Chapter Summaries

Hai Bodong met Yun Yun at the Misty Cloud Sect and told her that Gu He had secretly become a Peak Dou Emperor. Yun Yun was shaken by the revelation and was left wondering why Gu He had hidden his strength and purpose from her.

• Hai Bodong waited at the Misty Cloud Sect and observed the disciples’ coordinated training before Yun Leng invited him to the reception hall, which he declined.
• Yun Yun arrived and took Hai Bodong to a secluded forest to speak privately.
• Hai Bodong told Yun Yun that Gu He had returned to a small valley near Qing Shan Town and asked about Gu He's strength when she last saw him.
• Yun Yun said Gu He had been a Five-star Dou King, and Hai Bodong revealed that Gu He was already a Peak Dou Emperor when they met more than ten days earlier.
• Hai Bodong said he was leaving for the Black Corner Region and urged Yun Yun to ask Gu He about his purpose herself before departing.
• Yun Yun remained in the forest, wondering why Gu He had concealed his strength and purpose even from her.

After breaking through to Six-star Dou Zong, Gu He began processing a Seventh-tier Magical Beast corpse while Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and Zi Yan watched. He removed the beast’s bone wings and tempered its claws, then gave one claw each to the three girls.

• Gu He told Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and Zi Yan he would work on the corpse overnight, and agreed to let them watch briefly.
• Gu He brought out the enormous corpse, and Zi Yan felt a natural enemy’s presence and moved farther away.
• Gu He removed the jade bone wings and stored them in his Ring.
• Gu He tempered the beast’s ten claws with Heavenly Flames, shrinking them into sharp bluish-red spikes.
• Zi Yan asked for a claw, and Gu He gave one to her, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin.

Gu He refined the ancient magical beast corpse to extract Ancient Phoenix Blood Essence and a powerful Magic Core. After the bloodline’s lingering force harmed Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin, he protected them and decided to use the spatial Magic Core to aid his breakthrough to Dou Zun.

• Gu He warned the others not to reveal the claws and fangs, then began refining the magical beast corpse with Azure Flame.
• The beast’s ghastly white flesh produced blue-red Ancient Phoenix Blood Essence, which Gu He collected in a jade bottle as its hide absorbed some of the blood.
• The corpse released a dense blue-red mist whose pressure made Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin feel ill, so Gu He gave them pills and had Zi Yan watch over them.
• The hide burned away, and the gathered mist condensed into a blue-red Magic Core that showed signs of manipulating space.
• Gu He decided to use the Magic Core as an aid for his breakthrough to Dou Zun.

Gu He tested Ancient Phoenix Blood Essence and began refining it with medicinal herbs to reduce its violent energy. He left Zi Yan and his other disciples to cultivate, promising to take Zi Yan to the Central Continent once she reached Dou Emperor.

• Gu He stored the Magic Core and reassured Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin, then offered to accompany Xiao Yi Xian to fight Magical Beasts after a few days of cultivation.
• Gu He told Qing Lin to wait until she became a Dou Zhe before entering the Monster Mountain Range, while Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin returned to their rooms to cultivate.
• Gu He encouraged Zi Yan to cultivate and promised to take her to the Central Continent once she reached Dou Emperor; Zi Yan volunteered to gather herbs in the Monster Mountain Range.
• Gu He tested a drop of Ancient Phoenix blood essence and confirmed that its refined energy could slightly strengthen his body.
• Gu He used the Myriad Beasts Cauldron to combine the blood essence with medicinal herbs that removed violent factors, turning the mixture into a viscous blue-red-and-green liquid.

Gu He neutralized and absorbed Ancient Phoenix Blood Essence, greatly strengthening his body before reaching its current limit. Meanwhile, troubled by Hai Bodong’s news about Gu He, Yun Yun left the Misty Cloud Sect and flew to the Small Valley to find him.

• Gu He refined a trace of Ancient Phoenix Blood Essence and absorbed it, gaining physical strength comparable to a Half-step Dou Zong.
• Gu He absorbed another half-drop of the essence, bringing his body close to saturation and deciding to save the remaining four drops for later.
• Gu He sensed Yun Yun’s familiar aura and hurried out to find her without disturbing Xiao Yi Xian and the others.
• After Hai Bodong told her about Gu He’s concealed strength, Yun Yun spent the night troubled and suspected he feared someone from the Jia Ma Empire or Misty Cloud Sect.
• Yun Yun instructed several elders, left the Misty Cloud Sect, and flew toward the Small Valley in Qing Shan Town.

