Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong and Gu investigate the Witch Clan’s system of faith. Xu Tong senses it only faintly, while Gu senses nothing at all.
• Xu Tong concludes that the faith system links the clan members to their sovereigns, who grant worshippers power. But those gifts come at a cost: the stronger someone becomes, the shorter their life. This helps explain why long-lived, powerless elders govern the settlements.
• Xu Tong traces the faith connection to a place “behind” the sun. He and Gu pass through it and find that the apparent sun—and perhaps the world around them—is illusory, like a painting.
• A ball of light appears and identifies itself as the Sovereign of Heaven. It says it awoke in this world but remembers belonging somewhere dark and believes this is not its original home.
• Xu Tong realizes the world’s supposed six sovereigns are all the same being. The light’s claim to be the sole Sovereign of Heaven is therefore an attempt to deceive them, exposed by Xu Tong’s ability to sense the faith channels.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong remains skeptical of the sovereigns and investigates rather than accepting their authority. His observations let him infer how faith, power, and lifespan are connected, and he sees through the Sovereign of Heaven’s deception.
• Gu cannot sense the faith system and seems too powerful for the sovereigns to accept his devotion. He accompanies Xu Tong without hesitation and notes that something seemed to restrain him before they crossed the sun.
• The Sovereign of Heaven appears gentle and forthcoming about its uncertain origins, but its claim about the sovereigns is undermined by Xu Tong’s evidence. It also recognizes Gu as a lethal threat.

Significant themes

• Faith and power: Worship connects people to a source of strength, but the benefits are unequal and costly.
• Power and mortality: Greater strength shortens life, complicating the idea that power is an unqualified blessing.
• Illusion and hidden realities: The sun and world may not be what they seem, and the sovereign’s identity is likewise obscured.
• Skepticism and truth: Xu Tong’s distrust and careful reasoning help him uncover the discrepancy between the sovereign’s story and the evidence.

1. Key plot points and events

• Gu draws the Pangu Axe, frightening the glowing entity that had ruled the world inside the Painting. The entity admits it is only a tool and reveals its true form: a simple Scroll.
• The Scroll explains that it is the physical embodiment of its world, and that beings like it can create worlds and gather faith.
• Xu Tong orders the Scroll to withdraw the world around them. The artificial world vanishes, revealing a desolate but strangely vibrant realm.
• Xu Tong theorizes that the realm’s unusual treasures were once Chaos Demon Gods, transformed into objects that retain consciousness but have lost their former identities. He suspects the Witch Clan here arose from their deaths and is now weak and exploited.
• Gu claims the Scroll—also called the Painting—and believes there may be many similar treasures in the realm. Xu Tong proposes exploring the world further.

2. Character developments

• Xu Tong shows caution and strategic curiosity. He is more interested in understanding the realm than collecting treasures, and distrusts the Scroll’s convenient appearance.
• Gu is increasingly enthusiastic about powerful artifacts. He readily takes the Scroll, though he recognizes it is far inferior to the Pangu Axe.
• The Scroll is revealed as a tool-like world embodiment with only vague memories of its past.

3. Significant themes

• Power and submission: The Scroll yields immediately when confronted with the Pangu Axe.
• Transformation and lost identity: Former Chaos Demon Gods may persist as treasures, but no longer as living beings in any meaningful sense.
• Faith and world-making: Some entities create worlds and draw power from their inhabitants’ belief.
• Caution versus ambition: Gu pursues artifacts, while Xu Tong remains wary and seeks to understand the wider world.

4. Character interactions

• Gu’s display of the Pangu Axe makes the Scroll tremble and cooperate.
• Xu Tong questions the Scroll, commands it to reveal the true realm, and then asks Gu whether he can use it.
• Gu takes possession of the Scroll, while Xu Tong voices doubts about it and redirects their attention toward exploring the realm.

