Chapter Summaries

At the Pill Gathering, Yao Lao tried to hide what Xiao Yan was refining, but Xuan Yi pressured him into revealing that it was a Heavenly Soul Blood-Melting Pill for Queen Medusa. The revelation turned against Yao Lao when his careless remark offended Xuan Yi, leaving him desperate to explain himself.

• Xuan Kongzi tried to learn the pill’s effects, but Yao Lao refused to reveal what Xiao Yan was refining.
• Xuan Kongzi called on Xuan Yi to pressure Yao Lao, threatening his relationship with her.
• Yao Lao revealed that Xiao Yan had slept with Queen Medusa and was refining a Heavenly Soul Blood-Melting Pill, a prenatal pill meant to enhance the bloodline potential of Medusa’s descendants.
• Xuan Kongzi, Tian Leizi, and Xuan Yi praised Xiao Yan’s dedication to his companion.
• Yao Lao called Xiao Yan unreliable, prompting Xuan Yi to accuse him of rejecting her and their hypothetical child.
• Xuan Yi dismissed Yao Lao while Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi ignored his attempts to explain.

Xiao Yan continued refining ingredients while the Pill Gathering narrowed to its final contestants, and several Alchemists formed Eighth-Grade Pills amid Pill Lightning. By the twelfth day, Qing Hua had completed his pill and secured a likely place among the top five, hoping to earn entry to the Star Domain and obtain the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

• Xiao Yan extracted the Dragon Blood Ganoderma and began processing the Bone Spirit Fruit as the Three Great Heads of Pill Tower watched.
• Over the following days, Alchemists across the field completed their pills, and Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and Song Qing finished their low-level seven-rank pills and registered their results.
• By the eleventh day, only six contestants remained, and a young Alchemist from the Northern Region formed an Eighth-Grade Pill that drew azure-silver Pill Lightning.
• On the twelfth day, Qing Hua formed an Eighth-Grade Pill that drew azure, silver, and red Pill Lightning, then shattered the lightning with a palm strike.
• Qing Hua caught his finished pill and decided that a top-ten place and entry to the Star Domain would be enough to pursue the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

Elder Mu Gu completed an Eighth-Rank pill with Four-Colored Pill Lightning and revealed that he had joined Soul Hall, provoking Qing Hua and Pill Tower. He then taunted Xuan Kongzi, who was left to respond as the crowd watched.

• Elder Mu Gu released his pill, drawing Pill Lightning that grew from three colors to four.
• Elder Mu Gu mocked Qing Hua and claimed his pill surpassed Qing Hua's.
• Elder Mu Gu revealed his identity as a member of Soul Hall and challenged Xuan Kongzi to deny his right to enter the Pill Gathering.
• Yao Lao urged Xuan Kongzi to perform, then scolded him when his reaction seemed likely to scare Elder Mu Gu away.
• Elder Mu Gu laughed at Xuan Kongzi, delighted that he could not retaliate.

Elder Mu Gu clashed with the Pill Tower leaders as the reclusive Xuanming Elders revealed their strength and each produced a pill that summoned Four-Colored Pill Lightning. Xiao Yan then finished refining his pill and began drawing lightning, but its color and the Pill Gathering champion remained unknown.

• Xuan Kongzi worried that Xiao Yan might not surpass Elder Mu Gu, while Yao Lao admitted he did not know his disciple's full alchemy strength.
• The Xuanming Elders emerged from seclusion and each summoned Four-Colored Pill Lightning, matching Elder Mu Gu's achievement.
• The Xuanming Elders confronted Elder Mu Gu, and Yao Lao told Xuan Kongzi that he had defeated them in an alchemy exchange thirty years earlier.
• At the Xuanming Elders' suggestion, Xiao Yan stopped refining and recalled the Azure Sky Flame as the Myriad Beast Cauldron began to shake.
• Xiao Yan's cauldron burst open and released a purple-red pillar of energy, while pill lightning began forming in the clouds.

Xiao Yan’s pill produced Four-Colored Pill Lightning after its attempt at a fifth color faded, leading Elder Mu Gu to believe he had won. Xiao Yan remained composed and planned to use two drops of the Dragon Emperor’s Essence Blood to raise the pill’s grade, then dismissed Mu Gu as an idiot.

