They were called Mist-Wilting Specters—spirits born from centuries of fog-thick gloom. Some were weak, some strong, but every last one feared flame.

Their soul-force was nothing special; it could be swallowed and refined. Each specter’s sea of consciousness sat at the heart of its mist-clump.

How many? Even the specters themselves had no count. Only this was certain: they were the sole tenants here, teem them, and every other living thing had long been devamed.

They grew by devouring energy. Spotting the crystals inside the puppets, they attacked at once. Human or beast cores were the only other bait they prized.

At the far end of the treasure cavern yawned a huge grotto sealed by three stone doors. The specters felt oceans of power inside, yet could not slip through.

So Ye Liuyun knew—treasure lay beyond.

But mist rolled back in as fast as Zhuque burned it away.

He relayed what he’d learned, then stowed his vanguard: ancient-mo guards, demon beasts, puppets—all reeled into storage.

“Can you track these Mist-Wilters?” he asked silently; three demon beasts and two human experts listened.

“No.” All but Xenocide answered alike.

Xenocide said: “If one drifts close, I’ll scent it.”

The words sparked an idea. Ye Liuyun spread spatial sense through the fog—nothing stirred. He couldn’t tell whether specters were absent or simply hidden.

He tossed a handful of energy crystals outside the array plate and scanned their vicinity with space power.

Soon a specter drifted near—then another. He locked one with spatial force, dragged it close, smashed its soul and gulped it down. A single wail—and its body melted back into vapor.

Next he pinned a second, funneled ghost-blue fire straight into its sea of consciousness; shrieks died as soul and form dissolved to drifting mist.

A third approaching crystal met the same fate:幽冥鬼火 dropped into its mind from afar—instant cremation.

After several trials he nodded to himself; companions and beasts were tucked away, both clones stepped out.

The trio feasted on every specter lured by glittering stones. Soon terrified shrieks warned others away; low wit though they had，they circled at distance，watching。

Spatial crush，black-hole folds—every trick worked；specters popped like bubbles。Array plate dismissed，crystals pocketed，they advanced。

Walk，scan，devour；no ghost-soul surpassed theirs。Larger bodies meant stronger minds，yet still within reach。Deeper they went，bulkier the prey—a handy gauge。

When sated they’d pitch camp:array up，retreat to their pocket world to digest，then emerge again—plate folded—and march on。

The fog-wraiths couldn’t even get within arm’s reach of them.

Ye Liuyun took the chance to drill his spatial power until it was second nature, and his soul force climbed right along with it.

But push any farther and a single soul trying to handle the wraiths turned suicidal.

The ones behind were two, three times his size, each packing a soul as heavy as one of his own.

He thought for a moment, then dismissed one clone: split that clone’s two souls between his real body and the other clone. Now he and the remaining outside clone each carried three souls in their seas of consciousness—two could be hurled out at once to rip into the wraiths.

Problem was, the wraiths kept spawning. With only two bodies outside they were spread thin; the ghosts closed the gap and landed an occasional strike.

His flesh could still soak the hits, so he let some wraith-souls slip by and instead slipped Stygian fire straight into their minds through golden pupils.

Pressure dropped instantly; they advanced twice as fast.

But every step brought stronger wraiths. In the end Ye Liuyun slammed down a defensive array so the clone could breathe.

“At this rate we’ll burn out in minutes,” the clone warned.

He mulled it over and released the third clone.

“Each of you keeps one soul to guide Stygian fire; leave soul-devouring to me. I’ve got the Myriad-God Seal—it chews through spirits fast.”

“Done.”

The clones each left a single soul inside their own heads; the other four migrated to Ye Liuyun’s true body. On attack he could now fling three souls at once—heavier artillery.

The clones used spatial shifts to drop Stygian fire straight into wraith-minds.

They pushed on, then slammed down another array—forced halt again.

They’d reached the final cavern; beyond this veil of fog waited three stone doors. The wraiths here were monsters.

Every time a clone tried to plant Stygian fire, the things shoved it out of their seas and only their mist-bodies burned. Worse, thick fog smothered the flames; constant re-ignition was needed to finish one off.

Even three-soul volleys no longer felt safe, so Ye Liuyun recalled every borrowed soul. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Then he tested his soul-blade: phase it into a wraith-mind and cleave its spirit clean.

The blade worked like a charm—no ghost-soul, however huge, stood against a blade laced with Stygian fire and lightning while riding spatial shift. These things didn’t know space arts; they never saw it coming.