Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Golden Core Celestial Venerable

Plot and events

In the Hall of Morality, the Golden Core Celestial Venerable preaches to his disciples while casually skipping unfamiliar words in his scripture. He then extracts a golden fruit—the disciple’s “Golden Core”—from a female disciple’s abdomen and eats it, praising its sweetness. Gu Qingfeng, a modern man mysteriously transported into this world after reacting to a soccer match, watches in horror. He has fragmented memories and has become a disciple of the Golden Core Immortal Sect.
During the sermon, Gu Qingfeng and the other disciples begin transforming into human-like trees, with branches and golden fruits growing from their bodies. The Celestial Venerable calls these fruits Golden Cores and announces that he will inspect their cultivation. When a tall senior sister laughs because of an itchy branch beneath her armpit, he violently tears the branch and surrounding flesh from her body, then eats the attached Golden Core. Dissatisfied with its bitter taste and the small size of her other core, he rips out the main branch above her navel, killing her instantly.
The Celestial Venerable then turns his attention to Gu Qingfeng, whose Golden Cores are similarly small. He grabs the branch on Gu Qingfeng’s abdomen and demands to know whether he, too, is an unworthy disciple. The chapter ends with Gu Qingfeng paralyzed by fear, facing the possibility of the same fate.

Character developments

• Gu Qingfeng shifts from confusion and homesickness to overwhelming terror as he realizes this world’s cultivation practices are real, grotesque, and deadly. His lack of memories leaves him unable to understand or defend himself.
• Golden Core Celestial Venerable is established as an unnervingly powerful, hypocritical, and cruel master. He speaks of loving his disciples while treating their bodies as crops and punishing them lethally for inadequate cultivation.
• The senior sister is portrayed as outwardly confident and beautiful but utterly submissive and terrified beneath the Celestial Venerable’s authority. Even after suffering horrific injuries, she suppresses her screams to avoid angering him.

Significant themes

• Abuse of authority: The Celestial Venerable disguises cruelty and exploitation as mentorship and religious instruction.
• Dehumanization: The disciples are literally transformed into trees, reducing them to vessels that grow resources for their master.
• Fear and forced obedience: The disciples endure mutilation and death without resisting, showing the absolute control the sect leader possesses.
• Disorientation and survival: Gu Qingfeng’s modern worldview clashes with the bizarre cultivation system, and his immediate goal becomes simply staying alive.

Character interactions

The Celestial Venerable dominates every interaction, while the disciples respond with ritual respect and terror. He praises the female disciple whose Golden Core he eats, then brutally “corrects” the senior sister’s body and criticizes her cultivation before killing her. His final confrontation with Gu Qingfeng mirrors the senior sister’s fate and creates a cliffhanger as Gu Qingfeng awaits judgment.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Golden Core Celestial Venerable tests Gu Qingfeng and threatens to kill him if his Golden Core does not show progress by the fifteenth of the month—only ten days away.
• Gu Qingfeng narrowly saves himself by arguing that, because he entered the sect ten days later than his senior sister, his potential may still be undeveloped. His clever reference to sudden changes in nature and the Buddha’s enlightenment slightly pleases the Celestial Venerable.
• The Celestial Venerable reveals the sect’s brutal rule: disciples who fail to produce results become “material,” meaning their skin, bones, and bodies are harvested for tools, weapons, or other uses.
• After the Celestial Venerable leaves, Gu Qingfeng’s strange Core Branches retract, leaving bloody holes in his body. A kind junior sister with peach-blossom eyes lends him cloth to cover the wounds.
• Gu Qingfeng senses a female warlock—or possibly a related treasure—near several small Buddha statues in the Hall of Morality. His Demon-Hunting Badge throbs in response.
• Eldest Senior Sister Zhang Yao rudely kicks Gu Qingfeng and the junior sister, ordering them to carry a corpse to the Furnace Workshop. Gu Qingfeng suppresses his anger because Zhang Yao is powerful and rumored to be the Celestial Venerable’s daughter.
• After moving the corpse, Gu Qingfeng reflects on his desperate situation: whether he succeeds or fails in cultivating the Golden Core, he appears destined to die.
• Believing the mysterious sensation may indicate a life-saving opportunity, Gu Qingfeng returns to the empty Hall of Morality. He traces the sensation to a small incense burner in front of the central Buddha statue and picks it up, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

2. Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Demonstrates quick thinking, persuasive ability, and emotional restraint. Although terrified and unfamiliar with the world due to his incomplete memories, he adapts rapidly, hides his fear, and actively searches for a way to survive. His desperation pushes him to investigate the possible treasure.
• Golden Core Celestial Venerable: Established as cruel, authoritarian, and entirely results-driven. He treats disciples as disposable resources and threatens to turn failures into “human material,” while still recognizing Gu Qingfeng’s unusual intelligence.
• Peach-blossom-eyed junior sister: Introduced as compassionate and helpful. She gives Gu Qingfeng cloth for his wounds and water after their exhausting task, becoming his first apparent ally in the sect.
• Zhang Yao: Revealed as domineering, violent, and influential. Her position as eldest senior sister—and possible status as the Celestial Venerable’s daughter—makes her someone Gu Qingfeng cannot safely oppose.
• The other disciples: Their familiarity with plugging their wounds and obeying the sect’s grim routines emphasizes how normalized the sect’s brutality has become.

3. Significant Themes

• Survival in a predatory system: The sect treats disciples as resources, forcing Gu Qingfeng to constantly calculate how to avoid being killed.
• No-win fate: Success in the Golden Core Mystique means becoming a human pill to be consumed, while failure means being dismembered for materials. This creates a central conflict between cultivation and self-preservation.
• Cunning versus power: Gu Qingfeng survives through clever words rather than strength, but he remains vulnerable to powerful figures such as the Celestial Venerable and Zhang Yao.
• Hidden opportunity and mystery: The throbbing sensation and incense burner suggest that secret treasures or powers may exist beneath the sect’s horrifying surface.
• Appearance versus reality: Sacred Buddhist imagery—including the Maitreya statue and references to enlightenment—exists alongside torture, corpses, and the use of human remains, creating a stark contrast between religious symbolism and moral corruption.
• Trust and kindness: The junior sister’s assistance stands out because genuine compassion is rare in Gu Qingfeng’s dangerous new environment.

4. Character Interactions

• Gu Qingfeng verbally persuades Golden Core Celestial Venerable to postpone judgment and give him another chance.
• The Celestial Venerable tests the disciples and reinforces his control through threats.
• The junior sister helps Gu Qingfeng treat his wounds, later gives him water, and works with him to transport the corpse.
• Zhang Yao asserts authority through violence, kicking Gu Qingfeng and the junior sister and ordering them to move the corpse.
• Gu Qingfeng keeps his hostility toward Zhang Yao internal, recognizing that openly challenging her would be dangerous.
• The chapter ends with Gu Qingfeng alone, investigating the incense burner that may contain the key to changing his fate.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng discovers a palm-sized, rust-covered artifact in the Hall of Morality: the Chivalrous Spirit Incense Burner.
• Reading its engraved inscription activates the artifact and reveals information in his sea of consciousness:
  • It is an extraordinary object left behind by a legendary hero.
  • By burning incense and declaring, “I want to be a great hero!”, its holder can communicate across enormous distances with other holders.
  • Its original “price” is a dangerous compulsion to punish all evil and treachery, eventually driving the user insane.
• Gu Qingfeng realizes the burner may allow him to summon a powerful hero to rescue him from Golden Core Celestial Venerable and the other hostile figures, whom he regards as wicked demons and heretics.
• He immediately reverses the artifact’s price through his special ability. Instead of causing madness, the burner will now make him exceptionally calm while using it.
• He secretly obtains incense from the sect’s practice area and returns to his bamboo-hut residence.
• After initially failing to activate the burner, Gu Qingfeng concentrates on heroic fantasies and his desire for revenge against his master and senior sister.
• His renewed declaration successfully activates the burner: the incense smoke straightens and shoots toward the ceiling like an antenna, apparently connecting with a distant location.

2. Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng shifts from despair to excitement after discovering a possible means of escape. He confirms that the artifact and its information are real rather than hallucinations.
• His resourcefulness and caution become evident as he hides the burner, steals incense, waits for the other disciples to leave, and seals his residence before attempting to use it.
• He demonstrates his unusual ability to reverse the prices or negative consequences of extraordinary objects, transforming a potentially mind-destroying artifact into a safe communication tool.
• Despite speaking of heroism and justice, his motives remain mixed with personal anger and revenge, particularly toward Golden Core Celestial Venerable and Zhang Yao.

3. Significant Themes

• Power and danger of supernatural artifacts: The burner offers salvation but carries a severe psychological cost unless its price is reversed.
• Cheating fate and exploiting loopholes: Gu Qingfeng’s special ability allows him to turn a cursed object into an advantage.
• Heroism versus revenge: The chapter questions whether Gu Qingfeng’s desire to become a hero is truly altruistic, since it is closely tied to hatred of his enemies.
• Hope amid crisis: The burner provides a possible escape from what seemed like certain death.
• Justice and extremism: The artifact’s original curse portrays “chivalry” as an uncontrollable, violent obsession with punishing every form of evil.

