Recaps

Xiao Lin accepted the Heavenly Underworld Old Demon’s ransom and let the Heavenly Nether Sect leave after learning the Lei Clan backed the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace. The Heavenly Nether Sect withdrew for now but planned to seize the palace after Xiao Lin died, as news of the battle spread across the Central Plains Continent.

• Xiao Lin prized the nine-leaf heavenly star grass in the Heavenly Underworld Old Demon’s ransom, accepted the offer, and released Tian Mingzi.
• The Heavenly Underworld Old Demon stopped Tian Mingzi from attacking again, and Xiao Lin’s side released the captured Heavenly Nether Sect members.
• The Heavenly Underworld Old Demon departed with the Heavenly Nether Sect and privately dismissed Xiao Lin as a threat after seeing him faint.
• Back at their sect, the Heavenly Underworld Old Demon told Tian Mingzi that the Lei Clan backed the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace and ordered him to avoid further clashes for now.
• The Heavenly Underworld Old Demon predicted the sect could take the palace after Xiao Lin died, while news of the battle spread across the Central Plains Continent.

Gu You’s scheme to use the Heavenly Nether Sect against the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace failed after Heavenly Underworld Old Demon uncovered his concealment of the Lei Clan’s involvement. As the Central Plains reevaluated the palace’s strength, the palace wiped out the Fire Cloud Sect, leaving its grounds submerged beneath a lake.

• Gu You had secretly hidden the Lei Clan’s connection to the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace and funded Tian Mingzi’s breakthrough to provoke the Heavenly Nether Sect into attacking.
• Heavenly Underworld Old Demon discovered Gu You’s deception, ended the conflict, and demanded an explanation from him, preventing Gu You from blaming the Heavenly Nether Sect.
• Gu You accepted that he could not currently strike at Lin Xiao or the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace and turned to handling Soul Hall recruitment while waiting for the patriarch and leaders to return.
• The Heavenly Nether Sect’s defeat and retreat stirred the Central Plains, where factions began regarding the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace as stronger than the Three Valleys but below the Two Sects.
• The Myriad Formation Spirit Palace destroyed the Fire Cloud Sect, whose former grounds became a lake.

After returning from the battle with the Heavenly Nether Sect, Xiao Lin learned that the sect had identified its wavering disciples and planted spies. He approved Zuo He's plan to purge dangerous spies, use a few others to spread chosen information, and give wavering disciples one warning, then distributed the battle spoils as rewards while preparing for his breakthrough.

• The Myriad Formation Spirit Palace's senior leaders praised Xiao Lin's victory over Tian Mingzi and his convincing display of grave injuries.
• Xi Miaoyun gave Xiao Lin a list of wavering disciples and spies identified within the sect during the battle.
• Zuo He proposed eliminating brazen spies, retaining a few to pass along selected information, and warning wavering disciples once before treating any repeat offenders as traitors.
• Xiao Lin approved Zuo He's plan and ordered the other leaders to help carry it out.
• Xiao Lin gave Zuo He the Storage Ring from the Heavenly Underworld Old Demon to distribute among battle participants according to their contributions.
• The Myriad Formation Spirit Palace purged most of its spies and rewarded its fighters, while Xiao Lin finished preparing for his breakthrough.

Xiao Lin absorbed the nine-leaf heavenly star grass during seclusion and advanced to mid-stage three-star Dou Sheng. After returning to the Xiao Household to recuperate, he learned that Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran had fought to a draw and suspected Xiao Yan had deliberately held back.

• Xiao Lin decided to absorb the nine-leaf heavenly star grass directly because he could not afford to hire a ninth-grade Alchemist.
• After nearly two months of cultivation, Xiao Lin absorbed the grass's essence and advanced from late-stage two-star to mid-stage three-star.
• Xiao Lin familiarized himself with his improved strength, left the Realm of Formations, and instructed First Elder Zuo He before returning to the Xiao Household to recuperate.
• Xiao Lin learned that Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran had fought to a simultaneous inability to continue, leaving their battle a draw.
• Xiao Lin was astonished by the result and concluded that Xiao Yan must have deliberately held back against Nalan Yanran.

