Chapter Summaries

Gu He pursued the Ice Venerable through chaotic space and killed him after rejecting his offer to reveal Ice River Valley’s hidden treasury. Gu He returned to the ruins of Ice River Valley and searched for the treasury, while keeping the Ice Venerable’s soul for later interrogation.

• Gu He followed the Ice Venerable through an unstable Space Channel and caught up with him in a dark stretch of space.
• The Ice Venerable tried to slow Gu He with black snowflakes, but Gu He and the Sky Demon Puppet cornered him.
• The Ice Venerable offered Ice River Valley’s hidden treasury in exchange for his life, but Gu He refused to spare him.
• The Ice Venerable tried to self-destruct, but Gu He sealed his Dou Qi, killed his body, and collected his soul in a jade bottle.
• Gu He returned above Ice River Valley and used his Soul Power to search the desolate ruins for the hidden treasury.

After Pill Fire Pavilion destroyed Ice River Valley, the Pill Tower’s leaders debated how to respond while other factions watched the upheaval. Gu He returned to the Pill Region and met the three Pill Tower giants, who were astonished by his rapid rise to Eight-star Dou Zun.

• News spread that Pill Fire Pavilion had destroyed Ice River Valley and that Ice Venerable was missing.
• Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Tian Lei Zi decided to investigate Gu He’s reasons before choosing whether to support or expel him.
• Soul Hall and other factions watched Pill Fire Pavilion, while rival powers seized Ice River Valley’s remaining assets as the pavilion quietly absorbed its gains.
• Gu He returned to the Pill Region to question Ice Venerable about Ice River Valley’s treasury, but an old man summoned him to meet Xuan Kongzi.
• Gu He met Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Tian Lei Zi, and Xuan Kongzi realized Gu He had advanced from peak Five-star Dou Zun to Eight-star Dou Zun in a year.

Gu He explained to the Pill Tower why he had destroyed Ice River Valley, and the Pill Tower backed Pill Fire Pavilion’s takeover. Back at his residence, Gu He tried to force Ice Venerable’s soul to reveal the location of Ice River Valley’s treasury, but Ice Venerable refused to speak.

• Xuan Kongzi asked Gu He why he had wiped out Ice River Valley, and Gu He explained that the sect had stolen his Wind Wolf Wings and threatened his family.
• Xuan Kongzi asked Gu He to seek the Pill Tower’s help if a similar threat arose, and Gu He agreed.
• Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Tian Lei Zi recognized Pill Fire Pavilion’s takeover of Ice River Valley, causing rival forces to abandon their plans.
• Gu He returned to his residence and released Ice Venerable’s soul from a jade bottle.
• Gu He burned Ice Venerable’s soul with Azure Flame to force him to reveal the treasury’s location, but Ice Venerable remained silent.

Gu He used lightning drawn from his Heavenly Flames to break Ice Venerable’s resistance and learn the hidden location of Ice River Valley’s treasury. After securing the coordinates, Gu He decided to involve Pill Tower and flew to its central tower, where he was stopped at the top floor.

• Gu He discovered that lightning from his Azure Flame caused Ice Venerable’s soul intense pain and formed a destructive silver-black sphere from the lightning.
• Gu He tortured Ice Venerable with threads of lightning until Ice Venerable agreed to reveal the treasury’s location.
• Ice Venerable told Gu He that the treasury lay beneath a mountain in the Frozen Plains and could only be reached using spatial coordinates held by the Ice River Valley Master.
• Gu He threatened to test the coordinates with his puppet, prompting Ice Venerable to send him the coordinates through a thread of Soul Power.
• Gu He stored Ice Venerable in a jade bottle and decided to seek Pill Tower’s help rather than claim the treasury alone.
• Gu He flew to Pill Tower’s central tower and passed through its lower and middle levels before being stopped at the top floor.

Gu He visited Xuan Kongzi to propose sharing the Ice River Valley treasury with the Pill Tower in return for its support. Xuan Kongzi agreed to send Yao Kongzi with him, and Gu He hurried to the Space Wormhole to begin the journey.

• Chu Xuan stopped Gu He from entering the Pill Tower's top floor alone, then escorted him to meet Xuan Kongzi.
• Gu He told Xuan Kongzi that the Ice Venerable had revealed Ice River Valley's treasury and offered to share it with the Pill Tower.
• Xuan Kongzi initially refused, saying Ice River Valley's spoils belonged to Gu He and the Pill Fire Pavilion.
• Gu He urged Xuan Kongzi to accept a share to ease dissatisfaction over the Pill Tower's support for him, and Xuan Kongzi agreed to send Yao Kongzi along.
• Gu He went to the Inner Domain's Space Wormhole, where Yao Kongzi soon arrived, and the two prepared to leave for the treasury.

