Chapter Summaries

After returning to Gu Ling City as a Dou Zong, Gu He reassured Liu Jianlin about the Jin Yin elders and arranged for Queen Medusa to buy medicinal ingredients. He then used Space Power to begin reshaping the restrictions around Gu Ling Pavilion’s island.

• People in line recognized Gu He’s flight as a sign that he had become a Dou Zong, and rumors spread that Queen Medusa was one as well.
• Liu Jianlin reported that the Jin Yin elders were in seclusion and might soon reach Peak Dou Emperor, and Gu He said his new strength and Heavenly Flames would let him defeat them.
• Gu He learned that the Black Emperor Auction would begin in two months and decided to attend.
• Gu He introduced Queen Medusa to Liu Jianlin and instructed him to advance payment for whatever medicinal herbs she needed.
• Liu Jianlin escorted Queen Medusa around Gu Ling City’s herb shops to gather ingredients for the Spirit Melting Pill.
• Gu He returned to Gu Ling Pavilion and used Space Power to distort the space above its island while forming hand seals.

Gu He sealed the space around the island, then examined Old Man Eagle Mountain’s collection and found a Life Returning Pill formula with nearly two sets of ingredients, along with a Soul Clone skill. After studying the skill, he extracted a trace of Soul Origin and recovered with his last Soul Clearing Pill, realizing the process could weaken his cultivation.

• Gu He created a spatial barrier around the island that concealed it and blocked disturbances from passing in either direction.
• Gu He searched Old Man Eagle Mountain’s Ring and found the Life Returning Pill formula and nearly enough ingredients for two sets.
• Gu He examined the Soul Clone skill and learned that creating a clone required extracting Soul Origin, which would reduce his strength.
• Gu He extracted a tiny trace of Soul Origin, became extremely pale, and used his last Soul Clearing Pill to recover.

Gu He cultivated a Soul Clone from a thread of his Soul Origin, weakening his own combat strength but giving the clone a convincing appearance and the ability to travel through solid earth. After controlling it and exploring Gu Ling City, he tested its underground movement and saw the earth-attributed energy around it.

• Gu He considered whether Soul Origin could help transfer a soul into another body, but set the idea aside because he had no test subject.
• Gu He poured Soul Power and Dou Qi into his extracted Soul Origin, forming a Soul Clone in his own likeness and reducing his combat power by more than half.
• Gu He wove a Soul Gauze Robe for the clone and fused its soul threads with the clone so it could sense attacks on the robe.
• Gu He controlled the Soul Clone as it flew beyond Gu Ling Pavilion, surveyed Gu Ling City, and discovered it could pass through earth and water.
• Gu He guided the Soul Clone underground, where it encountered greater resistance and saw dense earth-attributed energy.

Gu He strengthened the island's defenses, sorted through Old Man Eagle Mountain's spoils, and studied the Life Returning Pill formula. In the Jia Ma Empire, Yun Yun emerged from a year of seclusion after reaching the Dou Emperor realm, bringing joy to the Misty Cloud Sect.

• Gu He returned his Soul Clone to his body, recovered much of his strength, and laid restrictions across the island to prevent Soul Clones from entering unnoticed.
• Gu He examined Old Man Eagle Mountain's treasures and medicinal ingredients, then began studying the Life Returning Pill formula.
• On Misty Cloud Mountain, Nalan Yanran practiced with the Misty Cloud Sect disciples while Elder Ge praised her recent progress.
• An immense aura swept across Misty Cloud Mountain, and Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye recognized that Yun Yun had left seclusion.
• Ge Ye announced that Yun Yun had advanced to the Dou Emperor realm, restoring the Misty Cloud Sect's standing as the Jia Ma Empire's greatest force.

After a year in seclusion, Yun Yun advanced to Dou Emperor and returned to lead the Misty Cloud Sect. She and the elders planned to reopen the sect in one month, while the Jia Ma Royal Family quietly prepared for the shift in power.

• Yun Yun emerged from seclusion as a Dou Emperor, and Jia Xingtian considered the threat her advancement posed to the Jia Ma Royal Family.
• Yun Yun arrived at the square, where the elders welcomed her advancement and urged her to recruit disciples widely.
• Yun Yun learned that Yun Leng had lost an arm during his mission in the Black Corner Region and ordered the elders to summon him so she could reward him.
• Yun Yun and the elders decided to reopen the Misty Cloud Sect in one month and accept talented candidates regardless of background.
• News of the recruitment spread across the Jia Ma Empire, exciting aspiring youths, while the Jia Ma Royal Family remained strangely quiet.

