Chapter Summaries

The Corrupted Witch Doctor
750 summaries

Ch. 241Uterine Suturing and Puppet Practice

Chapter Summary: Uterine Suturing and Puppet Practice

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran successfully performs a rudimentary form of uterine suturing using spiritually controlled Puppet Threads rather than conventional surgical tools.
  • He discovers that Puppet Runes embedded in separate stones generate a pulling force that causes the pieces to adhere, allowing him to reconstruct the ruptured uterus.
  • By observing how individual rune fragments connect, he realizes that countless small Puppet Runes can combine into larger, more powerful formations.
  • A small-scale repair initially fails when the pressure from the Giant’s expanding Embryo causes the connected threads and stones to break apart. However, the failure confirms Li Ziran’s theory about the interdependence and collective strength of Puppet Runes.
  • Li Ziran then attempts to control the entire uterus at once, creating over a thousand Puppet Threads and forming concentric moonlit rings around the organ. The resulting formation begins closing the ruptures and restraining the Embryo.
  • His first large-scale attempt collapses because his hastily formed threads are too weak and uneven. He recognizes that his fundamental Puppet Art skills are insufficient.
  • Drawing on the stolen memories of Shadow Elder, Li Ziran learns a more refined method of kneading Puppet Threads. This technique produces stronger, more balanced threads with greater durability.
  • Using the improved threads, he successfully reconstructs and envelops the Giant’s uterus in a dense, moonlit network of interlocking rings. The completed formation resembles a huge glowing sphere and firmly restrains the Embryo.
  • Satisfied with the result, Li Ziran severs his connection to the repaired uterus rather than leaving a potentially dangerous control link behind.
  • Immediately afterward, a viscous substance falls from above and envelops him. His body begins expanding grotesquely, apparently as a possible “thank-you” from the Giant, ending the chapter on a comedic cliffhanger.

Character Development

  • Li Ziran demonstrates exceptional adaptability, combining his medical expertise with Puppet Art to create an entirely new surgical method.
  • His understanding of Puppet Runes deepens: he recognizes that individual rune fragments can assemble into larger formations and that their collective power may originate from a greater underlying rune.
  • He begins imagining new possibilities, including puppet-based organs, rune-enhanced surgery, and the integration of Puppet Art with his Elemental Organ system and Transformation Spells.
  • Li Ziran remains calm and analytical even while the uterus repeatedly ruptures and the Giant experiences severe pain. He approaches the crisis like a surgeon operating under pressure.
  • His initial failure humbles him and highlights the gap between theoretical insight and technical mastery. Rather than becoming discouraged, he resolves to strengthen his fundamentals.
  • Through Shadow Elder’s memories, he gains a deeper appreciation of the elder’s mastery and learns to recognize subtle techniques he had previously overlooked.
  • His confidence and enthusiasm grow as he realizes that Puppet Art could become one of his most important future techniques.

Significant Themes

  • Innovation through synthesis: Li Ziran combines surgery, organ modification, spiritual power, and Puppet Art to create a unique discipline.
  • The importance of fundamentals: Even profound theoretical understanding cannot compensate for weak execution; reliable techniques require disciplined practice.
  • Failure as discovery: The failed repairs reveal important truths about the structure and collective power of Puppet Runes.
  • Individual parts forming a greater whole: Small rune fragments connect into larger systems, paralleling Li Ziran’s ideas about organs, Transformation Spells, and possibly the laws governing magic.
  • Control versus responsibility: Although Li Ziran realizes he could potentially dismantle the Giant’s uterus at will, he chooses to sever his connection and avoid leaving a hidden means of control.
  • The pursuit of perfection: Li Ziran views the repaired uterus as a work of art and takes intense satisfaction in creating something precise, elegant, and complete.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and the Frostcloud Giant: Their relationship is primarily practical and surgical. Li Ziran repairs and stabilizes the Giant’s uterus while remaining aware of the Giant’s pain. After the operation, the Giant appears to thank him, though the resulting transformation suggests that its gratitude may be dangerous or misunderstood.
  • Li Ziran and Shadow Elder: Although Shadow Elder is not physically present, his stolen memories directly influence Li Ziran’s progress. Li Ziran studies and acknowledges the elder’s expertise, turning the elder’s techniques into tools for his own development.
  • Li Ziran and the Embryo: The Embryo acts as the source of pressure threatening the repair. Its movements repeatedly stress the reconstructed tissue, forcing Li Ziran to develop a stronger, more comprehensive formation to restrain it.
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Ch. 242Little Giant Li Ziran

Chapter Summary: Little Giant Li Ziran

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran receives an unexpected “gift” for protecting the Embryo: a viscous, blood-red energy enters his body despite the God Descendant flesh’s elemental rejection.
  • The energy overwhelms his Elemental Gland, Purification Heart, and Magic Stomach, spreading through his organs, blood, bones, and limbs.
  • His body rapidly grows into that of a colossal Giant. He becomes so large that he fills the cave and risks being trapped inside permanently.
  • Li Ziran forces his way toward the exit, but makes a critical mistake: only his head emerges while the rest of his body remains wedged inside the shrinking cave. His neck then stretches to an absurd length as the energy continues enlarging him.
  • Anfuni and the others discover that the enormous head belongs to Li Ziran and are stunned by his transformation.
  • Shadow Elder attempts to seize Li Ziran’s soul with a powerful Puppet Thread while he is immobilized.
  • The Eternal Giant Frog intervenes, burning away the first Puppet Thread and attempting to pull Li Ziran free. The effort stretches Li Ziran’s neck but fails to release him.
  • Shadow Elder sends additional Puppet Threads, one of which penetrates Li Ziran’s neck and begins forming a soul-controlling rune.
  • The Frog counters unexpectedly by using its tongue to wrap around the Puppet Thread and attack Shadow Elder’s full moon. Shadow Elder’s manifested Shadow Giant tears the Frog’s tongue and blasts it into a Spatial Rift.
  • The Shadow Giant then moves to crush Anfuni, but Li Ziran finally frees one arm after Gegwu gnaws away part of the cave wall.
  • Li Ziran grabs the full moon itself and forcibly pulls it out of position, weakening the Shadow World and destabilizing the Shadow Giant. However, his hand begins bleeding under the strain.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Transforms from a human-sized fighter into a rapidly growing Giant, gaining immense physical strength but losing control over his body and becoming trapped in the cave. His situation is both dangerous and humiliating, yet he remains resourceful and determined to escape. Freeing an arm allows him to directly challenge Shadow Elder.
  • Anfuni: Initially shocked and frightened by Li Ziran’s monstrous appearance, she quickly realizes that his transformation may provide the strength needed to resist Shadow Elder. Her confidence collapses when the Eternal Giant Frog is defeated, but hope returns when Li Ziran intervenes.
  • Gegwu: Though initially stunned, Gegwu actively helps Li Ziran by gnawing through the cave wall, enabling him to free an arm at a crucial moment.
  • Eternal Giant Frog: Acts protectively toward Li Ziran, first destroying the Puppet Thread and then trying to pull him from the cave. It is severely injured when the Shadow Giant tears off its tongue and knocks it into a Spatial Rift.
  • Shadow Elder: Sees Li Ziran’s predicament as an ideal opportunity to capture and control his soul. His confidence grows after defeating the Frog, but Li Ziran’s unexpected attack on the full moon disrupts his advantage.
  • Shadow Giant: Revealed to be a physical manifestation of the Shadow World itself, possessing immense power and contempt for the smaller characters.

Significant Themes

  • Unwanted power and transformation: Li Ziran’s “gift” is more burden than blessing, showing how power gained without consent can become dangerous and uncontrollable.
  • Physical confinement versus freedom: Li Ziran’s enormous growth traps him physically, while Shadow Elder’s Puppet Art threatens to imprison his soul.
  • Cooperation under crisis: Anfuni, Gegwu, and the Eternal Giant Frog each contribute to Li Ziran’s survival, demonstrating the importance of allies despite fear and confusion.
  • Humor amid danger: Li Ziran’s absurdly elongated neck and embarrassment at becoming trapped provide comic relief within an otherwise life-threatening battle.
  • Reversal of power: The seemingly helpless, trapped Li Ziran gradually becomes a major threat, forcing even Shadow Elder and the Shadow Giant to react to him.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran urgently calls on Anfuni for help after becoming trapped.
  • The Eternal Giant Frog protects Li Ziran from Shadow Elder and attempts to pull him out, though its intervention causes further complications.
  • Shadow Elder tries to exploit Li Ziran’s helplessness by attacking his soul with Puppet Threads.
  • Gegwu assists Li Ziran by breaking apart the cave wall, giving him access to one arm.
  • Anfuni shifts from fear and disbelief to renewed hope when Li Ziran attacks the Shadow Elder’s full moon directly.
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Ch. 243Suppressing Shadow Elder

Chapter Summary: “Suppressing Shadow Elder”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran successfully seizes the full moon-like inheritance within the Shadow World. The Shadow Full Moon cracks and transforms into the Puppet Mirror, forming a jagged crescent of mirror fragments that begins merging with his mind.
  • Shadow Elder recognizes that Li Ziran has inherited the same Puppet Mirror treasure and immediately attacks him. He grabs Li Ziran by the neck and attempts to tear him apart.
  • Li Ziran escapes the mountain cave by forcing his enormous body through the stone. Shadow Elder’s pulling stretches his neck to a grotesque length, leaving Li Ziran deformed but freeing him from confinement.
  • Once outside, Li Ziran overpowers the Shadow Giant physically. His flesh-and-blood Giant body, enhanced by complete Magic Organs, proves far stronger than Shadow Elder’s artificial shadow form.
  • Shadow Elder pins Li Ziran’s shadow with Puppet Threads and pierces his heart. However, Li Ziran survives because he possesses two hearts, while the other had previously been removed by the Memory Ghost.
  • Li Ziran’s Purification Light burns away the Puppet Crescent’s impurities and converts them into spiritual power. He then uses thunder and lightning to destroy Shadow Elder’s shadow constructs and sever his Puppet Threads.
  • Shadow Elder repeatedly attempts surprise attacks using shadow fists, nets, and a shadow lion. Li Ziran sees the Puppet Threads controlling each attack and destroys them with lightning, making the ambushes ineffective.
  • Li Ziran unleashes a judgment-like attack that breaks Shadow Elder’s chains and terrifies him. However, Li Ziran realizes Shadow Elder is only pretending to be defeated; Puppet Threads still remain within the Shadow Full Moon, indicating that Shadow Elder is concealing another puppet or trap.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran undergoes a major transformation. He emerges as a true flesh-and-blood Giant with immense physical strength, though his body is grotesquely distorted by Shadow Elder’s attempt to pull him apart.
  • He gains a stronger understanding of Puppet Art, realizing that even a Title-Class Puppeteer’s techniques are limited if the controlling threads can be detected.
  • Li Ziran becomes more confident and tactically cautious. Rather than being intimidated by Shadow Elder’s Title Realm, he identifies the weaknesses behind the Shadow Giant and refuses to be deceived by its apparent defeat.
  • Shadow Elder shifts from arrogance to shock and desperation. He cannot understand why Li Ziran survives the heart attack or why his carefully prepared Puppet Art is repeatedly countered.
  • Shadow Elder’s confidence collapses as Li Ziran destroys his Puppet Threads, but he continues trying to manipulate the battle through deception rather than admitting defeat.

