Recaps

Elder Xuan moved to appraise Xiao Yan’s Emperor Grade Complete Pill, but Yan Bing tried to intervene on behalf of the Sea Cloud Palace before Zhou Tai made a forceful return and revealed his standing with the Southern Region Alchemist Alliance. Zhou Tai drove Mo Zhai and Yan Bing from the contest, leaving Xiao Yan’s growing support and Old Monster Hu’s interest in the pill unresolved.

• Elder Xuan agreed to inspect Xiao Yan’s Emperor Grade Complete Pill, while Old Monster Hu yielded the first appraisal to him.
• Yan Bing claimed he would inspect the pill for the Sea Cloud Palace, but Zhou Tai crashed into Void Plaza and challenged his authority to represent it.
• Zhou Tai pressured Mo Zhai to his knees and showed Yan Bing a badge marking his affiliation with the Southern Region Alchemist Alliance.
• Yan Bing countered Zhou Tai’s pressure, took Mo Zhai, and left the arena after Zhou Tai’s backing made the contest unwinnable.
• Old Monster Hu recognized the forces supporting Xiao Yan, secretly coveted the Emperor Tribulation Pill, and then cupped his hands to Xiao Yan before leaving.

After Zhou Tai and Elder Xuan confirmed Xiao Yan’s Emperor Tribulation Pill was an Emperor-grade Complete Pill, Zhou Tai declared Yan Xiao the Alchemist Grand Meeting champion. Xiao Yan left with Gu Li and the others, celebrated as the savior of the Ancient Wilderness City Alchemist Guild, while the meeting came to an end.

• After Mo Zhai and his companions left, Zhou Tai and Elder Xuan jointly confirmed Xiao Yan’s Emperor Tribulation Pill was an Emperor-grade Complete Pill.
• Zhou Tai announced Yan Xiao as the champion of the Alchemist Grand Meeting, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
• The people of Ancient Wilderness City celebrated Xiao Yan for defeating Mo Zhai and preserving the Alchemist Guild’s dignity.
• Xiao Yan exchanged a knowing smile with Luo Jin in the stands without speaking.
• Gu Li urged the group to leave, and Zhou Tai led Xiao Yan and the others from the grounds as the Grand Meeting ended.

Xiao Yan learned that Zhou Tai had joined the Alchemist Alliance, while Zhou Tai warned the Alchemist Guild elders that he and Elder Xuan would not remain to protect the guild. The chapter ended with Xiao Yan asking what the Alchemist Alliance was, leaving Elder Xuan suspicious of how Xiao Yan had obtained Dou Techniques from the Central Region.

• Zhou Tai rebuked the Alchemist Guild elders for assuming Mo Zhai would no longer threaten them, then dismissed them from the hall.
• Zhou Tai explained that he had returned after hearing Elder Luo had stepped forward for Xiao Yan, and said he would soon leave Ancient Wilderness City.
• Zhou Tai tossed his Alchemist Alliance badge to Gu Li, who realized Zhou Tai had been invited to join the Alliance.
• Xiao Yan asked Zhou Tai whether the Alchemist Alliance was a faction of alchemists, astonishing the others.
• Elder Xuan wondered how Xiao Yan could possess Dou Techniques from the Central Region while knowing nothing about the Alchemist Alliance.

Xiao Yan learned that the Alchemist Alliance was a network managed by the Pill Tower, then slipped away from the crowds drawn by his victory at the Alchemist Grand Meeting. He took the awarded Emperor Grade Pill Formula and entered the Ginseng Spirit Realm to cultivate.

• Zhou Tai explained that the Alchemist Alliance was a Pill Tower faction with branches and guilds spread across the Origin Martial Continent, and that Zhou Tai had been admitted as an exception.
• Xiao Yan left the Alchemist Guild by a secluded route, leaving Gu Li and Chi Lin to deal with the factions gathered outside to meet him.
• Xiao Yan examined the Emperor Grade Pill Formula he had won and noted that he now possessed five such formulas.
• Xiao Yan avoided the inn, which he suspected was being watched, and headed to the Ginseng Spirit Realm for its richer ambient energy.
• Xiao Yan walked through the mysterious energy barrier in the courtyard and entered the Ginseng Spirit Realm.

