ling urged Xiao Yan to enter the Alchemist Conference, but Xiao Yan initially refused because he had no interest in joining a faction.
• Liu Ling revealed that the conference would offer a Spirit Fusion Pill recipe, and the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python twitched at its name.
• Xiao Yan agreed to compete, and Liu Ling left for the Misty Cloud Sect while privately vowing to defeat him.
• Xiao Yan stayed with the Nalan Family for a month to practice alchemy, then went to the Alchemist Guild headquarters the day before the conference.

Xiao Yan traded for a corroding bone orchid at the Alchemist Guild headquarters and then spotted Xue Mei studying a mild magical flame. The chapter left him recognizing the girl as he approached the stall displaying the peach blossom flame.

• Xiao Yan found a corroding bone orchid needed for the Nether Crystal Pill at an alchemist’s stall.
• The stall owner demanded an excessive price, so Xiao Yan offered a sand mandala and a Forgetfulness River Lotus in exchange.
• Xiao Yan completed the trade and continued browsing through the Alchemist Guild headquarters.
• Xiao Yan saw a girl fixated on the peach blossom flame and recognized her as Xue Mei of the Xue Family in Black Rock City.

Xiao Yan reunited with Xue Mei at the Alchemist Grand Meeting and stopped her from trading away a valuable pill formula for a Peach Blossom Flame alone. After helping her acquire a useful Medicine Fragrance Stone as well, he left with her to visit Masters Otto and Frank.

• Xue Mei agreed to trade a clear fourth-rank pill formula for the Peach Blossom Flame, but Xiao Yan arrived before the exchange was completed.
• Xiao Yan persuaded the seller to include a second item, then chose a pitch-black stone for Xue Mei along with the flame.
• Xiao Yan revealed that the stone was a Medicine Fragrance Stone made from Thousand Illusion Butterfly dung and explained its benefits to Xue Mei.
• Xue Mei asked Xiao Yan what rank of Alchemist he was, and he answered that he was first rank before heading toward Masters Otto and Frank.

Xiao Yan visited the Alchemist headquarters with Xue Mei, where Frank and Otto learned that he intended to take the Third-Rank Alchemist assessment. Frank and Otto offered to examine him ahead of the Alchemist Grand Meeting, which began the next day.

• Frank scolded Xue Mei for trading a fourth-grade pill formula for peach blossom flame, but Xiao Yan defended her choice and Frank let the matter go.
• Lin Fei teased Xue Mei about Xiao Yan being her boyfriend, then froze in fright when she recognized Xiao Yan.
• Otto and Frank asked Xiao Yan whether he had found Gu He, and Xiao Yan said he had instead studied under a wandering Alchemist for three months.
• Xiao Yan revealed that he planned to take the Third-Rank Alchemist assessment and register for the Alchemist Grand Meeting.
• Frank and Otto offered to oversee Xiao Yan's assessment, and he thanked them.