Chapter Summaries

After Liu Ling despaired over his inability to match Lu Yunxiao’s strength, Gu He urged him to use his alchemy skills to seek revenge. They decided to lure Lu Yunxiao into competing at the empire’s Alchemist Grand Assembly, where Liu Ling hoped to win the championship and reclaim Yanran’s attention.

• Gu He confronted Liu Ling about giving up and reminded him that he wanted revenge on Lu Yunxiao and to win Yanran back.
• Gu He argued that Liu Ling could not surpass Lu Yunxiao in cultivation but could challenge him through alchemy.
• Liu Ling learned that Lu Yunxiao had begun refining medicine and assumed he was only a beginner alchemist.
• Liu Ling planned to challenge Lu Yunxiao, but Gu He persuaded him to wait for the Alchemist Grand Assembly and aim for its championship.
• Liu Ling realized they could provoke Lu Yunxiao into entering the contest by issuing him a challenge.

After a month and a half in seclusion, Lu Yunxiao refined a perfect Qi Gathering Powder and advanced to Tier 4 Alchemist. He emerged to find Yun Yun instructing Nalan Yanran, and the chapter ended with the two welcoming him back.

• Lu Yunxiao refined a perfect Qi Gathering Powder and reflected on how quickly he had advanced as an alchemist.
• Lu Yunxiao fed the pill to the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python and named it Little Cai.
• Lu Yunxiao gathered the hundreds of pills he had made and left his quiet chamber, anticipating a breakthrough to Dou Ling after seeing Yun Yun.
• Nalan Yanran demonstrated her improved Wind Extremity: Falling Kill during Yun Yun's instruction.
• Lu Yunxiao appeared before Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran, who greeted him with delight as he emerged from seclusion.

After emerging from seclusion, Lu Yunxiao reunited with Yun Yun and took a walk with her while Nalan Yanran tagged along. He secretly held Yun Yun’s hand and squeezed her buttocks before they reached a path where other disciples might see them.

• Lu Yunxiao told Yun Yun he had made progress during his month and a half of cultivation, and she fussed over his hair and collar while Nalan Yanran watched.
• Nalan Yanran interrupted Lu Yunxiao’s affectionate attention to Yun Yun and asked him for guidance, but he told her to keep striving and said they could discuss it another day.
• Lu Yunxiao invited Yun Yun to walk around the sect with him, and Nalan Yanran followed them despite not being invited.
• Lu Yunxiao secretly took Yun Yun’s hand and interlocked their fingers while blocking Nalan Yanran’s view, leaving Yun Yun thrilled and nervous.
• As they neared a busier path, Lu Yunxiao released Yun Yun’s hand and squeezed her buttocks before withdrawing his hand.

Lu Yunxiao flirted with Yun Yun and teased Nalan Yanran as the three walked through the sect. Their path was blocked by Gu He and Liu Ling, who said they had come to see Lu Yunxiao.

• Lu Yunxiao privately asked Yun Yun to spend the night with him, and her silence told him she agreed.
• Lu Yunxiao asked Nalan Yanran to stop talking, prompting Yun Yun to defend her and then call her to her side.
• Lu Yunxiao, Yun Yun, and Nalan Yanran continued through the sect until Gu He and Liu Ling approached them.
• Gu He and Liu Ling greeted Yun Yun, and Gu He said they had come to see Lu Yunxiao.
• Yun Yun grew wary and narrowed her eyes, suspecting Gu He and Liu Ling had not come with good intentions.

Gu He brought Liu Ling to challenge Lu Yunxiao to an alchemy competition at the Imperial Capital’s Alchemist Grand Assembly, eight months away. Lu Yunxiao accepted and left Liu Ling promising defeat, while Yun Yun asked whether he was confident.

• Liu Ling challenged Lu Yunxiao to an alchemy contest, and Nalan Yanran condemned him for targeting someone with far less experience.
• Liu Ling named the Alchemist Grand Assembly in eight months as the contest’s venue and made the Pill Gathering championship its measure of victory.
• Lu Yunxiao accepted, briefly released his aura to make Liu Ling stagger, and predicted Liu Ling would lose again.
• Gu He and Liu Ling left, and Nalan Yanran scolded Lu Yunxiao for agreeing to the challenge.
• Lu Yunxiao told Yun Yun that he could already beat Liu Ling.

Lu Yunxiao brought Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran to Soaring Cloud Pavilion and gave Yun Yun hundreds of medicinal pills, revealing that he had become a Tier 4 Alchemist. He planned to hide that rank until the Alchemist Grand Assembly, where he intended to crush Liu Ling after making him train harder under pressure.

