Gu Yuan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Gu Yuan (顾源)
Alias(es)	Qi Refining Formula; Grand Qi Refining Formula; Lin Zhou; Supreme Dao Venerable of Bestowed Profound Dharma
Species/Race	Sentient cultivation formula; initially a few sheets of paper, later a disembodied special existence capable of descending into vessels, treasures, and manifested bodies; ultimately an Origin Lord
Gender	Masculine
Affiliation	Cangyuan Palace (initially); Azure Mountain Sect cultivation community; numerous Qi Refining Formula inheritors and Dharma transmitters across the myriad worlds
Occupation/Role	Cultivation method, observer, covert guide of cultivators, Dharma transmitter, and Origin Lord
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Late Qi Refining	8	Accumulates energy fed back by cultivators practicing the Qi Refining Formula and learns that his own realm rises with his stored energy.
Foundation Establishment	14	Breaks through using energy from Fu Chengqin, outer sect disciples, and Zhao Wu.
Mid Foundation Establishment	14	Advances again after continued feedback from Zhao Wu.
Late Foundation Establishment	15	Gains enough energy to approach the requirements for influencing cultivators who have not yet begun practicing his formula.
Golden Core	18	Reaches Golden Core after Cangyuan Palace widely practices the Qi Refining Formula; gains the passive ability [Convergence].
Late Nascent Soul	115	Breaks through through the combined cultivation feedback from Cangyuan World and the Cultivation World Show.
Early Spirit Transformation	129	Reaches Spirit Transformation as Yang Jianghu’s broad dissemination of the formula produces further feedback.
Ninth Tribulation, First Stage	230	Breaks through and awakens [Technique Bestowal].
Myriad Laws	269	Awakens [Connection], allowing him to link the consciousness networks of Qi Refining Formula cultivators.
Early Return to One	359	Enters Return to One after his accumulated energy reaches its threshold.
Spirit Transformation Great Perfection	417	A manifested body reaches Spirit Transformation Great Perfection while Gu Yuan absorbs energy from a weakening spatial barrier.
Void Shattering Great Perfection / Ninth Tier, First Stage	428	His manifested cultivation rises dramatically while facing a tentacle-like tribulation.
Early Hunyuan	496	Advances after leaving the Primordial Chaos expert’s secret realm.
Supreme Great Perfection	524	Advances to Supreme Great Perfection and awakens [Origin].
Origin Lord / Gu Yuan Realm	541	Attains an unprecedented Origin Lord realm founded on his own Origin rather than a single preexisting Origin path.

Background / History

Gu Yuan is a transmigrator who reincarnates as an ignored Qi Refining Formula in Cangyuan Palace’s outer sect library. Unable to cultivate because he has neither a body nor meridians, he spends years lying on a shelf until Fu Chengqin selects him as a cultivation manual. 1

When Fu Chengqin cultivates the formula, Gu Yuan separates from the book’s physical pages into a freer, third-person form. He begins receiving spiritual-energy feedback from practitioners and awakens mind reading, followed by the ability to guide thoughts. 3 4

Gu Yuan covertly pushes Fu Chengqin toward having his father eliminate Chu Tian, then becomes suspicious when Fu Chengqin, Chu Tian, and Fu Tianming all display the status “Being guided.” He later imprints his formula into Chu Tian’s mind, examines the conflicting memories of the two supposed reborns, and concludes that their memories have likely been altered by an outside force. Chu Tian is subsequently killed amid the conflict surrounding him. 4 6 7 14

Seeking more energy rather than involvement in the larger conspiracy, Gu Yuan spreads the Qi Refining Formula among Cangyuan Palace cultivators. He also transmits it to Zhao Wu and Azure Origin Patriarch, though the Patriarch initially distrusts the formula. The palace-wide promotion of the technique eventually carries Gu Yuan into the Golden Core Realm. 9 11 13 15 18

After gaining [Convergence], Gu Yuan is drawn from Cangyuan World to Lin Hao’s world without expending energy. There, he discovers that Azure Mountain Sect is part of a staged “Cultivation World Show,” then uses actors and production staff as access points to disseminate the Qi Refining Formula and observe the production from within. 19 20 21 24

