Recaps

Li Yan entered the Gui Water Immortal Sect and met its scattered successors, learning that the Five Immortal Sects had suffered deaths and were locked in conflict with the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect. Dong Fuyi distributed treasures to the disciples, then quietly told Li Yan that he would have to repay what he ate as the sect grew stronger; Ling Yao and Fairy Ning Ke’s disciple remained behind.

• Dong Fuyi introduced Li Yan to Shi Ligu and Fairy Ning Ke before bringing him into the Gui Water Immortal Sect’s mountain gate.
• Shi Ligu and Fairy Ning Ke gathered seven successors from the Five Immortal Sects, including Ling Yao, and introduced them to Dong Fuyi and Li Yan.
• Shi Ligu told Dong Fuyi that the Eldest Senior Brother and Zhu Tian and Qing Ze had ascended, while Xuan Hou and Fang Zhan had fallen in a battle against the sect’s enemy.
• Shi Ligu explained that the enemy had lost several powerful cultivators, while Xing Jia, Feng Yu, and others had gone out, prompting Dong Fuyi to consider entering seclusion to grow stronger.
• Dong Fuyi handed magical treasures, pills, and materials to the seven disciples, then privately told Li Yan he would have to repay what he consumed as the sect prospered.
• After the disciples departed, Ling Yao and Fairy Ning Ke’s young disciple stayed behind.

Shi Ligui explained why Li Yan would keep Tuban as his sole spatial treasure and gave him Wing Guard, a treasure that concealed his cultivation. Fairy Ning Ke then offered Li Yan a wood-element technique that drained life, leaving him surprised by the Yi Wood Immortal Sect’s deadly arts.

• Shi Ligui told Li Yan to continue nurturing Tuban and to refine a spatial treasure for the sect after reaching the Body Integration Realm.
• Shi Ligui gave Li Yan Wing Guard, a jade pendant that concealed his cultivation from all but perhaps Mahayana cultivators.
• Li Yan thanked Shi Ligui, while Fairy Ning Ke said the other elders would give him gifts when they returned.
• Fairy Ning Ke presented Li Yan with a jade slip containing a wood-element technique that drained life rather than healing it.
• Li Yan recalled a story of a wood-element cultivator who slowly exhausted a demonic fiend until the fiend died in agony.

Li Yan chose a wood-attributed cultivation technique from Fairy Ning Ke instead of valuable water-attributed demon beast fur, then settled into a secluded cave abode in the nearly empty Gui Water Immortal Sect. As Ling Yao and Ziming accompanied him, Li Yan learned more about the sect and its young disciples, and Ziming began speaking to Ling Yao after Li Yan inspected his new home.

• Fairy Ning Ke warned Li Yan that cultivating the offered technique could drastically shorten his lifespan, but Li Yan chose it over the sixth-rank demon beast fur and accepted the jade slip.
• Shi Ligui sent Ling Yao and Ziming to show Li Yan to a cave abode while the elders stayed behind to talk with Dong Fuyi.
• Ling Yao invited Li Yan to spar and discuss the Dao, while Li Yan avoided agreeing to a fight and asked why the Gui Water Immortal Sect seemed so empty.
• Ling Yao told Li Yan that the sect had no servants or outer disciples, then eagerly questioned him about the lower realm and the Immortal-Spirit Realm as Ziming followed them.
• Li Yan chose a secluded cave abode halfway up the mountain instead of one near the summit, inspected it, and prepared to share wine with Ling Yao and Ziming.
• Ziming suddenly spoke to Ling Yao as Li Yan was about to take out the wine.

Zhao Ziming explained the dangerous Withering cultivation art to Li Yan, then Dong Fuyi brought Shi Ligui and Ning Ke to examine Bai Rou's injuries. They found that Ning Ke could remove the surface impurities in Bai Rou's sea of consciousness, but fully curing her would require a scarce Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Herb.