Significant Themes

  • Power beyond specialization: Shadow Elder’s mastery of Puppet Art is challenged by Li Ziran’s superior physical body, spiritual abilities, and multiple Magic Organs.
  • Perception and control: The battle emphasizes that puppeteers depend on hidden strings and manipulation. Once Li Ziran can perceive the Puppet Threads, Shadow Elder loses the advantage of surprise.
  • Deception versus insight: Shadow Elder repeatedly uses false retreats and concealed attacks, while Li Ziran remains alert and refuses to trust appearances.
  • Transformation and identity: Li Ziran’s emergence as a deformed Giant reflects both the cost of his power and his transition into a fundamentally stronger existence.
  • Underdog reversal: Shadow Elder initially controls the situation, but Li Ziran’s unexpected inheritance, unusual body, and hidden second heart completely overturn the battle.

Character Interactions

  • Shadow Elder attacks Li Ziran out of possessiveness and outrage over the Puppet Mirror inheritance, viewing Li Ziran’s claim to it as unforgivable theft.
  • Li Ziran physically escapes Shadow Elder’s grasp, then turns the tables by restraining the Shadow Giant and exposing its weakness as a puppet.
  • Shadow Elder attempts to kill and control Li Ziran through Puppet Threads, heart destruction, shadow constructs, and psychological deception.
  • Li Ziran counters each attack with physical strength, Purification Light, thunder, and his ability to perceive the puppet strings.
  • The chapter ends with Li Ziran refusing to approach Shadow Elder blindly, recognizing that the elder’s apparent defeat is another possible trap.
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Ch. 244Sandrew's Fall

Chapter Summary: “Sandrew’s Fall”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • The Judgment Spell begins destroying Shadow Elder’s Shadow World, breaking the shadow chains and freeing Gegwu. The constructed world starts to fade.
  • Shadow Elder retaliates by unleashing Frostbite Withering, a powerful time-based spell embodied in a Carnivorous Flower. Its falling petals cause the mountains, rivers, vegetation, and Li Ziran’s body to wither rapidly.
  • Li Ziran realizes the spell is based on Sandrew’s own research and that Sandrew has been transformed into a puppet controlled by Shadow Elder through Puppet Threads.
  • Li Ziran repeatedly destroys the Carnivorous Flowers, but they regenerate endlessly because the underlying Puppet Threads remain intact. He hesitates to sever them, fearing that doing so will permanently destroy Sandrew’s identity.
  • Using Purification Flame, Li Ziran burns away the Wood-Eating Bugs and partially frees Sandrew’s puppet body. However, Sandrew’s soul has been hidden in “Infinite Exile.”
  • Li Ziran discovers that the Puppet Mirror is the core of Shadow Elder’s control. He combines Judgment Light and Purification Flame to destroy the threads binding it.
  • Shadow Elder reveals Sandrew’s soul and threatens to destroy it unless Li Ziran surrenders the Puppet Mirror and his own soul.
  • Sandrew is revealed to be a Soul Puppet, fused with Shadow Elder’s soul and prepared to explode inside Li Ziran’s Spirit World.
  • Sandrew warns Li Ziran, then sacrifices himself. His soul collapses into a black point, dragging Shadow Elder’s soul with it and severing the Puppet Threads.
  • The Shadow World collapses, revealing the frozen Ice Plains. Sandrew’s body and soul appear to have vanished completely, leaving Li Ziran convinced that his mentor cannot be resurrected.
  • Unexpectedly, a damaged figure emerges from the Puppet Mirror while holding five enormous chains connected to a vast shadow Giant. The Giant immediately attacks Li Ziran.
  • Li Ziran attempts to break one of the Puppet Chains with Judgment and Purification, but Shadow Elder’s remaining power resists him. The chain nearly tears him in half, establishing that Shadow Elder has survived in some form and that the conflict is not over.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates increasing mastery of Purification Flame, Judgment Light, Thunder Element, and Puppet-related techniques. He also reveals strong emotional attachment to Sandrew, viewing him as a true teacher despite their limited personal friendship.
  • Li Ziran’s hesitation to destroy the Puppet Threads exposes his compassion and his inability to treat Sandrew as merely an enemy or tool. His grief deepens when Sandrew sacrifices himself.
  • Sandrew evolves from a controlled puppet into a tragic figure who regains enough agency to protect Li Ziran. He accepts his fate, acknowledges Li Ziran’s strength, and destroys himself to eliminate Shadow Elder.
  • Shadow Elder is shown to be manipulative, ruthless, and deeply dependent on the Puppet Mirror and its chains. Even after apparently losing his soul, he retains a terrifying presence through the remaining Giant and Puppet Chains.
  • Gegwu experiences relief when the Shadow World begins collapsing, having endured the battle’s overwhelming danger.

Significant Themes

  • Sacrifice and redemption: Sandrew redeems himself by sacrificing both his body and soul to save Li Ziran and oppose Shadow Elder.
  • The cost of power: Frostbite Withering and the Puppet system demonstrate how magical power can erase bodies, identities, and entire worlds.
  • Teacher-student bonds: Li Ziran’s respect for Sandrew transforms their former association into a meaningful emotional relationship.
  • Free will versus control: Sandrew’s struggle as a puppet reflects the conflict between imposed obedience and the ability to make one final independent choice.
  • Loss and irreversibility: Despite Li Ziran’s resurrection abilities, Sandrew’s complete destruction shows that some deaths may lie beyond recovery.
  • Hidden survival: Shadow Elder’s continued attack suggests that apparent victory may only be temporary.

Important Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran confronts Shadow Elder over Sandrew’s fate and forces him to reveal Sandrew’s soul.
  • Shadow Elder attempts to bargain with Li Ziran using Sandrew as leverage.
  • Sandrew warns Li Ziran about the Soul Explosion instead of allowing Shadow Elder to use him against his former student.
  • Sandrew’s final words acknowledge Li Ziran’s growth and symbolically pass on the Shadow Society’s legacy.
  • After Sandrew’s apparent death, Li Ziran immediately faces another attack from the surviving shadow Giant, shifting the scene from mourning back into combat.
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Ch. 245Spatial Collapse, Revenge Soul

Chapter Summary: Spatial Collapse, Revenge Soul

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran is trapped in a bizarre section of the Puppet Mirror controlled by Shadow Elder. When he touches the Puppet Chains, he is repeatedly launched through the air and attacked by mountains formed from the power of the Frostcloud Giant.
  • Unable to escape the Giant’s crushing gravity, Li Ziran attempts to defend himself with Thunder Element Prison, but the attack is weakened by the Giant’s frost power. He is eventually crushed beneath an icebound mountain and severely mutilated.
  • Seeing Li Ziran apparently killed, Anfuni experiences overwhelming grief and realizes that her feelings toward him are deeper than mere political or strategic cooperation. Her anguish transforms her into a powerful Revenge Soul, fueled by resentment.
  • Anfuni attacks the mountain imprisoning Li Ziran while the Frostcloud Giant and Shadow Elder fight back. The Eternal Giant Frog, Jon, also intervenes, damaging the Giant and forcing Shadow Elder to reinforce the Puppet Chains.
  • Anfuni repeatedly reforms after being destroyed and uses her Revenge Soul to create shadowy Elven figures. These phantoms fire Elemental Bolts into the Puppet Chains, corroding the runes that allow Shadow Elder to control the Giant.
  • Anfuni manifests the legendary Revenge Spear, a weapon designed to destroy souls, and shatters one of the Giant’s controlling runes. She prepares to destroy more, forcing Shadow Elder to take drastic action.
  • Shadow Elder violently pulls the Puppet Chains, causing the Void Expanse and the Ice Plains to collapse. Spatial tempests consume nearly everything, leaving only the Giant, Puppet Mirror, Li Ziran, and the Eternal Giant Frog.
  • In the shattered space, the Giant attacks Anfuni and Jon. Li Ziran unexpectedly shields Anfuni from the Giant’s stomp and strikes the Giant’s mountain-like body with his elongated neck, causing it to recoil.
  • The Frostcloud Giant begins breaking free of Shadow Elder’s control and drags him toward Deep-Layer Space, an elementless region that would annihilate Shadow Elder’s elemental body. Shadow Elder barely stops the Giant at the boundary—but an unknown figure suddenly places a hand on his shoulder.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Demonstrates extraordinary durability and determination despite catastrophic injuries. His instinctive decision to protect Anfuni suggests that their bond has become significant, even amid their dangerous alliance.
  • Anfuni: Undergoes the chapter’s major emotional transformation. Her supposed “mutual-benefit” relationship with Li Ziran is revealed to contain genuine attachment. His apparent death triggers her Revenge Soul, turning grief into a destructive force directed at Shadow Elder and the Giant.
  • Shadow Elder: Initially appears confident and completely in control of the Frostcloud Giant, using it to dominate the battlefield. However, Anfuni’s Revenge Soul, Jon’s intervention, and the Giant’s growing resistance expose the limits of his control. His confidence turns to alarm when the Giant begins dragging him into Deep-Layer Space.
  • The Frostcloud Giant: Functions first as Shadow Elder’s weapon, but its resistance to control becomes increasingly apparent. It ultimately begins acting independently, threatening even its master.
  • Eternal Giant Frog Jon: Intervenes to save Anfuni and damages the Frostcloud Giant, but is later blasted into the spatial currents and frozen by the Giant’s power.

