The Corrupted Witch Doctor - Chapter Summaries - Page 5

Ch. 81Undressing Curse

Chapter Summary: “Undressing Curse”

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran negotiates with Jili, leader of the Rainbow-Tailed Clan, for access to the clan’s labor and to the belongings left behind by his former Master.
He needs workers to:
- Collect and study snakes for his Snake Transformation and Devouring Curse research.
- Process valuable corpses, especially Medusa remains.
- Extract Medusa eyes, blood, and pituitary glands for sale or magical use.
- Assist with potion injections, corpse preservation, necromantic work, and organ modification.
Jili offers to provide as many as one hundred Rainbow-Tailed girls, exaggerating slightly to secure training and employment opportunities for her people.
Li Ziran instead requests ten skilled girls initially. They will work mornings at his residence, learn his methods, and return to the clan’s business in the afternoon. More workers may be added gradually.
Jili then gives Li Ziran three old parchment books from his Master’s iron chest, claiming that his talent justifies giving him the inheritance early.
One book contains the Healing Curse, but Li Ziran finds its vague, mystical Frog Script frustrating and puts it aside.
The more important book, titled Curse Frog, explains two powerful curses:
- Undressing Curse / Skin-Shedding Curse: causes the victim to shed successive layers of skin until the entire hide falls away.
- Clinging Sludge Curse: causes decaying, mucus-like growths to form on the victim until the affected organ completely rots away.
Li Ziran is deeply disturbed and impressed by the cruelty and power of these curses.

Character Developments

Li Ziran demonstrates increasing ambition and organization. He is expanding from personal survival toward building a larger operation involving research, corpse processing, alchemy, necromancy, and magical experimentation.
He remains cautious about romantic or marital entanglements, believing he lacks the power and stability to support multiple wives despite the Wasteland’s acceptance of such arrangements.
His scientific and practical outlook becomes clearer. He interprets curses as methods of communicating with and manipulating Elemental Bugs rather than as vague “divine” phenomena.
Jili is shown to be shrewd, aggressive in business, and highly motivated to improve the Rainbow-Tailed Clan’s position. She values Li Ziran’s training as much as his employment.
Jili also trusts Li Ziran’s abilities, recognizing that he possesses knowledge capable of saving lives and improving the clan’s income.

Significant Themes

Survival through cooperation and commerce: Li Ziran and Jili form a mutually beneficial partnership based on labor, skills, and resources.
Knowledge as power: Li Ziran’s Master’s books represent a major inheritance, potentially transforming his abilities and influence.
Science versus mysticism: Li Ziran reduces seemingly divine curses to understandable interactions with Elemental Bugs, emphasizing his rational and analytical mindset.
Exploitation and vulnerability: The Wasteland’s normalization of buying and selling women highlights its harsh social order, while the Rainbow-Tailed girls seek survival through work and training.
The terrifying nature of magic: The curses are slow, invasive, and nearly impossible to resist, reinforcing the danger of witches and curse-based magic.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran and Jili negotiate as experienced business partners, with Jili pushing for as many opportunities and trainees as possible while Li Ziran sets a manageable starting arrangement.
Jili’s enthusiasm repeatedly embarrasses and frustrates Li Ziran, particularly when she returns to discussing marriage and the sexual availability of the girls.
Despite their contrasting personalities, they respect one another: Li Ziran values Jili’s business instincts, while Jili values his expertise and willingness to teach.
The exchange of labor for the Master’s books strengthens their relationship and gives Li Ziran access to powerful new magical knowledge.

Read chapter

Ch. 82The Corpse Industry Chain

Chapter Summary: “The Corpse Industry Chain”

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran studies the Frogfolk Curse Book, discovering that curse-casting depends primarily on following precise procedures rather than elemental comprehension. The process requires materials, magic arrays, rituals, vessels, and spiritual sacrifice.
He learns that spiritual power forms a Curse Primer, which is compressed into Curse Grudge Force and eventually becomes a functioning curse.
The chapter explains the severe dangers of curses: if a spell is interrupted before completion, its accumulated power can return violently to the caster, infecting the Spirit World or Soul Realm and potentially destroying them.
Li Ziran also learns two methods of removing curses:
1. Use overwhelming spiritual power to dismantle the Curse Primer and Curse Grudge Force.
2. Kill the original caster, causing the curse to disappear when their spiritual essence disperses.
His own Medusa Bloodline Curse is especially difficult to remove because it combines Curse Grudge Force with a bloodline. Since killing its casters is unrealistic, he decides to wait until his spiritual power becomes strong enough to break it apart.
Jili gathers ten young Rainbow-tail Girls for Li Ziran to take with him and train. She warns them to obey him and learn from him, though her comments become overly suggestive until Li Ziran cuts her off.
Li Ziran prepares to return to his home after months away. Anfuni is suspicious and displeased by the group of girls accompanying him.
The chapter then explains the economy of Blackwind Pass, which exists largely to support three Necromancers. Corpse-hauling groups bring bodies from across the Wasteland and beyond, where they are sorted and priced according to quality.
Inferior corpses are discarded or made into weak Skeletons, while better remains are placed in the Corpse Repository and sold for higher prices. Exceptional corpses can be turned into Corpse Witches, Zombies, or Undead Knights.
Li Ziran and his companions leave the town and arrive at a grassy area containing a pond covered by a transparent net. His nearby home displays a sign saying that he is absent and visitors should leave a message.

Character Developments

Li Ziran shows increasing confidence and determination. Although he understands the dangers of curses, he refuses to retreat from difficult magic, believing that avoiding danger would make him mediocre and uncompetitive.
He gains a more mature appreciation of his teacher’s caution, recognizing that the reluctance to teach him curses came from concern over their catastrophic backlash.
His persistent physical symptoms from the Medusa Bloodline Curse remind him of his limitations, but he remains patient and plans to overcome it through stronger spiritual power.
Li Ziran also displays responsibility and restraint. He intends to use the Rainbow-tail Girls to manage his home rather than for the purposes Jili implies.
Jili remains cheerful, practical, and somewhat crude. She tries to help Li Ziran by preparing the girls according to his known preferences, but her attitude reflects her old occupation and causes him embarrassment.
Anfuni becomes increasingly suspicious and possessive or protective toward Li Ziran, particularly upon seeing the group of attractive young girls. Her reaction also changes when she senses water nearby, revealing how much she misses Water Elements after living on the Wasteland.

Significant Themes

Power and danger: Curse magic offers immense strength but always threatens the caster. Advancement requires accepting danger without becoming reckless.
Knowledge and survival: The Curse Book represents essential wizard knowledge. Mastering curses is portrayed as necessary for surviving and earning a place among factions.
Consequences of magic: Curses bind caster and victim together, making magical power inseparable from personal risk.
Industrialized death: Blackwind Pass has transformed corpses into a structured commodity, revealing how necromancy creates an entire supply chain based on death.
Value and exploitation: Bodies are ranked by usefulness and price, while young girls are also treated as commodities to be trained and assigned. The chapter presents a world where survival frequently depends on reducing people and corpses to economic resources.
Home and belonging: After months on the Wasteland, Li Ziran longs to return to his small home, suggesting that despite his ambitions, he still values stability and familiarity.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran and Jili discuss the Curse Book and the training of the Rainbow-tail Girls. Jili misunderstands the book’s importance and focuses instead on the girls’ future under Li Ziran.
Jili sternly instructs the girls to serve and learn from Li Ziran, while Li Ziran interrupts her before her speech becomes more inappropriate.
Li Ziran and Anfuni argue briefly about the purpose of bringing so many girls. He avoids explaining himself, while Anfuni remains unconvinced.
Li Ziran interacts casually with the corpse haulers of Blackwind Pass, demonstrating that he is an established participant in the corpse trade.
Anfuni follows Li Ziran to his home and reacts strongly both to the girls and to the discovery of a rare pond, emphasizing her contrasting suspicion and longing for water.

Read chapter

Ch. 83Li Ziran's Cabin

Chapter Summary: “Li Ziran’s Cabin”

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran returns to his dilapidated cabin in Blackwind Pass with Anfuni. Despite its ruined exterior, the cabin receives many visitors seeking his assistance.
He collects a large stack of letters from clients, most of whom have left frogs as payment or as part of his unusual requirements. The letters reveal that people from many races visit him for help with illnesses and physical ailments.
One letter, from a Beast Race warrior named Rhine, asks Li Ziran to save a girl. Unlike the others, it contains no specific illness or frogs, so Li Ziran sets it aside for the time being.
Li Ziran assigns a Rainbow-tail Girl to organize the letters and mark requests involving rare frogs. He also sends a personal letter to Gegwu at Corpse Mountain to arrange discussions about Necromantic Magic.
Inside the cabin, Anfuni discovers that the filthy-looking building is meticulously clean and carefully maintained. The upper floor contains Li Ziran’s living space, potion supplies, white coats, and a sealed area connected to the frog ponds.
Li Ziran inspects his extensive frog-raising operation. The ponds are overcrowded, full of mosquitoes, dead frogs, and aggressive croaking frogs. His attendants help clear a path and sort frogs according to his needs.
In specially designed breeding sheds, Li Ziran examines rare frogs submitted by clients. Most are useless to him because he already possesses their abilities, but he eventually finds a small black frog whose movements create ink-like ripples and becomes excited by the possibility that it is a new breed.

Character Developments

Li Ziran is shown to be practical, eccentric, and highly organized despite his shabby surroundings. His frog collection is not random: it forms the foundation of his healing or transformation-related work.
He also demonstrates growing ambition by preparing to pursue Necromantic Magic through contact with the Archmage Gegwu.
Anfuni becomes increasingly puzzled and wary about the person she has chosen to follow. She is repelled by the frogs but impressed by the cabin’s cleanliness and the scale of Li Ziran’s operation.
The Rainbow-tail Girls are revealed to be disciplined, efficient assistants familiar with Li Ziran’s rules and routines. Their smooth handling of the frogs suggests long experience working for him.
Jili, though absent, is characterized indirectly as reliable and attentive because of how well she has arranged and maintained Li Ziran’s home.

