Chapter Summaries

The First Elder crippled Galeo Bi after he mocked the Xiao Family and questioned what had happened to Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan then confronted his own reluctance to retaliate and set out to ambush a Jia Lie Family convoy, intending to seize its goods and strike back.

• The First Elder broke Galeo Bi's legs and warned him against mocking the Xiao Family or discussing Xiao Yan's situation.
• Yao Lao criticized Xiao Yan for tolerating insults, and Xiao Yan explained that he was protecting the Xiao Clan from the dangers his actions could invite.
• Xiao Yan spotted an approaching Jia Lie Family convoy and admitted he was planning to attack it rather than merely keep watch.
• Xiao Yan leapt from the city wall, struck the ground with the Xuan Heavy Ruler, and prepared to take the convoy's goods as compensation.
• Xiao Yan shattered his Dou Qi-sealing bracelets, surged with power, and strode toward the convoy, vowing to cut down half the Jia Lie Family.

Xiao Yan ambushed Galeo Nu’s caravan and overwhelmed the Jia Lie Family elder despite his higher rank. Galeo Nu died after Xiao Yan broke through to a six-star Da Dou Shi during the fight, leaving the feud with That Lord unresolved.

• Galeo Nu noticed the caravan had stopped and discovered that Xiao Yan had killed the guards.
• Xiao Yan used Suction Palm to disrupt Galeo Nu’s Dou Qi, then revealed his strength as a seven-star Dou Shi.
• Galeo Nu attacked with his spear and Overlapping Waves, but Xiao Yan shattered the attack and drove him into the ground with the Black Ruler.
• Galeo Nu threatened Xiao Yan and the Xiao Clan by invoking That Lord, but Xiao Yan began breaking through while attacking him.
• Xiao Yan reached six-star Da Dou Shi and killed Galeo Nu with a burst of golden energy.

After Xiao Yan broke through to six-star Da Dou Shi, Yao Lao whisked him away and began preparing to push his cultivation higher while Xiao Yan worried about advancing too quickly. Yao Lao found a way to refine the sparse ingredients and old pills in his Storage Ring, leaving Xiao Yan stunned by his skill as the Black Demon Cauldron blazed.

• Xiao Yan broke through to six-star Da Dou Shi and worried that his rapid progress would destabilize his Dou Qi.
• Yao Lao rushed Xiao Yan to a deserted mountain range, carved out a cave, and brought out the Black Demon Cauldron.
• Yao Lao scolded Xiao Yan for wanting to suppress his cultivation and urged him to use the breakthrough momentum.
• Yao Lao processed hundreds of medicinal ingredients while searching for a suitable pill recipe, and Xiao Yan watched in awe.
• Yao Lao identified more than a dozen old high-grade pills, crushed them into the cauldron with medicinal liquids, and began refining a solution for Xiao Yan.

Yao Lao explained how pill fragrance and unevenly distributed medicinal properties changed over time, then used Xiao Yan as the missing core material for a pill-reforming process. Xiao Yan endured the cauldron’s searing heat and began absorbing the powerful medicinal energy as Yao Lao monitored him.

• Yao Lao explained that pill veins came from unevenly distributed components and that a pill’s medicinal properties shifted as they evaporated over time.
• Xiao Yan realized Yao Lao was burning away medicinal strength that could no longer be separated and corrected, but the batch still lacked material to condense into a pill.
• Yao Lao grabbed Xiao Yan and stuffed him into the Black Demon Cauldron, where the medicinal liquid wrapped around him.
• Xiao Yan struggled through the pain, circulated Flame Mantra, and absorbed the energy as it surged into his body.
• Yao Lao judged the intensity suitable and watched carefully, ready to burn away more medicinal properties if Xiao Yan struggled.

