Chapter Summaries

At the Ancient Assembly, Xun'er challenged Hun Ruoruo to a duel, using two captured Soul Hall subordinates as stakes and claiming their rivalry was about more than Xiao Yan. Xun'er revealed her awakened Ancient Clan bloodline and four-star Dou Zun strength, then declared Hun Ruoruo would lose.

• Xun'er faced Hun Ruoruo at the Ancient Assembly Training Ground and offered the captured White Heavenly Venerable and Heavenly Venerable Mo as stakes for a challenge.
• White Heavenly Venerable and Heavenly Venerable Mo mistook Hun Ruoruo for a captive Soul Clan miss and urged her to escape before Hun Ruoruo dismissed their alarm.
• Xun'er asked Hun Ruoruo to accept a challenge over Xiao Yan, then admitted that Hun Ruoruo herself was the goal behind her persistence.
• Xun'er summoned a golden spear, displayed her pure Fire Element power, and revealed she had reached four-star Dou Zun after awakening her Ancient Clan bloodline.
• Xun'er pointed her spear at Hun Ruoruo and declared that Hun Ruoruo would lose because she had not yet awakened her own bloodline.

Xun'er revealed how battles had shaped her strength and challenged Hun Ruoruo, whom she both respected and disliked for surpassing her. After Xun'er overwhelmed Hun Ruoruo's first weapon with the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, Hun Ruoruo emerged from the mist with hundreds of Sea Flame Halberds and declared that their warm-up was over.

• Xun'er told Hun Ruoruo that she could not hate her, though being surpassed made her the person Xun'er disliked most.
• Hun Ruoruo summoned a Sea Flame Halberd and invited Xun'er to attack first, prompting the elders watching them to recognize her confidence.
• Xun'er used her Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame and Pear Blossom Rain to shatter the halberd and injure Hun Ruoruo's soul.
• As Xun'er prepared a decisive spear thrust and Elder Lin moved to rescue Hun Ruoruo, Hun Ruoruo appeared above the battlefield surrounded by hundreds of Sea Flame Halberds.

Hun Ruoruo and Xun'er fought with their powerful flames and techniques, and Hun Ruoruo won without using her full strength. She revealed that she prized Sea Heart Flame because it had been a gift from him, leaving Xun'er furious.

• Xun'er empowered her Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame with Pure Fire Dou Qi and challenged Hun Ruoruo to reveal her true strength.
• Hun Ruoruo infused her Sea Flame Halberds with Soul Force, overwhelming Xun'er with soul attacks while Xun'er countered with the Imperial Seal Art.
• Hun Ruoruo pierced Xun'er's Annihilating Heaven Seal with a blood-red halberd, then stopped Xun'er from unleashing a dangerous power by cutting off a lock of her green hair.
• Hun Ruoruo told Xun'er to wait until they reached her home to settle the fight, then explained that Sea Heart Flame was precious because he had given it to her.
• Xun'er realized Hun Ruoruo had held back and shouted her name in anger.

After defeating Xun'er, Hun Ruoruo treated her injuries and explained how her Sea Flame Halberd techniques had weakened Xun'er's healing. Hun Ruoruo invited Xun'er to bathe so she could cleanse the hidden injuries, leaving Xun'er flustered and furious after being called a soup dumpling.

• Xun'er blamed her loss on the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame's sealed power and confronted Hun Ruoruo, who teased her and claimed she was acting for her own good.
• Hun Ruoruo told Xun'er she feared becoming a cold-hearted monster and had placed her emotions in her husband, warning that his feelings might make him react impulsively to Xun'er's insults.
• After Xun'er lunged at her, Hun Ruoruo treated her injuries while Xun'er noticed that the Poison Sea Flame Halberd had hindered her healing.
• Hun Ruoruo explained the different effects of her Sea Flame Halberd techniques and said she had avoided using the lethal Poison Sea Flame Halberd against Xun'er.
• Hun Ruoruo gave Xun'er a bath towel and invited her to bathe so she could cleanse her hidden injuries, but Xun'er feared she intended to do something improper.
• Hun Ruoruo dismissed Xun'er's suspicion and called her a soup dumpling, prompting Xun'er to demand to know whom she meant.