Significant Themes

Order within chaos: The cabin’s ruined exterior and the Wasteland’s harshness contrast sharply with the extreme cleanliness and organization inside.
Eccentric expertise: Li Ziran’s strange frog requirement initially appears absurd, but the letters and breeding facilities show that it is part of a sophisticated system connected to his abilities and services.
Survival and adaptation: The frogs, mosquitoes, water shortages, and weakened Magic Tide reflect the difficult conditions of the Wasteland and the practical compromises needed to survive there.
Hidden value: Things that seem repulsive or worthless—such as frogs, insects, or a ruined cabin—may contain rare resources or unexpected power.
Growing mystery: Li Ziran’s abilities, his clients’ ailments, the purpose of the rare frogs, and the identity of the black frog remain only partly explained.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran reassures Anfuni upon returning home, but her curiosity and suspicion grow as she reads the visitors’ letters and sees the frog ponds.
He gives direct instructions to his assistants, who respond obediently and competently.
His planned correspondence with Gegwu establishes an upcoming interaction concerning Necromantic Magic.
Anfuni observes Li Ziran’s relationship with his workers and his methodical examination of the frogs, culminating in his excitement over the potentially new black breed.

Read chapter

Ch. 84Octopus Frog Transformation Spell

Chapter Summary: Octopus Frog Transformation Spell

Plot and Key Events

Li Ziran receives an extremely rare Deep-Sea Octopus Frog, also called a Black Frog, whose cheek gland absorbs Ink Element and produces ink-like material.
Excited by the possibility of transforming into a creature capable of surviving the Deep Sea, he orders the Rainbow-tail Girls to identify the sender and offer assistance if needed.
His frog pond is overcrowded and contaminated by corpses, prompting him to assign the girls extensive tasks: cleaning the pond, sorting frogs, collecting labeled tadpole eggs, harvesting Frog Sweat and saliva, preserving frog skins, repairing the shed, and controlling mosquitoes.
Li Ziran brings the octopus frog into a filthy underground laboratory filled with dissecting equipment and hanging hooks. He also orders two Rainbow-tail Girls to clean and assist him.
After anesthetizing the frog, he dissects it while simultaneously using another frog and a Transformation Array to experiment on the Ram-headed People. He methodically reconstructs their transformation into an octopus frog.
The experiment lasts an entire day. Li Ziran successfully creates and refines the Octopus Frog Transformation Spell, adjusting minute physical details such as the creature’s pupils, forehead markings, and webbed feet.
Anfuni secretly observes the process and realizes that Li Ziran is not merely using a fixed spell template. He is actively deducing and restructuring the spell through magical “words,” an advanced technique normally associated with Magisters.
Just as Li Ziran completes the spell and wishes for another specimen to study, a Rainbow-tail Girl brings urgent news: Lord Sandrew, an Archmage, has arrived to see him. Sandrew is also revealed to be the person who sent the rare octopus frog and left Li Ziran a letter.

Character Developments

Li Ziran: His obsession with corpses, frogs, and transformation research becomes even clearer. He is extremely practical and demanding, but also displays extraordinary patience, concentration, and creativity as he spends a full day refining the spell. His ability to deduce magic arrays suggests immense magical potential.
Anfuni: She shifts from simply observing Li Ziran to recognizing his exceptional talent. As a priest capable of perceiving the Spirit World, she understands that his spell deduction is something normally achieved only by Magisters. Her admiration and shock grow substantially.
Rainbow-tail Girls: They are shown as obedient, experienced assistants who carry out complex laboratory and animal-care tasks. Two are deliberately left behind under Jili’s instructions to approach Li Ziran, though their attempts to gain access to his private quarters fail when he remains focused solely on his research.
Lord Sandrew: Though absent for most of the chapter, he becomes important at the end as the donor of the octopus frog and as an Archmage seeking a personal meeting with Li Ziran.
Jili: Through the girls’ instructions, Jili’s strategic attempt to place them near Li Ziran is revealed.

Significant Themes

Obsessive pursuit of knowledge: Li Ziran’s delight comes from acquiring new specimens and extracting every possible secret from them.
Scientific experimentation and magical innovation: The chapter blends dissection, cataloging, anatomy, and spell construction, portraying transformation magic as something that can be studied and refined almost scientifically.
Rarity and resource scarcity: The difficulty of finding unusual frogs limits Li Ziran’s research and makes the gifted octopus frog especially valuable.
Genius beyond established systems: Li Ziran’s ability to alter magical structures instead of relying on prepared templates marks him as an unusually gifted innovator with the potential to reach the highest magical realms.
Morality and detachment: His calm treatment of living creatures, including dissection of an apparently still-living frog, emphasizes his unsettling emotional distance from his subjects.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran gives the Rainbow-tail Girls detailed instructions about maintaining the frog pond and collecting experimental materials.
He directs two girls to clean his underground laboratory while they attempt, under Jili’s orders, to move closer to him personally.
The girls mistake access to Li Ziran’s bedroom for a possible sign of intimacy, but he denies them entry and instead asks them to wash a Palm Bottle.
Anfuni silently watches Li Ziran’s experiment and mentally evaluates his abilities, developing deep respect for his magical talent.
The chapter ends with the Rainbow-tail Girl interrupting Li Ziran’s experiment to announce Sandrew’s arrival and reveal the origin of the octopus frog.

Read chapter

Ch. 85Undead Magister Wants an Apprentice

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran learns that Sandrew, one of the three Archmages of the Undead Nest and a renowned creator of Undead Gargoyles, has unexpectedly arrived at his home.
Sandrew is known for collecting rare corpses from the Winged Race, Sea Folk, and Stonefolk, making his sudden visit especially unusual.
Sandrew explains that he wants to take a young Necromantic genius as an apprentice and has come to ask Li Ziran for help.
Mistaking Sandrew’s questions about Necromantic Magic for an apprenticeship test, Li Ziran enthusiastically praises the power of Necromancy and describes it as a divine, army-producing force.
Sandrew corrects several of Li Ziran’s misconceptions, explaining that Necromantic Power is a Rare Element requiring extensive shattering and reassembly, but compliments Li Ziran’s understanding and potential.
Li Ziran assumes Sandrew may be considering him as an apprentice and proudly discusses his previous work replacing Gegwu’s heart.
Sandrew abruptly reveals that Li Ziran’s Necromantic aptitude is poor because he has never formed an Undead organ, crushing Li Ziran’s hopes.
Sandrew clarifies that he came not to recruit Li Ziran, but to request medical assistance. He has found a frail Butterfly Girl of the Winged Race with exceptional Necromantic talent and wants Li Ziran to find a way to keep her alive.
In return, Sandrew promises that Li Ziran will receive substantial benefits.

2. Character Developments

Li Ziran: His admiration for Necromancy and desire for a true mentor become clear. He is ambitious, eager to improve, and highly sensitive to opportunities for advancement. His excitement at the possibility of becoming Sandrew’s apprentice turns into embarrassment and disappointment when he learns the truth. Despite his weak Necromantic aptitude, his skill with organ transplants and corpse-related work is recognized as exceptional.
Sandrew: He is introduced as a powerful, eccentric, and knowledgeable Undead Archmage. Though intimidating, he is genial and willing to explain Necromantic theory. He values talent and practical ability, but bluntly distinguishes between Li Ziran’s medical skills and his lack of Necromantic potential.
The Butterfly Girl: She does not appear directly, but is established as a gifted Necromancer whose fragile body prevents her from fully realizing her potential.
Gegwu: Her successful heart replacement serves as evidence of Li Ziran’s medical abilities and helps explain why Sandrew seeks him out.

3. Significant Themes

The importance of inheritance and mentorship: Li Ziran believes systematic knowledge and guidance are essential for advancing in magic, emphasizing how difficult it is to progress through experimentation alone.
Talent versus effort: Li Ziran’s passion for Necromancy cannot overcome his lack of the necessary Undead organ, while the Butterfly Girl possesses extraordinary aptitude but suffers from physical weakness.
The gap between expectation and reality: Li Ziran repeatedly misinterprets Sandrew’s questions as tests for a potential apprentice position, creating humorous tension before the disappointing revelation.
The value of specialized skills: Although Li Ziran cannot become a true Necromancer, his expertise in organ transplantation gives him a unique role and makes him valuable even to an Archmage.
The terrifying power of Necromancy: The chapter reinforces Necromancers’ reputation as living armies capable of overwhelming entire cities through endless Undead forces.

4. Character Interactions

Sandrew arrives on a Bone Bird and directly confronts Li Ziran with questions about his abilities and beliefs.
Li Ziran responds with extreme respect and enthusiasm, hoping to impress Sandrew and become his disciple.
Sandrew encourages Li Ziran’s explanations, then corrects his understanding of Necromantic theory.
Li Ziran boasts about replacing Gegwu’s aged heart, while Sandrew confirms that Gegwu is healthy and that her praise influenced his decision to seek Li Ziran’s help.
Sandrew initially raises Li Ziran’s hopes by calling him promising material, then bluntly destroys those hopes by declaring his Necromantic aptitude inadequate.
The interaction ultimately shifts from a potential master-apprentice relationship to a professional request: Li Ziran must save Sandrew’s chosen apprentice.

