Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan fought Ren Shaodong and the Four Elders of East Valley, using the Power of the Great Dao to destroy three puppets and the Northern King to counter Ren Shaodong. Ren Shaodong remained standing after the Northern King’s punch, while the silver puppet and the Four Elders were still in play.

• Ren Shaodong revealed that he was the young sect master of the Heavenly Puppet Sect and joined the fight with his silver puppet.
• Xiao Yan used the Golden Elephant Art and Eight Extremes Blast to cripple one puppet, but Ren Shaodong stabbed him from behind and wounded him.
• Xiao Yan assessed the battle and decided to destroy the three puppets before confronting Ren Shaodong.
• Xiao Yan used the Power of the Great Dao to redirect his Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler and Flame Splitting Tsunami, destroying all three puppets.
• The Northern King intercepted Ren Shaodong’s blade net and punched him, leaving his arms numb and nearly making him drop his daggers.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan fought the Heavenly Puppet Sect forces, with Xiao Xuan awakening to the Power of the Great Dao and destroying Army Breaker. After Guan Ao self-destructed, Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan retreated from the ensuing energy storm.

• Xiao Yan revealed the regenerative Northern King, sent him to fight the Four Elders of East Valley, and challenged Ren Shaodong alone.
• Xiao Yan used his speed and strength to overpower Ren Shaodong, who relied on the Great Dao of Wind to evade him.
• Xiao Xuan sensed the Power of the Great Dao, formed twenty-seven Great Dao Tents, and shattered Army Breaker with the Azure Bathing Sword Art.
• Xiao Yan struck Ren Shaodong into the Gobi, while Xiao Xuan killed the fleeing Four Elders of East Valley and the Northern King continued holding off the silver puppet.
• Guan Ao threatened revenge for the Heavenly Puppet Sect and self-destructed, forcing Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan to retreat from the energy storm.

After the battle, Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan rested in the wasteland while Xiao Yan discovered Ren Shaodong’s soul had survived and found the Heavenly Puppet Sect’s Vajra Puppet secret art. Xiao Xuan took the scroll as Xiao Yan considered combining its methods with the Heavenly Demon Puppet to strengthen Northern King.

• Xiao Yan found Ren Shaodong dead after the energy storm and took his Storage Ring, while Ren Shaodong’s soul emerged from a jade pendant and survived.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan stopped for the night in a sandstorm-swept wasteland to recover from their battles.
• Xiao Yan realized Ren Shaodong’s soul was alive because the jade pendant had concealed its presence, then opened his Storage Ring.
• Xiao Yan found a Vajra Puppet scroll and learned that its powerful puppets could not be repaired if damaged.
• Xiao Yan considered combining the Vajra Puppet and Heavenly Demon Puppet methods to raise Northern King’s strength, and Xiao Xuan took the scroll.

Xiao Xuan helped Xiao Yan combine the Vajra Puppet and Heavenly Demon Puppet methods, strengthening the Northern King until it could contend with an Origin King-level expert. After three Origin Kings approached, including a familiar member of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan fled south.

• Xiao Yan asked Xiao Xuan to help fuse the Vajra Puppet and Heavenly Demon Puppet methods so the Northern King could grow stronger.
• Xiao Xuan studied both scrolls and passed Xiao Yan his insights after linking the two methods.
• Xiao Yan used Heavenly Flames to refine the Northern King overnight, giving it greater toughness, lightning power, and Origin King-level strength.
• Xiao Xuan sensed three Origin Kings approaching and warned Xiao Yan that they had less than half an hour to escape.
• Xiao Yan stored the Northern King and fled south with Xiao Xuan, while the pursuing group included Hui Fu of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan were intercepted near the Fallen Poison Cave by five Origin King experts from the Heavenly Puppet Sect and its allies. As the enemies closed in and Yao Mei tried to bewitch Xiao Yan, he summoned the Northern King and prepared to fight.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan halted when they sensed two Origin Kings waiting ahead near the Fallen Poison Cave.
• Xiao Xuan offered to hold off the five pursuers so Xiao Yan could escape, but Xiao Yan refused and summoned the Northern King.
• Hui Fu and two Heavenly Puppet Sect experts joined the two interceptors, and one of them coveted the Northern King's power as a puppet.
• Yao Mei tried to bewitch Xu Rui, but Xu Cong broke her spell and warned her not to jeopardize the alliance.
• Yao Mei turned her bewitching gaze on Xiao Yan, but he resisted, drew the Heavy Xuan Ruler, and prepared to fight.

Xiao Yan, Xiao Xuan, and the Northern King faced seven Origin King experts above the Fallen Poison Cave. The Northern King crippled one puppet, but Xu Rui overwhelmed Xiao Yan and sent him plummeting as Xiao Xuan was blocked from reaching him.

