Recaps

Lu Changsheng was persuaded by Hu Qing to enter the Pill Sect’s Alchemy Conference and was rushed to the Southern Region branch for an alchemist assessment. The chapter ended as the examiner presented three pill recipes for Lu Changsheng to choose from.

• Lu Changsheng tried to avoid Hu Qing, but the Pill Hall elder caught him and urged him to represent Hidden Dao Academy at the Alchemy Conference.
• Lu Changsheng agreed to participate after Hu Qing promised he would not need to teach at the Pill Hall for a while.
• Hu Qing dragged Lu Changsheng to the Pill Sect’s Southern Region branch because the conference began the next day and participants needed master alchemist rank.
• The branch examiner welcomed Lu Changsheng and led him into an alchemy room for his assessment.
• The examiner presented Lu Changsheng with three pill recipes to choose from.

Lu Changsheng earned fourth-grade alchemy master certification after successfully refining three unusually potent Spirit Restoration Pills on his first attempt. After he left, Elder Yu discovered that one pill instantly restored a Qianyuan Realm expert’s Spiritual Qi and angrily challenged the old man’s low assessment.

• Lu Changsheng chose the low-grade Spirit Restoration Pill and replaced two ingredients before refining it.
• Lu Changsheng controlled the fire-type monster core’s power, produced three pills, and explained how his substitutions improved their effects.
• The old man tested a pill, confirmed that it restored Spiritual Qi, and granted Lu Changsheng fourth-grade alchemy master certification.
• After Lu Changsheng and Hu Qing left, Elder Yu swallowed one of the pills and immediately recovered his Spiritual Qi.
• Elder Yu learned that Lu Changsheng had received only fourth-grade certification and condemned the old man’s decision.

Lu Changsheng met Mu Wan'er at a restaurant, and they bonded over their love of eating before attending the Alchemy Conference. The conference began with a test to refine a high-grade Profound Rank Fire Restoration Pill.

• Mu Wan'er entered the Pill Sect's territory with Elder Li to find a teacher at the Alchemy Conference.
• Lu Changsheng and Hu Qing arrived, and Lu Changsheng pulled Hu Qing into a restaurant for a meal.
• Mu Wan'er and Lu Changsheng agreed that eating brought happiness and called each other kindred spirits.
• Mu Wan'er and Elder Li asked Lu Changsheng about his alchemy rank, and he said he was a fourth-grade master alchemist.
• Lu Changsheng and Hu Qing registered for the conference, then attended its opening the next day.
• A Pill Sect elder announced the conference rewards and set the first-round task as refining a high-grade Profound Rank Fire Restoration Pill.

Lu Changsheng examined the Fire Restoration Pill formula and discovered a flaw, then used his own method to refine pills just before time ran out. The chapter ended with him presenting the pills to the elders for judgment.

• The Pill Sect announced generous rewards for the competition, including entry into the sect for the top twenty and a Primordial Soul Pill for first place.
• Lu Changsheng studied the unfamiliar Fire Restoration Pill formula while other alchemists began refining; several failed after following the flawed formula.
• Zhong Li passed with forty percent impurities, and Xie Yuanren passed with thirty percent impurities as the deadline approached.
• Lu Changsheng realized the formula included an unsuitable ingredient, used two sets of ingredients, and began refining according to his own approach.
• Lu Changsheng rapidly extracted the ingredients and formed several pills, then brought them to the elders as the last contestant to finish.

Lu Changsheng passed the Alchemy Conference’s first round after refining an impurity-free Fire Restoration Pill several times more effective than an ordinary one. The elders invited the successful alchemists to the Pill Sect for the second round the next day, while Lu Changsheng celebrated with Mu Wan'er.

