Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yuan shared a meal with Cai Lin, Xiao Yi Xian, Yun Yun, and Tang Huo'er before beginning to teach Tang Huo'er alchemy and flame control. He left her studying his methods as he refined cultivation pills and explained how to master her Heavenly Flame.

• Xiao Yuan joked with Cai Lin and Xiao Yi Xian about how he had met them, then prepared a meal for the women and Tang Huo'er.
• Tang Huo'er rushed out when she smelled the food, and Xiao Yuan gathered everyone to eat together after Yun Yun left her cultivation.
• After the meal, Xiao Yuan went to Tang Huo'er's room and criticized the medicinal liquid she had refined before demonstrating flame control.
• Xiao Yuan refined a Burning Flame Pill to improve Tang Huo'er's affinity with flames and gave her the pill formula for Burning Flame Valley.
• Xiao Yuan began refining cultivation pills for Tang Huo'er and explained that she needed to master her flames and produce the precise temperatures she required.

After six months of cultivation, Xiao Yuan and his companions set out with Xiao Yan for Saint Pill City and the Pill Gathering. They safely reached Qingling City and continued toward the gathering, where Xiao Yuan looked forward to seeing the Pill Tower’s Little Pill Tower.

• Xiao Yuan emerged from seclusion at Seven Star Dou Zong, became an Eighth Grade Alchemist, and reunited with Xiao Yan and the others at the Ye Clan.
• Xiao Yuan learned that the Cao Family had sent people seeking Xin Lan and heard Ye Zhong describe Cao Ying as Xiao Yan’s formidable Pill Gathering rival.
• Ye Zhong led the group toward Saint Pill City, and Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Heavenly Flame Venerable repaired the Ye Clan’s Space Wormhole before departure.
• Xiao Yuan’s party traveled by Space Ship through the Space Channel toward Qingling City while the group cultivated and stabilized their recent breakthroughs.
• The group reached Qingling City, saw the crowds of alchemists gathering for the Pill Gathering, and continued toward Saint Pill City.

Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan arrived in Saint Pill City with the Ye Clan and prepared for the upcoming Five Great Clans assessment and Pill Gathering. While cultivating at Ye Courtyard, Xiao Yan sensed Three Thousand Burning Flame sealed in the Dan City Star Region, and Xiao Yuan began demonstrating how to draw on the starry sky’s Spiritual Energy.

• Ye Zhong explained Saint Pill City’s layout and told Xiao Yan he needed a Dan Tower Alchemist Rank Badge to enter the Pill Gathering.
• Xiao Yuan and the others saw a carriage bearing the Dan Family emblem, and Ye Zhong speculated that the other great clans had also arrived.
• Ye Zhong led the group to the neglected Ye Courtyard, where they settled in for the night.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan cultivated beneath Saint Pill City’s spiritual night sky, and Xiao Yan’s Soul Strength accidentally reached the Dan City Star Region and sensed Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• A powerful voice challenged the intruders, but Xiao Yuan withdrew their Soul Strength safely and warned Xiao Yan about the danger.
• Xiao Yuan explained that they could draw on the starry sky’s Spiritual Energy and ignited part of his Soul Strength to demonstrate the method to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yuan refined the spiritual substances in the Star Region with soul flames, strengthening his soul and drawing the attention of Danta’s leaders. The next day, he and Xiao Yan went to a Danta branch tower for their alchemist assessments, where Xiao Yuan was bumped into while waiting.

• Xiao Yuan used soul flames to refine the Star Region’s spiritual substances, then replenished his Soul Strength with the Yin-Yang Life Soul Pearl and refined it back into his soul.
• Xiao Yuan told Xiao Yan that he could make pills from Soul Strength stored in the Soul Nourishing Pearl, and Yao Lao agreed to study the idea with him.
• Danta’s leaders discussed the unknown visitors to the Star Region, the danger posed by the Soul Hall, and whether the young Eighth Grade Alchemist was connected to Yao Chen.
• The next morning, Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yi Xian went with Xiao Yan and Ye Zhong to a Danta branch tower, while Cai Lin, Yun Yun, and Tang Huo'er stayed behind to spar.
• After Ye Zhong left to arrange their assessments, a soft, delicate body bumped into Xiao Yuan, making him suspect a staged collision.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yuan accompanied Ye Zhong to a Danta assessment, where Xiao Yan declared he would test for a seventh-tier, middle-grade badge. Xiao Yuan’s overwhelming strength and Soul Strength stunned the room, while the other families’ assessments began behind closed doors.