Gu He and Yao Kongzi entered Ice River Valley’s hidden treasury in the Frozen Plains and found collections of valuable techniques and medicinal ingredients. They began exploring a deeper chamber, where Gu He discovered an advanced Earth-grade technique suited to Qing Lin.

• Gu He opened the hidden passage to the treasury and sent his Sky Demon Puppet through first to check for danger.
• Gu He and Yao Kongzi entered the concealed chamber and opened the first hall, finding Earth-grade techniques and precious medicinal ingredients.
• Yao Kongzi led Gu He through a second door to a smaller hall containing rarer treasures.
• Gu He read the description of the Earth-grade advanced Sky Freezing Palm and considered giving the ice-attributed technique to Qing Lin.

Gu He and Yao Kongzi explored the inner chambers of Ice River Valley’s hidden treasury and uncovered rare techniques, medicinal ingredients, and Yang Ling Paste. They agreed to divide their discoveries, each taking the scroll he wanted, while the valuable golden liquid remained to be settled.

• Gu He and Yao Kongzi opened the second hall’s scrolls and jade boxes, discovering powerful Dou Techniques, Cultivation Methods, secret arts, ancient records, and rare pill ingredients.
• The two entered a small inner chamber and found two scrolls and a jade box on a table.
• Gu He read the Calamity Ice Art, a method for controlling the Calamity Poison Body by compressing its poison into a Poison Pill, and decided he wanted it.
• Gu He and Yao Kongzi each claimed a scroll, with Gu He taking the Calamity Ice Art and Yao Kongzi taking a record of ancient secrets.
• Yao Kongzi opened the jade box and identified the golden liquid inside as Yang Ling Paste, which could increase fire-attributed cultivators’ talent.
• Gu He urged Yao Kongzi to divide the discovered items.

Gu He and Yao Kongzi divided the Yang Ling Paste and the treasures in Ice River Valley’s hidden treasury. Gu He melted the Heavenly Crystal chamber, uncovered two concealed scrolls, and discovered that one contained the Heaven-grade Dou Technique Thousand Miles of Ice.

• Yao Kongzi offered to split the Yang Ling Paste equally with Gu He and give him everything else in the cave abode, and Gu He agreed.
• Gu He suspected Ice Venerable had hidden the Mysterious Ice Divine Finger in the Heavenly Crystal chamber, so Yao Kongzi left while Gu He searched by melting the crystal with his Heavenly Flames.
• Gu He uncovered two scrolls hidden in the chamber walls, melted all the remaining Heavenly Crystal, and brought the solidified mass to the surface.
• Gu He borrowed a high-grade Ring from Yao Kongzi to store the huge Heavenly Crystal sphere, then opened one of the hidden scrolls.
• Gu He read that Thousand Miles of Ice was a Low-Tier Heaven Dou Technique that could freeze a thousand-mile area and turn anyone below Peak Dou Zun into an ice sculpture.

Gu He and Yao Kongzi recovered two ice-affinity Dou Techniques from Ice River Valley’s treasury, including a powerful but impractical Heaven-grade technique. Yao Kongzi reported their findings to Xuan Kongzi, who was shocked by the contents of a mysterious illustrated scroll.

• Gu He and Yao Kongzi examined Thousand Miles of Ice and learned that it required Peak Dou Zun strength despite its limited usefulness against experts of the same rank.
• Gu He praised the peak Earth-grade Mysterious Ice Divine Finger and decided to keep both scrolls rather than give one to Yao Kongzi.
• Gu He and Yao Kongzi returned safely to the Pill Region, where they parted ways.
• Yao Kongzi told Xuan Kongzi that they had obtained around ten drops of Yang Ling Paste and a scroll from Ice River Valley’s treasury.
• Xuan Kongzi examined the illustrated scroll with his Soul Power, then sprang up in shock as Yao Kongzi urged him to keep reading.

Xuan Kongzi received a Half-Saint Comprehension scroll from Gu He and considered how to repay him. Gu He recovered from his exertions and began refining Yang Ling Paste, leaving the golden treasure and neutralizing liquid ready to combine.

• Xuan Kongzi confirmed that the scroll was a Half-Saint Comprehension and kept it, while Yao Kongzi suggested helping Gu He gain alchemy experience and pill formulas.
• Xuan Kongzi agreed to consider Yao Kongzi's suggestion, and Yao Kongzi left him to replenish the Pill Tower's losses from Ice River Valley's treasury.
• Gu He stored the Heavenly Crystal sphere, recovered his strength, and decided to prepare Yang Ling Paste.
• Gu He refined thirteen medicinal ingredients into a soothing white liquid to neutralize the Yang Ling Paste's violent energy.
• Gu He added the golden Yang Ling Paste to the cauldron, controlled the Azure Flame's surge, and began drawing threads of the golden and white liquids together.

