Chapter Summaries

At a banquet in Qucheng, Xue Ruyan and He Wufu praised Master Wang Gao's pill-refining skills and composure, persuading Yuchi Keshao to increase his welcome gifts. Pei Ling arrived at the City Lord's Mansion, where Yan Qinlang greeted him with a curtsy, and the guests ushered him inside.

• Xue Ruyan declared that Master Wang Gao's pill-refining skills surpassed his own and described how watching him had improved his chances of making top-grade pills.
• He Wufu praised Master Wang Gao's steady focus during the Preliminary Selection, and Xue Ruyan urged Gu Nanxun to seek his guidance.
• Yuchi Keshao ordered Yan Qinlang to double the gifts for Master Wang Gao, and she prepared to offer him a generous gift to help the demon wolf take human form.
• After Master Wang Gao's delayed arrival raised concerns about the Demonic Cultivator, a guard announced that Shi Wanli was escorting him to the mansion.
• Yuchi Keshao, Yan Qinlang, and Qucheng's prominent figures welcomed Pei Ling, and Yan Qinlang curtsied to him before the group escorted him into the main hall.

Pei Ling attended a banquet at Yuchi Keshao’s mansion, where the guests denounced the demonic sects and praised the dynasty. Yuchi Keshao and Yan Qinlang then asked him to refine a Shapeshifting Pill for her younger brother, and Pei Ling agreed despite suspecting they wanted more than a single pill.

• Yuchi Keshao welcomed Pei Ling and worried that Demonic Cultivators had troubled him on the way to Qucheng.
• Shi Wanli and the other guests denounced the Four Great Demonic Sects, and Pei Ling joined in to praise the dynasty.
• Yuchi Keshao and Yan Qinlang hosted Pei Ling at a banquet featuring dishes from Qucheng and the Ten Thousand Viper Sea.
• Yuchi Keshao presented Pei Ling with gifts and asked him to help with a request in return.
• Yuchi Keshao explained that Yan Qinlang’s younger brother needed a Shapeshifting Pill to take the dynasty’s Immortal Examination.
• Pei Ling agreed to refine the pill, and Yan Qinlang brought him the formula, ingredients, and a Sound Transmission Talisman.

Pei Ling began refining Shapeshifting Pills for Yan Qinlang’s younger brother after the system recorded the unfamiliar formula. With the system controlling his body, he impressed the onlookers with his precise technique, while the chapter ended with the Jade Qilin Academy students unable to follow his movements.

• Yan Qinlang realized Master Wang Gao planned to leave for Meiyang City the next day and doubted he would stay long enough to finish the Shapeshifting Pills.
• The system recorded the Shapeshifting Pill formula, and Pei Ling agreed to refine a batch on the spot.
• Xue Ruyan warned that the difficult pill would be nearly impossible for most Fifth-Rank Pill Masters to refine on a first attempt.
• Pei Ling learned that a practiced attempt took about three hours, then activated the system to refine the pills and timed a poison pill in his body to take effect at the same interval.
• The system took control of Pei Ling and began refining while Yan Qinlang, Yuchi Keshao, Xue Ruyan, and others watched his precise movements.
• Gu Nanxun, Xin Yuhan, and He Zhuzhi tried to study Pei Ling’s technique but soon became unable to understand what they were seeing.

Pei Ling, posing as Wang Gao, stunned the City Lord’s guests by refining two batches of top-grade Shapeshifting Pills with ease. He began a third batch, leaving everyone to wonder whether he considered the first eight pills unsatisfactory.

• Pei Ling completed his first batch of four top-grade Shapeshifting Pills in under half an hour, thrilling Yan Qinlang and her demon wolf brother.
• Yuchi Keshao and Xue Ruyan praised Wang Gao’s pill-refining skill, while Xue Ruyan resolved to learn from him.
• Pei Ling ignored the guests’ expectations and began refining a second batch instead of handing over the pills.
• Pei Ling produced another four top-grade Shapeshifting Pills, astonishing Xue Ruyan and the other onlookers.
• Pei Ling started a third batch, and Gu Nanxun suggested that he was dissatisfied with his results.

Zhou Miaoli met Si Hong Lunshan in Meiyang City after losing the Saintess contest, and he assigned her a dangerous mission to infiltrate the Lesser Freedom Heaven. She accepted the Soul Devouring Life Merging Technique and was told to find a suitable outsider Pill Master whose identity she could take.

