Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohua repaired three formation flags, taught Nie Qianyu the Great Evolution Five Elements Formation, and reconciled with Si Yakong. He prepared to refine the Crimson Flame Pill with Hui Chun Valley, but arranged for Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang to leave the pill room whenever he handled Big Dipper Sect secrets.

• Zhang Xiaohua overcame the resistance between the flag surface and pole by applying forceful, rhythmic hand seals, successfully repairing the first formation flag.
• Zhang Xiaohua depleted his true qi repairing the first flag, then decided to study the Artifact Refining Compendium and postpone further work until he had cultivated more.
• Over the next two days, Zhang Xiaohua taught Nie Qianyu the remaining transformations of the Great Evolution Five Elements Formation and repaired the other two flags.
• Si Yakong thanked Zhang Xiaohua for the completed formation, agreed to gather unusual artifact-refining materials for him, and made plans to meet again after Zhang Xiaohua returned to the Big Dipper Sect.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Valley Master Nie he could refine the Crimson Flame Pill the next morning, but explained that some techniques were secret transmissions of the Big Dipper Sect.
• Zhang Xiaohua agreed that Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang could watch most of the refinement, provided they waited outside the pill room when he handled confidential techniques.

Zhang Xiaohua studied the Meridian Nourishing Pill formula and realized it was an ancient Immortal Path version of Hui Chun Valley’s Crimson Flame Pill, while also making progress on concealing his cultivation. Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang agreed to provide the ingredients despite being barred from watching the refinement.

• Zhang Xiaohua compared the Meridian Nourishing Pill formula with Hui Chun Valley’s Crimson Flame Pill formula and inferred that Martial Way alchemists had altered the ancient recipe over time.
• Zhang Xiaohua decided to refine Meridian Nourishing Pills and claim the attempt had failed if their appearance raised questions.
• Zhang Xiaohua connected a past sensation of blending into his surroundings with the concealment incantation and began to make progress through contemplation of the Heavenly Dao.
• Elder Zhang pressed Valley Master Nie about Zhang Xiaohua’s refusal to let them observe the pill refinement, but Valley Master Nie urged him to respect Zhang Xiaohua’s reasons.
• Valley Master Nie told Elder Zhang that Zhang Xiaohua had shared the Weapon Forging Gate’s Five Elements Array with Hui Chun Valley, convincing Elder Zhang to accept the conditions.
• Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang agreed to gather the Crimson Flame Pill ingredients from the valley’s stored jade boxes the next morning.

Zhang Xiaohua negotiated with Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang over refining the Crimson Flame Pills and prepared to use his sect’s technique and pill furnace. After sending the two elders outside, he inspected the herbs’ Primordial Qi and began preparing to refine the Meridian Nourishing Pill.

• Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang brought herbs harvested before the dew disappeared, and Zhang Xiaohua examined their jade case inside the pill chamber.
• Zhang Xiaohua agreed to take three pills at most, with Hui Chun Valley keeping the first three if the yield was under six, and asked to use half the herbs for an initial attempt.
• Valley Master Nie agreed Zhang Xiaohua could keep the remaining herbs for another attempt if the first succeeded, and Elder Zhang gave him the jade cases as well.
• Zhang Xiaohua replaced the usual cauldron with the pill furnace and explained that he had learned a sect technique to control its temperature.
• Valley Master Nie led Elder Zhang out of the pill chamber so Zhang Xiaohua could refine privately.
• Zhang Xiaohua opened and inspected the jade cases, memorized the herbs’ Primordial Qi, then formed hand seals to begin refining the Meridian Nourishing Pill.

Zhang Xiaohua began refining the Crimson Flame Pill using his sect’s gentle alchemy method, concealing the floating medicinal liquid from Hui Chun Valley’s curious alchemists. After adding the Crimson Pearl Grass, he stabilized the reaction and continued refining it in secret.

• Zhang Xiaohua extracted the Crimson Flame Grass into medicinal liquid and flattened it against the furnace bottom to hide its unusual form.
• Valley Master Nie, Elder Zhang, and Nie Qianyu entered the alchemy room and questioned Zhang Xiaohua about the liquid and his long refining schedule.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that the herbs would be refined together for a day and night, then nurtured over a mild fire for thirteen days.
• Zhang Xiaohua sent Valley Master Nie, Elder Zhang, and Nie Qianyu outside before adding the Crimson Pearl Grass.
• Zhang Xiaohua controlled the herbs’ violent reaction with hand seals, inspected their fusion with his divine sense, and flattened the medicinal liquid again.

