Recaps

Xiao Yan discovered that magical beasts in the Cang Ridge Secret Realm had formed hunting squads to ambush alchemists and steal their Fragrance-Nurturing Pills. He fought a group led by Niu Kui and Zi Qi, and the chapter ended with him unharmed after burning away Zi Qi’s poisonous fang.

• Xiao Yan learned that the beasts were working together to lure and kill alchemists carrying Fragrance-Nurturing Pills.
• Xiao Yan attacked Cao Xi as Niu Kui, Zi Qi, and the others joined the fight with coordinated strikes.
• Xiao Yan broke Cao Xi’s bone spikes, countered Niu Kui’s staff and the scythe attack, and evaded the giant beast claw.
• Zi Qi’s poisonous fang pierced Cao Xi and killed him, prompting Niu Kui to challenge her for the betrayal.
• Xiao Yan emerged from the bloody mist and burned Zi Qi’s poisonous fang to ash, leaving Zi Qi and Niu Kui stunned.

Xiao Yan fought Zi Qi, Niu Kui, and their companions after Zi Qi’s poison attack failed against his Heavenly Flames. With the Northern King’s help, he gained the advantage and prepared the Heaven Flipping Seal to finish off Zi Qi, while Niu Kui fled.

• Xiao Yan withstood Zi Qi’s Heart-Devouring Poison and destroyed the Blood Bone Fang, then attacked the group with his flame-wreathed rulers.
• Zi Qi persuaded Niu Kui to keep Xiao Yan occupied while she used a secret art, and Xiao Yan began overwhelming the two Four-Star Yuan Zong fighters.
• Niu Kui transformed and attacked Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan repelled him, tore apart the scythe-armed fighter, and blocked the other man’s attempted self-destruction with the Northern King’s help.
• Xiao Yan summoned the Yuan Zun-level Northern King, who took control of the situation as Niu Kui tried to blame Zi Qi and flee.
• Xiao Yan let the Northern King pursue Niu Kui, then formed the Heaven Flipping Seal to attack the weakened Zi Qi.

Xiao Yan tracked down a Spiny-Scaled Poison Toad to obtain its Purple Spirit Reed Flower, but the creature refused to trade. Xiao Yan trapped it with the Great Dao of the Void and the Volcanic Stone Flame, and the chapter ended with the toad offering Purple Spirit Reed Flower Liquid to save its life.

• Xiao Yan found seven Fragrance-Nurturing Pills in two Storage Rings and recovered the Origin Qi he had spent in battle.
• Xiao Yan sensed a hidden presence beneath a pool and discovered a Spiny-Scaled Poison Toad guarding Purple Spirit Reed Flower.
• The Spiny-Scaled Poison Toad refused Xiao Yan's offer to trade for the flower and retreated underwater.
• Xiao Yan trapped the toad with the Great Dao of the Void and seized it in a hand of magma formed with the Volcanic Stone Flame.
• The Spiny-Scaled Poison Toad offered Purple Spirit Reed Flower Liquid, and Xiao Yan paused in surprise.

Xiao Yan discovered that the Purple Spirit Reed Flower Liquid would be ready in a few days, so he trapped the Spiny-Scaled Poison Toad and waited. After collecting three Purple Spirit Reed Flowers in the toad’s poison sac, he left the promised items behind and vanished, leaving the toad trapped until the fire shield dissipated.

• Xiao Yan forced the Spiny-Scaled Poison Toad to reveal the Purple Spirit Reed Flowers hidden behind a stream and confirmed that their liquid would form within a few days.
• Xiao Yan sealed the Spiny-Scaled Poison Toad inside a fire shield and waited five days for the Purple Spirit Reed Flower Liquid to mature.
• Xiao Yan demanded one of the toad’s poison sacs and threatened to take it by force, prompting the toad to give one up after he was wounded by magma spikes.
• Xiao Yan stored three Purple Spirit Reed Flowers in the poison sac, left the items he had promised for the Spiny-Scaled Poison Toad, and disappeared through a black curtain.