• Lu Changsheng presented his Fire Restoration Pill, and the elders discovered that he had improved its formula, greatly increased its effectiveness, and removed all impurities.
• The elders announced that Lu Changsheng had passed, leaving Zhong Li, Xie Yuanren, and the other alchemists astonished.
• The elders said the successful alchemists would compete in the second round at the Pill Sect the next day.
• Representatives from several factions tried to recruit Lu Changsheng, but Hu Qing explained that he was a hall master at the Hidden Dao Academy.
• Mu Wan'er invited Lu Changsheng to celebrate over a meal, and Hu Qing and Uncle Li followed them.

Lu Changsheng created a new pill formula during the Pill Sect’s second round, impressing the judges with a pill that granted wind-like speed and greatly improved defense. He passed into the final round as Hong Ying remained trapped in a great formation at the old Cloud Phoenix site.

• The Pill Sect judges explained that the top twenty alchemists would advance, and Lu Changsheng considered what to refine from the limited ingredients.
• Lu Changsheng combined the ingredients directly and quickly created a pill based on their medicinal properties.
• The judges tested the unfamiliar pill and discovered it granted Wind Conception-like speed and increased defense.
• Lu Changsheng agreed to sell the pill formula to the Pill Sect after the elders offered a reward.
• The green-robed elder announced that Lu Changsheng had passed with an original Earth Rank pill, while Hong Ying was trapped at the old Cloud Phoenix site.

Hong Ying became trapped in the sealing formation at the former site of Cloud Phoenix and called Lu Changsheng for help, prompting him to abandon the Pill Conference and rush to her. Meanwhile, Ye Qiubai met Xiao Hei at the Cottage, gave him armor, and began a spar that stirred Xiao Hei’s dangerous Battle Intent and demonic nature.

• Hong Ying failed to break the sealing formation and used the voice transmission jade pendant to tell Lu Changsheng she was in trouble.
• Lu Changsheng received Hong Ying’s message, left the Pill Conference behind, and rushed toward the former site of Cloud Phoenix.
• Ye Qiubai returned to the Cottage, met Xiao Hei, and gave him the Blood Prison Armor as a gift.
• Ye Qiubai and Xiao Hei began sparring, and Xiao Hei shattered Ye Qiubai’s Sword Qi with a punch.
• Xiao Hei charged at Ye Qiubai as Battle Intent and demonic nature began to fill his eyes.

Ye Qiubai and Xiao Hei sparred until the willow tree intervened to stop Xiao Hei from losing himself to battle madness. Afterward, Ye Qiubai decided to settle the Heavenly Origin Dynasty’s old debt and set out with Xiao Hei, while making clear he no longer wanted ties with the Ye Lineage.

• Xiao Hei lost control during his spar with Ye Qiubai, but the willow tree stopped their attacks and restored his clarity.
• Ye Qiubai tried to teach Xiao Hei to cook, but the kitchen filled with smoke and flames, so he took over.
• With Lu Changsheng still absent, Ye Qiubai chose to take revenge on the Heavenly Origin Dynasty and asked Xiao Hei to accompany him.
• The willow tree gave Ye Qiubai a drop of liquid to restore Xiao Hei’s clarity if he lost control again.
• Ye Qiubai told the Ye Lineage’s ancestor that he and Xiao Hei would handle the Heavenly Origin Dynasty themselves and that the clan could return to Heavenly Origin City.

Lu Changsheng rescued Hong Ying from the sealing formation at the former site of Cloud Phoenix, then learned she had been trying to release Yun Zhan of the Nine Heavens Division. After healing her and leaving her to finish the task, he departed as the final round of the Alchemy Conference was about to begin.

• Hong Ying exhausted her Spiritual Qi resisting the sealing formation, and Yun Ming failed to break it from outside.
• Hong Ying launched a final spear strike against the mountain of sealing power, but it overwhelmed her and knocked away her spear.
• Lu Changsheng arrived, shattered the mountain with one palm, and broke the formation's core with the Sword of Rules.
• Lu Changsheng healed Hong Ying and learned she had entered the formation to release Yun Zhan of the Nine Heavens Division.
• Lu Changsheng left Hong Ying to handle what remained, while Hu Qing went toward the judges' seats as the Alchemy Conference final round began.

