Chapter Summaries

Jiang Han welcomed a group of cowboy witches to her campfire and learned they were Old Qin folklorists carrying Giant Feathered Serpent eggs from the Americas. After Ms. Jiang Xuan fell asleep from drink and hypnosis, Jiang Han asked Lu Xiaolian about the legendary creatures.

• A short cowboy witch invited Jiang Han’s group to share their campfire and drink rye whiskey, and Jiang Han agreed after Ms. Jiang Xuan urged her to welcome them.
• Jiang Han and the cowboy witches drank together until morning, and she learned that Lu Xiaolian and her companions were Old Qin folklorists who had entered the Good Sisters Cup.
• Lu Xiaolian explained that the group had brought ten Giant Feathered Serpent eggs from a folded space in the Americas to Qin Mud Bay.
• Jiang Han used Giant Cat Hypnosis to put the drunken Ms. Jiang Xuan to sleep and put away her potent catfruit wine.
• Jiang Han asked Lu Xiaolian what Giant Feathered Serpents were, and Lu Xiaolian described them as enormous, fat feathered serpents with Asian-dragon-like heads.

Jiang Han met the panda witch Yu Tianning, who explained that her race's special fermented rice was an exceptionally effective fish attractor. Yu Tianning gave Jiang Han a vat of it, leaving Jiang Han with a new bait for the competition.

• A group of panda witches arrived, and Jiang Han shared cat fruit wine with Yu Tianning.
• Du Lingxuan teased Lin Zhaojun, while Jiang Han admired and kneaded Du Lingxuan's warm tail.
• Jiang Han noticed wine jars beside the panda witches' camping vehicle and asked Yu Tianning about them.
• Yu Tianning explained that the jars held [Ye Zhongqu Wine Rice], a special fermented rice used to attract fish.
• Yu Tianning gave Jiang Han an entire vat of the panda witches' fermented rice.

Jiang Han woke after a long nap, got ready for the evening fishing competition, and caught up with Lin Zhaojun about Ovi and Cat Doyastin. The six teams began their five-hour fishing period, with the catch set to be cooked by special-grade giant cat chefs.

• Jiang Han went to sleep in the portable giant cat nest while Du Lingxuan and the panda witches urged her to stay up.
• Jiang Han woke after five in the afternoon, saw Lu Jieshan exercising, then washed and changed into a neat outfit.
• Ms. Xuan greeted Jiang Han, and Lin Zhaojun photographed her for the first picture in her WitchNet column.
• Jiang Han ate, massaged Du Lingxuan, and watched her friend fall asleep despite boasting that people who slept were weak.
• The supervising witch announced the fishing competition, and Jiang Han told Lin Zhaojun that Ovi was helping build ties between witches and giant cats.
• Lin Zhaojun said she was building a relationship with Cat Doyastin and preparing to offer her a top-tier loot-sharing contract.

Jiang Han and her companions discovered that the judge Cat Lamps had already been fed, which could make them score early catches harshly. They set out to fish anyway, hoping to catch enough before the cats became hungry, and began chumming after mooring their boat.

• Du Lingxuan assembled the air-steam boat while Jiang Han and Lu Jieshan noticed the judge Cat Lamps had already eaten.
• Jiang Han explained that full Cat Lamps would be picky and give low scores to most fish, while hungry ones would rate edible catches highly.
• The panda witches’ boat capsized in the waterfall’s waves, delaying them and potentially allowing the Cat Lamps to get hungry before judging their catches.
• Jiang Han, Lu Jieshan, and Du Lingxuan decided to set out immediately because they might not catch enough fish if they waited.
• Jiang Han found a safe anchoring point, Du Lingxuan dropped anchor, and Lu Jieshan scattered fermented rice into the water to chum for fish.

Jiang Han and Du Lingxuan experienced Cat Lamp instincts while watching fish, then joined Lu Jieshan’s fishing. Du Lingxuan asked Jiang Han to expand her Cat Lamp Expedition Team, which could travel across the Astral Realm’s planes.

• Lu Jieshan used Panda Witch's Wine Rice to attract schools of fish, while Jiang Han and Du Lingxuan became captivated by them.
• Jiang Han experienced chaotic Cat Lamp instincts and realized that Cat Lamps inherited useful knowledge through their genes, though their laziness kept them from doing the work themselves.
• Jiang Han cut off the instincts, and she and Du Lingxuan took fishing rods and tried to catch fish.
• Du Lingxuan asked Jiang Han about expanding her Cat Lamp Expedition Team, explaining that only certain Giant Cat Lamps could form one and travel along Cat Lamp Routes.
• Jiang Han agreed to hear Du Lingxuan out and said she would help if she could.