As his formula spreads through multiple worlds, Gu Yuan begins treating its inheritors, Dharma transmitters, and even artificially arranged protagonists as sources of feedback and windows into the greater cosmos. He develops [Grace], which can accelerate an inheritor’s cultivation or directly raise their realm at a high energy cost, and assists Qin Yuan in establishing cultivation within the Great Wind Empire. 135 142 146

Gu Yuan subsequently expands his activities across the Old Sea, the Eternal Origin Continent, the Civilization Battlefield, and the myriad universes. He descends into borrowed bodies and treasures, investigates systems and anomalous opportunities, and steadily turns scattered formula practitioners into an immense multiversal network. 251 269 319 355

After being noticed by Supremes, the Destruction Lord, the Dao Lord, and several Lords of Origin, Gu Yuan conceals the nature of his existence through disposable incarnations and deliberate self-destruction. His anomaly—having no detectable past, future, memories, or karma—draws the Dao Lord’s direct interest. 509 519 520

Gu Yuan eventually reaches Supreme Great Perfection and then attains an Origin Lord realm unique to himself. In the final confrontation, he withstands the Dao Lord’s attempt to consume his Origin, protects those who praise him, defeats the Dao Lord, and reaches Earth, where he reunites with two familiar figures. 524 540 541

Appearance

Gu Yuan’s original vessel is an ordinary, neglected Qi Refining Formula made of several paper sheets. After absorbing energy from cultivation, he exists as a mobile, incorporeal presence rather than a person with a stable body. 1 3

• Has no mouth, eyes, meridians, or physical body, yet can see and hear his surroundings. 1
• Can float independently near those connected to or cultivating his formula. 3 18
• Is unaffected by ordinary attacks that would endanger physical cultivators. 6
• Can descend into and use borrowed bodies, including Mo Tianxing’s body, while also inhabiting special treasures such as an ancient electric fan. 251
• Can alter the external appearance of a divine thought at will, changing between a human form, a ball, a cloud, and other shapes. 487
• After attaining Origin Lord, can create and disperse a physical body with a thought. His preferred manifested form is a handsome young man formed from Origin power. 541

Personality

Gu Yuan is cynical, restless, and highly genre-savvy. He frequently interprets events through the logic of webnovels, treating suspicious names, rebirth memories, secret realms, and apparent protagonists as warning signs. 3 4 6

He is primarily motivated by energy accumulation and the prospect of eventually acquiring a body. Although he aids Chu Tian, Zhao Wu, and other cultivators, he openly frames many interventions as investments in future energy feedback rather than altruism. 6 12 14

Despite his opportunism, Gu Yuan is intensely curious. He investigates altered rebirth memories, Azure Origin Patriarch’s system, the Myriad Heavens Containment Center, the Wasteland, and the artificial nature of the Cultivation World Show. 7 12 17 20

Gu Yuan becomes increasingly relaxed and playful as his power grows. He enjoys watching conflicts from the sidelines, experiencing ordinary life through incarnations, browsing entertainment, drinking tea, and looking for unusual systems, treasures, and protagonists. 191 298 359 525

He is also ruthless toward people who obstruct, insult, or attempt to exploit him. Although he often presents himself as a benevolent deity or teacher when it benefits the spread of his Dharma, he is willing to strip cultivators of their strength, kill hostile opponents, and use their resources as compensation. 270 389 437 464

Abilities & Skills

Energy Feedback and Cultivation Growth

Gu Yuan gains spiritual energy whenever people cultivate the Qi Refining Formula. His accumulated energy determines his realm, energy capacity, and access to new abilities. 3 8