Read chapter

Ch. 86Butterfly Beauty

Chapter Summary: “Butterfly Beauty”

Key Plot Points and Events

The chapter introduces the five legendary beauty races of the Red Soil Continent: the Sinking Fishmen, Swan Smiles, Butterfly Girls, Moon Elves, and Flower Beauties. Because of their extraordinary appearance, members of these races are hunted and sold as extremely valuable slaves.
Li Ziran initially believes Sandrew may want to accept him as a disciple, but discovers that the Undead Magister is actually asking him to save a Butterfly Girl.
Sandrew offers to help Li Ziran obtain rare frogs needed for his Transformation Spell, but Li Ziran remains skeptical. He suspects that saving the girl will not provide enough practical benefit, especially since his true goal is to build resources and eventually seek out Gegwu.
When Li Ziran politely refuses, Sandrew’s attitude suddenly becomes threatening. He orders Li Ziran to save the woman “by any method,” then transfers his soul into his Bone Grasshopper and hides inside its spatial ring, apparently fleeing from an approaching threat.
A powerful group of Rhine Lions and Advanced Totem Warrior Minotaurs arrives at Li Ziran’s residence. They escort a sick Butterfly Girl in a flower palanquin, explaining how she has survived for three months in the dangerous Wasteland: she is protected by both the Beast Race and Sandrew.
The group is led by an imposing Rhine Lion warrior, apparently a high-ranking military figure. He attempts to intimidate Li Ziran, but Li Ziran remains calm and returns to his seat rather than showing fear.
Two enslaved Grassland Elves help the Butterfly Girl out of the palanquin. Li Ziran notices the Slave Seals on them, reinforcing the chapter’s portrayal of the Beast Race’s exploitation of beautiful nonhuman women.
Li Ziran is immediately overwhelmed by the Butterfly Girl’s extraordinary beauty and sickly, delicate appearance. After recovering from his fascination, he agrees to bring her inside for treatment, curious about why an Undead Magister would be so desperate for his help.

Character Developments

Li Ziran: Demonstrates caution, skepticism, and strong self-interest. He refuses to be distracted from his goals, especially his plan to accumulate resources and contact Gegwu. However, the Butterfly Girl’s beauty affects him deeply, awakening an unexpected tenderness and curiosity.
Sandrew: Reveals himself to be far more desperate than his cheerful exterior suggests. His sudden transformation from friendly negotiator to threatening client shows that the Butterfly Girl’s condition is extremely important to him. His decision to hide inside the Bone Grasshopper suggests fear of the arriving Beast Race or of an even greater danger.
The Butterfly Girl: Is presented as physically frail, ill, and exceptionally beautiful. Her cough, flushed face, and delicate appearance create an impression of vulnerability, though her connection to both Sandrew and the Rhine Lion’s forces suggests that she is politically or magically significant.
The Rhine Lion: Appears domineering and militaristic, using his imposing size and authority to pressure Li Ziran. His intimidation fails, however, because Li Ziran refuses to react submissively.
Grassland Elves: Serve as attendants to the Butterfly Girl and are revealed to be enslaved, highlighting their subjugation despite their race’s valuable abilities and beauty.

Significant Themes

Beauty as both power and vulnerability: The five beauty races are prized, hunted, and commodified. Their physical beauty grants them immense value but also makes them targets of slavery and exploitation.
Appearances versus true power: Sandrew appears benevolent but is secretly an Undead Magister capable of sudden menace. The Rhine Lion’s imposing display also fails to intimidate Li Ziran, showing that outward grandeur does not guarantee control.
Pragmatism versus compassion: Li Ziran initially evaluates the situation purely in terms of profit and useful rewards. His reaction to the Butterfly Girl introduces a conflict between his practical goals and his growing emotional response.
Racial hierarchy and slavery: The chapter emphasizes the social order of the world, where rare races are treated as commodities and even an apparently powerful group may enslave valuable individuals.
Hidden danger and political intrigue: Sandrew’s panic, the Beast Race escort, and the Butterfly Girl’s mysterious illness suggest that the request involves much more than a simple medical problem.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran and Sandrew: Their exchange shifts from apparent negotiation to coercion. Sandrew tries to persuade Li Ziran with promises, then threatens him when persuasion fails.
Li Ziran and the Rhine Lion: The Lion attempts to establish dominance, but Li Ziran’s composure reverses the psychological advantage and leaves the Lion uncertain.
The Beast Race and the Butterfly Girl: The Rhine forces protect and transport her, while the Grassland Elves attend to her. Their relationship appears protective on the surface but is complicated by the visible enslavement of the attendants.
Li Ziran and the Butterfly Girl: They have only a brief initial encounter, but her appearance immediately affects him. His fascination ultimately leads him to accept the task of examining her condition.

Read chapter

Ch. 87This Girl Should Have Been Dead Long Ago

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran examines a frail Butterfly Girl brought to his clinic by a powerful Rhine Lion and several Grassland Elves. The Rhine Lion demands treatment but behaves aggressively and distrustfully.
Li Ziran realizes that the girl is far more seriously ill than she appears. Her continued survival is due to an extremely valuable Life Potion made from Carnivorous Flower Stamen, suggesting that she should have died long ago.
The Rhine Lion interferes when Li Ziran attempts to examine the girl properly. Irritated, Li Ziran refuses to treat her and tries to leave.
Anfuni intervenes, using the mysterious Copper-Yellow Frog to blast the Rhine Lion into a wall. Intimidated by Anfuni and the Frog, the Rhine Lion retreats.
After driving away the Rhine Lion and the Grassland Elves, Anfuni reveals that she helped Li Ziran because she wants to be transformed to look like the beautiful Butterfly Girl. Li Ziran explains that this may be possible with the aid of the Split Insect Race and resources from the Undead Nest.
Li Ziran resumes his examination. He discovers that the Butterfly Girl is pregnant, despite her denial.
He also finds a slave brand on her neck, identifying her as a Beast Race slave. Examination of her throat reveals crystal fragments and severe wounds, showing that she previously attempted suicide by swallowing the fragments.
The fragments damaged her throat, leaving her unable to speak or eat and causing her persistent coughing. The Life Potion has kept her alive despite the severity of her condition.
When Li Ziran touches her abdomen, something inside attacks him, cutting his finger and poisoning his blood. He heals himself with a Recovery Potion and realizes that the fetus—or whatever is inside her—may be highly abnormal and dangerous.

Character Developments

Li Ziran remains calm, observant, and sarcastic despite the Rhine Lion’s intimidation. His medical skill allows him to identify the girl’s pregnancy, suicide attempt, slavery, and throat injuries.
His initial reluctance to help changes slightly as he uncovers the girl’s tragic condition. He also becomes wary after being attacked by the unborn creature.
The Rhine Lion is revealed to be domineering and overprotective, but cowardly when confronted by Anfuni’s overwhelming power. His concern for the Butterfly Girl is genuine, though his methods are aggressive and unreasonable.
Anfuni displays both frightening strength and childish vanity. She protects Li Ziran mainly because she wants his help transforming her appearance, showing that her motives are self-interested despite her effective intervention.
The Butterfly Girl is nearly incapacitated, voiceless, and traumatized. Her status as a branded slave and survivor of a suicide attempt suggests severe abuse and despair.
The Copper-Yellow Frog is shown to possess terrifying power, even frightening the Rhine Lion and causing Li Ziran’s pocket to tremble with magical pressure.

Significant Themes

Slavery and dehumanization: The Butterfly Girl’s branded body emphasizes how slavery reduces people to property and leaves lasting physical and psychological scars.
Despair and survival: Her suicide attempt contrasts with the Life Potion that forcibly keeps her alive, raising questions about whether survival is always desirable.
Appearance and identity: Anfuni’s desire to resemble the Butterfly Girl introduces the theme of beauty and the lengths people may go to change themselves.
Power and intimidation: Physical strength and magical authority shape interactions throughout the chapter, with the Rhine Lion bullying Li Ziran until Anfuni and the Frog reverse the power dynamic.
Hidden danger: The apparent illness conceals pregnancy, and the pregnancy itself may involve a supernatural, poisonous entity, creating a new mystery.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran and the Rhine Lion clash over authority and treatment methods, with the Lion threatening him and Li Ziran refusing to tolerate interference.
Anfuni decisively protects Li Ziran, humiliating and frightening the Rhine Lion.
Anfuni privately bargains with Li Ziran for help changing her appearance, revealing her admiration for the Butterfly Girl.
Li Ziran interacts gently but directly with the Butterfly Girl, uncovering evidence of her enslavement, self-harm, and pregnancy.
The chapter ends with Li Ziran relying on Anfuni and the Frog’s power as he confronts the unexplained danger inside the Butterfly Girl.

Read chapter

Ch. 88Oracle Bone Script

Chapter Summary: “Oracle Bone Script”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

Anfuni and Li Ziran examine the injured Butterfly Girl. Anfuni realizes that the wounds on the girl’s abdomen were not caused by ordinary weapons, but by strange Elemental Bugs gathering and releasing severing power.
The phenomenon is highly unusual because Elemental Bugs normally require an external array or ritual to activate. This suggests that something extraordinary is hidden inside the Butterfly Girl.
Li Ziran initially intends to avoid getting involved, but Sandrew contacts him through the bone in his pocket. Sandrew identifies the Butterfly Girl as a potential Necromantic genius and asks Li Ziran to save her.
Sandrew offers Corpse Witch Summoning in exchange for Li Ziran’s help. Li Ziran immediately accepts and asks to learn the technique at once.
Sandrew transmits a detailed demonstration of the spell. He creates a Corpse Witch by placing bone points throughout a corpse, connecting them with luminous threads, and forming a complex magical array using thousands of Oracle Bone Script characters.
The corpse is revived and controlled through a three-dimensional array powered by Undead Force rather than ordinary elemental energy.
Sandrew then transfers the fundamental knowledge of Oracle Bone Script into Li Ziran’s mind, effectively giving him the foundation of Necromantic magic.
Li Ziran realizes that mastering the script will require extensive study and practice, but he is already considering how it might help him perform Soul Replacement, control a Corpse Witch, and transplant organs.
Understanding how important the Butterfly Girl is to Sandrew, Li Ziran decides to save her and gives her a Sacred Potion as a sign of sincerity.

