Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Li Ziran, You’re Like a Rat That Never Stops Scurrying”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jones admits that he deceived Li Ziran by luring him to the Deep Sea under false pretenses. His real goal is to obtain control of the Elemental Embryo trade for the Demon race.
• Li sends Zhu Ya and Baron away before discussing the deal, both to protect Zhu Ya from Demon-related matters and to keep the negotiation private.
• Jones argues that Demons are the ideal market for Elemental Embryos because they can possess bodies, while only a small number of powerful human Magisters can do so.
• Li rejects Jones’s attempt to monopolize the embryos. He believes the embryos should be distributed among multiple races, especially humans, whose higher standards may help identify and improve their flaws.
• Jones offers Li wealth, status, Demon resources, and even the chance to become an Upper Demon. Li refuses, demanding the Devouring Serpent Stomach as proof of genuine Demon sincerity.
• Jones claims that obtaining the stomach is impossible because the Devouring Serpent is vital to the Abyss Lords’ advancement. He also reveals that Demons are monitoring and guarding the serpent, making Li’s mission extremely dangerous.
• Jones encourages Li to abandon his dangerous search and focus on producing embryos, promising that the Demon race will make him one of the richest and most powerful beings in the world.
• Li rejects this safer path, explaining that wealth alone cannot protect him. Greater value would only attract more predators, so he would rather gain the strength to survive independently.
• Jones gives Li a skull badge that could summon him for assistance, but Li returns it, suspecting that the Demon Lords would kill or exploit him if he failed.
• As the robot approaches the increasingly dangerous Spatial Rifts, Li prepares to continue into the Razorblade Sea. Jones makes one final attempt to pressure him by calling him isolated, suspicious, and incapable of trusting others.
• Li recognizes Jones’s supposed friendship as an attempt to control him. He angrily orders Jones to leave.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran remains cautious, independent, and resistant to manipulation. He values practical proof over promises and refuses to trade away control of the Elemental Embryos without receiving the Devouring Serpent Stomach.
• Li’s ambitions are clarified: he does not merely want wealth or commercial success. He seeks enough personal strength to survive in a dangerous world and refuses to “wait for death” in a protected but dependent position.
• His distrust deepens because of his memories of Hubble, whose contributions to the Demons ultimately led to the destruction of his laboratory and associates. These memories reinforce Li’s belief that no race is inherently trustworthy.
• Jones shifts from apologetic negotiator to threatening manipulator. When persuasion fails, he reveals his desire to control Li and the embryo market. His outward friendliness is exposed as self-interest.
• Zhu Ya shows tact and restraint. Although she distrusts Demons and wants to understand the negotiation, she follows Li’s request and leaves with Baron.
• Hubble’s past indirectly influences Li’s decisions, reminding him that the Demon race destroys or exploits those who become too valuable.

Significant Themes

• Trust versus manipulation: Jones repeatedly calls Li a friend while lying, pressuring, and attempting to control him. Li recognizes that “friendship” can conceal exploitation.
• Independence and survival: Li refuses to rely on a powerful faction for protection. He believes real security comes from possessing the strength to defend himself.
• Value and danger: Becoming wealthy or indispensable does not guarantee safety; extraordinary value can make someone a target for powerful predators.
• Commercial exploitation: The Elemental Embryos represent both scientific opportunity and a source of political and military power. Jones wants to turn Li’s creation into a Demon monopoly, while Li favors wider distribution and experimentation.
• Racial conflict and pragmatism: Despite the ongoing conflict between humans and Demons, Li evaluates both sides according to their usefulness and sincerity rather than blindly supporting one race.
• Freedom versus control: Jones offers resources, status, and protection, but these benefits come at the cost of Li’s autonomy. Li rejects the offer because he refuses to become the Demon race’s controlled supplier.

Character Interactions

• Li and Jones: Their conversation begins as a negotiation but becomes a confrontation. Jones alternates between apology, persuasion, promises, warnings, and veiled threats. Li counters each tactic with skepticism and blunt demands.
• Li and Zhu Ya: Li quietly protects Zhu Ya from witnessing dealings with a Demon, while Zhu Ya respects his judgment despite her curiosity and hostility toward Demons.
• Li and Baron: Baron follows Li’s instructions and escorts Zhu Ya away, supporting Li’s control of the situation.
• Li and the Demon race: Li views the Demons as powerful but untrustworthy. He is willing to negotiate with them only if they provide tangible proof of sincerity.
• Li and Hubble’s legacy: Though Hubble does not appear directly, his fate shapes Li’s distrust and reinforces his refusal to depend on the Demon Lords.

Chapter Summary: Entering the Spatial Rift Cluster

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran travels through the Razorblade Sea in search of the Devouring Serpent, piloting a robot-submarine while the Devouring Serpent guides them through the dangerous waters.
• The sea is filled with hidden Spatial Rifts that behave like invisible blades. They grow denser and more powerful as Li Ziran approaches a vast underwater whirlpool believed to lead toward the Devouring Serpent’s nest.
• The Devouring Serpent uses its body to test and absorb the rifts, which contain rich elemental energy from connected Derivative Spaces. However, this process causes repeated wounds, and stronger “super rifts” threaten to destroy even its shell.
• Li Ziran realizes that brute force and the Devouring Curse are too dangerous in this region. Although the Void Spirit World increases his efficiency, progress remains painfully slow, and time becomes a major concern because the Devouring Serpent may soon lay its eggs and return to the seabed.
• Zhu Ya encourages him to seek help from Jones and the Demons, who may understand how the Devouring Serpent survives in such a hostile environment.
• Li Ziran changes tactics, sensing for lifeforms within the Spatial Rifts rather than simply consuming them. He discovers creatures living inside the rifts and lures one into complacency before capturing it.
• The captured soul unexpectedly knows Li Ziran’s name and claims to be protecting him, warning that the Monarch will kill him if he is devoured.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran is shown as determined, resourceful, and increasingly pressured. His confidence in overcoming every obstacle is challenged by the Spatial Rift Cluster, forcing him to acknowledge that skill and strategy are more valuable than strength alone.
• His regret over driving Jones away reveals his growing awareness that he cannot solve every problem independently.
• Zhu Ya proves herself supportive and perceptive. She notices Li Ziran’s anxiety, attempts to calm him with wine and coffee, and provides the crucial suggestion that the local Demons may possess useful knowledge.
• Jones, though absent, becomes increasingly important because of his local expertise and connection to the Demons.
• The mysterious rift-dwelling soul introduces a new connection to Li Ziran and suggests that powerful figures—particularly the Monarch—are monitoring or protecting him.

Significant Themes

• Brute force versus strategy: Li Ziran’s physical power is insufficient against the complex network of Spatial Rifts, compelling him to adopt a more careful and intelligent approach.
• The danger of the unknown: The dark Deep Sea and invisible rifts create an environment beyond ordinary understanding, emphasizing vulnerability even for powerful beings.
• Time and urgency: Li Ziran’s concern that the Devouring Serpent may complete its objectives before he reaches it adds pressure to the journey.
• Trust and cooperation: Zhu Ya’s advice demonstrates the value of relying on allies and local knowledge instead of isolating oneself.
• Hidden ecosystems and mysteries: The discovery of beings living inside the Spatial Rifts reveals that the rifts are not merely hazards but habitats connected to larger supernatural forces.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Zhu Ya travel together, with Zhu Ya sheltered inside the robot while Li Ziran bears the danger outside.
• Zhu Ya repeatedly tries to ease Li Ziran’s stress and ultimately persuades him to consider seeking Jones’s help.
• Li Ziran’s interaction with the rift-dwelling soul shifts from predation to surprise when the creature identifies him and claims to be his protector, ending the chapter on a significant mystery.

