Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan and his companions met Yao Ling, a prodigious Yao Clan alchemist who planned to enter the Pill Gathering and help the Ye family. At the Pill Tower assessment facility, Elder Han Li recognized Yao Lao as the long-missing Venerable Yao, and learned that Xiao Yan would compete in the gathering.

• Zi Yan reunited with Han Yue, and Han Yue greeted Xiao Xun'er.
• Ye Xinlan introduced Yao Ling to Xiao Yan, who realized she was a Yao Clan prodigy and a likely Pill Gathering rival.
• Yao Ling explained that she had come to the Pill Tower to qualify for the Pill Gathering and earn a chance to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Ye Xinlan led Xiao Yan and the others to a reserved assessment room, where Elder Han Li recognized Yao Lao as Venerable Yao.
• Yao Lao told Han Li that Xiao Yan, his disciple, would enter the Pill Gathering and needed an alchemist rank badge.

Xiao Yan and Yao Ling certified their alchemist ranks, impressing Han Li with their abilities. Han Li reported Yao Chen’s return to the Pill Tower’s Three Giants, and Xuan Yi immediately went to find him.

• Yao Ling chose to take the Rank 7 Intermediate Alchemist examination first and completed it in about twenty minutes, earning Han Li’s praise.
• Xiao Yan passed the same certification in five minutes, astonishing Han Li and intensifying Yao Ling’s desire to compete with him at the Pill Gathering.
• Xiao Yan declined Ye Xinlan’s offer to arrange lodging, and he and his companions departed with Yao Lao.
• Han Li hurried to the Pill Tower’s central hall and told Xuan Yi, Xuan Kongzi, and Tian Leizi that Yao Chen was alive and Xiao Yan had passed certification in five minutes.
• Xuan Yi vanished to find Yao Chen, while Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi thanked Han Li for bringing them the news.

Xiao Yan took the women sightseeing in Sacred Pill City, then led them to the Alchemist Trade Fair, where Zi Yan found a brass fragment she wanted. Yan Fei offered it to her for a sixth-grade pill, but another buyer interrupted with a higher bid.

• Xiao Yan left Yao Lao and Xuan Yi alone and took Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Yi Xian, Zi Yan, and Nalan Yanran shopping around Sacred Pill City.
• Xiao Yan learned about the Alchemist Trade Fair and brought the women there, pinning on his seventh-rank alchemist badge.
• Zi Yan used her treasure-sensing gift to lead the group through the trade fair and find several valuable items.
• Yan Fei noticed Xiao Yan's group and treated them deferentially after sensing the women's formidable strength.
• Zi Yan chose an unremarkable brass fragment, and Yan Fei offered it to her for a sixth-grade pill.
• An unexpected buyer offered a seventh-grade pill for the brass fragment, irritating Yan Fei.

Zi Yan killed Chen Xian after he tried to seize the Brass Fragment, and Xiao Yan reminded the Profound Nether Sect elders that he intended to destroy the Heavenly Underworld Sect. Xiao Yan spared the elders in the Pill Tower’s territory but demanded their Storage Rings, leaving them alive and stripped of their belongings.

• Chen Xian offered Yan Fei a Seventh-grade Low-Rank pill for the Brass Fragment, but Yan Fei had already traded it to Zi Yan for Xiao Yan’s Sixth-Grade Pill.
• Chen Xian invoked the Profound Nether Sect’s backing by the Heavenly Underworld Sect and blocked Zi Yan from leaving unless she handed over the fragment.
• Zi Yan killed Chen Xian with a single finger tap, shocking the crowd and the three elders accompanying him.
• Zi Yan reminded Xiao Yan that he had planned to tear the Heavenly Underworld Sect out by the roots, and Xiao Yan confirmed it to the frightened elders.
• Xiao Yan spared the three elders out of respect for the Pill Tower but took their Storage Rings, which they handed over gratefully.

