Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan said goodbye to Qinglin as Lv Man took her to Sky Snake Mansion, then returned to Stone Desert City and prepared to leave for the Imperial Capital. After giving Xiao Ding and Xiao Li cultivation resources, he reflected on improving Three Points Return to Origin Qi before a tiny figure suddenly flew into his arms.

• Xiao Yan encouraged Qinglin to grow stronger at Sky Snake Mansion, gave her pills, and promised to protect her if she was mistreated.
• Lv Man took Qinglin away, while Xiao Yan warned her not to let Qinglin suffer and Qinglin cried as she left.
• Xiao Yan returned to Stone Desert City with Hai Bodong and told Xiao Ding and Xiao Li that he would leave for the Imperial Capital the next day.
• Xiao Yan gave Xiao Ding and Xiao Li Earth Tier cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, and pills before reflecting on the flaws in Three Points Return to Origin Qi.
• A tiny figure shot through Xiao Yan's window and burrowed into his arms, startling him when he pulled it out.

Medicine Elder explained that Medusa’s companion soul had become the Nine-Colored Swallowing Heaven Python, and Xiao Yan eagerly fed it Companion Amethyst Source. During the journey to the Imperial Capital, Medusa confronted Xiao Yan after hearing he wanted to help the python suppress her, leaving him at her mercy.

• Medicine Elder explained that the Nine-Colored Swallowing Heaven Python’s soul had separated from Medusa’s and was fighting her for control of their body.
• Xiao Yan fed the sleeping Nine-Colored Swallowing Heaven Python Companion Amethyst Source, unaware that Medusa was also growing stronger.
• Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong set off for the Imperial Capital on Black Feather, traveling by day and resting in an ice house at night.
• Medusa appeared in human form inside the ice house and accused Xiao Yan of trying to make her disappear.
• Xiao Yan gave Medusa another bottle of Companion Amethyst Source, but she kicked him through the ice house and into the sky.
• Hai Bodong tried to help Xiao Yan, then backed away when Medusa warned him not to interfere.

After being battered by Medusa, Xiao Yan discovered that the Nine-Colored Swallowing Heaven Python had taken human form as Bai Suzhen and begun treating him as her Young Master. Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong reached the Imperial Capital and visited the Mitel Auction House, where Xiao Yan sought information and medicinal ingredients while Hai Bodong pursued his own plans.

• Xiao Yan returned to the ice house bruised, and Medicine Elder explained that the Nine-Colored Swallowing Heaven Python had only suppressed Medusa rather than fully controlling her.
• The next morning, Xiao Yan found Bai Suzhen beside him and learned that the Nine-Colored Swallowing Heaven Python had gained human form and taken its name from him.
• Bai Suzhen attended to Xiao Yan before reverting to python form, and Xiao Yan set off with Hai Bodong for the Imperial Capital.
• Xiao Yan disguised his appearance before entering the Imperial Capital and warned Hai Bodong not to reveal his true identity.
• Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong entered the Mitel Auction House, where Xiao Yan bought rare medicinal ingredients and Hai Bodong sought supplies to restore his sealed strength.

Xiao Yan reunited with Ya Fei at the Mitel Auction House, where his teasing disguise caused a scene before they spoke privately. Ya Fei revealed that the Xiao Clan had vanished without a trace half a year earlier, leaving Xiao Yan alarmed.

• Xiao Yan flirted with Ya Fei in the auction hall, and she recognized him despite his disguise and agreed to speak with him privately.
• Xiao Yan wrapped an arm around Ya Fei and headed toward her bedroom, but Lei Le confronted him and challenged him to a duel.
• Xiao Yan pretended to be weak and hid behind Ya Fei, who blocked Lei Le's punch; Lei Le fainted after becoming enraged.
• Xiao Yan and Ya Fei went to a reception room, where she praised his growth to Dou Ling and he learned she had reached Great Dou Master.
• Ya Fei told Xiao Yan that the Xiao Clan had disappeared overnight half a year earlier, and Xiao Yan's aura darkened the room.

