Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ling and the others finished gathering herbs in the ancient forest and followed Zi Yan’s senses to a Pill Hall in the ruins. They entered to search its floors for pills and lost formulas, finding mostly low-grade pills on the first floor before Xiao Ling began collecting everything.

• Xiao Ling’s group left the plundered forest after gathering medicinal herbs and poisonous resources, then followed Zi Yan’s treasure sense through the ruins.
• The group found the Pill Hall, and Xiao Ling explained that it was unlikely to contain Ninth-grade Pills while hoping to find ancient pill formulas.
• Xiao Ling opened the bronze doors, and the group entered the vast hall filled with pill racks and Alchemy Rooms.
• Zi Yan opened several containers on the first floor and grew disappointed when she found low-grade pills or empty boxes.
• Medusa reminded Zi Yan that they were only on the first floor, and Xiao Ling stopped her from rushing upstairs so they could collect the pills and inspect the Alchemy Rooms first.

Xiao Ling and the others searched the Pill Hall’s upper floors, where they found better pills and discovered a Nine-colored Pill Beast. The chapter ended with the little beast accepting pills from Xiao Ling and growing less wary of him.

• Xiao Ling’s group collected pills and ancient formulas from the first floor, then took Detoxification Pills before entering the poisonous second floor.
• The group gathered Sixth- and Seventh-grade Pills and rare medicinal knowledge on the second floor, then followed Zi Yan’s sense of a treasure to the third.
• Medusa spotted a small white blur, and Xiao Ling identified it as a likely Nine-colored Pill Beast formed from an Eighth-grade pill.
• Xiao Ling used Sixth-grade Pills as bait, drawing out the fluffy white Pill Beast.
• The Pill Beast swallowed the pills Xiao Ling offered, and its wariness toward him began to fade.

Xiao Ling subdued the Pill Beast by feeding it pills and persuaded it to follow the group, then led everyone to a study in the ruins. There, he discovered valuable alchemy records, including a Ninth-grade Pill formula, and anticipated that studying them would help him refine Ninth-grade Pills in the future.

• Xiao Ling fed the Pill Beast Sixth-grade Pills and explained that pills helped it grow stronger.
• Xiao Ling lifted the Pill Beast, promised to care for it, and said he would occasionally draw some of its blood; the beast reluctantly accepted the arrangement.
• Xiao Ling handed the Pill Beast to Zi Yan, and she, Medusa, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin petted it until it relaxed and chose to stay with them.
• Xiao Ling and the others collected the stored pills and entered the study, where they searched the orderly room for treasures.
• Xiao Ling found ancient pill formulas, manuscripts, and annotations, including a Ninth-grade Pill formula, and hoped the records would help him refine Ninth-grade Pills after reaching the Heavenly Realm.

Xiao Ling and his group reached the central hall of the Ancient Ruins, where they found the Dou Sheng Skeleton surrounded by ten light spheres and a dozen powerful Ancient Human Puppets. After recognizing the threat, Xiao Ling assigned the group roles for the coming fight.

• Xiao Ling and his group swept through the ruins, collecting treasures from its halls and other locations as they advanced toward the center.
• The group entered a vast bronze-colored main hall and saw ten glowing spheres surrounding a jade-white skeleton on a stone seat.
• Xiao Ling recognized the skeleton as the Creation Saint’s Dou Sheng Skeleton and considered extracting its Dou Sheng Bone Marrow to advance his cultivation.
• Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian identified the motionless figures near the stone seat as powerful puppets, and Xiao Ling explained that they were Ancient Human Puppets capable of thought and Dou Techniques.
• Xiao Ling warned that the group would have to fight the puppets to reach the treasures, then assigned himself and Xiao Yi Xian to the main attack while Qing Lin and Medusa supported them.

Xiao Ling and his companions broke the spatial barrier and battled the Ancient Human Puppets guarding the hall while Zi Yan collected the released treasures. Xiao Ling unleashed a powerful Godfall Weapon attack that destroyed several puppets, leaving the group with the remaining foes still in the hall.

• Xiao Ling broke the spatial barrier, causing the ten light clusters to release their scrolls and awakening the Ancient Human Puppets.
• Xiao Ling and Xiao Yi Xian attacked the puppets, with Xiao Ling wielding the Godfall Weapon and Xiao Yi Xian burning and poisoning them with her Netherworld Poison Flame.
• Medusa fought two puppets with a Dou Qi sword, while Qing Lin sent her two Eighth-tier Snake Magical Beast experts against the others.
• Zi Yan used the Power of Space to seize several light clusters as they darted through the hall.
• Xiao Ling transformed the Godfall Weapon into a light blade and cleaved several puppets apart, collapsing their offensive.