Chapter Summary: “Searching Demon Memories”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran discovers that the small demon monitoring him is one of Jones’s subordinates. Using the Memory Eye, he searches the demon’s memories and learns that Jones had been watching him since he entered Razorblade Sea.
• The surveillance began when hundreds of demons entered the area roughly a month earlier, proving that Jones had likely planned to lure Li Ziran into Razorblade Sea from the beginning.
• Li Ziran learns about the Spatial Mine, a network of stable tunnels connecting fragments of space. These passages were originally created by the vanished Ancient Insect Race and later occupied by demons because they provide safe routes through Razorblade Sea’s dangerous Spatial Rifts.
• He begins hunting Jones’s forces. With Zhu Ya’s assistance, he compresses the surrounding Space Fragments, drives the hidden demons toward the center, seals them, and searches their memories.
• Most of the demons know little beyond following Jones’s orders, but Li Ziran eventually captures a minor leader who reveals the existence of Cross Spaces, stable outposts formed where Space Fragments intersect. These locations often serve as entrances to the Insect Race Tunnels.
• Li Ziran follows the demon’s memories and discovers a fragment junction resembling a large “X.” He continues investigating while devouring Space Fragments and extracting demons hidden inside them.
• One particularly resilient demon attempts to destroy its own soul rather than surrender its memories. Li Ziran restrains it with the Redemption Spell and successfully reads its mind.
• From this valuable memory, Li Ziran sees the enormous Devouring Serpent creating a massive vortex while reproducing. He also learns of the Spatial Core, the fundamental substance left behind when space shatters, located around the vortex.
• The memory reveals that the Devouring Serpent will soon finish reproducing and leave Razorblade Sea. Once it departs, the vortex and the current opportunity to reach the Spatial Core will disappear.
• Realizing he has limited time, Li Ziran heads toward a Cross Point outpost, where demon gatekeepers normally charge travelers for entry into the Insect Race Tunnels.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran becomes increasingly suspicious and distrustful of Jones, recognizing that Jones’s outwardly respectable image concealed a carefully prepared trap.
• His transformation into the Devouring Serpent gives him immense physical power, but he remains reliant on his intelligence, memory-searching abilities, and careful planning.
• Li Ziran demonstrates growing mastery over his abilities: he uses his tongue to capture demons, seals souls with spells, extracts information, and even absorbs energy from nearly empty Space Fragments.
• He becomes more confident and skillful in manipulating souls, particularly through the Redemption Spell.
• Zhu Ya actively supports Li Ziran by herding demons toward him, showing cooperation and tactical coordination.
• Jones is revealed as a calculating local power who has maintained surveillance over Li Ziran and stationed hundreds of demons in preparation for his arrival.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and hidden motives: Jones’s supposed invitation to explore the Abyss’s markets is exposed as a deliberate scheme.
• Knowledge as power: Li Ziran’s ability to read memories allows him to uncover hidden routes, military arrangements, and the secrets of Razorblade Sea.
• Adaptation and survival: Li Ziran uses his new form and abilities to survive an extremely hostile environment while turning its dangers to his advantage.
• Time and opportunity: The impending departure of the Devouring Serpent creates urgency; Li Ziran must act before the vortex and access to the Spatial Core disappear.
• Ancient civilizations and lost knowledge: The Insect Race Tunnels represent remnants of an advanced civilization whose creations are now exploited by demons.
• Control over life and death: The demons’ willingness to destroy their own souls contrasts with Li Ziran’s ability to restrain, preserve, and exploit them for information.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran interrogates Jones’s scout through memory extraction, learning the extent of Jones’s surveillance.
• He works with Zhu Ya to trap and contain the demons stationed throughout Razorblade Sea.
• The demons flee, hide, or attempt self-destruction, but Li Ziran repeatedly captures and seals them.
• His confrontation with the trihedral-souled demon highlights his increasing control over spiritual techniques.
• Although Jones never appears directly, his influence shapes the entire chapter through his surveillance network and hidden preparations.

Li Ziran and his companions navigated the Space Fragments of the Razorblade Sea, where they uncovered and defeated a Time Ghost guarding a hidden route. The Memory Eye revealed a safe path toward a powerful life aura, and Li Ziran prepared for a possible fight with Demon soldiers.

• Li Ziran, Zhu Ya, and Baron entered a stable Space Fragment and began searching for the passage through the Razorblade Sea.
• Li Ziran used Corpse Witches to probe between hidden fragments while Zhu Ya sensed their boundaries and Baron marked their locations.
• The group reached a space containing traces of an array, where void spirits attacked Li Ziran and Zhu Ya.
• Li Ziran found the concealed trap, burned its array with Purification Flame, and removed the Time Ghost's eye from the spatial web.
• Li Ziran destroyed the Time Ghost and used the Memory Eye to reveal a safe route through the Insect Race network.
• Li Ziran sensed living creatures ahead and warned Zhu Ya to prepare to devour the Demon soldiers.

Chapter Summary: “Daughters’ Village”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran follows a spatial map obtained from a minor Time Ghost through the Demon tunnels, seeking the Devouring Serpent’s nest and more valuable Demon memories.
• He enters an extremely compressed spatial region where the pressure destroys flesh, spatial rifts, and even his intermediate-grade tail. The area is saturated with life energy but appears empty.
• After navigating more than a hundred spatial fragments, Li Ziran discovers an obsidian castle populated by humans, Elves, Dwarves, Birdfolk, and other exceptionally beautiful races.
• The castle bears the golden triangular emblem of the Golden Palace, revealing that it belongs to Jones.
• At first, the inhabitants seem like beautiful, untouched slaves preserved from the era of World War II. Li Ziran soon discovers the horrifying truth:
  • Women are imprisoned, stripped of their identities, and forced to produce children.
  • Male slaves are chained and used for reproduction.
  • Many male offspring are killed, while only those useful for continued production are kept alive.
  • Corpses are processed, meat is eaten, and the women carry out these tasks without emotion or resistance.
• Li Ziran realizes that the castle is one of the Golden Palace’s “Slave Pens,” facilities used to manufacture the beautiful female slaves supplied to the Golden Palace’s hotels and other businesses.
• He collects a few physical samples from the remains but recognizes that the enslaved people’s souls have been spiritually ruined by years of captivity.
• After leaving, Li Ziran captures another Time Ghost and obtains memories explaining the organization behind the village.
• He learns that the Golden Palace has created more than fifty such villages in the Insect Race tunnels and that its ruler is known among the Demons as the Golden Overseer.
• The memories also reveal the Shackles Curse, a powerful soul-control spell derived from the Darkness Curse. It forms a contract within the victim’s soul, allowing the caster to control the victim’s every movement like a puppet.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: His initial curiosity about the beautiful races and their biological qualities turns into disgust and alarm once he witnesses their exploitation. He begins to understand the immense scale and sophistication of Jones’s power. The possibility of being similarly controlled makes the horror personal, strengthening his hostility toward the Golden Palace.
• Zhu Ya: She quickly recognizes that the inhabitants have been raised in captivity and are psychologically abnormal, helping Li Ziran interpret what he is seeing.
• Baron: Remains prepared for combat alongside Li Ziran and Zhu Ya, though the chapter focuses more on the discovery than on his actions.
• Jones / the Golden Overseer: Though absent, Jones’s influence becomes clearer. His empire is shown to rely on systematic slavery, reproduction, soul control, and the industrial production of beautiful women.

