Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai rescued Hu Xin'er from two demons and negotiated to take her out of the Wildlands Secret Realm in exchange for her blood soul. Hu Xin'er agreed after Lin Bai promised not to force her to serve him in bed, leaving her life in his hands.

• Lin Bai cut off the toad's tongue, then killed the toad and rat as they begged for mercy.
• Hu Xin'er accused Lin Bai of humiliating her and demanded that he kill her if he would not undo her seal.
• Lin Bai refused to undo Hu Xin'er's seal because her recovered cultivation would make her stronger than him, but he also said he did not want to kill her.
• Lin Bai offered to take Hu Xin'er out of the Wildlands Secret Realm and return her blood soul a year later if she handed it over.
• Hu Xin'er agreed to give Lin Bai her blood soul on the condition that he take her out and never force her to serve him in bed; Lin Bai accepted.

Lin Bai took Hu Xin'er, now bound to him by her blood soul, toward Moonrise City after restoring her cultivation. They entered the city in disguise, where rumors about the White-Haired Sword Cultivator were spreading.

• Hu Xin'er surrendered her blood soul, and Lin Bai freed her from the seal suppressing her cultivation.
• Lin Bai and Hu Xin'er flew toward Moonrise City as she explained how his destruction of eighteen Demon Cities and the Ten Tribulations Demon Formation had shattered the Demon Race’s strength and morale.
• After three days, Lin Bai and Hu Xin'er neared Moonrise City and saw martial artists returning to the city from across the Wildlands Secret Realm.
• Hu Xin'er warned Lin Bai that she was a widely known Demon Race leader, so he gave her a black robe that concealed her aura.
• Lin Bai and Hu Xin'er entered Moonrise City, where few people recognized him, though martial artists were discussing the White-Haired Sword Cultivator.

Lin Bai returned to Moonrise City with Hu Xin'er and arranged a token to help her leave the Wildlands Secret Realm, despite the risks to himself and Wu Ming. They entered the teleportation array bound for the Southern Courtyard, where Hu Xin'er finally left the secret realm she had always felt trapped in.

• Lin Bai and Hu Xin'er heard martial artists praise the White-Haired Sword Cultivator, while most of them failed to recognize Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai found Wu Ming, Changsun Yun, and Meng Li, then checked on Shu Xiang, whose life was no longer in danger but who still needed to recover.
• Lin Bai asked Wu Ming for a token to help Hu Xin'er pass through the teleportation array, and Wu Ming warned him that assisting a Demon Race member could bring severe punishment.
• Wu Ming gave Lin Bai an identity token bearing the name Zhang Yun, and Lin Bai thanked him before heading to the teleportation array with Hu Xin'er.
• Lin Bai and Hu Xin'er entered the array to return to the Southern Courtyard, and Hu Xin'er felt overjoyed to be leaving the Wildlands Secret Realm.

Lin Bai brought Hu Xin'er out of the Wildlands Secret Realm but kept her blood soul, promising to return it after one year. Hu Xin'er insisted on staying with him on Dragon Breeding Island, where she began reading about the Eastern Continent and wondered whether someone she sought was still in the Southern Courtyard.

• Lin Bai and Hu Xin'er arrived on Secret Realm Island, and Hu Xin'er wept as she experienced the Eastern Continent's sunlight for the first time.
• Lin Bai told Hu Xin'er he would keep her blood soul for a year, and she warned that she might still kill him afterward.
• Hu Xin'er refused to leave Lin Bai, threatening to expose his role in bringing her out unless he let her follow him.
• Lin Bai reluctantly took Hu Xin'er to Dragon Breeding Island and gave her Jade Slips about the Barren Ancient Continent, the Eastern Continent, and the Eastern Continent Academy.
• After Lin Bai went to cultivate, Hu Xin'er wondered whether someone she sought was still in the Southern Courtyard.

Lin Bai counted the loot from the Demon Race and found it yielded little spiritual liquid, so he decided to seek more and ask Fang Yiyun about cultivating the Second Tribulation Moon. He reached Fang Yiyun on Nine Heavens Island and revealed that he had perfected the first layer of the Crimson Moon Nine Tribulation Body, shocking Fang Yiyun and Meng Li.