Hun Ruoruo and Xun'er bathed together, and Hun Ruoruo explained that their friendship helped them resist the influence of their Dou Di bloodlines. Xun'er recognized how much her life had changed, while Hun Ruoruo left her with a challenge to fight for what she wanted.

• Hun Ruoruo teased Xun'er at the hidden bathing pool, and Xun'er accidentally lost her bath towel after diving into the water.
• Xun'er asked whether Hun Ruoruo had brought her there to shield her from the Dou Di bloodline's influence, and Hun Ruoruo said their contact as old friends could delay their slide toward ruthlessness.
• Xun'er reflected that her friendship and rivalry with Hun Ruoruo had helped her become more than someone whose world revolved around Xiao Yan.
• Xun'er asked whether Xiao Yan would attend the coming Pill Gathering, and Hun Ruoruo said he would take the opportunity if he could overcome his emotional burdens.
• Hun Ruoruo told Xun'er to fight for what she wanted rather than let clan conflicts or elders decide her path, then offered to challenge her again.

After Hun Ruoruo healed Xun'er and revealed her alchemy skills, she warned that the Soul Hall would send a Sequence Heavenly Venerable to the Pill Gathering. Xun'er prepared to oppose them and learned that Eight Heavenly Venerable Qiu Di was responsible for Yao Chen’s old enmity with the Soul Hall, while Qiu Di sensed that trouble was coming.

• Hun Ruoruo healed Xun'er with her Profound Water Dou Qi, then teased her about Xiao Yan and left to compete in the Pill Gathering.
• When Xun'er questioned why Hun Ruoruo had become Yao Chen’s disciple, Hun Ruoruo produced a pill and revealed that the Soul Hall would send a Sequence Heavenly Venerable to the event.
• Hun Ruoruo challenged Xun'er to prove herself, and Xun'er vowed that the Ancient Assembly could fight the Soul Hall before heading to its main hall.
• Xun'er confirmed that Elder Lin had sent the two Soul Hall Heavenly Venerables back and asked him about Yao Chen’s history with the Soul Hall.
• Elder Lin named Eight Heavenly Venerable Qiu Di as Yao Chen’s enemy, while Qiu Di felt uneasy as Blood River warned him not to let their plan to seize Yao Chen’s soul fail.

Xiao Yan reunited with Qing Lin and brought her along toward Starfall Pavilion after learning how Heavenly Snake Mansion had treated her. Meanwhile, Hun Ruoruo’s plans had turned the Ancient Assembly and Danta against Soul Hall’s other factions, leaving Ninth Heavenly Venerable Hall ready to act.

• Xiao Yan met Qing Lin as she escaped Heavenly Snake Mansion, and she joined him on his journey back to the Jia Ma Empire.
• Qing Lin told Xiao Yan that Heavenly Snake Mansion’s elders had trained her to bear a child for their sect master’s son, angering him.
• Xiao Yan decided to take Qing Lin to Starfall Pavilion, where she could meet another girl and be protected by his teacher.
• Mo Yu reported to Hun Ruoruo that the Ancient Assembly saw the Eight Heavenly Venerable and his allies as enemies, while Danta was focused on Old Man Mu Gu.
• Hun Ruoruo concluded that Ninth Heavenly Venerable Hall had avoided the conflict and ordered her forces to set out.

Hun Ruoruo explained to Mo Yu that the Soul Hall needed to undermine Danta from within, then went to watch the Five Great Families' assessment. At Crimson Plaza, she encountered Dan Chen and unexpectedly absorbed some of the girl's Soul Force.

• Hun Ruoruo rebuked Mo Yu for underestimating Danta and ordered him to continue their plan to control it through its foundation.
• A carriage pulled by Void Sky Pegasus Beasts arrived at Crimson Plaza, and a young master praised the Dan Family and mentioned Dan Chen's close relationship with Cao Ying.
• A White Robe girl defended Dan Chen's talent, but a spectator scolded her for speaking up at the Alchemists' gathering.
• The White Robe girl stumbled into Hun Ruoruo, who caught her and accidentally drew in a vast amount of her Soul Force.
• Hun Ruoruo steadied the girl and warned her to watch her step.