Significant Themes

• Dehumanization and manufactured obedience: The enslaved women have been conditioned so thoroughly that they regard horrific labor as normal.
• Beauty used as a resource: Physical beauty, rather than individuality or humanity, determines the captives’ value within the Golden Palace’s system.
• Psychological and spiritual destruction: The prisoners have not merely lost their freedom; their souls and identities have been emptied by prolonged control.
• The hidden machinery behind luxury: The Golden Palace’s glamorous reputation is revealed to depend on brutal exploitation concealed in remote slave villages.
• Control and free will: The Shackles Curse symbolizes the complete destruction of autonomy, raising the possibility that anyone—including Li Ziran—could become an obedient tool.
• Moral corruption: The chapter contrasts the apparent paradise of the beautiful castle with the violence, forced reproduction, mutilation, and death sustaining it.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Ziran, Zhu Ya, and Baron travel together through the dangerous spatial region, preparing for possible conflict with Demon forces.
• Zhu Ya voices the key observation that the inhabitants appear to have been bred and raised in captivity, confirming Li Ziran’s suspicions.
• Li Ziran’s interaction with the first Time Ghost provides the map leading to the castle, while his later capture of another Time Ghost reveals the Slave Pens, the Golden Overseer, and the Shackles Curse.
• The silent interactions between the enslaved women and chained men demonstrate the extent of their conditioning: the women perform reproductive and corpse-processing labor mechanically, while the men are treated as restrained breeding tools.

Li Ziran reached the Spatial Core entanglement belt and saw the Devouring Serpent’s immense black-hole vortex, realizing that reaching the creature was far harder than he had expected. He decided to infiltrate the Golden Palace’s research institute by possessing a body made to resemble Jones, and set his sights on the dusky-red Spatial Core where the institute stood.

• Li Ziran passed Moon Elf villages marked by the Golden Palace, but stopped Zhu Ya from intervening to help their captives.
• Li Ziran and his companions crossed the fragile outer passages and reached the Spatial Core entanglement belt.
• Li Ziran saw the black-hole-like center of the vortex and the enormous Devouring Serpent, then recognized that approaching it directly was beyond his current ability.
• Li Ziran recalled the demons’ research into the Devouring Serpent and devised a plan to infiltrate their research institute.
• Li Ziran possessed an advanced embryo made to resemble Jones and identified the dusky-red Spatial Core as the likely location of the institute.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran, Zhu Ya, and Baron must escape the dangerous vortex of spinning Spatial Cores. To survive, they transfer their souls into artificial Elemental Embryo bodies, though Zhu Ya initially resists possessing another body.
• Baron persuades Zhu Ya to comply, warning that Li Ziran may abandon her if she delays. Zhu Ya ultimately chooses possession because she values her emotional connection with Li Ziran more than her discomfort with the process.
• Zhu Ya discovers that her new body is an extraordinarily advanced artificial creation: a living elemental weapon capable of operating at immense power and even casting forbidden spells with sufficient elemental energy.
• Li Ziran navigates the Spatial Cores by transforming into a Devouring Serpent and using its devouring force to anchor nearby cores. The dangerous transfers injure him but successfully carry the group toward the vortex’s center.
• Li Ziran discovers a gigantic bone passage connecting the Spatial Cores. It leads to a reddish-brown plaza that appears to be part of a secret Demon laboratory.
• The laboratory contains sophisticated magical instruments, cages, Element Stones, and numerous Elven-bodied Demons. A broken section of the plaza opens onto a calm region filled with young Devouring Serpents.
• Li Ziran realizes the site belongs to the Golden Palace and that the Demons have been raising or studying Devouring Serpents. The laboratory is powered by vast quantities of Element Stones, creating an extremely rich elemental environment.
• A young horned serpent emerges and coils affectionately around Li Ziran. Its presence activates the Devouring Serpent imprint in his soul, forcing him to transform completely into a massive Devouring Serpent.
• The surrounding Demons react with terror and retreat. The chapter ends when the young serpent communicates its first word to Li Ziran: “Dad!”

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Reveals an increasingly cold, ruthless, and highly practiced side while navigating possession and the Spatial Cores. His mastery over transformations and spatial movement demonstrates his immense ability. He also discovers that his connection to the Devouring Serpents may be deeper than expected.
• Zhu Ya: Moves from disgust and moral resistance toward reluctant acceptance of possession. Her admiration for Li Ziran’s craftsmanship grows when she realizes the quality of the Elemental Embryo. Despite his emotional distance, his determination and ability give her a renewed sense of security.
• Baron: Shows pragmatism and opportunism. He readily possesses a new body because he values Li Ziran’s potential rewards—especially the possibility of gaining wealth through the embryo market—more than his discomfort with the method.
• The young Devouring Serpent: Appears unusually affectionate and intelligent. Its instinctive recognition of Li Ziran as “Dad” suggests he may be its creator, parent, or spiritual origin.

Significant Themes

• Identity and embodiment: Soul possession raises questions about whether a person’s identity lies in the soul, body, or emotional connections.
• Creation and parenthood: Li Ziran’s artificial embryos and the young Devouring Serpent blur the boundaries between inventor, creator, and parent.
• Power and exploitation: The laboratory treats living creatures and artificial bodies as experimental resources, reflecting the militarization of life and magic.
• Trust amid danger: Zhu Ya’s willingness to follow Li Ziran despite his coldness shows her dependence on their emotional bond and her growing trust in his abilities.
• Hidden nature and revelation: Li Ziran’s detached behavior hints at a more frightening true nature, while the laboratory reveals that his creations and the Devouring Serpents are connected to a much larger secret.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran pressures Zhu Ya to possess a new body, while Baron privately reinforces that she must not obstruct him.
• Zhu Ya struggles emotionally with Li Ziran’s coldness but remains attached to him through their Soul Weaving.
• Li Ziran and Baron cooperate during the perilous jumps between Spatial Cores, with Baron relying heavily on Li Ziran’s guidance.
• Zhu Ya admires Li Ziran after seeing the sophistication of his Elemental Embryos, even though he barely acknowledges her concerns.
• The young Devouring Serpent’s affectionate contact with Li Ziran triggers his transformation and culminates in the startling declaration, “Dad!”

