Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan and Qin Yan began their long-awaited battle at Burning Flame Valley, trading hundreds of blows before unleashing their Dou Techniques. The fight continued as Qin Yan sent a rain of flames toward Xiao Yan and Xiao Yan countered with the Wasteland-Spanning Finger.

• Xiao Yan worried that the master of Burning Flame Valley would not appear in time for him to pursue the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva.
• At dawn, Xiao Yan and Qin Yan arrived at the square, where spectators discussed Xiao Yan’s strength and the Cloud-Hidden Pavilion.
• Xiao Yan and Qin Yan exchanged greetings before Xiao Yan revealed that his cultivation had improved and he was nearing the Middle Origin Return Realm.
• Xiao Yan struck first, and he and Qin Yan fought hundreds of close-range exchanges without either gaining the advantage.
• Xiao Yan and Qin Yan shifted to Dou Techniques; Qin Yan launched Wan Huo Starfall, and Xiao Yan answered with the Wasteland-Spanning Finger.

Xiao Yan and Qin Yan fought an intense battle that destroyed the platform and strained Burning Flame Valley’s protective array. After exchanging blows with their weapons and Heavenly Flame, they agreed to decide the winner with one final strike as Qin Yan prepared his Great Dao Technique, Fen Tian's Wrath.

• Xiao Yan and Qin Yan’s clash drew the crowd’s admiration and prompted outside factions to consider aligning with Burning Flame Valley.
• Xiao Yan and Qin Yan traded Dou Techniques until Burning Flame Valley’s elders activated the array to contain the destruction.
• Qin Yan formed a flaming spear, and Xiao Yan revealed the Heavenly Flame coating his Heavy Xuan Ruler.
• Qin Yan and Xiao Yan fought fiercely with spear and ruler, and both emerged battered but exhilarated.
• Qin Yan proposed deciding the winner with one strike and began gathering energy for Fen Tian's Wrath.

Qin Yan unveiled a Great Dao Technique that gathered the flames around the arena into a massive spear, leaving Xiao Yan facing a threat beyond ordinary Dou Techniques. As Qin Yan's attack filled the square with blinding light, Xiao Yan began combining a white flame and a blue flame in his hands.

• Qin Yan summoned the Great Dao of Fire and formed an enormous flaming spear above the arena.
• The Origin King experts and Burning Flame Valley deacons reacted with alarm, and Xuan Hua ordered the arena's defensive array reinforced.
• Xiao Yan recognized the danger of Qin Yan's Great Dao Technique and realized ordinary Dou Techniques would not be enough to defeat him.
• Xiao Yan manifested a white flame and a blue flame in his palms and pressed them together before Qin Yan's astonished gaze.

Xiao Yan and Qin Yan unleashed a Fire Lotus and a massive fire spear, whose collision shattered Burning Flame Valley’s defensive formation and sent a deadly wave of flames toward the arena’s occupants. The Valley Master appeared just in time, gathered the flames back into Xiao Yan and Qin Yan, and saved everyone.

• Xiao Yan formed a pale blue Fire Lotus from his Heavenly Flames as the experts watched in alarm.
• Li Chengxu ordered the Burning Flame Valley elders and deacons to reinforce the formation around the square.
• Xiao Yan and Qin Yan launched the Fire Lotus and fire spear, and their collision overwhelmed the formation.
• The formation broke, and the resulting flames swept toward the Burning Flame Valley disciples and the experts outside the arena.
• The Valley Master appeared, gathered the flames with an invisible force, and returned their power to Xiao Yan and Qin Yan.

Ancestor Fen Tian returned to Burning Flame Valley and recognized Xiao Yan’s connection to an old acquaintance, while Xiao Yan and Luo Jin learned the valley had no Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva left. Xiao Yan hinted that he might know why its supply had dwindled.

• Ancestor Fen Tian appeared after dispersing the energy storm and heard Li Chengxu explain what had happened.
• Xiao Xuan recognized Fen Tian, and Xiao Yan learned that the valley master had once been close to the Xiao Clan and had reached the Dou Di realm with Xiao Yan’s ancestor.
• Xiao Xuan told Xiao Yan not to approach Fen Tian about their past yet, since finding Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva remained their priority.
• Fen Tian greeted Luo Jin and Xiao Yan, then said Burning Flame Valley had no Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva left to give them.
• Xiao Yan said he could make a rough guess about why the supply had dwindled.

After the sect competition, Ancestor Fen Tian asked Xiao Yan to explain why the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva had stopped forming. Xiao Yan suspected it was transforming into Earth Core Marrow, and Ancestor Fen Tian took him to the hidden cave behind Burning Flame Valley to investigate.

