Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan accepted his unexpectedly high score after the third trial, while the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion announced that the rankings would close in ten days, making the contest for the Spirit Fusion cauldron a race between Xiao Yan and Ling Zhuo. Before setting out to learn more about the fourth trial, Xiao Yan encountered Wei Jiangyuan again in the Pill Tower corridors.

• Xiao Yan received a score of seventy-four for the third trial and left with Xiao Yi Xian, unaware that Ling Zhuo had awarded him extra points.
• Xiao Yi Xian reassured Xiao Yan that she trusted him and offered to shield him from pressure from the Pill Tower.
• The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion announced that the rankings would stop counting in ten days and revealed rewards that included the Spirit Fusion cauldron for first place.
• The Pill Tower struggled with the shortened schedule, and Xuan Kongzi asked Xiao Yan whether ten days would be enough for him to compete.
• Xiao Yan decided to inspect the unusual fourth trial before making a decision, then encountered Wei Jiangyuan blocking his path again.

Wei Jiangyuan offered Xiao Yan a self-created pill formula that could earn a perfect score in the Myriad Pill Formulas trial, but Xiao Yan refused to use it and chose to rely on his own abilities. He remained determined to compete for the Spirit-Fusion Medicine Cauldron himself.

• Xiao Yan sent Xiao Yi Xian and Lei Jingxiao ahead before asking Wei Jiangyuan why he had come to see him.
• Wei Jiangyuan explained that the Myriad Pill Formulas trial rewarded original pill formulas and offered Xiao Yan his own creation, a high seventh-tier pill that could raise a Dou Zong by one star.
• Xiao Yan returned the formula, saying he would not use Wei Jiangyuan's work to build his reputation and wanted to test his own skills.
• Wei Jiangyuan asked whether Xiao Yan still wanted the Spirit-Fusion Medicine Cauldron, and Xiao Yan said he believed he could win it through his own strength.

Xiao Yan prepared for the Pill Convention’s dangerous pocket dimension and then faced the fourth trial, where he met the formidable alchemist Yuan Chen. Yuan Chen rejected any favoritism and promised a fair score, leaving Xiao Yan determined to win first place on his own.

• Xiao Yan urged Wei Jiangyuan to stay hidden and support him when the Spirit Clan’s forces became a threat, while planning to deal with Mu Gu if the chance arose.
• Xiao Yan arrived at the fourth trial and dodged an owl-shaped magical beast that repeatedly swooped at him to devour his Red Lotus Core Flame.
• Yuan Chen stopped the beast, introduced himself, and explained that it was drawn to powerful flames.
• Yuan Chen revealed that Xuan Kongzi had asked him to favor Xiao Yan, but he had refused and vowed to judge everyone fairly.
• Xiao Yan rejected the idea of special treatment and declared that he would claim first place himself.

Xiao Yan examined the Beast Bone Marrow Pill formula, found an error in its Ironbone Vine sap dosage, and spent two days devising improvements. He submitted revisions to Yuan Chen, though he still felt that he had overlooked something.

• Xiao Yan drew the Beast Bone Marrow Pill formula and studied its ingredients and refining steps.
• After two hours of mental simulations, Xiao Yan identified that the formula used too much Ironbone Vine sap and recommended three to six drops, adjusted to ingredient quality.
• Xiao Yan considered ways to improve the formula and spent two days developing revisions without testing them in a cauldron.
• Xuan Leizi and Xuan Kongzi discussed how their responsibilities had hindered their alchemical progress and reflected on Yao Chen, Xiao Yan, and Wei Jiangyuan.
• Xiao Yan replaced Violent Mountain Bear bone powder with Iron-Patterned Bear bone powder, substituted Snake Blood Flower for Rock Dragon Blood Ginseng, reduced the Earthheart Milk by one drop, and proposed thirteen further changes to supplementary ingredients.
• Xiao Yan handed his proposed revisions to Yuan Chen but remained troubled by a detail he could not yet discern.

Xiao Yan realized that Yuan Chen’s Fire-Headed Owl’s evolution could inspire him to create a pill that let people inherit a magical beast’s bloodline abilities. He began developing the formula, but his first calculations revealed that a supplementary ingredient was missing.

• Xiao Yan burned the improvements he had submitted and asked Yuan Chen about the origins of his Fire-Headed Owl.
• After the owl swallowed more of Xiao Yan’s Red Lotus Core Flame, Xiao Yan recognized its evolution as inspiration for a new pill formula.
• Xiao Yan told Yuan Chen he wanted to create a pill formula instead of improving one, and Yuan Chen agreed to stand guard.
• Drawing on Qing Lin’s absorption of the Nine Serene Deepground Python’s royal blood and his study of the Beast Bone Marrow Pill, Xiao Yan planned a pill to help people inherit a beast’s strongest abilities.
• Xiao Yan began writing the formula and reasoned through ingredients to suppress beastly nature and protect the heart meridians, then realized one supplementary ingredient was missing.