Xiao Lin reflected on how Xiao Yan had escaped the dilemma of his fight with Nalan Yanran, then turned his attention to the approaching Alchemist Grand Tournament. The Xiao Household arrived in the Imperial Capital to enter the tournament and visit its ancestral residence, while Xiao Yan remained more interested in reaching Jia Nan Academy and the Fallen Heart Flame.

• Xiao Lin praised Xiao Yan for steering his fight with Nalan Yanran toward a draw and considered how to challenge him next.
• The Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Grand Tournament drew alchemists and spectators to the Imperial Capital.
• The Xiao Household's large procession arrived at the city gates, where guards let them pass because of their standing and ties to the Imperial Family.
• Xiao Zhan returned to the Imperial Capital with Yang Xiyue, Xiao Yan, Xun'er, and other Xiao Household members to enter the tournament and visit the family elders.
• Xiao Yan felt bored and recalled that he had wanted to reach Jia Nan Academy sooner to absorb and refine the Fallen Heart Flame.

After settling the marriage dispute with Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan returned to the Jia Ma Imperial Capital to compete in the Alchemist Grand Tournament and select Earth Rank Dou Techniques. Xiao Lin drew him aside at the Ancestral Residence, where Xiao Yan watched his trick-prone grandfather warily.

• Xiao Yan followed Yao Lao's advice to draw with Nalan Yanran, and she concluded that he had held back to protect her pride.
• Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran resolved their conflict but agreed not to marry yet.
• Xiao Yan postponed his plans to attend Jia Nan Academy after learning that the Alchemist Grand Tournament champion could obtain the Spirit Fusion Pill recipe.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Jia Ma Imperial Capital with the Xiao Household and the Eldest Miss of the Gu Clan to enter the tournament and choose Earth Rank Dou Techniques.
• Xiao Lin greeted Xiao Yan and then pulled him into his courtyard, where Xiao Yan eyed him warily.

Xiao Yan chose five Earth Rank Dou Techniques and focused on mastering them while the Alchemist Grand Tournament approached, confident that his alchemy skills made him a clear favorite. On the night before the tournament, a mysterious black-robed figure entered Fa Ma’s office and confronted him as he prepared the examination questions.

• Xiao Yan told Xiao Lin that he wanted the Spirit Fusion Pill recipe and Earth Rank Dou Techniques, and Xiao Lin took him to the Scripture Pavilion.
• Xiao Yan selected five Earth Rank Dou Techniques, and Xiao Lin warned him that his Dou Ling cultivation was too low to use them safely.
• Xiao Yan spent the days before the tournament practicing the techniques while other contestants worked on their alchemy, confident he could refine peak Tier 5 pills.
• A black-robed figure silently appeared in Fa Ma’s office as Fa Ma prepared the tournament questions, then told him not to call for help.

Xiao Lin visited Fa Ma and asked him to make one of his gifts a prize for the Alchemist Grand Tournament champion, concealing that he intended the prize for Xiao Yan. Fa Ma agreed, then discovered Xiao Lin had given him an Earth-Rank High-Grade Soul Dou Technique for the champion and a mid-tier Earth Rank cultivation method as payment.

• Fa Ma recognized the mysterious black-robed man as the expert who had defeated Xie Biyan at the Cloud Empire Sect Tournament more than twenty years earlier.
• Xiao Lin gave Fa Ma two scrolls, asking him to make the one on the right a champion's prize and keep the one on the left as payment.
• Fa Ma guessed Xiao Lin intended to use the tournament to pass an item to someone he favored, and Xiao Lin left the matter to him without naming the person.
• After Xiao Lin vanished, Fa Ma identified the champion's prize as the Three Transformations of the Returning Soul and his payment as a mid-tier Earth Rank cultivation method.

On the day of the Alchemist Grand Tournament, Xiao Yan and other Xiao Household alchemists went to register while his family headed to the Royal Plaza to watch. The stands filled as the contestants gathered, and the tournament had yet to begin.

