Chapter Summaries

After stabilizing his sanity, Lu Yuan surveyed North Textile District’s reconstruction and found that Wolf’s infection had worsened. He returned to the Alchemy Workshop with Agnes’s meeting note and inspected the dormant Consciousness Crystal, whose nature remained unclear.

• Klaus reviewed the evaluations of Lu Yuan and decided to reduce the identification measures against him while seeking more points for him.
• Lu Yuan drank a Church Sanity Stabilizer, recovered 24 sanity, and went to inspect the rebuilding defenses around the position.
• Lu Yuan noticed that Wolf’s dark patterns had deepened and learned from the prompt that Wolf had a minor infection.
• Lu Yuan found Agnes’s unsigned note arranging a meeting at the east gate of Old Council Square tomorrow night, before Laurina’s laboratory mission in the Third Tower.
• Lu Yuan examined the dormant Consciousness Crystal and confirmed it was not a Source of Pollution, but the prompt could not analyze it further.

Lu Yuan tested the strange Crystal and discovered that it released knowledge while causing a sudden loss of Sanity and a temporary gray-green change in his hand. He sealed it away and prepared to rest before meeting someone at Old Council Square the next night.

• Lu Yuan observed that the Crystal’s dark golden patterns flowed beneath its semi-transparent shell and immersed it in water to monitor for changes.
• While watching the Crystal, Lu Yuan gained Ancient Music Theory, Forbidden Studies, and Basic Medical experience without noticing any immediate cost.
• After hours without further activity, Lu Yuan touched the sample bottle and gained Imperial Language and Pharmacology experience, lost 10 Sanity, and saw gray-green discoloration spread across his fingertips.
• Lu Yuan drank a Sanity Potion, wrapped the Crystal in treated cloth, sealed it in his toolbox beneath Copper Powder, and noted his appointment at the east gate of Old Council Square for the next night.

Lu Yuan dreamed of a vast river feeding an immense tree, then prepared in disguise to join Agnes’s church maintenance team at the Tower of Erudition. The team entered the tower for a purification route, where they found a lingering oppressive presence and signs of neglect.

• Lu Yuan woke from a dream of a word-filled river and a vast tree, and his sanity rose by twelve.
• Lu Yuan packed a church robe, his Revolver, silver-plated bullets, and his last Perfect Sanity Potion before setting out for the Tower of Erudition.
• Lu Yuan met Agnes and three other church members at Old Council Square, where Agnes explained the route, timing, and warning signal for their mission.
• Agnes led the disguised group to the Tower of Erudition, and its attendants checked their roster before admitting them.
• The team entered the tower and encountered a faint oppressive presence in its dusty corridors.

Lu Yuan joined Agnes and the Nuns on a purification route through the Tower of Erudition and discovered signs of a reviving Taboo and continued Knowledge contamination. After Agnes arranged for him to slip away, he entered Laurina's abandoned laboratory and used the Seeker's ability on a lingering aura by a table.

• As the group passed the Main Tower, Lu Yuan saw a warning that a Taboo was reviving and lost one point of Sanity.
• Agnes and the Nuns purified nodes in the First, Second, and Third Towers while Lu Yuan observed the failing runes and traces of Knowledge contamination.
• Agnes told the escort that one Nun needed to remain behind to purify a heavily contaminated node, and Lu Yuan stayed behind as the others left.
• Lu Yuan climbed to the top floor and entered Laurina's unlocked laboratory, where he found its cabinets emptied and labels torn away.
• Lu Yuan sensed an aura of the Sea of Knowledge lingering by a small table and activated the Seeker's ability.

Lu Yuan experienced a Knowledge-Derived Worm’s memories and learned how Laurina developed a method to contract the worms as a new knowledge pathway. The memories revealed that Laurina entered the Sea of Knowledge after erasing her memories of the worms, leaving a message about finding her there; Lu Yuan returned to the present under the gaze of an unknown entity.

