Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan and Cao Ying dominated the Soul Testing Bead trial, with Cao Ying setting a new record of 193 beads. The final Soul Showdown began with Bai Ying and Qiu Ji teaming up against Xiao Yan, but his soul power repelled their first attack.

• Xiao Yan caught 80 Soul Testing Beads, surpassing the limits of most Seventh-grade Alchemists.
• Cao Ying controlled 193 beads and set a new record, while Xiao Yan recognized how much Xuan Jin had helped her improve.
• Elder Sheng Yao began the Soul Showdown, and Xiao Yan, Bai Ying, Qiu Ji, Dan Xuan, and Cao Ying entered the golden array.
• Bai Ying and Qiu Ji joined forces to attack Xiao Yan, but his soul power shattered Qiu Ji's giant hand and reflected Bai Ying's soul needles.
• Bai Ying, wounded and shocked, told Qiu Ji to use the clan's secret technique.

Cao Ying defeated Bai Ying and Qiu Ji, then tested Xiao Yan with her Soul Power before Xuan Jin stopped her. The Ye Clan retained its elder seat, and Xuan Jin took Cao Ying for a walk through Saint Pill City, where she asked why he had gone easy on Xiao Yan.

• Cao Ying overwhelmed Bai Ying and Qiu Ji with her Soul Power, while Dan Xuan withdrew from the assessment.
• Xiao Yan endured Cao Ying's Soul Power pressure until Xuan Jin told her to stop.
• Elder Sheng Yao announced Cao Ying first, Xiao Yan second, and the Dan Clan third, preserving the Ye Clan's elder seat.
• Xuan Jin gave Xiao Yan a pill, instructed Elder Sheng Yao to protect the Ye Clan's position, and invited Xiao Yan and Xun Er to seek his help.
• Xuan Jin and Cao Ying walked through Saint Pill City's market, where Cao Ying asked if he had deliberately let Xiao Yan take second place.

Xuan Jin and Cao Ying explored Saint Pill City while Soul Hall agents plotted to seize Xuan Jin’s Heavenly Flames during the upcoming Pill Gathering. The chapter ended with the Eighth Heavenly Venerate rebuking Mo Yu for exposing Soul Hall’s presence as their hunt for Xuan Jin began.

• Cao Ying asked whether Xuan Jin had let Xiao Yan take second place, and Xuan Jin explained that helping the Ye Clan’s champion would keep trouble away from him.
• Xuan Jin intimidated onlookers who stared at Cao Ying and dismissed the Ten Thousand Year Earth Core Fire Essence Wood at a market stall as worthless.
• Xuan Jin sensed Soul Hall auras near a trading house, but he and Cao Ying went to buy her Nine-Colored Sea Blue Heart Diamond instead.
• You Ming identified Xuan Jin as the owner of six Heavenly Flames and vowed to take his flames and life at the Pill Gathering.
• The Eighth Heavenly Venerate scolded Mo Yu for revealing his aura in the street, while Mo Yu complained that Xuan Jin had killed Soul Hall members and taken the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

Xuan Jin learned that Soul Hall planned to trap and kill him during the Pill Gathering, but he chose to confront its ambitions through alchemy. After half a month of training in Saint Pill City, Xiao Yan emerged from seclusion having reached Five Star Dou Emperor.

• You Ming, Mo Yu, and the Eighth Heavenly Venerate planned to target Xuan Jin in the Pill Realm, with Blood River Venerate watching as backup.
• Xuan Jin sensed Soul Hall nearby and told Cao Ying he intended to defeat its alchemist at the Pill Gathering rather than attack its members directly.
• Xuan Jin and Cao Ying returned to their residence, where they discussed Soul Hall's plans and the coming Pill Gathering.
• Xuan Jin trained Cao Ying in soul control and pill refining over the next half month in the Pill Tower's Inner Domain.
• Xiao Yan emerged from seclusion at the Ye Clan's residence and announced that he had broken through to Five Star Dou Emperor.

Xiao Yan registered for the Pill Gathering while confronting the gap between his strength and Xuan Jin’s status. At an Inner Domain tavern, Xuan Yi warned Xuan Jin that the contest also concerned control of a Peak Eighth Rank Pill Beast and Soul Hall’s influence.