2. Character Developments

Li Ziran: Becomes more deeply involved in Necromantic magic. He demonstrates caution and suspicion toward Sandrew, but his desire to learn Corpse Witch Summoning outweighs his hesitation. He also recognizes the danger of failing after receiving such a valuable inheritance and resolves to protect the Butterfly Girl.
Sandrew: Reveals his intense concern for the Butterfly Girl and his willingness to provide an extremely valuable magical inheritance in exchange for her survival. His power and mastery are emphasized through his demonstration of Corpse Witch Summoning.
Anfuni: Shows her experience and perceptiveness as a White Tiger Priest by correctly identifying that the Butterfly Girl’s wounds involve Elemental Bugs and an unknown extraordinary force. However, even she cannot determine the nature of the phenomenon.
The Butterfly Girl: Is established as far more than an ordinary Feather Girl. Her body appears to contain a mysterious force or entity capable of instinctively activating Elemental Bugs.

3. Significant Themes

Knowledge exchanged through dangerous bargains: Li Ziran gains priceless Necromantic knowledge, but the gift creates an equally serious obligation to save the Butterfly Girl.
The mystery of hidden power: The Butterfly Girl’s body challenges established understanding of Elemental Bugs, suggesting that her origins or condition are extraordinary.
Magic as structure and script: Necromancy is portrayed not merely as raw power but as a precise language of symbols, arrays, and interconnected patterns. Oracle Bone Script functions as the foundation of Undead creation.
Fate and unexpected opportunity: Li Ziran’s long-standing goal of learning Necromantic magic is unexpectedly fulfilled through circumstances he never anticipated.
Responsibility and pressure: Receiving great power comes with consequences. Li Ziran understands that Sandrew’s generosity reflects the Butterfly Girl’s importance and that failure could make him Sandrew’s enemy.

4. Character Interactions

Anfuni and Li Ziran jointly inspect the Butterfly Girl, with Anfuni providing the primary analysis of the Elemental Bugs.
Sandrew communicates mentally with Li Ziran, appealing to his interest in deals and offering Corpse Witch Summoning in exchange for the girl’s rescue.
Li Ziran tests Sandrew’s sincerity by demanding to learn the spell immediately, and Sandrew responds by transmitting a complete demonstration and the knowledge of Oracle Bone Script.
After receiving the inheritance, Li Ziran reciprocates Sandrew’s generosity by using a Sacred Potion on the Butterfly Girl, signaling that he accepts responsibility for saving her.

Read chapter

Ch. 89Peak Surgical Condition

Chapter Summary: “Peak Surgical Condition”

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran prepares to operate on Butterfly Girl, intending to save her and demonstrate his medical skill to the powerful observers—especially Sandrew.
Rather than immediately investigating the mysterious object in Butterfly Girl’s abdomen, he begins by treating her life-threatening cough.
Using the Shapeshifting Curse: Frog, he transforms Butterfly Girl into a frog, making surgery easier and safer.
His assistants secure the operating room, prepare potions and equipment, and maintain strict secrecy.
During surgery, Li Ziran discovers that Butterfly Girl’s throat is filled with countless sharp crystal fragments, apparently from an attempted suicide involving a broken Palm Bottle.
The fragments have pierced and embedded themselves in her blood vessels, windpipe, and esophagus. Life Potion has partially sealed the wounds, but removing the shards risks massive bleeding and death.
Li Ziran spends an entire day painstakingly extracting the fragments one by one, using tweezers and Revival Potion to heal each small wound.
When a shard from the windpipe causes dangerous bleeding, he immediately applies Sacred Potion, stabilizing Butterfly Girl.
Exhausted and lightheaded, Li Ziran forces himself to continue because the windpipe fragments are the most dangerous and because he wants to display his highest surgical ability as leverage in negotiations.
He refreshes himself by plunging his head into freezing water, regaining focus and precision.
He successfully removes every remaining shard, repairs the throat, and restores Butterfly Girl’s neck without scarring. Her vocal cords remain undamaged, meaning she survives without losing her voice.

Character Developments

Li Ziran: Demonstrates exceptional surgical knowledge, patience, steadiness, and confidence. Although physically exhausted, he refuses to stop until Butterfly Girl is safe and his skill has been fully proven. His cold-water self-treatment reveals both his practical nature and his extreme dedication to surgery.
Butterfly Girl: Initially terrified by being transformed into a frog, she undergoes a dangerous operation but ultimately survives with her throat and vocal cords intact.
Rainbow-tail Girls: Begin as assistants following orders mechanically, but their exhaustion and growing admiration show that they are increasingly impressed by Li Ziran’s discipline and abilities.
Anfuni: Sleeps through much of the lengthy operation, providing a humorous contrast to the tense seriousness of the surgery.
Sandrew: Though largely silent, his presence acts as pressure on Li Ziran. Li’s performance is partly intended to secure a stronger bargaining position with him.

Significant Themes

Skill as power: Li Ziran believes tangible ability inspires more trust than flattering words. His medical expertise becomes a tool for negotiating with stronger figures.
Persistence and discipline: The surgery requires repetitive, exhausting work over an entire day, emphasizing the patience necessary for mastery.
Life and danger: Every shard threatens Butterfly Girl’s survival, and even a successful extraction can cause fatal bleeding. The scene highlights how fragile life is.
Control through transformation: Turning Butterfly Girl into a frog makes the operation possible, showing Li Ziran’s unusual combination of magical and medical methods.
Professional focus: Li Ziran’s decision to use cold water to regain concentration reflects his commitment to maintaining peak surgical condition, even at personal discomfort.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran gives Rainbow-tail Girl and the other assistants direct surgical instructions, establishing his authority in the operating room.
The assistants prepare the room, potions, lights, and equipment while observing his painstaking work.
Li Ziran reassures himself and his observers through calm, competent action rather than verbal persuasion.
His interaction with Sandrew is indirect but important: Sandrew’s silent observation motivates Li Ziran to perform at his highest level.
The chapter closes with Li Ziran addressing the revived Butterfly Girl and confirming, while glancing at the Bone Grasshopper, that she has survived and retained her voice.

Read chapter

Ch. 90A Complete Replacement of Your Flesh and Blood

Chapter Summary: “A Complete Replacement of Your Flesh and Blood”

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran stays awake through the night after successfully reviving the Bone Grasshopper. He is thrilled because its reaction suggests that Sandrew may be willing to cooperate with him.
Anfuni wakes and tells Li Ziran that the Elves have obtained Forest Wyvern milk for him to appraise. Li Ziran declines, choosing instead to continue investigating Butterfly Girl’s mysterious lower abdomen while he is still energized.
Li Ziran prepares for another operation, ordering the Rainbow-tail Girls to replenish his potions and clean his surgical instruments. The assistants eagerly continue learning from him, knowing that practical experience will raise their status among their people.
Anfuni becomes impatient because Li Ziran has not yet begun her gender-reassignment surgery. In frustration, the Copper-Yellow Frog destroys one of Li Ziran’s scalpels.
Anfuni demands that Li Ziran prioritize her operation and offers to help eliminate Butterfly Girl. Li Ziran refuses, explaining that Butterfly Girl is essential to maintaining a relationship with Sandrew.
To prove that he is taking Anfuni’s surgery seriously, Li Ziran reveals preserved samples of future replacement tissue: flesh intended to be replicated by the Split Insect Race and skin taken from Butterfly Girl. He explains that he plans to replace nearly all of Anfuni’s body except her bloodline and internal organs.
Reassured, Anfuni apologizes indirectly and agrees to observe the operation. She even offers to assist, though Li Ziran keeps her at a safe distance.
Li Ziran opens Butterfly Girl’s lower abdomen. The mysterious force that previously injured him does not activate against the scalpel, revealing that it only reacts to tearing flesh and blood.
He examines her intestines and discovers an exceptionally vigorous, almost living-looking uterus. Anfuni questions whether she possesses the same reproductive structures and whether they will need to be installed during her own transformation.

Character Developments

Li Ziran demonstrates increasing confidence and ambition. The Bone Grasshopper’s revival strengthens his hope of cooperating with Sandrew, and he prioritizes opportunities that may expand his knowledge of Corpse Witches and Soul Transfer.
He also reveals himself as meticulous and committed to doing Anfuni’s surgery properly, despite previously appearing indifferent. His plans involve replacing her flesh and skin with carefully selected, superior materials.
Anfuni shifts from anger and impatience to cooperation after seeing evidence of Li Ziran’s preparations. Her desire for transformation remains strong, but she begins to trust his expertise and becomes curious about the medical process.
The Rainbow-tail Girls grow more dedicated to Li Ziran’s instruction. They willingly endure exhaustion because assisting him gives them rare practical experience and improved status.
Butterfly Girl remains unconscious or unable to respond, but her body continues to reveal extraordinary and unexplained biological properties.

Significant Themes

Trust built through evidence: Li Ziran cannot persuade Anfuni through words alone; she accepts his intentions only after seeing the preserved tissue samples and understanding the scale of his plans.
The body as something replaceable: Flesh, skin, organs, and even gendered physical traits are treated as materials that can be modified, exchanged, or replicated.
Knowledge and opportunity: Li Ziran values rare chances to learn more than immediate rewards. His decision to prioritize Butterfly Girl reflects his long-term interest in Sandrew and advanced cultivation techniques.
Hierarchy and apprenticeship: The Rainbow-tail Girls’ enthusiasm shows how access to specialized knowledge can transform one’s social position.
Appearance versus true value: Although Butterfly Girl seems less important than Anfuni, Li Ziran recognizes her strategic value because she connects him to Sandrew.

Character Interactions

Anfuni teases and questions Li Ziran, while he responds with a mixture of amusement, irritation, and strategic caution.
The Copper-Yellow Frog acts as Anfuni’s enforcer, destroying Li Ziran’s scalpel when she feels ignored.
Li Ziran firmly rejects Anfuni’s proposal to kill Butterfly Girl, prioritizing his relationship with Sandrew.
The Rainbow-tail Girls serve as assistants and trainees, supporting Li Ziran while competing for the prestige associated with his personal instruction.
During the operation, Anfuni watches closely and asks practical questions about female anatomy, signaling her renewed interest in and acceptance of Li Ziran’s surgical plans.