As rumors about Xiao Yan spread, he and his companions prepared for the Pill Gathering, where Xiao Yan entered the first trial with astonishing speed. The Pill Tower’s leaders watched with growing anticipation as he began the contest.

• Word spread that Xiao Yan might belong to the Yao Clan or Yan Clan, while Yao Ling and Ye Xinlan realized he was the man behind the Alchemist Trade Fair rumors.
• Xuan Kongzi, Tian Leizi, and Xuan Yi discussed Xiao Yan’s actions and expressed confidence in Yao Chen’s disciple.
• Xiao Yan used the Beast King Lotus Heart Flame to extract five grains of spirit nurturing dust from the Brass Fragment and explained its uses.
• The Pill Gathering began in Sacred Pill City, and Xuan Kongzi announced its three trials and the champion’s rewards.
• Xuan Yi opened the first trial, the Soul Illusion Realm, and Xiao Yan raced ahead of the other contestants to enter it.
• Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi questioned Xiao Yan’s speed and listened as Xuan Yi said Yao Chen believed Xiao Yan would win the championship.

Xiao Yan swiftly passed the Soul Illusion Realm trial and entered the Pill Realm to gather medicinal ingredients, where he identified Old Man Mu Gu as the black-robed man who had shown killing intent toward him. As Xiao Yan went to confront him, Old Man Mu Gu trapped a group of Alchemists and prepared to kill them.

• Xiao Yan crossed the Soul Illusion Realm in an instant, then waited in the clearing as Yao Ling and other contestants arrived.
• The old man on the giant turtle announced the start of the Pill Realm Treasure Hunt, and Xiao Yan entered the Pill Realm after receiving his herb list, map, and Space Stone.
• Xiao Yan used his soul power to locate medicinal ingredients across the Pill Realm and gathered them before other contestants could reach them.
• Xiao Yan recognized the black-robed figure within his soul perception as Old Man Mu Gu and decided to seek him out.
• Old Man Mu Gu surrounded more than a hundred Alchemists, including four Pill Tower prodigies, rejected their pleas to leave, and declared that the dead kept secrets best.

Xiao Yan arrived just as Mu Gu and his allies ambushed Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and the other Pill Tower prodigies. He defeated Mu Gu instantly, captured his soul for Yao Chen, and then left for the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range.

• Mu Gu revealed his plan to kill everyone in the Pill Realm and ordered his allies to attack the crowd by surprise.
• Cao Ying and Dan Chen prepared to break Mu Gu's soul barrier while Song Qing and Dan Xuan tried to hold him off.
• Mu Gu overwhelmed Song Qing and Dan Xuan, but Xiao Yan appeared before he could kill them.
• Mu Gu fled from Xiao Yan, who pierced his heart, captured his soul, and revealed that he was Yao Chen's disciple.
• Xiao Yan killed Mu Gu's remaining subordinates, collected their Storage Rings, and left for the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range.

Xiao Yan overpowered Xiong Zhan in the Pill Realm and accepted his medicinal ingredients in exchange for promising to take him out. After completing the trial and returning to the Pill Gathering plaza, Xiao Yan was greeted by cheering crowds as the final round approached.

• Xiao Yan subdued the seventh-rank magical beasts guarding Xiong Zhan's cave and entered to find a vast store of medicinal ingredients.
• Xiong Zhan challenged Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan's soul pressure forced him to beg for mercy and offer his ingredients as an apology.
• Xiao Yan promised to take Xiong Zhan out of the Pill Realm after the Pill Gathering and suggested he could visit the Ancient Void Dragon Clan.
• Xiao Yan collected Xiong Zhan's ingredients, reached the Pill Realm exit, and waited there as the contestants gradually arrived over ten days.
• Xiao Yan handed the Pill Tower Elder his medicine list and required ingredients, then left through the spatial passage.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Pill Gathering plaza amid the crowd's cheers as the final round was about to begin.

