Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan arrived to find Zhou Tai badly injured by the Tian Brothers’ puppets and took them on himself. He summoned two avatars to fight alongside him, but their first attack was easily shattered, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Xiao Yan gave Zhou Tai a medicinal pill and confronted the Tian Brothers over their attack.
• Tian Long and his brothers mocked Fu Yulong and sent their three puppets to attack Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan told Luo Jin and Leng Bingshuang to watch Fu Yulong and the other opponent while he faced the puppets alone.
• Xiao Yan summoned two peak Nine-Star Dou Di avatars using the Nine Revolutions Avatar Art.
• The three Xiao Yans attacked with Wasteland-Spanning Fingers, but the puppets shattered the techniques and overwhelmed them in the opening exchange.

Xiao Yan revealed that he had tricked the Tian Brothers, killed them, and stopped their puppets. Fu Yulong and Wu Kui fled Qingyang City, leaving Xiao Yan and his companions victorious.

• Xiao Yan reappeared before the Tian Brothers after they mocked his apparent defeat and killed all three with pale blue flames.
• The three puppets fell into the city after their controllers died, and Xiao Yan reassured Luo Jin, Leng Bingshuang, and Xiao Yi Xian that he was unharmed.
• Xiao Yan challenged Fu Yulong and Wu Kui to continue fighting, but Wu Kui refused to risk confronting him.
• Fu Yulong and Wu Kui fled, with Fu Yulong promising that he and Xiao Yan would meet again.

Xiao Yan examined the three Origin Return Realm puppets and learned that they came from the Heavenly Puppet Sect, which backed the Sea Cloud Palace. He took control of one puppet and gave the other two to Xiao Yi Xian and Liu Huabai, while suspecting the sect’s men had another reason for targeting him.

• Xiao Yan tested a puppet’s metal-hard body and found it tougher than the Northern King’s, though old cracks and damage weakened it.
• Zhou Tai identified the puppets as products of the Heavenly Puppet Sect, and Luo Jin explained the sect backed the Sea Cloud Palace and sought control of Qingyang City.
• Xiao Yan doubted that the Heavenly Puppet Sect had sent powerful fighters only over Qingyang City and suspected they had been interested in him, as Ye Luotian had been.
• Xiao Yan engraved his spiritual imprint on one puppet and ordered it to kneel, then assigned the other puppets to Xiao Yi Xian and Liu Huabai.

Xiao Yan gave the Liu Clan a powerful puppet and received their pledge of loyalty through a Lightning Punishment Oath. After more than a month of peace, he and six companions prepared to leave Qingyang City, while Leng Bingshuang and the One-Horned Whale Serpent stayed behind.

• Liu Huabai imprinted his soul on the puppet and led the Liu Clan in pledging to follow Xiao Yan, prompting the clan to swear a Lightning Punishment Oath.
• Xiao Yan thanked the Liu Clan and warned them to keep the puppet hidden unless they had no other choice.
• Xiao Yan examined the three brothers’ Storage Rings and found rare materials, Cultivation Methods, and Combat Skills, but no Spirit Stones.
• After more than a month of calm, Xiao Yan decided to leave Qingyang City early with Bai Hua, Xiao Yi Xian, Luo Jin, the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape, Zhou Tai, and Mu Leng.
• Leng Bingshuang stayed to take Murong Qianqian to the Western Region, while the One-Horned Whale Serpent remained to guard the Liu Clan; Bai Hua gave the serpent a drop of his blood essence.

Xiao Yan’s group stopped in Liu Cang City to rest on their journey toward the Burning Flame Valley, where the city’s powerful residents took notice of them. Liu Clan leader Liu Changsheng invited them to his clan, but Xiao Yan told him they only wanted to rest and asked him to leave.

• Xiao Yan’s group entered Liu Cang City and sensed numerous powerful experts, including an Origin Return Realm cultivator protecting the city.
• When men made lewd remarks about Xiao Yi Xian, she frightened them with her killing intent, and Xiao Yan’s pale blue flame turned them into ice sculptures after the group moved on.
• An old man at a Liu Clan estate sensed the arrivals and ordered a guard to summon the clan leader.
• Liu Changsheng came to the guesthouse and invited Xiao Yan and the others to visit the Liu Clan.
• Xiao Yan refused the invitation, explaining that the group only wanted to rest for the night.