Significant Themes

  • Grief transforming into power: Anfuni’s sorrow over Li Ziran’s apparent death becomes the source of her Revenge Soul, showing how emotional pain can produce terrifying strength.
  • The nature of attachment: Anfuni’s reaction forces her to confront that her relationship with Li Ziran is not merely transactional.
  • Control versus rebellion: Shadow Elder’s Puppet Chains symbolize domination, but the Giant’s attempts to break free show that even immense beings cannot be controlled indefinitely.
  • Survival and sacrifice: Li Ziran’s refusal to remain passive, Jon’s intervention, and Anfuni’s repeated regeneration all emphasize resistance against overwhelming destruction.
  • Cosmic instability: The collapse of the Ice Plains into spatial chaos expands the battle from a physical confrontation into a struggle involving the structure of space itself.

Important Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and Anfuni: Li Ziran’s apparent death awakens Anfuni’s buried emotional attachment, while his later protection of her confirms their mutual connection.
  • Anfuni and Shadow Elder: Their conflict escalates from direct retaliation to a battle over the Puppet Chains. Anfuni’s Revenge Spears threaten the foundation of Shadow Elder’s control.
  • Shadow Elder and the Frostcloud Giant: Shadow Elder commands the Giant through Puppet Chains, but the Giant eventually resists and nearly pulls him into Deep-Layer Space.
  • Jon and the Frostcloud Giant: Jon attacks the Giant to protect Anfuni, temporarily damaging it, but is later overwhelmed and hurled into the spatial turbulence.
  • Li Ziran and the Frostcloud Giant: After enduring the Giant’s attacks, Li Ziran finally intervenes directly, blocking its stomp and striking it hard enough to disrupt Shadow Elder’s control.
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Ch. 246Slashing Open the Giant's Womb

Chapter Summary: “Slashing Open the Giant’s Womb”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Shadow Elder appears to gain near-perfect control over the Giant through the Puppet Chain, using its enormous body to attack Li Ziran and Anfuni within the spatial turbulence.
  • Li Ziran struggles to evade the Giant’s rapidly intensifying attacks. His Thunder Element weakens, Anfuni is being worn down, and the Eternal Giant Frog can only defend.
  • Li Ziran realizes that the Giant still possesses its own soul and may be capable of Puppet Backlash—reversing control over Shadow Elder if sufficiently provoked.
  • He discovers that damaging locations important to the Giant can force it to resist Shadow Elder. Li Ziran and Anfuni first attack the Giant’s cave, causing pain and disrupting the control, but Shadow Elder manages to defend the area.
  • Remembering the Giant’s earlier plea for help, Li Ziran identifies something even more precious: the developing Embryo within the Giant’s mountain-like body. He concludes that the bulging central mountain is the Giant’s “womb.”
  • Li Ziran asks Anfuni for her largest Revenge Longspear. She throws it toward him, allowing him to use it as a surgical instrument rather than as a direct weapon.
  • Evading Shadow Elder’s attacks, Li Ziran reaches the Giant’s abdomen and drives the spear into the mountain belly. He carefully cuts open the uterine layer without directly harming the Embryo.
  • The wound exposes the half-flesh, half-stone Embryo and causes the Giant immense agony. Its soul finally begins acting independently, pulling Shadow Elder toward the Silent Space.
  • Shadow Elder attempts to resist with blood runes, the Puppet Mirror, and numerous Puppet Threads. The Giant is temporarily restrained, but the enormous opposing forces cause the Puppet Thread binding the Giant’s soul to Shadow Elder to snap.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran shifts from evasive survival to strategic counterattack. His medical and surgical expertise becomes the key to exploiting the Giant’s weakness, and he demonstrates precision by cutting around the Embryo rather than simply destroying it.
  • Shadow Elder grows increasingly confident as his control over the Giant improves, but his arrogance blinds him to the Giant’s independent will. Once the Giant begins resisting, his confidence turns to panic and desperation.
  • Anfuni becomes an active and perceptive ally. She recognizes Li Ziran’s focused “surgical” expression and provides the weapon he needs, trusting his plan even without understanding it.
  • The Giant develops from a seemingly mindless weapon into a conscious being with intelligence, pain, attachment, and protective instincts. Its earlier plea for help reveals that it has something—or someone—it deeply cares about.
  • The Embryo is established as the Giant’s central vulnerability and likely its most important source of emotional attachment.

Significant Themes

  • Control versus free will: Shadow Elder’s Puppet Art cannot completely erase the Giant’s soul, showing that domination is vulnerable when the subject retains identity and desire.
  • Pain as resistance: Li Ziran weaponizes the Giant’s physical and emotional pain to awaken its will and provoke Puppet Backlash.
  • Care and motivation: The Giant’s attachment to the Embryo gives it a reason to resist, suggesting that love or protectiveness can overcome imposed control.
  • Knowledge as power: Li Ziran’s surgical experience is more useful than brute strength. His precise understanding allows him to attack the Giant’s true weakness.
  • Exploitation and reversal: Shadow Elder treats the Giant as a tool, but the very bond that grants him control also links him to the Giant’s suffering and eventual rebellion.

Important Character Interactions

  • Shadow Elder repeatedly uses the Puppet Chain to force the Giant to attack Li Ziran and Anfuni, while the Giant’s soul subtly resists.
  • Li Ziran realizes the Giant is trying to communicate and attempts to help it rather than merely defeat it.
  • Anfuni and Li Ziran coordinate their attacks, with Anfuni creating and throwing the massive Revenge Longspear for him to wield.
  • Li Ziran exploits the connection between Shadow Elder and the Giant, using damage to the Giant’s cave and womb to trigger resistance.
  • The chapter ends with the Giant’s Puppet Thread snapping, marking a major break in Shadow Elder’s control and setting up the next stage of the confrontation.
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Ch. 247Li Ziran, Spare My Life

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Shadow Elder’s four Puppet Chains break after the Giant’s power is exhausted, sending the Giant into Silent Space and leaving Shadow Elder vulnerable. The spatial currents tear away the Puppet Mirror, which Li Ziran claims before Shadow Elder can retrieve it.
  • Shadow Elder is stripped of his physical form, reduced to the primitive shadow form of his race. With the Giant gone, the Elemental Tide restores the Ice Plains and ends the spatial catastrophe.
  • Shadow Elder begs for his life, offering leadership of the Shadow Society, political influence, wealth, and information about three enslaved Merfolk women. Li Ziran refuses to trust him.
  • Shadow Elder attempts to use the Mermaids as leverage, but Li Ziran reads his memories and identifies the Komodo Slave Group and its leader, Dolong. Once the information is obtained, Li Ziran crushes Shadow Elder into dust.
  • The Shadow Society effectively collapses. Gegwu, apparently the only surviving member of the older generation, realizes Li Ziran is likely to become the society’s next leader.
  • Anfuni points out that Shadow Elder’s defeat frees Li Ziran to expand his Elemental Embryo business and pursue greater magical power. Li Ziran, however, is more concerned about his monstrous size and whether he can safely return to Hippo Ancient City.
  • Polo Bart reveals his true identity as Bowente, a Bell-Drum Demon from the Abyss, a time mage, and an agent of the Bell Tower Society. He formally announces that Li Ziran has been recognized as the new leader of the Shadow Society.
  • Bowente offers Li Ziran three major privileges through the Dark Council: administration of Hippo Ancient City, control over underground trade in Honduras Ancient City, and the position of deputy port master at North Sea Port.
  • Li Ziran remains more interested in rebuilding his strength and developing his business than in politics. Bowente then reveals that he secretly altered the original timeline by providing the Giant with a stasis seed, changing the course of events.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran decisively surpasses Shadow Elder, claiming the Puppet Mirror and killing him without hesitation once he learns the truth about the Mermaids. His power and influence rise dramatically, but he remains uneasy about his transformed, gigantic body and questions whether he is still human.
  • Shadow Elder changes from an arrogant ruler into a desperate, manipulative survivor. He tries multiple bargains, but his exploitation of the Mermaids ultimately confirms his depravity and leads directly to his death.
  • Anfuni remains closely attached to Li Ziran, treating his transformation humorously and encouraging him to embrace his strength. She also continues to think strategically about his political and economic opportunities, while asking him to help her obtain a new body.
  • Gegwu survives the destruction of the Shadow Society and becomes a witness to its complete generational collapse. Her attitude shifts toward accepting Li Ziran as its probable new leader.
  • Bowente is revealed to be far more powerful and politically connected than expected. He approaches Li Ziran diplomatically, presenting the Dark Council as a source of resources rather than an oppressive authority.

Significant Themes

  • Power and transformation: Li Ziran’s victory gives him enormous physical and political power, but it also forces him to question his identity and humanity.
  • Predator and prey: The chapter presents survival as inherently violent. Li Ziran recognizes that living beings are constantly placed in the roles of hunter or hunted.
  • The collapse of old authority: Shadow Elder’s death marks the end of an era for the Shadow Society, while Li Ziran’s rise represents the emergence of a new order.
  • Manipulation and exploitation: Shadow Elder’s attempt to weaponize the enslaved Mermaids shows how power corrupts relationships and reduces lives to bargaining tools.
  • Political influence versus personal goals: Although the Dark Council offers Li Ziran prestigious positions and immense resources, he is primarily focused on business, strength, and practical survival.
  • Fate and altered timelines: Bowente’s admission that he changed the original sequence of events introduces the idea that the battle’s outcome was shaped by hidden interventions and that the future may be unstable.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and Shadow Elder: Their final confrontation is dominated by fear, bargaining, and betrayal. Shadow Elder tries to exploit Li Ziran’s concern for the Mermaids, but Li Ziran reads his memories and kills him once he has the information he needs.
  • Li Ziran and Anfuni: Anfuni treats Li Ziran’s enormous form lightly and reassures him that he is still human. Their exchange shows their familiar, supportive relationship, though Li Ziran remains troubled by his transformation.
  • Li Ziran and Gegwu: Gegwu initially attacks the weakened Shadow Elder, but Li Ziran stops her and later emerges as the figure she recognizes as the Shadow Society’s future leader.
  • Li Ziran and Bowente: Bowente presents himself as a courteous political representative while offering Li Ziran powerful incentives to join the Dark Council. Their interaction establishes Bowente as both an ally and someone with hidden knowledge of Li Ziran’s fate.
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Ch. 248Please Join the Upper House

