Recaps

An Chen rescued a group of women from three soul masters who were using people to cultivate, then returned to Dongxing City and received a letter from Elder Chen about a remedy for his mental strain. The letter revealed that Xiangshi Valley had gone silent, and Elder Chen sent him a stalk of Youxiang Grass.

• An Chen stripped scales and fur from the double-headed wolf before heading to Dongxing City to collect his subsidy and send Elder Chen a letter about his mental problems.
• On a deserted road, An Chen found three soul masters tormenting and preparing to refine a bound young girl and her servants.
• An Chen used his third soul ring to drag the scythe-wielding brute into the shadows, then killed the other two as they fled.
• An Chen freed the women, who thanked him and left, and continued to Dongxing City.
• At the Spirit Hall, An Chen received Elder Chen's reply and a parcel, then read that Youxiang Grass could heal mental trauma but Xiangshi Valley had gone silent.

After eating Youxiang Grass to heal his Spirituality, An Chen advanced to Sequence 7 Hermit and discovered that its shadow abilities had transformed his Third Soul Skill. Confident in his new powers, he prepared to leave for Xiang Stone Valley the next morning.

• An Chen ate the Youxiang Grass from Elder Chen and found that it began healing his damaged Spirituality, so he decided to seek more in Xiang Stone Valley.
• An Chen claimed his completed mission reward, brewed the Hermit Potion, and advanced from Sequence 8 Listener to Sequence 7 Hermit.
• An Chen tested his new powers by merging into shadows, traveling through them, and shaping a shadow dagger that killed a mouse.
• An Chen used Shadow Tomb on the mouse and realized his Soul Skill could now send enemies into the shadow world, though stronger opponents could resist it.
• An Chen packed his things to leave for Xiang Stone Valley the next morning, confident in his new abilities.

An Chen reached Xiangshi Town and learned that Xiangshi Valley had stopped producing Youxiang Grass after an abnormal change six years earlier. He watched the Silvien Family gain permission to enter using an old Pontiff Token and considered how he might get inside himself.

• An Chen asked a tavern owner about Xiangshi Valley and learned that people had gone missing inside since the valley stopped sending out Youxiang Grass.
• An Chen traveled to the checkpoint and saw Spirit Hall personnel and Heaven Dou Empire soldiers guarding the mist-covered entrance.
• A convoy from the Silvien Family arrived, and its middle-aged leader argued with the Black-Robed Cardinal over being allowed into the valley.
• The Silvien leader showed a token granted by former Supreme Pontiff Qian Xunji, and the Black-Robed Cardinal let the family proceed despite warning that Spirit Hall teams had been wiped out.
• An Chen decided Elder Chen's token would likely not help him and began considering how to use the Silvien Family's convoy.

An Chen watched the Silvien Family investigate the Fog and learned that they planned to use recruited Soul Masters as cannon fodder. He joined the group openly and discovered that the cold young man in white carried a token engraved with a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

• Tie Ge sent Bade and seven scouts into the Fog, but screams soon sounded and the squad could no longer be contacted.
• The Silvien Family’s middle-aged leader ordered another scouting squad inside, then told Tie Ge to recruit Soul Masters with Youxiang Grass as payment.
• An Chen decided to hide among the recruits and enter with the Silvien Family rather than sneak in alone.
• After a second scouting squad also seemed to meet disaster, the Silvien Family recruited Soul Masters, offering Youxiang Grass or Gold Soul Coins as compensation.
• More than forty people registered in three groups, and An Chen joined the group of four above level thirty.
• An Chen recognized the white-clothed young man among the strongest recruits and saw that his bronze token depicted a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

An Chen joined a team heading into Xiangshi Valley, where the Silvien Family offered gold soul coins to people willing to take the most dangerous positions. As the team entered the fog, An Chen regarded the eager outer-ring members as expendable scouts.

• An Chen met Thorn, Hawk, and Yu Tianyao, who identified himself as a disciple of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family.
• Captain Tie Ge assigned the team to three layers, and a Silvien Family representative offered increasing payments for the more dangerous positions.
• An Chen learned that Thorn was a wandering soul master considering a teaching job, while Hawk traveled to cultivate with his Spear Soul Martial Soul.
• The next day, many people collected the promised money for their families and returned to join the expedition.
• An Chen entered the fog with Thorn, Hawk, and Yu Tianyao, intending to use the outer-ring members to probe its dangers.

