Chapter Summaries

Plot and events

• Gungun, the first Iron-Eating Beast, lazes on Mount Buzhou while the Shaman Tribe trains. As a transmigrator, he knows the Shamans and Demons will eventually devastate each other, after which humanity will become the world’s leading race. He expects to escape the conflict by retreating to the Underworld.
• His God-Tier Slacker System rewards idleness with gains in strength, so sleeping and sunbathing suit him just fine.
• Three hundred years later, Houtu finds him still asleep. She asks whether he has refined the great shaman’s blood essence and practiced the Witch God Scripture she gave him. He admits he has done neither: the blood smells foul, and he has only memorized the scripture.
• Gungun grumbles inwardly about being forced to cultivate and wishes Houtu would give him some of her blood instead. Houtu unexpectedly hears his thoughts, though she cannot tell how.
• Rather than punish him, Houtu takes back the scripture and gives him a drop of her own ancestral-shaman blood. She orders him to refine it within five hundred years and warns that she will lead the Shamans against the Demon Race then. Without the strength to protect himself, he may die.

Character developments

• Gungun is powerful and gifted but profoundly lazy, relying on his system’s rewards rather than conventional training. His thoughts reveal that his resistance comes from distaste and effort-aversion, not inability.
• Houtu appears stern and intimidating, yet responds to Gungun’s thoughts with practical leniency: she abandons the unsuitable scripture and replaces the unpleasant blood essence with her own. Her warning shows that her concern for his survival remains serious.

Interactions

• Houtu tries to wake and discipline Gungun; he initially brushes her off, then snaps to attention when threatened with being roasted.
• Their exchange exposes the gap between Houtu’s expectations and Gungun’s minimal effort. His unspoken complaints reach her, changing her approach, though he remains unaware that she heard him.

Significant themes

• Idleness versus discipline: Gungun’s unconventional system rewards laziness, while Houtu expects purposeful cultivation.
• Care beneath severity: Houtu’s harsh manner masks concern for Gungun’s safety.
• Comedy through dramatic irony: Gungun’s private thoughts drive Houtu’s decisions, but he assumes she has simply become kinder.
• Fate and conflict: Gungun’s knowledge of the coming Shaman-Demon war shapes his desire to avoid danger rather than prepare for it.

Key plot points and events

• Houtu turns back after hearing Gungun’s thoughts and punishes it for ignoring her orders, sleeping excessively, and smacking her calf. Gungun suffers another of the many spankings it has endured over its long life.
• After Houtu leaves, Gungun reflects that staying with her is a sensible choice: she provides food, treasure, and a secure future in the Underworld. It dismisses other possible patrons—including the future sages—as risky, unsuitable, or unable to support it.
• Gungun finds Houtu’s pureblood and eagerly swallows it, then immediately goes back to sleep. Its system rewards its laziness with 2,000 slacker points and offers a high-grade innate treasure, the Yin-Yang Grinding Bamboo. Gungun buys it half-asleep; the treasure appears in its Portable Minor World.
• Houtu wonders why she could hear Gungun’s thoughts, since she was not using mind-reading and Gungun’s cultivation should make its mind difficult to overhear. She decides to return and investigate.
• Before she can, the earth shakes and a battle breaks out in the sky: the wounded dragon Ao Yue clashes with a gigantic Kunpeng, identified by Houtu as the Nine Heavens Kunpeng.

Character developments and interactions

• Gungun remains a shameless, comfort-loving slacker, but its strategic thinking shows that it has deliberately chosen Houtu as its safest long-term ally. It also displays an intense appetite for Houtu’s blood and casually spends a vast number of points on a treasure.
• Houtu continues to be both Gungun’s protector and disciplinarian. Her unexplained ability to hear its thoughts unsettles her, prompting her to investigate.
• Their relationship is affectionate but comic: Houtu disciplines Gungun, while Gungun privately complains about her and still considers following her the best option.
• The chapter ends by shifting attention to the conflict between Ao Yue and the Nine Heavens Kunpeng, which may draw Houtu—and possibly Gungun—into a larger confrontation.

Significant themes

• Laziness versus ambition: Gungun jokingly reframes its suffering as preparation for greatness, while repeatedly choosing sleep over effort.
• Pragmatic loyalty and survival: Gungun evaluates potential allies by their future influence, reliability, and ability to provide security.
• Comedy through contrast: Gungun’s grandiose self-image clashes with its laziness, hunger, and ongoing punishments.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: Houtu’s sudden access to Gungun’s thoughts and the unexpected aerial battle introduce unresolved questions and a looming conflict.

Plot points and events

• Gungun wakes on a cliff during a battle between Ao Yue, the Ancestral Dragon’s eldest legitimate son, and Kunpeng, the Primordial Phoenix’s eldest legitimate son. Dragon blood rains over Gungun as Kunpeng gains the advantage.
• Houtu arrives and admits she does not know why they are fighting. Gungun’s inner thoughts explain that Ao Yue fled after being passed over for the Dragon Emperor’s throne, while Kunpeng took the chance to ambush him. Ao Yue has come to Mount Buzhou to absorb the Ancestral Dragon’s power.
• Ao Yue is badly wounded. Houtu assumes the conflict reflects lasting hostility between dragons and phoenixes, but Gungun’s thoughts suggest their peoples will eventually reconcile.
• Gungun predicts that Eastern Emperor Taiyi may intervene to save Ao Yue, who could later become a powerful ally of the Demon Race. Despite this, Gungun would rather keep sleeping.
• Houtu decides to act before Taiyi can: she feeds Gungun a spirit fruit, mounts it, and sends it charging at Kunpeng as he moves to finish Ao Yue.