Jiang Han explained why her Cat Lamp Expedition Team needed capable, useful members and described its successful expeditions to Du Lingxuan. Du Lingxuan revealed that she had found a vast, dangerous dead-magic space and needed a team to explore it.

• Jiang Han explained the rare abilities of her Cat Lamps and Giant Cats, and said expanding her expedition team required recruiting capable cats rather than freeloaders.
• Jiang Han told Du Lingxuan that Forest Guest Giant Cats lacked exploration abilities but could learn useful traits through training.
• Jiang Han boasted that her team had profited on all ten expeditions and recalled finding the Arcane Energy Scroll in a legendary mage's tower.
• Jiang Han traded the Arcane Energy Scroll to Angelite, Eileen, and Ovi for Angelite's Infinite Earth Core, which allowed her territory to expand.
• Du Lingxuan said she needed an expedition team to explore a huge, dangerous dead-magic space, and Jiang Han recognized why Cat Lamps suited the task.

While fishing, Jiang Han learned that Du Lingxuan planned to explore a newly purified region of the Void’s upper layer with her and Xiya. They postponed other plans until next month, when their friends could take compensatory leave.

• Du Lingxuan explained the Void’s layers and said her chosen destination lay in its upper layer, where worlds were still being purified.
• Jiang Han caught a Roig Green Minnow, then hauled up a Slime River Leopard Blob and kicked it back into the lake.
• Du Lingxuan proposed that Jiang Han, Xiya, and she explore the Void together so they could combine their magic if they encountered danger.
• Jiang Han and Du Lingxuan agreed to wait until next month to make other plans, and Du Lingxuan said she would ask Xiya to join them.

Jiang Han concealed the true nature of her expedition discussions with Du Lingxuan and redirected Lu Jieshan’s curiosity toward a request for bartender training on Giant Cat Island. Lu Jieshan agreed to take on the challenge of creating drinks for the island’s cat lamps.

• Jiang Han and Du Lingxuan reached an agreement and discussed details while fishing, with Du Lingxuan keeping the expedition’s sensitive information secret.
• Lu Jieshan approached Jiang Han and asked whether she and Du Lingxuan had discussed an expedition.
• Jiang Han described it as a small private Astral Realm exploration and shifted the conversation away from the real expedition.
• Lu Jieshan offered to help coordinate with authorities and mentioned that Du Ningzhuang had been fined after her nightmare expansion device created a dangerous dream demon.
• Jiang Han asked Lu Jieshan to train the fox-eared girls at Foxfolk Tavern to mix drinks for the cat lamps on Giant Cat Island.
• Lu Jieshan decided to create drinks that all the different breeds of cat lamps would enjoy.

Jiang Han gathered ratings from Cat Lamp judges for the fish she and her companions had caught, negotiating with or intimidating cats that gave low scores. She continued using different methods to secure their evaluations, with the lowest rating at six points.

• Jiang Han rubbed a Sea Forest Cat Lamp and negotiated until it rated its favorite fish nine point three out of ten.
• A Corpse-Bone Cat Lamp rated a Crimson Flame Flounder eight point six after Jiang Han argued with and threatened it.
• Jiang Han collected more Cat Lamp evaluations, letting honest cats choose their favorite fish and reprimanding bad-tempered cats.
• Jiang Han used Heavy Cat's Wrath on stubborn Ash-Claw Cat Lamps that refused to give favorable ratings.

Jiang Han enjoyed the fishing competitions and watched the Giant Cat Lamps cook before meeting Leryla Peggy, a scholar whose equipment and research could help with Jiang Han’s coming trip into a dead magic region of the Void. Leryla prepared to test her methods for storing magical power there.

• Jiang Han hypnotized Lu Jieshan to stop her from making an embarrassing accusation about the lich witches, then watched the Giant Cat Lamp chef demonstrate her cooking skills.
• Jiang Han and Du Lingxuan ate appetizers while Lu Jieshan returned clutching her waist, and the fishing competitions continued with unusual events.
• Leryla Peggy joined Jiang Han’s camper, where she praised Jiang Han’s paper on Three Sons Solvent and explained her research into dead magic planes and magical storage.
• Jiang Han invited Leryla to help prepare for her trip into a dead magic region of the Void, and Leryla presented a special spellbook containing the results of her research.

