Chapter Summaries

Gu He prepared backup space imprints near the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, then waited for Qing to awaken and advance to Dou Huang. After Qing mastered his new strength, Gu He took him through a Space Channel to the magma to refine the Fallen Heart Flame, where the Invisible Fire Python attacked them.

• Gu He marked nearby rocks with Space Power, released the Invisible Fire Python, and left the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower as it shook from a violent boom.
• Gu He waited beside Qing until he awakened as a Dou Huang, then asked him to refine the Fallen Heart Flame to help locate the Heavenly Fire Venerable.
• Gu He sparred with Qing in a secluded valley near Gu Ling City, helping him adapt to his new strength over ten days.
• Gu He and Qing traveled through a Space Channel into the magma, where Gu He protected Qing from the heat and set up a spatial barrier for him.
• The Invisible Fire Python burst from the magma and charged at Gu He, who prepared to confront it.

Gu He subdued the Fallen Heart Flame in the magma and extracted its true origin. He returned to Qing with the flame serpent captured in his palm.

• Gu He used the Green Lotus Core Flame to locate the Fallen Heart Flame's tangible origin within its invisible fire python body.
• Gu He struck the fire python's lower abdomen, forcing its huge body to turn illusory and reveal a half-zhang mass of flame.
• Gu He found the true origin, a palm-sized flame serpent, within the revealed mass and stopped the flame from expanding with spatial power.
• Gu He reached into the confined flame and seized the serpent after his first touch triggered an involuntary recoil.
• Gu He returned to the mountain wall where Qing was, carrying the Fallen Heart Flame's origin.

Gu He guided Qing through the preparations for refining Fallen Heart Flame and monitored him as he began the dangerous process. After sixty-seven days of battling the flame inside his body, Qing finally showed signs of change, but the outcome remained unknown.

• Gu He gave Qing an Earth Spirit Pill and a Blood Lotus Pill to protect his body before refining Fallen Heart Flame.
• Qing hesitated at the thought of swallowing the flame, but Gu He reassured him and promised to save him if anything went wrong.
• Qing swallowed Fallen Heart Flame and struggled to guide it into his meridians while Gu He monitored him and offered advice.
• Qing circulated the flame’s escaping energy through his meridians, gradually drawing energy from the source as the pills’ effects protected and repaired his body.
• Gu He continued watching over Qing as the struggle lasted for sixty-seven days, until both men finally showed a change.

While Qing continued refining the Fallen Heart Flame, Gu He strengthened his body with Ancient Phoenix Blood Essence and trained a Shadow Clone in the Profound Gang Spirit Splitting Sword. He resolved to ambush the Flame Lizard Tribe to improve his strength before leaving for the Central Continent.

• Gu He observed that Qing had worn away most of the Fallen Heart Flame’s spirituality after seizing the Heart Flame’s origin energy.
• Gu He decided to target the Flame Lizard Tribe for advancement, despite the danger posed by its Half-Saint experts.
• Gu He absorbed two drops of Ancient Phoenix Blood Essence, raising his physical strength to roughly the level of a six-star Dou Zun, and chose to save the remaining drops for Xiao Yi Xian and the others.
• Gu He sent out a Shadow Clone to practice the Profound Gang Spirit Splitting Sword, and it laboriously condensed a fifth formation.

Gu He helped Qing refine the Fallen Heart Flame and showed him how to store and wield it, then used its origin to answer a summons from the Heavenly Fire Venerable beneath the magma. The Venerable sensed Gu He's response and decided to gamble that the newcomer would rescue him before his Soul Imprint faded.

• Gu He mastered the sixth formation of the Profound Gang Spirit Splitting Sword and demonstrated its power without alerting the Flame Lizard Tribe.
• The Fallen Heart Flame's resistance vanished, and Gu He gave Qing a spirit receptacle to contain it.
• Qing sealed the Fallen Heart Flame inside the receptacle and summoned its invisible flame into his palm.
• Gu He took the flame's origin from Qing and used its aura to respond to a summons beneath the magma.
• The Heavenly Fire Venerable sensed Gu He's response and chose to trust that he might be rescued.

Gu He followed the Fallen Heart Flame’s summons to meet the remnant soul of Yao Tianhuo, once known as Heavenly Fire Venerable. Yao Tianhuo offered him a reward for help restoring his soul, and the chapter left him astonished by Gu He’s Spiritual Realm soul.