Character developments and interactions

• Gungun remains lazy and food-motivated, but its knowledge of future events and the primordial world makes it unexpectedly insightful. It readily agrees to help only after receiving a spirit fruit, and worries that Kunpeng is too strong.
• Houtu shifts from puzzlement and irritation at Gungun’s cheeky inner commentary to taking its predictions seriously. She chooses to intervene and enlists Gungun as her mount.
• Their comic dynamic continues: Gungun privately insults Houtu’s lack of knowledge, while Houtu cannot hear its thoughts directly but reacts to them, growing increasingly suspicious of its unusual insight.
• Ao Yue and Kunpeng are established as powerful rivals, with Ao Yue currently losing to Kunpeng’s ambush.

Significant themes

• Fate and foreknowledge: Gungun’s knowledge of future events may influence Houtu’s choices, raising the question of whether fate can be altered.
• Laziness versus responsibility: Gungun prefers sleep and avoids danger, while Houtu chooses to intervene.
• Comedy through contrast: Gungun’s irreverent thoughts and appetite clash with the epic, violent battle unfolding around it.

Key plot points and events

• Kunpeng ambushes Ao Yue while the dragon crown prince is traveling outside dragon territory. Already wounded, Ao Yue is badly outmatched, and Kunpeng prepares to kill him.
• Gungun suddenly crashes into Kunpeng, sending him flying. Houtu follows up with a powerful palm strike, leaving Kunpeng bleeding and giving Ao Yue a chance to survive.
• Houtu and Gungun reach Ao Yue. Gungun examines him, declares him “basically beyond saving,” and secretly takes several magical treasures from his belongings. Houtu reprimands him and uses the power of the earth to heal Ao Yue.
• Kunpeng returns and angrily accuses Houtu of making an enemy of him by interfering.

Character developments

• Houtu reveals that she has a strategic reason for rescuing Ao Yue: she believes he could become a powerful quasi-saint and join the Demon Race, so saving him may prevent that faction from gaining strength. She is willing to risk conflict with the phoenixes.
• Gungun remains comic, opportunistic, and apparently tougher than he lets on. He pretends to be injured to fish for spirit fruits, then pockets Ao Yue’s treasures while assessing his wounds.
• Ao Yue is gravely injured and bewildered by Houtu’s unexpected intervention. His surprise reflects his lack of any prior connection to the shamans.
• Kunpeng shifts from confident hunter to furious challenger after Houtu and Gungun foil his planned execution.

Significant themes

• Fate and political calculation: Houtu’s intervention is driven by her knowledge of Ao Yue’s possible future and the balance of power between the shamans and Demon Race.
• Rivalry and inherited conflict: Ao Yue and Kunpeng are enemies as heirs of rival dragon and phoenix rulers, and Kunpeng’s attack is shaped by that dynastic rivalry.
• Comedy amid danger: Gungun’s shameless jokes and treasure-taking contrast with Ao Yue’s life-threatening injuries and the looming confrontation.

Character interactions

• Houtu directs Gungun to check on Ao Yue, dismissing his feigned injury and spirit-fruit ploy.
• Gungun’s blunt diagnosis alarms Ao Yue, while Houtu’s healing and introduction reassure him that she has come to help.
• Kunpeng confronts Houtu for disrupting his attack, setting up a direct clash between them.

Key plot points and events

• Kunpeng demands that Houtu hand over the wounded Ao Yue. Houtu refuses, insisting that Kunpeng leave Mount Buzhou, sacred homeland of the Witch Race.
• Kunpeng attacks. Houtu fights him while Gungun, after briefly mistaking Houtu’s order, tends to Ao Yue.
• Gungun offers to heal Ao Yue in exchange for spirit fruits, but drops the bargain when Ao Yue says he cannot obtain them. It uses the Vermilion Bird Banner to dispel Kunpeng’s sinister magic and gives Ao Yue a Dragon Pearl to help restore his damaged soul.
• Kunpeng’s earlier fight with Ao Yue, followed by Gungun’s sneak attack and Houtu’s strike, has weakened him. After a fierce exchange, he takes his humanlike form, concedes defeat for now, and vows to settle the karmic debt later.
• As he leaves, Kunpeng uses a forceful pull to seize Gungun and Ao Yue. Houtu tries to stop him with a wall of earth, but a mysterious bell toll freezes space and time before the outcome is revealed.

Character developments and interactions

• Houtu stands firm in defending Mount Buzhou and protects both Gungun and Ao Yue, personally confronting Kunpeng despite his strength.
• Gungun remains comically cautious and self-interested, but proves compassionate and capable: it gives up on payment and uses powerful treasures to save Ao Yue. Its unusual fortune and merit also help convince Ao Yue that its story about finding the treasures is credible.
• Ao Yue moves from suspicion and resentment toward gratitude, accepting Gungun’s help and promising to repay it.
• Kunpeng is proud and vengeful. Though forced to concede, he tries to take Ao Yue and Gungun with him, escalating the conflict.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and protection: Houtu defends her homeland and those under her care.
• Compassion beyond self-interest: Gungun’s initial bargaining gives way to genuine aid.
• Conflict and future consequences: Kunpeng’s vow of revenge suggests the battle is only the beginning.
• Fate and fortune: Gungun’s extraordinary luck and the sudden bell imply larger forces at work.

