Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Qi Yun announces that he will accept five nominal disciples, chosen by spiritual-root aptitude, and offers each a Foundation Establishment Pill. The extravagant reward astonishes the crowd, including Xu Yan and Du Fei.
• Qi Yun assigns his elder, Qingyun, to conduct the tests using a Spirit-Testing Stone. Applicants must be under twenty.
• The early candidates show mostly low-grade roots and are rejected. Qi Yun briefly pays particular attention to a youth with low-grade four-attribute roots, though the reason is unclear.
• Testing reaches the thirteen youths from Inkstone City, escorted by two Foundation Establishment experts. Ten have been tested so far, and all have low-grade roots; three remain.
• In a separate scene, Wang Liu and scar-faced Qiu prepare to rob a newcomer to cultivation. Wang Liu’s scheme is to sell beginner booklets, identify inexperienced rogue cultivators who buy them, and target them with low risk. The pair have robbed victims before to fund their rise to the fourth qi-refining layer.

Character developments

• Xu Yan learns how valuable a Foundation Establishment Pill is. He also keeps watch on Qi Yun, relieved that the senior does not seem to notice the Mysterious Green Pearl between Xu Yan’s brows.
• Du Fei envies the Wu siblings, now understanding why they chose Qi Yun’s tutelage over the Ascension Gate.
• Qi Yun presents himself as generous and composed, but his selective attention to one unusual applicant hints that he may be assessing more than basic aptitude.
• Wang Liu is revealed as a practiced, calculating predator who exploits inexperienced cultivators.
• Qiu is wary of another failed ambush but is persuaded by Wang Liu’s record and reasoning.

Significant themes

• Scarcity and ambition: The rarity of Foundation Establishment Pills makes Qi Yun’s offer extraordinary and fuels intense competition.
• Merit and opportunity: Spiritual-root aptitude determines access to advancement, while those with poor roots face limited prospects.
• Knowledge as vulnerability: Wang Liu turns basic cultivation knowledge—normally a tool for newcomers—into a means of identifying victims.
• Appearance versus intent: Qi Yun’s calm generosity contrasts with the crowd’s desperation, while Wang Liu’s reassuring manner masks his ruthlessness.

Character interactions

• Qi Yun addresses the gathered applicants, then entrusts Qingyun with the testing.
• Du Fei quietly explains the value of the pill and the Spirit-Testing Sphere to Xu Yan; Xu Yan listens while remaining focused on whether Qi Yun detects the pearl.
• Qingyun enforces the age limit and evaluates each candidate, dismissing those whose roots fall short.
• Wang Liu reassures Qiu about the planned robbery, using their past successes to overcome Qiu’s doubts.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Yunyang is tested and reveals a rare high-grade, single-element metal spiritual root. Qi Yun immediately takes him as a disciple, and the crowd predicts he could reach Golden Core.
• Testing continues. Several cultivators show mid-grade roots, including the Wu siblings: Wu Cheng has a mid-grade fire root, and Wu Yun an unusually strong mid-grade wood root.
• Du Fei tests next and gets a low-grade dual-element root. Frustrated, he tries the stone again, but the result is unchanged; the short old man scolds him.
• Xu Yan’s test initially produces five brilliant pillars, each ten feet high, suggesting extraordinary talent. They abruptly shrink to low-grade height, revealing what appears to be a low-grade five-element root. The crowd mocks him, and the short old man tells him he has failed.
• As Xu Yan starts to leave, someone behind the short old man calls, “Wait!”

Character developments and interactions

• Qi Yun appears composed and discerning, swiftly choosing Chen Yunyang as his apprentice after seeing his exceptional talent.
• Chen Yunyang moves from a frail, uncertain-looking youth to an elated new disciple, showing immediate gratitude and excitement.
• Du Fei is revealed to be sensitive about his poor result; his attempt to retest shows his disappointment, while the old man’s rebuke leaves him chastened.
• Xu Yan stays outwardly calm despite public ridicule. He believes the Mysterious Green Pearl hidden between his brows interfered with the test, and worries more about whether Qi Yun noticed it than about his apparent failure.
• Wu Cheng and Wu Yun demonstrate the Wu siblings’ strong cultivation prospects, attracting praise and envy from the crowd.

