Chapter Summaries

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.

After receiving the Space Stone and Spirit Stones from Gu Xiao, Xu Yan went to the Alliance Technique Inheritance Hall to choose a cultivation technique. He entered the hall and began following a seemingly ordinary old man around its shelves.

• Gu Xiao paid Xu Yan with the promised materials and a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, then carried Gu Feng away.
• Xu Yan saw the crimson bloodstain where the old man had fallen and resolved to kill him if an opportunity arose.
• Xu Yan approached the Alliance Technique Inheritance Hall, passed through its protective formation, and presented his Identity Jade Token to the scarred purple-robed old man guarding the entrance.
• Xu Yan entered the shabby hall and met a hemp-robed old man who offered to show him the cultivation techniques and spell inheritances.

Xu Yan searched the Rogue Cultivator Alliance’s inheritance hall for a cultivation art but could afford only an ordinary one. He discovered the Taiyi Five Elements Art, an extraordinarily powerful yet notoriously difficult foundation establishment art, and realized it suited his High-Grade Five Elements Spiritual Root and Mysterious Green Pearl.

• The old man in hemp robes showed Xu Yan the cultivation and spell inheritances and explained their restrictions and cultivation limits.
• Xu Yan asked for advice about replacing the Spirit Guiding Art, but the old man refused to guide him and warned him not to reach beyond his means.
• Xu Yan saw that he could afford only a first-row cultivation art and considered leaving to return with more Spirit Stones.
• Xu Yan picked up a dusty beast hide labeled Taiyi Five Elements Art, and the old man explained its great power and severe cultivation requirements.
• Xu Yan realized his High-Grade Five Elements Spiritual Root and Mysterious Green Pearl made the Taiyi Five Elements Art ideal for him.

Xu Yan bought the Taiyi Five Elements Art despite warnings that no cultivator had ever reached Foundation Establishment with it, then rented a cave abode and began practicing. After five months of arduous cultivation, he converted his magic power into five-element magic power and prepared to try refining a pill before his lease expired.

• Xu Yan paid the old man one hundred low-grade spirit stones for the Taiyi Five Elements Art and took the beast hide from the Cultivation Art Inheritance Hall.
• Xu Yan rented a cave abode for six months and studied the art, discovering that its first step required perceiving the five-element energies in spiritual qi.
• After several days of meditation, Xu Yan sensed the five-element energies and began drawing in spiritual qi to transform it into five-element magic power.
• Over five months, Xu Yan used up his Qi Gathering Pills and spirit stones, then relied on steady cultivation and the Green Pearl to return to the fourth layer of Qi Refining with far greater strength.
• Xu Yan summoned his alchemy furnace and planned to try refining the pill Lin Dao had mentioned before his cave-abode lease expired.

Xu Yan attempted to refine a Pill by fusing a Space Stone with blackstone, iron essence, and red sand. After the Pill burst from the furnace, it struck the Cave Abode’s Protective Formation and fell to the ground.

• Xu Yan studied Lin Dao’s cultivation notes, prepared Diamond Vajra Talismans, and cut a fingernail-sized piece from the Space Stone.
• Xu Yan heated the Space Stone in the Pill Furnace until it rounded into a Pill-shaped form.
• Xu Yan melted the blackstone, iron essence, and red sand together, then fused the liquid with the Space Stone using Lin Dao’s pill-forming method.
• Xu Yan kept the materials heating in the furnace until the sounds inside subsided, then opened the lid.
• A crimson Pill shot from the furnace, struck the Protective Formation, and fell to the ground.

Xu Yan refined crimson Pills that could hold and detonate compressed flames, then left his rented cave to seek information about the Short Young Man and the cultivator Scarface. At the Thousand Mechanism Hall, he spotted a self-proclaimed Know-It-All speaking to a teenage-looking cultivator.

• Xu Yan attuned the crimson Pill and successfully sealed a merged flame inside it.
• Xu Yan filled the Pill with four compressed flames, reaching the limit of his divine sense and judging it powerful enough to threaten a late Qi Refining cultivator.
• Xu Yan used his remaining materials to refine three more crimson Pills and sealed flames inside them.
• Xu Yan left his cave abode and headed to the Thousand Mechanism Hall to ask about the Short Young Man and the cultivator Scarface.
• Xu Yan saw a pale-gold-robed cultivator calling himself the Inspired Rogue Person, or Know-It-All, tell a teenage-looking cultivator that he looked familiar.