Key plot points

• Kunpeng’s spell pulls Gungun and Ao Yue toward him, but Eastern Emperor Taiyi arrives and uses the Chaos Bell to freeze space and time, immobilizing them.
• Taiyi wounds Kunpeng’s origin with another bell toll. Kunpeng breaks free enough to escape to the North Sea, and Taiyi lets him go.
• Taiyi declares Ao Yue has a destined connection to him and takes him away to the Heavenly Court.
• Taiyi offers Gungun a position as a Demon God, but Gungun silently refuses. Houtu hears his thoughts and is relieved.
• After Taiyi departs, Gungun drops into a crater. Houtu unexpectedly stops short of catching him, leaving him puzzled. Four other Ancestral Witches arrive, and Dijiang suspects Taiyi intends to use Ao Yue to gain influence over the Dragon Race. The witches return to Pangu Hall to discuss the incident.
• Gungun gives up trying to understand Houtu’s recent behavior and resolves to avoid danger. A system notification rewards his laziness, but he does not hear it.

Character developments and interactions

• Taiyi acts decisively and confidently, rescuing Ao Yue and trying to recruit Gungun. His intervention shows the Chaos Bell’s power, while his decision not to pursue Kunpeng suggests he sees no need to spend more effort on him.
• Houtu protects Gungun and Ao Yue, confronts Taiyi, and is relieved by Gungun’s loyalty. Yet her unexpected refusal to catch him leaves Gungun wondering why she has changed.
• Gungun remains fearful, lazy, and resistant to joining the Demon Race. Despite being caught up in a major conflict, he chooses not to investigate what is happening around him.
• Dijiang interprets Taiyi’s rescue of Ao Yue as a possible political move against the witches and calls the Ancestral Witches together to confer.

Significant themes

• Political maneuvering: Taiyi’s interest in Ao Yue may be part of a plan to gain influence over the Dragon Race.
• Loyalty and belonging: Gungun’s refusal of Taiyi’s offer reassures Houtu that he values his place with her.
• Power and vulnerability: Even powerful figures such as Kunpeng and Houtu must account for the Chaos Bell’s ability to immobilize or injure them.
• Comedy through contrast: Gungun’s fear of heights and reluctance to think clash with the serious supernatural and political stakes.

Key plot points and events

• Gungun lounges outside Pangu Hall and discovers a system-reward treasure map leading to the Warrior God Battle Axe. Uninterested in wielding an axe, it uses the map as a pillow.
• Great Shaman Xingtian arrives to wait for the Ancestral Witches. When he notices the map, Gungun gives it to him, and Xingtian eagerly sets out to find the legendary weapon.
• Gungun tries to persuade Xingtian to bring back exceptionally rare fruit by pretending to be injured. Xingtian sees through the ploy and leaves before Gungun can finish asking.
• Inside Pangu Hall, the Ancestral Witches discuss Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s seizure of Ao Yue and the danger of the Demon Race gaining influence over him or the Dragon Race.
• Houtu asks Zhu Jiuyin whether he can use his power over time to learn Ao Yue’s future or foresee Taiyi’s movements. He can determine neither, and the other Ancestral Witches silently pressure him to try harder.

Character developments and interactions

• Gungun remains lazy, self-indulgent, and opportunistic: it casually gives away a treasure it does not want, then tries to trade a fabricated injury for rare delicacies. It privately jokes that Xingtian will someday lose his head.
• Xingtian respects Gungun’s status and accepts the map, believing the axe suits him as a “true brave warrior.” He is generous in principle but quickly withdraws when Gungun asks for impossibly rare healing fruit.
• Houtu is concerned about the strategic threat posed by Taiyi and asks pointed questions about what Zhu Jiuyin can foresee.
• Zhu Jiuyin cannot see the futures in question and comes under pressure from his siblings, who expect his time-related abilities to produce useful intelligence.

Significant themes

• Comedic contrast: Gungun’s sleepy, food-focused priorities clash with the Witches’ military and political concerns.
• Fate and the limits of foresight: Even Zhu Jiuyin’s command of time cannot reveal the future of someone with Ao Yue’s extraordinary destiny.
• Rising political tension: The Witches fear the Demon Race’s potential expansion and consider alliances or preemptive action.
• Self-interest and generosity: Xingtian accepts the map and offers a reward, while Gungun’s attempt to secure rare fruit exposes its persistent appetite and scheming.

Key plot points and events

• The Ancestral Witches discuss the Demon Race’s plans, but Zhu Jiuyin admits his time-sight cannot reliably reveal the futures of the Demon Race’s powerful leaders. The Chaos Bell further weakens his ability to perceive them.
• While the Witches meet, Gungun naps outside Pangu Hall, earning system rewards for sleeping, sunbathing, and eating bamboo.
• After the meeting, the Ancestral Witches leave to carry out their agreed plan. Houtu stays behind and finds Gungun asleep.
• Houtu warns that Taiyi has taken Ao Yue and that the Demon Race may use him to bring the Dragon Race under its influence. She urges Gungun to cultivate so it can survive the coming war.
• Gungun argues that sleeping also makes it stronger and says it only wants to fight low-level opponents. Houtu scolds it for lacking courage.
• Gungun flees after revealing that Xingtian has completed an assigned task. Houtu uses her spatial power to seize it and send it away through a spatial tunnel.