Yun Yun visited Gu He in his secluded valley and discovered that he had become a Dou Zong. As Gu He showed her his companions and the valley, Yun Yun asked about taming powerful Magical Beasts, and Gu He said it could be done by offering them enough benefits.

• Gu He appeared before Yun Yun, who realized he had reached the Dou Zong realm, and invited her to his secluded valley.
• Gu He introduced Yun Yun to Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and Zi Yan, explaining that Zi Yan was a Fifth Tier Magical Beast who had taken human form after eating Shaping Grass.
• Yun Yun praised the girls, while Xiao Yi Xian felt unhappy that Gu He had returned with her romantic rival.
• Gu He led Yun Yun inside, and she marveled at the valley's dense energy and abundant medicinal herbs.
• Yun Yun recognized Little Purple as a Purple Crystal Winged Lion King and asked how Gu He had persuaded the magical beasts to submit.
• Gu He told Yun Yun that Magical Beasts could be persuaded to submit if offered enough benefits.

Gu He teased Yun Yun about winning a Magical Beast’s loyalty with a Shaping Pill, then explained why he had hidden his strength and warned her about the powerful Soul Hall. The chapter left Yun Yun worried that the Soul Hall had targeted Gu He and that he had been facing its threat alone.

• Gu He told Yun Yun he had used a Shaping Pill to win over a Sixth Tier Magical Beast, then joked that another pill could be part of her bride price.
• Yun Yun blushed and hurried to the house, where she asked Gu He why he had concealed his strength.
• Gu He reasoned that Hai Bodong had likely investigated his past and sent Yun Yun to learn whether he had been hiding something from her.
• Gu He told Yun Yun that a secretive faction from the Central Continent called the Soul Hall hunted powerful souls and targeted gifted alchemists.
• Yun Yun asked whether the Soul Hall had targeted Gu He and worried about the pressure he had borne alone.

Gu He told Yun Yun that Yun Shan had accepted Soul Hall’s power in exchange for help reaching Dou Zong, and warned her that Wu Protector was too strong for her to confront. Yun Yun chose to remain responsible for the Misty Cloud Sect, but agreed to stay with Gu He for a few days.

• Gu He explained that Soul Hall had targeted him and that Yun Shan had accepted Wu Protector’s offer after failing to break through to Dou Zong.
• Yun Yun said she wanted to save Yun Shan, and Gu He warned her that Wu Protector was far stronger than she was.
• Gu He offered Yun Yun pills and invited her to cultivate at his home, but she refused to leave her duties as sect leader.
• Gu He asked Yun Yun to stay for a few days, and she blushed and agreed.

Gu He welcomed Yun Yun to stay with him and the others for several days, prompting Xiao Yi Xian’s jealousy before the group gradually warmed to their new guest. After arranging a room for Yun Yun, Gu He began cultivating with his peak Dou Zong-equivalent body and discovered it absorbed energy voraciously.

• Gu He told Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and Zi Yan that Yun Yun would stay and help teach them, then corrected their cultivation and techniques with Yun Yun’s help.
• Yun Yun offered to learn cooking, and Xiao Yi Xian taught her how to make Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs; Yun Yun found the process difficult but vowed to master a dish.
• The group shared dinner, and Gu He used sword aura to divide his room and prepare a place for Yun Yun to cultivate.
• Gu He led Yun Yun to her new room, then returned to his own and began cultivating.
• Gu He found that his body rapidly absorbed all the energy around him and seemed to crave even more.

Gu He prepared to refine a Sky Demon Puppet after spending several days cultivating and helping Yun Yun settle in with the others. He sealed himself in a cave with the required materials assembled, ready to begin the dangerous, high-temperature process.

• Gu He sensed that his stronger body let him control Dou Qi more easily and estimated that he would master his Six-star Dou Zong power within a month.
• Yun Yun mistook Gu He's powerful energy absorption for a typical Dou Zong's and became more eager to strengthen herself.
• For two days, Gu He corrected the girls' cultivation and helped Yun Yun get along with Xiao Yi Xian, Zi Yan, and Qing Lin.
• Gu He told everyone he would cultivate a secret technique for several days and asked Yun Yun to guide the girls while he was away.
• Gu He avoided Zi Jing's sealed cultivation cave, carved out another cave, and gathered the Dou Zong bodies, sealed soul, Fire Bead, and metal materials needed to refine a Sky Demon Puppet.

