Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yao finished refining pills and gave Xiao Yan and Yao Yue Soul-Nourishing Saliva to help them improve their alchemy. After approving plans for the new Xiao Clan residence, he outlined his ambition to unite the Jia Ma Empire’s major factions under the Xiao Clan before leaving.

• Xiao Yao completed more than a hundred pills in three days, including over twenty Sixth-Grade Azure Nether Longevity Pills, and discussed alchemy with Xiao Yan and Yao Yue.
• Xiao Yao gave Xiao Yan and Yao Yue twenty-odd bottles of Soul-Nourishing Saliva and said he would pause his pill refining while away for the next few days.
• Jia Xing Tian brought the residence blueprint, which Xiao Yao and Xiao Zhan approved, and Xiao Yao promised to teach Jia Xing Tian’s daughter more alchemy.
• Xiao Ding reported that selling resources had earned the Xiao Clan fifty-seven million gold coins and proposed opening a merchant guild to sell low-grade pills.
• Xiao Yao declared his plan to form an alliance centered on the Xiao Clan, unite the empire’s major factions, and expand the clan’s influence across the Northwest Region.

Xiao Yao and his brothers prepared to lead the Xiao Clan’s expansion, with Xiao Zhan and the elders entrusting them with the clan’s future and resources. After accepting a system mission to unite the Jia Ma Empire’s forces around the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yao encountered Yun Yun.

• Xiao Ding planned to build business ties with Ya Fei, while Xiao Li prepared to train the clan’s younger members.
• Xiao Zhan and the elders declared that Xiao Yao, Xiao Ding, and Xiao Li were ready to lead the clan, then gave Xiao Yao more than twenty Storage Rings recovered from the battle in Wutan City.
• Xiao Yao accepted a system mission to integrate the forces of the Jia Ma Empire and establish a power centered on the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Ding proposed visiting the Mittel Auction House and Spirit Medicine Hall and later integrating the Black-Corner Region, while Xiao Li vowed to train a formidable force.
• Xiao Yao said they would address the Black-Corner Region after rebuilding the Xiao Clan residence, then he and his brothers encountered Yun Yun waiting in an alley.

Yun Yun offered to help rebuild the Xiao Clan and gave Xiao Yao resources left by the Misty Cloud Sect, while Xiao Yao accepted her help and entrusted her to Xiao Ding. Xiao Yao then went to the Magic Beast Mountain Range and began refining Eagle Protector’s body into a Heavenly Demon Puppet.

• Yun Yun asked Xiao Yao whether he still trusted her and offered her experience to help manage and develop the Xiao Clan.
• Yun Yun gave Xiao Yao a Storage Ring containing the Misty Cloud Sect’s pills, cultivation methods, Dou Skills, and other resources, and Xiao Yao accepted it.
• Xiao Ding agreed to take Yun Yun to the Mittel Auction House, while Xiao Li headed to the training grounds.
• Xiao Yao left for the Magic Beast Mountain Range after deciding it was time to set out.
• Xiao Yao reviewed the improved Heavenly Demon Puppet method and used his Heavenly Flame to temper Eagle Protector’s body.

Xiao Yao refined Wu Protector's corpse, soul, and a Seventh Grade earth-attribute Magic Core into a powerful puppet. The completed puppet reached One-Star Dou Zun strength and accepted Xiao Yao's blood imprint.

• Xiao Yao placed an earth-attribute Magic Core in Wu Protector's corpse and released Wu Protector's soul from a jade bottle.
• Wu Protector tried to flee, but Xiao Yao captured and refined his soul with Heavenly Flames, extinguishing its consciousness before placing it in the corpse.
• Xiao Yao refined valuable metals into dark golden liquid and used his Soul Force to merge the corpse, soul, and Magic Core at their point of perfect compatibility.
• Xiao Yao coated the puppet in the molten metal and heated it until the liquid entered its body, strengthening its aura.
• The puppet reached One-Star Dou Zun strength, and Xiao Yao placed a blood imprint on its forehead.

