Chapter Summaries

Xuan Jin rejected the Yan Clan’s attempt to take him back, while accepting his bloodline and promise to help them in the future. He left the clan’s offer unanswered for now by announcing that he was about to enter seclusion and attempt a breakthrough to Dou Sheng.

• Yan Jin offered Xuan Jin the Yan Clan’s Great Elder Token as compensation, but Xuan Yi defended her disciple and challenged the clan’s claim on him.
• Xuan Jin reassured Xuan Yi, then told Yan Jin that he felt no belonging to the Yan Clan and did not remember his past.
• Huo Yao reacted angrily to Xuan Jin’s words, but Yan Jin suppressed him before he could act.
• Xuan Jin acknowledged his Emperor Blood and the promise he had made to Senior Flame Emperor to help the Yan Clan if he became strong enough.
• Xuan Jin refused to return to the Yan Clan for now and announced that he would enter seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to Dou Sheng.
• Yan Jin rose in shock, accidentally releasing enough of his aura to make the teacups jump and the wooden box slide.

Xuan Jin told Yan Jin he would attempt to break through to Dou Saint, prompting Yan Jin to leave him with the Great Elder Token and three treasures. With Xuan Yi waiting outside, Xuan Jin entered the Lesser Pill Tower's Seclusion Stone Chamber and began his breakthrough.

• Xuan Jin revealed that, at twenty-nine, he intended to attempt a breakthrough to Dou Saint, and Yan Jin asked how confident he was.
• Yan Jin gave Xuan Jin the Great Elder Token and three wooden boxes, then told him to visit the Yan Realm's Myriad Flame Pool after his breakthrough.
• Lin Cang arranged for Xuan Jin to use the Lesser Pill Tower's Seclusion Stone Chamber, while Xuan Yi asked whether he was certain and promised to wait outside.
• Xuan Jin told Xuan Yi his confidence was actually ninety percent and asked her to look after Ying'er and the others.
• Yan Jin left Saint Pill City with Huo Yao, explaining that Xuan Jin's potential could bring the Yan Clan another Nine-star Dou Saint.
• Xuan Jin entered the Seclusion Stone Chamber, unsealed the energy within his crystal cores, and began cultivating as his Emperor Gold Mark shone.

Yan Jin left Huo Zhi at the Pill Tower with instructions to get close to Xuan Jin and possibly bear his child for the Yan Clan’s bloodline. Huo Zhi worried that she could not compete with Xuan Jin’s other women, then encountered his teacher, Xuan Yi, who said she already knew why Huo Zhi had stayed.

• Yan Jin gave Huo Yao a storage pouch for Huo Zhi and explained that he had left her behind to maintain contact with Xuan Jin and potentially continue his Emperor Blood.
• Huo Yao delivered the pouch and Yan Jin’s instructions to Huo Zhi before hurrying after the clan leader.
• Huo Zhi recalled being told to develop Xuan Jin’s affection and bear his child, and doubted she could rival the women around him.
• Huo Zhi saw Xuan Yi, Xuan Jin’s teacher, and grew nervous when Xuan Yi assessed her.
• Xuan Yi cut off Huo Zhi’s attempt to explain and told her she already knew.

After Xuan Yi offered Huo Zhi a place to stay while Xuan Jin remained in seclusion, news of his Emperor Gold Mark spread across Zhongzhou and drew the attention of powerful clans. Xuan Jin continued refining energy in the Pill Tower, nearing a breakthrough to Dou Saint.

• Xuan Yi let Huo Zhi stay in her courtyard until Xuan Jin left seclusion, and Huo Zhi weighed her prospects against Xuan Jin's other powerful wives and allies.
• Gu Yuan learned that Yan Jin had pressured the Pill Tower and considered how Xuan Jin's awakened Emperor Gold Mark could affect the future.
• The Soul Clan ordered Hun You to investigate Xuan Jin without making a move, while the Yao Clan sent Yao Xing to secretly learn about him.
• Mang Tianchi considered the implications of the Yan Clan and Ancient Clan joining forces, and Zhu Li suppressed news of Xuan Jin until Zi Yan left seclusion.
• Xuan Jin released the seals on three of his seventeen high-grade crystal cores as the energy for his Dou Saint breakthrough gathered within him.

Xiao Yan remained imprisoned by the Soul Hall, while Gu Xun Er searched for news of him and the Pill Tower residents continued their quiet routines through a year of seclusion. The chapter left Xuan Yi resting in her courtyard after another visit to the sealed stone chamber.

• Xiao Yan realized the Soul Hall had likely captured him to use as leverage against Gu Xun Er and waited for a chance to escape.
• Gu Xun Er checked the Ancient Clan’s intelligence through a communication Jade Slip but found no news about Xiao Yan.
• Xuan Yi taught Huo Zhi to play chess, and the two began playing together every afternoon.
• Cao Ying, Cai'er, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin continued their intense training while the stone chamber remained sealed for a full year.
• Xuan Yi visited the sealed stone chamber every three days, then returned to her courtyard and rested after handling Outer Pill Tower affairs.