Xiao Yan sensed Xiao Siyu’s Black Sparrow Flame near the territory of one of the three great magical beasts and rushed to find her being attacked by Daoist Xuankong. He rescued her and ordered Northern King to kill the elder.

• Xiao Yan searched for Xiao Siyu and finally detected her Black Sparrow Flame near the snowy mountains.
• Xiao Siyu fled toward the mountains while Daoist Xuankong pursued her, struck her down, and took her Storage Ring.
• Xiao Yan arrived with Northern King, knocked Daoist Xuankong back, and retrieved Xiao Siyu’s Storage Ring.
• Xiao Yan gave the badly injured Xiao Siyu several pills and ordered Northern King to kill Daoist Xuankong.

Xiao Yan joined the Northern King in fighting the weakened Daoist Xuankong after Xuankong gravely injured Xiao Siyu and tried to seize the stone. Xuankong fled when a mysterious white-robed young man appeared, leaving Xiao Yan facing the newcomer, whose killing intent suggested a fight was imminent.

• Daoist Xuankong exchanged blows with the Northern King but failed to overcome the Yuan Zun-level puppet.
• Xiao Yan used three Heavenly Flames to boost his cultivation and attacked Daoist Xuankong to avenge Xiao Siyu and defend the Xiao Clan.
• Daoist Xuankong briefly sealed the Northern King with the Power of the Great Dao, then tried to ambush Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan escaped using the Great Dao of the Void.
• The Northern King broke free and returned to Xiao Yan, leaving Daoist Xuankong too depleted to continue fighting both opponents.
• A white-robed young man appeared, dismissed Daoist Xuankong, and forced him to flee before turning his killing intent toward Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan asked whether the young man was from the Bai Clan as he gathered energy for the unavoidable fight.

Xiao Yan and the Northern King fought a Three-Star Yuan Zun young man who wielded powerful sound-wave techniques. After the Soul-Guiding Incense protected Xiao Yan from a deadly attack, Xiao Yan began combining six flames to prepare a decisive counterattack.

• The young man attacked Xiao Yan, and the Northern King charged to intercept him, but the young man used a command to blast the Northern King backward.
• Xiao Yan struck with the Heaven Flipping Seal, which collided with the young man's sonic blade and left Xiao Yan reeling from the sound waves.
• The young man appeared behind Xiao Yan and launched a killing blow, but Xiao Yan's Giant Elephant Art blocked it, and the Soul-Guiding Incense dispelled the sound waves affecting him.
• The young man recognized the Soul-Guiding Incense, while the Northern King attacked him with his dragon tail and forced him to raise a Spirit Sound Barrier.
• Xiao Yan judged that he needed to end the fight quickly, dismissed the Giant Elephant Art, and began fusing six balls of flame.

Xiao Yan countered Bai Hansheng’s sound attacks and prepared to face him, but a Yao Clan elder seized Xiao Siyu and forced the fighters into a standoff. Just as Bai Hansheng moved to attack, an unknown voice condemned the two Yuan Zun for ganging up on Xiao Yan and dividing his possessions.

• Bai Hansheng trapped Xiao Yan in a sound barrier, but Xiao Yan broke the golden bell’s effect with a dragon’s roar and threatened him with a Buddha’s Fury Fire Lotus.
• The Northern King shattered the bronze chimes and returned to Xiao Yan’s side as Xiao Yan demanded to know who the young man was.
• A Yao Clan elder seized Xiao Siyu and identified the young man as Bai Hansheng, accusing him of using the Brahma Sound Soul-Shattering Curse against the Bai Clan’s rivals.
• The elder demanded Xiao Yan’s possessions and Heavenly Flames, then held Xiao Siyu hostage while Bai Hansheng agreed to kill Xiao Yan and let the elder take the spoils.
• Xiao Yan warned the elder that the Xiao Clan would destroy the Yao Clan if Xiao Siyu were harmed, but Bai Hansheng rejected the threat and asked the elder to hold off the Northern King.
• Bai Hansheng prepared to attack Xiao Yan, but an unknown voice interrupted and accused the two Yuan Zun of shamelessly ganging up on him.