Xu Yan hired Jin Xin to investigate the whereabouts of the Short Young Man and Scarface, agreeing to pay eighteen low-grade spirit stones once Jin Xin found definite information. After leaving, Xu Yan headed back to the Thousand Mechanism Hall to earn spirit stones and pursue a plan he had been considering.

• Jin Xin approached a young cultivator in the Thousand Mechanism Hall, who hurried away without answering him.
• Xu Yan asked Jin Xin about two rogue cultivators, and Jin Xin led him to a private room in the Ancient Red Hall.
• Jin Xin used an Image Recording Mirror to capture the faces of the Short Young Man and Scarface from Xu Yan's memories.
• Jin Xin said he could find the Short Young Man's whereabouts within a few days but would need longer to investigate Scarface.
• Xu Yan agreed to pay Jin Xin eighteen low-grade spirit stones after he obtained definite information.
• Xu Yan left for the Thousand Mechanism Hall to earn spirit stones and prepare to carry out his plan.

Xu Yan put his plan to profit from ruined pills into action, earning Spirit Stones from pill-refining assignments and buying ruined pills from alchemists. After the Green Pearl processed some of them and weakened, he left Ascendant City to sell the purified pills.

• Xu Yan earned sixty low-grade Spirit Stones by taking pill-refining assignments at the Thousand Mechanism Hall for ten days.
• Xu Yan tried to buy ruined pills from Daoist Cangyun, who rejected his offer of one Spirit Stone for three batches.
• Xu Yan later purchased eighty batches of ruined pills from alchemists at two low-grade Spirit Stones for every three batches.
• Xu Yan rented a cave abode and used the Green Pearl to remove toxins from roughly sixty batches of ruined pills before the Green Pearl dimmed and stopped working.
• Xu Yan stored the processed pills and left Ascendant City to sell them.

Xu Yan arrived at Heavenly River Market and began selling his pills cautiously from a temporary stall. He recognized Wu Yun and Chen among his first customers, then left after three days of trading.

• Xu Yan reached Heavenly River Market after traveling for three days and paid two low-grade spirit stones for a Barter Jade Talisman.
• Xu Yan set up a secluded stall and displayed five bottles of Qi Gathering Pills.
• Wu Yun and Chen recognized the pills as unusual, and Chen bought all five bottles for twenty-three low-grade spirit stones.
• Xu Yan sold roughly twenty more bottles over the next three days, earning over a hundred low-grade spirit stones.
• When the Barter Jade Talisman's light faded, Xu Yan packed up and left the market.

Xu Yan bought the Black Tortoise Shield and the Bloodfiend Shadow-Escaping Steps in the Heavenly River Market, paying mostly with medicinal pills. After leaving the Myriad Arts Pavilion with a breath-concealing art, he noticed a distant figure in the market.

• Xu Yan bought the Black Tortoise Shield from Lang Ping for six hundred and sixty low-grade spirit stones, paying with medicinal pills.
• Xu Yan chose the Bloodfiend Shadow-Escaping Steps at the Myriad Arts Pavilion and bought it after bargaining with Zhou Wen.
• Zhou Wen offered Xu Yan the Great Void Breath-Concealing Art, and Xu Yan bought its single-use Jade Slip for ninety-nine low-grade spirit stones.
• Xu Yan left the Myriad Arts Pavilion and noticed a distant figure in the Heavenly River Market.

After encountering Wu Hua in Heavenly River Market, Xu Yan hid in a secluded cave to strengthen himself before seeking revenge. He mastered two cultivation arts and refined the Black Tortoise Shield, then left the cave.

• Xu Yan spotted Wu Hua managing a Pill Workshop in Heavenly River Market and resolved to kill him after improving his strength.
• Xu Yan found a secluded cliff, carved out a temporary cave abode, and discovered the Great Void Breath-Concealing Art and Bloodfiend Shadow-Escaping Steps were incomplete.
• Xu Yan mastered the Great Void Breath-Concealing Art and learned the Bloodfiend Shadow-Escaping Steps at the cost of five years of his lifespan.
• Xu Yan refined the Black Tortoise Shield into a usable defensive magic artifact and left the cave abode.