Jiang Han learned how Leruila’s Book of Creation could help witches use magic in dead-magic planes by turning failed wishes into usable magic power. Leruila also described Angelite’s extraordinary ability to fulfill wishes, leaving Jiang Han convinced that Angelite could accomplish almost anything she chose.

• Leruila explained that witches could consume their magic-filled blood in dead-magic planes to reopen the gate of magic power.
• Leruila showed Jiang Han the Book of Creation, a device that stored magic power from failed wishes and could return it to witches when its spell failed in a dead-magic plane.
• Jiang Han understood that the book was designed to make wishes fail so witches could reclaim the magic power they had used to make them.
• Leruila said Angelite had fulfilled her experiments to create a mirror world and an Earth, but refused to turn a planet into Witch Gold because it would violate the law.
• Leruila recounted that Angelite defeated another Angelite after creating a separate timeline, then mastered Witch swordsmanship without magic and rejected the world’s offered destiny of Natural Sword Saint.

Jiang Han entrusted the [Doomed-to-Fail Wishing Machine] to Mao Philia and Mao'er Lite for safekeeping in her Dark Lake demiplane. After confirming the device was secured, she left her portable nest and saw Du Lingxuan arm-wrestling Xiya.

• Jiang Han considered the growing population of Cat Lamps in her Dark Lake and summoned Mao Philia and Mao'er Lite.
• Jiang Han explained that the wishing device was a precision tool that must not be damaged or altered.
• Mao Philia praised Jiang Han for entrusting her with the device, while Mao'er Lite echoed her words.
• Jiang Han gave the two Giant Cat Lamps boxes of premium cod piles and handed Mao Philia the wishing device.
• Mao Philia tucked the device into Mao'er Lite's belly, and the two cats traveled into Jiang Han's Dark Lake demiplane.
• Jiang Han left her portable nest and saw Du Lingxuan arm-wrestling Xiya.

Jiang Han learned that Xiya wanted Mist Immortal Cat fur to build an aircraft that could escape a Dead Magic Zone. Jiang Han agreed to let Xiya use her tail fur, and Xiya prepared to open a space for them to begin.

• Xiya and Du Lingxuan arm-wrestled until Xiya broke a bone, which was quickly set.
• Jiang Han, Du Lingxuan, and Xiya relaxed in a sunlight blanket while Jiang Han asked Xiya why she had come.
• Xiya explained that she wanted Mist Immortal Cat fur, and Du Lingxuan objected when Xiya defended love potions.
• Xiya told Jiang Han she planned to use her flame-resistant tail fur to build an aircraft that could escape a Dead Magic Zone.
• Jiang Han agreed to provide some tail fur and suggested asking scissor Cat Lamps to trim it.
• Xiya grabbed Jiang Han's tail and said they would open a space to get started.

Jiang Han and Vikania traveled through the void to scout the Dead Magic Zone and locate valuable objects hidden within it. After confirming their position above the zone, they prepared to observe it from a safe distance.

• Jiang Han emerged from a portal formed by Cat Lamps and asked Vikania to confirm their coordinates.
• Vikania confirmed that they were above the Dead Magic Zone and explained how its effects weakened Cat Lamps.
• Jiang Han and Vikania discussed whether their planned search was scouting or observation, and Vikania argued that retrieving the objects was not a crime.
• Jiang Han proposed setting up an observation camp and using high-magnification scopes to watch the Dead Magic Zone from a safe distance.

Jiang Han and Vikania transported a Giant Cat Island through the web, then used a telescope to scout a dead-magic zone. They found a stitched-together landscape crawling with zombies, and Jiang Han concluded that Xuan Bao had chosen a good place.

• Jiang Han and Vikania used Vikania's tail and Jiang Han's magic to pull a Giant Cat Island from Jiang Han's territory into the Void World.
• Jiang Han recovered from the enormous spell and explained that her magic recovery was unusually fast, though still less extraordinary than Loya's.
• Jiang Han and Vikania headed to a cat tower to observe the dead-magic zone with a high-magnification telescope.
• Jiang Han explained that dead-magic zones held valuable materials and that their dangers came from natural conditions rather than concealment spells.
• Jiang Han and Vikania saw a spiraling landscape of mismatched streets and cities, along with zombies, and Jiang Han remarked that Xuan Bao had found a good place.

