Recaps

Zhao Xian drained Xiao Yan’s soul power and attacked him, believing he had won. Xiao Yan used his Heavenly Flames to erase Zhao Xian’s consciousness and reclaimed the soul power, leaving Zhao Xian’s body fading away.

• Zhao Xian absorbed Xiao Yan’s soul power, growing stronger as Xiao Yan weakened.
• Zhao Xian lunged at Xiao Yan and clawed toward his head, certain that Xiao Yan could no longer resist.
• Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Flames erupted and erased Zhao Xian’s consciousness just before the attack landed.
• Zhao Xian’s body turned illusory as the suction in his abdomen gathered the released soul power, and Xiao Yan taunted him for being the moth drawn to the flame.

After defeating Zhao Xian, Xiao Yan recovered and absorbed Zhao Xian’s purified Soul Origin over two days. His Spiritual Strength rose to about Xu Songming’s level, though it still fell short of a Third-Tier Alchemist’s.

• After Zhao Xian vanished, Xiao Yan examined the purified Soul Origin left behind by the battle.
• Xiao Yan spent the night recovering enough strength to safely absorb the Soul Origin.
• Xiao Yan used the Soul Bead to draw the Soul Origin into himself and began refining it.
• Over the next day, Xiao Yan restored his lost Spiritual Strength as the Soul Origin shrank.
• By the evening of the second day, Xiao Yan had absorbed the final point of Soul Origin, bringing his Spiritual Strength to roughly Xu Songming’s level.

Xiao Yan examined the Spiritual Strength he gained by refining a Dou Di expert’s Soul Origin and tested it by splitting a mountain peak in two. He then claimed Zhao Xian’s Storage Ring and discovered its valuable collection of Cultivation Methods, Combat Skills, treasures, and medicinal ingredients.

• Xiao Yan found that his Spiritual Strength had risen to the late stage of a Second-Tier Alchemist, though it had not reached the Third-Tier barrier.
• Gu You warned Xiao Yan not to underestimate Dou Di experts or become overconfident in his new strength.
• Xiao Yan used a fraction of his Spiritual Strength to cleave a towering mountain peak in half.
• Xiao Yan took Zhao Xian’s Storage Ring, whose Soul Imprint had vanished with Zhao Xian’s death, and placed his own imprint on it.
• Xiao Yan inspected the ring’s valuable contents and spotted medicinal ingredients for Ice Spirit Pills and Bodhi Restoration Pills.

Xiao Yan inspected the Ultimate Transformation Pill and his newly strengthened Power of the Great Dao, then asked Gu You why cultivating it was so difficult. Gu You explained that innate circumstances affected comprehension and demonstrated the Great Dao of Fire, leaving Xiao Yan watching a curtain of ghastly white flame form.

• Xiao Yan found the Ultimate Transformation Pill in the Storage Ring, opened its jade box, and admired its medicinal power before putting it away.
• Xiao Yan gathered black energy into seven curtains and wondered why his increased Power of the Great Dao seemed to have changed only by allowing him to form another curtain.
• Xiao Yan asked Gu You for an explanation, and Gu You said that even cultivators who had comprehended the Power of the Great Dao might struggle to condense six curtains.
• Gu You explained that innate circumstances shaped a person's talent for comprehension and struck one of Xiao Yan's curtains.
• Gu You's strike produced a ring of ghastly white flame that formed a curtain, which he identified as the Great Dao of Fire.

Xiao Yan learned that his seventh Great Dao curtain had no special effect, while the ninth could bring a change like the one that transformed Leng Bingshuang’s Great Dao of Frost. After Gu You teased him about winning Leng Bingshuang’s regard, Xiao Yan began cultivating and Gu You returned to his body.

• Gu You explained that his Great Dao of Fire came naturally from being a Heavenly Flame, and that Xiao Yan’s seventh curtain was no different from his first six.
• Gu You said that condensing a ninth curtain could cause a change, and revealed that Leng Bingshuang’s Great Dao of Frost had emerged after she condensed nine curtains.
• Gu You explained that Leng Bingshuang had formed each of her six ice mirrors from nine curtains and suggested she had more than ten mirrors in total.
• Gu You teased Xiao Yan about needing to grow stronger if he wanted Leng Bingshuang and her family to take him seriously, making Xiao Yan blush.
• Xiao Yan withdrew his curtains and began cultivating, while Gu You turned into white light and returned to his body.

