Chapter Summaries

After Liu Xi won the Five Great Families assessment, he sensed a Soul Hall intruder while cultivating the Soul Tempering Art. Mu Gu threatened him to withdraw from the Alchemy Convention, but Liu Xi recognized the black flame and ordered Xiao Yi Xian to kill him.

• Liu Xi's victory over Cao Ying and Dan Chen preserved the Ye Family's place among the Five Great Families and made the three alchemists famous.
• While cultivating the twelfth level of the Soul Tempering Art, Liu Xi sensed malice and an incomplete Heavenly Flame approaching.
• Liu Xi and Xiao Yi Xian confronted a black-robed Soul Hall Dou Zun, whom Liu Xi identified as Mu Gu.
• Mu Gu threatened Liu Xi to leave Sacred Pill City and skip the Alchemy Convention, but Liu Xi refused and said he would join the Pill Tower.
• Mu Gu unleashed a pitch-black flame, and Liu Xi recognized it as a possible sub-flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame before ordering Xiao Yi Xian to kill him.

Xiao Yi Xian fought Mu Gu after he threatened Liu Xi, but Mu Gu used a blood-red pill to escape through a Spatial Rift. Liu Xi treated Xiao Yi Xian’s burned hand and looked ahead to another chance to confront Mu Gu during the Alchemy Convention.

• Xiao Yi Xian appeared to protect Liu Xi and revealed that she had reached the Mid-stage Dou Zun realm.
• Xiao Yi Xian struck Mu Gu with Calamity Poison Gas and a palm attack, but his Black Flame wounded her hand as it burned away her poison.
• Yao Tianhuo and other powerful figures rushed toward the courtyard after Xiao Yi Xian and Mu Gu’s clash shook Sacred Pill City.
• Mu Gu swallowed a blood-red medicinal pill, forced Xiao Yi Xian and Yao Tianhuo back with Black Flame, and escaped through a Spatial Rift.
• Liu Xi treated Xiao Yi Xian’s burned palm with Green Flame and medicine, while Yao Tianhuo looked away.

After Soul Hall threatened Liu Xi over the Alchemy Convention, Xuan Kongzi invited him to the Pill Tower for protection and promised to explain the matter. Liu Xi met Xuan Kongzi the next day, who openly declared Liu Xi his favorite to win the convention, astonishing Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and Song Qing.

• Xuan Kongzi appeared before Liu Xi, condemned Soul Hall, and invited him to meet the next day at the Pill Tower.
• Yao Tianhuo urged Liu Xi to accept the Pill Tower’s protection, and Liu Xi agreed to leave the Ye Family with Xiao Yi Xian and Yao Tianhuo.
• Elder Sheng guided Liu Xi and his companions to luxurious, secure accommodations at the Pill Tower, while Ye Zhong promised to deliver Liu Xi’s requested medicinal ingredients.
• The next morning, Elder Sheng brought Liu Xi to meet Xuan Kongzi, while Xiao Yi Xian stayed behind with Yao Tianhuo.
• Liu Xi met Xuan Kongzi alongside Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and Song Qing, and Xuan Kongzi declared Liu Xi his favorite to win the Alchemy Convention.

Liu Xi met with Xuan Kongzi, who rewarded him for the Pill Tower’s failure to protect him from the Soul Hall. Xuan Kongzi explained the Soul Hall’s plan to seize Three Thousand Burning Flame and urged the young alchemists to keep it out of their hands at the Alchemy Convention.

• Cao Ying and Dan Chen challenged Liu Xi’s confidence about winning the Alchemy Convention, while Song Qing insisted the Pill Tower’s elite would not yield to him.
• Liu Xi told Xuan Kongzi that the Soul Hall had nearly endangered him, prompting the others to share their hostility toward the Soul Hall.
• Xuan Kongzi introduced Song Qing and gave Liu Xi soul-skill insights and his Eighth-grade Alchemy enlightenment as compensation for the Pill Tower’s failure.
• Xuan Kongzi explained that Three Thousand Burning Flame resented its seal, was growing harder to contain, and could devastate the Pill Domain if released.
• Xuan Kongzi warned that the Soul Hall intended to take or release Three Thousand Burning Flame and asked the young alchemists to stop its plan, hoping the convention champion would come from their ranks.

Xuan Kongzi gave Liu Xi rare alchemy insights and an Eighth-grade Alchemist badge to win his support against Soul Hall, then sent the young alchemists to prepare for the convention. Liu Xi left to study, while Song Qing watched him with growing resentment.

