Chen Xia had indeed mastered the art of alchemy, but he had not comprehended the Dao of Dan.
Because he truly did not understand the Dao of Dan; he relied purely on luck in his alchemy, which was a rather unorthodox path.
Moreover, he had created his own Heavenly Dao for alchemy, which, no matter how you looked at it, was a false Heavenly Dao, and had nothing to do with the Dao of Dan.
The progress in Thunder Dao was still slow, and it was expected that the progress in comprehending would be related to the number and quality of the pills he could refine. Refining Dao Pills had almost no effect on the improvement of Thunder Dao.
Even the improvement of Great Pills was limited, only a few Superior Great Pills would bring a noticeable boost, but even that was like a drop in the ocean when it came to the understanding of Thunder Dao.
This was something that couldn't be rushed.
Chen Xia sorted out the pills and then returned to the city wall to check on Emperor Capital and the others.
Under the management of the Azure Sky Saint, the city wall was now incredibly lively. The chess houses were spacious, with those who knew how to play sitting down to a game, and those who didn't chatting nearby, sharing stories of their own star domains, which was also a good thing.
The Azure Sky Saints had also gained quite a reputation among them, and Emperor Capital, with his eloquent and charming nature, had managed to integrate with the Saints, becoming the truly deserved Chess King!
As Chen Xia approached, he heard Emperor Capital making rapid moves, so he leaned forward and said,
"Move the chariot."
Hearing Chen Xia's voice, Emperor Capital didn't doubt it, picked up the chariot, and directly moved it towards Emperor Capital.
"Drift." Chen Xia continued.
Emperor Capital then moved left.
"Checkmate."
Click.
Emperor Capital won the game.
"I've been refining too many pills lately, and they're poking me in the sleeves. Here, take two." Chen Xia waved his hand and tossed two Great Pills to the Saint opposite him.
The Saint quickly accepted them, beaming with joy, and even offered his thanks to Chen Xia.
Thus, everyone was happy, finding a way to make everyone content.
The Saints each had different daily activities, but rarely did anyone specifically go into closed-door cultivation.
At their level, unless there was a significant enlightenment, closed-door cultivation wouldn't yield much; it would only add to their age.
If one could comprehend the Dao just by closed-door cultivation, then Saints wouldn't be so valuable.
Nowadays, spending years in closed-door cultivation was not as practical as playing a few games of chess on the city wall.
Chen Xia stretched, propped his head with his hand, and sat cross-legged on the city wall, with bustling noise in front and a lonely, faint light behind.
The reckoning of the Way of Heaven hung over their heads like a sword of Damocles, ready to fall at any moment, yet no one really cared.
After all, those who could sit here and play chess on the city wall...
Few of them were afraid of death.
The figure in green glanced up, lightly looked at the clearing of the Way of Heaven, then lowered his eyes and shook his head, sighing.
"It's time for a new Heaven."
In the vast mountains of the Immortal Realm.
Tall trees densely covered the area, with some of them having become spirits that could move on their own. Looking up, various exotic birds flew over the vast mountains, occasionally letting out cries.
Besides the mountain and water spirits naturally inhabiting the vast mountains, many cultivators also came here to seek treasures, looking for opportunities hidden within the vast mountains.
However, recently, the vast mountains had seen strange changes, with powerful Heaven Mending Realm beasts frequently appearing, heading towards the deepest part of the vast mountains, only to disappear soon after.
The cultivators dared not venture too deep, so they could only investigate the outskirts while speculating about the reasons.
"Why would these Heaven Mending Realm beasts gather together? Normally, they should each have their own territory and not interfere with each other."
"Forget it, this isn't something we need to worry about. It's better to think about what great opportunities we can seize."
"Not quite. I saw a huge beast pass by just a few dozen miles in front of me the other day. It was terrifying."
"That does sound scary, I..." The cultivator's words suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" The other cultivator frowned, puzzled.
"Greetings, Immortal Lord!" The paused cultivator bowed forward and said.
Behind them stood a man dressed in a purple and gold noble robe, holding a black light white sword in his hand, with a handsome and dignified face.
The other cultivator quickly turned around, saw the man, and his expression changed. He quickly bowed and said,
"Greetings, Azure Immortal Lord."
The man had no expression, with a purple and gold dot on his forehead. He asked the two,
"What did the beast you saw look like?"
The cultivator quickly explained in detail,