Xiao Yao finished refining three Heavenly Demon Puppets and one Earth Demon Puppet, then tested whether the Heavenly Demon Puppets could absorb the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning. They survived the first bolt and began growing stronger, and Xiao Yao ordered them to attack the second.

• Xiao Yao completed three Heavenly Demon Puppets and one Earth Demon Puppet, then stored them away.
• Xiao Yao traveled to a mountaintop in the Magic Beast Mountain Range and summoned the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning.
• The three Heavenly Demon Puppets endured the first lightning bolt and absorbed its energy, beginning to advance toward middle grade.
• Xiao Yao commanded the puppets to attack the second bolt, and they struck the descending lightning with their fists.

After tempering three Heavenly Demon Puppets with Nine Heavens Divine Lightning, Xiao Yao prepared to refine a Seventh-Grade Pill before Jia Ma Empire’s gathered factions. The chapter left him poised to begin, with a powerful silver puppet revealed to protect the platform from Pill Lightning.

• Xiao Yao guided three bolts of Nine Heavens Divine Lightning onto the Heavenly Demon Puppets, raising each puppet’s cultivation by one star.
• Xiao Yao returned to refine a Seventh-Grade Pill and, two days later, gathered with Xiao Yan and Yao Yue on a protected stone platform before Jia Ma Empire’s factions.
• Xiao Yao asked Yao Lao to protect Xiao Yan and Yao Yue from Pill Lightning while he refined the pill.
• Xiao Yao summoned a silver puppet, astonishing Fa Ma, Jia Xing Tian, and the other onlookers with its apparent Dou Zun-level cultivation.
• Zi Yan complained that Xiao Yao would not give her a Seventh-Grade Pill, while Qing Lin promised to ask him for one after he settled matters with the Xiao Clan.
• Yao Lao recognized the silver puppet’s strength as Xiao Yao focused on the prepared ingredients for the Seventh-Grade Life-Devouring Pill.

Xiao Yao refined a Life-Devouring Pill in the Myriad Beast Cauldron while the gathered alchemists watched and Yao Lao explained the challenge of making a Seventh-Grade Pill. As Pill Lightning descended to strike the finished pill, Xiao Yao sent his silver Puppet to meet it.

• Xiao Yao summoned the Myriad Beast Cauldron and began refining the Life-Devouring Pill with Purple Flame.
• Yao Lao explained Xiao Yao’s precise flame control, while Fa Ma and Jia Xing Tian watched and assessed his skill.
• After three hours of refining, Xiao Yao formed the pill and continued condensing it as storm clouds gathered above the Imperial City.
• Yao Lao identified the approaching storm as Pill Lightning, and Xiao Yao finished the pill as the first lightning bolt descended.
• Xiao Yao ordered his silver Puppet to charge toward the Pill Lightning.

Xiao Yao refined a Seventh-Grade Life-Devouring Pill, and the Earth Demon Puppet absorbed and shattered the Pill Lightning that came with it. As Jia Xing Tian warned Fa Ma that Xiao Yao’s rise could change the balance of power in the Jia Ma Empire, the puppet returned to Xiao Yao seemingly strengthened by the lightning.

• Xiao Yao’s Earth Demon Puppet withstood the first Pill Lightning strike while Xiao Yao inspected the finished Life-Devouring Pill.
• The Earth Demon Puppet repeatedly struck the stronger bolts of Pill Lightning until it shattered the final one and the clouds dispersed.
• Yao Lao praised Xiao Yao’s progress, while Fa Ma marveled at witnessing a Seventh-Grade Pill being refined.
• Jia Xing Tian warned Fa Ma that powerful factions would come seeking Xiao Yao and suggested the Alchemist Association offer him its support before others took control.
• Xiao Yao placed the Seventh-Grade Pill in a jade bottle, and the Earth Demon Puppet knelt before him with lightning still coursing over its body.

