Chapter Summaries

Jiang Donghua left the auction with Bai Xiaofeng and began refining pills in Bai Xiaofeng’s heavily guarded underground secret room. He planned to spend about a month refining pills, while Bai Xiaofeng’s three Dou Wang guards watched the residence and Bai Xiaofeng indulged with Hong Yu and Biyao.

• Jiang Donghua told Bai Xiaofeng he would leave the auction to refine the ten batches of Fire Spirit Pill herbs.
• Bai Xiaofeng brought Jiang Donghua and his companions to an underground secret room built from Yin Han Iron and equipped with a Nine Serpent Flame Swallowing Furnace.
• Bai Xiaofeng left Jiang Donghua to work and ordered Tie Shan, Mo Tianhen, and Yin Jiuxiao to guard the residence and ensure the Fire Spirit Pills were refined.
• Bai Xiaofeng relaxed with Hong Yu and Biyao while his three guards concealed themselves around the residence.
• Jiang Donghua teased Hong Ling as he prepared the furnace, then told her not to approach while he refined pills for about a month if he had enough herbs.

Jiang Donghua refined Fire Spirit Pills at a startling pace, helping Bai Xiaofeng pay his debts and build wealth while concealing the pills’ impurities. As Bai Xiaofeng’s influence grew, his siblings began plotting against him, and Jiang Donghua continued pushing him toward ever more pill production.

• Jiang Donghua refined seven Fire Spirit Pills from ten batches of ingredients, then gave Bai Xiaofeng two inferior pills while keeping five high-quality ones.
• Bai Xiaofeng took the pills to the storeroom appraisers, who confirmed they were Fire Spirit Pills but noticed impurities that could harm the user’s meridians; Bai Xiaofeng collected more ingredients for Jiang Donghua.
• Bai Wuchen grew furious at Bai Xiaofeng’s newfound success, while Bai Qingshuang decided to target him through another approach rather than try to meet Jiang Donghua.
• Jiang Donghua continued refining two Fire Spirit Pills a day for more than half a month until Bai Xiaofeng begged him to stop, then agreed to rest while privately hinting that his plan was only beginning.
• Bai Xiaofeng sold Fire Spirit Pills at the auction house for a premium, drawing attention from nearby forces as Bai Wuchen again vowed not to let him grow stronger.
• Bai Xiaofeng celebrated his rising wealth and rewarded a maid, unaware that his success had made him a target.

Qing Yuan worked to undermine Bai Xiaofeng’s trust in Jiang Donghua on Bai Qingshuang’s orders, while Bai Qingshuang and Bai Wuchen allied against them and Bai Wuya secretly prepared to exploit their conflict. After Qing Yuan arranged a trip to Myriad Medicine City as a possible trap, Bai Xiaofeng persuaded Jiang Donghua to go there with him.

• Qing Yuan questioned Jiang Donghua’s rapid pill refinement to Bai Xiaofeng, while Hong Yu and Biyao discussed seeking Jiang Donghua’s support.
• Jiang Donghua stopped refining pills after more than ten days, and Hong Ling helped ease his exhaustion as he said he was trying to make someone take the bait.
• Bai Qingshuang and Bai Wuchen agreed to target Bai Xiaofeng and Jiang Donghua, while Bai Wuya secretly ordered his subordinate to keep watching them until the right moment.
• Bai Qingshuang learned Hong Yu and Biyao might approach Jiang Donghua and ordered her subordinate to watch them and push them if needed.
• Qing Yuan suggested that Bai Xiaofeng take Jiang Donghua to Myriad Medicine City, then secretly informed Bai Qingshuang of their plans.
• Bai Xiaofeng invited Jiang Donghua to Myriad Medicine City to see rare herbs and an Ancient Pill Recipe Fragment, and Jiang Donghua agreed.

Bai Xiaofeng escorted Jiang Donghua toward Myriad Medicine City with a powerful retinue, drawing attention from local families and attracting assassination plots from Bai Wuchen and Bai Qingshuang. The convoy survived an ambush outside Heavenly Snake City and continued onward, while more attackers might still be waiting ahead.

