Zhao Gang

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Zhao Gang (赵刚)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land
Occupation/Role	Grand Elder / First Elder of the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land
Status	Deceased; killed by Qin Huaian 1020
First Appearance	Chapter 600

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Peak Immortal Venerable / perfected Primordial Unity Golden Immortal	706	An established pinnacle expert of the Luo River World; his top-grade Dao artifact makes him a feared combatant among cultivators of this level. 706
Dao Fusion, Second Stage	751	Identified as a Dao Fusion Second Stage cultivator while testing the protective formation around the Central Fire Sea palace complex. He later states that reaching this stage required several million years after finding the path to Dao Fusion. 751 761
Dao Fusion, Third Stage	1014	Identifies himself as a Third Stage Dao Fusion expert. Despite this advancement, Qin Huaian's defeat of the stronger Qiu Yi leaves him fearful of facing Qin without Duan Linchuan's protection. 1014

Personality

Zhao Gang is domineering and accustomed to settling matters through the authority of his cultivation and sect. He initially intends to seize Qin Huaian without establishing his guilt, treating an unaffiliated Golden Immortal as someone beneath explanation. 709

The death of his youngest son turns this arrogance into a long-running vendetta. He remains methodical when enraged: he investigates the Origin Eye, orders surveillance of Void Hall, and later directs efforts to identify and seize Qin Huaian's former fellow disciples. 601 702 762

Zhao Gang later acknowledges to himself that his accusation against Qin Huaian had not been based on certainty. Qin's extraordinary cultivation speed also made Zhao Gang want to bring him under the Sacred Land's control and investigate whether he possessed a valuable secret or treasure. He intended to recruit Qin if he could be controlled, or eliminate him if he became a threat. 1014 1020

He is also pragmatic in sect affairs. When the spatial rift offers the prospect of resources and the Fire Origin, he postpones an invasion of Dragon Creek Continent, seals the information, and redirects the Sacred Land's attention to the discovery. 734 736

As Qin Huaian grows stronger, Zhao Gang's hatred is accompanied by fear. Qin's decision to cultivate openly near a Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land branch enrages him, but he recognizes the danger of confronting Qin without Duan Linchuan and withdraws to cultivate. 1014

Abilities & Skills

Dao Fusion Cultivation

Zhao Gang was a Dao Fusion Second Stage expert who spent nearly a million years locating the path to Dao Fusion and several million more reaching that stage. He later reached the Third Stage. 751 761 1014

• His strength and divine sense greatly exceed those of ordinary Primordial Unity Golden Immortals. 706 753
• His divine sense extends beyond five hundred thousand li. 753
• He was unable to shake the protective grand formation around the Central Fire Sea palace complex even with his full strength. 751
• He had gained an initial grasp of spatial laws and believed he could use it to evade Qin Huaian once the Spatial Sealing Formation was lifted. 1019

Heavy Sword Arts

Zhao Gang fights with overwhelming force rather than elaborate techniques.

• His direct strike with the Golden Gate Suppressor carries weight and sharpness intense enough to make Qin Huaian feel that his own Grand Void Birth and Extinction could not compare. 706
• He can enlarge the sword to a thousand zhang after pouring Immortal Essence Power into it. 706
• Su Yu blocked his full-force attack and injured him, revealing a substantial gap between them. 706

Blood-Essence Tracking Mark

Zhao Gang secretly placed a blood-essence tracking talisman on Zhao Pengcheng before the latter entered Golden Glow Island. 708

• The mark transfers to Zhao Pengcheng's murderer upon his death. 708
• Zhao Gang believes cultivators below his approximate level cannot detect or remove it; even weaker Grand Unity Immortal Venerables cannot perceive it. 601 708
• Its unexplained disappearance leads him to suspect that Zhao Pengcheng's killer possessed a third- or fourth-level Origin Eye. 601 702

Strategic Command

As Grand Elder, Zhao Gang directs the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land's investigations, deployments, and resource collection.

• He orders Songting to investigate cultivators with advanced Origin Eyes and later to capture Qin Huaian upon his exit from Void Hall. 601 702
• He supervises the collection and use of Spatial Stones to break the Emerald Bamboo Domain's spatial grand formation. 703 716
• During Sacred Lord Duan Linchuan's seclusion, he manages the Sacred Land's internal affairs and receives major intelligence reports. 827
• He commands disciples in a battle formation during the encirclement of Qin Huaian, but cannot prevent Qin's Grand Void Birth and Extinction from breaking its defenses. 1018 1019

Equipment

• Golden Gate Suppressor — Top-grade Dao artifact heavy sword, renowned as one of Zhao Gang's greatest supports. 706
• Fifth-tier immortal array disc — Used to ease his group's passage through the Central Fire Sea. 750
• Blood-essence tracking talisman — Secret tracking art placed on Zhao Pengcheng. 708
• Protective armor — Armor Zhao Gang deploys against Qin Huaian; it is damaged by one sword strike and shattered by another. 1019

