Chapter Summaries

After escaping Yiming and the Pure Land Sect reinforcements, Li Yan hid with the unconscious Bu Luo inside the Fire Eye. A small purple elephant appeared within his formation and began absorbing the surrounding heat, gradually taking on a more solid form.

• Li Yan chose not to kill Yiming and fled into the Fire Eye with Bu Luo while the Pure Land Sect reinforcements arrived.
• Li Yan concealed himself and Bu Luo inside the Great Dragon Elephant Array, and the monks' Divine Sense failed to find them.
• Li Yan realized Bu Luo could not survive without his spiritual barrier, so he continued protecting him while searching for a place to set him down.
• A small purple elephant appeared inside the formation and repeatedly inhaled the heat, cooling the space around Li Yan.
• The purple threads on the elephant's body multiplied and brightened until it began forming a half-solid body.

Li Yan confronted the little purple elephant, the Great Dragon-Elephant Array’s surviving spirit, inside the fire eye while Zhiyuan and arriving pursuers waited outside. After trading blows, Li Yan questioned the elephant about the other nine spirits and its origins, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• The little purple elephant finished absorbing heat, threatened Li Yan, and attacked with crushing pressure, but Li Yan dispersed it with a gesture.
• The elephant recognized Li Yan’s ninth-tier Foundation Establishment and struck at him with its trunk; Li Yan met the blow with both fists, shaking the cavern and churning the lava.
• Outside the fire eye, Zhiyuan and his companions discussed Li Yan’s descent as more cultivators arrived and questioned Zhiyuan’s account of the deaths and the pageboy’s capture.
• The newcomers confirmed Xu Yehua and his white crane had died from poison, while Zhiyuan urged the skeptics to search the fire eye themselves.
• Li Yan suspected the elephant had recovered some strength from the heat, then asked whether it was the soul essence of a Purple God Dragon-Elephant refined into the array.

Li Yan subdued the little purple elephant by using poison to stop it from absorbing heat, then refined it with the small purple flag and learned its origins. The elephant revealed the history of the Great Dragon Elephant Array and the ancient Dragon Subduing Sect.

• The little purple elephant discovered that Li Yan’s bloodline incantation could no longer fully control it and began absorbing heat to recover.
• Li Yan used poison to disrupt the elephant’s spiritual energy, sealed its body, and refined it again with the small purple flag.
• After the refining, the elephant submitted to Li Yan and explained that it was formed from the final essence of three injured formation spirits.
• The elephant recounted how the Dragon Subduing Sect’s Grand Elder used the Great Dragon Elephant Array to defeat two Demon Generals, though seven of its ten spirits perished and the other three eventually dissipated.
• The elephant said the weakened Dragon Subduing Sect withdrew from the world after the battle, while Li Yan considered the array’s diminished power and the ancient figures lost in the conflict.

Li Yan questioned the little Purple God Dragon-Elephant about its recovery and the Great Dragon-Elephant Array, learning that it needed rare treasures to grow stronger. After arranging for it to keep cultivating, Li Yan revived the badly injured Bu Luo, who recognized him as Jiang and thanked him for saving his life.

• The little Purple God Dragon-Elephant explained how He Baiyi died and said it could wield the Great Dragon-Elephant Array strongly enough to restrain Golden Core Realm cultivators once fully recovered.
• Li Yan learned that the heat could restore the elephant only partway and that rare herbs and Demon Beast materials were needed for further advancement.
• The elephant listed several rare materials, but Li Yan admitted he had none and warned it not to consume the magma until the cultivators outside had left.
• Li Yan treated Bu Luo's injuries and forced most of the accumulated pill toxins from his body.
• Bu Luo awoke, recognized Li Yan as Fellow Daoist Jiang, thanked him for saving his life, and checked that his bamboo basket and belongings were nearby.

Li Yan sheltered the badly injured Bu Luo inside a Fire Eye formation and asked how he had been pursued. Bu Luo explained that he had seized a silver sheet without knowing what it did, then gave it to Li Yan as thanks, while the green-robed scholar sensed Bu Luo’s life recovering and left Red Maple Pool.

• Li Yan explained that layered formations made their refuge inside the Fire Eye barely bearable, and Bu Luo began recounting how he had been hunted.
• Bu Luo described seizing a silver sheet from a fight involving more than twenty cultivators and offered it to Li Yan as repayment for saving his life.
• Li Yan recognized that Bu Luo’s bamboo basket contained storage space and asked why he had given away the silver sheet without examining it.
• Bu Luo admitted he was too curious to resist inspecting the silver sheet, so he asked Li Yan not to reveal what it did or show his reaction.
• The green-robed scholar sensed Bu Luo’s life aura recovering near Red Maple Pool, wondered whether he had escaped and healed, then vanished.

