Chapter Summaries

After the selection mishap, Xu Yi chose to stay at Zishentang and was assigned to oversee spirit fields on Zhongjiang Mountain. He learned that advancing to the Third Realm would require far more Profound Yellow Pills than he could afford, and the chapter ended when Dong Chao’s Ruyi Pearl stirred, signaling a connection to Xue Ba.

• Xu Yi reasoned that his Dual Infant had confused the Infant Nurturing Stone’s assessment, then decided to remain at Zishentang rather than risk drawing Xue Ba’s attention by leaving.
• Cao Bing offered the rejected candidates a choice between becoming Outer Sect Disciples at Zishentang or leaving, and everyone chose to stay.
• Xu Yi received an assignment overseeing spirit fields on Zhongjiang Mountain, along with a small salary and books he had requested from Steward Huang.
• Xu Yi studied the cultivation requirements for advancing to the Third Realm and concluded that his Dual Infant might require at least five hundred Profound Yellow Pills and two Destiny Seeds.
• Xu Yi’s Ruyi Pearl stirred, and he recognized that Dong Chao’s pearl was linked to Xue Ba.

Xu Yi surrendered Zhong Ruyi’s eight Profound Yellow Pills to Xue Ba’s servant and worried that gathering enough pills for a breakthrough would take far more effort than he expected. After he fell asleep, Jiang Xiao, Zhong Ruyi’s cousin and sister figure, visited him and reminded him that she cared more about his safety than his cultivation.

• Xue Ba ordered Xu Yi to hand over Zhong Ruyi’s Profound Yellow Pills, and Xu Yi realized that even a Life Wheel Realm cultivator prized the scarce pills.
• A manservant collected the eight pills, leaving Xu Yi with only thirteen and far short of the amount he needed to advance.
• Xu Yi drank wine and fell asleep in the pavilion while Huang Mei complained about having to guard him.
• Jiang Xiao arrived, scolded and teased Xu Yi, and encouraged him not to measure his worth only by his cultivation.
• Jiang Xiao performed a spell that made lifelike flowers appear on her Ruyi, and Xu Yi recognized the childhood game behind it.
• Jiang Xiao asked Xu Yi what she considered her greatest gain from ten years at the Southern Pole Sect.

Xu Yi received Jiang Xiao’s support and was assigned to the Garden of Ease, where he learned how low-ranking disciples were ranked and treated. He arrived at Number Seven Nursery, resolved to make the best of his circumstances, and kept his promise to avenge Zhong Ruyi.

• Jiang Xiao encouraged Xu Yi to pursue medicinal arts despite his blocked cultivation path and arranged for him to work at the Garden of Ease.
• Jiang Xiao gave Xu Yi a Ruyi Pearl, two Profound Yellow Pills, and clothes and gifts sent by Zhong Ruyi’s mother.
• Xu Yi ate the pastries, remembered Zhong Ruyi, and vowed to kill Xue Ba for him.
• A Zishentang worker took Xu Yi to the Garden of Ease, where a Menial Worker sent him away from Earth Moist Pavilion to Number Seven Nursery.
• Xu Yi assessed the hierarchy among the sect’s disciples and accepted that he would have to make the best of his lowly position.

Xu Yi settled into his new attendant post at Number Seven Nursery, winning over the menial workers by rewarding them and learning their work. After Xue Ba berated him over his apparent failure as a Stone Infant, Xu Yi claimed his Profound Embryo was third-grade and gained room to change Zhong Ruyi’s behavior without raising suspicion.

• Xu Yi furnished his cave, gave three hundred Profound Yellow Stones to the menial workers, and delegated their distribution to Jia Qin and Zhen Huang.
• Xu Yi worked alongside the menial workers and learned about the spirit plants, including that their heavenly spirits had been destroyed to prevent them from developing awareness.
• Xu Yi ate roasted pork belly alone and received a call from Xue Ba through the Ruyi Pearl.
• Xu Yi told Xue Ba that someone, likely Gao Cheng, had tampered with the Infant Nurturing Stone and claimed he had a third-grade Profound Embryo.
• Xue Ba told Xu Yi to stop acting like a coward and change how people saw Zhong Ruyi, allowing Xu Yi to behave more freely.