Xiao Yan emerged from the medicinal shell with his body reforged and discovered that Fen Jue could absorb the Black Demon Cauldron Flame, greatly increasing the technique’s efficiency. Yao Lao gave him a portion of the Bone Chilling Flame’s origin to test, while Xiao Yan began considering how to obtain Seven Illusory Green Spirit Saliva from Nalan Jie.

• Yao Lao watched Xiao Yan awaken from the black medicinal shell after the spirit flame finished refining him.
• Xiao Yan found that the medicine had healed his injuries and filled his body with a lasting reserve of medicinal power.
• Xiao Yan formed a golden longsword from flame and blood-and-qi, then showed Yao Lao that he could use the Black Demon Cauldron Flame.
• Yao Lao realized Fen Jue could absorb flames beyond Heavenly Flames, and Xiao Yan confirmed that absorbing the cauldron flame had more than doubled the technique’s efficiency.
• Yao Lao tore off a portion of the Bone Chilling Flame’s origin and asked Xiao Yan to refine it as a Sub-fire.
• Xiao Yan began refining the Bone Chilling Flame while thinking about obtaining Seven Illusory Green Spirit Saliva from Nalan Jie.

Nalan Jie learned that Nalan Yanran had gone to Wutan City to annul her engagement with the Xiao Clan, and the shock caused his Brand Poison to flare up and leave him near death. Yun Yun arranged for a Dou Ling Pill to be sent to the Nalan Residence, while Nalan Jie resolved that he had to survive to protect his family.

• Nalan Jie considered the empire’s shifting political forces and worried that the Nalan Family would be caught in the coming turmoil.
• A Dark Guard reported that Nalan Yanran had returned from Wutan City after visiting the Xiao Clan, prompting Nalan Jie to erupt in rage.
• The Dark Guard explained that Yun Yun had let Nalan Yanran decide for herself and that she had taken Qi Gathering Powder saved for her cultivation.
• Nalan Jie collapsed as his Brand Poison surged through his meridians, then ordered the Dark Guard away and vowed to cling to life for the Nalan Family.
• Yun Yun ordered Yun Leng to obtain a Dou Ling Pill from Gu He and send it to the Nalan Residence, charging the cost to the sect’s public account.

Nalan Su came to the Alchemist Guild seeking help for his father’s Brand Poison, only to find its alchemists captivated by Yao Lao’s pill-making lesson. Yao Lao initially refused to help, but Nalan Su’s offer of the Seven Illusory Green Spirit Saliva caught his interest.

• Nalan Su heard rumors that the Nalan Family was doomed because even Gu He could only ease Nalan Old Master's Brand Poison.
• Nalan Su found the guild’s alchemists gathered to watch Yao Lao explain pill refinement and create a Fourth Grade Clear Soul Pill.
• The alchemists praised Yao Lao’s skill and urged Nalan Su to ask him for help.
• Nalan Su knelt and begged Yao Lao to save his father, offering the treasures in the Nalan Residence’s storehouse, but Yao Lao refused.
• Nalan Su offered the Seventh Grade Seven Illusory Green Spirit Saliva, making Yao Lao reconsider.

Yao Lao accompanied Nalan Su toward the Nalan Residence to treat Nalan Jie, while Xiao Yan reflected on his habit of making decisions for the Xiao Clan. Along the way, Beast Fire Old Geezer brought three sets of ingredients and a cache of beast fires, which Yao Lao claimed after removing the Storage Ring’s imprint.

• Yao Lao agreed to travel with Nalan Su, and he teased Xiao Yan about being as willful as Nalan Yanran while Xiao Yan defended his involvement in the Xiao Clan’s affairs.
• Beast Fire Old Geezer pushed through the crowd and presented Yao Lao with a Storage Ring containing ingredients and payment for his postponed order.
• Xiao Yan recognized Beast Fire Old Geezer as a notorious seller of unreliable beast fires and considered how he could use the flames.
• Yao Lao judged that Beast Fire Old Geezer’s old injuries had severely weakened him and accepted his offer to accompany them to the Nalan Residence.
• Yao Lao erased the Storage Ring’s Soul Imprint and discovered more than twenty fourth- and fifth-order beast fires, along with two sixth-order flames, one of them intact.