Significant themes

• Talent and social status: Spiritual-root grades shape how cultivators are valued, and exceptional talent brings immediate attention and opportunity.
• Appearance versus reality: Xu Yan’s apparent low-grade result may conceal his true ability because of the mysterious pearl.
• Public judgment and humiliation: The crowd celebrates gifted candidates but mocks those deemed weak, while the testing officials wield authority over who may proceed.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yan repeats the spiritual-root test at Qi Yun’s request. The Green Pearl subtly interferes, making his high-grade roots appear to be low-grade five-element mixed roots.
• Qi Yun accepts the result, confirming that Xu Yan does not qualify as a nominal disciple. The crowd mocks Xu Yan, but he is relieved that even a Foundation Establishment expert cannot detect the Green Pearl.
• Qi Yun selects five nominal disciples: a mortal youth, the Wu siblings, and two other youths. Together, the five cover all five elements.
• Xu Yan leaves with Du Fei and Du Jinlong. Du Fei gives Xu Yan his real address, then departs with his father.
• Concerned that the many cultivators leaving the gathering could make travel unsafe, Xu Yan decides to remain in Separation Valley Market another day. He browses without buying anything, saving his spirit stones to power a fire array for cultivating the Redfire Burning Art.
• In a separate scene, scar-faced Qiu and Wang Liu wait outside Inkstone City for a young cultivator. Qiu is impatient and says he will wait only one more day; Wang Liu hides his anger and agrees.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan becomes more confident that the Green Pearl conceals his true aptitude. He keeps his secret, calmly accepts public ridicule, and makes a cautious decision to delay his departure.
• Du Fei and Du Jinlong show genuine concern for Xu Yan, reassuring him about his supposed poor roots. Du Fei’s disclosure of his family’s true location signals growing trust and friendship.
• Qi Yun carefully verifies Xu Yan’s test before rejecting him as a nominal disciple, but the reason for his particular interest remains unclear.
• Qiu and Wang Liu reveal a strained, unequal partnership: Qiu is domineering, while Wang Liu masks resentment to avoid provoking him.

Significant themes

• Hidden potential and deceptive appearances: Xu Yan’s real aptitude is masked, and others judge him by the false test result.
• Caution and survival: Xu Yan weighs the risks of travelling amid departing cultivators, while Wang Liu suppresses his anger under Qiu’s threat.
• Friendship and trust: The Du family’s kindness contrasts with the crowd’s mockery.
• Ambition and unequal power: Qi Yun’s selection process and Qiu’s control over Wang Liu show how status and strength shape people’s choices.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan leaves the Separation Valley Market and passes through Inkstone City, where cultivators are forbidden to fight. He plans to return to Golden Rooster Mountain to practice the Redfire Burning Art in seclusion.
• Before setting out, he prepares cautiously: he attaches two Swift Speed Talismans to his legs and carries a spirit stone to restore his magical power.
• A short young cultivator and a scar-faced man track him from the market with the help of a Spirit Marten. They wait until Xu Yan is beyond the city’s protection, then attack.
• Xu Yan senses danger and dodges the short man’s flying sword, but one of the scar-faced man’s magical nails strikes his shoulder and sends him flying.
• He activates the Swift Speed Talismans and flees. The attackers are surprised by his speed, but the scar-faced man claims the poisoned nail will kill him regardless.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan remains cautious but gradually relaxes as his journey seems uneventful. His quick perception and readiness—especially his preparations with the talismans—help him survive the initial ambush, though he is wounded.
• The short young man and the scar-faced man act as coordinated pursuers. The short man uses a blood-red flying sword, while the scar-faced man attacks with poisoned nails. The short man panics when Xu Yan escapes at speed; the scar-faced man stays confident, relying on the poison.
• The attackers’ ambush turns Xu Yan’s planned trip into a desperate flight, establishing a direct conflict between them.

Significant themes

• Caution and survival: Xu Yan’s preparations prove useful, but danger still finds him once he leaves a protected city.
• Safety versus vulnerability: Inkstone City offers legal protection, while the wilderness leaves travelers exposed to attack.
• Deception and hidden threats: The apparent calm of Xu Yan’s journey masks the pursuers following him, and the poison makes his wound more dangerous than it first appears.

Plot points

• Xu Yan discovers that the short man pursuing him is the stallholder who sold him booklets at Blue Brick Square. He discards the booklets and changes direction to shake his pursuers.
• The scar-faced man, Qiu, has struck Xu Yan with a poisoned Soul-Devouring Nail. As the Century-Old Corpse Poison spreads and threatens to stop his magic power, the Mysterious Green Pearl between Xu Yan’s brows absorbs it, saving him.
• Xu Yan escapes. After searching for over an hour, Qiu and the short man—Wang Liu—give up, with their failed ambush straining their partnership.
• Seeking a safe place to recover, Xu Yan heads to Horse Mountain, a rugged region occupied by mortal bandits. He avoids their checkpoint, enters by climbing a cliff with magic power, and hides in a cave near a pool.
• After three days of cultivation, his shoulder is mostly healed. He removes the exhausted Swift Speed Talisman and reflects on his survival before taking out a low-grade fire formation and the Redfire Burning Art.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan’s near-death escape makes him more wary and mature; he recognizes his inexperience and grows intent on studying the Green Pearl and eventually avenging the ambush.
• The Green Pearl reveals a new ability: it can consume deadly poison as well as magic power. Xu Yan cannot yet investigate it fully because he has not reached the third layer of Qi Refining, when divine sense becomes available.
• Wang Liu and Qiu argue over the failed pursuit. Wang Liu challenges Qiu’s claim that the poison would kill Xu Yan quickly; Qiu responds angrily and threatens their friendship.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and danger in the cultivation world: Xu Yan learns that even seemingly ordinary encounters can conceal an ambush.
• Preparation and survival: Du Fei’s talismans prove crucial, teaching Xu Yan the value of protective treasures.
• Growth through hardship: The ordeal sharpens Xu Yan’s caution and fuels his resolve to become stronger.
• Hidden potential: The Green Pearl’s unexpected power hints at abilities Xu Yan has yet to understand.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan activates a low-grade Fire Array inside his cave and uses it to practice the Redfire Burning Art, a fire spell he paid dearly to obtain.
• The spell’s first stage requires him to endure earthfire until his body can withstand its heat. He initially pushes too hard, nearly losing consciousness as the flames burn his clothes and body.
• Energy from the Mysterious Green Pearl clears his mind and helps his body endure the heat. Xu Yan suspects the pearl’s energy may be connected to the deadly poison he recently consumed, though he cannot confirm this yet.
• After ten days of exposure, he completes the physical conditioning and begins learning to shape flames. In a trance-like moment of insight, he forms a huge fireball that blasts a deep crater into the cave floor.
• The array disc breaks from the strain. Xu Yan spends another half month practicing until he can cast and withdraw the spell at will.
• As he prepares to leave, he hears people shouting nearby: “Stop!” and “Don’t run!” The chapter ends on this approaching disturbance.