Xiao Yan lamented the loss of his cultivation and his growing distance from Xiao Xun'er, who encouraged him to believe he could rise again. Meanwhile, Gu He continued refining pills on Heart Lake Island and built up a large stock of Sixth-grade pills.

• Xiao Yan recalled how his Dou Qi had dwindled to the third stage after he had once become the Xiao Family's youngest Dou Zhe.
• Xiao Yan vented his anger on the mountain, then greeted Xiao Xun'er when she found him there.
• Xiao Xun'er reassured Xiao Yan that she believed he would regain his former glory, and he answered uncertainly.
• Gu He continued refining Sixth-grade pills on Heart Lake Island while Queen Medusa returned without the ingredients for the Spirit Melting Pill.
• Gu He refined most of his remaining ingredients into a stock of pills, including four Imperial Pills, two Spirit Dou Pills, and one Sect Breaking Pill.

Gu He struggled to find enough Imperial Pill ingredients to keep advancing, then remembered the powerful Flame Lizard Tribe creatures living in the magma below the Black Corner Region. He sent his Soul Clone underground to investigate the magma and prepare for a new source of strength.

• Gu He placed a Spirit Dou Pill for sale at the Pill Cauldron Pavilion, increasing its customer flow and daily business.
• Gu He absorbed an Imperial Pill and advanced to Advanced One-star Dou Zong, but realized he lacked enough ingredients to rely on Imperial Pills for future breakthroughs.
• Gu He tested a Calamity Breaking Pill with Devouring Flame and gained only a small amount of energy, so he ruled out other pills as a useful substitute.
• Gu He considered consuming Heavenly Flames, refining a Sky Demon Phoenix corpse, or hunting high-tier Magical Beasts to increase his strength.
• Gu He recalled the Flame Lizard Tribe creatures guarding the Dou Di Cave Dwelling and decided to search for them beneath the magma.
• Gu He summoned his Soul Clone and sent it underground to investigate.

Gu He dug a secret tunnel from Gu Ling Pavilion’s headquarters down to the magma, then descended into the underground world to seek Fire Beads from the Flame Lizard Tribe. He arrived above the magma and flew toward a nearby cliff wall.

• Gu He used a Soul Clone to locate the magma nearly three thousand meters beneath the surface and decided to dig down himself to avoid attracting attention.
• Gu He searched Gu Ling Pavilion’s headquarters, chose the tunnel formerly built by the Blood Sect, sealed the area, and spent more than ten days digging toward the magma.
• Gu He broke through the final rock barrier, summoned the Green Lotus Core Flame to protect himself, and surveyed the vast underground magma world.
• Gu He flew down toward the magma and headed for a nearby cliff wall, intending to find a place to stand before confronting the Flame Lizard Tribe for Fire Beads.

Gu He cultivated briefly in a cave above the magma, then descended into the molten sea to search for the Flame Lizard Tribe. He ambushed and killed a Flame Lizard Tribe creature, finding a crimson bead in its heart.

• Gu He carved a resting cave into the mountain, replenished his Dou Qi, and used medicinal liquid to remove the magma energy’s violent intent.
• Gu He left a Soul Imprint in the cave and plunged into the magma, sensing for danger as he descended.
• Gu He stopped at a depth where he believed Flame Lizard Tribe experts were unlikely to appear, then sensed a creature swimming toward him for a sneak attack.
• Gu He turned and pierced the approaching Flame Lizard Tribe creature through the chest, letting its cries summon others.
• Gu He searched the creature’s body and retrieved a crimson bead from its heart.

Gu He hunted the Flame Lizard Tribe in the magma to collect their Fire Beads, then retreated after detecting several powerful lizardmen. He returned to his cave and restored the Dou Qi he had spent.

• Gu He collected a Fire Bead from a slain Flame Lizard Tribe member and sensed hundreds of its kin approaching.
• Gu He fought the Flame Lizard Tribe, gathered their Fire Beads, and pretended to weaken so he could catch them off guard.
• Gu He used Space Power to kill the tribe's leader and slaughtered many more members before the survivors fled.
• Gu He sensed several powerful lizardmen rushing toward him and swam back to the surface with his gains.
• Gu He returned to his cave, covered its entrance, and cultivated until his Dou Qi was restored.