• Lin Bai checked Bao'er, then opened more than a hundred Storage Bags taken from peak Life Extinction Realm Demon Race members and found only about one hundred thousand jin of spiritual liquid and few other treasures.
• Lin Bai calculated that he had only three hundred thousand jin of spiritual liquid left and decided to pursue alchemist certification so he could sell pills for more.
• Lin Bai saw Hu Xin'er watching the sunrise on a cliff before leaving Dragon Breeding Island for Nine Heavens Island.
• Meng Li told Fang Yiyun that Lin Bai had swept through the Demon Race's eighteen cities and broken the Ten Tribulations Demon Formation.
• Lin Bai gave Fang Yiyun a Mountain-Moving Rabbit and asked which spirit medicine could aid his cultivation of the Second Tribulation Moon.
• Lin Bai said he had perfected the first layer of the Crimson Moon Nine Tribulation Body, leaving Fang Yiyun and Meng Li stunned.

Lin Bai learned that he needed the White Bone Pill to cultivate the Crimson Moon Nine Tribulation Body’s second layer and decided to qualify as an alchemist so he could access its formula. He registered for the Pill Island assessment, then reluctantly agreed to bring Hu Xin'er along after she threatened to expose his help in her escape from the Wildlands Secret Realm.

• Fang Yiyun told Lin Bai that the White Bone Pill was needed for the second layer and that its formula was restricted to qualified alchemists.
• Lin Bai decided to take the Pill Island assessment, registered for it, and returned to Dragon Breeding Island to cultivate until the assessment day.
• Hu Xin'er asked Lin Bai what he had been doing and learned he was going to the Pill Island assessment.
• Hu Xin'er threatened to tell Southern Courtyard experts that Lin Bai had helped her escape the Wildlands Secret Realm unless he took her along.
• Lin Bai agreed to bring Hu Xin'er to Pill Island, warning her not to cause trouble, and they left Dragon Breeding Island together.

Lin Bai and Hu Xin'er arrived on Dan Island for the alchemy assessment, where Hu Xin'er drew the attention of the crowd. Zhao Tian became infatuated with her and ordered someone to investigate her, then told Sun Ning that he wanted her.

• Lin Bai and Hu Xin'er arrived at Dan Island, where many martial artists had gathered for the alchemy assessment.
• Hu Xin'er attracted widespread attention with her beauty, and Lin Bai urged her to be more restrained.
• Zhao Tian approached Hu Xin'er, learned she belonged to the Southern Courtyard, and ordered a martial artist to investigate her.
• Lin Bai and Hu Xin'er waited on the viewing platform as the crowd continued staring at her.
• Zhao Tian met Sun Ning in a private pavilion and said he had become obsessed with another woman and would rather die than fail to have her.

Lin Bai reunited with Zi Donglai and Xie Changqing at the Pill Refiner examination, where he learned that Leng Qianxue and Cai Yu were attempting to reach Grade Nine. Zhao Tian approached Hu Xin'er and invited her to his elegant pavilion, while Lin Bai went to take the examination.

• Zhao Tian learned Hu Xin'er was in the square and hurried there with Sun Ning to invite her to his elegant pavilion.
• Lin Bai told Hu Xin'er her beauty was drawing too much attention, and she teased him in return.
• Zi Donglai and Xie Changqing greeted Lin Bai and explained that they were taking or watching the Pill Refiner examination.
• Xie Changqing told Lin Bai that Leng Qianxue and Cai Yu were the examination's main attractions as they sought Grade Nine certification.
• Zhao Tian invited Hu Xin'er to his elegant pavilion, and she agreed to go while warning Lin Bai to come get her after his examination.

Lin Bai let Hu Xin'er leave with Zhao Tian, explaining that they had only met by chance, while learning about Zhao Tian’s powerful family background. At the alchemy assessment, Luo Tian mistook Xie Changqing for the Eastern Alchemist and joined Cai Yu in surrounding him, leaving Lin Bai wary as the assessment began.