4. Character Interactions

• Gu Qingfeng has no direct face-to-face interaction with others in the chapter, but his thoughts focus heavily on:
  • Golden Core Celestial Venerable, whom he views as a demonic master and primary enemy.
  • Zhang Yao, his senior sister and Golden Core Celestial Venerable’s daughter, whom he resents for kicking him earlier.
  • The other sect disciples, whose cultivation activities provide him with cover while he steals incense and prepares the burner.
• The apparent activation of the burner suggests that Gu Qingfeng is about to establish contact with a distant holder—possibly the heroic savior he hopes will rescue him.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng resists an intense urge to attack the Golden Core Celestial Venerable and Zhang Yao. He realizes the impulse comes from the chivalrous spirit and baleful aura within the Chivalrous Spirit Incense Burner, but remains rational.
• The incense smoke transforms into a communication system resembling a group chat, connecting Gu Qingfeng with several mysterious “heroic” figures:
  • No. 3, Lin Qingxia
  • No. 5, the Unmoving Monk Hero
  • No. 6, the Peach-Eating Jade Sword
• Gu Qingfeng announces that he has been kidnapped by wicked demons and is being forced to cultivate a Golden Core. He explains that he will be tested again in ten days and may be killed if his progress is insufficient.
• The group members question his situation. Lin Qingxia criticizes the Golden Core Celestial Venerable for cultivating human pills, while the Unmoving Monk offers moral support but is revealed to be confined by his sect. Peach-Eating Jade Sword is the only one immediately willing and able to attempt a rescue.
• Gu Qingfeng cannot provide a location because he knows almost nothing about the sect or the surrounding region. Before he can gather more information, someone approaches, forcing him to hide the incense burner.
• He returns to the training area, intending to question fellow disciples later while avoiding suspicion from possible spies loyal to the Golden Core Celestial Venerable.
• Gu Qingfeng begins cultivating the Golden Core Immortal Formula as a backup plan in case rescue does not arrive. During cultivation, the Core Branch and Golden Core emerge from his body, and a familiar throbbing sensation triggers new words in his consciousness.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Demonstrates strong self-control by observing and suppressing his heroic impulses. He becomes more pragmatic, planning both to seek outside rescue and improve his Golden Core cultivation. His distrust of the sect deepens, and he grows increasingly aware that he may be treated as food rather than a disciple.
• Peach-Eating Jade Sword: Establishes herself as the most dependable potential rescuer. Though blunt and impatient, she is willing to risk herself and asks for Gu Qingfeng’s location.
• Lin Qingxia: Appears outspoken and judgmental, but cautious to the point of cowardice. She condemns the Golden Core Celestial Venerable yet admits she may not currently be strong enough to defeat him.
• Unmoving Monk Hero: Presents himself as righteous and compassionate, offering to save Gu Qingfeng. However, his history of refining corpses and his confinement by his sect reveal a morally unconventional and somewhat hypocritical figure.
• Golden Core Celestial Venerable: Remains offstage but is characterized as a powerful, sinister cultivator who cultivates human pills and may have planted informants among his disciples.

Significant Themes

• Righteousness versus impulse: Gu Qingfeng’s heroic instincts are powerful but potentially dangerous; true heroism requires judgment rather than blind aggression.
• Appearance versus reality: The supposed “heroes” are flawed, cautious, or hypocritical, while the “immortal sect” functions like a demonic prison.
• Survival and resourcefulness: Gu Qingfeng must rely on both external allies and his own cultivation because rescue is uncertain and time is running out.
• Cultivation as exploitation: The Golden Core Immortal Formula appears less like a path to enlightenment and more like a method of fattening Gu Qingfeng for consumption.
• Isolation and unfamiliarity: Gu Qingfeng’s lack of memories and knowledge about the world leaves him dependent on strangers, while also making it difficult for others to locate him.

Character Interactions

• Gu Qingfeng appeals to the incense-burner group for help, presenting himself as a fellow righteous person and promising repayment.
• Lin Qingxia and the Unmoving Monk debate each other’s reliability, exposing their contrasting personalities: her skepticism and his grandiose vows.
• Peach-Eating Jade Sword cuts through the discussion and demands practical information before agreeing to help.
• Gu Qingfeng observes that his fellow disciples may be informants, so he avoids openly questioning them and plans to gather information subtly.
• His final interaction is with the Golden Core Immortal Formula itself: chanting it causes the grotesque Core Branch and Golden Core to emerge, ending the chapter as new mysterious words appear in his mind.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng discovers through the information in his consciousness that he has only six years and eighty-six days of lifespan remaining, despite being seventeen and physically healthy.
• He learns the truth behind his cultivation method, the Yi-Wood Golden Core Feeding Formula (Part Two). It was derived from an incomplete immortal technique and deliberately altered so that practitioners’ vital blood and lifespan gradually transform into a Yi-Wood Dao Fruit, which the method’s creator—the Golden Core Celestial Venerable—can consume.
• The method’s hidden flaw can be reversed. Reversing the cost would transform the Yi-Wood power into Geng-Metal Power, allowing Gu Qingfeng to escape becoming “human material,” extend his lifespan, and potentially condense a Geng-Metal Golden Core and become an Earthbound Immortal.
• Gu Qingfeng realizes that reversing the technique immediately could expose him to the Golden Core Celestial Venerable, who would likely kill him if he discovered the betrayal. He therefore decides to continue cultivating secretly and postpone the reversal until the right moment, treating it as a future trump card.
• He cultivates intensely through the night. His Golden Core grows larger and yellower, indicating that it is ripening—but his lifespan drops dramatically from six years and eighty-six days to six years and twenty-six days, meaning roughly sixty days of life were consumed in a single night.
• Gu Qingfeng recognizes that the sect’s “mature” disciples are likely being harvested once their Golden Cores ripen. The lack of senior disciples and the frequent disappearance of older disciples suggest that the Golden Core Celestial Venerable repeatedly consumes them and replaces them with new recruits.
• Horrified by the danger, Gu Qingfeng stops cultivating and decides to investigate the location and circumstances of the Golden Core Immortal Sect.
• Leaving the cultivation chamber during a rainy night, he encounters the peach-blossom-eyed junior sister, who offers to share her human-skin umbrella. Gu Qingfeng accepts, seeing an opportunity to question her for information.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng shifts from curiosity and optimism to alarm as he uncovers the true purpose of the sect and the deadly cost of his cultivation.
• He demonstrates greater strategic thinking by choosing not to reverse the technique immediately, planning to conceal his ability until it can give him the greatest advantage.
• His survival instinct strengthens. Rather than blindly pursuing power, he recognizes that gaining a promising cultivation path is meaningless unless he first survives long enough to use it.
• The peach-blossom-eyed junior sister becomes an important potential source of information and one of Gu Qingfeng’s few recognizable acquaintances in the sect.
• The Golden Core Celestial Venerable is further established as a predatory and manipulative master who cultivates disciples as expendable resources.

Significant Themes

• Power comes at a hidden price: The cultivation method appears to offer immortality but secretly consumes the practitioner’s lifespan.
• Exploitation and dehumanization: The disciples are treated like crops, cultivated until ripe and then harvested as food.
• Survival versus ambition: Gu Qingfeng must balance the temptation of becoming an Earthbound Immortal against the immediate need to avoid being killed or consumed.
• Secrets and deception: Both the sect and the cultivation method conceal their true nature, forcing Gu Qingfeng to hide his own discoveries.
• Reversal of fate: The ability to reverse the method’s cost gives Gu Qingfeng a possible way to transform a corrupt, murderous technique into a genuine path to immortality.

Character Interactions

• Gu Qingfeng internally considers the danger posed by his master, the Golden Core Celestial Venerable, and worries that reversing the technique would reveal his rebellion.
• He recalls the suspicious disappearances of fellow disciples, interpreting them as evidence of the master’s harvesting process.
• The peach-blossom-eyed junior sister approaches Gu Qingfeng in the rain, notices that he has no umbrella, and invites him beneath hers. Their brief interaction provides Gu Qingfeng with a natural opening to seek information about the sect.

Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng and the other disciples leave their cultivation rooms carrying grotesque umbrellas made from human skin, leg bones, and bamboo. The umbrellas are necessary because the Golden Core Immortal Formula causes a burning reaction in their bodies; contact with the constant rain would scald their flesh.
• Gu Qingfeng questions the peach-blossom-eyed junior sister about her origins. She says she came from Yuan Feeding City beneath the Yuan Feeding Pagoda but cannot remember being abducted.
• The junior sister warns Gu Qingfeng not to reveal that he is investigating their location or considering escape. She recounts how Senior Sister Zhang supposedly returned from the Furnace Workshop cured by an immortal pill, but was actually an impostor wearing Zhang’s skin—likely one of the Golden Core Celestial Venerable’s spies.
• Fearing that either of them could be replaced, Gu Qingfeng and the junior sister establish a secret identity signal: they will curl the little finger of their right hand before speaking.
• Back in his room, Gu Qingfeng activates the Chivalrous Spirit Incense Burner and contacts the mysterious group of “heroes” for information about Yuan Feeding City.
• Number One, Lu Mang, identifies Yuan Feeding City as a human settlement in the Returning Ruins, beneath a nine-story black Yuan Feeding Pagoda.
• Number Three explains that the Returning Ruins are the “Land Forsaken by the Gods” and the “Burial Ground of the Gods,” a forbidden region filled with demons, monsters, ghosts, evil cultivators, and the corpses of ancient immortals and Buddhas.
• The group discusses the legendary First Divine Sword Feng Kuang, who disappeared in the Returning Ruins. Five years later, an evil arhat appeared using a sword forged from Feng Kuang’s spine, with his soul apparently trapped inside it. The arhat slaughtered thirty-two members of the Heaven Gate Sword Sect.
• The others clarify that the Returning Ruins contain some human cities, including Yuan Feeding City and Red Tears City, but these places are dominated by dangerous unorthodox cultivators and fiends.
• Number Six reveals that reaching the Returning Ruins would take her at least two months and require crossing the Black Mahaka Heaven-Connecting Sea, making rescue impossible in the immediate future.
• Gu Qingfeng accepts that he must save himself. He realizes that the disciples are nearing the mysterious stage of “maturity” and begins planning an escape, while considering how to use the ability in his consciousness called “The Price Can Be Reversed.”

