Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian watched Lan En’s crew use a harmonica to lure a mermaid through the storm as their boat approached the Sea of Ashes. The mermaid appeared, and the crew prepared to enter the water.

• Fu Qian observed a translucent octopus-like creature sneak aboard and hide beneath a bed as its body began to swell and its life force grew unstable.
• The boat slowed to a stop, and Lan En gathered the crew on deck and played a pale blue harmonica into the storm.
• A distant voice answered Lan En’s melody, and after a second exchange, several crew members slipped into the water.
• Fu Qian spotted a human-sized mermaid with a fishlike mouth, sharp teeth, huge eyes, and a turquoise-and-purple tail fin swimming through the waves.

Lan En and the hunters captured a young mermaid, but her blood turned out to be Curse Abyss and drew a huge sea creature. The hunters headed toward the Sea of Ashes to escape, where a tentacle struck their boat and swept away a man and the mermaid.

• Lan En swam to the mermaid and used his harmonica to keep her calm while the hunters surrounded her.
• The mermaid tried to escape with a strange song, but a hunter shot her with a crossbow bolt and the crew hauled her aboard.
• Lan En told the hunters he would preserve the mermaid's throat, but her body burst and sprayed green Curse Abyss blood across the boat.
• Lan En discovered Delanlai was missing, and the crew chose to press on toward the Sea of Ashes rather than turn back.
• A huge tentacle burst from the water and swept a man and the mermaid into the sea.

After a tentacle struck the ship, Lan En concluded that the group had to press deeper into the Sea of Ashes to escape the threat. Fu Qian revealed that he had staged the attack, and a vast shadow appeared ahead of the boat.

• A tentacle whipped one of the ship's crew into the black water and knocked the mermaid away, killing the crew member.
• Lan En and the others debated whether the attack came from the Sea God or had targeted the mermaid, while the masked woman warned that two dangers threatened them.
• Lan En ordered the group to head farther into the Sea of Ashes, and the masked woman revealed her scarred, deformed hand as she said she only wanted to survive.
• Fu Qian returned to his room after staging the tentacle attack and learned from the group's conversation that Curse Abyss could draw a divine creature from the sea.
• A vast shadow appeared on the horizon ahead of Fu Qian's boat.

Fu Qian secretly drove the pirate ship toward the Sea of Ashes, where the group landed on an apparently lifeless island and discovered their ship was badly damaged. As Lady Ash went to scout alone, Fu Qian noticed that the mermaid he had contacted had also reached another island nearby.

• A creature attacked the ship, and Lan En ordered everyone to charge ashore on the gray-white islands.
• The ship scraped across the hard island surface, lost its concealment, and became stranded as the group gathered defensively.
• Lan En told Lady Ash that the ship was badly damaged, while the group wondered whether Delanlai had lured them into a trap.
• Lady Ash apologized for failing to detect Delanlai and volunteered to scout the area alone.
• Fu Qian watched the group and followed an ethereal thread toward another island, where the mermaid had arrived.

Fu Qian brought a group to the Sea of Ashes to provoke a response and search for signs of a mysterious connection. He watched the mermaid’s tail split into two, then saw it swim toward the depths before a stranger trapped it with a rapidly growing plant.

• Fu Qian reached the mermaid’s hiding place and watched its uninjured tail split into blue and red tails.
• The mermaid adjusted to its changed body, then leaped into the sea and swam toward the depths of the Sea of Ashes.
• A stranger called for the mermaid to stop and pursued it across the water.
• The stranger threw a seed that grew woody tentacles around the mermaid and lifted it into the air on an enormous plant.

Fu Qian stopped Delanlai from torturing a mermaid and questioned him about the Sea of Ashes and his motives. Delanlai revealed that he had saved Lan En to gather the people aboard his ship so he could kill them.

• Fu Qian confronted Delanlai after the giant tree trapped the mermaid in its branches.
• When the mermaid screamed, Fu Qian fired a shot into the water beside it and silenced it.
• Fu Qian introduced himself to Delanlai and said he had come to explore the Sea of Ashes.
• Delanlai explained that anything taken beyond the Sea of Ashes would turn to ash, and warned that even absorbed gains would exact a cost when someone left.
• Fu Qian asked why Delanlai had helped Lan En, and Delanlai said he had saved him to gather the ship's people in one place before killing them.

Fu Qian learned from Delanlai that the Sea of Ashes could distort living creatures and that mermaids who answered a call from its depths might become fishmen. After Delanlai asked Fu Qian for help saving the trapped mermaid, Fu Qian summoned enormous tentacles that smashed the tree and sent the mermaid and its cage plunging into the water.

• Fu Qian questioned Delanlai about the mermaid, the Sea of Ashes, and why Delanlai had followed the group of butchers.
• Delanlai explained that the Sea of Ashes caused unpredictable mutations and that he could no longer communicate with the giant tree he had planted.
• Delanlai told Fu Qian that mermaids sometimes heard a call from the depths and that survivors could be twisted into fishmen.
• Fu Qian warned Delanlai that Lan En and the others might have spotted the mermaid from a nearby hill, and Delanlai decided to stay and help it.
• Delanlai asked Fu Qian for a favor, and Fu Qian summoned two enormous tentacles that smashed the tree, sending the mermaid and its cage into the water.