• Hu Xin'er left with Zhao Tian after warning him not to forget their private matter, and the crowd insulted Lin Bai for not stopping them.
• Xie Changqing and Zi Donglai warned Lin Bai about Zhao Tian, but Lin Bai said Hu Xin'er was only an acquaintance.
• Leng Qianxue arrived with Cai Yu, while Lin Bai recognized Luo Tian as the Black Market alchemist who had mistaken Xie Changqing for the Eastern Alchemist.
• Luo Tian threatened Xie Changqing, then the assessment officials summoned the alchemists into the arena.
• Cai Yu appeared between Lin Bai and Xie Changqing as Luo Tian and Cai Yu positioned alchemists around Xie Changqing, making Lin Bai's eyes turn cold.

Lin Bai and the other Alchemists began Pill Island’s half-day assessment, with several choosing to refine Rank Nine pills. Two hours into the refining, Cai Yu and Luo Tian attacked Xie Changqing’s furnace by manipulating the earthfire, threatening to ruin his pills.

• The old man explained that Alchemists could choose any of the nine pill ranks and had half a day to refine their pills.
• Leng Qianxue, Xie Changqing, Cai Yu, Luo Tian, and Lin Bai each chose to refine a Rank Nine pill.
• Cai Yu recognized Lin Bai’s Seven Moon Cauldron and accused him of being connected to his Third Junior Brother’s death, threatening to settle the score after the assessment.
• Lin Bai began refining the Myriad Yuan Pill while the Alchemists focused on their furnaces.
• Two hours later, Cai Yu and Luo Tian secretly manipulated the earthfire beneath Xie Changqing’s furnace, and other Alchemists joined them in trying to destroy his batch of pills.

Lin Bai intervened when Cai Yu and Luo Tian used earthfire to sabotage Xie Changqing's alchemy, while the elders refused to help because the two were protégés of Wu Tian Pill Refiner. Lin Bai and Xie Changqing turned the tables on their attackers, and the chapter ended as Cai Yu fought back against them.

• Lin Bai warned the alchemy elders that Cai Yu and Luo Tian were attacking Xie Changqing's furnace, but they refused to intervene.
• Cai Yu told Lin Bai that the elders feared Wu Tian Pill Refiner, his and Luo Tian's master.
• Lin Bai redirected earthfire at Cai Yu and Luo Tian, forcing Cai Yu to stop attacking Xie Changqing and shattering Luo Tian's furnace.
• Xie Changqing recovered and exploded the furnaces of the two other alchemists who had been attacking him.
• Lin Bai and Xie Changqing sent fire dragons at Cai Yu, who retaliated by attacking them both with fire dragons.

Lin Bai protected Xie Changqing from Cai Yu’s sabotage, apparently sacrificing his own pill, but revealed that he had refined it despite the earthfire. Luo Tian recognized Lin Bai as the Eastern Alchemist, leaving Cai Yu and the others stunned.

• Cai Yu attacked Lin Bai and Xie Changqing with earthfire, and Lin Bai held him off so Xie Changqing could finish refining his ninth-grade pill.
• Cai Yu redirected his earthfire toward Lin Bai’s Alchemy Furnace, and the resulting blasts destroyed Cai Yu’s furnace while sending fire into Lin Bai’s Seven Moon Cauldron.
• Cai Yu claimed Lin Bai’s spirit herbs had burned to ashes, while Xie Changqing offered to help him refine another pill before the assessment ended.
• Lin Bai calmly said his pill was finished, then opened his furnace to reveal a lustrous pill amid the earthfire.
• Luo Tian recognized Lin Bai as the Eastern Alchemist, and Cai Yu accused him of cheating.

Lin Bai defended his ninth-grade pill by revealing that he had used the ancient Fire Refinement Technique, disproving Cai Yu’s cheating accusation. After the elders recognized his skill, Lin Bai chose to join the Academy as a ninth-grade alchemist, earning access to a spiritual flame and the ninth floor of the Pill Formula Pavilion.