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng becomes increasingly wary and self-reliant. He learns that his surroundings are far more dangerous than he initially imagined and abandons hope of outside rescue.
• Peach-Blossom-Eyed Junior Sister is established as cautious, perceptive, and quietly rebellious. Her warning about the skin-wearing impostor shows that she understands the sect’s terrifying surveillance system.
• The other incense-circle members reveal varying degrees of knowledge and concern. Number Three provides historical context, Number One offers geographical information, and Number Six shows genuine willingness to help despite the distance.

Significant Themes

• Paranoia and loss of identity: The possibility that disciples can be replaced by people wearing their skins makes trust dangerous and raises fears that no one may truly be who they appear to be.
• Institutional cruelty and dehumanization: The sect’s use of human skin and bones, along with its secret experiments and forced cultivation, presents a world where people are treated as raw materials.
• Survival versus heroism: Gu Qingfeng invokes the ideal of becoming a great hero, yet the chapter forces him to focus on practical survival and escape.
• The horror of forbidden lands: The Returning Ruins embody a realm where even legendary heroes can be corrupted, killed, and transformed into weapons.
• Isolation and limited assistance: Although Gu Qingfeng has access to knowledgeable allies, none can reach him in time, emphasizing that he must rely on his own decisions.

Character Interactions

• Gu Qingfeng and the junior sister exchange information about their abductions and secretly discuss escape.
• She warns him about the impostor disguised as Senior Sister Zhang, deepening their mutual trust.
• They create a private signal to verify each other’s identities, turning their relationship into a cautious alliance.
• Through the incense burner, Gu Qingfeng consults the group of heroes. Their responses provide crucial information but also reveal the impossibility of an immediate rescue.
• Number Three’s account of Feng Kuang’s fate shocks the group and reinforces the danger Gu Qingfeng faces, while Number Six’s concern offers the chapter’s clearest sign of external support.

Chapter Summary: “The Price of Running Away”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• At dawn, Gu Qingfeng is awakened by Junior Brother Zhao for mandatory morning class. Some of Gu Qingfeng’s memories have returned, revealing that Zhao was one of his closest acquaintances.
• The disciples practice the sect’s bizarre Golden Core Swordsmanship, using Core Branches growing from their bodies as weapons. Gu Qingfeng spars with Zhao and discovers that his own Core Branch has become thicker and stronger.
• The Golden Core Immortal Sect is shown to be an eccentric mixture of Buddhist and Daoist traditions, symbolized by its many mismatched halls and the inscription “Buddha is originally Dao.”
• Fellow disciple Wang Qian openly shows off his powerful Core Branch and Golden Core, apparently relying partly on his rumored relationship with Golden Core Celestial Venerable.
• With the Celestial Venerable’s assessment only one day away, Gu Qingfeng continues cultivating. His Golden Core improves, but his remaining lifespan drops to just over five years, making continued cultivation potentially fatal.
• Before the assessment begins, four disciples are found brutally murdered and suspended from the Thousand-Armed Guanyin statue. Their skins have been flayed off and hung separately, while their Core Branches and Golden Cores were violently ripped from their bodies.
• One victim is Zhang Lei, the sect’s Second Senior Brother and an inner disciple, proving that even high-ranking disciples are not safe.
• Golden Core Celestial Venerable claims the victims were trying to escape the sect. He presents their deaths as a warning against disloyalty, insisting that they should have asked permission to leave.
• He then dismisses the disciples and announces that the assessment will take place the following day, leaving Gu Qingfeng terrified about whether he can survive it.

2. Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Becomes more aware of his former relationships and of the sect’s deadly reality. His cultivation improves enough to reach roughly the middle rank among his peers, but this comes at the cost of more than a year of lifespan. His confidence is increasingly overshadowed by fear and suspicion.
• Junior Brother Zhao: Revealed as innocent, trusting, and deeply attached to Gu Qingfeng. He admires Gu Qingfeng’s progress and worries about his upcoming assessment, but seems not to question the sect’s practice of turning disciples into “human pills.”
• Golden Core Celestial Venerable: Publicly presents himself as a caring, benevolent master, yet his behavior reveals him as ruthless and manipulative. He uses the corpses of the escapees to intimidate the remaining disciples while disguising punishment as concern for the sect.
• Wang Qian: Establishes himself as a proud and influential disciple, likely favored because of his strength and rumored family connection to the Celestial Venerable.
• Zhang Lei and the other escapees: Their deaths demonstrate that even inner disciples who attempt to flee can be brutally punished.

3. Significant Themes

• The cost of survival and cultivation: Improving one’s strength requires sacrificing lifespan, while failing the assessment may mean death or being harvested as a human pill.
• Entrapment and false protection: The sect claims to nurture and protect its disciples, but actually treats them as expendable resources.
• Hypocrisy and manipulation: The Celestial Venerable masks cruelty with paternal language, framing murder as a lesson in loyalty.
• Fear versus trust: Zhao’s innocent faith contrasts with Gu Qingfeng’s growing awareness that the sect’s traditions are horrifying.
• Family and favoritism: Rumors about Wang Qian’s connection to the Celestial Venerable suggest that personal relationships and privilege exist even within the supposedly disciplined demonic sect.
• The danger of escape: The chapter’s title is literal: attempting to run away carries a horrific price, making the sect’s control appear nearly absolute.

4. Character Interactions

• Zhao wakes Gu Qingfeng and accompanies him to morning class, reinforcing their close senior-junior relationship.
• The two spar using Golden Core Swordsmanship, exchanging crude jokes about the increasing thickness and hardness of their Core Branches.
• Zhao enthusiastically encourages Gu Qingfeng, believing his physical and Golden Core improvements will help him pass the assessment.
• The disciples collectively react with terror to the displayed corpses, while the Celestial Venerable addresses them in a falsely compassionate tone.
• Gu Qingfeng silently contrasts the master’s benevolent appearance with his witnessed brutality, deepening his distrust and anxiety before the assessment.

Chapter Summary: Reversal of Cost! My Own Golden Core Dao!

Key Plot Points and Events

• During a lesson in the Hall of Morality, Golden Core Celestial Venerable chants from his red-covered scripture. The disciples’ Core Branches automatically emerge, leaving them rigid and helpless in his presence.
• The Celestial Venerable praises the disciples for their progress and reminds them that Second Senior Brother died for being “insensible.” He implies that the surviving disciples will eventually carry on the Golden Core Immortal Sect.
• After dismissing them, he ominously announces that the next examination will be even harsher. Gu Qingfeng realizes that the Celestial Venerable’s satisfaction hides a predatory desire—he is fattening the disciples for an impending harvest.
• Gu Qingfeng concludes that he must escape before the next examination, possibly within ten days. However, fleeing alone seems impossible because Second Senior Brother, despite knowing the mountain’s escape routes, was already captured and killed.
• He considers seeking help from either his naïve junior brother or his cautious, peach-blossom-eyed junior sister, who may know more about possible escape routes.
• That night, Gu Qingfeng finally activates Reversal of Cost, causing the energy in his body to transform dramatically.
• The Yi-Wood power within him changes into razor-sharp Geng-Metal Power, producing blazing golden light and giving his body the destructive sharpness of a sword.
• He tests this new power by piercing through his wooden bed with two fingers. He then learns to suppress the outward golden radiance so that his strength will not immediately attract attention.
• Upon summoning his Core Branch, Gu Qingfeng discovers that it has become metallic and can be withdrawn from his body without damaging his foundation. He can wield it externally like a sword while retaining his Golden Core internally.
• He realizes that he has escaped the fate imposed by the Celestial Venerable’s altered cultivation method. Rather than being “food” whose Core Branch is tied to his flesh, he has developed an independent Golden Core Dao.
• The chapter ends with Gu Qingfeng preparing mentally for a violent breakout and escape.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Becomes far more powerful and self-reliant. Through Reversal of Cost, he transforms the defective or exploitative cultivation method into a personal path that grants both internal cultivation and external combat ability. His fear shifts toward cautious confidence and determination to kill his way out.
• Golden Core Celestial Venerable: Appears increasingly monstrous and predatory. His praise of the disciples is revealed to be the satisfaction of someone cultivating them for future consumption, while his “examinations” function as tools of control and harvesting.
• The disciples: Remain terrified and submissive before their master. Their rapid, overlapping replies show that they obey not out of loyalty, but fear of being killed.
• Junior brother and junior sister: The junior brother is characterized as naïve and trusting, while the cautious junior sister becomes a possible ally because she may have secretly investigated escape routes.