Xiao Yan joined the Pill Gathering’s final round and revealed the Black Demon Cauldron, identifying himself as Yao Chen’s disciple. When he summoned a Purple Fire Dragon, the other contestants’ flames turned restless, and the Pill Tower elders realized his flame was even more terrifying than the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

• The remaining contestants arrived, and the crowds welcomed favorites Cao Ying and Dan Chen while Zi Yan cheered for Xiao Yan.
• Xuan Yi told the Pill Tower elders that Yao Chen’s disciple was competing, but kept Xiao Yan’s identity secret.
• Xuan Kongzi announced the final round and sent the contestants to the suspended platforms to refine pills.
• Xiao Yan brought out the Black Demon Cauldron, prompting the elders to recognize him as Yao Chen’s disciple.
• The contestants ignited their flames, and Xiao Yan summoned a Purple Fire Dragon that made every flame in the square grow restless.
• Xuan Kongzi determined that Xiao Yan’s flame was not the Three Thousand Burning Flame and might be even more terrifying.

Xiao Yan used the Pill Gathering to begin refining the Bodhi Great Return Pill, a Ninth-grade pill, while the other alchemists struggled to keep up. The chapter ended as Yao Ling produced an Eighth-Tier Pill with five-colored pill lightning, but she sensed that Xiao Yan was refining something far greater.

• Xiao Yan revealed the Beast King Lotus Heart Flame and began refining the Bodhi Great Return Pill with the Bodhi Seed and many precious ingredients.
• The Pill Tower elders wondered what Xiao Yan was making, and Xuan Yi recalled that Yao Chen had predicted his disciple would astonish them but would not win the gathering.
• After five days, Cao Ying, Dan Chen, Old Monster Qing Hua, and Yao Ling continued aiming for Eighth-Tier Pills while Xiao Yan finished extracting his ingredients.
• Song Qing refined a peak seventh-grade pill and considered his chances, but he viewed Xiao Yan as the greatest threat.
• Yao Ling refined an Eighth-Tier Pill that summoned five-colored pill lightning, causing Old Monster Qing Hua's furnace to explode.
• Yao Ling sensed that Xiao Yan's pill was far higher in grade than hers and might summon at least eight-colored pill lightning.

Xiao Yan refined a Ninth-Grade Pill at the Pill Gathering, drawing black demon lightning and stunning the judges and contestants. After he endured the lightning and secured the pill, Xuan Kongzi declared him the champion.

• Cao Ying and Dan Chen reached the pill-condensing stage, while pill fragrance from Xiao Yan's cauldron swept across the square.
• Xiao Yan released a Purple Fire Dragon using the Condensed Object Pill-Nurturing Method, and the judges realized he was refining a Ninth-Grade Pill.
• Black demon lightning gathered above the square, overwhelming the pill lightning from the other competitors as the Pill Tower elders worried for Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan flew into the descending black demon lightning and endured it until the clouds dispersed.
• Xiao Yan turned the dragon-shaped Pill Beast into a crystalline emerald-green pill and stored it in a Special Jade Bottle.
• Xuan Kongzi announced Xiao Yan as the champion, and the crowd cheered.

After winning the Pill Gathering, Xiao Yan accepted an invitation to join the Little Pill Tower as an elder and agreed to take Dan Chen as his disciple. Yao Lao planned to return to Starfall Pavilion after Xiao Yan subdued the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

• Xuan Kongzi congratulated Xiao Yan on winning the Pill Gathering and offered to make him a Little Pill Tower Elder, and Xiao Yan accepted.
• Yao Lao reunited with the Pill Tower elders and recounted his betrayal by Han Feng, his capture by the Hall of Souls, and how Xiao Yan had helped him rise to Dou Sheng.
• Yao Lao said he planned to return to Starfall Pavilion after Xiao Yan subdued the Three Thousand Burning Flame, and Xuan Kongzi told him Feng Xian had been searching for him.
• Dan Chen asked Xiao Yan to take her as his disciple because she wanted to keep learning alchemy, and Yao Lao encouraged him to accept.
• Xiao Yan agreed to teach Dan Chen, and she bowed to him as her teacher.

