Chapter Summaries

Lin Shan and a crowd of people found themselves in a strange purple forest and discovered a stone tablet describing extraordinary substances and entities. As the group grew anxious after walking for over an hour, a military man revealed that many of them had exceptional skills, and a woman explained they were searching for water by following low-lying terrain.

• Lin Shan woke on purple earth among towering trees and Purple Soul Flowers, surrounded by other people who had also been transported there.
• The crowd followed a small group through the forest and found a stone tablet identifying the Purple Soul Flower, Ashatu, and Specter Thread Fish as part of Sequence 9 -- Heart Light.
• Lin Shan warned a young man not to pick a flower, then stayed with the group as they continued exploring.
• After more than an hour without finding a destination, a muscular man challenged the leading group for walking without explaining their plan.
• A middle-aged man said he was with the Huaxia military and revealed that many of the people present had top-tier skills in fields such as science, geography, and medicine.
• An intellectual-looking woman explained that the group was following low-lying terrain to find water, since Earth-based methods might not work in this world.

Lin Shan and the others found a river after hours of crossing the strange forest, but drinking from it led people carrying Purple Soul Flowers to erupt in purple flames. The fire spread through sparks and fleeing survivors, leaving Lin Shan and the remaining unburned people separated from the burning victims.

• Xiao An, Wu Wang, and Lin Shan argued about whether the group could return to Earth as they searched the forest for water.
• The crowd found human skeletons hanging from a tree, and Lin Shan encouraged them by suggesting other people might live in this world.
• The group reached a fast-flowing river, and Lin Shan and others cautiously drank its icy water.
• A dozen people carrying Purple Soul Flowers spontaneously combusted, and Lin Shan recognized the cause and shouted for people to discard the flowers.
• The burning victims lunged at nearby people, spreading the flames through sparks as Lin Shan escaped and the survivors fled apart.

After the Purple Soul Flowers consumed more than twenty people, Lin Shan and the ten other survivors followed golden threads through the forest toward a mysterious palace. They found the threads led to a golden light inside the palace, with one thread connected to each survivor and an unexplained black thread also visible to Lin Shan.

• Purple flames burned the self-immolating people to ash, and Purple Soul Flowers grew where they had stood, leaving only eleven survivors.
• Lin Shan and Zhang Zhonghua urged the group to keep moving, recalling the message about the Ash Fog and the Earth pioneers.
• Golden threads appeared on all eleven survivors, while Lin Shan alone noticed an extra black thread connected to himself.
• The survivors followed the brightening golden threads through the forest and discovered a palace that changed from illusory to real.
• Lin Shan and Zhang Zhonghua led the group into the doorless palace, where they found a golden light connected to all eleven survivors by golden threads.

Lin Shan and the others discovered a jade scroll bearing all eleven of their names, then activated an altar that transported them from the grand hall into a desolate land covered in Ash Fog. The jade scroll protected them by driving away the fog and forming a golden barrier.

• Zhang Zhonghua retrieved a jade scroll from the golden light, and the group found their names written on its eleven jade pieces.
• Zhang Zhonghua stored the scroll, and Lin Shan led the group upstairs while following the black lines only he could see.
• Lin Shan touched a cluster of black light and gained an innate talent called a 'ghost body,' along with a piece of parchment and a quill in his mind.
• The group reached an altar on the third floor, where a magic circle immobilized them and transported them away as the grand hall dissolved.
• The group reappeared in a barren land surrounded by Ash Fog, and the jade scroll floated from Zhang Zhonghua's clothing to dispel the fog and form a golden barrier.

After escaping the trapped forest, Lin Shan and the others explored the unfamiliar hills and caught double-headed fish for dinner. A gigantic blue moon appeared, and a Specter Thread Fish attacked, leaving Lin Shan immobilized and engulfed in darkness as he feared he was about to die.

• Lin Shan and the group emerged from the forest into gravel-covered hills, and Zhang Zhonghua urged everyone to stay calm and explore.
• The group camped beside a small river, splitting up to gather fruit, firewood, and fish.
• Lin Shan, Wu Wang, and Jin Tianzong caught several double-headed fish with sharpened branches and headed back as night approached.
• A huge blue moon appeared, and Lin Shan spotted a fish-shaped mass of black threads in the river.
• The Specter Thread Fish’s vibrations spread darkness that weakened Lin Shan, Jin Tianzong, and Wu Wang; Lin Shan’s thrown fish rotted away on contact, and the darkness engulfed him.