Key plot points and events

• After half a day of travel, Xu Tong and Gu have encountered no living people. Xu Tong recognizes this as suspicious and asks Gu to question the Scroll.
• The Scroll says treasures like itself control the world and occupy most of it, though some areas remain. It transforms into a detailed map showing the world’s divisions and ten treasures.
• Xu Tong and Gu use the map to locate themselves and identify their next destination, where another treasure is said to be.
• Xu Tong suspects the Scroll’s sudden helpfulness conceals an agenda. He also reasons that the treasures must have special abilities, even though the Scroll has shown no obvious combat power.
• Xu Tong considers how he might benefit from this world. Its original chaos demon god power has been absorbed into the local Witch Clan, so his potential resource is the clan itself. He contemplates bringing its members into the Chaos Bead to populate his otherwise largely lifeless world.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong grows increasingly suspicious and strategic. He hides his concerns from Gu, preferring to make arrangements quietly, and weighs the moral and practical consequences of relocating the Witch Clan.
• Gu trusts the Scroll and is relieved to have a map. Though he came primarily for treasures, he worries Xu Tong may gain nothing and wants his friend to benefit.
• The Scroll behaves unusually cooperatively toward Gu, supplying a detailed map, while remaining hostile toward Xu Tong. Its helpfulness deepens Xu Tong’s distrust.
• Xu Tong and Gu discuss the strange absence of people and examine the map together, but they interpret the Scroll’s behavior differently.

Significant themes

• Trust and concealed motives: The Scroll’s cooperation may be a ploy, while Xu Tong deliberately keeps his suspicions to himself.
• Friendship and loyalty: Gu considers Xu Tong’s interests despite his own treasure-seeking goals.
• Power and survival: The treasures’ control of the world—and their unknown abilities—suggests a dangerous balance Xu Tong must understand.
• World-building and resource ethics: Xu Tong’s plan could help populate his world but might harm it in the short term, leaving the consequences unresolved.

Xu Tong and Gu learn that the treasures holding the Witch Clan members must be gathered to free them—a goal that aligns with their plans. Their next target is the Great Cauldron, which can produce a divine water beneficial to ordinary Witch Clan members. The scroll knows the Cauldron from a previous encounter, though its information is limited.
Xu Tong grows wary of the treasures’ origins and motives. He suspects they may have come from a single Chaos Demon God rather than several, and wonders whether that being truly died or left the treasures for some hidden purpose. Gu, focused on the potential benefits, misses the warning behind Xu Tong’s concern.
As they approach the Cauldron’s territory, Xu Tong urges Gu to conceal his power and follow his lead. Gu tries to comply by lowering his strength to Xu Tong’s level, but Xu Tong points out that this hardly makes him seem harmless. The exchange highlights their contrasting temperaments: Xu Tong is cautious and alert to danger, while Gu is confident and inclined to act without fear. Still, Gu trusts Xu Tong and agrees to follow his direction, setting up the pair’s encounter with the Great Cauldron.
Themes: caution amid uncertainty, the danger of underestimating hidden motives, and trust between companions.

Key plot points

• Xu Tong and Gu enter another treasure’s domain, which is bustling and noticeably more prosperous than the world inside the scroll.
• The world still resembles the first one: its Witch Clan has six leaders, and its inhabitants appear to have evolved from the corpse of a Chaos Demon God.
• The scroll hints that this treasure can produce a special divine water, and may have other functions once the treasures are gathered.
• Comparing these worlds with the future Primordial World, Xu Tong suspects the later Pangu may not truly be the Gu he knows. He may have been transformed—or replaced—by the treasures’ influence.
• Xu Tong decides not to interfere with Gu, reasoning that changing him could alter the Primordial World and even erase the chain of events that brought Xu Tong here. He resolves instead to stay cautious and prepare contingencies.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong becomes increasingly wary. He recognizes that Gu’s future transformation could threaten the Primordial World and possibly affect Xu Tong himself, but accepts that he cannot safely change events.
• Gu remains confident that he has changed and will act carefully, unaware of Xu Tong’s deeper concerns. Xu Tong privately doubts Gu’s self-awareness.
• Xu Tong warns Gu to be cautious in the new world, but chooses not to tell him what he suspects about his future.

Significant themes

• Fate versus intervention: Xu Tong believes the future may already depend on Gu’s transformation, making intervention dangerously paradoxical.
• Identity and influence: The chapter questions whether the future Pangu is still the same person as present-day Gu.
• Uncertainty and self-preservation: Xu Tong considers that the treasures could affect him too and concludes he needs a way to protect himself.

