Chapter Summaries

Gu Yao and other Gu Clan commanders confronted Xiao Yan over Xiao Xun'er, but Qing He intervened when Gu Yao attacked. Gu Yao withdrew, Ling Quan was beaten unconscious again, and Gu Hua made peace with Xiao Yan before the Gu Clan group departed.

• Gu Yao arrived with Gu Xing, Gu Hua, and Ling Quan, then challenged Xiao Yan and demanded that he give up on Xiao Xun'er.
• Gu Yao used his Dou Zun power to pull Xiao Yan toward him, but Qing He emerged through a spatial rift and blocked his attack.
• Xiao Yan revealed that Qing He was a Dao Soldier he had refined, and Gu Yao abandoned his attempt to humiliate him and left.
• Qing He struck Ling Quan unconscious again after he complained about Xiao Yan calling for help.
• Gu Hua apologized to Xiao Yan on Ling Quan's behalf, then left with Gu Xing and Ling Quan.
• In the void, Gu Xing warned Ling Quan that Xiao Yan could have killed him, while Ling Quan feared he had been crippled and cast out of the Gu Clan's inner circle.

After Xun'er left, Xiao Yan broke through to six-star Dou Emperor and eighth-tier alchemist, then pursued the Soul Hall's presence in the Black-Corner Region. He found Protector Xuan and Protector Bai at the Black Emperor Sect, where Qing He overwhelmed the powerful Heavenly Protector and Xiao Yan prepared to deal with the survivors.

• Xun'er departed with Ling Ying after saying farewell to Xiao Yan, who later left to cultivate in seclusion.
• Xiao Yan broke through to six-star Dou Emperor, advanced the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts to its fifth revolution, and crossed into the Soul Realm as an eighth-tier alchemist.
• Xiao Yan questioned Han Feng, Iron Protector, and Protector Wu, learned that Protector Xuan might be operating near the Black-Corner Region, and erased Iron Protector and Protector Wu.
• Xiao Yan used his soul power to search the Black-Corner Region and located Protector Xuan in the Black Emperor Sect with Mo Tianxing and Protector Bai.
• Protector Bai appeared to capture Xiao Yan, but Qing He struck him into a crater, revealing herself as a Dou Zun and leaving Protector Bai terrified.

Xiao Yan captured Protector Bai and forced him to lead the way to the Northwest Region Branch Hall, where he and Qing He confronted its defenders. With Nine Nether’s power, they defeated Moon-Plucking Old Ghost and prepared to wipe out the branch hall.

• Protector Xuan tried to escape, but Qing He dragged him back and killed him on Xiao Yan’s order.
• Xiao Yan captured Protector Bai and learned that he knew the location of the Northwest Region Branch Hall.
• Moon-Plucking Old Ghost discovered Protector Xuan’s death and ordered the Soul Hall to withdraw from the Black-Corner Region while warning his members to keep collecting souls.
• Xiao Yan and Qing He appeared inside the branch hall, where Moon-Plucking Old Ghost ordered his enforcers to surround them.
• Xiao Yan revealed Nine Nether, who overwhelmed Moon-Plucking Old Ghost with her flames and captured his battered soul body.

Xiao Yan used Moon-Plucking Old Ghost to pressure the Heavenly Snake Mansion into allying with the Taiqing Gate, then revealed his eighth-tier alchemy realm and agreed to refine the mansion master's Spirit Venerable Pill. After two days of work, he was on his second attempt, with the pill's outcome still unknown.

• Xiao Yan tortured Moon-Plucking Old Ghost, kept his soul in a jade bottle, and left the other Dou Zong souls to be slaughtered.
• Xiao Yan arrived at the Heavenly Snake Mansion with White Fang and showed the mansion master Moon-Plucking Old Ghost as proof that he had attacked a Soul Hall branch.
• Xiao Yan pressured the mansion master into recognizing that the Heavenly Snake Mansion had been drawn into conflict with the Soul Hall, then offered to refine an eighth-tier pill for her.
• Xiao Yan revealed his Spirit Realm soul power, and the mansion master pledged the Heavenly Snake Mansion's allegiance and gave him the Spirit Venerable Pill formula and ingredients.
• Xiao Yan began refining the pill in a cavern while Qing He guarded him, and his first attempt ended with the cauldron exploding.
• On the third day, the mansion master waited anxiously as Xiao Yan began his second attempt at refining the Spirit Venerable Pill.