Xiao Yan returned to the Ginseng Spirit Realm after winning the Alchemist Grand Meeting and encountered the powerful Ginseng Spirit Clan. Using his soul power, he located Elder Luo and set off there with Qing Feng.

• Xiao Yan arrived in the Ginseng Spirit Clan’s realm and saw the Thirty-Two Spirit Guards and hundreds of other clan members.
• The Spirit Guards recognized Xiao Yan and reacted with surprise to the news that he had slain Hei Mu.
• Qing Feng greeted Xiao Yan, joked about his reputation, and offered to guide him to Elder Luo.
• Xiao Yan used his soul power to locate Elder Luo and started toward him, astonishing Qing Feng.
• Xiao Yan called Qing Feng to follow, and Qing Feng hurried after him.

Xiao Yan met Elder Luo and Luo Jin at Elder Luo’s secluded home, where Luo Jin prepared to refine Heavenly Palace Jade Essence to advance toward Dou Di. After discussing Xiao Yan’s victory and plans, Xiao Yan decided to enter the Void Lightning Pool and pursue a breakthrough to Four-Star Half-Emperor.

• Luo Jin showed Elder Luo the Heavenly Palace Jade Essence, and Elder Luo said it could help him break through to Dou Di within two years.
• Xiao Yan arrived and greeted Elder Luo, then confirmed his suspicion that Luo Jin was connected to the Cloud-Hidden Pavilion.
• Elder Luo showed Xiao Yan and Luo Jin a view of the crowds gathered for Xiao Yan in Ancient Wilderness City.
• Xiao Yan told Luo Jin he planned to enter the Void Lightning Pool and break through to Four-Star Half-Emperor.
• Luo Jin warned Xiao Yan that Mo Zhai might seek revenge and explained that his cultivation method made the pool unsuitable for him.
• Xiao Yan prepared to refine a portion of Soul Origin.

While cultivating in the Ginseng Spirit Realm, Xiao Yan recovered from refining the Emperor Grade Complete Pill and restrained his approaching breakthrough so he could stabilize his strength in the Void Lightning Pool. He prepared to refine Qing Mu’s Soul Origin, learning from Gu You that Qing Mu had entrusted it to him because he hoped Xiao Yan would one day help the Ginseng Spirit Clan settle in the Central Region.

• Crowds gathered outside the Alchemist Guild hoping to meet Xiao Yan, unaware that he had left days earlier to cultivate in the Ginseng Spirit Realm.
• Xiao Yan recovered his condition by guiding and refining the Emperor Grade Pill, then suppressed his imminent breakthrough so he could stabilize his future Four-Star Half-Emperor strength in the Void Lightning Pool.
• Xiao Yan took out the Soul Origin Gu You had extracted from Qing Mu and considered whether it was right to refine something that should have belonged to Qing Mu.
• Gu You told Xiao Yan that Qing Mu had given him the Soul Origin because he believed in Xiao Yan’s potential and had entrusted the Ginseng Spirit Clan’s future to him.
• Gu You urged Xiao Yan to cultivate diligently and, once powerful, help the Ginseng Spirit Clan settle openly in the Central Region.

Xiao Yan refined Qing Mu's Soul Origin in the Ginseng Spirit Realm, greatly strengthening his soul power and bringing his cultivation close to a breakthrough. After reaching the peak of the late Emperor Realm, he wondered whether he could condense a Soul Bead.