Fu Qian observed the strange effects of the Sea of Ashes on Delanlai and the mermaid before searching for Lady Ash. He found her playing a harmonica to summon a fish-scaled figure from the sea, whom she recognized as Li Min.

• Delanlai realized Fu Qian seemed connected to the tentacles that attacked and drove everyone into the island, then rescued the mermaid from her ironwood cage.
• Fu Qian returned to the island, reasoning that the frightening display would discourage Lan En's group from seeking revenge and help him study the anomalies.
• Fu Qian searched the island's mountains and found Lady Ash standing alone on a seaside cliff.
• Lady Ash removed her gloves and mask, revealing burn-scarred skin, then played a harmonica over and over toward the sea.
• A disfigured, horned figure covered in fish scales emerged from the water, and Lady Ash called it Li Min.

Fu Qian recognized Lady Ash as Rachel and watched her reunite with Li Min, whose body was failing after she used Ashes to suppress the fire she had swallowed. Rachel brought Li Min Blood Dew, but revealed that a Curse Abyss had marked everyone aboard their ship and forced them to hide in the Sea of Ashes.

• Fu Qian recognized Lady Ash as Rachel, Li Min's old friend from Port City.
• Li Min froze her upper body to stabilize herself and managed to speak with Rachel.
• Rachel offered Li Min three vials of Blood Dew, but Li Min warned that her body was nearing collapse and urged Rachel to leave.
• Fu Qian pieced together how Rachel had helped Li Min escape after her revenge and had been gathering materials to keep her alive.
• Li Min noticed injuries on Rachel's hand and asked what had happened.
• Rachel explained that a Curse Abyss had marked everyone aboard their ship and driven them into the Sea of Ashes for shelter.

Li Min revived herself with Rachel’s Blood Dew and learned that Delanlai had contaminated the ship’s crew before a Divine creature drove them toward the Sea of Ashes. Li Min decided to investigate the creature, but its tentacle struck the cliff as she and Rachel fled.

• Rachel gave Li Min three vials of Blood Dew, which Li Min drank all at once to restore her strength.
• Rachel told Li Min that Delanlai had used the Curse Abyss’s blood to contaminate everyone aboard the ship.
• Rachel described how a Divine creature attacked them and seemed to drive them toward the Sea of Ashes.
• Li Min concluded that the creature might be waiting outside regardless of whether they were marked by the Curse Abyss.
• Li Min entered the water to investigate the creature, but she quickly returned and dragged Rachel away from its tentacle strike.

Li Min and Rachel escaped the Divine creature and hid in a cave, where Li Min concluded it had driven Rachel there as bait to lure another prey. As they waited for the other bait to draw the predator, an unknown figure arrived at the cave seeking shelter.

• Li Min shielded herself and Rachel from the Divine creature's attack, then realized the creature had disappeared without killing them.
• Li Min concluded that the creature had been driving Rachel toward the floating island, and Rachel recalled how its attacks had pushed her group step by step.
• Li Min refused to go deeper or rejoin the others and led Rachel to a secluded cave near the island's summit.
• Li Min reasoned that the creature was using Rachel as bait to lure another prey, so they decided to stay hidden and avoid the others.
• A figure approached the cave through the rain and asked Li Min and Rachel to come inside.

Fu Qian, disguised as Fang Xun, confronted Rachel and Li Min in their cave and pressed them to explain why a powerful creature had appeared in the Sea of Ashes. Li Min suggested it might have come for a miracle, leaving the two women with the promise of a wish and an unsettling conversation with Fu Qian.

• Fu Qian followed Rachel and Li Min to their cave and entered after startling them with a tentacle attack outside.
• Rachel demanded to know who Fu Qian was and why he had followed them, while Li Min questioned when he had arrived.
• Li Min explained that Divine creatures usually avoided the Sea of Ashes and said the creature had seemed to use everyone as bait.
• Rachel challenged Fu Qian for demanding answers from strangers, and Fu Qian offered them a wish in exchange for another explanation.
• Li Min said the creature might have come for a miracle, like the summons that turned mermaids into fishmen.

Fu Qian questioned Li Min about the Sea of Ashes and then accepted her wish to heal her. His attempt to remove her corruption made her condition worsen, and a furious roar sounded in her mind.

• Li Min explained that recurring miracles in the Sea of Ashes might be drawing the merfolk and that something had used Fu Qian and the others as bait to trigger one.
• Fu Qian asked Rachel and Li Min what they wished for, and Rachel first asked him to make the thing outside disappear.
• Li Min chose to risk wishing for her own healing so Rachel might have a better chance to escape.
• Fu Qian activated the Return Edict, causing Li Min's scales and spikes to recede while blisters spread across her skin.
• Fu Qian stopped the edict, but a furious roar erupted in Li Min's mind and she collapsed, curled into a ball.