After completing the fourteen-day Crimson Flame Pill refinement, Zhang Xiaohua let Nie Qianyu see his unusual method. Her request to learn it led him to consider asking his sect about taking her in, though he could make no promises.

• Nie Qianyu worried that Zhang Xiaohua would be harmed by refining pills for fourteen days and defended his decision to Elder Zhang.
• Zhang Xiaohua came out of the alchemy room and reassured Nie Qianyu before inviting her inside to see the pill furnace.
• Nie Qianyu asked Zhang Xiaohua to teach her his pill-refining method, and Valley Master Nie urged him to help her join the Big Dipper Sect.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that Nie Qianyu had poor martial arts aptitude and said he could not promise anything before speaking with his sect's elders after returning from the Incense-Passing Cult.
• Nie Qianyu was delighted that Zhang Xiaohua would ask on her behalf, and he teased her that she might have to call him Martial Uncle.

Zhang Xiaohua continued refining pills while explaining why a faint pill fragrance could indicate that less medicinal efficacy was escaping. He sent Nie Qianyu away to study a formation, resumed his private cultivation, and secretly stored some of the valley’s herbs as the day passed without visitors returning.

• Zhang Xiaohua sent Valley Master Nie, Elder Zhang, and Nie Qianyu out of the pill room so he could continue refining pills unseen.
• Nie Qianyu noticed the pill fragrance was weaker than before, and Zhang Xiaohua explained that a faint scent could mean less medicinal efficacy had dispersed.
• Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang left the pill room, and Zhang Xiaohua persuaded Nie Qianyu to study the Great Evolution Five Elements Formation elsewhere.
• After Nie Qianyu left, Zhang Xiaohua resumed controlling the medicinal liquid and sat down to study the Spirit Guiding Technique.
• Zhang Xiaohua placed the Crimson Flame Grass, Crimson Pearl Grass, and half of the remaining herbs into jade boxes, then continued studying as the day passed without the others returning.

Zhang Xiaohua continued nurturing the medicinal liquid for the Crimson Flame Pills while teaching Nie Qianyu basic formations. After a night of cultivation appeared to subtly affect the pill mixture, Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang left him to oversee the refinement as family business troubled the valley.

• Zhang Xiaohua teased Nie Qianyu about Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang, then explained formations to her until late at night.
• After Nie Qianyu left, Zhang Xiaohua sensed a convoy approaching Hui Chun Valley and recognized Qiangsheng, though he stopped watching before learning why he had returned with Nie Qianxiu.
• Zhang Xiaohua cultivated the Carefree Heart Sutra beside the pill furnace, and the starlight entering the medicinal liquid subtly harmonized its two essences.
• The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua checked the liquid, added hand seals, and practiced the Big Dipper Divine Fist.
• Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang arrived to inspect the furnace, then claimed urgent duties and left the pill refinement to Zhang Xiaohua.

Zhang Xiaohua continued refining the Crimson Flame Pill while waiting for the Incense-Passing Cult, and Nie Qianyu gradually mastered the formation he taught her. The chapter ended with Hui Chun Valley’s family gathered in Hui Chun Hall, where Nie Qianxiu and Qiangsheng questioned Zhang Xiaohua’s motives and Qiangsheng pressed Valley Master Nie about a matter he had raised earlier.

• Zhang Xiaohua asked Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang to leave him alone to refine the pill, then admitted he hoped the Incense-Passing Cult would arrive later so he could finish his business with Hui Chun Valley.
• Zhang Xiaohua added the remaining ingredients to the furnace, began nurturing the pill, and spent nearly ten days cultivating while Nie Qianyu studied formations with him.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Nie Qianyu about her troubled expression, but she said the matter was private and reassured him she would tell him when the Incense-Passing Cult arrived.
• Nie Qianyu went to Hui Chun Hall, where Nie Qianxiu accused Zhang Xiaohua of scheming to win Nie Qianyu’s affection and urged that he be sent away.
• Qiangsheng called Zhang Xiaohua an outsider and asked Valley Master Nie how he had considered a matter raised earlier.