• Zhao Ziming explained Withering's cultivation risks and techniques to Li Yan, who carefully studied the jade slip after he left.
• Dong Fuyi, Shi Ligui, and Ning Ke visited Li Yan's cave and examined Bai Rou's injuries with their Divine Senses and mana.
• Shi Ligui determined that Bai Rou's sea of consciousness had stabilized but that clearing its impurities would require careful treatment and likely a Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Herb.
• Ning Ke offered to remove the surface impurities with her technique, while warning that reconstructing Bai Rou's sea of consciousness would erase her memories and that a complete cure would need at least one and a half Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Herbs.
• Li Yan asked Ning Ke to remove the surface impurities, and Dong Fuyi reminded her to explain the herb search he had promised to help Li Yan with.

Li Yan learned that Yellow Qi Valley might hold the Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Grass needed to save Bai Rou, but obtaining it could require infiltrating the powerful alchemy sect. Though Dong Fuyi and the others warned him of the danger, Li Yan resolved to explore the possibility while protecting his sect and preserving his life.

• Fairy Ning Ke said the Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Grass had not been seen in major markets for roughly three thousand years and might be difficult to find in time for Bai Rou.
• Fairy Ning Ke tested Li Yan's Bone-Clinging Maggots poison and learned he could also condense his poisons into liquids and pills.
• Fairy Ning Ke revealed that Yellow Qi Valley's Seven Spirit Pill used the Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Grass and that the plant might grow in an ancient inheritance hall reserved for elite disciples.
• Fairy Ning Ke said Li Yan might be able to enter Yellow Qi Valley, but Shi Ligui objected to risking his life, while Dong Fuyi insisted Li Yan needed to know the possibility for Bai Rou's sake.
• In his cave residence, Li Yan thanked his elders, explained why he felt obligated to help Bai Rou, and asked about the dangers and difficulties of infiltrating Yellow Qi Valley.

Fairy Ning Ke and Dong Fuyi laid out a plan for Li Yan to seek the Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Grass by infiltrating Yellow Qi Valley, provided he passed Shi Li Gui’s assessment. After Shi Li Gui tested him on a dangerous three-month journey, he approved Li Yan and sealed the secrets of the Five Immortal Sects in Li Yan’s sea of consciousness.

• Fairy Ning Ke explained how Li Yan could enter Yellow Qi Valley as a Spirit Transformation disciple and warned him about the risks of concealing his identity and seeking the Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Grass.
• Dong Fuyi advised Li Yan to remain in the sect but agreed that Shi Li Gui would assess him before Fairy Ning Ke helped him enter Yellow Qi Valley; Li Yan accepted the condition.
• Fairy Ning Ke took Bai Rou into her care to seal her life aura while the others searched for the Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Grass.
• Shi Li Gui took Li Yan and Ling Yao on a three-month trial, creating dangers and refusing to intervene unless they faced a true life-or-death crisis.
• Li Yan quietly resolved the dangers, including threats from Void Refinement cultivators, impressing Shi Li Gui, who brought him and Ling Yao back to the sect.
• With Li Yan’s guidance, Shi Li Gui sealed information about the Five Immortal Sects and their techniques within Li Yan’s sea of consciousness.

Li Yan prepared to enter Yellow Qi Valley while Fairy Ning Ke advised him to conceal his abilities and keep his cultivation foundation intact. After four years of traveling and receiving her guidance, he arrived at the valley and was placed in the Outer Valley to await the Inner Valley assessment.

• Shi Ligui assessed Li Yan’s alchemy skills for five and a half months before Fairy Ning Ke summoned him to leave the sect.
• Fairy Ning Ke warned Li Yan to wait before revealing his abilities in Yellow Qi Valley, use its arts only as references, and remember his cultivation foundation.
• Fairy Ning Ke guided Li Yan through four years of travel, teaching him to use laws of heaven and earth and helping him compress his spiritual power.
• Fairy Ning Ke and Li Yan reached Yellow Qi Valley without finding news of the Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Grass.
• An Inner Valley cultivator arranged for Li Yan to bypass the Outer Valley’s first three assessments and wait four months before taking the Inner Valley assessment.

Fairy Ning Ke arranged for Li Yan to enter Yellow Qi Valley, where he kept a low profile while preparing for the inner-valley examination. Four months later, his temporary identity token summoned him to gather outside the caves, and he left his dwelling for the examination.