Character developments

• Zhu Jiuyin is frustrated by the limits of his prophetic abilities but is understood by the other Witches. Houtu alone seems to be privately considering something.
• Houtu shows concern for Gungun’s safety, though she expresses it through stern discipline. Her frustration with its cowardice is tempered by affection.
• Gungun remains comically devoted to sleep and self-preservation, but its rapid growth and confidence in its strength suggest it is more capable than its lazy habits imply.

Character interactions

• The Ancestral Witches accept Zhu Jiuyin’s inability to foresee the Demon Race’s leaders.
• Xuanming teases Houtu about her “adorable” battle pet, while Dijiang advises Houtu to discipline it.
• Houtu and Gungun argue over training and battlefield danger: she wants it prepared for the coming conflict, while it prefers to avoid powerful enemies.

Significant themes

• Limits of foresight and power: Even a time-controlling Ancestral Witch cannot see every future, especially when powerful forces and artifacts interfere.
• Duty versus self-preservation: Houtu prioritizes readiness for the coming war; Gungun would rather avoid danger.
• Affection expressed through scolding: Houtu’s anger comes from concern, while the scene’s humor softens the serious threat of war.

Key plot points and events

• Gungun is transported through a spatial tunnel to Mount Xiaoyu, where he discovers a bleak ghost domain filled with resentment and wandering demon souls.
• Houtu explains that the site was once a battlefield between the Witch and Demon races. Some demon spirits survived but were corrupted by resentment, becoming the Ghost Race, which now attacks Witch tribes along the South Sea coast.
• Asked what should be done, Gungun suggests “delivering their souls,” then hastily clarifies that he means eliminating the ghosts and purifying the resentment.
• Houtu assigns Gungun the task of dealing with the ghosts, citing his claim that he can defeat Golden and Taiyi Golden Immortals—and her brother’s instruction to keep him from being lazy.
• Gungun resists until Houtu offers him a Ginseng Fruit as a reward. Motivated by the treat, he agrees to handle the ghosts.

Character developments

• Gungun is revealed as clever but strongly lazy, with a playful inner monologue and an overwhelming love of food. Despite his reluctance, he can be persuaded by a reward and ultimately accepts responsibility.
• Houtu shows growing curiosity about Gungun’s mysterious knowledge, including his use of an unfamiliar expression. She also proves affectionate but firm, using teasing and incentives to manage him.

Character interactions

• Houtu questions Gungun about how to deal with the Ghost Race and catches him improvising his answer.
• Gungun privately grumbles about the assignment, while Houtu appears to perceive his thoughts and quietly wonders about their strange references.
• Houtu teases him by threatening to eat the Ginseng Fruit; Gungun clings to her leg and pleads for it, then agrees to do the job in exchange.

Significant themes

• Duty versus comfort: Gungun would rather rest, but is pushed to confront a danger threatening the Witch tribes.
• Persuasion through affection and reward: Houtu combines authority, humor, and a coveted treat to motivate him.
• Mystery and foreknowledge: Gungun’s unfamiliar expressions and knowledge hint at an unusual connection to future concepts or events.

Key plot points and events

• Houtu gives Gungun a Ginseng Fruit and reminds him to refine the drop of Ancestral Witch blood she previously gave him. She warns that conflict with the Demon Race may come sooner than expected if it tries to bring the Dragon Race under its control.
• Gungun dismisses the danger, reasoning that the Dragon Kings are unlikely to side with the demons and that any war between the demons and dragons could benefit the Witch Race.
• Houtu tells him to clear the demon souls from Mount Xiaoyu within five hundred years. She secretly stays nearby to watch him, investigate his unusual knowledge, and learn how he predicted Taiyi’s arrival.
• After savoring the fruit, Gungun struggles to decide how to deal with the ghosts without causing more harm or karmic consequences. He considers cleansing their resentment, but worries that restored demon souls would attack the Witch Race even more fiercely.
• Gungun quickly falls asleep. A Taiyi Golden Immortal demon soul attacks him, but his sleeping leg accidentally kicks her away. The other ghosts are frightened by his apparent strength.
• A system notification rewards Gungun for his laziness, though he cannot hear it because he has blocked the system. He then wakes and announces that he has devised a solution, proudly calling himself a heaven-blessed genius.

Character developments

• Gungun remains gluttonous, lazy, and comically self-assured, yet he takes his promise to Houtu seriously and briefly tries to think through the problem. His accidental defense suggests he may be more formidable than his behavior implies.
• Houtu shifts from giving instructions to covertly observing Gungun. She is increasingly curious—and somewhat concerned—about his knowledge and whether he will follow through.

Significant themes

• Comedy through contrast: Gungun’s grand claims and potentially great power clash with his appetite, sleepiness, and accidental actions.
• Duty versus convenience: Though he regrets accepting the task, Gungun feels bound to keep his word.
• Mystery and hidden knowledge: Houtu notices Gungun’s references to the Netherworld and reincarnation, concepts that puzzle her.
• Political calculation: Gungun sees potential advantage for the Witch Race in conflict between its enemies.

Character interactions

• Houtu advises Gungun and gives him the fruit and blood-refining task; Gungun responds casually while eating.
• Houtu silently monitors him, interpreting his thoughts and behavior.
• The demon souls test Gungun while he sleeps; one attacks and is kicked away, causing the others to fear him.
• Gungun ends the chapter boasting to himself about his newly found plan, while Houtu watches in disbelief.