Nie Qianxiu and Qiangsheng pressed Valley Master Nie to let Qiangshi enter the Incense-Passing Cult as a medicine apprentice, but he refused because Hui Chun Valley’s duty was to send only its own trained apprentices. Nie Qianxiu then accused Ren Xiaoyao of seeking the same opportunity for selfish reasons and ended by threatening to stop anyone from going.

• Qiangsheng and Nie Qianxiu pleaded with Valley Master Nie to arrange for Qiangshi to enter the Incense-Passing Cult, but he repeatedly refused.
• Yue Zhonglin tried to support the request until Valley Master Nie revealed that Qiangshi wanted to become a medicine apprentice, a dangerous path from which no apprentice had returned.
• Valley Master Nie said sending Qiangshi would deceive the Incense-Passing Cult, which trusted Hui Chun Valley to provide apprentices it had trained.
• Nie Qianxiu accused Valley Master Nie of favoring Ren Xiaoyao and claimed Ren had saved Nie Qianyu to secure his own chance to enter the Incense-Passing Cult.
• Nie Qianyu, Valley Master Nie, Fei He, and Mu Qingxuan defended Ren Xiaoyao, but Nie Qianxiu insisted he could not be trusted.
• Nie Qianxiu threatened that if Valley Master Nie refused to help Qiangshi, nobody would go to the Incense-Passing Cult.

Nie Qianxiu pressured Valley Master Nie to let her relative Qiangshi enter the Incense-Passing Cult, threatening to expose Zhang Xiaohua’s identity. Valley Master Nie reluctantly agreed, leaving Nie Qianyu upset and Nie Qianxiu convinced she had secured the decision.

• Nie Qianxiu threatened to reveal that Zhang Xiaohua’s connection to Nie Xiao Yu was a cover unless Valley Master Nie allowed Qiangshi to enter the Incense-Passing Cult.
• Qiangsheng supported Nie Qianxiu’s demand, while Yue Zhonglin and Nie Qianrong reassured Valley Master Nie that they would not interfere in Hui Chun Valley’s affairs.
• Valley Master Nie weighed the risk of sending Zhang Xiaohua away against the benefits he had brought Hui Chun Valley, then tacitly agreed to let Qiangshi go.
• Nie Qianxiu pressed Valley Master Nie to make his agreement explicit, and he left for the inner hall after conceding.
• Nie Qianyu followed her father, while Nie Qianrong and Yue Zhonglin left; Qiangsheng reproached Nie Qianxiu for pushing too hard, but she defended her actions.

Nie Qianyu and Valley Master Nie discussed the coming Incense-Passing Cult envoy, Qiangshi’s ambitions, and Nie Qianyu’s feelings for Zhang Xiaohua. Meanwhile, on the thirteenth day of refining the Crimson Flame Pill, Zhang Xiaohua discovered unexplained starlight inside it and heard faint music.

• Nie Qianyu told Valley Master Nie that Qiangshi and the Giant Whale Gang likely hoped to use the Incense-Passing Cult to gain support, while he worried others would make similar demands of Hui Chun Valley.
• Nie Qianyu admitted her feelings for Zhang Xiaohua and warned that the envoy’s arrival could conflict with the pill’s remaining two days of refinement.
• Nie Qianyu left with sorrow, and Valley Master Nie reflected on her attachment to Zhang Xiaohua as she remembered the vanished peach blossoms.
• Zhang Xiaohua watched the Crimson Flame Pill form a Five Elements formation that gradually shut out his divine sense.
• On the thirteenth morning, Zhang Xiaohua noticed starlight scattered through the pill, could not explain its presence, and then heard faint silk-and-bamboo music.

Zhang Xiaohua noticed the Incense-Passing Cult’s arrival while focusing on a pill, as Lord Kong and Steward Yang reached Hui Chun Valley. After welcoming the envoy, Valley Master Nie and Steward Yang met to discuss the annual handover of medicine children and Hui Chun Valley’s troublesome matter.

• Zhang Xiaohua sensed the Incense-Passing Cult convoy arriving but withdrew his divine sense to focus on the pill.
• Valley Master Nie led Hui Chun Valley’s people out to welcome the convoy after a guard announced its approach.
• Steward Yang greeted Valley Master Nie and quietly offered help with Hui Chun Valley’s recent difficulties.
• Steward Yang introduced Lord Kong, the Incense-Passing Cult’s envoy, and Valley Master Nie welcomed her into the manor.
• Steward Yang and Valley Master Nie settled Lord Kong in the envoy pavilion, then went to Hui Chun Hall to talk.
• Steward Yang proposed handling official business first by handing over the medicine children and asked when to discuss Valley Master Nie’s troublesome matter.