• Xiao Yan’s pill summoned Four-Colored Pill Lightning, while a faint fifth color appeared and quickly vanished.
• Elder Mu Gu celebrated the failed fifth color, and the spectators and Xuan Kongzi regretted that Xiao Yan had fallen short.
• Yao Lao suggested Xiao Yan could raise the pill’s grade with a secret technique, prompting Tian Leizi to wonder whether he understood alchemy at all.
• Xiao Yan assessed his failure and decided to use two drops of the Dragon Emperor’s Essence Blood to force the pill to a higher grade.
• Elder Mu Gu insulted Xiao Yan and vowed to punish him, but Xiao Yan called him an idiot.

Xiao Yan infused the Heavenly Soul Blood-Melting Pill with purple-gold Essence Blood, causing it to produce the unprecedented fifth-color Purple Pill Lightning and putting him in a strong position to win the Pill Gathering. Yao Lao revealed that the blood came from an Advanced Dou Sheng, but refused to identify its owner or explain how he obtained it, leaving Xuan Kongzi and the Pill Tower leaders stunned.

• Xiao Yan traded insults with Elder Mu Gu, then produced a drop of purple-gold Essence Blood that stirred Elder Mu Gu's hunger and curiosity.
• Xiao Yan added the Essence Blood to the fully formed Heavenly Soul Blood-Melting Pill, and the pill's thunderclouds began to churn again.
• Purple Pill Lightning appeared and overwhelmed the other colors, prompting the spectators to celebrate Xiao Yan's extraordinary achievement.
• Xuan Kongzi asked Yao Lao about the Essence Blood, and Yao Lao said it came from an Advanced Dou Sheng but refused to reveal more.
• Xuan Kongzi suggested Yao Lao might have taken the blood by force, and Yao Lao replied that the Pill Tower's Old Ancestor was too weak, leaving the Pill Tower leaders speechless.

Yao Lao reprimanded the Three Great Elders for their weakness and for failing to recognize that Soul Hall served Soul Clan, which restrained the Pill Tower Ancestor. He ordered them to reach Half-Saint within five years, then turned his attention back to Xiao Yan facing the Five-Color Pill Lightning.

• Yao Lao explained that the Soul Hall Chief who defeated the Three Great Elders had been a Dou Sheng avatar or possessed body, and that Soul Clan's power kept the Pill Tower Ancestor from attacking Soul Hall.
• Yao Lao argued that Soul Hall was Soul Clan's covert outer force and questioned what Soul Clan wanted with the spiritual bodies it collected.
• Yao Lao criticized the Pill Tower Ancestor for his slow cultivation and rebuked the Three Great Elders for remaining Peak Dou Zuns.
• Yao Lao said Elder Mu Gu would soon die at his hands, and Xuan Yi calmed him by directing his attention back to Xiao Yan.
• Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi sighed as Yao Lao watched Xiao Yan face the Five-Color Pill Lightning.

Xiao Yan used his Earth Demon Puppet to withstand the Five-Color Pill Lightning and successfully refined his pill. He then sent the puppet to absorb Elder Mu Gu’s Four-Color Pill Lightning, leaving Mu Gu furious and crying that Xiao Yan had stolen it.

• The Xuanming Elders offered to help Xiao Yan face the Five-Color Pill Lightning, but Xiao Yan summoned his Nine-Star Dou Zong Earth Demon Puppet instead.
• The Earth Demon Puppet fought the lightning and Thunder Beasts, growing stronger as it absorbed their energy.
• After ten minutes, the Earth Demon Puppet defeated the final Thunder Beast, and the Five-Color Pill Lightning dispersed as Xiao Yan completed his pill.
• Xiao Yan sent the Earth Demon Puppet toward Elder Mu Gu’s Four-Color Pill Lightning, and the puppet destroyed it with a punch.
• Elder Mu Gu realized the puppet was growing stronger from the lightning and shouted that Xiao Yan had stolen his Pill Lightning.