Gu He experimented with blending liquid to find the right ratio for preparing Yang Ling Paste, then refined the entire batch. The heat destroyed his alchemy room, leaving him unable to consume the paste there as planned.

• Gu He tested the blending liquid against tiny strands of Yang Ling Paste, first adding too much and then too little.
• On his fifth attempt, Gu He found the optimal ratio and produced a strand of gentle golden-yellow Yang Ling Paste.
• Gu He prepared the remaining Yang Ling Paste in the Medicine Cauldron and isolated the alchemy room from the courtyard to contain the intense heat.
• After more than three hours, Gu He stored the finished paste in jade bottles and vented the room's scorching air through a Space Channel.
• When Gu He reconnected the room to the outside, the sudden rush of cool air caused the cracked black rock to burst apart, collapsing the alchemy room.

Gu He consumed Yang Ling Paste and greatly increased his affinity for the energy of heaven and earth, then traveled beyond Sacred Pill City to test his improved combat strength. He left a vast crater in a desolate plain with a single attack.

• Gu He dismissed Bai Shi after a pill-refining accident and returned to his quarters with the Yang Ling Paste.
• Gu He absorbed the Yang Ling Paste drop by drop, raising his affinity for the energy of heaven and earth to nearly three times its previous level before the paste’s effects faded.
• Gu He stored the remaining Yang Ling Paste for Heavenly Fire Venerable, whom he wanted to strengthen as a trusted ally.
• Gu He opened a Space Channel to a barren plain several thousand li beyond Sacred Pill City to test his combat strength.
• Gu He struck the plain with a massive energy hand seal, killing nearby magical beasts and leaving a crater over a thousand meters across.

Gu He tested how Yang Ling Paste had improved his combat power, then traveled to Pill Fire Pavilion to give Heavenly Fire Venerable cultivation pills and Yang Ling Paste. Heavenly Fire Venerable accepted the gifts and gained new hope of advancing toward Dou Saint.

• Gu He tested his Dou Techniques on the plain and found that his enhanced strength had nearly doubled his combat power.
• Gu He traveled through a Space Wormhole to Pill Fire Pavilion instead of returning to Sacred Pill City.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable explained that he had sent the pavilion's ten elders to take over Ice River Valley's interests while he guarded the headquarters.
• Gu He gave Heavenly Fire Venerable three bottles of peak Seventh-grade Spirit Gathering Pills and a bottle of Yang Ling Paste to aid his cultivation and talent.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable accepted the gifts, thanked Gu He, and recognized that Yang Ling Paste gave him a sliver of hope of reaching Dou Saint.

Gu He helped Heavenly Fire Venerable prepare for a breakthrough by taking the Spirit Gathering Pill and Yang Ling Paste. After three days of absorbing heaven and earth energy, Heavenly Fire Venerable’s aura surged, and Gu He concealed the disturbance as his advancement began.

• Gu He warned Heavenly Fire Venerable that Central Continent had Dou Saint experts and urged him to strengthen the Pill Fire Pavilion’s defenses.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable reported that the region was peaceful after the Pill Tower’s stance, and Gu He offered to guard him while he attempted to break through.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable swallowed the Spirit Gathering Pill and began consuming Yang Ling Paste drop by drop, causing his affinity for heaven and earth energy to rise.
• After the seventh drop, a massive energy vortex formed above the rear mountain, and Gu He reassured the disciples and concealed the disturbance with a spatial barrier.
• After three days, the vortex collapsed into the secret chamber, which fell apart as Heavenly Fire Venerable absorbed the final energy and his aura erupted.

Gu He told Yao Kongzi how to prepare Yang Ling Paste and learned about Fire Flame Burning Paste, which could greatly speed Dou Zun cultivation in fire-rich areas. Yao Kongzi gave him the paste’s formula, leaving Gu He with a way to help the Heavenly Fire Venerable cultivate faster.

• Gu He congratulated the Heavenly Fire Venerable on reaching six-star Dou Zun and watched him absorb the last three drops of Yang Ling Paste.
• The Heavenly Fire Venerable found that his affinity for heaven-and-earth energy had increased by slightly more than onefold, while Gu He reflected that talent did not limit his own rapid growth.
• Gu He returned to Sacred Pill City, praised Bai Shi for repairing his pill-refining room, and went to Tianlin Courtyard to visit Yao Kongzi.
• Gu He watched Yao Kongzi refine a pungent medicinal paste that increased the circulation of Dou Qi, then explained the properties and proportions of Yang Ling Paste.
• Yao Kongzi explained that Fire Flame Burning Paste accelerated Dou Zun cultivation in fire-rich areas and gave Gu He its formula in exchange for his help.

Gu He helped Yao Kongzi refine pills with Seven-colored Pill Lightning for two months before they began preparing an Eighth-grade pill with Eight-colored Pill Lightning. As Yao Kongzi started refining it with Gu He’s enhanced Green Lotus Core Flame, the Pill Tower elders recognized its unusual power and learned Gu He had developed a way to strengthen Heavenly Flames.

