Chapter Summaries

Jiang Cheng refined three extraordinarily powerful pills in the Monster Mountain Range, drawing the attention of Yao Chen, Xiao Yan, and the Misty Cloud Sect. After capturing the pills, Jiang Cheng appeared before Yao Chen and Xiao Yan, who greeted him cautiously.

• Xiao Yan and Yao Chen watched Jiang Cheng refine a pill as powerful pill lightning filled the sky, and Yao Chen recognized that Jiang Cheng's strength was at least his equal.
• After a day of refining, Jiang Cheng's Golden Dragon Phoenix Cauldron released a golden pillar of light, and Gu He and Yun Shan sensed the Seventh-Grade Pill taking form.
• Yun Shan decided to seek friendship with Jiang Cheng and considered recruiting him into the Misty Cloud Sect, while Gu He left the rear hall feeling discarded.
• Jiang Cheng calmed the pill's energy, caught the three pills that tried to flee, and let the heavenly phenomenon dissipate.
• Yao Chen praised the pill's power, but warned Xiao Yan that they would not leave; Jiang Cheng appeared before them, and Xiao Yan introduced himself and asked Jiang Cheng's name.

Jiang Cheng introduced himself to Yao Chen and explained that Feng Xian had long searched for him. After demonstrating his three Heavenly Flames, Jiang Cheng passed on Feng Xian’s message and asked Xiao Yan about his upcoming Three Year Agreement with Nalan Yanran.

• Jiang Cheng told Yao Chen that he had learned of his fall from Feng Xian, whose whereabouts he did not know.
• Yao Chen and Xiao Yan respectfully greeted Jiang Cheng after learning of his formidable realm and old friendship with Feng Xian.
• Yao Chen sensed Jiang Cheng’s three Heavenly Flames, and Jiang Cheng revealed their power to Xiao Yan.
• Jiang Cheng told Yao Chen that Feng Xian had always been searching for him, leaving Yao Chen moved by the message.
• Jiang Cheng asked Xiao Yan how he would fare in the Three Year Agreement, and Xiao Yan vowed to make the Nalan Family pay for humiliating the Xiao Family.

Jiang Cheng reunited with Xiao Yan and Yao Chen, warned Yao Chen to remain in the Northwest Continent, and returned to Peach Forest Mountain with a seventh-grade Breakthrough Pill for Cai Lin. Cai Lin took the pill and began preparing to break through to Dou Zong, while Xiao Yi Xian told Jiang Cheng that her alchemy was nearly first grade.

• Queen Medusa and Yun Yun arrived to check on Jiang Cheng, then left for Peach Forest Mountain after confirming he was safe.
• Yao Chen asked Jiang Cheng about Heavenly Flames, and Jiang Cheng said he had found only three before warning Yao Chen to stay in the Northwest Continent.
• Jiang Cheng returned to Peach Forest Mountain and gave Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin jade bottles of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk.
• Jiang Cheng gave Cai Lin a seventh-grade High-grade Breakthrough Pill, which she swallowed before retreating to her room as its medicinal power surged through her body.
• Jiang Cheng told Xiao Yi Xian that Cai Lin would break through to Dou Zong in half a day, and Xiao Yi Xian said her alchemy was nearly first grade.

Jiang Cheng gave the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King a Breakthrough Pill and helped Yun Yun take one mixed into Peach Blossom Wine. After cleansing herself in the lake, Yun Yun returned to her room, while Jiang Cheng discovered a book about an ancient Dual Cultivation Technique.

• Jiang Cheng promised Xiao Yi Xian a Heavenly Flame once she became a Second-grade Alchemist and stopped her from checking on Cai Lin as she endured the Breakthrough Pill’s effects.
• Jiang Cheng gave the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King a Breakthrough Pill, and the lion king eagerly swallowed it.
• Jiang Cheng found Yun Yun meditating and gave her Peach Blossom Wine mixed with a crushed pill to aid her future breakthrough.
• The pill expelled impurities from Yun Yun’s body, so she washed herself and her clothes in the lake before returning to her room.
• Jiang Cheng read about a Dual Cultivation Technique that had reportedly been destroyed more than a thousand years earlier.