Plot points and events

• Xu Tong and Gu arrive in a new world, where a tribe welcomes them as though they were expected.
• The tribe’s leader explains that its divine artifact foretold their arrival and ordered him to bring them to it. The tribe obeys because an earlier tribe was destroyed after defying the artifact.
• Although the tribe has benefited from the artifact, it now wants freedom from its control and sees Xu Tong and Gu as a chance to escape.
• The artifact turns out to be the Cauldron. It greets the visitors and says it expected them because the world was once under its control.
• The Cauldron reveals that it raised the world’s six rulers, but they later turned against it. Their failure to unite has kept the Cauldron from being completely destroyed, though it has lost control of its own essence.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong is wary of the apparent welcome and suspects the artifact may be connected to the Scroll they carry. He lets Gu handle the initial exchange, then asks the Cauldron to explain its claim.
• Gu bluntly asks whether the Scroll revealed their arrival, prompting the Cauldron to correct his assumption.
• The tribal leader and his people treat the visitors with unusual deference, hoping they can help free the tribe from the artifact.
• The Cauldron is pleased to see Xu Tong and Gu, but its account also reveals bitterness toward the six rulers it once raised.

Significant themes

• Dependence and control: The tribe relies on an artifact it also fears and resents.
• Rebellion and betrayal: The Cauldron’s former creations turned against their maker, leaving it weakened.
• Prophecy and hidden connections: The visitors’ arrival appears to be part of a larger design, though its true cause remains unclear.
• Freedom at a cost: The tribe hopes to break free without suffering the fate of those who defied the artifact before.

Key plot points and events

• The Cauldron asks Xu Tong and Gu to defeat six former Leaders who stole its essence, but admits it cannot tell them where the Leaders are or what they are doing.
• Gu readily appears willing to help, while Xu Tong distrusts the Cauldron and demands a clearer explanation and some benefit before acting.
• The Cauldron explains that the world has two layers: the lower world where they are now, and an upper world where it once lived. Since the Leaders rebelled, the Cauldron has been confined below and knows little about events above.
• Xu Tong captures the Cauldron, but Gu discovers it has been hollowed out and is nearly useless. Its few remaining functions offer them no meaningful advantage.
• Xu Tong concludes they may have to travel above the sky and confront the Leaders. He suspects gathering the world’s treasures—and especially the Scroll—may be necessary to leave this world.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong remains cautious and strategic. He challenges the Cauldron’s story, refuses to rush into a dangerous mission, and notices that his system has stopped responding since entering the palace. This deepens his concern that the palace has formidable, unfamiliar origins.
• Gu shows immense power but is far more trusting than Xu Tong, accepting the Cauldron’s request with little questioning. Xu Tong privately finds this baffling. Gu later confirms that the Cauldron is only an empty shell.
• The Cauldron is candid about its ignorance and diminished state. Though it once controlled the lower world, its authority no longer extends to the upper layer, and it cannot provide the help Xu Tong wants.

Significant themes

• Caution versus impulsiveness: Xu Tong’s suspicion contrasts with Gu’s willingness to act, reinforcing the value of careful judgment in unfamiliar territory.
• Power and lost control: The Cauldron once ruled the world but has been weakened and displaced by those who rebelled against it.
• Unavoidable conflict: Xu Tong would prefer not to challenge the six Leaders, but recognizes that progress—and possibly escape from this world—may depend on doing so.

Key plot points and events

• The cauldron projects an indistinct, enormous head into the Scroll, revealing what may be its true form. Though stripped of its Origin Power, it still radiates a frightening pressure.
• Xu Tong and Gu travel to the rulers’ stronghold in the sky to reclaim the stolen Origin Power.
• Xu Tong suspects the apparently empty region is full of hidden defenses and remains cautious.
• A ruler’s illusory representative confronts them and offers to let them leave if they abandon their claim. Xu Tong demands the stolen Origin Power; the representative refuses, explaining that the rulers need it to survive.
• Neither side is willing to yield, so negotiations collapse. The representative disappears, and a confrontation is now likely.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong remains distrustful of the cauldron and wary of entering enemy territory. He probes the sky’s defenses while negotiating, hoping to gain an advantage.
• Gu is eager for a fight and focused solely on recovering the Origin Power so the cauldron can be restored. Xu Tong’s caution contrasts with Gu’s impatience.
• The rulers’ representative prefers to avoid a battle but will not surrender the Origin Power, which is essential to the rulers’ continued survival.