Lin Shan survived an anomaly attack after discovering it feared fire, then used the Parchment to learn that becoming Transcendent could help him survive in the Ash Fog Universe. He sacrificed twenty years of lifespan for the Sequence 9 Heart Light formula and resolved to seek the Specter Thread Fish's ash the next night.

• Lin Shan was rescued when Zhang Zhonghua, Wu Wang, and Jin Tianzong approached with torches, driving away the anomaly.
• After waking, Lin Shan told the group the anomaly seemed afraid of fire, and Zhang Zhonghua arranged for torch-making and night watches.
• Lin Shan noticed the real moon was blood-red and used the Parchment to ask about Earth, his parents, lifespan, and becoming Transcendent.
• The Parchment revealed that Lin Shan had a Specter Physique and could obtain a Sequence 9 formula by paying forty years of lifespan, while known Life Physique materials cost twenty years to locate.
• Lin Shan paid twenty years of lifespan and received the Sequence 9 Heart Light formula, which required ash from a Specter Thread Fish that could be restrained and burned with fire.
• The Parchment's map showed the Specter Thread Fish near Lin Shan, and he decided to seek its ash the following night.

Lin Shan went to investigate a roar and witnessed a divine deer defeat a black tiger before transforming into a green-robed cat-eared girl. She mistook Lin Shan for a new race, but they could not understand each other, and she left with the tiger.

• Zhang Zhonghua urged the group to make tools, build shelters, and search for metal as they began gathering materials.
• Lin Shan investigated a distant roar and found a divine deer fighting a black tiger.
• The deer defeated the tiger, then transformed into a green-robed girl with antlers and a cat's tail.
• The girl discovered Lin Shan hiding nearby, asked if he belonged to a new race, and briefly mistook his meows for feline speech.
• The girl departed with the tiger, and Lin Shan returned to tell the others what he had seen.

Lin Shan introduced the camp to Shashali, a Cat Clan girl, while Yan Ruxin began learning to communicate with her. As night fell, Lin Shan prepared for a dangerous attempt to pursue Transcendence.

• Lin Shan told the group he had encountered intelligent Cat Clan beings, and Shashali appeared behind him after secretly following him.
• Shashali examined Zhang Zhonghua’s Jade Tome and called it a weak Clan Artifact before Yan Ruxin began teaching her human words and learning her name.
• Lin Shan spent the day gathering wood and tree resin while Yan Ruxin and Shashali practiced communicating.
• At camp, Shashali tried greeting Lin Shan in Chinese but recoiled after touching his unnaturally cold hand.
• Lin Shan made seven torches and resolved to pursue Transcendence despite the danger.

Lin Shan approached the Specter Thread Fish’s true form and burned part of it, but the anomaly retaliated and cursed him as he escaped. The Parchment revealed that he had thirty-seven days to live unless he became a Transcendent lifeform, and Lin Shan resolved to obtain Ashatu’s Horn.

• Lin Shan left the group at night and followed the Parchment’s map to the Specter Thread Fish.
• Lin Shan planted torches around the anomaly’s domain, then approached its true form and burned its base, collecting the fallen ash.
• A perimeter torch went out, and the Specter Thread Fish attacked with spreading darkness as Lin Shan fled the domain.
• Lin Shan escaped, but the curse began rotting his internal organs and reduced his remaining survival time to thirty-seven days.
• The Parchment told Lin Shan that becoming a Transcendent lifeform could counter the curse, so he planned to obtain Ashatu’s Horn.

Cursed and gravely weakened after encountering an anomaly, Lin Shan left his companions to search for a way to lift the curse. On his journey, he entered a disorienting Ash Fog and then heard something massive approaching.

• Lin Shan returned to camp, told Zhao Xiao An and the others that an anomaly had cursed him, and warned them to avoid the river downstream at night.
• Lin Shan set off toward the location on his map, struggling to walk and keeping the Specter Thread Fish's spirit ash tied to his waist.
• Lin Shan reached the edge of the Ash Fog and discovered it distorted his sense of direction, though the Parchment helped him navigate back and continue onward.
• Lin Shan rested in the fog and avoided distant beast roars, then heard a growing series of booming sounds approaching.

Lin Shan encountered two enormous ships and was attacked by a Red Lantern that worsened his curse, leaving him only ten days to live. Following the Parchment’s instructions, he supplied the lantern with blood, regained control of his body, and gained the ability to see through the Ash Fog.