• Gu He used the Fallen Heart Flame to locate Yao Tianhuo’s hidden space and entered through a Space Channel.
• Yao Tianhuo introduced himself as Heavenly Fire Venerable and asked Gu He for help restoring his remnant soul.
• Yao Tianhuo offered the Five Rounds of Fiery Law in exchange for finding an alchemist to restore him, but Gu He asked instead about cultivation methods.
• Gu He revealed that he was a peak seventh-grade alchemist and released his Soul Power to demonstrate his abilities.
• Yao Tianhuo recognized Gu He’s Soul Realm as Spiritual Realm and reacted with shock.

Gu He agreed to repair Heavenly Fire Venerable's soul in exchange for the Mysterious Fire Art, and received the juvenile Fallen Heart Flame as an advance payment. After leaving the magma with Qing, he returned to conceal his identity and prepare to deliver the flame to Jia Nan Academy.

• Gu He confirmed that he had reached the Spiritual Realm, and Heavenly Fire Venerable offered him the Earth-grade advanced Mysterious Fire Art as payment for repairing his soul.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable gave Gu He the juvenile Fallen Heart Flame as an advance payment, and Gu He chose to leave Heavenly Fire Venerable's skeleton behind.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable entered Gu He's Ring, and Gu He opened a Space Channel to return to the surface with the Ring and Fallen Heart Flame.
• Gu He brought Qing back to the cave and borrowed Qing's Heart Flame origin while explaining that he needed to make the elders believe he had refined the mature Fallen Heart Flame.
• Gu He returned to the magma, disguised himself to resemble Gu Ling, concealed Qing's Heart Flame aura, and flew toward the seal with the juvenile Fallen Heart Flame.

Su Qian and the Inner Academy elders investigated abnormal spatial fluctuations beneath the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower and encountered Gu He, who had refined the original Fallen Heart Flame. Gu He offered them a juvenile Fallen Heart Flame as compensation, leaving the elders stunned by his good fortune.

• Su Qian ordered the tower-guarding elders to reinforce the seal after they reported abnormal spatial fluctuations.
• A Space Channel opened above the tower's opening, and Su Qian sensed the presence of a Dou Zun expert.
• Gu He emerged and introduced himself as Gu Ling, explaining that he had accidentally refined the Inner Academy's Fallen Heart Flame.
• Su Qian recognized Gu He as the master of Gu Ling Pavilion and asked him to explain what had happened to the flame.
• Gu He revealed a juvenile Fallen Heart Flame and offered it to the Inner Academy as compensation.

Gu He returned the juvenile Fallen Heart Flame to Jia Nan Academy, settling the dispute with Su Qian and arranging a possible pill-refining exchange. After leaving, he found the Snow Demon Sky Ape’s cave and discovered the entrance to the underground cavern where Earth Core Body Tempering Milk was hidden.

• Su Qian accepted the juvenile Fallen Heart Flame from Gu He and declared that their debts were settled.
• Gu He offered to refine sixth- or seventh-tier pills in exchange for medicinal ingredients, then left the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower.
• Su Qian placed the Fallen Heart Flame in the Fire Gathering Pot and ordered the elders to take turns nourishing it with Dou Qi.
• Gu He encountered a Snow Demon Sky Ape in a valley, knocked it unconscious, and recognized the cave as the location of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk.
• Gu He searched beneath the ape, found a hidden passage, and emerged at the entrance to a vast underground cavern filled with stalactites.

Gu He collected diluted and pure Earth Core Body Tempering Milk, returned Fallen Heart Flame to Qing, then entered the magma to provoke the Flame Lizard Tribe. He tested how Space Power worked beneath the magma and drew the tribe into surrounding him, intending to wait until enough of them had gathered.

• Gu He collected two bottles of diluted Earth Core Body Tempering Milk and about forty drops of pure Earth Core Body Tempering Milk from a stalactite.
• Gu He returned Fallen Heart Flame to Qing so it would no longer distract him while he fought the Flame Lizard Tribe.
• Gu He entered the magma far from Gu Ling Pavilion, set up a Space Channel as an escape route, and tested how the magma affected his Space Power.
• Gu He discovered that the magma made opening space difficult and unstable, and concluded that designating a hidden space was the best way to escape.
• The Flame Lizard Tribe detected the magma's movement and surrounded Gu He, who concealed his aura and darted away to draw more of them together.

Gu He lured and killed thousands of Flame Lizardmen, drawing the attention of a Dou Zun-level member of their tribe. He clashed with the powerful pursuer and charged in for close combat as the battle escalated.