Xiao Yan remained absorbed in creating a pill formula of his own as the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking deadline approached. When the Pill Tower’s three great giants considered waking him so he could still compete for the Spirit-Fusion Medicine Cauldron, Xiao Yi Xian refused and vowed to protect his work.

• Xiao Yan filled sheets of paper with ideas for a new pill formula while Yuan Chen guarded him and supplied more paper.
• Xuan Leizi, Xuan Kongzi, and Xuan Yi worried that Xiao Yan would run out of time to finish the formula and compete in the remaining trials.
• After six more days passed, Xuan Leizi decided Xiao Yan had to be awakened, and Xuan Kongzi suggested asking Xiao Yi Xian to persuade Yuan Chen.
• Xuan Kongzi and the others asked Xiao Yi Xian to have Xiao Yan awakened so he could still pursue the Spirit-Fusion Medicine Cauldron.
• Xiao Yi Xian refused, saying she understood Xiao Yan’s decision to destroy his previous formula, and warned the three giants not to disturb him.

Xiao Yi Xian refused the Pill Tower's request to wake Xiao Yan, leaving him to continue creating a pill formula as the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking neared its end. On the final day, Xiao Yan completed the formula and presented it to Yuan Chen for review.

• Xiao Yi Xian rejected Xuan Kongzi and the Pill Tower's request to wake Xiao Yan, and Xuan Yi persuaded them to respect his choice.
• Ling Zhuo grew confident that Xiao Yan could no longer threaten his lead in the ranking.
• Xuan Leizi regretted giving up the chance to compete for first place, but Xuan Yi defended Xiao Yan's choice and his earlier contributions.
• Yuan Chen watched Xiao Yan's work and anticipated the rank of the pill formula he was creating.
• Xiao Yan stopped writing after ten days, announced that he had completed the pill formula, and asked Yuan Chen to review it.

Xiao Yan received a score of ninety for his unfinished self-created pill formula, then decided to enter the final Heaven-Tier Soul Test despite his exhausted soul. With five hours left in the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking, he prepared to recover and make one last attempt to catch Ling Zhuo.

• Yuan Chen judged Xiao Yan's incomplete pill formula and awarded it ninety points, raising Xiao Yan's total to 364 and his rank to sixth.
• Xiao Yan asked Xuan Kongzi how long remained and chose to attempt the final Heaven-Tier Soul Test, though he needed to overcome a 95-point gap to Ling Zhuo.
• Xuan Kongzi assigned Xuan Yi to find recovery pills and Xuan Leizi to protect Xiao Yan while he rested.
• Venerable Mingshui gave Xiao Yan a Three-Revolution Soul-Filling Pill, which Xuan Leizi identified as a peak seventh-tier pill from a ninth-tier alchemist.
• Xiao Yan recognized Wei Jiangyuan's hand in the gift and resolved to use the Soul-Turning Secret Technique in the final trial.

Xiao Yan recovered much of his soul force and prepared to challenge the final trial, determined to win the medicinal cauldron for Yao Lao despite suspecting the Spirit Clan had set a trap. He stepped onto the platform as the crowd watched, ready to climb the hundred steps.

• Xiao Yan swallowed Wei Jiangyuan's Three-Revolution Soul-Filling Pill and regained seventy to eighty percent of his strength.
• Xiao Yan decided to challenge the fifth trial despite having only three hours before the ranking closed and suspecting the Spirit Clan would interfere.
• Tang Huo'er and Tang Zhen cheered for Xiao Yan, while Wei Jiangyuan and Venerable Mingshui discussed whether he could take first place.
• Ling Zhuo taunted Xiao Yan and watched him with Mu Gu, while Xiao Yi Xian warned Xiao Yan not to overexert himself.
• Xiao Yan embraced Xiao Yi Xian in front of the crowd, then leaped onto the platform and prepared to climb the hundred steps.

Xiao Yan steadily climbed the Soul-Charging Stairway, displaying soul strength far beyond what the spectators expected. He reached the ninetieth tier with the first-place ranking within reach, while a thin mist drifted close to him.

• Zou Wu explained the Soul-Charging Stairway's rules, and Xiao Yan prepared to begin the trial.
• Xiao Yan sent his soul avatar onto the staircase while his true body sat cross-legged below.
• Xiao Yan climbed past the fiftieth and seventieth tiers without slowing, despite the growing soul pressure.
• Ling Zhuo watched Xiao Yan's progress and expected him to run out of strength.
• Xiao Yan reached the ninetieth tier, nearing the score needed to take sole first place, as thin mist approached him.

