Chapter Summaries

Chu Xinghe disguised himself at the Tianxiang Pavilion and found that everyone admired him while dismissing his claims that he disliked alchemy. After Duped Erlüzi mistook him for a devoted hater and recruited him, Chu Xinghe joined the Xinghe Haters' Group and planned to help it make him fail.

• People at the Tianxiang Pavilion praised Chu Xinghe's alchemy and laughed when a black-robed figure suggested that he might dislike alchemy.
• Chu Xinghe revealed through his thoughts that he was the black-robed figure, while the crowd lectured him for supposedly underestimating Chu Xinghe.
• A black-robed man led Chu Xinghe away and introduced himself as Duped Erlüzi, then invited Chu Xinghe to join the Xinghe Haters' Group.
• Chu Xinghe declared that he wanted Chu Xinghe to fail, and Erlüzi's lie-detecting jade tablet glowed brightly enough to convince him of Chu Xinghe's sincerity.
• Erlüzi gave Chu Xinghe a Black River Token, officially admitting him to the group, and Chu Xinghe resolved to help its members devise ways to bring him down.

Chu Xinghe gave Erlüzi an Eternal Life Jade Talisman containing the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill’s complete refinement method, hoping its public release would prevent Vast Heaven Holy Land from profiting. At the Xinghe Haters' Group meeting, Leader Bai recognized the talisman as genuine, leaving the group’s laughter—and Erlüzi’s boast—hanging in the air.

• Chu Xinghe accepted the title Seventh Fairy in the Xinghe Haters' Group and showed Erlüzi a jade talisman containing the pill’s complete refinement method.
• Chu Xinghe explained that he intended to leak the method so apothecaries everywhere could make the pill and prevent Vast Heaven Holy Land from monopolizing it.
• Erlüzi doubted Chu Xinghe’s claim but took the talisman after Chu Xinghe told him to show it to Leader Bai.
• Erlüzi attended Leader Bai’s meeting and told the group that Seventh Fairy had claimed to possess the refinement method, prompting everyone to laugh.
• Erlüzi placed the jade talisman on the table and joked that he would change his name if it was genuine, but Leader Bai recognized it as an Eternal Life Jade Talisman.

Erlüzi’s group discovered that the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill refining method they had received was stored in a costly Eternal Life Jade Talisman, raising suspicions that their mysterious contact, Seventh Fairy, might be Chu Xinghe. The White Spirit Evil Lord summoned the other Evil Lords to verify the method, and the Witch Curse Evil Lord reacted to it by asking whether Chu Xinghe had surrendered.

• Bai Yu recognized Erlüzi’s jade talisman as an Eternal Life Jade Talisman and explained its rarity and cost to the group.
• Bai Yu released the detailed Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill refining method from the talisman, while Erlüzi said he had recruited its sender, Seventh Fairy, after testing him with a lie-detecting jade talisman.
• Bai Yu took the refining method to the White Spirit Evil Lord, who summoned the Witch Curse Evil Lord and the other Evil Lords to examine it.
• The Witch Curse Evil Lord studied the refining method and asked the White Spirit Evil Lord whether Chu Xinghe had surrendered.

The White Spirit Evil Lord revealed a detailed Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill refining method, which the Witch Curse Evil Lord judged workable and tested. He produced a pitch-black pill that looked just like the genuine article, leaving the Evil Lords stunned.

• The Witch Curse Evil Lord recognized the method in the Eternal Life Jade Talisman as instructions for refining the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill and initially suspected the White Spirit Evil Lord planned to sell a fake.
• After examining the method, the Witch Curse Evil Lord was amazed by its precision, and Bai Yu explained how the White Spirit Division had obtained it.
• The Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord and others suspected Chu Xinghe was behind the method, but the White Spirit Evil Lord urged them to focus on testing it.
• The Evil Lords gathered the ingredients, and the Witch Curse Evil Lord followed the method to refine the pill.
• The Witch Curse Evil Lord opened the furnace and revealed a pitch-black pill whose gleam resembled the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill.

The Witch Curse Evil Lord confirmed that Chu Xinghe’s Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill method was correct, but repeated failures showed the pill had a very low success rate. At the Vast Heaven Holy Land, Chu Xinghe worried that Erlüzi had not trusted the method, so he began distributing copies across the Four Continents.