Chapter Summary: “Devouring Serpent Hatchling”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran’s Transformation Spell unexpectedly traps him in the form of a Devouring Serpent. Upon appearing inside a Spatial Core, he is treated as a sacred ruler by the resident Demons, who worship him rather than resist.
• By consuming a Demon and examining its memories, Li Ziran learns that Devouring Serpents periodically descend into the Spatial Core to consume these beings. In return, the Demons receive valuable Spatial Crystals. Their role is essentially to serve as sacrificial “toys” or quarry.
• Li Ziran discovers that the Demons also assist newly born Devouring Serpents. Hatchlings must cross a vacuum layer, shed their first skins, and have the grime removed from their bodies so they can continue shedding and eventually withstand the Deep Sea’s pressure. Their discarded skins are valuable treasures.
• A newborn Devouring Serpent is present in the Spatial Core. Li Ziran recognizes that its youthful ignorance makes it vulnerable and sees an opportunity to approach its internal organs and obtain the precious stomach hidden beneath its outer body.
• Rather than attack the hatchling directly, Li Ziran uses Frog Transformation to turn Demons into frogs. The hatchling’s instincts are immediately awakened, and it begins hunting and devouring them.
• Li Ziran repeatedly creates and manipulates frogs, using exaggerated movements and carefully timed appearances to train and lure the hatchling away from the vortex’s center. He plans to lead it out of the Spatial Core, through the Razorblade Sea, and capture it using his Sealing, Redemption, and Frog Transformation spells.
• At the boundary of the Spatial Core, the hatchling suddenly stops, apparently restrained by the will of an older Devouring Serpent at the vortex’s center. Li Ziran encourages it telepathically, calling himself “Daddy” and urging it to follow him.
• The hatchling finally chases a frog, but the frog slips away from its jaws, leaving Li Ziran’s plan uncertain.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran adapts quickly to his bizarre situation. He moves from confusion to calculated exploitation, using the Demons’ memories to understand the Spatial Core and identify the hatchling’s weaknesses.
• He demonstrates increasing cunning and patience, choosing psychological manipulation and instinctive baiting over a direct confrontation with the hatchling’s extremely durable body.
• Li Ziran also shows a manipulative, almost parental approach toward the hatchling, using affection and the promise of food to influence it while secretly intending to capture it.
• The Devouring Serpent Hatchling is revealed to be newly born, instinct-driven, and innocent. It rapidly learns to hunt by imitating Li Ziran and becomes increasingly skilled and eager. However, it remains dependent on instinct and is still influenced by the will of the older serpent.
• Zhu Ya becomes increasingly uncomfortable with Li Ziran’s methods. She recognizes the Demons’ helplessness and feels sympathy for them, contrasting her moral unease with Li Ziran’s practical focus.

Significant Themes

• Power and exploitation: The Demons worship the Devouring Serpents but are ultimately treated as expendable resources, highlighting the cruelty of hierarchical power.
• Instinct versus intelligence: The hatchling’s natural predatory impulses are contrasted with Li Ziran’s strategic manipulation of those impulses.
• Deception and control: Li Ziran turns appearances, transformations, and emotional influence into tools for controlling both the Demons and the hatchling.
• Moral conflict: Zhu Ya’s distress raises questions about whether survival and opportunity justify turning living beings into playthings and bait.
• Innocence corrupted by environment: The hatchling begins as an ignorant, adorable creature but is quickly taught to enjoy pursuit and slaughter.

Important Character Interactions

• The Demons worship and submit to Li Ziran, allowing themselves to be consumed because they are accustomed to serving Devouring Serpents.
• Li Ziran observes and imitates the hatchling’s behavior, then deliberately teaches it to hunt frogs.
• The hatchling repeatedly copies Li Ziran, treating him as a model and source of stimulation.
• Zhu Ya silently judges Li Ziran’s cruelty and feels pity for the transformed Demons, creating tension between her moral perspective and his ruthless strategy.
• Li Ziran attempts to influence the hatchling directly through its soul, presenting himself as a protective “father” while guiding it toward a trap.
• The older Devouring Serpent exerts a restraining will over the hatchling, becoming the main obstacle to Li Ziran’s plan.

Chapter Summary: “Treasure in Hand”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran continues luring the Devouring Serpent Hatchling through the spatial vortex using frogs, Corpse Witches, and carefully arranged distractions. He repeatedly blocks its view of the vortex’s center so it will not detect the true route.
• He allows the hatchling to catch and consume a frog, using Corpse Witches and Void Spirits to study its mouth, saliva, chewing strength, and internal structure. The saliva is highly corrosive, destroying a Void Spirit in seconds.
• To draw the hatchling farther through the spatial-fragment tunnel, Li Ziran deploys a Giant Frog made from an Ogre’s corpse. The hatchling follows it into dangerous spatial passages, while Li Ziran narrowly avoids being swallowed several times.
• Li Ziran realizes how powerful the hatchling is and resolves to escape with it to the Red Soil Continent, where he believes greater powers may protect him from adult Devouring Serpents.
• After passing Daughters’ Village and traveling halfway through the tunnel, Li Ziran transforms the village into a “frog paradise” to renew the hatchling’s interest. The hatchling follows the Giant Frog out of the densest spatial rifts.
• Once the hatchling reaches the outer area, Li Ziran springs his trap. The Giant Frog’s body produces an unusual sensation that disrupts the hatchling, allowing Li Ziran to bind it with a golden Cross formed by the Sealing Spell.
• The hatchling’s resistance is gradually broken by strange buzzing sounds and invasive flames that disperse its consciousness. Its serpent body is transformed into a small, human-sized frog-like form.
• Li Ziran celebrates capturing it, intending to dissect it and extract its stomach. He believes the Devouring Serpent’s stomach will allow him to extract elements from matter and recreate organs or even resurrect extinct species such as the Elves.
• When Li Ziran orders Baron and Zhu Ya to help transport the captured creature, Zhu Ya hesitates after realizing the “villagers” were human embryos or children and that the hatchling called Li Ziran “Father.”
• Zhu Ya refuses to help directly and enters the Teleportation Array instead. Li Ziran dismisses her moral concerns and prepares to leave with the transformed hatchling.

Character Development

• Li Ziran demonstrates increasing confidence and ingenuity. He carefully combines experimentation, manipulation, transformation magic, and spatial knowledge to capture a creature vastly stronger than himself.
• His scientific curiosity becomes increasingly ruthless. He treats the hatchling as a specimen and views its stomach as valuable biological equipment rather than part of a living being.
• The Devouring Serpent Hatchling is portrayed as curious, instinctive, and easily motivated by food. It develops fear and confusion when its body and identity are transformed, crying out for its “father” as it loses control of its consciousness.
• Zhu Ya becomes more openly disturbed by Li Ziran’s actions. Her compassion conflicts with her awareness that the mission is dangerous and that Li Ziran’s arguments about survival are partly valid.
• Baron remains loyal and enthusiastic, eagerly helping with the escape and showing no visible hesitation about the plan.