An Chen and Tie Ge's team entered the Fog, where their senses and ability to communicate were suppressed. Dead scouts appeared and mimicked the living, while the Fog began luring Soul Masters away from the group; Tie Ge's power failed to stop them.

• Tie Ge led the team into the Fog and ordered everyone to stay connected by ropes, but the Fog muffled their senses and voices.
• An Chen realized Thorn could not hear him, then the Fog's silence broke when a voice called for Tie Ge's help.
• The team heard voices from all directions and saw Bade's corpse emerge, while the Fog repeated Tie Ge's words through Bade's Communication Soul Tool.
• A Soul Master began walking toward Bade in a daze, but his companions pulled him back and he regained awareness.
• Dozens of outer-ring Soul Masters dropped their ropes and walked into the Fog, repeating that they were already dead, and Tie Ge's Soul King pressure could not stop them.

Tie Ge led An Chen and the survivors through the Fog, where the dead could manipulate people and silence their voices. After one wounded Soul Master was overtaken and killed, the group fled and encountered an apparently ordinary old man in an apothecary’s gray robe.

• A Soul Master in the Fog was seized by his companions, who insisted he was already dead, so Tie Ge ordered the group to tighten formation and break through a weaker patch of corpses.
• Tie Ge led the charge through the corpses, and An Chen realized the Fog was suppressing their hearing as only a few people caught up.
• The group found undecayed bodies with black wounds and claw marks, and Tie Ge ordered everyone to tie themselves together as they continued.
• The wounded Soul Master claimed something was calling him back, then began to change; Tie Ge’s steel claws beheaded him before he could finish speaking.
• Tie Ge ordered the survivors to move after the dead began babbling at them, and the fleeing group came face to face with a calm old man dressed as an apothecary.

An Chen and Tie Ge’s group followed Edmond through the fog into Xiang Stone Valley, where they found abundant Youxiang Grass and were invited to stay overnight. An Chen, Thorn, and Yu Tianyao noticed the villagers moved in unnaturally similar ways, and the chapter ended with an unanswered knock at their door.

• Edmond appeared in the fog, identified himself as Xiang Stone Valley’s former leader, and led the group toward the valley.
• Edmond showed the group the Youxiang Grass and said they could harvest it after resting in the village.
• An Chen and Thorn noticed that the villagers’ movements were strangely similar, and Yu Tianyao and Tie Ge also became wary.
• Edmond offered the group two wooden houses for the night and warned that Xiang Stone Valley was different after dark.
• An Chen and Thorn discussed the villagers’ behavior in their room, then heard someone knock repeatedly without answering.

An Chen investigated the villagers’ suspicious behavior in Xiangshi Valley and went out alone at night to explore the village. He found a motionless villager and oddly arranged farming tools before spotting Edmond across the farmland.

• An Chen warned Hawk not to eat the villagers’ food and told him and Thorn about the villagers’ suspicious behavior.
• An Chen saw dozens of villagers watching him, then used his shadow ability to slip out alone after nightfall.
• An Chen explored the village and found a villager standing motionless in a dark house.
• An Chen discovered farming tools arranged into a strange symbol pointing toward the village center and felt a sudden pain between his brows.
• An Chen spotted Edmond across the farmland.

An Chen learned from Edmond that the villagers of Xiangshi Valley had died six years ago, when a catastrophe and a strange blessing created the Fog. Edmond stayed behind to suppress it, while the great existence Inextinguishable Ravings had apparently unleashed the Fog to search for someone.

• An Chen watched Edmond enter the darkness at the village center, then told Thorn what he had seen.
• Edmond led the group to harvest Youxiang Grass, while Yu Tianyao told An Chen that Edmond had watched their Wooden House during the night.
• Edmond asked An Chen to speak with him privately and revealed that the villagers had died six years earlier.
• Edmond explained that Dream Murmur had given him knowledge and abilities from Inextinguishable Ravings, while the Fog was a Sea of Consciousness that devoured consciousness.
• Edmond said he had been suppressing the Fog and could not leave Xiangshi Valley, and that Inextinguishable Ravings had spread it in an attempt to find someone.

Edmond asked An Chen to inherit his mission of suppressing the Gray Fog, but An Chen refused. As Edmond’s power began to falter, An Chen collapsed and experienced a strange vision before waking outside the village as the Fog grew unstable.