Hun Ruoruo revealed her Heaven Realm soul to Dan Chen and tried to persuade the young Eighth-grade Alchemist that Danta and the Five Great Families were not wholly devoted to alchemy. The chapter ended with Hun Ruoruo proposing that she, despite being unable to refine pills, compete against the Five Great Families in alchemy.

• Hun Ruoruo grabbed Dan Chen's wrist and caused her soul to leave her body, revealing her Heaven Realm power.
• Dan Chen mistook Hun Ruoruo for a member of the Soul Hall, but Hun Ruoruo introduced herself as Hun Ruoruo and said she preferred enslaving souls to hunting them.
• Dan Chen insisted that alchemists were driven by the pursuit of alchemy and refused to submit to Hun Ruoruo.
• Hun Ruoruo questioned whether every Danta alchemist shared Dan Chen's devotion, then turned the discussion toward the Five Great Families.
• Hun Ruoruo proposed competing against the Five Great Families in alchemy despite being unable to refine pills.

Hun Ruoruo secured a fifth-grade Alchemist Badge from Elder Han Li by implying her master held a seat at the Pill Gathering, then challenged Dan Chen to judge her through a public alchemy contest. Dan Chen followed her, convinced that alchemy would expose any deception, while Hun Ruoruo planned to draw her deeper into her schemes.

• Hun Ruoruo gave Han Li the alias An Ruoruo and hinted that her master could be found among the Pill Gathering's viewing-platform guests.
• Han Li gave Hun Ruoruo a fifth-grade Alchemist Badge without a test, explaining that it qualified her to enter the Pill Gathering.
• Hun Ruoruo teased Dan Chen by suggesting her master might be a Danta figure and planted doubts about Soul Hall spies within Danta.
• Dan Chen challenged Hun Ruoruo's claim to be an Alchemist because she wielded water-element Soul Force, but Hun Ruoruo said a disciple need not study alchemy.
• Hun Ruoruo proposed competing against the Five Great Families' Alchemist prodigies, and Dan Chen followed her, trusting that alchemy would reveal the truth.

Hun Ruoruo accompanied Dan Chen to the Five Great Families' assessment, where she met Cao Ying and drew attention for matching her presence. Dan Chen concealed Hun Ruoruo's identity, then stunned Dan Xuan by asking him to replace the Dan Family's contestant with her.

• Dan Chen tried to avoid the crowded entrance, but a guard recognized her and the crowd gathered around her and Hun Ruoruo.
• Enforcers removed a man who insulted Hun Ruoruo, and Hun Ruoruo led Dan Chen into the hall.
• Cao Ying greeted Dan Chen and introduced herself to Hun Ruoruo, whose presence matched hers in the Three Qi assessment.
• Dan Chen told Dan Xuan that Hun Ruoruo was an old friend from Danta, and he assumed she was a distinguished Danta disciple.
• Dan Chen asked Dan Xuan to have their father replace the Dan Family's contestant with Hun Ruoruo, shocking him and the onlookers.

Hun Ruoruo was accepted as the Dan Family representative in the Five Great Families' assessment after Cao Ying persuaded the others to agree. When Hun Ruoruo began the Soul Manipulation test, her overwhelming Soul Force caught every falling bead, leaving Elder Sheng stunned.

• Cao Ying argued that Hun Ruoruo's participation would not harm the other families' standings, and the gathered families agreed to let her represent the Dan Family.
• Hun Ruoruo introduced herself to Elder Sheng as the Dan Family representative, and he recognized her as a successor from "that place," shocking the family elders.
• Cao Ying privately told Dan Chen that Hun Ruoruo was not a Danta disciple and challenged her to prove her claim by having Yao Chen acknowledge her as his disciple.
• Hun Ruoruo overheard Cao Ying and Dan Chen's conversation and remained confident that Yao Chen would acknowledge her as his disciple.
• Cao Dan explained that the Soul Manipulation test required lifting Soul Testing Beads with Soul Force and warned Hun Ruoruo about Cao Ying's record of eighty-nine beads.
• Hun Ruoruo reached toward the falling beads and seized the entire cascade with her Soul Force, stunning Elder Sheng.