Jiang Cheng dismissed Yun Shan’s demand to meet him at the Misty Cloud Sect, while Yun Shan warned Protector Wu against targeting the young Confucian Sage. Protector Wu recognized Jiang Cheng’s identity and was shocked by how quickly he had advanced to Dou Saint.

• Yun Yun and Cai Lin sparred, and Cai Lin defeated Yun Yun despite her recent breakthrough.
• Cai Lin thanked Jiang Cheng and asked him to keep the previous night’s events secret.
• Yun Yun told Jiang Cheng that Yun Shan wanted to meet him, but Jiang Cheng refused and told her to cultivate in peace.
• Protector Wu arrived to discuss an item taken by Jiang Cheng and said a Soul Clan Elder would soon come after it.
• Yun Shan revealed that Jiang Cheng was in his twenties, prompting Protector Wu to recognize him as the Academy Confucian Sage and recall his past slaughter of Soul Hall Heavenly Venerates.

Yun Shan severed the Misty Cloud Sect’s ties with the Soul Hall and went to the Monster Mountain Range to seek an alliance with Jiang Cheng. After the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King nearly killed him, Jiang Cheng intervened, and Yun Shan offered treasures and books to apologize.

• Yun Shan rejected Protector Wu’s attempt to keep the Misty Cloud Sect allied with the Soul Hall, fearing the consequences of angering Jiang Cheng.
• Yun Shan headed to the Monster Mountain Range to meet Jiang Cheng, but the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King blocked his way and attacked him.
• The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King overwhelmed Yun Shan and prepared to strike him with its Purple Crystal Seal.
• Jiang Cheng appeared and stopped the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King from killing Yun Shan, while Yun Yun checked on her Teacher.
• Yun Shan bowed to Jiang Cheng, apologized for driving him out of the Misty Cloud Sect, and offered precious treasures, Dou Techniques, and Cultivation Methods.

Jiang Cheng sent Yun Shan away and allowed Yun Yun to return to the Misty Cloud Sect, then Queen Medusa asked him to help relocate the Snake People Tribe from the Tagor Desert. He refused to involve himself, so Cai Lin decided to stay and later pressured the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King for help.

• Jiang Cheng accepted Yun Shan's books and apology but refused to let him enter Peach Forest Mountain, and the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King struck Yun Shan before he left.
• Jiang Cheng told Yun Yun she could return to the Misty Cloud Sect and asked her to come back early; she left to oversee the sect and prepare Nalan Yanran for the Three Year Agreement.
• The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King asked why Jiang Cheng had spared Yun Shan, and Jiang Cheng said he did not want to interfere as an outsider.
• Queen Medusa told Jiang Cheng that she had reached the Dou Zong realm and wanted to lead the Snake People Tribe out of the Tagor Desert.
• Jiang Cheng refused to help the Snake People Tribe, so Queen Medusa chose to stay and then threatened the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King into helping her.

Jiang Cheng reached Three-Star Dou Saint and Ninth-Grade Alchemist, then reunited with Zi Yan after she arrived from Jia Nan Academy. He discovered she had eaten a rare Yin Yang Snow Dragon Fruit that he had planted at Peach Forest Mountain.

• Jiang Cheng completed half a year of cultivation and advanced to Three-Star Dou Saint, while his Soul Power reached the Heaven Realm.
• Jiang Cheng reflected on his progress as a self-taught Ninth-Grade Alchemist who could refine Ninth-Grade Treasure Pills.
• Zi Yan arrived carrying medicinal herbs she had taken from Jia Nan Academy after turning Old Man Hao's place into a buffet.
• Zi Yan told Jiang Cheng that she planned to explore a place rich in spiritual herbs with Cai Lin, who had been treating her kindly.
• Zi Yan revealed that she and Cai Lin had found and eaten a Yin Yang Snow Dragon Fruit at Peach Forest Mountain, and Jiang Cheng explained that he had planted it before taking the remaining half from her.

