Chapter Summaries

Lin Ke accompanied Zong Ya to the Pill Refining Pavilion headquarters for her Lower-Grade Alchemist assessment. On the way, they encountered Zhao Yan, whose status and his grandfather Elder Crimson Firmament’s influence let him bully other disciples without consequence.

• Shi Ping finished teaching Lin Ke the fundamentals of sword techniques, and Lin Ke decided not to transfer to another peak branch for further instruction.
• Lin Ke postponed breeding the Black-Spotted Blood Mosquitoes so he could prepare to accompany Zong Ya to her assessment.
• Lin Ke reassured Zong Ya as they climbed Spirit Essence Peak toward the Pill Refining Pavilion headquarters.
• Zhao Yan charged past Lin Ke and Zong Ya on a spirit tiger, knocking several disciples aside without stopping.
• Two disciples told Lin Ke and Zong Ya that Zhao Yan acted arrogantly because Elder Crimson Firmament protected him and had deterred the Law Enforcement Hall from disciplining him.

Lin Ke escorted Zong Ya to the Lower-Grade Alchemist examination, where Zhao Yan used his influence to make her switch platforms. The first round began, and while Zong Ya impressed the examiners with her speed, Lin Ke noticed Zhao Yan secretly replacing medicinal ingredients with a concealed storage spirit artifact.

• Lin Ke and Zong Ya arrived at the examination square, where Zhao Yan was resting in the examiners' pavilion and other disciples said he had received a six-revolution pill formula from Elder Crimson Firmament.
• After the examination officials arrived, the presiding elder announced three rounds and sent the disciples to draw lots and take their assigned platforms.
• Zong Ya drew platform nine in section A, but Zhao Yan pressured a steward disciple into asking her to trade platforms so he could avoid the wind at platform one.
• Zong Ya agreed to exchange platforms with Zhao Yan but refused the Clear Mind Pills he offered as thanks.
• The first round began, and Zong Ya quickly identified medicinal ingredients while attracting the examiners' attention.
• Lin Ke watched Zhao Yan secretly replace ingredients with a concealed storage spirit artifact.

Lin Ke watched Zhao Yan cheat through the first two rounds of the Alchemist test while Zong Ya displayed exceptional skill and advanced alongside him. The final pill-formation round began with a dozen or so participants remaining, and the test's outcome was still undecided.

• Lin Ke noticed Zhao Yan openly cheating and kept quiet, while Zong Ya's station swap spared her potential trouble.
• Zhao Yan received a perfect score in the medicinal-herb identification round, and Zong Ya also correctly identified all one hundred herbs, surprising the other disciples.
• Zong Ya demonstrated masterful control of the basic Fire Gathering Formula, while Zhao Yan used his ring Spirit Artifact to secretly replace the herbs with pre-refined ingredients.
• The fire-control round eliminated most participants, leaving only a dozen or so, including Zong Ya and Zhao Yan.
• The old man announced the pill-formation test, and the remaining participants began refining their cultivation pills.

Zong Ya’s Cultivation Pill was damaged when a nearby disciple’s furnace exploded, threatening her chances of passing the Alchemist assessment. With time running short, she chose to use the damaged pill as a catalyst and stake everything on continuing to refine it.

• Zong Ya calmly refined her Cultivation Pill while Zhao Yan continued to cheat during the assessment.
• A nearby disciple’s furnace exploded, and the blast damaged Zong Ya’s pill and furnace.
• Zong Ya saw that little time remained and began refining again with her remaining medicinal ingredients.
• Lin Ke suspected Zhao Yan had arranged the mishap and resolved to settle the account later.
• Zong Ya used the damaged pill as a catalyst, risking the destruction of her entire assessment result.
• The examiners and other Alchemists watched Zong Ya’s risky decision, while Zhao Yan held back from tampering further because too many people were watching.

Zong Ya overcame her damaged pills and produced three Gathering Spirit Pellets with Pill Patterns, stunning the examiners and exposing Zhao Yan’s result as inferior. Lin Ke stopped Zhao Yan from attacking her, and the presiding official asked Zong Ya to explain her technique.

• Zhao Yan passed the examination with a low-quality Fire-Consolidating Pill while Lin Ke kept watch over him.
• Zong Ya concentrated completely on refining her damaged pills and continued until time was called.
• An examiner discovered three Gathering Spirit Pellets with Pill Patterns in Zong Ya’s furnace, astonishing everyone.
• Zhao Yan accused Zong Ya of cheating and tried to overturn her pill furnace, but Lin Ke seized his wrist and stopped him.
• The presiding official warned Zhao Yan and asked Zong Ya how she had refined the pills.