Xiao Yan accepted Clan Head Liu’s invitation and met Liu Ya, the Liu Clan’s Origin Return Realm guardian. After learning that Xiao Yan’s group was bound for the Far Southern Land, Liu Ya offered the clan’s flying beasts to speed their journey.

• Xiao Yan accepted Clan Head Liu’s invitation after recognizing Liu Ya’s voice as that of the Liu Clan’s powerful guardian.
• Xiao Yan and his companions met Liu Ya, who dismissed the Liu Clan members Xiao Yan had killed as good-for-nothings and welcomed the group.
• Liu Ya learned that Xiao Yan’s group had come from Qingyang City and asked whether they had fought the Sea Cloud Palace master; Xiao Yan confirmed it.
• Xiao Yan asked Liu Ya not to reveal their departure to Fu Yulong, and Liu Ya promised the Liu Clan would not help the Sea Cloud Palace.
• Xiao Yan told Liu Ya that the group was traveling to the Far Southern Land, and Liu Ya offered the Liu Clan’s flying beasts to carry them there faster.

Xiao Yan and his companions accepted Liu Ya’s invitation and visited the Liu Clan’s flying-beast grounds to arrange travel to the Far Southern Land. The chapter ended with Liu Ya demanding three hundred Spirit Stones per person, surprising the group because he had never mentioned a fee.

• Xiao Yan accepted Liu Ya’s invitation to stay at the Liu Clan residence, though Liu Ya’s delighted smile kept him wary through the night.
• The next morning, Liu Ya and Liu Changsheng guided Xiao Yan and his companions to a canyon where the Liu Clan kept its flying beasts.
• Liu Ya proudly showed off the clan’s suspended pavilion bridge, but it cracked beneath a Purple-Winged Bird, prompting Liu Ya to order Liu Changsheng to double the beasts’ training.
• Xiao Yan and Luo Jin spotted a young woman in a blue dress whose cultivation was at the Late Origin Transformation Realm.
• Liu Ya said the clan’s strongest flying beasts could reach the Far Southern Land in about ten days, then surprised Xiao Yan by asking for three hundred Spirit Stones per person.

Xiao Yan and his companions paid Liu Ya for their journey and tried to rent a Wind Vulture Beast, only to find that a woman had claimed the last available one. As the group considered settling for a slower beast, Liu Changsheng revealed there was another Origin Transformation Realm flying beast, but left his explanation unfinished.

• Liu Ya charged Xiao Yan's group 2,100 Spirit Stones for their stay and an escort, and Mu Leng paid the bill when Xiao Yan could not afford it.
• Liu Ya led the group to rent a Wind Vulture Beast, but the person in charge said the only remaining Origin Transformation Realm beast had already been chosen.
• Xiao Yan and Luo Jin asked the woman in a blue dress to transfer the Wind Vulture Beast, but she refused and ordered it to fly away.
• The Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape suggested using a slower beast, and Liu Changsheng told the group that another Origin Transformation Realm flying beast existed, but there was a catch.

Xiao Yan learned that the Liu Clan’s other flying beast was an uncontrollable magical beast with a powerful bloodline, and he asked to see it. The group found a Blood Flame Bird in a cave filled with spent Spirit Stones, where the awakened bird immediately challenged the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape.

• Liu Changsheng revealed that the Liu Clan had another flying beast, but Liu Ya explained that no one could control it after its bloodline awakened in adulthood.
• Xiao Yan asked Liu Ya to take the group to see the beast, and Liu Ya agreed after considering the Spirit Stones Xiao Yan had given him.
• Liu Changsheng led the group through a tunnel into a spacious cave, where they saw piles of drained Spirit Stones and a giant bird resting in the sunlight.
• Xiao Yan and the others recognized the bird as a Blood Flame Bird, a rare magical beast whose clan had once held great status.
• The Blood Flame Bird opened his eyes, fixed his gaze on the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape, and roared at the monkey for calling him by name.

Xiao Yan confronted the Blood Flame Bird after it attacked the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape, then tried to force the stubborn bird to take the group to the Far Southern Land. The bird refused even after an hour of being beaten, so Xiao Yan decided to pluck its feathers instead.

• The Blood Flame Bird attacked the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape with flaming stones and a pillar of fire, burning him and blasting him backward.
• Xiao Yan blocked the Blood Flame Bird’s feathers, dodged its sudden attack, and slammed it into the cave floor.
• Xiao Yan demanded that the Blood Flame Bird take them to the Far Southern Land, then repeatedly battered it when it refused; Liu Ya and Liu Changsheng worried about the consequences but were relieved the bird remained alive.
• After nearly an hour, the Blood Flame Bird still refused to cooperate, so Xiao Yan called Old Yuan to hold it down while he threatened to pluck it.