Jiang Cheng agreed to accompany Cai Lin and Zi Yan to the depths of the Tagor Desert in exchange for treasured medicinal materials. After entrusting Peach Forest Mountain to the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, he led them through a space-time rift toward the Snake People Tribe.

• Zi Yan ate the remaining Yin Yang Snow Dragon Fruit and told Jiang Cheng that Mang Tianchi planned to return to the Northwest Continent after hearing Jiang Cheng was there.
• Jiang Cheng gave Zi Yan two bottles of Sixth-Grade Pills, and Cai Lin expressed concern that Yun Yun had been away for a long time.
• Cai Lin asked Jiang Cheng to visit the Snake People Tribe, and he agreed to take only the medicinal materials he needed rather than solve the tribe’s desert predicament.
• Zi Yan eagerly chose to join them, while Jiang Cheng entrusted Peach Forest Mountain to the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King and left with Cai Lin and Zi Yan through a space-time rift.

Gu He and Old Ghost of Chuyun invaded the Snake People Tribe to seize the Green Lotus Core Flame, slaughtering the tribe as they searched. The Snake People’s four hidden Dou Emperor Peak experts arrived to confront them.

• Gu He, Yan Shi, Feng Li, and Old Ghost of Chuyun reached the Snake People Tribe while its people prepared to relocate, and Gu He demanded to see Queen Medusa.
• Old Ghost of Chuyun attacked the tribe after Gu He promised him a Seventh-Grade Pill in exchange for the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Gu He searched for the Heavenly Flame while Old Ghost of Chuyun wounded Yin Shi and defeated Mo Bass.
• Old Ghost of Chuyun ordered his forces to kill everyone, and the Snake People Tribe was engulfed in slaughter and flames.
• The Snake People’s four hidden Dou Emperor Peak experts arrived, and their leader demanded to know who was responsible.

Queen Medusa returned to the Snake People Tribe as Xie Bi Yan and Old Ghost of Chuyun attacked, rescuing the tribe and severing Pill King Gu He's other arm. The Snake People Tribe begged her to avenge their losses.

• Old Ghost of Chuyun revealed himself and teamed up with Xie Bi Yan to attack the Snake People Tribe.
• Xie Bi Yan defeated First Elder Sno and the other three Dou Emperors, leaving the tribe at the mercy of the attackers.
• Queen Medusa emerged from a tear in space and confronted Xie Bi Yan.
• Gu He tried to explain that he had come to exchange for the Heavenly Flames, but Queen Medusa cut off his other arm for joining the attack.
• Great Elder Yin Shi and the Snake People Tribe's Experts knelt before Queen Medusa and begged her to avenge them.

Jiang Cheng watched as Queen Medusa and the Snake People Tribe fought back against the Myriad Scorpion Gate and Gu He's forces. The Snake People Tribe won a crushing victory, but Xie Bi Yan escaped with a forbidden technique, leaving Jiang Cheng to ask Medusa if she needed his help.

• Queen Medusa refused Jiang Cheng's offer to intervene and confronted Xie Bi Yan while Jiang Cheng approached the crippled Gu He.
• Jiang Cheng revealed that he had taken the Green Lotus Core Flame, and Gu He collapsed in despair as Yan Shi and Feng Li faced the Snake People Tribe's fighters.
• Mo Bass and Zi Yan joined the battle, while Queen Medusa pressured Xie Bi Yan and the Snake People Tribe unleashed the Five Snake Poisonous Seal.
• Yue Mei beheaded Gu He, and the Spirit Snake swallowed Yan Shi and Feng Li before destroying the War Boat as the Snake People Tribe slaughtered their enemies.
• Queen Medusa attacked Xie Bi Yan with blood-red Snake Spirits, but he used a forbidden technique to lower his realm and flee.
• Jiang Cheng calmly asked Queen Medusa whether she needed him to step in.

Cai Lin used the Green Lotus Sword Dance to kill Xie Bi Yan, and the Snake People Tribe defeated the Jia Ma Empire’s forces. Jiang Cheng joined the Four Elders in the great hall, where First Elder Sno began to ask him for help with a matter.