• Xiao Yan prepared for the tournament, then joined his family for breakfast before setting out for the Alchemist Guild.
• Xiao Zhan, Xiao Lin, Yang Xiyue, and Xun'er saw Xiao Yan and the other Xiao Household alchemists to the guild entrance and wished them well.
• Xiao Yan entered the guild to register while Xiao Lin and the others went ahead to the Royal Plaza.
• Xiao Lin and his companions were escorted to the VIP stands, where they watched the alchemists and spectators fill the arena.
• Other Imperial Capital powers greeted Xiao Lin, whose return to public view drew attention as his grandson prepared to compete.

Xiao Yan prepared for the Alchemist Grand Tournament as the stands filled with spectators and contestants. Liu Ling approached him to discuss his feelings for Nalan Yanran and challenge Xiao Yan’s alchemy skills, before Yao Yue joined them.

• Xiao Yan arrived at his Bluestone Platform, greeted his family and Xun'er, and settled his mind while several people watched him from the stands.
• The tournament grounds filled with spectators and nearly two thousand contestants, including leaders from the major powers.
• Liu Ling approached Xiao Yan, admitted he liked Nalan Yanran but accepted her engagement, and said he wanted to see Xiao Yan's alchemy skills so he could give up.
• Xiao Yan confidently promised Liu Ling he would make him give up, and Liu Ling laughed and accepted the challenge.
• Yao Yue, the Gama Imperial Family's little princess and a tournament contestant, came over to Xiao Yan and Liu Ling.

At the Alchemist Grand Tournament, Xiao Yan met Liu Ling and Princess Yao Yue, who teased him and blamed him for his brother Xiao Li making her miss plans with Yao Ye. Yao Ye arrived to send the contestants back for the first round, and Xiao Yan’s greeting as her “Second Sister-in-Law” left her blushing.

• Princess Yao Yue teased Liu Ling as he greeted Xiao Yan, while Yao Lao noted that both she and Liu Ling were talented young alchemists.
• Yao Yue questioned Xiao Yan about his identity, and he introduced himself as the Xiao Yan engaged to Nalan Yanran.
• Yao Yue told Xiao Yan that Xiao Li had caused her eldest sister to stand her up, then threatened to settle the score with Xiao Yan because Xiao Li was away training.
• Yao Ye arrived and ordered Liu Ling and Yao Yue back to their places as the first round was about to begin.
• Xiao Yan assured Yao Ye that Yao Yue had not troubled him and called her “Second Sister-in-Law,” making her blush.

Yao Ye briefly intervened when Yao Yue approached Xiao Yan, then left after he teased her by calling her his second sister-in-law. The Alchemist Competition's first round began, and Xiao Yan easily passed by reconstructing and refining the Bone-Growing Pill recipe.

• Yao Ye stepped in when she saw Yao Yue heading toward Xiao Yan and told him to seek her help if Yao Yue caused trouble.
• Xiao Yan repeatedly called Yao Ye his second sister-in-law, flustering her before she hurried away.
• Fa Ma announced that contestants had to reconstruct an incomplete pill recipe and refine the pill within the hourglass time limit, with two attempts allowed.
• The first round began, and Xiao Yan quickly worked out the Bone-Growing Pill recipe before quietly refining it in an ordinary cauldron.
• A green light appeared on Xiao Yan's Bluestone Platform before half the sand had fallen, and the Xiao Household members watching smiled.

Xiao Yan calmly passed the first round of the Pill Gathering, first by refining a pill before time ran out and then by proving its medicinal effects. He finished among the strongest contestants and learned that an over-age gray-robed young man had cheated his way into the competition, but Xiao Yan dismissed him as no threat.