• Fairy Ning Ke asked an Earth-ranked Grand Alchemy Master to help Li Yan enter Yellow Qi Valley, and the woman agreed after testing his background and fire ability.
• Fairy Ning Ke asked that Li Yan follow the usual rules and avoid receiving conspicuous favors, so the woman waived his first three assessments and arranged for him to take the inner-valley examination.
• A black-robed steward, Hu Quanjie, took fifty high-grade spirit stones from Li Yan before giving him a temporary identity token and a jade slip with the sect rules and his cave's location.
• Li Yan reached a sparsely furnished temporary cave, added two formations for protection, and stayed inside to cultivate rather than meet other people.
• Four months later, Li Yan's temporary identity token summoned everyone outside the caves, then shattered; he collected his formation flags and left his cave.

Li Yan joined the Spirit Transformation candidates gathering for Yellow Qi Valley’s examination and learned how the sect would recruit cultivators of different realms. After the candidates followed the white-robed overseers to a formation-covered platform at the summit, the examination was poised to begin.

• Li Yan left his cave and flew toward the gathering, dodging four Spirit Transformation cultivators who mocked him as they rushed past.
• A white-robed Void Refinement cultivator explained the examination rules and how successful candidates could enter Yellow Qi Valley’s Inner or Outer Valley.
• Two identical twin sisters arrived in Li Yan’s group, drawing the attention of the four Spirit Transformation cultivators who had mocked him.
• The five white-robed cultivators led the candidates toward the summit, and Li Yan followed the Spirit Transformation overseer with the others.
• Li Yan and the other candidates landed on a bluestone platform and saw a row of formations ahead of them.

Li Yan and six other cultivators began Yellow Qi Valley’s assessment, which required them to collect golden runes while protecting their green runes and competing under lethal conditions. Inside the formation, they discovered that an invisible barrier made the runes difficult to capture, leaving Li Yan to investigate its strange resistance.

• A white-robed Spirit Transformation cultivator explained the assessment rules, including the one-hour limit, the fifty-rune passing requirement, and the risk of death or elimination.
• Li Yan and the other participants cautiously inspected their green runes before entering the formation, while the sect secretly evaluated their behavior.
• The formation separated the participants, and Li Yan saw the twin sisters reunite nearby with their yellow dresses revealing powerful defensive treasures.
• A writing desk and ten bottles appeared in the formation, releasing several hundred golden runes that the seven cultivators immediately pursued.
• Li Yan and the others tried to capture the runes, but an invisible barrier slowed and deflected their attacks, preventing them from seizing their targets.

Li Yan and the other Spirit Transformation cultivators struggled to collect golden runes, then discovered that the invisible barrier was a pill-essence space that suppressed the laws of heaven and earth and restricted their spiritual power. After entering and learning how to seize the runes, Li Yan collected one, while the twin sisters continued coordinating from opposite sides of the barrier.

• The twin sisters tested their pale green belts against the barrier, drawing the other cultivators’ attention to their earth-element treasure.
• When repeated attacks failed, one sister entered the barrier while the other held the belt tied around her waist.
• The sister inside seized a golden rune, prompting Li Yan and the other cultivators to rush into the barrier.
• Li Yan realized the barrier was formed from ancient pill essence and that its crushing force restricted spiritual power and suppressed the familiar laws of heaven and earth.
• Li Yan captured his first golden rune, while the sister inside collected four and grew exhausted.
• The sister inside tugged the belt, and her twin outside poured spiritual power into it and pulled hard.

Li Yan deciphered the barrier’s spatial distortion and the limits it placed on cultivators, then waited for the expected ambush as contestants emerged to recover. He evaded the seductive woman’s attack, while the twin sisters were separated by the assault and the chapter ended with the younger sister rushing to help her weakening elder sister.

• Li Yan realized that the barrier distorted the apparent positions of the golden runes and that cultivators inside had to conserve their dwindling spiritual power.
• After the contestants collected the runes near the barrier’s edge, Li Yan gathered thirty-seven and returned from the depths with his spiritual power nearly exhausted.
• The burly man’s group ambushed Li Yan and the mid Spirit Transformation Realm yellow-skirted woman as they emerged, with the seductive woman attacking Li Yan and the burly man and golden-robed man targeting the woman.
• Li Yan dodged the seductive woman’s red veil and jade bracelet, then fled along the barrier while making his movements look clumsy.
• The mid Spirit Transformation Realm yellow-skirted woman escaped her attackers, and her sister and the man in fitted black attire left the barrier.
• The younger yellow-skirted woman rushed to assist her elder sister as the seductive woman continued pursuing Li Yan.