Hun Ruoruo dominated the soul-force tests and secured first place, while Ye Hen unexpectedly earned second and gave the Ye Family a chance to recover. As Elder Sheng prepared to finalize the family rankings, Cao Ying challenged the result and proposed another contest between the leading representatives.

• Hun Ruoruo’s overwhelming Soul Force left the other competitors stunned, and they dropped their Soul Testing Beads as she claimed victory in the test.
• Cao Ying recognized Hun Ruoruo’s soul realm as comparable to Xuan Kongzi’s and responded with fear that turned into fighting spirit.
• Hun Ruoruo eliminated the competitors one by one, leaving Ye Hen until last and securing him second place; Ye Zhong celebrated the result, while Hun Ruoruo reflected that she had helped the Ye Family to prevent them from claiming Xiao Yan as their son-in-law.
• Elder Sheng announced that Hun Ruoruo had won the final test, with the Ye Family second, the Qiu Family third, and the Cao Family last.
• Cao Ying objected to setting the rankings based on one test and suggested that the leading representatives should compete against one another.

Cao Ying challenged Hun Ruoruo to a Pill Tower Alchemy Competition, staking everything on a Tier 7 contest despite knowing Hun Ruoruo could only refine Tier 6 pills. As the contest began, Cao Ying summoned the Blood Fiend Flame, but an even stronger azure Heavenly Flame suddenly overwhelmed every flame in the hall.

• Elder Sheng proposed that Cao Ying and Hun Ruoruo compete in a Pill Tower Alchemy Competition, and Hun Ruoruo accepted.
• Cao Ying entered the arena in place of Cao Dan and chose a Tier 7 contest, while Hun Ruoruo selected healing medicine as the pill type.
• Hun Ruoruo admitted she could only refine Tier 6 pills but said she did not need to display her alchemy skills to deal with those people.
• Cao Ying began refining with the Blood Fiend Flame, causing nearby alchemists' flames to surge out of control and bow toward the arena.
• A faint azure light appeared and overwhelmed every other flame, prompting the crowd to recognize a Heavenly Flame.

Hun Ruoruo faced Cao Ying in a Pill Gathering contest, using her Heavenly Flame and the crowd’s assumptions to make her pill refining appear superior. Cao Ying completed a Seventh-grade Pill but lost as the audience celebrated Hun Ruoruo’s apparent success, while Dan Chen alone recognized the truth.

• Elder Sheng recognized Hun Ruoruo’s deep blue flame as a Heavenly Flame, and Cao Ying broke free of its restraint to begin refining the Life Turning Pill.
• Hun Ruoruo began refining the same pill and privately revealed her resentment toward women connected to Xiao Yan.
• As both alchemists neared the pill-condensing stage, Dan Chen saw that Hun Ruoruo’s cauldron contained disorderly medicinal dregs rather than a real pill.
• Hun Ruoruo told Cao Ying that she had never intended to compete with her in alchemy, but only needed the crowd to believe in her supposed Eighth-grade skill.
• Cao Ying completed her Seventh-grade Pill, but Hun Ruoruo’s pill fragrance and pill lightning overwhelmed it as the crowd praised Hun Ruoruo.

Cao Ying confronted the Cao Family Patriarch over her parentage and her mother, then broke down after explaining why she had been condemned for exposing Hun Ruoruo’s pill. Hun Ruoruo appeared and offered to take Cao Ying away, and Cao Ying pleaded with her not to kill her father as black wings wrapped around her.

• Cao Ying accused the Cao Family Patriarch of hiding her mother and falsely claiming she was Cao Dan’s full sister to protect his power.
• The Patriarch pressured Cao Ying with his aura, but an old woman intervened and helped her recover after he ordered the servants to keep the incident secret.
• Cao Ying recalled how the crowd had mocked her for calling Hun Ruoruo’s pill false, even though its healing power had convinced her it was real and dangerously deceptive.
• Hun Ruoruo appeared before Cao Ying and offered to free her from the Cao Family, saying a demon’s shadow lay within her.
• Cao Ying accepted Hun Ruoruo’s offer but pleaded with her not to kill the Patriarch as black wings coiled around her.