Li Yan tested the silver sheet Bu Luo had given him, but his powerful Divine Sense failed to pierce it and triggered a painful backlash. Bu Luo mistook Li Yan’s strength for that of a false Core cultivator, and after trying spiritual power without success, Li Yan put the sheet away to study later.

• Li Yan tried to penetrate the silver sheet with his Divine Sense, but its resistance eventually struck back and injured him.
• Li Yan warned Bu Luo that Foundation Establishment cultivators could not open the sheet and let him test it; Bu Luo’s own Divine Sense was repelled.
• Bu Luo concluded that Li Yan was a false Core cultivator, and Li Yan neither confirmed nor denied it before taking the sheet back.
• Bu Luo suggested that Li Yan try using spiritual power, so Li Yan tested the sheet with it and found it remained unresponsive.
• Li Yan put the silver sheet away, unwilling to risk damaging it with brute force.

After recovering in the fire eye, Bu Luo introduced himself as a servant of Zuo Qiudan and departed for the south, while Li Yan stayed behind. Once Bu Luo was gone, Li Yan let the Purple God Dragon-Elephant out to feed in another fire eye.

• Li Yan told Bu Luo that five days had passed and the other cultivators had left the area.
• Bu Luo revealed that he served Zuo Qiudan of the Zuo Lineage in Saint State and thanked Li Yan for saving him.
• Li Yan recognized Zuo Qiudan’s reputation as a renowned pill-refining master, and Bu Luo invited him to visit the Zuo Lineage.
• Bu Luo left for the south after warning Li Yan to watch out for the Bright Fire Qilin deeper in the fire eye.
• Li Yan released the Purple God Dragon-Elephant and allowed it to seek a different fire eye to devour.

Li Yan spent six months beneath the Flame Palace at Red Maple Pool, cultivating and sparring with the Purple God Dragon-Elephant while waiting for treasures to emerge. He found a rare spearhead and earthfire grass, strengthened his cultivation, and broke through to the second level of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art before the chapter ended with him unable to store magma for the Dragon-Elephant’s recovery.

• The Purple God Dragon-Elephant entered a fire vent, while Li Yan reflected that Yiming had disappeared into golden magma while pursuing him.
• Over four months, Li Yan evaded arriving cultivators and found no treasures in the magma; the Purple God Dragon-Elephant condensed its soul into a body-like form and accepted Li Yan’s control.
• Li Yan trained in the Qiongqi Purgatory Art and sparred with the Purple God Dragon-Elephant, which gradually had to use more strength to overpower him.
• After six months at Red Maple Pool, Li Yan found a palm-sized spearhead that sank through solid rock and a second-tier stalk of earthfire grass.
• Li Yan reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage and advanced the Qiongqi Purgatory Art to its second level, completing four cycles daily.
• Li Yan tried to store magma in Tuban to help the Purple God Dragon-Elephant recover, but it cooled into rock, and the containers he tested could not withstand the heat.

Li Yan broke through to the second realm of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art and grew strong enough to fight the little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant, while reflecting on how the lotus throne’s intent had transformed his cultivation. After observing a failed false-core cultivator emerge from a fire vent, Li Yan decided to enter one himself and explore its dangers.

• After cultivating the Qiongqi Purgatory Art, Li Yan’s aura frightened the little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant, but he soon fought it and endured a blow that sent him crashing into the Flame Palace mountain.
• The little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant withdrew after using most of its strength, and Li Yan realized he had reached the peak of mid-stage Foundation Establishment with the Qiongqi Purgatory Art at its second realm.
• Li Yan considered how the Gui Water True Scripture and his faint grasp of the lotus throne’s intent had strengthened him, and resolved to ask Ping Tu for guidance when he returned to the Phantom Sect.
• Li Yan concealed himself and the little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant as a black-robed cultivator emerged from a fire vent without reaching core formation.
• Li Yan and the little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant discussed the cultivator’s prospects, and Li Yan decided to enter a fire vent despite the danger.

Li Yan endured the golden magma and reached a hidden chamber with a crimson gate, where his attack on its pull rings summoned a golden qilin. The qilin dodged his Li Fire and asked him to stop so they could talk.