Xiao Ling and the others defeated the hall’s puppets, then Zi Yan returned with scrolls from the ruins. The Dou Sheng Skeleton began to stir, and Xiao Ling prepared to stop its awakening with the Sky Demon Puppet.

• Xiao Yi Xian, Medusa, and Qing Lin defeated the remaining puppets with their poison flames, sword strikes, and Snake Magical Beasts.
• Xiao Ling praised Qing Lin’s strength, and Medusa privately struggled with envy as he affectionately patted Qing Lin’s head.
• Zi Yan returned with scrolls, including high-grade Earth Grade techniques and a battle-puppet method, but no Heavenly Grade treasures.
• Xiao Yi Xian noticed the Dou Sheng Skeleton stirring, and Xiao Ling said he would use the Sky Demon Puppet to interrupt its awakening.

Xiao Ling sent a Half-Saint Sky Demon Puppet to destroy the Dou Sheng Skeleton before its will awakened, but the skeleton triggered a hidden contingency and prepared to unleash the Great Heaven Creation Palm. Xiao Ling escaped the main hall with the four women, leaving the puppet to meet the skeleton’s silent palm strike.

• Xiao Ling sent an ordinary Sky Demon Puppet toward the Dou Sheng Skeleton, but spatial restrictions trapped it and shattered its right hand.
• Xiao Ling summoned his rare Half-Saint purple-gold Sky Demon Puppet and ordered it to break through the barrier and destroy the skeleton.
• The puppet shattered the spatial barrier and charged the Dou Sheng Skeleton as the skeleton began clacking and spoke the words “Great Heaven Creation Palm.”
• Xiao Ling recognized that the skeleton’s hidden contingency had fully activated and used his Power of Space to evacuate himself and the four women from the main hall.
• The Dou Sheng Skeleton gathered black light into its right palm and met the purple-gold puppet’s punch; a black halo spread from their silent collision.

Xiao Ling and his companions survived the Great Heaven Creation Palm and found the Dou Sheng Skeleton, while Xiao Ling’s damaged Half-Saint Puppet proved it could still move. To avoid hidden defenses, Xiao Ling had his Heaven-grade puppets dismantle the skeleton, leaving the group with a pile of bones.

• Xiao Ling moved everyone out of the hall with the Power of Space before the black halo consumed it.
• The black halo faded, revealing the battered but still-moving Sky Demon Puppet and the floating Dou Sheng Skeleton.
• Xiao Ling retrieved the damaged puppet and approached the skeleton with Xiao Yi Xian, Zi Yan, Medusa, and Qing Lin.
• Xiao Ling sent his Heaven-grade puppets to test the skeleton, then had them pull it apart when no defenses appeared.
• The puppets dismantled the Dou Sheng Skeleton into a pile of white bones, leaving Xiao Ling embarrassed by their treatment of it.

Xiao Ling found three sealed ribs that together recorded an incomplete Heavenly Grade Dou Technique, but he could not decipher them yet. With factions gathering around the Skeleton Mountain Range, he decided to leave quickly and hide the women in his Portable Space while he handled the escape.

• Xiao Ling discovered that a rib from the Dou Sheng Skeletons bore hidden characters, and he identified it as part of a Heavenly Grade Dou Technique’s cultivation method.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Zi Yan found two more ribs, and Xiao Ling confirmed that the three records belonged together but remained incomplete and sealed against his Soul Power.
• Xiao Ling explained that studying the technique would have to wait until they could break the seal and understand its required tempering process.
• Xiao Ling revealed that factions had gathered around the Skeleton Mountain Range and said they needed to leave before attracting trouble.
• Zi Yan proposed fighting their way out, but Xiao Ling rejected the idea and told the women to enter his Portable Space while he handled the rest.

Xiao Ling sent Zi Yan, Medusa, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin into a Spatial Tunnel before disguising himself and preparing to confront the forces gathered outside the ruins. He secretly placed the Devouring Ancestral Talisman’s Destiny Talisman among the crowd, while the assembled factions remained unaware of the danger approaching them.

• Xiao Ling opened a Spatial Tunnel and sent Zi Yan, Medusa, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin inside to wait safely.
• After closing the tunnel, Xiao Ling put on Yao Chen’s reforged black robe to conceal his identity and aura, planning to rob the gathered factions if he could defeat them.
• Xiao Ling observed the forces at Skeleton Mountain Range and noted that few powerful human experts had arrived and Soul Hall had not yet appeared.
• Xiao Ling sent the Destiny Talisman of the Devouring Ancestral Talisman beyond the ruins and announced that the show could begin.
• Elder Feng Tian sensed that the surroundings had grown darker and felt uneasy, but the Nine Serene Deep Nether Python Clan elder dismissed his concern as the two clans planned to claim the ruins’ treasures.