Fu Qian used Gospel Blast on Li Min, whose corruption and failing body transformed her into a monstrous sunfish before a blue frostfire began rebuilding her head. To keep her from collapsing, he grafted her head onto his shoulder, and Li Min wondered whether the rain over the Sea of Ashes was stopping.

• Fu Qian used Gospel Blast on Li Min, worsening her transformation as Rachel stayed beside her.
• Li Min's blue frostfire began shaping a face, but her body resisted and started to collapse.
• Fu Qian grabbed Rachel to stop her and pulled Li Min's head from her failing body.
• Fu Qian attached Li Min's head to his shoulder, and she regained enough stability to speak.
• Li Min asked whether the rain was stopping.

After Fu Qian helped Li Min survive by fusing with Rachel, the three witnessed a miracle reshaping the sky and sea. Li Min recognized it as the Shattered Crown, a permanent formation that could mean they were trapped in a prison.

• Li Min explained that Fu Qian had severed her connection to the pollution, leaving her fused with Rachel and stronger than before.
• Rachel went outside and saw the sky divided into interlocking regions above the sea.
• Fu Qian and Li Min realized that different parts of the Sea of Ashes had been pieced together around their floating island.
• Li Min identified the phenomenon as the Shattered Crown, a stable miracle that drifts eternally through the Sea of Ashes.
• Li Min warned that if she was right, they had been exiled to a prison.

Fu Qian learned from Li Min that the Shattered Crown warped distance between regions, trapping those inside without clear boundaries or a known way out. He agreed to travel with Li Min and Rachel, then headed toward the poachers to investigate the miracle and gather information.

• Li Min explained that the Shattered Crown connected regions by erasing the distance between them, and that someone had escaped it before.
• Li Min asked Fu Qian to take her and Rachel along, and he agreed after confirming she was being sincere.
• Fu Qian told Rachel and Li Min he was heading toward the poachers to find transportation.
• Fu Qian planned to pressure the groups inside the Shattered Crown to investigate its anomalies and share what they learned.
• Fu Qian reached the poachers as they tried to repair their boat, and Lan En questioned whether he had caused the strange change.

Fu Qian told Lan En’s crew that they were trapped in fragments of the Sea of Ashes, then effortlessly stopped a trident attack. He seized the attacker by the head, leaving the crew horrified.

• Lan En asked Fu Qian who he was, and Fu Qian introduced himself as Fang.
• Fu Qian said Lady Ash had encountered trouble while scouting and that he had agreed to help her.
• Fu Qian explained that a higher power had twisted different regions of the Sea of Ashes together and erased the way the crew had entered.
• Lan En questioned how Fu Qian knew about the phenomenon, and Fu Qian claimed he ran a bookstore and had read about it.
• A trident-wielding crewman attacked Fu Qian, who caught the weapon between two fingers and dodged its invisible strike.
• Fu Qian grabbed the attacker’s head and crushed it with a snap.

Fu Qian detected an unusual fishy smell in a dead crewman’s remains, and Lan En discovered iridescent scales forming on his fingernails. Lan En hurried the crew to search for an escape, while Rachel later told Fu Qian that the Shattered Crown accelerated mutation.

• Fu Qian killed a crewman who attacked him, then sniffed the man’s skull fragment and noticed its flesh smelled unusually fishy.
• Lan En inspected the corpse and found iridescent, scale-like marks on the nails of his right hand.
• Lan En said the changes may have begun after the crew realized their way back was gone, and asked whether the miracle could accelerate mutation.
• Fu Qian urged Lan En to keep the crew busy and search for a way out, so Lan En ordered them to move quickly.
• Rachel visited Fu Qian and reported that the Shattered Crown accelerated mutation from within.

After the ship set sail, Fu Qian joined Lan En’s team and warned them that the waters ahead might be the depths of the Sea of Ashes. He urged Lan En to use his harmonica to scout for danger, and Lan En prepared to play it as the boat stopped before the rainstorm.

• Rachel told Fu Qian that Lan En planned to sail toward the boundary and confirm whether the team could escape.
• Fu Qian explained that killing the dissenting team member had helped Lan En bring the group together.
• Lan En asked Fu Qian for advice as the boat approached the rainstorm marking the edge of the floating-island region.
• Fu Qian warned that the waters ahead could be the depths of the Sea of Ashes, causing the team to reconsider sailing straight in.
• Fu Qian suggested that Lan En use his harmonica to announce their arrival and scout for danger.
• Lan En stopped the boat and took out his harmonica.

Fu Qian and Lan En’s group encountered a growing chorus of mermaid-like voices as they sailed through the Shattered Crown. Fu Qian recognized the singers as fish-men and urged the ship to press on through the direction with fewer of them.

• Lan En played his harmonica to lure a mermaid, but a humming voice answered from the storm.
• More voices joined the song until more than a dozen bewitching melodies surrounded the ship.
• Fu Qian spotted a fish-man through the storm and told the group that only a few were ahead of them.
• Fu Qian warned that even more fish-men blocked the way back, and Lan En ordered the ship to charge through.