• The Witch Curse Evil Lord’s first Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill shattered, and he explained that the failure did not mean the method was wrong.
• The Witch Curse Evil Lord successfully refined a pill, but it cracked and shattered while the Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord was holding it.
• The Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord used his secret art to verify the method, and the Evil Lords supplied more ingredients as the Witch Curse Evil Lord continued refining and failing.
• Chu Xinghe realized Erlüzi might not have believed the refining method he sent, so he decided to distribute many jade talismans bearing it.
• Ouyang Ming brought Chu Xinghe jade talismans, saw him imprinting the method onto them, and left to pursue new research after Chu Xinghe dismissed his questions.

Chu Xinghe finished preparing jade talismans and planned to make the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill recipe public so Mu Bai could not profit by selling the pills. He visited the recovering Ma Liang and ordered him to take ten Dragon Heart Pills each day, leaving Liu Bo and Mu Bai astonished at the costly prescription.

• Chu Xinghe kicked Ouyang Ming out while Hua Xizhong explained to the new spies that only Chu Xinghe’s trusted confidants received such treatment.
• Chu Xinghe infused the remaining jade talismans and decided to reveal the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill recipe throughout the Four Continents, while forbidding Mu Bai from selling the pills for now.
• Chu Xinghe returned to the outer sect and found Liu Bo massaging Ma Liang, Wan Lin feeding him grapes, and Lu Chengqing arranging a recovery dance.
• Chu Xinghe examined Ma Liang and ordered Liu Bo to have Mu Bai prepare ten Dragon Heart Pills for Ma Liang each day to repair his soul and Samsara Divinity Seed.
• Liu Bo and Mu Bai questioned whether Ma Liang could safely take so many pills, while Chu Xinghe knew the amount was the limit and chose it because the pills were expensive.

Chu Xinghe left the Vast Heaven Holy Land and went to Pine City, where he planned to bring the Alchemist Alliance a fortune by introducing Dragon Heart Pills. After learning that alliance leader Zhu Zhen was away, Chu Xinghe left to find another target, but a furtive stranger followed him.

• Chu Xinghe ordered Ma Liang to take ten Dragon Heart Pills each day and noticed his Misfortune Compass spinning faster.
• Chu Xinghe entered the Technique Repository Tower and unexpectedly slipped out of the Vast Heaven Holy Land into Pine City.
• Chu Xinghe explored Pine City's medicinal-ingredient market and learned about the herb gatherers and alchemist organizations there.
• Chu Xinghe visited the Alchemist Alliance in disguise to see Zhu Zhen, but learned that Zhu Zhen and the master alchemists were away traveling.
• Chu Xinghe prepared to seek another target, while a furtive person sneaked up behind him.

Chu Xinghe failed to find Zhu Zhen at the Alchemist Alliance, so he sold copies of the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill refinement technique through the Spirit Alchemist Alliance and across the Four Continents. Meanwhile, the Witch Curse Evil Lord’s repeated failed refinements drained the other evil lords’ remaining wealth.

• Chu Xinghe learned that Zhu Zhen and the master alchemists were away, then left the Alchemist Alliance and was approached by a Spirit Alchemist Alliance member.
• Chu Xinghe offered the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill refinement technique, and the spirit alchemist paid five hundred spirit stones for the Eternal Life Jade Talisman carrying it.
• Chu Xinghe traveled across the Four Continents and gave away more than thirty jade talismans inscribed with the genuine refinement technique.
• On the Evil Shadow Continent, the other evil lords complained that the Witch Curse Evil Lord had failed more than a hundred times and spent their remaining wealth on refining.

The Witch Curse Evil Lord continued failing to refine the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill, while Yang Hui revealed an Eternal Life Jade Talisman he had bought from Chu Xinghe to secure a promotion. Spirit Alchemist Alliance leader Qi Qun found the pill recipe inside and, mistaking its failure for proof that the method was genuine, began a wave of attempts that spread among pill refiners across the Four Continents.