Xiang Wuhui arrived as a Four-Star Yuan Zun and drove Yao Suifeng away, then intervened to protect Xiao Yan from Bai Hansheng. Bai Hansheng escaped after striking back with Nether Sound and vowed to keep pursuing Xiao Yan.

• Xiang Wuhui appeared before Xiao Yan and the others, and Yao Suifeng tried to invoke the Pill Tower to keep him out of the dispute.
• Xiang Wuhui threatened to expose Yao Suifeng's illegal entry into the secret realm, forcing him to leave.
• Bai Hansheng offered to give up the Heavenly Flames if Xiang Wuhui let him kill Xiao Yan, but Xiang Wuhui refused and ordered him to leave.
• Xiao Yan stepped back, summoned the Northern King for support, and swallowed pills to recover some strength.
• Xiang Wuhui attacked Bai Hansheng and blasted him back, but Bai Hansheng's Nether Sound disrupted Xiang Wuhui and let him escape after threatening Xiao Yan.

Xiang Wuhui forced Xiao Yan to help him forge and refine his bones and blood with Heavenly Flames, holding Xiao Siyu captive to ensure his cooperation. As Xiang Wuhui absorbed medicinal power in a heavenly lake, Xiao Yan began recovering his Origin Qi and prepared to use a pink Heavenly Flame.

• Xiang Wuhui explained that he needed Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flames for his cultivation breakthrough and threatened him into cooperating.
• Xiang Wuhui led Xiao Yan and the Northern King, who carried Xiao Siyu, to a heavenly lake filled with medicinal ingredients and Lightning-Attracting Formations.
• Xiang Wuhui trapped Xiao Siyu in a golden sphere, then transformed into a giant elephant-headed beast and began absorbing the lake's medicinal power.
• Xiao Yan realized Xiang Wuhui was using Xiao Siyu as leverage and might kill them after the forging was complete.
• Xiao Yan drew out a pink Heavenly Flame, took pills, and began recovering his Origin Qi while the Northern King guarded Xiao Siyu.

Xiao Yan recovered and agreed to refine Xiang Wuhui’s bones, but first demanded forty Fragrance-Nurturing Pills for him and Xiao Siyu to pass the trial. Xiang Wuhui handed them over, and Xiao Yan began guiding a Child Heavenly Flame through his body to refine his bones.

• After nearly half a day of recovery, Xiao Yan returned to peak condition and prepared to fulfill his promise to Xiang Wuhui.
• Xiao Yan demanded forty Fragrance-Nurturing Pills, warning that he could not safely refine Xiang Wuhui’s bones if he was distracted by the trial.
• Xiang Wuhui threatened Xiao Yan but decided he needed the bone refining more, so he gave him exactly forty pills.
• Xiao Yan warned Xiang Wuhui to control his Origin Qi and remain still during the procedure.
• Xiao Yan sent his Child Heavenly Flame into Xiang Wuhui’s body and began guiding the medicinal power into his bones.

Xiao Yan completed refining Xiang Wuhui’s bones, but Xiang Wuhui tried to seize his Heavenly Flames instead of letting him and Xiao Siyu leave. Xiao Yan’s hidden flames crippled Xiang Wuhui long enough for him to free Xiao Siyu, and they fled into the snowy mountains before Xiang Wuhui could recover.

• Xiao Yan spent seven days refining Xiang Wuhui’s bones while Xiao Siyu recovered from her injuries.
• After the refining was complete, Xiang Wuhui questioned Xiao Yan about a possible hidden scheme, then attacked him to steal his Heavenly Flames.
• Pink flames ignited throughout Xiang Wuhui’s body, leaving him in agony and unable to pursue Xiao Yan immediately.
• When Xiang Wuhui threatened Xiao Yan, the golden sphere trapping Xiao Siyu began to contract, so Xiao Yan summoned the Northern King to shatter it with a lightning strike.
• Xiao Yan had the Northern King carry Xiao Siyu as they fled into the snowy mountains before Xiang Wuhui could subdue the flames and recover.

Xiao Yan and his companions fled through Xiang Wuhui’s territory while Magical Beasts hunted them, and they rescued four humans from an attack. The gray-haired old man began to share what he had heard about the secret realm’s exit.