• Xu Cong and Xu Rui revealed two silver puppets, giving their side seven Origin King experts and leaving Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan in a dire position.
• The puppets attacked, but Xiao Xuan blocked one while the Northern King smashed the other puppet's iron fist with a single punch.
• Xu Cong and Xu Rui attacked Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan, and Xu Rui broke through Xiao Yan's Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler strikes.
• Xiao Yan used the Great Dao of the Void to escape Xu Rui's first blow, but Xu Rui pursued him and struck him in the chest, sending him plummeting toward the ground.
• Xiao Xuan rushed to help Xiao Yan, but Yao Mei and the others blocked him as Xu Rui charged after Xiao Yan again.

Xiao Xuan fought through Yao Mei, the blue-faced man, Xu Cong, and the puppet to reach Xiao Yan, then unleashed a devastating sword strike that left his own strength nearly spent. As Xu Rui pressed his attack on Xiao Yan, the Northern King intervened and stood between them.

• Yao Mei and the blue-faced man tried to stop Xiao Xuan, but he broke past them and pursued Xiao Yan.
• Xu Cong and the puppet blocked Xiao Xuan; he shattered Xu Cong's palm attack, wounded the puppet, and was struck in the abdomen.
• Xiao Xuan formed a sword from a hurricane and used Azure Bathing Sword Art, one sword... sunders worlds, wounding Xu Cong, Yao Mei, the blue-faced man, Hui Fu, and the puppet, which was cut in two.
• Xiao Yan dodged Xu Rui with the Great Dao of the Void, the Winged Elephant Art, and Heavenly Severing Steps until his strength ran out.
• As Xu Rui attacked the weakened Xiao Yan, the Northern King struck at Xu Rui and forced him to retreat, then shielded Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan killed Xu Rui with his Fire Lotus, but he and Xiao Xuan were left unable to fight as the surviving enemies closed in. Just as Yao Mei attacked Xiao Yan, a white-robed elder appeared and seized her, declaring that Xiao Yan was a member of the Xiao Clan.

• Xu Rui attacked the Northern King, but Xiao Yan struck him with a Fire Lotus that annihilated him in a massive explosion.
• The surviving Xu Cong, Yao Mei, Hui Fu, and the green-faced burly man descended to confront the exhausted Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan.
• Xu Cong charged Xiao Yan in grief and rage, but the Northern King defeated him; Hui Fu and the green-faced burly man slipped past to attack Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Xuan used the Heaven-Imprisoning Formation to restrain the two attackers and urged Xiao Yan to escape.
• Yao Mei grabbed at Xiao Yan, but a white-robed elder appeared and seized her by the neck, claiming Xiao Yan as a member of the Xiao Clan.

Xiao Mingyuan rescued Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect’s forces, revealed that he was an elder of the Xiao Clan of the Central Region, and ordered them to return with him. Xiao Yan refused because he had promised to return to Xiao Yi Xian, so Xiao Xuan agreed to go in his place, leaving Xiao Yan to plan to meet him again in the Central Region.

• Xiao Mingyuan killed Hui Fu and the other wounded attackers, then gave Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan pills that healed their injuries.
• Xiao Mingyuan identified himself as an elder of the Xiao Clan and said the clan’s great elder had ordered him to bring Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan back.
• Xiao Yan broke free of Xiao Mingyuan’s control and refused to leave because he needed to return to Xiao Yi Xian.
• Xiao Mingyuan insisted that at least one of them come with him, and Xiao Xuan agreed to return to the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Yan reluctantly accepted their separation and resolved to visit the Central Region to meet Xiao Xuan again.

After Xiao Xuan left, Xiao Yan entered the Fire Maple Forest to search for Ye Honglian, first advancing his Heavenly Severing Steps to the Cloud-Soaring Realm. A powerful Ghost Hall figure ambushed him deep in the forest and shattered his Giant Elephant Art, but a piercing cry interrupted the attack.

• Xiao Yan reflected on Xiao Xuan’s departure and resolved to raise his cultivation so he could meet him again in the Central Region.
• Xiao Yan reached the Fire Maple Forest and mastered the Cloud-Soaring Realm of his Heavenly Severing Steps before entering it.
• Xiao Yan searched deep in the forest but found no trace of Ye Honglian, Heavenly Flames, or living creatures.
• A masked Ghost Hall figure struck Xiao Yan with overwhelming pressure and seized control of his body.
• The Ghost Hall figure shattered Xiao Yan’s Giant Elephant Art, but a piercing cry from above broke his hold on Xiao Yan.

