Chapter Summaries

At the Alchemist Conference finals, Xiao Qing drew the attention of Jia Ma Empire’s leaders, while Yun Shan resolved to recruit him and considered tying him to the Misty Cloud Sect through Yun Yun. As the contestants prepared to begin, Xiao Qing focused on refining a Tier 6 Emperor Ultimate Pill, and Gu He chose to risk attempting a Tier 5 pill.

• Feng Li and Yan Shi speculated that Xiao Qing would refine an extraordinary Tier 5 pill, while Hai Bodong and Jia Xingtian knew he planned to refine a Tier 6 Emperor Ultimate Pill.
• Yun Shan arrived at the viewing platform with Yun Yun, and the gathered leaders greeted and praised them.
• Yun Shan watched Xiao Qing, recognized his exceptional perception, and resolved to bring him into the Misty Cloud Sect, even considering him as Yun Yun’s husband.
• Xiao Qing recognized Yun Shan and Yun Yun, rejected the idea of joining a sect, and focused on refining the Tier 6 Emperor Ultimate Pill.
• As the finals began, Gu He weighed a safe Tier 4 pill against a risky Tier 5 Wind Travel Pill and chose to attempt the Tier 5 pill.

Xiao Qing refined a Tier 6 Emperor Ultimate Pill, shocking the Alchemist Conference before killing a Chu Yun Empire attacker who tried to steal it. He handed the attacker’s captured soul to Jia Xingtian, while the final round ended with Xiao Qing as the only successful alchemist.

• Xiao Qing brought out Old Yao’s Black Demon Cauldron and began refining the ingredients for an Emperor Ultimate Pill, stunning Fa Ma and the watching crowd.
• Xiao Qing refined more than thirty ingredients at once with the Green Lotus Core Flame, while Gu He struggled to continue making a Tier 5 Wind Travel Pill.
• Xiao Qing completed the Emperor Ultimate Pill, and a seven-colored Pill Cloud formed above the plaza.
• A Peak Dou Wang from the Chu Yun Empire attacked the pill, but Xiao Qing destroyed his body with a crimson-gold finger force and sealed his soul in a jade bottle.
• Jia Xingtian and Hai Bodong arrived to protect Xiao Qing, and the disturbance ruined Gu He’s pill and interrupted the other alchemists’ work.
• Xiao Qing handed the sealed soul to Jia Xingtian, who thanked him and promised to deal with the intruder.

Xiao Qing was named champion of the Alchemist Conference and agreed to refine a Break Sect Pill for Yun Shan in exchange for rare materials. Yun Shan’s attempt to recruit Xiao Qing and arrange a marriage with Yun Yun failed, while Xiao Qing revealed he planned to travel to the Central Plains.

• Fa Ma announced Xiao Qing as the Alchemist Conference champion for refining the Tier 6 Advanced Emperor Ultimate Pill and triggering a Pill Cloud.
• Xiao Qing refused visitors seeking pills unless they provided three sets of ingredients, the pill formula, and a suitable reward, and he accepted Nalan Jie's Seven Illusion Green Spirit Saliva apology gift.
• Yun Shan visited Xiao Qing with Yun Yun and requested a Break Sect Pill, offering three sets of ingredients and Crimson Flame Meteorite Essence as payment.
• Xiao Qing agreed to refine the Break Sect Pill but declined Yun Shan's offer to make him a Guest Elder of the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Xiao Qing told Yun Yun and the others that his teacher had returned to the Central Plains and that he planned to follow him there.
• Yun Shan hinted at a marriage alliance between Xiao Qing and Yun Yun, but Xiao Qing politely rejected the proposal, and Yun Shan left after asking him to attend to the pill.

Xiao Qing completed a month of pill-refining commissions, broke through to Six-Star Dou Wang, and refined a peak Tier 6 Break Sect Pill for Yun Shan. After finishing his work and deciding to awaken Old Yao, he slipped out of Jia Ma Holy City and reached a concealed cave to begin a secret operation.