Xiao Yan entered the Star Domain with the Pill Gathering’s top ten and confronted the Three Thousand Burning Flame. The flame chose him without a fight, and he began refining it while the others left him in the Star Domain.

• Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Tian Leizi opened a spatial gate, and Qiu Ling led the top ten into the Star Domain to find the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Xiao Yan shielded Cao Ying and Dan Chen from the heat, then noticed the flame’s dragon form react to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan aura on him.
• Yao Ling asked Xiao Yan to let her attempt subduing the flame first, but he refused and stepped forward as the champion.
• The Three Thousand Burning Flame’s essence flame emerged and circled Xiao Yan affectionately, astonishing everyone present.
• Xiao Yan asked Qiu Ling to take the others outside, dismissed Song Qing’s doubt, and began refining the Three Thousand Burning Flame inside a crimson barrier.

After absorbing the Three Thousand Burning Flame, Xiao Yan took Dan Chen as his traveling disciple and left Sacred Pill City with his companions. His rise to ninth-rank alchemist and Dou Sheng reached the Gu and Hun Clans, where Nihility Devouring Flame ordered Hun Xuzi to capture him.

• Xiao Yan emerged from the Star Domain after half a day, having absorbed the Three Thousand Burning Flame and advanced the Flame Mantra to the low heavenly tier.
• Xiao Yan invited Dan Chen to travel with him, visited the Dan Family, and shared alchemy insights with its senior alchemists.
• Xiao Yan and his companions stayed in Sacred Pill City for a month, then traveled with Zi Yan to the Southern Region, astonishing Dan Chen with her strength and identity.
• Gu Yuan learned of Xiao Yan's achievements and praised him as a worthy successor to Xiao Xuan's clan.
• Nihility Devouring Flame ordered Hun Xuzi to capture Xiao Yan, but Hun Xuzi decided to leave the task to Hun Miesheng.

After Yao Lao returned to Starfall Pavilion as Medicine Saint alongside Xiao Yan, Thunder Venerable and the other Four Pavilions leaders hurried to pay their respects and secure ties with them. The visitors were welcomed, and Xiao Yan reflected on how his strength had transformed the Wind Lightning Pavilion from his pursuer into a respectful ally.

• Yao Lao’s return with Xiao Yan, a Dou Sheng and ninth-rank alchemist, made Starfall Pavilion the envy of the other pavilions.
• Thunder Venerable decided to visit Starfall Pavilion before Yellow Springs Venerable and Sword Venerable could build ties with Yao Chen and Xiao Yan.
• Thunder Venerable, Yellow Springs Venerable, and Sword Venerable arrived together and teased one another about their motives and past relations with Venerable Feng.
• Jian Yu, Lei Wuyuan, and Wan Shan announced their visits and were escorted into the main hall by Venerable Feng.
• The three pavilion masters greeted Yao Lao and Xiao Yan, while Xiao Yan recalled how the Wind Lightning Pavilion had once hunted him over Three Thousand Lightning Movement.

Thunder Venerable, Yellow Springs Venerable, and Sword Venerable pledged their support to Starfall Pavilion just as forces from four factions arrived to attack. Xiao Yan confronted the Hall of Souls' Great Heavenly Venerate, while Yao Lao faced two Dou Shengs and the others prepared for battle.

• Thunder Venerable, Yellow Springs Venerable, and Sword Venerable offered gifts and sought closer ties with Yao Lao and Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan sensed new visitors, and a spatial rift opened as black mist and a Dou Sheng's pressure engulfed Starfall Pavilion.
• Thunder Venerable, Yellow Springs Venerable, and Sword Venerable chose to stay and help defend Starfall Pavilion.
• Xiao Yan went to confront the Great Heavenly Venerate, while Yao Lao asked the others to join him in repelling the attackers.
• The Heavenly Underworld Old Demon arrived with forces from the Heavenly Underworld Sect, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, the Nine Netherworld Python Clan, and the Hall of Souls.
• Yao Lao revealed that he was a late-stage Two-Star Dou Sheng and fought two late-stage One-Star Dou Shengs as the four factions' forces advanced.