Xiao Yan forced the Blood Flame Bird to agree to carry him and his companions to the Far Southern Land by threatening to pluck out its crest. After the bird yielded, Xiao Yan called everyone to prepare for departure.

• Xiao Yan had the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape beat the Blood Flame Bird until it could no longer resist.
• Xiao Yan threatened to pluck the Blood Flame Bird's golden crest unless it agreed to lead them.
• The Blood Flame Bird agreed to carry Xiao Yan and his companions to the Far Southern Land.
• Liu Ya eased the Origin Qi he had prepared to intervene, and Xiao Yan told everyone to prepare to set off.

Xiao Yan and his companions left Liu Cang City on the Blood Flame Bird and traveled toward their destination, while Liu Ya explained why the Liu Clan needed to keep its distance from Xiao Yan. As they approached a clash in the sky, Luo Jin recognized a voice and prepared to act.

• Liu Ya praised Xiao Yan's strength but warned Liu Changsheng that the Liu Clan should avoid involvement because of the forces behind Fu Yulong and the Sea Cloud Palace.
• After noticing the damage to the canyon, Liu Ya ordered his people to chase Xiao Yan and make him pay, but the group had already left.
• Xiao Yan and his companions spent two days traveling on the Blood Flame Bird, with Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian cultivating while Luo Jin admired the scenery and thought of someone he had met.
• Hearing a battle ahead, Xiao Yan told the Blood Flame Bird to slow down and go around it.
• Luo Jin recognized one of the voices from the battle and tensed as he gathered Origin Qi.

Xiao Yan and Luo Jin encountered the blue-gowned woman from the canyon being attacked by three gray-robed men. Luo Jin intervened to protect her, and Xiao Yan helped drive the attackers away, leaving Luo Jin to greet her again.

• Luo Jin directed the Blood Flame Bird toward the battle instead of avoiding it, and Xiao Yan recognized the woman being attacked.
• The blue-gowned woman fought off the three men but grew exhausted and was wounded as they closed in on her.
• Luo Jin rushed between the woman and two attackers, knocking them away with a single palm strike.
• Xiao Yan appeared and sent the two men flying again, while the remaining attacker fled.
• Luo Jin greeted the woman and remarked that they had met three times.

Xiao Yan confronted Li Bingrui after she hinted that she knew him and that he would soon meet certain people again, but she displayed her strength and departed before answering his questions. Xiao Yan and his companions continued south and arrived at Hopeless City in the Far Southern Land three days later.

• Li Bingrui recognized Xiao Yan and spoke cryptically about people whose presence she sensed on him before leaving on the Wind Vulture Beast.
• Xiao Yan blocked Li Bingrui and demanded answers, but she formed an ice spike near his brow to show that he had underestimated her.
• Xiao Yan let Li Bingrui go after realizing she had held back her strength, and she called back her name as she departed.
• The Blood Flame Bird recognized Li Bingrui and recalled that she had once beaten him so badly that he fled his clan.
• Xiao Yan and his companions traveled without further incident for three days and reached Hopeless City in the Far Southern Land.

Xiao Yan and his companions reached Hopeless City, where he saw how powerful and prosperous the Far Southern Land was and learned more about its Three Sects. They continued toward Burning Flame Valley with time to spare before its sect competition.

• The Blood Flame Bird accepted Xiao Yan’s tier-five medicinal pills, warned him not to antagonize Li Bingrui, and flew away.
• Xiao Yan led his companions into Hopeless City and reflected that he had finally reached the Far Southern Land on his way to Burning Flame Valley and the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva.
• The group saw the city’s many powerful cultivators, including numerous Origin Return Realm experts, and attracted attention themselves.
• Xiao Yan asked Zhou Tai about the Three Sects of the Southern Region, and Zhou Tai named the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect as the third faction alongside Burning Flame Valley and the Heavenly Puppet Sect.
• Zhou Tai explained that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect was founded by a powerful magical beast and was the Far Southern Land’s only sect whose disciples were magical beasts.

Xiao Yan learned about the tense balance among the Far Southern Land’s three major factions and entered Hopeless City with his companions. While the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect’s master ordered Xiao Yan killed, Xiao Yan found a Mirror-Breaking Flower that might help restore the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape’s cultivation.