Xu Yi went to Earth Moist Pavilion, where Gao Cheng and Huang Xing tried to extort him by threatening his position at Number Seven Nursery. Xu Yi turned on them and smashed them through the pavilion’s pillars, bringing down half the building.

• Xu Yi finished breakfast, checked Number Seven Nursery, and headed to Earth Moist Pavilion after Huang Xing summoned him.
• Gao Cheng entered a sealed room and demanded ten Profound Yellow Pills in exchange for leaving Xu Yi and the nursery alone.
• Gao Cheng revealed that Huang Xing had helped set up the threat, and Huang Xing promised Xu Yi he would be safe while he remained chief steward.
• Xu Yi challenged Huang Xing’s promise and grabbed both men before they could react.
• Xu Yi slammed Gao Cheng and Huang Xing into each other, then hurled them through pillars and collapsed half of Earth Moist Pavilion.

Xu Yi forced Huang Xing and Gao Cheng into a desperate position after fighting back, while Dong Qiankun backed him to preserve order at Earth Moist Pavilion. Xu Yi demanded five Profound Yellow Pills from Huang Xing and publicly declared he was willing to face the Punishment Hall.

• Xu Yi fought Huang Xing and Gao Cheng, leaving Huang Xing bloodied and Earth Moist Pavilion damaged.
• Dong Qiankun arrived, and Huang Xing accused Zhong Ruyi of causing the trouble; Dong Qiankun threatened to report the matter to the Punishment Hall.
• Huang Xing and Gao Cheng objected to involving the Punishment Hall, fearing their own misconduct would be exposed.
• Xu Yi revealed that he had promised Dong Qiankun Profound Yellow Pills in exchange for support and refused to back down from the possibility of punishment.
• Xu Yi demanded that Huang Xing provide five Profound Yellow Pills, then said aloud that he was willing to go to the Punishment Hall and accept punishment.

Xu Yi killed Gao Cheng and the witnesses to prevent them from exposing Huang Xing’s fabricated account, while Dong Qiankun helped erase the evidence. The next day, Xu Yi brought Jiang Xiao to meet Dong Qiankun, who confronted him after she left.

• Huang Xing handed Xu Yi his Sumeru Ring and claimed Gao Cheng had tried to rob Xu Yi, with the Menial Workers backing his story.
• Xu Yi beheaded Gao Cheng and took his Profound Infant before Gao Cheng could be sent to the Punishment Hall.
• Xu Yi began explaining that Huang Xing could claim Gao Cheng died in the confusion, and Dong Qiankun killed the Menial Workers and burned the evidence.
• Xu Yi left, then reflected on Dong Qiankun’s power and resolved to reach the Life Wheel Realm quickly.
• The next day, Xu Yi brought Jiang Xiao to meet Dong Qiankun, then sent her away when the moment seemed right.
• Dong Qiankun dropped his friendly manner and challenged Xu Yi for bringing Jiang Xiao along instead of meeting him alone.

Xu Yi gave Dong Qiankun Profound Yellow Pills in exchange for a chance to work in West Valley, where he hoped to advance his knowledge of alchemy. After becoming a Spiritual Plant Officer, Xu Yi settled into a peaceful routine while pursuing his plans.

• Xu Yi gave Dong Qiankun three Profound Yellow Pills for his monthly allotment and five more as a gift, then asked to learn the principles of medicine rather than take Huang Xing’s post.
• Xu Yi explained to Huang Mei that he was investing in a chance to reach West Valley, where he could approach the alchemists’ aides and study medicinal mixtures.
• Dong Qiankun appointed Xu Yi Spiritual Plant Officer in West Valley three days later.
• Xu Yi quietly tended spiritual plants and kept cordial relations with the other officers, avoiding disputes and trouble from Xue Ba.
• Xu Yi spent several peaceful, fulfilling months in West Valley while his plans progressed quickly.