Significant themes

• Survival versus justice: The rulers cling to the Origin Power because they depend on it, while Xu Tong and Gu need it to restore the cauldron.
• Distrust and hidden danger: Xu Tong assumes the rulers have prepared traps, and the cauldron’s uncertain history leaves him wary of its claims.
• Failed compromise: Both sides recognize the danger of fighting, but their incompatible needs leave no room for agreement.

Plot points

• Xu Tong tells Gu to stop concealing his strength and take the Origin Power from their opponents; after doing so, they can leave.
• Xu Tong warns Gu to protect the two treasures he carries, especially the Pangu Axe, and explains that their immediate goal is to destroy the core of a powerful formation.
• As they enter the formation, an imposing leader attacks, claiming he has merged with the surrounding world. Gu easily knocks him away, leaving him badly injured.
• Five more figures appear. One had warned the leader that Xu Tong and Gu were dangerous. The injured man remains confident that the formation can heal him while he is within their stronghold.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong shows strategic judgment: he recognizes that hiding Gu’s strength would now be more harmful than helpful, and focuses their efforts on the formation’s core.
• Gu is eager to fight but remains loyal to Xu Tong, agreeing to follow his instructions. His restraint ends once Xu Tong gives him permission to use his full strength.
• Their trust is reinforced by Gu’s gratitude: Xu Tong has repeatedly let him keep the treasures they acquired.
• The leaders’ confidence falters after Gu’s overwhelming first strike, though they still rely on the formation for protection and recovery.

Significant themes

• Trust and loyalty: Gu follows Xu Tong’s guidance because of their strong bond and Xu Tong’s generosity.
• Strategy versus force: Xu Tong targets the formation’s core, while Gu’s strength is crucial for confronting its defenders.
• Overconfidence and vulnerability: The leaders trust their stronghold, but Gu’s attack quickly exposes the gap between their confidence and their ability to withstand him.

Plot and events

• Xu Tong and Gu face five Leaders while a sixth, previously incapacitated, recovers. The Leaders hope to stall for time and then confront Gu together.
• Gu attacks and easily knocks the five opponents back, though their precautions prevent them from suffering serious injuries.
• Xu Tong stays out of the fight, secretly studying the surrounding formations. He aims to locate their cores so the Leaders lose their home-ground advantage.
• Seeing Gu’s overwhelming power, the mild-mannered Leader reveals a shield formed from origin power. The other Leaders then disclose that they, too, have secretly shaped origin power into weapons.
• The group explains that containing the origin power in weapons helps prevent it from further altering their personalities. They prepare to fight without holding back.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu remains confident and dominant, even when outnumbered; the Leaders’ attacks seem intended mainly to delay him.
• Xu Tong takes a strategic, observant role, using the battle to investigate the formations rather than joining the assault.
• The saber-wielding woman emerges as the group’s strongest and most forceful member, urging the others to commit fully.
• The mild-mannered man sheds his gentle persona when he reveals his shield, returning to the fearless bearing he once had.
• The alluring woman similarly changes her demeanor after drawing her saber, suggesting the origin power has altered the Leaders’ personalities.
• The Leaders recognize that secrecy and hesitation could cost them their lives, so they coordinate and reveal their hidden weapons.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and survival: The Leaders have developed a way to manage the origin power by shaping it into weapons.
• Identity under influence: The power has changed their temperaments, raising the threat of losing their original selves.
• Strategy versus force: Gu overwhelms his opponents physically, while Xu Tong seeks to dismantle their advantage through careful observation.
• Desperation and trust: Facing a formidable enemy, the Leaders must rely on one another and stop keeping their abilities in reserve.

