Chapter Summaries

Hao Ren and Vivian recognized the black shadows as ancient threats that had once been sealed, and learned that Izax and Elizabeth had also been attacked by one. With the seal’s location unknown and more shadows possibly loose, Nangong Sanba suggested seeking information from other Ancients.

• Vivian recalled that the shadows had caused trouble in the early Mythical Era and that the Ancients had sealed them in South America under the care of a family whose name included “Te.”
• Hao Ren and Nangong Sanba worried that the seal had weakened and that the shadows could spread unchecked in the modern era.
• Elizabeth arrived with Izax and revealed that a black shadow had attacked them; she recognized the matching shadow Hao Ren had captured.
• Izax explained that ordinary attacks could not harm the shadow, so he defeated it by making it bounce between two magic mirrors until it exhausted itself.
• After Hao Ren explained how little Vivian remembered about the seal, Nangong Sanba suggested asking other Ancients who might know what happened.

Hao Ren and Vivian went to Athens Sanctuary after learning that the shadow creatures were Chaos Shadows and that the Ankatro Family might be in danger. They arrived during an urgent meeting, where someone accused the Demon Hunters of involvement, and Vivian was greeted by an old acquaintance she had hoped to avoid.

• Vivian called Hesperis, who identified the shadow creatures as Chaos Shadows and said the Ankatro Family in South America might have encountered trouble.
• Hao Ren, Vivian, Lily, Izax, and Izax's daughter traveled to Athens Sanctuary, where Hesperis checked their shadows before letting them enter.
• Hesperis led the group through the damaged sanctuary to a meeting of ancient families and representatives from other sanctuaries.
• As they entered the Great Hall, a speaker insisted the Ankatro Family's incident was connected to the Demon Hunters.
• A delighted attendee called out to Vivian, who recognized the person as a head of a major family and recoiled.

Vivian and Hao Ren joined a meeting of supernatural leaders to learn about the Chaos Shadows attacking Sanctuaries. Wayne Walter explained their powers and said they attacked supernatural races but, so far, not humans; he then warned that their most dangerous effect was driving victims insane.

• Vivian entered the Great Hall with Hao Ren and the others, and the assembled leaders stood to greet her as the Vampire Ancestor.
• Wayne Walter introduced himself as a Bloodkin elder whose family had known Vivian, but she interrupted further introductions to ask about the Chaos Shadows.
• Hesperis said Vivian's Sanctuary had also been attacked and that its two victims had destroyed the creatures themselves.
• Wayne explained that Chaos Shadows hid in and traveled across shadows, attacked supernatural races, and could be banished with powerful Shadow Incantation into pure Shadow Space.
• Hao Ren asked whether the shadows attacked humans, and Wayne said he had heard of no such attacks before warning that the creatures could drive victims insane.

Hao Ren and Vivian learned that the Ankatro Family, guardians of the Chaos Shadow’s seal, had vanished after their territory was sealed off, and investigators suggested the family had been wiped out. The gathering ended with suspicions that Demon Hunters were involved and that the Ankatro Family may have had an unusual understanding with them.

• Wayne and Hesperis explained the Chaos Shadow’s history and how ancient families had sealed it in South America under the Ankatro Family’s care.
• Vivian revealed that she might have helped seal the Chaos Shadow and said she would take responsibility if it escaped.
• Wayne reported that the Ankatro Family had lost contact with the outside world and was probably wiped out after investigators disappeared or returned insane.
• Hogworth accused Demon Hunters of attacking the Ankatro Family and damaging the seal, while Hela challenged his evidence and Heiserana made them pay for cracking her table.
• Wayne said rumors connected the reclusive Ankatro Family with Demon Hunters because it had avoided conflicts and survived the Demon Hunters’ and Human Church’s purges.

Hao Ren learned that the Chaos Shadow had reappeared after the Ankatro Family lost contact, while the outsider leaders argued over who should investigate. He offered to lead a small party to the Ankatro territory, and they set off for South America with guides from Wayne Walter's family.

• Hao Ren heard how the Chaos Shadow had once been sealed by ancient outsider leaders, including Vivian, and how the Ankatro Family had been left to guard it.
• The outsider leaders agreed that the Chaos Shadow had to be investigated, but their distrust and fear of the Demon Hunters prevented them from organizing a team.
• Hao Ren announced that he, Vivian, Lily, Izax, and Elizabeth would go to the Ankatro territory and asked for guides.
• Wayne agreed to provide guides and lead them as far as the Ankatro territory, while Vivian warned the other leaders not to rely entirely on their party.
• Hao Ren and the others left for South America.

