Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan, Sheng Yao, Ye Zhong, and Ye Xinlan arrived at Pill Tower Headquarters for Alchemist certification. Ye Xinlan earned a low-level Fifth-Tier badge, and Xiao Yan was about to take his test when two women arrived.

• Sheng Yao mistook Ye Zhong for a threat until Ye Xinlan explained that Ye Zhong was her grandfather, then invited them to accompany him to Pill Tower Headquarters.
• Ye Zhong learned that Xiao Yan had tried to tell him Sheng Yao was genuine, but Ye Zhong had stopped him each time and insisted he follow his cues.
• Sheng Yao led the group to a Special Testing Room and personally assessed Ye Xinlan, who emerged as a low-level Fifth-Tier Alchemist.
• Sheng Yao told Ye Zhong that Ye Xinlan could help the Ye Family pass its assessment seven years later, thanks to her talent and Xuan Yi's support.
• As Xiao Yan prepared to enter the testing room, two women arrived surrounded by a large group of people.

Xiao Yan passed the Pill Tower test as a seven-rank High Tier Alchemist after Cao Ying’s soul-force probe was overwhelmed by a roar from within him. He then went with Ye Zhong and the others to the Alchemist Trade Fair’s restricted section to search for an Ancient Copper Fragment.

• Cao Ying used her soul force to probe Xiao Yan, but a roar from within him disrupted it and left her shaken; she apologized after Xiao Yan rebuked her.
• Xiao Yan completed his test and emerged with a badge bearing seven purple stars, while Dan Chen privately acknowledged that he was beyond her level.
• Xiao Yan left with Ye Xinlan, Ye Zhong, and the others, declining to stay for Cao Ying and Dan Chen’s test results.
• Ye Zhong guided Xiao Yan’s group to the Alchemist Trade Fair, where Xiao Yan hoped to find the Ancient Copper Fragment early.
• Xiao Yan chose the third trading section, and Ye Zhong led the group upstairs with Ye Xinlan accompanying them.

Xiao Yan searched the third floor of the trade fair for a rusted copper fragment, then Ye Xinlan spotted one at a stall. They arrived as Chen Xian argued with the stall owner over its price, and Chen Xian’s companion tried to smooth things over after the owner rebuffed his threats.

• Xiao Yan and Ye Zhong searched every third-floor stall, but Xiao Yan could not find the copper fragment he wanted.
• Ye Xinlan recalled seeing a pale yellow fragment with green rust and ancient patterns at a stall where an Alchemist had set up behind them.
• Xiao Yan hurried with Ye Xinlan to the stall after hearing Chen Xian offer a Dragon Strength Pill for the fragment.
• The stall owner demanded a Tier 7 Pill and mocked Chen Xian when he tried to intimidate him by naming his father’s sect.
• Chen Xian’s One-Star Dou Zun companion stepped in to calm the dispute and said they still intended to buy the copper fragment.

Xiao Yan traded a Heart-Calming Pill for a mysterious copper fragment after Chen Xian tried to outbid him. Chen Xian left in anger when he learned Xiao Yan was the Young Pavilion Master of Star Fall Pavilion, and Xiao Yan departed with the fragment.

• Chen Xian offered a Tier 7 Pill for the copper fragment, but Xiao Yan offered a mid-tier seven-rank Heart-Calming Pill and the stall owner accepted.
• Chen Xian tried to outbid Xiao Yan with a Qi-Condensing Pill, but the stall owner preferred the Heart-Calming Pill.
• Chen Xian threatened Xiao Yan, then backed down after Xiao Yan introduced himself as the Young Pavilion Master of Star Fall Pavilion.
• Ye Xinlan laughed at Chen Xian's retreat, and the stall owner admitted he had bluffed about being a Pill Tower elder.
• Xiao Yan exchanged the Heart-Calming Pill for the copper fragment, inspected the stall's other wares, and left without buying anything else.