Valley Master Nie asked Steward Yang to help Ren Xiaoyao enter the Incense-Passing Cult, offering him a rare nameless short sword and explaining why Xiaoyao could be trusted. Steward Yang warmed to the request after hearing how Xiaoyao had escorted Nie Qianyu home, and the chapter ended as he examined Nie Qianyu and remarked on her lack of physical development.

• Valley Master Nie gave Steward Yang a nameless short sword, and Steward Yang accepted it after agreeing to hear his request.
• Valley Master Nie showed Steward Yang nine medicine children, whose aptitude and knowledge impressed him.
• Steward Yang explained that he needed proof that Ren Xiaoyao was trustworthy before recommending him to the Incense-Passing Cult.
• Valley Master Nie described Ren Xiaoyao's background and how he had escorted Nie Qianyu back to the valley, delighting Steward Yang.
• Steward Yang asked to see Nie Qianyu, then welcomed her and remarked that her body had changed little over the years.

Valley Master Nie and Nie Qianyu persuaded Steward Yang to take Ren Xiaoyao to the Incense-Passing Cult, while Yang warned them about the dangers and uncertainties of sect life. The chapter ended as Valley Master Nie revealed he had one more request, startling Steward Yang.

• Nie Qianyu agreed that Ren Xiaoyao should enter the Incense-Passing Cult despite their separation, and Steward Yang discussed her wishes with Valley Master Nie.
• Valley Master Nie offered Steward Yang a three-hundred-year-old Forget Worry Grass as a gift for the Hall Master and asked him to help Ren Xiaoyao enter the sect.
• Steward Yang warned Valley Master Nie that Ren Xiaoyao might never return and would have to pass a difficult formation assessment to earn the right to travel the Jianghu.
• Valley Master Nie confirmed that Nie Qianyu still wanted Ren Xiaoyao to go, and Steward Yang agreed to carry the request to the Hall Master.
• Valley Master Nie asked Steward Yang to delay the envoys' departure because Ren Xiaoyao was away, and Yang agreed to seek Lord Kong's permission.
• As Steward Yang drank tea, Valley Master Nie began to raise another matter, causing Yang to spit out his tea in alarm.

Valley Master Nie and Steward Yang settled how to handle Ren Xiaoyao’s entry into the Incense-Passing Cult, while Lord Kong learned of the plan and asked to see him. The chapter left Steward Yang trying to dissuade her as she frowned at his explanation.

• Valley Master Nie told Steward Yang that Qian Xiu’s nephew was being presented as a medicine boy and asked him to inform the Hall Master, who would decide what to do.
• Steward Yang warned Valley Master Nie not to ask again why the Incense-Passing Cult stayed in Mochou City, then agreed to speak with Lord Kong before the banquet.
• After Steward Yang left, Valley Master Nie told Nie Qianyu that Ren Xiaoyao’s arrangement was nearly settled, and she insisted Ren should leave with Uncle Yang if Lord Kong would not stay another day.
• Steward Yang told Lord Kong about Valley Master Nie’s request to have his son-in-law serve as a medicine boy.
• Lord Kong said the matter belonged to the Pill-Refining Hall and asked Steward Yang to bring Ren Xiaoyao to her, but he tried to persuade her that Ren was not worth seeing.

Lord Kong allowed Steward Yang to stay in Hui Chun Valley for one more day, while Zhang Xiaohua learned he would leave with the Incense-Passing Cult as a medicine boy. Nie Qianyu confessed her grief at his departure, and the chapter ended with her crying in Peach Blossom Nunnery as Xiao Juzi went to Hui Chun Hall for help.

• Lord Kong granted Steward Yang permission to remain in Hui Chun Valley for one day to visit his old friend Valley Master Nie.
• Valley Master Nie told Nie Qianxiu and Qiangsheng that Uncle Yang had agreed to take Qiangshi as a medicine boy, but warned them that Qiangshi would be subject to the Incense-Passing Cult's rules.
• Zhang Xiaohua continued nurturing the Crimson Flame Pill, which still needed time to finish refining.
• Nie Qianyu told Zhang Xiaohua he had been accepted as a medicine boy and asked him to stay, but he refused and spoke of forgetting each other in the Jianghu.
• Nie Qianyu ran back to Peach Blossom Nunnery and wept, while Xiao Juzi went to Hui Chun Hall after her attempts to comfort her failed.