Xiao Yan successfully refined his first Grade 8 Pill for the Heavenly Snake Mansion Master, and Qing He devoured its lightning tribulation to advance to three-star Dou Zun. After leaving for Jia Nan Academy, Xiao Yan’s status as an eighth-tier alchemist shocked the elders, while Han Yue sought leave to visit her family.

• The Heavenly Snake Mansion Master ordered Qing Ye and White Fang to guard the area while Xiao Yan refined a pill, and White Fang revealed that Xiao Yan was already an eighth-tier alchemist.
• Xiao Yan stabilized the Grade 8 Pill, and Qing He swallowed the pill lightning before breaking through to three-star Dou Zun.
• Xiao Yan captured the spiritual pill, gave it to the delighted Mansion Master, and declined the mansion’s attempt to entertain him with its beauties.
• White Fang carried Xiao Yan out of the realm toward Jia Nan Academy, secretly refusing to help Qing Ye get closer to him.
• At Jia Nan Academy, Su Qian and the elders discussed Xiao Yan’s new rank, and Han Yue apologized for overhearing them while requesting leave to visit home.
• Su Qian revealed that Xiao Yan’s pill had cured his old ailment and helped him advance two stars.

Han Yue sought Xiao Yan’s help to save the Han Family from the Hong Family and its Wind Lightning Pavilion backing, but Xiao Yan demanded a price they might not afford. The chapter ended with Han Yue forced to choose whether to negotiate a partnership or appeal to their old friendship.

• Han Yue decided to leave the academy and return home, while her sister Han Xue urged her to resist marrying Hong Chen and flee with the Han Family.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Inner Academy, noticed Han Yue’s weak cultivation, and realized she was preparing to leave.
• Xiao Yan reunited with Zi Yan and Xiao Yi Xian, then explained that he had arranged for Elders Qian and Bai to help protect the Taiqing Gate.
• Han Yue came to Xiao Yan’s residence and asked him to save the Han Family from the Hong Family and Hong Chen.
• Xiao Yan told Han Yue that his help required a price and asked whether she was offering a partnership or appealing to their friendship.

Xiao Yan agreed to help Han Yue’s family, strengthened the Taiqing Gate, and tested Yao Ye’s battle formation before preparing to travel to the Central Plains. In a side story, Xiao Yan left the Heavenly Court for the mortal realm and found Yang Er, the future Yang Jian.

• Xiao Yan agreed to help Han Yue because of their acquaintance, and she kissed him before leaving; Han Xue later learned he was an eighth-tier alchemist.
• Cai Lin and Qing Lin returned to Xiao Yan, who learned from Han Feng that Yao Lao was at Starfall Pavilion and continued refining pills for the Taiqing Gate.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Taiqing Gate, where Yao Ye assembled the disciples into a battle formation and attacked him with a Golden-Armored Giant; Xiao Yan met the strike with his Mystic Staff.
• In the side story, Xiao Yan spent 427 days in the Heavenly Court learning alchemy and cultivating under the Old Lord before being sent to the mortal realm.
• Xiao Yan asked the local Earth God about the Yang Family, found Yang Er splitting firewood, and introduced himself as a traveler who wanted water and wished to see the boy’s strength.

Xiao Yan returned to the Taiqing Gate, rewarded Ya Fei, and tightened the Pill Hall’s rules before setting out for the Black-Corner Region on his way to the Central Plains. He left the Taiqing Gate’s leaders to carry out his reforms as he departed with Cai Lin, Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, Zi Yan, Han Yue, Han Xue, and Ye Xinlan.

• Xiao Yan visited the Taiqing Gate auction, where Ya Fei sold his pills for high prices and Hai Bodong explained the Gate’s internal rivalries.
• Xiao Yan told Hai Bodong he was preparing to leave for the Central Plains, then reviewed the auction accounts with Ya Fei and spent time with her.
• Xiao Yan convened the Taiqing Gate’s leaders and challenged the Pill Hall’s excessive rewards, corruption, and independence from the Enforcement Hall.
• Xiao Yan ordered Liu Ling and others responsible for pocketing funds to return what they had taken and leave, and placed the Pill Tower under the Enforcement Hall’s jurisdiction.
• Xiao Yan encouraged the other halls, then departed for the Black-Corner Region with his companions as the Grand Elder, Xiao Li, Hu Jia, Wu Hao, and others saw him off.