Zong Ya achieved Pill-Alchemist Unity during her examination, and Lin Ke demanded that the Pill Refining Pavilion judge her fairly after confronting Zhao Yan. The Pavilion later sent an eminent delegation to confer Lower-Grade Alchemist status on Zong Ya.

• Zong Ya described sensing the medicinal potency while refining and completed the pill, prompting the presiding elder to recognize Pill-Alchemist Unity before she collapsed from exhaustion.
• Lin Ke caught Zong Ya, struck Zhao Yan down with Mental Power, and warned the presiding elder to judge her examination fairly.
• Lin Ke carried Zong Ya away, and the presiding elder promised the Pill Refining Pavilion would handle the matter impartially.
• After waking, Zong Ya worried that Lin Ke had endangered himself by offending Zhao Yan, but Lin Ke reassured her that her safety came first, and she promised they would face future trouble together.
• The Pill Refining Pavilion sent True Person Yao Chen and four Spirit-Grade Superior Alchemists to Green Mulberry Garden to confer Lower-Grade Alchemist status on Zong Ya.

Zong Ya received official recognition as an Alchemist and a rare text from True Person Yao Chen, who then offered to take her as his Personal Disciple. Lin Ke and Zong Ya refused to let her leave the Green Mulberry Garden, and one of Yao Chen’s Alchemists angrily challenged their refusal.

• True Person Yao Chen presented Zong Ya with her Alchemist status token and a copied Record of the Alchemical Heart.
• True Person Yao Chen praised Zong Ya’s rare talent and offered to take her as his Personal Disciple.
• An Alchemist objected to Yao Chen’s decision, but Yao Chen defended Zong Ya as the successor he had long sought.
• Lin Ke raised concerns about Zong Ya’s safety, and Yao Chen promised the Pill Refining Pavilion and his protection would keep her safe.
• Zong Ya said she would not leave Lin Ke or the Green Mulberry Garden, and an Alchemist rebuked her for refusing Yao Chen.

Lin Ke reviewed the elders’ guarantee and agreed that Zong Ya could study under True Person Yao Chen while remaining in the Green Mulberry Garden. Zong Ya became Yao Chen’s seventh disciple and received a Verdant Spirit Origin Pellet, while Lin Ke warned her to be cautious at the Pill Refining Pavilion.

• True Person Yao Chen presented Lin Ke with a joint guarantee signed by several elders and Supreme Elder Hua, promising to take responsibility for Zong Ya’s safety.
• Yao Chen assured Lin Ke that Zong Ya could keep living in the Green Mulberry Garden and gave her a jade talisman for teleporting around the sect.
• Lin Ke let Zong Ya decide for herself, and she knelt before Yao Chen to become his seventh disciple.
• Yao Chen gave Zong Ya a Verdant Spirit Origin Pellet that could help her break through to the Golden Core stage.
• Yao Chen arranged for someone to escort Zong Ya to the Pill Refining Pavilion in three days, and Lin Ke urged her to stay cautious there.

After Zong Ya became True Person Yao Chen’s Personal Disciple, Lin Ke began experimenting with breeding higher-quality spirit insects from his black-spotted blood mosquitoes. The experiment consumed all ninety-six mosquitoes and produced four eggs of unknown varieties, which Lin Ke took with him to visit Lin Can.

• True Person Yao Chen arranged for Zong Ya to begin cultivating at the Pill Refining Pavilion, securing her safety and making her the Green Mulberry Garden’s first Alchemist.
• Lin Ke gathered ninety-six adult black-spotted blood mosquitoes in his niwan palace to breed new spirit insects.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko tried to eat more mosquitoes, but Lin Ke allowed him only one before he fell asleep.
• Lin Ke’s mating experiments used up all ninety-six mosquitoes and left four crystal-clear eggs with distinct, unidentified auras.
• Lin Ke put away the eggs, left the Dream-Eating Gecko to handle the remains, and went to Lin Can’s cave abode.

Lin Ke inspected the first offspring of the Black-Spotted Blood Mosquito and discovered that two had become powerful Flesh-Stiffening Blood-Devouring Mosquitoes, capable of turning hosts into controllable walking corpses. He then examined another offspring and found it was a weakened failure, leaving the final two mosquitoes yet to be assessed.

• Lin Ke ordered Lin Can to hatch the four insect eggs, and she used Insect Gel to bring the mosquitoes out.
• Lin Ke refined the two largest mosquitoes and identified them as spirit-grade superior Flesh-Stiffening Blood-Devouring Mosquitoes.
• Lin Ke learned that the Flesh-Stiffening Blood-Devouring Mosquitoes could destroy a host's consciousness and let him control the body as a walking corpse, potentially including dead demon beasts.
• Lin Ke inspected a mosquito resembling its mother and found that its venom-based control was far weaker, making it a failed cultivation.