• Xiao Yan enveloped Qing Mu's Soul Origin in Heavenly Flames and began condensing and refining it.
• After three days, the swelling Dou Qi within Xiao Yan burst out in a massive pillar toward the sky, alarming the Ginseng Spirit clansmen.
• Elder Luo ordered the clansmen to back away and recognized that Xiao Yan was suppressing an imminent breakthrough to wait for a suitable cultivation place.
• Xiao Yan completely absorbed the Soul Origin after five days and released soul power that carved a trench and split a distant mountain.
• Gu You assessed Xiao Yan's soul power as the peak of the late Emperor Realm, and Xiao Yan wondered if he could condense a Soul Bead.

Xiao Yan began condensing a Soul Bead despite his Spiritual Strength only recently reaching the Late Emperor Realm, and the mounting pressure nearly broke his mind. Gu You intervened once to save him, leaving Xiao Yan to endure the rest of the process on his own.

• Xiao Yan gathered and compressed his Spiritual Strength into a grayish-white Soul Bead.
• As the bead grew, its pressure overwhelmed Xiao Yan’s body and consciousness, and his illusory form burst apart.
• Gu You briefly restrained the Soul Bead’s pressure and warned Xiao Yan that he could not protect him forever.
• Xiao Yan thanked Gu You silently and refocused on enduring until the Soul Bead was complete.

Xiao Yan endured the Soul Bead’s crushing soul pressure and broke through it with repeated Eight Extremes Collapse punches, bringing the bead’s embryonic form within reach of completion. Although Gu You warned that Xiao Yan’s Late Emperor Realm soul gave him no more than a thirty percent chance of success, Xiao Yan resolved to attempt the refinement anyway.

• Xiao Yan endured the Soul Bead’s escalating soul pressure until his soul body grew solid enough to block it.
• Xiao Yan unleashed Eight Extremes Collapse and shattered the Soul Bead’s soul pressure, then advanced with repeated punches until the bead fell silent.
• Xiao Yan prepared to refine the Soul Bead’s embryonic form, believing the hardest stage was over.
• Gu You warned Xiao Yan that his Late Emperor Realm soul gave him no more than a thirty percent chance of successfully forming the Soul Bead.
• Xiao Yan acknowledged the risk but decided to try refining the Soul Bead despite the possibility of injuring his soul.

Xiao Yan's attempt to condense a Soul Bead failed, unleashing a Soul Storm across the Ginseng Spirit Realm and severely damaging his Spiritual Strength. Elder Luo and Luo Jin reached him as the storm lingered, and Xiao Yan struggled to stand, facing a long recovery that might prevent him from going to the Void Lightning Pool.

• The Soul Bead erupted inside Xiao Yan, sending his Spiritual Strength out of control and spreading a Soul Storm through the Ginseng Spirit Realm.
• The Ginseng Spirit Clan felt the storm's pressure, and its weaker members were forced to the ground.
• Luo Jin realized Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength had reached the Late Emperor Realm, while Elder Luo worried that the Soul Origin refinement had gone wrong.
• Elder Luo and Luo Jin arrived before Xiao Yan and discovered that he had tried to condense a Soul Bead; Elder Luo scolded him for attempting it at his current strength.
• After his Spiritual Strength dispersed, Xiao Yan was left pale, weakened, and struggling to stand as the Soul Storm continued over the Ginseng Spirit Trees.

After exhausting himself, Xiao Yan entered a state of insight while watching waves of trees sweep across the forest and recovered his strength as he studied their rhythm. He recreated their movement with his Heavy Xuan Ruler, then unleashed a massive strike that flew toward Elder Luo and Luo Jin.

• Luo Jin and Elder Luo thought Xiao Yan’s weakened condition would cost him his chance at the Void Lightning Pool.
• Xiao Yan suddenly froze while watching the waves of trees, and Elder Luo recognized that he had entered a state of insight.
• Elder Luo and Luo Jin retreated and watched as Xiao Yan absorbed the forest’s movements and recovered his Qi and Spiritual Strength.
• Xiao Yan practiced the waves’ rhythm in his mind with a Spiritual Strength ruler, then matched the motion with his Heavy Xuan Ruler.
• Xiao Yan swung the ruler and sent a streak of ruler light toward Elder Luo and Luo Jin.