Character development

• Xu Yan is ambitious and willing to endure severe pain to improve his strength, but his impatience nearly puts him in danger.
• His perseverance and growing understanding of fire allow him to master the spell. His use of the pearl’s energy also hints at an unusual ability he has yet to understand.

Significant themes

• Power through hardship: Mastering fire magic requires physical suffering and discipline.
• Ambition and risk: Xu Yan’s desire to grow stronger drives him, but rushing the process nearly proves fatal.
• Hidden potential and mystery: The Mysterious Green Pearl appears to aid his cultivation, raising questions about its powers.
• Knowledge and mastery: The spell’s true strength lies not merely in creating flames, but in controlling and compressing them.

Character interactions

• Xu Yan has no direct interaction with other characters in this chapter. The pursuing voices at the end introduce an imminent encounter.

Plot and events

• Xu Yan is meditating in a mountain cave when Lin Mengxi, a young woman in bridal clothes, rushes inside while fleeing the bandits of Horse Mountain Stronghold. She had been abducted a week earlier and is trying to escape being forced to become the chief’s concubine.
• Xu Yan tells her she has chosen a poor hiding place, then tries to stay out of the matter. The bandits soon find the cave.
• Chief Wang Jinbiao assumes Lin and Xu are lovers and orders his men to cripple Xu. Xu warns them to leave, but Wang mocks him. Xu kills Wang with a low-grade fire spell.
• The remaining bandits beg for mercy. Xu asks each for a reason not to kill him, but rejects pleas about family, offers of service, and an attempted escape, killing them in turn.
• The final bandit claims he knows a secret about Wang that could be useful to Xu. The chapter ends before Xu responds.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan begins determined to avoid involvement, but once threatened, responds with cold, decisive violence. He shows little pity for the bandits and treats their pleas as tests they have failed.
• Lin Mengxi is frightened and desperate, having narrowly escaped captivity. She becomes silent with fear as Xu demonstrates his power.
• Wang Jinbiao is revealed as a brutal, arrogant bandit chief who relies on formidable martial training. Despite his resilience, he cannot withstand Xu’s cultivation magic.
• The bandits shift quickly from aggression to terror and pleading once they realize Xu is an immortal cultivator. Their attempts to save themselves reveal their desperation rather than earning Xu’s mercy.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Wang’s exceptional physical strength is useless against Xu’s supernatural abilities.
• Mercy and justice: Xu’s repeated demand for a reason to spare the bandits frames their deaths as judgments, though he gives them little genuine chance.
• Fear and coercion: Lin’s escape and the bandits’ pleas show how violence controls the powerless—and how abruptly the balance shifts when a stronger force intervenes.

Key plot points and events

• Captured bandit Li Tieniu reveals that Wang Jinbiao’s unusual, blade-resistant body-hardening skill may come from a guarded “Forbidden Ground” beneath Horse Mountain Stronghold. He offers to lead Xu Yan there, and Xu agrees, warning him not to lie.
• A frightened red-clad girl also claims to know something useful. In exchange for her secret, she asks Xu Yan to take her home. He accepts, and she follows them.
• At the stronghold, the bandits are celebrating with a wedding feast. When the drunken second-in-command attacks Xu Yan, the gathered bandits join in. Xu swiftly kills them all with fire spells.
• Xu orders the girl to stay behind, then follows Li Tieniu to Wang Jinbiao’s secret chamber. Li lifts a floor section to reveal a dark, winding passage called the Hidden Cave, which he says leads to the Forbidden Ground. He enters first with a torch.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan remains cold and pragmatic: he spares Li Tieniu only for useful information, accepts the girl’s bargain, and uses lethal force when the stronghold’s bandits attack. His interest in Wang Jinbiao’s strength suggests he suspects a spiritual treasure may be involved.
• Li Tieniu shifts from prisoner to guide, using his knowledge of Wang’s secret to protect his life. His fear and respect for Xu deepen after witnessing the slaughter.
• The red-clad girl shows nerve by negotiating rather than passively waiting for help. She secures Xu’s promise to take her home, though she is left behind at the stronghold.
• The second-in-command dismisses Li’s warning and attacks Xu, triggering the destruction of the bandits at the feast.