• Xiao Yan finished refining at his own pace, alongside Yao Yue and Liu Ling, while contestants who ran out of time failed as their cauldrons exploded.
• Fa Ma announced that the Bone-Growing Pills would be tested for their medicinal effects, exposing contestants who had only made pills in appearance.
• A Second-Grade Alchemist cursed the test after his pill earned a red light, and nearly a hundred contestants were eliminated during the effect checks.
• Xiao Yan's pill produced one of the brightest green lights, matched only by the results of Yao Yue, Liu Ling, and a gray-robed young man.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that the gray-robed young man was at least forty or fifty and a mid-fourth-grade Alchemist, so Xiao Yan dismissed him as trash.
• The contestants whose pills passed the test officially advanced to the second round.

Xiao Yan recognized a hidden flaw in the second round’s Windwalk Pill recipe and became the first contestant to refine the pill successfully. His performance impressed the spectators and made Fa Ma reconsider how to handle the Gray-Robed Youth, a Cloud Empire competitor who had cheated his way into the tournament.

• Fa Ma instructed the contestants to retrieve their pill recipes and ingredients, then explained that they had two attempts to refine the Windwalk Pill.
• Xiao Yan spotted a trap in the recipe while Yao Yue and Liu Ling remained uncertain, and he suspected the Gray-Robed Youth had also noticed it.
• Contestants who followed the recipe failed one after another, and Yao Yue and Liu Ling each failed their first attempt.
• Xiao Yan refined the Windwalk Pill and became the first contestant to pass the second round, drawing praise from the audience and those close to him.
• Fa Ma recalled that the Gray-Robed Youth was a Cloud Empire agent who had entered the competition in disguise, and Xiao Yan’s success convinced him he might not need to delay the next round.

Xiao Yan easily passed the Alchemist Grand Tournament’s second round, exposing his superiority over the disguised Cloud Empire alchemist Yan Li. Before announcing the third round, Fa Ma revealed that the champion would receive a high-tier Earth Rank Soul Dou Technique scroll.

• Xiao Yan refined the Windwalk Pill on his first attempt and passed the second round faster than the other contestants.
• Yan Li, a fifty-year-old Cloud Empire alchemist disguised as a young man, finished in second place and glared venomously at Xiao Yan.
• Liu Ling, Yao Yue, and the other contestants discovered that thick earth ganoderma was the extra ingredient hidden in the pill recipe, and around a hundred alchemists advanced.
• Fa Ma began the third round without postponing it and announced that the champion would receive the Three Transformations of the Returning Soul scroll, stunning the contestants and spectators.

Fa Ma announced that the third-round champion would receive the Earth-Rank High-Grade Soul Dou Technique Three Transformations of the Returning Soul, sponsored by a mysterious senior, and explained the final pill-refining challenge. The contestants began the round eager to surpass their limits, while Xiao Yan resolved to win the scroll.

• Fa Ma shocked the Royal Plaza by revealing the special prize, and Xiao Lin smiled at the surprise.
• Xiao Yan discussed the prize with Yao Lao, who suspected the mysterious sponsor had a hidden motive and wondered whether Xiao Lin was involved.
• Fa Ma explained that contestants had to use their own recipes and ingredients to refine the highest-quality pill they could within the time limit.
• Inspired by the prize, Xiao Yan abandoned his plan to save his Heavenly Flames and decided to pursue the scroll.
• The third round began, with Fa Ma satisfied that the contestants were ready to take risks.

Xiao Yan decided to refine a Tier 5 Medicinal Pill to secure the Alchemist Grand Tournament championship, relying on his myriad beast spirit flame to overcome his usual limits. He revealed the flame as the other contestants worked, and its suppression caused several of their cauldrons to explode.

• The third round began at dusk, and Fa Ma announced a high-tier earth rank Soul Dou Technique as an additional reward.
• Xiao Yan consulted Yao Lao and chose to aim for a Tier 5 Medicinal Pill, deciding to reveal the myriad beast spirit flame but conceal the green lotus core flame.
• While the other contestants began refining, Xiao Yan stood still as spectators and those close to him worried that he was unprepared.
• After Yao Lao found a suitable recipe, Xiao Yan brought out the myriad beast spirit flame, which roared as it grew.
• The myriad beast spirit flame suppressed the other contestants' flames, causing several alchemists to lose control and their cauldrons to explode.