Xiao Yan effortlessly defeated the Great Heavenly Venerate of the Hall of Souls during Starfall Pavilion’s battle against four factions. He captured the Great Heavenly Venerate’s remnant soul to uncover the Hall of Souls’ hidden locations, and Starfall Pavilion secured an overwhelming victory.

• The Great Heavenly Venerate attacked Xiao Yan with black chains, but Xiao Yan’s blood qi and fused flames melted them away.
• Xiao Yan shattered the Great Heavenly Venerate’s spatial barriers with a punch and chased him into the void.
• While Xiao Yan fought the Great Heavenly Venerate, Yao Lao, Xiao Yi Xian, Nalan Yanran, and Xiao Xun'er suppressed or defeated the other enemy forces.
• The Great Heavenly Venerate split into soul shadows to escape, but Xiao Yan used the Ancient Emperor Seal to destroy the shadows and seize his remnant soul.
• Xiao Yan returned to Starfall Pavilion, where the battle ended in an overwhelming victory.

After destroying the Hall of Souls’ Human Hall and Earth Hall with Zi Yan, Xiao Yan took their soul origins back to Starfall Pavilion and refined them in seclusion. Two months later, his soul power erupted at Heaven Realm Great Perfection.

• Xiao Yan tortured the Great Heavenly Venerate’s remnant soul until it revealed the locations of the Human Hall and Earth Hall.
• Xiao Yan and Zi Yan sealed off the Human Hall, killed its members and Second Heavenly Venerate Saint Gu You, and seized its soul origin.
• Xiao Yan freed the souls imprisoned in the Human Hall and then joined Zi Yan in destroying the Earth Hall and killing its Deputy Hall Master.
• Hun Miesheng learned that both halls had been destroyed and their soul origins stolen, while the Soul-Devouring Life-Extinguishing Formation remained intact.
• Xiao Yan refined the two soul origins in seclusion, and two months later Yao Lao recognized his soul power as Heaven Realm Great Perfection.

Xiao Yan spent two years advancing his strength and helping Dan Chen, then learned that the Nine Netherworld Python Clan was hunting Qing Lin. He and Zi Yan reached the Fushui Mountains and located her.

• Xiao Yan explained that the Hall of Souls' collected soul origin had helped his soul power grow, while he planned to seek the Bodhi Ancient Tree in the future.
• Xiao Yan guided Dan Chen in alchemy and used pills refined with his blood to suppress the harmful effects of the soul power she absorbed.
• Over two years, Xiao Yan, Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Xun'er, and Zi Yan made major advances in strength.
• Xiao Yan received word that the Nine Netherworld Python Clan was hunting Qing Lin, so he set out with Zi Yan to find her.
• Xiao Yan and Zi Yan traveled to the Fushui Mountains, where Xiao Yan sensed Qing Lin's location.

Xiao Yan rescued Qing Lin from the Nine Netherworld Python Clan in the Fushui Mountains and reunited with her after several years apart. After he killed her attackers, Qing Lin and Zi Yan greeted each other and teased one another.

• Qing Lin fought six Nine Netherworld Python Clan Dou Zun with her puppets and Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, but their Six-Turn Dou Zun leader overwhelmed her.
• Xiao Yan froze the attackers just as Qing Lin faced a counterattack, and Qing Lin recognized his voice and joyfully reunited with him.
• Xiao Yan crushed the five Nine Netherworld Python Clan experts with his soul power, killing them instantly.
• Zi Yan greeted Qing Lin, who was astonished by how much Zi Yan had grown, and Zi Yan teased her about their figures.