Recaps

Xu Yan practiced the Redfire Burning Art in a fire array, endured ten days of scorching heat, and mastered the spell. After another half month of training, he prepared to leave the cave, but approaching shouts interrupted him.

• Xu Yan activated a Fire Array and exposed himself to its flames to adapt his body for practicing the Redfire Burning Art.
• A cool energy from the Mysterious Green Pearl eased Xu Yan's pain and cleared his mind as he endured the flames for ten days.
• Xu Yan comprehended the spell and unleashed a massive fireball that blasted a deep crater into the cave floor, exhausting and shattering the Formation Disk.
• Xu Yan spent another half month learning to cast and withdraw the Redfire Burning Art at will, then changed clothes to leave the cave.
• Xu Yan heard someone nearby shout, "Stop!" and "Don't run!" as the commotion drew closer.

Lin Mengxi fled Horse Mountain Stronghold and hid in Xu Yan’s cave, where Wang Jinbiao and his bandits found her. Xu Yan killed Wang Jinbiao and three of the bandits, then questioned the last survivor, who claimed to know a useful secret.

• Lin Mengxi escaped from Horse Mountain Stronghold but ran into Xu Yan while seeking shelter in his cave.
• Wang Jinbiao arrived with four bandits, accused Lin Mengxi of meeting Xu Yan, and ordered them to attack him.
• Xu Yan engulfed Wang Jinbiao in flames, killing him and revealing himself as an immortal cultivator.
• Xu Yan killed two bandits who pleaded for mercy and another who tried to flee.
• Xu Yan asked the last bandit for a reason not to kill him, and the bandit offered to reveal a secret about Wang Jinbiao.

Xu Yan spared Li Tieniu after learning that Wang Jinbiao’s body-hardening martial arts were linked to a guarded place on Horse Mountain. After reaching the stronghold and killing the bandits who attacked him, Xu Yan followed Li Tieniu into a hidden cave leading to the Forbidden Ground.

• Li Tieniu told Xu Yan that Wang Jinbiao’s martial arts were connected to a Forbidden Ground and offered to lead him there.
• A red-clad girl offered Xu Yan a secret in exchange for being taken home, and Xu Yan agreed to bring her along.
• Xu Yan, Li Tieniu, and the girl traveled to Horse Mountain Stronghold, where the guards let them pass after learning Xu Yan was an Immortal Master.
• The drunken second-in-command and the other bandits attacked Xu Yan, who killed them with balls of flame.
• Li Tieniu led Xu Yan to Wang Jinbiao’s secret chamber and revealed a floor opening into a winding cave leading to the Forbidden Ground.

Xu Yan found several dozen drops of Hundred-Year Earth Spirit Milk in a cave beneath the forbidden grounds and returned to Horse Mountain Stronghold. There, he agreed to escort the girl in red home in exchange for her ancestors’ cultivation legacy.

• Xu Yan followed Li Tieniu into the forbidden grounds, killed the two bandits guarding them, and explored a valley that strengthened his magic power.
• Li Tieniu led Xu Yan to a limestone cave, where Xu Yan discovered and collected the remaining Hundred-Year Earth Spirit Milk.
• Xu Yan returned to Horse Mountain Stronghold with Li Tieniu and considered cultivating in seclusion until he reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining.
• The girl in red told Xu Yan that her ancestors had been immortals and offered their inherited legacy if he escorted her home.
• Xu Yan agreed to escort the girl and warned her not to deceive him.

Xu Yan reached Zhuliu City with the girl in red and exchanged her safe return for the Lin family's ancestral legacy. After finding a mysterious Mask and healing Lin Rongfu, he agreed to spend the night at the Lin Residence, wary of cultivators he had seen near the city.

• Xu Yan and the girl in red entered Zhuliu City after he spotted four cultivators riding toward it.
• The girl reunited with her grandfather, Lin Rongfu, who offered the Lin family's ancestral legacy as payment for her rescue.
• Xu Yan opened the Bronze Chest and found a Storage Bag and a strange Mask that could not be stored inside the bag.
• Xu Yan tested Lin Rongfu and discovered he was a mortal, then used magic power to heal his illness.
• Lin Rongfu invited Xu Yan to stay overnight, and Xu Yan accepted because night had fallen and cultivators were nearby.

Xu Yan examined the mask and treasures left by the Lin lineage's ancestor, discovering that Lin Dao had been an alchemist and had devised a possible method for making a flame-containing explosive Pill. He resolved to learn alchemy and test the idea once he reached the third layer of Qi Refining, but nearby fluctuations of magic power interrupted his preparations for sleep.

