Chapter Summaries

Mo Wen studied the rare law-bearing ingredients needed to refine ninth-grade pills while Zi Yan and Cai Lin left to pursue their own goals. After Tang Huo'er’s favorability gains gave him two powerful cultivation methods, he reconsidered taking part in the Dan Assembly when a girl insisted he compete and win first place.

• Divine Silent Old Man showed Mo Wen an eight-hundred-year-old Nine-Leaf Golden Ginseng and taught him that ninth-grade pills required ingredients containing fragments of the laws of heaven and earth.
• Zi Yan left for Dragon Valley after receiving support to become the next Dragon Emperor, promising to return once she settled her clan’s affairs.
• Cai Lin departed to temper her body in the Nine Nether Yellow Spring after entrusting matters to Xiao Yan.
• Mo Wen found Tang Huo'er and Xuan Gui practicing their transformed flames, then received the Feeding Method and God-Degree Pill Scripture when Tang Huo'er's favorability increased.
• Mo Wen had planned to skip the Dan Assembly, but a girl urged him to enter and bring back first place.

Hun Qianmo ambushed Divine Silent Old Man and Mo Wen, intending to capture them for the Soul Clan. As Soul Demon Old Man attacked Mo Wen, Mo Wen unleashed his transformations and ancestral talismans, revealing the power of a peak Nine Star Dou Zun.

• Hun Qianmo and a Five Star Dou Zun trapped Divine Silent Old Man and Mo Wen in a sealing formation with Soul Clan Demon God experts.
• Hun Qianmo revealed that he wanted to take Mo Wen and Divine Silent Old Man back to the Soul Clan, and Divine Silent Old Man taunted him about their age difference.
• Hun Qianmo attacked Divine Silent Old Man, and the two exchanged palm strikes that sent them flying apart.
• Hun Qianmo ordered Soul Demon Old Man to capture Mo Wen, but Mo Wen began unleashing his Heaven-Swallowing Devil Dragon body, glazed-gold body, dragon transformation, and ancient barbaric power.
• Mo Wen summoned six ancestral talisman phantoms and raised his aura to the peak of Nine Star Dou Zun.

Mo Wen overcame the Soul Demon Elder’s soul attack and trapped him, but the Soul Clan threatened Xuan to stop him. Mo Wen rescued Xuan and prepared to unleash another attack as the Soul Clan Demon Gods closed in.

• Soul Qianmo ordered the Soul Demon Elder to use the Soul Clan’s secret art against Mo Wen.
• Mo Wen’s vast soul resisted the Soul-Destroying Demonic Howl, and he summoned the Darkness Demon Blade and Nine Cauldrons Ancient Divine Cauldron to cripple the Soul Demon Elder’s attacks.
• Mo Wen bound the Soul Demon Elder with six ancestral runes and sent a blade strike toward him.
• A Demon God seized Xuan and threatened her, but Mo Wen severed the captor’s arm and used the Space ancestral rune to bring Xuan to him.
• Mo Wen used the Nirvana Rebirth Mark’s life force to revive Xuan and declared that the Soul Demon Elder’s fate was not meant to end yet.
• Vast spiritual energy surged between Mo Wen’s brows as Soul Clan Demon Gods closed in.

Mo Wen and the Divine Silent Old Man killed Hun Qianmo, but Xuan was left dying from damage to her Divine Soul. The Divine Silent Old Man explained that only a dangerous Divine Soul union with Mo Wen could draw the Soul Clan’s corruption out of her, and Mo Wen agreed to try.

• Mo Wen and the Divine Silent Old Man trapped Hun Qianmo, killed him, and the Dao Devouring Bottle absorbed his remains.
• The Divine Silent Old Man warned Mo Wen that the Dao Devouring Bottle’s power could taint his Divine Soul.
• Mo Wen discovered that Xuan was near death, and the Divine Silent Old Man found that Soul Clan corruption had gravely damaged her Divine Soul.
• The Divine Silent Old Man said he could temporarily preserve Xuan’s life, but saving her required drawing the corruption out with a Divine Soul union.
• After learning the union would create a powerful attachment between them, Mo Wen agreed to perform it to save Xuan.