Xu Yi visited Huang Xing at Starsea Cliff to secure the gardens’ withered plants for potion experiments, first threatening him and then offering payment. Huang Xing agreed to consider the profitable arrangement after Xu Yi explained that he hoped to become an alchemist.

• Xu Yi visited Huang Xing while he was bathing at Starsea Cliff, and Huang Xing angrily demanded to know why he had come.
• Xu Yi asked Huang Xing to collect the gardens’ withered plants, then pinned him against a wall and threatened to kill him if he refused.
• Huang Xing agreed to provide the plants, and Xu Yi offered him one Profound Yellow Pill for every hundred plants.
• Huang Xing questioned Xu Yi’s motive, and Xu Yi explained that he wanted to use the plants to experiment with compounding potions and advance toward becoming an alchemist.

Xu Yi used spiritual liquid from the Sheep Fat Jade Pure Bottle to revive discarded plants and prepared to test his medicine-making skills. The chapter then shifted to Li Ping, who struggled to produce enough supplementary agent as younger medicine masters threatened his position.

• Huang Xing agreed to provide Xu Yi with discarded plants, expecting him to waste his time, and Xu Yi accepted the deal.
• Xu Yi received the plants, used spiritual liquid to restore them, and secured seven days of leave from Dong Qiankun.
• Xu Yi isolated himself in a refining room, placed Fish Star Grass, Three Dan Flower, Dragon Summer Fruit, and Seventeen Seeds in a Medicine Bowl, and ignited his nascent-soul fire.
• Li Ping reviewed his medicine bottles and realized he was still seven bottles short of the supplementary agent.
• Li Ping worried that failing to finish the task would give the ambitious young medicine masters a chance to challenge his standing.

Xu Yi used an adjuvant he had developed and his secretly acquired medicine-making skills to impress Li Ping and earn a place in the Alchemy Hall on Yinghai Peak. He revealed that he had spent nearly four months in West Garden observing pharmacists and stealing their techniques.

• Li Ping summoned the Spiritual Plant Officer who brought a black bottle, but scolded him when he asked for guidance on an adjuvant for the Profound Yellow Pill.
• The young man showed Li Ping a high-quality adjuvant he had formulated, answered a question about medicinal principles, and agreed to demonstrate his skill.
• Li Ping watched the young man refine an adjuvant with pure infant flame and offered him an opportunity if he could make two more doses.
• The young man refined five batches of ingredients into three doses, and Li Ping appointed him to the Alchemy Hall on Yinghai Peak.
• The young man identified himself as Zhong Ruyi, while Xu Yi inwardly reflected that he had spent nearly four months secretly learning pharmacists' techniques in West Garden.

Xu Yi’s deliberate work with discarded spirit plants won Li Ping’s favor and secured his transfer from West Garden to Yinghai Peak’s Alchemy Hall as a Medicine Attendant. After the transfer order arrived, Xu Yi concealed his true goal by telling Huang Xing that he had helped Li Ping with research.

• Xu Yi focused on compounding Assistants to address Li Ping’s weakness and deliberately failed twice while demonstrating his skills.
• Li Ping left West Garden, and a transfer order arrived assigning Zhong Ruyi to Yinghai Peak’s Alchemy Hall as a Medicine Attendant.
• Huang Xing summoned Xu Yi and demanded to know how he had won a place in the Alchemy Hall.
• Xu Yi claimed that Li Ping had recruited him to help research how to correct the growth of discarded spirit plants.
• Huang Xing realized he had missed the chance to benefit from the discarded plants, while Xu Yi prepared to leave for Yinghai Peak.

Xu Yi settled into his new post as a Medicine Attendant at Yinghai Peak’s Alchemy Hall, but his dwindling supply of Profound Yellow Pills left him desperate to find a way to earn money. He headed out to seek Huang Xing’s advice, then stopped when he heard a commotion among the menial workers’ caves and asked Tong Chuan what was happening.