• Ancestor Fen Tian met Xiao Yan privately after the competition and asked him about the change in the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva.
• Xiao Yan explained that the saliva might be sublimating into Earth Core Marrow, a rare treasure formed under special conditions.
• Ancestor Fen Tian accepted that Xiao Yan's theory was only a guess and led him to the site for a closer look.
• Ancestor Fen Tian used a crimson stone to open a concealed entrance in the cliff behind the mountain.
• Xiao Yan followed Ancestor Fen Tian into the hidden cave, where the stalactite and possible Earth Core Marrow lay.

Xiao Yan searched Burning Flame Valley’s cave for the Earth Core Marrow and discovered it hidden beneath a layer inside the stalactite’s hollow. He carefully exposed the liquid, revealing the substance he had come to find.

• Ancestor Fen Tian showed Xiao Yan the cave and explained that its flowing water was Burning Flame Valley’s lifeline.
• Xiao Yan searched the stone formations but found no trace of Earth Core Marrow, then pierced the overhead formation with a jade needle and found it empty.
• Xiao Yan considered where the Earth Core Marrow could be and realized it might have dripped into the stalactite below.
• Xiao Yan spotted a milky-white layer inside the hollow, recognized liquid circulating beneath it, and lifted the covering with his jade needle.

Xiao Yan and Ancestor Fen Tian discovered a small supply of Earth Core Marrow in the cave and divided it between them. At Xiao Xuan’s urging, they found a skeleton deeper inside, and Xiao Xuan revealed it belonged to his father.

• Xiao Yan and Ancestor Fen Tian identified the milky-white liquid beneath the hardened crust as Earth Core Marrow.
• Ancestor Fen Tian gave Xiao Yan a third of the limited supply, and Xiao Yan traded him ten five-thousand-year-old Thousand-Fan Leaves.
• Xiao Yan planned to use the Earth Core Marrow to suppress Lian'er’s Woeful Poison Body and prepare to seek Ye Honglian.
• Xiao Xuan told Xiao Yan to search deeper in the cave, where they found jade-like remains against a rock wall.
• Ancestor Fen Tian said the remains belonged to his only friend, whose surname was Xiao.
• Xiao Xuan appeared, knelt before the skeleton, and called it his father.

Xiao Xuan and Xiao Yan reunited with Ancestor Fen Tian in the cave and revealed they had come from the Dou Qi Continent. Fen Tian disclosed that the Ghost Hall had killed Xiao Yao, leaving Xiao Yan determined to eliminate its members as he learned more about the past.

• Xiao Xuan recognized Ancestor Fen Tian, and he and Xiao Yan knelt to pay their respects.
• Xiao Xuan told Fen Tian that he and Xiao Yan came from the Dou Qi Continent, and they shared news of their homeland, including Burning Flame Valley's decline.
• Fen Tian and Xiao Xuan mourned Xiao Yao's remains and spoke of their reunion after a thousand years.
• Fen Tian said the Ghost Hall was the Hun Clan and revealed that Xiao Yao had died at its hands.
• Xiao Yan resolved to kill every Ghost Hall member he encountered, and Fen Tian began recounting what had happened in the past.

After obtaining the Earth Core Marrow and befriending Ancestor Fen Tian, Xiao Yan cultivated through the night and broke through to the Middle Origin Return Realm. The next day, he and his companions set out to meet Grand Elder Li Chengxu, who had invited them to Burning Flame Valley’s main hall.

• Ancestor Fen Tian and Xiao Yan returned to the main hall, where their companions saw that they had resolved the matter of the Earth Core Marrow and were now on friendly terms.
• Grand Elder Li Chengxu led Xiao Yan and his companions to a courtyard, and Xiao Yan later told them about the cave without mentioning Xiao Yao’s bones.
• Xiao Yan cultivated through the night, while Qin Yan and Xuan Hua noticed that he was nearing a breakthrough.
• Xiao Yan reached the Middle Origin Return Realm by the next day and learned from Xiao Yi Xian that Li Chengxu had invited them to the main hall.

Xiao Yan and his companions accepted Ancestor Fen Tian’s invitation to become honorary elders of Burning Flame Valley, while Xiao Yan stayed behind to discuss the Ghost Hall’s growing influence. The chapter left Ancestor Fen Tian alarmed by Xiao Yan’s report that the Heavenly Puppet Sect had already seized territory across the southwestern border.