Xiao Yao revealed the Life-Devouring Pill and Azure Nether Longevity Pill as the means to raise a group of powerful fighters, then continued refining pills to strengthen the Xiao Clan. After more than half a month of alchemy, his Earth Demon Puppet became a Half-Saint-level Heavenly Demon Puppet, while Xiao Yao completed another pill.

• Xiao Yao explained that the Life-Devouring Pill could raise a Da Dou Shi to Dou Wang but leave only three years of lifespan, while the Azure Nether Longevity Pill could extend that to thirteen years.
• Xiao Yao told Xiao Yan he could make only around thirty Life-Devouring Pills, prompting the onlookers, Fa Ma, and Jia Xing Tian to realize he could establish a powerful faction.
• Xiao Yao resumed refining pills in the Myriad Beast Cauldron, working without sleep or rest for more than half a month as Pill Lightning repeatedly struck the square.
• Xiao Yao used the Pill Lightning to temper his Earth Demon Puppet until it became a Half-Saint-level Heavenly Demon Puppet.
• Xiao Yao refined away the final impurity in another pill as the Heavenly Demon Puppet hovered above the square.

Xiao Yao completed a perfect Purple-Gold Body Tempering Pill, and the Pill Lightning it summoned strengthened the Heavenly Demon Puppet from Early to Mid Half-Saint. He left Xiao Yan and Yao Yue to continue refining pills, then went to meet his evil counterpart and ask about their progress.

• Xiao Yao refined a perfect Purple-Gold Body Tempering Pill, and the Heavenly Demon Puppet absorbed the seven bolts of Pill Lightning to advance to Mid Half-Saint.
• Xiao Yao gave Xiao Yan a Storage Ring of medicinal ingredients and left the plaza, asking Xiao Yan and Yao Yue to handle the remaining pill refinement.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Yue praised Xiao Yao's alchemy, teased each other about calling him Brother Yao, and began refining the ingredients.
• Xiao Yao arrived at a secluded pavilion in the Imperial City and asked his evil counterpart how their matter was progressing.

Xiao Yao reunited with his avatars, rewarded the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King for helping the Xiao Clan, and reaffirmed his commitment to Zi Lin. Several days later, the clan arrived at its new Xiao Mansion, where Xiao Yao asked whether the requested underwater lake had been built.

• Xiao Yao absorbed the insights of his two avatars and began preparing to build an eighth-tier formation.
• Xiao Yao gave the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King a Sect-Breaking Pill in gratitude for helping the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Yao promised to nurture Zi Lin, and the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King swore that her clan would repay the Xiao Clan's kindness.
• Several days later, Jia Xing Tian showed the Xiao Clan members their new residence, the Xiao Mansion.
• Jia Xing Tian pointed out the nine-story Library Pavilion, and Xiao Yao asked whether the underwater lake had been built to his specifications.

Xiao Yao inspected the completed Yin-Yang Lake and gave Jia Xing Tian a Primordial Bone-Shaping Pill before beginning preparations for the eighth-tier Five-Element Sealing Formation. He and Xiao Yan finished five foundational patterns and planned to complete a formation capable of resisting attacks from below the Dou Saint level the next day.

• Jia Xing Tian showed Xiao Yao the lake’s separated cold and hot sides, which Xiao Yao intended to enhance with a formation.
• Xiao Yao gave Jia Xing Tian the Primordial Bone-Shaping Pill and waived the medicinal ingredients as compensation for his work on the Xiao Clan residence.
• Jia Xing Tian offered to provide manpower and left Xiao Yao to prepare the formation.
• Xiao Yao began setting up the eighth-tier Five-Element Sealing Formation with Xiao Yan at the training grounds.
• Xiao Yao told Xiao Yan that the five carved patterns formed the foundation and that they would finish the formation the next day.