Xiao Yan searched the Western Lin Region for Ice Spirit Pill ingredients and treasures to strengthen his soul power, but a month of travel yielded little. He entered Hanxi City’s Four Pavilions hoping to find what he needed, only to discover its attendants mistreating customers under the watch of an old man.

• Xiao Yan ended his cultivation and stayed in the Western Lin Region to search for ingredients and soul-strengthening treasures.
• Over the next month, Xiao Yan visited dozens of cities and found only three medicinal ingredients, with no leads on the Ice Spirit Pill’s main ingredient, the Bodhi Restoration Pill, or soul-strengthening treasures.
• Xiao Yan arrived in Hanxi City and entered the Four Pavilions to look for the items he needed.
• Xiao Yan saw the attendants bully customers while an old man sat in the hall with his eyes closed, and departing customers gave him pitying looks.

Xiao Yan entered the Four Pavilions seeking medicinal ingredients and stopped an attendant from attacking a customer. After overpowering the attendant and alarming the pavilion’s old man, he learned that the second floor held its real treasures and headed toward it.

• The attendants mocked Xiao Yan and boasted crudely while a nearby old man sat watching with his eyes closed.
• An attendant attacked a young woman and kicked her companion toward Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan caught the injured man with his Spiritual Strength, then swiftly pinned the attacking attendant beneath his foot.
• The old man warned Xiao Yan against causing trouble, but Xiao Yan said he had only objected to being attacked without cause.
• The old man explained that the second floor held valuable medicinal ingredients and allowed pharmacists to enter despite its restriction to High-Level Half-Emperors.
• Xiao Yan examined the barrier at the stairs and proceeded toward the second floor.

Xiao Yan reached the second floor of the Four Pavilions after the old man punished the attendants who had obstructed him. He presented the manager with a list of ingredients for a third-tier pill, and the manager confirmed the Four Pavilions had them.

• The old man ordered the attendants to remove the unconscious attendant and send him to the mercenary squad, then invited Xiao Yan upstairs.
• Xiao Yan entered the second floor and drew curious looks from the powerful experts gathered there.
• A white-haired manager greeted Xiao Yan and offered to help him find what he needed.
• Xiao Yan handed the manager a list of medicinal ingredients and asked whether the Four Pavilions had them.
• The manager recognized that the ingredients were for a third-tier pill, asked whether Xiao Yan was a Third-Tier Alchemist, and confirmed that the Four Pavilions had the items.

Xiao Yan learned that the Four Pavilions had three of the rare medicinal ingredients he sought, and he inspected its remarkable collection while waiting for them to be fetched. He sensed that someone had secretly probed him, but the presence disappeared before he could identify it.

• The old man told Xiao Yan that the Four Pavilions had three ingredients from his list and sent an attendant to retrieve them.
• The old man invited Xiao Yan to browse the pavilion's other high-grade medicinal ingredients while he waited.
• Xiao Yan spotted rare items including Attached Dragon Branch, Strange Flower Fruit, and Soul Nourishing Grass, and marveled at the Four Pavilions' resources.
• An old man in a long white robe secretly left the Four Pavilions after watching Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan sensed that a subtle presence had been probing him, then searched the hall after it vanished.

Xiao Yan obtained the Dragon Vine Blood Branch, Snow Spirit Fruit, and Huo Zhi Fruit, completing the ingredients he needed for the Bodhi Restoration Pill. After accepting the old man's offer to give him the ingredients in exchange for a favor, Xiao Yan heard that the old man had information about the remaining items on his list.

• Xiao Yan noticed that one of the Nine-Star Half-Emperors had left the Four Pavilions and worried that the departure could endanger him.
• The old man brought Xiao Yan a Storage Ring containing the three requested ingredients, and Xiao Yan found a Huo Zhi Fruit among them.
• Xiao Yan agreed to accept the ingredients and owe the old man a favor instead of paying for them.
• The old man offered Xiao Yan information that could help him obtain the remaining items on his list.

Xiao Yan questioned an old man about information related to his search for a treasure to improve his Spiritual Strength. The old man revealed that a Soul-Congealing Fruit had reportedly been found in ancient ruins near the Xilin Mountain Range, giving Xiao Yan hope of reaching the third tier as an alchemist.