Xiao Yan tested his newly created ruler technique against Luo Jin’s Breeze Slash, and the two Human Class Dou Techniques clashed evenly. With Luo Ao containing the destructive storm, the duel continued as Xiao Yan sensed that his ruler technique held further moves he had yet to unleash.

• Xiao Yan’s ruler light revealed Dou Technique Spirit Manifestation, shocking Luo Jin and Elder Luo with its Human Class power.
• Luo Jin summoned his Brushing Jade Fan and unleashed Breeze Slash, another Human Class Dou Technique.
• The ruler light and Breeze Slash collided, shattering the void and threatening the Ginseng Spirit Realm.
• Luo Ao stopped the spreading Dou Qi storm, while Ginseng Spirit Clan members gathered to watch.
• Xiao Yan and Luo Jin’s first exchange ended evenly, and Xiao Yan sensed that his ruler technique’s sequence had more moves.

Xiao Yan tested his newly comprehended Dou Technique against Luo Jin in a friendly fight, surprising the Ginseng Spirit Clan with his control of Eight Extremes Collapse. After hiding its force inside Luo Jin and catching him off guard, Xiao Yan swung the Heavy Xuan Ruler toward his face, leaving the strike about to land.

• Luo Jin feinted with a beam of Dou Qi, but Xiao Yan shattered it with Yellow Springs Palm before Luo Jin attacked from the side.
• Xiao Yan met Luo Jin's palm with Eight Extremes Collapse unleashed through his shoulder, astonishing Luo Jin and the Ginseng Spirit clansmen watching.
• Elder Luo explained that a Dou Technique could be unleashed from any part of the body if its user had mastered it.
• Xiao Yan released the hidden force of Eight Extremes Collapse inside Luo Jin, then swung the Heavy Xuan Ruler at his face while Luo Jin was still recovering.

Xiao Yan unleashed his newly comprehended ruler technique against Luo Jin, revealing that its seven successive strikes fused into an overwhelming attack. Elder Luo stopped the final strike and restored Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi, and Xiao Yan named the technique Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler.

• Xiao Yan focused and struck again with his ruler technique while Luo Jin prepared to counter with Breeze Slash.
• Xiao Yan’s second ruler strike fused with the first and broke through Breeze Slash, forcing Luo Jin to summon a crystal-like cyan hand.
• Xiao Yan continued adding strikes until seven ruler lights fused, overwhelming Luo Jin’s defenses and exhausting Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi.
• Elder Luo appeared before Luo Jin, halted the ruler light with the word “Still,” and returned its Dou Qi to Xiao Yan.
• Elder Luo praised Xiao Yan’s technique, and Xiao Yan named it Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler.

While Xiao Yan continued cultivating in the Ginseng Spirit Realm, his enemies planned to ambush him at the Void Lightning Pool. On the Dou Qi Continent, Cai Lin prepared to descend into the Nine Nether Yellow Springs to learn what had happened to the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python Clan.

• After Xiao Yan vanished for ten days, factions in Ancient Wilderness City speculated about where he had gone and avoided searching the Cloud-Hidden Pavilion.
• Mo Zhai, Yan Bing, Old Monster Hu, and Zhang Hao discussed Xiao Yan and planned to wait for him at the Void Lightning Pool; Yan Bing vowed to kill Xiao Yan, Gu Li, and Chi Lin after reaching the Nine-Star Half-Emperor stage.
• Xiao Yan emerged from cultivation and thought of Xun'er and Cai Lin, telling their illusions that he had been away from the Dou Qi Continent for a year.
• Cai Lin and Xun'er thanked Yao Ming for lending them the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, and Cai Lin reassured Xun'er before preparing to enter the lake.
• Cai Lin appeared above the lake and looked back at Xun'er and Yao Ming before descending to investigate the fate of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python Clan.