• Gu He trapped several thousand Flame Lizardmen in the Profound Gang Spirit Splitting Sword of the Six Paths Formation, killed them, and stored their corpses.
• Gu He continued hunting until he had collected nearly forty thousand Flame Lizardman corpses, including nine at Dou Zong strength, leaving few tribesmen in the upper magma.
• A newly advanced Dou Zun-level Flame Lizardman sensed the losses, roared, and raced toward Gu He.
• Gu He attacked the approaching Flame Lizardman with Cloud Tearing Sword Qi, while it formed and spat out a devastating sphere of compressed magma.
• After the collision unleashed destructive shockwaves, Gu He fired another sword qi and charged the injured Flame Lizardman, choosing to fight it at close range.

Gu He fought and killed a Dou Zun-level Flame Lizardman in the magma, then fled as five more powerful lizardmen pursued him. He escaped through his Space Channel after diverting their magma blasts into it, but emerged injured and badly weakened.

• Gu He clashed fists with the Flame Lizardman and judged that its strength depended on the magma to contend with him.
• Gu He unleashed his soul power and sword qi, overwhelmed the lizardman, and killed it with a combined sword strike before storing its corpse.
• Gu He fled upward as five Dou Zun-level lizardmen pursued him, including two stronger than three-star Dou Zun.
• Gu He entered his Space Channel and redirected the five lizardmen’s magma blasts into it, preventing them from striking the rock wall.
• Gu He was left inside the Space Channel with burns, a deathly pale face, and blood at the corner of his mouth.

Gu He returned from beneath the magma injured and began restoring Heavenly Fire Venerable’s soul in a hidden cave. After repairing the soul with Soul Replenishing Liquid, he prepared to refine another medicine to restore its lost power.

• Gu He escaped the Flame Lizardmen’s magma blasts, treated his injuries, and decided to develop a human healing pill based on the Primal Bone-Shaping Pill.
• Gu He returned to Qing and asked him to conceal the cave’s soul fluctuations with the Fallen Heart Flame while he worked.
• Gu He gave Qing the Nong Yan Jue and began refining Soul Replenishing Liquid for Heavenly Fire Venerable.
• Gu He spent a day refining the liquid, then applied it to Heavenly Fire Venerable’s Ring as Heavenly Fire Venerable absorbed it.
• The Soul Replenishing Liquid repaired Heavenly Fire Venerable’s damaged soul, and Gu He said he would refine another medicine to restore its lost soul power.

Gu He restored Heavenly Fire Venerable’s soul, received the Mysterious Fire Art, and brought Qing back to the Small Valley. There, he assigned Qing to help Qing Lin cultivate and showed her how to use the Fallen Heart Flame’s heart flame to refine her Dou Qi.

• Gu He refined Soul Nourishing Liquid and used it to restore Heavenly Fire Venerable’s soul to its peak.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable gave Gu He the Mysterious Fire Art and fell into a slumber to adapt to his restored soul.
• Gu He promised to protect Heavenly Fire Venerable, then took Qing through a Space Channel back to the Small Valley.
• Gu He returned to find Zi Yan still cocooned, Queen Medusa nearing advanced four-star Dou Zong, and Qing Lin at nine-star Da Dou Shi.
• Gu He told Qing to help Qing Lin cultivate, and Qing Lin began refining her Dou Qi with the Fallen Heart Flame’s heart flame.

Gu He brought Xiao Yi Xian and Nalan Yanran from the Imperial Capital to the Small Valley, where they began cultivating with the Fallen Heart Flame. He prepared separate mixtures of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk for Xiao Yi Xian, Nalan Yanran, and Qing Lin, leaving the barrels filled with multicolored liquid.

• Gu He found Xiao Yi Xian training with Nalan Yanran in the Imperial Capital and invited both to the Small Valley to use the Fallen Heart Flame and prepare for cultivation breakthroughs.
• Xiao Yi Xian agreed to leave after saying goodbye to Teng Shan and Ya Fei, while Nalan Yanran arranged to inform her grandfather and master before joining them.
• Gu He sensed that Yun Shan had reached the Dou Zong realm and detected the Soul Hall's aura in his cultivation cave at Misty Cloud Sect.
• Gu He brought Xiao Yi Xian and Nalan Yanran through a Space Channel to the Small Valley, where they began cultivating beside Qing.
• Gu He measured Earth Core Body Tempering Milk for Qing Lin, Nalan Yanran, and Xiao Yi Xian, refined different medicinal ingredients for each, and mixed them into three barrels until the liquids turned multicolored.

Gu He studied the Primal Bone-Shaping Pill formula and repeatedly experimented to develop a gentler Sixth-grade pill for human injuries. After nearly two months, he successfully refined a barely Sixth-grade pill, but ran short of ingredients before he could perfect it.