• Lu Yunxiao led Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran to Soaring Cloud Pavilion after Yun Yun misunderstood his invitation to his room.
• Lu Yunxiao covered the pavilion table with hundreds of medicinal-pill bottles and said he had refined them using the herbs Yun Yun had provided and his own reserves.
• Nalan Yanran recognized a bottle of Qi Gathering Powder and learned that Lu Yunxiao was a Tier 4 Alchemist.
• Lu Yunxiao told Yun Yun to sell the Qi Gathering Powder rather than distribute it, so others would not discover his true rank.
• Lu Yunxiao explained that he would let Liu Ling believe he was only a Tier 3 Alchemist, then reveal his real strength at the Alchemist Grand Assembly and break Liu Ling's confidence.

Lu Yunxiao rebuked Nalan Yanran for neglecting her cultivation, then encouraged her to prepare for the Three-Year Agreement with promises of an Earth Tier Dou Technique and a Perfect Dou Shi Pill. After she left to cultivate, he gave Yun Yun a Perfect Emperor Extreme Pill that could raise a Dou Emperor’s strength by two stars.

• Lu Yunxiao told Nalan Yanran that Liu Ling had brought his fate upon himself, and she and Yun Yun challenged his suggestion that they were responsible for the trouble he faced.
• Lu Yunxiao warned Nalan Yanran that Xiao Yan knew an Earth Tier Dou Technique and that she needed to cultivate to avoid losing the Three-Year Agreement.
• Lu Yunxiao refused Yun Yun’s request to teach Nalan Yanran Wind Catkin Kill unless she showed better effort, prompting Nalan Yanran to promise she would cultivate.
• Lu Yunxiao gave Nalan Yanran a Perfect Dou Shi Pill that could help her reach the peak of the Dou Shi realm, and she left to train.
• Lu Yunxiao told Yun Yun that he cared for Nalan Yanran because Yun Yun did, then gave her a Perfect sixth-tier Emperor Extreme Pill that could raise a Dou Emperor’s strength by two stars.

Lu Yunxiao gave Yun Yun a Perfect Emperor Extreme Pill, and the two spent the night together before agreeing to enter seclusion and advance their cultivation. As they began refining the pill and breaking through in the meditation chamber, the enormous surge of energy drew the Misty Cloud Sect Elders’ attention.

• Yun Yun accepted Lu Yunxiao’s Perfect Emperor Extreme Pill, which could raise her strength by two stars, and planned to enter seclusion after spending the night with him.
• Lu Yunxiao and Yun Yun shared a tender morning, and Yun Yun asked him to wait a few more days before they took the next step in their relationship.
• Lu Yunxiao and Yun Yun agreed to see who would emerge from seclusion first, then went to the meditation chamber together.
• Yun Yun swallowed the Perfect Emperor Extreme Pill while Lu Yunxiao began circulating the Elemental Scripture to break through to Dou Ling, with the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python guarding them.
• The energy Lu Yunxiao drew from across a thousand zhang alarmed the Misty Cloud Sect Elders, and Yun Leng speculated that the Sect Master was breaking through again.

Lu Yunxiao completed his breakthrough to Dou Ling while Yun Yun continued cultivating toward six-star Dou Emperor. His new system rewards gave him a powerful movement skill and two doses of Spirit Beast Evolution Fluid, which he planned to use on the Starry Sky Flood Dragon and the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python.

• Lu Yunxiao refined natural energy through the Green Lotus Core Flame, Star Spirit Gold, and Innate Qi as he cultivated alongside Yun Yun.
• Yun Yun advanced to five-star Dou Emperor and continued trying to break through to six-star, while Lu Yunxiao reached the final stage of his own breakthrough.
• Lu Yunxiao's Dou Crystal transformed into a nine-spiked Sea Urchin Dou Crystal, confirming his successful advancement to Dou Ling.
• The system rewarded Lu Yunxiao with two portions of Spirit Beast Evolution Fluid and the Earth-tier Mid-grade movement skill Carefree Immortal Ascent Steps.
• Lu Yunxiao planned to give one dose of Spirit Beast Evolution Fluid to the Starry Sky Flood Dragon and considered using the other to tempt the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python into advancing to nine colors.

Lu Yunxiao claimed the Carefree Immortal Ascent Steps and watched Yun Yun recover from her breakthrough, while planning to improve her talent. Three months later, the Starry Sky Flood Dragon emerged from its egg as an Ancient Void Dragon.

• Lu Yunxiao claimed the Carefree Immortal Ascent Steps and put away the purple jade bottles intended for evolving the Starry Sky Flood Dragon.
• Lu Yunxiao stroked the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python and considered how to improve Yun Yun's talent, while anticipating Queen Medusa's awakening.
• Yun Yun's aura surged after another day, and she opened her eyes to Lu Yunxiao.
• Three months passed as Lu Yunxiao watched the Starry Sky Flood Dragon's egg react to the Spirit Beast Evolution Fluid.
• The purple egg shattered, and the creature that emerged was an Ancient Void Dragon.

