Chapter Summaries

Ya Fei explained how she manipulated Jia Hong and Elder Yingshan, while Ling Li decided to draw Elder Yingshan into his service by publicly refining a Seventh-grade Pill. After three days of preparation and a wave of visitors gathering in Black Emperor City, Ling Li left his chamber to begin.

• Ya Fei told Ling Li that Jia Hong and his followers had been driven into looting a warehouse and were likely dead, while she had marked the warehouses to track Elder Yingshan if he did not surrender.
• Ling Li said he would raise the stakes by having a Rank 7 Alchemist refine a Seventh-grade Pill at the Black Emperor Pavilion in three days.
• Ling Li entered a secret chamber to prepare to refine the Seventh-grade Snake Marrow Bone Shedding Pill, worried that its Pill Lightning could attract nearby forces such as Jia Nan Academy.
• Ya Fei spread news of the pill refining, drawing alchemists and experts from across the Black Corner Region to Black Emperor City.
• After three days, Ling Li reached peak condition and vanished from the chamber amid thunder and black mist.

Ling Li began refining a Seventh-grade Snake Marrow Bone Shedding Pill at the Black Emperor Pavilion, shocking the crowd by revealing his alchemy skills and Mysterious Flame. After killing alchemists who tried to seize the flame, he forced the audience to remain seated as the pill refinement officially began.

• Ling Li appeared at the auction house platform, where the crowd recognized him as the Mercenary Guild president and demanded refunds.
• Yao Chen explained to Hai Bodong that Ling Li had refined a Sixth-grade Pill and gained the ability to practice alchemy through the Yin Yang Twin Flames.
• Ling Li summoned the Black Demon Cauldron and prepared to refine the Snake Marrow Bone Shedding Pill with its rare ingredients and exacting method.
• Ling Li revealed the Yin Yang Twin Flames, prompting more than a dozen greedy alchemists to charge at him.
• Ling Li killed the attackers with flames and warned the audience not to leave their seats.
• After preheating the cauldron for ten minutes, Ling Li lifted it into the air with the flames and began refining the Seventh-grade Pill.

Ling Li impressed the crowd by refining the Snake Marrow Bone Shedding Pill with the Black Demon Cauldron and his Yin Yang Twin Flames. After stabilizing the medicinal essence with Ancient Heavenly Snake blood, he began the final pill-forming stage, which Yao Chen recognized as a sign of the cauldron’s compatibility with Ling Li.

• Ling Li demonstrated his alchemy skill by refining all seventy-seven medicinal ingredients at once and fusing their essences within three hours.
• Ling Li added a drop of Ancient Heavenly Snake blood essence, which caused the medicinal essence to boil violently inside the Black Demon Cauldron.
• Ling Li used tens of thousands of flame threads to remove the lingering will from the blood essence, calming the mixture in less than half an hour.
• Ling Li intensified the flames and spun the Black Demon Cauldron faster, drawing in the surrounding fire energy as the pill began to form.
• Yao Chen observed the process and remarked that the Black Demon Cauldron was exceptionally compatible with Ling Li.

Ling Li completed the six-day condensation of a Seventh-grade Snake Marrow Bone Shedding Pill, and the pill’s birth summoned powerful Pill Lightning over the venue. As the crowd watched him face the storm, Ling Li sensed Spatial Power rippling nearby and realized unwelcome guests had arrived.

• Yao Chen reflected that the Black Demon Cauldron suited Ling Li better than it had suited him, while his new Myriad Beasts Cauldron suited him well.
• Ling Li sealed the pill fragrance inside the Black Demon Cauldron and patiently condensed the medicinal essence, controlling the process with his Soul Power.
• The venue’s occupants remained in place for six days as Ling Li continued refining the pill.
• Ling Li opened his eyes and saw that the mixed medicinal liquid had formed a purple-red Nascent Pill with powerful medicinal effects.
• Dark clouds and purple-streaked lightning gathered above the venue, signaling the birth of the Seventh-grade Pill and drawing awed reactions from the crowd.
• Ling Li assessed the Pill Lightning and sensed Spatial Power rippling nearby, recognizing that his unwelcome guests had taken the bait.