Significant Themes

• Scientific ambition versus morality: Li Ziran’s experiments produce valuable knowledge but involve torture, exploitation, and mass death.
• The dehumanization of living beings: The hatchling, embryos, Corpse Witches, and villagers are all reduced to tools, bait, or raw materials.
• Survival and predation: Li Ziran justifies his actions by comparing them to natural predators, arguing that living creatures instinctively exploit weaker beings.
• Manipulation and control: The hatchling is guided through the vortex by carefully staged rewards and challenges before being magically bound and physically transformed.
• Parental and familial distortion: The hatchling calls Li Ziran “Father,” creating an unsettling contrast between its dependence and Li Ziran’s intention to dissect it.
• Moral isolation: Zhu Ya’s discomfort emphasizes how far Li Ziran has moved from ordinary ethical concerns.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran repeatedly manipulates the hatchling’s attention with frogs, using its hunger and curiosity to control its movements.
• He collaborates with Baron and Zhu Ya to transport the captured creature, but Zhu Ya’s moral objections create the chapter’s main interpersonal conflict.
• Zhu Ya challenges Li Ziran over the destruction of the village and the treatment of the hatchling as a child. Li Ziran rejects her objections, prioritizing speed, survival, and the scientific value of the Devouring Serpent’s stomach.
• The chapter ends with Li Ziran and Zhu Ya emotionally divided: he remains focused on extraction and escape, while she withdraws from helping and silently condemns his actions.

Chapter Summary: “Dissecting the Devouring Serpent Hatchling”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Baron pilots the robot through the unstable Deep Sea toward Red Sun Outpost, while Li Ziran prepares to remove the Devouring Serpent hatchling’s stomach before the adult serpent can locate them.
• Li Ziran converts the hatchling into frog form using Devouring Serpent Transformation and transports it into his laboratory. He meticulously prepares anesthetics, Revival Potions, surgical tools, sterilization measures, and an artificial replacement stomach to keep the hatchling alive.
• Attempts to cut through the hatchling’s outer hide fail because its skin is extraordinarily resistant to blades and corrosive substances. Li Ziran therefore enters through its throat, where the internal tissues are more vulnerable.
• He collects the hatchling’s highly corrosive saliva and uses a miniature puppet operated by Void Spirits to explore its internal anatomy. The puppet successfully locates and maps the stomach.
• Tiny puppet surgeons and Corpse Witches carefully sever the stomach’s blood vessels, nerves, and surrounding tissue. Despite being nervous because of the organ’s value, Li Ziran completes the operation.
• He reaches into the hatchling’s throat and pulls out the black, bread-shaped Devouring Serpent Stomach. Although its ordinary appearance makes him uneasy, he confirms that it is the correct organ and prepares to implant it.
• Zhu Ya unexpectedly enters the laboratory and is horrified by the blood-covered scene: the hatchling is restrained on the operating table, its tongue pinned down, and its removed stomach dripping blood.
• Zhu Ya condemns Li Ziran for dissecting a hatchling. He dismisses her objections, insists that the hatchling will survive, and angrily orders her to leave and respect the laboratory’s rules.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran demonstrates extreme surgical skill, preparation, and resourcefulness. He combines alchemy, Puppet Art, Void Spirits, and Corpse Witches to perform an unprecedented operation.
• His determination to obtain the stomach reveals both desperation and ambition. He is exhausted by his current condition and believes the organ may allow him to cultivate a suitable embryo.
• Li Ziran’s emotional detachment becomes more apparent. He views the hatchling primarily as a valuable biological specimen and reacts with confusion rather than guilt to Zhu Ya’s outrage.
• Baron remains a practical support figure, operating the robot and providing updates without interfering substantially in the surgery.
• Zhu Ya reveals a strong moral or emotional attachment to the hatchling. Her disgust and anger expose a sharp contrast between her values and Li Ziran’s ruthless pragmatism.

Significant Themes

• Scientific ambition versus morality: Li Ziran treats a living hatchling as an experimental subject, raising questions about whether survival and progress justify cruelty.
• The danger of emotional detachment: His clinical efficiency allows him to succeed, but it also alienates Zhu Ya and makes him appear cold-blooded.
• Control over nature: Through surgery, magic, puppetry, and alchemy, Li Ziran attempts to appropriate one of the Devouring Serpent’s most powerful organs.
• Appearance versus value: The stomach looks plain and ordinary despite being described as an exceptionally valuable organ, suggesting that true power may be hidden beneath an unremarkable exterior.
• Rules and boundaries: Li Ziran insists on control over his laboratory and work, while Zhu Ya challenges his authority and the ethics of what he is doing.

Character Interactions

• Baron briefly interrupts Li Ziran to report that they have escaped Razorblade Sea and that the Devouring Serpent has not pursued them, reassuring Li Ziran that the operation can continue safely.
• Li Ziran works with the Void Spirits and Corpse Witches as extensions of his will, relying on their precision and lack of emotion to complete the surgery.
• Zhu Ya confronts Li Ziran after witnessing the operation. Her moral condemnation clashes with his pragmatic response, ending the chapter with Li Ziran asserting authority and ordering her out of the laboratory.

Chapter Summary: “This Stomach Couldn't Be Fake”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhu Ya is horrified when Li Ziran cuts into a Devouring Serpent hatchling without hesitation. She accuses him of being emotionally empty and says he has abandoned all moral feeling.
• Their conflict deepens despite their previous Soul Weaving, which had made Zhu Ya believe they were spiritually connected. She leaves him, returning to Red Sun Outpost through the Teleportation Array.
• Li Ziran dismisses her departure and orders Baron not to follow her, prioritizing his operation over their relationship.
• With the Corpse Witch’s assistance, Li successfully removes his own stomach and replaces it with the stomach of a Devouring Serpent. The surgery initially appears successful, and the organ integrates naturally into his body.
• He tests the new stomach by eating leaves from the Life Ancient Tree, hoping it will break them down into useful elements—especially the rare Bo Element, which may enhance vitality and help him create a stronger body.
• Instead of producing elemental energy, the new stomach causes severe nausea, vomiting, and pain. Li opens his abdomen again and discovers that the organ is filled with gastric fluid, leaf residue, and poisonous vapor.
• He realizes that the organ is effectively useless: although it came from a genuine Devouring Serpent, it never developed the species’ special digestive ability.
• Despite his disappointment, Li recognizes that he successfully escaped the spatial vortex and still possesses the Devouring Serpent hatchling’s body. He decides to investigate the mystery more carefully and seeks Jones’s help.

2. Character Developments

• Li Ziran: His ruthless pragmatism becomes more apparent. He values survival and progress over compassion, though Zhu Ya’s criticism unsettles him more than he admits. His failure with the transplanted stomach humbles him and forces him to acknowledge that he does not understand the Deep Sea or the Devouring Serpent fully. Nevertheless, his determination remains intact.
• Zhu Ya: She experiences a major loss of faith in Li. Her belief that Soul Weaving created a deep bond between them collapses when she witnesses his treatment of the hatchling. She chooses her moral principles and independence over staying beside him.
• Baron: He remains loyal and obedient, concerned about Zhu Ya’s departure but ultimately following Li’s instructions.
• Jones: He does not appear directly, but Li now recognizes him as a potentially necessary guide and source of knowledge.