Lin Ke discovered that his final spirit mosquito was a Soul-Hunting Mosquito, a powerful insect capable of invading and enslaving souls, and resolved to use it cautiously. After Lin Can mentioned that the giant sun dragonflies had brought back some pitch-black “iron bugs,” Lin Ke realized they might be Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns.

• Lin Ke learned that the Soul-Hunting Mosquito could invade a target's sea of consciousness, assimilate its soul, and control it without changing the host's appearance or abilities.
• Lin Ke discovered that the Soul-Hunting Mosquito could turn incorporeal, bypass external defenses, and parasitize hosts to hatch a nest that stored soul fragments and bred offspring.
• Lin Ke restrained his temptation to use the mosquitoes for conquest, recalling Old Han's history, and decided to keep the Soul-Hunting Mosquito as a trump card while guarding against cultivators skilled in mental techniques.
• Lin Can asked why Lin Ke was happy, and he told her the new mosquitoes would be her brothers and sisters.
• Lin Can told Lin Ke that the giant sun dragonflies had brought back pitch-black iron-like bugs, and Lin Ke recognized them as Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns.

Lin Ke tested the Soul-Hunting Mosquito on a living Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereign and discovered that Lin Can could breed more of them. He ordered Lin Can to focus on producing the three new kinds of spirit insects so he could build an insect army capable of challenging powerful cultivators.

• Lin Ke used the Soul-Hunting Mosquito to enslave a Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereign without breaking the barrier protecting it.
• Lin Ke examined the beetle and learned that its mystic flame could burn bodies, though it was weaker against souls than the Heaven-Burning Horned Beetle's karmic flame.
• Lin Can used the living beetle to produce a new Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereign, which Lin Ke immediately refined.
• Lin Ke told Lin Can to prioritize producing the Flesh-Stiffening Blood-Devouring Mosquito, Soul-Hunting Mosquito, and Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereign, reducing production of other insects if necessary.

Lin Ke checked on the Great Wilderness Market and learned that the Wilderness Tower faced no recent trouble, but the rare dew-tempered mystic-transforming elixir needed for Zong Ya’s cultivation was unavailable. He decided to offer a bounty to hire a team to find it.

• Lin Ke visited the Great Wilderness Market and asked Wu Yu whether anyone had caused trouble at the Wilderness Tower.
• Wu Yu reported that Blue Poison Peak and Ghost-Suppressing Peak had not troubled the shop for half a month, and Lin Ke concluded that Zhao Yan was likely being restrained by True Person Yao Chen.
• Wu Yu presented three portions of jadeblood dendrobium and two portions of shadowy purpleheart lotus gathered for Zong Ya’s Profound Kun Sacred Yin Body cultivation.
• Wu Yu explained that dew-tempered mystic-transforming elixir came from dangerous regions and was out of stock across the major sects.
• Lin Ke proposed issuing a Wilderness Tower bounty to recruit a team to search for the elixir.

Lin Ke and Wu Yu posted a generous bounty for Dew-Tempered Mystic-Transforming Elixir, and a hunting squad accepted it. Lin Ke then arranged habitats and food sources for his newly produced spirit insects, deciding to obtain demon beasts to nourish the Soul-Hunting Mosquito.

• Lin Ke and Wu Yu set a bounty of 150,000 low-grade spirit stones for three jin of Dew-Tempered Mystic-Transforming Elixir.
• A Law Enforcement Hall hunting squad accepted the bounty less than an hour after it was posted.
• Lin Ke bought materials and built separate habitats for the Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereign, Soul-Hunting Mosquito, and Flesh-Stiffening Blood-Devouring Mosquito.
• Lin Ke placed the Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereign in Green Mulberry Garden and the two mosquitoes near Whitegrass Pond, planning their different nourishment.
• Lin Ke rejected using cultivators to feed the Soul-Hunting Mosquito and decided to acquire demon beasts through the sect to supply its mental power and provide useful remains.

Lin Ke went to the Vast Source Hall’s Hundred Beasts Nest to buy live demon beasts as feed for his spirit insects. Chen Ping showed him newly captured beasts, and the chapter ended with a Crimson Flame Earth Lizard lunging at Lin Ke from inside its sealed star.

• Lin Ke decided to buy live demon beasts because his Flesh-Stiffening Blood-Devouring Mosquitoes and Soul-Hunting Mosquitoes needed food.
• Lin Ke arrived at Hundred Beasts Peak and entered the Hundred Beasts Nest, where Chen Ping offered to guide him.
• Lin Ke asked to see ordinary Golden Core Stage beasts and Dao Foundation Stage beasts with growth potential.
• Chen Ping led Lin Ke to recently captured beasts and presented a nearly breakthrough-ready Crimson Flame Earth Lizard.
• The Crimson Flame Earth Lizard attacked the star’s inner wall when it saw Lin Ke and appeared to curse at him.

