Chapter 72 – Into the Ashen Mist: Betrayal, Ice, and Fire

"In forgotten places where the dead whisper, truth cuts deeper than blades."

Chaos Vanguard Mission: Begin

❖ [Location: Ashen Mist Ruins]

❖ [Realm Type: Sealed Battlefield – Post-Fall Zone – Residual Abyss Influence: HIGH]

❖ [Environmental Warning: Corrosive Mist drains spiritual power over time]

❖ [Objective: Cleanse five cursed cores, defeat the mutated generals, recover lost relics]

The Chaos Vanguard Alpha Team stood at the edge of a vast fog-covered wasteland. Faint screams echoed from deep within the mist, but none were living.

Asha adjusted the fur-lined cloak given by the Sect. Her Ice Spirit Body naturally repelled the cursed mist, but even she felt a strange chill here—not from cold, but from memory.

Yi Feng crouched beside an old broken pillar, examining the runes.

"These markings… they're from a fallen lightning sect. This entire place must've been a sect battlefield."

Arya nodded. "And those blood sigils on the ground aren't just decorative. They're part of a soul-sealing array. We need to move carefully."

Zehn stood at the rear, his eyes scanning the fog. His aura was calm, but deep inside, the Abyss Seed pulsed with growing heat.

Soon. Just a little more. Let them trust me…

Within the Mist – The First Ambush

As the team moved forward, the fog thickened unnaturally. Runesaint released a small alchemy orb to test the atmosphere—it hissed and dissolved instantly.

"Confirmed," he said. "This isn't just mist. It's soul poison."

Before they could adjust, the ground erupted.

❖ [Enemy Encountered: Cursed Bone Fiends – Mutated Corpse Rank – Level 110+]

❖ [Ability: Soul Cling, Mist Rebirth, Death Detonation]

❖ [Count: 12]

The monsters were half-rotted beasts with metallic limbs and glowing red eyes. They swarmed from the ground, shrieking with distorted spiritual wails.

Asha moved first. She raised both hands and summoned a frost barrier, freezing the ground into jagged shards of divine ice. Four Bone Fiends froze mid-leap and shattered on impact.

Arya followed, slicing two cleanly with her twin sabers, her movements guided by array runes that had been etched into her boots.

Yi Feng drove his qi blade into a monster's skull, his muscles glowing with lightning tattoos.

❖ [Enemy Eliminated – XP Shared]

❖ [Group Coordination Score: 83%]

Suddenly, two monsters surged toward Runesaint—unseen from behind.

Zehn was the closest. He turned—then hesitated.

He could've stopped them with a fire shield rune he'd been secretly given.

He didn't.

"Behind you!" Fira shouted, leaping forward with a stream of purple flame. She intercepted the monsters, but the blast of the soul-poisoned mist hit her directly.

❖ [Status Effect: Soul Burn – Corruption Level 24%]

She screamed and collapsed, twitching.

Asha immediately sealed her body in an ice cocoon to isolate the effect. She glared at Zehn.

"You were closer. Why didn't you act?"

Zehn faked a grimace. "I… I didn't see them in time."

Arya's eyes narrowed. She said nothing, but a silver rune flashed faintly under her sleeve.

❖ [Arya Kapoor – Hidden Array Activated: Soul Pulse Scanner – Target: Zehn]

❖ [Result: Distortion Detected – Soul Fragment Mismatch – Risk Level: HIGH]

The Ice Phoenix Awakens

As Fira's condition worsened, Asha summoned the Ancient Ice Pearl she'd obtained from the Frost Soul Tomb.

It glowed softly, and the mark of the Ice Phoenix flared on her back.

❖ [Item Activated: Ancient Ice Pearl – Divine Grade]

❖ [Secondary Power Unlocked: Soul Cleansing Blizzard]

❖ [Range: 20m – Curse and Poison Purge – Damage: Medium – Cost: 60% Core Qi]

"Stay behind me," she said, stepping forward into the fog.

With a breath, she whispered:

"Blizzard Reign."

A swirling hurricane of divine frost exploded from her form, spiraling through the mist like a living serpent. The cursed fog hissed as it was purified. Cursed monsters howled as their bodies crystallized and exploded.

Fira's corruption slowed. Arya shielded her with a reflective barrier.

The entire fog field cleared for 30 seconds—revealing a massive ruin up ahead.

❖ [Objective Sighted: Cursed Core Tower – Protection Barrier Active – Guardian Entity Detected]

The tower stood cracked but glowing with red-black light. At its base sat a figure—once human, now half-dead.

❖ [Boss Detected: Wraith General Vesh]

❖ [Level: 150]

❖ [Class: Fallen Sect Master – Abyssal Thrall]

❖ [Passive: Shadowbind – Active: Soul Pull, Reality Shift]

Meanwhile – Chaos Throne, Hidden Monitoring Room

Within the Chaos Sect, Zero stood in a private obsidian chamber. Mirrors floated around him, each showing a different mission.

One showed Asha, standing before the tower, her body glowing with cold majesty.

Another showed Arya, tracing a rune behind Zehn's back.

❖ [Warning: Abyss Seed Signature Detected – Target: Zehn]

❖ [Decision Point: Reveal to Team or Let Arya Confront Alone?]

Zero closed his eyes.

"She's already sensed it. Let her move. I want to know how far this thing can adapt."

Supreme Elder Lin appeared beside him.

"If it attacks, the whole team could fall."

"Then she'll have to kill it first."

Back at the Tower – Final Moments of the Chapter

The team approached the cursed tower. Fira, still weak, remained in the rear with Runesaint shielding her.

Asha and Yi Feng took the front. Arya stayed near Zehn.

As they neared, the Wraith General Vesh stood, raising his skeletal staff. Dark energy pulsed.

❖ [Boss Phase: Shadowbind Initiated]

Chains of cursed light erupted from the ground.

Arya reacted first—tackling Zehn out of the path.

But instead of gratitude… he smiled.

"You shouldn't have done that," Zehn whispered.

He thrust a dagger of black abyssal steel at her side.

Arya twisted mid-air—just barely avoiding a fatal hit—but blood spilled from her ribs.

❖ [Betrayal Triggered – Abyss Seed Activated – Host Identity Revealed: Shadow Thrall Class II]

Asha turned just in time.

"ARYA!"

Zehn's mask cracked, revealing pale eyes filled with corruption.

"I've come to kill the Ice Phoenix Heir."