Lu Yunxiao inspected Little Star after it evolved into a Starry Sky Ancient Dragon and checked his own rapid cultivation progress. He returned to the Misty Cloud Sect, where Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran were waiting in his room, but the reason for their visit remained unknown.

• Lu Yunxiao used the system to learn that Little Star had become an early Sixth Tier Starry Sky Ancient Dragon with Dou Saint potential.
• Lu Yunxiao checked his status and saw that he had reached Four-Star Dou Ling and the initial stage of the late Mortal Realm in soul strength.
• Lu Yunxiao praised Little Star, then sent it back into his sleeve before flying to the Misty Cloud Sect using the Carefree Immortal Ascent Steps.
• Lu Yunxiao found Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran waiting in his room and joked about why they had gathered there.
• Yun Yun rebuked Lu Yunxiao for his suggestive remark, and he asked the two women why they had come.

Nalan Yanran asked Lu Yunxiao to save her grandfather Nalan Jie from Scorching Poison after Gu He could not cure him. Lu Yunxiao agreed in exchange for Seven Illusions Green Spirit Saliva, and Nalan Yanran prepared to take him to the Imperial Capital.

• Nalan Yanran explained that the Scorching Poison in Nalan Jie’s body had erupted and would kill him within half a year without treatment.
• Lu Yunxiao objected to being approached only after Gu He failed, but Yun Yun urged him to help Nalan Yanran.
• Nalan Yanran pleaded and nearly knelt, prompting Lu Yunxiao to agree to treat Nalan Jie for Seven Illusions Green Spirit Saliva.
• Yun Yun told Nalan Yanran to take Lu Yunxiao to the Imperial Capital the next day and look after him.
• After Nalan Yanran left, Lu Yunxiao closed the door and turned his attention to Yun Yun.

Lu Yunxiao and Nalan Yanran traveled to the Imperial Capital, where he confessed that he already loved several women and rejected her affection. The carriage arrived at Nalan Manor, and Nalan Yanran appeared composed despite her tears as she asked Lu Yunxiao for help.

• Lu Yunxiao asked Nalan Yanran to stop liking him and admitted that he loved Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian, and also intended to pursue Queen Medusa.
• Nalan Yanran realized Yun Yun had told her the truth, then fell silent and cried after Lu Yunxiao said they could only remain senior sister and junior brother.
• Lu Yunxiao thought about Hai Bodong and Qing Lin while the carriage continued toward the Imperial Capital.
• The carriage arrived at the Imperial Capital, and Nalan Yanran directed the driver to take them to Nalan Manor.
• Nalan Yanran wiped away her tears, said she was fine, and asked Lu Yunxiao for help later, while secretly clenching her fingers.

Lu Yunxiao and Nalan Yanran arrived at the Nalan Clan, where he explained that he rejected her because she had imitated Yun Yun instead of living as herself. Nalan Yanran wept but vowed to stop pursuing him and rebuild her self-respect.

• Lu Yunxiao regretted mentioning Xian'er after he saw Nalan Yanran's reaction during their carriage ride through Jia Ma Holy City.
• Lu Yunxiao gave the Misty Cloud Sect disciple who drove them to the Nalan Clan a Tier 3 Foundation Cultivation Pill.
• Nalan Yanran asked Lu Yunxiao whether he had ever liked her, and he told her that her resemblance to Yun Yun was the reason he rejected her.
• Nalan Yanran cried and promised she would no longer pursue or love Lu Yunxiao unless he came to pursue her himself.

Nalan Yanran brought Lu Yunxiao to the Nalan Clan to treat her grandfather, Nalan Jie, for his Scorching Poison. Lu Yunxiao revealed his Heavenly Flame, and Nalan Yanran announced that he was a Tier 4 Alchemist, leaving the gathered alchemists astonished.

• Nalan Yanran promised Lu Yunxiao she would change and prove herself, and he wiped away her tears before they entered the Nalan Clan.
• Nalan Yanran introduced Lu Yunxiao to her father, Nalan Su, who welcomed him and wondered about their relationship.
• Lu Yunxiao said he had come to treat Nalan Jie rather than visit as a guest, and Nalan Yanran explained that he could remove her grandfather's poison.
• Lu Yunxiao revealed his Heavenly Flame, convincing Nalan Su that Nalan Jie could be saved.
• Nalan Yanran declared that Lu Yunxiao was a Tier 4 Alchemist, shocking the alchemists in the hall.

Lu Yunxiao examined Nalan Jie’s severe Scorching Poison after Nalan Su brought him to the bedside. Nalan Jie and Nalan Yanran argued over her broken engagement to Xiao Yan until Lu Yunxiao ordered them to stop.