Xiao Yan revealed his Myriad Beast Spirit Flame during the alchemy competition, startling the crowd and causing several contestants’ cauldrons to explode. He began refining a Tier 5 Spirit-Breaking Pill without a cauldron, while the other contestants continued their own work.

• Xiao Yan felt guilty about the cauldrons that exploded when he unveiled his Heavenly Flame, but Yao Lao reassured him that the other Alchemists lacked control.
• The spectators recognized Xiao Yan’s Myriad Beast Spirit Flame and praised his talent, while Xiao Zhan, Yang Xiyue, the Eldest Miss of the Gu Clan, Nalan Yanran, and Yun Yun reacted to his reveal.
• Xiao Yan chose to refine a Spirit-Breaking Pill, a lower-end Tier 5 pill that Yao Lao had provided him, and began without using his low-grade medicinal cauldron.
• Xiao Yan extracted the essence from each ingredient with the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame and stored the essences in jade bottles as he controlled the flame and his soul power.
• As most of the competition time passed, several Alchemists finished their pills, while others failed at difficult refinements and some fainted from exhaustion.

Xiao Yan, Yao Yue, Liu Ling, and Yan Li completed their pills in the Alchemist Grand Tournament, but Xiao Yan’s genuine Tier 5 Spirit-Breaking Pill surpassed Yan Li’s Peak Fourth-Grade pill. The championship was left virtually certain to belong to Xiao Yan.

• Yao Yue and Liu Ling each refined a lower Tier 4 pill on their first attempts, then realized they could not catch Xiao Yan or Yan Li.
• With less than forty minutes remaining, Yan Li finished his pill and revealed a Peak Fourth-Grade Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.
• Yan Li claimed that his pill rivaled Tier 5 pills and taunted Xiao Yan, who was completing his own pill.
• Xiao Yan formed and completed a genuine Tier 5 Spirit-Breaking Pill, whose fragrance overwhelmed Yan Li’s pill.
• Yan Li and the other contestants stared in disbelief, while Liu Ling and Yao Yue acknowledged Xiao Yan’s overwhelming advantage.

Xiao Yan won the Alchemist Grand Tournament after refining a Tier 5 Spirit-Breaking Pill, earning acclaim from the crowd and his family. He received the tournament prizes, including a Tier 6 pill recipe and the Three Transformations of the Returning Soul.

• Xiao Yan challenged Yan Li to compare pills, but Yan Li recognized that his Tier 5 Spirit-Breaking Pill left no room for competition.
• Fa Ma began the pill evaluations, and the appraisers identified Xiao Yan's pill as a Tier 5 Spirit-Breaking Pill.
• Fa Ma declared Xiao Yan the tournament champion, and spectators, Xiao Zhan, Xiao Lin, Yang Xiyue, and Xun'er celebrated his victory.
• Liu Ling and Yao Yue congratulated Xiao Yan, while Yan Li fled after realizing he had lost and risked being punished for breaking the tournament's age rules.
• Fa Ma awarded Xiao Yan the Tier 6 Spirit Fusion Pill recipe and the Earth-Rank High-Grade Soul Dou Technique, the Three Transformations of the Returning Soul.

After Xiao Yan won the Alchemist Grand Tournament, Fa Ma awarded him the Spirit Fusion Pill recipe and Three Transformations of the Returning Soul, while keeping the donor's identity secret. Xiao Lin then gave Xiao Yan, the Eldest Miss of the Gu Clan, and Nalan Yanran letters of recommendation to enter Jia Nan Academy before its next admissions period.

• Fa Ma congratulated Xiao Yan on winning the tournament and presented him with the Spirit Fusion Pill recipe and Three Transformations of the Returning Soul.
• Fa Ma refused to identify the Soul Dou Technique's donor, and Xiao Yan left the arena as the tournament ended.
• Yan Li was found dead in the wilderness the day after the tournament, while Xiao Yan returned home with his family.
• Crowds of visitors overwhelmed the Xiao Household after Xiao Yan's victory, until Xiao Yan announced he would stop receiving visitors while preparing to study at Jia Nan Academy.
• Xiao Lin gave Xiao Yan, the Eldest Miss of the Gu Clan, and Nalan Yanran letters of recommendation, claiming they would help them enter Jia Nan Academy outside its admissions period.