Mo Wen extracted the soul poison from Xuan and endured the overwhelming pleasure as the black mist invaded his sea of consciousness. Xuan awakened and learned that their souls had been joined, while Mo Wen’s ancestral talismans suppressed the poison within him.

• Mo Wen resisted the pleasure while drawing the black mist out of Xuan’s mind and into his own sea of consciousness.
• The black mist erupted inside Mo Wen, but his eight ancestral talismans trapped and began refining it.
• Xuan awoke in the stone chamber, noticed her torn clothes, and recalled fragments of what had happened.
• Mo Wen explained that a soul union technique had been necessary to remove the poison from Xuan’s soul.
• Xuan asked whether Mo Wen had felt discomfort, then revealed that she had felt the sensations of the soul union herself.

After Xuan reported the Soul Clan’s ambush, the Dan Tower exposed and arrested Dan Lei, a Soul Clan spy who had infiltrated the Dan Family for 137 years, and ordered a full investigation. Mo Wen reassured the guilt-ridden Dan Chen, then told Elder Lin he planned to strike at the Soul Hall and free the alchemists it had captured.

• Xuan returned to the Dan Tower and told Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi how the Soul Clan had ambushed her.
• Xuan Kongzi summoned the branch Dan Tower elders, who brought Dan Lei in for questioning.
• Dan Lei admitted he had been a Soul Clan agent for 137 years and revealed that the ambush had been intended to lure out Mo Wen and kill him.
• Xuan Kongzi ordered a thorough search of the Dan Family for other spies and contingency plans.
• Dan Chen tearfully apologized to Mo Wen for passing along the intelligence that had led him to the ambush, and Mo Wen comforted her.
• Elder Lin asked Mo Wen about the attack, and Mo Wen said he planned to settle accounts with the Soul Hall by targeting it and rescuing captured alchemists.

Shen Wen rose to One-star Dou Saint Peak and fought Soul Demon Old Man, a Five-star Dou Saint, using his Ancestral Symbols, Yellow Springs techniques, and Heavenly Emperor Fist. He battered Soul Demon Old Man into retreat, leaving the older fighter frightened as Shen Wen prepared another punch.

• Shen Wen used the eight Ancestral Symbols to reach One-star Dou Saint Peak and challenged Soul Demon Old Man.
• Shen Wen blocked Soul Demon Old Man's Great Heaven Creation Palm with Great Wilderness Prison Heaven Hand, then forced him back with Yellow Springs Finger.
• Shen Wen used Xing Character Secret to launch a rapid series of Great Wilderness Prison Heaven Hand, Yellow Springs Finger, and Yellow Springs Palm attacks, driving Soul Demon Old Man backward.
• Soul Demon Old Man unleashed Devour Soul Demon Sound, but Shen Wen countered with Yellow Springs Heaven's Wrath and shattered the attack with a backlash that made him spit blood.
• Shen Wen struck Soul Demon Old Man with Heavenly Emperor Fist and sent him crashing through a mountain.
• Soul Demon Old Man emerged battered and afraid as Shen Wen clenched his fist to attack again.

Shen Wen unleashed the Eight Great Ancestral Symbols and his treasures to kill Soul Demon Old Man, then slaughtered the Soul Clan Dou Sheng while protecting Xuan Yi. Old Man Shennong kept Hun Qianmo trapped in flames and prepared to kill him next.

• Shen Wen combined the Eight Great Ancestral Symbols, the Extinction Heavenly Disc, the Darkness Saint Scythe, and the Primal Stone Tablet to destroy Soul Demon Old Man and absorb his remains with the Great Dao Treasure Bottle.
• Shen Wen killed the remaining seven or eight Soul Clan Dou Sheng while holding Xuan Yi, whose vitality had stabilized.
• Hun Qianmo watched Shen Wen's attack but could not intervene because Old Man Shennong trapped him with the Flame of Life.
• Old Man Shennong rebuked Hun Qianmo for the Soul Clan's past crimes and said it was Hun Qianmo's turn to die.