Li Yan escaped the seductive woman’s trap, took her green rune, and intervened in the battle between the yellow-skirted sisters and their attackers. After the sisters defeated the golden-robed cultivator, the burly man and the black-clad man confronted Li Yan and the sisters.

• Li Yan dodged the red veil, caused the seductive woman to faint, and took the green rune from her before she vanished from the formation.
• Li Yan attacked the golden-robed cultivator, giving the younger yellow-skirted sister an opening to sever his arm and take his green rune.
• The burly man charged Li Yan, but the two yellow-skirted sisters joined forces to block his attack.
• The black-clad man arrived beside the burly man, who ordered the sisters aside and fixed his attention on Li Yan.

Li Yan passed Yellow Qi Valley’s assessment and entered the inner valley alongside Cheng Kuanghan and the Ming sisters, while the others were sent to await judgment. After receiving his new disciple’s quarters and instructions, Li Yan headed toward his residence as the Ming sisters went their separate way.

• Ming Qi and Ming Yu refused to surrender their green runes, and Cheng Kuanghan and the black-clad man entered the barrier rather than continue the dispute.
• Li Yan and the others were pulled out of the formation; the white-robed cultivator confirmed that Li Yan, the Ming sisters, and Cheng Kuanghan had passed the assessment.
• Cheng Kuanghan’s group learned that Li Yan had used concealed poison to incapacitate the bewitching woman, and the white-robed cultivator sent the successful four to the inner valley while the others returned to await judgment.
• Li Yan and the other three followed the white-robed cultivator through Yellow Qi Valley’s spirit fields to the Affairs Hall, where they received new disciple provisions and instructions.
• Li Yan learned the sisters were named Ming Qi and Ming Yu, then flew toward the new disciples’ residences as the sisters turned toward another part of the forest.

Li Yan settled into his secluded residence in Yellow Qi Valley and examined the pill furnace and earth fire provided by the sect. He studied the sect’s Pill Dao ranks and assessment rules, realizing that disciples had to pass recurring evaluations to remain in the inner valley.

• Li Yan chose a remote residence and used his token to enter its courtyard.
• Li Yan activated the Spirit Transformation Furnace and inspected its Grade Five Earth Fire.
• Li Yan learned from the jade slip how the sect assigned pill furnaces and fires, and that stronger resources could be rented at Zhurong.
• Li Yan explored and cleaned the residence, activated its restrictions, and began considering his next steps in the cultivation room.
• Li Yan learned that Yellow Qi Valley ranked pill refiners through several grades and required recurring assessments, with failures leading to demotion or expulsion.

Li Yan spent three years building his alchemy foundations in Yellow Qi Valley, earning the ranks of Spirit Pill Adept and Alchemy Practitioner while preparing to qualify as a core elite disciple. As he attended a lecture and weighed how quickly to pursue the Yellow-rank Alchemist assessment, Cheng Kuanghan confronted him with a group of apparent faction backers.

• Li Yan planned to study Yellow Qi Valley’s alchemy inheritance, attend lectures, and work toward becoming a core elite disciple so he could enter the Ancient Hall of Inheritance.
• Li Yan spent three years studying and passed the assessments for Spirit Pill Adept and Alchemy Practitioner, but postponed the Yellow-rank Alchemist assessment on Second Martial Uncle’s advice.
• Li Yan attended a Mystic-rank Alchemy Grandmaster’s lecture and considered the requirements for becoming a Yellow-rank Alchemist and entering the Ancient Hall of Inheritance.
• Li Yan worried that delaying his advancement could worsen Bai Rou’s injuries, but also feared drawing too much attention by advancing too quickly.
• Cheng Kuanghan arrived with six others and confronted Li Yan, having searched for him for three years after blaming him for the group’s failure to enter Yellow Qi Valley.