Key plot points and events

• Gungun uses a supreme-grade innate treasure, the Spirit-Washing Cauldron, to draw in Mount Xiaoyu’s accumulated resentment and demon souls.
• The cauldron can store the resentment, but Gungun’s main task is to cleanse the demon souls: it erases their memories, dissolves their magical power, and restores them to their original souls.
• The process takes ninety years. Gungun’s frequent naps, fishing trips, and snack breaks make the work far slower than necessary.
• Once the final soul is cleansed, Gungun considers where to send the souls to be reborn. He rules out the Dragon, Phoenix, and Demon races, then chooses the prolific but low-ranking Soft-Bone Rabbits. He sets off for their territory.

Character developments

• Gungun shows that beneath his lazy, comic manner, he is resourceful and willing to take on a huge task. He is also careful about karma and mindful of Houtu’s interests, avoiding choices that could harm the Shaman Race.
• Houtu watches from the void. She is surprised by Gungun’s powerful treasure and puzzled that he is cleansing the souls rather than destroying them; she patiently waits to learn his purpose.

Significant themes

• Responsibility and karma: Gungun takes on the work of dealing with the dead because the world has no underworld yet.
• Rebirth and moral order: His plan to match cleansed souls with lower-ranking creatures reflects an emerging system of fitting reincarnation to karma.
• Comic contrast: Gungun’s immense power and monumental task are undercut by his laziness, diversions, and complaints about poor compensation.

Character interactions

• Gungun ignores the demon souls’ threats and pleas as he draws them into the cauldron.
• Houtu silently observes Gungun’s work, reacting with astonishment and suspicion but not intervening.
• Gungun’s final decision is shaped by concern for Houtu and the Shaman Race, even as he pursues a practical solution for the souls.

Key plot points and events

• After understanding Gungun’s plan, Houtu watches as Gungun takes the cleansed souls of fallen demons to the Soft-Bone Rabbit territory. She also restores Mount Xiaoyu, replenishing the spiritual energy and plant life damaged by resentment.
• Gungun secretly places the souls and spirits into the wombs of pregnant rabbits, enabling the demons to be reborn as members of a weak race. The resulting burst of births brings unusual excitement to the grassland.
• A cloud of merit appears. Most of it enters Gungun, and the portion absorbed by the Spirit-Washing Cauldron returns to Gungun as well. The merit sends Gungun into deep Dao comprehension.
• Houtu senses that Gungun’s merit is connected to her own Dao. Reflecting on the process, she realizes it resembles a cycle of reincarnation—and may point to the Great Dao of reincarnation.

Character developments

• Gungun carries out the rebirth plan successfully and receives merit, but remains uninterested in sacrificing freedom to gain more of it. Gungun values a comfortable, independent life over power or responsibility.
• Houtu shifts from resignation about her limited prospects for attaining the Dao to renewed hope. She begins to recognize reincarnation as a possible path forward.

Significant themes

• Rebirth and transformation: Former demons are stripped of memories and power, then given new lives in another form.
• Freedom versus power: Gungun rejects the possibility of taking on a burdensome role, even if it might bring great merit.
• Unexpected paths to the Dao: An act of compassion and renewal reveals a possible route to Houtu’s spiritual advancement.
• Order restored through renewal: Houtu heals Mount Xiaoyu, while Gungun’s actions bring new life to the rabbit clan.

Character interactions

• Houtu observes and interprets Gungun’s actions from a distance, recognizing their possible significance for her own fate.
• Gungun acts independently, helping the rabbits without seeking recognition; the merit that follows benefits Gungun and unexpectedly gives Houtu hope.

Plot points

• Houtu continues trying to understand how to attain the Reincarnation Great Dao, realizing that Gungun’s work guiding the dead may be related but is not enough to explain the path.
• Three years later, Gungun’s merit-aided meditation strengthens its understanding of the law of silence. It briefly unleashes the law, then immediately falls asleep.
• The effect reaches the Demon Court’s South Heaven Gate, where demon gods and guards lose their voices and control of their magical power. Taiyi’s bell restores them, and they thank him.
• Taiyi recognizes Gungun’s power but does not consider it a threat. He sends Ao Yue to persuade Gungun to leave the Shamans and join the Heavenly Court, offering it a demon-god position—and, if it agrees to become his mount, the Jade Radiance Twofold-Unity Lamp.

Character developments and interactions

• Houtu remains thoughtful but frustrated, still unable to determine how to attain the Reincarnation Great Dao. She quickly hides Gungun’s aura to keep the Demon Race from noticing.
• Gungun remains comically lazy: its preference for quiet may have helped it understand the law of silence, but meditation ends in sleep.
• Taiyi shows strategic interest in recruiting Gungun, while also treating Ao Yue with unusual warmth. He insists Ao Yue is a guardian, not a mount, and reminds him to repay kindness as well as grudges.
• Ao Yue, now recovered and serving the Demon Race as the Great Sun Heavenly Dragon, recalls that Gungun is fond of frightening others and taking small advantages, yet is kind. He respectfully accepts Taiyi’s mission and the valuable lamp.

Significant themes

• Power and comedy: Gungun’s serious supernatural ability is undercut by its immediate return to sleep.
• Kindness and reciprocity: Taiyi’s reminder that favors should be repaid shapes the mission, while Ao Yue’s past connection to Gungun informs Taiyi’s approach.
• Political rivalry and recruitment: Taiyi seeks to draw a powerful, fortunate being away from the Shamans and into the Demon Court.
• The search for the Dao: Houtu’s uncertainty underscores how difficult it is to turn an apparent connection to a Great Dao into a true path to attaining it.