• Edmond explained that the villagers’ consciousnesses formed the Gray Fog and asked An Chen to inherit the power and mission of containing it, but An Chen declined.
• Edmond’s body began flickering as his power lost control, and he told An Chen to lead everyone away from the village while he went to the Xiang Stone.
• An Chen relayed Edmond’s warning, then collapsed and saw a vision in which the mist formed a gigantic upside-down man before being swallowed by a vortex.
• Thorn told An Chen that parts of his hands and feet had turned into black liquid and then reassembled while he was unconscious.
• An Chen told the others that Edmond was a survivor and that the Gray Fog killed by instinct, while concealing the full truth about Edmond’s mission.
• The Fog began to riot, and a figure wrapped in it rushed toward An Chen and the others.

Edmond emerged from the Fog badly injured and warned the others to leave, but Tie Ge’s squad and the Soul Masters attacked him. Edmond evaded their strikes and released powerful ripples that stalled several attackers, then began absorbing the Fog to recover before Yu Tianyao interrupted him with lightning; Edmond responded by driving his staff into the ground and unleashing an even stronger wave.

• Edmond appeared before Tie Ge’s group, warned them to leave, and blocked Tie Ge’s opening attack with his staff.
• Tie Ge ordered his squad to surround Edmond, but Edmond dodged or deflected their attacks while Yu Tianyao’s lightning grazed his damaged shoulder.
• Edmond tapped the ground with his staff and sent out ripples that immobilized Tie Ge and Thorn and slowed Vera.
• Edmond gathered the Fog around his staff to heal his body, and Baron warned the others that Edmond was recovering.
• Yu Tianyao struck the Fog with a lightning bolt, interrupting Edmond’s recovery, and Edmond plunged his staff into the ground to release a stronger wave of ripples.

Edmond fought the corruption and the Black Fog before choosing to sacrifice himself to disperse the Fog. An Chen survived, recovered Edmond’s cane, and collapsed as people rushed into Xiangshi Valley.

• Edmond’s grayish-white mist attack disabled the nearby fighters and shattered Baron’s Dark Turtle Phantom.
• Black Fog disrupted Edmond’s control, while pitch-black arms dragged at him and corruption transformed his cane.
• Edmond’s desire to protect awakened, and he stopped resisting the shadows as An Chen emerged from the Black Fog carrying the Iron Pot.
• Edmond asked An Chen to let him disperse the Fog, then vanished into the Shadow World as the mist disappeared.
• An Chen found Edmond’s cane beneath his shadow and watched the villagers of Xiangshi Valley crumble into dust.
• As streams of colored light and a crowd approached, An Chen closed his eyes and fell backward.

After the Fog dispersed and Edmond disappeared, An Chen concealed his role during questioning by a Spirit Hall cardinal. The group parted ways in Xiangshi Town, but Yu Tianyao stopped An Chen and accused him of dealing with Edmond and the Fog.

• An Chen woke in a tent and pretended not to know what had happened to Edmond or the Fog when questioned by a Black-Robed Cardinal.
• An Chen, Hawk, Thorn, and Yu Tianyao reunited after questioning, and Tie Ge told them the Silvien Family would let them keep their Youxiang Grass.
• Thorn said he planned to teach at an academy in the Star Luo Empire, while Hawk left to continue cultivating.
• Yu Tianyao offered to buy An Chen's Youxiang Grass, and Thorn gave Yu Tianyao all of his own supply.
• Thorn departed for Nolan City, and An Chen prepared to leave before Yu Tianyao accused him of dealing with Edmond and the Fog.

After escaping Xiangshi Valley, An Chen returned to Dongxing City and investigated the Gray-White Staff left by Edmond. He planned to travel and cultivate, while thinking about Tang San’s upcoming trip to the Ice and Fire Yang Well and the Immortal Herbs he had lost.

• Yu Tianyao questioned An Chen about how he had dealt with Edmond, but An Chen denied being responsible before they parted ways.
• A week later, An Chen arrived in Dongxing City and saw that his Hermit Potion digestion progress had risen to 62%.
• An Chen reasoned that a Hermit should stay hidden, observe without interfering, and treat observation as an end in itself.
• An Chen used Divination to learn that Edmond’s gray-white staff could spread Babble, restore Spirituality, and inflict hidden knowledge on a target at the cost of memories.
• An Chen tested the staff, experienced hallucinations of a bone table and tentacles, and named it the Gray-White Staff.
• The next morning, An Chen found the table had returned to normal and planned to travel while cultivating, lamenting that Flender had wasted his Immortal Herbs before Tang San’s trip to the Ice and Fire Yang Well.