As Ling He’s soul pressure nearly overwhelmed Xiao Yan at the ninetieth level, he stopped on the eighty-ninth level and used the Soul-Turning Secret Technique to convert all his Dou Qi into soul power. With the conversion complete, Xiao Yan prepared to challenge the staircase again.

• Xiao Yan’s Three Thousand Lightning Phantom Body avatar faced a sudden surge of soul pressure as it stepped toward the ninetieth level, but steadied itself and stopped on the eighty-ninth.
• Xiao Yan realized the extreme pressure came from Ling He’s intervention, while Ling Zhuo explained that Ling He could not openly attack him without revealing the arrangement.
• Xiao Yan began converting his Dou Qi into soul power, drawing the attention and confusion of the experts watching.
• Xiao Yan completed the Soul-Turning Secret Technique, exhausting his Dou Qi and strengthening his soul power before declaring he was ready to continue.

Xiao Yan pushed through the Spirit Clan’s concealed soul attacks on the Soul Impact Steps, while Ling He used the Spirit Clan’s power to try to stop him. He reached the ninety-first step and unleashed Soulflow Black Vortex against her barrier, but the technique could not break through it.

• Wei Jiangyuan and Xuan Kongzi suspected Xiao Yan had grown stronger, while Ling He projected her soul power from a secret chamber to target him.
• Xiao Yan stepped onto the ninetieth step and resisted Ling He’s soul impact without wavering.
• Xiao Yan shattered Ling He’s restraints and climbed to the ninety-first step as Ling He raised her power to its limit.
• Xiao Yan recognized the Spirit Clan’s targeted suppression and unleashed Soulflow Black Vortex against the invisible barrier.
• Ling He dismissed the earth-tier Soul Technique, unaware that Xiao Yan’s eyes had turned pitch-black and a devouring void had appeared.

Xiao Yan shattered Ling He’s soul barrier, climbed to the ninety-sixth step, and claimed first place on the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking with a record-breaking score. As the crowd celebrated his victory, Ling Zhuo accused him of cheating by taking medicinal pills during the trial.

• Xiao Yan combined Soulflow Black Vortex with the Nihility Devouring Flame’s power, broke Ling He’s soul barrier, and devoured the soul power she had projected onto the stairway.
• Xiao Yan climbed to the ninety-sixth step, earning a score of four hundred and sixty and taking the top spot on the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking.
• The crowd and the Pill Tower’s leaders praised Xiao Yan’s achievements, while Wei Jiangyuan and Netherwater discussed the coming Pill Convention.
• Mu Qingluan, Lei Jingxiao, and Xiao Yi Xian admired Xiao Yan, while Ling Zhuo grew furious that Xiao Yan had taken the glory he believed belonged to him.
• Ling Zhuo leaped forward and accused Xiao Yan of taking medicinal pills during the trial, which was explicitly forbidden.

Ling Zhuo accused Xiao Yan of cheating in the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking trial and demanded to inspect his Soul Technique, but Xiao Yan refused. Their argument sparked a clash between Lei Jingxiao and Ling Zhuo, and both sides gathered their experts as Xiao Yan prepared to fight.

• Ling Zhuo challenged Xiao Yan to explain his sudden increase in soul power, and Xiao Yan claimed it came from a secret art.
• Ling Zhuo tried to stop Xiao Yan and his companions from leaving by unleashing Wind Fury Dragon Flame.
• Lei Jingxiao intercepted Ling Zhuo and exchanged powerful attacks with him, neither gaining a clear advantage.
• Elder Mu Gu, Elder Yan, the Profound Underworld Sect, Xiao Yi Xian, the Pill Tower heads, and other Dou Zun experts gathered as the confrontation escalated.
• Xiao Yi Xian accused Ling Zhuo of cheating, and Xiao Yan pulled her back before declaring that he was ready to fight.

Xiao Yan secured first place on the Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking, and Ling He presented him with the Spirit-Fusion Medicine Cauldron while trying to recruit him into the Spirit Clan. Xiao Yan refused and left the choice of his soul skill and pill formula awaiting further news.

• Ling He appeared, confirmed that Xiao Yan had beaten the other young contestants, and established him as the ranking’s first-place winner.
• Ling He revealed the Spirit-Fusion Medicine Cauldron as Xiao Yan’s prize and asked him to join the Spirit Clan.
• Xiao Yan refused Ling He’s offer, and Lei Jingxiao invited him to join the Thunder Clan instead.
• Ling He delivered the cauldron to Xiao Yan, said he could reconsider joining the Spirit Clan before the Pill Convention ended, and left with her group.
• Xiao Yan asked when he could choose his soul skill and pill formula, and Ling He told him to wait for news.