Chapter Summary: “Historical Trajectory?”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Bowente invites Li Ziran to join the Dark Council’s Upper House, claiming that Li is uniquely qualified despite being below the usual Title-Class requirement.
  • Li initially dismisses Bowente as a manipulative swindler, suspecting that the council wants his Elemental Embryo, knowledge of Living-Being Modification, or Soul Plasma.
  • Anfuni reveals that Bowente has shown her a future in which Li’s modification armies destroy the Elven race.
  • Bowente describes a possible historical trajectory: modified beings, empowered by standardized and superior organs, will eventually overrun the Elven rainforests, harvest Elven organs, and reduce the once-dominant race to prey.
  • Li realizes this future is plausible because Living-Being Modification is central to his own plans. He intends to use modification to attract followers and expand his power, but recognizes that it could threaten every race possessing valuable organs—not just the Elves.
  • Bowente insists that the Dark Council does not want Li’s resources or services. Instead, it offers friendship, protection, and access to a much wider world beyond the Red Soil Continent, including the Endless Sea, Derivative Spaces, and the stars.
  • Li rejects the invitation because he needs time to consolidate his recent gains, master newly acquired spells, strengthen his fundamentals, refine his body and surgeries, and develop the Elemental Embryo.
  • Before leaving, Bowente gives Li a special Elemental Bug that serves as a means of contacting him and warns him not to become involved with a woman possessing a Revenge Soul.
  • Gegwu acknowledges Li as the emerging leader of the Shadow Society and offers her services, along with information about two ancient arms found in a Derivative Space. Li accepts her continued usefulness.
  • After Gegwu departs, Anfuni transforms into a large Revenge Soul and sits beside Li, confirming that her nature is indeed unusual. Li reassures her that he has no romantic interest in her.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Becomes more cautious and politically aware. He refuses the Dark Council’s offer, not out of fear, but because he recognizes that his current priority is consolidation rather than expansion. He also begins confronting the destructive consequences his own modification-based strategy might produce.
  • Bowente: Establishes himself as a powerful and enigmatic time mage whose abilities exceed those of an ordinary messenger. His calm response to rejection suggests that he anticipated Li’s refusal and may be pursuing a deeper plan.
  • Anfuni: Demonstrates strong trust in Bowente’s prophecy and reveals her identity as a Revenge Soul more openly. Her concern over the Elves’ future indicates that she is emotionally affected by the predicted destruction.
  • Gegwu: Aligns herself with Li after Shadow Elder’s death, implicitly recognizing his authority over the Shadow Society. She emphasizes her usefulness by offering manpower and access to ancient relics.
  • The Dark Council: Is portrayed as a far-reaching organization with influence and resources extending beyond the known continent, though its true motives remain unclear.

Significant Themes

  • Historical inevitability versus personal choice: Bowente presents the Elves’ destruction as a future trajectory, but Li’s choices may either fulfill or alter it.
  • Progress and exploitation: Living-Being Modification promises power and advancement while simultaneously creating a system in which races are reduced to sources of organs.
  • Survival and morality: Li views modification as essential to survival and influence, yet he recognizes that the same principle could lead to genocide.
  • Power hidden behind diplomacy: Bowente’s courteous invitation conceals unknown motives, reinforcing the danger of organizations and individuals whose intentions cannot be clearly perceived.
  • Consolidation before expansion: Li understands that gaining knowledge and resources is not enough; he must transform them into reliable strength before pursuing further opportunities.
  • The wider world: References to the Endless Sea, Derivative Spaces, ancient races, and the stars expand the story’s scope beyond the Red Soil Continent.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and Bowente: Their conversation is a battle of suspicion and persuasion. Bowente offers status, knowledge, and future connections, while Li probes for hidden demands and ultimately refuses to commit.
  • Li Ziran and Anfuni: Anfuni challenges Li’s dismissal of Bowente’s prophecy by confirming its contents. Their final exchange, after her transformation, combines trust, unease, and Li’s blunt reassurance that he is not interested in her romantically.
  • Li Ziran and Gegwu: Gegwu formally shifts her allegiance toward Li, offering aid and rare discoveries. Li accepts her support while privately evaluating her as a useful resource.
  • Bowente and Anfuni: Bowente has already influenced Anfuni by revealing the possible future of the Elves, making her more receptive to his claims than Li is.
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Ch. 249Trade Network Plan

Chapter Summary: “Trade Network Plan”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Anfuni warns Li Ziran that the Dark Council will not allow him to monopolize Soul Plasma. Because the Council is a powerful alliance of ruthless factions, it may retaliate if he attempts to operate independently.
  • Li Ziran reveals that he intends to keep the Soul Plasma business for himself rather than submit to the Dark Council.
  • He plans to rebuild the destroyed Shadow Society using people he trusts and convert its resources into the foundation of a much larger commercial organization.
  • Li Ziran draws out his vision for a continent-spanning Trade Network centered on Hippo Ancient City. The network would connect:
    • Hippo Ancient City to the Abyss,
    • the Red Soil Continent’s various racial territories,
    • and even the Elven rainforest.
  • The network would allow Li Ziran to control not only production and trade, but also access to markets, intelligence, rare bloodlines, organs, slaves, and ancient inheritances.
  • Anfuni realizes that this plan could eventually bypass the Elves’ control of their own market. Li Ziran tells her that she must become fully committed to their enterprise rather than remain divided by loyalty to the Elven race.
  • He assures her that their existing Elemental Embryo partnership with the Elves will continue. His new profits will instead come from the broader market for organ-transplant modifications.
  • After Anfuni accepts the partnership, Li Ziran begins implementing the plan. He transforms the Bauhinia Flower Woman’s corpse into a Corpse Witch and prepares to travel to Hippo Ancient City.
  • Their immediate objectives are to obtain Spatial Rings to contain Li Ziran’s enormous body, acquire a suitable body for Anfuni, use Corpse Witch Summoning, construct an Embryo Factory, and begin supplying the Dark Council while building their own power base.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran displays increasing ambition and strategic confidence. He is no longer satisfied with surviving under established powers; he intends to create an independent economic and political force.
  • He is portrayed as a visionary innovator, especially through his development of Organ Fusion, which may eventually surpass the Elves’ ancient Revenge Soul technique.
  • Anfuni shifts from cautious adviser to committed business partner. Although she remains emotionally tied to the Elves, she recognizes that Li Ziran’s path offers unprecedented strength and opportunity.
  • Anfuni also becomes increasingly impressed—and somewhat intimidated—by Li Ziran’s ability to develop entirely new methods rather than follow traditional systems.
  • Li Ziran’s destruction and reconstruction of the Shadow Society demonstrate his willingness to use existing organizations pragmatically rather than preserve them as they were.

Significant Themes

  • Ambition versus dependence: Li Ziran seeks independence from the Dark Council, the Elves, and other established powers.
  • Power through commerce and information: The Trade Network is not merely a business venture; it is intended to secure resources, intelligence, influence, and military leverage.
  • Loyalty and divided identity: Anfuni must choose between her allegiance to the Elves and her future with Li Ziran’s organization.
  • Innovation versus tradition: Li Ziran’s Organ Fusion represents a new path that challenges ancient Elven cultivation methods and conventional magical boundaries.
  • Predation and survival: Li Ziran views the surrounding factions as hungry wolves and believes survival requires capital, ruthless calculation, and control over resources.
  • Transformation and exploitation of life: Corpses, bodies, organs, bloodlines, and Soul Plasma are treated as materials in the construction of new power.

Character Interactions

  • Anfuni questions Li Ziran about his plans and warns him against provoking the Dark Council.
  • Li Ziran responds with calm certainty, teasing her lightly while making clear that he intends to pursue his own interests.
  • Anfuni correctly guesses that he plans to use the remnants of the Shadow Society, showing that she understands his strategic thinking.
  • Their relationship becomes more cooperative and intimate: Li Ziran includes her in his plans, while Anfuni is warmed by his use of “our business.”
  • Their discussion ultimately becomes a negotiation over Anfuni’s loyalties. Li Ziran insists that she must place the Trade Network above the Elves, while preserving their existing cooperation with them.
  • The chapter ends with both of them moving from discussion to action, beginning their joint expansion from Hippo Ancient City.
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Ch. 250Three-Carriage Alchemy Shop

Chapter Summary: “Three-Carriage Alchemy Shop”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • The Elemental Tide has returned to the Ice Plains, bringing severe nighttime cold to Hippo Ancient City. Li Ziran, accompanied by Anfuni within his Corpse Witch body, surveys the ruined Red Fan District, which was devastated by Shadow Elder and the Corpse Witches’ mass explosion.
  • The destruction has eliminated the facilities used by the Elves to produce Elemental Embryos, but Li Ziran remains confident that they will eventually reclaim everything. He also notes that the district’s businesses continue operating discreetly, and that his previously introduced octopus-tentacle prosthetics have become common.
  • Li Ziran travels toward the civilized central district of Hippo Ancient City, searching for Goblin alchemists capable of creating an enormous space ring large enough to contain the Giant.
  • He enters the famous Three Carriages Alchemy Shop, known for luxury magical items, weapons, machinery, puppets, and high-level alchemical commissions.
  • The shop’s greeter assumes Li Ziran is a wealthy customer carrying illicit goods and shows him expensive space rings. The most valuable ring costs nearly 100,000 gold coins, but its storage capacity is still far too small for Li Ziran’s needs.
  • When Li Ziran requests to meet one of the shop’s master alchemists, the greeter refuses him access to the VIP areas unless he first spends 3,000 gold coins. Li Ziran attempts to proceed upstairs anyway.
  • Anfuni loses control and attacks the greeter with black spiritual threads. A powerful Goblin intervenes, cutting the threads apart with a magical pair of shears.
  • After the Goblin accuses Li Ziran of causing trouble, Li Ziran calmly reveals a Thumb Bottle labeled “42,” filled with valuable Soul Plasma. The entire shop is stunned, and Li Ziran asks whether this is sufficient proof that he can afford a private commission.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran remains calm, calculating, and confident. He is focused on securing a large space ring and concealing the Giant, but he also demonstrates growing influence through his knowledge of alchemy, magical organs, and valuable resources.
  • He shows restraint when insulted by the shop’s staff, preferring negotiation over conflict. However, he is prepared to use his wealth and rare resources to force recognition.
  • Anfuni displays increasing instability. While hiding within Li Ziran’s Corpse Witch body, she reacts violently to the greeter’s disrespect and seizes control without permission. Li Ziran suspects the Revenge Soul is intensifying her hatred and emotional volatility.
  • The Goblin greeter shifts from excessive politeness to contempt once he decides Li Ziran cannot afford the merchandise. His judgment proves shortsighted when Li Ziran reveals his Soul Plasma.
  • The suited Goblin alchemist is introduced as an authoritative figure capable of defending the shop. His attitude changes from suspicion to surprise after seeing Li Ziran’s valuable offering.