Plot points and events

• Purple clouds, radiance, and merit descend on Softbone Prairie, startling the weak Soft-Bone Rabbit Race. The supernatural display comes from the area where the invisible Gungun has fallen asleep.
• The rabbits fear approaching the snoring stranger, so Bai Yu—their strongest member—goes to investigate alone. She finds and cautiously feels the invisible, sleeping Gungun, who remains undisturbed.
• Half a month later, Ao Yue arrives with spirit fruits for Gungun. He finds newborn rabbits playing on the bear’s belly, then frightens them away when they notice his dragon horns.
• Ao Yue offers Gungun an Azure Cloud Fruit. Gungun eats it without waking, leaving Ao Yue bemused by his carefree contentment.

Character developments

• Bai Yu is brave and protective despite her fear. A Brilliant Gold Radish once raised her to Profound Immortal strength, but she remains painfully aware that she cannot change her people’s vulnerable status.
• Gungun is revealed as extraordinarily relaxed: invisible and asleep, he tolerates Bai Yu’s exploration and the rabbits’ play, and even eats while sleeping.
• Ao Yue shows consideration by bringing Gungun fruit, though his reaction to Gungun’s effortless happiness hints at a contrast with his own lofty duties and status.

Themes

• Powerlessness and survival: The rabbits are tolerated—and protected—mainly as a food source for stronger factions, a reality they cannot resist.
• Courage and responsibility: Bai Yu acts where her frightened clansfolk cannot, even while fearing for her life.
• Power and perspective: A Profound Immortal may be formidable among ordinary beings yet insignificant to dominant powers; meanwhile, the imposing Dragon Race remains terrifying to the rabbits.
• Carefree ease: Gungun’s indifference to danger and comfort with simple pleasures contrast with the anxiety of the rabbits and Ao Yue’s grand responsibilities.

Character interactions

• Bai Yu reassures the rabbits and investigates Gungun, who gives no response.
• Houtu notices Bai Yu but dismisses the encounter as unimportant.
• Ao Yue’s arrival sends the rabbits fleeing; he ignores them and quietly settles beside Gungun.
• Ao Yue feeds the sleeping bear, who accepts the fruit without opening his eyes.

Plot points and events

• Ao Yue, despite his high status and responsibilities to both the Demon and Dragon races, reflects that he has never truly been happy. He envies Gungun’s carefree life but believes his obligations prevent him from living that way.
• Ao Yue feeds Gungun spirit fruits. Gungun’s system rewards its laziness and appetite, but the bear ignores the notifications.
• From hiding, Houtu recognizes Ao Yue and suspects he has joined the Demon Race as Taiyi’s guardian. She considers his restored strength a potential threat and secretly contacts the other Ancestral Witches.
• After eating enough to become full, Gungun refines the spiritual energy in the fruit with the Heaven-Swallowing Earth-Devouring Divine Ability.
• Ao Yue explains that he came to repay Gungun for helping heal him a century earlier. He presents rare spirit fruits and a Bitter Bamboo shoot, promising to seek out a Ren Water Flat Peach for Gungun in the future.
• Gungun enjoys the gifts and asks how Ao Yue obtained a Mandala Fruit from the Sea of Blood. Ao Yue says he took two after Nether River Taoist broke their bargain, escaping after a brief exchange.
• As Gungun praises him, Ao Yue begins to reveal that he has another reason for visiting.

Character developments and interactions

• Ao Yue is dutiful and restrained, burdened by loyalty to Taiyi and by his desire to protect the Dragon Race. His envy of Gungun’s happiness exposes his private loneliness. He demonstrates both gratitude and resolve through his repayment and his dealings with Nether River Taoist.
• Gungun remains contentedly lazy and food-focused, showing little surprise at Ao Yue’s presence. The bear’s uncomplicated enjoyment contrasts with Ao Yue’s sense of duty.
• Houtu becomes wary of Ao Yue’s return to full strength and takes precautions rather than confronting him directly.
• Ao Yue’s calm generosity and Gungun’s warm, casual praise create a friendly exchange, even as Houtu views Ao Yue as a possible danger.

Significant themes

• Duty versus personal happiness: Ao Yue’s obligations leave him longing for the freedom Gungun takes for granted.
• Gratitude and reciprocity: Ao Yue makes a point of repaying an old kindness with valuable gifts.
• Contrasting perspectives: Gungun treats food and comfort as life’s pleasures, while Houtu and Ao Yue remain focused on threats, power, and responsibility.
• Shifting alliances and suspicion: Ao Yue’s ties to the Demon Race concern Houtu, foreshadowing possible political or military conflict.

Plot points and events

• Ao Yue tells Gungun that he has come not only to repay a debt but to offer an “opportunity.” While they share ice pops made from Taicang Primeval Ox milk and fruit juice, he reveals that Eastern Emperor Taiyi wants Gungun to join the Demon Court and receive a divine post.
• Gungun privately rejects the idea. It fears the Demon Race’s eventual fate, does not want to abandon Houtu or its Witch Race connections, and especially refuses to become Taiyi’s mount. Houtu listens from the void and initially takes comfort in Gungun’s resistance.
• Ao Yue tries to persuade Gungun by listing the Demon Race’s military advantages and asking whether its forces could defeat the Witch Race. Gungun repeatedly agrees, making the case for the Demon Race seem overwhelming. Houtu grows uneasy as she overhears the exchange.
• Taiyi’s offer includes an important position, a role as his mount, and the Jade Radiance Twofold-Unity Lamp. Though the treasure appeals to Gungun, the mount proposal does not.
• Gungun spots a flaw in Ao Yue’s argument: if Witch Great Shamans can tie down enough Demon Gods to prevent the Demon Race from forming its star array, the Demon Court’s remaining forces would likewise be unable to withstand the Witches’ Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation. Ao Yue is left speechless, and Houtu realizes Gungun has exposed the weakness in his reasoning.