Significant themes

• Power and survival: Knowledge is Li Tieniu’s bargaining tool, while Xu’s overwhelming magical power determines who lives.
• Trust under threat: Both Li and the girl must persuade Xu that their secrets are genuine, and Xu makes clear that deception will be punished.
• Violence and pragmatism: Xu treats people according to their usefulness and whether they threaten him, sparing some while killing the attackers without hesitation.
• Mystery and discovery: The Hidden Cave and Forbidden Ground introduce a new mystery behind Wang Jinbiao’s martial abilities.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan follows Li Tieniu through a hand-dug tunnel into a hidden valley, convinced that the bandit leader’s story about a spiritual treasure may be true.
• Two bandits guarding the forbidden grounds attack them. Xu Yan kills them effortlessly with fire magic.
• The valley’s unusual plants and the strengthening flow of Xu Yan’s magic power suggest that it contains spiritual energy. Li Tieniu leads him to a misty limestone cave.
• At the cave’s bottom, Xu Yan discovers a small pool of Hundred-Year Earth Spirit Milk, a rare natural treasure that can quickly increase a cultivator’s magic power without side effects.
• The pool contains only a few dozen drops. Xu Yan realizes Wang Jinbiao damaged the site by carving out its stone basin, preventing further Earth Spirit Milk from forming. He collects what remains and searches for more, but finds none.
• Returning to Horse Mountain Stronghold, Xu Yan considers cultivating in seclusion there. He believes the treasure may help him reach the third layer of qi refining, develop divine sense, and investigate the Mysterious Green Pearl.
• The girl in red reveals that her ancestors were cultivators and offers her family’s inherited legacy in exchange for Xu Yan escorting her home. Xu Yan agrees, warning her not to deceive him.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan remains pragmatic and wary, but his excitement at finding the treasure reveals how urgently he needs resources. He also continues to pursue the mystery of the Mysterious Green Pearl.
• Li Tieniu acts as Xu Yan’s guide, leading him through the tunnel and cave and respectfully deferring to him as an immortal master.
• The girl in red shifts from a captive dependent on Xu Yan’s mercy to someone making a calculated bargain. She risks revealing her family’s secret to secure his protection.
• Xu Yan’s exchanges with both Li Tieniu and the girl are shaped by a clear imbalance of power: they appeal to his interests, while he decides whether their offers are worthwhile.

Significant themes

• The value and scarcity of opportunity: The Earth Spirit Milk is a rare windfall, but the damaged source underscores how easily a natural treasure can be lost.
• Power and vulnerability: Xu Yan can dispatch mortal attackers with ease, while the girl has little choice but to negotiate for his help.
• Pragmatism and self-interest: Xu Yan weighs both the treasure and the girl’s proposed legacy in terms of their potential benefit to his cultivation.
• Inheritance and decline: The girl’s family once had cultivators, but their spiritual tradition has faded over generations.

Plot points

• Xu Yan and the girl in red reach Zhuliu City, named for the red willows growing in its surrounding crimson sands.
• Xu Yan notices four men in black robes whose horses and spiritual energy mark them as cultivators, though they are traveling in disguise. Wary after a dangerous past encounter, he urges the girl into the city.
• The girl takes him to her dilapidated family home, where her grandfather, Lin Rongfu, welcomes her back. She had gone searching for medicine for him, but was captured by bandits from Horse Mountain Stronghold; Xu Yan rescued her.
• In return for rescuing her, Lin Rongfu gives Xu Yan the Lin family’s inherited legacy: a Storage Bag and an unusual skin-like Mask. Xu Yan can’t place the Mask in the Storage Bag, so he secretly hides it in his robe.
• Before leaving, Xu Yan tests Lin Rongfu to see whether he is secretly a cultivator. Finding him to be a mortal suffering from illness, Xu Yan uses magic power to expel black blood and improve his condition.
• Lin Rongfu invites Xu Yan to stay overnight. Remembering the cultivators he saw outside the city, Xu Yan accepts.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan remains guarded and practical, treating the rescue and the legacy as a completed bargain. Yet he shows some compassion by healing Lin Rongfu. His suspicion of danger shapes his choices, from examining the old man to accepting shelter for the night.
• The girl in red has grown less afraid of Xu Yan during their journey. She is grateful for his help and tries to kneel after he heals her grandfather, but Xu Yan stops her.
• Lin Rongfu is frail and deeply grateful to Xu Yan for saving his granddaughter. He honors the family’s obligation by handing over the legacy, then offers Xu Yan hospitality.