Jiang Han and Du Lingxuan investigated a dead magic zone and learned it would disappear in three years and five months. They discussed recruiting Ghost Witches to help explore it, and Olivia suddenly arrived through a portal.

• Jiang Han spent the week traveling between the Cat Lamp Observation Base and the camp vehicles while preparing for their plans.
• Jiang Han woke Du Lingxuan by striking her belly with a cat lamp, and Du Lingxuan retaliated with her tails.
• Jiang Han told Du Lingxuan that their experiments showed the dead magic zone was fading and would disappear in three years and five months.
• Du Lingxuan suggested recruiting other Cat Lamp Expedition Teams, and Jiang Han proposed bringing in the Ghost Witches, who specialized in dead-magic regions and the Astral Realm.
• Olivia emerged from a pitch-black portal beside Jiang Han and Du Lingxuan.

Olivia confronted Du Lingxuan for breaking the Cat Lamp Expedition Team’s rule against partnering with Ghost Witches, then agreed to help Jiang Han’s group preserve a dead magic zone. She planned to extend its life by thirty years, leaving Du Lingxuan impressed as Olivia departed.

• Olivia warned Du Lingxuan that teaming up with Ghost Witches had damaged the cats’ trust and told her not to repeat it.
• Jiang Han asked Olivia to help the group explore a dead magic zone before it dissipated in three years.
• Jiang Han explained that giant cats studied dead magic zones and mentioned that Cat Nesting was also looking for expedition teams.
• Olivia decided to use magic to create a Will of the Dead World and keep the dead magic zone alive for thirty years.
• Du Lingxuan praised Olivia’s power, and Olivia tossed a ball of yarn at her before leaving through the portal.

Jiang Han and Cat Bo investigated the disappearance of Cat Mi, a newly promoted Nightmare Giant Cat Lamp who had left without collecting her usual provisions. Jiang Han dispatched scouts and Clock Cat Lamps to search the surrounding territories and Giant Cat Island, while Cat Bo feared Cat Mi had run into trouble.

• Cat Bo told Jiang Han that Cat Mi had disappeared after leaving home that morning without taking her usual belongings.
• Mao'er Lite inspected Cat Mi's nest and confirmed that Cat Mi had left behind her giant cat pipe, thermos, and daily provisions.
• Cat Bo explained that Cat Mi had invited her to dinner, but Jiang Han recognized that the uncollected provisions suggested a genuine emergency or that Cat Mi might be trapped.
• Jiang Han asked Mao Philia to send scouts to nearby cat planes and Giant Cat Territories to search for Cat Mi.
• Jiang Han instructed Mao Philia to ask Cat Nesting to have her Clock Cat Lamps search Giant Cat Island for anything unusual.

Jiang Han reviewed March Cat Peak’s growing city and approved a giant-cat-run services office after Cat Carlo explained how it would differ from cat commissions. Cat Carlo reported that the Cat Sea Grand Cathedral’s first construction phase was complete, and Jiang Han planned to use the Grand Library to help her younger relatives study.

• Jiang Han surveyed March Cat Peak’s flourishing neutral-zone trade and returned to her studio to sign territorial documents.
• Cat Carlo proposed a cat services office staffed by witches and witches to handle cats’ optional shopping needs and reduce disruptions at shops.
• Jiang Han questioned how cat services differed from cat commissions, then approved the office’s application.
• Cat Carlo told Jiang Han that the Cat Sea Grand Cathedral’s first phase, including the first floor of the Grand Library, was complete and that powerful cats were seeking residence permits.
• Jiang Han planned to use the Grand Library’s learning-speed acceleration to help younger members of her family study.

Jiang Han’s convoy suffered heavy losses against elite Anse Elves, prompting her to reorganize and rest. Later, Histeria showed Jiang Han footage from scouts in a dead-magic zone, where blue flames suggested they might face magical zombies without being able to use spells.

• Jiang Han’s convoy fought elite Anse Elves, losing witches and suffering injuries, but destroyed six powerful elves and earned badges and resources.
• Loya Technology’s support devices let fallen witches’ souls keep fighting and attending class, while Jiang Han paid compensation and decided to reorganize the convoy.
• Histeria invited Jiang Han to watch footage recorded by two Cat Lamps scouting a dead-magic zone.
• The Cat Lamps explored a zombie-filled city, evading fast zombies and joking about being forced to work for legal residence permits.
• The Cat Lamps spotted blue flames and fled, leading Jiang Han and Xiya to conclude that magical zombies might be a threat in the dead-magic zone.