Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan’s breakthrough unleashed a purplish-red flame that clashed with the fires of Tang Zhen, Ling Zhuo, and Three Thousand Burning Flame. He emerged from seclusion as a Dou Zun, drove back the burning Heavenly Veil, and left his crimson lotus blazing in the sky.

• Tang Zhen told Tang Huo'er that he intended to give Nine Dragon Thunder Fire to Xiao Yan, as Xuan Yi and other Pill Tower experts arrived at the disturbance.
• Xiao Yan’s surging Dou Qi formed a purplish-red fire lotus, prompting Tang Zhen and Ling Zhuo to summon Nine Dragon Thunder Fire and Wind Fury Dragon Flame.
• Three Thousand Burning Flame stirred above Holy Pill City, and Wind Fury Dragon Flame withdrew first, followed by Nine Dragon Thunder Fire.
• Xuan Yi realized Xiao Yan was breaking through to Dou Zun as he emerged from the building amid a towering pillar of purplish-red light.
• Xiao Yan shouted and forced back the purplish-black Heavenly Veil, leaving the crimson lotus phantom dominating the sky.

After breaking through to the early two-star Dou Zun realm, Xiao Yan considered invitations from the Spirit Clan, Pill Tower, and Burning Flame Valley and decided to visit the Dan Clan first. He drew Xiao Yi Xian into his arms, while an unseen watcher observed Starfall Pavilion from the void.

• Xiao Yan emerged from seclusion and confirmed that he had advanced to the early phase of the two-star Dou Zun realm, with powerful soul force also awakening within him.
• Tang Zhen and the others congratulated Xiao Yan, and he thanked Tang Zhen for giving him the Earth Core Soul Marrow.
• Xiao Yan discussed the Spirit Clan's invitation with Xiao Yi Xian, then burned the letter and decided not to visit the Spirit Clan.
• Xiao Yan decided to visit the Dan Clan to honor his agreement with Dan Qiu before going to the Pill Tower or Burning Flame Valley.
• Xiao Yan pulled Xiao Yi Xian into his arms as an unseen figure watched Starfall Pavilion from the void.

Xiao Yan confronted the black-robed intruder Mu Gu, who demanded the Flame Mantra and Heavenly Flames and attacked him. Xiao Yan revealed his clone deception and fought back, while three allies arrived to surround Mu Gu as he tried to escape.

• Xiao Yan discovered a black-robed man spying on him and trapped him in a sealed space.
• Mu Gu identified himself as Xiao Yan's uncle and demanded the Flame Mantra and Heavenly Flames, claiming Yao Chen had stolen the Flame Mantra from him.
• Mu Gu attacked Xiao Yan with Black Flame and soul power, but Xiao Yan used a Three Thousand Lightning Phantom Body clone to evade the blow and countered with the four seals of the Emperor Seal Art.
• Xiao Yan and Mu Gu exchanged attacks, and Mu Gu decided to retreat after finding Xiao Yan more difficult to defeat than expected.
• Three figures surrounded Mu Gu as Xiao Yan told his uncle not to hurry away.

Xiao Yan and his allies cornered Elder Mu Gu, overwhelming him with coordinated attacks as he struggled to escape. Badly wounded and facing Xiao Yan’s gathered Heavenly Flames, Elder Mu Gu called for Xuan Kongzi to intervene, warning that the Pill Tower would be disgraced if he died.

• Xiao Yan’s group ambushed Elder Mu Gu, who transformed into black smoke and tried to flee.
• Lei Jingxiao struck Elder Mu Gu with a lightning-charged spear, and Qing Lin froze his smoke while Xiao Yi Xian poisoned him with the Woeful Poison Aura.
• Elder Mu Gu broke free using exploding soul bodies and sent Soul Hall Protectors to cover his retreat, but Xiao Yan and Lei Jingxiao quickly defeated them.
• Xiao Yan pursued Elder Mu Gu and clashed with his crystalline palms, while Qing Lin pierced him with an ice crystal and further wounded him.
• Elder Mu Gu saw Xiao Yan merge his Heavenly Flames and shouted for Xuan Kongzi, claiming the Pill Tower would become a laughingstock if it failed to protect him.