• Li Yan entered a Fire Eye and descended through the golden magma, relying on his five-element spiritual energy to withstand its heat.
• Li Yan struggled to extend his Divine Sense through the magma and continued downward as his spiritual energy rapidly ran low.
• Li Yan reached a small chamber beneath the magma and found a crimson gate with two enormous pull rings.
• Li Yan attacked one pull ring with Li Fire from his Li Fire Mysterious Yellow Fan, and golden smoke emerged from the rings.
• The smoke formed a golden qilin, which dodged Li Yan's next attack and pleaded with him to stop.

Li Yan outmaneuvered the Bright Fire Qilin at the palace doors, but the soul beast tricked him into the dangerous black passageway. Trapped in its crushing darkness and unable to move, Li Yan realized he had fallen for the Qilin’s deception.

• Li Yan recognized the Bright Fire Qilin’s trap at the crimson doors and kept it wary with a wisp of Li Fire.
• Li Yan opened the doors and found a black passageway on the left and a golden passageway on the right.
• The Bright Fire Qilin feigned disappointment to steer Li Yan toward the golden passageway, but Li Yan chose the black one and was sucked inside.
• Li Yan found himself immobilized in a narrow, pitch-black passage whose walls tightened whenever he tried to make room.
• Li Yan regretted underestimating the Bright Fire Qilin as he remained trapped in the passage.

Li Yan endured the black passage’s suffocating heat and crushing isolation as his body and mind deteriorated, while the Bright Fire Qilin waited outside, unable to enter. After finally stopping his crawl and losing consciousness, Li Yan saw a dreamlike vision of familiar faces amid falling snow.

• Li Yan crawled through the sealed, scorching passage, conserving his spiritual power and using the Cloud Rain Technique to drink water.
• The Bright Fire Qilin repeatedly tried to enter the passage but was repelled, and it grew increasingly desperate for Li Yan to die.
• Over five days, Li Yan crawled less than five hundred zhang, suffered hallucinations and lost his sense of time, and struggled against thoughts of cutting off his arms.
• The Bright Fire Qilin waited outside for twenty days and repeatedly rammed the passage, hoping to claim Li Yan’s soul-enhancing red flame.
• Li Yan stopped crawling as his consciousness became chaotic, then saw snowflakes and familiar faces in a vivid vision before realizing he was dreaming.

Li Yan analyzed Meng Kingdom’s unexpected offensive and led reinforcements to defend Falling Immortal Slope, the key route to Green Mountain Pass. The battle was already raging on both sides of the slope after Meng Kingdom sent a small but fierce force through a seemingly impassable western mountain route.

• Li Yan recalled watching his children, Li Xiegong and Li Youmeng, spar in the garden and reassured A-Ying that their daughter could pursue martial arts.
• Li Yan and his officers struggled to explain Meng Kingdom’s unusual troop movements as scouts reported attacks on three passes and a grain supply camp.
• Li Yan ordered generals to reinforce Moonwatch Ridge, Clearwind Forest, and the grain camp, while he personally led troops to Falling Immortal Slope.
• Li Yan reached Falling Immortal Slope as fighting raged, with Meng Kingdom attacking from the east and from the west after crossing six hundred li of difficult mountains.

Li Yan reached Fallen Immortal Slope and learned that a small Meng Kingdom force had infiltrated from the west after crossing the deadly cliffs. When their silver-armored commander proved unstoppable, Li Yan took up his halberd and entered the fight to face him.

• Li Yan arrived at Fallen Immortal Slope and heard Cui Feng explain how the Meng Kingdom attackers had surprised the western defenses.
• Li Yan realized that the few remaining western attackers were hardened soldiers and considered the heavy losses both sides had suffered.
• Cui Feng identified the silver-armored general as the force’s commander and prepared to challenge him, but Li Yan ordered him to remain and hold the position.
• Li Yan took his halberd and advanced toward the silver-armored general, while Cui Feng sent guards to protect him from ambushes.
• Li Yan reached the melee and raised his halberd to strike the silver-armored general.

Li Yan faced the young silver-armored Meng Kingdom general in a duel and overwhelmed him with his superior strength and skill. After testing the general through nearly a hundred exchanges, Li Yan began a powerful technique as the general thrust his spear at Li Yan’s throat.

• Li Yan arrived on the battlefield, and the four imperial generals scattered to let him fight the silver-armored commander alone.
• The silver-armored commander recognized Li Yan as the Martial Saint and challenged him, but Li Yan’s first blow forced him back several steps.
• The silver-armored commander attacked with a rapid storm of spear strikes, while Li Yan blocked and countered with measured movements.
• Li Yan raised his power as the general’s attacks intensified, then decided the young opponent was too dangerous to spare.
• Li Yan planted his lance in the ground and gathered an immense force between his hands as the silver-armored general thrust his spear toward Li Yan’s throat.

