Chapter Summaries

Cao Dan challenged Jia He to a pill-refining contest, but Jia He’s extraordinary flame control quickly showed that Cao Dan was outmatched. After Jia He completed refining his ingredients in three days, Cao Dan’s ingredients turned to ash, leaving the contest’s outcome in doubt.

• Cao Ying considered recruiting Jia He and his companions into the Cao Clan, while Cao Dan insisted he would defeat Jia He in pill refining.
• Cao Dan displayed his Black Sky-Pattern Cauldron and Sky Yin Demon Flame, then wagered the cauldron against Jia He.
• Jia He formed a cauldron from Dou Qi flames and refined thousands of medicinal ingredients at once, astonishing the gathered pill-refining clans.
• Cao Ying recognized Jia He’s exceptional skill and told Cao Shan to prepare compensation, though Cao Shan hoped Cao Dan might still prevail.
• After three days, Jia He finished refining all his ingredients, while Cao Dan had not finished half of his; then Cao Dan’s ingredients inside his cauldron turned to ash.

Jia He refined an eighth-rank Yuan Soul Pill that drew Two-Colored Pill Lightning, defeating Cao Dan and securing the Cao Clan’s promised compensation and a city. Afterward, he met Xuan Kongzi, one of Pill Tower’s Three Great Heads, who had come to investigate the pill lightning.

• Cao Dan burned his ingredients after losing focus, then restarted when Cao Ying urged him to steady himself.
• Jia He fused the ingredients for a Yuan Soul Pill, and its fragrance revealed that it was at least an eighth-rank pill.
• Pill Lightning descended, and Jia He’s pill drew Two-Colored Lightning Clouds as the crowd recognized it as an eighth-rank pill.
• Cao Ying conceded the Cao Clan’s defeat, and Jia He claimed the Black Sky-Pattern Cauldron along with the promised compensation and city.
• Jia He stayed in Cao City with the Ye Clan while waiting for the Cao Clan’s goods, then met Xuan Kongzi, who identified him as the pill refiner.

Xuan Kongzi recruited Jia He to help keep Soul Hall from winning the Pill Gathering, and Jia He sought Pill Tower’s support for his faction, Imperial Prison. After the Cao Clan delivered its promised compensation, Jia He left Cao City with Medusa, while Xuan Kongzi returned to Pill Tower and told Tian Leizi and Xuan Yi about the young eighth-tier alchemist.

• Xuan Kongzi asked Jia He to help prevent Soul Hall’s Elder Mu Gu from winning the Pill Gathering, and Jia He agreed in exchange for Xuan Kongzi’s support for an alliance with Imperial Prison.
• Xuan Kongzi offered to introduce Jia He to the Little Pill Tower if he won the Pill Gathering and demonstrated his alchemy skill.
• Jia He teased Zi Yan about Xuan Kongzi’s visit, then stayed behind while Medusa and the others left; Medusa chose to remain with him.
• Cao Ying brought the Cao Clan’s promised compensation and the city deed, and Jia He left Cao City with Medusa after she stopped him from visiting Cao Ying.
• Xuan Kongzi returned to Pill Tower and told Tian Leizi and Xuan Yi that he had met a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old eighth-tier alchemist from the Northwest Continent.

Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Tian Leizi discussed the threats surrounding Three Thousand Burning Flame and rumors of the Bodhi Ancient Tree. Meanwhile, Jia He and Ya Fei established their Central Region base and prepared the Imperial Prison Auction House’s warship auction, leaving the Pill Region’s powerful clans ready to compete for the ships.

• Xuan Kongzi warned that Elder Mu Gu might interfere with the seal of Three Thousand Burning Flame, so the three Pill Tower leaders planned to have a genius act during the Pill Gathering and strengthen security in Sacred Pill City.
• Xuan Kongzi told Xuan Yi and Tian Leizi about a reported Bodhi Ancient Tree sighting in the Manghuang Ancient Region, though its appearance remained unconfirmed.
• Jia He returned to Ye City with Medusa, then led Ya Fei and the others to their new base granted by the Cao Clan.
• Over the next three months, Ya Fei expanded the Imperial Prison Auction House’s reputation while Youhai recruited disciples and built warships with the help of Artifact Technique.
• Ya Fei told Jia He that Cao Ying had visited several times and that Xiao Yan had clashed with the Wind Lightning Pavilion after a Heaven Demon Phoenix disciple pursued him; Jia He said they would have something to handle after the Pill Gathering.
• One month later, news of the warship auction spread through the Pill Region, and the Pill Tower’s five great clans prepared to bid.