• Xiao Yan and Xun Er went to register, where they saw You Ming and Soul Hall contestants push through the line and Xuan Jin arrive to cheers from the crowd.
• Bai Ying mocked Xiao Yan’s Five Star Dou Emperor cultivation, but Xiao Yan reminded him of his fear during the previous assessment.
• Xuan Jin entered the Inner Domain registration passage without filling out a form, while Xiao Yan waited through tests and flame inspections until he received his Jade Tablet.
• Cao Ying discussed Xiao Yan and Dan Chen with Xuan Jin at a tavern, and Xuan Yi joined them.
• Xuan Yi explained that You Ming wielded the Wind Fury Dragon Flame and might use a secret technique to raise a pill’s rank, then warned Xuan Jin that the Peak Eighth Rank Pill Beast affected the Pill Tower’s and Soul Hall’s influence over resource allocation.

Xuan Jin confronted You Ming before the Pill Gathering preliminaries and then intensified the Illusion Fire Array, making the trial far harder for every competitor. The alchemists struggled under the enhanced interference as Xiao Yan recognized that enduring it had become their first test.

• You Ming ordered Soul Hall Protectors to target the women close to Xuan Jin and disrupt his focus before the Pill Gathering.
• At the Illusion Fire Pavilion entrance, Xuan Jin suppressed You Ming with Soul Power and warned him that they could settle things in the Pill Realm.
• Xiao Yan and Xun Er witnessed the confrontation before Elder Sheng Yao announced a two-hour challenge to refine a Sixth-Grade-or-higher mind-clearing pill under the Illusion Fire Array.
• Xuan Jin redirected the array's interference and strengthened it with Star Sea Ice Lotus Flame, causing hundreds of alchemists to spit blood and ruining many ingredients.
• You Ming struggled to control his Wind Fury Dragon Flame as Xuan Jin began selecting ingredients, while Xiao Yan watched his trembling cauldron and braced for the trial.

Xuan Jin suppressed the alchemists in the Illusion Fire Pavilion preliminary round, then left after effortlessly refining a high-grade Sixth Grade Spirit Refreshing Pill. The next day, he and Cao Ying entered the Pill Gathering’s first stage, the Star Domain Illusion, to begin the trial leading to the Pill Realm.

• Xuan Jin withdrew his Star Sea Ice Lotus Flame after Cao Ying warned him that his soul pressure could clear out the entire preliminary round, and the exhausted competitors resumed refining.
• Xuan Jin casually refined a high-grade Sixth Grade Spirit Refreshing Pill and left the Illusion Fire Pavilion with Cao Ying, while You Ming vowed revenge in the Pill Realm.
• Xuan Jin told Cao Ying that he knew what treasures the Pill Realm held and intended to win the Pill Gathering and claim a Peak Eighth Rank Pill Beast.
• Xuan Kongzi announced the Star Domain Illusion as the first stage, explaining that contestants had one hour to pass through the soul illusions and enter the Pill Realm.
• Xuan Jin took Cao Ying’s hand and strode toward the spatial gate.

Xuan Jin and Cao Ying easily crossed the illusion realm and gathered three rare medicinal ingredients in the Pill Realm with Xuan Jin’s knowledge of its terrain. As they prepared to leave, You Ming and two Soul Hall Heavenly Venerates trapped them on a snow mountain and prepared to attack.

• Xuan Jin and Cao Ying tore through the illusion realm, while You Ming struggled behind them with three Soul Hall alchemists.
• Cao Ying read the three ingredients listed on her Space Jade Slip, and Xuan Jin led her directly to their locations across the Pill Realm.
• Xuan Jin and Cao Ying defeated guardian beasts along the way and collected Heaven Hemp Yellow, Earth Dragon Flame Fruit, and Mystic Ice Grass.
• A sealed barrier enclosed the snow mountain, and You Ming appeared with Ninth Heavenly Venerate Mo Yu and the Eighth Heavenly Venerate.
• You Ming threatened to take Xuan Jin’s Star Sea Ice Lotus Flame and Cao Ying, while the two Heavenly Venerates released their auras and readied their attacks.