Significant themes

• Caution and survival: Xu Yan’s wariness of other cultivators influences his behavior throughout the chapter.
• Reciprocity and obligation: The rescue is repaid with the family heirlooms; Xu Yan considers the transaction settled.
• Compassion amid self-interest: Xu Yan helps Lin Rongfu even though he has already received his reward, while continuing to protect his own interests.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: The Mask’s strange nature—especially its resistance to being stored—suggests it may have special significance.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan waits until the Lin household is asleep before examining the inherited mask and Storage Bag.
• The mask fits seamlessly, merges with his face when activated, and disguises him as an unfamiliar middle-aged man.
• The Storage Bag contains modest supplies—Qi Gathering Pills, spirit stones, a limited cultivation art, and withered herbs—as well as a pill furnace, a basic alchemy manual, and Lin Dao’s personal notes.
• Xu Yan learns that Lin Dao was an expelled disciple of Medicine King Valley and a poor but persistent first-tier alchemist.
• Lin Dao’s final research proposes using a Space Stone and other materials to make a pill that can contain flames and be detonated. Xu Yan imagines sealing a Redfire Burning Art spell inside one to create a powerful weapon, though the idea remains untested.
• Xu Yan decides to learn alchemy and eventually pursue the weapon. He also renews his resolve to kill the short young man and scar-faced man who wronged him.
• Because alchemy requires divine sense, he believes he must reach the third layer of Qi Refining before attempting it. Just as he prepares to sleep, he senses nearby fluctuations of magic power.

Character development

• Xu Yan grows more resourceful and ambitious, recognizing that alchemy could help him overcome the poverty of a rogue cultivator.
• He is intrigued by the mask and Lin Dao’s research, but tempers his excitement by acknowledging that the proposed explosive pill has never been tested.
• His cold determination to take revenge remains strong, and he begins viewing the potential pill as a future combat trump card.
• Lin Dao emerges through his notes as a talented researcher constrained by poor aptitude, limited means, and the end of his life.

Significant themes

• Knowledge as inheritance: Lin Dao’s notes preserve ideas that may outlive him and benefit a successor outside his family.
• Ambition amid scarcity: Xu Yan sees alchemy as a path to resources and power in a difficult life as a rogue cultivator.
• Innovation and risk: The proposed flame-containing pill could be formidable, but its effectiveness and safety are unknown.
• Power and revenge: Xu Yan’s desire to grow stronger is tied not only to survival but also to settling old scores.

Character interactions

• There is little direct interaction in the chapter; it centers on Xu Yan privately examining the Lin legacy.
• Xu Yan indirectly encounters Lin Dao through his autobiography and research notes, treating the deceased cultivator’s discoveries as a potential inheritance.
• The old man and the girl in red are asleep during Xu Yan’s investigation.
• The chapter ends with an unexplained magical disturbance nearby, setting up a likely encounter.

Key plot points and events

• While staying at the Lin Residence in Zhuliu City, Xu Yan senses a clash of spiritual power near the city center. Though curious, he initially stays inside, wary of being discovered at his low level of cultivation.
• A blast of flame strikes the Lin Residence’s entrance, causing panic across the city. Xu Yan puts on his mask, slips out, and hides nearby to observe.
• Four ninth-layer Qi Refining disciples of the Spirit Sword Sect confront the Blood-Robed Daoist, accusing him of murdering one of their disciples. He admits he devoured the victim while traveling on the Demon Venerable’s orders.
• The Blood-Robed Daoist uses the Demonblood Ghost Gourd to send a river of demon blood against the disciples’ flying swords. It corrupts one sword and injures its owner, while the others retreat from the attack.
• The Daoist exploits the opening to escape, using two flame talismans to delay his pursuers. The three able disciples chase after him.
• After waiting until the cultivators are gone, Xu Yan leaves Zhuliu City and heads back to Horse Mountain Stronghold.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan shows caution despite his curiosity: he chooses observation over involvement, keeps himself concealed, and leaves once it is safe. The battle both broadens his understanding of cultivator combat and heightens his concern about demonic activity.
• The Blood-Robed Daoist is brazen and ruthless, treating the killing of a sect disciple as insignificant. Though surrounded, he uses his artifact strategically to disrupt the attack and escape.
• The Spirit Sword Sect disciples act as a coordinated group and try to avenge their murdered fellow disciple. Their confidence is shaken when the gourd corrupts one of their weapons, but the survivors pursue the Daoist.
• The confrontation centers on the sect’s demand for justice and the Daoist’s contemptuous defiance; neither side notices Xu Yan watching.