• Gu He accepted Yao Kongzi’s commission to lend him the Green Lotus Core Flame for two months in exchange for a Void Pill.
• Gu He assisted Yao Kongzi in refining Seven-colored Pill Lightning pills while secretly absorbing lightning from the Azure Flame.
• The Pill Tower gathered the final ingredient for Yao Kongzi’s Eight-colored Pill Lightning pill, and several Pill Tower elders came to watch the refinement.
• Xuan Kongzi invited Gu He to exchange pointers, and Gu He agreed while privately considering what to request in exchange for lending his Heavenly Flame.
• Gu He helped Yao Kongzi control the Green Lotus Core Flame in the Medicine Cauldron as the pill refinement began.
• Tian Lei Zi and Xuan Yi explained to the elders that Gu He had enhanced the Green Lotus Core Flame, and Tian Lei Zi confirmed he had developed a method for strengthening Heavenly Flames.

Gu He and Yao Kongzi worked together to refine an Eight-colored Pill Lightning pill, with Gu He controlling the Green Lotus Core Flame as Yao Kongzi fused the medicinal ingredients. After days of effort, they formed a rough pill embryo, leaving the refinement still unfinished.

• Xuan Kongzi considered whether Gu He could help with the Star Realm seal after seeing his strength and command of the Heavenly Flame.
• Gu He and Yao Kongzi coordinated to extract the ingredients' medicinal essence in just over ten hours.
• Yao Kongzi began fusing the medicinal essences while Gu He adjusted the Heavenly Flame to maintain the right temperatures.
• Over five days, they combined hundreds of ingredients into a volatile mass of seven-colored medicinal liquid.
• Yao Kongzi pressed the chaotic energy together as Gu He raised the cauldron's heat, and after more than two hours a rough pill embryo appeared.

Gu He and Yao Kongzi successfully refined the Fire Spirit Xuandong Pill, producing Eight-colored Pill Lightning, and earned the respect of their peers. Afterward, Gu He accepted Yao Kongzi’s Tianlin Token and Xuan Kongzi’s invitation before returning to recover.

• Gu He and Yao Kongzi finished nourishing the pill, and its completion summoned Eight-colored Pill Lightning.
• Yao Kongzi and Gu He worked together to withstand and shatter the lightning, while Gu He retreated as its later bolts grew too powerful.
• Yao Kongzi credited Gu He for helping refine the Fire Spirit Xuandong Pill and gave him the promised Seven-colored Void Pill and a Tianlin Token.
• Yao Kongzi invited Gu He to visit Tianlin Courtyard and discuss alchemy, and Gu He accepted his offer.
• Xuan Kongzi invited Gu He to visit him, and Gu He accepted, suspecting the invitation was connected to a scroll from the Ice River Valley treasury.
• Gu He returned to his courtyard to cultivate and recover his Soul Power.

Gu He visited Xuan Kongzi after reaching the peak of Nine Star Dou Zun and mastering his strength, where he met Cao Ying and learned why Xuan Kongzi had invited him. Xuan Kongzi offered to help Gu He with pill refinement in return for the Half-Saint insights from Ice River Valley’s treasury.

• Gu He reviewed what he learned from refining an Eight-colored Pill Lightning pill with Yao Kongzi, then devoured lightning creatures in the Void Lightning Pool and advanced to peak Nine Star Dou Zun.
• After a week mastering his new strength, Gu He went to Xuan Kongzi’s residence and waited while reading medicinal texts.
• Cao Ying arrived, introduced herself to Gu He, and spoke with him while they waited for Xuan Kongzi.
• Xuan Kongzi returned and explained that the scroll from Ice River Valley contained valuable Half-Saint insights, then offered Gu He pill-refining knowledge, advice, or high-tier pill formulas in return.

Xuan Kongzi told Gu He that the unstable seal in the Star Realm held the Three Thousand Burning Flame and asked him to try to subdue it. Gu He agreed to prepare, then set out for the Northwest Continent to bring Xiao Yi Xian and the others to safety before his past drew unwanted attention.

• Xuan Kongzi taught Gu He and Cao Ying alchemy, then sent Cao Ying out when she became exhausted.
• Xuan Kongzi revealed that the Three Thousand Burning Flame was sealed in the Star Realm and asked Gu He to subdue it before the unstable seal had to be reinforced.
• Gu He accepted the task and resolved to grow stronger so he could devour the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Gu He learned that the Ice River Valley incident had nearly settled and decided to bring Xiao Yi Xian and the others to the Central Continent for their protection.
• After refining pills for a month, Gu He opened an unstable Space Wormhole to the Northwest Continent and crossed through it.