After Chen Xian left the trading hall, Xiao Yan refined a copper sheet and recovered five grains of Spirit Nurturing Dust, using one to uncover a soul cultivation method. Yao Lao sensed Xiao Yan’s progress and believed he could reach the Spirit Realm before the Pill Gathering began.

• Chen Xian left the trading hall after Elder Xuan warned him not to investigate Xiao Yan, whose attendant was at least a peak five-star Dou Zun.
• Xiao Yan returned to the courtyard with Ye Xinlan and refined the copper sheet with his Azure Sky Flame, extracting five grains of Spirit Nurturing Dust.
• Xiao Yan absorbed one grain and cultivated for three hours as spiritual energy gathered around him and plants sprouted in the room.
• The grain released a broken soul cultivation method, and Xiao Yan used it to perceive and absorb spiritual energy.
• Yao Lao sensed the energy outside Xiao Yan’s room and learned from Venerable Skyfire that Xiao Yan had obtained five grains of Spirit Nurturing Dust.
• Yao Lao said Xiao Yan might reach the Spirit Realm before the Pill Gathering began in two months.

Xiao Yan joined the Pill Gathering after two months of intense alchemy practice, and the Three Great Heads of Pill Tower opened its first stage, the Soul Illusion Realm. As Xiao Yan explored the realm, he found other Alchemists trapped in a cycle of absorbing dark-gray smoke and worsening fear.

• Xiao Yan passed Pill Tower's qualification assessment with a Heaven-Level Rating and spent two months preparing for the Pill Gathering.
• Yao Lao sent Xiao Yan to the Pill Gathering with Venerable Skyfire while he went to meet the Three Great Elders and monitor Holy Pill City.
• Xuan Kongzi, Tian Leizi, and Xuan Yi announced the Pill Gathering and opened the Soul Illusion Realm as its first stage.
• The Three Great Heads discussed how they would identify Soul Hall infiltrators among the participants, and Yao Chen urged Xuan Yi not to harm innocents.
• Xiao Yan entered the Soul Illusion Realm and encountered Alchemists whose fear made them absorb more of the dark-gray smoke.

Xiao Yan passed the Soul Illusion Realm after fleeing an illusion of his math teacher, then reached the Pill Realm entrance. Other Alchemists mistook his shaken appearance for weakness, and Song Qing grew more contemptuous of him.

• Xiao Yan recognized the Soul Illusion Realm as an illusion and waited for it to conjure a memory from his past.
• The illusion produced Xiao Yan’s math teacher, who demanded his homework, and Xiao Yan fled after threatening her.
• Xiao Yan escaped the mist and arrived at the entrance to the Pill Gathering’s second trial, the Pill Realm.
• The waiting Alchemists mocked Xiao Yan’s pale, frightened appearance and assumed he had struggled to pass the first trial.
• Song Qing questioned Xiao Yan’s rank and privately concluded that his High Seven-Rank Alchemist status had been forced with pills.

Xiao Yan entered the Pill Gathering's clearing, where Elder Lin recognized his talent and several Pill Tower contestants wondered about his connections. After Chen Xian hurried away from Xiao Yan, Elder Lin announced the start of the second round.

• Song Qing called Xiao Yan a fraud, but Cao Ying pointed out that Elder Sheng had personally overseen his advancement assessment.
• Xiao Yan recognized Elder Lin as a Dou Zun and Eighth-Grade Alchemist, and Elder Lin acknowledged him before praising his potential privately.
• Cao Dan and Cao Xiu questioned how Xiao Yan knew Pill Tower elders and agreed to follow Lord Xuan Kongzi's instructions.
• Chen Xian greeted Xiao Yan nervously and quickly left with the two Mysterious Underworld Sect elders, leaving Xiao Yan puzzled by his behavior.
• After two hours, Elder Lin declared the second round of the Pill Gathering officially begun, and Song Qing stepped forward to address him.

