Gu Chen

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Gu Chen (顾辰)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Profound Dao Celestial Sect (Heaven Sect); Dragon Splendor Sword Pavilion; Star Eternity Squad
Occupation/Role	Sword cultivator, personal/direct disciple, and captain of the Star Eternity Squad
Status	Alive; rescued from the Dawnsource Secret Realm crisis and treated for severe injuries 178 180
First Appearance	Chapter 25

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Qi Refining Peak	25	Already at Qi Refining Peak at age seventeen; recognized for an innately lucid sword heart and refined swordsmanship.
Foundation Establishment	63	Broke through after more than five months of seclusion and forged an Innate Sword-Intent Dao Foundation.
Foundation Establishment Middle Stage	75	Identified as being at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage during the sect tournament.
Sword True Intent	168	Comprehended Sword True Intent shortly before the Dawnsource Secret Realm destabilized.
Bloodforged Sword Essence	173	Survived the fusion of the Ten Directions Blood Demon Sword Canon with his original sword path, producing a dark-gold and blood-red sword essence with annihilating and devouring properties. The event is also described as a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

Background

Gu Chen was a swordsmanship prodigy favored by Fourth Elder Zheng Lichuan. At seventeen, he had already reached Qi Refining Peak and was known for an innately lucid sword heart, exceptional sword-art aptitude, and a composure beyond his age 25.

He was promoted alongside Dong Lin and Tao Yan as a direct disciple of the Heaven Sect. During the promotion demonstration, he used swift sword shadows and Sword Qi to carve more than a dozen gashes into a Black-Tier defensive artifact with protection comparable to an Early Foundation Establishment cultivator 25.

After forming the Star Eternity Squad, Gu Chen became its captain and close-range sword specialist. He deliberately assembled a group with complementary roles, recruiting Dong Lin for long-range lightning damage while assigning tactical functions according to each member’s techniques rather than rigid positions 28 33.

Appearance

Gu Chen is a tall, handsome youth with a straight-backed bearing and a calmness that belies his age. He first appears in a neat blue robe with an iron sword at his waist; later, he commonly wears a cyan sword robe and carries his spirit sword on his back 25 65.

• His eyes are described as cold and star-like when preparing for battle 65.
• After Foundation Establishment, his formerly exposed sharpness becomes restrained, “like a sword hidden in its sheath” 64.
• During the Dawnsource crisis, his presence grows more imposing and his gaze becomes sharp as lightning after comprehending Sword True Intent 168.

Personality

Gu Chen is composed, modest, and practical. He credits his Foundation Establishment success to luck rather than boasting over his rare Innate Sword-Intent Dao Foundation, and he accepts tournament defeat without making excuses 64 84.

As a captain, he is tactically minded and fair. He organizes combat roles, warns teammates about enemy abilities, and mediates resource distribution according to each member’s contribution 33 35 65. His calm does not make him detached: he repeatedly places Tao Yan’s safety above his own, tending to her injuries in the underground cavern and shielding her through spatial disasters 171 176 178.

The Blood Demon Sword Canon leaves him with a colder, more indifferent edge, but he refuses to surrender the defining qualities of his sword path—sharpness, precision, and relentless advance—to its slaughter-driven will 173.

Abilities & Skills

Sword Cultivation

Gu Chen is an elite sword cultivator whose style emphasizes speed, precision, mobility, and exploiting an enemy’s weak points.

• His One Sword, Hundred Shadows creates over a hundred rapidly shifting sword shadows, supplemented by profound Sword Qi 25.
• He identifies structural weaknesses in opponents and strikes decisively, such as repeatedly targeting the Vajra Soul-Eater Spider’s vulnerable head-abdomen joint 66.
• His swordsmanship allowed him to fight a veteran Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator for half an hour despite being at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, though the opponent’s greater reserves ultimately wore him down 84.

Mountain-Suppressing Divine Sword Art

Before receiving Cang’s inheritance, Gu Chen’s primary sword path was the orthodox Mountain-Suppressing Divine Sword Art.

• Third Form: Severing the Flow — A concentrated thrust used to pierce the Vajra Soul-Eater Spider’s weak point 66.
• Fourth Form: Sea-Splitting — His strongest available strike during the spider hunt; he used it to kill the spider through its damaged compound eye 67.
• Sixth Form: Sky-Supporting — A supreme, all-out Sword Qi attack formed by pouring in his sword intent, killing intent, and spiritual power 170.
• Its steady, upright nature initially clashes violently with the bloodthirsty inheritance of the Blood Demon Sword Canon 172.

Innate Sword Intent and Sword True Intent

Gu Chen formed an Innate Sword-Intent Dao Foundation, a rare foundation recognized as a path toward the Golden Core Realm 63 64.

• His Innate Sword Intent gives his attacks exceptional sharpness and allows him to break through spell defenses and exploit openings 82 84.
• He later comprehends Sword True Intent, making his presence and Sword Qi more imposing during the Dawnsource emergency 168.
• His sword heart is described by Cang as clear, pure, and resilient 171.

Bloodforged Sword Essence

Cang forcibly grants Gu Chen the inheritance of the Ten Directions Blood Demon Sword Canon, a demonic sword art fueled by essence blood and souls 172.