Xuan Jin broke through to the Dou Saint realm in the Black Tower, shaking Saint Pill City with the force of his breakthrough. He reunited with Xuan Yi, who took him home for soup, while Huo Zhi greeted him at the courtyard.

• Huo Zhi and Xuan Yi sensed a powerful energy tide erupt from the Black Tower, and Xuan Yi realized Xuan Jin had broken through.
• Xuan Jin's breakthrough sent a vast pressure and a pillar of soul-fire power across Saint Pill City, stunning the Pill Tower disciples and drawing Xuan Kongzi, Tian Lei Zi, and Lin Cang's attention.
• Xuan Jin awakened with his soul realm stabilized at Heaven Realm Grand Perfection and his cultivation newly advanced to the Dou Saint realm.
• Xuan Yi waited outside Xuan Jin's stone chamber, welcomed him back, and insisted he come home to eat the soup she had prepared.
• Huo Zhi greeted Xuan Jin excitedly at Xuan Yi's courtyard, but Xuan Yi told her to ask questions later.

After emerging from seclusion, Xuan Jin received a passage token to the Myriad Flame Pool and learned that Gu Yuan wanted to meet him, while Huo Zhi reported signs of possible Soul Clan surveillance. Cao Ying, Cai'er, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin then visited him, and the chapter ended as Xiao Yi Xian offered him three pills.

• Xuan Yi served Xuan Jin medicinal soup, and Huo Zhi gave him the Yan Clan's passage token for the Myriad Flame Pool.
• Xuan Yi told Xuan Jin that Gu Yuan had visited the Pill Tower seeking to meet him, and Xuan Jin agreed to meet Gu Yuan after handling other matters.
• Huo Zhi reported that she had sensed a hidden watcher with an aura resembling Soul Clan techniques, and Xuan Jin said they should wait for the Soul Clan to act.
• Cao Ying arrived with Cai'er, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin, and Xuan Jin welcomed them to the courtyard.
• Cai'er offered Xuan Jin pastries, and Xiao Yi Xian gave him three pills to help stabilize his cultivation.

After emerging from a year of seclusion as a One-Star Dou Saint, Xuan Jin accepted gifts from Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin and assigned Huo Zhi to help him watch the Pill Tower. He reflected on the danger facing Zi Yan at East Dragon Island, then reunited with Cao Ying and went with her to their room.

• Xiao Yi Xian gave Xuan Jin a Peak Eighth Rank pill, and Qing Lin gave him a Jade-Green Snake Scale that could block a Dou Venerate-level attack.
• Xuan Jin told Huo Zhi to keep watch with him for the person secretly observing the Pill Tower, and Huo Zhi eagerly agreed.
• Xuan Jin considered the threats to Zi Yan and East Dragon Island and thought about asking Lin Cang to join him in going there.
• After the others left, Cao Ying asked Xuan Jin to notice her new dress and told him about the effort she had put into reaching Eight-Star Dou Venerate.
• Xuan Jin showed Cao Ying his Fire Lotus and confirmed his Dou Saint strength, then told her he had missed her during his year in seclusion.
• Xuan Jin took Cao Ying to their room, where she reminded him that he owed her after a year apart.

After Xuan Jin helped Cao Ying recover from the previous night, the two discussed Huo Zhi and spent a peaceful day together. Xuan Jin accompanied Cao Ying to the Pill Tower’s medicine vault, where she selected herbs and rare catalysts.

• Xuan Jin used his Dou Saint-level dou qi to restore Cao Ying’s meridians while she slept.
• Cao Ying warned Xuan Jin to discuss his dealings with Huo Zhi with her, since the Yan Clan had left Huo Zhi behind.
• Xuan Jin told Cao Ying he planned to stabilize his new realm and spend the day with her.
• Cao Ying invited Xuan Jin to the Pill Tower’s medicine vault to choose fire-attribute supplementary herbs.
• Cao Ying spent two hours selecting seventeen supplementary herbs and three portions of rare medicinal catalysts while Xuan Jin helped carry the Jade Boxes.

Xuan Jin spent the afternoon discussing alchemy with Cao Ying, who then sent him to visit Xiao Yi Xian. He joined Xiao Yi Xian in her courtyard, where she asked about his breakthrough and whether he had taken his pills.