3. Significant Themes

• Morality versus survival: Zhu Ya condemns Li’s cruelty, while Li argues internally that the harsh world leaves little room for mercy.
• Emotional alienation: The chapter contrasts Zhu Ya’s compassion with Li’s calculated mindset, raising questions about whether survival has stripped him of ordinary human feeling.
• The limits of control and knowledge: Li believes he has carefully planned his operation, but the failed transplant reveals how much he still does not understand.
• Persistence after failure: Although humiliated and discouraged, Li turns failure into a new plan rather than abandoning his objective.
• Appearance versus reality: The organ looks genuine and comes from a real Devouring Serpent, yet it lacks the function Li needs—showing that physical authenticity does not guarantee true usefulness.

4. Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Zhu Ya: They have a bitter confrontation over the hatchling’s treatment. Zhu Ya accuses Li of having no feelings, while Li attempts to remain calm and asks her to leave so he can explain later. She refuses, declares their relationship over, and departs.
• Li Ziran and Baron: Baron reports Zhu Ya’s departure and asks whether he should follow her. Li coldly tells him not to interfere and orders him to remain in the laboratory.
• Li Ziran and the Corpse Witch: The Corpse Witch performs the stomach transplantation and later assists Li in examining the failed organ. Its lack of emotion makes it an ideal surgical tool.
• Li Ziran and Jones: At the end of the chapter, Li decides to contact Jones, recognizing that he needs an experienced guide to understand the Deep Sea and the Devouring Serpent’s biology.

Chapter Summary: “The Root Cause of the Failed Transplant”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran reflects on the failed attempt to extract and transplant the Devouring Serpent’s stomach. Zhu Ya has left angrily, and Li is troubled because he cannot identify the procedure’s exact cause of failure.
• Although the Devouring Serpent’s gestation is nearing its final stage, Li refuses to abandon the mission. He decides to seek help from Jones rather than return to the Red Soil Continent or accept failure.
• Jones arrives and examines the captured Devouring Serpent hatchling. He explains that Li’s failure occurred because the hatchling’s stomach had not yet evolved.
• Devouring Serpent hatchlings must undergo multiple molts and consume spatial fragments to develop the special stomach capable of acquiring unique elements. Li’s specimen had molted twice but had not begun consuming spatial fragments.
• Jones says extracting a stomach from a mature Devouring Serpent is impossible, but obtaining one from a specially qualified hatchling may be possible.
• In exchange for his assistance, Jones demands five million Elemental Embryos, an enormous price that would consume a large portion of the available elemental resources.
• Jones proposes that Li obtain a superior hatchling by having his soul seize control of one. He reveals that he has an outpost near the Spatial Core where hatchlings can supposedly be lured and possessed.
• Li realizes Jones is concealing important information: Devouring Serpents can profoundly influence or transform souls, potentially causing a person to lose their identity and become convinced they are a serpent.
• Rather than expose his suspicion directly, Li attempts to force Jones into sharing the danger. He asks Jones to accompany him into the serpent nest, arguing that their deal requires mutual trust and that Jones, as a Demon skilled in soul-seizing techniques, should participate personally.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Becomes more determined and self-critical after the failure. He recognizes that giving up would make surrender habitual, so he chooses to continue despite uncertainty. He also demonstrates increased caution and strategic thinking, identifying Jones’s omissions and using “risk sharing” to protect himself.
• Jones: Reveals his extensive knowledge of Devouring Serpent biology and his interest in Li as a valuable resource for the Golden Palace. He presents himself as helpful but remains manipulative and secretive, demanding an excessive payment while withholding the dangers of soul seizure.
• Zhu Ya: Though absent, her recent departure continues to affect Li emotionally. Li misses the comfort and trust they shared, even while acknowledging that her absence gives him greater freedom to act.
• Baron: Briefly appears as a polite attendant who informs Li of Jones’s arrival.

Significant Themes

• Persistence versus surrender: Li views failure as dangerous because repeatedly giving up can become a habit. Survival depends on continuing to search for solutions.
• Trust and mutual suspicion: Li and Jones recognize that neither truly trusts the other. Their cooperation is based on calculated benefit rather than friendship.
• The cost of opportunity: Jones’s solution may offer Li a chance to succeed, but the price—five million Elemental Embryos—is almost impossibly high.
• Identity and transformation: Soul seizure raises the danger of losing one’s humanity. The Devouring Serpents do not merely control bodies; they can alter the structure of a soul and reshape a person’s mind.
• Knowledge as power: Understanding the serpent’s biological development explains Li’s failed transplant and gives Jones leverage in negotiating with him.

Important Character Interactions

• Li and Jones engage in a tense negotiation over the failed transplant. Jones explains the biological reason for the failure, while Li tests whether Jones can offer a practical alternative.
• Jones proposes possessing a hatchling to obtain a superior Devouring Serpent body, but Li detects that Jones is withholding information about the psychological dangers.
• Li counters Jones’s manipulation by insisting that Jones accompany him into the serpent nest. This forces Jones to share the risk and establishes a demand for sincerity before Li agrees to provide the five million embryos.

Chapter Summary: “Sincerity?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jones recognizes that Li Ziran’s offer of five million embryos is suspiciously generous. He realizes Li Ziran must have great confidence in the Embryo Factory and begins considering how to control him permanently.
• Jones decides that the Shackles Curse would be the best method, but he cannot use it without first creating an opportunity to penetrate Li Ziran’s soul.
• To impress Jones and provide an initial bargaining benefit, Li Ziran reveals his Embryo Factory. The facility is enormous, filled with master-level Corpse Witches who manufacture powerful elemental organs through highly advanced and mysterious methods.
• Jones is deeply shocked by the factory’s capabilities. He concludes that Li Ziran is an extraordinary asset whose technology could allow a Demon force to rise rapidly and dominate the world.
• Li Ziran gives Jones an initial batch of ten thousand embryos, promising additional shipments every month. Jones accepts without bargaining and immediately takes the embryos toward the Deep Sea.
• Jones and Li Ziran travel through an unfamiliar Spatial tunnel and reach an Encircling Belt of Spatial Cores surrounding a black hole. The belt contains a deadly blue “Silent Zone” that corrodes and freezes Space Fragments.
• Jones explains that Devouring Serpent eggs hatch inside the black hole. The newborn snakes must escape on their own, shedding their embryonic coverings and gradually developing scales, magical markings, and eventually the stomach needed to digest Space Fragments.
• Li Ziran notices a promising young serpent with early Devouring Stripes, but Jones claims it cannot evolve before the hatchlings return to the Abyss in three days.
• Jones tells Li Ziran that the only way to find what he wants is to enter the dangerous blue belt and search among the hatchlings. He warns him about the hatchlings’ cannibalism and the lethal Space Fragments.
• Jones secretly enters the belt first, intending to use the hatchlings and surrounding hazards to create a trap for Li Ziran.
• Li Ziran follows but discovers that the blue belt is extraordinarily dangerous: even the tip of his tail is burned away upon contact. Nevertheless, he remains determined to find a way inside.

Character Developments

• Jones: Becomes increasingly distrustful and calculating. His interest in Li Ziran changes from opportunistic cooperation to a firm desire for domination. He sees Li Ziran’s technology as a world-changing treasure and plans to use the dangerous environment to implant the Shackles Curse or otherwise eliminate him.
• Li Ziran: Demonstrates confidence, generosity, and considerable technological power through the Embryo Factory. He remains unaware of Jones’s betrayal and continues treating the mission as a straightforward cooperative venture. His determination is emphasized when he refuses to retreat despite the destructive power of the Silent Zone.
• The Devouring Serpent hatchlings: Are presented as developing creatures with varying levels of evolution. Their growth depends on surviving the black hole, shedding their skins, consuming their own kind, and developing the special stomach required to become true Devouring Serpents.