• Zhou Tai explained that the three Southern Region powers maintained their balance through mutual distrust, and Xiao Yan suspected Li Bingrui had a powerful teacher.
• Zhou Tai reassured Xiao Yan that they could leave after obtaining the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva, and Xiao Yan led the group into Hopeless City.
• The Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect’s master learned that a human had killed members of his race and ordered an underling to kill Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan and his companions settled into Hopeless City and explored its shops for valuable materials.
• At the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, Xiao Yan spotted a Mirror-Breaking Flower that could help the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape recover his cultivation.

Xiao Yan visited the Hundred Herbs Pavilion in Hopeless City to find Mirror-Breaking Flowers for refining pills, while manager Hu Yanzao tried to inflate their value. Just as Xiao Yan hesitated over what to do, a young man in brocade robes declared that he wanted every remaining flower.

• Xiao Yan spotted a Mirror-Breaking Flower and considered using it to refine pills for his party.
• Hu Yanzao introduced himself as a Hundred Herbs Pavilion manager and said the shop had received more Mirror-Breaking Flowers.
• Xiao Yan asked the price, and Hu Yanzao explained that the pavilion required exchanges for ingredients of equal or greater value.
• Hu Yanzao praised the flower’s potential to produce valuable Mirror-Breaking Pills and urged Xiao Yan to see its profit-making potential.
• A young man in brocade robes interrupted and announced that he wanted all the remaining Mirror-Breaking Flowers.

Xiao Yan encountered a wealthy young man named Fang and his powerful guard, Master Lan, at the Hundred Herbs Pavilion. After recognizing that Fang was poisoned, Xiao Yan offered to cure him and revealed a Heavenly Flame to convince Master Lan.

• Fang wanted to buy all five Mirror-Breaking Flowers, but Master Lan warned him that the Fang Clan did not need them.
• Master Lan's Late Origin Return Realm cultivation silenced the people mocking Fang and caught Xiao Yan's attention.
• Master Lan decided to leave with Fang and told Hu Yanzao to keep the Mirror-Breaking Flowers.
• Xiao Yan called out to Master Lan and said Fang seemed to be afflicted by poison that he might be able to cure.
• Master Lan dismissed Xiao Yan's claim, so Xiao Yan summoned a pale blue Heavenly Flame, shocking him.

Xiao Yan revealed his Heavenly Flame to Master Lan, who asked him to cure Fang Zhicong’s poison. After agreeing, Xiao Yan obtained all of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion’s Mirror-Breaking Flowers, while Hu Yanzao charged substantial fees for the transaction.

• Master Lan recognized Xiao Yan’s pale blue flame as a Heavenly Flame and introduced himself and Fang Zhicong while apologizing for his earlier discourtesy.
• Lan Ye explained that Fang Zhicong’s poison was draining his cultivation and could be cured by a Heavenly Flame or sufficiently powerful cultivation, then asked Xiao Yan to help.
• Xiao Yan agreed to expel Fang Zhicong’s poison and asked Hu Yanzao to set aside the Mirror-Breaking Flower for him.
• Lan Ye paid for every Mirror-Breaking Flower in the Hundred Herbs Pavilion’s stock and supplied the other medicinal ingredients Xiao Yan needed.
• Hu Yanzao charged Xiao Yan thousands of Spirit Stones in labor fees, making Xiao Yan realize how profitably the pavilion had arranged the deal.

Xiao Yan learned how the Hundred Herbs Pavilion used its monopoly on high-grade medicinal ingredients to profit from auctions while exploiting mercenaries. He then examined the unconscious Fang Zhicong, and Lan Ye realized Xiao Yan’s Spiritual Strength was comparable to that of a Fifth-Tier Alchemist.

• Lan Ye explained that the Hundred Herbs Pavilion controlled high-grade medicinal ingredients in Hopeless City and used auctions to secure its real profits.
• Xiao Yan reflected that the Pavilion’s dominance persisted because the other shops lacked the strength to challenge it.
• Lan Ye asked whether Xiao Yan was an alchemist, and Xiao Yan confirmed that he was.
• Lan Ye brought Xiao Yan to a residence where Fang Zhicong lay unconscious after Lan Ye had knocked him out.
• Xiao Yan released his Spiritual Strength to examine Fang Zhicong, and Lan Ye recognized its power as comparable to a Fifth-Tier Alchemist’s.