Nearly a hundred Half-Emperor experts gathered in Ancient Wilderness City ahead of the Void Lightning Pool’s opening, and battles broke out over its thirty invitations. While Gu Li and Chi Lin worried about Xiao Yan’s disappearance, Elder Luo told Xiao Yan in the Ginseng Spirit Realm that someone had come looking for him.

• Nearly a hundred Half-Emperor experts arrived in Ancient Wilderness City for the Void Lightning Pool, which would open in a month and a half and had only thirty invitations.
• The Half-Emperor experts began fighting in the skies above Ancient Wilderness City as they competed for entry.
• Gu Li and Chi Lin wondered where Xiao Yan was, and Gu Li dismissed Chi Lin’s suspicion that Mo Zhai and the others had taken him.
• Elder Luo approached Xiao Yan in the Ginseng Spirit Realm and told him he had to leave because someone had come seeking him.

With the Void Lightning Pool Invitation making him a target, Qin Zhong went to Elder Luo’s courtyard hoping to find Xiao Yan. Li Gan confronted him outside the gate and attacked to seize the invitation, while Xiao Yan watched from within.

• Qin Zhong, hunted by Half-Emperor experts after rumors exposed his Void Lightning Pool Invitation, searched for Xiao Yan and chose to try Elder Luo’s courtyard.
• Xiao Yan sensed Qin Zhong outside and approached the inner courtyard door, recognizing that Qin Zhong was wary of Elder Luo.
• Li Gan arrived and Qin Zhong accused him of spreading the news about the invitation.
• Li Gan admitted he had exposed Qin Zhong’s possession of the invitation and said he intended to take it, not kill him.
• Xiao Yan observed as Li Gan lunged at Qin Zhong to seize the Void Lightning Pool Invitation.

Li Gan lured Qin Zhong into a fight to seize his Void Lightning Pool Invitation, but Xiao Yan arrived and rescued him. Xiao Yan exposed Li Gan’s deception and charged at him to test a newly practiced Dou Technique.

• Li Gan overwhelmed Qin Zhong, knocked him to the ground, and prepared to seize him by the neck.
• Qin Zhong mocked Li Gan for backing down from Yan Xiao, and Xiao Yan struck Li Gan into the buildings behind him.
• Xiao Yan confronted Li Gan and warned him for attacking someone close to him.
• Li Gan pretended he had sought a trade for Qin Zhong’s Void Lightning Pool Invitation, but Xiao Yan revealed he had overheard the truth.
• Li Gan flew into a rage, and Xiao Yan summoned the Heavy Xuan Ruler and charged at him using Heavenly Severing Steps.

Xiao Yan overwhelmed Li Gan with three strikes of his Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler, but Li Gan survived and escaped. Xiao Yan caught up with him and learned that a Formation Plate had protected him.

• Xiao Yan battered Li Gan with three heavy ruler strikes, leaving him badly injured.
• Li Gan fled from beneath the rubble, and Xiao Yan pursued him using Heavenly Severing Steps.
• Xiao Yan blocked Li Gan in midair and demanded to know how he had survived the strikes.
• Li Gan revealed that he had used a Formation Plate to block the attacks.

Li Gan tried to turn the Half-Emperor experts of Ancient Wilderness City against Xiao Yan by revealing that Xiao Yan carried a Void Lightning Pool Invitation. The experts refused to be used to kill Xiao Yan and instead condemned Li Gan, leaving him isolated.

• Xiao Yan prepared to kill Li Gan, but Li Gan hinted that he had lured Xiao Yan into a trap.
• Li Gan announced that Xiao Yan had become the most talked-about person in Ancient Wilderness City, drawing the Half-Emperor experts’ attention and greed.
• Xiao Yan realized the experts wanted his Void Lightning Pool Invitation, and Li Gan urged them to attack him for it.
• Li Gan claimed Xiao Yan also carried valuable pills, but two Half-Emperor experts rejected his scheme and accused him of trying to use them.
• The Half-Emperor experts turned their contempt toward Li Gan, leaving him speechless.