Gu He refined the Flame Lizard Fire Beads until he reached Three-star Dou Zong, then traveled to the Black Region Great Plains to test his body-seizing method on Black Bandits. He appeared at the scene of a robbery and faced two bandits who mistook him for an easy target.

• Gu He refined ten Dou Ling-level Fire Beads at a time and used the beads over the next two days to reach Three-star Dou Zong.
• Gu He decided to leave Gu Ling City, summoned Liu Jianlin, and told him he would be away for a while.
• Gu He flew to the Black Region Great Plains, concealed himself among the clouds, and searched for small Black Bandit groups.
• Gu He sensed a battle and used Space Power to reach the scene after five Black Bandits had killed a merchant caravan.
• Two Black Bandits confronted Gu He, and the younger one threatened him after judging him to be thin and alone.

Gu He effortlessly defeated a group of Black Bandits who attacked him, killing Fifth Brother and shattering their leader’s strongest saber strikes with a finger. He sent flames after the fleeing bandits while the leader’s desperate final attack also failed, leaving him broken on the ground.

• The Black Bandit Fifth Brother attacked Gu He, but Gu He shattered his saber with one finger, and the fragments fatally pierced him.
• The middle-aged Black Bandit attacked Gu He with Blazing Heart Slash, but Gu He stopped the strike with a finger.
• Three Black Bandits urged their leader to flee, but he stayed behind to cover their retreat, and they ran away.
• Gu He split an orange-yellow flame into three and sent the flames after the fleeing bandits.
• The middle-aged Black Bandit pushed his strength toward Dou Wang and launched a hundred-foot blade radiance, but Gu He shattered it with a flick of his finger.
• The middle-aged Black Bandit collapsed, crying that the gap between them could not be real.

Gu He prepared a middle-aged Black Bandit's body for his Soul Clone and began the body seizure in a cave. As the body's resistance weakened, the memories of the Bandit's life surfaced, but the seizure's outcome remained unresolved.

• Gu He erased the carriage and merchants' remains, then took the unconscious middle-aged Black Bandit to a cave.
• Gu He cleaned and sealed the cave, then adjusted his Soul Clone and strength for the body seizure.
• Gu He shattered the middle-aged Black Bandit's soul, extracted its fragments, and placed Soul Imprints in his brain.
• Gu He sent his Soul Clone into the Bandit's body and used Devouring Flame to help it absorb same-source Soul Power and Dou Qi.
• The body's resistance weakened, and Gu He glimpsed the Bandit's memories of rising from a servant family to the peak of the Dou Ling realm.

Gu He’s Soul Clone successfully took over the middle-aged Black Bandit's body, healed its injuries, and advanced to Dou Wang. Gu He then gave it a Soul Clearing Pill to remove the Soul Imprints that were obstructing the fusion of its soul and body, and the pill nourished the clone’s soul without expelling it.

• The Soul Clone absorbed the middle-aged Black Bandit's power and took control of the body, forming a newborn consciousness from clashing memories.
• Gu He gave the injured clone a Recovery Pill, and it healed completely as its cultivation broke through to Dou Wang.
• The clone told Gu He that the Soul Imprints he had placed in the body were hindering its soul and body from fusing fully.
• Gu He gave the clone a Soul Clearing Pill, which neutralized all three Soul Imprints and nourished the clone’s soul.

Gu He decided to send his clone into the Demonic Flame Valley to learn about Zi Jing and watch Old Ghost Demonic, but first he worked to strengthen the clone with pills refined from Fire Beads. He named the clone Qing and left him in a cave to cultivate toward Peak Dou Wang before the attack.

• Gu He weighed possible uses for his clone and chose to have him join the Demonic Flame Valley to investigate Zi Jing and monitor Old Ghost Demonic.
• When the clone said normal cultivation would not bring him to Dou Emperor soon, Gu He decided to neutralize the energy in Fire Beads so the clone could absorb it.
• Gu He refined a Fire Bead with cold-natured medicinal ingredients into a pill, and the clone consumed it to test its effect.
• Gu He refined his remaining Fire Beads into pills and saw that the first pill noticeably raised the clone's aura, though several more would be needed for a breakthrough.
• Gu He named the clone Qing, gave him the refined Fire Bead pills, and told him to cultivate in the cave until he could reach Peak Dou Wang.

Gu He secluded himself to cultivate the Nameless Mantra and strengthen his Soul Power, reaching the peak of the Mortal Realm after twenty days. He tested his improved flame control with twenty fire beasts, whose roars shattered the mountain cave, and used them to shield himself from the collapse.

