Mirkvale hides 26 anecdotes across its scaffolding, mine tunnels, and terraced workshops, and they are the slowest part of finishing the area’s exploration percentage. Most are short NPC exchanges rather than puzzles, but a handful only exist at certain hours of the in-game day, which is why players sweep the vale twice and still come up short.
Quick answer: All 26 unlock by walking up to specific NPCs and either talking to them or triggering the eavesdrop prompt. Seven require setting the in-game clock to Wu, Zi, or Chen Hour first, so change the time before you make each pass.
Mirkvale access and clock control
Mirkvale sits deep inside the valley below Heaven’s Threshold, the Version 2.1 area in the northernmost stretch of Hidden Mountain. You need the Hidden Mountain Chapter 1 requirements cleared and your server’s Cloudstair reconstruction finished before the path opens, and the Mirkvale campaign itself runs west of Heaven’s Threshold in the jagged gorge on the map.
Run the campaign first. Repairing the three mechanisms opens elevators, drawbridges, and platform routes that several anecdote spots sit on top of, and hunting them beforehand means climbing terrain that later unlocks a lift. Boundary Stones at Untide Terrace, Hundredfold Forge, and Rollstone Hollow are also your fast-travel anchors for the sweep, so activate all three on the way through.
Time-gated Mirkvale anecdotes: Wu, Zi, and Chen Hour
Seven of the 26 will not appear at all unless the clock matches. Open the in-game time menu and set the hour before you approach, otherwise the NPC either isn’t there or won’t offer the dialogue. Batching them by hour saves a lot of backtracking.
| Hour | Anecdote | NPC |
|---|---|---|
| Wu Hour | The Eagle’s Ascent | Lu Ye, Xi Zixuan |
| Wu Hour | Roadside Braziers | Jin Hetu |
| Zi Hour | Mirkvale Optimism | Hu Hu, Tang Rui |
| Zi Hour | Within the Vale | Yan Laosan, Wang Dahua |
| Zi Hour | Blessings of the Wind | Cai Lie |
| Chen Hour | The Legends’ Forge | Foreman Shi |
| Chen Hour | Sparks of Innovation | Zhang Bi |
Northern approach and Kite Grove anecdotes
The first cluster sits on the descent into the vale, before you reach any of the workshops. Two of these are pure eavesdrops on Qiongqi patrols, so hold position near the pair and let the conversation finish rather than walking through them.
| Anecdote | How to trigger |
|---|---|
| The Cost of Talent | Listen in on the Qiongqi Wing Vanguard and Qiongqi Blade Raider talking near the northern approach. |
| Reason First, Fists Follow | Talk to Ying Yelan and He Bumian at the campsite. |
| The Eagle’s Ascent | Climb the wooden tower at Wu Hour and speak with Lu Ye and Xi Zixuan. |
| Neighbors by Nightfall | Head to Kite Grove and speak with Yin Zhi and Qi Weiyuan. |
| The Thousand-Gear Overlord | Glide down to the grassy slope and overhear the Qiongqi conversation there. |
Hangrock Hamlet and vale floor anecdotes
This is the densest stretch, covering the hamlet’s interiors, a food stall, a tavern, and the bridge and hot spring further along the floor. Several of these NPCs are indoors or on raised platforms, so watch for the entry prompt rather than assuming a doorway is decorative.
| Anecdote | How to trigger |
|---|---|
| Surge Mohist City Orders | Enter the building near Hangrock Hamlet and talk to Li Donglai and Chen Qi. |
| Roadside Braziers | Set the clock to Wu Hour and talk to Jin Hetu at the food stall. |
| Thousand-Day Spirits | Visit the nearby tavern and speak with Liu Shuo and Di Juan. |
| Mirkvale Optimism | At Zi Hour, talk to Hu Hu and Tang Rui on the platform. |
| Ore Chimes | Climb the stairs and talk to Yu Tingfeng. |
| Within the Vale | Go inside, set the clock to Zi Hour, and talk to Yan Laosan and Wang Dahua. |
| Endless Pine Nuts | Head to the bridge and speak with Liu Yang and Wang Peng. |
| Origin of the Hot Springs | Climb up to the hot spring pool and talk to Meng Li and Wang Erhua. |
Hundredfold Forge and sluice platform anecdotes
The forge area stacks two clock requirements at opposite ends of the day, so plan to visit it twice. Blessings of the Wind needs Zi Hour, while The Legends’ Forge and Sparks of Innovation both need Chen Hour.
| Anecdote | How to trigger |
|---|---|
| Blessings of the Wind | Near Hundredfold Forge, set the clock to Zi Hour and talk to Cai Lie. |
| A Promise of Compassion | Move to the neighboring area and speak with Xu Da and Ren Mao. |
| The Legends’ Forge | Stand near the forge at Chen Hour and talk to Foreman Shi. |
| The Sluice Mechanisms | Talk to Yan Si, then climb to the platform above and speak with Zhang Bi. |
| Sparks of Innovation | Return to Zhang Bi’s platform at Chen Hour to trigger the dialogue. |
Upper terrace and artisan platform anecdotes
The next five run downward rather than across. Start on the wooden structures at the top, then drop one platform at a time. Falling past a level means climbing back up, so take each drop deliberately.
| Anecdote | How to trigger |
|---|---|
| Wheat Beneath the Clouds | Climb the wooden structures and talk to Wen Dali. |
| A New Home for Artisans | Follow the platform along and talk to Li Fudie and Chen San. |
| A Cat-Free Vale | Drop to the platform below and talk to Xi Gou’er. |
| Lord of the Soil | Drop down again and speak with Cai Dashi. |
| Evolution of Minecarts | Head to the cliff edge and talk to Cai Mu and Cai Jing. |
Rollstone Hollow and Untide Terrace anecdotes
The final three finish out the mining side of the vale. One is tucked inside a tunnel, which is easy to skip if you are travelling by Boundary Stone and never go underground.
| Anecdote | How to trigger |
|---|---|
| The Blasting Method | Near Rollstone Hollow, enter the mine tunnel and talk to Shi Ali. |
| The Legacy of Masters | Drop to the lower area and talk to Cai Yang. |
| Paths of Wood and Iron | Near Untide Terrace, head to the platform and talk to Chu Da. |
How to confirm an anecdote unlocked
A pop-up notification appears the moment an anecdote registers, and the entry is then readable in the Sentient Beings Experience menu. Rewards are not automatic. Each anecdote pays out 15x Jade Fish, 5x Echo Jades, and 5x Exploration Points, and you claim them from the Experience tab after the entry appears.
To check your overall progress, open the map and select the Hidden Mountain-Heaven’s Threshold entry, which shows the region’s completion percentage. If that number hasn’t moved after an interaction, the anecdote didn’t fire.
Why a Mirkvale anecdote won’t trigger
There are only a few real causes, and all of them are fixable on the spot.
- The clock is on the wrong hour. Seven entries need Wu, Zi, or Chen Hour, and the NPC or dialogue simply isn’t available otherwise.
- You walked away mid-conversation. Eavesdrop unlocks need you to stay close until the exchange ends.
- You are too far for the prompt. Move in until the eavesdrop or interact prompt actually shows on screen.
- Only one of a pair is present. Entries listing two NPCs need both at the spot before the dialogue plays.
- You skipped the reward claim. The entry exists but the Jade Fish and Echo Jades stay unclaimed in the Experience tab.
The efficient route is to clear every untimed anecdote in one continuous descent through the vale, then make three short return trips at Wu, Chen, and Zi Hour to mop up the rest. With the Boundary Stones already active, each of those return trips is a couple of minutes rather than another full climb.