Character developments and interactions

• Gungun remains cautious and loyal to Houtu despite the temptation of a powerful treasure. Its apparent agreement with Ao Yue is not acceptance; it is a step toward identifying the limits of his argument.
• Ao Yue is earnest and confident in the Demon Court’s strength, but his persuasion depends on a one-sided comparison. Gungun’s counterargument unsettles him.
• Houtu moves from anger at the attempted recruitment to relief at Gungun’s refusal, then to concern as the Demon Race’s case appears convincing. She recognizes Gungun’s rebuttal as the answer to her unease.
• The conversation mixes casual camaraderie—especially over the ice pops—with a serious political recruitment attempt and a debate over the coming war.

Significant themes

• Loyalty versus self-interest: Gungun weighs the promised treasure and status against its ties to Houtu and the Witch Race.
• Persuasion and selective reasoning: Ao Yue’s questions emphasize Demon advantages, but Gungun exposes the missing counterbalance.
• Fate and survival: Gungun’s refusal is driven partly by its belief that joining the Demon Race would lead to disaster.
• Humor amid conflict: Gungun’s snack-making, blunt answers, and dislike of being ridden soften the high-stakes exchange.

Key plot points

• Gungun’s observation makes Houtu realize that if each race can prevent the other from using its great battle formation, the Witch and Demon races may be more evenly matched than she had thought.
• Ao Yue considers the consequences of such a conflict and fears it could mirror the ancient war among the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin tribes—leaving all sides devastated, with no true victor.
• Despite his doubts, Ao Yue continues urging Gungun to join the Demon Race, citing its strength and offering of a divine lamp.
• Gungun refuses, giving an impassioned account of how Houtu rescued and raised it, and declaring that it would rather die fighting for the Witch Race than betray them.
• Ao Yue believes Gungun’s loyalty reflects his own devotion to Taiyi, so he stops pressing the matter.
• Houtu is touched by Gungun’s speech—until she hears its private thoughts and learns the declaration was an act. Gungun is really avoiding a war it expects to be fatal.

Character developments and interactions

• Houtu gains a clearer view of the Witch Race’s military strength, then feels moved by Gungun’s apparent loyalty. Her reaction shifts to bafflement when she discovers its true motives.
• Gungun cleverly uses an emotional story to end Ao Yue’s recruitment attempts. Though it presents itself as loyal and self-sacrificing, its inner monologue reveals that it mainly wants to survive and enjoy a peaceful future.
• Ao Yue grows concerned about the cost of war and sees Gungun as a kindred spirit, identifying with its supposed gratitude and steadfastness toward a benefactor. His own loyalty comes from Taiyi’s rescue, healing, and promotion of him within the Demon Race.
• Gungun and Ao Yue bond over what Ao Yue believes is their shared devotion to those who helped them, while Gungun’s silence afterward conceals its real feelings.

Significant themes

• War’s mutual cost: Even a powerful victor may be left too weakened to rule; a conflict between the Witch and Demon races could destroy both.
• Loyalty and gratitude: Ao Yue’s sincere devotion contrasts with Gungun’s convincing performance.
• Appearance versus reality: Gungun’s dramatic declaration wins admiration, but its private thoughts expose its self-preservation and comic laziness.

Plot points and events

• In a moment of reflection, Houtu recognizes that Gungun’s emotional story about his childhood was largely fabricated to win Ao Yue’s sympathy. In reality, Gungun had been a powerful, pampered troublemaker, while Houtu struggled to get him to train or study.
• Gungun sneezes after eating his third Ice Crystal Dragon Fruit. Ao Yue explains that the fruit’s intense cold can make most beings ill, but Gungun is unaffected.
• Convinced by Gungun’s apparent devotion to Houtu and the Witch Race, Ao Yue abandons his effort to recruit him for the Demon Race. He also promises not to attack the Witch Race before the decisive battle, partly out of gratitude to both Gungun and Houtu.
• As Ao Yue prepares to leave, a massive flood and splitting earth announce the arrival of Ancestral Witch Gonggong. Ao Yue transforms into a giant dragon and confronts him. Gonggong attacks with columns of water, which Ao Yue freezes, and a stone giant rises to strike him. Ao Yue counters with a beam that triggers a vast explosion, whose shockwave sends Gungun flying.

Character developments and interactions

• Houtu sees through Gungun’s self-pitying performance and recalls how lazy and formidable he actually was. Her irritation at being deceived hints at her strong attachment to him.
• Gungun remains shamelessly indulgent—eating dangerously cold fruit—while continuing to manipulate others with a carefully invented sob story.
• Ao Yue proves honorable and grateful: he respects Gungun’s choice, offers the Witch Race temporary protection, and then immediately steps into battle when Gonggong arrives.
• Gungun and Ao Yue part on friendly terms, though Ao Yue is confused by Gungun’s casual criticism of Xingtian.
• Ao Yue and Gonggong meet as enemies, and their clash begins with powerful elemental and physical attacks.