• Cao Ying, Dan Chen, Song Qing, and Liu Xi pledged to stop Soul Hall from winning the Alchemy Convention, and Xuan Kongzi gave Liu Xi scrolls containing soul-skill and Eighth-grade Alchemy insights.
• Xuan Kongzi awarded Liu Xi an Eighth-grade Alchemist badge without an assessment, explaining that the rank carried a duty to protect alchemists from Soul Hall.
• Liu Xi accepted the badge and said he would repay Soul Hall for its assassination attempt, while privately considering Mu Gu's sub-flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame.
• Xuan Kongzi told the four alchemists to prepare for the convention, then resolved that they must keep the championship and the Three Thousand Burning Flame from Soul Hall.
• Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and Song Qing approached Liu Xi, but he left to study Xuan Kongzi's insights; Song Qing grew resentful of the praise Liu Xi received.

After studying Xuan Kongzi’s scrolls for six days, Liu Xi prepared for the Alchemy Convention with Xiao Yi Xian and received the medicinal ingredients from Ye Zhong. The convention was set to begin the next day, and Ye Zhong warned Liu Xi that Soul Hall might target him in the ruined Pill Realm.

• Liu Xi finished studying Xuan Kongzi’s scrolls and learned more about refining Eighth-grade Pills.
• Xiao Yi Xian told Liu Xi that six days had passed, Cao Ying had tried to visit, and Ye Zhong had not yet delivered the ingredients.
• Liu Xi and Xiao Yi Xian walked through Pill Tower and returned to find Ye Zhong waiting for them.
• Ye Zhong gave Liu Xi the ingredients, including Earth Core Essence, explaining that Pill Tower had helped gather enough materials for three attempts.
• Ye Zhong described the Alchemy Convention’s three rounds and warned that Soul Hall members might attack Liu Xi in the ruined Pill Realm.
• Liu Xi assured Ye Zhong that even the Soul Hall Dou Zun would be unable to harm him.

Liu Xi prepared for the Alchemy Convention, arriving at the crowded venue with Xiao Yi Xian and Yao Tianhuo. As the convention began, the three Titans of the Pill Tower appeared before the gathered crowd.

• Xiao Yi Xian helped Liu Xi dress, and he chose not to wear the Eighth-grade Alchemist badge Xuan Kongzi had given him.
• Liu Xi and Xiao Yi Xian left with Yao Tianhuo and reached the Alchemy Convention in the Inner Region.
• Ye Zhong explained that the first assessment took place in a Phantom Soul Beast illusion realm and the second in the dangerous Pill Realm.
• A bell silenced the plaza, and more than a dozen figures appeared above the stone platform.
• Liu Xi recognized Xuan Kongzi among the three Pill Tower Titans and saw the dark-skinned elder and Valley Master Luo beside him.

At the Alchemy Convention, Liu Xi entered the Soul Illusion Realm and overcame its traps and illusions with his powerful Spiritual Power. The illusions stirred his longing for home, and he resolved to return to the Northwest Region after the convention before reaching the realm’s exit.

• Xuan Kongzi announced the convention’s three trials and promised the champion an ancient soul cultivation method and a chance to become a Pill Tower Titan candidate.
• Liu Xi entered the Soul Illusion Realm as Xuan Kongzi and the cheongsam-clad woman discussed the threat of Soul Hall and the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Liu Xi detected the correct path through the realm’s spatial traps and shattered an illusion of Xiao Yi Xian.
• Liu Xi dispelled illusions of people he knew, thought of his family and teacher, and resolved to return to the Northwest Region after the convention.
• Liu Xi navigated the increasingly complex warped space and approached a black-hole-like exit after confirming it was not an illusion.

Liu Xi and Cao Ying passed the first illusionary trial and waited for the next round. Cao Ying proposed an alliance for the dangerous Pill Realm trial, but Liu Xi refused, leaving her bewildered as more alchemists arrived.

• Liu Xi emerged first from the illusionary trial and waited in the plaza with Elder Liao.
• Cao Ying arrived, joined Liu Xi, and asked him to form a temporary alliance for the dangerous second round.
• Liu Xi refused Cao Ying, saying he could clear the trial faster alone, and Cao Ying walked away in frustration.
• Elder Liao admired Liu Xi's composure as more alchemists arrived, including Song Qing, who tried to win over the other contestants.

Liu Xi entered the Pill Realm for the Alchemy Convention’s second stage, where contestants had ten days to gather required medicinal ingredients and reach the exit. He headed toward the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range, using his powerful Spiritual Power to search the ruined realm.

• Liu Xi sensed Mu Gu and Xiao Yan among the contestants but focused instead on the Ancient Emperor Clans and Hun Tiandi, while considering taking Xiao Yan’s Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
• Elder Liao explained the ingredient-gathering task, the use of the map and Spatial Stone, and the danger of magical beasts and the Pill Realm’s violent energy.
• Cao Ying, Song Qing, and the other contestants collected their supplies and entered the Pill Realm before Liu Xi did.
• Liu Xi collected his task list, map, and Spatial Stone, then entered the Pill Realm through the Space Passage.
• Liu Xi chose the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range as his first destination and spread his Spiritual Power across nearly a thousand feet to search for ingredients and threats.