Xuan Jin faced three Soul Hall fighters and overwhelmed them with his flames, killing Ninth Heavenly Venerate Mo Yu and gravely injuring Eighth Heavenly Venerate while capturing You Ming. Before he could finish You Ming, Blood River Venerate arrived and surveyed the defeated fighters.

• Cao Ying and Xuan Jin joked about the three Soul Hall fighters underestimating Xuan Jin, and he bet they would not last three moves.
• You Ming, Ninth Heavenly Venerate Mo Yu, and Eighth Heavenly Venerate attacked, but Xuan Jin trapped them in his Eight Extremes Flame Prison and suppressed their attacks.
• Xuan Jin seized You Ming by the throat, then used his Three Essence Seal Fire Mark and Crimson Annihilation Divine Light to kill Mo Yu and gravely wound Eighth Heavenly Venerate.
• Xuan Jin released You Ming when Blood River Venerate tore through the Pill Realm's spatial barrier and appeared.
• Blood River Venerate scorned the defeated fighters as trash, while Cao Ying mocked Soul Hall.

Xuan Jin battled Blood River Venerate on a snow-capped mountain after Blood River Venerate sacrificed his allies to raise his strength. Xuan Jin used the Heavenly Flame Three Profound Changes to reach Mid-Stage Three-Turn Dou Venerate and smashed Blood River Venerate into the mountain, but Blood River Venerate survived.

• Blood River Venerate trapped Mo Yu, the Eighth Heavenly Venerate, and You Ming in a blood net, devoured their flesh, Dou Qi, and souls, and raised his cultivation to Peak Two-Turn Dou Venerate.
• Xuan Jin froze the Wind Fury Dragon Flame and stored it in his Storage Ring before Blood River Venerate could seize it.
• Blood River Venerate attacked with a tide of blood, but Xuan Jin activated the Heavenly Flame Three Profound Changes and reached Mid-Stage Three-Turn Dou Venerate, vaporizing the attack.
• Blood River Venerate swallowed tens of thousands of souls from a black gourd to strengthen himself, but still fell far short of Xuan Jin's power.
• Xuan Jin used Thousand Illusions Flowing Fire and Hundred Veins Burning City Palm to smash Blood River Venerate into the mountain, where Blood River Venerate survived amid the ruins.

Xuan Jin thwarted Blood River Venerate’s trap and defeated him while protecting Cao Ying. Blood River Venerate was left buried in the ruins, unable to rise again.

• Blood River Venerate feigned self-destruction and rushed toward Cao Ying, but Xuan Jin recognized the Blood River God-Trapping Formation hidden beneath his path.
• Blood River Venerate activated the formation and trapped Xuan Jin, then aimed a scarlet palm seal at Cao Ying inside Xuan Jin’s protective Eight Extremes Flame Prison.
• Xuan Jin summoned five Heavenly Flame spirits, whose Five Rounds of Leaving Fire Formation shattered the Blood River God-Trapping Formation and its chains.
• Xuan Jin used the Three Essence Seal Fire Mark to weaken Blood River Venerate, then pierced his dantian with the Crimson Annihilation Divine Light.
• Xuan Jin struck Blood River Venerate with the Hundred Veins Burning City Palm, burying him in the ruins as he lamented Xuan Jin’s teacher.

Xuan Jin killed Blood River Venerate after rescuing Cao Ying, then refined Wind Fury Dragon Flame and advanced to a stable Third-Turn Dou Venerate. He reported Soul Hall’s attack to Xuan Yi and prepared for the Pill Gathering’s main competition, where Soul Hall was expected to make another move.

• Xuan Jin used the six-flame Buddha's Rage Fire Lotus to destroy Blood River Venerate and reunited with the unharmed Cao Ying.
• Xuan Jin recovered the three herbs and Blood River Venerate’s blood qi essence, then stored Wind Fury Dragon Flame for later refinement.
• Back at the Pill Tower, Xuan Jin spent two days refining Wind Fury Dragon Flame, fused it with his other Heavenly Flames, and broke through to the Third Turn.
• Cao Ying warned Xuan Jin that Dan Chen and veteran Eighth-grade Alchemists would challenge him in the main competition.
• Xuan Jin told Xuan Yi that Blood River had targeted Cao Ying with the Blood River God-Trapping Formation, then revealed his breakthrough to Third Turn.