• Xiao Yan’s group encountered Qin Yan outside the hall, and their tense standoff ended without a fight.
• Ancestor Fen Tian invited Xiao Yan and his companions to join Burning Flame Valley as honorary elders, and Xiao Yan accepted on the group’s behalf.
• Xiao Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, Bai Hua, and the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape joined, while Zhou Tai, Mu Leng, and Luo Jin did not.
• After the others left, Ancestor Fen Tian told Xiao Yan that Ghost Hall figures had appeared in the territories of the Heavenly Puppet Sect and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.
• Xiao Yan warned Ancestor Fen Tian that the Heavenly Puppet Sect had allied with other factions to seize a vast stretch of the southwestern border.

Xiao Yan learned that the Fire Maple Forest might contain a Heavenly Flame and decided to seek it out. He stayed in the Burning Flame Valley to gather medicinal ingredients and prepare pills to restore Xiao Xuan’s physical body.

• Ancestor Fen Tian warned Xiao Yan that the Heavenly Puppet Sect and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect were secretly cooperating, threatening the Burning Flame Valley.
• Xiao Yan asked Ancestor Fen Tian about Heavenly Flames, and Ancestor Fen Tian named the deadly Fire Maple Forest as a possible location.
• Ancestor Fen Tian explained that the fastest route to the Fire Maple Forest crossed both sects’ territories, while a safer route would take nearly two months longer.
• Xiao Yan asked Li Chengxu to gather medicinal ingredients, then prepared to refine Mirror-Breaking Pills for Luo Jin and the others and a Bone-Restoring Pill for Xiao Xuan.
• Xiao Xuan thanked Xiao Yan for helping him, and Xiao Yan told his ancestor that restoring him was only belatedly returning what had once been his.

Xiao Yan refined ten Mirror-Breaking Pills at once in Burning Flame Valley, pushing his Spiritual Strength and Origin Qi nearly to their limits. Nine pills survived the process, and as Pill Lightning descended, an unknown object rushed past Li Chengxu and struck the lightning.

• At the First Elder's invitation, Xiao Yan began refining ten Mirror-Breaking Pills in public before Burning Flame Valley's disciples.
• Xiao Yan spent two weeks extracting and fusing the ingredients, then formed nine embryonic pills after one turned to ash.
• Xiao Yan completed Pill Nurturing and exhausted nearly all his Spiritual Strength and more than half his Origin Qi.
• Ten successive thunderclaps announced the pills' completion, and Li Chengxu and other Burning Flame Valley experts prepared to face the Pill Lightning.
• As Li Chengxu moved to intercept the lightning, an unknown object shot past him and struck the bolt in the sky.

Xiao Yan pushed through exhaustion to complete another pill refinement, using the Purple Heart Jade Orchid Vine to restore his Spiritual Strength. He fainted as a new round of Pill Lightning began, while the Northern King continued to grow stronger by absorbing it.

• The Northern King fought the Pill Lightning, and Li Chengxu withdrew the elders and disciples after Xiao Yan told him to leave the square to him.
• Xiao Yan retrieved the finished pill and refined the Purple Heart Jade Orchid Vine to recover some Spiritual Strength before continuing his work.
• After a month of refining, Xiao Yan collected another pill just as Pill Lightning struck again, then fainted from exhaustion.
• Xiao Xuan caught Xiao Yan, and Li Chengxu, the elders, and Xiao Yi Xian checked that he had not damaged his foundation.
• The Northern King endured the Pill Lightning and rose to the Middle Origin Return Realm.

After recovering from refining the Bone-Restoring Pill, Xiao Yan distributed Mirror-Breaking Pills and Earth Core Marrow, then began restoring Xiao Xuan’s body with Heavenly Flames. Ancestor Fen Tian secretly added Xiao Yao’s preserved essence blood, and Xiao Xuan’s body continued forming as the process left him in agony.

• Xiao Yan woke after a week of unconsciousness and found that Xiao Yi Xian had stayed by his side until exhaustion overcame her.
• Xiao Yan gave Mirror-Breaking Pills to Luo Jin and the others, and distributed Earth Core Marrow, including Zhou Tai’s share to Mu Leng.
• Xiao Yan prepared a body for Xiao Xuan from special materials and Heavenly Flames, warning him to take the Bone-Restoring Pill as he entered the flames.
• Xiao Xuan swallowed the Bone-Restoring Pill and endured the flames as bones, flesh, and meridians began to form around his soul.
• Ancestor Fen Tian revealed Xiao Yao’s preserved essence blood and infused it into Xiao Xuan’s forming body before leaving the cave.