An Chen continued traveling while waiting for the last 1% of his Potion digestion, then received a letter from Elder Chen urging him to return to Spirit City for the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament. In a tavern, he watched a Soul Master use his Martial Soul to trick a man into signing away his property, and the incident completed An Chen’s digestion of the Hermit Potion.

• An Chen reviewed his progress and recalled the incidents he had observed without intervening during his travels across the Heaven Dou Empire.
• Steward Liu found An Chen and delivered a letter from Elder Chen, who told him to return to Spirit City and warned him about strange reports and rising Evil Soul Master activity.
• An Chen reached a small city and entered a tavern, where he ordered a drink called Whispers of the Abyss.
• An Chen overheard a man using his Martial Soul to confuse another man into signing away his family property, but chose not to interfere.
• The incident completed An Chen’s final 1% of Potion digestion, and he finished his drink and left the tavern.

An Chen left for Spirit City, avoided a dangerous stranger, and detoured through Arles City after learning it was a haven for artists who used their Martial Souls to create art. He arrived at its ornate gates, eager to see what the city had to offer.

• An Chen saw a burly young man with strangely glowing eyes enter the only inn in town, then checked out and left rather than risk trouble.
• After breaking through while cultivating, An Chen heard that a town to the south had been crushed overnight and suspected the stranger had caused it.
• A merchant told An Chen that Arles City was the continent’s City of Art, where artists used their Martial Souls to create works such as Grandmaster Modili’s carved wisp of wind.
• An Chen changed his route to visit Arles City and, on the way, met an old man whose Martial Soul brought a woman in his drawing to life.
• The old man directed An Chen to Arles City, and An Chen reached its gates, admiring the elaborate carvings, paintings, and lifelike sculptures.

An Chen explored Arles City, where artists used their Martial Souls to create, and discovered that Guan Yue was among the city’s celebrated artists. After a strange dream and a glimpse of a battle against Monsters in the night sky, he recognized the humanoid soul from the battle in a portrait at the art exhibition.

• An Chen entered Arles City and watched Grandmaster Dongxi fail to recreate his grandfather Modili’s work, “Wind Mark.”
• An Chen found Guan Yue’s portrait among the ten artists honored in the square and realized Guan Yue had been the old man he met on the road.
• An Chen toured Arles City’s unusual artistic displays, then went to an inn and fell asleep.
• An Chen dreamed of a sea of colors and a starlit giant, woke with unfamiliar knowledge of Sequences, and saw Monsters attacking a spatial barrier while a humanoid soul fought them.
• An Chen used the System Panel to divine that he was in no danger, then stayed awake cultivating his Soul Power.
• An Chen visited the art exhibition the next morning and recognized the man in a portrait as the humanoid soul he had seen in the night sky.

An Chen discovered a mysterious eye-mark on his arm after a man in gold-rimmed glasses touched him at an art exhibition, and he decided to search the Soul Master Library for answers. Elsewhere, Guan Yue identified An Chen as an outsider Soul Master and instructed Dongxi to investigate him at the next exhibition.

• An Chen toured the exhibition, admired Modili Gou's sculptures, and overheard Dongxi claim he would replicate his grandfather's works after reaching Soul Power level forty.
• An Chen found an eye-mark on his left arm, confirmed with Spirit Vision that it also appeared on his aura, and decided to seek records at the Soul Master Library.
• At the XXX Art Club, a portrait of An Chen appeared beside a lifelike portrait that watched it.
• Guan Yue told Dongxi that An Chen's mysterious power resembled the power found in Kane Ye and others, then asked Dongxi to approach An Chen and discover why he had come to Arles City.
• Dongxi recognized An Chen from the exhibition and agreed to watch him at the next day's exhibition.

An Chen searched for the person who had helped him, then questioned Dongxi Gou about the mark on his arm and learned it came from the owner of XXX Club. He investigated the club at a tavern and discovered it was mysterious, comprised entirely of master-level artists, and had recently invited Dongxi to join.

• An Chen returned to the exhibition hall but failed to find the person who had helped him the day before.
• Dongxi Gou invited An Chen into his carriage, where An Chen posed as a merchant named Ashton An and asked about the mark on his arm.
• Dongxi recognized the mark as a work mark used by the owner of XXX Club six years earlier, then told Guan Yue that An Chen lacked the aura associated with Kane.
• An Chen asked a tavern owner about XXX Club and learned that all its members were master-level, although many had been nobodies before joining.
• The tavern owner said XXX Club had invited Dongxi to join after his year-old application was finally accepted.