• Continues receiving reduced feedback from Fu Chengqin even after Fu changes cultivation methods. 8
• Can benefit from multiple practitioners simultaneously, including Cangyuan Palace disciples and Zhao Wu. 9 14
• At Foundation Establishment, the formula develops into a “Grand Qi Refining Formula,” allowing those who master it to pass it on and receive feedback from later practitioners. 15
• Needs increasingly large amounts of energy after reaching Golden Core. 18
• Receives feedback across multiple worlds as his formulas are propagated by Dharma transmitters, sects, dynasties, and civilizations. 115 129 269 525
• Can absorb energy from systems, projections, barriers, defeated Heaven’s Chosen, and other abnormal sources in addition to conventional cultivation feedback. 295 417 435 464

Mind Reading

Gu Yuan can hear the thoughts of cultivators by expending energy. He first awakens this ability while Fu Chengqin cultivates the formula. 3

• Reads Fu Chengqin’s intention to kill Chu Tian before Chu Tian can grow stronger. 3
• Eavesdrops on Azure Origin Patriarch’s thoughts and even hears the Patriarch’s system. 12
• Uses observation of thoughts and memories to identify inconsistencies in Fu Chengqin and Chu Tian’s rebirth narratives. 7
• Can enter seas of consciousness to inspect systems, remnant souls, memories, and concealed opportunities. 208 332 491
• Identifies abnormal gaps and unnatural cleanliness in memories and divine souls, allowing him to recognize manipulation or external interference. 530

Thought Guidance

Gu Yuan can subtly implant or steer thoughts within cultivators, though the ability is initially weak and its energy cost is significant. 3 4

• Plants the idea that Fu Chengqin should ask Fu Tianming to kill Chu Tian early. 3 4
• Guides Chu Tian and Fu Chengqin into recalling their past-life memories. 7
• Can affect disciples’ emotions and provoke conflicts after gaining broad access throughout Cangyuan Palace. 18
• Has difficulty influencing cultivators who have not begun practicing the Qi Refining Formula. 15
• Uses guidance to direct promising inheritors toward formula dissemination, useful encounters, and opportunities that will increase his future feedback. 135 264 493

Formula Imprinting and Transmission

Gu Yuan can directly place the Qi Refining Formula into another person’s mind using his own energy. 6

• Imprints the formula into Chu Tian’s mind during Fu Tianming’s attempted assassination. 6
• Secretly transmits it to Zhao Wu during the Myriad Heavens Containment Center’s pursuit of Chu Tian. 13
• Injects it into Azure Origin Patriarch’s mind while the Patriarch rewards Fu Chengqin. 11
• Uses Azure Mountain Sect actors and staff as channels to impart the formula to elders, the sect master, and Yi Changge. 24 27
• Uses enlightenment steles, jade slips, temples, and other public channels to distribute increasingly diverse versions of the Qi Refining Formula. 129 338 391
• Can distribute formulas even to powerful outsiders and Supreme-level cultivators, treating their cultivation as part of his expanding multiversal Dharma network. 505 524

[Technique Bestowal]

[Technique Bestowal] is an ability awakened when Gu Yuan enters the Ninth Tribulation Realm. It enables him to grant cultivation techniques more directly and broadly than his earlier crude formula imprinting. 230

• Supports his later practice of assigning individualized Qi Refining Formulas and specially named techniques to large groups of cultivators. 338
• Reinforces his role as a Dharma transmitter whose techniques can establish new cultivation communities and lineages. 391 497

[Grace]

[Grace] allows Gu Yuan to spend energy to improve the cultivation of a Qi Refining Formula inheritor. 135

• Can directly raise an inheritor’s realm, though this consumes a massive amount of energy. 135
• Can more economically accelerate an inheritor’s normal cultivation speed. 135
• Uses it to help Qin Yuan establish a practical cultivation foundation and reach Golden Core. 135 142
• Can withdraw an enhancement, as demonstrated when he tests Chen Tianyuan’s evenly matched opportunity against Azure Origin Patriarch. 343

Information Analysis and Perception

Gu Yuan can inspect basic information about people at a glance and possesses unusually sharp perception of spiritual auras. 1