• Cao Ying and Xuan Jin reviewed Eighth Rank pill formulas, and Xuan Jin helped her refine several medicinal-theory deductions.
• Cao Ying told Xuan Jin to visit Xiao Yi Xian, explaining that she had already arranged for Xiao Yi Xian to have the next day with him.
• Xuan Jin kissed Cao Ying before she pushed him out of her courtyard and shut the gate.
• Xuan Jin went to Xiao Yi Xian's courtyard and found her waiting by the windowsill with an herb.
• Xiao Yi Xian asked whether Xuan Jin had suffered injuries during his breakthrough and whether he had taken his three pills; he asked her if she had been well that past year.

After a year apart, Xuan Jin reunited with Xiao Yi Xian, and the two spent the night together. The next morning, Xiao Yi Xian jealously asked whether she or Ying'er had been better, and Xuan Jin's teasing earned him a bite.

• Xiao Yi Xian admitted she had missed Xuan Jin, and he embraced and kissed her in the courtyard.
• Xuan Jin carried Xiao Yi Xian into her room, while Cai'er and Qing Lin overheard them outside.
• Huo Zhi arrived in the alley, realized what was happening, and hurried away; Cai'er and Qing Lin also returned to their courtyards.
• Xiao Yi Xian woke in Xuan Jin's arms and asked whether she or Ying'er had been better.
• Xuan Jin teased Xiao Yi Xian about being together with Ying'er, so she bit his shoulder and he pressed her beneath him.

After Xuan Jin and Xiao Yi Xian emerged from a private afternoon together, the group planned a trip to East Dragon Island to help Zi Yan. As they prepared to leave, Xuan Jin teased the women about whose turn it would be that night.

• Xuan Jin and Xiao Yi Xian emerged from their courtyard in the afternoon, where Cao Ying and Qing Lin teased Xiao Yi Xian and Cao Ying offered them tonic soup.
• Xuan Jin said he planned to visit Elder Lin and seek a trip to Ancient Dragon Island under the Pill Tower’s name, since he had received no warning about Zi Yan’s situation.
• Qing Lin, Xiao Yi Xian, and Cai'er asked to accompany Xuan Jin, and he agreed; Cao Ying chose to stay behind with Xuan Yi to watch over the Pill Tower.
• Huo Zhi struggled to find a reason to join the group, while the others discussed preparations for the trip to East Dragon Island.
• Xuan Jin said the night before last had been Ying'er’s turn and the previous night had been Xian'er’s, then asked whose turn it was that night.

Qing Lin confessed her love to Xuan Jin, and he embraced her, reassuring her that he had never found her snake scales ugly. As the others left them together, Huo Zhi reconsidered the mission she had been assigned.

• Xuan Jin said he planned to rest, while Cao Ying teased him and the others watched Qing Lin and Cai'er grow flustered.
• Qing Lin gathered her courage and told Xuan Jin she had loved him since Stone Desert City, admitting she feared her snake scales made her unattractive.
• Xuan Jin reminded Qing Lin that he had told her eleven years earlier that her scales were not ugly, then pulled her into an embrace as she wept.
• Cao Ying and Xiao Yi Xian left the courtyard, while Xiao Yi Xian reflected on having waited twelve years for Xuan Jin.
• Cai'er left feeling conflicted, and Huo Zhi decided that the feelings she had witnessed mattered more than the mission from her Clan Leader.

Qing Lin confessed her feelings to Xuan Jin, and they began a relationship. The next morning, she woke beside him, delighted that her long-held wish had finally come true.

• Xuan Yi overheard Qing Lin confessing to Xuan Jin and wondered when Zi Yan would return.
• After Qing Lin and Xuan Jin kissed, Qing Lin claimed that women with Serpentine Bloodline were especially clingy, and Xuan Jin carried her into his room.
• Huo Zhi regretted accepting Yan Jin's task, believing she had no chance against the women close to Xuan Jin.
• Xuan Yi sensed Qing Lin's Serpentine Bloodline being stimulated and remarked that Xuan Jin had only left seclusion three days earlier.
• The next morning, Qing Lin woke beside Xuan Jin and happily reflected that she had finally achieved her wish.

After Qing Lin and Xuan Jin emerged together, Qing Lin encouraged Cai'er to seize her chance with Xuan Jin before he left for East Dragon Island, while Xiao Yi Xian focused on strengthening her cultivation. Huo Zhi decided she would not pursue Xuan Jin and accepted that she would have to face her Clan Leader's displeasure.

• Cao Ying and Xiao Yi Xian congratulated Qing Lin when she and Xuan Jin joined them, and Xuan Jin asked where Cai'er was.
• Cai'er arrived late, and Qing Lin urged her to act on her feelings before Xuan Jin left for East Dragon Island.
• Cao Ying suggested that Xuan Jin take Qing Lin sightseeing, while Xiao Yi Xian left to try to advance her cultivation before the trip.
• Qing Lin pressed Cai'er to do her best with Xuan Jin that night, and Cai'er hurried away in embarrassment.
• Huo Zhi told Xuan Yi she would not force her way into Xuan Jin's relationships and would return to face her Clan Leader's scolding.