• A disguised Zhou Miaoli entered Si Hong Lunshan’s hidden courtyard and revealed her true appearance.
• Si Hong Lunshan explained that Zhou Miaoli’s clan had sent her to carry out a dangerous mission after she lost the Saintess contest to Li Lieyue.
• Si Hong Lunshan told Zhou Miaoli to infiltrate the Lesser Freedom Heaven by obtaining the identity of a Pill Master.
• Si Hong Lunshan gave Zhou Miaoli the Soul Devouring Life Merging Technique, which would let her inherit a Pill Master’s memories and experience.
• Si Hong Lunshan warned Zhou Miaoli not to target a local Pill Master and advised her to choose a skilled Rogue Cultivator with no close ties in the Liulan Dynasty.

Pei Ling stopped refining Shapeshifting Pills after the system accelerated a poison pill and forced him to regain control, then gave most of his Top-grade pills to Yuchi Keshao and Yan Qinlang. He and Shi Wanli stayed at the City Lord's Mansion while Yuchi Keshao went to inspect the Teleportation Array after the Demonic Cultivator's intrusion.

• Pei Ling completed a fifth batch of four Top-grade Shapeshifting Pills, but the system used Foundation Establishment Pills to restore his True Essence for another batch.
• The system accelerated the poison pill inside Pei Ling, ending its cultivation session, and Pei Ling used a Poison Dispelling Pill to suppress the poison.
• Pei Ling put away his pill furnace and gave nineteen Top-grade Shapeshifting Pills to Yuchi Keshao and his wife, keeping one for Jade Snow Bat.
• Yan Qinlang and the demon wolf praised Master Wang as a saint and celebrated their good fortune in meeting him.
• Yuchi Keshao invited Pei Ling and Shi Wanli to stay at the City Lord's Mansion, then went to inspect the Teleportation Array.

Pei Ling and Shi Wanli traveled from Qucheng to Meiyang City, where Pei Ling prepared for the County Trial and sought ways to improve his pill refining. The chapter ended with Pei Ling asking whether the city sold pill recipes.

• Pei Ling settled into the City Lord's guest courtyard and resolved to find more pill recipes and prepare poison pills after reflecting on the danger of the previous night's refining.
• Yuchi Keshao and Yan Qinlang hosted Pei Ling for breakfast and saw him and Shi Wanli off at the Teleportation Array.
• Pei Ling and Shi Wanli arrived in Meiyang City, and Shi Wanli used his Cicada Tower credentials to guide them onward.
• Shi Wanli explained Meiyang City's waterways and history as Pei Ling observed its many nonhuman residents and powerful cultivators.
• Pei Ling asked Shi Wanli whether pill recipes were sold in Meiyang City so he could improve his Pill Refining Technique before the County Trial.

Pei Ling learned where to seek higher-level pill formulas and cultivation resources in Meiyang City, then registered for the County Trial by proving he was a Fifth-Rank Pill Master. He received his admission credential and learned when the County Trial would begin.

• Shi Wanli explained that Pei Ling could seek pill formulas at a Pill Master Trading Meet at Ge Garden, while powerful techniques and divine abilities were tightly restricted.
• Pei Ling asked about the trading meet and learned it would take place in three days, then went with Shi Wanli to register at the Ministry of Works.
• A middle-aged cultivator examined Pei Ling's jade pendant, checked his cultivation and bone age, and required him to refine pills to verify his rank.
• Pei Ling used the system to refine thirty Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, satisfying the examiners and securing his registration.
• The middle-aged cultivator gave Pei Ling his County Trial admission credential and explained the trial schedule and its use for claiming a free cave abode.

Zhou Miaoli prepared to infiltrate Meiyang City’s Pill Refining Grand Ceremony by posing as Fan Dechang’s daughter, Fan Jusong. After reviewing the local Pill Master registry, she decided she needed a teacher to learn basic alchemy before the ceremony.

• Zhou Miaoli finished practicing the Soul Devouring Life Merging Technique and summoned Fan Dechang to the secret chamber.
• Zhou Miaoli told Fan Dechang to act as her father and adopted the identity and appearance of his daughter, Fan Jusong.
• Fan Dechang gave Zhou Miaoli a registry of the Pill Masters gathered in Meiyang City, including several promising Fifth-Rank competitors and examiner Tu He.
• Fan Dechang explained that more Pill Masters would arrive closer to the County Trial and that many potential targets were currently protected.
• Zhou Miaoli asked Fan Dechang to find a real Pill Master who could teach her basic alchemy, then corrected his deferential response.