Significant Themes

• Control versus autonomy: The Celestial Venerable’s cultivation system turns disciples into helpless resources, while Gu Qingfeng’s reversal allows him to reclaim control over his own power.
• Predation disguised as mentorship: The master’s praise and instruction conceal his intention to harvest the disciples’ Golden Cores.
• Transformation through reversal: Reversal of Cost does not merely increase Gu Qingfeng’s strength; it changes the fundamental nature of his cultivation and frees him from the system’s original design.
• Fear and resistance: The disciples’ fear keeps them obedient, but Gu Qingfeng begins converting that fear into resolve and a plan for escape.
• Forging one’s own path: Gu Qingfeng’s new “Golden Core Dao” symbolizes his rejection of the Celestial Venerable’s imposed destiny.

Character Interactions

• The Celestial Venerable addresses the disciples with apparent approval, but his words about Second Senior Brother’s death serve as a threat.
• The disciples compete to answer him quickly, demonstrating their terror and dependence.
• Gu Qingfeng observes the master carefully and interprets the hidden hunger behind his approving gaze.
• Gu Qingfeng considers forming an alliance with his junior sister, while recognizing that his junior brother is unlikely to understand the danger.
• His interaction with the Celestial Venerable is mostly indirect in this chapter, but their conflict intensifies as Gu Qingfeng secretly develops the means to resist and eventually escape him.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• On July 18, Gu Qingfeng remains trapped inside the sect’s mountain cavern while travel is forbidden.
• He discovers that Junior Brother Zhao has disappeared after being summoned by Golden Core Celestial Venerable. Several other disciples are missing as well.
• Gu suspects that the master has taken them into seclusion as “appetizers”—victims to be consumed for their Golden Cores.
• During morning lessons, Gu displays his Core Branch and Golden Core at Eldest Senior Sister Zhang Yao’s command. His improved mastery of Geng-Metal Power gives him confidence that he may now be capable of resisting the senior disciples.
• Since Golden Core Celestial Venerable is in seclusion, Gu realizes the sect’s defenses are temporarily weakened. He decides this may be his best opportunity to escape and plans to seek help from the intelligent peach-eyed junior sister, later identified as Qi Lingguang.
• Before he can approach her, Zhang Yao orders Gu, Qi Lingguang, and three other disciples—Zhao San, Wang Wu, and Shen Yun—to remain behind.
• The five are taken to a hidden chamber in Garan Hall by Zhang Yao, Third Senior Brother, and Wang Qian.
• Zhang Yao claims she will assess their cultivation while the master is absent, but the terrified disciples understand that she intends to consume part of their Golden Cores for herself.
• Zhang Yao begins chanting a suppression scripture inherited from Golden Core Celestial Venerable, paralyzing the disciples and leaving them pleading for mercy.
• Gu outwardly begs like the others, but inwardly develops murderous intent, realizing that his escape plans have suddenly become a desperate struggle for survival.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Develops a reluctant emotional attachment to Junior Brother Zhao, viewing him as the first person to help him adjust to this unfamiliar world. Zhao’s disappearance awakens both grief and anger. Gu also grows more confident in his Geng-Metal Power and begins thinking strategically about escape and rebellion.
• Junior Brother Zhao: His disappearance confirms the deadly nature of the master’s “seclusion.” Though likely already victimized, his fate remains indirectly described.
• Zhang Yao: Revealed as cruel, predatory, and opportunistic. She exploits the master’s absence to prey on weaker disciples and may possess special privileges because of rumors that she is the master’s daughter.
• Qi Lingguang: Identified as the peach-eyed junior sister. Her intelligence and awareness of the danger make Gu Qingfeng view her as a potential ally, though she is now trapped alongside him.
• The other disciples: Their fear demonstrates how normalized and terrifying the master’s rule has become. They understand Zhang Yao’s intentions immediately and have no confidence that anyone will protect them.

Significant Themes

• Predation and survival: The sect operates through a hierarchy in which stronger cultivators consume or exploit weaker ones.
• Corruption of authority: The master’s power is used not to protect disciples but to turn them into resources, while Zhang Yao imitates and benefits from his cruelty.
• Fear and complicity: The disciples recognize the danger but are powerless to resist, and the wider sect avoids intervening.
• Isolation and unexpected bonds: Gu’s brief friendship with Zhao becomes meaningful because it is his first connection in an unfamiliar world.
• Opportunity amid danger: The master’s seclusion creates a possible chance for escape, but it also empowers Zhang Yao to seize control.
• Hidden strength: Gu’s outwardly ordinary Core Branch conceals increasingly dangerous Geng-Metal Power, emphasizing the contrast between appearance and true ability.

Character Interactions

• Gu questions Senior Sister Wang about Zhao’s disappearance and learns that the master summoned him away.
• Zhang Yao humiliates Gu during morning lessons by demanding that he display his Core Branch, while secretly coveting its power.
• Gu intends to approach Qi Lingguang as a possible escape partner, but Zhang Yao unexpectedly selects both of them for the secret chamber.
• In the chamber, Wang Wu nervously asks Zhang Yao why they were summoned, prompting her false claim that she is conducting an assessment.
• Zhang Yao uses the master’s suppression scripture against Gu, Qi Lingguang, and the others. They beg for mercy while she prepares to consume their Golden Cores.
• Gu hides his murderous intentions beneath outward submission, setting up a possible confrontation with Zhang Yao.

Chapter Summary: “Eating? Why Did You Stop? Keep Going!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The senior sister, Zhang Yao, begins chanting in the secret chamber, causing Qi Lingguang, Shen Yun, Wang Qian, and the others to stiffen. Core Branches and Golden Cores emerge from their bodies under the suppressive effect.
• Gu Qingfeng is unaffected because he is no longer truly an “ingredient,” but he deliberately pretends to be immobilized and produces the same physical signs as everyone else.
• Zhang Yao inspects the disciples’ Golden Cores. She mocks Shen Yun for recoiling from her touch, then bites off nearly half of Shen Yun’s Golden Core while ignoring her pleas.
• After consuming the core, Zhang Yao chants an uncanny incantation that produces immortal mist. She reveals that she is not merely the Golden Core Celestial Venerable’s daughter—she is also his wife, and sometimes acts as his daughter as well.
• Zhang Yao slaps and humiliates Qi Lingguang, while Wang Qian encourages her cruelty by accusing the disciples of trying to advance through their master.
• Zhang Yao turns her attention to Gu Qingfeng, criticizing his clever speech and threatening to eat his entire Golden Core.
• Gu Qingfeng deliberately provokes her by suggesting that her cultivation is too weak to digest his core. Zhang Yao becomes enraged and bites down on it.
• Her teeth crack against Gu Qingfeng’s unusually hard Golden Core. When she tries to withdraw, Gu Qingfeng suddenly breaks through his feigned stiffness, grabs her head, and urges her to “keep eating.”
• The chapter ends as Gu Qingfeng releases overwhelming golden light and seemingly gains control of the situation, while Zhang Yao cries out in pain.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Reveals his strategic patience and ability to disguise his true condition. He intentionally antagonizes Zhang Yao to make her attack him, confident that his Golden Core cannot be consumed. His sudden counterattack demonstrates that he has been in control rather than helpless.
• Zhang Yao: Is exposed as sadistic, petty, and highly dangerous. Her identity as the Golden Core Celestial Venerable’s wife adds a shocking complication to her relationship with the disciples. Her arrogance collapses when Gu Qingfeng’s core injures her teeth.
• Shen Yun: Becomes the first victim of Zhang Yao’s cruelty, suffering the loss of nearly half her Golden Core. Her fear and attempts to appease Zhang Yao show the disciples’ vulnerability.
• Qi Lingguang: Is publicly slapped and humiliated but shows concern for Gu Qingfeng. Her instinct to defend him is restrained by fear of provoking Zhang Yao further.
• Wang Qian: Acts as Zhang Yao’s accomplice, deliberately fueling her suspicion and hostility toward the others.

Significant Themes

• Deception and hidden strength: Gu Qingfeng’s feigned paralysis contrasts with his actual immunity and power.
• Power, humiliation, and submission: Zhang Yao uses the examination to dominate and terrorize the disciples, while they are forced to endure her abuse.
• Appetite as metaphor: The repeated imagery of eating Golden Cores represents exploitation and the consumption of others’ power.
• Arrogance turned against the arrogant: Zhang Yao’s confidence in her ability to consume Gu Qingfeng’s core leads directly to her humiliation.
• Unstable identities and relationships: Zhang Yao’s bizarre claim to be both the master’s wife and daughter reinforces the chapter’s absurd, unsettling atmosphere.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Yao torments Shen Yun, treating her fear as proof of dishonesty before biting into her Golden Core.
• Wang Qian supports Zhang Yao’s abuse and directs her attention toward Gu Qingfeng.
• Gu Qingfeng exchanges provocative remarks with Zhang Yao, intentionally escalating her anger.
• Qi Lingguang attempts to protect Gu Qingfeng but stops herself to avoid worsening the situation.
• The chapter culminates in a reversal: Zhang Yao moves to consume Gu Qingfeng, but he seizes control and forces her to continue after her bite fails.