Significant Themes

• Sincerity versus manipulation: The chapter questions whether cooperation can ever be genuine when both parties are pursuing hidden advantages. Jones speaks of “sincerity” while secretly planning betrayal.
• Power and control: Li Ziran’s technology makes him too valuable to leave independent, prompting Jones to seek magical domination rather than mutual trust.
• Technological and biological advancement: The Embryo Factory represents a revolutionary form of organ creation that surpasses conventional surgery and could transform the balance of power across the world.
• Dangerous evolution: The Devouring Serpents’ development reflects a harsh natural order based on survival, cannibalism, and adaptation.
• Ignorance and hidden threats: Li Ziran believes he is entering a dangerous search mission, while Jones knows he is being lured into a carefully prepared trap.

Character Interactions

• Jones and Li Ziran negotiate over embryo production, with Jones testing Li Ziran’s intentions and Li Ziran offering ten thousand embryos as an immediate concession.
• Li Ziran reveals the Embryo Factory to prove the value of his work, while Jones silently reassesses him as a potential world-shaping threat.
• During their journey, Jones acts as a guide and explains the Devouring Serpents’ life cycle, but deliberately withholds his true intentions.
• Jones encourages Li Ziran to enter the deadly blue belt, presenting it as the only route to their goal while secretly planning to exploit the environment against him.
• The chapter ends with Li Ziran facing the first physical obstacle of the mission and preparing to devise a way through it, still unaware that Jones is his real enemy.

Chapter Summary: “Possession and Devouring”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jones repeatedly attempts to enter the Azure Encircling Belt surrounding Blue Lake, but the Transformation Spell’s serpent body is destroyed by the domain’s corrosive power. He urges Li Ziran to reach the belt’s center, where the purest Space Fragments and strongest Devouring Serpent hatchlings can be found.
• Li Ziran realizes that his transformed body is too weak to survive the lake. Instead of relying on his artificial shell, he decides to possess a genuine Devouring Serpent hatchling.
• Using a Frog transformation to lure hatchlings from the lake, Li Ziran captures two low-level serpents. He seals and destroys their souls, then transfers his own soul into one of their bodies.
• Corpse Witches transplant Li Ziran’s useful organs—including his resurrection-capable gallbladder—into the new serpent body. He then devours the Corpse Witches and enters Blue Lake.
• Inside the lake, Li Ziran discovers that Space Fragments are stripped down into tiny Spatial Crystals, which can help Devouring Serpents evolve. Before he can claim one, a much larger serpent steals it and attacks him.
• Li Ziran’s Sealing Spell and Shapeshifting Curse fail within the lake because the Spatial Serpent’s black-hole-like force disrupts his spiritual power and magic. The giant serpent bites his throat and nearly overwhelms him.
• He releases Corpse Witches as a distraction, then uses his serpent body to constrict the attacker. Despite severe pain and exhaustion, he snaps its throat and swallows it.
• Devouring the larger serpent heals Li Ziran’s wounds and triggers the formation of scales, signaling that he has completed his third shedding and is progressing toward becoming a true Devouring Serpent.
• Ending the chapter, Li Ziran attacks another newly arrived hatchling, using his newly learned throat-crushing technique to continue growing stronger.

Character Development

• Li Ziran becomes more adaptable and pragmatic. He abandons his attachment to his self-created body and recognizes that possessing a true Devouring Serpent is essential for survival.
• His willingness to destroy souls, transplant organs, consume allies or servants, and devour rivals shows his increasingly ruthless survival instinct.
• He begins mastering the Devouring Serpent’s natural abilities, particularly constriction and predatory combat, rather than depending entirely on spells.
• His progress toward scales and future runes marks an important evolutionary stage and brings him closer to his goal of reaching the stronger hatchlings at the center of the Encircling Belt.
• Jones acts as an experienced guide, understanding the structure of the Encircling Belt and the conditions required to produce a true Devouring Serpent, though he disappears before Li Ziran can seek further help.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation and evolution: Survival requires Li Ziran to change bodies, adopt the biology of his enemies, and evolve through devouring.
• Predation and competition: The hatchlings instinctively consume one another, establishing Blue Lake as a brutal ecosystem where strength determines survival.
• Possession and identity: Li Ziran’s soul can occupy and transform other bodies, raising the distinction between his consciousness and his physical form.
• Magic versus innate power: His spells prove unreliable in the lake, while the Devouring Serpent’s natural body and instincts become more valuable.
• Preparation and survival: Li Ziran preserves his resurrection organ and carefully prepares for the dangers of the lake, demonstrating that survival depends on foresight as much as strength.

Character Interactions

• Jones and Li Ziran: Jones pressures Li Ziran to enter the lake and explains that the best evolutionary resources lie at the Encircling Belt’s center.
• Li Ziran and the hatchlings: He manipulates, possesses, and devours them, treating them as both tools and sources of evolution.
• Li Ziran and the Corpse Witches: The witches perform his organ transplantation before being consumed once their usefulness ends.
• Li Ziran and the giant serpent: Their confrontation becomes a contest of endurance. Though the larger serpent initially has the advantage, Li Ziran uses distraction and constriction to kill it.
• Li Ziran and the newborn hatchlings: By the end, he has fully embraced the role of predator, immediately hunting weaker serpents to accelerate his evolution.

Li Ziran hunted Devouring Serpent Hatchlings to strengthen his stomach before they descended into the Abyss, while Jones secretly planned to ensnare him. A Spatial Crystal sparked a battle that left three hatchlings with connected markings alive, giving Li Ziran several possible targets.

• Li Ziran lured a cautious hatchling with a Spatial Crystal, immobilized it with anesthetic, and devoured it to evolve his stomach.
• Li Ziran and Jones watched the hatchlings in the blue-black region, weighing Number 13 and Number 5 as potential targets while planning to use a Spatial Crystal and anesthetic for an ambush.
• Jones concealed a sapphire-blue crystal and considered how to lure Li Ziran into a Shackles Curse trap.
• Li Ziran devoured another serpent and completed his shedding, but realized he had only one day before the hatchlings descended into the Abyss.
• A dazzling blue Space Fragment pierced into the blue-black region, and three hours of fighting left only Numbers 2, 3, and 11 alive, their markings connected.

Li Ziran and Jones fought Number Two among the Devouring Serpents, but Jones secretly hoped the struggle would exhaust Li Ziran so he could invade his soul. After Number Three devoured their defeated opponent, Jones drew its attention with a Spatial Crystal, and Li Ziran spotted another serpent approaching as the danger mounted.