Hao Ren and Vivian arrived in a South American town to meet the Ankatro Family and noticed a suspicious boundary on the hillside. After crossing a rusted gate to investigate abandoned houses, Vivian sensed someone alive nearby.

• Hao Ren and Vivian explored the old town while the Data Terminal scanned the area and revealed that the town's buildings stopped abruptly halfway up the hill.
• Hao Ren suspected the abandoned hillside houses might be connected to the Ankatro Family and suggested investigating them before Wayne's guide arrived.
• Hao Ren and Vivian reached a rusted gate marked No Trespassing, crossed the fence, and headed toward the abandoned houses.
• Vivian sensed a living person's presence near one of the abandoned houses.

Hao Ren and Vivian found Pierre, an ordinary human detective, investigating the abandoned Ankatro house. After saving him from two heart attacks, they frightened him into admitting he was searching for the legendary Golden Manor.

• Hao Ren and Vivian approached the abandoned house after sensing a living human inside and spotted signs that someone had recently investigated it.
• They rushed upstairs after hearing a crash and scream, then used the Data Terminal to revive Pierre, who had suffered a heart attack.
• Pierre said he was a freelance detective investigating a missing-person case, but Hao Ren suspected he was hiding a supernatural investigation.
• Hao Ren asked whether Pierre had come for the Ankatro Family, but Pierre said he did not know the family and denied any connection to it.
• Vivian revealed her vampire form, frightening Pierre into another heart attack; after Hao Ren revived him again, Pierre confessed that he was searching for the legendary Golden Manor.

Hao Ren and Vivian questioned Pierre, a human supernatural detective, about the Golden Manor and learned that he had found the legendary ruin’s location. Pierre revealed that he sought its Sun Disc as much as its gold, leaving Hao Ren and Vivian to consider his knowledge of the ancient Tara.

• Hao Ren brought the frightened Pierre to a nearby bedroom, where Pierre identified himself as a detective who investigated supernatural legends.
• Pierre described the Golden Manor as a fortress built by the exiled Tara and said he had traced the legend to a black mountain in South America.
• Pierre explained that the Tara had hidden the manor in a shadow between sunlight and darkness, and that special lenses could reveal a path into it.
• Vivian recognized Pierre’s lenses as genuine, warned him that using them and potions could damage his body and mind, and speculated that his grandfather had learned their craft from a supernatural master.
• Pierre admitted that he hoped to find the manor’s gold but valued seeing the Sun Disc that supposedly sealed the Shadow of Divine Wrath even more.

Hao Ren and Vivian learned from Pierre's legend that the Sun Disc may have been used to seal the Chaos Shadow and was kept by the Ankatro Family. As they considered what to do next, Bai Huo suddenly appeared.

• Pierre showed Hao Ren and Vivian an ancient Egyptian scroll depicting a massive golden Sun Disc and recounted its legend.
• Pierre said the Tara forged the Sun Disc to seal the Shadow of Divine Wrath, then kept it at their Golden Manor beneath the group.
• Hao Ren connected the Tara to the Ankatro Family and the Shadow of Divine Wrath to the Chaos Shadow.
• Vivian said the Chaos Shadow had likely been sealed inside a tangible object, and she and Hao Ren wondered whether to keep Pierre involved.
• Vivian sensed someone in the corner, and Bai Huo emerged from silver-white flames and greeted her and Hao Ren.

Hao Ren and Vivian learned from Bai Huo that a Demon Hunter warband had vanished after going to Ankatro Family’s territory a month earlier. The chapter left them facing a larger mystery involving a secret revelation, the missing Demon Hunter elites, and the sealed territory.

• Bai Huo emerged from the flames and told Hao Ren and Vivian that she and her mentor had come to investigate the events around Ankatro Family.
• Hao Ren and Vivian persuaded Pierre to leave before they discussed the case with Bai Huo.
• Bai Huo revealed that three Elders, sixteen Masters, and many other senior Demon Hunters had disappeared a month earlier.
• Bai Huo explained that Elder Amthura had led a warband to Ankatro after three Elders received a bloodline revelation about the cause of innate hostility.
• Bai Huo said the warband vanished after entering Ankatro territory, which had since been sealed by a strange force.

Hao Ren and Vivian met with Bai Huo and exchanged information about the Ankatro Family, the Chaos Shadows, and the Demon Hunters’ investigation. They returned to the hotel to brief Lily and Izax, while Hao Ren suspected the situation involved more than ordinary chaos.

