Recaps

Bai Zhu and the others were trapped at camp as black fog corrupted the forest and closed in from land and sea. Landlord raised a barrier to protect them until morning, while Gela Jiang warned that the door was about to open.

• Morel evacuated the camp after black fog began consuming the forest and affecting the group.
• Bai Zhu noticed the others acting strangely and warned Gela Jiang away from the Lighthouse, but Gela Jiang reached into the fog and became corrupted.
• The black fog surrounded the camp, the shoreline slime covered much of the Black Ship, and Xiao Ba began singing the Sai people's song before Bai Zhu knocked it unconscious.
• Morel prepared to break through by sea, but Landlord arrived and used silver-white roots to form a protective dome around the camp.
• Landlord conveyed that the barrier would last only until morning, while Gela Jiang said the door was about to open.

As the Siren's song awakened the Sea Lord and drove the defenders toward mental collapse, Bai Zhu learned that the lighthouse seal was failing and something beyond the door was awakening. The Sea Lord prepared to strike Ring Island, while Knuckle lost control and charged toward the barrier.

• The black fog thinned as ghostly blue lights spread across the sea and the Siren's song began contaminating the listeners' minds.
• The Sea Lord surfaced and danced to the song, shedding slime that hatched into evolved Zombie Fish, which attacked Landlord's barrier and reassembled after being destroyed.
• Knuckle, Shuto, Gela Jiang, Morel, Milluki, and Bai Zhu each showed signs of the song or black fog taking control, while Landlord weakened as it held the barrier.
• Milluki's terminal warned that the Sea Lord had locked onto Ring Island and would discharge its accumulated energy in three minutes, while Bai Zhu's system reported that the presence beyond the door would arrive in 180 seconds.
• Knuckle's eyes turned ghostly blue, and he charged toward the barrier's edge as if trying to enter the black fog.

Bai Zhu used the Soul King's Pen to cut a path through Siren's black fog, interrupting its influence and opening an escape route toward the Black Ship. The threat only paused, and a familiar voice appeared at the path's end to remind Bai Zhu of their deal.

• Bai Zhu recognized that Knuckle's behavior matched Pushi's past contamination by Siren's song and realized the black fog amplified its victims' obsessions.
• Bai Zhu concluded that the system's instructions had directed him toward the Soul King's Pen as an escape route, despite the system itself being corrupted.
• Bai Zhu pulled out the Soul King's Pen and used it to analyze the fog, discovering that it synchronized minds with Siren's song.
• Bai Zhu drew a silver line through the fog, clearing a path to the Black Ship and freeing Knuckle from its influence.
• The Sea Lord's attack lost its target and blasted a hole in the clouds, while the countdown for the Being Behind the Door froze at thirty-seven seconds.
• A familiar voice called from beyond the fog, telling Bai Zhu that they had agreed he would find it before going to the Dark Continent.

Gao Mao used mycelium to restore the group’s minds and clear a path to the Black Ship, but as Bai Zhu tried to board, Landlord and the mycelium stopped him. The chapter left Bai Zhu stranded on the beach, facing Landlord while the others waited aboard.

• Gao Mao emerged from the black fog, greeted Landlord, and revealed that it had planted a living spore in Bai Zhu to help him survive.
• Bai Zhu set conditions for Gao Mao to use mycelium to restore the group, and Gao Mao agreed.
• Gao Mao revived Milluki, Knuckle, Shuto, Morel, and Gela Jiang, stopping Gela Jiang’s black markings from spreading.
• Gao Mao’s mycelium cleared the Black Ship’s hull, and Morel ordered everyone aboard without looking back or making a sound.
• As Bai Zhu stepped toward the boarding plank, mycelium bound his ankles and Landlord blocked his way, leaving him facing the bird on the beach.

Bai Zhu agreed to cross the Gate and reset its Seal, sending Morel and the others to safety with a warning for Chairman Netero. As the countdown resumed, the Lighthouse sounded a third knock, and Bai Zhu faced the danger with Gao Mao and Landlord.

• Gao Mao explained that the Gate would open in thirty-seven seconds unless someone carrying the pen crossed through and set a new Seal from the other side.
• Bai Zhu protested, then agreed to go after remembering the Pope’s words about the pen’s remaining parts.
• Bai Zhu demanded that Gao Mao take the ship’s passengers to safety and share the Court outpost intelligence with the Association.
• Morel gave Bai Zhu a strand of smoke for communication, while Milluki handed him a device that could force a satellite connection.
• The Black Ship departed, and Bai Zhu received a mandatory quest to reach the other side of the Gate as the countdown restarted.
• The Lighthouse sounded three knocks, and Gao Mao and Landlord reacted with alarm.