The Pill Sect’s final Alchemy Conference round began without Lu Changsheng, and Zhong Li and Xie Yuanren presented pills close to the Earth Rank. Lu Changsheng arrived with one stick of incense remaining and was allowed to compete if he finished in time.

• The Grand Elder began the final round without Lu Changsheng, despite Hu Qing explaining his absence.
• The alchemists began refining their best pills, and Zhong Li presented a Glazed Pill with thirty percent impurities.
• Xie Yuanren presented a Yin Primordial Pill, also with thirty percent impurities, and ranked above Zhong Li.
• As the Grand Elder prepared to announce the rankings, Lu Changsheng arrived and pointed out that one stick of incense remained.
• The Grand Elder allowed Lu Changsheng to compete if he finished within the remaining time.

With only an incense stick remaining in the Alchemy Conference round, Lu Changsheng began refining an unfamiliar pill at astonishing speed. His pill summoned a Pill Tribulation, revealing that he was creating a Heaven Rank pill and shocking the Pill Sect and the major powers.

• Lu Changsheng learned there were no restrictions on which pill he could refine and began combining ingredients in his furnace.
• Lu Changsheng completed ingredient extraction and started forming the pill before half the incense stick had burned away.
• Dark clouds and lightning gathered over the conference grounds, and the crowd recognized the Pill Tribulation as a sign of a Heaven Rank pill.
• Pill Sect disciples and elders rushed to the conference, while Uncle Li told Mu Wan'er that the phenomenon meant Lu Changsheng was very strong.
• The major powers resolved to recruit Lu Changsheng at any cost, and the grand elder doubted the claim that he was only a fourth-grade master alchemist.

News spread that an alchemist had refined a Heaven Rank pill at the Alchemy Conference, prompting the great sects to discuss the coming age of great contention. At the Pill Sect, Lu Changsheng’s pill survived the tribulation’s final strike and became a Heaven Rank pill.

• Dean Yan decided the Hidden Dao Academy would form a good connection with the alchemist but would not compete to recruit him.
• Lin Rufeng told Liang Feng to focus on cultivation, then agreed with his master to prepare the Hidden Sword Sect for the coming age and send people to investigate a secret realm in the Southern Region.
• At the Alchemy Conference, Lu Changsheng infused the Intent of Unending Life into his pill and sent it out to face the pill tribulation.
• Lightning dragons struck the pill repeatedly as the Pill Sect’s elders protected the disciples and the spectators from the shock waves.
• The pill tribulation’s final pillar of light failed to harm Lu Changsheng or destroy the pill, which emerged glowing in seven colors as a Heaven Rank pill.

Lu Changsheng won the Pill Conference by refining a Heaven Rank pill, then left the Pill Sect after refusing to join another faction. Mu Wan'er took his joking offer of apprenticeship seriously, but he fled rather than accept her as a disciple.

• Lu Changsheng killed Wu Tuo when he tried to steal the Heaven Rank pill, and the grand elder warned the onlookers against further attacks.
• The grand elder declared Lu Changsheng the winner and gave him the Primordial Soul Pill, which Lu Changsheng accepted before leaving the Pill Sect.
• Lu Changsheng refused invitations to join other factions and told Hu Qing not to send new disciples to his Cottage.
• Lu Changsheng gave the Primordial Soul Pill to Hu Qing, then Mu Wan'er asked to become his disciple.
• Lu Changsheng refused to take another disciple and vanished before Mu Wan'er could press him further.

Mu Wan'er set out for the Cottage to ask Lu Changsheng to become her master, while Ye Qiubai and Xiao Hei confronted the Heavenly Origin Dynasty over its past role in the attempt to kill Ye Qiubai. The Heavenly Origin sovereign ordered his people to fight to the death, and Ye Qiubai told Xiao Hei to go all out.

