Gu Qingfeng

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Gu Qingfeng (顾轻风)
Alias(es)	Senior Brother Gu; Immortal Master Gu; No. 9 / “No. 9 XX” in the Chivalrous Spirit Incense Burner network 4 19
Species/Race	Human; a modern man who transmigrated into this world with fragmented memories 1 2
Gender	Male
Age	Seventeen 7
Affiliation	Former disciple of the Golden Core Immortal Sect; leader of an escape group 1 11 19
Occupation/Role	Cultivator; fugitive and protector of fellow escaped disciples
Status	Alive; separated from Qi Lingguang’s group and stranded in a waterless desert 21 22
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Initial Golden Core disciple	1	His body develops Core Branches and small Golden Cores under the Golden Core Immortal Sect’s cultivation system.
Yi-Wood Golden Core Feeding Formula	5	Learns that the sect’s method converts his essence, blood, and lifespan into a Yi-Wood Dao Fruit for Golden Core Celestial Venerable to consume.
Middle-tier Golden Core	7	His Golden Core grows larger and yellower, placing him around the middle of his fellow disciples; cultivation reduces his lifespan to five years and thirteen days.
Geng-Metal Golden Core Dao	8	Reverses the Yi-Wood formula’s cost, transforming Yi-Wood Power into razor-sharp Geng-Metal Power and escaping the “food” nature of the sect’s cultivation.
Detached Core Branch weaponization	8	Can withdraw a metallic Core Branch without damaging his foundation, wielding it externally while retaining his Golden Core within his body.
Full-body Geng-Metal application	15 17	Learns to discharge Geng-Metal Power through his arms, feet, knees, elbows, and other body parts; develops powerful jumping and wall-running movement through brute force.
Geng-Metal Dao Fruit refinement	19	His transformed Dao Fruit stores large amounts of Geng-Metal Power and gradually compresses and purifies it during meditation.
Immortal-Divine Power enhancement	22	Absorbs limited power from the reversed Crimson Corruption Godscale, strengthening his qi and aiding future core condensation.

Background / History

Transmigration and the Golden Core Immortal Sect

Gu Qingfeng arrives in an unfamiliar cultivation world with severely fragmented memories and becomes a disciple of the Golden Core Immortal Sect. During his master’s sermon, he witnesses disciples transformed into human trees bearing Golden Cores—resources that Golden Core Celestial Venerable casually harvests and eats. 1

When the Celestial Venerable questions the size of Gu Qingfeng’s Golden Core, Gu saves himself by claiming that he entered the sect later than the other disciples and still has untapped potential. His master grants him ten days to produce results, warning that failure will reduce him to “material.” 2

Discovery of the Reversal Ability

Following a throbbing sensation in the Hall of Morality, Gu Qingfeng discovers the Chivalrous Spirit Incense Burner. The artifact can contact distant holders when incense is burned and its user declares, “I want to be a great hero!” Its original cost is a compulsive, mind-breaking drive to punish evil; Gu Qingfeng reverses that cost, remaining exceptionally calm instead. 3 4

He uses the burner to contact Lin Qingxia, the Unmoving Monk Hero, Peach-Eating Jade Sword, and Lu Mang. Their information reveals that the sect lies near Yuan Feeding City in the Returning Ruins, but Peach-Eating Jade Sword cannot reach him quickly enough to attempt a rescue. Gu accepts that he must escape through his own efforts. 4 6

Creating His Own Golden Core Dao

Gu Qingfeng discovers that the Yi-Wood Golden Core Feeding Formula is designed to shorten disciples’ lifespans and transform them into Dao Fruits for Golden Core Celestial Venerable. Although reversal could free him, he initially continues cultivating to build strength while concealing his advantage. 5 7

On the eve of another assessment, he activates Reversal of Cost. His Yi-Wood Power becomes Geng-Metal Power, his Core Branch turns metallic, and he gains the ability to use it as a detachable sword without destroying his cultivation foundation. 8

