Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo lured fire lizards out of their valley in small groups and harvested their hearts, but the fifth batch brought a third-order leader that raised an alarm. After killing it, they fled as a powerful creature emerged from the valley.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo surveyed the valley and decided to use Fire Lizard Hearts to lure out the fire lizards in batches.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo killed the first groups of fire lizards with the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and collected their hearts.
• A third-order fire lizard joined the fifth batch and hissed to alert its companions.
• Xiao Yan restrained the third-order fire lizard with Netherworld Lock while Xiao Huohuo crushed its head with the Heavy Xuan Ruler.
• Xiao Yan harvested the leader's Fire Lizard Heart and Magic Core and retreated, while Xiao Huohuo gathered more materials before flying away on his Purple Cloud Wings.

Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan hunted Fire Lizards for nearly twenty days, absorbing their hearts to strengthen Xiao Huohuo and hone Xiao Yan’s pill refining. They descended into the volcanic crater and discovered a fruit-bearing Fire Spirit Tree, leaving them poised to claim its valuable fruits.

• Xiao Huohuo absorbed the Fire Lizard Hearts he had collected, rising from Four-Star Dou Shi to the peak of Seven-Star Dou Shi while Xiao Yan practiced pill refining.
• Xiao Huohuo hunted nearly a hundred and fifty Fire Lizards over half a month, gathering more hearts and using the beasts to test his growing strength.
• Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan took advantage of the Fire Lizards’ midday retreat to restrain the few guards near the crater and descend inside.
• At the crater’s bottom, Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan found a magma cavern with a Fire Spirit Tree bearing three fruits.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo encountered the Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python guarding the Fire Spirit Tree and its nearly ripe fruit. Xiao Yan fought the powerful beast alone, but after his defenses failed and he was hurled into the rock, he insisted he could continue.

• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo as the Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python emerged from the magma and revealed its strength and connection to the Fire Spirit Tree.
• Xiao Yan activated his five Soul Rings and formed a two-colored Fire Lotus from Bone Spirit Cold Flame and Green Lotus Core Flame, while Xiao Huohuo stood back.
• The Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python attacked with Dragon Flame, and Xiao Yan used Everfrost Mausoleum to counter it, forcing the beast to stop its breath attack at the cost of much of his Soul Power.
• The beast swept its tail through the magma, and Xiao Yan used Netherworld Lock before raising Soul Armor, but the chains snapped and the ice wall shattered.
• The tail strike sent Xiao Yan crashing into the rock wall, and he pulled himself free and told Xiao Huohuo he could handle the fight.

Xiao Yan defeated the Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python with the Radiant Heaven World-Burning Spear and his fifth Soul Skill, Cold Heart Lotus Explosion. After his Martial Soul absorbed the beast’s remnant soul, Xiao Yan collapsed from exhaustion, and Yao Lao urged Xiao Huohuo to take him to the Fire Spirit Tree to recover.

• Xiao Yan formed a spear from his Heavenly Flames Martial Soul and used the Radiant Heaven World-Burning Spear to pierce the Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python’s barrier and wound it severely.
• Xiao Yan followed with Cold Heart Lotus Explosion, but the Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python charged at him while releasing crimson energy.
• The Fire Lotus annihilated the Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python’s developing horns and killed it, sending its body into the magma pool.
• The Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python’s remnant soul lunged at Xiao Yan, but his Heavenly Flames Martial Soul absorbed it.
• Xiao Yan nearly collapsed from exhaustion, so Yao Lao told Xiao Huohuo to help him reach the Fire Spirit Tree and recover before the Fire Spirit Fruit ripened.

Xiao Yan recovered with a Fire Spirit Fruit while Xiao Huohuo used another to rise to the Peak Nine-Star Dou Shi realm. After they salvaged the Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python’s valuable remains, they left the Fire Spirit Tree rooted in the magma cavern.

• Xiao Huohuo accelerated the Fire Spirit Tree’s growth with Heavenly Flames, and Xiao Yan ate a Fire Spirit Fruit to restore and strengthen his clone.
• Xiao Huohuo absorbed a second Fire Spirit Fruit and restrained his surging Dou Qi, stabilizing at the Peak Nine-Star Dou Shi realm.
• Xiao Huohuo stored the final Fire Spirit Fruit, then dove into the magma and retrieved the Blazing Fire Flood Dragon Python’s corpse.
• Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan collected the Magical Beast’s valuable parts, including its Magic Core, scales, sinews, bones, and blood.
• Yao Lao explained that the Fire Spirit Tree could not survive transplantation, so Xiao Huohuo left it rooted in the cavern.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo rescued Lei Le’s mercenary squad from a swarm of venomous scorpions and saved a poisoned young mercenary. They traveled with the Desert Iron Mercenary Group to Stone Desert City and arrived at its headquarters, where Xiao Huohuo had yet to reveal his connection to the group’s leaders, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.