Xiao Yan removed Nalan Jie's Brand Poison, refined it into a pill, and left the room with Yao Lao to gather ingredients for the Seven Illusory Green Spirit Saliva. Meanwhile, Liu Xi raged over an attacked shipment, while Galeo Bi learned that the supply of Revival Pills had been cut off.

• Nalan Su begged Yao Lao to save his father, and Yao Lao entered the room where Nalan Jie was trapped by the Brand Poison.
• Yao Lao guided Xiao Yan as he used the Bone Chilling Flame to control fine threads of fire and prepare to remove the poison.
• Xiao Yan tore the Brand Poison from Nalan Jie's body and refined it into a black pill, intending to keep it as a weapon.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao left to gather the remaining ingredients for the Seven Illusory Green Spirit Saliva.
• Liu Xi angrily smashed furniture over a robbed shipment and the interruption of the Revival Pill supply, while Galeo Bi listened in confusion.

Galeo Bi told the burly alchemist that their pills were not selling because buyers preferred the Xiao Clan’s goods, prompting the alchemist to investigate. Meanwhile, Xun Er ran into Xiao Mei at the market, where Liu Xi grabbed Xiao Mei and was surrounded by Xiao Clan members.

• Galeo Bi told the burly alchemist that none of their pills had sold because customers considered them inferior to the Xiao Clan’s pills.
• The burly alchemist decided to visit the market and find out why the Xiao Clan had taken the business.
• Xun Er met Xiao Mei, who excitedly celebrated hearing Xun Er call her jiejie and offered her a skewer.
• Xiao Mei and the Xiao Clan members headed east, while Xun Er wondered where Xiao Yan was and whether he was safe.
• Liu Xi grabbed Xiao Mei by the wrist and tried to lure her away, so a Xiao Clan member attacked him.
• Liu Xi knocked the first attacker aside, but the man grabbed his leg as three more attacks closed in on him.

Xiao Mei and the others were attacked by Liu Xi, but Xun Er’s guards intervened and confronted a burly alchemist who claimed powerful connections. Xun Er ordered the guards to take him down, while Xiao Yan struggled to refine Poison Vine Fire and Yao Lao reflected on the difficulty of advancing in alchemy.

• Liu Xi tried to burn Xiao Mei and the others, but a bamboo skewer pierced his palm and the group beat him.
• A burly man arrived, condemned the group, and attacked Xun Er after Liu Xi urged him to take them both down.
• The guard captain struck the burly man with a concealed extending blade, and more than twenty guards surrounded him.
• The burly man claimed to be a Second Grade Alchemist taught by a Fourth Grade Master, but Xun Er ordered the guards to take him down, saying the Xiao Clan had a Fourth Grade Alchemist too.
• Xiao Yan’s Poison Vine Fire refinement poisoned the pill residue and nearly ruined his work, so he switched back to Peach Blossom Fire.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that reaching the Seventh Grade would only mark the beginning of true alchemy, and noted that Xiao Yan’s cultivation seemed to be getting faster.

Xiao Yan refined a Third Grade pill to Yao Lao’s satisfaction and began making a modified Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill to strengthen the Xiao Clan. As they worked, Yao Lao recognized Xiao Yan’s uncanny insight into pill recipes, while both considered the resources and dangers shaping the clan’s future.

• Xiao Yan completed a standard Third Grade pill, and Yao Lao passed him and told him to try refining a Fourth Grade pill.
• Xiao Yan began refining a Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill for the Xiao Clan, hoping to help cultivate more Da Dou Shi.
• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan that the Xiao Clan needed a suitable environment and broader resources, while Xiao Yan explained that moving elsewhere risked the clan being destroyed by the Hall of Souls.
• Yao Lao had Xiao Yan add Golden Sun Shatter, Gastrodia Leaf, and Green Thorn Grass to modify the pill and give it an additional chance to be taken.
• Xiao Yan correctly guessed the purpose of the added ingredients, leaving Yao Lao surprised by his insight.