Ling Li exposed Su Qian’s attempt to sneak into Black Emperor City and seize the Seventh-grade Pill, then stopped him from escaping while enduring the Pill Lightning. Su Qian faced Ling Li alone as Ling Li threatened to stain his clothes with blood.

• Ling Li sensed Su Qian hiding in the void, shattered the space, and revealed Jia Nan Academy’s Great Elder to the crowd.
• Ling Li mocked Su Qian for coming to take the pill, while Su Qian recognized Ling Li’s strength and considered how to escape.
• As the Pill Lightning struck the Black Demon Cauldron, Su Qian tried to flee, but Ling Li intercepted him and took the lightning bolt head-on.
• Ling Li devoured the lingering heavenly lightning and told Su Qian that he intended to dye his clothes with blood.

Ling Li fought Su Qian while resisting the Pill Lightning over Black Emperor City, steadily enduring his attacks until the final bolt fell. Ling Li drew Dark Night, split the last bolt, and defeated Su Qian with a single slash.

• Su Qian attacked Ling Li repeatedly while Ling Li blocked his blows and deflected the Pill Lightning.
• Yao Chen protected Black Emperor City with the Bone Spirit Cold Flame as the crowd watched the battle.
• Yao Chen told Hai Bodong that Ling Li could handle Su Qian, noting that Ling Li had not even drawn his blade.
• As the Pill Lightning dwindled, Su Qian gathered his strength for one final attack with the Nine Coils Serpent Hand.
• Ling Li drew Dark Night, cut apart the final bolt of Pill Lightning, and struck Su Qian down with a single slash.

Ling Li killed Su Qian, subdued the Snake Marrow Bone Shedding Pill, and discovered that his lightning arcs were moving toward a more powerful golden form. Two injured Peak Fighting Sect experts then arrived from Jia Nan Academy, forcing Ling Li and Yao Chen to prepare for a dangerous battle.

• Ling Li killed Su Qian with a single slash and reflected on strengthening his physical power while his violet-gold lightning arcs absorbed Pill Lightning.
• Ling Li retrieved the Snake Marrow Bone Shedding Pill from the Black Demon Cauldron, subdued it, and sealed it in a jade bottle.
• Ling Li sensed two powerful newcomers approaching from Jia Nan Academy as their pressure injured weaker cultivators and revealed their ability to rip through space.
• Yao Chen recognized the newcomers as injured Peak Fighting Sect experts, instructed Hai Bodong to protect Ya Fei and the others, and joined Ling Li in midair.
• Ling Li warned Yao Chen not to let him down, and Yao Chen said his Bone Spirit Cold Flame could contend with the two enemies.

Ling Li, Queen Medusa, and Yao Chen fought Qian Mu and Bai Lie as the elders unleashed a fiery World Tree domain across Black Emperor City. Ling Li left the formation swallowed by an expanding spatial fissure after striking it repeatedly with Dark Night.

• Queen Medusa arrived at Black Emperor Pavilion, and Ling Li greeted her as Qian Mu and Bai Lie appeared above the city.
• Ling Li’s opening Blade Qi was crushed by Bai Lie’s spatial palm, but its Yin Flame and lightning corroded the attack until it vanished.
• Bai Lie and Qian Mu unleashed Flame God and World Tree Descent, while Queen Medusa and Yao Chen worked to block the fiery meteor shower.
• Ling Li charged toward Bai Lie’s formation, dodging Qian Mu’s flaming wooden thorns and striking the formation with Dark Night.
• Ling Li’s repeated Blade Qi opened a spatial fissure that rapidly expanded and swallowed the formation.