• Xiao Yan escaped the snowy mountains with the Northern King and Xiao Siyu after sensing Xiang Wuhui’s furious roar.
• Xiao Yan and his companions traveled for two days through increasing numbers of hostile Magical Beasts, with the Northern King clearing their path.
• The Northern King killed the Magical Beasts that recognized and tried to flee from Xiao Yan’s group, saving four humans from the encirclement.
• Xiao Yan asked the four humans where the secret realm’s exit was, and the gray-haired old man said he had once heard someone mention it.

Xiao Yan learned the supposed route to the secret realm’s exit, but Xiao Siyu recognized that the gray-haired elder had lied and that he and his companions were following them to steal their Fragrance-Nurturing Pills. As a Yuan Zun pursuer intercepted the four men, Xiao Yan and Xiao Siyu prepared a hidden ambush, suspecting Xiang Wuhui was coming for them.

• The gray-haired elder told Xiao Yan that the exit lay west, then revealed to his three companions that Xiao Yan had gathered forty Fragrance-Nurturing Pills and proposed stealing them after a clash with a Yuan Zun.
• The gray-haired elder persuaded the other three to join him, and the four set off after Xiao Yan’s group as a black-robed figure restored a trace of Xiao Yan’s presence and followed it.
• Xiao Yan sensed the four men pursuing them, while Xiao Siyu used the map and the elder’s inconsistent story to conclude that he had tried to mislead them.
• Xiao Yan detected a Yuan Zun expert intercepting the pursuers, and Xiao Siyu suspected Xiang Wuhui was behind them.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Siyu concealed themselves among the stone pillars, while Xiao Yan set out the Northern King and an avatar and condensed six Heavenly Flames for a surprise attack.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Siyu hid from a powerful Ghost Gate Yuan Zun, but their decoys failed to stop him. As the Northern King and Xiao Siyu attacked together, they broke his spatial seal and forced the battle to escalate.

• Xiao Siyu sent a Black Sparrow Flame spirit falcon to scout and planted two Formation Plates while Xiao Yan prepared a Fire Lotus.
• Xiao Siyu sensed an approaching enemy, and Xiao Yan concealed them both beneath a black curtain of the Great Dao of the Void.
• The Ghost Gate attacker destroyed Xiao Yan's avatar and Formation Plates, then demanded that Xiao Yan surrender.
• Xiao Yan's avatar exploded, but the mysterious Yuan Zun contained its blast before the Northern King struck him with its dragon tail.
• The mysterious figure sealed the Northern King with the Great Dao of Space, but Xiao Siyu appeared and unleashed Black Fire Heavenly Illumination.
• Xiao Siyu's flames and the Northern King's lightning shattered the mysterious figure's spatial seal.

Xiao Siyu and the Northern King fought the mysterious Yuan Zun of the Ghost Gate, but the foe overwhelmed them with superior control of the Great Dao of Space. Xiao Yan ambushed the figure with Buddha’s Fury Fire Lotus, then fled toward the secret realm’s exit while the wounded Xiao Siyu and the Northern King escaped ahead of him.

• The Northern King attacked the mysterious figure, but the foe struck him away after overcoming the disruption caused by Xiao Siyu’s Black Sparrow Flame.
• The mysterious figure trapped Xiao Siyu in collapsing space and left her gravely injured, then restrained the Northern King with spatial blades.
• The figure realized Xiao Yan had not appeared and was struck from behind by Buddha’s Fury Fire Lotus.
• Xiao Yan ordered the Northern King to carry the wounded Xiao Siyu away, then escaped the battle and raced toward the secret realm’s exit.
• Xiao Yan fled the pursuing Yuan Zun, sending out avatars to delay them while gathering his remaining Origin Qi into a whirling disk of fire.

Xiao Yan killed Daoist Xuankong when the Ghost Gate expert ambushed him near the secret realm’s exit, but another powerful enemy trapped him with Dao Transforms Heaven and Earth. As Xiao Yan struggled to break free with his remaining strength, a torrent of invisible power erupted from him and shook the blockade.

