Gu He
Battle Through the Heavens: Even Without the Flame Mantra, I, Xiao Yan, Will Become an Emperor
Contents
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Gu He (古河) |
| Alias(es) | Pill King 15 |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | Misty Cloud Sect; guest elder 48 |
| Occupation/Role | Sixth-Rank Alchemist; Liu Ling’s teacher 15 134 |
| Cultivation | Dou Wang 15 103 |
| Status | Alive 166 |
| First Appearance | Mentioned in Chapter 15; appears in person in Chapter 94 15 94 |
Power Progression
| Stage / Realm / Level | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fourth-Rank Alchemist | Retrospective 137 143 | Won the Alchemist Conference two tournaments before Xiao Yan’s participation. Entered at age twenty-nine; exceptional fire control contributed to his victory. |
| Sixth-Rank Alchemist | Established 15; advancement explained 137 | Reached the sixth rank in less than ten years after being recruited by the Misty Cloud Sect, whose resources supplied the medicinal ingredients needed for his training. His cultivation is Dou Wang. |
Background / History
Rise as the Pill King
Gu He’s Alchemist Conference victory led to his recruitment by the Misty Cloud Sect. With its financial and medicinal resources, he advanced from the fourth to the sixth rank in less than ten years. He became the Jia Ma Empire’s foremost alchemist, commanding respect even from Dou Huang experts despite his lower cultivation 15 51 137.
His reputation extended beyond the empire. He was counted among the Northwest Continent’s five foremost master alchemists, and even the Snake-People recognized his name. Nevertheless, he remained unable to obtain a Heavenly Flame despite years of searching 51 99 164.
Tagor Desert Expedition
Gu He traveled to the Tagor Desert partly to fulfill his own ambition of obtaining a Heavenly Flame and partly to help Yun Yun save Nalan Yanran. An unidentified pill had accelerated Yanran’s cultivation while consuming her soul. Gu He possessed an ancient Soul-Consolidating Pill formula, but its refinement required a true Heavenly Flame 65 95 103.
His expedition included Yun Yun disguised as a black-robed Dou Emperor, the Dou Wangs Yan Shi and Feng Li, and five hired Dou Ling fighters. When Yue Mei refused to arrange an audience with Empress Medusa, Gu He reluctantly ordered Yan Shi and Feng Li to attack 94 96.
Xiao Yan, traveling under the name Yan Xiao, sought to join the party. Gu He initially rejected him as an unknown Dou Ling of limited usefulness, but reconsidered when Xiao Yan claimed he could locate the Green Lotus Core Flame. Yun Yun’s assurance secured his acceptance. Gu He promised a fourth-grade pill for accurate information and another if he successfully absorbed the flame 96.
At Medusa’s temple, Gu He offered a seventh-grade Transformation Pill and two sixth-grade Dou Ling Pills in exchange for her Heavenly Flame. Medusa refused. Gu He was prepared to withdraw until Yun Yun exposed the empress’s appearance as a mirror image concealing her rebirth ritual 100.
During the ensuing fighting, Gu He searched north while Xiao Yan independently located the real flame to the east. Gu He subsequently encountered the Wind Fury Dragon Flame and resolved to attempt subduing it despite estimating his chances at less than twenty percent. Its collision with the Green Lotus Core Flame prevented him from approaching safely 101 103 105.
The expedition ended without a Heavenly Flame. Yun Yun instead returned with a Green Lotus Seed obtained from Xiao Yan in exchange for a Dou Ling Pill. Gu He accepted it as a possible substitute and returned to attempt the Soul-Consolidating Pill 110.
Nalan Yanran’s Treatment
Gu He acquired the Green Lotus Flame through the seed, but it could not precisely reshape the soul fragment required by the Soul-Consolidating Pill. His incomplete refinement failed, and Nalan Yanran’s condition worsened after taking the pill 163 164.
When Xiao Yan arrived to help, Gu He recognized his former employee and realized that he had obtained the Heavenly Flame sought during their expedition. Rather than resent him, Gu He accepted the outcome and entrusted the refinement to him. The expedition’s promised reward had remained unpaid after the party scattered 164.
Gu He supplied the formula, agreed to guard Xiao Yan during his recovery, and provided the Green Jade Cauldron for the refinement. Xiao Yan’s completed pill stabilized Yanran’s soul. Gu He explained that it could halt further deterioration but could not immediately restore the portions already consumed 164 165 166.
Appearance
- A middle-aged man whose composed bearing is apparent when Xiao Yan first encounters him in the Tagor Desert 94.
Personality
Gu He prefers negotiation to bloodshed. He initially approaches Yue Mei politely and offers compensation for the damage caused by entering Medusa’s Divine Hall. Nevertheless, he will authorize force when peaceful efforts fail and he considers the objective essential 94 100.