• The other Evil Lords abandoned the Witch Curse Evil Lord after he repeatedly failed to refine the pill, and his grand elder begged him to stop.
• The Spirit Alchemist Alliance leader reprimanded his subordinates, praised Zhao Si'er, and announced Zhao Si'er would be promoted to vice hall master.
• Yang Hui revealed the Eternal Life Jade Talisman he had bought from Chu Xinghe and told Qi Qun how he had obtained it.
• Qi Qun opened the talisman, found the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill refining method inside, and judged its steps sound.
• Qi Qun failed to refine the pill, took the failure as confirmation that the method was real, and prepared to keep trying as the recipe spread among pill refiners across the Four Continents.

Chu Xinghe distributed jade talismans containing the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill method, and master alchemists across the Four Continents began verifying and spreading it. When Shen Chun reported the apparent leak, Chu Xinghe was delighted, but the Grand Elder called an assembly to investigate who had revealed the sect’s secret method.

• Chu Xinghe used valuable jade talismans to persuade master alchemists to study the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill method, and many concluded it was genuine.
• Master alchemists across the Four Continents tried the method and began acquiring and spreading it.
• Shen Chun told Chu Xinghe that many factions had obtained the method, and Chu Xinghe celebrated what he thought was a successful plan.
• Shen Chun reported the spread at the Medicine King Palace assembly, where the Grand Elder confirmed that a jade talisman contained the real method.
• The Grand Elder questioned Mu Bai, who confirmed the method was genuine, then ordered Shen Chun to investigate who had released it.

The Vast Heaven Holy Land’s leaders investigated the leak of the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill formula, while Chu Xinghe waited for rival factions to undercut their pill sales. Qin Xiangqian revealed that the leak had instead caused a massive windfall for the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce, leaving Chu Xinghe stunned.

• The Grand Elder and Shen Chun ruled out An Ying and the Vast Heaven Holy Land’s disciples while trying to identify who had leaked the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill formula.
• Chu Xinghe asked Shen Chun whether other alchemists had refined the pill, and Shen Chun reported that none had succeeded.
• Qin Xiangqian arrived at the meeting and announced that the Vast Heaven Holy Land had made a fortune because of the pill formula.
• Qin Xiangqian showed ledgers proving that factions across the Four Continents had bought up the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s high-grade and rare medicinal ingredients.
• Chu Xinghe realized that the ingredient sales had generated enormous profits and admitted to himself that he was completely numb.

Qin Xiangqian explained that the leaked Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill method had driven alchemists to buy huge quantities of ingredients from the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce, earning the Vast Heaven Holy Land a fortune. Mu Bai then realized that failed attempts came from using the wrong pill furnace, and identified the Vermilion Bird Furnace as essential to refining the pill.

• Qin Xiangqian showed the Vast Heaven Holy Land higher-ups the Chamber of Commerce's profits from selling Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill ingredients to alchemists.
• Qin Xiangqian explained that the Chamber of Commerce had sold enough medicinal ingredients to meet this year's and next year's sales targets.
• Mu Bai studied the leaked refining method and concluded that the method itself was sound, but alchemists outside had all failed because they used the wrong pill furnace.
• Mu Bai arranged the ingredients to reveal Wood-Fire Fusion, and the Grand Elder recognized its significance.
• Mu Bai explained that the Vermilion Bird Furnace was necessary to refine the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill and credited Senior Brother Xinghe with understanding its influence.

Chu Xinghe was blamed for leaking the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill’s refining method, though he insisted he had nothing to do with it. Ouyang Ming’s testimony and the jade talisman evidence convinced everyone that Xinghe had orchestrated the scheme, leaving the Spirit Alchemist Alliance ruined and Tantai Jing’s Demon Demon Credit collecting its debts.

• Elder He concluded that Chu Xinghe had leaked the refining method because Xinghe knew the pill required the Vermilion Bird Furnace and could not be refined without it.
• Mu Bai praised Xinghe for supposedly planning the scheme in advance, while Xinghe privately protested that he had done nothing.
• Ouyang Ming arrived and testified that Xinghe had taken the jade talismans and inserted the refining method into them.
• Ouyang Ming activated Shen Chun’s jade talisman and revealed the Ouyang Hammer emblem, providing evidence that the talismans came from Ouyang Ming and had been given to Xinghe.
• Qin Xiangqian and the elders accepted that Xinghe had baited rule-breaking alchemists, while Elder He praised the scheme for defending alchemy’s inheritance rules.
• The Spirit Alchemist Alliance’s assets were seized by Tantai Jing after its failed research left it unable to repay loans from Demon Demon Credit.