An Chen infiltrated the XXX Art Club to investigate the mark on his arm and the club’s mysterious president. After discovering a dangerous painting that could pull him inside, he captured two club members and used a Spirit Channeling ritual to search their memories, where he saw someone painting his image and the mark on his arm.

• An Chen searched Kane Ye’s office and art studio, where he found a newly painted portrait showing his undisguised appearance.
• An Chen discovered the club president’s abandoned office and found a hidden room containing a changing scroll that tried to pull him inside.
• An Chen heard two club members approaching and bound them with black hands emerging from the shadows.
• An Chen questioned the two men about the symbol, and one explained that it belonged to the president and appeared in the club’s paintings.
• An Chen used a Spirit Channeling ritual on one captive and saw someone painting An Chen’s image and adding the same mark to his arm.

An Chen discovered that Kane Ye and the XXX Club were tracking him, then escaped and learned that Dongxi and Guan Yue wanted to approach him. As An Chen watched the club the next day, Guan Yue contacted him through his notebook and invited him to meet at Yuelou Inn.

• An Chen witnessed Kane Ye discuss a marked target and a revelation connected to Arles City, then glimpsed a Veil before waking from the vision.
• An Chen found the two people he had encountered flattened into paper-like corpses and fled through a window as Kane Ye arrived.
• Guan Yue showed Dongxi images of An Chen’s escape and proposed meeting him to discuss cooperating against the XXX Club.
• An Chen changed his clothes, heard that the Top Ten Outstanding Artists Selection results were imminent, and returned to observe the club.
• A woman’s image appeared in An Chen’s notebook, and Guan Yue invited him to talk at Yuelou Inn in Vanxi Square.

An Chen met with Guan Yue and Dongxi, who revealed their investigation into XXX Club and the disappearance of Grandmasters Modili and Adrian. After An Chen disclosed that he had found what seemed to be an entrance to the Painting World, he agreed to cooperate with them, and they planned to use the next day’s parade to act.

• An Chen used Guan Yue’s code to reach Courtyard No. 1002, where he met Dongxi and Guan Yue.
• Dongxi and Guan Yue told An Chen that Modili and Adrian had disappeared five years earlier, and that Modili’s notebook connected his investigation to XXX Club.
• Guan Yue explained that his intelligent paintings had revealed a Painting World where two people fought, one wielding a carving knife.
• An Chen told Guan Yue and Dongxi that he had found a moving scroll of Arles City in a secret chamber and nearly been pulled inside it.
• An Chen agreed to cooperate with Guan Yue and Dongxi to learn about the mark on his body and find Modili.
• Guan Yue said they suspected XXX Club concealed a greater force and proposed acting during the Outstanding Artist parade the next afternoon.

An Chen met Guan Yue and arranged a stand-in before the selection, then joined Guan Yue and Dongxi in a raid on the XXX Club to find the missing painting. While they discovered the hidden room was empty, Kane unveiled the club chairman’s masterpiece, a living depiction of Arles City, at the selection.

• An Chen met Guan Yue, received a portrait stand-in, and headed to Vanxi Square, where he realized the portrait in his hand showed him with a Monocle.
• An Chen used Soul Power to make a copy emerge from the portrait, then left through a shadow as the selection ceremony began.
• An Chen joined Guan Yue and Dongxi, and Guan Yue blasted open the XXX Club’s entrance and immobilized its members with his Soul Skills.
• An Chen led Guan Yue and Dongxi to the hidden room where he had found the painting, but they discovered it was empty.
• Kane unveiled the XXX Club chairman’s first-place work, a shifting, lifelike painting of Arles City called “Arles, City of Art!”

An Chen and Guan Yue entered the Painting World, where Modili battled a corrupted Adrian, whom Guan Yue recognized as Old Gou. As Guan Yue joined the fight, An Chen searched for the Painting World’s entrance and faced a painted Thunder Saint Tiger.

• An Chen and Guan Yue realized they were in the Painting World, and Guan Yue used his brush to open a passage toward Modili.
• An Chen found Modili fighting Adrian, whose mind had been corrupted, and Guan Yue joined Modili while sending An Chen to find the painting that anchored the world.
• An Chen dodged a lightning arrow from a Thunder Saint Tiger and trapped the beast in Black Fog with his Big Iron Pot.
• An Chen discovered the Thunder Saint Tiger was made of paint when its damaged paws revealed multicolored paint instead of flesh and blood.
• Two drops of oil paint flew into the Black Fog and healed the Thunder Saint Tiger’s front paws.