Ling Li killed Bai Lie with Dark Night after exploiting the injured elder’s failed attempt to seize the blade. Qian Mu escaped through a Space Channel, but purple light began closing it as he stepped inside.

• Ling Li, Queen Medusa, and Yao Chen split Qian Mu and Bai Lie apart, with Ling Li targeting the injured Bai Lie.
• Bai Lie tried to punch Ling Li and grab Dark Night, but the blade severed his fingers and drained his blood.
• Ling Li used Ghostly Shadow and Shadow Blood Flash to trick Bai Lie, then pierced his heart and stored his corpse in the System Space.
• Qian Mu roared in grief over Bai Lie’s death, crushed a jade tablet, and opened a Space Channel to escape.
• Purple light flickered through the Space Channel, which began closing as Qian Mu stepped into it.

Ling Li killed Qian Mu after Zi Yan stopped him from escaping or self-destructing, then reunited with Zi Yan after she emerged from secluded cultivation. Zi Yan returned to her child form and received a bottle of prepared pills from Ling Li, while the high-grade pill was reserved for Queen Medusa.

• Qian Mu crushed the jade token in a failed attempt to reopen the Space Channel, then tried to self-destruct and attack Ling Li.
• Zi Yan drained the Spatial Power from Qian Mu, allowing Ling Li to stab him through the chest and store his corpse in the System Space.
• Ling Li recognized Zi Yan beneath her grown-up transformation and scolded her for choosing that appearance.
• Zi Yan shrank back into her child form because she lacked the energy to maintain the transformation, then explained that she had advanced early by absorbing dissipating lightning energy from Ling Li's breakthrough.
• Zi Yan complained that Ling Li had not waited for her and asked for Gold Coins and the high-grade pill, but Ling Li gave her a bottle of prepared pills and said the high-grade pill was for Queen Medusa.

After refining a seventh-grade Snake Marrow Bone Shedding Pill for Queen Medusa, Ling Li completed his plans in the Black Corner Region and traveled with Yao Chen and Zi Yan to Jia Nan Academy’s ruins. There, Zi Yan located the hidden treasure vault, and Ling Li opened its entrance with three strikes of Blade Qi.

• Queen Medusa recognized the Snake Marrow Bone Shedding Pill and understood why Ling Li had prepared it for her.
• News of Ling Li’s seventh-grade alchemy spread, the Mercenary Guild gained prominence, and the Gamma Empire’s Alchemist Guild invited him to become a supreme elder.
• Elder Yingshan arrived with Jia Hong and the others’ heads and the Black Emperor Pavilion’s treasures, then pledged allegiance to Ling Li.
• With the Black Emperor Pavilion and Magic Flame Valley displaced, Ling Li left for Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy with Yao Chen and Zi Yan.
• Ling Li questioned Zi Yan about her ability to use Spatial Power, and Yao Chen explained how she had helped heal a spatial rift and remove Spatial Power from Qian Mu.
• Zi Yan found the entrance to Jia Nan Academy’s hidden treasure vault, and Ling Li opened a spatial rift there with three Blade Qi strikes.

Ling Li, Zi Yan, and Yao Chen entered the Jia Nan Treasure Vault after Ling Li tore open a spatial rift, then found and collected the vault’s hidden treasures. Ling Li noticed that several of the remaining cultivation methods and Fighting Skills were dark-attributed.

• Ling Li used his Mysterious Flame and blade technique to slash open a spatial rift, impressing Zi Yan, and the three entered the vault.
• A purple object shot from an energy barrier toward Zi Yan, but Ling Li cut it apart; Zi Yan identified it as a Mysterious Tier High Grade cultivation method.
• Zi Yan punched through a wall and triggered an array that launched treasures from the energy barriers throughout the room.
• Ling Li gathered the flying treasures and divided the medicinal ingredients and pills among himself and Zi Yan after letting Yao Chen choose a few items.
• Ling Li examined the remaining cultivation methods and Fighting Skills and spotted several dark-colored energy clusters.