• Bai Xiaofeng took Jiang Donghua toward Myriad Medicine City with a Black Fiend Colt and more than a dozen Dou Ling guards, telling them Jiang Donghua could refine Fire Spirit Pills.
• As the convoy crossed Heavenly Snake City, Zhao Decai and Liu Zhen tried to meet Jiang Donghua and obtain pills, but Bai Xiaofeng turned them away and ordered the crowd to stop pestering them.
• Bai Wuchen and Bai Qingshuang secretly hired Shadow Kill Tower and Blood Blade to target Jiang Donghua, while their assassins chose to wait for a better opportunity.
• Outside the city, Shadow Kill Tower and Blood Blade scouts watched the convoy but held back because Tie Shan, Mo Tianhen, and Yin Jiuxiao guarded it.
• A masked One-star Dou Wang and more than a dozen Dou Lings ambushed the convoy, but Yin Jiuxiao, Mo Tianhen, and Tie Shan killed the attackers in moments.
• Bai Xiaofeng ordered the convoy to continue toward Myriad Medicine City as Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling remained calm, anticipating that more assailants could appear.

Jiang Donghua and the convoy faced escalating attacks as they traveled through the Black Corner Region, while Bai Xiaofeng’s protectors warned that a Dou Huang might be lurking nearby. The Shadow Kill Tower assassins struck, and a masked Dou Huang appeared, praising Ninth Young Master for summoning him.

• Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling discussed the Black Corner Region’s dangers as Yin Jiuxiao’s group crushed another band of attackers.
• Yin Jiuxiao warned Bai Xiaofeng that killing a One-star Dou Wang would attract more bandits, then sensed a hidden Dou Huang as dozens of attackers and three Dou Wangs emerged from the forest.
• Yin Jiuxiao hurled Bai Xiaofeng into Jiang Donghua’s carriage and revealed that a Dou Huang was present.
• Blood Blade attacked Yin Jiuxiao while the Shadow King tried to stab Jiang Donghua, but Hong Ling repelled the assassin with lightning.
• A masked Dou Huang appeared in midair and addressed Bai Xiaofeng as the one who had called him there.

Qin Wuye secretly intervened when Blood Blade and Shadow King attacked Bai Xiaofeng’s convoy, killing both assassins and allowing the journey to continue. Afterward, his unstable condition and hidden motives left Bai Xiaofeng uneasy and Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling suspicious.

• Qin Wuye appeared and killed Blood Blade with a single strike, then dissolved Shadow King in black Dou Qi.
• The three unidentified Dou Wangs fled, and Qin Wuye told Bai Xiaofeng to leave the carriage and continue the journey.
• Qin Wuye questioned Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling about their calmness, while Hong Ling challenged him for waiting to act.
• Qin Wuye ordered the convoy onward and explained that he had followed in secret because hiding let him serve Bai Xiaofeng best.
• Qin Wuye took a chilling pill to steady his sickly appearance, prompting Bai Xiaofeng to wonder about his condition and Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling to suspect his motives.

Bai Xiaofeng and his companions continued their journey after Qin Wuye killed the assassins, while Bai Xiaofeng grew suspicious of Qin Wuye's need for suppressive pills. The captured assassins revealed no mastermind, and Bai Wuchen and Bai Qingshuang withdrew their plans against Bai Xiaofeng as they reconsidered how protected he was.

• Bai Xiaofeng questioned Jiang Donghua about Qin Wuye taking a pill, and Jiang Donghua said the pill was at least Fourth-grade and any remedy might require a Fifth-grade Pill.
• Tie Shan and Mo Tianhen discussed Bai Xiaofeng's apparent hidden depths, then interrogated captured Dou Ling assassins; Mo Tianhen used the Brain Devouring Technique and learned they did not know the mastermind.
• Bai Xiaofeng ordered the remaining captured assassins killed, and the convoy resumed its journey.
• Bai Wuchen learned that Qin Wuye had protected Bai Xiaofeng and killed Blood Blade and Shadow King, then ordered his people to withdraw and stop targeting Jiang Donghua.
• Bai Qingshuang warned Bai Wuchen that they might have alerted their opponents, while Bai Xiaofeng later speculated to Jiang Donghua about Qin Wuye's hidden condition and then acted carefree.

Qin Wuye’s reputation cleared the convoy’s path to Myriad Medicine City, where Bai Xiaofeng defended Jiang Donghua after Master Zhang Feng insulted his pills and attacked him. Elder Yao stopped the confrontation and led them through the city, leaving Bai Xiaofeng set to visit Pill Heart Pavilion the next day.