Shen Wen entered Xuan Yi’s sea of consciousness and used the Soul Fusion Technique to extract the black vapor corrupting her soul. As the vapor flowed into him, he was overwhelmed by an intense pleasure.

• Shen Wen agreed to use the Soul Fusion Technique on Xuan Yi, accepting that she could punish him once she woke.
• Old Man Shennong passed Shen Wen the technique and left him to work while he guarded outside.
• Shen Wen quickly comprehended the technique and entered Xuan Yi’s sea of consciousness with his soul.
• Shen Wen found Xuan Yi’s soul bound by black vapor and began severing its hold with golden strands of Soul Power.
• Shen Wen pulled the black vapor into his own soul and was struck by overwhelming pleasure.

After the Soul Clan ambushed Xuan Yi, the Pill Pagoda captured Dan Yun and uncovered his 137-year infiltration of the Dan Family. Shen Wen proposed attacking the Soul Hall, while Old Monster Lin warned that the Pill Pagoda must avoid drawing the full Soul Clan into the conflict.

• Xuan Yi reported the Soul Clan's ambush to Xuan Kongzi and Tian Lei Zi, who summoned the Small Pill Tower elders.
• Xuan Kongzi ordered Dan Yun arrested, and Dan Yun revealed he had been a Soul Clan infiltrator for 137 years and that the ambush had targeted Shen Wen.
• Xuan Kongzi ordered a thorough investigation of the Dan Family, while Dan Chen apologized to Shen Wen and he comforted her.
• Old Monster Lin returned and learned that Shen Wen had killed a five-star Dou Sheng during the battle.
• Shen Wen proposed declaring war on the Soul Hall to rescue captured Alchemists and settle old grievances, and Old Monster Lin agreed only if they avoided provoking the Soul Clan directly.

Xuan Yi sat in the Library Pavilion, struggling to focus as she recalled her intimate feelings for Shen Wen after he had protected her. Dan Chen noticed her distraction and her unusual way of referring to Shen Wen, leaving Xuan Yi alone with her unspoken thoughts.

• Dan Chen visited Xuan Yi, worried about her injuries and blaming herself for telling Shen Wen about the Soul Clan's trap; Xuan Yi comforted her and said the danger had passed.
• Dan Chen asked Xuan Yi for help refining Rank Seven Xuan Yuan Pills, and Xuan Yi offered advice on heat control and the order of the medicinal ingredients.
• Dan Chen noticed Xuan Yi seemed distracted and pale, but Xuan Yi said she was only unsettled by the Soul Clan's attack.
• Xuan Yi privately thought of Shen Wen and the feelings and sensations she could not forget after he had protected her.
• Before leaving, Dan Chen asked why Xuan Yi had called Shen Wen "your Husband" instead of using his name; Xuan Yi dismissed it as a slip, and Dan Chen left her alone.

Shen Wen advanced to the middle stage of Five-Star Dou Venerate and learned of Cai Lin’s inheritance and the Northwest’s expansion. He met Xuan Yi at the Pill Pagoda, where she gave him a map of the Soul Hall’s branch halls as the Pagoda prepared to strike.

• News of the Pill Pagoda’s declaration of war against the Soul Hall spread across the continent.
• Shen Wen refined the energy from his recent battles, reaching the middle stage of Five-Star Dou Venerate and completing the Azure Dragon Transformation Art.
• Xiao Yi Xian told Shen Wen that Cai Lin had gained the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python’s inheritance and reached Six Star Dou Zun, while the Sky Snake Empire expanded and the National Religion established thirty-six Faith Anchor Points.
• Cai Lin returned and reunited with Shen Wen.
• Xuan Yi gave Shen Wen a Jade Slip listing the Soul Hall’s twenty-four Earth Fiend Halls and three Heavenly Dipper Halls, and said the Pill Pagoda intended to strike hard.

Shen Wen and the Pill Pagoda launched a coordinated purge of the Soul Hall’s Earth Fiend Halls across Central Continent. Shen Wen destroyed several halls and absorbed their stored Soul Origin, while bounty hunters weakened the Soul Hall’s wider network.