• Hao Ren and Bai Huo compared what they knew, confirming that Elder Amthura had entered the Ankatro Family’s secret realm but that what happened afterward remained unknown.
• Hao Ren proposed faking a battle if their groups met, but Vivian rejected the plan and said she would try to prevent a fight.
• Bai Huo refused to share her group’s plans for entering the secret realm and teleported away after agreeing to tell Mentor Hassu about the meeting.
• Hao Ren and Vivian returned to the hotel, where Lily babbled about her outing and asked Vivian to charge her phone with a tiny electric bat.
• Hao Ren explained his encounter with Bai Huo to Lily and Izax, then wondered whether the situation was more complicated than mere chaos.

Hao Ren’s group waited for Wayne Walter, who arrived with Hesperis and revealed that he wanted to see the Sun Disc. After discussing Hesperis’s role and her history with Hassu, the group set out for the Ankatro Secret Realm’s entrance.

• Hao Ren, Vivian, and Izax found signs that the Demon Hunters were watching them, while Vivian left runes warning them not to interfere for now.
• Lily complained that Wayne was late, and Vivian explained that he had needed to prepare items for opening the Ankatro Secret Realm.
• Wayne arrived with Hesperis and admitted he had come along because he wanted to see the Sun Disc, though he promised Vivian he would not give in to greed.
• Hesperis explained that the Athens Sanctuary had sent her as a representative and witness, and that she had prevented Heiserana from coming by knocking her unconscious and tying her up.
• Hao Ren told Hesperis that Hassu was nearby, prompting her to recall their old feud, and Vivian said the Demon Hunters had encountered trouble.
• Vivian asked Wayne to bring his door-opening tool, and the group headed toward the secret realm’s entrance.

Hao Ren and the others traveled through underground tunnels to a hidden entrance to the Ankatro Secret Realm, where Wayne used a special device to open a door. They passed through and saw the Golden Manor in the fog, then recognized Tanagrus.

• Wayne led Hao Ren and the others through the town’s underground sewers and explained that the Ankatro Secret Realm’s entrances shifted with the stars.
• Wayne discussed reports that a large group of Demon Hunters had appeared near the Ankatro territory a month earlier.
• Wayne used a rune-covered device to turn an image on a concrete wall into a metal door bearing golden runes.
• Lily rushed through the doorway, and Hao Ren and the others followed into the fog-shrouded secret realm.
• Hao Ren saw the Golden Manor in the distance, and the group exclaimed when they recognized Tanagrus.

Hao Ren and his companions explored the Ankatro Family’s fog-shrouded secret realm and realized that the family descended from Tanans, raising new questions about the nonhumans’ lost memories. As the fog thinned near the Family Hall, the group grew wary of possible shadows, while Vivian was teased about her history of bankrupting civilizations.

• Wayne led Hao Ren and the others through the unnatural fog toward the Ankatro Family Hall, where they saw golden buildings resembling Tanagrus architecture.
• Hao Ren, Vivian, and Izax realized that the Ankatro Family were likely Tanan descendants and wondered why they had forgotten the Wraiths, who were also connected to Tanans.
• Wayne explained that a central discharge tower maintained the secret realm, while the group found intact buildings, no inhabitants, and fog that appeared artificially controlled.
• Little Elizabeth suggested that the fog weakened shadows, and Hesperis warned that shadows might be hiding beyond its reach as the group approached the Family Hall.
• Little Elizabeth asked why other families had not stolen the Ankatro Family’s gold, prompting Vivian to defend her failed business ventures as Hao Ren listed the civilizations she had bankrupted.

Hao Ren and his companions crossed the Golden Manor and discovered that the Ankatro Family had been slaughtered amid a devastating battle. Wayne recognized signs that the Tanans had turned their own weapons against one another, leaving the cause of the massacre unclear.

• Hao Ren reflected on how the Tanans’ technological and material advantages had helped the Ankatro Family preserve its wealth and guard the seal.
• Hao Ren explained to Little Elizabeth and Lily how the Tanans built their gold-colored city with lightweight, advanced materials.
• Lily detected the smell of blood, and the group followed it through the thinning mist.
• Hao Ren and his companions found countless dead members of the Ankatro Family and a district scarred by explosions and other destruction.
• Vivian and Izax examined the bodies and damage, noting that the weapons did not resemble those used by the Demon Hunters.
• Wayne concluded that the Ankatro Family appeared to have slaughtered one another and destroyed their own city with their weapons.