Chapter Summary: “Geng-Metal Cuts Yi Wood, Killing Without Blinking!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng unleashes the Geng-Metal Power he has secretly accumulated for a long time.
• He detonates this power through the Core Branch lodged in Zhang Yao’s mouth, severely torturing and weakening her.
• Using his detached, sword-like Core Branch, Gu Qingfeng impales Zhang Yao through the mouth and head.
• The inner-disciple senior brother attacks with the Golden Core Immortal Sect’s “Golden Branch Wind Shuttle” technique. Gu Qingfeng exploits its weakness—the Core Branch’s limited reach—and counters by detaching his own Core Branch.
• Because Geng-Metal inherently counters Yi-Wood, Gu Qingfeng’s attack easily pierces the senior brother’s defenses, severs his arm, and cuts his throat.
• Zhang Yao attempts a final desperate struggle, lifting Gu Qingfeng into the air, but her injuries and the elemental suppression of Geng-Metal leave her unable to resist.
• Gu Qingfeng finishes her by clapping his palms together and blasting Geng-Metal Power into her skull, shattering her face and killing her.
• Wang Qian tries to escape, but Qi Lingguang intercepts him. After overpowering Qi Lingguang, Wang Qian is confronted by Gu Qingfeng.
• Wang Qian invokes his relationship with the Golden Core Celestial Venerable, but Gu Qingfeng kills him anyway, piercing his mouth and splitting his head in two.
• With all three enemies dead, Gu Qingfeng prepares to flee the secret chamber and instructs the others to loot the corpses first.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng reveals the full effectiveness of his accumulated Geng-Metal Power for the first time. His Reversal of Cost has transformed his Core Branch into a detachable, extremely sharp weapon.
• He demonstrates tactical intelligence by exploiting the limitations of the senior brother’s sword technique rather than relying solely on brute force.
• His combat style becomes increasingly ruthless and decisive, especially after remembering that Zhang Yao had killed his junior brother.
• Although he experiences fear and exhilaration after killing for the first time, he remains composed and confident enough to command the others.
• Zhang Yao, previously an intimidating authority figure and powerful second-in-command, is reduced to helplessness after being caught off guard and countered by her elemental weakness.
• The inner-disciple senior brother is defeated because his technique cannot match the reach and sharpness of Gu Qingfeng’s detached Core Branch.
• Wang Qian shifts from smug anticipation to terror and desperation once he realizes Gu Qingfeng has killed Zhang Yao and the senior brother.
• Qi Lingguang and the other disciples lose their earlier uncertainty and begin treating Gu Qingfeng as their leader after witnessing his overwhelming victory.

Significant Themes

• Elemental opposition and natural advantage: The chapter emphasizes that Geng-Metal naturally suppresses Yi-Wood, making Gu Qingfeng a devastating counter to his opponents.
• Preparation and concealed strength: Gu Qingfeng’s long period of restraint allows him to unleash overwhelming power at the decisive moment.
• Reversal of power dynamics: Characters who once held authority over Gu Qingfeng are suddenly helpless before him.
• Ruthlessness and vengeance: Gu Qingfeng’s violence is driven partly by revenge for his junior brother and his hatred of being insulted.
• Fear transforming into authority: The observers initially fear Gu Qingfeng’s actions, but their fear turns into loyalty and recognition of his leadership.
• Violence as spectacle: The chapter repeatedly presents his killings as shocking and grotesque, reinforcing his emerging image as a terrifying “demon-slayer.”

Character Interactions

• Gu Qingfeng brutally dominates Zhang Yao, who pleads and struggles while he remains calm and relentless.
• He counters the inner-disciple senior brother’s attack by applying his prior knowledge from their training sessions and exploiting the flaws in the man’s technique.
• Qi Lingguang attempts to stop Wang Qian from fleeing, though Wang Qian briefly overpowers him.
• Gu Qingfeng orders the others to prevent Wang Qian’s escape and personally executes him after dismissing his claim of familial protection.
• After witnessing the executions, Qi Lingguang, Shen Yun, Zhao San, and Wang Wu openly submit to Gu Qingfeng’s leadership and agree to follow his plan.

Chapter Summary: “Precious Moon Garment”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng, Zhao San, Wang Wu, Shen Yun, and Qi Lingguang realize that they were being prepared as food by their master, the Golden Core Celestial Venerable, and targeted by Zhang Yao, their senior sister and the master's wife.
• After Zhang Yao attacks them, Gu Qingfeng counter-kills her using the mysterious golden light surrounding his body.
• The survivors search the corpses for useful items. Gu Qingfeng discovers Zhang Yao’s only significant treasure: the Precious Moon Garment.
• The garment is an anomalous moonlight-based robe that can resize itself, protect against ordinary blades, repel insects and snakes, and dispel heat. Its original drawback is infertility, though reversing that drawback causes extreme fertility and aphrodisiac effects.
• Shen Yun remembers an escape route from the Furnace Workshop: turn right eleven times, then left three times. She warns that dangers may lie along the path.
• Since their master remains in seclusion and Zhang Yao is dead, Gu Qingfeng decides they must flee immediately. The others agree, recognizing that this may be their only opportunity.
• The group leaves the secret chamber and cautiously travels through the connected caves toward the Furnace Workshop, all the while fearing that the Golden Core Celestial Venerable may discover what has happened.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng becomes the clear leader of the group. His defeat of Zhang Yao establishes him as both powerful and decisive, while his willingness to help the others earns their trust and loyalty.
• The five survivors shift from frightened, isolated victims into a united escape group under Gu Qingfeng’s direction.
• Shen Yun contributes crucial practical knowledge by recalling the route out of the sect.
• Gu Qingfeng acquires a second major treasure, the Precious Moon Garment, and reacts with a mixture of satisfaction, humor, and concern over its unusual reversed drawback.
• The group’s fear of the Golden Core Celestial Venerable remains intense. Even without seeing him, they view him as an unknowable and overwhelming threat.

Significant Themes

• Survival and escape: The characters must seize a narrow opportunity before their captor returns or discovers the rebellion.
• Trust formed through crisis: Gu Qingfeng’s rescue of the others transforms him from a fellow prisoner into their protector and leader.
• Moral contrast: Although Gu Qingfeng’s methods can appear frightening or ruthless, he seems righteous when compared with the master and Zhang Yao, who treat disciples as food.
• The danger of the unknown: The master’s hidden abilities, the forbidden seclusion grounds, and the dangers ahead create constant suspense.
• Irony and dark humor: Gu Qingfeng’s reverent description of the treasure and his exaggerated justification for taking it contrast humorously with the grotesque setting and Zhang Yao’s corpse.

Character Interactions

• The survivors immediately accept Gu Qingfeng’s proposal to escape, believing their lives depend on cooperation.
• They regard him as a lifesaving benefactor and are willing to follow him even though his powers and methods remain mysterious.
• When the others offer him their spoils, Gu Qingfeng refuses and tells them to keep what they found, emphasizing the urgency of escape rather than personal gain.
• Shen Yun provides the route information, while Qi Lingguang and the others show confidence in Gu Qingfeng’s leadership by offering no objections.
• Together, they move silently and anxiously through the caves, united by their fear of the master and their determination to survive.

Chapter Summary: “Senior Brother Gu, the Dual-Sword Hero?”

• Setting and escape: The group reaches a hidden cave entrance beside the horrifying Furnace Workshop, a place infamous for flaying disciples and refining their bodies into tools. The cave is revealed to be an escape route from the Golden Core Immortal Sect. After arranging themselves in formation, Gu Qingfeng and the others enter the dark, dangerous passage.
• Gu Qingfeng’s Core Branches: Gu Qingfeng puts on the adaptable Precious Moon Garment and manifests the Core Branches growing from his body by circulating Geng-Metal Power. Their sharp, sword-like forms now shine with golden light. He pulls out the branch from his abdomen and wields it as a sword, then tries to give another to Qi Lingguang. However, its blade-like structure cuts her hand because of the powerful metal energy within it. Since no one else can safely use the branches, Gu Qingfeng holds one in each hand, causing the others to mistake him for an expert dual-sword fighter. In reality, he has no such sword technique and would only fight by striking wildly.
• Group dynamics and character reactions: The group’s fear and suspicion of Gu Qingfeng shift into awe and dependence. His sacred-looking golden radiance and powerful methods make them view him as someone who can protect and lead them, even if they do not understand his origins or abilities. Qi Lingguang remains close to him and supports the weakened Shen Yun as they travel.
• Progress through the cavern: The cavern is narrow, uneven, and bordered by dangerous cliffs. Following Shen Yun’s instructions, the group turns right repeatedly and learns that they are already more than halfway to the exit. The surrounding wind produces eerie, humanlike sounds, increasing the group’s tension.
• The ghostly voice: Shen Yun suddenly hears someone calling her “Junior Sister Shen.” The voice seems familiar, and she believes it resembles Senior Sister Lin Yu, who was recently flayed and killed. Soon, everyone hears the voice asking Shen Yun where she is going and whether she is trying to escape. The group becomes convinced that Lin Yu’s resentful spirit may be following them.
• Cliffhanger: As vines begin hanging throughout the cavern, Wang Wu looks upward and sees Lin Yu’s pale face suspended among them. Even Gu Qingfeng is shaken, despite his confidence and glowing Core Branches. The chapter ends with the terrifying possibility that Lin Yu has returned from the dead—or that something else is imitating her.
• Major themes: The chapter emphasizes the horror and brutality of the sect, the uncertain boundary between life and death, and the group’s growing reliance on Gu Qingfeng. It also contrasts appearances with reality: Gu appears like a sacred dual-sword hero, but his “technique” is accidental, while the seemingly ordinary cave wind may conceal a genuine supernatural threat.