• Shen Wen agreed with Xuan Yi to strike all twenty-four Earth Fiend Halls at once, and said he would operate alone.
• The Pill Pagoda issued bounties for Earth Fiend Hall locations and Soul Hall members, drawing Free Cultivators and small factions into the fight.
• Shen Wen infiltrated the first Earth Fiend Hall, killed its Dou Venerate leader, annihilated the other experts, and absorbed the hall’s Soul Origin.
• Shen Wen destroyed the second, third, fourth, and fifth Earth Fiend Halls in quick succession.
• The bounty hunters’ attacks tore through the Soul Hall’s spies, envoys, and peripheral members across Central Continent.

After the Soul Hall withdrew its remaining Earth Fiend Halls, Shen Wen reported the purge’s gains to Pill Pagoda and said the Soul Origins might bring him to the threshold of the Emperor Realm. As the Alchemy Conference began drawing the Imperial Clans to Pill City, Yao Ling visited Shen Wen to investigate his pill formations and left impressed by his alchemical knowledge.

• The Soul Hall’s leaders ordered the remaining Earth Fiend Halls to retreat into the Heavenly Dipper Halls after Shen Wen destroyed eleven of their strongholds.
• Shen Wen confirmed that the last five Earth Fiend Halls had been abandoned and gave Pill Pagoda the Soul Origins he had collected, saying they might bring him close to the Emperor Realm.
• The Yao Clan and Yan Clan sent young Alchemists to the Alchemy Conference, bringing large crowds to Pill City.
• Yao Ling visited Shen Wen and examined a Zong Ji Pill containing a spatial formation, then asked him how he had developed the technique.
• Shen Wen discussed alchemy with Yao Ling, Dan Chen, and Cao Ying, and Yao Ling left after thanking him for his guidance.

Old Man Shennong told Shen Wen that the Alchemy Conference had drawn Central Continent’s top Alchemists, including Yao Tian, a formidable rival who had touched the threshold of the Ninth Rank. Meanwhile, Yao Ling reconsidered Shen Wen’s alchemy ideas, and the chapter ended with Huo Zhi asking about the Heavenly Flames in Shen Wen’s residence.

• Old Man Shennong told Shen Wen that renowned Alchemists had gathered for the conference because of the Zong Ji Pill and warned him that Yao Tian was his greatest rival.
• Shen Wen welcomed the chance to face the assembled Alchemists at once and said he understood Old Man Shennong’s warning about Yao Tian.
• Yao Ling studied Shen Wen’s ideas about refining pills with the power of Heaven and Earth, while Yao Tian dismissed them and vowed to defeat Shen Wen at the conference.
• Yao Ling kept her notes on Shen Wen’s method despite her brother’s criticism.
• Huo Zhi told Huo Xuan she had heard Shen Wen possessed several kinds of Heavenly Flames, and Huo Xuan questioned her.

Huo Zhi and Huo Xuan visited Shen Wen to learn how he handled Heavenly Flames, and discovered that his ordinary-looking flame inspired fear even in their own flames. Shen Wen demonstrated an endlessly recursive illusion of their visit, leaving both Yan Clan visitors shaken.

• Huo Zhi proposed visiting Shen Wen with Huo Xuan after discussing his unusual mastery of multiple Heavenly Flames.
• Shen Wen told Huo Zhi and Huo Xuan that he had given the Fallen Heart Flame to Dan Chen and no longer needed Heavenly Flames.
• Shen Wen revealed a pure flame that made Huo Zhi’s and Huo Xuan’s Heavenly Flames shrink back in fear.
• Shen Wen shaped the flame into a detailed scene of Huo Zhi and Huo Xuan visiting Shen Manor, then made the scene repeat within itself endlessly.
• Huo Zhi and Huo Xuan watched the recursive flame illusion in silence and remained shaken after Shen Wen dismissed it.