Xiao Yan entered the Pill Realm for the second assessment and used his Purple-Gold Dragon Seal to summon his allies at the Myriad Herb Mountain Range. The purple-clad little girl prepared to meet him after waiting there for a month, and the mountain’s guardian assembled Rank Seven flying Magical Beasts to bring him over.

• Elder Lin Hai gave Xiao Yan the assessment task list, map, and Space Stone, and asked him to send his regards to Yao Chen.
• Xiao Yan entered the decaying Pill Realm and learned that his task was to collect Star Spirit Grass, Ninth-Grade Purple Ganoderma, and Purple Orchid Leaf Vine within ten days.
• Xiao Yan decided to summon help from the Myriad Herb Mountain Range by activating the Purple-Gold Dragon Seal on his palm.
• The purple-clad little girl emerged from a pile of medicinal ingredients when Xiao Yan’s Dragon Seal signal reached the mountain range.
• The mountain’s sturdy guardian agreed to arrange a pickup and summoned flying Magical Beasts, then selected a dozen Rank Seven beasts to carry Xiao Yan.

A burly figure sent a Four-Winged Green Roc to retrieve Xiao Yan, who waited at the Pill Realm entrance for Zi Yan to respond to his Dragon Seal. When Cao Ying, Song Qing, and Cao Xiu arrived, the Roc appeared and spoke, but it had not yet revealed why it had come for Xiao Yan.

• The burly figure showed the Four-Winged Green Roc Xiao Yan’s image and ordered it to fetch him respectfully.
• Xiao Yan waited at the Pill Realm entrance, then met Cao Ying, Song Qing, and Cao Xiu as they entered late to avoid the initial rush.
• Song Qing accused Xiao Yan of planning to leave without gathering the ingredients, while Cao Ying rebuked Song Qing for interfering.
• A peak Rank Seven Four-Winged Green Roc descended on the group, and Song Qing warned it against attacking Pill Tower members.
• The Roc said it had no intention of killing them, mocked Song Qing, and told the group to move aside.

The Four-Winged Green Roc brought Xiao Yan back to the Myriad Herb Mountain Range, where he reunited with Zi Yan and met Xiong Zhan. Xiao Yan asked Xiong Zhan to gather six medicinal ingredients for his soul breakthrough and Pill Gathering examination, and Xiong Zhan arranged to obtain them.

• The Four-Winged Green Roc took Xiao Yan to the Myriad Herb Mountain Range while Cao Ying, Cao Xiu, and Cao Dan discovered Song Qing had slipped away.
• Xiao Yan arrived at the mountain range and reunited with Zi Yan, who introduced him to Xiong Zhan, the boss of the area.
• Xiao Yan asked Xiong Zhan to find six medicinal ingredients, including three for a soul-strengthening medicine and three for his examination.
• Xiong Zhan said five ingredients were available in the medicinal herb square and promised to get Pill Spirit Liquid from a Black Water Tiger Dragon guarding a pool.

Xiao Yan prepared and consumed a medicinal liquid to break through to the Spirit Realm, enduring a dangerous surge of soul power and spiritual energy. After a pillar of light marked the breakthrough, an illusory figure resembling him emerged from the stone chamber, confusing Zi Yan.

• Xiao Yan gathered the medicinal ingredients and told Xiong Zhan he would attempt to become an Eighth-Grade Alchemist.
• Xiao Yan refined the ingredients into a medicinal liquid and swallowed it to strengthen his soul.
• Xiao Yan endured a violent soul storm as spiritual energy poured into him and transformed his Soul Origin.
• A pillar of light burst from the stone chamber, while Zi Yan and Xiong Zhan waited for Xiao Yan to complete his breakthrough.
• Three days later, an illusory figure resembling Xiao Yan emerged, and Zi Yan realized it was not his physical body.

Xiao Yan demonstrated his Spirit Realm soul avatar and learned that his breakthrough had also raised his cultivation to Six-Star Dou Zong. He chose to remain in the Pill Realm to protect Pill Tower’s younger generation from Soul Hall, while Cao Ying and her injured companions were ambushed by a mysterious Dou Zun.