Pei Ling settled into a County Seat alchemy cave-dwelling and began cultivating while awaiting the Pill Master Trading Meet. As the city tightened security over an escaped Demonic Cultivator, Pei Ling and Shi Wanli headed to Ge Garden, where the next arrivals approached the gathering.

• Pei Ling chose a secluded cave-dwelling, inspected it, expelled the poison pills inside him, and cultivated the Sparrow Flame Law for three days.
• Shi Wanli came to escort Pei Ling to the Pill Master Trading Meet and explained that the city had increased patrols after failing to find the Demonic Cultivator who broke into Qucheng's City Lord's Mansion.
• A patrol stopped Pei Ling and Shi Wanli to check their identification, then let them pass after confirming their credentials.
• At Ge Garden, servants admitted arriving Pill Masters after checking their jade pendants, while one Eighth-grade Pill Master debated whether to bring his guard inside.
• A thin, dark-skinned youth accompanied by a Core Formation cultivator approached Ge Garden.

Pei Ling entered Ge Garden for the Pill Master Trading Meet and learned how its formal trading session worked. After the organizers recognized his Fifth-Rank Pill Master credentials, he accepted a place fifth in line so he could observe the proceedings first.

• Pei Ling presented his Fifth-Rank Pill Master jade pendant at Ge Garden and entered alone while Shi Wanli waited outside.
• A guide led Pei Ling to the main hall, where Pill Masters were gathering before the trading meet began.
• Pei Ling reviewed the trading meet’s rules and watched attendees pay a deposit to qualify for the platform.
• The two organizers recognized Pei Ling as a Fifth-Rank Pill Master and offered him priority on the platform.
• Pei Ling declined to go first and accepted a token placing him fifth in line.

Tu He opened Ge Garden’s exchange meeting, where Shui Zhimu offered medicinal ingredients, Youth-Preserving Pills, and a fragmentary Bone-Mending Pill formula. After Shui Zhimu traded for Fuwen Bamboo but found no takers for the formula, Pei Ling offered to exchange Handuo Spirit Essence for a Youth-Preserving Pill formula.

• Tu He introduced himself and began the exchange meeting in Ge Garden.
• Shui Zhimu sought several medicinal ingredients and offered Youth-Preserving Pills and a fragmentary Bone-Mending Pill formula.
• A Pill Master traded Fuwen Bamboo to Shui Zhimu for thirty Youth-Preserving Pills and rejected the fragmentary formula.
• Shui Zhimu failed to reach an agreement with another interested party.
• Pei Ling sent Shui Zhimu a voice transmission offering Handuo Spirit Essence for a Youth-Preserving Pill formula.

Pei Ling traded rare ingredients to obtain the Youth-Preserving Pill formula from Shui Zhimu, then bought a fragmentary Bone-Mending Pill formula after discovering the system could record incomplete formulas. A lavishly dressed pill master stepped onto the platform as the next trader.

• Pei Ling offered Shui Zhimu Handuo Spirit Essence and a Zhanpu Bojia Flower in exchange for the Youth-Preserving Pill formula, and the system recorded it.
• Pei Ling and Shui Zhimu inspected each other's items and completed the trade.
• Shui Zhimu offered Pei Ling a fragmentary Bone-Mending Pill formula for fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stones, and Pei Ling bought it after the system began recording it.
• Pei Ling scanned the fragmentary formula, memorized its listed ingredients, and returned to his seat.
• A richly dressed pill master stepped onto the platform to begin the next trade.

Pei Ling, posing as Wang Gao, sought pill recipes at the Pill Master Trading Meet and offered genuine Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills. He exposed a trader’s incomplete Chengxin Pill recipe as fake just as the man reached for the pills.

• Ji Duanyan and Jiang You bought high-grade pills with Spirit Stones, while neither found the rare materials they wanted.
• Pei Ling took the stage as Wang Gao and announced he would trade high-grade pills or Spirit Stones for pill recipes above the Foundation Establishment Realm, including incomplete ones.
• A cultivator offered Pei Ling an incomplete Chengxin Pill recipe in exchange for three Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Pei Ling verified the pills were genuine, drawing the crowd’s attention and prompting Tu He to watch him closely.
• Pei Ling’s system showed that the jade slip was fake as the cultivator reached for the pill bottle.

Pei Ling exposed Kang Chengzhi’s fake Chengxin Pill recipe and then traded ten Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills with Ye Manyue for a genuine Juyuan Pill recipe. He left the exchange with the recipe recorded by the system.