Liu Xi followed a rumor about thousand-year Earth Yellow Essence and discovered a large Earth Core Jade Mother buried beneath it. He recovered the Earth Core Soul Marrow inside and left the pit, hoping it would advance his soul cultivation.

• Liu Xi changed course after hearing about thousand-year Earth Yellow Essence and flew to the site.
• A burly man who had claimed the Earth Yellow Essence recognized Liu Xi, surrendered it, and fled when Liu Xi told him to leave.
• Liu Xi dug beneath the Earth Yellow Essence and uncovered a large Earth Core Jade Mother.
• Liu Xi cut open the Jade Mother, found Earth Core Soul Marrow inside, and stored both treasures in his Storage Ring.
• Liu Xi planned to use the Soul Marrow to advance his soul cultivation, then flew out of the pit.

Liu Xi reached the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range to negotiate with its magical beast king, but found Zi Yan living in the king’s hall. The chapter ended with Liu Xi carrying her inside to meet the ruler and see the medicinal herbs she had gathered.

• Liu Xi scared off the people spying on him after he emerged from a deep pit, then flew toward the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range.
• Liu Xi sensed Cao Ying and Song Qing gathering alchemists to enter the mountains, while Cao Ying recognized his Spiritual Power.
• Liu Xi reached the highest peak and announced that he had come to make a deal with the magical beast king.
• Zi Yan rushed out of the hall, reunited with Liu Xi, and explained that she had secretly left Ancient Dragon Island and stayed in the mountains among the medicinal herbs.
• Liu Xi carried Zi Yan into the hall to meet the magical beast king and see the rare herbs she had collected.

Liu Xi searched Xiong Zhan’s medicinal ingredient collection for rare herbs and learned that a subordinate owned the Pill Spirit Paste he needed. While Liu Xi, Zi Yan, and Xiong Zhan traveled to find it, Liu Xi detected Mu Gu trapping Cao Ying, Song Qing, and other alchemists in a Soul Barrier.

• Zi Yan explained that Xiong Zhan wanted to leave the Pill Realm and offered Liu Xi access to his medicinal ingredients, which Xiong Zhan readily accepted after learning Liu Xi was an Eighth-grade Alchemist.
• Liu Xi found the Moon Shadow Flower, Fire Cloud Mother Vine, Thousand-Year Earth Fire Flower, and Gastrodia Jade Stone Essence, but could not locate any Pill Spirit Paste.
• Xiong Zhan said that a seventh-order Mysterious Water Tiger Dragon under his command had Pill Spirit Paste and led Liu Xi and Zi Yan toward its cave.
• Liu Xi sensed a Soul Barrier nearby and recognized the technique Mu Gu had used in his earlier assassination attempt.
• Mu Gu revealed that he intended to kill Cao Ying, Song Qing, the other trapped alchemists, and Liu Xi.

Mu Gu’s forces slaughtered the alchemists trapped in the Pill Realm until Liu Xi broke the Soul Barrier and intervened. As Mu Gu confronted Liu Xi and Xiong Zhan, Cao Ying stayed behind while Song Qing fled.

• Mu Gu’s men ambushed the alchemists, while Mu Gu trapped those who tried to escape and killed them by contracting space.
• Liu Xi arrived with Zi Yan and Xiong Zhan, then shattered the Soul Barrier to give the survivors a chance to flee.
• Cao Ying warned Liu Xi that Mu Gu was the Dou Zun who had attacked him before, while Song Qing urged everyone to escape and ran away himself.
• Mu Gu ordered his subordinates to hunt the fleeing alchemists and faced Liu Xi and Xiong Zhan.
• Liu Xi asked Cao Ying why she had not fled, and she replied that she thought they might be able to contend with Mu Gu together.

Liu Xi and Xiong Zhan fought Mu Gu in the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range after Mu Gu threatened to kill Liu Xi and Cao Ying. Their teamwork gradually gave them the advantage, while Liu Xi grew more accustomed to his Dou Zun strength and sensed he might soon advance.

• Liu Xi praised Cao Ying for staying behind and asked Xiong Zhan to join him against Mu Gu.
• Mu Gu unleashed his Three Star Dou Zun aura and attacked Xiong Zhan, who met his blow head-on.
• Liu Xi moved Zi Yan out of danger, then joined the fight to test his One Star Dou Zun strength.
• Liu Xi and Xiong Zhan battled Mu Gu, with Liu Xi's Green Flame neutralizing Mu Gu's Black Flame and Xiong Zhan landing powerful attacks.
• Liu Xi's Dou Qi and body adapted as the fight continued, raising the possibility that he could break through to Two Star Dou Zun.