• Qin Wuye suppressed the poison in his body while waiting for the convoy to reach him.
• News that Qin Wuye had killed Blood Blade and Shadow King frightened the Black Corner Region’s factions, and none dared obstruct the convoy.
• Bai Xiaofeng and Jiang Donghua arrived in Myriad Medicine City, where Elder Yao welcomed them and explained that strangers needed recommendations to buy high-grade herbs.
• Master Zhang Feng insulted Jiang Donghua’s Fire Spirit Pills and attacked Bai Xiaofeng, but Qin Wuye scattered his Fire Spirit Snake Flame.
• Elder Yao invoked the city’s ban on private fighting, then led the group through the city and explained its districts and rules.
• Elder Yao offered to take Bai Xiaofeng to Pill Heart Pavilion the next day, and Bai Xiaofeng accepted.

Bai Xiaofeng suspected the Medicine Family was testing Heavenly Snake City’s strength and prepared to visit Pill Heart Pavilion with Jiang Donghua the next day. Meanwhile, the Medicine Family elders planned to probe Jiang Donghua and draw him into their control, while Hong Yu and Biyao feared losing Bai Xiaofeng’s protection.

• Elder Yao welcomed Bai Xiaofeng and promised to take him to Pill Heart Pavilion the next day, while Bai Xiaofeng privately suspected the Medicine Family had an ulterior motive.
• Bai Xiaofeng and Qin Wuye discussed whether the Medicine Family was testing Heavenly Snake City or seeking its influence, and Bai Xiaofeng told Jiang Donghua to stay close to Qin Wuye if danger arose.
• Hong Ling teased Jiang Donghua about sharing her bed, then warned him to stay near her during their visit to Pill Heart Pavilion.
• The Medicine Family elders debated Jiang Donghua’s abilities and agreed to test him at Pill Heart Pavilion before attempting to win him over or control him.
• Hong Yu and Biyao concluded that Bai Xiaofeng had lost interest in them and feared what might happen if they were given to someone else.

Qin Wuye hoped Jiang Donghua’s alchemy talent might attract the Medicine Family Ancestor and give him a chance to cure his venom. In Myriad Medicine City, Jiang Donghua watched Yan Jin defeat Mu Xuan in a public alchemy contest, noticing something unusual about Yan Jin’s Deep Sea Blue Flame.

• Qin Wuye decided to rely on Jiang Donghua’s influence to seek an audience with the Medicine Family Ancestor.
• Jiang Donghua, Bai Xiaofeng, and Hong Ling went to watch Fourth-grade Alchemists Mu Xuan and Yan Jin compete.
• Yan Jin revealed that he could control both Black Ash Flame and Deep Sea Blue Flame, surprising Mu Xuan and the watching alchemists.
• Yan Jin refined a peak Fourth-grade Azure Spirit Healing Pill with blue pill patterns, while Mu Xuan produced a lower-quality pill and admitted defeat.
• Mu Xuan and Yan Jin put aside their rivalry, traded jokes, and left together to get a drink.

Jiang Donghua defeated Yao Long in a Fire Spirit Pill contest, refining a pill-pattern pill with exceptional flame control and winning their wager. The Medicine Family later revealed that Yao Long had hidden a Spirit Mark in his pill to investigate Jiang Donghua, but the mark was cut off, and the elders recognized Jiang’s talent as nearing the Fifth grade.

• Onlookers recognized Jiang Donghua, and Yao Long of the Medicine Family challenged him to a Fire Spirit Pill contest with the loser surrendering their pill.
• Jiang Donghua accepted Yao Long’s wager, and Bai Xiaofeng bet one million gold coins on Jiang’s victory.
• Yao Long displayed Sixth-order Crimson Flame Demonic Phoenix beast fire, but Jiang Donghua controlled nine strands of flame and refined a pill-pattern Fire Spirit Pill.
• Yao Long completed a superior-grade pill, admitted defeat, and gave it to Jiang Donghua, while Bai Xiaofeng collected his winnings.
• Jiang Donghua suspected Yao Long had an ulterior motive, and the Medicine Family elders learned that Yao Long’s Spirit Mark had been cut off after Jiang received the pill.
• The Medicine Family elders concluded that Jiang Donghua’s easy pill-pattern refinement showed he had likely advanced halfway toward the Fifth grade.

The Medicine Family elders plotted to recruit or eliminate Jiang Donghua, while Jiang Donghua anticipated their next move and visited Pill Heart Pavilion with his companions. He reached the pavilion’s guarded second floor, where the Medicine Family displayed a Sixth-grade Emperor Pill.