• Xu Yan put on the mask and saw that it could disguise him with an unfamiliar middle-aged face.
• Xu Yan inspected the Storage Bag and found pills, a cultivation art, a Pill Furnace, a pill dao guide, and Lin Dao's cultivation notes.
• Xu Yan learned from the notes that Lin Dao had been expelled from Medicine King Valley and had conceived a Pill that could contain flames and detonate.
• Xu Yan decided to learn alchemy and make the Pill as a hidden weapon, though he would need to reach the third layer of Qi Refining first.
• Xu Yan sensed nearby fluctuations of magic power just as he was about to rest.

Xu Yan witnessed the Blood-Robed Daoist battle four Spirit Sword Sect disciples in Zhuliu City and escape using his demon blood gourd. Suspecting demonic forces had infiltrated Fufeng Commandery, Xu Yan left the city and hurried back to Horse Mountain Stronghold.

• Xu Yan sensed cultivators fighting near the city center and slipped out of the Lin Residence to watch from hiding.
• Four Spirit Sword Sect disciples confronted the Blood-Robed Daoist over his murder of one of their nominal disciples.
• The Blood-Robed Daoist used his Demonblood Ghost Gourd to corrupt one disciple's flying sword and injure him.
• The Blood-Robed Daoist escaped through the gap in the encirclement, while the other three Spirit Sword Sect disciples pursued him.
• Xu Yan wondered whether demonic forces had infiltrated Fufeng Commandery, then left Zhuliu City for Horse Mountain Stronghold.

After half a year cultivating at Horse Mountain Stronghold, Xu Yan broke through to the Third Layer of Qi Refining and developed Divine Sense. He stabilized his cultivation, then planned to learn alchemy, investigate his would-be killers, change cultivation techniques, and examine the Mysterious Green Pearl while keeping it secret.

• Xu Yan had Li Tieniu and five surviving bandits gather thousands of medicinal herbs for his alchemy practice.
• While admiring the snowy scenery atop Golden Summit Peak, Xu Yan entered a state of Void Clarity and gathered spiritual qi.
• Xu Yan broke through to the Third Layer of Qi Refining and gained Divine Sense that reached several dozen zhang.
• Xu Yan spent three days consolidating his cultivation and decided to seek a new technique because his current one only reached the fifth layer of Qi Refining.
• Xu Yan planned to learn alchemy, conceal his identity, investigate the cultivators who had ambushed him, and study the Mysterious Green Pearl without attracting attention.

Xu Yan tested the Mysterious Green Pearl and learned that he could control its ability to devour spiritual energy. He began testing whether it could remove the toxins from a poison pill while leaving its spiritual energy intact.

• Xu Yan examined the Green Pearl in his Sea of Consciousness and realized it had been absorbing his magic power.
• Xu Yan cautiously sent his Divine Sense into the Green Pearl and discovered he could summon it into his palm.
• Xu Yan used the Green Pearl to devour the spiritual energy in a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, Hundred-Year Earth Spirit Milk, and Qi Gathering Pill.
• Xu Yan rested after controlling the Green Pearl left him mentally fatigued, then directed it toward a First-Tier Low-Grade Poison Pill to test whether it could consume the toxins separately.

Xu Yan used the Green Pearl to remove the toxins from a Poison Pill while preserving its spiritual energy, then tested the pill on a Snow Monkey. After confirming the process worked and receiving enough energy to reach the peak of the Third Layer of Qi Refining, he prepared to carry out his next plan.

• Xu Yan controlled the Green Pearl to devour the toxins in a Poison Pill while leaving its spiritual energy intact.
• Xu Yan caught a Snow Monkey and gave it the altered pill to test whether it was still toxic.
• The Snow Monkey struggled to endure the pill’s spiritual energy, so Xu Yan suppressed it and guided the energy into its body.
• After absorbing the pill’s energy, the Snow Monkey grew larger and more intelligent, and Xu Yan tested a second altered pill on it.
• The Green Pearl returned energy to Xu Yan, raising him to the peak of the Third Layer of Qi Refining, and the Snow Monkey absorbed the second pill without trouble.

Xu Yan confirmed that the Snow Monkey suffered no ill effects from consuming a Poison Pill and planned to join the Rogue Cultivator Alliance under a fabricated alchemist identity. Before seeking its resources and information, he began studying alchemy in his cave abode so he could become a First-Rank Alchemist.