Plot and key events

• The wounded Leader finishes healing with the help of the formations and prepares to join the fight.
• The others discover that, unlike them, he has never separated his source power from his body. He instead fused with it completely, following a path that may cost him everything if he is defeated.
• He insists that the source power cannot change who he is. Growing larger, he takes the other Leaders’ source-powered weapons, telling them to stay behind while he fights.
• The five Leaders vanish into the surrounding world, staking their chance of returning on his victory.
• Their sacrifice transforms the formations and renders Xu Tong’s previous efforts useless. He and his companion can now obtain the enemy’s source power only by defeating him directly.

Character developments and interactions

• The wounded Leader shifts from hesitant and self-conscious to confident and commanding. His unusual fusion with source power makes him both powerful and exceptionally vulnerable.
• The alluring woman still intimidates him despite their long-ago divorce, teasing him as he recovers. She and the other Leaders ultimately trust him with their survival.
• The other Leaders question whether his fusion has compromised his identity; he answers with firm conviction.
• Xu Tong reacts with frustration, recognizing that the Leaders’ sacrifice has erased the progress he made.

Significant themes

• Different paths to power: The Leaders separate source power from themselves, while the wounded man chooses total fusion.
• Identity and conviction: He believes strength cannot alter his essential self, though his choice puts that belief to the test.
• Sacrifice and trust: The five Leaders relinquish their chance to act independently and stake everything on one man.
• The cost of failure: Their survival—and Xu Tong’s goal—now depends on a direct fight.

Plot points and events

• The man absorbs nearly all the Cauldron’s origin power, growing immensely powerful and taking on an ancient, oppressive aura.
• He celebrates this borrowed strength, while Gu argues that relying on another being’s power will prevent him from advancing further.
• The man reveals that he once led the tribe and was its priest. His people stole the Cauldron’s origin power after discovering that members of their tribe were absorbed by it when they turned thirty.
• He claims the power’s influence did not come from the Cauldron itself, but from an even greater existence. Xu Tong presses him on how he knows this; the man says he initiated the theft and knew the Cauldron better than anyone.
• Once Xu Tong gets the answer he sought, he tells Gu to attack. Gu swings the Pangu Axe, and the man dodges, recognizing that the weapon could still gravely injure him.

Character developments and interactions

• The man reveals himself as the former leader and priest behind the tribe’s decision to steal the origin power. He values immediate strength over self-directed growth and regards the power’s mysterious influence as something magnificent rather than a threat.
• Xu Tong stays focused and emotionally controlled, questioning the man to uncover the origin of the influence. Once satisfied, he withdraws and signals Gu to strike.
• Gu dismisses the man’s borrowed power as a poor choice but treats him as a genuine danger. His attack forces the newly empowered man to evade.
• The man taunts Xu Tong for remaining still while others fought, prompting the confrontation over his power and past.

Significant themes

• Power versus growth: Taking power directly may bring rapid strength but, in Gu’s view, sacrifices the possibility of continued development.
• Fear and survival: The tribe’s theft was driven by a brutal bargain—greatness for the tribe came at the cost of members’ lives at thirty.
• Mystery and influence: The origin power seems connected to a force greater than the Cauldron, raising questions about its true source and effects.
• Sacrifice and choice: The leaders’ self-sacrifice and the tribe’s desperate decision reflect the costs people accept to protect others or escape their fate.

Plot points

• Gu’s Pangu Axe wounds the man despite his attempt to dodge. The man admits Gu has surpassed his expectations and that his own strength is not enough.
• The man draws on the power of their territory, more than doubling his strength, then grows even larger.
• He absorbs the armor that had served as his last safeguard. This gives him a further, dramatic boost, but risks costing him his will.
• Gu remains eager to fight. He channels his own blood into the Pangu Axe, turning its golden glow blood-red and making it feel deadly even to the man.
• Fearing he will be killed, the man retreats and offers Gu all the origin power in his body in exchange for his life.

Character developments and interactions

• The man shifts from confidence to desperation. Though he has unleashed everything, he retains enough judgment to recognize the danger and seek a bargain.
• Gu is exhilarated rather than intimidated by the man’s power-ups. He welcomes a worthy opponent and reveals a dangerous technique he has never used before.
• Their encounter moves from combat to attempted negotiation, with the man appealing to Gu’s restraint as Gu prepares to press the advantage.