“It looked like a dragon species, but it didn't fly. It had sharp claws like a diamond, six eyes on its head, each different, and its body was as big as a mountain. I only dared to glance briefly; it was probably a Heaven Mending Realm beast, so I quickly fled.”
"Mmm." The Azure Immortal Lord nodded and stopped asking. He took a step forward and instantly teleported deep into the vast mountains.
Recently, the vast mountains had indeed been restless, with Heaven Mending Realm beasts appearing one after another and strangely gathering together. This kind of behavior was never seen before.
The cultivators responsible for restraining and managing the vast mountains had invited the Quasi-Saint Realm Azure Immortal Lord to investigate, hoping to find the reason behind the beasts' abnormal behavior.
The Azure Immortal Lord continued forward without stopping. Occasionally, he would see Heaven Mending Realm beasts passing by with astonishing momentum.
He frowned, followed the Heaven Mending Realm beast, and headed deep into the true heart of the vast mountains. With a rough sensing of his divine consciousness, he suddenly startled, detecting at least ten Heaven Mending Realm beasts around, all heading towards the inner part.
Was there a more powerful beast summoning them?
The Azure Immortal Lord couldn't help but think of a legend. It was said that in the vast mountains, there was a Saint Realm beast that had existed since ancient times, extremely ferocious, having slaughtered countless cultivators. Later, it hid in the vast mountains, claiming to have merged with the Dao of the vast mountains.
If this beast gathering was summoned by that Saint Realm beast, it could be troublesome.
The Azure Immortal Lord frowned, hid his figure and aura, and continued to probe forward.
After traveling thousands of miles, he reached the deepest part of the vast mountains. Above this place, pure thunder and fire filled the sky, making it difficult even for a Quasi-Saint to hover, so he could only move on the ground. This made it an extremely secretive location.
The Azure Immortal Lord's brow was tightly furrowed, cautious to the extreme, not daring to leak even a hint of aura. He followed the Heaven Mending Realm beasts slowly forward.
After a few hundred more steps, he dared not use his divine consciousness, so he could only observe with his eyes. His pupils instantly widened.
In front of him were dozens of Heaven Mending Realm beasts, including one that was towering, covered in thunder and fire like armor, with three heads, each different—a peerless beast!
This was the Saint Realm beast!
The Azure Immortal Lord immediately recognized it; this Saint Realm beast was exactly as described in the ancient records of his sect.
So many beasts gathered together; it must have been summoned by the Saint Realm beast, and there was definitely a great conspiracy!
The Azure Immortal Lord was about to listen carefully when he saw the beasts start to kneel together, bowing towards the deeper part.
He frowned, puzzled, not knowing what these beasts were up to, but soon his expression turned horrified.
Because the Saint Realm beast in the middle also knelt down!
Was there something even more terrifying?!
His face was full of confusion. In a flash, a figure appeared in front of him, looking at him.
The figure was vague, making it impossible to see its face, its realm, or even its divine consciousness.
The Azure Immortal Lord felt that the figure was smiling at him. His body trembled, and he couldn't help but take a step back, feeling fear in his heart.
"A little mouse at the Quasi-Saint Realm, I've been watching you all along. I didn't expect you to really dare to follow in."
The figure chuckled and then waved his hand, saying,
"It's fine, just kneel with them."
The Azure Immortal Lord's thoughts were filled with terror; he couldn't distinguish the specifics anymore. His body wanted to escape, but he was horrified to find that he couldn't mobilize any spiritual energy, and his divine abilities and techniques were completely useless.
It was as if...
The world was suppressing him?!
The Demon of the Heart spread his arms, with the kneeling beasts behind him and the thunder and fire sky above. He grinned and said,
"I stand here, and I am the Heaven..."
"You should kneel."
With just one sentence, it was like the grand Way of Heaven.
The Azure Immortal Lord's body trembled, and his Dao heart could no longer hold, as he bent down and knelt.
Kneeling before this Heaven!
By the way, let me explain why Xiao Suan's thumb hurts. It's because Xiao Suan has been using the Xiaomi 11 Youth Edition from his university days to type. Maybe it's too thin, and it's too hard to press. A few days ago, during a burst of updates, he wrote 10,000 words every day, and his right thumb had to keep deleting and correcting mistakes, so it became sore over time.
Xiao Suan isn't trying to be pitiful; he knows he doesn't deserve gifts for not updating enough. Everyone doesn't need to send anything; he's just explaining, not making up excuses to deceive everyone.
Good night, mwa mwa.

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)

close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"

] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"

iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."