He Zhuoran

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

• Original appearance: A handsome young man with swordlike brows and starry eyes. His radiant Law Technique enhances his appearance enough to impress Zhou Ning 12.
• Secret Method body: A cloud of black smoke with visible eyeballs, capable of extending limbs and changing shape. Other cultivators repeatedly mistake him for a Devil Cultivator 46 47 51.
• Visible emotions: His smoke changes with his mood—taking on a flame-like shape when angry, dancing when delighted, and sagging when dejected 46 47.
• Golden-light disguise: After adapting his concealment technique, he can appear as brilliant, seemingly righteous Buddhist light 49.

Personality

He Zhuoran initially presents himself as composed, courteous, and generous. He appraises Zhou Ning’s Primordial Origin Pill without charging a fee and conducts important negotiations in a private, concealed room. His courtesy does not prevent ruthless calculation: he considers killing Zhou Ning for a valuable cultivation method, then restrains himself because of possible countermeasures and the consequences of their spiritual oath 12 13.

He takes considerable pride in his lineage, wealth, and upbringing. He insists that a direct descendant of a renowned pill-making clan cannot be compared with an ordinary sect disciple, and regards gathering spiritual materials for the household as his responsibility. Being mistaken for a Devil Cultivator troubles him partly because it could damage his clan’s reputation 47 53.

His smoke body undermines the reserve he cultivated from childhood by displaying his feelings openly. Although initially uneasy about impersonating Buddhist holy men, he quickly enjoys the respect and opportunities the disguise brings. He also proves willing to take substantial risks for a shared reward, enduring repeated attacks while Zhou Ning gathers Earth Spirit Milk 46 49 51 52.

Background / History

The He Household Pill House

He Zhuoran first meets Zhou Ning at the He Household Pill House in Gazing Immortal Port. He identifies a Primordial Origin Pill as excellent-quality medicine containing no human blood, recognizes the value of Zhou Ning’s eel blood, and purchases forty jin for eight Spirit Stones. Zhou Ning also buys two bottles of Ginseng-Nurturing Pills from him 12.

Their next meeting becomes an inheritance negotiation. Zhou Ning offers the Chai Household’s complete fourth-grade Purple Mansion cultivation method, the Void Wind Qi-Unifying Instruction. In return, He Zhuoran provides the Qi Refining portion of the He Household’s alchemy inheritance, the separate Foundation Establishment Pill inheritance, and the Flowing Light Concealing Shadow Technique. A contract allows Zhou Ning to claim the Foundation Establishment alchemy inheritance after establishing his Immortal Foundation 13.

The agreement restricts access to the inheritance to Zhou Ning and requires secrecy. It also prevents the He Household from ambushing and killing him. He Zhuoran nevertheless expects that Zhou Ning may not survive the approaching calamity. During Gazing Immortal Port’s destruction, a He Household Purple Mansion patriarch extracts He Zhuoran and several others while leaving the remaining cultivators behind 13 15.

Reunion in the Withered Wood Grotto-Heaven

He Zhuoran encounters Zhou Ning again inside the Withered Wood Grotto-Heaven and is astonished: he had personally seen Zhou Ning smashed to pieces at Gazing Immortal Port. By this time, He Zhuoran has mastered a Secret Method and become black smoke 46.

Seeking cultivation guidance, he exchanges the Greater Ginseng-Nurturing Pill Formula for Zhou Ning’s experience of establishing an Immortal Foundation with the Void Wind Qi-Unifying Instruction. He also gives Zhou Ning fifteen Fire Furuncle Fruits and agrees to guide him toward Calamity-Severing Grass 46.

The pair join Little Sister Li in hunting five Ni Marsh Pythons before continuing toward Dead Wood Ridge. To avoid the hostility attracted by He Zhuoran’s appearance, Zhou Ning helps him transform his black smoke into golden light. He then serves as the apparent Buddhist radiance surrounding Zhou Ning’s holy-man disguise 48 49.