Xiao Yan accepted Xiao Lin’s recommendation to enter Jia Nan Academy, and Nalan Yanran decided to go with him while Xun'er also prepared to leave. After the three departed, Xiao Lin planned to visit the academy under a different identity and put Xiao Yan through some trouble.

• Xiao Lin offered Xiao Yan a recommendation letter for Jia Nan Academy, and Xiao Yan accepted it despite his worries about leaving home.
• Xun'er promised to look after Xiao Lin, while Nalan Yanran decided to attend Jia Nan Academy with Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan, Xun'er, and Nalan Yanran agreed to leave in seven days, then departed from the Imperial Capital as their families watched.
• After the youngsters left, Xiao Zhan, Yang Xiyue, and the other Xiao Household members returned to Wutan City.
• Xiao Lin decided to visit Jia Nan Academy under a different identity and make Xiao Yan’s time there difficult.

Hun Tiandi returned from a thousand years of seclusion after fully recovering from his injuries, bringing the Hun Clan’s long-awaited plans within reach. The chapter ended with the clan’s fighters eager to act, though Gu Yuan remained a major obstacle.

• The chapter described how the Hun Clan had secretly destroyed rival Emperor Clans and devoured their bloodlines to strengthen its own.
• Hun clan members gathered in the Soul Realm to await Hun Tiandi’s emergence from seclusion.
• Hun Tiandi stepped through a doorway atop the Cyan Stone Platform, having completely recovered from his injuries.
• The Hun Clan welcomed its patriarch, and Hun Tiandi thanked them for their efforts during his thousand-year recovery.
• The clan’s high-ranking fighters regained hope that their long-delayed plan could begin, but Gu Yuan’s strength had kept them from making major moves.

Hun Tiandi emerged from seclusion fully healed and prepared to advance the Hun Clan’s millennium plan, with the Nihility Devouring Flame and a powerful host of Dou Shengs at his side. He learned that Gu Yuan had fathered a daughter a little over a decade earlier, leaving him stunned.

• Hun Tiandi dismissed the Hun Clan members who had gathered to welcome his recovery and declared that he would become a Dou Emperor and defeat Xiao Xuan.
• More than a dozen mid- and high-level Dou Shengs arrived, followed by the Nihility Devouring Flame, the Hun Clan’s powerful partner who maintained its Dou Emperor Bloodline.
• Hun Tiandi asked the Nihility Devouring Flame about the Gu Clan and whether Gu Yuan had discovered their plan.
• The Nihility Devouring Flame told Hun Tiandi that Gu Yuan had fathered a daughter a little over a decade earlier, and Hun Tiandi was left speechless.

Hun Tiandi learned that Gu Yuan had spent the past thousand years raising a daughter and decided to visit him while Nihility Devouring Flame prepared to act. Both men concealed plans from each other: Hun Tiandi intended to use Nihility Devouring Flame and the Hun Clan, while Nihility Devouring Flame guarded against being refined and hoped to secure Tou She Ancient God's inheritance.

• Hun Tiandi laughed at Gu Yuan's circumstances and recalled how the Gu Clan had let the Hun Clan survive after the Xiao Clan's destruction.
• Hun Tiandi ordered Nihility Devouring Flame to prepare while he went to visit Gu Yuan.
• Nihility Devouring Flame left with the Hun Clan's Dou Sheng, unaware that Hun Tiandi had noticed his safeguards and intended to treat the clan as future rations.
• Hun Tiandi left the Soul Realm to draw Gu Yuan's attention and give Nihility Devouring Flame a chance to act.
• Nihility Devouring Flame worried that Hun Tiandi's recovery would complicate his plans and resolved to drag the Hun Clan down with him if Hun Tiandi tried to refine him.