Significant themes

• The contrast between appearance and reality drives the humor: Gungun’s tragic account bears little resemblance to Houtu’s memories.
• Loyalty and gratitude shape Ao Yue’s decision not to attack the Witch Race, even across factional lines.
• Power and comic irreverence coexist: Gungun is exceptionally capable, yet lazy and carefree, while a major battle erupts around him.

Key plot points and events

• Gungun is caught in the shock waves when Ao Yue suddenly fights the Ancestral Witches Gonggong and Houtu. It uses its Law of Silence to briefly halt the battle’s explosions and lessen their force, then settles back to watch.
• Ao Yue asks Houtu to stop fighting, acknowledging that he owes her a debt for once helping him. He explains, however, that Eastern Emperor Taiyi ultimately rescued him from Kunpeng and fully healed his injuries, which is why he joined the Demon Race.
• Houtu is angered by Ao Yue’s choice and insists he repay his debt by fighting her. Gonggong joins the attack, leaving Ao Yue torn between two sides that have both helped him.
• Azure Dragon Meng Zhang arrives, destroys Houtu’s rock giant, and drives Gonggong back. He defends Ao Yue, arguing that joining the Demon Race does not make Ao Yue an enemy if he has never attacked the Witch Race.
• Gonggong insists that all members of the Demon Race are enemies. Before the fight can escalate, Houtu orders him to let Ao Yue and Meng Zhang go.
• Houtu magically brings Gungun to her side and asks whether the battle should continue. Gungun is bewildered and offers no useful answer; Houtu tells it to be quiet and repeats her order to Gonggong.

Character developments

• Ao Yue shows gratitude and regret, but also loyalty to Taiyi, whose greater kindness determined his allegiance. He is reluctant to fight Houtu despite their opposing affiliations.
• Houtu shifts from demanding repayment to ending the confrontation after assessing the fighters’ relative strength and looking to Gungun for counsel.
• Gonggong remains combative and views Demon-Race membership alone as grounds for hostility; he is confused when Houtu abruptly tells him to stand down.
• Meng Zhang openly risks conflict with the Ancestral Witches to shield Ao Yue, emphasizing personal conduct over factional identity.
• Gungun remains detached and comically irreverent, seeing the battle as pointless and treating the struggle over cosmic status as unimportant.

Significant themes

• Conflicting debts and loyalties: Ao Yue’s gratitude to both Houtu and Taiyi leaves him caught between rival factions.
• Faction versus individual conduct: Meng Zhang challenges the idea that membership in the Demon Race automatically makes Ao Yue an enemy.
• The futility of power struggles: Gungun dismisses the combat as a pointless contest over who will be heaven and earth’s protagonist.
• Humor amid conflict: Gungun’s casual inner commentary contrasts with the battle’s immense destructive power.

Character interactions

• Ao Yue tries to reason with Houtu, explaining why he joined the Demon Race; she rejects his explanation and renews the attack.
• Meng Zhang confronts Gonggong and Houtu on Ao Yue’s behalf, while Gonggong challenges his defense of a Demon-Race member.
• Houtu turns to Gungun for a decision, but Gungun’s unspoken indifference—and Houtu’s command to “shut up”—adds a comic interruption to the tense standoff.

Key plot points and events

• After Houtu intervenes, Gonggong reluctantly puts away his trident, allowing Ao Yue and Meng Zhang to leave.
• Before departing, Ao Yue thanks Houtu for saving him in the past and swears not to attack the Witch Race unless the War of the Liches begins. He and Meng Zhang then vanish.
• Gungun envies their Quasi-Saint power and wonders when he will reach that level. Houtu tells him it will take another five million years, though he does not understand why.
• Houtu explains that she and Gonggong could not safely defeat two powerful Quasi-Saints together. Gonggong rejects this assessment, insisting that he and Houtu would easily win. When Houtu asks Gungun to judge the situation, he dodges the question to avoid upsetting Gonggong.
• Houtu repairs the land devastated by the battle, but discovers that billions of Soft-Bone Rabbits have died in the blasts. She feels remorse for failing to consider the innocents caught in the conflict.
• Gonggong dismisses the rabbits’ deaths as unimportant. Houtu then spots one survivor: a badly injured rabbit she recognizes as the one who had touched Gungun while he slept.

Character developments and interactions

• Houtu shows restraint and practical judgment, choosing to end the fight rather than risk a disastrous confrontation. The rabbits’ deaths also reveal her compassion and regret, despite her earlier failure to account for them.
• Gonggong remains proud and overconfident, resisting Houtu’s realistic appraisal and showing little concern for the collateral damage.
• Gungun is cautious and self-protective, using flattery and silence to avoid being caught between the siblings. His earlier apparent sacrifice for Houtu is undercut by her suspicion that he had been acting.
• Ao Yue demonstrates gratitude and gives Houtu a solemn pledge of non-aggression toward the witches.
• Houtu repeatedly tries to manage Gonggong’s temper and judgment, while Gungun’s evasiveness frustrates her.

Significant themes

• Collateral damage and responsibility: The battle’s cost falls on powerless bystanders, prompting Houtu to confront the consequences of her choices.
• Restraint versus pride: Houtu favors caution, while Gonggong’s confidence blinds him to the danger.
• Power, hierarchy, and ambition: Gungun admires the Quasi-Saints’ strength and hopes to attain it himself.
• Gratitude and loyalty: Ao Yue’s promise honors Houtu’s past kindness and shapes a fragile boundary between the dragons and witches.