• Lin Shan was nearly swept away by a Giant Ship carrying scarlet creatures, then watched a silent Ghost Ship pass through trees as though fleeing it.
• Lin Shan approached a glowing Red Lantern, was struck by its red figure after turning to run, and lost consciousness.
• Lin Shan woke and read the Parchment’s warning that the Red Lantern had worsened his curse, leaving him ten days to live, and that he could pay five years of lifespan for a way to control it.
• Lin Shan paid the cost and learned to approach the Red Lantern without turning his back or running, then took hold of its handle.
• The Red Lantern merged with Lin Shan and began controlling his body, so he fed it his blood as lamp oil and regained control.
• Lin Shan discovered that the Red Lantern let him see nearly two hundred meters through the Ash Fog and continued to weigh the dangers ahead.

Lin Shan used the Red Lantern to make a herd of Ashatu break off a horn, then burned it into powder for the Sequence Nine-Heart Light potion. As he rested after nightfall, a tide of darkness attacked the barrier protecting him, and he realized the Red Lantern was shielding him.

• Lin Shan used a moving red silhouette to provoke the Ashatu herd into snapping one Ashatu's enormous horn.
• The Parchment gave Lin Shan the Sequence Nine-Heart Light formula and specified that he needed 10 g of powder made from Ashatu's Horn.
• Lin Shan burned the horn with the Red Lantern, using his blood to fuel the flames, and gathered the black powder.
• Lin Shan camped beside a fire and decided to wait until dawn before continuing through the Ash Fog.
• The earth shook as darkness surged down from above the Ash Fog and battered an invisible barrier that Lin Shan realized the Red Lantern was maintaining.

Lin Shan struggled through the Ash Fog toward the Purple Soul Flower Forest while the Red Lantern and his failing body were tested by supernatural dangers. Three kilometers from his destination, a terrifying old man attacked him, and the red figure that emerged from the lantern vanished after its light was overwhelmed.

• A gigantic eye in the void pulled Lin Shan's soul from his body, but he returned to himself and endured until the Red Lantern's barrier withdrew.
• Lin Shan continued through the Ash Fog, avoiding beasts and witnessing an uprooted tree run away before giant ants emerged from its pit.
• Lin Shan pressed on at night despite his worsening condition, coughing pale black blood that served as more effective oil for the Red Lantern.
• Three kilometers from his destination, Lin Shan encountered a terrifying old man who spoke of the Human Race and drained the lantern's remaining oil with a single look.
• The old man sent darkness surging at Lin Shan, and a red figure took the lantern and fought back before the darkness overwhelmed it and the lantern fell.

Lin Shan crossed the river to reach the Purple Soul Flower and prepared the supplementary medicines needed to consume it. After emerging from a golden cocoon, he attained Transcendence and discovered that his clothes had aged badly while he was unconscious.

• Lin Shan reached the sea of flowers, crossed the freezing river, and found the Purple Soul Flower.
• Lin Shan weighed and separated the powders, then boiled water to make the two supplementary medicines.
• Lin Shan swallowed the Purple Soul Flower and drank both medicines, losing consciousness as a golden cocoon enveloped him.
• The uncanny old man watched Lin Shan's cocoon from a distance before vanishing.
• Lin Shan broke free of the cocoon, gained the Spiritual Power of Transcendence, and crossed the river with heart light.
• Lin Shan found his clothes covered in mold, with a mushroom growing on them.

After gaining the Heart Light Sequence, Lin Shan learned that his lifespan had reset to two hundred years and set out for camp. On the way, he killed and ate one transcendent chicken, captured a rooster and hen, and neared his destination after evading a supernatural horror.

• Lin Shan learned from the Parchment that the Heart Light Sequence gave him a new lifespan of two hundred years and that the camp was seventy kilometers away.
• After waiting for dawn, Lin Shan ran toward camp, avoided two supernatural horrors, and stopped to rest with thirty kilometers remaining.
• Lin Shan attacked nine transcendent chickens, killed one with the Red Lantern, and knocked another unconscious with Heart Light.
• Lin Shan learned that the chickens were pseudo-transcendent creatures, ate the unburned part of the chicken he had killed, and captured a rooster and hen.
• Lin Shan continued toward camp with the chickens slung over his shoulder, evaded another supernatural horror, and came within one kilometer of his destination.

Lin Shan returned from the Ash Fog and found Zhao Xiao An and Xia Xuan unconscious after the Red Lantern attacked them. Reunited with the women after more than five months apart for them, he began walking with them toward camp and warned them to stay behind him.