Significant themes

• Power and its cost: Both fighters push beyond their limits; the man risks losing his will, while Gu sacrifices blood to empower his weapon.
• Fear versus exhilaration: The man’s growing fear contrasts with Gu’s excitement at finally facing a challenging foe.
• Desperation and survival: Having exhausted his defenses, the man abandons the fight’s ideals and offers his power to stay alive.

Chapter Summary: “A Tiger’s Head and a Snake’s Tail”

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong questions whether the enemy can really remove the Origin Power from his body, since his strength depends on it and losing it would likely kill him.
• The enemy’s composure breaks. Seeing no chance to escape or win, he gives up resisting and yields control of his body to a mysterious voice within him.
• The awakening being drains much of the power from Gu’s Scroll and Cauldron, leaving the Scroll gray and lifeless.
• The being recognizes Gu and Xu Tong as Chaos Demon Gods, distinct from the Witch Clan inhabitants of this world. He sees Gu—and the treasures he carries—as possible means to gain strength and eventually escape the world.
• Before acting further, the being decides the timing is wrong: the host body is too fragile, and the world’s limitations would soon force him back into slumber. He dissolves the body and disappears.
• Xu Tong and Gu are left puzzled and frustrated. Unnoticed by them, the Scroll and Cauldron recover their power after the being vanishes.

Character developments and interactions

• The enemy/host abandons his own will and entrusts himself to the voice, revealing how desperate he has become.
• The awakened being proves calculating and ambitious. He quickly assesses the situation, identifies Gu as valuable, and retreats rather than risk an unstable revival.
• Gu is annoyed that a promising fight ends abruptly and accuses the enemy of doing it deliberately.
• Xu Tong offers a cautious explanation, suggesting the host’s body could not withstand the being.
• Xu Tong and Gu exchange a bewildered look, sharing their confusion over the sudden disappearance.

Significant themes

• Power and dependence: The host’s strength relies on the Origin Power, leaving him vulnerable when control shifts.
• Limits of the body and world: Even a powerful being cannot remain active if its host or environment cannot sustain it.
• Ambition and survival: The awakened being prioritizes a future opportunity over immediate action.
• Anticlimax and hidden consequences: What seems like an unsatisfying, abrupt ending quietly benefits Gu’s treasures.

Chapter Summary: “The Truth”

Key plot points and events

• Gu and Xu Tong check the Cauldron, which has absorbed the surrounding origin power and changed. Xu Tong believes it should have recovered, though neither knows what might happen if they collect all the treasures.
• They consult the Scroll’s map to locate the next treasure. Their current position lies at the world’s farthest edge, so reaching other treasures will take considerable time.
• Studying the map, Xu Tong realizes the world’s shape resembles a body. He concludes that the treasures may have formed from the body of a Chaos Demon God whose death created the world—and that their location corresponds to the being’s head.
• Gu rejects this idea, arguing that Chaos Demon Gods are too valuable to leave dead and unused; anyone who found one would devour its corpse.
• Xu Tong understands that their disagreement comes from their different eras. In his experience, many Chaos Demon Gods died when they joined the assault on Pangu. In Gu’s time, such deaths were rare, and Gu has not yet encountered the powerful beings who would later fight Pangu.
• Xu Tong ends the discussion and suggests they continue searching for the other treasures.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong shows greater knowledge of the world’s history and origins, connecting the map’s shape to a Chaos Demon God’s body. He also recognizes that Gu’s disbelief is rooted in his limited experience of such deaths.
• Gu remains curious about the treasures, particularly after obtaining the Pangu Axe, but is skeptical of Xu Tong’s theory. His comments highlight that he belongs to an earlier period, before Pangu’s rise and the later conflicts.
• Their exchange is calm and collaborative: Gu challenges Xu Tong’s conclusion, while Xu Tong explains the historical difference without pressing the argument. Both ultimately return their attention to the treasure hunt.

Significant themes

• Different eras shape what seems possible: Xu Tong’s experience of mass deaths among Chaos Demon Gods contrasts sharply with Gu’s world, where their deaths are exceptional.
• The hidden origin of the world: The map and treasures may reveal that the world itself was formed from a Chaos Demon God’s remains.
• Knowledge and uncertainty: Xu Tong has a strong theory but cannot explain every mystery, including what collecting all the treasures might cause.