Gu He studied the Sky Demon Puppet refinement method and decided to combine a Flame Lizard Tribe corpse’s blood essence with its Fire Bead as the puppet’s energy source. After three days of burning the corpse with Azure Flame, he sealed the resulting blood essence and Fire Bead in a jade bottle.

• Gu He absorbed the Sky Demon Puppet method from the bamboo slip and considered using the Flame Lizard Tribe’s blood essence alongside its Fire Bead.
• Gu He moved Old Man Eagle Mountain and Old Ghost Demonic’s corpses aside, then used a flame cauldron to refine the Flame Lizard Tribe corpse.
• Gu He maintained the Azure Flame in the cauldron for three days until the corpse became a mass of dark-red blood essence containing the Fire Bead.
• Gu He sealed the volatile blood essence in an energy-marked jade bottle.

Gu He refined Old Ghost Demonic's corpse, purging its Corpse Qi and combining it with Old Ghost Demonic's soul and the Flame Lizard Tribe's blood essence. After three days of tempering, Gu He began uniting the corpse, soul, and Magic Core, and an emotionless aura emerged from the body.

• Gu He burned Old Ghost Demonic's corpse with Azure Flame until the Corpse Qi was nearly gone, then opened holes in its chest and forehead.
• Gu He released Old Ghost Demonic's unconscious soul from a jade bottle, burned away its consciousness, and sent the remaining black mist into the corpse's forehead.
• Gu He poured the Flame Lizard Tribe's blood essence into the corpse's chest and refined dozens of metal objects into molten liquid while tempering the body.
• After three days, the blood essence condensed around the Fire Bead into a blood-red crystal, and Gu He sensed that the corpse, soul, and Magic Core were ready to be united.
• Gu He formed a seal and shouted, shattering the soul and crystal into energy that spread through the corpse as its body shrank and an emotionless aura emerged.

Gu He refined a corpse into an Earth Demon Puppet with strength of at least a six-star Dou Zong and bound it to his Soul Imprint. He flew high above the Monster Mountain Range to test its combat ability and summoned it into the sky.

• Gu He coated the corpse with dark golden metal liquid and refined it with Azure Flame until silver light appeared across its body.
• Gu He completed the puppet’s refinement, judged its strength to be at least that of a six-star Dou Zong, and bound it with a drop of blood containing his Soul Imprint.
• Gu He stored the Earth Demon Puppet, left the Small Valley without disturbing the four cultivators, and flew tens of thousands of meters into the sky.
• Gu He summoned the silver puppet in front of him to begin testing its combat ability.

Gu He tested the Earth Demon Puppet in a full-strength battle and judged its power to be roughly that of a High-level Dou Zong. After storing it away, he recognized the city below as Black Rock City and decided to visit his younger brother Gu Te.

• Gu He raised his displayed strength to the peak of Seven-star Dou Zong and ordered the Earth Demon Puppet to fight him with all its strength.
• Gu He and the puppet battled in the high sky for half a day, creating shockwaves that tore through the Gang Wind and cracked space.
• Gu He ordered the puppet to stop and assessed its strength, durability, rigid fighting style, and potential for upgrades.
• Gu He stored the puppet in his Ring and flew down toward a large black-rock city within the Jia Ma Empire.
• Gu He recognized the city as Black Rock City and remembered that his younger brother Gu Te lived there, so he decided to visit him.

Gu He found his younger brother Gu Te in Black Rock City and chastised him for his filthy home and hoarding. He took every treasure from Gu Te’s collection and left him protesting that he did not need a lecture.

• Gu He followed their bloodline connection to Gu Te’s strange house in the southern district of Black Rock City.
• Gu He destroyed Gu Te’s trap at the doorway, then used sword qi to make him fall from the top floor.
• Gu Te recognized Gu He and changed from defiant to ingratiating when he remembered his brother’s strength.
• Gu He entered Gu Te’s treasure room and stored every heavenly treasure, including the hidden items, in a Ring.
• Gu Te confronted Gu He over taking his entire collection, and Gu He argued that treasures should be used rather than hoarded.