• Xu Yan released the Snow Monkey after five days of observing its vigorous growth and finding no abnormalities.
• Xu Yan decided to join the Rogue Cultivator Alliance to earn Spirit Stones, find cultivation resources, gather information on the Short Young Man and Scarface, and seek a new cultivation art.
• Xu Yan planned to use the mask from the Lin Family's inheritance to pose as an alchemist and keep his true identity hidden.
• Xu Yan entered the alchemy room he had prepared on Golden Summit Peak and placed the Complete Guide to the Pill Dao and Lin Dao's alchemy insights on a stone platform.
• Xu Yan began studying both alchemical inheritances before attempting pill refinement, aiming to become a First-Rank Alchemist.

Xu Yan studied two alchemical legacies and spent months practicing pill refinement until he reached the level of a First-Tier Low-Grade Alchemist. After successfully refining Qi Gathering Pills and removing the toxins from a ruined pill with the Green Pearl, he prepared to seek certification from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.

• Xu Yan memorized the alchemical legacies, gathered ordinary medicinal herbs, and began practicing with Lin Dao's crimson Pill Furnace.
• Xu Yan failed repeatedly at refining Detoxification Pills, then improved his technique over five months until he could refine three kinds of ordinary medicinal pills with a one hundred percent success rate.
• Xu Yan refined a batch of Qi Gathering Pills, producing two normal pills and one ruined pill.
• Xu Yan used the Green Pearl to devour the toxins in the ruined pill, then left his cave to head to the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.

Xu Yan visited Ascendant City to register with the Rogue Cultivator Alliance under the invented name Lin Yan. After learning how an alchemist could gain recognized status in the alliance, he revealed that he was one and requested an assessment.

• Xu Yan arrived at Ascendant City and learned that the Rogue Cultivator Alliance branch was located in the city's center.
• A guard directed Xu Yan to the registration hall, where he joined a queue of rogue cultivators seeking alliance membership.
• Xu Yan learned that Daoist Cangyun, a first-tier, low-grade alchemist, was being taken to an assessment.
• Xu Yan registered as Lin Yan by paying three low-grade spirit stones and received a jade identity token.
• Xu Yan told the registrars that he was also an alchemist, and they offered to arrange his assessment.

Xu Yan took the First-Rank Alchemist assessment under the name Lin Yan, but all three batches of Qi Gathering Pills failed. He used the Green Pearl to remove the toxins from the failed pills and submitted six treated pills for inspection, leaving the result uncertain.

• Yun Feng led Xu Yan, posing as Lin Yan, into the Alchemy Hall and explained the assessment rules and White Perilla requirement.
• Xu Yan entered the isolated C-13 alchemy room and began the six-hour assessment using the supplied Spirit Herb and Pill Furnace.
• Xu Yan failed to produce a successful batch in each of his three attempts and worried that the Green Pearl's treated pills might not pass inspection.
• Xu Yan used the Green Pearl to draw the toxins from all nine failed pills, put six in the jade vial, and sent Yun Feng a message through the Jade Slip.

Xu Yan's alchemist assessment came down to whether the unusual, undersized Qi Gathering Pills he had refined counted as genuine. Ma Pengfei and Sun Yan accepted them as valid, and Xu Yan passed, bringing him closer to joining the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.

• Yun Feng brought stewards Ma Pengfei and Sun Yan to inspect Xu Yan's assessment results.
• Sun Yan and Ma Pengfei found that Xu Yan's Qi Gathering Pills were unusually small but contained the expected spiritual energy.
• Ma Pengfei and Sun Yan hesitated to decide whether the pills qualified and considered asking Elder Yu to judge them.
• Xu Yan explained that his childhood injury to his divine sense caused his pills to be small and offered three more pills for inspection.
• Sun Yan and Ma Pengfei deemed the pills genuine and declared that Xu Yan had passed the assessment.

After earning official First-Tier Low-Grade Alchemist certification, Xu Yan went to the Thousand Mechanism Hall to find alchemy missions. He found a promising mission on the Message Transmission Platform and focused on it.

• Ma Pengfei and Sun Yan used the crimson Jade Slips to certify Xu Yan as a First-Tier Low-Grade Alchemist.
• Xu Yan left the Alchemy Hall and crossed the Rogue Cultivator Market to reach the Thousand Mechanism Hall.
• A shrewd cultivator called Inspired Rogue Person explained how the Message Transmission Platform worked, but Xu Yan avoided him.
• Xu Yan placed his Identity Jade Token on the pedestal and revealed his alchemist status to the waiting cultivators.
• Xu Yan searched the crystal's listings for pill-refining missions and spotted one that caught his interest.