Read chapter

Ch. 91Master, Take Me as Your Disciple!

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

During surgery on Butterfly Girl, Li Ziran discovers that her uterus is abnormally healthy despite her frail body, while her other organs—especially her small intestine—have severely atrophied. He initially assumes the uterus is a predatory Magic Organ draining energy from the rest of her body.
Believing the problem can be solved by removing the uterus, Li Ziran attempts to cut into it. However, his fingers are instantly severed by invisible spiral grooves before he can touch the organ.
Anfuni heals his mutilated hand with emerald-green magic. She explains that the uterus is surrounded by dense Elemental Bugs capable of slicing through any flesh that approaches it.
Realizing that the uterus is not a normal Magic Organ, Li Ziran suspects that something extremely powerful is developing inside it—possibly an embryo unrelated to the Butterfly Clan. He becomes frightened and abandons the surgery without even closing the Frog’s abdominal wound.
Li Ziran retreats to the basement to consult Sandrew, who is terrified of Anfuni and the Frog after witnessing the Frog destroy his spiritual defenses. Li Ziran reassures him that Anfuni is merely a friend and orders him not to provoke her.
The discussion turns to Sandrew’s desire to take a disciple. Li Ziran assumes Sandrew wants Butterfly Girl, but Sandrew clarifies that he is actually interested in the being growing inside her uterus.
Sandrew reveals that he has been communicating with the unborn entity for more than three months through games involving Undead formulas and formations. Despite being only an embryo, it can understand complex necromantic theory, solve problems instantly, and improve Sandrew’s formations.

Character Developments

Li Ziran: Begins the chapter confident that he can easily cure Butterfly Girl, but his failed operation forces him to recognize that the situation is far beyond ordinary surgery. His curiosity turns to fear when he realizes the unborn entity may possess unimaginable power. He also displays insecurity about his own talent when he shamelessly asks Sandrew to accept him as a disciple.
Anfuni: Shows both playful behavior and considerable magical ability. She heals Li Ziran’s severed fingers and accurately identifies the Elemental Bugs surrounding the uterus.
Sandrew: Initially panics over Anfuni and the Frog, believing them to be connected to a terrifying Elven secret. He then reveals his eccentric enthusiasm for the unborn entity, whom he considers a once-in-an-age necromantic genius.
Butterfly Girl’s unborn child: Though not yet formed, it is established as extraordinarily intelligent and powerful. Its abilities already surpass Sandrew’s understanding of necromantic formulas.
Rainbow-tail Girl and the others: Remain confused when Li Ziran suddenly abandons the operation, especially since he leaves the Frog’s wound untreated.

Significant Themes

The limits of knowledge and control: Li Ziran’s medical expertise proves useless against a phenomenon he cannot even physically approach.
Hidden power within apparent weakness: Butterfly Girl appears frail and talentless, yet the entity inside her may be vastly more gifted and dangerous than anyone realizes.
Misjudgment and mistaken identity: Li Ziran and Sandrew repeatedly misunderstand who the true genius and threat are. Sandrew’s “disciple” is not Butterfly Girl but the being inside her.
Humor amid danger: The chapter balances gruesome surgery and terrifying supernatural power with comic misunderstandings, Sandrew’s exaggerated fear, and Li Ziran’s failed attempt to promote himself as a disciple.
The mystery of the unborn entity: Its ability to comprehend and create advanced undead formations before birth raises questions about its origin, nature, and eventual strength.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran reprimands Anfuni for interrupting surgery, but she later saves him after his fingers are severed.
Li Ziran and Sandrew argue over Anfuni’s identity and strength, with Li Ziran trying to prevent Sandrew from involving the Undead Nest.
Li Ziran asks Sandrew to take him as a disciple, but Sandrew bluntly dismisses his talent in Undead arts.
Sandrew insists that the true prodigy is the unborn being inside Butterfly Girl, leaving Li Ziran stunned by the revelation that the embryo has been studying necromancy and interacting with Sandrew for months.

Read chapter

Ch. 92Demon

Chapter Summary: “Demon”

Key Plot Points and Events

Sandrew reveals that he wants to adopt and mentor the unborn child in Butterfly Girl’s womb rather than take Li Ziran as a student.
The embryo is identified as a Demon, a being sent from the Abyss. Demons possess Soul Eyes and seek the souls of living creatures, making them widely feared on the Red Soil Continent.
Sandrew explains that the Dark Council and some Beast Race factions secretly cultivate Demon embryos inside pregnant women. The goal is to create mixed-blood descendants who combine demonic soul abilities with the continent’s elemental sensitivity.
These pregnancies are extremely dangerous. Poor Witch Doctor techniques often cause the embryo to drain the mother’s body, leaving women weakened or dead.
Sandrew admits he arranged for Butterfly Girl to be brought to Li Ziran after discovering her extraordinary knowledge of necromancy. She had identified eighteen flaws in his Gargoyle Summoning Array and corrected three errors in his Bone Script.
Sandrew originally promoted Li Ziran’s reputation because of his successful heart transplant for Gegwu, assuming that someone capable of organ transplantation could also manage a difficult pregnancy.
Li Ziran determines that Butterfly Girl’s uterus has absorbed nearly all her nutrition and that she attempted suicide because she knows the fate awaiting her if she successfully gives birth.
Sandrew demands a direct answer about whether Butterfly Girl can survive the pregnancy. Li Ziran confirms that she can, but only with extreme difficulty.
Li Ziran proposes replacing all of Butterfly Girl’s internal organs with standardized magical organs, forcing Sandrew to supply the necessary materials.

Character Developments

Li Ziran remains calm and pragmatic despite the shocking revelation about the Demon embryo. He refuses to judge the unborn child solely by race and prioritizes survival over racial prejudice.
He also shows increasing confidence and bargaining power. Rather than being intimidated by Sandrew’s threats, he gives a firm medical assessment and sets the conditions for saving Butterfly Girl.
Sandrew is revealed to be both ambitious and morally compromised. He wants to raise the embryo as a future necromantic genius and hopes to use Li Ziran’s skills to ensure its birth.
Sandrew’s admiration for Butterfly Girl stems from her exceptional magical insight, which humbled him after decades of refining his own techniques.
Butterfly Girl is portrayed as intelligent, physically deteriorating, and deeply desperate. Her attempt to kill herself suggests that she understands she is being treated as a vessel rather than a person.

Significant Themes

Survival beyond racial prejudice: Li Ziran believes survival matters more than distinctions between humans, Demons, or other races.
Exploitation and commodification: Pregnant women and Demon embryos are treated as profitable resources by the Dark Council and Beast Race factions.
Knowledge versus authority: Butterfly Girl’s youth and status do not prevent her from surpassing Sandrew’s decades of experience.
Ethical responsibility in medicine: Li Ziran must decide whether saving Butterfly Girl also enables the exploitation of her and the Demon child.
Power and manipulation: Sandrew uses threats, political connections, and Li Ziran’s dependence on Gegwu, while Li Ziran counters by making his medical expertise indispensable.

Character Interactions

Sandrew repeatedly tries to persuade Li Ziran to help him, first through sincerity and then through implied threats.
Li Ziran questions Sandrew’s motives and exposes his involvement in sending Butterfly Girl to him.
Sandrew admits that his plan involved cooperation with Beast Race interests, though he insists the alliance was unofficial.
Their relationship shifts from one-sided pressure to negotiation: Sandrew needs Li Ziran’s skills, while Li Ziran gains leverage by offering the only viable solution.
The chapter ends with Li Ziran accepting the challenge—but demanding that Sandrew provide the materials required to replace Butterfly Girl’s organs with magical ones.

Read chapter

Ch. 93When Dreams Come True!

Chapter Summary: “When Dreams Come True!”

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran completes another stage of Butterfly Girl’s surgery using Sacred Potion to accelerate the healing process.
He dismisses the Rainbow-tail Girls, who clean the operating area before leaving, demonstrating their diligence and obedience.
Sandrew agrees to fully fund Li Ziran’s surgical experiments and allows him to search the Mage Tower on Corpse Mountain for suitable organs for Butterfly Girl.
Sandrew also promises to personally teach Li Ziran Corpse Witch Summoning and explain Bone Script for an hour each afternoon.
Li Ziran tells Anfuni that Split Bugs can produce the flesh and blood needed for her own operation within a week. Anfuni’s Forest Wyvern milk is also due to arrive soon, bringing her surgery closer.
Li Ziran instructs Anfuni to tell the Rhine Lion that Butterfly Girl must remain under his care for two months and that the full payment must be provided.
After falling asleep, Li Ziran dreams of creating a powerful Corpse Witch equipped with numerous Mithril surgical knives and magical organs. The dream culminates in his body producing a devastating Scarlet-White Light that destroys the Undead Nest.
Anfuni wakes him by slapping him after he drools all over his robe. Embarrassed but eager, Li Ziran leaves for Corpse Mountain to begin his new arrangement with Sandrew.
On the way, he observes the harsh environment of Corpse Mountain, including bug catchers, corpse-hauling convoys, rotting remains, mosquitoes, and the inefficient inspection system.
Because Sandrew has given advance instructions, Li Ziran is allowed through without difficulty. He gives three Necromantic Apprentices Medusa corpses as gifts, earning their goodwill and access to Sandrew’s Mage Tower.

Character Development

Li Ziran becomes increasingly ambitious and confident. Sandrew’s support inspires him to pursue advanced surgery, magical organs, and Corpse Witch Summoning. He also displays growing social cleverness by using valuable gifts and friendly language to build connections.
Anfuni remains suspicious and forceful, openly questioning Li Ziran’s motives and mocking his extravagant dreams and drooling. However, she is also enthusiastic about the progress toward her own transformation and continues cooperating with him.
Sandrew is established as a powerful patron and potential mentor. His willingness to finance Li Ziran and personally teach him significantly improves Li Ziran’s prospects.
Butterfly Girl remains unconscious or inactive during the chapter, but her survival and continued treatment become the basis for Li Ziran’s medical and magical research.
The Necromantic Apprentices shift from gatekeepers to potential allies after receiving Medusa corpses from Li Ziran.