Shen Wen challenged Huo Zhi and Huo Xuan to question the Yan Clan’s reliance on bloodline and Heavenly Flames, then began teaching them a more personal approach to Flame Control. The chapter ended with him explaining that flame should become an extension of their will.

• Shen Wen demonstrated that his flame could imitate the auras of three Heavenly Flames and explained that the Myriad Fire Square could control them.
• Shen Wen argued that the Yan Clan relied on ancestral bloodline power rather than truly controlling flames through their own will.
• Huo Zhi and Huo Xuan reflected on whether they could control flames without their bloodlines, and Huo Zhi asked Shen Wen for guidance.
• Shen Wen taught them basic Flame Control, explaining that they should guide flames through their will and let fire become part of themselves.

Xiao Yan visited Shen Wen before the Alchemy Conference and revealed the Soul Clan’s hidden formation, while Shen Wen offered to trade the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame map fragments for the Xiao Clan’s piece of the Tou She Ancient God Jade. Xiao Yan left to consider the deal, knowing the Ancient Clan might not protect his family if the Soul Clan came after them.

• Xiao Yan visited Shen Wen and described the Soul Clan’s interconnected formations across the Central Continent, which Shen Wen said he would monitor.
• Xiao Yan confirmed that Yun Yun had become the Flower Sect’s Sect Master, and Shen Wen teased him about his good fortune.
• Shen Wen revealed that he knew Xiao Yan practiced complete Fen Jue and explained that the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame was Xiao Yan’s best remaining target for advancing it.
• Shen Wen offered to exchange his two map fragments for Xiao Yan’s piece of the Tou She Ancient God Jade and explained that the Xiao Clan had once been one of the Eight Great Imperial Clans.
• Shen Wen warned Xiao Yan that the Ancient Clan had sent Xun Er to the Xiao Clan for the jade and might not defend his family against the Soul Clan.
• Xiao Yan said he needed time to think and left Shen Manor, while Shen Wen expected him to accept the deal to protect the Xiao Clan.

At the Alchemy Conference’s first test, contestants entered the disorienting Soul Illusion Realm, while spectators debated the contenders and Xuan Kongzi revealed that Xiao Yan was Yao Chen’s disciple. Shen Wen arrived and entered the realm, leaving Xuan Yi calmly watching him as Xuan Kongzi and Tian Lei Zi wondered what had changed her feelings about Yao Chen.

• Old Monster Lin explained that contestants had to escape the Soul Illusion Realm within an incense stick or be eliminated.
• The Free Cultivators, Yao Clan, Yan Clan, and other Alchemists entered the realm as spectators discussed Yao Tian, Huo Xuan, and Shen Wen’s chances.
• Xuan Kongzi told Tian Lei Zi that Xiao Yan was Yao Chen’s disciple, and Xuan Yi showed no apparent reaction to Yao Chen’s name.
• Xuan Yi told Xuan Kongzi that Shen Wen had healed her and left no lingering effects from the Soul Hall’s methods.
• Shen Wen arrived alone, greeted the elders, exchanged a brief look with Xuan Yi, and entered the Soul Illusion Realm.
• Tian Lei Zi asked whether Xuan Yi was truly all right, and Xuan Yi calmly assured him that she was.

Shen Wen crossed the illusion first and waited at the entrance to the Pill Realm, where he discussed seasonal alchemy with Yao Ling while the other participants arrived. When the gray-robed elder announced that the time had come, those still lost in the illusion were eliminated.

• Shen Wen resisted the Illusion Soul Qi, found the true path, and reached the Space Channel ahead of the other participants.
• The gray-robed elder told Shen Wen to wait until the participants had arrived before entering the Pill Realm.
• While waiting, Shen Wen deduced ways to combine the remaining Ancestral Symbols into his secret art.
• Yao Tian and Yao Ling emerged from the illusion, and Shen Wen advised Yao Ling on refining medicinal herbs according to the four seasons.
• Huo Xuan, Huo Zhi, several other alchemists, and finally Xiao Yan emerged from the Gray Mist and took places in the clearing.
• The gray-robed elder announced that the waiting period had ended and that anyone who had not emerged from the illusion was eliminated.