Li Yan defeated the silver-armored general and discovered that his opponent was a woman, whose presence stirred an inexplicable familiarity in him. He tried to learn her identity and protect her from death, ending by ordering his guards to threaten her soldiers with her life and let them withdraw.

• Li Yan bent the silver-armored general's spear with his palm, sent her flying, and caught up to strike at her before stopping himself when he saw her face.
• Li Yan safely lowered the wounded general to the ground and realized she was a woman, while her remaining soldiers fought desperately to reach her.
• Li Yan demanded the general's name, but she refused and asked him to kill her rather than capture her.
• Li Yan offered to spare her soldiers longer if she revealed her origins, while privately wondering whether she had a connection to his martial sect.
• Li Yan ordered his guards to threaten to kill the general if her soldiers kept attacking and to stop pursuing them so they could withdraw.

Li Yan defeated Dong Min, a Guard General of the Meng Kingdom, and negotiated her release in exchange for information about her origins. After learning she was a disciple of the Yuanqing Sect and Chang Peng’s martial niece, Li Yan let her take the surviving soldiers back along their original route, while both wondered why the other felt strangely familiar.

• Li Yan refused to let Dong Min’s surviving soldiers join the eastern army, but offered to release her if she answered his questions.
• Dong Min introduced herself as a Guard General and said she was a disciple of the Yuanqing Sect.
• Dong Min revealed that Chang Peng was her third martial uncle, and Li Yan recalled his past victories over Yuanqing Sect masters.
• Li Yan told Dong Min she was no match for him, while she concluded that even ten more years of training might only let her fight him to a draw.
• Li Yan and Dong Min admitted they felt an inexplicable familiarity with each other, then Li Yan let her take the surviving soldiers back by their original route.

Li Yan allowed Dong Min and the remaining Meng Kingdom soldiers to withdraw west, but Dong Min turned back and tested him with a powerful arrow. After Li Yan identified her imperial lineage and archery technique, he let her leave again, and she hesitated before departing.

• Li Yan ordered Dong Min and her fifty-odd soldiers to leave west, despite Cui Feng's reluctance.
• Dong Min revealed her name as Dong Lingmin and fired a thunderous arrow at Li Yan from a hundred zhang away.
• Li Yan struck the arrow aside, recognized the hidden force of Dark Tide Triple Waves, and caught it before it could hit him.
• Li Yan identified Dong Lingmin as a member of the Meng Kingdom imperial family and allowed her group to leave once more.
• Dong Lingmin saluted but paused instead of leaving, making her soldiers fear that a final battle was coming.

After Dong Lingmin warned Li Yan about Kong Xiao at Green Mountain Pass, Li Yan suspected an attack from within and ordered Cui Feng to defend Fallen Immortal Slope while he hurried north. On the road, he spotted a lone rider ahead with more than a dozen riders following behind.

• Dong Lingmin asked whether Kong Xiao was guarding Green Mountain Pass, then withdrew west with her soldiers.
• Li Yan let Dong Lingmin go, concealed his concern from the troops, and later told Cui Feng he feared Kong Xiao might have betrayed them.
• Li Yan ordered Cui Feng to secure Fallen Immortal Slope, send warnings to nearby strongholds, and keep the threat secret from ordinary soldiers.
• Li Yan arranged for Li Du to bring an army north after him, then set out alone for Green Mountain Pass.
• After nearly two hours, Li Yan saw a lone rider approaching with more than a dozen riders close behind and climbed a tree to watch them.

Li Yan ambushed and killed the imperial cavalry pursuing Li Si, then learned that Commander Kong had rebelled and besieged the Marshal's Residence. He left the gravely wounded Li Si unconscious in the forest and set out to save A-Ying and the children.

• Li Yan recognized the pursuing riders as imperial soldiers and killed the first three before the remaining cavalry surrounded him.
• The soldiers recognized Li Yan as Marshal and fled, but he killed them with armor plates hurled through the air.
• Li Yan found Li Si, caught him as he fell from his horse, and treated his injuries enough to hear his report.
• Li Si told Li Yan that Commander Kong had rebelled, that the Marshal's Residence was under attack, and that Li Da and Li San had died helping him escape.
• Li Yan stopped Li Si from urging him onward, knocked him unconscious, and carried him into the forest.