• Cai Yu accused Lin Bai of cheating because earthfire had burned the herbs in his Alchemy Furnace, and several Academy Alchemists called for Lin Bai to be punished.
• Lin Bai challenged Cai Yu to provide evidence and explained that a pill could still be refined after earthfire entered the furnace.
• Wei Xuan recognized Lin Bai’s method as the ancient Fire Refinement Technique and explained how alchemists had used it before Alchemy Furnaces existed.
• Wei Xuan invited Lin Bai to join the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion Alchemist Association, while an Academy elder also offered him a place.
• Lin Bai chose the Academy, and the elder marked his Identity Token as a ninth-grade alchemist, granting him access to a spiritual flame and the ninth floor of the Pill Formula Pavilion.

Lin Bai passed the alchemist examination, joined the Academy faction, and learned that Cai Yu and Luo Tian planned to target him and Xie Changqing on Refining Heaven Island. He left Pill Island with Hu Xin'er, while Zhao Tian and Sun Ning agreed to secretly search for Fu Qingshuang and spread word that Hu Xin'er was Zhao Tian's woman.

• Wei Xuan dismissed Cai Yu's cheating accusation, and the Academy alchemist welcomed Lin Bai to Refining Heaven Island; Xie Changqing also joined the Academy faction.
• Cai Yu vowed to deal with Lin Bai and Xie Changqing if they came to Refining Heaven Island, while Lin Bai explained to Xie Changqing that Luo Tian had mistaken him for Lin Bai's alias, Dongfang.
• Lin Bai gave Xie Changqing a Sound Transmission Talisman and then went to meet Hu Xin'er after Zi Donglai reminded him he had arrived with her.
• Hu Xin'er told Zhao Tian and Sun Ning to secretly search the Eastern Continent Academy for Fu Qingshuang, then left Pill Island with Lin Bai.
• Zhao Tian told Sun Ning to spread the claim that Hu Xin'er was his woman and to keep searching for Fu Qingshuang.

Lin Bai returned to Dragon Breeding Island with Hu Xin'er, who offered to leave if he helped her find Fu Qingshuang. The next day, Lin Bai went to Refining Heaven Island to choose a spiritual flame and seek a pill formula, where Xie Changqing guided him toward Spirit Fire Mountain.

• Lin Bai told Hu Xin'er not to cause trouble on Dragon Breeding Island, and she explained that she was searching for Fu Qingshuang and would leave if he helped find her.
• Lin Bai left Hu Xin'er on Dragon Breeding Island and traveled to Refining Heaven Island to choose a spiritual flame and look for the White Bone Pill formula.
• Xie Changqing met Lin Bai and explained that only alchemists could enter Refining Heaven Island's rear island, where Spirit Fire Mountain and the Pill Formula Pavilion were located.
• Lin Bai and Xie Changqing headed to Spirit Fire Mountain while the alchemists they passed gave Lin Bai strange looks.
• Xie Changqing explained Spirit Fire Mountain's spiritual flames and revealed that he had joined Refining Heaven Island specifically to find a stronger flame.

Lin Bai and Xie Changqing learned how the Spirit Fire Ranking and Flame Road worked as they arrived at Spirit Fire Mountain. Their conversation was interrupted when Cai Yu and Luo Tian mocked Lin Bai over rumors that Hu Xin'er had spent hours with Zhao Tian.

• Lin Bai read the Spirit Fire Ranking, and Xie Changqing explained that spirit fires grew stronger when nurtured inside divine pills.
• Xie Changqing described how walking farther along the Flame Road could earn an alchemist a higher-ranked spirit fire, and said Zhao Tian's father had reached the summit to obtain the fifth-ranked Netherworld Ghost Fire.
• More alchemists arrived and whispered about Lin Bai, while Cai Yu, Luo Tian, and Leng Qianxue approached him and Xie Changqing.
• Cai Yu and Luo Tian publicly mocked Lin Bai, claiming Hu Xin'er had been with Zhao Tian in a private chamber for three or four hours.
• Lin Bai grew angry at the rumors and at Cai Yu and Luo Tian's provocation.