• Cai Lin’s Green Lotus Sword Dance trapped Xie Bi Yan in a petal tornado and tore his body apart.
• The Four Elders killed Old Ghost of Chuyun, and Great Elder Yin Shi ordered Yan Ci to pursue the fleeing humans.
• Cai Lin ordered the Snake People Tribe to treat its wounded and clean up the battlefield, while the Four Elders recognized her breakthrough to Dou Zong.
• First Elder Sno thanked Jiang Cheng for saving the tribe and invited him to the great hall for tea.
• Sno asked Jiang Cheng whether he had helped Cai Lin break through, then began to request his help with a matter.

Jiang Cheng refused the Snake People Tribe Elders’ plea to help with their migration, and Cai Lin agreed to postpone it until the Monster Mountain Range could provide homes. After accepting the agreed herbs, Jiang Cheng stayed with Zi Yan at the Snake People oasis, where Cai Lin joined them.

• First Elder Sno and the other Elders knelt before Jiang Cheng and asked him to help the Snake People Tribe migrate, but he refused.
• Cai Lin accepted that the tribe lacked suitable homes in the Monster Mountain Range, promised to lead her people out of their predicament someday, and gave Jiang Cheng the agreed herbs.
• Zi Yan asked to bathe, and Cai Lin arranged for fresh water despite its scarcity among the snake people.
• Jiang Cheng explained the Snake People Tribe’s bloody history to Zi Yan and said Cai Lin might have changed for the better.
• Cai Lin overheard them talking about her, took Zi Yan to the Sacred Pool for a bath, and left Jiang Cheng reading beside the oasis.

Cai Lin and Zi Yan relaxed in the Snake People Tribe’s Sacred Pool until Jiang Cheng sensed Xiao Yan and Yao Chen approaching in search of the Green Lotus Core Flame. After learning Jiang Cheng had already absorbed it, Xiao Yan left with his hopes of gaining strength before the Three Year Agreement further diminished.

• Cai Lin and Zi Yan talked about Zi Yan’s potential and her hope of returning to her original form with Jiang Cheng’s help.
• Jiang Cheng sensed approaching visitors and went to meet Xiao Yan and Yao Chen as they entered the oasis seeking water and the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Jiang Cheng told Xiao Yan and Yao Chen that the Heavenly Flame was gone and revealed that he had absorbed the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Xiao Yan despaired over losing his chance to obtain a Heavenly Flame, while Yao Chen decided to leave rather than challenge Jiang Cheng.
• Jiang Cheng reminded Xiao Yan and Yao Chen to return to Wu Tan City after the Three Year Agreement, and Xiao Yan bitterly contemplated his weak strength and looming defeat.

After Xiao Yan gave up on obtaining the Green Lotus Core Flame, Jiang Cheng offered a Sixth-Grade Pill for his Fragmented Map of Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. Yao Chen persuaded Xiao Yan to accept, and they left the Tagor Desert as Xiao Yan resolved to reach the Da Dou Shi realm before the Three Year Agreement.

• Xiao Yan accepted that he had lost the Green Lotus Core Flame and asked Jiang Cheng to apologize to Queen Medusa for him.
• Jiang Cheng revealed that Xiao Yan had a Fragmented Map of Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame and offered a Sixth-Grade Pill in exchange, revealing that he owned another map.
• Jiang Cheng told Xiao Yan that Nalan Yanran had reached the Da Dou Shi level, prompting Xiao Yan to reconsider his refusal.
• Yao Chen advised Xiao Yan to trade the map for the pill, and Xiao Yan handed it to Jiang Cheng in exchange for a Pure Spirit Profound Nether Pill.
• Jiang Cheng told Yao Chen to take care of himself and ordered Xiao Yan and Yao Chen to leave the Tagor Desert.
• Xiao Yan left with the pill, determined to break through to the Da Dou Shi realm within a few months.

Jiang Cheng shared Bamboo Green Wine with Cai Lin and Zi Yan beneath the stars, and Cai Lin agreed to stay with the Snake People Tribe for three days before returning with him. After drinking heavily, Cai Lin sobered herself by expelling the alcohol and wondered how Jiang Cheng had made such wine.