Significant Themes

  • Appearance versus reality: The central district appears civilized and refined, but its slave shops reveal that exploitation remains the foundation of the city’s wealth. Likewise, Li Ziran’s shabby, concealed appearance causes the greeter to underestimate him.
  • Wealth and status: Money determines access and respect in the alchemy shop. Even a customer seeking an important commission is denied entry until he proves his purchasing power.
  • Alchemy and technological advancement: The chapter highlights the sophistication of Goblin alchemy, including magical jewelry, defensive shields, puppets, machinery, and spatial storage devices.
  • Control and instability: Li Ziran maintains control over himself and his plans, while Anfuni’s loss of bodily autonomy and emotional stability threatens to create unnecessary conflict.
  • Hidden power: Valuable resources and true strength are concealed beneath ordinary appearances. Li Ziran’s Soul Plasma transforms him from a suspected nuisance into a potentially lucrative client.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and Anfuni discuss the ruined Red Fan District, with Anfuni lamenting the loss of Elemental Embryo production and expressing interest in obtaining a new body.
  • Li Ziran interacts with the Goblin greeter over the space rings. The greeter initially flatters him but becomes dismissive when Li Ziran refuses to purchase an ordinary ring.
  • The confrontation escalates when the greeter blocks Li Ziran from entering the second floor. Anfuni attacks him, prompting the suited Goblin to intervene.
  • Li Ziran addresses the senior Goblin politely despite the conflict and attempts to establish a business relationship by displaying the Soul Plasma, ending the chapter with a dramatic demonstration of his purchasing power.
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Ch. 251I Suggest You Buy a Derivative Space

Chapter Summary: “I Suggest You Buy a Derivative Space”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran visits a Goblin alchemy shop in Hippo Ancient City while disguised beneath black cloth.
  • When he reveals a Thumb Bottle containing extremely valuable Soul Plasma from the 42nd layer of the Abyss, the Goblin alchemist immediately treats him with extraordinary respect.
  • The shop’s attendant, who had initially judged Li Ziran improperly, is dismissed after Li Ziran leaves. The steward explains that Li Ziran’s identity and resources make him too important to offend.
  • Human noble Liante approaches Li Ziran and introduces himself as a count involved in female slave trading and witch-related artifacts. Li Ziran agrees to meet him later over a drink, accepting his calling card.
  • The Goblin alchemist transports Li Ziran into a hidden mechanical space inside his “robot,” where gears, Magic Stones, and a central reactor generate power.
  • The Goblin correctly identifies Li Ziran as the controller of the Elemental Embryo and reveals that the upper levels of Hippo Ancient City already know of his status.
  • He explains that the Dark Council recently voted on Li Ziran’s admission to its Upper House: seventeen members supported him, three opposed him, and three abstained.
  • Li Ziran is disturbed that the vote occurred before he had even defeated Shadow Elder, suggesting the Dark Council had already anticipated or desired Shadow Elder’s removal.
  • Li Ziran declines the offer of custom alchemical equipment and instead asks for a very large spatial storage item.
  • The Goblin shows him the shop’s largest space rings and belt, but none are large enough to contain Li Ziran’s enormous Giant or the Shadow Society’s remaining possessions.
  • The Goblin suggests that Li Ziran obtain a Derivative Space, a higher-level spatial creation comparable to Shadow Elder’s Shadow World.
  • Although the Goblin cannot create one himself, he implies that a Title Realm alchemist may be able to refine one through a special channel.
  • Li Ziran places another bottle of Soul Plasma on the table, signaling that he is willing to pay heavily for access to that channel.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates increasing confidence in using his wealth and political status. He remains cautious about the Dark Council but recognizes that his supposed councilor status grants him significant influence in business dealings.
  • He also shows practical ambition: rather than pursuing a weapon or armor, he focuses on securing storage for the Giant and valuable items connected to Shadow Elder and the Shadow Society.
  • The Goblin alchemist shifts from professional respect to near-subservient eagerness after recognizing Li Ziran’s Soul Plasma and political importance. He is perceptive, politically informed, and eager to exploit the opportunity to connect Li Ziran with the Three Carriages’ higher-level services.
  • The Goblin greeter learns the danger of insulting a powerful customer. Though dismissed, he accepts the result without resentment and is warned to leave Hippo Ancient City before his treatment of Li Ziran causes more serious consequences.
  • Liante is introduced as a socially skilled and opportunistic merchant. He quickly identifies Li Ziran’s value and seeks to establish a relationship without provoking the Goblin alchemist.
  • The chapter also reveals Li Ziran’s growing concern about being drawn into the Dark Council’s power structure, despite never formally accepting its invitation.

Significant Themes

  • Power revealed through possessions: The Soul Plasma functions as proof of Li Ziran’s extraordinary status and immediately changes how others treat him.
  • Political influence and hidden manipulation: The Dark Council has already voted on Li Ziran’s membership, demonstrating that powerful organizations may act around him before he gives consent.
  • Commerce as a form of power: Li Ziran’s resources allow him to negotiate with elite alchemists and potentially access creations that ordinary beings could never obtain.
  • The danger of social misjudgment: The greeter’s dismissal emphasizes that status and hidden identity matter greatly in Hippo Ancient City.
  • Practical ambition over spectacle: Li Ziran prioritizes a Derivative Space for storage and production rather than seeking a flashy weapon, underscoring his strategic and utilitarian mindset.
  • Old powers making room for new ones: The Dark Council’s rapid support for Li Ziran suggests a broader struggle in which emerging figures replace or eliminate established powers such as Shadow Elder.

Character Interactions

  • The Goblin alchemist warmly welcomes Li Ziran after recognizing the value of his Soul Plasma, while the attendant’s earlier dismissiveness leads to his dismissal.
  • Liante attempts to befriend Li Ziran, but the Goblin alchemist insists on speaking with Li Ziran privately. Li Ziran diplomatically keeps the possibility of future business with Liante open.
  • During their private conversation, the Goblin explains Li Ziran’s political reputation and the Dark Council’s vote, while Li Ziran probes the organization’s motives.
  • Li Ziran rejects the Goblin’s offer of special treatment but uses the conversation to request a massive storage artifact.
  • When the Goblin’s spatial items prove inadequate, he introduces the possibility of a Derivative Space. Li Ziran responds by displaying more Soul Plasma, pressuring the Goblin to reveal how such an item might be acquired.
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Ch. 252The Greedy Goblin

Chapter Summary: The Greedy Goblin

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran negotiates with a goblin alchemist over a Derivative Space, a rare and valuable private dimension suitable for producing Elemental Embryos, conducting research, and supporting Li’s planned Trade Network.
  • The goblin explains that Derivative Spaces can sometimes be inherited by descendants or maintained through rituals and sacrifices after their creators die.
  • He reveals that the Snow Women of the Ice Plains are selling their Derivative Space because their queen has disappeared, causing internal division between the Elders’ Council and the queen’s descendants.
  • The Snow Women demand an enormous price: 300,000 gold coins, land for their tribe, a magic tower built by the Ice Tower, and two weapons capable of threatening Title-Class figures.
  • Since Li cannot provide these resources directly, the goblin offers to arrange them through the Goblin Clan and his connections, with Li repaying the debt using Soul Plasma and Elemental Embryos.
  • Li signs an agreement to provide a batch of Embryos as a deposit, while privately recognizing that the deal may consume roughly two years of his Soul Plasma production.
  • The goblin celebrates, believing he has secured an extraordinarily profitable arrangement and gained control over a large amount of Soul Plasma.
  • After leaving, Li drops his false smile and meets Liante at the Mill. He reveals that the goblin has already committed two years of his Soul Plasma and asks whether Liante is still interested in doing business with him.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates ambition, caution, and strong business instincts. He is deeply attracted to the possibility of owning a Derivative Space but refuses to accept the goblin’s terms blindly.
  • Li recognizes the goblin’s greed and manipulative sales tactics, including his exaggerated urgency and attempts to make the opportunity seem impossible to refuse.
  • Rather than rejecting the deal, Li uses it strategically, agreeing to sign while keeping his options open and immediately seeking another business partner.
  • The goblin alchemist is revealed as highly opportunistic and financially driven. He demands payment for information, attempts to profit from Li’s resources, and believes he has cleverly trapped Li in a lucrative contract.
  • The goblin’s confidence contrasts with Li’s hidden calculations: he thinks he has won, while Li remains skeptical and may be using the agreement for his own purposes.
  • Liante appears as another potential business contact, waiting for Li at the Mill and preparing a lavish, socially suggestive welcome with rum and attendants.

Significant Themes

  • Greed and negotiation: Both Li and the goblin attempt to gain the greatest advantage, but Li is more controlled and perceptive.
  • Business as manipulation: The goblin uses pressure, inflated value, and promises of scarcity to push Li toward a quick decision.
  • Power and resources: A Derivative Space represents security, independence, and the infrastructure necessary for long-term growth.
  • Inheritance and survival: The Snow Women’s situation illustrates how races depend on the achievements of powerful ancestors and struggle to preserve their communities after leadership collapses.
  • Appearance versus reality: The goblin believes Li has been cornered, while Li’s polite smile hides his doubts and continued strategic planning.

Character Interactions

  • Li and the goblin exchange Soul Plasma for information, with the goblin repeatedly revealing details only after receiving payment.
  • Their conversation remains outwardly cordial, but both are calculating the other’s motives and resources.
  • The goblin tries to secure Li’s commitment by offering financing and emphasizing the rarity of the Snow Women’s Derivative Space.
  • Li signs the agreement but complains humorously that he has “sold himself,” maintaining the appearance of a reluctant but cooperative buyer.
  • Afterward, Li meets Liante and presents the goblin deal as leverage, asking whether Liante is still interested now that much of Li’s future Soul Plasma is already committed.
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Ch. 253Help Me Secure the Derivative Space

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran meets the human merchant Liante at a luxurious Mill to negotiate over Elemental Embryos, Soul Plasma, and the Derivative Space.
  • Unlike his earlier dealings with the Goblin, Li Ziran adopts a firm, confident negotiating position. He presents Liante with a list of demands, making the acquisition of the Derivative Space a prerequisite for further cooperation.
  • Liante recognizes that Li Ziran controls the only known source of Elemental Embryos, which can effectively be exchanged for Soul Plasma. Although obtaining the Derivative Space is extremely difficult and costly, Liante agrees rather than risk being excluded from this lucrative business.
  • Liante immediately leaves to act against the Snow Women, who control the Derivative Space. Li Ziran chooses to observe rather than intervene, using the situation to judge Liante’s abilities.
  • Li Ziran reflects on the danger of possessing a resource as valuable as high-grade Soul Plasma. He plans to distribute it through reliable agents and build a wider commercial network involving Elemental Embryos, organ modification, and eventually a secure base or “lair.”
  • After leaving the Mill, Li Ziran returns to the Giant body on the Ice Plains and observes the battle between Liante’s forces and the Snow Women.
  • The battle involves powerful mages, violent elemental storms, and spells capable of freezing large areas and creating spatial disturbances. A spell seemingly connected to the Derivative Space freezes the battlefield, but a powerful flame spell breaks the ice.
  • Li Ziran identifies the appearance of a Title Mage using superior flame-based rule power and becomes impressed by Liante’s potential.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran becomes more assertive and politically aware. He recognizes that his Elemental Embryo business gives him considerable leverage and resolves to abandon his former humble, defensive mindset.
  • He also grows more cautious about the risks of Soul Plasma, understanding that its value could attract powerful enemies, including Title-Class beings.
  • Liante demonstrates intelligence and decisiveness. Though initially caught off guard by Li Ziran’s bluntness, he quickly realizes the consequences of refusal and commits to obtaining the Derivative Space.
  • Liante’s immediate assault on the Snow Women suggests that he possesses substantial resources and influence, including high-level human mages.
  • Anfuni continues to provide strategic commentary and appears amused by human setbacks, especially when the mages initially seem unable to defeat the Snow Women.
  • The Snow Women are revealed to possess far greater combat power than Li Ziran expected, using coordinated magic, altars, and blizzard-based attacks.