• The Medicine Family elders discussed Jiang Donghua’s ties to Heavenly Snake City and ordered an investigation, preparing to recruit him through a damaged Sixth-grade Pill Recipe or kill him if necessary.
• Jiang Donghua told Bai Xiaofeng and Hong Ling that the Medicine Family would approach him again, while secretly noticing watchers nearby.
• Jiang Donghua’s group entered Pill Heart Pavilion, where they saw rare medicinal herbs sold at prices far above the market.
• Shi Wuhen, a Six-star Dou Huang guarding the stairs, allowed Jiang Donghua, Qin Wuye, and the Ninth Young Master to enter the second floor while the others stayed below.
• Jiang Donghua gave Hong Ling two Fire Spirit Pills to sell as he went upstairs, and she began auctioning them to the pavilion’s customers.
• Jiang Donghua, Qin Wuye, and the Ninth Young Master saw a Sixth-grade Emperor Pill displayed on the second floor.

Jiang Donghua and his companions encountered Myriad Medicine City's great elder, Yao Jidao, while examining a Sixth-grade Emperor Pill that could only be exchanged for goods or conditions. Yao Jidao invited Jiang Donghua to discuss alchemy with the promise of showing him an incomplete Ancient Pill Recipe, and Jiang accepted as Qin Wuye left.

• Yao Jidao appeared on the second floor and explained that the Emperor Pill was not for sale with gold.
• Yao Jidao praised Jiang Donghua's alchemy and pressed Qin Wuye about a solution he had previously offered.
• Qin Wuye refused Yao Jidao's proposed solution because it would cripple all the Dou Qi in his body.
• Jiang Donghua and Qin Wuye tried to leave after Bai Xiaofeng admitted they were only browsing.
• Yao Jidao invited Jiang Donghua to discuss alchemy and offered to show him an incomplete Ancient Pill Recipe.
• Jiang Donghua accepted Yao Jidao's invitation, while Qin Wuye went downstairs.

Jiang Donghua learned that Yao Jidao knew he had detected Yao Long’s tampering with the Fire Spirit Pill, then faced an offer to join the Medicine Family backed by powerful Dou Huang elders. He appeared to accept while asking how the Medicine Family would handle Heavenly Snake City, and Yao Jidao began explaining what he needed to do.

• Hong Ling worried when Bai Xiaofeng and Qin Wuye told her Jiang Donghua was discussing alchemy with Yao Jidao.
• Yao Jidao revealed that he knew Jiang Donghua had detected Yao Long’s Cold Marrow Guiding in the Fire Spirit Pill.
• Yao Jidao offered Jiang Donghua Fifth-grade Pill Recipes and invited him to join the Medicine Family, promising he could become a Sixth-grade Alchemist within ten years.
• Four Medicine Family elders appeared and surrounded Jiang Donghua, including a Peak Dou Huang who made his Dou Qi sluggish.
• Jiang Donghua feigned gratitude for the offer but asked whether the Medicine Family could secure his release if Heavenly Snake City refused to let him go.
• Yao Jidao reassured Jiang Donghua and began telling him what he needed to do next.

Jiang Donghua pretended to accept Yao Jidao’s recruitment while secretly recognizing the Medicine Family’s plans to control and eventually kill him and his companions. He left Pill Heart Pavilion with Bai Xiaofeng and Senior Sister, unsure whether Bai Xiaofeng had discovered what happened upstairs.

• Jiang Donghua feigned gratitude as Yao Jidao promised to arrange the deaths of Qin Wuye and the others after they left Myriad Medicine City.
• Yao Jidao gave Jiang Donghua Fifth-grade Pill Recipes that secretly carried an icy aura, and Jiang accepted them while promising to cooperate.
• After Jiang Donghua left, Yao Jidao told the elders to use Yao Mei'er’s charm arts or Heart-Corroding Powder to keep Jiang in the Medicine Family.
• Senior Sister told Jiang Donghua that the two Fire Spirit Pills had sold for more than three million gold coins and asked what he had discussed with Yao Jidao.
• Bai Xiaofeng questioned Jiang Donghua, then led him and Senior Sister out of Pill Heart Pavilion; Jiang wondered whether Bai had asked casually.