Hun Ruoruo denied killing Cao Ying’s father, then left the Dan Family with Dan Chen as Danta prepared for the Pill Gathering. At Danta, Yao Chen learned from Xuan Yi’s scroll that his missing disciple had appeared among the Five Great Families.

• Hun Ruoruo told Dan Chen she had defended Cao Ying to win her over, and Dan Chen wondered whether Hun Ruoruo and Cao Ying were alike.
• Hun Ruoruo warned Dan Chen against probing her past, then summoned Mo Yu and left the Dan Family with her.
• At Danta, Xuan Yi visited Yao Chen, who explained that he had sought Danta’s protection for Starfall Pavilion and felt indebted to her.
• Xuan Yi gave Yao Chen a scroll about the Five Great Families, and he discovered that his missing disciple had appeared with Heavenly Flames.
• Xuan Yi silently called Yao Chen an idiot as he reacted with excitement to the news.

Old Man Yao realized Hun Ruoruo had returned to Danta to send a signal, while Xiao Yan struggled to refine an eighth-tier pill amid rumors targeting him and Old Man Yao. Hun Ruoruo arrived to see Xiao Yan and urged him to win the Pill Gathering championship.

• Old Man Yao revealed Hun Ruoruo belonged to the Soul Clan, then rushed out to protect her while warning Xuan Yi to keep her identity secret.
• Xiao Yan continued practicing eighth-tier pill refinement in Saint Pill City as rumors questioned his skill and Old Man Yao’s judgment.
• Hun Ruoruo, Dan Chen, and Mo Yu caught a Danta man spreading rumors, and Mo Yu’s soul search revealed that Old Man Mu Gu had placed a Soul Seal on him.
• Mo Yu explained that Mu Gu might be acting on orders from Hun Xuzi, and Hun Ruoruo ordered him to erase all traces of the incident.
• Hun Ruoruo joined Dan Chen beside Xiao Yan as he refined his pill, confessed how much she had missed him, and told him to win the Pill Gathering championship.

Hun Ruoruo reunited with her master, Old Man Yao, and Dan Chen gained his approval as a fellow disciple. Dan Chen then revealed that Hun Ruoruo planned to use the Pill Gathering to approach the Eight Clans, leaving Mo Yu stunned and excited by the scale of her ambition.

• Mo Yu stood guard outside while Hun Ruoruo spoke intimately with Xiao Yan, and he imagined himself as her favored servant.
• Old Man Yao arrived, and Hun Ruoruo respectfully greeted him as her master before they warmly caught up.
• Hun Ruoruo introduced Dan Chen as Xuan Yi's disciple, and Old Man Yao invited Dan Chen to call him Martial Uncle.
• Mo Yu collapsed in dismay when Dan Chen gained a family connection to Old Man Yao, then Dan Chen returned with his portrait and autograph.
• Dan Chen told Mo Yu she had read the tip of Hun Ruoruo's thoughts and believed the Pill Gathering was a stepping stone toward the Eight Clans.

Hun Ruoruo explained why she let Xiao Yan make progress in alchemy through his own effort, then asked Old Man Yao how he could win the Yao Clan’s recognition. The chapter ended with Ruoruo teasing Old Man Yao about the elegant woman who had arrived to see him.

• Hun Ruoruo told Old Man Yao that Xiao Yan disliked relying on her because of the hardship he had endured.
• Hun Ruoruo revealed that she had nearly persuaded her father to attack the Medicine Realm, and Old Man Yao warned her about the Yao Clan’s strength.
• Old Man Yao said the Yao Clan would only respect someone who defeated them in alchemy, and Hun Ruoruo considered his answer.
• Hun Ruoruo kissed Xiao Yan, said she would cultivate with her husband, and pointed out the woman waiting for Old Man Yao.
• The woman confronted Yao Chen about leaving her to instruct his disciples.