As the Pill Gathering approached, Imperial Prison Auction House auctioned warships to the Pill Region’s powerful clans, establishing them as highly coveted weapons. After the auction, Jia He agreed to sell a Venerable-grade warship to a black-robed Soul Hall visitor in exchange for two eighth-tier medicinal pills, then suspected the buyer was Elder Mu Gu and planned to bankrupt him.

• Cao Ying, Cao Shan, Dan Ye, and members of the other great clans gathered in Prison City for Imperial Prison Auction House’s warship auction.
• Ya Fei auctioned warships from Spirit-grade upward, with the clans competing fiercely for the higher grades.
• The Dan Clan won the final Dou Zun-level warship for eighty-seven million gold coins, and the auction sparked widespread demand for warships.
• Jia He sensed a black-robed visitor at his residence and recognized the man’s sinister aura as belonging to Soul Hall.
• The black-robed man offered two eighth-tier medicinal pills for a Venerable-grade warship, and Jia He agreed to meet him a month later.
• Jia He suspected the visitor was Elder Mu Gu and resolved to bankrupt him.

Jia He arranged warship deals with the Pill Tower and Elder Mu Gu while preparing to confront the Soul Hall at the Pill Gathering. After half a year, he accompanied Ye Xinlan to Sacred Pill City for her alchemist assessment, where his presence silenced an old woman who was about to mock her.

• Jia He learned from Medusa that Qing Lin had absorbed an Ancient Heavenly Serpent's soul, and he reassured them that she was safely approaching a breakthrough to Dou Zun.
• Jia He agreed to make five Zun-class warships for the Pill Tower and proposed joining its fight against the Soul Hall after the Pill Gathering.
• Jia He traded Elder Mu Gu a deliberately mediocre warship for two eighth-tier pills and secretly tracked him toward Sacred Pill City.
• Half a year later, Ye Xinlan arrived in Prison City, and Jia He traveled with her, Medusa, and Zi Yan to Sacred Pill City.
• Ye Xinlan went to the Pill Tower's assessment center to test for an advanced seventh-tier rank, and an old woman stopped herself from mocking her when Jia He entered.

Jia He accompanied Ye Xinlan to the Pill Tower branch, where she passed the seventh-tier intermediate alchemist assessment and silenced the Bai and Qiu Clans. At the Sacred Pill City trade fair, Jia He reunited with Xiao Yan and learned that Yao Lao had come to meet an old friend who might be Xiao Yan’s martial aunt.

• Jia He struck the Bai Clan elder for mocking Ye Xinlan, then refused Bai Wei’s offer to join the Bai Clan as a guest elder.
• Ye Xinlan passed the seventh-tier intermediate alchemist assessment, stunning the Bai and Qiu Clan members, and left with Jia He and their companions for the trade fair.
• At the trade fair, Jia He found Xiao Yan facing a group from the Profound Nether Sect over a purchased item, and Venerable Feng drove them away.
• Jia He reunited with Xiao Yan, met Venerable Feng, and asked whether Yao Lao had come to see an old friend in the Pill Tower.
• Venerable Feng confirmed that Yao Lao had a martial aunt for Xiao Yan, leaving Xiao Yan excited by the revelation.

Xiao Yan and his companions arrived in Sacred Pill City ahead of the Pill Gathering, where Yao Chen explained the value of Spirit-Nurturing Dust and Elder Mu Gu threatened them over Xiao Yan’s jade pendant. Jia He drove Mu Gu away, and the group warned the Pill Tower’s presidents that the Soul Hall might be plotting against the gathering; Xuan Yi reunited with Yao Chen and revealed that an ancient soul cultivation technique would be among the rewards.