• Mu Wan'er returned to the Mu Lineage and insisted to Mu Heze that she wanted Lu Changsheng as her master.
• Mu Heze let Mu Wan'er go to the Cottage, and Uncle Li followed her.
• Ye Qiubai and Xiao Hei appeared above the Heavenly Origin Dynasty, putting its imperial guards on alert.
• The sixth prince recognized Ye Qiubai, and the Heavenly Origin sovereign ordered the dynasty to activate its grand formation and evacuate those below the Purple Mansion Realm.
• The Heavenly Origin sovereign donned battle armor and called on the dynasty to fight to the death.
• Ye Qiubai told Xiao Hei to go all out, and the sovereign challenged Ye Qiubai to fight.

Ye Qiubai attacked the Heavenly Origin Dynasty, and the Qiu Lineage patriarch chose to sacrifice himself so his people could escape. Ye Qiubai and Xiao Hei broke through the dynasty’s forces and defenses, while a hidden voice offered to abandon the Southern Region in exchange for mercy.

• The Qiu Lineage patriarch ordered his people to leave Heavenly Origin City and stayed behind to face Ye Qiubai.
• The Jiang Lineage patriarch regretted that Jiang Chan had not trusted Ye Qiubai.
• Ye Qiubai unleashed his Sword Domain and annihilated the tens of thousands of imperial guards.
• Xiao Hei struck down the phantom flood dragon and shattered the Heavenly Origin Dynasty’s nation-protecting array and imperial jade seal.
• The Heavenly Origin sovereign prepared to fight alongside his Attendants, but a hidden presence offered to withdraw the dynasty from the Southern Region if Ye Qiubai showed mercy.

The Heavenly Origin Dynasty’s old sovereign emerged from death seclusion and fought Xiao Hei, while Ye Qiubai confronted the sovereign and his five Attendants. The old sovereign began to be pushed back, and Ye Qiubai unleashed a powerful sword strike against the six attackers.

• The old sovereign awoke from death seclusion and flew out to stop Xiao Hei, despite the risk that fighting would end his chance to break through to the Void God Realm.
• Xiao Hei met the old sovereign’s spear thrust with a punch, then pressed the attack as his battle intent and strength continued to rise.
• The old sovereign was gradually forced back, prompting the Heavenly Origin Sovereign to order the five Attendants to help him.
• Ye Qiubai blocked the Attendants and the Heavenly Origin Sovereign with a river of sword intent and reminded them that he had come for revenge.
• The five Attendants and the Heavenly Origin Sovereign attacked Ye Qiubai together, and he answered with his Sword Domain and the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon: Demon’s Descent.

Ye Qiubai and Xiao Hei defeated the Heavenly Origin Dynasty’s strongest fighters in Heavenly Origin Royal City. The Heavenly Origin sovereign died beneath Ye Qiubai’s sword intent, and the dynasty fell.

• Ye Qiubai’s Heaven Rank sword technique obliterated two Attendants and injured the others before his river of sword intent overwhelmed them.
• The Heavenly Origin sovereign relied on the Heavenly Origin Armor to withstand Ye Qiubai’s attack, but he continued to weaken.
• The former sovereign unleashed his strongest lightning spear strike against Xiao Hei, whose demonic intent and nirvana fire let him endure the storm and smash the former sovereign to pieces.
• The Heavenly Origin sovereign asked Ye Qiubai to spare the rest of the dynasty, but Ye Qiubai refused and engulfed him in sword intent.
• The Heavenly Origin Dynasty ceased to exist.

After Ye Qiubai destroyed the Heavenly Origin Dynasty, the Southern Region’s power structure changed and the Sunset Dynasty feared his future strength. Meanwhile, Ning Chenxin witnessed Buddhist cultivators abandon villagers to devil beasts and set out for the Buddhist Sect, but the three tried to stop him.