Zhu Hao, a powerful member of the Blood Flame Bird clan, stopped a Ghost Hall expert from capturing Xiao Yan and drove him away. After learning Xiao Yan’s name, Zhu Hao revealed that someone had asked him to intervene and summoned Zhu Can, leaving Xiao Yan uneasy about what would happen next.

• Zhu Hao appeared in the Fire Maple Forest and declared that he made the rules there.
• Zhu Hao attacked the Ghost Hall expert twice, but the expert rushed toward Xiao Yan to seize him.
• Zhu Hao severed the expert’s arm with a maple leaf, beat him severely, and sent him flying out of sight.
• Xiao Yan thanked Zhu Hao, who said someone else had asked him to save Xiao Yan.
• Zhu Hao summoned Zhu Can, whom Xiao Yan recognized as the Blood Flame Bird that had carried his group, and Xiao Yan feared he had traded one danger for another.

Xiao Yan faced Zhu Hao and Zhu Can in the Fire Maple Forest, then escaped after repeatedly knocking Zhu Can down. After Xiao Yan left, Zhu Hao flew off with his son, while Li Bingrui watched from the outskirts of a distant valley.

• Zhu Can revealed that Zhu Hao was his father, and Zhu Hao told Xiao Yan he could leave only by defeating Zhu Can.
• Zhu Can challenged Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan struck him down before he could finish boasting about his newly awakened bloodline and increased cultivation.
• Xiao Yan asked to leave, and Zhu Hao acknowledged that the clan rules counted Xiao Yan's victory.
• Zhu Can charged at Xiao Yan again, and Xiao Yan repeatedly sent him flying until Zhu Can kept getting back up and Xiao Yan ran out of strength.
• Xiao Yan used the Heavenly Severing Steps to escape, and Zhu Hao took Zhu Can into the forest after Xiao Yan vanished.
• Li Bingrui watched northward from a valley deep in the Fire Maple Forest.

Xiao Yan reached the mountain where the Red Lotus Karmic Fire was hidden and found Li Bingrui guarding the way to her master, Ye Honglian. Though Li Bingrui tried to drive him off with her ice-powered sword, Xiao Yan remained determined to enter the valley.

• Xiao Yan met Li Bingrui at the mountain, and she revealed that the Red Lotus Karmic Fire and her master, Ye Honglian, were in the valley.
• Li Bingrui blocked Xiao Yan and demanded that he defeat her before he could see Ye Honglian.
• Xiao Yan dodged Li Bingrui’s sword and tried to climb the stone steps, but her attacks forced him back down.
• Li Bingrui explained that her Ice Origin Qi could resist Heavenly Flames and warned Xiao Yan to leave the valley alone.
• Xiao Yan said he understood how much Ye Honglian meant to Li Bingrui but remained determined to find her, then used the Giant Elephant Art.

Xiao Yan tried to reach Ye Honglian, but Li Bingrui blocked the steps and attacked him. After Ye Honglian told him to defeat her disciple before meeting her, Xiao Yan summoned the Heavy Xuan Ruler and pale blue flames to accept the fight.

• Li Bingrui attacked Xiao Yan, but he stopped her sword with two fingers, disarmed her, and dodged her repeated blows.
• Xiao Yan asked Li Bingrui to take him to Ye Honglian if he won, then smacked her when she passed him, enraging her.
• Li Bingrui unleashed Mysterious Ice Assassination and the Great Dao of Ice: Mysterious Ice Illusion Realm, surrounding Xiao Yan with icy attacks and illusions.
• Ye Honglian told Xiao Yan that he had to defeat Li Bingrui before he could meet her.
• Xiao Yan summoned the Heavy Xuan Ruler and pale blue flames to face Li Bingrui.

Xiao Yan defeated Li Bingrui’s ice attack with Buddha’s Fury Reincarnation and hurried into the valley to find Ye Honglian. Ye Honglian stopped Li Bingrui from intercepting him and allowed him to enter.

• Li Bingrui trapped Xiao Yan in ice and summoned a colossal sword to strike him down.
• Xiao Yan broke free using his bloodline power and other defenses, then destroyed the colossal sword with Buddha’s Fury Reincarnation.
• Li Bingrui recognized the move as a Great Dao Technique and was shocked that Xiao Yan had used one as an Origin Return Realm expert.
• Xiao Yan rushed into the valley, and Li Bingrui pursued him to keep him away from Ye Honglian.
• Ye Honglian told Li Bingrui to let Xiao Yan enter, leaving Li Bingrui standing resentfully in place.

Xiao Yan faced Ye Honglian’s hundred Red Lotus Karmic Fire platforms and endured devastating burns as he climbed. On the eightieth platform, he absorbed the flames, broke through to the Late Origin Return Realm, restored his body, and leaped toward the summit.