Ling Li found five Dark-element manuals among Jia Nan Academy’s scrolls and dismissed the weaker techniques before discovering the Earth Tier High Grade Dark Gravity. He saw ways to use it to overcome his combat weaknesses and wondered what would happen if he made the stars fall.

• Yao Chen and Zi Yan discussed how rare Dark-element Dou Techniques were as Ling Li examined five manuals from Jia Nan Academy.
• Ling Li discarded three Mysterious Tier cultivation methods and rejected the Mysterious Tier High Grade Blackwater Realm as useless to him.
• Ling Li discovered the Earth Tier High Grade Dark Gravity, a technique that created controllable gravitational force and could be cultivated by a Dark-element Dou Huang or higher.
• Zi Yan questioned the technique’s usefulness, but Ling Li realized he could use it to boost his strength, change direction, and enhance his slashes.
• Ling Li imagined using Dark Gravity to make the stars fall from the sky.

Ling Li explained his plan to pull down a meteorite and brought Yao Chen and Zi Yan to the ruined Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, where he revealed that a second source of the Falling Heart Flame remained. Zi Yan sensed something important beneath the tower and asked Ling Li not to leave her behind as they prepared to descend.

• Ling Li confirmed that he intended to use his Dou Technique to pull a meteorite from the sky, despite Yao Chen and Zi Yan doubting him.
• Ling Li led Yao Chen and Zi Yan to the ruined Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower and revealed that the Soul Hall Protector had taken only one of the Falling Heart Flame's two sources.
• Yao Chen reacted with surprise when Ling Li said the Falling Heart Flame had been born as a twin flame and that the other source remained beneath the tower.
• Zi Yan began crying near the tower, sensing that something important to her awaited at its bottom, while Ling Li suspected her feelings were connected to Zhu Kun.
• Zi Yan asked Ling Li to take her to the bottom of the tower and promised him not to leave her behind; Ling Li reassured her that they had pinky promised.

Ling Li, Yao Chen, and Zi Yan descended beneath the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower and found the vast Magma Sea Region. Ling Li discovered the Falling Heart Flame in a hidden Space Channel, but an unseen attacker struck as he tried to take it.

• Ling Li opened the rusted iron door at the tower’s bottom, and the three descended into the Magma Sea Region.
• Ling Li sensed a summons from below and entered the magma with Yao Chen and Zi Yan protected by their flames.
• Ling Li detected a strange Spatial Fluctuation several li beneath the surface and revealed a hidden Space Channel.
• Ling Li found the Falling Heart Flame floating above a skeleton inside the channel.
• Ling Li reached for the flame, then abruptly retreated from a scorching attack as an unseen speaker accused him of greed.

Ling Li destroyed Yao Tianhuo, claimed the Falling Heart Flame, and took time to rest before returning to the Tagor Desert. There, Zi Yan identified his supposed Heavenly Demon Phoenix corpse as an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix, and Ling Li refined its remains into valuable materials and a new bone-wing flight skill.

• Ling Li shattered Yao Tianhuo’s corpse and then killed his Soul Body with Dark Night, taking the Falling Heart Flame and Naling Storage Ring.
• Ling Li had Hai Bodong send people to guard the Magma Sea Region, then spent half a month traveling around the northwest with Zi Yan.
• Ling Li returned to the Tagor Desert with Zi Yan and learned that the corpse was an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix, whose origin flame required a special method to refine.
• With Zi Yan’s guidance, Ling Li refined the corpse into wings, essence blood, and claw bones, then used a pair of wings to create a flight combat skill.
• Ling Li used Greed to overcome the bone wings’ lingering will and attached the resulting colorful totem to his back, where it transformed into bone wings when fueled by Dou Qi.
• Ling Li decided to begin refining the Heavenly Demon Puppet.