After Chu Xinghe’s Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Pill method fueled the Spirit Alchemist Alliance’s greed, Tantai Jing avoided copying it and instead lent the alliance money, then seized its businesses and alchemists when it failed. Tantai Jing sent the alliance’s rare texts and pill formulas to the Vast Heaven Holy Land, leaving Chu Xinghe to wonder whether he had been one of the scheme’s victims too.

• News that Chu Xinghe had revealed the pill-refining method spread across the Four Continents, shocking the Xinghe Haters' Group and stirring anger among cultivators harmed by the Spirit Alchemist Alliance.
• The Spirit Alchemist Alliance sold its assets and borrowed from Tantai Jing’s Demon Demon Credit to fund its attempt to refine the pill.
• Tantai Jing forbade the Demonic Sect’s alchemists from copying the method, then lent money to rival alchemists so the sect could profit from their success or claim their businesses and labor if they failed.
• The Spirit Alchemist Alliance failed, and Tantai Jing seized its businesses and alchemists, along with other alchemists who had followed evil practices.
• Tantai Jing sent rare ancient texts and pill formulas from the alliance to the Vast Heaven Holy Land as a gift to Chu Xinghe.
• Chu Xinghe saw the treasures and wondered whether he, too, had been one of the pigs in the scheme.

Chu Xinghe panicked over Tantai Jing’s profitable pill formulas and tried to keep his Misfortune Compass spinning by relying on costly projects. Fearing Ouyang Ming was nearing the Concept Level, Chu Xinghe confused him with improvised advice, then was summoned by the Grand Elder for news that was “hard to say.”

• Chu Xinghe received Tantai Jing’s rare pill formulas and worried that testing them would turn into a profitable venture.
• Mu Bai examined the formulas and said several required careful study, while Chu Xinghe reminded himself that Ma Liang’s Dragon Heart Pills and the Body Cultivation disciples’ resource use were still losing money.
• Chu Xinghe learned that Ouyang Ming’s air conditioner had made him famous across the Four Continents and that he was close to a breakthrough.
• Chu Xinghe told Ouyang Ming that he had to break out of the circle of artifact refining to reach the Concept Level, leaving Ouyang Ming baffled and deep in thought.
• Shen Chun summoned Chu Xinghe to meet the Grand Elder, but said the news was hard to classify as good or bad.

The Vast Heaven Holy Land confirmed that the Spirit Realm held valuable, endlessly transmissible cultivation inheritances and appointed the Lord of Purity as Elder Ling to guard them. As the leaders debated charging visitors for the resources needed to sustain the inheritances, the Grand Elder proposed making access free, leaving Chu Xinghe stunned that the Grand Elder had voiced his usual idea.

• The Grand Elder convened a meeting in the Spirit Realm, where leaders reviewed its valuable lost cultivation methods and the Lord of Purity's genuine submission to Chu Cheng.
• The Holy Lord appointed the Lord of Purity, who renamed himself Elder Ling, as an elder responsible for guarding the Spirit Realm's inheritances.
• Elder Ling explained that the Inheritance Spirit Orbs could pass on their inheritances without limit, but using them would consume resources to replenish his power.
• Elder He proposed charging visitors resources to cover the Spirit Realm's upkeep, and the other leaders agreed.
• The Grand Elder suggested making the Spirit Realm free to enter, and Chu Xinghe was shocked that the Grand Elder had said what he had intended to say.

The grand elder decided that Vast Heaven Holy Land would open the Spirit Realm and all its Inheritance Spirit Orbs to the Four Continents for free, while Chu Xinghe stayed silent so the Misfortune Compass could not blame him for the loss. Shen Chun announced the decision, and the Four Continents celebrated, though Bai Yu remained furious that Xie Yue received credit for their parkour.

