Yao Chen

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Yao Chen (药尘) 6
Alias(es)	Yao Lao; Venerable Yao 3 16 68
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Starfall Pavilion; formerly the Pill Tower; outcast of the Yao Clan 68 84
Occupation/Role	Alchemist; Xiao Yan’s teacher and protector; master of Starfall Pavilion 6 68
Status	Exists in soul form within the Bone Flame Ring; his soul has recovered and strengthened through soul-nurturing wood 6 17 83
First Appearance	Chapter 3, advising Xiao Yan during the confrontation with the Misty Cloud Sect 3

Power Progression

Physical cultivation and soul cultivation are recorded separately; his former bodily realm does not indicate that he has regained a physical body.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Dou Huang	71	Historical cultivation when he absorbed the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, earning recognition as an exceptional alchemical genius in the Central Plains.
Peak Dou Zun — former physical body	6	Listed as his physical cultivation in Xiao Lin’s assessment; he currently exists only as a soul.
Soul awakening	6	Awakened ten years before the chapter’s events, largely through the assistance of soul-nurturing wood.
Heavenly Realm soul	6 33 89	Attained through his soul’s recovery and strengthening. Later descriptions confirm that he has only recently entered the realm; soul-form restrictions still prevent him from having refined a ninth-grade pill.

Background / History

Yao Chen is an outcast of the Yao Clan who joined the Pill Tower in his youth to study alchemy. He was also invited to join the Little Pill Tower, its inner core, but never actually joined. He became renowned throughout the Central Plains as Venerable Yao and the master of Starfall Pavilion 68 84 88.

A disciple he had accepted colluded with the Hall of Souls and betrayed him. Yao Chen fell at their hands, leaving a remnant soul that took shelter in the Bone Flame Ring 88.

Soul-nurturing wood enabled him to awaken ten years before the events described in Chapter 6. Its continuing nourishment made his soul unusually vigorous and eventually raised it to the Heavenly Realm 6 33.

As Xiao Yan’s teacher, Yao Chen deliberately absorbed his disciple’s Dou Qi for one year to temper his pride. He explains that experiencing a fall in status exposed Xiao Yan to others’ true attitudes and helped him develop steadiness. By the time Xiao Yan confronts the Misty Cloud Sect, Yao Chen is pleased with both his composure and his improving alchemy 6.

Appearance

Yao Chen manifests as an elderly, spectral figure whose apparent solidity varies between descriptions 6 19 41.

• Beard: Frequently strokes it while evaluating pills, advising Xiao Yan, or considering a problem 3 6 11.
• Eyes: Described as clouded, yet capable of conveying intense pride, concern, and astonishment 70 71.
• Soul body: Sometimes transparent like a wandering ghost, but elsewhere exceptionally solid and vigorous—even resembling a real body beneath moonlight 6 19 41.
• Voice: Aged but resonant; commonly speaks directly into Xiao Yan’s mind 3 17.

Personality

Yao Chen is an affectionate but demanding teacher. He teases Xiao Yan about women, approves of his increasing generosity, and takes visible pride in his achievements. His concern becomes especially clear during dangerous flame refinements, when confidence gives way to urgent intervention 6 13 15 12 70.

He values independence as well as protection. Once Xiao Yan reaches Dou Shi, he refuses to fight ordinary battles on his behalf unless his life is endangered, arguing that cultivation alone cannot replace combat experience. He also urges Xiao Yan to remain calm when provoked by the Misty Cloud Sect 20 78 93.

His restored strength brings back his former pride and reveals a calculating, sometimes ruthless side. He uses intimidation, theft, and memory manipulation to strengthen the Xiao Clan, while initially sparing defeated rivals because keeping them alive better serves his plan. Gute’s subsequent betrayal provokes a much harsher response 16 17 45.

Despite his experience, Yao Chen acknowledges the limits of his knowledge. Otherworldly inheritances unsettle him because their effects can violate familiar cultivation rules, and he warns Xiao Yan not to confront their wielders without understanding their hidden properties 40.

Abilities & Skills

Alchemy

• Refines virtually perfect Qi Gathering Powder and immediately judges the quality of Xiao Yan’s finished pills 6.
• Prepares a fourth-grade Rapid Rotation Pill to accelerate a Dou Zhe’s Dou Qi circulation and cultivation for three days 16.
• Supplies protective medicines for flame absorption, including the Spirit-Protecting Pill, and later assembles an extensive set of body-protecting, mind-calming, and flame-controlling preparations 12 68.
• Coaches Xiao Yan through unstable flame transitions during the Alchemist Tournament 97.
• Limit: Has not yet refined a ninth-grade pill despite reaching the Heavenly Realm soul stage; he attributes this partly to the restrictions of soul form 89.

Bone Spirit Cold Flame

Yao Chen wields the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking 54.

• Suppresses the beast flame later identified as Fatal Flame and intervenes when it burns through Xiao Yan’s medicinal safeguards 12.
• Freezes selected meridians to incapacitate Jia Lie Bi without immediately killing him 17.
• Protects Xiao Yan inside the Tagor Desert’s magma cavern and overcomes the nineteenth-ranked Green Lotus Core Flame 54.
• Combines with soul force to protect Xiao Yan while crossing a poisonous lake 60.
• Effortlessly absorbs Gu He’s attack during the escape from the Divine Temple 64.

Possession

Possession is identified as a Heaven-Tier Dou Technique that allows Yao Chen to act through Xiao Yan’s body 31.

• Lends Xiao Yan overwhelming power during the raids on Wutan City’s rival families 17.
• Helps hunt fifth-tier magical beasts and extract their innate flames 31.
• Enables Xiao Yan to kill a Dou Ling ambusher with the Bone Spirit Cold Flame 45.
• Lets Yao Chen seize the mysterious flame at the Divine Temple and escape using flaming wings 64.