• News of Ye Qiubai’s destruction of the Heavenly Origin Dynasty spread across the four regions, and Huang Yitong feared the Sunset Dynasty would meet the same fate.
• The Ye Lineage ancestor offered Ye Qing the position of lineage head, but Ye Qing refused to return to Heavenly Origin City.
• The Qiu Lineage withdrew from Heavenly Origin City, leaving the Hidden Dao Academy at the top of the Southern Region.
• Ning Chenxin found that three Buddhist cultivators had watched devil beasts slaughter villagers because the villagers had refused to believe in the Buddhist Dao.
• Ning Chenxin decided to visit the Western Region Buddhist Sect and report what he had seen, so the three Buddhist cultivators surrounded him and told him he could not leave.

Ning Chenxin killed three Buddhist cultivators who had let villagers die for refusing to follow Buddhism, then continued toward the Western Region to investigate the Buddhist Sect. At the Cottage, Mu Wan'er arrived determined to become Lu Changsheng's disciple, disrupting his hopes for a quiet life.

• Ning Chenxin condemned the three Buddhist cultivators for abandoning villagers to Devil Beasts and rejected their claim that the villagers' deaths were cause and effect.
• The three Buddhist cultivators attacked Ning Chenxin, but he used the Dao Scripture and a Heaven Character Seal to destroy their bodies and eternally suppress their souls.
• Ning Chenxin set off for the Buddhist Sect in the Western Region to investigate whether it truly lived up to its claims of saving the world.
• Lu Changsheng returned to the Cottage hoping to rest, but Hu Qing brought Mu Wan'er, who announced that she intended to become Lu Changsheng's disciple.
• Ye Qiubai and Xiao Hei returned and met Mu Wan'er, while Lu Changsheng denied that she was his new disciple and ordered Ye Qiubai to cook.

Ye Qiubai asked Lu Changsheng how to resolve Mu Ziqing’s Frost Spiritual Vein Physique, and the willow tree explained its dangers and possible remedies. Meanwhile, Mu Wan'er recommitted herself to the Alchemy Dao, studying and experimenting for nineteen days before successfully refining a pill and showing it to Lu Changsheng.

• Ye Qiubai asked Lu Changsheng about Mu Ziqing’s physique, and the willow tree identified it as the Frost Spiritual Vein Physique and said Lu Changsheng could help her.
• Mu Wan'er watched Ye Qiubai and Xiao Hei train, reflected on her own lack of effort, and decided to study alchemy seriously.
• Mu Wan'er spent the next ten days reading Detailed Explanation of the Alchemy Dao while the others trained and cultivated.
• Mu Wan'er spent another nine days experimenting with conflicting ingredients and finally refined a pill.
• Mu Wan'er brought the pill to Lu Changsheng, who welcomed her success without impatience.

Mu Wan'er created a pill that sped up its user's attacks, and Lu Changsheng gave her his alchemy notes. Later, Lu Changsheng joined Qin Tiannan and other Southern Region leaders to seal an unstable space in the desert, where Qin Tiannan placed him at the formation's center.

• Mu Wan'er showed Lu Changsheng a Middle Grade Profound Rank pill she had developed, and Ye Qiubai tested it, finding that it increased his attack speed and Spiritual Qi circulation.
• Lu Changsheng gave Mu Wan'er his alchemy notes but refused to take her as his disciple yet.
• Several dozen days later, Ye Qiubai set out for the Hidden Dao Academy to bring Mu Ziqing back so Lu Changsheng could address her constitution.
• Qin Tiannan asked Lu Changsheng to help investigate the unstable space in the Southern Region's desert, and they joined several major-faction leaders there.
• The space cracked and released an ancient, immense presence, so Qin Tiannan directed everyone to take their places in a sealing formation.
• Qin Tiannan told Lu Changsheng to stand at the formation's center and maintain it, surprising the others because that position had belonged to Qin Tiannan.