Li Yan avoided Cheng Kuanghan and Yu Erlu’s public provocation, but Cheng Kuanghan later trapped him in a forest clearing with six allies and demanded payment for a fabricated debt. As the seven closed in, Li Yan remained motionless, making Cheng Kuanghan fear he had already laid poison.

• Cheng Kuanghan spotted Li Yan at the lecture plaza and urged Yu Erlu’s group to confront him, but Li Yan flew into the crowd without responding.
• Yu Erlu and the others stayed for the lecture rather than risk drawing the Enforcement Hall’s attention in the crowded plaza.
• After the lecture, Li Yan flew toward his courtyard, sensed someone following him, and hid in the forest, where Cheng Kuanghan and six others surrounded him.
• Cheng Kuanghan claimed Li Yan owed spirit stones, while Yu Erlu falsely demanded thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones and angered Cheng Kuanghan by trying to claim the money for himself.
• Cheng Kuanghan and the others closed in on Li Yan, but his stillness made Cheng Kuanghan suspect that Li Yan had prepared a poison trap.

Li Yan used his true body to ambush Cheng Kuanghan, Yu Erlu, and their group, knocking them unconscious and taking their spirit stones while leaving their other valuables. Back in his courtyard, he absorbed the memories of his incarnation and reflected on how the raid had frightened the group into abandoning plans to retaliate.

• Li Yan’s true body sped through the group, struck all seven men, and used poison to knock them unconscious.
• Yu Erlu and the others awoke injured, found their storage rings hanging nearby, and discovered that Li Yan had taken all their spirit stones.
• Yu Erlu confronted Cheng Kuanghan over his mistaken information about Li Yan’s faction, while the group feared the powerful figure who had intervened.
• Li Yan’s white-robed incarnation returned to his courtyard and merged with his black-clothed true body, transferring the day’s memories.
• Li Yan explained that he had taken only the spirit stones to deter further attacks without provoking a fight to the death, and the group’s fear eventually extinguished their plans for revenge.

Li Yan became a Yellow-rank alchemist but remained far from entering Yellow Qi Valley’s core elite ranks, so he considered seeking information about the Moon Haze Clarity immortal herb. His plans were interrupted when the disciple of the Earth-rank grandmaster who had arranged his admission delivered a ring pendant and a jade slip, leaving Li Yan to discover what his master had prepared.

• Fairy Ning Ke departed after secretly watching Li Yan for three years and deciding he could protect himself in Yellow Qi Valley.
• Li Yan fused with his avatar’s memories of a Pill Sect grandmaster’s lecture and continued juggling pill study, cultivation, and the Withering spell technique.
• Four and a half years later, Li Yan had become a Yellow-rank alchemist, but he learned that entering the core elite ranks would require a substantial contribution to the sect.
• Li Yan decided to ask his acquaintances for news about the Moon Haze Clarity immortal herb rather than rely solely on becoming a core elite disciple.
• A lean Void Refinement Realm cultivator arrived at Li Yan’s residence, delivered a ring pendant and jade slip, and told him to take the pendant to the Zhurong pill-refining rooms.
• The cultivator said this was his master’s final assistance and left before Li Yan could ask what the arrangement involved.

Li Yan learned that Martial Aunt Ning Ke had arranged for him to enter Yellow Qi Valley’s internal selection for core elite disciples, provided he proved himself capable. He reached the Zhurong stone chambers for the assessment and unexpectedly encountered the Ming sisters, who were also participating.

• Li Yan read Martial Aunt Ning Ke’s jade slip and realized that a Body Integration Realm expert had arranged for him to join the internal selection.
• Li Yan traveled to Zhurong, registered with the attendant, and followed her directions to the Bingwu stone chamber.
• Li Yan entered the large chamber and saw that Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators had gathered for the selection.
• Li Yan recognized the Ming sisters, while Ming Yu and Ming Qi recognized him and wondered about his alchemy aptitude.

Li Yan entered the stone chamber for Yellow Qi Valley’s internal selection and learned the rules from the Ming sisters. Elder Liu and Deacon Li arrived to oversee the assessment, and Elder Liu explained the three-round selection and its first poison-counteracting test.