Significant Themes

  • Power in negotiation: Li Ziran’s business position reflects his growing personal strength. Control over a unique resource allows him to dictate terms even to influential merchants.
  • Strategic distribution of wealth: Soul Plasma is presented as a strategic resource whose value can bring both allies and dangerous enemies. Li Ziran understands that controlled distribution is safer than hoarding it.
  • Transformation of identity: Li Ziran shifts from survival-oriented humility toward confidence and deliberate power-building.
  • Commerce as political influence: The Elemental Embryo business may allow Li Ziran to build an empire spanning multiple races and regions.
  • Power versus risk: The chapter emphasizes that valuable abilities and resources are double-edged; they can secure allies but also provoke powerful figures.
  • Rules and advanced magic: The battle introduces the importance of rule-based spells and Title-Class power, hinting at higher levels of magical conflict.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and Liante engage in a tense but efficient negotiation. Li Ziran’s direct demands unsettle Liante, while Liante’s quick acceptance shows his awareness of the opportunity at stake.
  • Anfuni advises Li Ziran and comments on Liante’s actions, the Snow Women’s strength, and the mages’ apparent failure.
  • Li Ziran exchanges a brief wave with the Goblin merchant, maintaining a polite but distant relationship while clearly considering him unworthy of deeper cooperation.
  • From a distance, Li Ziran observes Liante’s forces battling the Snow Women and evaluates Liante based on the strength of the magical forces he can command.
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Ch. 254Three Conditions for Giving the Snow Women a Way to Live

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

  • The battle between the elemental forces devastates the Ice Plains and destroys much of the Snow Woman Tribe. Their Derivative Space, hidden beneath Snow Woman Lake, becomes exposed as the lake melts into slurry and begins collapsing.
  • Li Ziran arrives at the battlefield and confronts Liante and the red-robed Title-Class fire mage, Lain. He demands that the battle stop because he intends to claim the Snow Women’s Derivative Space.
  • Liante persuades Lain to withdraw. Li Ziran introduces himself as a Witch Doctor, while Lain reveals himself as “Title Ashes” of the Lane Family, an ancient and powerful fire mage.
  • Li Ziran offers Lain hospitality and mentions possessing Soul Plasma, immediately attracting Lain’s interest and establishing the possibility of cooperation with the Lane Family.
  • Li Ziran is placed on the Snow Women’s altar by the giant he controls. He demands to meet their leader and uses brutal intimidation—including killing elders—to force the survivors to reveal the entrance to their Derivative Space.
  • He offers the Snow Women three conditions in exchange for survival:
    1. Thirty thousand gold coins so they can live on the Wasteland.
    2. Three Snow Women must become his maids, though they may continue living in the Derivative Space.
    3. He will help eliminate their enemies and support a new tribal chief, allowing scattered Snow Women to return.
  • The Snow Women initially resist, motivated by grief and the desire for revenge, but fear and the instinct to survive begin to divide them.
  • The second daughter of the tribal chief accepts the second condition and reveals that the Derivative Space’s entrance lies beneath the lake and requires Snow Woman bloodline activation.
  • Li Ziran then notices that her older and younger sisters are being protected, suggesting that he intends to use them as further leverage.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates his characteristic blend of calm politeness, strategic thinking, and merciless coercion. He is willing to offer the Snow Women a genuine chance to survive, but only under terms that place them completely under his control.
  • He also shows political and commercial awareness by recognizing Lain as a potentially valuable ally because Lain is the founder of a young Human Race mage lineage.
  • Lain is introduced as an ancient, highly experienced fire mage despite his youthful appearance. He initially reacts with disgust toward Li Ziran’s undead form but quickly becomes respectful after seeing the terrifying power behind him. His interest in Soul Plasma reveals a practical motivation for cooperation.
  • Liante acts as the intermediary between Li Ziran and Lain, clarifying their prior agreement and helping prevent further destruction.
  • The Snow Women shift from collective defiance toward internal division. Their desperation exposes differences between those seeking revenge and those willing to submit in order to preserve their tribe.
  • The tribal chief’s second daughter becomes the first Snow Woman to openly cooperate, sacrificing her own freedom in hopes of protecting the remaining tribe.
  • The chief’s other daughters are presented as possible future targets of Li Ziran’s manipulation.

Significant Themes

  • Survival versus dignity: The Snow Women must choose between preserving their autonomy and ensuring the tribe’s continued existence.
  • Power and coercion: Li Ziran’s “conditions” appear merciful compared with annihilation, but they are imposed through overwhelming violence and function as a form of domination.
  • Political alliance and mutual benefit: Li Ziran’s interaction with Lain shows how powerful figures build alliances through resources, favors, and shared interests.
  • The collapse of old worlds: The destruction of Snow Woman Lake and the unstable Derivative Space symbolize the end of the Snow Women’s former way of life.
  • Internal division under pressure: Collective resistance breaks down when survival is threatened, revealing competing loyalties and priorities.
  • Value as leverage: Li Ziran treats the Snow Women’s knowledge of the entrance as their only remaining bargaining power, emphasizing the harsh transactional logic of the situation.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and Lain: Their meeting begins with suspicion and hostility but develops into cautious mutual respect. Li Ziran offers cooperation and Soul Plasma, while Lain agrees to stop fighting and considers entering Li Ziran’s Derivative Space.
  • Li Ziran and Liante: Liante recognizes Li Ziran and immediately follows his command, confirming their prior agreement. He serves as the bridge between Li Ziran and his ancestor Lain.
  • Li Ziran and the Snow Women: Their relationship is openly unequal. Li Ziran alternates between negotiation and violence, forcing them to choose among his conditions while making clear that refusal may mean death.
  • The Snow Women among themselves: The tribe’s elders attempt to maintain resistance, but younger survivors begin wavering. The chief’s second daughter’s submission shocks the others and exposes the tribe’s fragile unity.
  • Li Ziran and the chief’s second daughter: He interrogates and physically intimidates her after she agrees to cooperate, confirming the entrance’s location while withholding any immediate guarantee that he will honor her request to spare the tribe.
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Ch. 255Snow Women! Extermination

Chapter Summary: “Snow Women! Extermination”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran demands access to the Snow Women’s hidden Snow World, offering survival in exchange for gold or his personal favor.
  • Xue Ying, the Snow Woman leader’s daughter, appears to cooperate with him. When an elder and two Snow Women attempt to stop the ritual, Xue Ying kills them with ruthless snow magic.
  • The Snow Women open a magical gate to their tribe’s independent Derivative World. Li Ziran and the remaining Snow Women pass through it, while Magister Lain observes silently from outside.
  • The Snow World is badly damaged by the Elemental Tide. Its sky and spatial membrane are covered in cracks, making the world unstable and unsuitable as a permanent base.
  • Li Ziran orders Xue Ying to demonstrate the tribe’s Sacrificial Curse. The ritual temporarily seals many of the world’s spatial fissures, proving that the curse is far more powerful than Xue Ying claimed.
  • Xue Ying reveals her true intentions: she has been deceiving Li Ziran. She activates the entire Snow World as a weapon, attempting to kill him and the others in revenge for the extermination of the Snow Woman Tribe.
  • Li Ziran allows the snowstorm to destroy his body, apparently dying while Xue Ying celebrates her vengeance. However, the later events reveal that he has not truly been defeated.
  • Xue Ying then turns the Snow World’s power against Lain, who defends himself with an Ashes shield. As she overdraws the collapsing world, a gate opens in the sky.
  • A gigantic creature—apparently Li Ziran’s true form or summoned Giant body—enters through the gate. Three withered Snow Women on its head use the tribe’s bloodline ritual to open the passage.
  • The Giant mocks Xue Ying as “unqualified” and consumes her and the other Snow Women on the altar, leaving only the two Snow Women who had initially trembled before Li Ziran alive.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Remains detached, manipulative, and confident. He is more interested in unusual souls and useful abilities than physical beauty. His apparent death is revealed as another stage of his deception, demonstrating his overwhelming power and strategic control.
  • Xue Ying: Initially appears courageous and loyal to Li Ziran, even murdering her own people to gain his trust. She is ultimately revealed to be driven by vengeance and willing to sacrifice the entire Snow World to destroy the tribe’s enemies. Her confidence collapses when Li Ziran returns in a form she cannot understand.
  • Lain: Continues to observe events calmly and protects himself with his Ashes shield. His quiet reaction suggests that Li Ziran’s behavior is not unexpected to him, though he remains curious about Li Ziran’s connection to Soul Plasma.
  • The Snow Women: Their desperation and submission reflect the tribe’s collapse. Some follow Li Ziran out of fear or hope, while the remaining survivors become pawns in Xue Ying’s revenge and Li Ziran’s counterattack.
  • Anfuni: Acts as a cautious observer, warning Li Ziran when the Sacrificial Curse begins, though her concern has little effect on his decisions.