Xiao Yan weighed the likely culprits behind the Xiao Clan's disappearance and reassured Ya Fei that he would investigate. When Leo insulted Ya Fei and attacked Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan killed him effortlessly, then promised that the Mitel Family would gain a Dou Huang.

• Xiao Yan concluded that either the Misty Cloud Sect or the Jia Ma Imperial Family had taken his family, with the Jia Ma Empire seeming more likely.
• Ya Fei blamed herself for failing to protect the Xiao Clan, and Xiao Yan comforted her as she promised to help find them.
• Leo barged into the reception hall, insulted Ya Fei, and struck her; Xiao Yan stepped in to defend her.
• Leo attacked Xiao Yan twice, but Xiao Yan remained unharmed and then strangled Leo to death.
• Ya Fei worried about the consequences of Leo's death, and Xiao Yan told her that Hai Bodong's return would give the Mitel Family a Dou Huang.

Xiao Yan visited Fama at the Alchemist Association to ask about his missing clan and learned that Fama’s investigation had found no trace of them. After suspecting Jia Xingtian and the Jia Ma Imperial Family, Xiao Yan decided to seek answers at the palace, but agreed to enter the Alchemist Grand Ceremony.

• Xiao Yan used Fama’s jade token to enter the restricted western corridor of the Alchemist Association and met with Fama privately.
• Fama told Xiao Yan that the association had been unable to find Xiao Zhan or the other members of the Xiao Clan.
• Fama said Jia Xingtian had emerged from seclusion with overwhelming strength, reclaimed control of the empire, and grown stronger despite the Imperial Family losing the association’s pill supply.
• Xiao Yan suspected Soul Hall had used Jia Xingtian to attack the Xiao Clan and decided to visit the palace to ask someone who might know where his father was held.
• Fama urged Xiao Yan to participate in the Alchemist Grand Ceremony, explaining that he had arranged valuable medicinal ingredients as rewards, and Xiao Yan agreed.
• Xiao Yan told Fama that his registered participant name was Bu Jingyun and his mentor was Nameless.

Xiao Yan confronted Yao Ye about the attack on the Xiao Clan and learned that she had gathered information about his family and father. He forced her to agree to help him take control of the Jia Ma Empire, leaving her dependent on his promise of power and continued access to the antidote.

• Xiao Yan secretly entered Yao Ye’s room, and she recognized him despite his disguise.
• Yao Ye said Jia Xingtian had stripped her of her authority and that she only suspected he was behind the attack on the Xiao Clan.
• Yao Ye explained that Mitel Tengshan’s help to the Xiao Clan and Xiao Yan’s distinctive pills had exposed his identity.
• Yao Ye revealed that she still had informants and had found a clue about Xiao Yan’s father.
• Xiao Yan offered to help Yao Ye regain power in exchange for the information, and she agreed to help him control the Jia Ma Empire if he spared Jia Xingtian.
• Yao Ye demanded her antidote, but Xiao Yan said he had not made one and warned that her safety depended on her cooperation.

Xiao Yan forced himself on Yao Ye, then left her with medicine and departed the palace to plan a rescue for Xiao Zhan and the others. At the Mitel Auction House, he learned that Hai Bodong had announced the Ice Emperor’s return, prompting the Mitel Family to drop the matter of Elder Leo’s death.

• Xiao Yan carried Yao Ye to bed and assaulted her after admitting that he had broken his vow before.
• Before dawn, Xiao Yan gave Yao Ye pills, helped heal her, and escaped from the palace through a window.
• Xiao Yan reasoned that Xiao Zhan and the others were being held at one of two military strongholds and planned to free them after killing Jia Xingtian and the Soul Hall members.
• Xiao Yan went to the Mitel Auction House, where Ya Fei told him the Great Elder had stopped the investigation into Leo’s death.
• Ya Fei explained that Hai Bodong had left after telling the Great Elder that the Ice Emperor had returned.