Jiang Donghua realized that both Heavenly Snake City and the Medicine Family planned to use or eliminate him, so he devised a scheme to make them suspect each other and escape amid the confusion. Hong Ling reluctantly agreed to help, while warning him not to let his feigned interest in Biyao and Hong Yu become real.

• Bai Xiaofeng sent Biyao and Hong Yu to buy medicinal herbs and questioned Jiang Donghua about his conversation with the Medicine Family's Great Elder.
• Jiang Donghua concluded that both Heavenly Snake City and the Medicine Family intended to use him, and decided to make them restrain each other before escaping.
• Biyao and Hong Yu returned with spirit medicines, and Jiang Donghua formed a plan after seeing them approach.
• That night, Jiang Donghua explained to Hong Ling that he would feign interest in Biyao to prompt her to report to Bai Xiaofeng and fuel suspicion between him and the Medicine Family.
• Hong Ling agreed to the plan and threatened to castrate Jiang Donghua if he became too involved in the act.

Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling playfully prepare to deceive the Ninth Young Master's maids, while Jiang Donghua secretly decides to handle Hong Yu and Biyao himself. He catches the maids eavesdropping and unsettles them before asking whether they truly think he is that brutal.

• Hong Ling kissed Jiang Donghua, teased him about his first kiss, and insisted they put on a show the next day.
• Jiang Donghua sensed Hong Yu and Biyao outside the door and decided not to rely on the Ninth Young Master, instead planning to deal with the two maids himself.
• Jiang Donghua produced a dark-red pill and invited the eavesdroppers to join in putting on a show.
• Hong Yu and Biyao were caught outside the door and, fearing Jiang Donghua would report them, fell to their knees and begged for mercy.
• Jiang Donghua helped the frightened maids up and gently asked whether they really thought he was that brutal.

Jiang Donghua brought Hong Yu and Biyao to Bai Xiaofeng’s bedchamber to discuss an important matter, refusing their attempts to distract him. After Jiang announced himself, Bai Xiaofeng dismissed the women and invited him inside.

• Hong Yu and Biyao tried to win Jiang Donghua’s mercy, but he ordered them to lead him to the Ninth Young Master.
• The maidservants guided Jiang to Bai Xiaofeng’s bedchamber, where he waited outside amid the ongoing revelry.
• Jiang called out to Bai Xiaofeng with his battle qi, bringing the activity inside to a sudden halt.
• Bai Xiaofeng opened the doors, joked with Jiang, and dismissed the women before inviting him in.

Jiang Donghua visited Bai Xiaofeng late at night and asked to take Hong Yu and Biyao, leaving Bai Xiaofeng suspicious that the maids had a secret. Bai Xiaofeng agreed, and the two frightened women left with Jiang Donghua to serve him.

• Bai Xiaofeng dismissed Hong Yu and Biyao so he could speak privately with Jiang Donghua, while suspecting Jiang might betray the Bai Clan.
• Jiang Donghua asked Bai Xiaofeng for Hong Yu and Biyao, saying only that the two maids were different and very special.
• Bai Xiaofeng agreed to give the maids to Jiang Donghua but secretly resolved to investigate what made them special.
• Jiang Donghua told Hong Yu and Biyao to come with him, and Bai Xiaofeng ordered them to serve Jiang Donghua well or face death.
• Hong Yu and Biyao thanked Bai Xiaofeng and Jiang Donghua, then followed Jiang Donghua away, confused and afraid.

Jiang Donghua brought Hong Yu and Biyao to Hong Ling’s pill cottage, claiming they were needed as medicinal catalysts after admitting he had lied about their status as Medicine Persons. Qin Wuye saw through the apparent deception and left believing the two women truly had special bloodlines.

• Jiang Donghua privately admitted that Hong Yu and Biyao were ordinary maids and that he had invented the Medicine Persons story to mislead Bai Xiaofeng.
• Hong Yu and Biyao followed Jiang Donghua to Hong Ling’s pill cottage, mistaking the trip for a chance to serve him before fearing Hong Ling would punish them.
• Jiang Donghua told the women they only needed to provide a few drops of blood and use their Dou Qi to help Hong Ling control the flames.
• Hong Yu and Biyao learned that Jiang Donghua had lied to Bai Xiaofeng, then entered the cottage when Hong Ling ordered them inside.
• Mo Tianhen and Yin Jiuxiao left after deciding Jiang Donghua had merely teased Bai Xiaofeng, while Qin Wuye concluded that the women likely had special bloodlines.