Soul Force and Soul Techniques

• Perception: Detects hidden combatants, identifies the absence of souls in Xiao Zha’s attendants, and senses the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake without provoking it 17 19 54.
• Concealment: Wraps Xiao Yan in soul force to hide his aura during infiltration 20.
• Memory manipulation: Erases roughly an hour of memories and plants psychological suggestions to frame Jia Lie Bi for an attack on the Ao Ba Family 17.
• Soul-Extinguishing Palm: A technique acquired at the Pill Tower that condenses soul force into a palm capable of extinguishing both souls and Dou Qi. He uses it to neutralize the attacks surrounding the mysterious flame 64.
• Protective barriers: Plans to envelop Xiao Yan’s refinement cave in soul power to prevent outside interference 68.
• Limits: Cannot detect Yun Yun when a stronger concealment hides her, and initially fails to discover Elder Dan inside Xiao Yan’s yellow ring. Elder Dan’s voice later penetrates his Soul Barrier 33 84.

Combat Analysis and Technique Adaptation

• Recognizes that Yun Xiaotian’s wings are a Flying Dou Technique rather than evidence of Dou Wang cultivation, and identifies the accumulating force of his consecutive slashes 4.
• Explains how the Amethyst Winged Lion King’s scales absorb sunlight and strengthen him during the day 32.
• Identifies Fatal Flame’s persistent corrosive burn and suspects an exceptionally rare instant-kill effect 40.
• Modifies the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer into the Disorder-Splitting Wind Ruler Technique for Xiao Yan 90.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Bone Flame Ring — Shelter for his soul and storage for medicines and refinement supplies; worn by Xiao Yan 3 68 88.
• Soul-nurturing wood — One of three divine woods from another world. Nourishes and strengthens souls, houses them, and prevents their consciousness from dispersing. Its benefits make seven illusory azure spirit saliva unnecessary for his own recovery 6 83.
• Flame Mantra — Listed among his fortuitous opportunities and passed to Xiao Yan as the foundation of his flame-absorption cultivation 6 11 13.

Relationships

• Xiao Yan — Disciple and closest companion. Yao Chen provides cultivation instruction, alchemical training, protection, and strategic guidance while gradually requiring him to face danger independently 6 20 70 78.
• Xiao Clan — Protects the clan’s interests through deterrence and political maneuvering, intending to leave it secure before travelling with Xiao Yan 16 17.
• Elder Dan — Respected Pill Tower predecessor and fellow victim of a disciple’s betrayal. Offers Yao Chen ninth-grade refining experience, ancient formulas, and a soul-cultivation method 88 89.
• Gu Xun’er — Trusts Yao Chen’s reputation and feels reassured after learning that he accompanies Xiao Yan. Ling Ying believes Yao Chen tolerates his surveillance out of consideration for her and Xiao Yan 68.
• Xiao Zha — Suspected inheritor whose soulless puppets alarm him. Later fears that the mysterious Venerable Xuan Gu might be Xiao Zha 19 72.
• Gu He — Rival in the pursuit of the mysterious flame. Yao Chen suspects a Gu Clan connection after observing his bloodline mark and aura 64.
• Hall of Souls — Organization involved in his disciple’s betrayal and his fall; remains an enemy despite his increased confidence in confronting its agents 16 88.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Wutan City and the Rival Families

• Advises Xiao Yan during his victory over Yun Xiaotian and encourages him to turn accumulated pills into wealth before leaving the clan 3 4 6.
• Publicly manifests crimson wings through Xiao Yan to advertise a powerful protector and deter attacks on the Xiao Clan 15 16.
• Incapacitates Jia Lie Bi, two elders, and Ao Ba; loots their resources and rewrites their recollections to turn the rival families against one another 17.
• Discovers that someone intervened after the raid: one victim is dead and others have disappeared. The soulless attendants accompanying Xiao Zha point toward puppet refinement 18 19.

Flame Hunting and Refinement

• Extracts the Demonflame Ape’s beast flame and protects Xiao Yan through its unexpectedly dangerous absorption 11 12.
• Concludes that ordinary beast flames will no longer meaningfully evolve the Flame Mantra, redirecting the search toward Heavenly Flames 40 41.
• Retaliates against Gute’s ambush by killing the three Dou Ling attackers, overwhelming Gute, taking his collection, and burning his mansion 45.
• Secures the Green Lotus Core Flame, then takes the mysterious purple-black flame from the Divine Temple 54 64.
• Oversees Xiao Yan’s subsequent refinements, suppressing violent energy and warning against attempting another flame before fully recovering 68 70.

Elder Dan and the Alchemist Tournament

• Assesses the unknown soul in Xiao Yan’s yellow ring and recommends obtaining the medicine needed to save him 84.
• Learns that the soul is the former Little Pill Tower master, Elder Dan, and accepts the opportunity to learn advanced alchemy while keeping his survival secret 88 89.
• Helps Xiao Yan regain control during the Three-Pattern Clear Spirit Pill refinement. Elder Dan then supplies the forgotten method for producing a fourth pattern, surprising Yao Chen himself 97 98.

Notable Quotes

“To reach the pinnacle of alchemy, you need a nimble mind too. In this world, if all you can do is foolishly refine pills, people will devour you until not even your bones remain.” 17

“Then you must uncover their true capabilities and understand their special properties. Know yourself and your enemy, and you need never fear a hundred battles.” 40

“Back then, I devoured the Bone Spirit Cold Flame as a Dou Emperor and was hailed as an unrivaled genius among the alchemists of the Central Plains.” 71