• Li Ziran and Jones entered the blue-and-black belt to approach the three Devouring Serpents, and Jones directed Li Ziran toward Number Three.
• Number Two attacked Jones, and Li Ziran rammed it while Jones broke free and urged him to coil around its throat.
• Jones used the Shackles Curse to freeze Number Two, while Li Ziran tightened his coils and fought to subdue it.
• Jones secretly relaxed his restraint to let Li Ziran weaken, but Li Ziran continued holding on until Number Two's resistance faded.
• Jones displayed his Spatial Crystal, attracting Number Three, which swallowed Number Two as Li Ziran escaped.
• Jones warned Li Ziran that Number Three had targeted them, and Li Ziran noticed another Devouring Serpent had spotted him.

Chapter Summary: “This Was... a Trap?”

Plot Points and Major Events

• Li Ziran finds himself trapped between two powerful Devouring Serpents and decides he must capture one of them to fulfill his objective.
• He approaches Jones and asks him to create an opening, claiming he can restrain one serpent. Jones instead uses the Spatial Crystal in his mouth to lure the serpent toward them.
• Li Ziran coils around the evolved serpent, but it proves far stronger than expected and begins crushing him. Jones deliberately delays helping, waiting to see how far Li Ziran can endure.
• The serpent eventually swallows Li Ziran completely. However, Li Ziran’s Resurrection Spell activates, recreating his body from a point of light. Jones realizes that the Witch Doctor possesses humanity’s supposedly sacred resurrection ability.
• Li Ziran immediately returns to the fight and restrains the serpent. Jones finally intervenes, helping kill it and swallowing it whole.
• Consuming the serpent triggers Jones’s evolution. His body develops connected magical patterns, and his stomach begins transforming so that it can absorb the special energy and nutrients of the blue-black region. He moves closer to becoming a true Devouring Serpent.
• Jones considers betraying and controlling Li Ziran once Li Ziran becomes vulnerable after shedding his scales, but Li Ziran’s strangely trusting behavior and the appearance of the final marked serpent, Number 11, make him hesitate.
• Li Ziran and Jones pursue Number 11 toward the black hole’s edge. Li Ziran is unable to approach because the pressure damages him, while Jones remains unaffected.
• Number 11 suddenly attacks Li Ziran. The two serpents become entangled, and Li Ziran is nearly overwhelmed.
• Li Ziran unleashes a powerful soul attack, causing Number 11 severe internal agony and beginning to reverse the battle.
• Fearing that Li Ziran will kill and possibly consume Number 11—thereby gaining more power—Jones rushes in to take the serpent for himself.
• However, Number 11 suddenly coils around Jones. Li Ziran escapes and reveals that he had deliberately engineered the situation. Jones realizes too late that the entire confrontation may have been a trap.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Demonstrates extreme resilience, tactical patience, and a hidden trump card through the Resurrection Spell. His soul attack reveals that he is far more dangerous than his physical condition suggests. By allowing Jones to believe he was vulnerable, he appears to manipulate Jones into exposing himself.
• Jones: Evolves significantly after swallowing the first serpent, developing toward a true Devouring Serpent and gaining increased confidence in his future power. His ambitions expand from merely surviving to controlling Li Ziran, commanding the Demon Legion, and potentially surpassing the monarch tier. His greed and desire for evolution cause him to act impulsively.
• Number 11: Is revealed to be one of the most advanced Devouring Serpents, with a partially transformed stomach and body patterns similar to Jones’s. It is powerful enough to threaten both Li Ziran and Jones, though Li Ziran’s soul attack can damage it.

Significant Themes

• Trust and betrayal: Li Ziran and Jones cooperate outwardly, but both secretly plan to use or betray the other.
• Hidden strength and deception: Li Ziran’s apparent helplessness after resurrection and shedding is misleading, while Jones’s apparent hesitation conceals his growing ambition.
• Evolution through consumption: Devouring other serpents and absorbing the region’s energy allows Jones to transform physically and spiritually, raising questions about the cost and limits of power.
• Risk and manipulation: Both characters repeatedly push one another into dangerous situations, trying to force the other to reveal their abilities.
• Death and rebirth: Li Ziran’s resurrection undermines the permanence of death and gives him a major advantage over opponents who assume he can be eliminated normally.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran asks Jones for assistance, but Jones intentionally delays to test Li Ziran’s limits.
• After Li Ziran resurrects, he orders Jones to help him finish the evolved serpent; Jones complies because he wants to consume it and evolve.
• Jones considers attacking Li Ziran while he is vulnerable, but Li Ziran’s behavior and the arrival of Number 11 make him wary.
• During the battle with Number 11, Jones tries to steal the serpent from Li Ziran, motivated by both fear of losing control over him and a desire for further evolution.
• Jones’s intervention exposes him to Number 11’s coils, allowing Li Ziran to escape and leaving Jones wondering whether he has been deliberately manipulated from the beginning.

Li Ziran chose to help Jones against the Devouring Serpent, only to discover Jones had possessed it and trapped him with the Shackles Curse. Li Ziran countered the curse and, as Jones tried to subdue him, revealed a Devouring Curse of his own and bit Jones's tail.

• Li Ziran decided to help Jones, coiling around the Devouring Serpent as it dragged them toward the black hole's edge.
• The Devouring Serpent bit Jones and began devouring him, so Li Ziran used the Redemption Spell to attack it.
• Jones revealed he had possessed the serpent and used the Shackles Curse on Li Ziran, but Li Ziran transformed the curse into frogs and swallowed it with his Devouring Curse.
• Jones's body began evolving into a Devouring Serpent, but its incomplete markings meant it had not formed a Devouring Serpent Stomach.
• Jones wrapped around Li Ziran to suffocate him, but Li Ziran bit his tail and unleashed a glowing Devouring Curse, shocking Jones.

Li Ziran tried to devour Jones and use his body to complete his own evolution, but Jones absorbed the spatial crystal and evolved into a true Devouring Serpent Hatchling. As Jones overwhelmed him, Li Ziran hurled himself toward the immense black hole at the center of the Encircling Belt and felt a wet tongue lick him.

• Li Ziran used the Devouring Curse to pull Jones toward him and began breaking down his body, absorbing his blood energy and elements.
• Jones swallowed his spatial crystal, drew energy from the Encircling Belt, and evolved into a true Devouring Serpent Hatchling with a black hole of his own.
• Jones overwhelmed Li Ziran's weaker devouring power and prepared to wait for his body to disintegrate before shackling his soul.
• Li Ziran decided he would rather risk death than be controlled, and charged toward the immense black hole at the center of the Encircling Belt.
• As Jones dismissed Li Ziran's charge, Li Ziran felt a wet tongue lick him.

Li Ziran survived the Razorblade Sea’s collapse and discovered that the Devouring Serpent mother had rescued him and was helping him grow. The enormous serpent repeatedly demanded his tongue, leaving him bewildered about why she had singled him out.

• Li Ziran survived the Spatial Serpent’s departure as the black hole vanished and the Razorblade Sea began to settle.
• Li Ziran realized his operation had failed: Jones had become a Devouring Serpent, and he had not obtained the Devouring Serpent Stomach.
• A mysterious force parted the seawater, surrounded Li Ziran with healing bubbles, and drew him toward an enormous creature.
• Li Ziran encountered the Devouring Serpent mother, who rubbed against him and bathed him in bubbles that made him grow more than five times his former size.
• The Devouring Serpent mother repeatedly projected the thought that Li Ziran should stick out his tongue, leaving him to wonder why she had rescued him.