Plot points

• Xu Tong and Gu travel to the next world in search of its treasure. Before entering, Gu suppresses his strength to match Xu Tong’s, as he has done before.
• The world appears unusually empty, unlike the previous worlds, where they encountered members of the Witch Clan. Despite the uncertainty, Xu Tong insists they continue: finding the treasure may be their only way out.
• Their first encounter is hostile. Xu Tong tells Gu to capture the attacker alive, and Gu swiftly overpowers him—though he uses more strength than his supposed level suggests.
• The prisoner detonates himself, prompting Xu Tong to infer that the world’s treasure controls its inhabitants and is using them to resist intruders. They may have to defeat every powerful figure in the world to claim it, and the treasure could still fight back.
• Gu’s Cauldron suddenly emits a light that conceals their location from the treasure.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong accepts that he is too weak to assist in Gu’s fights and focuses instead on directing their progress.
• Gu is accustomed to suppressing his strength and follows Xu Tong’s instructions. His confidence is evident when he captures the attacker.
• Xu Tong and Gu work together pragmatically: Xu Tong assesses the danger and gives orders, while Gu handles the combat and interprets the Cauldron’s function.

Significant themes

• Necessity and risk: The pair press on because the treasure may be essential to escaping, even if pursuing it means confronting danger.
• Control and resistance: The world’s treasure appears to control its inhabitants, while Gu’s concealed power and the Cauldron’s protective light offer ways to evade that control.
• Trust and complementary roles: Xu Tong and Gu rely on one another’s judgment and different strengths to navigate an unfamiliar threat.

Chapter Summary

• The Cauldron’s assistance prevents Xu Tong and Gu from being attacked at any moment, though it cannot locate the world’s hostile treasure. Xu Tong concludes that the treasure has a will of its own and is trying to control the world, while the Scroll appears to oppose it.
• Xu Tong reflects that the Scroll may be the torso of a world formed from a dead Chaos Demon God, making their quest to collect the other treasures resemble helping the torso reclaim its rebellious parts. The thought unsettles him, but gathering the treasures remains their only way to leave.
• Since hiding their presence offers little benefit, Xu Tong tells Gu to stop concealing his strength and eliminate enemies quickly, before a fight attracts more threats. Gu remains unsure how useful the Cauldron and Scroll can be.
• Hoping to find clues in the treasures’ usual locations, Gu asks where they tend to stay. Xu Tong recalls that both the Scroll and the Cauldron were originally associated with the sky, so the pair fly upward to search.
• High above the world, they sense another space. Xu Tong believes they chose the right direction and expects this search to be quicker.

Character Developments and Interactions

Xu Tong is increasingly pragmatic: despite his misgivings about the treasures’ nature, he focuses on their goal and adjusts their tactics to reduce danger. Gu follows his lead, contributes the idea of asking the treasures for clues, and shares Xu Tong’s suspicion that the next treasure is in the sky.

Significant Themes

The chapter develops the tension between power and autonomy: the treasures have distinct wills and may rebel against one another. It also emphasizes the characters’ uneasy dependence on these beings, alongside the practical need to act decisively in an unpredictable world.

Key events

• Xu Tong and Gu infiltrate the Witch Clan’s stronghold to locate a powerful treasure. Xu Tong stresses caution: they should avoid acting unless certain, and he assures Gu that he can escape danger by retreating into the Chaos Bead.
• Gu senses a large group of Witch Clan members ahead and suspects they have reached the treasure’s location. The pair sneak into the ranks separately.
• The Witch Clan members remain still, giving the intruders no opening. Unsure whether the treasure is hiding elsewhere or simply protecting itself, Xu Tong grows increasingly puzzled.
• Impatient with the stalemate, Gu reveals himself and attacks the Witch Clan members with the Pangu Axe. Their sudden response creates a distraction, allowing Xu Tong to slip into the center of their formation and investigate.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong is confident in his means of escape but cautious about the mission. He trusts Gu’s abilities, yet privately begins doubting that everything will go as planned.
• Gu presents himself as experienced and capable, but his impatience eventually overrides Xu Tong’s warning. His attack is both a direct assault and an unintended opportunity for Xu Tong.
• The two work together, though their approaches differ: Xu Tong favors stealth and restraint, while Gu chooses decisive force when waiting yields nothing.