Xiao Yan used the Earth Demon Puppet to absorb Elder Mu Gu’s Four-Colored Pill Lightning and then the Xuanming Elders’ lightning, while Xuan Kongzi stalled Mu Gu’s complaints. The puppet absorbed enough lightning to advance into a Heavenly Demon Puppet with strength comparable to a Dou Zun.

• Elder Mu Gu accused Xiao Yan of stealing his Pill Lightning, but Xuan Kongzi ruled that Xiao Yan had not violated the rules and delayed any decision until the next Pill Gathering.
• Yao Lao told Xuan Kongzi to stall Mu Gu while the Earth Demon Puppet finished absorbing the lightning.
• Elder Mu Gu tried to use Xuan Kongzi’s ruling as permission to attack Xiao Yan, but discovered that the puppet had already absorbed his Four-Colored Pill Lightning.
• The elder of the Xuanming Elders asked Xiao Yan to help withstand their Four-Colored Pill Lightning, and Xiao Yan sent the Earth Demon Puppet to absorb it.
• The Earth Demon Puppet absorbed the remaining lightning and descended beside Xiao Yan as a Heavenly Demon Puppet with strength comparable to a Dou Zun.

Xiao Yan completed the Five-Color Pill Lightning Heavenly Soul Blood-Melting Pill and was declared champion of the Pill Gathering. He received the champion’s rewards and learned that he and the other top ten Alchemists would soon enter the Star Domain to subdue Three Thousand Burning Flame.

• Xiao Yan completed the Eighth-Grade Heavenly Soul Blood-Melting Pill as the Xuanming Elders departed and wished him good luck.
• Xuan Kongzi displayed the gathered pills, and Xiao Yan’s pill stood at the top of the tower above Elder Mu Gu’s and the other Alchemists’ pills.
• Xuan Kongzi announced Xiao Yan as the Pill Gathering champion and awarded him a future candidacy for one of the Three Great Heads of Pill Tower, an ancient soul cultivation method, and a spot to subdue Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Xuan Kongzi named the top ten Alchemists and said Qiu Ling would lead them to the Star Domain in two days to subdue Three Thousand Burning Flame.

Xiao Yan received his Eighth-Grade Alchemist badge and learned that the Star Domain would open in two days, where he planned to obtain Three Thousand Burning Flame. After resting, he visited Venerable Qing Hua to recruit him as a Guest Elder of Star Fall Pavilion.

• Xiao Yan brushed off Old Man Mu Gu’s threat after the Pill Gathering ended.
• Xuan Kongzi gave Xiao Yan a soul cultivation method, and Xuan Yi arranged for him to receive an Eighth-Grade Alchemist badge.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that Three Thousand Burning Flame had been sealed more heavily and that the Pill Tower leaders would guard it from Soul Hall.
• Xiao Yan slept for a day and a night after his exhausting pill refinement, then decided to invite Venerable Qing Hua to Star Fall Pavilion with the promise of a Heavenly Flame’s Child Flame.
• Xiao Yan visited Venerable Qing Hua and directly asked him to serve as a Guest Elder of Star Fall Pavilion.

Xiao Yan tried to recruit Old Monster Qing Hua to Star Fall Pavilion by offering him a Heavenly Flame child flame, but revealing three flames led Qing Hua to suspect Xiao Yan had inherited Yao Chen’s Flame Mantra. The chapter ended with Qing Hua convinced that Yao Chen was alive and asking where he was, while Xiao Yan denied being Yao Chen’s disciple.

• Xiao Yan offered Old Monster Qing Hua a Heavenly Flame child flame if he joined Star Fall Pavilion, and Qing Hua hesitated between the offer and pursuing the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Xiao Yan showed Qing Hua the Green Lotus Core Flame, Sea Heart Flame, and Fallen Heart Flame, startling him because an alchemist was not supposed to possess three Heavenly Flames.
• Qing Hua recognized Xiao Yan’s flames and asked whether he was connected to Yao Chen and had cultivated the Flame Mantra.
• Xiao Yan tried to leave when Qing Hua pressed him about the Flame Mantra, but Qing Hua said he and Yao Chen had been old friends and asked whether Yao Chen was still alive.
• Xiao Yan said Han Feng had long been dead and Yao Chen would live forever in their hearts, prompting Qing Hua to conclude that Xiao Yan was Yao Chen’s disciple and that Yao Chen was hiding in Star Fall Pavilion.