Lin Bai, Xie Changqing, and Leng Qianxue climbed Spirit Fire Mountain’s Flame Road to seek spirit fires while Cai Yu and Luo Tian followed with hostile intentions. Lin Bai reached four hundred zhang and warned that stepping into the gathered flames beside the road would kill even a peak Life Extinction Realm martial artist.

• Lin Bai denied having any relationship with Hu Xin'er and clashed with Cai Yu over his failed Pill Island assessment before Leng Qianxue stopped their argument.
• Leng Qianxue invited Lin Bai and Xie Changqing to climb Flame Road with her, while Cai Yu and Luo Tian resolved to prevent them from obtaining spirit fires.
• Lin Bai learned that the farther he climbed, the stronger the spirit fires he could obtain, and began ascending behind Leng Qianxue and Xie Changqing.
• Lin Bai reached one hundred zhang, then continued as the flames grew stronger and began scorching him at three hundred zhang.
• Lin Bai reached four hundred zhang, where Cai Yu and Luo Tian caught up and mocked him for continuing upward.
• Lin Bai warned Cai Yu and Luo Tian that entering the gathered flames beside Flame Road would kill even a peak Life Extinction Realm martial artist.

Cai Yu and Luo Tian tried to knock Lin Bai into the spirit fire on Spirit Fire Mountain, but he saved himself and later struck them down when they attacked again. As Lin Bai moved to finish them, Xie Changqing warned him that killing them could bring trouble under the rules of Refining Heaven Island.

• Cai Yu and Luo Tian followed Lin Bai beyond five hundred zhang and attacked him, sending him off the Flame Road toward the spirit fire.
• Lin Bai used the power of the Five Elements Divine Pill and the Demon Sword to return to the Flame Road.
• Cai Yu and Luo Tian mocked Lin Bai and attacked him again as he continued forward.
• Lin Bai turned and struck Cai Yu and Luo Tian with the Demon Sword, wounding them and sending them flying backward.
• Lin Bai charged at the injured pair, but Xie Changqing warned him against causing deaths on Spirit Fire Mountain.

Lin Bai carried Cai Yu and Luo Tian up Spirit Fire Mountain’s Flame Road, using his Devouring Sword Soul to withstand the flames while they burned. He left them at the nine-hundred-zhang mark, arguing that their deaths would be their own fault, as Leng Qianxue and Xie Changqing watched.

• Xie Changqing stopped Lin Bai from killing Cai Yu and Luo Tian directly, warning that Spirit Fire Mountain was not the place to kill.
• Lin Bai seized Cai Yu and Luo Tian and carried them beyond the eight-hundred-zhang mark, where his Devouring Sword Soul absorbed the spirit fire’s power.
• At nine hundred zhang, the flames destroyed Cai Yu and Luo Tian’s defenses and began burning their bodies as they begged Leng Qianxue to save them.
• Leng Qianxue was shocked that Lin Bai had surpassed her limit and urged him to stop, but Lin Bai said Cai Yu and Luo Tian had brought their fate upon themselves by pressing onward.
• Xie Changqing praised Lin Bai’s steady conduct, ruthless actions, and precise swordsmanship, while Cai Yu begged Lin Bai for mercy and blamed Luo Tian.

Lin Bai spared Cai Yu and Luo Tian after Leng Qianxue and Xie Changqing pleaded for them, then climbed to the summit of Spirit Fire Mountain and claimed the ninth-ranked Icy Azure Fire. He descended with Xie Changqing, while news of his achievement spread across Refining Heaven Island.

• Cai Yu and Luo Tian blamed each other for targeting Lin Bai, and Leng Qianxue and Xie Changqing asked Lin Bai to spare them.
• Lin Bai let Cai Yu and Luo Tian live, warning them not to provoke him again and explaining that he did not want to implicate Xie Changqing.
• Lin Bai climbed beyond the nine-hundred-zhang mark to the summit of Spirit Fire Mountain, astonishing Leng Qianxue, Xie Changqing, and the alchemists below.
• The Icy Azure Fire appeared before Lin Bai, and he claimed it and placed it upon his divine pill.
• Lin Bai and Xie Changqing descended the mountain together, and word of Lin Bai obtaining the Icy Azure Fire spread throughout Refining Heaven Island.