• Xiao Qing refined batches of pills for the Mittel Family's clients while Hai Bodong and Mite'er Tengshan managed deliveries and rewards.
• Xiao Qing broke through to Six-Star Dou Wang after nearly a month of intensive pill refining.
• Xiao Qing refined the Break Sect Pill, dispersed the forming Pill Tribulation clouds, and gave the pill to Yun Shan, who returned to the Misty Cloud Sect to attempt a breakthrough to Dou Zong.
• Jia Xingtian reached Nine-Star Dou Emperor, while factions across Jia Ma and neighboring empires focused their attention on Xiao Qing.
• Xiao Qing told Hai Bodong and Mite'er Tengshan that he was going for a walk, then secretly left the city and traveled to a concealed mountain cave.

Xiao Qing nourished Old Yao’s soul until he awakened, forged a powerful sword, and recounted his gains from the sealed pocket dimension. After returning to Jia Ma Holy City, Xiao Qing learned that the attacker who tried to seize the Emperor Ultimate Pill belonged to the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.

• Xiao Qing prepared Soul-Warming Spirit Liquid and used it to nourish Old Yao’s soul while consolidating his cultivation.
• Xiao Qing forged a crimson-gold sword from Crimson Flame Meteorite Essence, named it the Heavenly Emperor Sword, and stood guard as the liquid awakened Old Yao.
• Old Yao awakened and was astonished by Xiao Qing’s Six-Star Dou Wang cultivation and Spirit Realm Initial Peak soul power.
• Xiao Qing told Old Yao about Saint Qingling, Queen Medusa’s inheritance, and the Heaven Rank scrolls he had received, and Old Yao warned him to keep the treasures secret.
• After Old Yao’s soul stabilized, Xiao Qing returned with him to Jia Ma Holy City and met Hai Bodong at the Mittel Family headquarters.
• Hai Bodong told Xiao Qing that the person who tried to seize the Emperor Ultimate Pill at the Alchemist Conference came from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect of the Chu Yun Empire.

Xiao Qing learned that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect threatened the Jia Ma Empire, while Yun Shan’s breakthrough to Dou Zong strengthened the empire’s defenses. Xiao Qing and Hai Bodong traveled to the eastern border to investigate, where they met Nalan Jie and Mu Chen at Ghost Suppression Pass.

• Hai Bodong warned Xiao Qing that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect was led by powerful experts, including the Three-Star Dou Zong Xie Biyan, and might be linked to a mysterious organization.
• Jia Xingtian united the imperial family, the Alchemist Guild, and major clans after the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect attacked border outposts and villages with poison.
• Yun Shan broke through to Dou Zong and pledged the Misty Cloud Sect’s support for defending the Jia Ma Empire.
• Jia Xingtian and Yun Shan agreed to send an elite squad to investigate the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect and strike back without escalating into a full war.
• Xiao Qing decided to investigate the Chu Yun Empire, and Hai Bodong secretly followed him before joining him on the journey east.
• Xiao Qing and Hai Bodong reached Ghost Suppression Pass and were welcomed by Nalan Jie and Mu Chen.

Xiao Qing and Hai Bodong set out to investigate the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, and Xiao Qing demonstrated his overwhelming power along the way. After destroying the sect’s entrance and killing three Dou Wang elders, he faced the gathered sect forces beneath their rising protective barrier.

• Xiao Qing told Nalan Jie and Mu Chen that he and Hai Bodong planned to investigate the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect in the Chu Yun Empire.
• A force led by a Nine-Star Dou Wang attacked Ghost Suppression Pass, and Xiao Qing killed the attackers instantly with his soul power.
• Xiao Qing and Hai Bodong flew into the Chu Yun Empire, where Xiao Qing said he could draw on power left by his teacher to face a Dou Zong.
• Xiao Qing blasted apart the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect’s gate with a palm of Green Lotus Core Flame, triggering the sect’s alarm and protective barrier.
• Three Dou Wang elders attacked Xiao Qing, who burned one with Heavenly flame and erased the other two with soul power.

Xiao Qing and Hai Bodong attacked the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, where Xiao Qing wounded sect master Xie Shan and Hai Bodong fought the sect’s supreme elders. Ancestor Xie Biyan emerged to confront Xiao Qing, who killed Xie Shan despite being struck by Xie Biyan’s attack.