Xiao Yan negotiated with Old Monster Qing Hua over a Heavenly Flame’s Child Flame, then prepared to enter the Star Domain to subdue Three Thousand Burning Flame. After Yao Lao and Zi Yan warned him about the dangers, Xuan Kongzi opened the Star Domain and ordered Qiu Ling to lead the ten entrants inside.

• Old Monster Qing Hua agreed to consider joining Star Fall Pavilion if Xiao Yan gave him a Heavenly Flame’s Child Flame, and he decided to wait until after Xiao Yan’s attempt to subdue Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan that Three Thousand Burning Flame was intelligent and advised him to let Elder Mu Gu’s group weaken it first.
• Zi Yan warned Xiao Yan that losing the soul battle through the Dragon Seal would turn him into a Flame Slave, and Xiao Yan assured her he was confident.
• Yao Lao’s soul clone disappeared, and Xiao Yan realized his teacher was nearing another breakthrough.
• Xuan Kongzi opened the Star Domain at midday and instructed Qiu Ling to lead the ten entrants inside.

Xiao Yan entered the Star Domain with the Pill Tower group and confronted the Three Thousand Burning Flame, which appeared as a colossal purple-black dragon. He reached its Origin Heart Flame and challenged its belief that it was a dragon, leaving it confused and asking what he meant.

• Qiu Ling led Xiao Yan and the other nine through the spatial gate into the Star Domain while Xuan Kongzi and the others watched them enter.
• Xiao Yan’s Azure Sky Flame reacted to the Three Thousand Burning Flame, and his Dragon Seal pulsed as the group approached it.
• The group saw the Three Thousand Burning Flame coiled in the void, and Xiao Yan remained unfazed by its dragon might.
• At Qiu Ling’s direction, Xiao Yan flew to the flame and sent his soul power and a drop of purple-gold blood into its body.
• Xiao Yan found the sleeping Origin Heart Flame, called out its feigned sleep, and asked whether it thought it was a flame or a dragon.
• The Three Thousand Burning Flame opened its eyes, called Xiao Yan foolish, and became confused by his question.

Xiao Yan confronted the Three Thousand Burning Flame, confused it about whether it was fire or a dragon, and secretly failed his attempt. Elder Mu Gu took his turn, believing he could bargain with the flame and bring it under the Soul Hall’s control.

• Xiao Yan told the Three Thousand Burning Flame it was a Heavenly Flame, provoking its Dragon Seal and a wave of purple-black flames.
• Xiao Yan transformed into an Azure Little Bird, escaped through a rift, and left the flame questioning whether it was a dragon or fire.
• Qiu Ling and the others waited anxiously as Xiao Yan remained connected to the dragon scale for twenty minutes, while Elder Mu Gu prepared to summon Soul Hall experts if Xiao Yan succeeded.
• Xiao Yan opened his eyes and told Qiu Ling he had failed, prompting the observers to feign relief.
• Qiu Ling stopped Elder Mu Gu from approaching, then let him proceed after warning him about the Pill Tower’s possession.
• Elder Mu Gu pressed his arm against the Special Dragon Scale, planning to promise the Three Thousand Burning Flame freedom and then subdue it with the Great Hall Master’s help.

Elder Mu Gu and Old Monster Qing Hua failed to communicate with the Three Thousand Burning Flame, which kept asking whether it was a dragon or fire and crushed their soul avatars. As another alchemist tried, Xiao Yan received a flood of messages asking to join Star Fall Pavilion and demanding a child flame.