• Lu Yuan saw Laurina begin raising a Knowledge-Derived Worm outside the human body and feeding it Alchemy knowledge.
• Laurina’s twenty-first experiment showed she could contract up to twelve worms using Alchemy as an Anchor Point, though feeding them knowledge was slow.
• Lu Yuan witnessed Laurina press the worm to her forehead and enter the Sea of Knowledge, where the worm’s memories and research dissolved.
• Before the worm vanished, Laurina left the message that only those who had entered the Sea of Knowledge and survived could find a trace of her.
• Lu Yuan regained consciousness, unlocked basic knowledge of the Knowledge Worm Pathway, and received a warning that an entity had noticed him.

After drawing the attention of a being inside the Main Tower, Lu Yuan escaped the Tower of Erudition with Agnes and the nuns, passing its inspection with Agnes's blessing. Outside, Agnes sent the three nuns ahead while she stayed behind to handle something.

• Lu Yuan witnessed the Main Tower's inscriptions flare and briefly saw a vast aura of the Sea of Knowledge above its summit, then drank a Perfect Sanity Potion and left the laboratory.
• Agnes returned with three nuns, secretly gave Lu Yuan an Angel's Blessing, and he joined the group as they headed out.
• Lu Yuan and the others passed a special detection inscription, whose inspection was fooled by the blessing.
• Lu Yuan received another warning that he had drawn the attention of beings in the tower and left with the group.
• At the eastern alley entrance, Agnes told the three nuns to go back while she stayed behind.

Lu Yuan learned that the Ghouls beneath Bronze City had disappeared and might trigger another collapse-site expedition, then studied the Worm of Knowledge and inferred how Laurina had anchored and tamed it. He saw the potential for Forbidden Studies to serve as an unlimited anchor, but ended the chapter unsure how to tame even one worm.

• Agnes asked Lu Yuan if he could help her enter the Sea of Knowledge, and he said he might ask Andre Morris after Bronze City stabilized.
• Agnes warned Lu Yuan that the Ghouls at the collapse site had disappeared without dying and that an exploration team might later select him.
• Lu Yuan returned to his room and wrote down that Worms of Knowledge parasitized any brain containing structured knowledge and depended on a knowledge-rich environment to survive.
• Lu Yuan deduced that Laurina had used Knowledge Anchoring to bind a Worm of Knowledge to her Alchemy knowledge, allowing it to purify knowledge without consuming her mind.
• Lu Yuan reasoned that Forbidden Studies could anchor an unlimited number of Worms of Knowledge, but he lacked the knowledge to tame one and Laurina could not help because she had erased the memory.

Lu Yuan planned to lure a Worm of Knowledge from the Sea of Knowledge without entering it, hoping to use systematic knowledge as bait. He carefully activated Knowledge's Male and established a view into the sea, then sensed an invisible barrier between it and the Alchemy Workshop.

• Lu Yuan concluded that he could not safely enter the Sea of Knowledge because activating Knowledge's Male might alert Bronze City's weakened seals and powerful observers.
• He reasoned that systematic knowledge might lure a Worm of Knowledge through a small opening, using the exchange relationship he had experienced during his previous contact with the sea.
• Lu Yuan examined Knowledge's Male and realized its crack had widened as his Forbidden Studies advanced.
• He locked the Alchemy Workshop, prepared to stop the test if the sea's aura leaked, and used Forbidden Studies to resonate with the shell.
• Lu Yuan saw the Sea of Knowledge through the rift and sensed an invisible barrier separating it from the workshop.

Lu Yuan used Forbidden Studies experience to open a pinprick passage through the Knowledge Wall, hoping to attract a Worm of Knowledge. The passage slowly restored his sanity, and a juvenile Worm of Knowledge emerged through it.