• Xie Shan arrived with two reclusive supreme elders and challenged Hai Bodong and Xiao Qing over their assault on the sect.
• Hai Bodong revealed his five-star Dou Emperor strength and battled the two supreme elders, while Xiao Qing wounded Xie Shan with the Finger of Nirvana.
• Xie Biyan, the sect’s three-star Dou Zong ancestor, emerged from the Back Mountain as a hidden Black Shadow watched and remarked on Xiao Qing’s Early Spirit Realm soul.
• Xie Biyan attacked Xiao Qing with a poison palm, but Xiao Qing blocked it with his crimson-gold flames and his Finger of Nirvana killed Xie Shan.
• Xiao Qing wiped blood from his mouth and faced Xie Biyan, whose killing intent rose.

Xiao Qing unleashed his Law Form and defeated the Three-Star Dou Zong Xie Biyan with a soul attack and the Finger of Nirvana. When the Soul Hall’s Iron Protector appeared, Xiao Qing drew on Venerable Yao Chen’s power, killed Xie Biyan, and captured Iron Protector’s soul in a sealed jade bottle.

• Xiao Qing activated his crimson-gold Law Form and battled Xie Biyan, using heavenly flame to weaken his poison techniques.
• Xiao Qing exploited the heavenly flame hidden in Xie Biyan’s meridians to land a soul attack, then struck him with the Finger of Nirvana and Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Iron Protector emerged from the black mist and attacked Xiao Qing with a Soul Chain, but Xiao Qing called on his teacher and surged to Dou Zong-level strength.
• Xiao Qing vaporized the wounded Xie Biyan with a heavenly flame palm and stopped Iron Protector from fleeing with a soul prison.
• Xiao Qing cut through Iron Protector’s chain and wounded his soul body with the Heavenly Emperor Sword, then sealed him inside a jade bottle.

After helping Hai Bodong destroy the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect and seize its treasury, Xiao Qing followed a faint Heavenly Flame aura to a hidden cave and found the Nether Poison Flame, ranked twentieth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. He subdued the juvenile flame and placed it in his Spirit Container, recognizing that it could be suited to Xiao Yi Xian’s Woe Poison Body.

• Xiao Qing and Hai Bodong killed the remaining Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect fighters and looted the sect’s hidden treasury.
• Xiao Qing sensed a strange, frigid Heavenly Flame aura and left Hai Bodong to recover while he investigated it.
• Xiao Qing tracked the aura to a cold pool and discovered an underwater cave containing a juvenile purple flame.
• Old Yao identified the flame as the Nether Poison Flame, ranked twentieth, and said it could complement Xiao Yi Xian’s Woe Poison Body.
• Xiao Qing used his Law of Fire, Heavenly Flames, and soul power to subdue the Nether Poison Flame and store it in his Spirit Container.

Xiao Qing returned from destroying the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect with Hai Bodong and considered using the captured Nether Poison Flame to strengthen Xiao Yi Xian. News of the sect’s destruction spread through the Jia Ma Empire, leaving Jia Xingtian and Yun Shan shocked by Xiao Qing’s power.

• Xiao Qing sealed the Nether Poison Flame and planned to use it to build Xiao Yi Xian’s foundation once she was ready.
• Xiao Qing and Hai Bodong returned to Ghost Suppression Pass, where Xiao Qing confirmed that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect had been destroyed and its leaders killed.
• Xiao Qing gave Hai Bodong a healing pill, then the two left for the imperial capital as Nalan Jie and Mu Chen reinforced the border defenses.
• Jia Xingtian received news of the sect’s destruction, ordered border precautions, and tasked Mite’er Tengshan with extending the Jia Ma Empire’s influence into the Chu Yun Empire.
• Nalan Jie’s secret letter confirmed that Xiao Qing had personally killed Xie Biyan, and the revelation spread across the empire, raising Xiao Qing’s reputation to an unprecedented height.
• Yun Shan heard that Xiao Qing had killed the Three-Star Dou Zong Xie Biyan and admitted that the younger generation was formidable.

Xiao Qing gathered the ingredients to prepare a Tier 8 Bone-Growing Blood-Melting Pill for Old Yao and planned to obtain a Heavenly Demon Puppet to withstand its Pill Tribulation. He returned to Green Mountain Town, where Xiao Yi Xian and Gu Ting agreed to go with him to the Xiao Family in Wutan City.