• Pei Ling reclaimed the jade bottle and accused Kang Chengzhi of offering a forged jade slip and fake incomplete recipe.
• Kang Chengzhi denied the accusation, put away the jade slip, and withdrew from the trade.
• Tu He recognized Kang Chengzhi and wondered how Wang Gao had detected the forgery, while other cultivators abandoned plans to offer fake recipes.
• Ye Manyue offered her complete Juyuan Pill recipe for ten Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, and Pei Ling agreed to inspect it first.
• Pei Ling confirmed the recipe was genuine, memorized it, and traded the ten pills to Ye Manyue after she verified their quality.

Pei Ling traded his Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills for pill formulas, drawing attention with the seemingly inexhaustible supply. Tu He offered him the Death-Defying Fate-Reversing Pill formula for five hundred pills.

• Pei Ling announced that he still had Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills and would trade them for pill formulas.
• Pei Ling completed multiple trades, while the Pill Masters lowered their prices to secure the pills.
• Pei Ling traded for the Barrier-Breaking Pill formula and discovered it only enabled Human Dao Foundation Establishment from the Qi Refining Stage.
• Tu He noticed how many pills Pei Ling had and offered the Death-Defying Fate-Reversing Pill formula for five hundred Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills.

At the Pill Master Trading Meet, Pei Ling agreed to Tu He's steep price for the Death-Defying Fate-Reversing Pill formula to avoid offending the County Trial's chief examiner. Tu He accepted five hundred flawless Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills and realized he had traded away his cherished formula for pills he did not need.

• Tu He offered the Death-Defying Fate-Reversing Pill formula for five hundred Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, expecting Wang Gao to bargain and reveal how many pills he possessed.
• Pei Ling recalled that Tu He would examine the County Trial and decided to pay the asking price rather than risk offending him.
• Pei Ling combined pills from two Storage Pouches and handed Tu He exactly five hundred Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Tu He checked the pouch, confirmed every pill was flawless, and was stunned that he had sold his prized formula for pills he had no use for.
• Pei Ling asked Tu He to hand over the Death-Defying Fate-Reversing Pill formula.

Pei Ling traded Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills for pill formulas at the Meiyang City trade fair, then tried to buy the ingredients needed to use them. The local Pill Masters also needed those scarce ingredients, so Pei Ling changed his offer to pay in Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills.

• Tu He gave Pei Ling his prized pill formula in exchange for five hundred Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, and Pei Ling continued trading with other Pill Masters.
• Tao Long and Ye Manyue offered formulas Pei Ling already had, so they agreed to bring more to the next trade fair.
• Tu He opened the free-trade session and left, after which the Pill Masters used enchanted veils to post their buying and selling requests.
• Pei Ling listed the ingredients required by his new formulas, but other Pill Masters said they were short on the same scarce ingredients.
• Pei Ling amended his request to offer Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills as payment for medicinal ingredients.

Pei Ling displayed a huge supply of Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills at the Ge Garden and began negotiating trades with the gathered Pill Masters. Meanwhile, Zhou Miaoli and Fan Dechang arrived in Meiyang City and watched the trading meet from a shop near the Ge Garden as they searched for a Pill Master to teach her.

• Pei Ling poured his Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills into a furnace, stunning the Pill Masters gathered at the Ge Garden.
• Pei Ling directed the Pill Masters to the list of medicinal ingredients he wanted, and they began competing with offers.
• Fan Dechang escorted Zhou Miaoli, disguised as his daughter Fan Jusong, through Meiyang City while they privately discussed their plan.
• Zhou Miaoli and Fan Dechang entered a tailor shop secretly owned by the Si Hong Clan and took an Elegant Seat facing the Ge Garden.
• Fan Dechang spotted several Pill Masters leaving the Ge Garden and warned Zhou Miaoli through voice transmission.

After Kang Chengzhi failed to trade at Ge Garden, he planned to use the Demonic Cultivators to eliminate Wang Gao. Zhou Miaoli selected Kang Chengzhi as a target, and he overheard two Rogue Cultivators discussing a Sixth-grade alchemical furnace.

• Kang Chengzhi blamed Wang Gao for ruining his chances at the trading meet and decided to tell a companion connected to the Four Great Demonic Sects about Wang Gao’s pills.
• Fan Dechang identified the Pill Masters leaving Ge Garden for Zhou Miaoli, who chose the solitary Kang Chengzhi as a target.
• Kang Chengzhi left the main road and entered a quiet alley to avoid the other Pill Masters.
• From a nearby boat, Kang Chengzhi overheard two Rogue Cultivators discussing a struggling father’s inherited Sixth-grade alchemical furnace.
• Kang Chengzhi realized the furnace could be valuable and stared at it with greed.