Qin Tiannan and the Southern Region’s experts began stabilizing a spatial rift with a sealing formation, while Yun Zhan was restored in the Cloud Phoenix ruins and revealed that the Grand State Preceptor had hidden a secret realm in the Southern Region. In Buddha City, Ning Chenxin challenged the Buddhist Sect over a Buddhist cultivator’s refusal to save villagers and said he would visit the sect to resolve his doubts.

• Qin Tiannan told Lu Changsheng to keep the sealing formation stable as the Southern Region’s experts began directing sealing power into the spatial rifts.
• Yun Zhan’s soul merged with his body, and he greeted Hong Ying after being freed from his seal.
• Yun Zhan told Hong Ying that the Grand State Preceptor had sealed himself inside a secret realm in the State Preceptor’s Palace, located in the Southern Region, and left inheritances there.
• Ning Chenxin entered a tavern in Buddha City and questioned whether the Buddhist Sect’s teachings included eliminating those who disagreed with them.
• Ning Chenxin said he had witnessed a Buddhist cultivator leave villagers to die to Devil Beasts, then announced that he intended to visit the Buddhist Sect and ask questions.

Ning Chenxin challenged the Buddhist Sect over its hypocrisy and fought his way up Buddha Mountain. After suppressing several Buddhist cultivators, he reached the two-hundredth step as powerful reinforcements confronted him.

• Ning Chenxin declared that he would go to the Buddhist Sect for answers, but the restaurant owner stopped its defenders from attacking him.
• Ning Ming and others followed Ning Chenxin to Buddha Mountain, where he suppressed two Buddhist cultivators with the Dao Scripture and climbed without worshipping Buddha.
• Three Buddhist cultivators challenged Ning Chenxin on the steps, but his seal defeated them and he continued upward.
• A Buddhist cultivator sent word that an intruder was climbing Buddha Mountain, prompting the sect to send more forces.
• Ning Chenxin reached the two-hundredth step, where more than ten cultivators, including three at the Water Overflow Realm, blocked his path.

Ning Chenxin fought through the Buddhist cultivators blocking his climb and continued up the stairs. Meanwhile, Ye Qiubai reached the Hidden Dao Academy Main Academy and invited Mu Ziqing to the Southern Region, where his master could address her unusual constitution.

• Ning Chenxin advanced despite the Buddhist cultivators' warning and erased their attacks with the word "Annihilate."
• The Buddhist cultivators formed a formation to suppress Ning Chenxin, but he used the Nine-Character Mantra's "Presence" seal to break it and send them flying.
• Ye Qiubai told Dean Yan that his master had found a solution to Mu Ziqing's constitution, and Dean Yan allowed him to approach her.
• Ye Qiubai found Mu Ziqing beside the frozen stream and invited her to travel with him to the Southern Region to meet his master.

Ye Qiubai brought Mu Ziqing to Elder Mu and persuaded him that Lu Changsheng could cure her frost spiritual vein physique. Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng used the Big Dipper’s stellar power to stabilize the Southern Region’s sealing array, then stayed outside as Qin Tiannan and the others prepared to investigate the sealed space.

• Ye Qiubai told Mu Ziqing that his master could treat her physique, and she brought him to Elder Mu.
• Elder Mu tested Ye Qiubai’s claim, then believed him after Ye Qiubai held Mu Ziqing’s hand without being frozen; he gave them seven days to return if the treatment failed.
• Ye Qiubai and Mu Ziqing left for the Southern Region with the Spirit Soul Pearl.
• As spatial rifts widened and the grand sealing array trembled, Lu Changsheng reinforced it with seven streams of Spiritual Qi arranged like the Big Dipper.
• Lu Changsheng drew on the Big Dipper’s stellar power to seal the rifts and suppress the destructive presence.
• Qin Tiannan and the others prepared to enter and investigate while Lu Changsheng agreed to keep watch outside.