Xu Yan accepted Wu Meng’s task to refine twenty batches of Qi Gathering Pills, using the Mysterious Green Pearl to profit from ruined batches. After delivering seven batches and collecting payment, he planned to visit the Rogue Cultivator Market for materials to refine a special Pill from Lin Dao’s insights.

• Xu Yan accepted Wu Meng’s task to refine twenty batches of Qi Gathering Pills at the Alchemy Hall for a success rate of at least forty percent.
• Xu Yan recognized Wu Meng as the burly cultivator he had met while registering, then began refining the pills in an alchemy chamber while Wu Meng waited outside.
• After three days, Xu Yan had refined eight successful batches, while the Mysterious Green Pearl absorbed the toxins from the twelve ruined batches and nearly filled with energy.
• Xu Yan secretly kept one bottle, told Wu Meng that only seven batches had succeeded, and accepted fifty-one Low-Grade Spirit Stones after Wu Meng deducted the value of the missing batch.
• Xu Yan left the Alchemy Hall and planned to gather materials at the Rogue Cultivator Market to refine a special Pill from Lin Dao’s cultivation insights.

Xu Yan gathered most of the materials needed to make the pills, paying rogue cultivators with Qi Gathering Pills. Unable to find the essential Space Stone at the market, he followed a tip to Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and entered the lavish shop.

• Xu Yan bought Blackstone and Red Sand from a female cultivator, paying with Qi Gathering Pills and negotiating over the value of a smaller pill.
• Xu Yan purchased Iron Essence and Copper Mother from other stalls, using up most of the pills from his assignments.
• After failing to find Space Stone, Xu Yan paid an old stall owner for information about Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
• Xu Yan traveled to the busiest street in Ascendant City and entered Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, where two maidservants approached him.

Xu Yan searched the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion for a Space Stone and learned that mining had stopped after trouble at the Primordial Forbidden Land. At the Thousand Mechanism Hall, he saw Elder Wu arrive as Master Gu’s mission reward had just been increased to include a Space Stone.

• Xu Yan browsed the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion but found no Space Stones on its first floor.
• Huang Qi told Xu Yan that the pavilion had sold its last Space Stone and that none were likely to be available in Fufeng Commandery soon.
• Huang Qi explained that trouble involving the Demonic Dao Forces had closed the Primordial Forbidden Land, halting Space Stone mining, and suggested Xu Yan check the Thousand Mechanism Hall.
• Xu Yan returned to the Thousand Mechanism Hall and watched an old man in fine robes place his Identity Jade Token before the mission crystal.
• Rogue cultivators said Elder Wu might accept Master Gu’s mission now that its reward included a Space Stone, while another suspected Elder Wu had come to demand more Spirit Treasures.
• Elder Wu heard the accusation and coldly looked toward the rogue cultivator who had voiced it.

Xu Yan tried to accept Master Gu’s alchemy mission, which offered a Space Stone, despite Elder Wu’s attempts to claim it for himself. After Elder Wu threatened him and questioned his ability to complete it, Xu Yan challenged him to a wager, just as Master Gu arrived.

• A richly dressed old man, later identified as Wu Hua, waited by the mission board but did not accept Master Gu’s mission, and Xu Yan moved to take it.
• Xu Yan found that the mission’s reward included a Space Stone and tried to accept it, but a burly cultivator stopped him at Wu Hua’s command.
• Xu Yan invoked the Rogue Cultivator Alliance’s rules, bringing two Alliance cultivators over to prevent interference.
• Wu Hua warned that Xu Yan could not refine the pill because it required handling poisonous Seven-Absolute Grass, then threatened him for crossing his path.
• Xu Yan challenged Wu Hua to a wager, and a rogue cultivator announced that Master Gu had arrived.

At the Thousand Mechanism Hall, Xu Yan pursued Gu Xiao’s task to refine a Detoxification Pill for his poisoned son, despite Elder Wu’s warnings and the danger of the seven-absolute grass. Xu Yan and Elder Wu made a wager: if Xu Yan succeeded, Elder Wu would give him his Jade-Eyed Cold Toad; if he failed, he would pay one hundred low-grade spirit stones and kowtow three times.