• Lu Yuan discovered that Forbidden Studies perception could make the Knowledge Wall yield, but opening a pinprick passage cost him 0.5 Forbidden Studies experience.
• Lu Yuan released the aura of his Forbidden Studies through the pinprick to try to attract a Worm of Knowledge, but initially noticed no response.
• Lu Yuan found that maintaining a connection with the Sea of Knowledge restored his sanity by one point every few minutes.
• Lu Yuan sensed something moving near the pinprick, and a tiny, translucent juvenile Worm of Knowledge squeezed through.

Lu Yuan encountered three Worms of Knowledge and discovered that the Sea of Knowledge recognized him as an associated entity. He contracted with all three, allowing them to feed on the Consciousness Crystal while their connections remained alive within his perception.

• Lu Yuan recognized that the first Worm of Knowledge viewed him as an associated entity of the Sea of Knowledge, so he approached it without hostility.
• The Worm of Knowledge became excited by the Consciousness Crystal in Lu Yuan’s sample vial, but Lu Yuan refused to let it eat the crystal.
• Two more Worms of Knowledge emerged, and Lu Yuan offered all three a contract in exchange for permission to feed on the crystal.
• The first Worm of Knowledge contracted with Lu Yuan, earning him the Sea of Knowledge Angler achievement, then merged into the Consciousness Crystal.
• The other two Worms of Knowledge also contracted with Lu Yuan and joined the first in feeding on the crystal.

Lu Yuan's Worms of Knowledge absorbed the Consciousness Crystal, fused into one, and entered his eye, granting him enhanced vision and a large amount of knowledge feedback. After glimpsing a mass of strange aura gathering above Bronze City's inner city, he went to sleep, only to be awakened by a dwarf identified as a Master of Inscription Studies.

• Lu Yuan's three Worms of Knowledge consumed the Consciousness Crystal, grew, and merged into one.
• The Worm of Knowledge entered Lu Yuan's left eye, letting him see auras and briefly revealing a dense, shifting mass above Bronze City's inner city.
• The Crystal's knowledge feedback raised Lu Yuan's Forbidden Studies and Imperial Language skills and advanced his Inscription Studies; the Time Bestower Pocket Watch briefly trembled.
• Lu Yuan put the Crystal away and went to sleep while the Worm of Knowledge rested in his eye.
• A short old man knocked on Lu Yuan's door in the morning, and Lu Yuan's sight identified him as a dwarf and a Master of Inscription Studies.

Lu Yuan met the Dwarf Duo Huo Ke, who explained four possible Inscription Studies paths and warned that Ancient Large-Scale Inscription Studies could lock down other Knowledge Paths. After Duo Huo Ke left, Lu Yuan sought Bolen’s more trustworthy advice, and Bolen realized Lu Yuan might have started studying inscriptions.

• Lu Yuan let the invisible-to-others Dwarf Duo Huo Ke into the Alchemy Workshop and heard that joining his guidance would benefit them both.
• Duo Huo Ke described Weapon, Large-Scale, Ancient, and Eerie Inscription Studies, recommending Weapon or Ancient studies while warning that Ancient Large-Scale Inscription Studies carried a knowledge Curse.
• Lu Yuan questioned Duo Huo Ke about Bronze City’s inscriptions and learned they were Ancient Large-Scale Inscription Studies, a path that could lock down other Knowledge Paths.
• Duo Huo Ke left Lu Yuan a stone slab describing the four paths and a whistle for summoning nearby Dwarves.
• Lu Yuan decided to ask Bolen about advancing in Inscription Studies and waited for him to arrive with Kael.
• Bolen asked why Lu Yuan was asking about inscription guidance, then realized Lu Yuan might already have started studying inscriptions.

Bolen explained Lu Yuan’s four Inscription Studies options, warning him away from paths that would conflict with his Knowledge Path or consume too much of his time. He argued that Lu Yuan’s affinity with Eeries might make Eerie Inscription Studies unusually suitable, but had not yet finished weighing the choice.