Chapter Summary: “Holy Shit! Terror in the Cave”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng remembers Qi Lingguang’s warning that someone may be wearing a disciple’s skin and spying for the Golden Core Celestial Venerable. When Senior Sister Lin’s face briefly appears and vanishes, he suspects that a nonhuman entity may be using her appearance.
• The group continues through the cavern, increasingly frightened and alert. They eventually reach an area containing the twisted trees from their training chambers.
• At a fork in the tunnel, they encounter a red-robed figure kneeling before one of the trees and muttering as though performing a funeral ritual. Gu Qingfeng approaches it aggressively, determined to escape the cave no matter what stands in his way.
• Before he can strike the red-robed figure, a black shadow drops from the vines and attacks him from behind. Qi Lingguang intercepts it, though she is thrown into the cavern wall. Her intervention gives Gu Qingfeng time to evade the attack.
• Gu Qingfeng recognizes the attacker as “Senior Sister Lin,” but its hand is grotesque—black, furry, and claw-like. When it attacks again, he severs its arm with the Core Branch. His Precious Moon Garment protects him from serious injury.
• The red-robed figure then reveals itself to be wearing Second Senior Brother Zhang Lei’s face. Its painted features and sharp teeth make it resemble a funeral paper effigy.
• The creature moves on all fours and is revealed to be a dog-like monster wearing human skin—a terrifying “Man-Dog.”
• The Man-Dog attacks the injured Qi Lingguang, but Gu Qingfeng throws the Core Branch to drive it away. The creature then exploits the opening created by the throw and pounces toward Gu Qingfeng’s unarmed left hand.
• The chapter ends as the Man-Dog appears certain of its victory, while Gu Qingfeng remains calm and responds with intense killing intent.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: His fear and paranoia intensify, but so does his determination to survive. The pressure of possibly being captured, tortured, or consumed by the Golden Core Celestial Venerable has driven him close to madness. Rather than retreating from the supernatural creatures, he meets them with anger and violence. He also demonstrates quick combat instincts and confidence in the Precious Moon Garment and Core Branch.
• Qi Lingguang: She proves her loyalty and courage by intercepting the ambush aimed at Gu Qingfeng, despite being badly injured in the collision. Her intervention is crucial in saving him from the first attack.
• Wang Wu and Zhao San: Both display severe fear, becoming increasingly dependent on Gu Qingfeng for protection as the cave’s horrors escalate.
• Senior Sister Lin and Second Senior Brother: Their faces are revealed to be disguises used by the monstrous entities, reinforcing the frightening possibility that familiar disciples may be impersonated or replaced.

Significant Themes

• Dehumanization and corrupted identity: The monsters wear the faces and skins of disciples, blurring the boundary between human and beast and turning familiar companions into sources of terror.
• Survival against oppression: Gu Qingfeng’s desperate wish to escape reflects the brutal control exerted by the Golden Core Celestial Venerable. His determination to survive fuels his aggression.
• Fear versus courage: The group is terrified, but Gu Qingfeng transforms his fear and rage into action, refusing to let supernatural threats stop him.
• Betrayal and mistrust: The possibility that anyone could be a disguised spy—or that a familiar person may already be dead—destroys the group’s sense of safety.
• The grotesque and the uncanny: Funeral imagery, human skin, twisted trees, and animal-human hybrids create an atmosphere in which nothing familiar can be trusted.

Character Interactions

• Gu Qingfeng takes command as the group’s most decisive and capable fighter, urging everyone to keep moving despite their fear.
• Qi Lingguang protects Gu Qingfeng by tackling the black-shadow creature, sacrificing her own safety and becoming injured.
• Gu Qingfeng retaliates on Qi Lingguang’s behalf and prevents the Man-Dog from attacking her by throwing the Core Branch.
• The Man-Dog deliberately targets the weakest and most vulnerable members, first attacking Qi Lingguang and then exploiting Gu Qingfeng’s temporary lack of a weapon.
• The group’s fear contrasts with Gu Qingfeng’s increasingly savage resolve, setting up the unresolved confrontation at the chapter’s end.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng is attacked by the Man-Dog “Second Senior Brother,” who attempts to bite through his left hand.
• Rather than retreat, Gu Qingfeng turns his entire arm into a sword by channeling Geng-Metal Power through it. Using “Golden Branch Wind Shuttle,” he pierces Second Senior Brother’s lower jaw.
• When the Man-Dog continues attacking, Gu Qingfeng counters with his leg, toes, and Core Branch, eventually recovering his weapon and resuming dual-wielded sword attacks.
• During the battle, Gu Qingfeng discovers that Geng-Metal Power can be released through more than his hands. He rapidly adapts to using it through his feet, knees, elbows, and other parts of his body.
• Senior Sister Lin, despite having lost a hand, launches another surprise attack. Gu Qingfeng blocks with his elbow and punches a hole through her chest using Geng-Metal Power.
• The two Man-Dogs continue attacking together, but Gu Qingfeng’s relentless offense overwhelms them. He hacks and strikes them until their bodies are nearly destroyed and they can no longer fight.
• Gu Qingfeng becomes increasingly frenzied, attacking without defending. His golden aura and savage fighting style make him appear simultaneously divine and demonic, mesmerizing Qi Lingguang and the others.
• Before the group can recover, the trees inside the cave come alive. They twist like snakes as white mist fills the area, transforming the cave into a ghostly domain.
• A tree coils around Qi Lingguang’s ankle and drags her into the forest. Hearing her call for help, Gu Qingfeng abandons the mutilated Second Senior Brother and charges after her, vowing to rescue her.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Demonstrates extraordinary combat adaptability and ruthlessness. He learns to use Geng-Metal Power through his entire body, effectively turning every limb into a weapon. His battle fury intensifies, causing him to fight instinctively and without concern for defense.
• Second Senior Brother: Reveals extreme brutality and resilience, continuing to attack despite severe injuries. However, his ferocity ultimately fails against Gu Qingfeng’s superior power and adaptability.
• Senior Sister Lin: Shows similar madness and refusal to retreat even after losing a hand and suffering a chest wound. Her attacks become ineffective against Gu Qingfeng’s Precious Moon Garment and metal-based power.
• Qi Lingguang: Moves from being a spectator of Gu Qingfeng’s battle to becoming the next victim of the cave’s supernatural trees, forcing Gu Qingfeng to intervene.
• The onlookers: Qi Lingguang’s companions are fascinated and unsettled by Gu Qingfeng’s transformation into a figure who appears both holy and demonic.

Significant Themes

• Offense as defense: Gu Qingfeng abandons conventional defensive tactics, relying on overwhelming aggression and turning every part of his body into a weapon.
• Adaptation through danger: The life-or-death struggle allows him to master Geng-Metal Power far more quickly than ordinary practice could.
• Divine and demonic duality: His golden radiance and brutal violence create an image that is both awe-inspiring and terrifying.
• The persistence of life: The Man-Dogs’ bodies continue twitching even after they are effectively dead, emphasizing their unnatural vitality.
• Escalating supernatural danger: The battle with the Man-Dogs ends only as a new threat emerges from the living forest and poisonous mist.

Character Interactions

• Gu Qingfeng directly counters the coordinated attacks of Second Senior Brother and Senior Sister Lin, using their aggression against them.
• The two Man-Dogs fight together but are gradually overwhelmed by Gu Qingfeng’s multi-limbed attacks.
• Qi Lingguang and the others watch Gu Qingfeng with a mixture of awe, fear, and confusion.
• When Qi Lingguang is captured by the living trees, Gu Qingfeng immediately responds to her cry and rushes to save her, showing that beneath his bloodlust he remains protective of his companions.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The animated monster trees seize Qi Lingguang and drag her toward a dark ravine. When Gu Qingfeng rushes to rescue her, the trees attack him as well.
• Using the twin Core Branches infused with Geng-Metal Power, Gu Qingfeng cuts through the supposedly tough trees with astonishing ease. Their trunks and branches shatter like tofu, and their dark-gold sap sprays everywhere.
• Gu Qingfeng’s control over Geng-Metal Power has become instinctive. He fights with sweeping, forceful movements, carving a path through the forest and destroying trees that try to ambush or restrain him.
• Qi Lingguang is nearly dragged into the darkness, so Gu Qingfeng launches himself after her. His reckless charge destroys everything in his path, though he also injures himself slightly by smashing into a rock.
• Gu Qingfeng stops only after accidentally riding over Qi Lingguang. She is unharmed but left coughing and briefly embarrassed.
• Hearing Wang Wu’s group calling for help, Gu Qingfeng immediately heads off to rescue them. He cuts through the dense trees and finds Wang Wu covered in tree sap.
• Wang Wu, Qi Lingguang, and Gu Qingfeng search for the others. Gu Qingfeng discovers a horrifying woman fused with a monster tree, but she is revealed not to be Senior Sister Shen.
• Eventually, Gu Qingfeng locates Zhao San and Shen Yun. The trees holding them flee in terror as soon as they see him, abandoning their captives.
• Even after rescuing Zhao San and Shen Yun, Gu Qingfeng continues pursuing the retreating monster trees, angrily throwing a Core Branch after them. His companions are stunned that he seems determined to kill the trees rather than simply save everyone.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Demonstrates overwhelming combat ability and increasing mastery of Geng-Metal Power. His fighting has become instinctive, ruthless, and nearly unstoppable. The reversed cost of the Chivalrous Spirit Incense Burner appears to have left him with an intense, uncontrolled bloodlust or “madness,” causing him to pursue the monster trees even after the immediate danger has passed.
• Qi Lingguang: Initially feels relieved when Gu Qingfeng comes to save her, but his reckless, murderous charge frightens her because she fears he may run her over. She becomes an observer of how dangerous and unrestrained he has become.
• Wang Wu: Is rescued from the trees and reacts with relief, though he remains horrified by the gruesome conditions of the forest and by Gu Qingfeng’s violent behavior.
• Zhao San and Shen Yun: Are saved when the monster trees abandon them in fear of Gu Qingfeng. Their confusion and shock mirror the others’ uncertainty about Gu Qingfeng’s state.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming strength versus apparent danger: The monster trees appear terrifying and nearly invincible, but Gu Qingfeng’s Geng-Metal Power makes them completely vulnerable.
• Mastery through instinct: Gu Qingfeng’s repeated use of Geng-Metal Power has transformed it from a technique into an automatic extension of his body.
• Heroism mixed with recklessness: Gu Qingfeng is rescuing his companions, but his uncontrolled aggression creates new dangers, including nearly crushing Qi Lingguang.
• Fear changing sides: The monster trees initially terrorize the group, but Gu Qingfeng becomes so frightening that they flee from him.
• The grotesque fusion of humans and nature: The woman embedded in the tree emphasizes the horrifying consequences of the monster forest and blurs the boundary between living people and the trees.