• Yun Shan ordered Yun Yun to have the Misty Cloud Sect treat Xiao Qing with the highest respect after acknowledging his strength.
• Xiao Qing found the ingredients needed for the Bone-Growing Blood-Melting Pill and told Old Yao he planned to raise it to Tier 8 using a Heavenly Demon Puppet to endure the Pill Tribulation.
• Xiao Qing left Jia Ma Holy City after bidding farewell to Hai Bodong and Mite'er Tengshan and accepting a parting gift from Jia Xingtian.
• Xiao Qing reached Green Mountain Town and found that Gu Ting had recovered much of her health after taking the pills he had left behind.
• Xiao Qing asked Gu Ting and Xiao Yi Xian to move to the Xiao Family in Wutan City, and both agreed to go with him.
• Xiao Qing drove off people spying on Gu Ting's courtyard with a display of his Dou Wang aura while Gu Ting and Xiao Yi Xian packed their belongings.

Xiao Qing brought Gu Ting and Xiao Yi Xian to the Xiao Family, where he helped Gu Xun’er overcome her unease about sharing his attention and brought the girls closer together. Before leaving, he told Gu Xun’er about Qing Lin’s extraordinary Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and asked her to look after Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian.

• Xiao Qing flew Gu Ting and Xiao Yi Xian from Green Mountain Town to Wutan City and settled them in the Xiao Family.
• Xiao Qing explained to Xiao Zhan that Xiao Yi Xian had a special Talent and needed guidance, and Xiao Zhan agreed to shelter and support the mother and daughter.
• Gu Xun’er felt wary of Xiao Yi Xian’s place in Xiao Qing’s circle, but Xiao Qing explained the mother and daughter’s hardships, and Gu Xun’er promised to care for Xian’er.
• Xiao Qing spent a month helping Gu Xun’er, Qing Lin, and Xiao Yi Xian grow close as they explored Wutan City, learned about herbs, and practiced cultivation.
• Before leaving, Xiao Qing told Gu Xun’er that Qing Lin possessed the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and described its powers over snake-type magical beasts.
• Gu Xun’er listened in astonishment as Xiao Qing explained Qing Lin’s Talent and asked her to watch over Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Qing explained Xiao Yi Xian’s dangerous Woe Poison Body to Gu Xun’er and entrusted her with protecting and guiding Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin. He departed from Wutan City, leaving the three girls determined to grow stronger until he returned.

• Xiao Qing told Gu Xun’er that Xiao Yi Xian’s dormant Woe Poison Body could become a deadly disaster, and promised to find a way to control it once she reached Dou Wang.
• Gu Xun’er vowed to protect Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin, keep their constitutions secret, and follow Xiao Qing’s careful cultivation instructions for both girls.
• Xiao Qing gave Gu Xun’er cultivation supplies and asked her to care for Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian while he was away.
• Gu Ting, Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and Gu Xun’er saw Xiao Qing off at the Xiao Family gates as Xiao Zhan watched from the shadows.
• After Xiao Qing left, Gu Xun’er led Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian home and urged them to cultivate and become stronger before his return.

Xiao Qing found Zi Yan, an unclaimed Ancient Void Dragon hatchling, in the Black Abyss Mountains and offered to trade a Tier 7 Humanoid Transformation Pill for one drop of her essence blood. After Zi Yan agreed and followed him to a secluded spot, Xiao Qing began refining the pill.

• Xiao Qing entered the Black Abyss Mountains and found a Transformation Grass beside a hidden spring.
• Zi Yan emerged from the grass and revealed her longing for the Transformation Grass; Old Yao recognized her as a hatchling of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan.
• Xiao Qing offered to refine a Humanoid Transformation Pill in exchange for one drop of Zi Yan's origin essence blood, and Zi Yan agreed.
• Zi Yan followed Xiao Qing to a quiet spot in the valley, where he set up a soul barrier and prepared the Black Demon Cauldron.
• Xiao Qing used the Green Lotus Core Flame to begin refining dozens of supplementary medicinal ingredients at once.

Xiao Qing refined a Tier 7 Humanoid Transformation Pill for Zi Yan and absorbed its Pill Tribulation with his Devouring Law, strengthening his body. Zi Yan transformed into a human girl, gave Xiao Qing her promised Ancient Void Dragon origin blood essence, and thanked him.

• Xiao Qing refined the Humanoid Transformation Pill while Zi Yan watched, then erased the pill’s developing spirituality.
• When a Tier 7 Pill Tribulation formed, Xiao Qing used his Devouring Law Form to absorb all eight lightning strikes and raise his physical strength to mid Tier 6.
• Xiao Qing gave the completed pill to Zi Yan, who swallowed it and transformed into a human girl.
• Zi Yan gave Xiao Qing a drop of her Ancient Void Dragon origin blood essence as promised.
• Xiao Qing warned Zi Yan to be careful in the Black-Corner Region, and she thanked him, calling him a good person.