Hao Ren’s group explored the devastated Golden Manor, finding evidence of a massacre among the Ankatro Family and signs that Demon Hunters had joined the fighting. They reached the Family Hall, where Lily accidentally knocked its outward-opening door inward.

• Hao Ren’s group found that the Golden Manor’s inner city was filled with dead Tanans and wreckage, while its factories had suffered less damage, supporting Hao Ren’s deduction that the melee targeted people rather than the city.
• Izax and the others discussed their preparations for fighting the Chaos Shadow, and Elizabeth revealed that a mirror had reflected it when it struck Izax’s forehead.
• Wayne found a Holy Silver Dagger in a dead Tanan, and Vivian identified the wound as a Demon Hunter’s precise killing strike.
• Lily followed a blood trail and found a dead Demon Hunter near a Tanan who had been killed with a high-heat weapon by his own people.
• Wayne identified the domed building as the Family Hall, and Lily pushed its heavy door inward before Wayne pointed out that it opened outward.

Hao Ren and his companions searched the Ankatro Family Hall, where Demon Hunters and family members had been massacred during a banquet. They found Elder Amthura’s body and a cryptic message, but the patriarch was missing and the cause of the seal’s failure remained unknown.

• Lily forced open the Family Hall doors, and Vivian cleared the dust to reveal the bodies of Demon Hunters and Ankatro Family members.
• Vivian examined the wounds and concluded that Demon Hunters and Tanans had fought, with many Demon Hunters killed by their own people.
• Hao Ren and the others inferred that the Chaos Shadow had emerged when the seal failed during a peaceful banquet, and they suspected the seal had been deliberately damaged.
• Wayne noticed that the Ankatro Family patriarch’s body was missing, while Hao Ren asked whether the Demon Hunter elders had been found.
• Elizabeth identified Elder Amthura by the name engraved on his dagger, and Hao Ren discovered the message carved behind his body: “They were right. We were wrong.”

Hao Ren and his companions puzzled over Demon Hunter Master Amthura’s final words and waited openly for Bai Huo’s group to arrive. The two parties met at the Ankatro Family Hall, where Lily greeted the Demon Hunters with a sign.

• Hao Ren, Vivian, and Hesperis inferred that Amthura’s last words referred to the Ankatro Family being right about innate hostility, though they remained unsure how the research had affected the seal.
• The Data Terminal detected a gateway opening, and Vivian and Hesperis decided to meet the approaching Demon Hunters peacefully at the entrance.
• Bai Huo and Hassu led an experienced Demon Hunter group through the Golden Manor, discussing Vivian and looking for signs of Hao Ren’s party.
• Hao Ren’s group waited outside the Ankatro Family Hall, where Izax carried Elizabeth and Lily held up a handmade “Hello!” sign as the Demon Hunters arrived.

Hao Ren’s team and Hassu’s Demon Hunters formed an uneasy joint investigation team after Vivian showed them the massacre in the Ankatro Family Hall. The hunters began examining the bodies, and Hassu confirmed that one belonged to Amthura before noticing the message on a pillar.

• Vivian and Hassu restrained their hostile groups and agreed to investigate the Family Hall together after Hassu saw the scene inside.
• Hassu’s Demon Hunters joined Hao Ren’s team, while Hesperis and Hassu exchanged guarded words about their past encounter in Athens.
• The joint team entered the hall, where the Demon Hunters identified the bodies of several important hunters and began inspecting the evidence.
• Vivian showed Hassu Amthura’s corpse, and Hassu confirmed his identity before noticing the message written beside him.

Hao Ren and Vivian examined Amthura’s records and discovered his long-standing theory that supernatural races had been brought to Earth and compelled to fight by an outside force. The chapter left Hao Ren reflecting on Amthura’s final words as Hassu acknowledged the theory’s plausibility but doubted it could change the Demon Hunters’ war.

• Hassu confirmed that the words carved into Amthura’s blade were genuine and had Tutanin bring out Amthura’s research papers and letters.
• Hao Ren and Vivian read Amthura’s records, which charted the decline of innate hostility and suggested it might soon disappear.
• Vivian found letters in which Amthura argued that supernatural races came from different worlds and had been gathered on Earth to fight under an imposed hostility.
• Hassu said Amthura’s theories made sense but that the hunting instinct and centuries of war could not be undone by a theory.
• Hao Ren read Amthura’s claim that the hunting instinct had been implanted and connected it to Amthura’s dying words: “They weren’t wrong. We were mistaken.”