At Soul Hall Headquarters, the Great Heavenly Venerate reprimanded Blood River Venerate for his disastrous defeat against Xuan Jin and ordered Soul Hall to leave Xuan Jin alone while it pursued more important plans. In Saint Pill City, Xuan Jin and Cao Ying prepared for the Pill Gathering final, which began before a packed crowd.

• The Great Heavenly Venerate heard Blood River Venerate's account of the battle in Saint Pill City and scolded him for losing men and falling to Nine-Star Dou Venerate.
• The Great Heavenly Venerate refused to target Xuan Jin for now, citing Soul Hall's unresolved search for the Ancient Jade and its plans involving the Ancient Clan and Yao Clan.
• Blood River Venerate left the hall and vowed to take Xuan Jin's Heavenly Flames, while the Second Heavenly Venerate warned him not to act on his own again.
• In Saint Pill City, Xuan Jin told Cao Ying that Soul Hall was unlikely to attack during the publicly watched Pill Gathering and said she should take second place.
• Xuan Jin and Cao Ying arrived at the Pill Tower Square as the final round began before a packed crowd.

Xuan Jin, Cao Ying, and the other contestants took their places for the Pill Gathering finals, where Xiao Yan and Dan Chen produced pills with Pill Lightning. Xuan Jin continued refining without revealing his result, leaving the competition unresolved.

• Xuan Jin and Cao Ying arrived at the venue, where Xuan Jin noted that the Soul Hall had sent no contestant and took his seat on the main platform.
• Xuan Kongzi announced the finals' rules and started the two-hour pill-refining contest.
• Xuan Jin observed Xiao Yan and Dan Chen preparing their pills, then began refining with his Star Sea Ice Lotus Flame.
• Xiao Yan finished a peak Seventh Grade pill that triggered ordinary Pill Lightning, earning Ye Zhong's praise.
• Dan Chen refined an Eighth-grade Pill with Three-Colored Pill Lightning, while Soul Attraction absorbed some of its energy.
• Old Monster Qinghua produced a pill with Three-and-a-Half-Colored Pill Lightning and complained that his hands were no longer steady.

Cao Ying refined an Eighth-Rank Middle Tier pill with Five-Colored Pill Lightning, but Xuan Jin surpassed her with a Peak Eighth Rank pill and used Sky Demon Puppets to absorb its Eight-Colored Pill Lightning. Xuan Kongzi named Xuan Jin the Pill Gathering champion, then summoned the prize, a Peak Tier 8 Pill Beast.

• Cao Ying completed her pill and produced Five-Colored Pill Lightning, stunning the audience with an Eighth-Rank Middle Tier medicinal pill.
• Xuan Jin refined a Peak Eighth Rank medicinal pill that summoned Eight-Colored Pill Lightning, then sent Sky Demon Puppets to absorb the bolts and transform into silver-white puppets.
• Cao Ying examined Xuan Jin's pill and praised his achievement before he explained that his breakthrough and improved flame made Eight-Colored Pill Lightning attainable.
• Xuan Kongzi announced Xuan Jin as first place, Cao Ying as second, Qinghua as third, and Dan Chen as fourth.
• Xuan Kongzi opened a spatial fissure and revealed the Pill Tower's champion prize, a Peak Tier 8 Pill Beast, as Xuan Jin stepped forward.

Xuan Jin subdued the Peak Tier 8 Pill Beast in under thirty breaths and was declared the Pill Gathering champion. He then gave the beast to Cao Ying as a betrothal gift and publicly announced that he wished to take her as his wife.

• Xuan Kongzi released the Peak Tier 8 Pill Beast and reminded Xuan Jin that he had to subdue it himself.
• Xuan Jin used the Five Rounds of Leaving Fire Formation, made from five Heavenly Flames, to overpower and capture the beast.
• Xuan Kongzi declared Xuan Jin the champion of the Pill Gathering, while the crowd and Dan Chen reacted to his remarkable display.
• Xuan Jin called Cao Ying to the platform and placed the subdued Pill Beast in her arms.
• Xuan Jin announced before the crowd that he wished to take Cao Ying as his wife and offered the Peak Tier 8 Pill Beast as his betrothal gift.