Xiao Yan stayed with Ya Fei and learned that Nalan Yanran had come to ask the Mitel Auction House to find an alchemist with a Heavenly Flame to save Nalan Jie. He decided to use the Nalan Clan’s crisis to bring it under his control, then appeared before Nalan Yanran, whose reaction revealed their strained history.

• Xiao Yan bathed and fell asleep while Ya Fei attended to him.
• A maid told Ya Fei that Nalan Yanran had arrived, and Xiao Yan woke after hearing her name.
• Xiao Yan considered how Nalan Jie's worsening Branding Iron Venom and the Nalan Clan’s future affected his plans, then decided to subdue the clan and place hidden pieces in two other great clans.
• Nalan Yanran asked Ya Fei to help find an alchemist with a Heavenly Flame and offered the Nalan Clan’s rewards.
• Nalan Yanran asked to meet the man Ya Fei had fallen for, but Xiao Yan entered before Ya Fei could finish declining.
• Xiao Yan took the gift list and sat down to inspect it, while Nalan Yanran clenched her fist at his words.

Xiao Yan agreed to treat Nalan Jie for his Branding Iron Venom and followed Nalan Yanran to the Nalan Clan. After the other alchemists failed, he revealed his Heavenly Flame and proposed his mysterious Gene Modification Therapy, leaving the Nalan family to accept his alarming conditions.

• Xiao Yan agreed to help Nalan Yanran treat Nalan Jie, though Ya Fei suspected he had a scheme.
• Xiao Yan accompanied Nalan Yanran to the Nalan Clan, where the gathered alchemists failed to cure Nalan Jie.
• Xiao Yan entered Nalan Jie's room, used his Heavenly Flame to purify the foul air, and diagnosed the venom as having spread into the old man's flesh and bones.
• Xiao Yan claimed his Gene Modification Therapy could remove the venom and potentially help Nalan Jie reach the Dou Huang realm.
• Xiao Yan warned that the treatment would be horrifying and painful, requiring Nalan Jie to be restrained and everyone else to stay away.

Bu Jingyun treated Nalan Jie for the Branding Iron Venom, awakening him after ten hours of agony. He told the Nalan family that six more costly treatments remained, and Nalan Su agreed to continue despite the strain on the clan’s finances.

• Nalan Su paid Bu Jingyun ten million and left him alone with Nalan Jie for the treatment.
• Bu Jingyun used his Heavenly Flame to burn the Branding Iron Venom through Nalan Jie’s meridians for ten hours while Nalan Su and Nalan Yanran waited outside.
• Bu Jingyun emerged and told the family the operation was complete, and Nalan Su rushed in to find Nalan Jie awake.
• Nalan Jie thanked Bu Jingyun, who explained that six more ten-million treatments were needed and that the venom would not relapse for a year if they stopped.
• Nalan Su agreed to continue the treatments, deciding that saving Nalan Jie mattered more than the clan’s remaining wealth.

Xiao Yan treated Nalan Jie again, demanding his fee first and enduring the clan’s pleas to go easy as he used Heavenly Flame for ten hours. On the sixth day, he returned to the Nalan Clan and met Mu Chen and Mitel Tengshan, who competed to invite him to their clans and establishments.

• Nalan Jie recovered from the first treatment, while Nalan Yanran began to doubt her suspicions about Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Nalan Clan, collected his diagnosis fee, and ordered Nalan Jie to undress for the next treatment.
• Nalan Su had Nalan Jie tied to an iron pillar and cleared the room; Xiao Yan ignored the family’s pleas to be gentle and continued the painful treatment for ten hours.
• Xiao Yan announced that the surgery was complete and left, while Nalan Yanran personally saw him out.
• On the sixth day, Xiao Yan arrived to find Mu Chen and Mitel Tengshan at the Nalan Clan, where both men praised him and tried to draw him to their respective establishments.