• Huang Xing accepted Xu Yi’s transfer to the Alchemy Hall and helped him complete the formalities at Yinghai Peak.
• Xu Yi received his new Medicine Attendant token and uniform, while Li Ping assigned him to read in Purple Xuan Pavilion.
• Xu Yi worried that he had only one Profound Yellow Pill left to give Dong Qiankun in fourteen days, and rejected Old Desolate’s suggestion to ask Jiang Xiao for help.
• Xu Yi decided to consult Huang Xing about how lower-ranking disciples earned money, but stopped after hearing a commotion near the menial workers’ caves.
• Xu Yi called over Tong Chuan, who told him what he knew about the disturbance.

After learning that Xu Qiang had been arrested for sneaking out to obtain a Wind Fiend Pill, Xu Yi recognized an opportunity in the sect’s shortage of the pills and studied their refining method. He gathered ingredients and wind fiend, then asked Li Ping to borrow an alchemy room for a test refinement.

• Tong Chuan told Xu Yi that Xu Qiang had been reported and arrested after sneaking out to seek a Wind Fiend Pill, which was scarce among the sect’s menial workers.
• Xu Yi learned that a Wind Fiend Pill could sell for four Profound Yellow Pills inside the sect and decided to refine them himself.
• Xu Yi studied the Wind Fiend Pill refining method at Purple Xuan Pavilion and memorized its steps.
• Xu Yi spent his last Profound Yellow Pill to obtain discarded plants from Huang Xing, then cultivated them with spirit liquid and gathered wind fiend.
• Xu Yi finished preparing to refine Wind Fiend Pills and asked Li Ping to borrow the Type C Alchemy Room for a test.

Xu Yi refined Wind Fiend Pills and had Tong Chuan begin promoting them through Wind Fiend Tokens. Tong Chuan told his friends that Great Alchemist Li had produced the first batch, leaving them eager to learn more.

• Li Ping agreed to let Xu Yi use the Bingzi No. 1 Refining Room to refine Wind Fiend Pills.
• Xu Yi spent seven days refining two batches and produced nine pills in each successful batch.
• Xu Yi told Huang Mei he had planned ahead, then went to find Tong Chuan.
• Tong Chuan hosted Jiang Xing, Yang Bo, and Miao Jianqin and showed them a Wind Fiend Token that could be exchanged for a Wind Fiend Pill.
• Tong Chuan told his friends that Great Alchemist Li had refined the first batch of Baleful Intent Pills and that more Wind Fiend Tokens would follow.

Tong Chuan persuaded Jiang Xing, Yang Bo, and Miao Jianqin to buy Wind Fiend Tokens for Wind Fiend Pills, then helped spread the word about the bargain. More than half a month later, the tokens had become so popular that Miao Jianqin urged Tong Chuan to ask Lord Zhong to raise their price.

• Tong Chuan explained that Great Alchemist Li was selling Wind Fiend Tokens to fund his pill-refining trials and promised Wind Fiend Pills at two Profound Yellow Pills each.
• Miao Jianqin, Jiang Xing, and Yang Bo agreed to buy tokens, trusting Tong Chuan’s connection to Lord Zhong.
• Tong Chuan showed them Wind Fiend Pills and offered each of them a token, but required them to help spread the word first.
• The three men promoted the tokens, and Menial Workers brought Tong Chuan gifts as demand surged.
• More than half a month later, Miao Jianqin told Tong Chuan that tokens were selling for over three Profound Yellow Pills and asked him to have Lord Zhong raise the price.

Xu Yi’s Wind Fiend Tokens gained popularity, while Miao Jianqin urged the organizers to raise their price and was warned to obey Lord Zhong’s instructions. Summoned by Li Ping, Xu Yi claimed he had accidentally learned to make Wind Fiend Pills, leaving Li Ping stunned by his supposed success.