Xiao Yan waited while Xiao Xuan’s soul fused with his restored body, then watched the seemingly lifeless body awaken after absorbing vast amounts of Origin Qi. Xiao Xuan recovered his physical form and reached Eight-Star Origin King, but his joy turned to embarrassment when he realized he was naked.

• Xiao Yan spoke with Ancestor Fen Tian in the cave about his teacher, Yao Lao, and learned from their long conversation.
• After three days, Xiao Xuan’s body had formed, but he remained motionless and his vitality began to fade.
• Origin Qi gathered into Xiao Xuan, causing his cultivation to surge from Five Star Origin King to Eight-Star Origin King.
• Xiao Xuan opened his eyes, confirmed that he had recovered his body, and moved toward Xiao Yan in joy.
• Xiao Xuan noticed Xiao Yan and Ancestor Fen Tian staring at him, looked down, and realized he was completely naked.

After securing the Earth Core Marrow, Xiao Yan sent Bai Hua and Xiao Yi Xian back to Qingyang City to treat Lian'er while he and Xiao Xuan set out for the Fire Maple Forest to find Ye Honglian and gain strength. They left the Burning Flame Valley with Qin Yan, while an old man who had heard of Xiao Yan hurried toward the valley from Hopeless City.

• Xiao Yan gave the remaining Earth Core Marrow to Bai Hua and sent him and Xiao Yi Xian to Qingyang City, while he planned to travel to the Fire Maple Forest with Xiao Xuan.
• The Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape thanked Xiao Yan for the Earth Core Marrow and Mirror-Breaking Pill, then departed on his own.
• Ancestor Fen Tian warned Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan to be careful crossing the territories of the two great sects and cautioned that the Fire Maple Forest might be even more dangerous.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan left the Burning Flame Valley after bowing to Ancestor Fen Tian, and Li Chengxu learned that they were descendants of Fen Tian's old friends.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan met Qin Yan on their way out, and he flew away with them to gain experience.
• An old man in a white robe heard about Xiao Yan in Hopeless City and sped toward the Burning Flame Valley.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan traveled through the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect's territory and entered a lawless city, where Xiao Yan quickly subdued a corrupt gatekeeper. As they prepared to leave, a group who blamed Xiao Yan for an earlier failed mission recognized him and resolved to kill him.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan crossed the Heavenly Puppet Sect's territory and continued toward the Fire Maple Forest.
• At the city gate, a lean man demanded extra Spirit Stones from Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan, threatening them with his Early-Stage Origin Return Realm cultivation.
• Xiao Yan pinned the lean man beneath his foot and entered the city with Xiao Xuan.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan walked through the violent city toward its southern end, observing its deadly disorder.
• A group recognized Xiao Yan, blamed him for ruining their earlier mission, and vowed to settle the score and kill him.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan stopped to confront six pursuers from the Heavenly Puppet Sect, including the Four Elders of East Valley and Guan Ao, who had an Origin King-level puppet. Xiao Yan attacked the Four Elders and their puppets, and the battle began with both sides still engaged.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan led the six pursuers away from the city before stopping to face them.
• Xiao Yan recognized the Four Elders of East Valley among the five old men and a young man, and concluded they were from the Heavenly Puppet Sect.
• The Four Elders summoned three puppets and challenged Xiao Yan, while Xiao Xuan revealed his Origin King cultivation.
• Guan Ao introduced his Origin King-level puppet, Army Breaker, and said it would fight Xiao Xuan.
• Xiao Yan attacked the Four Elders with a Heavenly Flame ruler, evaded a puppet's punch, then struck another puppet as the other puppets and elders closed in.

Xiao Xuan fought Guan Ao while the young man joined the battle against Xiao Yan. Outnumbered by the young man, the Four Elders of East Valley, and several puppets, Xiao Yan tried to break through his opponents but found his ruler strike blocked by another silver puppet.

• Xiao Xuan refused Guan Ao's offer and attacked him with wind blades, but Army Breaker blocked the strike.
• Guan Ao covered himself in rock armor and sent Army Breaker to attack Xiao Xuan while the young man decided to test Xiao Yan.
• The young man joined the fight and cut Xiao Yan's back with a dagger, increasing the pressure from the Four Elders of East Valley and the puppets.
• Xiao Yan used Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler to knock his nearby opponents back, then entered the Great Dao of the Void to attack the Four Elders of East Valley.
• A silver puppet appeared and blocked Xiao Yan's blow at the Four Elders of East Valley.