• Jia He, Xiao Yan, and their companions discussed the upcoming Pill Gathering and the strongest young alchemists of the Five Great Families before settling at the Ye Clan’s courtyard.
• Yao Chen identified Xiao Yan’s copper sheet as Spirit-Nurturing Dust, and Xiao Yan refined the ancient material with Heavenly Flames.
• Elder Mu Gu appeared under a Soul Barrier, demanded Xiao Yan’s clan jade pendant, and threatened to target him and his friends during the Pill Gathering.
• Jia He broke Mu Gu’s Soul Barrier with his soul power and forced the injured Elder Mu Gu to flee.
• Yao Chen and his companions warned Xuan Yi, Xuan Kongzi, and Tian Leizi that the Soul Hall might have plans for the Pill Gathering, prompting Xuan Kongzi to alert the Little Pill Tower.
• Xuan Yi welcomed Yao Chen back and told Xiao Yan that an ancient soul cultivation technique was among the Pill Gathering rewards, while Jia He revealed that he already possessed a soul cultivation technique.

Jia He urged the Pill Tower to prepare for conflict with Soul Hall, offering soul cultivation arts as an incentive to recruit alchemists. After leaving, he and Xiao Yan discussed building strength by recruiting allies and pursuing breakthroughs to the Dou Sheng realm.

• Jia He told Xuan Yi that alchemists in Imperial Prison could exchange contribution points for incomplete soul cultivation arts, then argued that the Pill Tower should unite against Soul Hall.
• Yao Chen supported Jia He's warning, and Tian Leizi said the Little Pill Tower elders would discuss an alliance and vote after the First Elder emerged from seclusion.
• Jia He and Xiao Yan left the meeting and assessed the Four Pavilions, with Xiao Yan identifying the Wind Lightning Pavilion as the strongest on the surface.
• Jia He considered recruiting factions from the Beast Region and said the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, Nine Netherworld Python Clan, and Blazing Flame Valley could strengthen their side.
• Jia He revealed that Blazing Flame Valley had an injured Dou Sheng whom he could heal and said a coalition would rival Soul Hall if the Pill Tower agreed.

Jia He discussed plans to strengthen Xiao Yan before the Demon Fire descended, then accompanied Ye Xinlan to the Five Great Families’ assessment. After discovering Dan Chen’s Soul Devouring Body and comprehending the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, Jia He watched the assessment begin as Ye Xinlan prepared to take the soul-force test.

• Jia He told Xiao Yan he would help him devour the Three Thousand Burning Flame and seek cultivation opportunities in the Ancient Clan, including meeting Ancestor Xiao Xuan in the Sky Tomb.
• Jia He and the others accompanied Ye Xinlan to the Five Great Families’ assessment, where spectators questioned whether the Ye Clan could keep its place.
• Jia He sensed Dan Chen’s powerful soul force, and her Soul Devouring Body absorbed a wisp of his soul force.
• Jia He comprehended the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art and realized Dan Chen could use her constitution to strengthen her soul by devouring souls.
• Elder Sheng Yao opened the assessment, and Ye Xinlan entered as the Ye Clan’s candidate.
• The candidates began the soul-value test; Qiu Ji scored 707, Bai Ying scored 785, and Cao Xiu scored 846, while Jia He predicted Ye Xinlan would score between 1,600 and 1,800.

Ye Xinlan dominated the elder seat assessment, securing the Ye Clan’s position, while Jia He drew Dan Xuan’s plea to save Dan Chen. Back at the Ye Clan’s courtyard, Zi Yan asked Jia He to take her to the Pill Gathering, and he agreed on the condition that she accept one condition.

• Ye Xinlan caused a soul storm on the testing monument and recorded a soul value of 1788, then took first place in the soul control and soul combat tests.
• Sheng Yao praised Ye Xinlan’s strength and said she might earn an eighth-tier alchemy grandmaster badge at the Pill Gathering.
• Jia He told Xiao Yan the five great clans posed little threat, and Xiao Yan noted they would compete for the chance to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Jia He warned Dan Xuan that Dan Chen’s powerful soul and weak cultivation could lead to a dangerous backlash, then agreed to discuss a way to save her after the Pill Gathering.
• Cao Ying challenged Jia He to compete at the Pill Gathering, and the group returned to the Ye Clan’s courtyard after the assessment.
• Zi Yan asked Jia He to take her to the Pill Gathering to gather medicinal ingredients, and Jia He agreed on the condition that she accept one condition.

Jia He, Xiao Yan, and Ye Xinlan entered the Pill Gathering, where contestants had to pass a soul illusion before entering the unsupervised Pill Realm. Jia He reached the entrance and found an unknown youth had arrived before him, leaving the two poised to enter.