Xiao Yao explained how his self-sustaining Five-Element Sealing Formation could protect the Xiao Clan, though it could not withstand a Dou Saint. He offered Xiao Yan the Fallen Heart Flame and Sea Heart Flame in exchange for the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame and another item, promising he could perfect the technique and reduce its backlash.

• Xiao Yao showed Xiao Yan five origin treasures that powered the Five-Element Sealing Formation using energy from heaven and earth and the earth veins.
• Xiao Yao warned that the eighth-tier formation could not withstand a Dou Saint, and Xiao Yan vowed to grow strong enough to protect the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Yao offered Xiao Yan the Fallen Heart Flame and Sea Heart Flame in exchange for two things.
• Xiao Yan agreed to the exchange, and Xiao Yao asked for the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame, saying he could perfect it and minimize its backlash.

Xiao Yan exchanged knowledge of the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame and the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus with Xiao Yao, who gave him two Heavenly Flames in return. After learning both techniques overnight, Xiao Yao asked Xiao Yan to demonstrate the Fire Lotus, and Xiao Yan began fusing two flames under his watch.

• Xiao Yao asked Xiao Yan for the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame and insights into creating the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus.
• Xiao Yan agreed to teach him both techniques and warned him about their dangers.
• Xiao Yao gave Xiao Yan the Fallen Heart Flame and the Sea Heart Flame, which Xiao Yan was not yet strong enough to refine.
• Xiao Yan explained both techniques through the night, and Xiao Yao said he had mastered the Three Mysterious Changes but still needed one final insight for the Fire Lotus.
• Xiao Yao asked Xiao Yan to demonstrate the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus, and Xiao Yan began combining purple and green flames.

Xiao Yan fused three Heavenly Flames to form Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus, allowing Xiao Yao to comprehend the technique as he observed. After safely containing Xiao Yan's fire lotus, Xiao Yao created a more controlled version of his own, but it began to tremble as he fed it Soul Force.

• Xiao Yan fused the Bone Chilling Flame with the blue and purple flames to create a three-colored Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus while Xiao Yao studied its energy with Soul Force.
• Xiao Yao restrained the fire lotus before it exploded, returned it to his hand, and stored it in a spatial crack.
• Xiao Yao warned Xiao Yan about exhausting himself with the technique, then pulled him up and teased him about needing more practice.
• Xiao Yao formed a more condensed three-colored fire lotus with ease, leaving Xiao Yan astonished at his control.
• The fire lotus in Xiao Yao's palm began to tremble and release a destructive aura, so he channeled concentrated Soul Force into it.

Xiao Yao completed a powerful formation complex in the Xiao Clan residence, drawing abundant natural energy from across the region and attracting the attention of the Jia Ma Empire’s major forces. The chapter ended with Xiao Yao predicting the residence would become a cultivation sanctuary and the Xiao Clan’s influence would grow.

• Xiao Yao reassured Xiao Yan that he could control the Three-Colored Fire Lotus, then dismissed it and moved on to setting up the Xiao Clan’s formations.
• Xiao Yao carved formation patterns into the central stele as Xiao Zhan, the elders, and other clan members watched.
• Xiao Yao placed the Five Spirit Pearls into five steles and activated the Five-Element Sealing Formation, the Five-Element Primordial Unity Formation, and the Five-Spirit Qi-Gathering Formation.
• Xiao Yao’s completed formations summoned phantom images of five divine beasts and drew natural energy toward the Xiao Clan residence.
• Jia Xing Tian sensed the disturbance from the Imperial Family palace and concluded that Xiao Yao’s formation could make the Xiao Clan unshakable in the Jia Ma Empire.
• Xiao Yao said the gathered energy would eventually turn the Xiao Clan residence into a cultivation sanctuary and influence the wider empire.

Xiao Yao completed the Five-Spirit Qi-Gathering Formation, helping Xiao Clan members break through and establishing Xiao Ding as the clan’s acting head. He then activated the Two-Extremes Spirit-Gathering Formation at Yin-Yang Lake, creating a lasting cultivation resource for the clan.