Dead Wood Ridge

Using He Zhuoran’s Spirit-Seeking Compass, the pair discover Earth Spirit Milk guarded by a Spirit-Dwelling Flood Dragon. He Zhuoran teaches Zhou Ning a method for drawing the fluid from stalactites without disturbing the creature. When other cultivators attack the entrance, he disguises himself as a formation barrier and withstands their attacks until Zhou Ning takes over with Immovable Mountain 51 52.

They later confront Boming alongside Shi Shuiyue. He Zhuoran’s golden light appears to have been corrupted by Boming’s black oil, but unexpectedly attacks and burns Boming’s upper body and two wisdom consorts to ash. Afterward, He Zhuoran destroys the apparition of Dharma Master Joy, collects demon souls, and acquires Boming’s soul-attacking bone flute 54 55.

During the struggle for the central hall’s treasures, He Zhuoran helps restrain both the treasures and Yang Gu’s Thunderfire Awl. After escaping with Zhou Ning and Ma Huangshan, he chooses the azure fan from their haul. The fan secretly contains the Wind-Contemplating Prelude, the objective his ancestor had sent him to obtain 50 58 59 61.

Capture and Recovery

He Zhuoran departs with Ma Huangshan while Zhou Ning remains behind to investigate a medicinal garden. He is subsequently beaten unconscious by Li Qinglang and placed in the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram. When summoned from it, he appears human again, calls Li Qinglang “Master,” and enthusiastically urges Zhou Ning to join him inside. Zhou Ning recognizes that something is wrong and declares their ties severed before fleeing 59 60 61.

Patriarch He later uses accumulated incense smoke to awaken He Zhuoran. After confirming that his grandson obtained the Wind-Contemplating Prelude, he tests its power and orders him to improve his cultivation. He Zhuoran also reports that Ma Huangshan has taken his Storage Bag; the patriarch sets out to recover it and the Earth Spirit Milk 61.

By Zhou Ning’s later visit to the He Household, He Zhuoran is nearing Qi Refining Perfection but remains hidden at home, pretending to be dead. He hopes to reach Purple Mansion and take revenge on Li Qinglang and Li Chonglou. His ancestor’s alarm at Zhou Ning’s Xinsi Golden Scripture prevents a direct reunion; He Haiming instead handles the exchange of cultivation experience for an incomplete alchemy inheritance 91.

Abilities & Skills

Void Wind Qi-Unifying Instruction and Vast Righteous Qi Instruction

He Zhuoran cultivates the Void Wind Qi-Unifying Instruction and has mastered the Vast Righteous Qi Instruction Secret Method 46 50 59.

• Incorporeal transformation: Becomes black smoke capable of flight, extension, and reshaping into limbs or a broad barrier 47 51.
• Combat strength: Ordinary Late Qi Refining cultivators may not be his match despite his relatively low cultivation 49.
• Limited reliance on equipment: Regards the Secret Method itself as his principal weapon rather than depending heavily on Law Artifacts 50.
• Vulnerabilities: His smoke body can be corroded, injured, and exhausted; sustained attacks nearly split him apart while he blocks a cave entrance 51 52.
• Human-form restriction: He expects to regain an independent human form only after reaching Purple Mansion 47.

Flowing Light Concealing Shadow Technique

A concealment technique he originally treats as an ordinary method for hiding spirit and Qi. Zhou Ning’s experimentation reveals broader applications 13 18.

• Covers the body in radiance and improves its apparent bearing 12 18.
• Can conceal presence, cultivation method, and cultivation realm; effectiveness increases with Divine Sense 18.
• Allows He Zhuoran to disguise his smoke body as golden Buddhist light after further practice 49.
• Can be applied to another person: he conceals Zhou Ning’s cultivation realm during their impersonation 49.
• He Zhuoran initially fails to recognize that it can be adapted to his incorporeal body and needs Zhou Ning’s prompting 49.

Wind-Contemplating Prelude

The secret technique concealed within the azure fan he claims from Dead Wood Ridge 59 61.