Xiao Yan stopped Li Gan from leaving and confronted him, prompting Li Gan to prepare for another fight. When Li Gan shattered Xiao Yan’s palm strike, he discovered that Xiao Yan’s strength had fallen to the One-Star Half-Emperor level, but Xiao Yan’s strange smile left him deeply uneasy.

• Li Gan tried to excuse his earlier words, and the Half-Emperors let him leave.
• Xiao Yan stopped Li Gan and declared that their battle was not over.
• Li Gan formed a Dou Technique and warned Xiao Yan against acting arrogantly.
• Xiao Yan appeared at Li Gan’s right and struck with the Great Heaven Creation Palm, which Li Gan shattered.
• Li Gan and the other Half-Emperors realized Xiao Yan was only a One-Star Half-Emperor, and Li Gan grew afraid at Xiao Yan’s smile.

Xiao Yan revealed that he had survived by using a substitute body, then killed Li Gan while Half-Emperor experts gathered to seize the Void Lightning Pool Invitation. When they threatened him for the invitation, Xiao Yan summoned the Northern King, forcing them to reconsider.

• The Half-Emperor experts believed Xiao Yan had died in an explosion that left Li Gan gravely injured.
• Xiao Yan appeared before Li Gan, explained that his substitute body had self-destructed, and killed him by shattering his organs and meridians.
• Two seven-star Half-Emperors chose to leave after witnessing Xiao Yan's methods, while the others surrounded him and demanded the Void Lightning Pool Invitation.
• Xiao Yan tried to sow discord among the experts by asking which of them should receive the single invitation.
• When the experts threatened to attack, Xiao Yan summoned the Northern King, whose arrival silenced their spokesman.

Xiao Yan faced down the Half-Emperor experts who wanted his Void Lightning Pool Invitation, relying on the Northern King to deter them. He agreed to duel the Seven-Star Half-Emperor over the invitation, then raised his wager from one hundred thousand Spirit Coins to two hundred thousand.

• Xiao Yan warned the Half-Emperor experts to take the Void Lightning Pool Invitation from him themselves, while the Northern King’s strength made them hesitate.
• The Seven-Star Half-Emperor tried to rally the others into attacking Xiao Yan, but they refused to be drawn into his scheme.
• Xiao Yan challenged the Seven-Star Half-Emperor to fight him and the Northern King, and the man agreed on the condition that the puppet would not interfere unless others did.
• Xiao Yan rejected the Seven-Star Half-Emperor’s offer of a fair duel and demanded a wager, first asking for rare items and then one hundred thousand Spirit Coins.
• After the Seven-Star Half-Emperor accepted the one-hundred-thousand-coin wager, Xiao Yan raised it to two hundred thousand Spirit Coins.

Xiao Yan demanded two hundred thousand Spirit Coins for the Void Lightning Pool Invitation, provoking the Seven-Star Half-Emperor into attacking. Protected by the Northern King and unwilling to risk fighting amid the gathered experts, the old man finally agreed to the wager, and Xiao Yan promised not to raise it again.

• Xiao Yan raised the wager for the Void Lightning Pool Invitation to two hundred thousand Spirit Coins, enraging the Seven-Star Half-Emperor.
• The Seven-Star Half-Emperor attacked Xiao Yan, but the Northern King stepped in and met his punch, forcing him back.
• Xiao Yan challenged the old man’s attempt to take the invitation by force and showed the surrounding experts the Lightning Invitation.
• The Seven-Star Half-Emperor held back from attacking again and agreed to wager two hundred thousand Spirit Coins.
• Xiao Yan assured the old man that he would not raise the wager again.