• The Wind Fiend Tokens became increasingly scarce as workers trusted they could be redeemed for Wind Fiend Pills, and the four men promoting them earned commissions.
• Miao Jianqin proposed raising the token price, but Tong Chuan warned him that Lord Zhong would punish anyone who tried to exploit the scheme; Tong Chuan said Lord Zhong intended to launch a lottery benefiting all Six Peaks.
• Huangmei questioned how Xu Yi could redeem the tokens when his spirit plants were running low, while Xu Yi sorted the Profound Yellow Pills he had collected.
• Duan Chu summoned Xu Yi to Li Ping’s cave abode, where Li Ping accused him of concealing how he had made Wind Fiend Pills.
• Xu Yi claimed he had studied medicine as a child, bought spirit plants through Jiang Xiao, and unexpectedly succeeded when he tried making Wind Fiend Pills in the Bingzi No. 1 alchemy room.
• Li Ping doubted Xu Yi’s account, reflecting that he himself had not mastered even an auxiliary ingredient for Profound Yellow Pills.

Xu Yi persuaded Li Ping to keep claiming credit for the Wind Fiend Pill and to enter seclusion for three months, preserving Xu Yi’s cover. At Heaven Pillar Peak, Xue Ba confronted Ding Dian and Dong Chao over the danger of exposing their plans, then ordered the cloaked visitor to speak.

• Li Ping accused Xu Yi of using his name, but agreed to keep taking credit for the Wind Fiend Pill and told Xu Yi to stay silent.
• Xu Yi explained that his low yield had forced him to create the Wind Fiend Token to secure resources for more refining.
• Xu Yi offered Li Ping ten Profound Yellow Pills, but Li Ping returned them and chose to let Xu Yi continue improving his skills.
• Xu Yi asked Li Ping to enter seclusion for three months so his public story about Li Ping refining pills would remain believable, and Li Ping agreed.
• At Zhuangri Pavilion, Xue Ba rebuked Ding Dian and Dong Chao for risking the exposure of his plans, then told the cloaked visitor to remove his hood and speak.

Xu Yi used his position in Yinghai Peak's Pill Hall to draw Xue Ba into the profitable Wind Fiend Token trade. Xue Ba became interested in securing tokens, but Ding Dian warned him not to offend Li Ping, who was backed by Elder You.

• Xu Yi disguised as Zhong Ruyi gave Xue Ba six Profound Yellow Pills and revealed that he had become a Medicine Attendant in Yinghai Peak's Pill Hall.
• Xue Ba scolded Ding Dian for failing to recognize Xu Yi's progress, then listened as Xu Yi explained how Li Ping had brought him into the Pill Hall.
• Ding Dian realized Xu Yi handled the Wind Fiend Tokens and explained their popularity and potential profits to Xue Ba.
• Xu Yi claimed Li Ping might issue more tokens while preparing for seclusion and suggested that Xue Ba approach him in person.
• Ding Dian warned Xu Yi that Li Ping was a Grand Alchemist backed by Elder You and that Xue Ba risked consequences if he offended them.

Xu Yi used Xue Ba and Ding Dian’s eagerness to buy Wind Fiend Tokens to secure orders from both of them. Huang Xing then confronted Xu Yi and demanded tokens for himself, leaving Xu Yi pleased by how many people were lining up to deal with him.

• Xu Yi explained the risks of buying Wind Fiend Tokens, but Xue Ba ordered him to arrange two hundred tokens with four hundred Profound Yellow Pills.
• Ding Dian approached Xu Yi privately and asked him to arrange fifty Wind Fiend Tokens, promising a reward and secrecy.
• Xu Yi returned to his cave dwelling and found Huang Xing waiting outside.
• Huang Xing invoked their past alliance and demanded twenty Wind Fiend Tokens, then walked away before Xu Yi could answer.
• Xu Yi remarked to Old Desolate that people were lining up to deliver their heads to him.