• The grand elder argued that the Spirit Realm belonged to the Four Continents and should be opened to everyone for free, then asked Chu Xinghe for his opinion; Chu Xinghe stayed silent.
• The grand elder ordered Shen Chun to publicize the free opening and agreed to open every Inheritance Spirit Orb, despite the Lord of Purity questioning the cost.
• Elder He’s Fate Divinity continued to claim Chu Xinghe harbored evil intentions, even though Chu Xinghe had not spoken or helped plan the decision.
• Shen Chun announced the free access, prompting people across the Four Continents to celebrate Vast Heaven Holy Land’s generosity.
• Bai Yu complained that Xie Yue’s fans praised Xie Yue’s parkour while calling Bai Yu a disgrace, and the fans told Bai Yu to shut up.

As the Four Continents debated access to the Vast Heaven Holy Land’s Spirit Realm, Ma Liang proposed selling increasingly expensive passes, but the grand elder rejected his plan. Chu Xinghe stayed silent to avoid triggering the Misfortune Compass, while Tantai Jing tried to turn Ma Liang’s idea into a scalping scheme and was escorted out.

• People across the Four Continents speculated about who would enter the Spirit Realm first and whether Rogue Cultivators would get access.
• Ma Liang proposed a free queue alongside paid priority, express, and premium passes for faster entry.
• Chu Xinghe feared Ma Liang’s scheme would destroy the Vast Heaven Holy Land’s reputation and leave Rogue Cultivators shut out, but he stayed silent to avoid interfering with the Misfortune Compass.
• The grand elder rejected Ma Liang’s plan and asked Chu Xinghe for his opinion, but Chu Xinghe only smiled inscrutably.
• Tantai Jing praised Ma Liang’s idea and proposed that the Demonic Sect buy and resell the passes at higher prices.
• Chu Xinghe ordered Tantai Jing escorted out, and Tantai Jing accepted the more polite wording.

Tantai Jing used the favor of saving Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang to secure an ongoing, mutually beneficial partnership between the Demonic Sect and the Vast Heaven Holy Land. The Great Elder finalized Spirit Realm entry rules that limited the Evil Shadow Continent to fewer daily spots, prompting many Evil Spirits to seek livelihoods elsewhere.

• Tantai Jing demanded meals and business opportunities at the Vast Heaven Holy Land, citing his rescue of Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang.
• Tantai Jing explained to Demonic Sect elders that he had to respect the Vast Heaven Holy Land’s limits and keep repaying it with pill formulas and profitable deals.
• Chu Xinghe recognized that Tantai Jing had made the Demonic Sect a major partner of the Vast Heaven Holy Land and worried about another potential backstabber.
• The Great Elder proposed daily Spirit Realm drawings with ten thousand spots each for three continents and five thousand for the Evil Shadow Continent.
• The White Spirit Evil Lord protested the smaller allocation, but factions from the other continents argued that the Evil Shadow Continent had not earned equal treatment.
• The Vast Heaven Holy Land allowed Evil Spirits with legitimate livelihoods in the other continents to join local drawings, leading many to leave the Evil Shadow Continent.

The Grand Elder reduced the Evil Shadow Continent’s Spirit Realm allocation to encourage its residents to leave and integrate with the Three Continents, setting countless Evil Spirits on the move. While Chu Xinghe worried that the Misfortune Compass had slowed for no clear reason, a mountain of resources appeared at the Vast Heaven Holy Land’s gate with a gift sign that everyone attributed to Yuan Ying.

• The Grand Elder gave the Evil Shadow Continent five thousand Spirit Realm places, fewer than the other continents, prompting many Evil Spirits to seek livelihoods in the Three Continents.
• The major figures of the Vast Heaven Holy Land backed Chu Xinghe’s plans because they trusted they could intervene if he failed.
• Chu Xinghe searched for a reason the Misfortune Compass had slowed, even though his junior brothers and sisters, Ma Liang, and Elder Ling were using resources as expected.
• Shen Chun brought Chu Xinghe to the mountain gate, where they found a small mountain of resources and a sign reading, “Chu Xinghe! This is a little gift from me to you!”
• The Vast Heaven Holy Land’s major figures guessed that Yuan Ying had sent the resources to reinforce his reputation as Chu Xinghe’s foremost bootlicker, leaving Chu Xinghe bewildered.