Significant Themes

Ambition and aspiration: Li Ziran’s dream reflects his desire to master surgery, necromancy, and magical organs to an almost godlike degree.
Opportunity and patronage: Sandrew’s support represents a major turning point, giving Li Ziran access to resources, knowledge, and status he could not obtain alone.
Pragmatism and social maneuvering: Li Ziran combines medical skill, bribery, diplomacy, and strategic relationships to advance his goals.
Transformation and the body: The chapter repeatedly focuses on replacing flesh, organs, and even entire bodies, blurring the boundaries between medicine, necromancy, and creation.
Contrast between dreams and reality: Li Ziran imagines destroying the Undead Nest with overwhelming power, only to wake in embarrassment with his robe soaked in drool. His grand visions coexist with the grimy, mundane realities of corpse transport and insect gathering.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran and Anfuni: Their relationship is marked by suspicion, teasing, and mutual dependence. Anfuni challenges his evasiveness, while Li Ziran reassures her by emphasizing the progress of her surgery.
Li Ziran and Sandrew: Though Sandrew does not appear directly, his agreement to fund the surgeries and teach Li Ziran establishes a promising mentor-protégé relationship.
Li Ziran and the Rainbow-tail Girls: He shows consideration by granting them time off, while they respond with loyalty by cleaning the operating room before leaving.
Li Ziran and the Necromantic Apprentices: He wins their cooperation through flattery, shared professional identity, and generous gifts, gaining smoother access to Sandrew’s territory.

Read chapter

Ch. 94The Necromancer's Slave Stockpile

Chapter Summary: The Necromancer’s Slave Stockpile

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran travels behind Corpse Mountain toward Sandrew’s Mage Tower. The mountain is composed of compressed corpse remains, forming extremely durable “Bone-Flesh Fusion Blocks” used as the tower’s foundation and as materials for powerful Undead.
He observes the tower’s energy-gathering system: bone-ant-like characters formed from Necrotic Force collect pure Corpse Energy and funnel it into the tower’s core. Li Ziran recognizes some of these symbols because he has learned Bone Script, though he does not yet understand how the characters connect.
A Corpse Witch, controlled by Sandrew through Soul Transfer, escorts Li Ziran into the tower. He is fascinated by the Corpse Witch and studies her closely, hoping to learn how such bodies are created.
The tower contains numerous Undead on its first floor, while the sealed second and third floors appear to be potion-making and laboratory areas.
On the fourth floor, Sandrew reveals a vast collection of preserved creatures and living captives. Li Ziran examines several rare specimens, including a golden eagle with Thunder-attracting wings and a Space Grasshopper capable of refining Spatial Element.
Sandrew then shows him a hidden Derivative Space containing hundreds of cages and restrained slaves from many different races. Li Ziran is stunned by the sheer scale of Sandrew’s collection.
Li Ziran requests Elves, believing their organs will be especially suitable for constructing stable magical bodies. Sandrew casually claims to have around three hundred Elves available, considering them relatively low-grade because most are only Intermediate Mages.
When Li Ziran enters the first cage, a Fire Elf attacks him with flames. Sandrew instantly kills it with necromantic magic, destroying its valuable Magic Organs in the process.
Sandrew compensates by transporting another captive directly before Li Ziran: a Wind Elf whose heart and kidneys are Magic Organs. He instructs Li Ziran to begin by transplanting the heart.

Character Developments

Li Ziran demonstrates growing expertise and ambition in necromantic and biological research. He recognizes the importance of Bone Script, Corpse Energy, magical organs, and racial compatibility in organ transplantation.
He also shows opportunism and curiosity, particularly in his interest in the Corpse Witch and rare creatures such as the Space Grasshopper.
Sandrew is established as an immensely wealthy and powerful Necromantic Archmage. He possesses a massive Undead force, a sophisticated Mage Tower, rare specimens, Derivative Space technology, and hundreds of living slaves.
Sandrew behaves politely and patiently toward Li Ziran, but his casual treatment of living beings reveals his detachment and cruelty. He kills the Fire Elf without hesitation after it attacks Li Ziran.
The Elves are portrayed as valuable research materials rather than individuals in the eyes of the necromancers, emphasizing the moral corruption of the setting.

Significant Themes

Necromantic power and resource exploitation: Corpse Mountain, Corpse Energy, Undead, preserved corpses, and living slaves all form part of a vast magical production system.
Scientific curiosity versus morality: Li Ziran approaches bodies and organs as research materials, while Sandrew treats entire races as disposable stock. The chapter presents magical experimentation in a clinical, unsettling manner.
Wealth and power: Sandrew’s enormous collection and ability to casually produce hundreds of Elves emphasize the extreme status gap between ordinary mages and a Necromantic Archmage.
Knowledge as power: Bone Script, magical organs, racial compatibility, and Derivative Space technology represent specialized knowledge that enables domination over both life and death.
Dehumanization: The captive creatures are stored like livestock, and the chapter deliberately compares their restraints and sounds to animals awaiting slaughter.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran and the Corpse Witch interact mainly as guide and guest, though Li Ziran’s intense examination of her reflects his desire to understand corpse-based bodies.
Sandrew communicates through the Corpse Witch before appearing in person, demonstrating his mastery of Soul Transfer.
Sandrew and Li Ziran cooperate as researchers: Li Ziran performs the organ-related work, while Sandrew supplies specimens and magical support.
Their relationship is courteous but transactional. Li Ziran wants rare materials and knowledge, while Sandrew is eager for him to save or prepare the pregnant Butterfly Girl.
The brief confrontation with the Fire Elf reveals Li Ziran’s concern for valuable organs, while Sandrew prioritizes immediate control and kills the captive without hesitation.

Read chapter

Ch. 95A Taste of It

Chapter Summary: “A Taste of It”

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran is transported into Sandrew’s enormous slave warehouse, marveling at Sandrew’s advanced spatial control and the wealth required to maintain such a space.
He examines a Wind Elf by transforming it into a frog and dissecting its organs. The Elf’s kidney and heart contain primitive, poorly formed magical structures: irregular mucous membranes and crude central “characters” that produce weak elemental power.
Li Ziran dissects several more Intermediate and Advanced Elves, discovering that their Magic Organs vary in quality but remain far inferior to Jon’s nearly perfect organs.
He realizes that his standards have been raised by studying Jon’s body. Rather than dismissing the Elves’ organs as worthless, he decides to use them as comparative material and search for the best possible organs for Butterfly Girl.
Since Butterfly Girl needs a new heart, Li Ziran asks Sandrew to bring him every Fire Elf, whose hearts are most likely to possess strong magical properties. Sandrew produces sixty-eight bound Fire Elves.
Li Ziran rapidly transforms and dissects the Elves, studying their hearts and other organs. He identifies a clear relationship between magical strength and the development of organ structures.
He concludes that Magic Organs evolve as they absorb the Elemental Tide. Their mucous membranes gradually develop organized forms, while unique internal “characters” emerge and become more complex.
Li Ziran selects a suitable heart, removes Butterfly Girl’s damaged heart, and completes the transplant with remarkable speed. Sandrew is stunned by how quickly and smoothly the procedure is finished.

Character Developments

Li Ziran: Demonstrates increasing confidence, speed, and surgical expertise. His examination of the Elves deepens his understanding of Magic Organs and leads him to formulate a new theory about naturally evolving magical scripts. He also shows ambition and care by seeking the best possible heart for Butterfly Girl rather than settling for an ordinary replacement.
Sandrew: Initially acts as a practical overseer, suppressing the Elves so Li Ziran can work safely. As he watches Li Ziran’s precision and confidence, his opinion of him improves significantly. However, he becomes impatient when Li Ziran pauses to theorize instead of immediately completing the transplant, then is left astonished by the procedure’s speed.
Butterfly Girl: Remains transformed into a frog throughout most of the operation, serving as the subject of the heart transplant. Her survival and improvement are Li Ziran’s main practical objective.

Significant Themes

Standards shaped by experience: After seeing Jon’s perfect Magic Organs, Li Ziran realizes that what once seemed exceptional can appear crude by comparison.
Natural evolution and magical biology: The chapter explores how organs develop magical properties through the absorption of elemental energy, with physical structures and internal characters evolving together.
Knowledge through experimentation: Li Ziran gains insight by comparing many specimens, treating the Elves as research material and extracting broader principles from their differences.
Mastery through practice: His rapid dissections reveal that confidence and speed come from repeated experience and deep familiarity with the work.
Perfection versus practicality: Although no Elf organ matches Jon’s, Li Ziran recognizes that the best available option can still be valuable and sufficient for Butterfly Girl.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran and Sandrew cooperate throughout the examination, with Sandrew providing access to the slaves and controlling them while Li Ziran performs the procedures.
Their relationship becomes more respectful: Sandrew recognizes Li Ziran’s skill, while Li Ziran relies on Sandrew’s resources to advance his research.
Sandrew explicitly asks Li Ziran to find a heart for Butterfly Girl, and Li Ziran responds by examining every Fire Elf to locate the strongest candidate.
The chapter ends with Sandrew questioning Li Ziran’s astonishingly fast transplant, highlighting the gap between his expectations and Li Ziran’s growing expertise.

Read chapter

Ch. 96Little Steamed Buns, Do You Understand?