• Xiao Yan sensed a nearby battle, and he and Xiao Huohuo found Lei Le’s squad surrounded by venomous scorpions while Qing Lin treated the wounded.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo attacked the scorpions, drove them away from the mercenaries, and Xiao Huohuo killed the scorpion king.
• Xiao Yan forced the venom from a young mercenary’s wound, and Lei Le gave him the group’s antidote powder.
• Lei Le introduced himself as a captain of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, while Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan gave their names.
• Lei Le described the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and led Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo to Stone Desert City.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo accepted Lei Le’s invitation and arrived at the Desert Iron Mercenary Group’s headquarters in the west of the city.

Xiao Huohuo reunited with Xiao Ding and Xiao Li at the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's compound and revealed that he was close to the Dou Shi breakthrough and had a lead on their missing father. Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo prepared to search for Heavenly Flames near Stone Desert City with Lei Le's team, while Qing Lin's painful background as a human and Snake-People child was revealed.

• Lei Le brought Xiao Huohuo, Xiao Yan, and their party into the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's compound, where Xiao Huohuo reunited with his older brothers, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.
• Xiao Huohuo introduced Xiao Yan as his friend, and the brothers questioned the resemblance between the two before accepting the introduction.
• Xiao Huohuo told Xiao Ding and Xiao Li that he had a lead on their missing father and revealed that he had reached Peak Nine-Star Dou Shi.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li explained that Qing Lin was shunned because she had Snake-People blood, and Xiao Yan caught a bowl when her trembling hand nearly dropped it.
• Xiao Huohuo told his brothers that he and Xiao Yan were searching for Heavenly Flames near Stone Desert City, and Xiao Ding agreed to send Lei Le's team with them the next morning.
• Late that night, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged in his room and cultivated as Bone Spirit Cold Flame circulated within him.

Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan led a group from the Desert Iron Mercenary Group to search for Heavenly Flames near Ghost Howl Valley, where they clashed with Sha Tie’s Sand Mercenary Group. Qing Lin sensed that Queen Medusa had once stayed nearby, and Xiao Yan uncovered a buried opening, leaving the group poised to explore below.

• Xiao Ding sent Xiao Li, Lei Le, Qing Lin, and several mercenaries with Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo toward Ghost Howl Valley to search for Heavenly Flames.
• Sha Tie and the Sand Mercenary Group intercepted them, but Xiao Huohuo’s chilling presence persuaded Sha Tie to withdraw and send men to spy on them.
• At the target area, Qing Lin sensed a powerful presence connected to her bloodline and identified it as likely belonging to Queen Medusa, who had stayed there while injured.
• Qing Lin directed Xiao Yan to the strongest trace of the presence, and Xiao Yan concluded that it lay underground.
• Xiao Yan used Bone Spirit Cold Flame to freeze and pull away the sand, revealing a pitch-black opening.

Xiao Yan, Xiao Huohuo, and Qing Lin found a magma cavern, where Qing Lin awakened her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and subdued a Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake. After the snake revealed a strange place beneath the magma, Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo dived down to investigate while Qing Lin waited above.

• Xiao Yan, Xiao Huohuo, and Qing Lin followed Qing Lin's senses through underground passages until they reached a cavern filled with boiling magma.
• A Fourth-Order Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake attacked Xiao Huohuo, and Yao Lao possessed him to fight the beast.
• The Fire Spirit Snake targeted Qing Lin and Xiao Yan, and Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils awakened as Xiao Yan shielded her.
• Qing Lin took control of the Fire Spirit Snake, which told her that a strange place lay beneath the magma and that it feared going near it.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo covered themselves with Bone Spirit Cold Flame and entered the magma while Qing Lin waited anxiously at the cavern's edge.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo found the Green Lotus Core Flame’s lotus platform in the magma, but discovered the flame was gone and learned Queen Medusa had taken it. They collected the lotus and its seeds, and Xiao Yan absorbed several seeds before reaching a bottleneck; the group set out toward the Tagor Desert.

• The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake carried Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo to the Green Lotus Core Flame’s underground chamber, where they found the lotus but an empty place where the flame should have been.
• Yao Lao found a Seven-Colored Snake Scale and concluded that Queen Medusa had taken the Green Lotus Core Flame, prompting Xiao Huohuo to agree to go to the Tagor Desert.
• Yao Lao explained the Green Lotus Platform’s value, and Xiao Huohuo cut it free while leaving its stem intact so it could grow again.
• Xiao Huohuo removed twelve Green Lotus Seeds, and Yao Lao gave Xiao Yan one to test; Xiao Yan absorbed it and three more, strengthening his Heavenly Flame Martial Soul and Soul Power until he reached a bottleneck.

Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan returned from the cavern to find Xiao Li and his men nearly overwhelmed by the Sand Mercenary Group. Xiao Huohuo defeated Sha Tie’s forces and secured the antidote, then Xiao Yan buried the cavern entrance before they headed back to Stone Desert City.

• Sha Tie led forty Sand Mercenary Group men in surrounding Xiao Li, Lei Le, and four other mercenaries, then attacked them with poisoned arrows.
• Xiao Li fought Sha Tie while Lei Le and the others were wounded and pushed toward defeat by the larger force.
• Xiao Huohuo emerged from the cavern with Qing Lin, and Xiao Yan followed; Xiao Huohuo demanded the antidote for the poisoned mercenaries.
• Xiao Huohuo revealed his Peak Nine-Star Dou Shi strength and defeated several mercenaries, while Xiao Yan blocked the archers’ attack on Qing Lin with a wall of ice.
• Sha Tie handed over the antidote, and Xiao Huohuo forced the Sand Mercenary Group to flee after warning them that the Desert Iron Mercenary Group claimed the area.
• Xiao Yan collapsed the sand around the cavern entrance, and the group set off for Stone Desert City.

Xiao Huohuo decided to eliminate the threat the Sand Mercenary Group posed to his brothers before leaving Stone Desert City. He and Xiao Yan confronted Luo Bu at the group’s headquarters and demanded that the Sand Mercenary Group submit or face destruction.

• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li welcomed Xiao Huohuo and his companions back, then agreed the Sand Mercenary Group would likely retaliate against the Desert Iron Mercenary Group.
• Xiao Huohuo revealed Qing Lin could control a fourth-tier magical beast and proposed dealing with the Sand Mercenary Group before departing.
• Xiao Ding admitted the Desert Iron Mercenary Group was not ready to absorb its rival, so Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan set out to speak with Luo Bu.
• Luo Bu questioned Sha Tie about the defeat of his men, then learned Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan had arrived at the Sand Mercenary Group’s headquarters.
• Xiao Huohuo demanded compensation for the attack and ordered the Sand Mercenary Group to follow the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, offering Luo Bu a duel or the group’s destruction.

Xiao Huohuo defeated Luo Bu and forced him to choose between death and serving the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. Luo Bu swallowed the Heart-Devouring Gu in exchange for a Barrier-Breaking Pill, leaving him to take control of the Sand Mercenary Group and prepare it for the takeover.

• Luo Bu attacked Xiao Huohuo, but Xiao Huohuo broke his Crimson Flame Saber Technique and made him admit defeat.
• Xiao Huohuo offered Luo Bu a Barrier-Breaking Pill if he took the Heart-Devouring Gu and obeyed the Desert Iron Mercenary Group.
• Xiao Yan warned Luo Bu that the Sand Mercenary Group would be destroyed if he refused, while Xiao Yan's chains silenced the commotion outside the meeting hall.
• Luo Bu verified the pill's medicinal fragrance, chose to take the Gu, and received the Barrier-Breaking Pill from Xiao Huohuo.
• Xiao Huohuo told Luo Bu to eliminate anyone who might resist the takeover, and Luo Bu agreed to deal with them the next day.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo left, while Luo Bu remained behind holding the pill and feeling the Gu's pain.

Luo Bu eliminated Sha Tie and the other traitorous vice commanders, then placed the Sand Mercenary Group under the Desert Iron Mercenary Group’s influence. Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan left to continue their journey, with Xiao Huohuo intending to grow stronger and eventually visit the Misty Cloud Sect.

• Luo Bu caught Sha Tie plotting to betray the group and had Sha Tie and two allied vice commanders killed.
• Luo Bu gave the Desert Iron Mercenary Group half the Sand Mercenary Group’s earnings and agreed to consult Xiao Ding on major decisions.
• Xiao Huohuo gave Xiao Ding and Xiao Li the Heart-Devouring Gu antidote and warned them not to trust Luo Bu completely.
• Xiao Ding told Xiao Huohuo that Nalan Yanran had visited the Xiao Clan and asked that he go to the Misty Cloud Sect if they found him.
• Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan left the Desert Iron Mercenary Group before dawn, while Xiao Ding and Xiao Li watched them go.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo endured a four-hour sandstorm on their way into the Tagor Desert, using ice walls and flame control to shelter themselves. After it passed, the storm had erased their landmarks, leaving them unable to tell which direction they had been traveling.