• Master Gu arrived at the Thousand Mechanism Hall seeking Elder Wu’s help to save his son, Gu Feng, who had been poisoned in the Ancient Demon Abyss.
• Inspired Rogue Person explained that the Ancient Demon Abyss was the former homeland of the Ancient Demon Race and that its poisonous mist dispersed during a five-yearly demonic qi eruption.
• Gu Xiao warned Xu Yan that the task involved sixty-year-old seven-absolute grass, which several alchemists had refused to handle, but Xu Yan said he had his own method.
• Elder Wu claimed his Jade-Eyed Cold Toad could neutralize the poison and mocked Xu Yan for taking the task.
• Xu Yan wagered one hundred low-grade spirit stones against Elder Wu’s Jade-Eyed Cold Toad, while Elder Wu demanded that Xu Yan also kowtow three times if he failed.
• Elder Wu accepted the wager, and Xu Yan stood to gain the Jade-Eyed Cold Toad if he refined the pill successfully.

Xu Yan secured the Rogue Cultivator Alliance’s witness to his wager with Wu Hua, then refined the Seven-Absolute Demon-Quelling Pill by using the Green Pearl to remove the herbs’ poison. He emerged from the Alchemy Hall with the pills as Wu Hua and the gathered cultivators waited to learn the result.

• Xu Yan paid the Rogue Cultivator Alliance ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones to witness his wager with Wu Hua, and the alliance marked both men with a tracking Secret Art.
• Gu Xiao realized he could not withdraw his commission and worried that only Wu Hua could process Seven-Absolute Grass among the available First-Rank Alchemists.
• Xu Yan identified the requested pill as the Seven-Absolute Demon-Quelling Pill and used the Green Pearl to consume the poison in the Seven-Absolute Grass, Earth Sha Flower, and Demon Blood Orchid.
• Xu Yan recovered from the strain, sensed that the Green Pearl was nearing a critical point, and successfully refined a batch of pills.
• Wu Hua grew increasingly uneasy as cultivators gathered outside the Alchemy Hall, then watched Xu Yan emerge from the pill-refining chamber.

Xu Yan emerged from the Alchemy Hall with successfully refined Seven-Absolute Demon-Quelling Pills, winning his wager against Wu Hua. Wu Hua refused to surrender his stake unless Gu Feng tested the pills, and Xu Yan agreed to bring Gu Feng to prove their effectiveness.

• Xu Yan gave the jade bottle of pills to Gu Xiao and declared that he had fulfilled the wager.
• Wu Hua inspected the pills and confirmed they were expertly refined, but then claimed he could not be sure they were genuine without Gu Feng taking them.
• The rogue cultivators mocked Wu Hua for trying to welch on the bet, while the Green-Robed Cultivator pressed him to hand over his stake.
• Xu Yan agreed to let Gu Feng test the pills, despite the Green-Robed Cultivator offering to have an Alchemy Hall elder verify them.

Xu Yan cured Gu Feng with Seven-Absolute Demon-Quelling Pills and won Wu Hua’s wager, claiming both the spirit stones and the Jade-Eyed Cold Toad. He stunned the gathered cultivators by putting the toad in his Pill Furnace to cook it.

• Gu Xiao brought the dying Gu Feng to Xu Yan, who fed him three Seven-Absolute Demon-Quelling Pills and purged the poison.
• The Green-Robed Cultivator confirmed Gu Feng was cured, forcing Wu Hua to pay Xu Yan a hundred low-grade spirit stones.
• Xu Yan demanded the Jade-Eyed Cold Toad as well, and Wu Hua surrendered it after removing its Slave Mark.
• Xu Yan knocked the Jade-Eyed Cold Toad unconscious, lit his Pill Furnace, and stuffed the beast inside despite Wu Hua’s protest.
• A rich aroma rose from the furnace as the watching rogue cultivators gaped at Xu Yan cooking the spirit beast.

Xu Yan roasted and devoured the Jade-Eyed Cold Toad, using its spiritual energy to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining. After the Rogue Cultivator Alliance cultivators helped protect him, a Foundation Establishment cultivator warned him to change his ordinary cultivation technique and seek a safer place.

• Xu Yan roasted the Jade-Eyed Cold Toad in the Pill Furnace and ate its hind leg, while the richly dressed old man watched helplessly.
• Xu Yan sensed an opportunity to break through and began eating the Jade-Eyed Cold Toad as he sat cross-legged.
• The richly dressed old man spat blood and fainted after realizing Xu Yan was advancing by consuming his spirit beast.
• Gu Xiao guarded Xu Yan and warned the rogue cultivators not to interfere, while the two blue-robed Foundation Establishment cultivators maintained order.
• Xu Yan broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining and thanked Gu Xiao and the two blue-robed cultivators.
• A blue-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator advised Xu Yan to replace the Spirit Guiding Art and visit the Alliance Technique Inheritance Hall before others targeted him for his Spirit Stones.