Significant themes

• Caution versus impatience: The chapter’s tension comes from Xu Tong’s careful strategy clashing with Gu’s desire to act.
• Trust and uncertainty: Xu Tong relies on Gu and on his own escape ability, but neither guarantees that the mission will go smoothly.
• Cooperation through distraction: Gu’s bold attack draws the enemy’s attention, enabling Xu Tong to advance toward the mystery at the heart of the stronghold.

Plot points and events

• Xu Tong finds that the Witch Clan members guarding the treasure’s central area refuse to leave, so he abandons peaceful negotiation and attacks.
• His overwhelming strength quickly sends the remaining guards flying, revealing a strange, walking-stick-like object hidden at the center. Sensing it must be valuable, Xu Tong takes it and leaves.
• Meanwhile, Gu continues slaughtering the Witch Clan fighters with the Pangu Axe. The battle drives him into a blood-soaked, increasingly savage frenzy, though he is unaware of his own change.
• The treasure notices the assault on what appears to be a forbidden site. It sends every Witch Clan fighter it can control, hoping to capture Gu and use him to force Xu Tong to return the object.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong remains cautious and pragmatic: he avoids testing himself against the far more dangerous Gu, refuses to waste time fighting guards he considers puppet-like, and prioritizes securing the newly discovered object.
• Gu proves nearly unstoppable in combat, but his growing bloodlust and erratic laughter suggest his rampage is affecting him psychologically.
• The two companions act separately: Xu Tong leaves with the treasure while Gu stays behind fighting. Xu Tong assumes Gu can handle himself, and the chapter suggests that confidence is justified—at least against the current opponents.

Significant themes

• Power and its limits: Gu dominates the Witch Clan fighters, but Xu Tong recognizes that Gu himself is too dangerous to challenge.
• The cost of strength: The Witch Clan fighters gain great combat power through their treasures, while Gu’s own strength appears tied to a disturbing slide into frenzy.
• Pragmatism over sentiment: Xu Tong treats the guards as expendable obstacles and focuses on the mission rather than prolonged combat.
• Escalation and consequences: The treasure’s intervention turns the encounter into a larger conflict, with reinforcements on their way.

Key plot points and events

• Gu charges into the Witch Clan and brutally slaughters its members. Though maddened, he remains exceptionally dangerous because the Pangu Axe’s power is unaffected by the world’s restrictions.
• Xu Tong discovers that the mysterious object he carried has vanished, likely merging into his body.
• A consciousness in his mind reveals itself as a giant, pitch-black serpent. It recognizes Xu Tong as a Chaos Demon God and tries to devour him, hoping to escape the world.
• Xu Tong transforms into a pagoda and easily suppresses the serpent, whose strength has dwindled after ages trapped in the world.
• The serpent claims to be an ancient Chaos Demon God, but Xu Tong rejects this: he has already encountered the dead Chaos Demon God the serpent describes.
• Xu Tong begins questioning the serpent about that being and the world’s origins. He suggests that the world formed from the Chaos Demon God’s corpse, its treasures were once parts of its body, and the serpent is connected to the treasures’ changes.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu is shown to be completely consumed by madness, yet still a formidable force.
• Xu Tong demonstrates how much he has grown: he resists an attempted possession and overwhelms the serpent with ease. He also shifts from defending himself to interrogating his captive, using confident claims to provoke information.
• The Giant Serpent is weakened but cunning and opportunistic. He hopes to use Xu Tong to escape, fears the dead Chaos Demon God, and refuses to reveal what he knows lest that being detect him.
• Their encounter becomes a contest of coercion and information: Xu Tong uses his strength and suspicions to pressure the serpent, while the serpent tries to resist and conceal his knowledge.

Significant themes

• Power and confinement: Xu Tong’s strength remains intact while the serpent’s has eroded in the world that traps him.
• Transformation and growth: Xu Tong’s experiences have made him far more capable than he realizes.
• Secrets and manipulation: Both Xu Tong and the serpent have incomplete knowledge and try to use it to gain an advantage.
• Madness and violence: Gu’s loss of reason fuels his relentless assault on the Witch Clan.