• Xiao Yan recognized the hundred floating platforms as his true trial, while Li Bingrui watched and refused to attack him again.
• Xiao Yan used the Giant Elephant Art to climb the platforms as the Red Lotus Karmic Fire burned through his golden body.
• Xiao Yan summoned Heavenly Flame armor and the Ancient Dragon Phoenix Armor, but both defenses weakened as he reached the eightieth platform.
• Xiao Yan collapsed as the flames charred his flesh and began turning his bones to ash.
• Xiao Yan absorbed the raging flames, refined them with his Heavenly Flames, advanced to the Late Origin Return Realm, and restored his body.
• Xiao Yan leaped toward the summit, shattering the platform beneath him.

Xiao Yan reached the summit of Qing Shan, where Ye Honglian confronted him for absorbing her red lotus karmic fire. She agreed to give him the flame on the condition that he protect Li Bingrui, and Xiao Yan sealed the promise with a Lightning Punishment Oath.

• Xiao Yan reached the summit after the stone platforms collapsed and realized Ye Honglian had let him absorb her red lotus karmic fire.
• Li Bingrui accused Xiao Yan of stealing Ye Honglian’s flame, but Ye Honglian dismissed the pressure she had placed on him and warned him against disrespecting her.
• Ye Honglian sent Li Bingrui down the mountain, then told Xiao Yan she would give him the red lotus karmic fire because Gu You and Hai Mochen had chosen him.
• Ye Honglian demanded that Xiao Yan protect Li Bingrui, and Xiao Yan swore a Lightning Punishment Oath to keep her safe.

Xiao Yan refined Ye Honglian’s complete Flame Mantra, stabilized his cultivation at the Late Origin Return Realm, and finally began absorbing the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. The fire rampaged through his body after he swallowed it, leaving his attempt to devour it underway.

• Xiao Yan refined the complete Flame Mantra Ye Honglian had given him and strengthened his cultivation to the Late Origin Return Realm.
• Xiao Yan thanked Ye Honglian, who then summoned the Red Lotus Karmic Fire for him.
• Ye Honglian warned Xiao Yan to keep Bing'er safe before her figure disappeared.
• The Red Lotus Karmic Fire erupted and devastated the mountaintop, so Xiao Yan used the Extreme Cold Ice Soul to suppress it.
• Xiao Yan swallowed the fire wrapped in pale blue flames, and its power began rampaging through his body.

Xiao Yan endured the violent clash of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire and the Extreme Cold Ice Soul, eventually nearing completion of the flame’s refinement and emerging stronger. After three years of war between the Burning Flame Valley and the allied Heavenly Puppet Sect and Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, Xiao Yan finally opened his eyes in the Fire Maple Forest.

• Xiao Yan used the Flame Mantra and his Heavenly Flames to suppress and refine the Red Lotus Karmic Fire while the Extreme Cold Ice Soul fought to contain it.
• The Extreme Cold Ice Soul’s power ran out, and the Red Lotus Karmic Fire erupted, destroying Xiao Yan’s flesh and leaving his bones and Soul Power to withstand the flames.
• Xiao Yan’s pale blue flames surged over his skeletal body as the Flame Mantra drew in the Red Lotus Karmic Fire and the cold aura from the frozen pool.
• Xiao Yan’s flesh returned, his body grew much stronger, and the refinement of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire neared completion.
• The Heavenly Puppet Sect and Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect joined forces, prompting factions in the Far Southern Land to seek support from the Burning Flame Valley.
• After three years of battles left neither side dominant and the two sects expanded their reach, Xiao Yan opened his eyes after meditating in the Fire Maple Forest.

After completing his three-year refinement of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, Xiao Yan confronted Li Bingrui, who blamed him for Ye Honglian’s disappearance. Xiao Yan proved far stronger than her and set out for Burning Flame Valley with Li Bingrui following, while Zhu Hao watched them leave and wondered about Xiao Yan’s new power.

• Xiao Yan opened his eyes after three years and completed his fusion with the Red Lotus Karmic Fire.
• Li Bingrui attacked Xiao Yan, but he caught and shattered her ice sword, revealing that his cultivation far surpassed hers.
• Xiao Yan told Li Bingrui to come with him if she wished to honor Ye Honglian’s final request, and she reluctantly followed him north.
• Xiao Yan and Li Bingrui crossed the Fire Maple Forest and met Zhu Hao and Zhu Can, who had been waiting on its outskirts.
• Zhu Hao sensed the Red Lotus Karmic Fire in Xiao Yan’s presence, while Zhu Can watched Li Bingrui leave with him.