Significant themes

• The danger of power and inexperience: Xu Yan’s low cultivation makes direct involvement perilous, while the battle demonstrates how quickly a fight can turn.
• Conflict between orthodox and demonic forces: The Daoist’s presence in sect-controlled territory suggests a possible wider infiltration.
• Caution and survival: Xu Yan’s restraint and patience allow him to witness the event without being drawn into it.
• A widening world: The encounter exposes Xu Yan to the broader dangers and conflicts beyond his immediate cultivation goals.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yan has spent six months cultivating in seclusion at Horse Mountain Stronghold. He has kept Li Tieniu and five other bandits alive to serve him, ordering them to gather thousands of medicinal herbs for his future alchemy practice.
• With help from Qi Gathering Pills and occasional drops of Hundred-Year Earth Spirit Milk, Xu Yan reached the peak of the second Qi Refining layer but remained stuck there for half a month.
• A moment of calm atop snowy Golden Summit Peak helps him break through to the third layer. He develops divine sense, which lets him perceive everything within several dozen zhang.
• After three days of cultivation, he stabilizes his new realm and begins planning his next steps.

Character development

• Xu Yan shows patience and resourcefulness, using ordinary herbs to practice alchemy so he can conserve his scarce spirit stones.
• His breakthrough marks a significant advance: he now has divine sense and can begin exploring cultivation arts beyond basic training.
• He remains cautious and guarded, aware that his secrets and growing abilities could attract dangerous attention.

Plans and unresolved concerns

• Xu Yan intends to replace his incomplete cultivation technique, which only supports him through the fifth Qi Refining layer.
• He plans to learn alchemy, conceal his identity with a mask, investigate the cultivators who tried to kill him, and discover the function of the Mysterious Green Pearl between his brows.
• He fears that investigating the pearl could reveal it to powerful cultivators, including Nascent Soul experts.

Character interactions

• Xu Yan deals with Li Tieniu and the five surviving bandits as subordinates, directing them to gather herbs and spend the stronghold’s plundered wealth on more.
• No other direct encounters occur; the chapter focuses on Xu Yan’s solitary breakthrough and private planning.

Chapter Summary: “Testing the Green Pearl’s Powers”

Key events

• Xu Yan seals the Cave Abode entrance before examining the Green Pearl in his sea of consciousness.
• He discovers that the Pearl has been quietly absorbing his magic power, likely explaining his slow cultivation. It has also swallowed the Golden Light Daoist’s magic power, medicinal energy, and poison.
• After cautiously testing it with a small wisp of divine sense, Xu Yan finds he can enter the Pearl’s vast, gray interior and summon the treasure into his palm.
• He recalls that the Pearl and the unusually tough, apparently inert Fish Intestine Short Sword were found together inside a large fish. He cannot yet uncover the sword’s abilities.
• Xu Yan tests the Pearl on several items. It drains a spirit stone, a drop of Hundred-Year Earth Spirit Milk, and a Qi Gathering Pill of their spiritual energy, leaving them ruined.
• He learns that he can halt the devouring force with a mental command, though doing so tires his still-weak divine sense. After six hours of cultivation, he recovers.
• He then turns to a poison pill, hoping the Pearl can consume its toxins while preserving its spiritual energy. The chapter ends as he begins the test.

Character development

• Xu Yan moves from suspicion and caution to growing confidence in his ability to control the Pearl. He remains careful, testing it gradually and protecting himself from possible harm.
• His curiosity develops into strategic ambition: if the Pearl can selectively remove poison, it may allow him to exploit the spiritual energy in poison pills.

Themes

• Power and risk: A remarkable treasure offers great potential but may also drain its owner or damage him.
• Experimentation and restraint: Xu Yan advances by testing the Pearl methodically rather than relying on guesswork.
• Hidden value: Objects that appear ordinary or useless—the Green Pearl, the black sword, and the poison pill—may conceal extraordinary properties.

Character interactions

• The chapter is largely solitary, focused on Xu Yan’s relationship with the Green Pearl. Their connection is practical but uneasy: the Pearl has been taking his magic power, yet Xu Yan can now direct and partially control it. The Fish Intestine Short Sword is also introduced as a mysterious legacy from his father, though it remains unresponsive.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan uses the Green Pearl to draw the toxins out of one of Golden Light Daoist’s poison pills while carefully preserving its spiritual energy. The delicate process exhausts him, but leaves the pill pale green and fragrant.
• To test whether the pill is truly safe, he catches a young Snow Monkey and gives it the treated pill. The monkey initially fears Xu Yan, but eventually eats the pill after judging that it is safe to approach.
• The pill’s strong spiritual energy overwhelms the monkey. Xu Yan restrains it and guides the energy into its body, allowing it to absorb the pill over two days. The monkey grows larger, its fur becomes glossier, and its intelligence appears to increase.
• Xu Yan treats a second poison pill. This time, the Green Pearl returns a surge of energy that raises him to the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining. The monkey absorbs the second pill in one day without difficulty, further confirming that the toxins have been removed.

