Yao Chen

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Yao Clan Origins

Yao Chen came from the Yao Clan but received little recognition because of his weak bloodline. His departure is remembered as an expulsion, although he later explains that he angrily rejected attempts to keep him after his bloodline was judged worthless. He built his reputation through his own alchemy talent rather than the clan's resources 84 192 198.

After winning the Pill Tower's Alchemist Tournament, he became renowned as the continent's foremost alchemist. Starfall Pavilion rose alongside his reputation, and he eventually served as its founder and pavilion master. He also developed longstanding friendships within the Pill Tower, though he declined an invitation to join the Little Pill Tower because he preferred a wandering life 167 171 198.

Han Feng's Betrayal

Han Feng coveted the complete Flame Mantra and plotted to attack Yao Chen while he was vulnerable during ninth-grade pill refinement. Yao Chen anticipated the betrayal and shattered his disciple's body with a single blow. Han Feng escaped as a remnant soul; Yao Chen survived without the catastrophic loss Xiao Yan had expected 84 149.

Yao Chen later identifies the Soul Hall and Old Man Mu Gu as participants in the plot. The betrayal left him unwilling to accept another disciple for years, although Xiao Yan's reputation eventually rekindled that interest 164 168 192.

Romantic Seclusion

Yao Chen's youthful relationships involved several powerful women, including Xuan Yi, a fox-clan overlord, and a former Flower Sect leader. Their rivalry nearly escalated into conflict between factions. He withdrew into Starfall Pavilion partly to escape these unresolved romantic entanglements 167 183 196.

Appearance

• General appearance: Handsome, with an elegant, scholarly bearing and a beard he frequently strokes 167 173.
• Reunion with Xuan Yi: Appears to be in his forties or fifties, wearing white robes with loose black hair 183.
• Alchemy contest: Described with fluttering white hair and a refined face, carrying the proud confidence associated with his younger days 198.

Personality

Yao Chen is proud of his self-made achievements and enjoys showing them off. A lengthy explanation of bloodline limitations ultimately becomes an excuse to boast that the people who once humiliated him remain seventh- or eighth-tier alchemists, while his own prospects extend much further. His rivalry with Elder Hou likewise combines genuine skill with deliberate teasing 198.

He is generous toward people he respects and willing to repay favors. After receiving Han Feng, he attends the Four Pavilions Assembly to support Xiao Yan and later offers a ninth-grade pill to secure his release. He also accompanies Xiao Yan into the Nine Nether Yellow Springs despite recognizing the danger of offending its ruling clan 164 165 167.

His own betrayal makes him sympathetic to Yao Ming and wary of trusting others too easily. Nevertheless, he recognizes Xiao Yan's caution and gradually comes to regard him as an experienced, resourceful equal rather than a reckless junior 168 170.

In romance, Yao Chen moves from avoidance to an earnest—but poorly received—attempt to reconcile all his former partners. He refuses to retaliate when they attack him, choosing to endure their anger rather than use his superior soul power against them 183 196 198.

Abilities & Skills

Alchemy

A former Alchemist Tournament champion, Yao Chen advances from struggling with ninth-grade Treasure Pills to entering the Profound Pill Realm 171 181.

• Ninth-grade pill refinement: Defeats Elder Hou by refining a Spirit-Clearing Pill and enduring its Black Demon Lightning tribulation 198.
• Multitasking: Uses soul power to control his flames while processing multiple medicinal ingredients 198.
• Medicinal knowledge: Recognizes the expected presence of Yellow Springs Blood Crystal and evaluates the Nine Netherworld Python Clan's pregnancy-protecting formulas 168 171.
• Limits: Admits that he cannot devise the higher-grade pregnancy-protecting formula Xiao Yan seeks 171.

Heavenly Realm Soul

His soul power substantially exceeds what his physical cultivation alone would suggest 198.

• Soul-based combat: Crushes Xuan Yi's enormous attacking phantom with a raised hand; the encounter demonstrates the gulf between Heavenly State and Spirit Realm souls 183.
• Detection: Identifies Old Man Mu Gu despite his disguise and detects the arrival of Ancient Eight Clans members in Sacred Pill City 192.
• Animated constructs: Creates a snow-white soul crane to carry a message. Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi distinguish its lifelike animation from ordinary soul-power materialization 196.
• Future potential: Taishang Laojun's intervention removes barriers to his soul growth. Yao Chen subsequently identifies himself and Yao Ling as the Yao Clan's two candidates with hope of reaching an Emperor Realm Soul—not as having already attained it 198.

Flame Control

Yao Chen wields the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, using its bone-white, chilling fire in high-level pill refinement 198.

• His control draws admiration from the Little Pill Tower's elders 198.
• He recognizes that Qing He resembles a transformed pill-like existence rather than an ordinary human or magical beast 164.
• He studies Xiao Yan's ability to control several Heavenly Flames and requests an explanation as payment for helping him 167.
• After witnessing Taishang Laojun's Samadhi True Fire, he understands that it originates within the body rather than being a Heavenly Flame. He abandons the idea of obtaining it because kindling the necessary internal fires would be almost impossible for him 171.