• The Five-Spirit Qi-Gathering Formation filled the Xiao Clan residence with dense energy, and Xiao Li and other clansmen broke through their cultivation bottlenecks.
• Xiao Yao refused Xiao Zhan’s offer of the clan head position and persuaded Xiao Ding to accept it as acting clan head.
• Xiao Yao gave Xiao Zhan and Xiao Ding jade tablets that controlled the Five-Element Sealing Formation and Five-Element Primordial Unity Formation.
• Xiao Yao led the clan to Yin-Yang Lake and embedded ten High-Grade Spirit Stones in the formation grooves along its shore.
• The Two-Extremes Spirit-Gathering Formation activated, and Xiao Yao explained that it would sustain itself for decades and help the clan’s disciples cultivate.

Xiao Yao secured the Xiao Clan’s future with formations, resources, and a Half-Saint puppet, then told his family he would leave after establishing an alliance. He left the clan in Xiao Ding and Xiao Zhan’s care and prepared to return to Jia Nan Academy to focus on cultivation.

• Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, Xiao Zhan, and the elders tested the Yin-Yang Lake’s wood-element energy, and Xiao Ding promised to oversee the formations and prevent the clan from relying on them too heavily.
• Xiao Ding told Xiao Yao that the Jia Ma Empire’s major factions had received invitations to discuss an alliance at the Xiao Clan the next morning.
• Xiao Yao told Xiao Ding and Xiao Zhan that he would leave once the alliance was established and return to Jia Nan Academy to cultivate.
• Xiao Yao gave the Second Elder the Storage Ring from Xiao Yu and promised that Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning would be safe at Jia Nan Academy.
• Xiao Yao gave Xiao Zhan a Half-Saint Heavenly Demon Puppet and said he had also left battle skills, pills, pill formulas, and cultivation methods in the Library Pavilion.

Xiao Yao proposed an alliance of the Jia Ma Empire’s major powers that could surpass the Misty Cloud Sect, outlining its contributions, obligations, and leadership structure. The Mittel Family became the first to join, while the other factions had yet to decide.

• Xiao Yao gave Xiao Zhan and the others jade slips that let them enter the sixth and seventh floors of the Library Pavilion, then said he would leave for Jia Nan Academy after the alliance meeting.
• Xiao Yao gathered the empire’s leading factions at the Xiao Clan and proposed forming an alliance stronger than the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Jia Xing Tian asked what joining would cost, and Xiao Yao required each member to contribute half its resources while preserving its core inheritances.
• Xiao Yao said alliance members must provide support against foreign enemies, while the alliance would not forcibly interfere in their internal disputes.
• Fa Ma asked who would lead, and Xiao Yao described an Alliance Leader, a Deputy Alliance Leader, and a twelve-member Elder's Court.
• Hai Bo Dong announced that the Mittel Family would join the alliance and that he would take the first elder's seat.

Xiao Yao secured every major faction in the Jia Ma Empire for his new alliance by offering powerful pills and benefits. The factions accepted the Xiao Alliance’s name and Xiao Ding as deputy leader, leaving Xiao Yao at its head.

• Xiao Yao gave Hai Bo Dong a Sect-Breaking Pill, prompting Jia Xing Tian and the Jia Ma Imperial Family to join the alliance.
• Nalan Jie and Mu Chen agreed to bring the Nalan Lineage and Mu Clan into the alliance, and Elder Mo announced Spirit Medicine Hall would join.
• Xiao Yao promised Fa Ma alchemy resources, training, and shared insights in exchange for the Alchemist Association joining, and Fa Ma accepted.
• Xiao Yao named the alliance the Xiao Alliance and declared himself its leader, with Xiao Ding as deputy leader.
• Hai Bo Dong and Nalan Jie endorsed Xiao Ding’s appointment, Mu Chen stayed silent, and Xiao Ding accepted the position.