• Elder Mu Gu entered the Three Thousand Burning Flame's space, called it a dragon, and had his soul avatar crushed, injuring his mind.
• Old Monster Qing Hua entered next, called the flame fire, and was crushed as well.
• Xiao Yan confirmed that the flame had asked him the same question and had crushed his soul power after he answered fire.
• Elder Mu Gu revealed that he too had been crushed after answering that it was a dragon.
• A genius alchemist from the Central Plains Northern Region guessed the flame was both dragon and fire, then hurried forward to try.
• Xiao Yan received several voice messages from an unknown speaker asking to join Star Fall Pavilion and demanding child flames of the Fallen Heart Flame or Green Lotus Core Flame.

After Mu Gu damaged the seal on the Three Thousand Burning Flame, the awakened flame erupted and fought against its restraints. The weakened seal began to fail as the flame drew on the stars, ending with an earth-shaking explosion.

• After the remaining alchemists failed to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame, Qiu Ling decided the group would leave.
• Mu Gu broke the scale on the flame's forehead, damaging the seal, and Qiu Ling led Xiao Yan and the others away as the flame awoke.
• Mu Gu tried to persuade the Three Thousand Burning Flame to join the Soul Hall, but it demanded to know whether it was a dragon or fire.
• When Mu Gu could not answer, the Three Thousand Burning Flame attacked everyone with purple-black flames while the seal's runes pulled it back.
• The flame sensed the damaged seal, absorbed stellar power, and unleashed a destructive burst that shattered something.

Three Thousand Burning Flame broke free of its seal, and Elder Mu Gu summoned three Soul Hall Venerable Elders to help capture it. As the Soul Hall cut off the flame’s stellar power with an array, Three Thousand Burning Flame attacked them, while Xiao Yan and the others waited for reinforcements.

• Three Thousand Burning Flame broke through the black net, and Elder Mu Gu crushed a Space Jade Slip to summon three Three-Star Peak Dou Zun Soul Hall Venerable Elders.
• Qiu Ling rejected Old Monster Qing Hua’s plan to attack the Soul Hall, choosing instead to wait for Lord Xuan Kongzi and the others.
• Elder Mu Gu and the three Venerable Elders decided to capture Three Thousand Burning Flame before Pill Tower reinforcements arrived.
• The four Soul Hall experts formed the Ten Thousand Soul Spirit Devouring Array and cut off Three Thousand Burning Flame’s access to stellar power.
• Three Thousand Burning Flame attacked the array with purple-black flames, while Xiao Yan welcomed the fight and Old Monster Qing Hua suspected Yao Chen had set a trap for the Soul Hall.

Four Soul Hall experts used their Ten Thousand Soul Heaven Lock and Life Soul Locks to weaken and restrain the Three Thousand Burning Flame. As Mu Gu moved to extract its Origin Flame, a pale-faced Venerable warned that Pill Tower experts were on their way.

• The four Soul Hall Venerables trapped the Three Thousand Burning Flame with the Ten Thousand Soul Heaven Lock as it fought against the soul chains.
• Mu Gu and the other Soul Hall experts summoned their Life Soul Locks, while Xiao Yan asked Qiu Ling what would happen if the locks were shattered.
• The four Soul Hall experts drove their Life Soul Locks into the Three Thousand Burning Flame and intensified their control as its attempted flame storm exploded before it could form.
• The Three Thousand Burning Flame weakened after several minutes of struggle, and a Soul Hall Venerable urged Mu Gu to act before the Pill Tower experts arrived.
• Mu Gu leaped to the Three Thousand Burning Flame's forehead and reached toward a damaged scale to extract its Origin Flame.

Yao Lao appeared in the Star Domain and effortlessly subdued Three Thousand Burning Flame, which had broken loose. After the flame was sealed again, the gathering returned to order, with Yao Lao’s arrival revealing his connection to Xiao Yan.

• Elder Mu Gu panicked at a faint sigh and called for its source while retreating beside the Three Venerables of Soul Hall.
• Yao Lao appeared above Three Thousand Burning Flame, and the flame immediately curled up in fear.
• Yao Lao waved Three Thousand Burning Flame aside and explained that he had whipped it into obedience months earlier.
• Xiao Yan acknowledged Yao Lao as his teacher while Old Monster Qing Hua teased him about it.
• Yao Lao called for Xuan Kongzi, who summoned layers of rune nets and sealed Three Thousand Burning Flame again.