Xiao Qing named the Ancient Void Dragon girl Zi Yan and brought her to Black Seal City, where he used her treasure-seeking talent to find valuable items in the Treasure Hunting District. After hearing about Eight Fan Gate’s upcoming auction, he considered attending to search for more rare medicinal herbs.

• Xiao Qing named the girl Zi Yan, and she happily agreed to travel with him for protection and medicinal pills.
• Xiao Qing and Zi Yan reached Black Seal City, paid the entrance fee, and explored the crowded city.
• Xiao Qing treated Zi Yan to local food, and she eagerly ate the grilled meat and drank the local juice.
• Xiao Qing formed a soul link with Zi Yan and guided her to sense hidden treasures in the Treasure Hunting District.
• Zi Yan helped Xiao Qing find an Earth Core Fire Ganoderma and Star Blue Gold, which he bought among ordinary goods.
• Xiao Qing overheard that Eight Fan Gate’s auction was about to begin and considered attending for rare medicinal herbs.

Xiao Qing bought the third Purifying Lotus Demon Flame Fragment Map in Black Seal City, then killed Fan Xian and his guards after they tried to extort him. After preparing for the coming auction and helping Zi Yan adapt to her strength, Xiao Qing encountered Fan Tong, Fan Xian’s father, who had come to confront him.

• Zi Yan sensed an ancient map at a neglected stall, and Xiao Qing bought it along with two other scraps without revealing its importance.
• Fan Xian tried to seize the map and Xiao Qing’s Storage Ring, so Zi Yan struck down one of his guards and Xiao Qing killed Fan Xian and the remaining men with soul force.
• Xiao Qing took Zi Yan to a secluded inn, praised her for defending him, and planned to absorb the map and Ancient Void Dragon Essence Blood before the Eight Fan Gate auction.
• After two days of helping Zi Yan adapt to her transformed body, Xiao Qing took her out to gather information about the auction.
• Fan Tong, Fan Xian’s father and an eight-star Dou Ling, blocked Xiao Qing and Zi Yan in the street after identifying Xiao Qing as his son’s killer.

Xiao Qing killed Fan Tong and his guards before attending the Eight Fan Gate Auction House, where he faced Fan Lao’s hostility. When Fan Lao seemed poised to win the Heavenly Lightning Body Tempering Method, Xiao Qing made a startling bid with two Tier 6 pills.

• Fan Tong attacked Xiao Qing, who killed him with a soul strike and burned him and the Fan Family guards to ashes.
• Xiao Qing and Zi Yan entered the Eight Fan Gate Auction House, where Fan Lao watched Xiao Qing with murderous intent from a private room.
• Xiao Qing bid on the Fire Origin Pill Formula, then withdrew when Fan Lao drove its price up to seven million gold coins.
• Fan Lao bid fifteen million gold coins for the Heavenly Lightning Body Tempering Method, and Xiao Qing countered with a Tier 6 Emperor Ultimate Pill and a Tier 6 Dou Ling Pill.

After winning the Heavenly Lightning Body Tempering Method at auction, Xiao Qing left Black Seal City with Zi Yan and confronted the factions pursuing his treasures. He killed the Mad Lion Gang master with one punch, then stood unharmed against Fan Lao’s Dou Emperor attack.

• Xiao Qing paid for the Heavenly Lightning Body Tempering Method with an Emperor Ultimate Pill and a Dou Ling Pill, drawing the attention of Fan Lao and the auction house’s powerful figures.
• Fan Lao, the Earth Flame Sect, the Mad Lion Gang, and a group of unidentified men in black followed Xiao Qing and Zi Yan out of Black Seal City into the Withered Bone Wasteland.
• Xiao Qing warned Zi Yan to stay close, then stopped in an open area and called on his pursuers to reveal themselves.
• The Mad Lion Gang master attacked Xiao Qing, who crossed the distance in an instant and killed him with a single punch.
• Fan Lao struck Xiao Qing with a massive blood-colored palm, but Xiao Qing met it with his fist and remained unharmed while the impact sent Fan Lao flying backward.