Character Interactions

• Gu Qingfeng rescues Qi Lingguang but accidentally rides over her while trying to stop, creating an awkward yet comic moment.
• Qi Lingguang warns Gu Qingfeng before he crashes into her and later follows him despite his frightening behavior.
• Wang Wu calls for Gu Qingfeng’s help, then joins him and Qi Lingguang in searching for the remaining companions.
• Wang Wu initially mistakes a tree-entwined woman for Senior Sister Shen, but Qi Lingguang corrects him.
• Zhao San and Shen Yun are rescued, but they are left dumbfounded when Gu Qingfeng immediately continues chasing the fleeing monster trees.

Chapter Summary: “Unleashing Peerless Might, Just Like Mowing Grass!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng discovers that his reversed Geng-Metal Power is exceptionally effective against the strange Yi-Wood trees. He cuts through them with astonishing ease, likening the experience to mowing grass or chopping vegetables.
• His exhilaration causes him to lose sight of their original goal—escaping rather than slaughtering the forest. After Qi Lingguang and the others restrain him, he realizes that the intense attacks have exhausted him more than expected.
• While retracing their route, the group notices human corpses embedded in the roots. These appear to be former disciples of the Golden Core Immortal Sect, whose bodies may have been used as nourishment or transformed into objects by the Golden Core Celestial Venerable.
• Some of the corpses remain strangely animated. They move their eyes, speak, and even attempt to warn the group, though their intentions are unclear. One corpse reaches for Shen Yun, but Gu Qingfeng cuts off its hand.
• The passage Gu Qingfeng created begins shrinking as the trees and roots close in from both directions. The group becomes trapped in a tightening corridor and must hurry forward.
• Gu Qingfeng uses a Core Branch in each hand to force open a path, destroying the attacking trees and the corpses entangled among them. The trees, previously wary of him, now attack in a frenzied and seemingly suicidal manner.
• The group reaches the road where the “Man-Dogs” had previously blocked them. Corpses hanging above begin shouting directions, guiding them through a series of turns. Although the instructions are helpful, the unnatural voices make the situation even more terrifying.
• More vicious corpses attack the corpses giving directions. Gu Qingfeng intercepts one aerial ambush, cutting the attacker in half, then leaps upward and destroys the corpses assaulting the guides.
• Demonstrating newly enhanced physical ability, Gu Qingfeng runs along the tunnel wall and races ahead, ordering the others to keep moving. His movement is so extraordinary that Zhao San jokingly concludes that he can fly.

Character Development

• Gu Qingfeng: Gains greater confidence and control over his reversed Geng-Metal Power. He learns both its overwhelming offensive strength and its physical limitations, as the technique rapidly drains his stamina. His battle instincts and mobility also improve dramatically, allowing him to leap nearly two zhang, intercept airborne enemies, and run along walls. Despite his excitement, he remains capable of regaining focus and prioritizing the group’s escape.
• Qi Lingguang: Acts as a moderating influence on Gu Qingfeng, physically stopping him before his bloodlust carries him too far. Her concern shows her awareness of both the danger around them and Gu Qingfeng’s reckless exhilaration.
• The group: Their dependence on Gu Qingfeng becomes increasingly clear. They are frightened by the forest and the animated corpses but trust him to carve out a route. Their shock at his abilities, especially Zhao San’s “he can fly” remark, highlights how dramatically their view of him is changing.
• The former disciples/corpses: They are revealed to be victims of the Golden Core Immortal Sect’s horrifying practices. Some retain enough awareness to warn the living, while others become savage attackers, suggesting varying degrees of corruption or control.

Significant Themes

• Power and restraint: Gu Qingfeng’s newfound strength is exhilarating but dangerous. The chapter emphasizes that overwhelming power must be controlled and used with purpose.
• The horror of exploitation: The corpses of former disciples reveal the grotesque consequences of the Golden Core Celestial Venerable’s methods, turning former students into fuel, tools, or components of the forest.
• Life, death, and unnatural animation: The corpses are dead yet able to speak, move, and act, creating an unsettling boundary between life and death.
• Escape from a living trap: The forest functions like a predatory organism, constantly closing around the group. Their survival depends on speed, cooperation, and Gu Qingfeng’s ability to open a path.
• Transformation and potential: Gu Qingfeng’s physical abilities have advanced beyond what he understands. His enhanced jumps and wall-running suggest that Geng-Metal Power is changing not just his attacks but his entire body.

Character Interactions

• Qi Lingguang and the others restrain Gu Qingfeng when he becomes too absorbed in destroying the trees.
• Gu Qingfeng protects the group by cutting away roots, branches, and attacking corpses, while the others follow closely and urge him onward.
• A root-bound corpse tries to seize Shen Yun, prompting Gu Qingfeng to intervene.
• The animated corpses guide the group through the forest, while other corpses attack and tear apart the guides.
• Gu Qingfeng rescues the guiding corpses by destroying their attackers, then orders the group to continue fleeing.
• Zhao San’s astonished reaction to Gu Qingfeng’s wall-running provides a brief moment of humor amid the escalating horror.

Chapter Summary: “They Really Made It Out!”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng leads Qi Lingguang and the others through the cave, using his newly learned movement technique in an improvised way. Rather than truly running along walls, he uses the sharp Geng-Metal Power in his feet to carve footholds into the cave wall.
• The group follows the directions of the “senior guides”—dead or corpse-like figures who seem to remember the route out of the cave.
• As they near the exit, the danger increases. Strange trees attack unpredictably, with some pretending to be dead before suddenly ambushing the travelers.
• After the final major turn, the group enters an area almost completely blocked by twisting roots and tree trunks. Corpses are trapped among the roots, reaching out and attacking like prisoners struggling to escape.
• Gu Qingfeng uses the two Core Branches to smash through the roots and corpses, forcibly creating a path for everyone. His fighting becomes increasingly exhausting, but Qi Lingguang’s discovery of the exit restores the group’s morale.
• Inspired by Gu Qingfeng, Qi Lingguang and the others begin fighting alongside him instead of merely relying on him.
• The most concentrated mass of roots and corpses is eventually cleared. The remaining corpses are embedded in the cave walls and repeat fragments of conversations from before their deaths, suggesting they are trapped in an endless cycle of memory.
• Gu Qingfeng reaches the opening first. He and the others emerge into cool air, daylight, and an expansive grassland, confirming that they have truly escaped the cave.

2. Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng demonstrates ingenuity by adapting his Geng-Metal Power for movement and combat. His confidence grows as he realizes that sufficient strength and sharpness can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles.
• He becomes the group’s main protector, tirelessly destroying the attacking roots and corpses despite exhaustion, numbness, and physical strain.
• His determination shifts into a fierce, almost heroic confidence. Even while nearly depleted, the sight of the exit drives him to continue fighting.
• Qi Lingguang serves as the group’s guide and morale source. Her recognition of the exit gives everyone renewed hope.
• Wang Wu, Zhao San, and the others move from terror and dependence to active participation. Encouraged by Gu Qingfeng, they begin attacking the creatures themselves and fight as a coordinated group.
• Shen Yun, already injured, is overwhelmed by the horrific scene and nearly loses consciousness, emphasizing the psychological terror of the cave.
• The corpse-like “senior guides” are revealed as tragic remnants of former travelers, trapped in repeated memories and unable to escape their deaths.