Ling Li began refining a Heavenly Demon Puppet from Earth Demon Old Ghost, using a prepared corpse, soul, and Seventh-Tier Magic Core. After adding a drop of Ancient Sky Phoenix Essence Blood, he completed the puppet and left its power transformed by black flames.

• Ling Li gathered corpses, souls, magic cores, and other materials for three Heavenly Demon Puppets, then rested for three days and nights before beginning the work.
• Ling Li brought out Earth Demon Old Ghost, Qian Mu, and Bai Lie’s corpses and chose Earth Demon Old Ghost’s body for his first attempt.
• Ling Li used dark flames and special metals to temper Earth Demon Old Ghost’s corpse, removing its corpse qi and lingering thoughts.
• Ling Li placed a fused demonic-beast soul in Earth Demon Old Ghost’s head and a fire-attributed Seventh-Tier Magic Core in his chest, successfully forming a Heavenly Demon Puppet.
• Ling Li added a drop of Ancient Sky Phoenix Essence Blood to the puppet’s magic core, which turned black and sent black energy and flames through its body.

Ling Li completed three Earth Demon Puppets, bound them to his soul, and discovered that the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix beast fire inside them could extinguish his Yin Flame and devour vitality. He took the puppets into the desert to test their strength, where Zi Yan caught up and arrived just as he was about to begin.

• Ling Li finished refining three silver Earth Demon Puppets, equipped them with bone wings, and bound them with his blood and soul imprints.
• Ling Li tested the puppets’ movements and found that their black beast fire extinguished his Yin Flame and rapidly withered his skin.
• Ling Li destroyed the puppets’ faces, made them ferocious beast masks from the remnants of the Black Heavy Ruler, and stored them away.
• Ling Li flew from the Snake-People Holy City to a desert, noting that his new bone wings had greatly increased his speed.
• Zi Yan caught up with Ling Li and asked why he had started flying so fast, and Ling Li prepared to test the puppets’ power.

Ling Li tested the power of the three Earth Demon Puppets and gave two of them to Little Doctor Fairy and Queen Medusa. When the group learned that all the snakes had left Ten Thousand Snake Cave and Qing Lin was missing, Ling Li and Zi Yan investigated and found the space around a vanished treasure distorted.

• Ling Li ordered the three Earth Demon Puppets to punch, and their attacks blasted a huge crater into the desert.
• Ling Li kept Bai Lie and assigned Earth Demon Old Ghost and Qian Mu to Queen Medusa and Little Doctor Fairy.
• The Snake People Great Elder told Ling Li that every snake had retreated from Ten Thousand Snake Cave, though Qing Lin had not returned.
• Ling Li, Zi Yan, Yao Chen, and Little Doctor Fairy went to the empty ravine and found its spring still full of water.
• Zi Yan sensed that the treasure Qing Lin alone could take had disappeared and that the space where it had been was distorted.

Ling Li and his companions discovered that the cold pond in the Ten Thousand Snake Cave concealed a Space Channel, likely connected to Qing Lin and the vanished snake swarm. Ling Li entered it with Zi Yan and Yao Chen, while Little Doctor Fairy stayed behind, determined to become strong enough to travel with him.

• Little Doctor Fairy gathered Phantom Purple Orchids beside the pond, and Ling Li suspected the snake swarm had left after Qing Lin took a treasure.
• Zi Yan detected and opened a hidden Space Channel, and Yao Chen judged that its creator had been at least a Half-Saint.
• Ling Li tested the passage and found it led into a vast, silent Space Channel filled with rapidly flowing Spatial Power.
• Despite Zi Yan's warning about the channel's dangers, Ling Li decided to explore it, and Yao Chen said a Space Ship could protect them.
• Little Doctor Fairy asked to accompany Ling Li, but he refused because she had not mastered Spatial Power.
• Ling Li, Zi Yan, and Yao Chen entered the Space Channel, leaving Little Doctor Fairy behind with a bottle of purple medicinal pellets.