Pill Puppet Refinement

• Begins gathering materials for his own Pill Puppet after Xiao Yan shares the refining method with the Little Pill Tower 199.
• No completed personal Pill Puppet is documented in the provided chapters 199.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Black Demon Cauldron — Ranked eighth on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking. Its surface bears lifelike flame totems capable of functioning as ordinary flames 198.
• Bone Spirit Cold Flame — His personal flame for alchemy and flame-control contests 198.
• Medicinal materials — Carries substantial supplies and offers them to Taishang Laojun during Cai Lin's pill refinement 171.
• Flame Mantra — Withheld its complete form from Han Feng. Yao Chen himself had long studied the method without daring to cultivate it 84 167.

Relationships

• Xiao Yan — Younger friend and ally, not his disciple. Returning Han Feng establishes their friendship; Yao Chen supports him politically and accompanies him into the Nine Nether Yellow Springs. Their similar experiences as descendants with disregarded bloodlines deepen his affection for Xiao Yan 164 167 192.
• Taishang Laojun — Benefactor and Xiao Yan's actual master. Yao Chen kneels in gratitude after receiving the gift that transforms his soul cultivation and future potential 171 198.
• Han Feng — Former disciple and betrayer. Yao Chen destroys his body during the failed plot and later receives his captured soul through Mu Qingluan. Han Feng is subsequently confirmed to have been executed 84 164 192.
• Gu Ling — Starfall Pavilion associate who receives Han Feng alongside him and accompanies him to the Four Pavilions Assembly 164.
• Mu Qingluan — Delivers Han Feng's captured soul and passes along Xiao Yan's interest in an alchemy exchange 162 164.
• Xuan Yi — Former lover with whom he rekindles a relationship. She remains devoted despite his long absence, treats his injuries, and attempts to defend him during the confrontation with his other partners 183 192 196.
• Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi — Old friends and fellow leading alchemists of his generation. They witness his soul advancement and his increasingly public romantic troubles 183 196.
• Yao Ling — Younger Yao Clan relative who addresses him as “Uncle.” Their reunion is affectionate; she conveys her grandfather's regret over his departure 196.
• Old Man Mu Gu — Enemy associated with the plot against him. Yao Chen detects his disguised presence in Sacred Pill City and anticipates Xiao Yan turning his schemes against him 192.
• Elder Hou — Longstanding rival at the Little Pill Tower, whom Yao Chen provokes into an alchemy contest and defeats 198.

Story Role / Major Arcs

The Storage Ring Misidentification

Xiao Yan initially expects Yao Chen to be the soul inside his storage ring and offers to restore his body and avenge him in exchange for instruction. The occupant explicitly rejects that identity and reveals himself as Taishang Laojun. Yao Chen therefore never becomes Xiao Yan's ring-bound teacher in this version of events 4.

Four Pavilions Assembly

After Mu Qingluan delivers Han Feng, Yao Chen agrees to attend the assembly with Gu Ling as repayment. He privately thanks Xiao Yan, invites him to Starfall Pavilion for an alchemy exchange, and offers assistance when the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan surrounds the venue 164 165.

When Chen Huang intervenes, Yao Chen offers a ninth-grade pill in exchange for Xiao Yan's release. The offer is refused. The subsequent arrival of the Ancient Void Dragons astonishes him and leads him to suspect that Xiao Yan helped bring about Zhu Kun's return 165 166.

Nine Nether Yellow Springs

Yao Chen accompanies Xiao Yan and Cai Lin to seek a pregnancy-protecting formula and access to the springs. After the clan refuses them, he helps evade its spiritual surveillance, clears attacking black snakes, and reaches the imprisoned Yao Ming. He offers assistance with Yao Ming's restraints and quietly prepares to fight when danger approaches 167 168 170.

In the clan's secret realm, he meets Taishang Laojun and receives the golden-light gift. Witnessing the Old Lord create medicinal herbs and refine Cai Lin's pill also reveals how far that figure's methods surpass his own 171.

Return to Xuan Yi

Following his breakthrough at Starfall Pavilion, Yao Chen resolves to stop hiding from his former lovers and seeks out Xuan Yi. Their reunion briefly turns affectionate, but his proposal that all his partners live together as his “wings” earns an immediate violent rejection 181 183.

He nevertheless remains close to Xuan Yi. When his other former partners arrive in Sacred Pill City, the confrontation becomes a public brawl. Reports describe Xuan Kongzi eventually mediating, while Yao Chen is left badly bruised 192 196 198.

Little Pill Tower Visit

Yao Chen proposes transferring Ice River Valley's seized estate to Taiqing Gate as compensation for its conflict with Xiao Yan. He then accompanies Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian into the Little Pill Tower, where his contest with Elder Hou exposes his peak Heavenly Realm soul to the elders 196 198.

He credits his advancement to the figure behind Xiao Yan without fully disclosing the miraculous nature of the intervention. After Xiao Yan demonstrates Pill Puppet refinement, Yao Chen begins preparing to make one himself 199.

Trivia

• The author's note explicitly attributes Yao Chen's more amicable relationship with the Yao Clan to changes caused by Taishang Laojun's presence. His closeness with Yao Ling is a deliberate departure from the original chain of events 196.
• Although famous across the continent, he is initially unrecognized by both Yao Ming and the elder guarding the clan's secret realm because of their prolonged isolation 171.