3. Significant Themes

• Hope amid terror: The group’s greatest fear is not simply death but the loss of any possibility of escape. Seeing the exit immediately renews their strength.
• Determination and perseverance: Gu Qingfeng continues fighting even after his power and body begin to fail, showing that survival depends on refusing to stop.
• Creating one’s own path: Gu Qingfeng’s attitude—“Wherever I walk, there will be a road”—symbolizes his refusal to accept obstacles as final.
• Courage spreading through leadership: Gu Qingfeng’s bravery gives the others confidence, transforming them from frightened survivors into active companions.
• Death and repetition: The trapped corpses and their repeated fragments of dialogue suggest that the cave preserves the final moments of its victims, turning them into endless echoes of past mistakes.
• Freedom versus entrapment: The open grassland and sky sharply contrast with the claustrophobic cave, reinforcing the emotional significance of the escape.

4. Character Interactions

• The “senior guides” continue directing the group despite their mutilated, corpse-like state, creating an eerie connection between the living travelers and those who died before them.
• Gu Qingfeng repeatedly urges the others to stay close while clearing the way, acting as both shield and leader.
• Qi Lingguang’s shout that the exit is near unites the group and restores their fighting spirit.
• The others respond to Gu Qingfeng’s example by attacking the roots and corpses alongside him, changing the group dynamic from reliance to cooperation.
• The final sight of the exit allows everyone to share a moment of relief and triumph after enduring the cave’s overwhelming horrors.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng and the three survivors—Qi Lingguang, Shen Yun, Zhao San, and Wang Wu—successfully escape the Golden Core Immortal Sect after killing Senior Sister Zhang Yao and surviving the demon-infested interior.
• At the exit, the trapped corpses remain bound to the monstrous tree. Most urge the group to stay, but the three surviving senior guides warn them to run and never return.
• Gu Qingfeng escapes with the others but vows to return after mastering his divine art. He intends to kill the Golden Core Celestial Venerable, destroy the tree, and free the souls imprisoned within it.
• To erase their scent and trail, the group jumps into the freezing river flowing from the mountain’s snowy peaks. They drift downstream for two days, eventually constructing a wooden raft and traveling until the river dries up.
• They establish a temporary camp in scrubland. Zhao San and Wang Wu hunt rabbits, Qi Lingguang gathers firewood, and the injured Shen Yun rests.
• Gu Qingfeng uses the opportunity to recover his severely depleted Geng-Metal Power. He discovers that his reversed Geng-Metal Dao Fruit can store and further purify this power.
• After Gu Qingfeng finishes meditating, the others offer him food but treat him with new reverence, no longer regarding him as an ordinary fellow disciple.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Becomes increasingly powerful and proficient with Geng-Metal Power after repeatedly exhausting and replenishing it during the escape. His compassion is emphasized through his determination to free the trapped corpses, while his hatred of the Golden Core Celestial Venerable becomes a clear future motivation.
• Shen Yun: Survives despite losing half her Golden Core and enduring severe injuries. Her gratitude toward Gu Qingfeng deepens into admiration and near-worship, though she feels embarrassed by her earlier desire to offer herself to him. She begins to see him as an immortal-like figure rather than a junior disciple.
• Qi Lingguang, Zhao San, and Wang Wu: Their shared survival strengthens their dependence on and respect for Gu Qingfeng. They quietly accommodate him while he meditates, showing that their relationship has shifted from fellowship to awe and deference.
• The senior guides: Though barely conscious and physically trapped among the corpses, they retain enough lingering will to help the escapees. Their desire for freedom contrasts with the other corpses’ twisted acceptance of imprisonment.

Significant Themes

• Freedom versus enslavement: The trapped corpses symbolize souls denied release, while the survivors’ escape represents a hard-won break from spiritual and physical captivity.
• Hope and perseverance: Shen Yun’s survival depends on refusing to surrender, while the guides’ final warnings place their hopes for freedom in the younger generation.
• Transformation through ordeal: The escape changes how the group sees both themselves and Gu Qingfeng. Shared suffering creates loyalty, but Gu Qingfeng’s extraordinary abilities separate him from the others.
• Vengeance and justice: Gu Qingfeng’s vow to destroy the immortal sect and liberate its victims establishes a future conflict with the Golden Core Celestial Venerable.
• Power and hierarchy: The survivors begin treating Gu Qingfeng as an “Immortal Master,” showing how supernatural ability creates social distance even among former peers.

Character Interactions

• The group shares a profound emotional reaction upon escaping, bonded by their near-death experience.
• The three senior guides communicate their final encouragement through the corpses, urging the group to flee and never return.
• Gu Qingfeng’s concern for the trapped guides reveals his moral attachment to them, despite the danger of returning.
• During the campfire rest, Shen Yun deliberately keeps her distance so as not to disturb Gu Qingfeng’s meditation, while the others also avoid interrupting him.
• After seeing the golden radiance produced by his cultivation, all four survivors become visibly awed. Shen Yun addresses him as “Immortal Master Gu” rather than “Junior Brother Gu,” marking the group’s changed perception of him.

Chapter Summary: “True Fellow Disciples, a Strange and Bizarre Night”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Qingfeng notices that Shen Yun, Wang Wu, Zhao San, and the other disciples have grown distant since witnessing him kill Zhang Yao and display extraordinary, seemingly immortal abilities.
• They now address him as “Immortal Master” rather than “Senior Brother,” believing him to be far above ordinary cultivators—possibly the heir of a powerful clan, an immortal scion, or someone carrying an ancient legacy.
• Qi Lingguang remains the exception, continuing to treat Gu Qingfeng as Senior Brother Gu.
• While eating roasted rabbit, Gu Qingfeng reflects on the beauty of the outside world and the freedom he has regained after enduring months inside the Golden Core Immortal Sect, where the disciples survived on berries and medicinal pills.
• The disciples discuss their plans to return home:
  • Wang Wu plans to reclaim his family’s shops.
  • Zhao San longs to see his parents and hopes to receive a village-assigned wife.
  • Shen Yun worries about whether her former marriage engagement still exists.
  • Qi Lingguang invites Gu Qingfeng to return with her to Yuan Feeding City, and he agrees because he has no home or clear destination.
  • The others also invite him to visit their hometowns, creating playful competition.
• The group spends the evening laughing and sharing hopes for the future. Wang Wu volunteers for the first watch, followed by Zhao San.
• Gu Qingfeng falls into a deep, peaceful sleep—possibly his best in a long time—and dreams of returning to Earth with his powers and treasures.
• His dream is abruptly interrupted when he awakens underwater. A flood has mysteriously engulfed the camp despite the nearby waterways being dry and despite the watchman hearing nothing.
• In the dark water, Gu Qingfeng sees strange, unnaturally thin figures with elongated necks, followed by a massive black shadow, suggesting a supernatural attack or bizarre transformation of the surrounding environment.

Character Developments

• Gu Qingfeng: Remains detached from the group’s concerns about his identity. He is deeply affected by freedom, ordinary pleasures, and the unfamiliarity of the world around him. His lack of memories and absence of a home become more apparent. Despite his overwhelming power, he is emotionally comfortable with the disciples and enjoys their companionship.
• Qi Lingguang: Continues to treat Gu Qingfeng naturally rather than fearfully. Her invitation for him to stay in Yuan Feeding City shows growing warmth and perhaps personal interest. She becomes embarrassed when the others tease her about wanting Gu Qingfeng to accompany her.
• Shen Yun and the Disciples: Their initial awe and distance gradually fade as they share jokes and memories with Gu Qingfeng. They begin to act like genuine fellow disciples instead of people standing before an incomprehensible immortal figure.
• Wang Wu and Zhao San: Provide much of the group’s humor and express ordinary hopes for family, marriage, and returning home. Their willingness to stand guard demonstrates their concern for the group.
• Shen Yun: Reveals that she has a possible marriage engagement and participates in the playful banter despite her earlier reservations toward Gu Qingfeng.

Significant Themes

• Human difference and social hierarchy: The disciples view Gu Qingfeng as fundamentally superior to them, reflecting the divide between ordinary cultivators and beings of seemingly immortal status.
• Awe versus companionship: Gu Qingfeng’s salvation and power initially create fear and reverence, but shared food, humor, and conversation restore a sense of equality and fellowship.
• Freedom and the value of ordinary life: After months of oppressive cultivation and deprivation, Gu Qingfeng rediscovers the pleasures of meat, sleep, open skies, and human connection.
• Home and belonging: Every disciple has a place and people to return to except Gu Qingfeng, emphasizing his isolation and uncertain identity.
• The fragile return to normalcy: The peaceful campfire gathering suggests hope for a simple future, but the sudden flood and monstrous figures violently disrupt that comfort.
• The unknown and supernatural danger: The silent flood and elongated humanoid shapes introduce a new, unexplained threat and create a sharp transition from warmth and comedy to horror.

Character Interactions

• Qi Lingguang and Shen Yun exchange teasing remarks about beauty, marriage, and Zhang Yao’s past jealousy.
• Zhao San jokingly boasts about being the most handsome man in his village, prompting laughter from the group.
• The disciples invite Gu Qingfeng to their hometowns, while Wang Wu and Qi Lingguang jokingly compete for his company.
• Gu Qingfeng responds warmly and agrees to travel with Qi Lingguang, strengthening their bond.
• The group’s shared laughter temporarily erases the social barrier caused by Gu Qingfeng’s mysterious identity—until the supernatural flood separates him from them and leaves his companions’ fate unknown.