• Daoist Xuankong trapped Xiao Yan in a spatial cage and attacked him from behind.
• Xiao Yan used his Heavenly Flames and Buddha's Fury Reincarnation to kill Daoist Xuankong, then burned his body and took his Storage Ring.
• A second attacker arrived and trapped Xiao Yan with Dao Transforms Heaven and Earth, compressing and distorting the space around him.
• Xiao Yan swallowed pills, wrapped himself in the Great Dao of the Void and Heavenly Flames, and struck at the spatial blockade, but barely made it ripple.
• The mysterious attacker taunted Xiao Yan as a torrent of invisible power erupted from him and violently shook the surrounding space.

Xiao Yan struggled to break the figure’s spatial seal while using Ten Thousand Seas Return to the Ruins to boost his Spiritual Strength. Captured and facing death, he released the origins of his Heavenly Flames, making the figure retreat in alarm.

• Xiao Yan used his boosted Spiritual Strength to crack the spatial seal, but his attack only shattered part of it.
• Xiao Yan asked why the figure wanted his now-ordinary ornament, while secretly searching the surrounding space for an escape route.
• The figure attacked with black light; Xiao Yan blocked it with a shield of Spiritual Strength and Heavenly Flames, but the figure then overwhelmed him and restrained him in solidified space.
• The figure approached Xiao Yan and began shaping the spatial restraint into a coffin, saying he wanted to preserve Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan released several Heavenly Flame Origins, and the figure recognized the threat of detonation and retreated in alarm.

Xiao Yan was on the verge of sacrificing his Heavenly Flames to escape Fu Kui when Xu Qinghe intervened and rescued him. Fu Kui withdrew rather than risk a fight, but he left Xiao Yan with a threat of future danger.

• Xiao Yan resolved to erase the Soul Imprint in his Heavenly Flame Origin and considered sacrificing the flames as Fu Kui moved to kill him.
• Xu Qinghe broke Fu Kui’s control over the surrounding space, rescued Xiao Yan, and destroyed Fu Kui’s concealed attack with a wind dragon.
• Xu Qinghe rebuffed Fu Kui’s threat and summoned the Nine Heavens Azure Pagoda and a fire dragon, using the Great Daos of wind and fire to resist Fu Kui’s Great Dao of Space.
• Fu Kui judged that fighting Xu Qinghe could expose his identity and jeopardize his pursuit of the Heaven Inquiry Pill, so he withdrew after warning Xiao Yan that he would let him live a few more days.
• Xiao Yan remained tense even after Fu Kui disappeared.

After Xu Qinghe rescued Xiao Yan from Fu Kui, he persuaded the injured Xiao Yan to travel with him across the dangerous plain. Xiao Yan realized Xu Qinghe wanted the ancient bronze badge and handed it over for Xu Qinghe to return to his master.

• Xiao Yan thanked Xu Qinghe for saving him, and Xu Qinghe explained that his master had ordered him to help Xiao Yan.
• Xu Qinghe warned that the plain was dangerous and urged Xiao Yan to travel with him to the core region, where fighting was forbidden.
• Xiao Yan rested until his injuries and Origin Qi partly recovered, then rode Xu Qinghe's wind dragon across the plain.
• Xu Qinghe recognized Xiao Yan's powerful Spiritual Strength and noted that using his secret technique so early could cost him his chance at the Pill Gathering championship.
• Xu Qinghe revealed that his master had been tracking Xiao Yan because he possessed the keepsake of the master's old friend, Huo Zhu.
• Xiao Yan gave Xu Qinghe the ancient bronze badge, and Xu Qinghe drew it into his Storage Ring.

After qualifying at the lake of pill fragrance Qi, Xiao Yan concealed himself and confirmed that Xiao Siyu was safe. He prepared to pursue a breakthrough to a Tier Eight Alchemist and found a soul-strengthening secret technique, but it required a missing soul-binding stone.