• Lin Shan left the Ash Fog and walked toward the old camp, where he heard Zhao Xiao An and Xia Xuan approaching on Transcendence horses.
• Zhao Xiao An sensed danger, and Xia Xuan turned her horse around, triggering the Red Lantern to attack both women and knock them unconscious.
• Lin Shan waited beside the women and noticed that the Red Lantern had targeted them but not their horses.
• Zhao Xiao An woke and mistook Lin Shan for an anomaly until he proved he was human; she told him that more than five months had passed since he vanished.
• Xia Xuan woke, recognized Lin Shan, and agreed with Zhao Xiao An to walk back to camp with him.
• Lin Shan warned the women to stay behind him so they would not be attacked by the Red Lantern again.

Lin Shan returned to the camp after half a year in the ash fog, brought two Transcendence Chickens for Xia Xuan to raise, and offered to help his companions reach Transcendence. Zhang Zhonghua explained the coming mass crossings, the Cat Clan’s Clan Artifact projections, and the difference between life and fallen physiques.

• Lin Shan gave Xia Xuan two Transcendence Chickens to raise after she offered to care for them.
• Lin Shan reunited with the camp, told everyone about his experiences in the ash fog, and confirmed he had reached Transcendence.
• Lin Shan offered to help the others reach Transcendence and said he would gather the remaining ingredients.
• Jin Tianzong explained that he, Zhang Zhonghua, and Wu Wang had fallen physiques and would welcome the arriving humans.
• Zhang Zhonghua told Lin Shan that humanity’s crossings would begin nine months after the Pioneers and explained how Clan Artifacts and their projections dispersed the ash fog.
• Zhang Zhonghua explained that life physiques followed potion sequences based on natural treasures, while fallen physiques followed sequences based on Fallen and granted powerful bodies.

Lin Shan learned more about the Cat Clan and discussed the Human Race’s future with Zhang Zhonghua and Wu Wang before planning a return to seek Transcendence. He took time to wash, accepted a handmade watch from Jin Tianzong, and wondered why the Cat Clan had provided the group with Transcendence Creature meat.

• Lin Shan learned that the Cat Clan believed its highest sequence was 9 and that its Clan Artifact helped coordinate potion research.
• Lin Shan cautioned Zhang Zhonghua and Wu Wang against trusting the Cat Clan completely, then arranged to leave in seven days with seven others while the fallen-physique members stayed behind.
• Lin Shan changed into a green silk robe from Jin Tianzong’s cabin and bathed in the river, observing how his heart light changed when he channeled it.
• Jin Tianzong gave Lin Shan a wooden watch he had made himself and explained that studying after crossing over had made its mechanisms easier to understand.
• Jin Tianzong said the group had gained spirituality by eating Transcendence Creature meat supplied by the Cat Clan, making Lin Shan suspicious of their motives.

Lin Shan used Parchment to learn that he needed to fully digest his Sequence 9 potion before advancing and obtained the formula and locations for Sequence 9-Blood Wing ingredients at a steep cost in lifespan. The next morning, he joined Zhao Xiao An and Xia Xuan to gather herbs on horseback, still wondering about the similarities between this world's creatures and Earth's.

• Lin Shan asked Parchment about the Cat Clan and Sequence 8, but racial fortune blocked its answer about the Cat Clan, and it warned him to pursue a second sequence before advancing.
• Lin Shan paid 40 years of lifespan to obtain the Sequence 9-Blood Wing potion formula, then paid another 40 years for ingredient locations.
• Lin Shan noticed Parchment seemed more sinister and had corroded the bedboard, but decided to keep using it as long as he could manage the risk.
• The next morning, Zhao Xiao An invited Lin Shan to gather medicinal herbs, and he agreed to go with her and Xia Xuan on horseback.
• Zhao Xiao An told Lin Shan that the Cat Clan had supplied the horses and said their world had no humans besides the Cat Clan; Xia Xuan brought Lin Shan a black horse to ride.

Lin Shan spent five days recovering in camp, practicing his heart light, learning about spirituality, and getting to know the Cat Clan members. He was preparing to face the Specter Thread Fish that night and travel to the Purple Soul Flower Forest two days later.

• Lin Shan rode with Xia Xuan and Zhao Xiao An to search the valley, where he practiced shaping his heart light and wondered whether sequences were weapons.
• Zhao Xiao An found Lin Shan lying on an isatis root plant he had crushed, then called Xia Xuan back for lunch.
• Xia Xuan returned with a long-eared rabbit she had caught and gave it to Lin Shan after Zhao Xiao An treated her bruised face.
• Lin Shan met Weiyi, a Cat Clan member, and learned from Zhang Zhonghua that the Cat Clan had brought supplies and studied Huaxia Language in camp.
• Lin Shan spent five days resting in camp and planned to face the Specter Thread Fish that night before leaving for the Purple Soul Flower Forest two days later.