• Bolen examined Lu Yuan’s stone slab and was astonished that his aura matched four Inscription Studies directions.
• Bolen explained that Dwarves recommended their own specializations to earn rewards, then cautioned Lu Yuan to keep unregistered Transcendent paths secret.
• Bolen advised Lu Yuan to discard Weapon Inscription Studies and warned that pursuing Large-Scale Inscription Studies could let the Knowledge Curse lock down his Forbidden Society.
• Bolen described Ancient Inscription Studies as a rare path that could support research into Bronze City’s Copper Pillars but would keep Lu Yuan in the city.
• Bolen explained the dangers and limited practice of Eerie Inscription Studies, then said Lu Yuan might suit it because his dark aura could reduce the backlash from Eerie materials.

Lu Yuan weighed Ancient Inscription Studies against Eerie Inscription Studies while recovering and monitoring the growing anomaly above the Inner City. At a joint meeting, Klaus reported on Bronze City's collapses, the Copper Pillars, and the contaminated Pipe Network, leaving the distribution of the pillars beneath the city as an open question.

• Lu Yuan considered Bolen's advice and left the choice between Ancient Inscription Studies and Eerie Inscription Studies undecided.
• Over three days, Lu Yuan recovered his Sanity, repaired one layer of his Sanity Barrier, and found that the anomaly above the Inner City kept growing.
• Glock told Lu Yuan that Klaus had called a joint meeting about the Copper Pillars, with Bolen and representatives of several groups attending.
• Klaus summarized the ground collapses across Bronze City, the Ghouls that emerged, and the discovery of rune-carved Copper Pillars beneath the city.
• Klaus reported that Lu Yuan had destroyed the Fungal Hyphae Core beneath the North Textile District and that cleanup had uncovered more Copper Pillars.
• Klaus asked where else Copper Pillars might be located beneath Bronze City, including under the Inner City Collapse Points.

Klaus revised Bronze City's response to the collapse and ordered a new descent beneath the Copper Pillars, which formed part of a vast sealing array. Lu Yuan discovered signs of Fungal Hyphae in Wolf's aura, warned Klaus privately, and was left unsure whether Wolf knew he was infected.

• Klaus announced full patrols across Bronze City and further exploration of the Pipe Network, and Lu Yuan was promoted to official Night Watcher captain.
• Bolen explained that the Copper Pillars were part of a large sealing array suppressing an unknown threat underground, and Klaus scheduled a new descent for dawn the day after tomorrow.
• Klaus assembled a team that included Lu Yuan, Wolf, Heinrich, the Church observer, and Bolen, while Bolen ordered Kael to stay behind.
• Lu Yuan sensed a faint grayish-green trace resembling Fungal Hyphae in Wolf's aura but kept quiet during the meeting to avoid disrupting the team.
• After the meeting, Lu Yuan told Klaus about Wolf's possible infection, and Klaus said he would make arrangements before the expedition.
• Lu Yuan asked Wolf how he was feeling as they left the Branch, but Wolf said he was fine and walked away.

Lu Yuan joined an expedition to investigate whether the Copper Pillar was part of a larger sealing system and whether Fungal Hyphae had spread beyond the North Spinning District. Klaus secretly assigned the Fourth Order Eerie Transcendence Leike to watch Wolf and gave Lu Yuan a Sealing Disk, while the team advanced toward the first predicted pillar site.

• Lu Yuan packed his weapons and the Consciousness Crystal before meeting Klaus, who said Wolf likely knew about his contamination and might be involved in a plan.
• Klaus revealed that Leike was a disguised Fourth Order Eerie Transcendence assigned to watch Wolf, and gave Lu Yuan a three-use Sealing Disk that could suppress Transcendence activity within ten meters.
• Lu Yuan joined Glock's team, and Bolen explained that the Copper Pillar's position suggested three other pillars might form a complete sealing system.
• The team set out to investigate the first predicted location, search for Fungal Hyphae, and clear Ghouls along the route.
• After reaching the relay point, Glock stayed behind while Leike took the Communication Crystals and the remaining twelve members continued onward.