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

Butterfly Girl’s internal condition is examined after her transformation: her uterus is unnaturally consuming her body’s energy, while her other vital organs are severely weakened.
Her newly transplanted heart begins functioning successfully, pumping fresh blood and improving her corpse-like complexion. The fetus in her uterus also shows signs of renewed development.
Li Ziran explains that Butterfly Girl needs extensive organ transplantation to develop normally. Her major organs, bone marrow, skin, and eventually all seventy-eight organs would need to become Magic Organs for an ideal result.
Sandrew becomes extremely enthusiastic about completing the surgeries, but Li Ziran delays the operation by reminding him that Butterfly Girl needs time to adapt and that Sandrew promised to teach him Corpse Witch Summoning.
In Sandrew’s training room, Li Ziran is introduced to the mechanics of the spell: combining mental power with Necrotic Force, creating ninety-six rounded “marker points,” connecting them with bone threads, and directing the structure into an Oracle Bone Script formation.
Li Ziran attempts to turn a Medusa corpse into a Corpse Witch. His first marker point is poorly formed, and Sandrew harshly corrects him, insisting that each point must resemble a small, round, bulging steamed bun.
Li Ziran struggles to create the marker points and exhausts his mental power after forming only about ten. Sandrew dismisses him to meditate and continues insulting his lack of skill.
Rather than give up, Li Ziran decides to study actual steamed buns so he can better understand the shape required.

Character Developments

Li Ziran: Demonstrates strong medical and magical knowledge but remains inexperienced in practical necromancy. He is patient, observant, and willing to endure humiliation in order to learn. Despite Sandrew’s criticism, he maintains perspective and resolves to practice harder.
Sandrew: Shows great admiration for Li Ziran’s surgical abilities and becomes eager to exploit his talent for organ transplantation. As a teacher, however, he is impatient, severe, and verbally abusive, revealing a demanding teaching style beneath his usually generous exterior.
Butterfly Girl: Her condition stabilizes temporarily because of the successful heart transplant. The renewed blood flow gives her body and developing fetus a chance to recover, though she still requires extensive treatment.
Gegwu and Li Ziran’s relationship: Gegwu’s earlier praise of Li Ziran’s surgical ability is validated, increasing Li Ziran’s standing among the Beast Race and reinforcing Sandrew’s confidence in him.

Significant Themes

Transformation through unnatural means: Butterfly Girl’s body is being rebuilt organ by organ, raising questions about the boundaries between medicine, magic, and bodily identity.
Perfection versus practicality: Li Ziran describes an ideal body requiring all organs to be replaced, while the immediate goal is merely to keep Butterfly Girl alive and ensure basic fetal development.
Theory versus practice: Although Li Ziran understands the principles of Corpse Witch Summoning, his first practical attempt exposes the gap between intellectual knowledge and technical mastery.
Harsh mentorship and perseverance: Sandrew’s brutal criticism tests Li Ziran’s confidence, but Li Ziran chooses to treat failure as a reason to practice rather than abandon the opportunity.
Humor amid grotesque subject matter: The repeated comparison of magical marker points to “little steamed buns” creates comic relief within the disturbing setting of organ transplantation and necromancy.

Character Interactions

Sandrew praises Li Ziran’s heart transplantation and immediately pressures him to perform more operations.
Li Ziran tactfully postpones further surgery by invoking Sandrew’s promise to teach him necromancy.
Sandrew gives Li Ziran a rapid explanation of Corpse Witch Summoning, then supervises his first attempt.
During the lesson, Sandrew repeatedly scolds and physically reprimands Li Ziran for making inaccurate marker points, while Li Ziran struggles to follow the instructions.
Their relationship combines mutual usefulness, growing familiarity, and comic friction: Sandrew sees Li Ziran as both a remarkable surgeon and a frustratingly incompetent apprentice.

Read chapter

Ch. 97The Frog's Soul Is So Weak

Chapter Summary: “The Frog’s Soul Is So Weak”

Key Plot Points and Events

After leaving Sandrew’s Mage Tower, Li Ziran reflects on his shortcomings in necromancy. Rather than feeling defeated by his inability to sense elemental or undead energy, he decides to accept his weakness and overcome it through hard work.
Motivated by Sandrew’s harsh criticism, Li Ziran orders the Rainbow-tail Girls to gather every useless frog in the pond so he can practice Snake Transformation and the Devouring Curse.
The frogs are transformed into tiny snakes, which are then removed from the basement and sold or exchanged. However, their souls are extremely weak, providing barely enough mental energy to offset the cost of transformation.
Li Ziran works throughout the night, greatly improving his spell proficiency but exhausting himself. He nostalgically remembers the powerful souls of Fire Elephants and Fishmen he once devoured in the swamp.
Before sleeping, he carefully studies the shape and structure of two steamed buns, intending to use them as models for future magical or anatomical work.
While Li Ziran sleeps, two Rainbow-tail Girls, later named Xiao Wei and Xiao Ju, clean him and his room. They consider taking advantage of his vulnerability, but the older girl stops the younger, warning her that the clan leader would punish anyone who crossed the line with him.
Upon waking, Li Ziran notices their careful service and rewards them by assigning them permanent roles: Xiao Wei will receive visitors, while Xiao Ju will manage the pond and frog supply. They are also allowed to stop working at the Mill.
With his Spirit World replenished, Li Ziran returns to the Mage Tower for further training.
Sandrew unexpectedly greets him warmly and apologizes for his previous anger. He promises to control his temper and jokingly vows to jump from the tower if Li Ziran cannot learn Corpse Witch Summoning that day.
Li Ziran confidently proposes beginning with a lung transplant, explaining that the lungs will connect to the heart, absorb the Elemental Tide, and accelerate the development of the magical Embryo.

Character Developments

Li Ziran becomes more resilient and self-aware. He acknowledges that he is naturally disadvantaged in necromancy but refuses to surrender, viewing hardship as a means of improvement.
His relentless overnight practice shows his determination, though it also reveals the limits of relying on weak souls for mental recovery.
Li Ziran begins to recognize and reward competence. He trusts Xiao Wei and Xiao Ju because they are observant, disciplined, and respectful of boundaries.
Xiao Wei and Xiao Ju gain greater security and status. Their careful service earns them freedom from Mill labor and defined responsibilities under Li Ziran.
The two girls’ interaction also reveals their awareness of social boundaries and the consequences of acting improperly.
Sandrew shifts from a frightening, harsh teacher to a more apologetic and enthusiastic mentor. His eagerness to continue teaching suggests that he genuinely wants Li Ziran to succeed, despite his poor temper.

Significant Themes

Growth through adversity: Li Ziran believes weaknesses can become the foundation for strength if confronted honestly.
Acceptance without resignation: Recognizing his lack of talent does not mean giving up; it allows him to find alternative methods of progress.
The value of strict guidance: Harsh criticism is presented as potentially more useful than empty kindness when the goal is mastery.
Resource limitations and adaptation: The frogs’ weak souls force Li Ziran to work inefficiently and reconsider how mages restore mental power.
Trust and boundaries: The Rainbow-tail Girls’ restraint and Li Ziran’s respect for their work establish a relationship based on mutual benefit rather than exploitation.
Practical management: Li Ziran increasingly organizes his household and resources efficiently, delegating tasks so he can focus on magical training.

Important Character Interactions

Li Ziran and Sandrew: Their relationship moves from tense teacher-student conflict toward reconciliation and renewed cooperation. Li Ziran remains intimidated by Sandrew, but he also respects his demanding instruction.
Li Ziran and the Rainbow-tail Girls: He gives them a difficult overnight task, then recognizes their competence by assigning them permanent roles and names.
Xiao Wei and Xiao Ju: Their conversation reveals Xiao Wei’s greater caution and experience. She prevents Xiao Ju from making a reckless advance toward Li Ziran and teaches her that restraint can bring better rewards.
Li Ziran and the Necromantic Apprentice: Li Ziran again passes through Corpse Mountain with the apprentice guarding it, marking the beginning of another training session.

Read chapter

Ch. 98Slaves and Frogs Used Together

Chapter Summary: “Slaves and Frogs Used Together”

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran continues studying necromancy under Sandrew, practicing the extremely delicate technique of pulling Necrotic Force into fine bone threads.
Sandrew’s behavior changes drastically during lessons. Though initially courteous and enthusiastic, he becomes violently impatient when Li Ziran repeatedly fails to create perfectly even threads. He eventually has Li Ziran thrown out of the Mage Tower.
Li Ziran reflects that the training is difficult but valuable. His greatest problem is the depletion of his Spirit World, since maintaining his practice requires him to consume souls.
Back at his pond residence, Li Ziran meets House, a Venetian Ratfolk involved in corpse transportation, slave-catching, and slave trading. House reports that business in Bailando City is improving under its new female city lord, Nicole, who appears to have gained Human backing.
House brings a ratfolk acquaintance suffering from severe throat inflammation. Li Ziran agrees to perform surgery, replacing the damaged tonsils, and receives ten half-orc criminals in payment.
Li Ziran plans to combine the half-orcs with frogs as soul sources. Because stronger souls provide greater mental feedback, the half-orcs are more useful than ordinary frogs, though he must ration them carefully.
He performs the Snake Transformation Spell and uses the Devouring Curse on the half-orcs throughout the night. Xiao Ju helps by preparing the secret room and organizing the captives.
The next morning, Li Ziran finds a warm cup of goat’s milk and feels unusually comfortable and optimistic, strengthening his determination to master thread-pulling.
Sandrew’s Bone Bird brings him urgently to the Mage Tower. The Butterfly Girl’s uterus has begun to shrivel, threatening the developing embryo.
Li Ziran realizes the uterus is malnourished and questions Sandrew. Sandrew finally admits that, because the Butterfly Girl complained of hunger, he secretly fed her a soul.