Revolt and Escape

When Zhang Yao attempts to consume the Golden Cores of Gu Qingfeng, Qi Lingguang, Shen Yun, Zhao San, and Wang Wu, Gu feigns paralysis. He provokes Zhang Yao into biting his Golden Core, then detonates concealed Geng-Metal Power inside her mouth. 9 10 11

Gu kills Zhang Yao, Third Senior Brother, and Wang Qian, using Geng-Metal’s natural suppression of their Yi-Wood-based cultivation. The surviving disciples accept him as their leader, and he leads them through the sect’s Furnace Workshop escape route. 11 12

Within the caverns, Gu protects the group from Man-Dogs wearing the faces of dead disciples, living Yi-Wood trees, and root-bound corpses. His relentless fighting clears a route to the outside, though it rapidly exhausts his power. 14 15 16 17 18

After escaping, Gu vows to someday return, kill Golden Core Celestial Venerable, destroy the sect’s tree, and free the souls trapped within it. 19

Separation in the Returning Ruins

Gu travels with Qi Lingguang, Shen Yun, Zhao San, and Wang Wu until a silent supernatural flood sweeps him away from the camp. He encounters a grotesque woman-shaped ship pulled by long-necked humanoids; his Golden Core protects him from their transformative influence. 20 21

He awakens alone in a desert and finds the Crimson Corruption Godscale, a scale seemingly connected to the woman-ship. After reversing its corruptive cost, he uses its Immortal-Divine Power to heal his decayed fingers and strengthen his qi, but remains dehydrated and stranded. 21 22

Appearance

Gu Qingfeng is a seventeen-year-old young man described by others as refined and handsome. After reversing his cultivation, he can emit an intense golden radiance that makes observers compare him to an immortal, even as his violent methods leave them uncertain whether he is divine or monstrous. 12 19

• His body can manifest multiple Core Branches from areas including his abdomen and shoulders. 1 13
• Reversed Core Branches are metallic, sword-like, and shine with sharp golden light. 8 13
• His Geng-Metal Power can make his skin, limbs, and dantian glow gold during combat or cultivation. 8 15 19
• He wears the adaptable Precious Moon Garment after taking it from Zhang Yao. 12 13

Personality

Gu Qingfeng is pragmatic, observant, and highly survival-driven. Faced with a master capable of harvesting disciples alive, he relies on quick thinking, deception, concealment, and careful timing rather than reckless defiance. He delays reversing the Yi-Wood formula until he can use the transformation as a decisive hidden advantage. 2 5 8

Despite his fear and desire to survive, he is protective of those who show him kindness. Junior Brother Zhao’s disappearance angers him, Qi Lingguang’s capture drives him into immediate action, and he refuses to abandon Shen Yun despite her injuries during the escape. 9 15 19

His greatest danger is his exhilaration in battle. Geng-Metal Power and the chivalrous influence of the incense burner intensify his urge to destroy evil; he can become so absorbed in slaughtering threats that Qi Lingguang and the others must pull him back to their actual goal of escape. 4 16 17

Abilities & Skills

The Price Can Be Reversed

Gu Qingfeng possesses a special ability that identifies the hidden cost of anomalous items and cultivation methods, then reverses that cost for his own use. 3 5

• Reversed the Chivalrous Spirit Incense Burner’s madness-inducing compulsion into exceptional calmness. 3 4
• Reversed the Yi-Wood Golden Core Feeding Formula into a Geng-Metal cultivation path. 5 8
• Reversed the Crimson Corruption Godscale’s decaying effect into regeneration and cultivation support. 22
• The Godscale’s reversal applies only to Gu Qingfeng; it remains corrosive to others. 22

Geng-Metal Power

Geng-Metal Power is Gu Qingfeng’s primary combat force: an extremely sharp, golden energy created by reversing Yi-Wood Power. It is especially effective against Yi-Wood-based cultivators and monster trees. 8 11 16