Valley Master Nie and Steward Yang celebrated Zhang Xiaohua’s upcoming entry into the Incense-Passing Cult, while Nie Qianyu struggled with his departure. Zhang Xiaohua watched the banquet from the pill room and was visited by Elder Zhang, who came to inspect the Crimson Flame Pill refinement.

• Steward Yang told Valley Master Nie that Lord Kong had agreed to let Zhang Xiaohua enter the Incense-Passing Cult, and Xiao Juzi reported that Nie Qianyu had returned crying.
• Valley Master Nie decided to let Nie Qianyu calm down and told Xiao Juzi to ask Zhang Xiaohua to visit Steward Yang when he returned.
• Valley Master Nie and Steward Yang drank together at a bonfire banquet as Nie Qianyu watched the festivities in a daze.
• Zhang Xiaohua observed Nie Qianyu with his divine sense and wondered whether she had already left an impression on his heart.
• Elder Zhang arrived at the pill room, asked about the Crimson Flame Pill, and headed to inspect the pill furnace.

Zhang Xiaohua guarded the nearly completed Crimson Flame Pill while Elder Zhang described its rumored effects and the lost Qi Boosting Pill. As the pill’s nurturing reached its final stage, an Incense-Passing Cult envoy toured Hui Chun Valley, and Zhang Xiaohua settled his mind to avoid ruining the refinement.

• Zhang Xiaohua kept Elder Zhang away from the furnace and admitted that he did not know how many years of cultivation the Crimson Flame Pill could add.
• Elder Zhang said Hui Chun Valley’s lore credited the Crimson Flame Pill with five years of cultivation and recalled the vanished Qi Boosting Pill, which supposedly granted thirty years.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Elder Zhang to keep everyone away until noon, and Elder Zhang agreed to wait with Valley Master Nie in his pill room.
• Zhang Xiaohua guarded the furnace overnight as starlight formed a protective layer around the pill, then watched its faint yuan qi diminish at dawn.
• Zhang Xiaohua saw the Incense-Passing Cult envoy and Steward Yang touring the valley, worried they might enter, and realized his distraction could have ruined the pill.
• Zhang Xiaohua sat down and calmed his mind as he continued guarding the furnace.

Zhang Xiaohua completed the pill refinement and unexpectedly produced six Crimson Flame Pills alongside nine Meridian Nourishing Pills. He offered the Crimson Flame Pills to Hui Chun Valley, and Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang began deciding how to share them.

• Zhang Xiaohua drew nine Meridian Nourishing Pills from the furnace, then used the remaining essence to produce six Crimson Flame Pills.
• Zhang Xiaohua found a bottle containing three Qi Boosting Pills in his money pouch and realized the Crimson Flame Pills were a byproduct of refining Meridian Nourishing Pills.
• Zhang Xiaohua stored the six Crimson Flame Pills in a jade box and left the pill room to meet Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang.
• Zhang Xiaohua initially made Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang think the refinement had failed, then revealed that he had made six Crimson Flame Pills.
• Elder Zhang and Valley Master Nie discussed who should receive the extra pill, while Zhang Xiaohua said he would keep only one and let Hui Chun Valley have five.

Zhang Xiaohua gave Hui Chun Valley five Crimson Flame Pills and offered a guess about how they should be taken. When Lord Kong encountered him outside the pill room, she recognized him and stared in shock.

• Zhang Xiaohua handed Valley Master Nie the five Crimson Flame Pills and kept one for himself.
• Elder Zhang and Valley Master Nie noticed lights inside the pills, but Zhang Xiaohua claimed he did not know what caused them.
• Zhang Xiaohua suggested taking a Crimson Flame Pill while circulating qi, and Valley Master Nie said he would wait until the Incense-Passing Cult Envoy had left before trying one.
• Valley Master Nie began to ask Zhang Xiaohua for a favor, but Elder Zhang's greeting to Steward Yang interrupted them.
• Steward Yang introduced Lord Kong to Elder Zhang, and Valley Master Nie presented Zhang Xiaohua as Hui Chun Valley's future son-in-law.
• Lord Kong turned toward Zhang Xiaohua and stopped speaking, staring at him in recognition.