Character development and interactions

• Xu Yan grows more confident in using the Green Pearl, demonstrating precise control and a willingness to experiment. He remains cautious, however, testing the pills before relying on them.
• The Snow Monkey is shown to be unusually clever: it remembers Xu Yan’s threat, reads his intentions, and bows to win permission to take the pill. After benefiting from it, it becomes eager and ingratiating toward him.
• Their relationship is unequal but practical: Xu Yan captures and tests on the monkey, yet intervenes when the pill’s energy threatens to kill it. The monkey, in turn, comes to associate him with valuable medicine.

Significant themes

• Experimentation and risk: Xu Yan advances his cultivation by testing an uncertain technique, balancing caution with calculated danger.
• Power and resourcefulness: He turns dangerous poison pills into useful sources of spiritual energy through the Green Pearl.
• Intelligence and adaptation: The Snow Monkey’s ability to assess danger and respond strategically parallels Xu Yan’s own careful observation and learning.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan tests the Green Pearl’s ability to consume poisonous waste pills by feeding one to the Snow Monkey. After five days without ill effects—and with the monkey noticeably stronger—he releases it into the snow.
• He decides to join the Rogue Cultivator Alliance to earn spirit stones, obtain cultivation resources and a new cultivation art, and learn more about the Short Young Man and Scarface.
• Xu Yan plans to use a magical mask to pose as an alchemist, keeping his true identity hidden while gathering intelligence on his enemies.
• Before joining, he resolves to master the basics of the Complete Guide to the Pill Dao and become a first-rank alchemist. He enters his dedicated alchemy chamber and begins studying it alongside Lin Dao’s alchemy insights.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan’s experiment with the Snow Monkey suggests the Green Pearl may help him make practical use of toxic waste pills, potentially improving his alchemy success and income.
• He is increasingly strategic and cautious: he keeps the monkey under observation before releasing it and intends to conceal his identity while pursuing his enemies.
• The Snow Monkey survives the experiment and grows larger and more powerful before leaving Xu Yan’s cave.
• Xu Yan has an advantage as a prospective alchemist: his Redfire Burning Art and developed divine sense may help him control flames more reliably than Lin Dao could.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and resourcefulness: Xu Yan seeks ways to turn waste pills and scarce resources into opportunities.
• Power and hierarchy: The Rogue Cultivator Alliance offers membership and benefits according to cultivation rank, while serving its founders’ interests as much as those of its members.
• Secrecy and survival: Xu Yan uses a false identity to work safely and pursue information about his enemies.
• Preparation and mastery: Rather than rushing into alchemy, he commits to studying its fundamentals and understanding the risks.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan carefully studies and memorizes the Complete Guide to the Pill Dao and Lin Dao’s alchemy notes, organizing what he learns about herbs, fire control, pill-forming techniques, and formulas.
• He gathers ordinary medicinal herbs and begins practicing with Lin Dao’s crimson, first-tier low-grade pill furnace.
• His first attempts to make Detoxification Pills fail. After two months of repeated practice, he begins succeeding; after another three months, he can reliably produce three kinds of ordinary medicinal pills with a 100% success rate.
• Following Lin Dao’s guidance, Xu Yan recognizes that this mastery qualifies him to attempt first-tier low-grade pills. He uses his scarce spirit herbs to refine Qi Gathering Pills.
• The batch yields two usable pills and one ruined one. Xu Yan’s Green Pearl removes the toxins from the ruined pill, leaving it with half the spiritual power of a normal pill.
• Confident that he has met the requirement, Xu Yan leaves his cave to seek certification at the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.

Character development

• Xu Yan demonstrates discipline and patience, spending months practicing despite repeated failures and the strain alchemy places on his divine sense.
• His skill progresses from a complete novice to a competent maker of ordinary pills, and then to successfully refining Qi Gathering Pills.
• He also learns to make practical use of the Green Pearl’s ability to remove pill toxins, salvaging value from a defective pill.

Character interactions

• Though Lin Dao is absent, his notes guide Xu Yan’s training and provide the benchmark for becoming a First-Tier Low-Grade Alchemist.
• Xu Yan’s next intended interaction is with the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, where he hopes to obtain official certification.

Significant themes

• Perseverance and mastery: Xu Yan improves through sustained practice and learning from failure.
• Knowledge passed down: Lin Dao’s carefully preserved teachings make Xu Yan’s progress possible.
• Resourcefulness: Short on spirit herbs, Xu Yan builds his skills with ordinary medicines and uses the Green Pearl to recover a flawed pill.
• Progress through achievement: Xu Yan’s success marks a step toward recognition and advancement in the cultivation world.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan disguises himself as a middle-aged cultivator and visits Ascendant City, the Rogue Cultivator Alliance’s major center in Fufeng Commandery.
• He observes the city’s defenses and discovers that visitors must land outside its walls before entering.
• At the Alliance’s central complex, a powerful attendant directs him to the registration hall. Xu Yan is impressed by the Alliance’s strength and organization.
• He joins a queue of rogue cultivators and learns that membership costs three low-grade spirit stones and requires only a chosen name.
• An elderly cultivator, Daoist Cangyun, is recognized as a first-tier, low-grade alchemist and escorted to an assessment. His status earns him immediate respect and attention.
• Xu Yan registers under the invented name Lin Yan, then reveals that he is also an alchemist and requests an assessment. The registrars respond eagerly and contact the Alchemy Hall.

