Dou Emperor

Gu He continued refining Fifth-grade pills as usual. Many of the medicinal ingredients in the valley used for refining Fifth-grade pills had nearly been exhausted because of his constant pill refinement. He had already decided that if he still failed to break through in another half month, he would head into the Monster Mountain Range to gather more ingredients.

After Gu He finished refining the pill, the barrier between Dou Wang and Dou Emperor that he had long sensed suddenly trembled slightly as he inhaled the pill fragrance. Then, energy from the outside world began pouring into Gu He's body of its own accord.

Gu He knew that his opportunity to advance had arrived. He put away the pill and placed it inside a jade bottle.

Thinking that Xiao Yi Xian had run out of spirit liquid and that he did not know how long this seclusion would last, Gu He spared a sliver of attention to take all the Superior Spirit Liquid from his Ring. He wrote on a slip of paper that he would be entering seclusion for some time, wrapped both items in Soul Power, and placed them on the ground not far away.

After finishing this, Gu He let out a breath. Now, he only needed to focus on advancing to Dou Emperor.

Gu He rapidly circulated his Dou Qi along the route of his cultivation technique. As it cycled through him, a wondrous sensation, as though it existed within his soul, slowly welled up in his heart. Just as Gu He immersed his mind in that marvelous sensation, the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy began to surge wildly. It then spun rapidly, finally forming a spiral funnel composed entirely of energy above Gu He's head. Its lower end connected to the crown of his head, frantically pouring that enormous mass of energy into his body.

Gu He frowned tightly. Such enormous and impure energy entering his body would inevitably affect the purity of his Dou Qi if he could not refine it quickly. He could no longer afford to hide his Devouring Flame. Gu He formed the Devouring Flame into a layer of fiery gauze that wrapped around his entire body. Immediately, more than half the energy passing through the fiery gauze and entering his body was stripped away. Thinking of the immense energy required to advance to Dou Emperor—even Xiao Yan, that cheat, had needed a full year to succeed with his absorption speed—Gu He tossed the Fifth-grade pills he had refined over the past few days into the Devouring Flame.

After Xiao Yi Xian finished cultivating, she came out and saw Gu He cultivating while wrapped in a layer of pitch-black flames. Thinking something had happened to him, she climbed the slope and found the pill liquid and note on the ground. Only then did she understand that Gu He was about to advance to Dou Emperor.

"Master, then I wish you an early success in your breakthrough," Xiao Yi Xian murmured from a short distance away.

In the time that followed, Xiao Yi Xian could no longer watch Gu He refine pills, and Gu He had yet to teach her any Dou Techniques. With nothing but this dull waiting and guarding, she could only devote all her time to cultivation. It did, however, make her progress rather quickly.

Time passed peacefully like this. Two months later, Xiao Yi Xian had already reached Ninth Stage Fighting Energy, while Gu He's entire aura had completely vanished. The increasingly massive energy vortex above his head suddenly stopped spinning. Then, the vast energy poured down like a torrential rain, finally turning into a huge torrent of energy that crashed straight toward Gu He, who was wrapped in black flames atop the slope.

The pills Gu He had fed into the Devouring Flame had also been completely refined. The pair of eyes that had remained shut for two months finally opened slowly, trembling faintly.

At once, a trace of excess energy within his body escaped through his eyes, making the air before him crackle.

The aura that had lain dormant for two months also burst forth toward the valley like a flash flood.

"Ah!" Xiao Yi Xian could not help crying out at Gu He's terrifying aura.

Hearing Xiao Yi Xian's voice, Gu He finally came back to his senses from the joy of advancing to Dou Emperor. He withdrew his aura, flashed slightly, and arrived beside Xiao Yi Xian. "Are you all right?" he asked with concern.

"I'm fine. It's just that this is my first time feeling such a powerful aura. I had been so happy about reaching Ninth Stage Fighting Energy, but it seems I still have a long way to go before reaching Dou Emperor." Xiao Yi Xian was not discouraged. Instead, she was filled with fighting spirit.

"This attitude is good. I happen to have some Qi Gathering Powder. Go up the slope and, while the nearby energy has not fully dispersed yet, try to break through to Dou Zhe." As he spoke, Gu He took out a jade bottle containing a pill that was entirely emerald green and the size of a longan.

"So this is the Fourth-grade pill, Qi Gathering Powder! I've never seen you refine it before, Master." Xiao Yi Xian carefully accepted the jade bottle, then asked in confusion.

"Fourth-grade pills do little to improve my alchemy. The times you've seen me refining pills, I was refining Fifth-grade pills." Gu He explained casually. Now that he had reached Dou Emperor, he could try refining Sixth-grade pills. To him, Fifth-grade pills no longer amounted to much.

Xiao Yi Xian looked at Gu He with admiration, greatly satisfying his vanity. Still, he urged her, "First adjust your condition properly, then take the Qi Gathering Powder. Although this pill can allow someone at Ninth Stage Dou Qi to condense a Dou Qi Vortex with a hundred percent chance of success, you still cannot be careless. Otherwise, if you fall to Eighth Stage Fighting Energy, these two months of hard cultivation will have been wasted."

After sending Xiao Yi Xian up the slope, Gu He sensed that his control over his power had weakened greatly. He planned to spend some time adapting to this suddenly increased strength.

Gu He gathered the ingredients in the valley for refining the Spirit Dou Pill, intending to begin refining pills once his realm had stabilized. After successfully refining the relatively simple Sixth-grade Spirit Dou Pill, he would begin refining the Dou Huang Pill. Then he could once again use the Devouring Flame to rapidly increase his strength. However, remembering that Xiao Yi Xian had seen the Devouring Flame during his breakthrough to Dou Emperor, Gu He frowned slightly. It was best not to explain such matters proactively; the more he explained, the messier it would become. He would let nature take its course. Fortunately, the Devouring Flame had only revealed its pitch-black color at the time, without displaying its other abilities. Since the pills had been wrapped in flames, Xiao Yi Xian probably had not noticed anything.

Xiao Yi Xian quickly finished digesting the medicinal power. Thanks to the solid foundation she had laid at Seventh Stage Dou Qi, she successfully broke through to Dou Zhe, the first threshold of Dou Qi cultivation.

"Master, I did it! I'm already a Dou Zhe!" Xiao Yi Xian happily spun around Gu He. As she turned, her slender waist appeared even more delicate, so slim that one could not help worrying it would snap if she moved too forcefully.

"Very good. Now you can learn Dou Techniques and cultivation techniques. Originally, I planned to give you a High-grade Profound Dou Technique when you reached Eighth Stage Dou Qi, but because of my breakthrough, I never taught you. I'll teach it to you together with your cultivation technique now." As Gu He spoke, he took out a deep-blue scroll and handed it to Xiao Yi Xian.

"This is a High-grade Profound Water Attribute cultivation technique. At present, Master does not have any higher-level Water Attribute cultivation techniques on hand, so make do with this for now. I'll replace it once I find you an Earth Grade technique."