• Xiao Yan pressed the old man about his information and warned him against prying into his Spiritual Strength.
• The old man explained that he knew of a heavenly treasure with its own Spiritual Strength, though the Four Pavilions had no Soul Infant Fruit.
• The old man told Xiao Yan that ancient ruins had reportedly been discovered near the border of the Xilin Mountain Range and human territory.
• The old man identified the treasure in the ruins as a Soul-Congealing Fruit, and Xiao Yan excitedly realized it could help him become a third-tier alchemist.

Xiao Yan learned that the Ancient Ruins contained a Soul-Congealing Fruit, while Bai Ye returned to the Sun Residence to report that Xiao Yan had appeared at the Four Pavilions. Clan Head Sun reacted with surprise when Bai Ye identified him.

• The elder assured Xiao Yan that the Ancient Ruins held a genuine Soul-Congealing Fruit, and Xiao Yan reacted with excitement and suspicion.
• Bai Ye arrived at the Sun Residence and demanded an audience with Clan Head Sun.
• Clan Head Sun revealed that he could sense people whose Qi he recognized within Hanxi City.
• Bai Ye told Clan Head Sun that he had seen Xiao Yan at the Four Pavilions, and Clan Head Sun exclaimed in surprise.

Bai Ye told the Sun Clan patriarch that Xiao Yan was in Hanxi City and had supposedly become a Third-Tier Alchemist, tempting him with the prospect of capturing or recruiting Xiao Yan. When the Bai Clan patriarch arrived, the Sun Clan patriarch realized Bai Ye had been stalling for time.

• Bai Ye revealed that Xiao Yan was at the Sun Clan’s Four Pavilions, and the Sun Clan patriarch considered the rewards of capturing him for the Heavenly Sword Sect.
• Bai Ye secretly relied on the nearby Bai Clan to send its patriarch while he delayed the Sun Clan patriarch.
• Bai Ye claimed Xiao Yan was a Third-Tier Alchemist, and the Sun Clan patriarch reacted with shock before considering the clan’s possible gains.
• Bai Ye warned that Xiao Yan was wanted by the Four Great Sects, but the Sun Clan patriarch rebuked him for interfering.
• The Bai Clan patriarch arrived with a powerful presence, and the Sun Clan patriarch accused Bai Ye of deliberately stalling.

Bai Ying arrived at the Sun residence and stopped Sun Shuo from killing Bai Ye, then proposed that their clans compete to capture Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan overheard their agreement in the Four Pavilions and grew angry at being treated like an object.

• Sun Shuo attacked Bai Ye with his presence after accusing him of deliberately stalling, but Bai Ying arrived and blocked the attack.
• Bai Ying and Sun Shuo recognized that they had both reached the Middle Three-Star Dou Di Stage and exchanged barbed remarks about Xiao Yan.
• Sun Shuo insisted that capturing Xiao Yan was the Sun Clan's business, while Bai Ying proposed that their clans compete using people below the Dou Di level.
• Sun Shuo accepted the contest, agreeing that whichever clan subdued Xiao Yan first would get him.
• Xiao Yan heard the agreement from the Four Pavilions and became angry at the clans' attempt to claim him.

Bai Ying assigned Bai Ye to capture Xiao Yan while covertly planning around the Sun Clan’s advantage, but Sun Shuo announced a bounty that sent Hanxi City’s experts rushing toward the Four Pavilions. Sun Huo realized that the alchemist he had hoped would help him rise was Xiao Yan, leaving the story with Xiao Yan confirming his identity.

• Bai Ying ordered Bai Ye to capture Xiao Yan, invoking the Bai Clan’s honor despite Bai Ye’s concerns about the Sun Clan’s numbers.
• Bai Ying objected to Sun Shuo sending additional Sun Clan members, but Sun Shuo claimed he could send as many people as he pleased.
• Sun Shuo offered two third-tier pills to any Nine-Star Half-Emperor who captured Xiao Yan at the Four Pavilions.
• Experts across Hanxi City hurried toward the Four Pavilions after hearing Sun Shuo’s announcement.
• Sun Huo recognized Xiao Yan as the wanted man and despaired of his hopes for the alchemist’s help, while Xiao Yan confirmed his identity.

Xiao Yan overwhelmed Sun Huo, exposing that Sun Huo had used medicinal pills to force his way into the Nine-Star Half-Emperor stage. After sensing a crowd of powerful experts gathered outside the Four Pavilions, Xiao Yan decided to end the fight quickly and activated Vajra Glazed Body.