Xiao Yan and his companions reached Tianya City, where its space wormhole was temporarily out of service. After Zi Yan struck a Luo Family member, Xiao Yan revealed his alchemist badge, and the Luo Family agreed to repair the wormhole; its ancestor later warned his granddaughter that Xiao Yan was actually an eighth-grade alchemist.

• Ye Xinlan described the Central Plains' major factions and explained that the weakened Ye Family had fallen far below its former standing.
• Xiao Yan arrived at Tianya City on the Golden-Winged Snake Emperor, and Luo Chen told him the space wormhole needed repairs that could take days or months.
• Xiao Yan bought a level-seven Space Ship at an auction house.
• Zi Yan punched a red-robed woman who was threatening people with her whip, and Xiao Yan demanded that the Luo Family bring out its ancestor.
• Xiao Yan displayed his seventh-rank alchemist badge, and Luo Cheng agreed to have the space wormhole repaired the next day.
• Luo Cheng scolded his granddaughter and revealed that Xiao Yan was an eighth-grade alchemist feared throughout the Northwest Region.

Xiao Yan and his companions traveled through a repaired Space Wormhole toward the Han Family in the Central Plains’ Northern Region. Han Yue explained that Hong Chen was using his Wind Lightning Pavilion status to threaten her family and force her and her sister to marry him.

• Qing He and Nine Nether repaired the Space Wormhole while Luo Cheng watched nervously and Zi Yan gathered rare medicinal materials.
• Xiao Yan agreed to refine Zi Yan’s medicines aboard the ship after she tearfully reminded him that she had been with him since long ago.
• During the journey, Ye Xinlan described Space Wormholes and the Ancient Void Dragons, and Zi Yan revealed that she belonged to the clan.
• Xiao Yan refined pills during the voyage while Qing Lin and Zi Yan spent time together, and Xiao Yi Xian and Cai Lin continued cultivating.
• Xiao Yan and his companions arrived at Star-Moon City, where Han Yue explained the Wind Lightning Pavilion’s influence and Hong Chen’s threats against the Han Family.
• Xiao Yan asked who led the Wind Lightning Pavilion’s North Pavilion, and Han Yue named Fei Tian.

Xiao Yan rescued the Han Family, secured its allegiance to the Taiqing Gate, and supplied it with pills before the family faced the Hong Family’s challenge. At the contest, Han Chi told Fei Tian to scram, and Xiao Yan arrived to make clear that he meant the Wind Lightning Pavilion should leave Tianbei City and the Northern Region.

• White Fang carried Xiao Yan’s party to the Ten Thousand Snake Gorge, where Medusa killed Xia Mang after he threatened the Han Family caravan.
• Xiao Yan reached Tianbei City with Han Yue and Han Xue, and Han Fei pledged the Han Family’s allegiance to the Taiqing Gate after learning Xiao Yan’s identity and receiving pills.
• Han Fei accepted Han Yue and Han Xue becoming Xiao Yan’s concubines, and the Han Family prepared to face the Hong Family’s contest.
• Fei Tian arrived at the Heavenly Stone Platform with Hong Chen and the Wind Lightning Pavilion’s backing, while Han Chi told him to scram.
• Xiao Yan arrived on White Fang and told Fei Tian that Han Chi meant for the Wind Lightning Pavilion to leave Tianbei City and the Northern Region.

Xiao Yan defeated Fei Tian to protect the Han Family and declared his identity as master of the Taiqing Gate, an Eighth-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster, a Little Pill Tower elder, and a Xiao Clan disciple. When Feng Qing'er demanded Zi Yan and the remains of a Heavenly Demon Phoenix, Xiao Yan seized her and rejected the clan elder’s demand to take her back.

• Han Chi invoked the Taiqing Gate, and Xiao Yan dismissed Fei Tian’s threat and provoked him into attacking.
• Fei Tian charged Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan trapped him with his Spirit Realm soul power and Essence Fire, leaving him badly injured and unconscious.
• Xiao Yan announced his titles and name, while Feng Qing'er recognized the significance of his Xiao Clan connection.
• Feng Qing'er spotted Zi Yan’s bone spikes and demanded that Xiao Yan hand over the girl and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix remains.
• Xiao Yan grabbed Feng Qing'er by the neck, and Cai Lin intercepted a black phoenix attack from an old man who emerged from the void.
• The old man offered to end the dispute if Xiao Yan returned Feng Qing'er, but Xiao Yan tossed her to Cai Lin and insulted the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.