• Gu He left Qing and found a distant cave, where he set up a Space Seal before beginning cultivation.
• Gu He used the Nameless Mantra and the Devouring Flame to absorb nearby Spiritual Energy and continuously nourish his soul.
• After twenty days, Gu He awoke with his soul at the peak of the Mortal Realm, just short of breaking into the Spiritual Realm.
• Gu He tested his fire control by shaping Azure Flame into magical beasts and splitting it into twenty controlled clusters.
• The fire beasts' roars severed the cave and brought down the mountain rock, so Gu He sent ten beasts to attack the falling stone and ten to protect him.

Gu He trained his fire-beast control and learned that Qing had joined Demonic Flame Valley as an outer sect steward. Meanwhile, Demonic Flame Valley’s elders investigated the Gu Ling Pavilion Master and began planning to capture or kill him, leaving the Third Elder worried about the pill ingredients he had given him.

• Gu He controlled twenty fire beasts without strain, then recalled the Azure Fire and considered how to deal with Han Feng after the Black Emperor Auction.
• Qing refined the remaining Fire Beads, reached six-star Dou Wang, and joined Demonic Flame Valley as an outer sect steward responsible for external procurement.
• Gu He sensed that Qing had joined the valley, stopped monitoring him, and flew toward Gu Ling City.
• Fang Yan received an investigation report stating that no Central Continent faction knew of a Sixth-grade Alchemist named Gu Ling at the Peak Dou Emperor level.
• Fang Yan summoned the Second Elder and Third Elder to discuss how to handle the Gu Ling Pavilion Master, while the Third Elder concealed his concern over the three sets of Azure Nether Longevity Pill ingredients.

Fang Yan and the other Elders of Demonic Flame Valley decided to ask their Valley Master to kill Gu Ling Pavilion Master, but learned that he had entered seclusion to pursue a breakthrough. They left planning to monitor Gu Ling Pavilion Master's movements, and the Third Elder was assigned to attend the Black Emperor Auction and gather information.

• The Second and Third Elders agreed with Fang Yan that Demonic Flame Valley should eliminate Gu Ling Pavilion Master.
• The three Elders climbed to the lava lake where the Fire Emperor guarded the Valley Master's cultivation site.
• The Fire Emperor told them the Valley Master had entered seclusion seven days earlier to pursue a breakthrough to Dou Zong Seven-star.
• Fang Yan told the Fire Emperor about their grudge with Gu Ling Pavilion Master, and the Fire Emperor promised to inform the Valley Master after he emerged.
• Fang Yan decided they should track Gu Ling Pavilion Master's movements, and the Third Elder volunteered to approach him at the Black Emperor Auction.
• Fang Yan approved the Third Elder's plan and appointed him to lead Demonic Flame Valley's delegation to the auction.

Gu He arrived alone in Black Emperor City ahead of the Black Emperor Auction and received a token granting him accommodations. Han Feng followed soon after, intending to sound out Gu He about his strength and alchemy.

• Gu He flew to Black Emperor City alone, leaving Gu Ling Pavilion’s people behind to guard Pill Cauldron Pavilion.
• At the city gates, a yellow-robed elder welcomed Gu He through the purple entrance and gave him a Black Emperor Token for lodging at the Black Emperor Pavilion.
• People waiting outside discussed Gu He’s rise to Dou Zong and his past clash with Elder Jin Yin.
• Han Feng arrived, learned from the crowd that Gu He had entered the city as a Dou Zong, and considered how Gu He’s cultivation and alchemy had advanced.
• The yellow-robed elder welcomed Han Feng as the Medicine Emperor and gave him a Black Emperor Token; Han Feng entered the city planning to sound out Gu He.

Gu He explored Black Emperor City while replenishing his supply of medicinal herbs, then began buying valuable stock at Thousand Medicine Emporium. After his purchases exceeded one million gold coins, he asked for the shopkeeper and continued selecting herbs as a woman approached him.

• Gu He wandered through Black Emperor City, buying precious herbs from shops to replenish his Ring.
• Gu He entered the famous Thousand Medicine Emporium and examined its extensive selection of herbs.
• Gu He selected herbs at several counters until an elderly employee warned him that the total exceeded one million gold coins.
• Gu He told the employee to summon the shopkeeper because he intended to buy every herb that caught his eye.
• Gu He continued browsing the first floor, and a woman approached and asked if he was the one buying the herbs.