Liu Xi and Xiong Zhan overwhelmed Mu Gu in the Pill Realm, forcing the wounded Dou Zun to unleash a desperate technique. Liu Xi countered with his Blazing Heaven Finger, and the chapter ended as their attacks collided in a blinding explosion.

• Zi Yan cheered Liu Xi on while Cao Ying watched as he and Xiong Zhan gained the advantage over Mu Gu.
• Liu Xi sent his Azure Flame dragon against Mu Gu’s Void Devouring Flame Seed Fire python as the two Heavenly Flames clashed.
• Xiong Zhan struck Mu Gu from behind, leaving him badly injured and coughing blood.
• Mu Gu used the Netherworld Yin Fire Arm and vowed to drag Liu Xi down with him.
• Liu Xi launched the Blazing Heaven Finger’s Sun Washes the Ground against Mu Gu’s ghost claw, and the attacks collided in a deafening blast.

Liu Xi and Xiong Zhan drove off Mu Gu, then joined Zi Yan and Cao Ying after the battle. Liu Xi bluntly saw through Cao Ying’s attempt to charm him, and she apologized and sincerely asked to become his friend.

• Mu Gu vanished after the clash, and Liu Xi concluded that he had escaped; Liu Xi also sensed that he was nearing a breakthrough to Two Star Dou Zun.
• Xiong Zhan praised the fight, and Liu Xi gave him two medicinal pills to treat his burns before they went down to meet Zi Yan and Cao Ying.
• Zi Yan celebrated Liu Xi’s breakthrough, and he encouraged her by saying she might soon surpass him.
• Cao Ying thanked Liu Xi for saving her, but he admitted he might have fled if Mu Gu had been too powerful to fight.
• Cao Ying asked what Liu Xi thought of her, and he described her ambitions and how she toyed with admirers such as Song Qing.
• Cao Ying tried to seduce Liu Xi, but he saw through her act and offered friendship; she apologized and promised to treat him sincerely.

Liu Xi allowed Cao Ying to join him, Zi Yan, and Xiong Zhan as they searched for Pill Spirit Paste in the Pill Realm. They found the ingredient beside a deep pool, where Xiong Zhan called out to the Mysterious Water Tiger Dragon to borrow its treasure.

• Cao Ying asked to stay with Liu Xi for safety, and Liu Xi agreed to let her accompany the group.
• Zi Yan asked Liu Xi to carry her, and Liu Xi asked Xiong Zhan to lead them to the Mysterious Water Tiger Dragon.
• Cao Ying learned that Xiong Zhan ruled the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range and realized how dangerous her earlier plans could have been.
• Xiong Zhan led the group to a stream between two mountain peaks, where they found the fragrance and emerald-green liquid of Pill Spirit Paste.
• Xiong Zhan stomped beside the deep pool and called to the Mysterious Water Tiger Dragon, saying he had come to borrow a treasure.

Liu Xi traded a Seventh-grade Form-Shaping Pill for two-thirds of the Tiger Dragon’s Pill Spirit Paste, then returned with Zi Yan and Cao Ying to Xiong Zhan’s cave dwelling. He prepared to use the ingredients for his soul cultivation while Xiong Zhan and Zi Yan guarded him.

• Xiong Zhan brought Liu Xi to the Tiger Dragon and asked for its Pill Spirit Paste.
• Liu Xi offered the Tiger Dragon a Seventh-grade Form-Shaping Pill for two-thirds of its paste, and the Tiger Dragon accepted the trade.
• Liu Xi collected two-thirds of the Pill Spirit Paste, leaving the rest for the Tiger Dragon, which eagerly returned to its pool with the pill.
• Liu Xi, Zi Yan, and Cao Ying followed Xiong Zhan back to his cave dwelling, where Cao Ying admired the medicinal ingredients and asked about obtaining some.
• Liu Xi told Cao Ying to arrange a fair exchange with Xiong Zhan, then went to his room with Zi Yan while Xiong Zhan stood guard.

Liu Xi refined Gastrodia Jade Stone Essence and experimented until he found the right ratio to neutralize the Earth Core Soul Marrow with Pill Spirit Paste. He consumed the resulting mixture and began using the Soul Tempering Art to advance his soul, enduring intense pain as his Spiritual Power surged.

• Xiong Zhan and Cao Ying completed a fair exchange of medicinal herbs for pills while Zi Yan guarded Liu Xi's cave room.
• Liu Xi refined the Gastrodia Jade Stone Essence and used repeated attempts to determine how to combine it with Earth Core Soul Marrow and Pill Spirit Paste.
• After six failed attempts, Liu Xi found a successful ratio and neutralized all of the Earth Core Soul Marrow into emerald-green slurry.
• Liu Xi drank the slurry and cultivated the Soul Tempering Art to refine his Spiritual Energy, experiencing unprecedented pain as his Spiritual Power rapidly increased.