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao helped Beast Fire Old Geezer recover and accepted his allegiance and Flame Manipulation Skill, which was tied to Demon Flame Valley. Yao Lao explained how beast flames compared with Heavenly Flames, while Xiao Yan considered ways to strengthen the Transformation Fire with rare beast flames.

• Yao Lao offered Beast Fire Old Geezer the remaining time in the Pill Chamber to heal, and the old man pledged to serve him.
• Yao Lao told Beast Fire Old Geezer to wait in the Mountain Foothills area and accepted his Flame Manipulation Skill in exchange for promising to restore him to his peak.
• Xiao Yan realized the Flame Manipulation Skill connected the old man to Demon Flame Valley, but decided the valuable technique was worth accepting despite the risk.
• Yao Lao explained that beast flames and Heavenly Flames belonged to different systems, and that sufficiently powerful beast flames could rival Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan planned to gather stronger beast fires and considered using the Black Demon Cauldron Flame or Zi Yan's future Dragon Phoenix flame as the core of the Transformation Fire.

Xiao Yan offered Jia Xingtian a chance to obtain a Breaking Sect Pill in exchange for alchemy materials and other resources. Jia Xingtian accepted the deal and had one month to prepare, while Xiao Yan said he was repaying a kindness from Jia Ma.

• Beast Fire Old Geezer recovered from his accumulated injuries after taking Xiao Yan’s pill and stabilized at three-star Dou Wang.
• Xiao Yan brought Beast Fire Old Geezer to the Jia Ma Imperial Palace and confronted Jia Xingtian about exchanging resources for pills.
• Xiao Yan demanded fire and alchemy materials, including enough resources to make a Top Grade Breaking Sect Pill.
• Jia Xingtian agreed to gather another treasury’s worth of resources in exchange for pills for himself and a magical beast.
• Xiao Yan gave Jia Xingtian one month to prepare and said he was helping because Jia Ma had once shown him kindness.

Xiao Yan reconsidered his cultivation strategy and decided that securing opportunities in the present mattered more than blindly following the original story’s path. He headed for the Magical Beast Mountain Range, while Xun Er learned that he had only passed through the Imperial Capital.

• Xiao Yan reasoned that cultivation alone might not let him keep pace with the original story’s time-limited dangers, while its opportunities could not be guaranteed to recur exactly as before.
• Xiao Yan decided to focus on what he could secure now and told Yao Lao they would search the Magical Beast Mountain Range for treasures.
• Xiao Yan argued that he would trade pills for claimed treasures and take only some of what was unclaimed, prompting Yao Lao to complain that the plan would overwork him.
• Yao Lao reconsidered his resurrection plans and thought Xiao Yan might soon handle most of the requirements himself, apart from obtaining the needed Heavenly Flames.
• Ling Ying told Xun Er that Xiao Yan had returned, then clarified that he had only passed by and flown toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Xiao Yan arrived in Green Mountain Town and went to the Ten Thousand Medicines Shop to buy materials for the Blood Lotus Pill. After demonstrating his strength, he asked to meet Xiao Yi Xian, who was dealing with a possibly poisonous mishap in her medicine room.

• Xiao Yan surveyed Green Mountain Town and noted its many mercenaries, strong cultivators, and plentiful goods from the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Xiao Yan entered the Ten Thousand Medicines Shop, bought Yellow Lotus Essence, and asked to meet the maker of its medicinal powders.
• Xiao Yan used his ability to summon a medicine bottle through the air, startling the clerk, who recognized him as a Da Dou Shi and hurried to find Xiao Yi Xian.
• The clerk found Xiao Yi Xian mixing medicine, and she warned him that the strange smell in the room might be poisonous.
• Xiao Yi Xian headed to meet Xiao Yan while telling Ling'er to prepare poison-clearing powder for the clerk.