Character Developments

Li Ziran: Becomes more committed to mastering necromancy despite Sandrew’s abuse. He shows practical ruthlessness by using enslaved criminals as soul resources, while still maintaining some awareness of their social suffering. His medical reputation and business network continue to expand.
Sandrew: Reveals a volatile, perfectionist personality during instruction. Despite his harshness, he is deeply invested in the Butterfly Girl and embryo, becoming visibly anxious when the pregnancy develops complications. His impulsive decision to feed the Butterfly Girl a soul may have caused the current crisis.
House: Remains a useful commercial contact and intermediary for Li Ziran. His recovery from throat disease has made him a more valuable customer, and he helps acquire the half-orc captives.
Xiao Ju: Demonstrates reliability and domestic competence by preparing the secret room, arranging the captives, and maintaining Li Ziran’s living environment.
The Butterfly Girl: Her condition worsens as her uterus shrivels, placing the embryo at risk and increasing the urgency of Li Ziran’s medical intervention.

Significant Themes

Knowledge through harsh discipline: Necromantic mastery requires extreme precision, patience, and mental control, while Sandrew’s cruel teaching methods contrast with Li Ziran’s practical persistence.
Exploitation and survival: Li Ziran recognizes the cruelty of slavery and the marginalization of half-orcs, yet still uses them to replenish his mental power because survival and advancement take priority.
Medicine and necromancy intertwined: Surgery, anatomy, transplantation, and soul manipulation all function as related forms of technical knowledge.
Moral compromise: Li Ziran’s sympathy for the oppressed conflicts with his willingness to consume their souls. The chapter presents this contradiction without resolving it.
Fragile experimentation: The Butterfly Girl’s pregnancy illustrates the risks of magical and biological experimentation, especially when Sandrew acts without understanding the consequences.
Commerce as opportunity: Medical services, slavery, corpse transport, and necromancy form an interconnected economy through which Li Ziran obtains resources and influence.

Character Interactions

Sandrew alternates between praising Li Ziran’s potential and insulting him during training, creating a relationship based on both mentorship and intimidation.
Li Ziran and House conduct a mutually beneficial trade: Li Ziran cures House’s associate, while House supplies him with half-orc criminals.
Li Ziran interacts with customers and acquaintances as both physician and businessman, assessing their usefulness and potential access to stronger souls.
Xiao Ju supports Li Ziran practically and domestically, making his increasingly grim work more efficient and comfortable.
Li Ziran confronts Sandrew about the Butterfly Girl’s deterioration, forcing Sandrew to admit that his own unauthorized action may have endangered the embryo.

Read chapter

Ch. 99Devouring

Chapter Summary: “Devouring”

Key Plot Points and Events

Sandrew has impulsively placed an additional soul inside Butterfly Girl’s undeveloped Demon Embryo. The Embryo begins consuming enormous amounts of energy, weakening not only Butterfly Girl’s ordinary organs but also her uterus and magical organs.
Li Ziran realizes that replacing Butterfly Girl’s organs would be risky, especially because Sandrew might refuse to teach him Corpse Witch magic afterward. He instead decides to remove the extra soul.
He devises a different solution: transform the Embryo into a snake so that its souls become visible, then use his Devouring Curse to absorb the unwanted soul.
Li Ziran casts the Snake Transformation Spell inside the uterus. The Embryo resists violently, nearly causing the uterus to burst, but Li Ziran completes the spell through careful control and persistence.
The transformation reveals two souls: a small, weak soul and a much larger soul with power comparable to a High Mage.
Li Ziran targets the smaller soul. When the larger Demon soul attacks to protect it, the Devouring Curse pulls both souls into Li Ziran. He unexpectedly devours the Demon soul as well, gaining a massive surge of spiritual power and ten new Spirit Crystals.
With the souls apparently gone, Butterfly Girl’s organs recover and return to normal. Li Ziran fears he has ruined Sandrew’s intended successor by leaving the Embryo soulless.
However, Sandrew is delighted. He claims Butterfly Girl’s soul is “pure” and says she has resumed communicating with him intelligently. Li Ziran is confused and begins to suspect that Demon souls may be capable of regenerating.

Character Developments

Li Ziran demonstrates increasing technical skill and confidence with Transformation Spells. Despite intense danger, he remains composed and completes the spell through patience and precision.
He also becomes more strategic and self-protective, carefully considering how his actions might affect Sandrew’s promise to teach him magic.
Li Ziran’s Devouring Curse grows significantly stronger after absorbing the Demon soul, greatly increasing his spiritual power.
Sandrew is revealed as impulsive and reckless, having inserted a soul into the Embryo without considering the consequences. Nevertheless, he trusts Li Ziran enough to let him continue the dangerous procedure.
Sandrew’s attachment to Butterfly Girl becomes clearer: he treats her as both a possible successor and someone whose approval and companionship matter deeply to him.
Butterfly Girl/the Demon Embryo displays remarkable strength even before birth, resisting Li Ziran’s spell with power comparable to a High Mage.

Significant Themes

Uncontrolled experimentation and its consequences: Sandrew’s casual interference creates a life-threatening imbalance, forcing Li Ziran to repair the damage.
Power through consumption: The Devouring Curse turns spiritual beings into direct growth for Li Ziran, raising questions about the morality and dangers of gaining strength by consuming souls.
Uncertainty surrounding souls and identity: The apparent disappearance of both souls—and Butterfly Girl’s continued intelligence—challenges Li Ziran’s assumptions about what makes a being conscious or complete.
Trust and risk: Li Ziran must act without fully understanding the Embryo, while Sandrew must trust him despite the possibility of catastrophic failure.
Regeneration and the limits of knowledge: The possibility that Demon souls can regenerate introduces a mysterious new element and suggests that Li Ziran’s understanding of Demons is incomplete.

Character Interactions

Li Ziran cautiously warns Sandrew not to interfere carelessly with the Embryo, while presenting the dangerous transformation procedure as controlled and potentially normal.
Sandrew repeatedly considers stopping the spell when the uterus begins swelling, but ultimately allows Li Ziran to continue because he recognizes the latter’s concentration and ability.
After the procedure, Sandrew enthusiastically praises Li Ziran, unaware—or apparently unconcerned—that the Demon soul may have been devoured.
Li Ziran struggles with guilt and anxiety, nearly confessing that he may have destroyed Sandrew’s successor. Sandrew’s claim that Butterfly Girl is still intelligent leaves him bewildered and leads him to theorize about soul regeneration.

Read chapter

Ch. 100Please Help Me

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

Li Ziran becomes frustrated when Sandrew refuses to teach him about Corpse Witches. In protest, he practices alone outside the Mage Tower, successfully forming most of a Corpse Witch Formation but repeatedly fails at the complex Bone Script stage.
Realizing he needs guidance, Li leaves Corpse Mountain and visits House in Blackwind Pass. He asks House to obtain demons so he can investigate whether certain demons can regenerate their souls.
House initially refuses, explaining that demons are extremely rare and dangerous on the Red Soil Continent. After Li offers valuable Carnivorous Flower Liquid, House agrees to find one and promises delivery the next day, revealing that he has a Firetail Imp hidden in storage.
A Corpse Witch suddenly arrives, summoning Li back to Sandrew. Li suspects something has gone wrong with Butterfly Girl.
Sandrew is found in an agitated, disheveled state, obsessively covering a blackboard with complex necromantic symbols. He begs Li to help because the embryo inside Butterfly Girl has stopped communicating with him.
Sandrew explains that the embryo had been helping him research the extinct Deathly Silence Dragon, an enhanced Bone Dragon capable of creating a Deathly Silence Domain. Solving this research could allow Sandrew to become a Titled Necromantic Archmage.
Li discovers that the embryo has regenerated another soul. He uses the Devouring Curse to consume it, restoring communication between the embryo and Sandrew.
Sandrew immediately resumes his research, enthusiastically discussing formations and script combinations with the embryo. Li observes the astonishing complexity of Sandrew’s multi-layered formation, which contains tens of thousands of characters.

2. Character Developments

Li Ziran: Shows his impatience and ambition as a student, but also demonstrates practicality and emotional restraint. Although angry at Sandrew, he chooses to help because revenge would provide no benefit. His investigation confirms that the embryo—and likely certain demons—can regenerate souls.
Sandrew: Changes from a dismissive, arrogant teacher into a desperate and obsessive scholar. His intellectual fascination with the embryo’s knowledge overwhelms his dignity, driving him to beg Li for help. His research into the Deathly Silence Dragon reveals his immense magical ability and ambition.
House: Initially refuses Li’s request because of the danger and rarity of demons, but changes his mind when offered valuable payment. His behavior highlights his practical, opportunistic nature while also showing that he is willing to repay Li’s favors.
Butterfly Girl’s embryo: Is revealed to possess extraordinary intelligence and knowledge, capable of discussing advanced necromantic theory before fully developing. Its ability to regenerate souls becomes a major discovery.

3. Significant Themes

The value of knowledge and genius: Sandrew’s obsession demonstrates how intellectual discovery can overpower pride, reason, and social composure.
Teacher-student dependence: Li’s failure to master Bone Script alone emphasizes the importance of instruction, while Sandrew’s reliance on Li shows that even a master may need assistance.
Pragmatism and self-interest: Li repeatedly evaluates situations according to benefit rather than emotion, helping Sandrew despite his resentment because doing so is more useful than retaliation.
The nature of souls and rebirth: The embryo’s regenerated soul confirms that at least some demonic beings possess a form of spiritual renewal, potentially solving Li’s concerns about the scarcity of souls.
The vastness of magical knowledge: The intricate formation on Sandrew’s blackboard contrasts with Li’s comparatively simple Transformation Array, emphasizing the enormous gap between ordinary expertise and the highest levels of necromantic research.

4. Character Interactions

Li and Sandrew’s strained teacher-student relationship is central: Li feels neglected, while Sandrew later becomes dependent on Li’s ability to restore communication with the embryo.
Li and House negotiate over obtaining a demon, combining old favors, payment, and House’s underworld connections.
Sandrew and the embryo share an intense intellectual exchange, collaboratively solving advanced problems involving Oracle Bone Script, Dark Script, death force, and layered formations.
Li acts as the mediator between Sandrew and the embryo, using soul consumption to restore the connection and enabling their research to continue.

Read chapter

Show

Page 5 of 38