Lu Yuan's team fought through swarms of newly metamorphosed Ghouls in the Northwest Branch and found an active Copper Pillar that Bolen believed was part of the seal beneath Bronze City. As the team prepared to leave, Wolf's furnace fire surged out of control, and the nun cast Angel's Blessing while the others struggled to restrain him.

• Lu Yuan led the team through the Northwest Branch, where they killed over a hundred slow-moving Little Ghouls and several Great Ghouls.
• Leike reported the encounter to Glock, who said they had never seen deathly pale Ghoul larvae in the Pipe Network.
• The team reached a large chamber where Bolen detected and uncovered an active Copper Pillar.
• Bolen took a rubbing of the pillar's inscriptions and concluded that four identical pillars formed a complete seal beneath Bronze City.
• Wolf's body suddenly turned white-hot, burned two Iron Guard Battalion members who tried to restrain him, and forced the nun to cast Angel's Blessing over the group.

Lu Yuan and the others subdued Wolf’s rampage with the Sealing Disk while Leike revealed his true form and pursued an unknown entity through the Pipe Network. After arranging their withdrawal, Lu Yuan realized Wolf’s reaction might point to another Fungal Hyphae Core beneath the Copper Pillar and searched the area for a Rift.

• Wolf burned through the Nun’s restraints, struck Heinrich, and was wounded by Boer’s copper round before Lu Yuan activated the Sealing Disk to suppress the Transcendents.
• Gray-White Text warned of approaching contamination, and Leike exposed his worm-like true form, revealed a hidden figure, and chased it into the Pipe Network.
• Lu Yuan told the group that Klaus had secretly arranged for Leike to help, then had the Nun treat Wolf and reported the incident to Glock, who approved their withdrawal.
• Gray-White Text identified Wolf as a seriously wounded Furnace Fire Transcendent who had passed a trial and was advancing.
• Lu Yuan suspected another Fungal Hyphae Core might lie beneath the Copper Pillar and returned to search the floor for a Rift.

Lu Yuan found an Unknown Seed beneath a Copper Pillar and fled the Pipe Network Layer after an invisible Alienated Transcendent attacked. He reached the relay point with the Seed, where Leike revealed his transformed appearance and went back into the darkness to confront the enemy.

• Lu Yuan had knights pry up a Copper Plate and uncovered an Unknown Seed, which he sealed in his Toolbox.
• As the group retreated, a high-risk pollution warning appeared, and Lu Yuan used Stasis to stop a black liquid ambush before spotting an invisible attacker.
• Lu Yuan activated Time Bestower and ran ahead to warn the relay point that an invisible Alienated Transcendent was pursuing the Seed.
• Glock prepared to lead a rescue team, but Leike emerged in a grotesquely transformed body and said he had injured the Fourth Order enemy.
• Leike returned the Seed to Lu Yuan and went back into the Pipe Network to meet the attacker.

Klaus arrived at the relay point after Lu Yuan reported the Seed beneath the Copper Pillar and the Alienated Transcendents in the Pipe Network. He set out with Lu Yuan, Leike, and Bolen to inspect the site, explaining the dangers and limits of different Transcendence Paths as they traveled.

• Leike returned with the group, and Glock arranged for the wounded Wolf and others to be escorted to the surface for treatment.
• Lu Yuan told Glock about the Seed beneath the Copper Pillar, the Alienated Transcendents, and the possibility of Seeds beneath the other Copper Pillars.
• Leike said he had already informed Klaus, who arrived at the relay point shortly afterward and examined the stone containing the Seed.
• Klaus ordered Glock and Boer to remain at the relay point, then departed with Lu Yuan, Leike, and Bolen to assess the Copper Pillar.
• Klaus explained that Fourth Order Eerie and Alienated Transcendents were deeply corrupted, that the Guardian had reached Fifth Order, and that he expected to become Eerie himself soon.
• Klaus described Knowledge Transcendents and warned Lu Yuan that his chosen path was dangerous, while noting that the Empire's northern war was increasing demand for them.