Character developments

• Xu Yan takes practical steps to establish a new identity and gain access to the Alliance’s services. His decision to disclose his alchemy skill suggests he intends to turn his talent into a recognized source of opportunities.
• Daoist Cangyun is introduced as a low-level cultivator whose expertise gives him influence beyond what his cultivation rank would normally command.

Significant themes

• Skill can rival strength: Alchemy earns Cangyun respect and prompt attention despite his modest cultivation.
• Opportunity and resourcefulness: The Alliance offers rogue cultivators access to trades, information, and missions with few barriers.
• Disguise and reinvention: Xu Yan adopts the name Lin Yan to operate within the Alliance under a new identity.
• Institutional power: The city’s defenses and the Alliance’s many halls reveal its considerable reach and authority.

Character interactions

• An Alliance attendant directs Xu Yan away from the main hall and toward registration.
• Xu Yan observes other cultivators defer to Cangyun because of his alchemy expertise.
• After Xu Yan identifies himself as an alchemist, the registrars shift from indifference to enthusiasm and arrange an assessment for him.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yan, posing as Lin Yan, is escorted by Yun Feng to the Rogue Cultivator Alliance’s Alchemy Hall to take the First-Rank Alchemist assessment.
• Yun Feng explains the hall’s earthfire-powered rooms and privacy formations. In room C-13, Xu Yan receives herbs for three batches of low-grade Qi Gathering Pills and is told that one successful batch within six hours will earn him a pass. The herbs include white perilla, which marks the pills without affecting their preparation or efficacy.
• Xu Yan fails to produce usable pills in all three attempts. With no herbs left, he relies on the Mysterious Green Pearl to remove toxins from the nine failed pills, leaving nine smaller pills. He puts six in the assessment vial and keeps three in his storage bag, then messages Yun Feng to request verification.

Character developments

• Xu Yan begins confident that his skills will suffice, but repeated failures expose how limited his practical experience is. He becomes anxious about whether the Green Pearl’s intervention will pass inspection, yet decides to risk it.
• Yun Feng is courteous and professional, guiding Xu Yan through the process while clearly explaining the rules and penalty for failure.

Significant themes

• Skill versus luck: Xu Yan’s earlier success had depended partly on luck; the assessment reveals that his experience is not yet dependable.
• Resourcefulness under pressure: When his ordinary attempts fail, Xu Yan turns to the Green Pearl as a last resort.
• Trust and verification: The Alliance’s white perilla and inspection process are designed to ensure the assessment is legitimate, while Xu Yan’s modified pills create uncertainty about whether he can satisfy that scrutiny.

Character interactions

• Yun Feng escorts Xu Yan, explains the facilities and assessment conditions, supplies the control jade slip, and warns him that failure costs five low-grade spirit stones.
• Xu Yan accepts the instructions, conducts the assessment alone behind the room’s isolation formation, and contacts Yun Feng after preparing the pills for inspection.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan waits for the Alliance stewards to judge the Qi Gathering Pills he refined. He worries the pills, altered by the Green Pearl, may be rejected.
• Yun Feng arrives with Alchemy Hall stewards Ma Pengfei and Sun Yan, who inspect the pills. They find them unusually small but confirm that their spiritual energy is normal for their size.
• Unsure whether the pills meet the assessment standard, the stewards consider consulting Elder Yu, but decide against troubling him.
• Xu Yan explains that an old injury to his divine sense sometimes results in smaller pills. He offers three additional pills for the stewards to examine.
• Ma Pengfei and Sun Yan accept the pills and declare the six pills valid as one batch. They certify Xu Yan as having passed the assessment and qualified as a first-tier, low-grade alchemist.

Character developments

• Xu Yan moves from anxious uncertainty to relief. He thinks quickly, offering a plausible explanation for the pills’ size and using his extra pills to help secure approval.
• Ma Pengfei and Sun Yan show caution and professional judgment, but also flexibility when faced with an unusual case.
• Yun Feng acts as intermediary, bringing in the senior stewards and helping keep the proceedings orderly.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and negotiation: Xu Yan adapts to the situation, while the stewards choose a practical judgment over a rigid rejection.
• Status and opportunity: Alliance certification is crucial to Xu Yan’s ability to earn spirit stones and advance his cultivation.
• The value of results over convention: Though the pills look abnormal, the stewards focus on their actual spiritual properties.

Character interactions

• Xu Yan greets the stewards respectfully, and Ma Pengfei responds with friendly assurances of brotherhood within the Alliance.
• The stewards consult one another over the strange pills, with each initially uncertain about whether they qualify.
• Xu Yan’s explanation and offer of additional pills persuade them to approve his assessment; the exchange also implies that his generosity helps secure their favorable decision.