• Dan Chen bumped into Xiao Yuan, whose Soul Strength reacted strangely to her, and Xiao Yan suspected she might be an Eighth Grade Alchemist.
• Ye Zhong led Xiao Yan, Xiao Yuan, and Xiao Yi Xian into a special testing room, where members of the Bai and Qiu families mocked the Ye Clan.
• Xiao Yan announced that he would test for a seventh-tier, middle-grade rank badge, silencing the room before Han Li arranged the assessments.
• The Bai and Qiu family candidates entered their testing rooms, and Xiao Yi Xian kissed Xiao Yuan after he offered to show them the assessments.
• Xiao Yuan immobilized the mocking Bai family old woman with Space Power and created a Soul Strength screen showing the candidates’ tests, shocking Han Li and the others with his apparent Eighth Grade Alchemist-level Soul Strength.

Xiao Yan passed the Seventh Grade intermediate alchemy examination, stunning the Bai and Qiu families, while Han Li invited Xiao Yuan to seek an Eighth Grade badge and join the Pill Gathering. Xiao Yuan left with Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian, leaving the Bai family old woman trapped by his Space Blockade.

• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yi Xian watched the Sixth Grade examinations and judged the candidates’ alchemy skills far below Xiao Yuan’s.
• Two Qiu family alchemists and one Bai family alchemist passed the Sixth Grade intermediate examination, while the Bai family old woman remained frozen by Xiao Yuan’s Space Blockade.
• Xiao Yan entered the Heaven Level Testing Room and passed the Seventh Grade intermediate examination, impressing Han Li with his alchemy.
• Han Li gave Xiao Yan a Seventh Grade intermediate badge and invited Xiao Yuan to take the Eighth Grade examination and participate in the Pill Gathering.
• Xiao Yuan declined to go to the Dan Tower Headquarters that day, criticized the Bai family old woman, and left with Xiao Yi Xian as Xiao Yan followed.
• Han Li told the Bai family to find a Dou Zun to free the old woman or leave her there to embarrass herself.

Xiao Yuan visited Saint Pill City's Alchemist Trading Fair to search for rare ingredients needed to refine a Rank 8 Pill. After revealing that he was an Eighth Grade Alchemist, he impressed the stall owner Wang Lao, who offered him the herbs and asked to learn from him.

• Xiao Yuan and his companions entered the Alchemist Trading Fair, and Ye Zhong explained its ranked floors and entry requirements.
• Xiao Yuan went to the top floor and asked the yellow-robed elder about a Ten Thousand Year Fire Spirit Mushroom and Blazing Flame Serpent Tongue Grass.
• The yellow-robed elder led Xiao Yuan to Wang Lao's stall, where Wang Lao offered the Blazing Flame Serpent Tongue Grass for one Grade 7 High Level Pill.
• Xiao Yuan explained that the herb could help refine a Rank 8 Pill and revealed that he was an Eighth Grade Alchemist.
• Xiao Yuan let Wang Lao sense his spiritual Soul Strength, and Wang Lao offered his medicinal herbs as a gift and asked to learn from him.

Xiao Yuan traded pills for rare herbs and an ancient bronze fragment, then killed Chen Xian and his entourage when they tried to take it. The group was confronted by an elder who challenged their actions on Dan Tower territory.

• Xiao Yuan accepted Blazing Flame Serpent Tongue Grass from Old Wang and agreed to guide him at Ye Courtyard, then searched the Trading Area for more herbs.
• At Old Yan’s stall, Xiao Yuan traded pills and a Simple Heart Pill formula for rare medicinal herbs, Snow Bone Ginseng, and the bronze fragment Heavenly Flame Venerable had noticed.
• Chen Xian attacked Xiao Yuan to seize the fragment, but Xiao Yuan struck him down while Heavenly Flame Venerable restrained Chen Xian’s guards.
• Xiao Yuan killed Chen Xian, and Heavenly Flame Venerable and Xiao Yi Xian killed the remaining men and disposed of their bodies in a Space Rift.
• Heavenly Flame Venerable retrieved the men’s Storage Rings, and an aged voice confronted the group for committing murder on Dan Tower territory.

Xiao Yuan confronted a Danta elder over his failure to stop Xuanming Sect from robbing their purchased goods, then uncovered Spirit Nurturing Powder hidden in the patina of a copper fragment. The group discovered the powder could nurture souls and aid high-rank pill refinement, and Xiao Yuan shared some with Xiao Yan before discussing a new pill formula with Yao Lao.