• Identifies names, realms, identities, and current statuses through a system-like panel. 1 6 13
• Detects concealed observers and unfamiliar auras around Chu Tian and within Azure Mountain Sect. 10 13 34
• Distinguishes genuine cultivation from staged effects in the Cultivation World Show. 20 24
• Can identify system hosts, treasure holders, hidden reincarnators, and individuals carrying unusual opportunity-based powers. 208 291 332 347
• Perceives incomplete or complete Origin power and uses karmic traces to investigate the true bodies behind projections and phantoms. 494 519 535

Mobility and Spatial Access

After Fu Chengqin cultivates him, Gu Yuan becomes capable of existing outside the book and moving as an independent observer. 3

• Can appear near connected cultivators and move freely through Cangyuan Palace once the formula is widely practiced. 3 18
• Can establish viewpoints through individuals such as Song Ya and the Cultivation World Show’s chief director. 20 21
• Is not stopped by Azure Origin Patriarch’s isolated-space barrier. 12
• Can descend through a formula practitioner’s perspective into remote worlds, independent spaces, bodies, and special treasures. 251 355
• Can tear open space, cross vast distances, and leave worlds once his later manifestations become sufficiently powerful. 428 525
• Can abandon a disposable incarnation or self-destruct a body without harming his underlying existence. 509

[Convergence]

[Convergence] is a passive ability gained upon Gu Yuan’s Golden Core breakthrough. It connects him to people bound by fate and can transport him across worlds. 18 19

• Draws Gu Yuan from Cangyuan World to Lin Hao’s world without energy expenditure. 19
• Its initial activation provides no explanation beyond its name; Gu Yuan later infers its connection to fated individuals. 18 19
• Allows Gu Yuan’s presence to intersect repeatedly with protagonists, systems, inheritors, and other people carrying unusual fate or opportunity. 269 291 491

[Connection]

[Connection] is an ability awakened at the Myriad Laws Realm that connects the consciousness networks of cultivators who practice Gu Yuan’s Qi Refining Formula. 269

• Allows formula practitioners to communicate through an interconnected consciousness network. 269
• Greatly expands Gu Yuan’s ability to observe distant worlds and switch between the viewpoints of inheritors. 355 529
• Makes his cultivation network increasingly independent of a single sect, world, body, or physical manual. 269 525

Divine Manifestation and Consecration

Gu Yuan can merge with memorial tablets and similar objects devoted to him, creating manifestations associated with his name and Dharma. 86

• Can inject energy into such objects and transform them into treasures for followers to use. 86
• Permits Tang Dongyang and later followers to treat him as an unseen divine protector without Gu Yuan needing a fixed physical body. 85 86
• Uses a divine persona as Lin Zhou to establish temples, bestow techniques, and enlist the Emperor Yongning in spreading his Dharma. 389 391

True Word Power and Law Manipulation

Gu Yuan can mobilize law-patterns and simulate True Word Power after reaching higher realms. 218 292

• First experiments with simulated True Word Power during the Wish Spirit’s dice trial, commanding that his number be the highest. 292
• Mobilizes multiple law patterns, including elemental and lightning-related laws, when testing the power of Nine Tribulations. 218
• Uses his superior control of spiritual energy and laws in battle against opponents such as Wang Ling. 326

[Origin]

[Origin] is an ability awakened at Supreme Great Perfection that deepens Gu Yuan’s comprehension and control of Origin. 524

• Accelerates the Origin cultivation of Qi Refining Formula practitioners connected to him. 524
• Clarifies his own path toward Origin Lord and beyond the ordinary paths of the Dao Lord. 524
• Allows him to withstand Origin-based manipulation and trace Origin connections back to the Lords behind them. 535
• At Origin Lord, grants him an Origin body that can be created or dismissed at will and whose power can influence multiple universes if unrestrained. 541

Combat

Although originally unable to fight through a body of his own, Gu Yuan becomes an overwhelmingly capable combatant through manifested bodies, borrowed vessels, law manipulation, and Origin power. 218 270 541