• Xiao Yan explained that he aspired to match Zhu Kun’s Emperor Realm Soul, and Xiong Zhan realized Zi Yan was the Ancient Void Dragon Clan’s Eldest Princess.
• Xiong Zhan laughed uncontrollably at his thoughts about Zi Yan, so Zi Yan kicked him into a wall.
• Xiao Yan told Zi Yan they had to stay in the Pill Realm to protect Pill Tower’s younger generation from Soul Hall, and Xiong Zhan volunteered to fight.
• After three days of gathering herbs, Cao Ying, Cao Xiu, and Cao Dan were ambushed in the Myriad Herb Mountain Range; the attacker severely injured Cao Xiu and Cao Dan.
• Cao Ying confronted the black-clothed Dou Zun, who became excited upon learning that the three belonged to the Cao Family and Pill Tower.

Cao Ying and the other Cao Family alchemists were attacked by a mysterious Dou Zun, but Xiao Yan and his companions arrived and Xiong Zhan fought the attacker. Xiao Yan gave Cao Ying a Heart Nourishing Pill after noticing her injured soul.

• The black-clothed man revealed that he intended to kill Pill Tower members, blocked Cao Xiu and Cao Dan from escaping, and defeated Cao Ying's Soul Imprint.
• The black-clothed man's soul barrier shattered, and Xiao Yan, Xiong Zhan, and Zi Yan appeared before him.
• Xiao Yan identified himself as Venerable Feng's disciple and ordered Xiong Zhan to kill the attacker.
• Xiong Zhan struck the black-clothed man and sent him crashing through trees, then faced him as the two prepared to continue fighting.
• Xiao Yan helped Cao Ying up, recognized that her soul had been injured, and gave her a Heart Nourishing Pill.

Xiao Yan and Xiong Zhan drove off the disguised Elder Mu Gu after Xiong Zhan destroyed his soul avatar, then Xiao Yan arranged for Xiong Zhan to find the remaining ingredients Cao Ying’s group needed. Cao Ying thanked Xiao Yan with unexpected warmth as her companions began to suspect she was interested in him.

• Xiong Zhan transformed into his hundred-meter Ancient Dragon Bear form and fought the black-clothed man while Xiao Yan shielded Cao Ying and the others.
• Xiong Zhan struck the black-clothed man with his tail, but the man’s body dissolved into light, revealing that he had escaped as a soul avatar.
• Xiao Yan stopped Xiong Zhan from pursuing Elder Mu Gu and confirmed that someone else would deal with him later.
• Cao Ying named the three medicinal ingredients her group still needed, and Xiong Zhan left to find them.
• Cao Xiu and Cao Dan realized that Xiong Zhan was the feared guardian of the Myriad Herb Mountain Range, while Cao Ying thanked Xiao Yan and drew their attention with her behavior.

Xiao Yan helped Cao Ying’s group gather their medicinal herbs while remaining in the Pill Realm to watch the injured black-clothed man. On the final day, he collected Xiong Zhan’s hoard and headed for the exit, where Cao Ying waited and suspected the Pill Tower had anticipated the danger.

• Xiao Yan told Cao Ying, Cao Xiu, and Cao Dan to take their herbs and leave while he stayed in the Pill Realm under Xuan Kongzi’s instructions.
• Xiong Zhan brought the requested herbs, and Cao Ying led Cao Xiu and Cao Dan toward the exit.
• Xiao Yan chose to keep watch on the injured black-clothed man until the Pill Realm closed on the tenth day.
• At the stone hall, Zi Yan prompted Xiong Zhan to give Xiao Yan his hoard of medicinal herbs, which Xiao Yan collected before they left.
• Cao Ying waited at the Pill Realm exit and wondered why Xiao Yan had not arrived, then suspected the Pill Tower’s elders had anticipated the threat.