Gu He confronted Gu Te over his obsession with collecting medicinal treasures and offered him a challenge: reach Fifth-grade Alchemist within four years to get his treasures back. Gu Te accepted reluctantly and reclaimed his Fire Heart Seven Leaves Flower, while eyeing Gu He's immense stores of rare ingredients.

• Gu He displayed several rare medicinal ingredients, including an Ice Marrow Spirit Ginseng used to refine a mid-grade Seventh-grade Plain Heart Pill, and Gu Te eagerly examined them.
• Gu He tried to persuade Gu Te that heavenly treasures were meant for refining pills, but Gu Te accused him of making excuses to keep the collection.
• Gu He demanded that Gu Te become a Fifth-grade Alchemist within four years or watch him refine the treasures into pills.
• Gu Te accepted the challenge and threatened to have Dou Wangs beat Gu He once his alchemy surpassed his brother's.
• Gu He returned Gu Te's Fire Heart Seven Leaves Flower, and Gu Te grew envious when Gu He revealed he even owned Primal Bone-Shaping Pills.

Gu He pushed Gu Te to resume alchemy and join the Alchemist Guild, prompting Gu Te to confront why he had abandoned his craft. After reflecting on his years of living in Gu He's shadow and collecting treasures, Gu Te cleaned himself up and resolved to pursue alchemy again.

• Gu He told Gu Te to bathe and meet him at the Alchemist Guild, warning that he would lose his treasures if he failed to meet Gu He's requirement in four years.
• Gu Te resisted joining the guild because he feared Frank and the others would mock him, but Gu He pressured him into going.
• While bathing, Gu Te recalled how Gu He's championship and rapid advancement had left him feeling like a mere appendage to his brother.
• Gu Te remembered abandoning alchemy to collect rare treasures so Gu He would someday have to rely on him, only to realize Gu He already possessed herbs worth more than his entire collection.
• Gu Te took Gu He's challenge as a reason to reclaim his ambitions, cleaned himself up, and resolved to resume alchemy and catch up with his brother.

Gu He visited the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild and reunited with its president, Frank, while discussing his younger brother Gu Te. He entered the guild with Frank, who was eager to hear how Gu He planned to deal with Gu Te.

• Gu He arrived at the Alchemist Guild and asked its guards to announce his visit to Frank.
• A guard told Gu He that Frank was still president and that Otto was the other Fourth-grade Alchemist in the city.
• Frank welcomed Gu He and introduced his new disciple, Xue Mei, whom Gu He gave a second-grade Pulse Protecting Pill formula.
• Frank invited Gu He inside and asked whether he had come to intervene in Gu Te's affairs.
• Gu He said his visit concerned Gu Te, and Frank showed delight at the prospect of Gu He disciplining him.

Gu He asked Frank and Otto to help Gu Te recover his alchemy skills, offering each of them two valuable pill formulas in exchange. Frank weighed the offer against his responsibility to train Xue Mei, leaving the request undecided.

• Frank escorted Gu He through the Alchemist Guild while its members whispered about the Pill King's arrival.
• Frank asked why Gu He wanted the guild's help disciplining Gu Te, and Gu He explained the four-year challenge he had set for his brother.
• Gu He asked Frank and Otto to restore Gu Te's former alchemy skills within a year, offering each of them the Three-pattern Green Spirit Pill and Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill formulas.
• Frank hesitated because teaching Gu Te could take time away from training Xue Mei, while Gu He waited without pressing him.

Gu Te entered the Alchemist Guild with Otto and learned that Frank and Otto would help him recover his lost alchemy knowledge. Frank arranged to retrieve Gu Te’s old assessment records from Black Flame City so the guild could register him as a member.

• Otto recognized Gu Te outside the Alchemist Guild, argued with him, and let him follow inside.
• Gu Te pushed into Frank’s office without knocking and found Gu He, Frank, and Otto waiting there.
• Frank and Otto agreed to Gu He’s commission to teach Gu Te alchemy, while their disciples would be allowed to observe.
• Gu Te protested that Frank and Otto would make his lessons miserable, but Gu He told him the arrangement would stand.
• Frank offered to register Gu Te with the guild and said he would request Gu Te’s assessment records from Black Flame City.