A mysterious black barrier spread across the Skeleton Mountain Range and began devouring the surrounding energy as factions gathered for the Ancient Ruins. After their strongest combined attacks only strengthened it, Xiao Ling watched from outside and prepared to begin his hunt.

• A pitch-black barrier appeared over the Skeleton Mountain Range and rapidly expanded, drawing in the surrounding natural energy.
• Elder Feng Tian warned that the barrier might be a restriction left by the Dou Sheng who created the Ancient Ruins and ordered the factions to attack it together.
• The Nine Serene Deep Nether Python Clan and the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan unleashed their arrays alongside the other factions, but the barrier swallowed their attacks and grew stronger.
• The barrier covered the region, blocked the sunlight, and left the gathered factions helpless and afraid.
• Xiao Ling hovered outside the barrier, noted that the attacks had replenished its energy, and declared that the real hunt was about to begin.

People trapped inside the Dou Sheng Ruins barrier were attacked by a powerful army of black-robed figures, and Elder Feng Tian was struck from behind by an unknown young human man. Feng Tian’s attacker remained unidentified as his strength drained away.

• Elder Feng Tian told a Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan member that the barrier had blocked their Spatial Jade Slip from reaching the outside world.
• Countless black-robed figures emerged from vortices in the sky, and the gathered factions suspected they were connected to the Soul Hall.
• The black-robed figures attacked, overwhelming the trapped crowd with powerful Dou Zong and Dou Zun fighters.
• The Nine Serene Deep Nether Python Clan elder struggled against two black-robed Dou Zun experts while Elder Feng Tian’s cracked Demon Phoenix Bell weakened under repeated attacks.
• As Elder Feng Tian prepared to fight to the death, a young human man pierced his chest from behind, leaving Feng Tian desperate to see his attacker.

Xiao Ling emerged from the Ancient Ruins after killing Elder Feng Tian and overseeing the massacre of the trapped explorers and magical beasts. He reunited with Zi Yan and the other three women while flying away with Rayquaza, then said it was time to return to the Northwest Continent.

• Elder Feng Tian recognized Xiao Ling as he watched his life fade, and Xiao Ling pulled his Eighth-tier Magic Core from his body and stored his corpse.
• Xiao Ling watched his Banner Slaves slaughter the trapped factions inside the barrier until the fighting ended and the barrier faded.
• Xiao Ling left the bloodied Skeleton Mountain Range and rewarded Rayquaza with high-grade medicinal ingredients for guarding the area.
• Rayquaza carried Xiao Ling away, and he released Zi Yan and the other three women from his Portable Space.
• Xiao Ling gave the women few details about the Ancient Ruins and said it was time to return to the Northwest Continent.

Xiao Ling visited the Soul Hall branch in Dark Abyss Ghost Valley, which his Banner Slaves had secretly brought under his control, to collect its accumulated Soul Origin. Azure Sea Venerable presented the gathered Soul Origin, and Xiao Ling promised to reward his loyal subordinates with souls he had acquired.

• Xiao Ling arrived in Dark Abyss Ghost Valley and headed for the Soul Hall branch hall to collect Soul Origin for advancing his Talisman Master realm.
• Xiao Ling passed through the hall’s defenses and entered its central hall, where the Banner Slaves knelt and greeted him as their master.
• Azure Sea Venerable told Xiao Ling that the branch hall’s collected Soul Origin was ready and produced a sphere of it from his Storage Ring.
• Xiao Ling examined the pure, powerful Soul Origin, praised Azure Sea Venerable, and offered to strengthen the Banner Slaves with souls he had acquired.

Xiao Ling secured a large Soul Origin for the Spirit of the Ancestral Stone to purify, then arranged for Banner Slaves to infiltrate Soul Hall. He rejoined Zi Yan and the others and continued toward the Northwest Continent, where they neared the Black Corner Region and Jia Nan Academy.

• Xiao Ling accepted the Spirit of the Ancestral Stone's offer to purify the Soul Origin and let it draw the energy into the Ancestral Stone.
• Xiao Ling discussed Soul Hall's situation with Azure Sea Venerable and ordered him to place more than a dozen Dou Zun-level Banner Slaves within Soul Hall.
• Xiao Ling left the Soul Hall branch, rejoined Zi Yan and the others, and gave them an excuse for his absence before they resumed their journey.
• Rayquaza carried Xiao Ling and Zi Yan through a Black Storm, calming the winds as it passed.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Ling saw the cities ahead and anticipated reaching the Black Corner Region and Jia Nan Academy.