• A group of six Spirit Transformation cultivators discussed ensuring at least five of them became core elite disciples, and their leader dismissed Li Yan as an unremarkable alchemist.
• Li Yan greeted the Ming sisters and asked about the selection, and Ming Qi explained that ten candidates would be chosen through three rounds conducted over several days.
• Elder Liu and Deacon Li arrived, and Elder Liu announced that Deacon Li would supervise fairness and approve the final selections.
• Elder Liu explained that all candidates would face the same three rounds, choose one stone chamber, and use its sixth-grade earth fire and Void Refinement cauldron.
• Elder Liu described the first round: candidates had to test a poisonous fourth-grade pill themselves, request ingredients, make an antidote, and neutralize the poison in a demon beast within a hundred breaths.

Li Yan began the pill-refining assessment by testing the Stone Chamber and identifying the red Pill as a hallucinogenic poison. As he considered refining an antidote under observation, he worried that using his Severed Poison method would expose his abilities.

• Deacon Li answered the disciples’ final questions, and Elder Liu began the twelve-hour assessment by distributing poison Pills and directing everyone to choose a Stone Chamber.
• Li Yan entered a chamber, tested its pill furnace and array, then activated them by fitting his jade pendant into the Stone Gate.
• Elder Liu activated the monitoring array, while Deacon Li reviewed the nine recommended disciples and complained that unqualified candidates were being given opportunities.
• Li Yan cut a tiny slice from the Pill and touched it to his skin, then recognized its hallucinogenic poison after briefly seeing a blurred image.
• Li Yan swallowed a thicker slice, confirmed that the hallucination lasted only an instant, and considered making an antidote with Severed Poison without revealing his method on camera.

Li Yan recognized that his Fragmented Poison Body could neutralize the red poison pill and planned how to conceal his method. Ming Qi and other alchemists examined the pill’s ingredients, while Ming Yu and a handsome young man used their own techniques to analyze it.

• Li Yan sensed his Fragmented Poison Body poisons reacting to the red pill and began considering how to identify an antidote without revealing his knowledge.
• Ming Qi recovered from the pill’s illusion, then separated its components with medicinal liquid and recorded likely ingredients, including Pulingzi, Moling Horn, and Luoming Grass or Willow Luogen.
• Ming Qi tested the remaining strands of smoke one by one, exhausting herself before beginning another round of analysis.
• Ming Yu used a method similar to Ming Qi’s to study the red pill in another stone chamber.
• A handsome young man melted half the red pill with his cultivated pure-yang flame, spread the resulting medicinal liquid across a rotating jade bowl, and began recording his findings.

Li Yan identified a way to counter the red pill’s Scattered Poison and decided to aim for first place in the trial, using his knowledge of the poison while concealing his methods. He began refining a pill to support his strategy, but two contestants emerged from their Stone Chambers just as his pills formed.

• Elder Liu and Steward Li observed the contestants, while Steward Li recorded the poor performances of six disciples.
• Li Yan submitted a jade slip listing raw materials after determining that mixing two kinds of Scattered Poison could counter the illusion poison.
• Li Yan decided he needed to win the first trial to secure a place in the top ten and help Senior Sister Bai awaken sooner.
• Li Yan received the requested ingredients and began refining a pill, disguising his process among ordinary materials.
• After three hours, Li Yan sensed three pills forming in his furnace, then noticed that two contestants had opened their Stone Gates and come out.

Li Yan neared the completion of his pill, while Yan Qingchen became the first to present his pills and begin the poison-removal assessment. Yan Qingchen’s pills restored the Azureflame Earth Dragon within twelve breaths, leaving him confident as the assessment continued.

• Li Yan opened his furnace and used a golden thread to bind the unstable black pill as it tried to condense.
• Yan Qingchen and Ming Qi emerged from their Stone Chambers, and Yan Qingchen presented his three freshly refined pills first.
• Elder Liu and Steward Li verified Yan Qingchen’s pills and gave him an Azureflame Earth Dragon poisoned by an illusion pill to treat within one hundred breaths.
• Yan Qingchen fed the beast all three of his antidote pills just as Steward Li administered the poison pill and released the beast’s seal.
• The Azureflame Earth Dragon recovered after twelve breaths, and Yan Qingchen rejoiced at his success.