Significant Themes

  • Deception and betrayal: Xue Ying pretends to submit while planning revenge, but Li Ziran also manipulates her and stages his own destruction.
  • Power and exploitation: The Snow Women’s survival, magic, and homeland are treated as resources by outsiders and by Li Ziran himself.
  • Revenge versus control: Xue Ying seeks emotional vengeance, while Li Ziran’s calculated strategy ultimately overwhelms her.
  • The fragility of worlds: The Snow World’s decay mirrors the extinction of its people; both the physical realm and the Snow Woman Tribe are nearing destruction.
  • Appearance versus true nature: Xue Ying’s seemingly submissive behavior hides a murderous resolve, while Li Ziran’s human form conceals a terrifying Giant presence.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran dominates and intimidates the Snow Women, treating their fear and resistance as insignificant.
  • Xue Ying cooperates with Li Ziran long enough to gain access to the Snow World, then turns the tribe’s collective magic against him.
  • Lain and Li Ziran share a silent, watchful relationship in which Lain appears to understand or at least tolerate Li Ziran’s actions.
  • Xue Ying confronts Li Ziran’s allies through the Sacrificial Curse, but the confrontation ends with her being consumed by the very power she tried to command.
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Ch. 256Soul Transformation, Higher Lifeforms

Chapter Summary: Soul Transformation, Higher Lifeforms

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran defeats the Snow Women and takes control of the damaged Snow World Derivative Space.
  • He consumes the Snow Women’s summoned ants and transforms Xue Ying into a Corpse Witch, demonstrating his advanced Undead magic and ability to manipulate memories.
  • Rather than killing the two remaining Snow Women, Li Ziran plans to turn them into puppets. Their blood and memorized chanting will be used to activate the altar and stabilize the Snow World.
  • Li Ziran negotiates with Lain and Liante over supplying Soul Plasma to the Human Race in exchange for resources. He proposes that the Lane Family manage the trade.
  • Instead of focusing on business, Lain begins explaining the secrets of the Title Realm, which he calls Soul Transformation or Soul Metamorphosis.
  • Lain reveals that true Soul Transformation requires the soul to fuse with the Elemental Bugs produced through one’s cultivation. This allows a being to evolve from an ordinary lifeform into a higher lifeform and potentially achieve Undead existence.
  • He introduces the concept of Soul Severing, a technique for removing unnecessary elemental components from the soul so that it can merge more completely with cultivated rules.
  • Fascinated by the possibility of becoming Undead and advancing his cultivation, Li Ziran agrees to give the Lane Family control of the Human Race’s Soul Plasma trade.
  • Lain reveals that the agreement was predicted in advance by Bowente, who wrote that the Lane Family would obtain the trade and that Lain would become Li Ziran’s mentor in Soul Transformation.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates greater mastery of Undead magic, memory reading, soul-related abilities, and strategic manipulation. He begins considering advancement beyond the Title Realm and becomes deeply interested in Soul Transformation and Undead existence.
  • Lain is revealed to possess profound knowledge of soul cultivation and remains calm, confident, and seemingly certain of the negotiation’s outcome. He subtly guides Li Ziran by offering rare theoretical knowledge rather than directly bargaining.
  • Liante appears more openly ambitious and business-minded than his ancestor. He is excited by the prospect of the Soul Plasma trade and admires Lain’s ability to secure it so effortlessly.
  • The Snow Women are reduced from supernatural rulers of the Derivative Space to tools in Li Ziran’s plans, emphasizing the overwhelming difference in power between them and him.

Significant Themes

  • Knowledge as power: Lain gains the advantage not through force or wealth, but by possessing knowledge Li Ziran desperately wants.
  • Transformation and evolution: The chapter presents cultivation as the process of changing from a lesser, element-bound organism into a higher lifeform.
  • The nature of immortality: Undead existence is framed not as simple resurrection, but as the result of fundamentally transforming and purifying the soul.
  • Manipulation and predetermined fate: Both Li Ziran and Lain attempt to control the negotiation, but Bowente’s prophecy suggests that their meeting and agreement may have been destined.
  • Pragmatism and exploitation: Li Ziran preserves the Snow Women only because they are useful, while the Lane Family treats Soul Plasma as a resource capable of elevating their entire lineage.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran apologizes to Lain for the injustice he has suffered, but immediately establishes dominance by displaying the transformed Xue Ying and explaining his plans for the Snow Women.
  • Lain and Li Ziran maintain a respectful but strategic teacher-student dynamic. Lain calls him toward a higher level of cultivation, while Li Ziran remains suspicious of the hidden motives behind the lesson.
  • Liante reacts enthusiastically to the trade, contrasting with Lain’s restrained confidence.
  • The final revelation of Bowente’s note changes the negotiation from a simple commercial deal into part of a larger, apparently foreseen relationship between Lain and Li Ziran.
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Ch. 257You Are Not Worthy of Being My Teacher

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran examines a prophetic slip of paper that predicts his involvement with Soul Plasma trading, a soul mentor, and Soul Transformation. He becomes alarmed when Lain appears to fulfill the prophecy.
  • Lain claims the slip came from an alchemy shop and insists that it proves someone from the future has arranged events to benefit Li Ziran. He offers to become Li Ziran’s soul mentor and teaches him the theory of Soul Severing, which supposedly allows beings to remove unwanted aspects of their souls and become “higher beings.”
  • Li Ziran distrusts both the prophecy and Lain’s teachings. He believes that all living beings possess valuable traits and rejects Lain’s rigid distinction between “higher” and “lower” beings.
  • To test Lain, Li Ziran asks him to explain how Soul Severing could be used to master Transformation Spell, specifically Frog Transformation. Lain cannot provide a practical answer, exposing the weakness of his supposed expertise.
  • Li Ziran rejects Lain as a teacher, offers him thirty bottles of 42nd-Layer Soul Plasma as payment for helping him obtain Derivative Space, and withdraws the promised soul-trading partnership with the Lane Family.
  • Lain becomes furious but leaves after seeing the giant shell behind Li Ziran. Anfuni warns that Lain and Bowente may be connected to the Dark Council and are more dangerous than they appear.
  • Li Ziran turns his attention to stabilizing Derivative Space, whose sky is cracking and whose survival depends on activating its altar and maintaining the Sacrificial Curse.
  • He plans to create Half-Puppets from living bodies and puppet components, using externally supplied Snow Woman blood to operate the altar without relying on the remaining Snow Women.
  • To support this plan, he needs Split Bugs, flies and mosquitoes, corpses, women for breeding and Soul Plasma production, and materials for making Corpse Witches. He orders Anfuni to tell Lord Anthony that he can begin working.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Becomes increasingly suspicious of fate, prophecy, and anyone who seems to control his future. He asserts his intellectual independence by rejecting Lain’s authority and prioritizing survival, practical knowledge, and self-reliance. His decision to use Half-Puppets also reveals his willingness to manipulate living beings for strategic purposes.
  • Lain: Initially presents himself as a benevolent mentor and ally, but his obsession with becoming a “higher being” and his condescending attitude toward lower races undermine his credibility. His anger after rejection reveals that his earlier kindness was conditional.
  • Anfuni: Acts as Li Ziran’s cautious adviser, warning him about Lain and Bowente while also questioning his decisions. She remains supportive but recognizes the danger surrounding the prophecy.
  • Liante: Accompanies Lain and reacts with shock when Li Ziran cancels the Lane Family’s expected partnership.
  • Bowente: Does not appear directly, but Li Ziran’s memories and Anfuni’s warnings suggest that he may be connected to the larger conspiracy behind the prophecy.

Significant Themes

  • Free will versus fate: The prophetic slip appears to predict Li Ziran’s future, making him fear that he is merely a puppet. By rejecting the foretold mentor and partnership, he deliberately challenges the prophecy.
  • Survival and self-determination: Li Ziran believes survival depends on practical preparation rather than trusting destiny or abstract theories.
  • The value of life and biological diversity: He rejects the idea that some beings are inherently inferior, arguing that even supposedly lower races may possess extraordinary organs and abilities.
  • Knowledge versus empty authority: Lain speaks confidently about Soul Transformation but cannot answer Li Ziran’s practical question, showing that titles and theories are meaningless without useful understanding.
  • Control and manipulation: The chapter repeatedly contrasts puppetry, prophecy, and personal agency. Li Ziran rejects being controlled by others while simultaneously planning to create and control Half-Puppets himself.

Character Interactions

  • Lain attempts to establish himself as Li Ziran’s mentor, but Li Ziran challenges his beliefs and expertise.
  • Li Ziran humiliates Lain by declaring that he is “not worthy” of being his teacher and rescinds the Lane Family’s anticipated business arrangement.
  • Anfuni warns Li Ziran against provoking Lain and suggests that Bowente and the Dark Council may retaliate.
  • Li Ziran and Anfuni then shift from discussing political threats to planning the preservation of Derivative Space, emphasizing Li Ziran’s preference for immediate, concrete survival problems over uncertain future schemes.
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Ch. 258A Snow Woman's Daily Life

Chapter Summary: A Snow Woman’s Daily Life

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Anfuni temporarily continues using the Snow Woman shell to help revive and monopolize the Elemental Embryo trade.
  • Li Ziran establishes a complete production system: Snow World will produce Elemental Embryos, while Soul Plasma remains under his control from procurement through final distribution.
  • His broader goals include repairing Snow World, cultivating Elemental Embryos, advancing Spirit Crystal experiments, studying the soul, and improving the Transformation Spell—particularly Frog Transformation.
  • After Anfuni leaves, Li Ziran forces the two surviving Snow Women to remain in Snow World. In exchange for permanent shelter, they must provide blood to stabilize the space.
  • He makes an agreement with Gegwu, leading Corpse Mountain to recruit corpse transporters and purchase corpses throughout the Wasteland. High-quality corpses are delivered to Snow Woman Lake.
  • Over the next month, Li Ziran transforms Snow World into an industrialized research and cultivation facility. Split Bugs are fed flesh and blood, producing resources used by Snow Women and the altar.
  • The Snow Women are compelled to consume blood, undergo physical modifications, and help power the altar, which repairs the barrier surrounding Snow World.
  • Li Ziran’s forces expand rapidly, filling the facility with puppets, Corpse Witches, Undead, and other experimental subjects.
  • One surviving Snow Woman witnesses her sister undergoing surgery and receiving grotesque biological modifications, including multiple arms and a tail. She is then ordered to select her own modification, choosing the Deep Sea Eight-Armed Blood Octopus.