• Transforms his smoke body into a great bow and condenses a solid black arrow 61.
• During his ancestor’s test, the arrow pierces the patriarch’s brow without seriously harming him 61.
• Patriarch He considers the technique adequate through Foundation Establishment Perfection, while emphasizing that He Zhuoran’s current cultivation is too low 61.

Alchemical and Spiritual-Material Knowledge

His upbringing in a major pill-making clan gives him extensive knowledge of medicines, ingredients, and spiritual creatures 12 51.

• Identifies a pill’s ingredients, quality, effects, price, and whether human blood was used 12.
• Recognizes eel blood as suitable for Qi and Blood Pills 12.
• Explains the uses of Fire Furuncle Fruits, Earth Spirit Milk, and demon souls 46 51 55.
• Identifies the Spirit-Dwelling Flood Dragon and warns that attacking it with explosives would only provoke it 51.
• Supplies Zhou Ning with pill formulas, including the Greater Ginseng-Nurturing Pill Formula and methods for refining recovery pills from Earth Spirit Milk 46 53.

Harvesting and Exploration

• Fire Furuncle Fruit harvesting: Uses bright white ice Qi and a Method Formula to collect volatile fruits safely 46.
• Earth Marrow Fluid-Drawing Instruction: Extracts Earth Spirit Milk directly from stalactites; teaches the technique to Zhou Ning 51.
• Grotto-heaven knowledge: Recognizes dangerous terrain, identifies spiritual creatures, and knows about the planned opening of Dead Wood Ridge 47 48 49.
• Technique assessment: Explains how the Yi Wood Puppet-Planting Technique can control an unconscious cultivator when the user’s Divine Sense is stronger 59.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Spirit-Seeking Compass — A cyan compass used to navigate toward spiritual resources, including the cavern containing Earth Spirit Milk 46 51.
• Azure fan — Treasure containing the Wind-Contemplating Prelude; chosen specifically to fulfill his ancestor’s assignment 59 61.
• Boming’s bone flute — A soul-attacking Law Artifact acquired in exchange for six medicinal ginseng roots 55.
• Fire Furuncle Fruits — Harvested for their explosive and medicinal properties; used during the Ni Marsh Python hunt 46 48.
• Earth Spirit Milk — Collects ten jade bottles before dividing the harvest with Zhou Ning 52 53.
• Storage Bag — Taken by Ma Huangshan after their separation; He Zhuoran asks his ancestor to recover it 61.

Relationships

• Zhou Ning — Trading partner and uneasy adventuring companion. Their cooperation develops from a tightly negotiated inheritance exchange into mutual assistance, but both remain alert to the other’s schemes. Zhou Ning later believes He Zhuoran has effectively died after his capture 13 46 49 51 60 62.
• Patriarch He — Grandfather and principal protector. Helps him master his Secret Method, obtains Profound-Piercing Wind for him, revives him, and evaluates his new technique 46 61.
• Little Sister Li — An old acquaintance from the Li Household of Limei Mountain. His gift of a flying boat inadvertently cost her a desired jade lotus platform, causing her longstanding resentment 47.
• Ma Huangshan — Temporary treasure-hunting companion who leaves with him after the loot division. Later identified by He Zhuoran as having taken his Storage Bag 59 61.
• Shi Shuiyue — Temporary ally against Boming. After she discovers the pair’s secret, they give her a Forget-Worry Pill 54 55.
• Li Qinglang — Captor who subdues him and places him inside the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram; later a target of his revenge 60 61 91.
• Li Chonglou — Firmament Treasure Sect disciple whom He Zhuoran also wants to take revenge upon after being forced into hiding 91.

Notable Quotes

“As a direct descendant of my household, I should be all the more willing to seek out spirit materials for the clan.” 47

“Brother Zhou, isn't what we're doing against propriety?” 49

Trivia

• Zhou Ning uses He Zhuoran’s name as a false identity when registering at Forget-Return Market 23.
• After parting with Zhou Ning, He Zhuoran repeats their Buddhist-light disguise with Ma Huangshan, who promptly declares himself a Buddha’s son 59.