Xiao Yan used the bloodline pressure of Zi Yan and Nine Nether to subdue the Heavenly Demon Phoenix elder and sent the Wind Lightning Pavilion’s elders away with a threat to attend the Four Pavilions Assembly. In the Gu Clan, Gu Xun’er appeared to break through to a tenth-grade bloodline, while Feng Qing’er awoke captive in the Han Family courtyard under Zi Yan’s watch.

• Xiao Yan called on Zi Yan and Nine Nether, whose bloodline pressure forced the black-robed Heavenly Demon Phoenix elder to his knees.
• Xiao Yan ordered the Wind Lightning Pavilion’s elders to report his warning to their pavilion master and said he would attend the Four Pavilions Assembly in four months.
• Gu Yuan told Gu Lie he believed Xiao Yan’s potential surpassed the Gu Clan youths who coveted Gu Xun’er.
• Gu Xun’er’s bloodline test nearly produced a tenth star before the compass cracked, and she sensed she had broken through the barrier.
• Feng Qing’er awoke restrained in the Han Family courtyard, where Zi Yan revealed her Ancient Void Dragon identity and warned Feng Qing’er that Xiao Yan was the only reason she remained alive.

Zi Yan ranked Xiao Yan's companions in a mock harem contest, and Xiao Yan entered seclusion to strengthen his cultivation before the Four Pavilions Assembly. The Yao Clan discussed his rise and Gu Xun'er's devotion, while a Yao Clan woman set out to challenge him; at the Han Family estate, Han Yue and Han Xue offered themselves to Xiao Yan.

• Zi Yan announced rankings for Xiao Yan's companions, and Xiao Yan reprimanded her for placing herself too high.
• Xiao Yan asked Han Yue to lead him to the Han Family's secluded chamber so he could cultivate ahead of the Four Pavilions Assembly.
• Yao Clan elders gossiped about Xiao Yan's talent, his connection to Gu Xun'er, and the turmoil he had caused in the Gu Clan.
• A young woman from the Yao Clan slipped out of its territory to confront Xiao Yan, prompting Yao Dan to order her brought back.
• Han Yue and Han Xue joined Xiao Yan in the Imperial Spring and asked to attend to him; he accepted their offer.

Xiao Yan continued refining pills and strengthening Taiqing Gate’s ties between regions while the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan debated how to deal with him. The chapter ended with him branding Feng Qing’er’s soul and forcing her to become a palm-sized canary perched on his shoulder.

• Huang Xuan rejected the Soul Hall’s offer to help the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan target Xiao Yan, while the clan leader’s order was to injure Xiao Yan but avoid provoking the Pill Tower into imposing a pill restriction.
• Xiao Yan advanced to Half-Step Dou Zong, refined grade 8 pills, and received Dao Resonance from Qing He as her cultivation grew.
• Xiao Yan gave Han Fei pills to sell and ordered Qing He and Nine Nether to construct a Space Wormhole linking Tianbei City to Taiqing City.
• Xiao Yan refused requests from visiting Dou Zun experts to refine pills and hired several of them to guard the new Space Wormhole.
• Feng Qing’er, despairing that her clan had not rescued her, offered to become Xiao Yan’s mount, but he branded her soul and declared her his toy.
• Feng Qing’er transformed into a palm-sized multicolored bird and settled on Xiao Yan’s shoulder, then gave White Fang a provocative look.

Xiao Yan met the Pill Tower’s Three Giants and Cao Ying, who challenged him to a contest of soul power. He overwhelmed Cao Ying with his Spirit Realm soul and essence fire, leaving the Pill Tower elders astonished and Cao Ying humbled.

• Xiao Yan greeted Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Tian Leizi, who confirmed that the Pill Tower accepted him as an elder and had come to discuss the trouble he had caused with the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.
• Cao Ying proposed sparring with Xiao Yan, and the group moved to a cleared Han Family trial ground.
• Xiao Yan released his Spirit Realm soul power and dismissed Cao Ying’s claim that her peak seventh-grade alchemy was nearly eighth grade.
• Cao Ying attacked with Soul Profound Seal Palm, but Xiao Yan casually crushed it with an invisible flame.
• Cao Ying sent a fire phoenix at Xiao Yan, who summoned an enormous fire dragon with essence fire and swallowed it, decisively defeating her.
• Xuan Kongzi and the others marveled at Xiao Yan’s power, while Cao Ying thanked him for the lesson and looked at him with renewed curiosity.