Character Development

  • Li Ziran becomes increasingly organized, controlling, and openly authoritarian. He is not needlessly cruel, providing anesthetics, Revival Potions, and instructions to reduce the Snow Women’s suffering, but he treats them primarily as resources.
  • Anfuni remains dissatisfied with her Snow Woman form but accepts it temporarily because of the importance of the Elemental Embryo trade.
  • The surviving Snow Women lose nearly all hope of resistance after witnessing Li Ziran’s power and the transformation of their homeland. Their cooperation becomes a matter of survival rather than consent.
  • The Snow Woman narrator develops from fear and hatred toward forced resignation. She recognizes that her race has been destroyed and that even the sacred altar now serves Li Ziran. Nevertheless, she obeys him and accepts bodily modification to remain useful.
  • The elder sister appears to have already accepted or submitted to Li Ziran’s procedures, becoming an example of the fate awaiting the remaining Snow Women.
  • Gegwu supports Li Ziran’s growing operation by supplying corpses, though the details of their agreement remain undisclosed.

Significant Themes

  • Industrialized exploitation: Li Ziran turns bodies, blood, corpses, and souls into components of a controlled production system.
  • Loss of autonomy and identity: The Snow Women’s bodies, culture, sacred altar, and homeland are all repurposed against their will.
  • Survival through submission: Cooperation is presented as the only alternative to death or harsher punishment.
  • Transformation and bodily horror: The chapter emphasizes surgical alterations, forced feeding, regeneration, and the conversion of living beings into tools.
  • The corruption of the sacred: The Snow Women’s altar, once sustained by their entire race, is now powered by modified creatures and used to maintain Li Ziran’s domain.
  • Expansion and monopolization: Li Ziran seeks total control over production, resources, trade, and the destination of Soul Plasma, making economic power central to survival.

Character Interactions

  • Anfuni and Li Ziran: Their cooperation is pragmatic; Anfuni follows Li Ziran’s larger plan despite her dissatisfaction with the Snow Woman shell.
  • Li Ziran and the two Snow Women: He imposes terms rather than offering a genuine choice, but softens his methods with potions and practical instruction to preserve their usefulness.
  • Li Ziran and Gegwu: Their unseen negotiations result in a major corpse-supply operation supporting Snow World’s experiments.
  • Li Ziran and the Snow Woman narrator: He treats her as both worker and experimental material, instructing her to cultivate flesh, consume rich food, and choose a new biological form.
  • The Snow Woman and her sister: The narrator views her sister’s surgical transformation with shock and despair, recognizing it as a preview of her own fate.
  • The Snow Woman and the transformed inhabitants: Her encounters with smiling experimental subjects, Corpse Witches, Undead, and modified Snow Women reveal how completely alien and oppressive Li Ziran’s new Snow World has become.
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Ch. 259Making a Snow Woman Puppet

Chapter Summary: “Making a Snow Woman Puppet”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran performs a complex organ-transplant operation on a Snow Woman. He replaces her eyes with flounder pupils, whose associated elemental power stimulates rapid growth, and installs several snow-related organs, including a Snow Monster heart and a snow leopard tail that gathers snow elements.
  • The operation succeeds, though it exhausts Li Ziran and leaves the Snow Woman unconscious. He confirms that the transplanted organs are functioning without rejection.
  • While waiting for her recovery, Li Ziran creates a semi-puppet from a Snow Woman corpse. He replaces its organs with mechanical components, engraves them with runes, links them to his Puppet Mirror, and programs it with mental power. The puppet joins his other creations and walks to the pyramid altar.
  • Li Ziran reflects on the deterioration of the world. Although the surface cracks in space appear to be closing, the deeper spatial collapse continues. He realizes that the Offering Curse requires guidance from a true Snow Woman master, but he has already exterminated the remaining Snow Women.
  • Feeling lonely, he leaves the Ice Plains to search for Ivy and the other women, who were previously entrusted to the Komodo Slave Group.
  • In Hippo Ancient City, he confronts Skoll, owner of the Cannibal Shark slave shop and leader of the Komodo group. Skoll returns Ivy, who has been abused but remains physically healthy.
  • Skoll reveals that the other two women were sold. He gives Li Ziran a note stating that Ailey and the others are likely in Petersburg, while hinting that Li Ziran’s transformation into the Shadow Society’s leader was part of a predicted or manipulated future.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: His mastery of organ modification, transformation magic, puppet construction, and mental control continues to grow. He is increasingly powerful but also recognizes the catastrophic consequences of his actions, particularly the extinction of the Snow Women. Beneath his detached, experimental manner, he shows loneliness and attachment to Ivy and the other women.
  • The Snow Woman: She becomes one of Li Ziran’s most valuable creations after receiving extensive magical-organ modifications. Her successful recovery demonstrates the effectiveness of his research, though she remains fearful and unable to form a relationship with him.
  • Skoll: Once willing to sell Li Ziran’s companions under Shadow Elder’s orders, Skoll is now visibly intimidated and eager to prove his loyalty. He returns Ivy and supplies information about the others in order to protect himself.
  • Ivy: She is recovered by Li Ziran after a month in captivity. Her condition suggests mistreatment, reinforcing Li Ziran’s anger and concern.

Significant Themes

  • Creation versus destruction: Li Ziran can restore bodies and create powerful puppets, but his experiments and past actions have also contributed to the destruction of an entire race.
  • Scientific curiosity and moral detachment: His fascination with organs and elemental powers drives his work, yet his experimentation treats living beings as materials, raising questions about the cost of knowledge.
  • Loss and loneliness: The vanished Snow Women, the ruined altar, and Li Ziran’s separation from Ivy and his former companions emphasize the isolation caused by his actions.
  • Power and control: Mechanical puppets, mental programming, slave trafficking, and the Puppet Mirror all reflect systems in which bodies and wills are controlled by stronger forces.
  • Fate and manipulation: Skoll’s mysterious note suggests that Li Ziran’s rise to power may have been anticipated or engineered, making the future uncertain.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran carefully monitors the recovering Snow Woman, demonstrating possessiveness and responsibility toward his creations.
  • He interacts with the Snow Women as valuable subjects but realizes they fear him and do not yet trust him.
  • His confrontation with Skoll shifts from polite pressure to implied threat, forcing Skoll to reveal Ivy and the fate of the others.
  • Li Ziran’s reaction to Ivy’s return is one of genuine relief, contrasting with his usual clinical attitude and revealing the strength of his emotional attachment to her.
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Ch. 260Dark Council Appointment Letter

Chapter Summary: “Dark Council Appointment Letter”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran receives another mysterious message, this time with handwriting he recognizes but without Bowente’s signature. The note implies that Ailey may be in Bowente’s hands.
  • A Dwarf named Skoll delivers the note and claims to be Li Ziran’s servant. Li Ziran rejects him harshly, orders him to leave Hippo Ancient City, and threatens him with death if he returns.
  • Li Ziran uses a strange insect previously given to him by Bowente to enter a series of visions or illusions:
    • He sees Bowente in a green landscape with Ailey and Aimer serving him.
    • He witnesses a dark, arena-like gathering involving a ten-pointed star and black-robed figures.
    • He observes a frozen world controlled by Corpse Witches and puppets, overseen by an image of himself.
    • The visions ultimately lead to a meeting with Bowente.
  • Bowente presents Li Ziran with an “Oath Tablet,” an appointment letter naming him a member of the Dark Council. The tablet symbolizes authority, honor, and official status.
  • Li Ziran demands to know whether Aimer, Iron Hammer, and Emily are being held captive. Bowente confirms their situation indirectly by showing visions of each:
    • Aimer is bound and being tortured.
    • Emily is fleeing from an unseen pursuer.
    • Iron Hammer is weak and imprisoned beneath a Gray Dwarf throne.
  • Bowente then reveals a more disturbing image: Watt, Li Ziran’s teacher, is being dragged into an Inquisition prison.
  • Enraged, Li Ziran attacks the illusion, but it disappears. Bowente explains that Watt is destined to die in the future, though the “river of time” contains possible branches that might allow his survival.
  • Bowente pressures Li Ziran to sign the appointment letter, claiming that becoming a Dark Council member may give him the power to alter these future outcomes.
  • Li Ziran takes the tablet, while Bowente insists that the decision—and Li Ziran’s “attitude”—belongs to him.

2. Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Remains skeptical, proud, and contemptuous of manipulation. He easily sees through Bowente’s theatrical illusions, but his emotional control breaks when Watt’s fate is revealed. His concern for Aimer, Emily, Iron Hammer, and especially Watt exposes his vulnerability. He begins seriously considering an alliance with the Dark Council despite instinctively rejecting coercion.
  • Bowente: Reveals himself as a calculating manipulator who uses visions, future knowledge, and the captivity of Li Ziran’s allies to force compliance. He presents the Dark Council as powerful enough to influence fate while maintaining an outwardly calm and reasonable demeanor.
  • Skoll: Appears gullible and blindly devoted, believing the note’s instructions and attempting to become Li Ziran’s servant. Li Ziran’s rejection leaves him frightened and confused.
  • Aimer, Emily, Iron Hammer, and Watt: Their suffering establishes the extent of Bowente’s leverage over Li Ziran. Watt’s threatened death has the strongest emotional effect.

3. Significant Themes

  • Manipulation and coercion: Bowente disguises a threat as a choice, presenting Li Ziran with the “freedom” to refuse while controlling the circumstances surrounding the decision.
  • Fate versus free will: The discussion of branching timelines raises the possibility that the future is changeable, though only through difficult choices and dangerous alliances.
  • The limits of foresight: Li Ziran mocks the idea that Bowente can perfectly predict the future, but Bowente’s knowledge of possible outcomes still proves dangerous.
  • Power and political entanglement: The Dark Council’s appointment offers authority but also binds Li Ziran to a larger organization whose methods he distrusts.
  • Emotional vulnerability: Although Li Ziran appears detached and superior, the threats against his companions reveal that his relationships can be used against him.
  • Illusion versus reality: The elaborate visions are designed to intimidate, but Li Ziran recognizes them as psychological tricks. Their emotional consequences, however, are real.

4. Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran dismisses Skoll’s attempted servitude and orders him out of the city, emphasizing his hostility toward forced loyalty.
  • Through the insect, Li Ziran confronts Bowente in an illusionary meeting. Their conversation is a contest of composure and manipulation.
  • Bowente refuses to answer Li Ziran directly and instead uses images of Aimer, Emily, Iron Hammer, and Watt to demonstrate his control.
  • Li Ziran challenges Bowente’s motives, accusing him of threatening and playing with fire.
  • Bowente frames the Dark Council appointment as Li Ziran’s own choice, but his warnings about Watt make the coercive nature of the offer clear.
  • The chapter ends with Li Ziran holding the Oath Tablet, caught between rejecting Bowente’s manipulation and accepting the power needed to protect those close to him.
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