Xiao Yan, Zi Yan, and Xiong Zhan returned to the plaza before the third-round deadline, where Xiao Yan taunted Elder Mu Gu over his injuries. Elder Mu Gu lost his temper and appealed to Elder Lin, accusing Xiao Yan of disturbing him.

• Xiong Zhan arrived at the plaza with Xiao Yan and Zi Yan, then sent the Four-Winged Green Roc back to the Myriad Herb Mountain Range.
• Xiao Yan spotted Elder Mu Gu resting and led Zi Yan and Xiong Zhan over to him.
• Xiao Yan mocked Elder Mu Gu about his throat, legs, and brain, provoking him to stand and threaten Xiao Yan after the Pill Gathering.
• Elder Mu Gu shouted at Elder Lin that Xiao Yan was disturbing his rest and interfering with him.

Xiao Yan left the Pill Realm after passing the second assessment, while Song Qing lost Cao Ying and Cao Dan’s trust. The Pill Tower’s leaders learned that a man in black had attacked their younger generation, and Xuan Kongzi suspected the Soul Hall was involved.

• Elder Lin refused to act against Elder Mu Gu, who silently vowed to kill Xiao Yan after the Pill Gathering.
• Song Qing tried to reconcile with Cao Ying and Cao Dan, but Cao Dan condemned him for abandoning the group and Cao Ying told him to leave.
• Elder Lin ended the second assessment, and Xiao Yan submitted his ingredients before leaving the Pill Realm through the spatial gate.
• Xuan Kongzi and Xuan Yi learned that Xiao Yan had fully entered the Spirit Realm, while Yao Chen revealed his own Heaven Realm Great Perfection.
• A Pill Tower elder reported that the man in black had attacked Cao Ying and other members, and Xuan Kongzi suspected the Soul Hall had arrived.

Yao Lao recognized Elder Mu Gu as the Soul Hall agent who had helped Han Feng betray him and claimed the right to fight him in the Star Domain. During the Pill Gathering’s third assessment, Xiao Yan revealed a Heavenly Flame and overwhelmed Elder Mu Gu’s Nether Demon Flame, leaving Cao Ying to calm her own restless flame.

• Yao Lao identified Elder Mu Gu and told Xuan Kongzi and the others that he would handle him in the Star Domain battle.
• Xuan Kongzi announced the start of the third assessment, and Xiao Yan chose a remote stone platform instead of competing for a prime spot.
• Elder Mu Gu summoned his Nether Demon Flame and tried to provoke Xiao Yan with its power.
• Xiao Yan sent a Heavenly Flame into the Myriad Beast Cauldron, frightening Elder Mu Gu’s flame and startling the contestants.
• Elder Mu Gu asked where Xiao Yan had obtained a Heavenly Flame, and Xiao Yan mocked him by claiming he had picked it up by the roadside.
• Cao Ying soothed her Blood Demon Flame and complained about Xiao Yan’s showmanship.

Xiao Yan began refining a Heavenly Soul Blood-Melting Pill for the Pill Gathering, aiming to raise it to Eighth-Rank with Five-Color Pill Lightning using the Dragon Emperor’s essence blood. As Xiao Yan focused on the refining, the Three Great Heads of Pill Tower could not identify the pill and demanded that Yao Lao explain it.

• Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Tian Leizi discussed Xiao Yan’s Azure Sky Flame and the Flame Mantra, while Yao Lao revealed that Xiao Yan had fused four or five Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan and Elder Mu Gu traded barbs before Xiao Yan brought out ingredients for his Pill Gathering entry.
• Xiao Yan chose to refine the Medusa Clan’s Heavenly Soul Blood-Melting Pill, using essence blood from the Dragon Emperor to pursue an Eighth-Rank pill that produced Five-Color Pill Lightning.
• Xiao Yan began refining the Dragon Blood Ganoderma with his Azure Sky Flame as the Pill Gathering’s climactic competition got underway.
• The Three Great Heads of Pill Tower asked Yao Lao what Xiao Yan was refining, and Yao Lao mocked them before Xuan Kongzi angrily demanded an answer.