Xiao Yan learned that the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan and Wind Lightning Pavilion were waiting to ambush him, while the Pill Tower agreed to offer limited support. As allies prepared for the conflict and old acquaintances learned of Xiao Yan’s rise, Nalan Yanran returned from seclusion to find her home transformed and considered going to the Central Plains.

• Xuan Kongzi warned Xiao Yan about the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan’s planned ambush, and Xiao Yan thanked him while remaining confident.
• Xuan Yi and Cao Ying departed with the Pill Tower Giants, who told Cao Ying that Xiao Yan had held back and was far beyond her strength.
• Hei Qing told Zi Yan that the Ancient Void Dragon Clan had reunited under its Clan Leader and intended to confront the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, while Zi Yan chose to stay with Xiao Yan for now.
• Yun Yun heard that Xiao Yan was in danger, and the old woman she cared for predicted that the Pill Tower would help him survive.
• Nalan Yanran emerged from the Gate of Life and Death at peak Dou Wang, then returned to find Taiqing City prosperous and her family’s guards powerful; Nalan Su told her she could seek Xiao Yan in the Central Plains.

Xiao Yan received the Pill Tower's invitation, learned of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's support, and discovered that Zi Yan had been stealing medicinal ingredients from the Taiqing Gate. The chapter ended with Xiao Yan catching Zi Yan and preparing to punish her as she threatened to tell her father.

• Han Yue gave Xiao Yan the Storage Ring and relayed President Xuan Kong's request that he visit the Little Pill Tower to register.
• Xiao Yan ordered Nalan Yanran to turn the Gate of Life and Death into trial grounds and invited her to accompany him on a trip.
• Hei Qing told Xiao Yan that the Ancient Void Dragon Clan would support him against the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, while Xiao Yan revealed that Feng Qing'er was his captive pet.
• Hei Qing reported that Zi Yan had gone to the medicinal storehouse, and Xiao Yan realized she had been stealing ingredients to get him to refine more pills.
• Zi Yan returned from the storehouse and denied being the thief, but Xiao Yan caught her as she tried to escape through the void.

Xiao Yan traveled to the Heavenly Eye Blood Pool with Zi Yan, Han Yue, and Nalan Yanran, where he secured their access by agreeing to treat the Gold-Devouring Rat Clan leader Jin Shi. He cured Jin Shi’s fire poison and learned that the clan’s restricted area at the pool’s bottom held especially concentrated energy.

• Zi Yan counted the pills Xiao Yan had given her and negotiated for even more, while Xiao Yan brought her along with Han Yue and Nalan Yanran to the Heavenly Eye Mountain Range.
• Xiao Yan overheard Central Plains cultivators discussing his conflict with the Wind Lightning Pavilion and the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, then met Tang Ying, who praised the very man he had mistaken for a fellow Myriad Sword Pavilion disciple.
• Xiao Yan revealed his identity to Tang Ying and flew with the women into the Blood Pool’s energy waterfall, while Zi Yan introduced herself to the stunned Tang Ying.
• Xiao Yan met Jin Shi, the Gold-Devouring Rat Clan leader, and agreed to treat Jin Shi’s fire poison in exchange for reserved Blood Pool spots for his companions.
• Xiao Yan used a Poison-Removing Pill and his green lotus core flame to expel Jin Shi’s fire poison, then warned him not to spend too long at the bottom of the Blood Pool.

Xiao Yan accompanied the Gold-Devouring Rat Clan to the Blood Pool trials, where the humans secured their places without losing any to his group. He asked Mu Qingluan about Yao Chen and revealed that he had captured Han Feng, then learned Yao Chen was at Starfall Pavilion Headquarters and intended to visit him for a spar.

• Jin Gu led Xiao Yan and his group toward the Blood Pool while Jin Shi went into seclusion to recover.
• Jin Gu brought Xiao Yan to the final trial, where Mu Qingluan and several others crossed the Gold-Devouring Rats’ sonic attack gauntlet.
• Jin Gu clarified that Xiao Yan’s four companions would use the Gold-Devouring Rat Clan’s places, preserving all ten human places.
• Xiao Yan asked Mu Qingluan where Yao Chen was, and she nervously suggested he challenge someone at another pavilion instead.
• Xiao Yan showed Mu Qingluan Han Feng’s captured soul, and she told him Yao Chen was at Starfall Pavilion Headquarters.
• Xiao Yan said he planned to visit Yao Chen for a spar, leaving Mu Qingluan embarrassed by her earlier misunderstanding.