Xiao Yan and his companions cornered Elder Mu Gu, but an unidentified Spirit Clan Dou Sheng intervened and rescued him. Qing Lin was seriously injured, leaving Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian wary of the powerful newcomer.

• Xiao Yan ordered Qing Lin, Lei Jingxiao, and Xiao Yi Xian to keep attacking Elder Mu Gu while he prepared a fatal strike.
• Elder Mu Gu tried to self-destruct, but Qing Lin used her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to freeze him and halt his resolve.
• An unknown force opened a spatial fissure to pull Elder Mu Gu away, and Qing Lin and Lei Jingxiao tried to stop him.
• The mysterious attacker struck Qing Lin and knocked her away, while Xiao Yan reopened the fissure and launched a Three-Colored Fire Lotus.
• The attacker caught Xiao Yan's fire lotus and escaped with Elder Mu Gu; Xiao Yan rushed to the badly injured Qing Lin as an aged voice identified the rescuer as a Spirit Clan Dou Sheng.

A Spirit Clan Dou Sheng rescued Elder Mu Gu and secured his help in winning the Pill Convention by offering him a Heavenly Flame. Ling Zhuo reported that the Spirit Clan’s plans were nearly complete, while his great-grandmother reassured him that he remained the favored heir.

• A Spirit Clan Dou Sheng rescued Elder Mu Gu from his injuries and forced out the poison left by the Nine Serene Deepground Python.
• The old woman demanded that Mu Gu assist the Spirit Clan in winning the Pill Convention, offering him either the Sea Heart Flame or the Green Lotus Core Flame in return.
• Mu Gu promised to keep the meeting secret and left the Ye Clan estate, considering how he might benefit from the conflict over Xiao Yan and his Heavenly Flames.
• Ling Zhuo told his great-grandmother that four of the five Pill Tower families had been eliminated, the Dan Clan was contained, and Mu Gu had submitted.
• Ling Zhuo asked whether his great-grandmother favored Ling Fengzhui, but she told him not to worry and affirmed that he would retain the greatest merit if his plans succeeded.

After Qing Lin recovered from being injured by a Dou Sheng, Xiao Yan weighed how to protect his group from the powerful enemy who had rescued Elder Mu Gu. Xuan Yi and another powerful visitor arrived at the Starfall Pavilion residence, leaving Xiao Yan to wait and hear the Pill Tower’s response.

• Qing Lin awoke, and Xiao Yan reassured her that she had not failed by being unable to stop Elder Mu Gu after a Dou Sheng intervened.
• Qing Lin asked Xiao Yan to bring her to the Northwest Region on his next visit, explaining that Ming Mei had requested it.
• Xiao Yan left Qing Lin to rest and considered how to protect his group from the Dou Sheng who had rescued Elder Mu Gu.
• Xiao Yan prepared to summon Mu Yaoyin with a jade token, but sensed Xuan Yi and another powerful visitor approaching.
• Xiao Yan decided to wait and see the Pill Tower’s attitude before calling for help.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian met with Xuan Kongzi and Xuan Yi to discuss the Spirit Clan Dou Sheng’s attack and the Pill Tower’s responsibility. They learned that the Spirit Clan was recruiting Central Plains experts, including the Pill Tower’s Three Giants, and Xuan Kongzi invited Xiao Yan to join the Pill Tower and win the Pill Convention.

• Xuan Kongzi apologized for the Pill Tower’s failure to prevent the attack and offered compensation and treatment for the injured.
• Xuan Kongzi revealed that he had witnessed the attack but held back because Dou Sheng Ling He had only intended to rescue Elder Mu Gu.
• Xuan Kongzi identified the attacker as Spirit Clan Sixth Elder Dou Sheng Ling He and said the Spirit Clan was recruiting experts through the Pill Convention.
• Xuan Yi revealed that the Spirit Clan also wanted to recruit the Pill Tower’s Three Giants.
• Xiao Yi Xian inferred that Xuan Kongzi and Xuan Yi had another reason for visiting, and Xuan Kongzi invited Xiao Yan to join the Pill Tower’s side and claim the Pill Convention championship.