Xuan Jin publicly proposed to Cao Ying at the Pill Gathering with a Peak Tier 8 Pill Beast as his betrothal gift, and she accepted. Their betrothal ceremony was held soon after, with their wedding set for three days later as Saint Pill City prepared to celebrate.

• Xuan Jin offered Cao Ying a Peak Tier 8 Pill Beast and asked to marry her, and Cao Ying accepted before the crowd.
• Cao Yuanlang and the leaders of the Five Great Clans congratulated the couple, while Cao Yuan gave his approval.
• Gu Xun Er watched the proposal with concealed sadness, and Xiao Yan promised that he would make a similar public proposal when he was strong enough.
• Xiao Yi Xian, Cai'er, and Qing Lin watched the celebration, and Qing Lin recalled Xuan Jin's promise that they would all have a special moment of their own someday.
• After the Pill Gathering, Xuan Yi and Xuan Kongzi presided over Xuan Jin and Cao Ying's betrothal ceremony, and their wedding was set for three days later.
• Saint Pill City began preparing for the wedding, while Cao Yuanlang drank tea in the rear courtyard with Cao Ying's beast, Dandan, dozing on his shoulder.

Gu Xun Er gave Xuan Jin and Cao Ying a wedding gift and admitted she envied them, while Xuan Jin arranged for Cai'er to watch over her after suspecting Soul Hall might target her. Three days later, Xuan Jin and Cao Ying married in a lavish ceremony in Saint Pill City, as Soul Hall agents planned to wait until Gu Xun Er left the Pill Region before making a move.

• Gu Xun Er gave Xuan Jin a pair of Soul Emerald Jade bracelets as a wedding gift and said she felt envious of him and Cao Ying.
• Xuan Jin asked Cai'er to watch Gu Xun Er, and Cai'er arranged for Hai Bodong to follow her in secret.
• Three Soul Hall agents confirmed Gu Xun Er had direct Ancient Clan bloodline and planned to abduct her after she left the Pill Region.
• Xuan Jin and Cao Ying held their wedding at Xuan Yi Mansion, with Xuan Yi, Xuan Kongzi, Cao Yuan, and many guests attending.
• Xuan Jin and Cao Ying completed the wedding ceremony, and Cao Yuan praised the marriage with a single word: “Good.”

After marrying Cao Ying, Xuan Jin spent three days with her before seeing off departing guests, including Xiao Yan and Gu Xun Er. Xiao Yan left determined to train after seeing how wide the gap between him and Xuan Jin remained.

• Xuan Jin lifted Cao Ying's veil, shared the nuptial wine with her, and spent their wedding night together.
• Xuan Jin and Cao Ying remained in their room for the next three days while their companions teased them from outside.
• Cao Ying told Xuan Jin that Xuan Kongzi had asked him to see off Ye Zhong, Xiao Yan, the Dan Clan elders, and Gu Xun Er.
• Xuan Jin met the departing guests at Pill Tower Square and exchanged farewells with Ye Zhong, Xiao Yan, and Gu Xun Er.
• Xiao Yan looked back at Xuan Jin and resolved to grow stronger after recalling Xuan Jin's overwhelming performance at the Pill Gathering.

As Gu Xun Er traveled with Xiao Yan toward the Jia Ma Empire, Soul Hall agents ambushed her at a relay station but were killed by hidden Ancient Clan Guards. Xuan Jin arrived afterward and urged her to remain in Ancient Clan territory when she returned, while Gu Xun Er invited him to visit the clan.

• Xuan Jin ordered Hai Bodong to secretly escort Xiao Yan and Gu Xun Er to the border of the Pill Region after learning that Soul Hall scouts had been watching Gu Xun Er.
• During the convoy’s westward journey, Gu Xun Er sensed someone watching her and quietly kept her emergency communication talisman ready.
• Three Soul Hall Dou Venerates attacked the relay station at night, but two Ancient Clan Guards intercepted them and killed all three.
• Xuan Jin arrived after the battle and learned from the guards that Soul Hall had been investigating the bloodlines of the ancient clans.
• Xuan Jin told Gu Xun Er not to leave Ancient Clan territory after returning, and she relayed her father’s invitation for Xuan Jin to visit the Ancient Clan.