Lin Ke selected Wood Thralls and spirit pigs at the Vast Source Hall to support his spirit insects and reduce feeding costs. As he prepared to leave, a Dark-Armored Alligator stirred his Niwan Palace, and Chen Ping identified the creature.

• Lin Ke rejected a vicious Crimson Flame Earth Lizard and considered an Iron-Boned Mountain Boar as a food source.
• Chen Ping explained the Wood Thralls’ vitality, longevity, and uses, and Lin Ke bought the three for sixty thousand low-grade spirit stones.
• Lin Ke asked Chen Ping to provide one male and one female ordinary spirit pig, then paid for his purchases and received the Wood Thralls’ control jade token.
• As Lin Ke passed a blue-green star, his Niwan Palace trembled, and he saw a severely injured giant crocodile with broken bone spines.
• The Dark-Armored Alligator raised its head and fixed its reddish-gold eyes on Lin Ke, and Chen Ping named it.

Lin Ke learned that the Dark-Armored Alligator had a mysterious, possibly ancient bloodline and chose to refine it despite warnings about its strength. The attempt triggered a violent mental clash, and the Dream-Eating Gecko saw a huge crocodile made of blood-colored mental power advancing inside Lin Ke’s Niwan Palace.

• Chen Ping told Lin Ke that the injured Dark-Armored Alligator had been captured in the Poison Tempering Mountains and had overwhelmed several Golden Core Cultivators.
• Chen Ping explained that the Vast Source Hall suspected the Alligator had a mutated bloodline and would let a disciple take it only by taming it.
• Lin Ke decided to refine the Alligator, and Chen Ping removed the mental restriction on its star.
• Lin Ke began refining the Alligator, whose terrifying mental assault shook his consciousness and revealed that it was far more powerful than its realm suggested.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko woke and saw the Alligator’s blood-colored mental power surge through Lin Ke’s Niwan Palace in the form of an enormous crocodile.

Lin Ke tried to refine the Alligator, but its killing intent matched his mental strength and resisted him. With the Dream-Eating Gecko’s Divine Mill, they overwhelmed and devoured the killing intent, allowing Lin Ke to begin refining the weakened Alligator.

• The Dream-Eating Gecko recognized the Alligator’s phantom and warned that its immense killing intent was abnormal.
• Lin Ke realized the Alligator’s mental power rivaled his own and asked the Dream-Eating Gecko to suppress it.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko used Divine Mill to drive back the Alligator’s killing intent and devoured most of it.
• Lin Ke was drawn into a vision of an ancient battlefield and glimpsed a demonic shadow with six scarlet eyes.
• As the Alligator lost its resistance, Lin Ke formed a Gu rune and began refining it.

Lin Ke successfully refined the Dark-Armored Alligator and took it back to Green Mulberry Garden, where he questioned it about its mysterious origins. The Alligator remembered waking weak and unable to recall its past, leaving Lin Ke without answers about its powerful bloodline.

• Lin Ke completed the refinement, and the watching disciples recognized him and spread news of his success.
• Chen Ping opened the restriction, and Lin Ke collected the Alligator and the items he had purchased before returning to his cave abode.
• The Alligator examined Lin Ke’s cave abode and remarked on its Turn Earth to Steel technique.
• Lin Ke questioned the Alligator about its cultivation and bloodline, but it said it had lost its memories from before waking in the Poison Tempering Mountains.
• Lin Ke realized the Alligator had no reason to deceive him, but its missing memories left him unable to learn about its origins.

Lin Ke tested the Dark-Armored Alligator’s remembered abilities and discovered that his strength and mental power could increase severalfold, along with a devastating sonic attack. The chapter ended with the Alligator knocking the Dream-Eating Gecko into the cave wall with Gold-Shattering Cry and boasting about its power.

• The Dark-Armored Alligator demonstrated Strength Amplification, growing larger and striking the ground with power comparable to a Golden Core Early Stage cultivator.
• Lin Ke had the Alligator and the Dream-Eating Gecko test their Mental Power, and the Gecko won despite the Alligator’s nearly fourfold increase.
• The Alligator revealed Gold-Shattering Cry and suddenly unleashed it at the Dream-Eating Gecko, while the Cloudglow Formation weakened the blast.
• The sonic attack sent the Dream-Eating Gecko crashing into the cave wall and made Lin Ke’s organs and Niwan Palace tremble.
• The Alligator returned to his original size and smugly asked the recovering Dream-Eating Gecko how powerful his attack had been.