• Jia He gave Zi Yan storage rings and told her to secretly enter the Pill Realm to collect medicinal ingredients, and she persuaded Medusa to accompany her.
• Jia He, Xiao Yan, and Ye Xinlan went to the Pill Gathering plaza, where Ye Xinlan explained the selection and the dangers inside the Pill Realm.
• Xuan Kongzi and Yao Chen discussed their students and predicted Jia He could win the championship if the Soul Hall sent only Elder Mu Gu.
• Jia He passed through the soul illusion and reached the Pill Realm entrance, where he found a youth already sitting there ahead of him.
• The Pill Tower elder on a giant turtle opened his eyes and praised Jia He.

Jia He and his companions entered the Pill Realm to gather medicinal ingredients, while Cao Ying rejected Song Qing’s attempts to control her. Jia He quickly collected his assigned ingredients and headed off, as Zi Yan and Medusa approached the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range.

• Jia He warned Xiao Yan and Ye Xinlan that two Soul Hall figures had entered the competition, including Elder Mu Gu, and urged them to regroup in the Pill Realm.
• Cao Ying asked to travel with Jia He’s group, then made clear to Song Qing that their relationship was only friendship.
• Jia He, Xiao Yan, Ye Xinlan, Cao Ying, and Song Qing entered the Pill Realm and compared their ingredient maps.
• Jia He split off to collect his three assigned ingredients, while Xiao Yan, Ye Xinlan, and Cao Ying set out together and left Song Qing behind.
• Jia He gathered all three ingredients within half a day and headed toward the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range.
• Zi Yan led Medusa through the mountain range, insisting that her nose had found plenty of medicinal ingredients nearby.

Zi Yan and Medusa raided a stone hall’s medicinal herbs, then fought its guardian, Xiong Zhan, until Jia He arrived and revealed Xiong Zhan’s ties to Zi Yan’s clan. As they prepared to leave the Pill Realm with Xiong Zhan, Jia He recognized the young man who had appeared in the air as the one from outside the illusion.

• Zi Yan and Medusa entered a stone hall on the mountain peak, subdued its magical beast guards, and gathered its medicinal herbs.
• When Xiong Zhan arrived and found the herbs missing, Zi Yan reappeared and defeated him in a clash of fists.
• Jia He arrived and explained that Xiong Zhan was the last descendant of the Ancient Dragon Bear, a vassal clan of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan.
• Zi Yan invited Xiong Zhan to follow her, and Jia He urged them to collect the remaining herbs and leave the Pill Realm.
• As the group stepped out of the stone hall, a young man appeared in the air, and Jia He recognized him as the person from outside the illusion.

Jia He confronted Hun Xuzi, who wanted to kill him and seize the Tou She Ancient God Jade, while Zi Yan helped Medusa and Xiong Zhan escape. Jia He remained to fight Hun Xuzi as Xiao Yan, Ye Xinlan, and Cao Ying were ambushed in the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range.

• Jia He identified Hun Xuzi as a Soul Clan member seeking the Tou She Ancient God Jade and learned that others were hunting Xiao Yan.
• Jia He told Medusa to escape and warn the Pill Tower, then stayed to face Hun Xuzi.
• Jia He and Hun Xuzi clashed, and Zi Yan used her Ancient Void Dragon bloodline to break Hun Xuzi's spatial prison and carry Medusa and Xiong Zhan out.
• Jia He struck Hun Xuzi with the Great Scarlet Emperor Seal and lightning while Hun Xuzi countered with a seed flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame.
• Xiao Yan, Ye Xinlan, and Cao Ying were surrounded by black-clothed attackers led by a Dou Zun expert halfway up the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range.

Xiao Yan and Cao Ying were ambushed by Elder Mu Gu and Soul Hall experts, but Zi Yan and her companions arrived and killed Mu Gu. Meanwhile, Jia He began using the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art against Hun Xuzi, and its devouring force made heaven and earth change color.

• Elder Mu Gu trapped Xiao Yan, Cao Ying, and Ye Xinlan in a soul barrier and sent his Dou Zong subordinates to attack them.
• Xiao Yan used Buddha's Fury Lotuses to kill the attackers while Cao Ying and Ye Xinlan worked together to break the barrier.
• Xiao Yan reached the Dou Zun realm with the Three Mysterious Flame Change and fought Elder Mu Gu until the barrier broke.
• Zi Yan, Medusa, and Xiong Zhan joined Xiao Yan's group and attacked Elder Mu Gu as he tried to flee.
• Zi Yan struck Elder Mu Gu into a crater, and Xiong Zhan transformed into an Ancient Dragon Bear and crushed him to death.
• Jia He used the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art on Hun Xuzi, unleashing a devouring force that drew energy from Hun Xuzi's body.