Xuan Kongzi and Xuan Yi recruited Xiao Yan to represent the Pill Tower against the Spirit Clan in the Pill Convention, promising protection and valuable rewards. Xiao Yan agreed to follow the Pill Tower’s arrangements, then asked to exchange one Soul Technique for Grandmaster Haika’s fire-controlling Dou Technique.

• Xuan Kongzi explained that the Pill Tower needed Xiao Yan to keep the Pill Convention championship from going to the Spirit Clan and to stand as a candidate for the Pill Tower.
• Xiao Yan weighed the risks of opposing the Spirit Clan, then asked whether the Pill Tower could protect him and his companions from retaliation.
• Xuan Kongzi assured Xiao Yan that the Pill Tower had Dou Shengs and demonstrated his strength with a flash of Dou Qi pressure.
• Xiao Yan agreed to await the Pill Tower’s arrangements after Xuan Kongzi promised rewards including Soul Techniques, medicinal pills, ingredients, a pill formula, and protection.
• Xiao Yan asked to trade the right to one Soul Technique for Grandmaster Haika’s fire-controlling Dou Technique.

Xiao Yan accepted the Pill Tower’s support while Xiao Yi Xian suspected the Spirit Clan had forced several clans into submission by hidden means. He went to the Dan Clan to honor their promised match, but Dan Qiu said the clan could not find anyone to fight him and voided their agreement.

• Xuan Kongzi offered Xiao Yan the Pill Tower’s rewards and told him to ask Haika directly for the flame-control combat technique.
• Xiao Yi Xian warned Xiao Yan that the Spirit Clan’s swift influence over the Cao, Bai, Qiu, and Ye clans suggested it had other effective methods.
• Xiao Yi Xian advised Xiao Yan to pursue the Pill Convention championship and seek more information from Aunt Xuan.
• Xiao Yan asked Xiao Yi Xian about her hostility toward Xuan Kongzi, and she said he felt familiar despite their first meeting.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian visited the Dan Clan, where the guards initially refused visitors but admitted them after seeing Dan Qiu’s jade pendant.
• Dan Qiu told Xiao Yan the Dan Clan could not find anyone to fight him and released him from their agreement.

Xiao Yan learned that the Dan Clan was concealing a crisis involving a comatose young woman, then helped Haika forge a medicinal cauldron and obtained a scroll explaining the Wind-Driving Palm. He left with the technique after Haika’s disciple reminded him that Xuan Yi had said not to keep him too long.

• Dan Qiu refused to tell Xiao Yan about the Dan Clan’s troubles, then returned to find Dan Ren, Dan Xuan, and the clan’s young woman still unconscious after a year.
• Dan Xuan urged Dan Ren to prioritize his sister’s life, but Dan Ren insisted that the Dan Clan could not abandon the Pill Tower.
• Haika welcomed Xiao Yan and spent three days using his wind-based technique to control Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Flames while forging a medicinal cauldron.
• Xiao Yan praised Haika’s forging and asked to learn his Wind-Driving Palm, so Haika gave him a scroll containing the technique.
• Haika began sharing more of his ideas, but one of his disciples reminded him that Xuan Yi had said not to keep Xiao Yan too long.

Xiao Yan left Haika’s forging chamber after asking him to strengthen the Heavy Profound Ruler so it could withstand the Red Lotus Core Flame and Dou Zun-level battles. He then selected ingredients for ten eighth-tier pills from the Pill Tower’s reserves, while Xuan Yi pointed out the resources the Tower could offer him.