• Heavenly Flame Venerable suppressed the Danta elder while Xiao Yuan revealed his Eighth Grade Alchemist soul strength and challenged the elder to report the incident to Danta's Council of Elders.
• Xiao Yuan left the trading venue with Xiao Yan, Heavenly Flame Venerable, Xiao Yi Xian, Elder Wang, and the others, then examined the copper fragment with Xiao Yan and Yao Lao.
• Xiao Yuan removed the patina from the ordinary copper fragment and refined it until five pale yellow particles remained.
• Heavenly Flame Venerable identified the particles as ancient Spirit Nurturing Powder, and Yao Lao explained how it could nurture souls and improve Rank 8 pill refinement.
• Xiao Yuan gave two particles to Xiao Yan for the Pill Gathering, kept the other three, and discussed developing a new pill formula with Yao Lao.

Xiao Yuan refined the Spirit Elevation Soul Nourishing Pill, a Rank 8 pill that could strengthen Soul Strength, and its tribulation lightning rose to seven colors. The extraordinary refinement drew Saint Pill City's attention and prompted a mysterious woman to recognize Yao Chen's Black Demon Cauldron.

• Xiao Yuan, Yao Lao, and Xiao Yan finalized the Spirit Elevation Soul Nourishing Pill's formula after a day of experiments, and Xiao Yuan spent nearly a week refining it.
• Xiao Yuan infused the fused medicinal liquid with Soul Strength from the Yin-Yang Soul Nourishing Pearl, while the pill's aura summoned a thundercloud over Ye Courtyard.
• Heavenly Flame Venerable drove away onlookers as the pill tribulation lightning changed from three colors to five, revealing that Xiao Yuan was refining a Rank 8 pill.
• Xiao Yuan added a particle of Spirit Nurturing Powder, transforming the pill and causing the thundercloud to become seven-colored.
• Xuan Kongzi watched the seven-colored tribulation from Star Region, while a mysterious woman recognized the Black Demon Cauldron below as Yao Chen's.

Xiao Yuan refined an Eighth Grade pill that summoned Seven-Colored Pill Tribulation Lightning, then used the lightning to strengthen his puppets. When the thundercloud produced an imitation of Black Demon Lightning, Xiao Yuan recalled the puppets and charged into the lightning himself, absorbing it as he entered the cloud.

• Xiao Yuan’s pill summoned Seven-Colored Pill Tribulation Lightning, and Yao Lao told him he had completed his apprenticeship.
• Xiao Yuan sent five Di Yao Kui to absorb the tribulation lightning, transforming four into peak Dou Zong puppets and Fei Tian into a Dou Zun-level Tian Yao Kui.
• The thundercloud gathered its remaining power and formed an imitation of Black Demon Lightning, surprising Heavenly Flame Venerable and the onlookers.
• Xiao Yuan recalled the puppets, activated his Demon Lightning Body, and struck the black lightning head-on.
• Xiao Yuan recovered in midair, shouted for more, and charged into the thundercloud while absorbing the black lightning.

Xiao Yuan absorbed the Seven-Colored Pill Tribulation Lightning, advanced to Eight Star Dou Zong, and completed a powerful Rank 8 pill before Xuan Yi arrived to reunite with Yao Lao. Their reunion turned emotional, but Yao Lao suddenly suffered a violent soul fluctuation while explaining why he had left the Pill Tower.

• Xiao Yuan absorbed the Seven-Colored Pill Tribulation Lightning, strengthened his body and Black Demon Lightning, and advanced to Eight Star Dou Zong.
• Xiao Yuan retrieved his Rank 8 pill as Heavenly Flame Venerable protected him from the covetous onlookers and warned that the Pill Tower Three Giants were nearby.
• Xuan Yi concealed Ye Courtyard, identified herself as one of the Pill Tower's three presidents, and asked Xiao Yuan whether he was Yao Chen's disciple.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan revealed Yao Lao from Xiao Yan's Storage Ring, and Yao Lao accused them of selling him out.
• Xuan Yi tearfully confronted Yao Lao about his disappearance, and he explained that he had avoided her so she would not grieve over his condition.
• Yao Lao began speaking about leaving the Pill Tower to search for Han Shanshan, then suffered a violent soul fluctuation that alarmed Xuan Yi, Xiao Yuan, and Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yuan discovered a hidden Soul Imprint in the Bone Spirit Cold Fire while investigating Yao Lao’s mysterious soul affliction. Contacting it showed him a past sacrifice in which an unknown woman gave up her existence to restore Yao Chen, leaving behind the imprint and a spark of flame.