• Gu He asked Queen Medusa to protect Xiao Yi Xian, Nalan Yanran, and Qing Lin while they absorbed Earth Core Body Tempering Milk, and she agreed.
• Gu He repeatedly refined the Primal Bone-Shaping Pill and tested ways to derive a pill formula with medicinal effects gentle enough for a human body.
• Xiao Yi Xian reached the peak of the Dou Ling realm, Qing Lin advanced to the peak of Da Dou Shi, and Nalan Yanran rose to nine-star Da Dou Shi.
• After nearly two months of experiments, Gu He used substitute ingredients to form a pale green pill that barely reached the Sixth grade.
• Gu He found that he had almost no ingredients left to improve the new pill and lamented the difficulty of gathering supplies.

Xiao Yan attended Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment, shocked Instructor Ruo Lin with his nine-star Dou Zhe cultivation, and secured leave to travel for training. He set out for the Monster Mountain Range, while Nalan Yanran reached the Dou Ling realm in the Small Valley.

• Xiao Yan refined pills for several days before Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment began in Wutan City.
• Xiao Yan fought a Jia Nan Academy old student who had provoked him, and the student was knocked unconscious before Instructor Ruo Lin arrived.
• Xiao Yan revealed that he was a seventeen-year-old nine-star Dou Zhe, while Xiao Xun'er tested as a sixteen-year-old six-star Dou Zhe.
• Xiao Yan passed Instructor Ruo Lin’s test with Yao Lao’s help and obtained leave from the academy.
• Xiao Yan left Wutan City for the Monster Mountain Range to train.
• Nalan Yanran broke through to the Dou Ling realm in the Small Valley, and Green Barbarian noticed her breakthrough.

Yun Leng confronted the tortured Sun Yi to force him to reveal information about Gu Ling, exposing the Misty Cloud Sect’s plan to target Gu He, the Pill King. Fearing for his daughter’s life, Sun Yi finally agreed to speak if Yun Leng promised to spare her.

• Yun Lei told Yun Leng that Sun Yi had endured three days of interrogation without revealing the Pill King information, and suggested threatening his daughter.
• Yun Leng went with Yun Lei to the underground chamber and ordered him to wake the battered Sun Yi.
• Sun Yi asked whether Yun Leng was behind the attempt to harm Gu Ling, and Yun Leng instead threatened his daughter by arguing that the Alchemist Guild could not protect her.
• Yun Leng revealed that Gu Ling was Gu He, the Jia Ma Empire’s only Sixth-grade Alchemist, but claimed the Misty Cloud Sect could force even him to submit.
• Sun Yi recalled how Gu Ling’s Qi Gathering Powder had funded his daughter’s alchemy studies, then agreed to reveal what he knew if Yun Leng promised not to harm her.

Yun Leng learned Gu He's approximate location from Sun Yi, then returned to the Misty Cloud Sect and reported it to Yun Shan. Yun Shan revealed that he had found Gu He's location for someone else and considered his debt for a secret technique repaid.

• Yun Leng persuaded Sun Yi to reveal that Gu He had gone to a basin about twenty li beyond Qing Shan Town's northern gate, then ordered Yun Lei to kill him.
• Yun Lei killed Sun Yi and asked to target Sun Yi's daughter, but Yun Leng told him to wait and conceal any later attack from the Alchemist Guild.
• Yun Leng ordered Yun Lei to remove Sun Yi's body, fill the basement, and burn the room before returning to the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Yun Leng reported Gu He's whereabouts to Yun Yun, claiming he had been cultivating in the Monster Mountain Range.
• Yun Leng told Yun Shan that he had found Gu He's location, and Yun Shan dismissed him while revealing that he had located Gu He for someone in the shadows in repayment for a secret technique.

Yun Shan arranged for the Soul Hall to capture Gu He, while Yun Lei ordered Sun Yi’s daughter watched. Wu Protector found Gu He in the white mist, where Gu He revealed overwhelming strength and left Wu Protector trying to recruit him instead.

• Yun Shan warned Wu Protector not to let Gu He seek outside help, and Wu Protector said capturing alchemists was the Soul Hall’s specialty.
• Yun Lei disposed of Sun Yi’s corpse, then had Misty Cloud Sect outer disciples monitor Sun Yi’s daughter in Black Rock City.
• Wu Protector traveled to Qingshan Town and followed Yun Leng’s directions to the basin, where he sensed Gu He inside the white mist.
• Gu He detected Wu Protector, entered the mist, and appeared behind him despite escaping his senses.
• Wu Protector realized Gu He seemed to be a Dou Zun and offered him a high-ranking position in the Soul Hall.