• Xiao Yan used his duty to challenge the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking as an excuse to leave Haika, who then offered to forge him a weapon.
• Xiao Yan showed Haika the Heavy Profound Ruler and explained that it could no longer endure the full force of his Heavenly Flames or the intensity of Dou Zun battles.
• Haika took the ruler to study ways to reinforce it, and Xiao Yan asked Haika’s disciple to notify him when a solution was found.
• Xuan Yi brought Xiao Yan to the Pill Tower’s medicinal-ingredient storage space and explained how the Tower gathered and preserved its rare herbs.
• Xiao Yan spent two days choosing ingredients for ten eighth-tier medicinal pills, and Xuan Yi described the Pill Tower’s resources and its ability to support powerful alchemists.

Xiao Yan refused Xuan Yi’s plea to join the Pill Tower, citing Yao Lao’s wishes and his responsibilities to the Heavenly Luan Clan. After entering the Soul Skill Pavilion, he watched a Dou Zun try to fuse two beast flames, and the newly merged fire began to riot.

• Xuan Yi urged Xiao Yan to stay with the Pill Tower, arguing it offered his best chance to reach the ninth tier, but he refused because of Yao Lao and his other responsibilities.
• Xuan Yi angrily sent Xiao Yan to the Soul Skill Pavilion and warned him that he might learn the value of compromise after getting hurt.
• Xiao Yan entered the Soul Skill Pavilion and found a peculiar Pill Tower Dou Zun concentrating on fusing two beast flames.
• Xiao Yan recognized the man’s technique as resembling the opening of his Buddha Fury Fire Lotus, though the man used a different and less stable method.
• The Dou Zun successfully merged the flames, but they began to riot when he relaxed, and Xiao Yan warned him to be careful.

Xiao Yan helped Su Huo fuse two beast flames, impressing the Pill Tower elder and prompting him to ask about Xiao Yan’s flame-fusion method. The chapter left Su Huo eager to pursue flame fusion as a way to discover new Heavenly Flames.

• Xiao Yan gathered two beast flames and used the Flame Mantra to stabilize them into a temporary Buddha Fury Fire Lotus.
• Su Huo praised Xiao Yan’s skill, and Xiao Yan introduced himself as a visitor authorized by Xuan Kongzi to select Soul Techniques.
• Su Huo recognized Xiao Yan and asked how he fused Heavenly Flames, but Xiao Yan refused to reveal his cultivation method.
• Su Huo tried to become Xiao Yan’s disciple so he could learn the method, and Xiao Yan hurriedly stopped him from bowing.
• Su Huo explained that he had long studied flame fusion and believed enough beast flames might lead to the discovery of new Heavenly Flames.

Xiao Yan shared his flame-fusion insights with Su Huo, then began searching the Pill Tower’s Soul Skill Pavilion for techniques suited to his fighting style. He reached the pavilion’s Earth-class section, where he started considering his limited choices.

• Xiao Yan explained his temporary flame-fusion method to Su Huo but refused to accept him as a disciple.
• Su Huo asked Xiao Yan to stand guard while he experimented with fusing beast flames, and Xiao Yan sent out his Three Thousand Lightning Phantom Body.
• Xiao Yan examined several Yellow-class and Black-class Soul Techniques, deciding they were not powerful enough for his needs.
• Xiao Yan found the Earth-class Soul-Locking Bell and continued through the pavilion’s most valuable section.

Xiao Yan chose Soul Techniques in the Pill Tower, and Su Huo revealed a hidden technique that suited his fighting style. After Xiao Yan accepted it and promised to share any discoveries about flame fusion, Xuan Kongzi summoned him before he could visit the Ten Thousand Pill Pavilion.

• Xiao Yan selected Frost Tail Needle and Soulflow Black Vortex from the Soul Skill Pavilion.
• Su Huo urged Xiao Yan to take the concealed Shadow Piercing Needle, explaining that it was secretly an Earth-tier high-grade Soul Technique.
• Xiao Yan accepted Shadow Piercing Needle and promised to tell Su Huo about any future discoveries in flame fusion.
• Xuan Kongzi summoned Xiao Yan before he could search the Ten Thousand Pill Pavilion for medicinal pills.
• After Xiao Yan left, an unfamiliar figure entered the Soul Skill Pavilion and showed interest in Su Huo's flame fusion.