• Fights nine Myriad Laws cultivators alone, kills one, and takes Righteous Academy’s treasure vault as compensation for his lost treasure. 270
• Defeats Zhang Qian and Li Zai, shatters the Myriad Heavens Treasure Mirror, and extracts Li Zai’s system. 295
• Can immobilize opponents, strip their cultivation, and kill hostile Spirit Transformation cultivators with little effort. 437
• Destroys a Holy God projection, absorbs its energy, and traces it to the projection’s true body in another civilization. 414 464
• Defeats the Dao Lord after attaining his own Origin Lord realm, resisting attacks meant to erase his existence across time and space. 541

Relationships

• Fu Chengqin — First person to select and cultivate Gu Yuan’s formula; Gu Yuan’s earliest source of energy feedback and frequent target of thought guidance. 1 3 4
• Chu Tian — A suspected manipulated “protagonist” whom Gu Yuan initially aids by imprinting the Qi Refining Formula into his mind; his eventual death deprives Gu Yuan of a potential future source of energy. 6 7 14
• Azure Origin Patriarch / Lin Xiao — Powerful Cangyuan Palace Patriarch whom Gu Yuan attempts to turn into a practitioner; his later promotion of the formula enables Gu Yuan’s Golden Core breakthrough. 11 15 18
• Zhao Wu — Captain from the Myriad Heavens Containment Center who receives Gu Yuan’s formula and becomes a major source of energy feedback. 13 14
• Lin Hao — Fated individual through whom [Convergence] brings Gu Yuan to a new world; Gu Yuan follows his cultivation and storyline without directly revealing the world’s artificial nature. 19 20 32
• Tang Dongyang — Azure Mountain Sect master and one of Gu Yuan’s most admired practitioners, recognized for exceptional cultivation talent and comprehension. Tang Dongyang later venerates Gu Yuan through a memorial tablet. 32 46 85 86
• Song Ya — Cultivation World Show post-production staff member whose viewpoint lets Gu Yuan investigate the production behind Azure Mountain Sect. 20
• Qin Yuan — A favored inheritor in the Great Wind Empire. Gu Yuan uses [Grace] to accelerate his cultivation, enabling Qin Yuan to establish and direct the Cultivator Administration Bureau. 135 142 146
• Wang Chi — A powerful and suspicious cultivator who repeatedly investigates Gu Yuan. Despite Wang Chi’s wariness, the two later spend time together observing events and engaging in leisurely conversation. 177 189 191 220
• Mo Tianxing — An inheritor and recurring vessel through whom Gu Yuan investigates worlds, official institutions, ancient treasures, and the Old Sea. 251 300 319
• Chen Xiao — A fortunate cultivator whom Gu Yuan guides from within his sea of consciousness. Chen Xiao treats Gu Yuan as a mentor and follows his cryptic instructions, often gaining sudden insights from them. 490 491 493
• Lu Yuan — A protagonist-like cultivator with a remnant-soul “old grandpa” in his sea of consciousness. Gu Yuan has Chen Xiao travel beside him to observe what opportunities their combined fortune will attract. 491 493 494
• Jie Tianyou — The Grand Alchemist whose forgotten memories Gu Yuan restores. Gu Yuan regards his alchemy skill and knowledge as useful assets for future Dharma propagation. 457
• Destruction Lord — An Origin Lord who regards Gu Yuan as a dangerous anomaly and attempts to eliminate him. Gu Yuan’s disposable incarnations and inscrutable origins make the Destruction Lord increasingly wary. 509
• Dao Lord — A supreme existence unable to identify Gu Yuan’s past, future, karma, or true origins. The Dao Lord becomes fascinated by Gu Yuan before ultimately attempting to consume his Origin and being defeated. 509 541
• Space Origin Lord — An Origin Lord who approaches Gu Yuan privately and discusses the ancient war and the realm above Origin. 519 520

Story Role / Major Arcs

Cangyuan Palace Arc

• Reincarnates as an ignored Qi Refining Formula in the outer sect library and is taken away by Fu Chengqin. 1
• Gains independent perception, energy feedback, mind reading, and thought guidance through Fu Chengqin’s cultivation. 3 4
• Intervenes in the conflict between Fu Chengqin and Chu Tian, then discovers that both rebirth narratives are incomplete and contradictory. 6 7
• Spreads his formula through Cangyuan Palace, reaches Golden Core, and gains [Convergence]. 14 15 18