• Jiang Cheng gave Cai Lin Bamboo Green Wine and shared a moonlit drink with her while Zi Yan received medicinal pills instead.
• Jiang Cheng asked Cai Lin when she planned to leave, and she said she would stay three days to notify the Snake People Tribe's Experts and let them rest.
• Jiang Cheng reassured Cai Lin that the Cloudy Sky Empire was unlikely to attack after losing Xie Bi Yan, and Zi Yan encouraged her to trust his plans.
• Cai Lin decided to leave for the Monster Mountain Range with Jiang Cheng after the three days so she could grow stronger and lead the Snake People Tribe toward freedom.
• Jiang Cheng and Cai Lin drank two large jars of wine, and Cai Lin later expelled the alcohol from her body while preserving some of its energy.

Cai Lin left the Snake People Tribe with Jiang Cheng and Zi Yan after entrusting the tribe to Great Elder Yin Shi. In the Jia Ma Empire, leaders learned that Gu He and his companions had died and that Queen Medusa had long since become a Dou Zong, with Jiang Cheng’s protection making retaliation against the Snake People Tribe dangerous.

• Cai Lin expelled the dense Dou Qi from her body and told Jiang Cheng she would drink with him again.
• Cai Lin left Great Elder Yin Shi in charge of the Snake People Tribe, then departed with Jiang Cheng and Zi Yan as he tore open space.
• Jia Xing Tian and President Fa Ma examined shattered Soul Jade Slips and discussed the deaths of Gu He, Yan Shi, Feng Li, and Old Ghost of Chuyun.
• Hai Bodong arrived at the imperial palace and revealed that Queen Medusa had advanced to the Dou Zong realm long ago.
• Hai Bodong told the assembled experts that Queen Medusa had been with Academy Confucian Sage Jiang Cheng, and they concluded Gu He had provoked the Snake People Tribe while seeking the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Jiang Cheng returned to Peach Forest Mountain and learned that Wu Ying of the Soul Hall had come looking for him. He strengthened the mountain’s defenses before planning a trip to the Jia Ma Empire, while Cai Lin and Zi Yan prepared to handle a separate matter.

• Hai Bodong and the other experts agreed that meeting Mister Confucian Sage was worth more than meeting Pill King Gu He, and Hai Bodong said he would visit the Sage to collect his promised Fu Ling Zi Pill.
• Jiang Cheng, Cai Lin, and Zi Yan arrived at Peach Forest Mountain, where the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King reported that Wu Ying had visited and been driven away.
• Jiang Cheng recognized Wu Ying as a Soul Hall Guardian and told the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King to alert him if any especially powerful experts appeared.
• Jiang Cheng learned that Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin were cultivating and invited Cai Lin and Zi Yan to accompany him to the Jia Ma Empire, but they declined to handle another matter.
• Jiang Cheng gave Cai Lin a Jade Slip for emergencies and erected a powerful barrier around the mountain, allowing Cai Lin and Zi Yan to enter freely but forbidding them from bringing unfamiliar people.

Jiang Cheng went to the Nalan Family to investigate Old Master Nalan Jie's Branded Poison, hoping to obtain Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva in return for curing him. After killing several alchemists who insulted him with his Heavenly Flames, Jiang Cheng entered the residence as Nalan Su struggled to find a way to save his father.

• Jiang Cheng heard that Old Master Nalan Jie was critically ill from Branded Poison and that the Nalan Family was offering Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva to anyone who could cure him.
• Jiang Cheng went to the Nalan Family, but a guard refused him entry without a Recommendation Letter or proof that he was an alchemist.
• Several alchemists mocked Jiang Cheng, so he burned them to ash with his Heavenly Flames.
• Jiang Cheng reassured the frightened guard, who then led him into the Nalan Family courtyard.
• Nalan Su told the gathered alchemists that only Heavenly Flames could remove the poison, then noticed Jiang Cheng and wondered why he seemed familiar.