Gu Qing Yang

Gu Qing Yang is a leading member of the Gu clan's younger generation and later the first general of its Black Submerged Army. His authority is clearest under pressure: in the Heavenly Tomb he organizes rival ancient clans into a survival effort, while in the Gu Realm he commands troops searching for a traitor who understands their own defenses. He is protective of Xun Er, initially watchful of Xiao Yan, and candid enough to recognize strength that exceeds his own. (Chapters 1350–1353, 1587–1592)

Biography

Heavenly Tomb field commander

Gu Qing Yang reaches the sealed entrance to the Heavenly Tomb's third level ahead of most of the ancient-clan groups, but does not waste his strength on an impossible solo breach. He waits until enough survivors arrive, then makes cooperation a condition of survival before the approaching energy storm. His own Gu-clan team takes the first shift, establishing that he will share the labor he imposes, while Xiao Yan and Xun Er remain at the rear to monitor Hun Ya and Hun Li. The rotation preserves strength without pretending the rival clans trust one another. (Chapters 1350–1351)

Discovery of the Ancient Devouring Insects turns his tunnel plan into a trap: the swarm consumes attacks, repairs the crystal, and threatens to seal everyone inside. Gu Qing Yang accepts responsibility for keeping the group moving but does not invent an answer when none is apparent. Once Xiao Yan proves that Heavenly Flames can destroy the insects, Gu Qing Yang yields operational control, contributes his only nine-star energy core, and keeps the group behind the new spearhead. Survival depends on his initial coordination and his willingness to recognize when another person's method is better than his own. (Chapters 1351–1353)

First general of the Black Submerged Army

By the later Gu Realm gathering, Gu Qing Yang is identified as first general of the Black Submerged Army. A recent defeat by Lei Dong's Black Demon Lightning has embarrassed the army, but Gu Qing Yang neither conceals the result nor answers provocation with reckless escalation. When Xiao Yan appears, he publicly recognizes him as Xun Er's future husband and therefore part of the Gu clan's circle. He then watches Xiao Yan defeat the Lei-clan group and acknowledges the widening gap between their abilities without allowing pride to distort what the battle demonstrates. (Chapters 1587–1588)

The theft of the Gu clan's Tuo She Ancient God Jade turns that formal command into a genuine crisis. Xun Er orders Gu Qing Yang to search the mountain, and he deploys the Black Submerged Army in an exhaustive sweep. When the army cannot locate Gu Yang, he reports the failure rather than concealing it and allows Xiao Yan's broader Spiritual Perception to take over. After the traitor is exposed, Gu Qing Yang helps launch the Spirit Restraining Net and immediately identifies why it fails: Gu Yang's long access to the army has taught him its weak points. (Chapters 1591–1592)

Gu Qing Yang joins the younger generation's pursuit after the net breaks, but the infiltrator is an advanced five-star Dou Sheng and receives support from the Hun clan's senior experts. Gu Yang ultimately self-destructs to send the jade toward them. The army delays the escape without preventing it, leaving Gu Qing Yang's latest operation as a qualified failure: his troops respond quickly and correctly, yet insider knowledge defeats their standard restraint and the greater battle prevents the clan's strongest elders from closing the gap. (Chapter 1592)

Appearance and personality

Gu Qing Yang first appears as a green-clothed young man with a calm smile. The relaxed expression does not disappear when he warns rival clans against sabotage, which makes the warning more controlled than theatrical. Later scenes emphasize rank and conduct over new physical description, presenting him among the Black Submerged Army's generals rather than giving him a distinct uniform or weapon. (Chapters 1350–1353, 1587–1588)

Calm, responsible, and practical, Gu Qing Yang prefers organized effort to displays of personal dominance. He protects Xun Er, distrusts the Hun-clan members, and is willing to preserve resources when exhaustion would leave the group exposed. Just as importantly, he can surrender the initiative when evidence proves another plan superior and can report a failed search without excuses. His candor about Lei Dong and Xiao Yan keeps competitive pride from becoming poor command judgment. (Chapters 1350–1353, 1587–1592)

Abilities and cultivation

Dou Qi combat and field command

Gu Qing Yang is an elite Gu-clan fighter trained for both personal combat and coordinated operations. In the Heavenly Tomb, he and three companions form large Dou Qi pillars to crack the solidified energy curtain, then shape energy around their hands like blades to excavate it. The work is powerful but exhausting, which is why he designs rotating shifts and preserves enough strength for threats beyond the barrier. The exact name of his Qi Method and his star rank are not securely established in the cited passages. (Chapters 1350–1353)

His later combat record supplies clear limits. Lei Dong defeats him with Black Demon Lightning before the Gu Realm gathering, and Gu Qing Yang admits that Xiao Yan has advanced far beyond the level the Black Submerged Army's younger commanders can contest. Rank gives him authority, not narrative invincibility. His strongest demonstrated competence is therefore command: assigning positions, maintaining cooperation among rivals, directing searches, and quickly reading why a formation or tactic has failed. (Chapters 1587–1592)

Spirit Restraining Net

The Spirit Restraining Net is a Black Submerged Army formation rather than Gu Qing Yang's individual technique. On command, many warriors combine their Dou Qi into an enormous net with a special restraining fluctuation; a captured target is meant to be held under the aggregate power of the unit. The formation covers a broad aerial area quickly and is suitable for taking a fugitive alive. (Chapter 1592)

Its weakness is structural knowledge. Gu Yang has lived inside the Gu clan and knows where to strike, so dozens of precisely aimed attacks force the net back before it closes. Gu Qing Yang recognizes the exploitation immediately, but cannot alter the formation quickly enough during the pursuit. The failure shows why the army's scale is not a universal counter: concentrated insider knowledge can defeat a standardized restraint even when the soldiers execute it in order. (Chapter 1592)

Power progression

Relationships

• Xun Er: Gu Qing Yang treats Xun Er as both a protected kinswoman and a superior whose field orders he obeys. His concern for her during the Heavenly Tomb never overrides the wider survival problem, and in the jade crisis he immediately mobilizes the army at her command. (Chapters 1350–1353, 1587–1592)

• Xiao Yan: Gu Qing Yang initially studies Xiao Yan as an outsider close to Xun Er, then accepts his judgment during the Heavenly Tomb and publicly recognizes his place beside her. He does not deny the difference in their later strength, relying on Xiao Yan's perception when the army's search fails. (Chapters 1350–1353, 1587–1592)

• Hun Ya and Hun Li: Gu Qing Yang distrusts the Hun-clan pair but postpones open conflict while the energy storm and insect nest make cooperation necessary. He positions Xiao Yan and Xun Er to watch them, forces them to share the tunnel labor, and refuses Hun Ya's attempt to turn the crisis into blame. (Chapters 1350–1353)

• Gu Yang: The apparent Gu-clan elder is actually an infiltrator whose merged soul and century of access expose the army's formations and the realm's defenses. Gu Qing Yang commands the search and pursuit, but Gu Yang's knowledge defeats the Spirit Restraining Net and helps him deliver the jade through self-destruction. (Chapters 1591–1592)

Items

Gu Qing Yang contributes his only nine-star energy core to sustain Xiao Yan's tunnel through the Ancient Devouring Insect barrier. The core is consumed as expedition fuel and is not cataloged as a separately named notable item. (Chapter 1353)