• Emits through fingers, arms, legs, toes, knees, elbows, and Core Branches. 8 15
• Can pierce wood, flesh, and Yi-Wood defenses with blade-like sharpness. 8 11
• Naturally suppresses Yi-Wood Power, giving him a major advantage against Golden Core Immortal Sect cultivators. 11 15
• Requires substantial stamina; prolonged attacks leave him exhausted and sore. 17
• Can be compressed and concealed inside his body to avoid immediate detection. 8

Core Branch Weaponization

Unlike ordinary sect disciples, Gu Qingfeng can safely pull out his metallic Core Branches and use them as external weapons. 8

• Wields two branches as improvised swords during the escape. 13 15
• Uses the Golden Core Swordsmanship move Golden Branch Wind Shuttle through both branches and his own limbs. 11 15
• His branches hurt other Yi-Wood cultivators to hold, preventing Qi Lingguang and the others from using them. 13
• He admits that his apparent “dual-sword technique” is largely instinctive wild slashing rather than formal mastery. 13

Enhanced Mobility

Gu Qingfeng uses Geng-Metal Power to forcefully improve his movement during battle. 17 18

• Can leap nearly two zhang into the air. 17
• Creates footholds in cave walls with his feet, allowing him to sprint along vertical surfaces. 18
• Uses rapid movement to intercept ambushes and open routes for his companions. 17 18

Golden Core Protection

Gu Qingfeng’s transformed Golden Core can resist certain supernatural effects. 21

• Emits golden light that breaks the apparent transformation or mental influence of the long-necked ship-haulers. 21
• Cannot solve practical threats such as thirst, isolation, or exhaustion. 21 22

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Chivalrous Spirit Incense Burner — A palm-sized, rusted burner that connects Gu Qingfeng to distant “heroes” when supplied with incense and activated with a heroic declaration. Its reversed cost grants calmness rather than madness. 3 4
• Precious Moon Garment — A resizeable moonlight robe taken from Zhang Yao. It repels insects and snakes, dispels heat, and resists ordinary blades. Its original cost is infertility; its reversible cost creates intense aphrodisiac and fertility effects. 12 13
• Geng-Metal Core Branches — Detachable metallic branches formed from his transformed cultivation. They function as sharp swords but injure others who try to wield them. 8 13
• Crimson Corruption Godscale — A broken, crimson-aura scale containing mutated Immortal-Divine Power. Reversed for Gu Qingfeng, it heals damaged flesh, refreshes his mind, and strengthens his qi; for others, it remains a corrosive hidden weapon. 22

Relationships

• Qi Lingguang — Peach-blossom-eyed junior sister and Gu Qingfeng’s closest ally. They establish a secret hand signal to verify each other’s identities, she saves him from an ambush, and he repeatedly protects her during the escape. 6 14 15
• Golden Core Celestial Venerable — Gu Qingfeng’s former master and primary enemy. The Celestial Venerable treats disciples as crops to be harvested; Gu vows to return and kill him. 1 5 19
• Zhang Yao — Eldest Senior Sister, the Celestial Venerable’s wife, and sometimes his “daughter.” She tries to consume Gu Qingfeng’s Golden Core, prompting him to kill her. 10 11
• Junior Brother Zhao — An early friend whose return restores some of Gu Qingfeng’s memories. Zhao disappears after being summoned by the Celestial Venerable, leaving Gu grief-stricken and enraged. 7 9
• Shen Yun — Escape companion who loses nearly half her Golden Core to Zhang Yao. She provides the route through the Furnace Workshop and later addresses Gu as “Immortal Master Gu.” 10 12 19
• Zhao San and Wang Wu — Fellow escapees who follow Gu’s leadership through the sect’s caverns and beyond. 11 18 20
• Peach-Eating Jade Sword — A distant contact through the incense burner. She is willing to rescue Gu Qingfeng but cannot cross the distance to the Returning Ruins in time. 4 6
• Lin Qingxia, Unmoving Monk Hero, and Lu Mang — Other incense-burner contacts who provide moral support or information about the Returning Ruins, but cannot offer immediate rescue. 4 6

Notable Quotes

“I want to be a great hero!” 3 6

“I want to escape from here. Will you come with me?” 11