Xuan Jin spent the day browsing Saint Pill City with Qing Lin, who bought a light purple gauze dress and enjoyed his attention. That night, he went to Cai'er’s room and finally embraced and kissed her.

• Qing Lin explored Saint Pill City with Xuan Jin, bought jewelry and snacks, and chose a light purple gauze dress.
• Qing Lin tried on the dress in the courtyard, thanked Xuan Jin, and left after reminding him that Cai'er was waiting in her room.
• Xuan Jin went to Cai'er's side room, where she had prepared tea and two cups.
• Xuan Jin asked Cai'er why she had not spoken up, then pulled her into his embrace as she cried.
• Xuan Jin kissed Cai'er, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss.

Huo Zhi struggled to explain Xuan Jin’s growing circle of women, while Xuan Yi reflected on her buried wish for a family and imagined having granddisciples. After spending the night with Cai'er, Xuan Jin woke early and spoke with Cao Ying, who teased him about overexerting himself.

• Huo Zhi lost to Xuan Yi at chess and worried about reporting that Xuan Jin already had four women around him; Xuan Yi told her the Pill Tower would make its own arrangements.
• Huo Zhi noticed the dragon-patterned bell and remembered Xuan Jin planned to visit Zi Yan on East Dragon Island, then wondered if Zi Yan would become the fifth woman.
• Xuan Yi considered Xuan Jin’s four women and Zi Yan, and began imagining a future with granddisciples before recalling how she had buried her own wish to have children.
• Cai'er asked Xuan Jin whether she or Qing Lin was more clingy, and Xuan Jin reassured her that Cai'er was.
• Xuan Jin quietly left Cai'er asleep and found Cao Ying in the courtyard, where she teased him for spending three hours strengthening his bond with Cai'er.

Xuan Jin asked Xuan Yi to take him to the Lesser Pill Tower so he could request Lin Cang’s help reaching East Dragon Island and protecting Zi Yan. Xuan Yi brought him directly to Lin Cang, who welcomed him at the chapter’s end.

• Cao Ying and Xuan Jin discussed a possible error in a Peak Eighth Rank pill formula while Cai'er ate breakfast with Qing Lin.
• Over the following days, Cao Ying researched pill formulas, Xiao Yi Xian entered seclusion, Qing Lin refined the Heavenly Snake Soul’s remnants, and Cai'er began cultivating seriously.
• After familiarizing himself with his new power as a One-Star Dou Saint, Xuan Jin told Xuan Yi he wanted Lin Cang to accompany him to East Dragon Island.
• Xuan Yi agreed to take Xuan Jin into the Lesser Pill Tower without a test and teased him about having a granddisciple along the way.
• Xuan Yi led Xuan Jin through a hidden entrance into the Lesser Pill Tower, where Lin Cang greeted him.

Xuan Jin asked the Lesser Pill Tower for help traveling to East Dragon Island, and Lin Cang agreed to escort him with his companions. As they prepared to leave in three days, Xuan Yi urged Xuan Jin to visit Tang Huo'er at Fenyan Valley and teased him about his growing family.

• Xuan Jin asked Lin Cang to lend the Pill Tower's name to his trip to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan to visit an old friend on East Dragon Island.
• Lin Cang judged Xuan Jin's group too small for the dangers ahead and volunteered to accompany them, setting their departure for three days later.
• Lin Cang advised Xuan Jin's Dou Venerate companions to prepare pills to restore their Dou Qi on Ancient Dragon Island.
• After leaving the Black Tower, Xuan Yi asked Xuan Jin what he planned to do about Tang Huo'er, whose Heavenly Flame origin he had taken.
• Xuan Jin said he would visit Tang Huo'er before the group departed, and Xuan Yi teased him about having another child.

Tang Huo'er waited for Xuan Jin at Fenyan Valley, and he finally arrived as a One-Star Dou Saint. Their reunion left Tang Zhen watching as Tang Huo'er openly embraced Xuan Jin, who had come to see her.

• Tang Huo'er asked Tang Zhen when Xuan Jin would visit, and Tang Zhen could only tell her to do as she pleased.
• Tang Zhen sensed a Saint outside Fenyan Valley and rushed to the perimeter, warning Tang Huo'er to stay behind.
• Tang Huo'er followed the pull of the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Flame origin and discovered Xuan Jin outside the formation.
• Xuan Jin greeted Tang Zhen and explained that he had torn through space because he lacked a token to enter the formation.
• Tang Huo'er ran into Xuan Jin's arms, and he welcomed her affection while Tang Zhen pretended not to watch.
• Tang Zhen asked whether Xuan Jin had come to see his daughter or had another reason for visiting.