• Gu Chen resists the canon’s attempt to erase his identity and preserves his original sword path rather than becoming a slaughter-driven puppet 173.
• The resulting Bloodforged Sword Essence possesses destructive sharpness alongside plundering and devouring qualities 173.
• He can use it to forcibly combine the Mountain-Suppressing Divine Sword Art’s weight with blood-refined destructive power 176.
• Its power is unstable and dangerous; Hong Ye must bind it with a fire membrane to stop it from further devouring Gu Chen’s body 179 180.
• The inheritance binds Gu Chen to Cang’s future demand: if he reaches Mahayana Stage, he must enter the Realm of the Return Ruins and seek vengeance for Cang 172.

Spatial Severing

In desperation, Gu Chen combines his sword intent, Bloodforged Sword Essence, and a trace of Cang’s void-rending intent to tear open a temporary spatial fissure.

• He uses the fissure to escape the collapsing Dawnsource Secret Realm while carrying the gravely wounded Tao Yan 178.
• The technique is an emergency measure performed under extreme conditions rather than a routine movement method 178.

Squad Leadership

Gu Chen serves as the Star Eternity Squad’s tactical core.

• He assigns roles based on changing circumstances and cultivation attributes 33.
• He gives precise instructions before dangerous encounters, including positioning Baili Tianming as vanguard, Tao Yan as control, and Dong Lin as the counter to soul-based attacks 65.
• He distributes spoils fairly, accounting for each member’s combat contribution 35.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Azure Abyss Sword — Gu Chen’s natal spirit sword, bound to his life and cultivation. It sustains him with its remaining spirituality when he is near collapse in the underground cavern 171.
• Azure Nether — An ancient, unadorned sword recorded as being carried on his back during the Vajra Soul-Eater Spider hunt 65.
• Iron sword — The weapon at his waist when he was promoted to direct disciple 25.

Relationships

• Zheng Lichuan — Fourth Elder of the Dragon Splendor Sword Pavilion and Gu Chen’s senior patron; he is openly satisfied with Gu Chen’s rare Innate Sword-Intent Dao Foundation 25 64.
• Dong Lin — Star Eternity Squad teammate recruited to cover the squad’s long-range damage gap. Gu Chen recognizes Dong Lin’s growth and directly praises his lightning sword strike against the Vajra Soul-Eater Spider 33 66 75.
• Tao Yan — Fellow squad member and water/ice cultivator. Their field coordination is seamless, and Gu Chen repeatedly protects her during the Dawnsource calamity 168 169 171 178.
• Baili Tianming — Close-combat teammate and vanguard. Gu Chen gives him tactical warnings during the spider hunt and plans future hunts with him after the sect tournament 65 75.
• Zhao Shuheng — Support-oriented squadmate. Gu Chen respects his abilities but advises him to study spatial runes rather than reckless boundary-space cultivation 33.
• Cang — Ancient imprisoned demon sword that considers Gu Chen a “qualified seed.” Cang grants him the Blood Demon Sword Canon in exchange for a future vow of vengeance 171 172.
• Hong Ye — Heaven Sect elder who rescues Gu Chen from the collapsing secret realm and suppresses his rampaging Bloodforged Sword Essence 178 180.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Promotion and Star Eternity Squad

Gu Chen becomes a direct disciple alongside Dong Lin and Tao Yan, publicly demonstrating swordsmanship far beyond ordinary Qi Refining standards 25. He later forms the Star Eternity Squad with Tao Yan, Zhao Shuheng, Baili Tianming, and Dong Lin, acting as its captain and tactical core 28 32 33.

Dawnsource Secret Realm Expedition

Gu Chen guides the squad’s first expedition into the Dawnsource Secret Realm, explaining its regions and leading the team into the forest to hunt spirit beasts 33. He identifies danger during the expanding wasteland anomaly, later handles the distribution of spoils after the Earth-Element Armored Beast battle, and dominates the sect’s Qi Refining hunting rankings with 293 points from ten first-rank peak kills 34 35 46.

Foundation Establishment and the Vajra Soul-Eater Spider

After seclusion, Gu Chen enters Foundation Establishment with an Innate Sword-Intent Dao Foundation, prompting a sect celebration 63 64. He then leads the squad into the Mystic Nether Secret Realm to hunt a Second Rank Vajra Soul-Eater Spider, coordinating the group’s control, defense, lightning, and melee attacks before delivering the killing blow with Sea-Splitting 65 67.

Sect Tournament

Gu Chen advances through the first tournament round despite a difficult battle against a Foundation Establishment Late Stage opponent 82. He ultimately fails to secure entry to the Myriad Convergence Grotto-Heaven after a veteran cultivator uses superior reserves and battlefield experience to exhaust him 84.

Dawnsource Upheaval and Cang’s Inheritance

After comprehending Sword True Intent, Gu Chen and Tao Yan are dispatched to investigate the destabilizing Dawnsource Secret Realm 168. Separated by sentient sandstorms, they fight mutated Second Rank beasts before falling into an underground cavern 169 171.

While Tao Yan lies unconscious, Gu Chen encounters Cang, an ancient sword bound to an altar under Purgatory Flame. To survive and protect Tao Yan, he accepts the Ten Directions Blood Demon Sword Canon and the obligation to seek Cang’s vengeance in the distant future 171 172. He survives the canon’s attempt to consume his sword path, forms Bloodforged Sword Essence, and later opens a spatial fissure to escape with Tao Yan 173 178.

Notable Quotes

“In battle, circumstances change in a thousand ways. For now, we'll simply divide our roles according to the attributes of our cultivation techniques.” 33

“If one day I reach the Mahayana Stage, Senior's request, Gu Chen... accepts!” 172