Cultivation World Show Arc

• Travels through [Convergence] to Lin Hao’s world and uncovers Azure Mountain Sect’s nature as a staged cultivation program. 19 20
• Observes production staff and directors through borrowed viewpoints to understand how the show scripts its protagonists’ lives. 20 21
• Turns actors and staff into real cultivators by imparting the Qi Refining Formula, gradually making the fictional sect into a genuine cultivation force. 24 32 48
• Develops a following around Tang Dongyang’s memorial tablet and discovers that he can manifest through objects consecrated in his name. 85 86

Multiversal Dissemination Arc

• Uses [Grace] to support Qin Yuan and establishes the Qi Refining Formula within the Great Wind Empire’s emerging cultivation system. 135 142 146
• Exploits the ambitions of sects, families, players, systems, and protagonists to spread the formula across Cangyuan World and connected worlds. 129 163 169
• Enters the Human World and other external civilizations, where he investigates systems, demons, law power, and the true scale of the myriad heavens. 177 208 218
• Reaches Myriad Laws and turns his many isolated practitioners into a consciousness-linked cultivation network through [Connection]. 269

Old Sea and Eternal Origin Continent Arc

• Descends into bodies and ancient treasures to explore the Old Sea, the Eternal Origin Continent, and the hidden mechanisms behind regressors, systems, and fortuitous opportunities. 251 291 319 332
• Studies exceptional figures such as Su Ning, Chen Tianyuan, and Chen Xian without immediately exposing his interest in their concealed powers. 332 342 347
• Reaches Return to One while leisurely observing formula practitioners across worlds and special spaces. 355 359
• Continues distributing formulas through major sects, enlightenment steles, and ordinary cultivators while collecting information on the wider multiverse. 338 369 379

Heaven’s Chosen Trial and Civilization Battlefield Arc

• Uses the identity Lin Zhou to participate in and manipulate the Heaven’s Chosen Trial, presenting himself as a divine Dharma transmitter in the Great Prosperity Dynasty. 389 391
• Establishes temples and uses the dynasty’s resources to propagate cultivation before confronting trialists, black fog, Holy God projections, and hostile civilizations. 391 414 420
• Becomes an increasingly feared variable among Supremes and trial observers after effortlessly eliminating powerful participants and disrupting expected trial outcomes. 435 437 455
• Restores Jie Tianyou’s memories, expands his Dharma into additional civilizations, and investigates the political conflict between civilizations aligned with and opposed to Dao World. 457 473 478

Origin Lords Arc

• Travels with Chen Xiao and Lu Yuan to investigate Primordial Chaos-level schemes, secret realms, and powerful phantoms. 491 493 494
• Advances to Hunyuan and enters the circle of Supremes, where the Destruction Lord and Dao Lord begin probing his incomprehensible origins. 496 507 509
• Meets the Space Origin Lord and learns of ancient catastrophes, the deaths of earlier Origin Lords, and the existence of a realm above Origin. 519 520
• Reaches Supreme Great Perfection, gains [Origin], and observes the plans of multiple Origin Lords to create a new golden age. 524 529
• Resists the influence of the Lord of Elemental Origin and accelerates the clash between magical, bizarre, and other Origin-altered worlds. 534 535 536

Finale

• Gathers enough energy to attempt an Origin Lord breakthrough while preparing for another encounter with the Dao Lord. 540
• Attains the unique Gu Yuan Realm and forms a new Origin Great Dao that benefits countless cultivators across the heavens and myriad universes. 541
• Protects those who praise him, defeats the Dao Lord’s attempt at transcendence, and survives the confrontation without allowing the universes to be destroyed. 541
• Finally finds Earth and reunites with two familiar figures, ending his journey as the Supreme Dao Venerable of Bestowed Profound Dharma. 541