Xiao Yan confronted Xiao Yi Xian about her Woeful Poison Body and demonstrated a powerful toxin that triggered its cravings. He offered her a pill to suppress the condition, and Xiao Yi Xian swallowed it despite rejecting the idea of becoming his weapon.

• Xiao Yi Xian introduced herself as the physician who had prepared the medicinal powder, and Xiao Yan asked whether she had taken poison.
• Xiao Yan identified the toxins Xiao Yi Xian used and explained that he had noticed poison escaping with her breath.
• Xiao Yan produced poisonous flame, and its toxin triggered Xiao Yi Xian's Woeful Poison Body and intensified her craving for poison.
• Xiao Yan extinguished the flame and offered Xiao Yi Xian a pill to ease her symptoms, claiming he could help resolve her condition.
• Xiao Yi Xian warned that she would rather unleash her Poison Body and die than become a weapon against innocent people, then swallowed the Brand Poison.

Xiao Yan tested a small amount of Brand Poison on Xiao Yi Xian, whose Poison Body absorbed it but left her dazed and intoxicated. He carried her out of the Ten Thousand Medicines Shop after killing its middle-aged manager, then left the shop assistant with medicinal dregs for cultivation.

• Xiao Yi Xian swallowed a tiny pill made from Brand Poison and became dizzy, flushed, and unable to stay upright.
• Xiao Yan wrapped Xiao Yi Xian in Dou Qi and carried her over his shoulder as the shop assistant accused him of breaking the town’s rules.
• The Ten Thousand Medicines Shop’s guards and middle-aged manager confronted Xiao Yan, but the manager recognized his strength and tried to appease him.
• Xiao Yan killed the middle-aged manager with Bone Chilling Flame after the shop assistant begged for mercy.
• Xiao Yan gave the shop assistant medicinal dregs and told him to soak them in water for cultivation.

Xiao Yan brought Xiao Yi Xian to the Amethyst Winged Lion King’s territory and demanded to borrow its cave dwelling, offering a tier-six pill in exchange. The Lion King agreed after seeing Xiao Yan’s overwhelming power.

• Yao Lao teased Xiao Yan about his relationship with Xiao Yi Xian and warned him about the dangers of her Woeful Poison Body.
• The Amethyst Winged Lion King lamented that it lacked the chance to strengthen its bloodline and become a Dou Zong.
• Xiao Yan descended into the Lion King’s valley with Xiao Yi Xian and blasted the surrounding peaks with Flame Splitting Wave Slash.
• The Amethyst Winged Lion King mistook Xiao Yan’s arrival for a bid for revenge and considered fleeing with its cub.
• Xiao Yan said he wanted to discuss business and borrow the Lion King’s cave, offering to refine a tier-six pill.
• The Amethyst Winged Lion King eagerly agreed after Xiao Yan threatened it with his Xuan Heavy Ruler.

Xiao Yan escorted Xiao Yi Xian through the Amethyst Winged Lion King's cavern while teasing the Lion King about its cub and rare Amethyst Source. Xiao Yi Xian awoke from a nightmare reliving the poison disaster she had caused and mistook Xiao Yan for her mother.

• The Amethyst Winged Lion King tried to steer Xiao Yan away from its cub's Amethyst Source, but Xiao Yan assured it he had no interest in the treasure.
• The Lion King asked what Xiao Yan wanted in exchange for the Purple Spirit Crystal, and Xiao Yan said he had come for the Lion King itself.
• Xiao Yi Xian dreamed that her poison seeped from her fingers, creating a marsh that killed everyone who tried to help her.
• Xiao Yi Xian remembered the people who had died in the town because of her poison and blamed herself for the disaster.
• Xiao Yan woke Xiao Yi Xian, who stared at him in a daze and called him Mother.