• Nalan Yanran confirmed that Yun Yun had witnessed Lu Yunxiao’s Tier 4 alchemy, leaving Nalan Su and the others stunned.
• Nalan Su welcomed Lu Yunxiao and led him, with Nalan Yanran, to see Nalan Jie.
• Lu Yunxiao examined Nalan Jie and judged that the poison would kill him within half a year if it remained untreated.
• Nalan Jie blamed Nalan Yanran’s broken engagement for his weakened cultivation and told her to apologize to Xiao Yan.
• Nalan Yanran insisted that she had broken the engagement because she did not love Xiao Yan and would not regret choosing her own happiness.
• Nalan Jie and Nalan Yanran argued until Lu Yunxiao coldly ordered them to shut up.

Lu Yunxiao explained two ways to cure Nalan Jie's Scorching Poison: a Tier 6 high-grade pill or treatment with Heavenly Flames. Nalan Jie chose the immediate treatment, and Lu Yunxiao privately assured Nalan Yanran that he was certain he could succeed.

• Lu Yunxiao silenced Nalan Jie, Nalan Su, and Nalan Yanran with his imposing presence, then diagnosed the Scorching Poison in Nalan Jie's bones.
• Lu Yunxiao described the Poison-Cleansing Spirit-Evolving Pill, which would take four or five months to become available, and the dangerous but immediate Heavenly Flames treatment.
• Nalan Su suggested having Gu He refine the pill, and Lu Yunxiao dismissed the idea, saying Gu He would take years to manage it.
• Nalan Jie chose the Heavenly Flames treatment, and Lu Yunxiao ordered the servants to help prepare him.
• Nalan Yanran privately begged Lu Yunxiao to save her grandfather, and Lu Yunxiao assured her that his success rate was one hundred percent and admitted he had exaggerated the danger to tease them.

Lu Yunxiao used his Heavenly Flame to begin expelling the Scorching Poison embedded in Nalan Jie's bones. As Nalan Jie endured the painful treatment, Nalan Su and Nalan Yanran discussed Lu Yunxiao's talent, mysterious origins, and prickly temperament.

• Lu Yunxiao warned Nalan Jie before sending a wisp of azure Heavenly Flame into his body, making Nalan Jie shudder in pain.
• Lu Yunxiao guided the flame through Nalan Jie's meridians and began slowly burning the poison from his blackened bones.
• Lu Yunxiao told Nalan Jie to endure the pain and asked Nalan Yanran and Nalan Su to step back and remain quiet.
• Nalan Jie asked about Lu Yunxiao's sect and teacher, and Lu Yunxiao answered that Sect Master Yun Yun was his teacher before telling Nalan Jie to stop talking.
• As black mist rose from the Scorching Poison, Nalan Su asked Nalan Yanran about Lu Yunxiao, and she explained that he was mysterious and could not tolerate being slighted.

Nalan Yanran admitted to Nalan Su that she loved Lu Yunxiao but would not pursue him again because he had a girlfriend and had rejected her. Lu Yunxiao began treating Nalan Jie’s Scorching Poison and then declined to stay at the Nalan Family, leaving Nalan Yanran hurt by his distance.

• Nalan Yanran confessed to Nalan Su that she liked Lu Yunxiao, but said he had a girlfriend, had rejected her, and she could not accept becoming a concubine.
• Nalan Yanran told Nalan Su she would focus on becoming more outstanding and said she was confident she would defeat Xiao Yan in the Three-Year Agreement because she had become a one-star Da Dou Shi with Lu Yunxiao’s Dou Shi Pill.
• Lu Yunxiao stopped treating Nalan Jie for the day and said he would remove the old man’s Scorching Poison through daily treatments over a week.
• Nalan Su and Nalan Jie thanked Lu Yunxiao, but Lu Yunxiao declined Nalan Jie’s invitation to talk because he was tired.
• Nalan Yanran offered to show Lu Yunxiao to a guest room, but he said he had somewhere to stay with people he knew, deepening her suspicion that he was keeping his distance.

Lu Yunxiao brought Nalan Yanran to the Mitel Auction House to meet someone and explained that the person who raised him was closer to him than Yun Yun. He relied on Nalan Yanran’s status to attract the attention of the Mittel Family, and they waited for someone in charge to approach them.

• Nalan Yanran questioned why Lu Yunxiao kept his distance, and he explained that he had come to see an acquaintance who had raised him.
• Lu Yunxiao and Nalan Yanran arrived at the Mitel Auction House and made their way through the crowded entrance.
• Nalan Yanran described the auction house’s sales platforms and auction tiers, and Lu Yunxiao casually said he carried ten or twenty million gold coins.
• Lu Yunxiao pointed out Nalan Yanran’s Misty Cloud Sect emblem and explained that the Mittel Family would recognize her and send someone to receive them.
• Nalan Yanran realized Lu Yunxiao was waiting to be approached, then playfully objected when he pointed toward her chest.