• Yao Lao suffered unexplained pain in his soul, and Xiao Yuan found a foreign trace of Soul Strength inside the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.
• Xuan Yi took Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yan, and the others to the Pill Tower, where Xuan Kongzi and Heavenly Lightning failed to diagnose Yao Lao.
• Xiao Yan supported Xiao Yuan with a protective Heavenly Flame Lotus Seat while Xiao Yuan searched the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.
• Xiao Yuan found a Soul Imprint deep within the flame and decided to contact it despite Xuan Yi and Xiao Yan’s warnings.
• Xiao Yuan saw a vision of a Bloodline Grand Array sacrifice in which an unknown woman restored Yao Chen and left her imprint in the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

Xiao Yuan entered the Soul Imprint in Bone Spirit Cold Fire and used his bloodline and soul origin to leave a seal on Han Shanshan before the River of Time took her away. Back in the Star Region, Yao Lao awakened with his memories still missing, while Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan used the Spirit Elevation Soul Nourishing Pill to stabilize their souls.

• Xiao Yuan watched Yao Lao awaken in the Dead Domain, fail to find Bone Spirit Cold Fire, and carry the injured Feng Xian out while sensing that he had forgotten something important.
• Han Shanshan recognized Xiao Yuan and entrusted Yao Lao to his care as the River of Time began pulling her away.
• Xiao Yuan burned his Dou Emperor Bloodline and sacrificed part of his soul origin to create the Primal Chaos Blood Soul Seal, placing it on Han Shanshan before being expelled from the Soul Imprint.
• In the Star Region, Xiao Yuan collapsed to Five Star Dou Zong and asked Xiao Yan to refine the Spirit Elevation Soul Nourishing Pill so its Spirit Elevation Ring could stabilize their souls.
• Yao Lao awakened beside Xuan Yi but could not remember what had happened in the Dead Domain, and he found only remnants of Xiao Yuan's soul in Bone Spirit Cold Fire.
• Yao Lao explained that he and his disciples had recently developed the pill, while Xuan Kongzi and Heavenly Lightning praised Xiao Yuan's skill.

After Xiao Yuan stabilized his Soul Strength, he revealed that Han Shanshan had sacrificed her memories to save Yao Lao, and promised to find her in the River of Time once he reached the Dou Emperor realm. Xuan Yi then arranged for Xiao Yuan to preside over the Pill Gathering as her successor, while Xiao Yan would compete.

• Xuan Yi, Xuan Kongzi, and Heavenly Lightning learned that Xiao Yuan had studied alchemy for less than three years and Xiao Yan for about four, yet both were approaching the Eighth Grade.
• Xiao Yuan finished stabilizing his Soul Strength and showed Yao Lao and the Pill Tower Three Giants the memory of Han Shanshan losing her memories to save him.
• Xiao Yuan promised Yao Lao that he would use the Soul Seal to search the River of Time for Han Shanshan after reaching the Dou Emperor realm.
• Xiao Yuan proposed finding Dou Saint remains to make Yao Lao a physical body, and asked Xuan Yi, Xuan Kongzi, and Heavenly Lightning to help search for leads.
• Xuan Yi said she had concealed Yao Lao's identity by presenting Xiao Yuan as her disciple, then urged him to accept a Pill Tower Three Giants title for protection.
• Xuan Yi appointed Xiao Yuan to preside over the Pill Gathering as her successor, and Xiao Yuan agreed after learning the elders would handle the details.

Xiao Yan broke through to the mid-stage Spirit Realm with Xiao Yuan’s pill, while Xuan Yi kept Yao Chen behind to catch up with him. Back at the Pill Tower, Xiao Yuan explained Yao Chen’s past to his companions and accepted Wang Yuan Dan as a nominal disciple, sending him to gather ingredients for a chance to advance to Eighth Grade.

• Xiao Yan absorbed the Spirit Elevation Soul Nourishing Pill and advanced to the mid-stage Spirit Realm, while Xiao Yuan explained that such a breakthrough was rare.
• Xuan Yi sent Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan out of the Star Region, then kept Yao Chen behind to talk and take him to a medicinal bath.
• Heavenly Flame Venerable and Xiao Yi Xian checked on Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yuan returned to Xuan Yi’s courtyard with the women to explain Yao Chen’s identity and Han Shanshan’s sacrifice.
• Xiao Yan explained the events to Heavenly Flame Venerable, Ye Zhong, and Ye Xinlan, then began secluded training to master his new Soul Strength and practice alchemy.
• Xiao Yuan accepted Wang Yuan Dan as a nominal disciple and gave him part of the pill formula, promising him a chance to advance to Eighth Grade if he gathered the listed herbs before the Pill Gathering.
• Xiao Yuan advised Wang Yuan Dan to obtain a Soul Seal and communication jade slip from Heavenly Flame Venerable before setting out to gather the ingredients.