Xiao Yan helped Nalan Jie recover, rejuvenate, and break through, then rushed to save Hai Bodong during a fierce clash with Jia Xingtian. The confrontation ended with the old allies reunited and the gathered leaders greeting Jia Xingtian, Fama, and Hai Bodong.

• Xiao Yan treated Nalan Jie in front of the Nalan Clan, causing his wrinkles to fade, nearby plants to grow, and his strength to advance.
• Nalan Jie invited everyone to a grand banquet, but an explosion nearby revealed that Hai Bodong was fighting someone.
• Xiao Yan flew to the battlefield and shielded the badly injured Hai Bodong from an earth-yellow figure, then used Yang Fire to heal him.
• Hai Bodong introduced his opponent as Jia Xingtian and explained that they were old friends who had been sparring.
• Jia Xingtian praised Xiao Yan's strength, while Fama, Nalan Jie, Mitel Tengshan, and Mu Chen arrived and greeted the three old men.

Jia Xingtian, Hai Bodong, and Xiao Yan parted ways after their confrontation, and Hai Bodong explained that Jia Xingtian had nearly killed him despite not yet reaching Dou Zong. That evening, Xiao Yan and Ya Fei attended Old Master Nalan’s banquet, where Yao Ye watched Xiao Yan with unexplained anger.

• Jia Xingtian invited Hai Bodong, Fama, and Xiao Yan to visit him, but all three declined before he returned to the palace and coughed up blood from Xiao Yan’s blow.
• Hai Bodong chose to accompany Xiao Yan to the Mitel Auction House, and Xiao Yan asked him how his fight with Jia Xingtian had started.
• Hai Bodong said Jia Xingtian had lured him to the Imperial Mausoleum and attacked with lethal intent, and he revealed that Jia Xingtian was at the peak of Dou Huang.
• Xiao Yan and Ya Fei arrived at Old Master Nalan’s banquet, where Nalan Jie, Mu Chen, and Mitel Tengshan welcomed them warmly.
• Yao Ye glared at Xiao Yan across the banquet hall, and Ya Fei wondered aloud whether he had done something to upset her.

At the Nalan Clan banquet, Mu Zhan attacked Xiao Yan and was injured by the force of his own blow, then Nalan Jie collapsed after drinking despite Xiao Yan's warning. Xiao Yan examined him and revealed that the Branding Iron Venom had reached his brain, leaving him at risk of paralysis.

• Mu Zhan rushed Xiao Yan and struck him, but Xiao Yan remained unharmed while Mu Zhan staggered back, injured.
• Mu Chen urged Mu Zhan to apologize, and Xiao Yan accepted the apology without pursuing the matter.
• Nalan Jie toasted Xiao Yan and drank wine despite Xiao Yan warning him to avoid drinking while recovering.
• Nalan Jie suddenly lost consciousness, and Nalan Yanran caught him as blood flowed from his ears and nostrils.
• Xiao Yan examined Nalan Jie and told the Nalan Clan that the Branding Iron Venom had invaded his brain and might leave him paralyzed.

Xiao Yan demanded payment to treat Nalan Jie’s Branding Iron Venom, then performed a mysterious operation through the night. He emerged exhausted at dawn, leaving Nalan Jie’s condition unknown.

• Nalan Jie collapsed after the Branding Iron Venom reached his brain, and Nalan Yanran and Nalan Su begged Xiao Yan to save him.
• Xiao Yan claimed he needed to split Nalan Jie’s skull and remove the venom, then demanded one hundred million gold coins for the treatment.
• Mitel Tengshan offered thirty million gold coins, and Xiao Yan arranged for the remaining seventy million to be repaid in installments; Nalan Su signed the agreement.
• Xiao Yan sent everyone out and began the operation, while Ya Fei and Yao Ye suspected he had a scheme.
• The guests waited outside through the night as strange sounds and red flashes came from behind Xiao Yan’s Soul Barrier.
• Xiao Yan emerged at dawn drenched in sweat and exhausted, but the chapter did not reveal whether Nalan Jie had recovered.