• Yao Lao reassured Xiao Huohuo that they could enter the Tagor Desert despite Medusa and the Snake-People Tribe.
• Xiao Yan spotted a sandstorm approaching, and he and Xiao Huohuo hurried to shelter among weathered rocks.
• Xiao Yan formed ice walls while Xiao Huohuo practiced controlling a flame inside them under Yao Lao's guidance.
• After the sandstorm buried their rocky shelter, Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo emerged to find the desert landscape transformed.
• Yao Lao pointed out that the storm had erased their route, so Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo chose a direction at random and continued.

After getting lost in a sandstorm, Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo found an oasis and encountered Yue Mei, a powerful Snake-People Tribe leader. Yue Mei attacked Xiao Yan, who blocked her strike with Bone Spirit Cold Flame, while Xiao Huohuo launched a counterattack.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo wandered the desert for days before spotting an oasis and cautiously entering it to find water and ask for directions.
• Xiao Yan detected fresh Snake-People Tribe traces, and the brothers discovered Yue Mei bathing in a pool before she called them out of hiding.
• Xiao Yan identified Yue Mei as a Dou Wang and explained that they were lost travelers who meant no offense.
• Yue Mei suspected Xiao Yan had an unusual attraction for her and attacked him with purple Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan blocked Yue Mei's probing strike with a shield of Bone Spirit Cold Flame, and Xiao Huohuo struck back with Flame Splitting Wave Ruler.

Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yan fought Yue Mei, a Dou Wang, and revealed powerful techniques that convinced her they were no ordinary intruders. The chapter ended as Yue Mei countered their simultaneous attacks, with Xiao Huohuo’s ruler and Xiao Yan’s ice spear about to meet her hands.

• Xiao Huohuo attacked Yue Mei with Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, but she blocked most of its force with her tail and left him horrified by the gap in their strength.
• Yue Mei suspected Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo were spies and prepared to capture them after noticing their unusual abilities.
• Xiao Yan used Netherworld Lock to briefly restrain Yue Mei, then hit her with Cold Heart Lotus Explosion while urging Xiao Huohuo to escape.
• Xiao Huohuo refused to flee and attacked Yue Mei from above as Xiao Yan charged from below with an ice spear.
• Yue Mei endured the lotus explosion, then used her Dou Qi Wings and struck for Xiao Huohuo’s ruler while reaching for Xiao Yan’s spear.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo were defeated by Yue Mei, a Seven-Star Dou Wang, but Yao Lao secretly protected them from serious harm. They allowed Yue Mei to take them as captives to the Snake-People Holy City, where they planned to search for Queen Medusa’s Green Lotus Core Flame.

• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo that Yue Mei was a Seven-Star Dou Wang as she confronted them.
• Yue Mei overpowered Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo with her attacks, while Yao Lao shielded them from her final technique.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo agreed to use their capture as a way to reach the Snake-People Holy City openly.
• Yue Mei sealed their meridians with Snake Spirit Lock and ordered her soldiers to guard them until the journey to the Holy City.
• Snake-People warriors brought Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo to a nearby territory and locked them in a prison cart, where they discussed finding the Heavenly Flames.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo traveled as captives with Yue Mei’s Snake-People party while Xiao Yan examined the seal restricting his power. At camp, they overheard that the tribe had strengthened its patrols and that human experts had been seen near the desert.

• Xiao Yan studied Yue Mei’s Snake Spirit Lock and found that it weakened his Soul Power but did not suppress his Martial Soul.
• Yue Mei’s party carried Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo southeast through the desert toward the Snake-People Holy City.
• The Snake-People locked the captives in a guarded tent and gave them food and water for the cold night.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo overheard warriors discuss stronger patrols and reports of human experts near the desert.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo remained cooperative prisoners as the camp settled for the night.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo reached the Snake-People Holy City with Yue Mei's party and were locked in a guarded underground cell. There, Xiao Huohuo asked Yao Lao to locate the Green Lotus Core Flame, but Yao Lao could sense no trace of it.

• Yue Mei led the party to a mountain overlooking the Snake-People Holy City and ordered her guards to take Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo to the dungeon.
• The party entered the Holy City, where Xiao Yan sensed powerful Snake-People concealed among the streets and buildings.
• Yue Mei brought Xiao Yan and Xiao Huohuo to a heavily guarded dungeon and left them in a rune-covered stone cell.
• Xiao Huohuo asked Yao Lao to locate the Green Lotus Core Flame, but Yao Lao said he could not sense it and suspected Queen Medusa had sealed it away or hidden it in a special space.