• Sun Huo erupted in rage and charged Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan stopped his attack with a light palm strike.
• Xiao Yan mocked Sun Huo's unstable strength and revealed that he had relied on medicinal pills to reach the Nine-Star Half-Emperor stage.
• Sun Huo attacked again with an armored fist and Vine Thorns, but Xiao Yan knocked him back and struck him when he tried to approach from the side.
• Xiao Yan sensed more than a dozen Nine-Star Half-Emperors and many other Half-Emperor experts outside the Four Pavilions, then decided not to prolong the fight.
• Xiao Yan used Heavenly Severing Steps to appear beside the flying Sun Huo and activated Vajra Glazed Body.

Xiao Yan destroyed the Four Pavilions and defeated Sun Huo, a Nine-Star Half-Emperor, before he could self-destruct. Bai Ying recognized Xiao Yan’s terrifying combat strength and secretly smiled as he looked toward Sun Shuo.

• Xiao Yan’s golden Vajra Glazed Body emerged from the ruins of the Four Pavilions, while Sun Huo’s damaged armor revealed how badly Xiao Yan had wounded him.
• Sun Huo swelled with turbulent Dou Qi and threatened to self-destruct, sending the surrounding crowds fleeing.
• Xiao Yan punched Sun Huo and disrupted his self-destruction, leaving him unconscious in a crater outside the Sun residence’s main hall.
• Bai Ye identified Sun Huo as an early-stage Nine-Star Half-Emperor and feared he would have suffered the same defeat.
• Bai Ying was shocked by how quickly Xiao Yan had defeated Sun Huo, then glanced at Sun Shuo with a fleeting smile.

After Xiao Yan defeated Sun Huo with one punch, Sun Shuo killed the badly wounded clansman and ordered his experts to capture Xiao Yan. Bai Ying mocked the Sun Clan and sent Bai Ye to face Xiao Yan, who asked whether Bai Ye had been the person who left the Four Pavilions.

• Bai Ying taunted Sun Shuo over Sun Huo's defeat and accused the Sun Clan of using pills to build up its fighters.
• Sun Shuo's attack struck Sun Huo instead, driving him into the ground and killing him.
• Sun Shuo defended his actions to the Sun Clan guards, then ordered Sun Yan, Sun Liang, and other experts to capture Xiao Yan.
• Bai Ying mocked the Sun Clan's hesitation and urged Bai Ye to fight Xiao Yan, while Sun Shuo responded with anger.
• Bai Ye flew toward Xiao Yan, who asked whether Bai Ye had been the person who left the Four Pavilions; Bai Ye prepared his Dou Qi without answering.

Xiao Yan overwhelmed Bai Ye in Hanxi City, breaking his strongest attack with the Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler. As Xiao Yan tried to leave, Sun Shuo trapped him with a Dou Qi barrier.

• Bai Ye attacked Xiao Yan with the Mystic Flame Hand, but Xiao Yan struck first and sent him flying with a punch.
• Bai Ying urged Bai Ye to keep Xiao Yan occupied and offered him two third-tier pills, so Bai Ye resumed attacking with his broadsword and Dou Techniques.
• Bai Ye unleashed the Crimson Silk Soul-Severing Blade, and Xiao Yan answered with the Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler, whose three strikes shattered Bai Ye's broadsword and forced him to retreat.
• Xiao Yan prepared to leave Hanxi City, but Sun Shuo released a powerful pressure and formed a Dou Qi barrier that stopped him.

Sun Shuo overpowered the Half-Emperor experts and attacked Xiao Yan, who struggled to resist his pressure. Bai Ying intervened and blocked Sun Shuo, and the two argued over which clan had the right to claim Xiao Yan.

• Sun Shuo's Dou Di pressure forced the Half-Emperor experts to retreat, but Xiao Yan managed to remain standing.
• Sun Shuo appeared before Xiao Yan and attacked him while Xiao Yan struggled to move his Dou Qi.
• Bai Ying intervened and blocked Sun Shuo's palm, then knocked him back with a burst of power.
• Sun Shuo demanded that Bai Ying step aside, but Bai Ying argued that the Sun Clan had forfeited its claim by not answering the challenge.