He is cautious about strangers but trusts Yun Yun deeply. Her endorsement is enough for him to accept Xiao Yan into the expedition. As an employer, he offers valuable pill rewards, covers treatment costs, and provides substantial compensation to the families of fighters killed in his service 96 98.
His desire for a Heavenly Flame can outweigh his caution: he is willing to stake everything on a dangerous attempt against the Wind Fury Dragon Flame. Yet he accepts losing the opportunity without blaming Xiao Yan, acknowledging that he could not have approached the rampaging flame himself 103 164.
Abilities & Skills
Sixth-Rank Alchemy
Gu He is the Jia Ma Empire’s only Sixth-Rank Alchemist during the documented events 94.
- Emperor-Breaking Pill: Identified as the only alchemist in the empire capable of refining this sixth-grade pill, which gives a peak Dou Wang a thirty percent chance of advancing to Dou Emperor 130.
- Fire control: His exceptional control contributed to his Alchemist Conference championship 143.
- Medical assessment: Recognizes that Nalan Yanran’s increasing cultivation is linked to the consumption of her soul 164.
- Limits: Cannot identify the pill responsible for Yanran’s condition or determine the nature of the Mittel Family’s mysterious embryonic pill 95 133 164.
- Poison treatment: His medicine sustains Nalan Jie but does not cure his poison 135.
Green Lotus Flame
Gu He obtains this flame after acquiring a Green Lotus Seed as a substitute for a Heavenly Flame 110 164.
- Can crudely melt down a soul fragment 164.
- Cannot precisely reshape that fragment for a complete Soul-Consolidating Pill 164.
- Remains inferior to a true Heavenly Flame 164.
Heavenly Flame Knowledge
Gu He recognizes the connection between Xiao Yan’s green flame, Green Lotus Seeds, and the nineteenth-ranked Green Lotus Core Flame 96.
- Estimates a seventy percent chance of subduing a Heavenly Flame ranked below twentieth 103.
- Estimates less than a twenty percent chance against the encountered Wind Fury Dragon Flame because his Dou Wang cultivation is insufficient to cross its wind field safely 103.
- Proposes using wind-, earth-, and fire-attribute Dou Emperors together to open a passage through that field 103.
Equipment / Weapons / Items
- Green Jade Cauldron — A Tier Five cauldron commissioned from a specialist and fashioned from a single piece of medicinal jade. Enhances restorative pills of the fifth rank and below by ten to twenty percent. Worth over ten million gold coins; provided to Xiao Yan for Yanran’s treatment 165.
- Volcano Flame Furnace — The Tier Five cauldron used in Gu He’s Alchemist Conference victory, later used by Liu Ling during the conference finals 160.
- Unnamed Tier Six Medicine Cauldron — Replaced the Green Jade Cauldron as his regular equipment after his advancement to the sixth rank 165.
- Soul-Consolidating Pill Formula — An ancient fourth-grade formula requiring the refiner to sever a fragment of their soul and reshape it with a Heavenly Flame 95 164.
- Transformation Pill and Dou Ling Pills — One seventh-grade Transformation Pill and two sixth-grade Dou Ling Pills offered to Medusa for her Heavenly Flame. The text does not establish that Gu He refined the Transformation Pill himself 100.
Relationships
- Yun Yun — Close friend of many years. Their desert expedition serves both his pursuit of a Heavenly Flame and her effort to save Nalan Yanran 65 103.
- Liu Ling — Personal and most prized disciple. Gu He entrusts him with the Volcano Flame Furnace for the Alchemist Conference 134 160.
- Xiao Yan / Yan Xiao — Former expedition employee and later collaborator. Xiao Yan initially intends to become his disciple but studies under Sheng’er instead; Gu He eventually relies on his Heavenly Flame to complete Yanran’s treatment 49 79 96 164.
- Nalan Yanran — Patient and Yun Yun’s disciple. Her soul-consuming condition motivates Gu He’s search for a Heavenly Flame 95 103.
- Yan Shi and Feng Li — Dou Wang expedition companions who fight through Snake-People resistance on his behalf 94 99.
- Empress Medusa — Unsuccessful trading counterpart. Rejects his substantial pill offer because she needs the Heavenly Flame for her own evolution 100.
Notable Quotes
“Every heavenly flame I encounter could be the last opportunity of my life. Even with less than a thirty percent chance, I have to stake everything on this attempt.” 103
“I spent decades searching for a Heavenly Flame without finding one, yet you subdued one at such a young age. And now, as chance would have it, this young Nalan girl's condition needs you to cure it. Fate truly makes fools of us.” 164