Jia Nan Academy prospered in strength and reputation thanks to Xiao Ling’s achievements, and its ceremony celebrated new students and Inner Academy promotions. Su Qian, Xiao Yu, Hu Jia, and the other elders discussed Xiao Ling, while Xiao Yu and Hu Jia teased each other over their feelings for him.

• Jia Nan Academy became the Black Corner Region’s strongest faction and attracted more students and Alchemists because of Xiao Ling’s fame.
• The academy held a grand ceremony for new students and students entering the Inner Academy, where newcomers learned that the statue depicted Xiao Ling.
• Su Qian watched the celebrations and recalled Xiao Ling’s Pill Gathering victory and his rise as an alchemy master.
• Xiao Yu reported that preparations for enrollment were complete, and Hu Jia joined the elders in discussing Xiao Ling.
• Xiao Yu and Hu Jia teased each other about their affection for Xiao Ling, prompting knowing smiles from Su Qian and the other elders.

Xiao Ling, Zi Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and Medusa returned to Jia Nan Academy and reunited with Su Qian, Hu Gan, Elder Huo, Xiao Yu, and the others. The group left to catch up, while Hu Gan stayed behind to oversee the new student selection as students watched Xiao Ling go.

• Xiao Ling and his companions emerged from a Spatial Tunnel, surprising Su Qian and the others at Jia Nan Academy.
• Su Qian, Hu Gan, and Elder Huo warmly welcomed Xiao Ling, Zi Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin and praised their accomplishments.
• Zi Yan protested when Su Qian teased her about her height, prompting laughter from the group.
• Xiao Ling took Medusa's hand, and she returned his gesture as they shared a quiet moment amid the reunion.
• Su Qian led the visitors away to talk, while Hu Gan ordered the other elders to remain and help manage the new student selection.
• The students watched Xiao Ling's group leave and whispered excitedly about the legendary senior.

Xiao Ling and his companions reunited with Su Qian and the Jia Nan Academy elders, revealing that they had reached the Dou Zun Realm and sharing stories of the Central Plains. After an evening of conversation, Xiao Ling's group agreed to stay at the academy for a while and returned to the Inner Academy with Su Qian.

• Xiao Ling told Su Qian and the elders that he and his companions had reached the Dou Zun Realm, delighting them with the news.
• Zi Yan said she had been taken back by the Ancient Void Dragon Clan but had not yet seen her parents, while Su Qian comforted her.
• At Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion, Zhu Kun felt uneasy, then blamed Tou She Ancient God and struck the cave mansion with his tail.
• Xiao Ling and his companions recounted their Central Plains experiences, captivating Xiao Yu and Hu Jia.
• As evening arrived, Xiao Ling said the group would stay at Jia Nan Academy for a while and offered to refine pills for the elders.
• After saying farewell to Elder Huo and the others, Xiao Ling's group returned to the Inner Academy with Su Qian and several elders.

Xiao Ling and his companions returned to Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy, where Su Qian welcomed them and showed them how the academy and the Supreme Freedom Gate had grown. After settling into their old courtyard, Xiao Ling spoke with the Spirit of the Ancestral Stone, who offered him purified Soul Origin that might help him become a Grand Talisman Master.

• Xiao Ling and his companions flew to the Inner Academy with Su Qian and entered through a spatial gate.
• Xiao Ling and the others surveyed the bustling academy, and Su Qian told them the Supreme Freedom Gate remained its strongest faction.
• Xiao Ling and his companions said farewell to Su Qian and returned to their former courtyard to rest.
• The Spirit of the Ancestral Stone appeared in Xiao Ling's room and presented him with purified Soul Origin, saying it might help him become a Grand Talisman Master.

Xiao Ling secluded himself to absorb the Soul Origin and attempt a breakthrough to the Grand Talisman Master Realm while the Spirit of the Ancestral Stone shielded his courtyard and his companions kept visitors away. Nearly a month later, Xiao Ling remained in cultivation as Su Qian and Elder Huo discussed their expectations for his return.

• Xiao Ling began absorbing the Soul Origin, and the eight Destiny Talismans in his Niwan Palace drew in its power, with the Devouring Ancestral Talisman imprint absorbing the most.
• The Spirit of the Ancestral Stone raised an isolation barrier around the courtyard and assured Xiao Yi Xian and the other women that Xiao Ling was safe and should not be disturbed.
• Xiao Yi Xian and the others agreed to turn away anyone seeking Xiao Ling while he cultivated.
• Xiao Ling remained motionless in seclusion for nearly a month as Su Qian, Elder Huo, and other elders visited but were unable to see him.
• Su Qian and Elder Huo discussed Xiao Ling's seclusion, and Su Qian predicted that Xiao Ling would cause a stir when he finished cultivating.