Wei Jiangyuan demonstrated a new method of fusing beast flames to Su Huo, then selected two Soul Techniques while hinting that he wanted a missing Yellow-class scroll. The chapter left Su Huo fuming as news spread that Xiao Yan was about to challenge the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking.

• Wei Jiangyuan took Su Huo’s beast flames and fused them into a two-colored flame flower by encouraging them to grow rather than merely suppressing their violence.
• Wei Jiangyuan refused to take Su Huo as a disciple, insulting his strength and appearance before heading to the display platform.
• Wei Jiangyuan selected two Soul Techniques and told Su Huo to notify him when the missing Yellow-class scroll was returned.
• Wei Jiangyuan left after teasing Su Huo, who restrained himself because Xuan Kongzi had ordered him to accommodate Wei Jiangyuan.
• News spread throughout Holy Pill City that Xiao Yan was about to challenge the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking.

Xiao Yan began the Dragon Pillar Fire Trial as Pill Tower’s last hope of challenging Ling Zhuo’s dominance in the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking. He entered the test under intense public scrutiny, with Ling Zhuo’s record of lighting all nine pillars standing ahead of him.

• Xuan Kongzi urged Xiao Yan to compete immediately and win first place in an event before Pill Tower lost more influence to the Spirit Clan.
• Rumors spread through Holy Pill City that Xiao Yan, Yao Chen’s disciple and an eighth-tier master alchemist, was Pill Tower’s leading challenger to Ling Zhuo.
• Xiao Yan examined the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking and saw Ling Zhuo leading with 446 points, followed by three alchemists aligned with the Spirit Clan.
• A Pill Tower attendant announced that the Dragon Pillar Fire Trial was ready, and Xiao Yan walked to the nine dragon-carved pillars at the plaza’s center.
• Xiao Yan faced a flame-control test in which alchemists ignited the pillars’ dragon eyes; Ling Zhuo’s record was lighting all nine in three and a half hours.

Xiao Yan began the Nine Dragon Flame Pillars challenge, drawing skepticism as he slowly lit the first pillar. After studying its freezing defenses, he used a flaming lotus to send fire toward the remaining eight pillars at once.

• Xiao Yan started the challenge by directing his violet-red flames at the first dragon-patterned pillar, where they met a powerful freezing aura.
• Xuan Kongzi explained that Xiao Yan was testing the cold aura's limits rather than using his full strength.
• Xiao Yan spent nearly an hour lighting the first pillar while spectators mocked his slow progress.
• Xiao Yan used what he had learned to create a flaming lotus and sent eight streams of fire toward the other eight pillars simultaneously.

Xiao Yan split his flame among all eight Dragon Pattern Pillars, shocking the spectators as he attempted to light them simultaneously. He maintained the difficult balance while revealing that he had deliberately tested his limits and believed he could complete the feat.

• Xiao Yan divided his flame into eight streams and began lighting all eight Dragon Pattern Pillars at once, drawing mockery from the crowd and Ling Zhuo.
• Xuan Leizi worried that Xiao Yan was acting recklessly, but Xuan Kongzi recognized that all eight flames were being fed with equal strength and urged him to watch.
• Xuan Leizi and Xuan Kongzi discussed how Xiao Yan's success could help the Pill Tower stand against the Spirit Clan and retain its wavering elders.
• Xiao Yan controlled the flames with his soul power as the cold current from all eight pillars began to strain him.
• Xiao Yan recalled that he had slowed down on the first pillar to measure how much he could suppress the Red Lotus Core Flame, then concluded that lighting all eight at once was possible.
• Xiao Yan resolved to prove his value to the Pill Tower by winning decisively, since he needed its support against the Spirit Clan.