Relationships

• Zhao Pengcheng — Youngest son; Zhao Gang placed great hopes in him because of his wind-attributed Heavenly Spirit Root and exceptional comprehension. His death on Golden Glow Island motivates Zhao Gang's pursuit of Qin Huaian, though Zhao Gang initially lacks certainty about the killer. 600 601 1020
• Songting — Fourth disciple; possesses a second-level Origin Eye and serves as Zhao Gang's investigator and subordinate in the search for Zhao Pengcheng's killer. 601 702
• Leng Xuanye — Eldest disciple and a Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land prodigy. Zhao Gang guides his Yin-Yang Law and Dao Fusion cultivation, viewing him as a successor whose future may surpass his own. Leng Xuanye is the person Zhao Gang thinks of as he dies. 749 761 827 1020
• Su Yu — Pavilion Master of Star Pavilion and Zhao Gang's opponent. Su Yu prevents Zhao Gang from taking Qin Huaian, defeats him in battle, and forces his retreat. 705 706 709
• Qin Huaian — Killer of Zhao Pengcheng, though Zhao Gang initially uses an unproven suspicion as grounds to seize him. Qin later becomes a target Zhao Gang seeks to eliminate because of his extraordinary talent and rapid growth, and ultimately kills Zhao Gang. 702 733 1019 1020
• Duan Linchuan — Sacred Lord of the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land and Zhao Gang's former junior fellow disciple. Zhao Gang cared for him when they were young, but their relationship grew distant after their master appointed Duan Sacred Lord and Zhao Grand Elder. Zhao Gang administers the sect during Duan's seclusion; Duan later attempts to save him and vows to avenge his death. 755 827 1019 1020
• Qiu Yi — A Dao Fusion Realm powerhouse of the Sacred Land who advises Leng Xuanye and is considered second only to Duan Linchuan in strength within the sect. Qiu Yi's death at Qin Huaian's hands heightens Zhao Gang's fear of Qin. 826 1014

Story Role / Major Arcs

Golden Glow Island aftermath

Zhao Gang waits for Zhao Pengcheng's return from Golden Glow Island, only to find his son absent among the million cultivators who emerge. Because the tracking mark remains active, he concludes that either Zhao Pengcheng or his killer may still be alive. 600

After Songting reports that the mark was still detectable on the island, Zhao Gang investigates the Origin Eye as the only known ability capable of exposing and removing his secret mark. 601

Pursuit of Qin Huaian

Zhao Gang eventually identifies Qin Huaian as the most likely fourth-level Origin Eye cultivator: Qin entered Golden Glow Island as a True Immortal and emerged as a mid-stage Heavenly Immortal after passing two tribulations in roughly ten years. He orders Songting to seize Qin when Void Hall opens. 702

When Qin emerges from Void Hall, Zhao Gang attacks him directly. Su Yu intervenes, blocks Zhao Gang's attack, and injures him with the Purple Lightning Green Ruler; Zhao Gang is forced to withdraw while vowing retaliation. 705 706 709

Zhao Gang's later recollection reveals that he did not regard the evidence against Qin as conclusive. Alongside his suspicion about Zhao Pengcheng's death, he wanted to investigate the source of Qin's rapid advancement and either bring him under the Sacred Land's control or remove him as a future threat. 1014 1020

Central Fire Sea and palace complex

Zhao Gang postpones his planned invasion of Dragon Creek Continent after his sect discovers a secret realm accessible through a recurring spatial rift. The possible presence of the Fire Origin makes securing the rift his priority. 734 736

At the Central Fire Sea, he witnesses the emergence of the Taiji Yin-Yang Fish and its vast palace complex. Although he cannot damage its protective formation, he pursues Qin Huaian after discovering him nearby. 749 751 753

Qin Huaian opens the formation with a Yin-Yang sword art and enters before Zhao Gang can follow. Zhao Gang concludes that the required key is Qin's sword technique and begins searching for Qin's former Yellow Mountain Sword Sect associates to obtain it or use them as hostages. 753 762

Later hostility toward Qin Huaian

Zhao Gang's enmity becomes broader than revenge for Zhao Pengcheng. Qin Huaian's rise to the top of the Golden Immortal rankings convinces Zhao Gang that the threat must be eliminated before Qin becomes a true powerhouse. 733

When the secret realm disappears, Zhao Gang hopes Qin Huaian is trapped inside forever, while the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land deploys experts to ambush him if he returns. 826

Following Qin Huaian's attack on Immortal Inquiry City and the death of Qiu Yi, Zhao Gang orders low-level Sacred Land cultivators to disperse across Violet Thorn Continent while Immortal Venerable experts and above defend the Violet Thorn Mountains. 980

After Qin openly cultivates near the Kun Yuan Dao Repository Stele, Zhao Gang regards his presence near a Sacred Land branch as a humiliation. Qin has offered to end their conflict if the sect hands Zhao Gang over, but Zhao Gang rejects the demand. Aware that even Qiu Yi was killed by Qin, he reports the matter to Duan Linchuan and enters closed-door cultivation rather than attacking. 1014

Death in the encirclement

During the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land's encirclement of Qin Huaian, Zhao Gang commands a battle formation on its southern side. Qin targets him while evading Duan Linchuan. Grand Void Birth and Extinction annihilates disciples and breaks the formation's defenses; Qin then pursues Zhao Gang, strikes through his Immortal Essence shield, and shatters his armor despite Duan's order to deactivate the Spatial Sealing Formation. 1018 1019

Before the final blow, Qin privately confirms that he killed Zhao Pengcheng and repeats the words Zhao Pengcheng spoke before his death. Zhao Gang realizes that the accusation he had used as a pretext was true. He does not regret trying to capture Qin, but regrets never attempting the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal lightning tribulation. Qin's next strike kills him, and Duan Linchuan vows revenge. 1019 1020