Xiao Yan successfully removed the Branding Iron Venom from Nalan Jie and left the Nalan Clan deeply indebted while they regarded him as their benefactor. Back at the Mitel Auction House, he learned that Mitel Tengshan, Mu Chen, and other nobles were lining up for his surgeries.

• Xiao Yan finished Nalan Jie's surgery and pretended to faint, while Nalan Yanran caught him and Nalan Su went inside to check on her grandfather.
• Nalan Jie awakened, confirmed the venom was gone, and apologized for ignoring Xiao Yan's advice; Nalan Yanran then went to find Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan returned to Nalan Jie, gave him detailed recovery instructions, and left with Nalan Yanran for the Mitel Auction House.
• Ya Fei accused Xiao Yan of swindling the Nalan Clan, but Xiao Yan insisted Nalan Jie would reach Dou Huang within three years and kept his purpose secret.
• Mitel Tengshan requested surgery through Ya Fei, providing one hundred million in funds, while Mu Chen offered thirty million and agreed to pay the remainder in installments.
• Ya Fei told Xiao Yan that nobles from Nalan Jie's banquet were raising money to receive his surgeries and regain their youth and strength.

The seventh Alchemist Grand Ceremony began with over ten thousand participants competing for rare medicinal ingredients. Xiao Yan started the first round by refining a Qi-Replenishing Pill, while the leaders watched him and Gu He wondered why Nie Feng had not entered.

• Fama declared the seventh Alchemist Grand Ceremony open, and Qiemier explained its four rounds and elimination rules.
• The first round required Alchemists to refine a Qi-Replenishing Pill using a single set of ingredients, and failed participants were removed from the square.
• Xiao Yan examined the formula, brought out his old cauldron from Wutan City, and began refining the pill.
• Fama, Gu He, and Hai Bodong discussed Xiao Yan’s cauldron and strong soul power as they watched him.
• Gu He asked Fama why Nie Feng was absent despite his talent and the valuable rewards.

Xiao Yan passed the first round and refined Gathering Qi Powder in the second round of the Alchemist Association competition. As the field dwindled to fewer than forty contestants, Fama suspected three cloaked alchemists from rival empires had entered to undermine the Association, but trusted Xiao Yan to defeat them.

• Xiao Yan completed a Qi-Replenishing Pill with an ordinary flame and passed the first round as the hourglass ran out.
• Qiemier announced that the second round required contestants to refine Gathering Qi Powder, and many alchemists abandoned the competition or failed.
• After six hours, Xiao Yan finished his Gathering Qi Powder and received a green pillar of light matching those of three cloaked contestants.
• Fama, Gu He, and Qiemier identified the three cloaked alchemists as likely entrants from the Chu Yun Empire, the Falling Goose Empire, and the Mulan Empire.
• Fama said the rival empires wanted to damage the Alchemist Association's reputation, but dismissed the threat because he trusted Xiao Yan.
• The second round reduced the field to fewer than forty contestants.

The remaining alchemists began the third examination, which required them to refine a Tier 5 Restoration Pill through an exhausting day and night of work. Xiao Yan started refining the familiar pill with an ordinary cauldron and yellow flame, and he reached the pill-fusion stage as the field narrowed to just over a dozen contestants.

• After the second examination ended, Fama congratulated the fewer than forty survivors and called them forward for the third round.
• Yaoyue and Liu Ling discussed Nie Feng's absence and the strength of their competitors, while Yaoyue praised Bu Jingyun and Liu Ling noted that he possessed a Heavenly Flame.
• Fama announced that the alchemists had to refine Tier 5 pills with only one portion of herbs, and the contestants began work after using Qi-Replenishing Pills and selecting their cauldrons and flames.
• Xiao Yan saw that the assigned pill was a Restoration Pill and began refining it with yellow flame, while Fama criticized his low-grade cauldron.
• After a day and night, Xiao Yan finished refining the herbs and began fusing them as energy ripples from another alchemist's forming pill destroyed the herbs in some unprotected cauldrons.