Jia He devoured Hun Xuzi’s avatar, raising his cultivation and soul power while weakening Hun Xuzi’s true body. After harvesting medicinal herbs in the Pill Realm, Jia He and the other alchemists left for Sacred Pill City, where the Pill Gathering’s final contest was about to begin.

• Jia He used the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art to drain Hun Xuzi’s avatar, advancing to Five-Transformation Dou Zun and reaching the Heavenly Realm with his soul power.
• Hun Xuzi’s true body in the Soul Realm vomited blood and weakened after suffering injuries through his avatar.
• Zi Yan and the others returned after dealing with Elder Mu Gu, and Xiao Yan took Hun Xuzi’s corpse to preserve as a body for his teacher.
• Jia He led the group in harvesting medicinal herbs across the Pill Realm until the eighth day, when they headed for the exit.
• Jia He, Xiao Yan, Cao Ying, and Ye Xinlan left the Pill Realm and discussed the coming contest, while Zi Yan and the others took seats near the front of the Sacred Pill City plaza.
• Figures began emerging from the Pill Realm into the plaza as the final contest of the Pill Gathering approached.

The Pill Gathering officially began as alchemists from across the Central Plains started refining pills. Jia He began refining a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill, drawing the attention of the Pill Tower’s leaders, while the competition continued through its first half-month.

• Xuan Kongzi announced the start of the Pill Gathering, and the alchemists summoned their cauldrons and flames.
• Xiao Yan, Cao Ying, Ye Xinlan, and Dan Chen took places near Jia He, who began without a medicine cauldron and formed one from flame.
• Xiao Yan summoned his Heavenly Flame, attracting attention from the alchemists gathered to compete for Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Jia He began refining the Life-Death Origin-Breaking Pill, a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill capable of helping a Peak Dou Zun break through to the Half-Saint realm.
• Xuan Yi and Tian Leizi recognized that Jia He was refining a ninth-grade pill, and the Pill Gathering continued for half a month.
• Xuan Kongzi reported that a small number of alchemists had completed their pills and been eliminated, while Yao Chen remarked that he would have struggled to reach the top three.

As the Pill Gathering entered its latter half, Jia He and the leading alchemists continued refining pills while seventh-tier pill lightning repeatedly lit the sky. Dan Chen produced an eighth-tier pill with two-colored lightning, and the chapter left the top contenders still refining.

• Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, Yao Chen, and Tian Leizi discussed Jia He's chances of refining a ninth-tier pill and the Soul Hall's likely plans.
• Jia He finished refining more than a thousand ingredients and began the crucial pill-fusion step.
• Seventh-tier pills triggered repeated bolts of pill lightning as Xiao Yan, Dan Chen, Cao Ying, Song Qing, and others continued refining.
• Song Qing completed a peak seventh-tier pill, but Cao Ying and the other leading contenders kept working.
• Dan Chen used her blood to help refine her pill, producing an eighth-tier pill that drew two-colored lightning.
• Yao Chen suggested Jia He might be able to help Dan Chen's constitution, while Xuan Kongzi teased him about his relationship with Xuan Yi.

During the Pill Gathering, Xiao Yan produced five-colored pill lightning, but Jia He surpassed him by refining a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill that summoned Black Demon Lightning. The Great Elder of the Little Pill Tower arrived to witness Jia He's achievement, and Jia He flew into the lightning to absorb its power and seek a breakthrough.

• Ye Xinlan refined an eighth-grade pill with two-colored pill lightning, while Xiao Yan released his own pill and produced five-colored pill lightning.
• Cao Ying refined an eighth-grade pill with three-colored pill lightning, and Old Monster Qinghua later produced three-colored pill lightning.
• Jia He transformed his fiery cauldron into a fire dragon and summoned nine-colored pill lightning that became Black Demon Lightning, revealing his pill as a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill.
• The Great Elder of the Little Pill Tower arrived, learned Jia He was the Lord of the Imperial Prison, and recognized the significance of his achievement.
• Jia He flew into the Black Demon Lightning, hoping to absorb its power and break through to the sixth transformation.