Xiao Yan faced Cao Ying’s challenge in Xuan Yi Courtyard, where their Soul Handprints clashed until Xiao Yuan stopped the destructive shockwave. Cao Ying acknowledged Xiao Yuan’s strength and left, while she promised to meet Xiao Yan again at the Pill Gathering.

• Cao Ying visited Xuan Yi Courtyard for the third time and challenged Xiao Yan to spar.
• Cao Ying attacked with a spiritually enhanced Soul Handprint, and Xiao Yan countered with his own.
• Xiao Yuan arrived and dispersed the clash’s remaining force before it could damage the courtyard.
• Xiao Yuan reported that the Council of Elders had accepted his status and appointed him to preside over the Pill Gathering.
• Cao Ying praised Xiao Yuan’s pill-refining strength, then told Xiao Yan she expected a proper match at the Pill Gathering.

Xiao Yuan hosted the opening of the Pill Gathering, announced its rewards and selection stages, and sent the contestants into the first barrier. Xiao Yan entered the Soul Illusion Realm with Wang Yuan Dan, determined to win the championship, while Xiao Yuan wondered whether to explore the Pill World himself.

• Xiao Yuan left the viewing platform, and Xiao Yan spoke with Wang Yuan Dan, who had become Xiao Yuan's Rank 8 disciple and would compete in the Pill Gathering.
• Xuan Kongzi introduced Xiao Yuan as a high-tier Rank 8 alchemist and a future member of the Pill Tower Three Giants, prompting astonished reactions from the crowd.
• Xiao Yuan announced that the champion would become a candidate for the Pill Tower Three Giants and receive an ancient Soul Cultivation Method, strengthening Xiao Yan's resolve to win.
• Xiao Yuan opened the first selection stage, and contestants rushed into the Soul Illusion Realm; Xiao Yan and Wang Yuan Dan followed them inside.
• After the contestants entered, Xiao Yuan considered exploring the Pill World and wondered whether the Xuanming Sect was planning something.

Xiao Yuan used a lifelike double to remain on the platform while entering the Illusion Barrier disguised as the white-robed woman Xuan Bing. After passing through the barrier and reaching its waiting area, he spotted Xiao Yan and Cao Ying, while an apparent admirer watched them.

• Xiao Yuan showed Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Heavenly Lightning how his lifelike double could remain on the platform while he entered the Illusion Barrier unseen.
• Xiao Yuan used a Seventh Rank High Level Alchemist badge to enter the barrier in disguise and navigated its warped spaces with his powerful Soul Strength.
• An illusion of Yao Lao appeared before Xiao Yuan, but he struck it down and continued through the barrier despite increasingly distracting illusions.
• Xiao Yuan reached the clearing before the Pill World’s Space Channel, where the contestants eyed the disguised Xuan Bing warily.
• Xiao Yuan spotted Xiao Yan talking with Cao Ying, while a nearby man watched them with a furrowed brow.

Xiao Yuan entered the Pill World for the second round of the Pill Gathering, where contestants had ten days to gather herbs while facing powerful magical beasts. After studying his mission list and deciding to keep any herbs he found, he watched nearly a dozen contestants land on the plain just as a giant python attacked one of them.

• Xiao Yan recognized Xiao Yuan’s familiar white skirt and veiled hat but pretended not to know him, while Cao Ying asked Xiao Yan to team up with her and he reluctantly agreed.
• The Turtle-Riding Old Man explained the Pill World mission, the ten-day limit, the dangers inside, and the Space Stone’s use for withdrawing from the trial.
• Xiao Yuan entered the Pill World after Xiao Yan, Cao Ying, and Wang Yuan Dan, then examined the herb list naming Nine Flames Dragon Saliva Grass, Spirit Nectar Fruit, and Immortal Crane Grass.
• Xiao Yuan studied the map’s three marked regions, decided he would keep any herbs he found, and saw nearly a dozen contestants land on the plain.
• A giant python burst from a sand dune and lunged toward an alchemist’s head.