• Xu Qinghe and Xiao Yan reached the vast lake and each threw in enough Fragrance-Nurturing Pills to obtain a water talisman proving they had qualified.
• Xiao Yan parted from Xu Qinghe, hid on a small island, and contacted the Soul Imprint in the Northern King's body to confirm Xiao Siyu was safe.
• Xiao Yan resolved to win the Pill Gathering crown and considered using the lingering Soul Power in his body to break through to a Tier Eight Alchemist.
• Xiao Yan searched Daoist Xuankong's Storage Ring and found the Spirit Absorption Secret Technique, which required a soul-binding stone he did not have.

Xiao Siyu gave Xiao Yan the Soul-Binding Stone, helping him attempt to break through to a Tier Eight Soul while she recovered on the ring-shaped island. When the secret realm’s exit opened, she left ahead of him after he promised to escape before it closed, while his breakthrough was still underway.

• Xiao Yan abandoned his initial breakthrough attempt when Xiao Siyu arrived with the Soul-Binding Stone she had taken from Daoist Xuankong.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Siyu that he had killed Daoist Xuankong and showed her the Spirit Absorption Secret Technique, and she gave him the stone to aid his breakthrough.
• Xiao Yan refined the Soul-Binding Stone and materials from Daoist Xuankong’s Storage Ring, while Xiao Siyu recovered and the Northern King guarded the island.
• Xiao Yan began his Tier Eight Soul breakthrough, and the Northern King kept passing experts from disturbing him.
• When the secret realm’s exit opened, Xiao Siyu left the island after Xiao Yan promised to leave before the realm closed, while he continued his breakthrough.

Xiao Yan emerged from the secret realm just before its exit closed and was allowed to advance to the Pill Gathering’s final round. Chen Xuanling explained the final assessment and its rewards, then began the pill-refining contest.

• Xiao Siyu worried as the secret realm’s exit shrank, while Fu Kui also watched for Xiao Yan.
• Chen Xuanling prepared to begin the final round, but Xiao Yan emerged from the closing exit in a burst of black light.
• Xiao Yan asked whether he had passed, and Chen Xuanling confirmed that he qualified because he left before the next round was announced.
• Chen Xuanling divided the final assessment into groups for Tier Seven and Tier Eight Alchemists and offered the top ten a chance to join the Pill Tower as elders.
• Chen Xuanling invited the alchemists onto the floating platforms, and the final pill-refining contest began.

Xiao Yan used Soul-Binding Stone and several techniques to attempt to break through to an eighth-tier soul while Xiao Siyu recovered and guarded the island with the Northern King. When the secret realm’s exit opened, Xiao Siyu left first after Xiao Yan promised to escape before it closed.

• Xiao Yan began attempting to reach the eighth tier using the Pill Profound Realm and Ten Thousand Seas Return to the Ruins.
• Xiao Siyu arrived with the Northern King and gave Xiao Yan the Soul-Binding Stone she had taken from Daoist Xuankong.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Siyu about the Spirit Absorption Secret Technique and Daoist Xuankong’s death, then began refining materials from Daoist Xuankong’s Storage Ring with the Soul-Binding Stone.
• Two days later, Xiao Yan formally began his breakthrough attempt as Xiao Siyu recovered and the Northern King guarded the island.
• Xiao Siyu sensed that the secret realm’s exit had opened, but Xiao Yan had not completed his breakthrough.
• Xiao Siyu left the secret realm after Xiao Yan promised to depart before it closed.

Xiao Yan escaped the secret realm just before its exit closed and qualified for the Pill Gathering’s final round. Chen Xuanling announced the final contest’s two assessment groups and the rewards for the top alchemists, then began the pill-refining contest.

• Xiao Siyu and the others worried as the secret realm’s exit shrank, while Fu Kui feared Xiao Yan’s death could cost him the Heavenly Flames and the “key.”
• Just as Chen Xuanling prepared to announce the final round, Xiao Yan emerged from a flash of black light after the exit closed.
• Chen Xuanling ruled that Xiao Yan had passed because he left before the next round was announced.
• Chen Xuanling explained that Tier Seven and Tier Eight Alchemists would be assessed separately, with the top ten in each group invited to join the Pill Tower as elders.
• Chen Xuanling invited the alchemists onto the floating platforms, and the final pill-refining contest began.