Ling He sabotaged the Spirit-Fusion Medicine Cauldron Xiao Yan had won and prepared Ling Zhuo to claim the Pill Convention championship. Xiao Yan collected his prizes without confronting Zou Wu, leaving Ling He unsure whether he had discovered the damage.

• Ling He told Ling Zhuo she had damaged three key formations in Xiao Yan's cauldron and ordered him to prepare to win the Pill Convention.
• The Heavenly Secrets Talents Ranking was announced, placing Xiao Yan first, followed by Ling Zhuo, Hua Qingyu, Cao Ying, and Yi Xu.
• The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion distributed the promised prizes, and Xiao Yan chose Formless Soul Concealment and the Heaven-Stirring Pill formula without questioning Zou Wu.
• Lei Jingxiao carefully selected his own prizes, while Zou Wu allowed Xiao Yan and his companions to leave without incident.
• Zou Wu reported Xiao Yan's silence to Ling He, who doubted that he had failed to notice the cauldron's damaged formations.

As the Pill Convention approached, Xiao Yan and Wei Jiangyuan struggled to master the Shadow Piercing Needle, while Ling Zhuo used the Source Spirit Pattern Crystal to drain the life essence of five wood-attributed cultivators and strengthen his soul. Ling Zhuo vowed to make Xiao Yan experience despair.

• Xiao Yan repeatedly failed to cultivate the Shadow Piercing Needle, and a failed attempt injured him and shook his cultivation chamber.
• Mu Qingluan stood guard outside Xiao Yan's chamber and worried that he was risking losing control of his soul.
• Wei Jiangyuan also failed to form the Shadow Piercing Needle, but vowed to keep practicing until he succeeded.
• Ling Zhuo absorbed life essence from five imprisoned cultivators through the Source Spirit Pattern Crystal to increase his soul power.
• Ling Zhuo, dissatisfied that a wood-attributed Dou Zong from Sound Valley was already dead, still vowed to make Xiao Yan suffer.

Xiao Yan brought rare metals to Haika so he could forge a new Heavy Profound Ruler, after learning the Spirit-Fusion Medicine Cauldron was badly damaged. Haika proposed using a ninth-tier Heavenly Demon Phoenix magic core to give the weapon its soul.

• Xiao Yi Xian returned from meeting Chen Wei and told Xiao Yan that three core formations in the Spirit-Fusion Medicine Cauldron were destroyed and might take years to repair.
• Xiao Yan regretted having to dismantle the cauldron but showed Xiao Yi Xian the Stellar Black Iron and Fire-Glory Plate Iron he had obtained from Starfall Pavilion and Lei Jingxiao.
• Xiao Yan brought Haika the rare metals, and Haika realized the plentiful Flame-Fusing Steel required him to remake the Heavy Profound Ruler rather than merely reinforce it.
• Haika told Xiao Yan the ruler needed a ninth-tier magic core and identified the Pill Tower's core from a ninth-tier Heavenly Demon Phoenix as a suitable choice.

Xiao Yan gathered experts in the Pill Tower's forging chamber to melt rare metals and begin forging a Heavy Profound Ruler capable of withstanding Heavenly Flames. As Haika worked, news arrived that the Dan Clan had left the Pill Tower for the Spirit Clan and that Dan Chen would represent them at the Pill Convention.

• Xiao Yan thanked the six experts who had agreed to help forge his Heavy Profound Ruler, and Yuan Chen supplied a powerful Heaven Demon Phoenix Magic Core.
• Xiao Yan and the others began combining their flames to soften the ruler while Haika took a pill to strengthen himself for the forging.
• Haika used Flame-Fusing Steel as the new ruler's foundation and began hammering it into shape amid the flames.
• The Dan Clan announced its departure from the Pill Tower and pledged allegiance to the Spirit Clan, with Dan Chen set to represent both at the Pill Convention.

Haika and Xiao Yan completed the crucial stage of reforging the Heavy Profound Ruler by embedding the Heavenly Demon Phoenix's magic core. Haika began the final forging step, and Xuan Leizi explained that he was risking his health for the chance to create the masterpiece of his life.

• After fourteen days of forging, Haika told Xiao Yan to embed the Heavenly Demon Phoenix magic core in the Heavy Profound Ruler.
• Xiao Yan broke Yuan Chen's restriction and used the Wind-Driving Palm and Red Lotus Core Flame to subdue the phoenix remnant soul.
• Xiao Yan forced the magic core into the ruler, injuring his palm as the core resisted.
• Haika consumed his final medicinal pill and resumed forging the ruler's final step.
• Xuan Leizi told Xiao Yan that Haika's devotion came from his obsession with reaching perfection in forging.