Bai Ying challenged Sun Shuo over Xiao Yan, but Sun Shuo backed down after Bai Ying threatened his clan. Sun Shuo then ordered his Nine-Star Half-Emperors to capture Xiao Yan or die, and Xiao Yan invited them to attack him together.

• Bai Ying and Sun Shuo prepared to fight over who would take Xiao Yan, revealing their lightning and Water-Rock Dou Qi.
• Sun Shuo claimed his Water-Rock Dou Qi could suppress Bai Ying, but Bai Ying threatened to destroy the Sun Clan if they fought.
• Sun Shuo withdrew and ordered his Nine-Star Half-Emperors to capture Xiao Yan for two third-tier pills each or remain in Hanxi City and die.
• Xiao Yan recovered his Dou Qi after Bai Ying blocked the Dou Di's pressure and told the Half-Emperors to attack him together.

Xiao Yan challenged all the Half-Emperors in Hanxi City to attack him at once, despite widespread disbelief. After they surrounded him, he unleashed his Dragon-Phoenix Bloodline and suppressed their combined pressure, leaving the city and Sun Shuo stunned.

• Xiao Yan declared that all the Half-Emperors should come at him together, shocking the onlookers and drawing different reactions from Bai Ying and Sun Shuo.
• Sun Shuo urged the Half-Emperors to attack Xiao Yan and promised rewards to whoever captured him.
• The Half-Emperors gathered their Dou Qi and surrounded Xiao Yan beneath a pressure that startled even the distant Dou Di experts.
• Xiao Yan used his Dragon-Phoenix Bloodline to raise his strength to Middle Six-Star Half-Emperor.
• Xiao Yan unleashed his own pressure and forcibly suppressed the combined pressure of hundreds of Half-Emperors, wiping the grin from Sun Shuo's face.

Hundreds of Half-Emperor experts attacked Xiao Yan for the second-tier medicinal pill, but he overwhelmed them with his Heavenly Flames, Heavy Xuan Ruler, and speed. Half the attackers were seriously injured, leaving the crowd and the Dou Di experts astonished while Sun Shuo's resentment grew.

• A Half-Emperor elder urged the crowd to attack Xiao Yan together, and an elder with a massive sword launched the first strike.
• Xiao Yan countered with the Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler and stopped the attackers’ techniques with successive ruler strikes.
• A Nine-Star Half-Emperor stabbed Xiao Yan in the chest, but his purple-gold dragon scales turned aside the dagger, and Xiao Yan struck the attacker down.
• Xiao Yan charged into the crowd, using overwhelming speed and ruler blows to defeat the Half-Emperor experts one after another.
• Half of the hundreds of Half-Emperor experts were seriously injured, and the Dou Di experts, Bai Ying, and Sun Shuo watched in shock as Sun Shuo’s resentment deepened.

Xiao Yan suppressed hundreds of Half-Emperors for nearly an hour, but his strength began to falter and the survivors rushed to attack him. As their combined assault closed in, he gathered his remaining Dou Qi and Heavenly Flames into a wheel of fire and began to unleash Buddha's Fury... Samsara.

• Xiao Yan struck a Nine-Star Half-Emperor with the Heavy Xuan Ruler, scattering his Dou Qi and sending him flying.
• Xiao Yan's complexion turned pale as his prolonged exertion left him weakened.
• The Half-Emperors mistook Xiao Yan's weakness for an opening and charged at him with weapons and streams of Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan gathered his Heavenly Flames and remaining Dou Qi into a palm-sized wheel of fire.
• Xiao Yan opened his hand and began to invoke Buddha's Fury... Samsara.

Xiao Yan unleashed Buddha's Fury Reincarnation, devastating the Half-Emperor attackers and frightening the watching Dou Di experts. Sun Shuo charged at Xiao Yan to seize the technique, but the black light pierced his defenses and began decomposing his body.

• Xiao Yan released Buddha's Fury Reincarnation, and wary Dou Di experts withdrew or fled rather than risk confronting him.
• The black pillar of light destroyed the incoming Dou Qi and decomposed the Half-Emperor experts it struck, sending them crashing into the city.
• Sun Shuo became greedy for Xiao Yan's technique and charged at him, ignoring Bai Ying's reaction.
• Xiao Yan poured his remaining Dou Qi into Buddha's Fury Reincarnation and aimed it at Sun Shuo.
• The expanded black pillar struck Sun Shuo, penetrated his defenses, and decomposed part of his chest, shocking him.