Moon-Gazing Heart Sutra

The Tianyue Continent is home to three mysterious powers: the Moonwatch Pavilion, the Sword Pavilion, and the Medicine Valley.

The master of the Moonwatch Pavilion, Wangyue, was ambushed by Crown Prince Li Ziming of Shuiyue just as she was about to give birth, when her powers had dwindled to less than a tenth of their former strength. Using the power of moonlight, the Moonwatch Heart Sutra allowed her soul to be reborn in the body of Zhao Zhiyue, a ten-year-old girl from the Zhao family who had drowned and died a hundred miles away.

To reclaim the Moonwatch Pavilion and kill Crown Prince Li Ziming, Wangyue and Zhao Zhiyue’s souls merged to cultivate the Moonwatch Heart Sutra anew. To push her aptitude to its limits and meet the requirements for practicing the sutra, she needed three years of marrow cleansing and three years of body tempering. During that time, she was just an ordinary girl with no martial arts skills.

Making use of the Zhao family’s resources, Zhao Zhiyue gathered rare treasures from heaven and earth and established her own faction, Falling Moon Manor. After three years, she completed her marrow cleansing.

When the Zhao family was confiscated, she was sent to the Imperial Music Bureau. Her beauty made her a sensation when she danced at the Heavenly Fragrance Tower, earning her the title of top courtesan. The Prince of Yue took a liking to her and brought her into his mansion.

There, she incurred the princess consort’s jealousy and faced deadly traps at every turn. To survive, she matched wits with her, and gradually found a way through. After three years, her body tempering was complete.

The former emperor died, and Zhao Zhiyue’s elder brother, Xiao Zhan, ascended the throne. Xiao Zhan had always loved Zhao Zhiyue, but she had never returned his feelings. Now that he held power once more, he wanted to take his subject’s wife by force.

To keep the two men she loved most from turning on each other and suffering mutual ruin, Zhao Zhiyue was forced to divorce Xiao Heng. On the day of their divorce, she was stabbed to death, thereby saving the Prince of Yue’s household from being confiscated.

But Zhao Zhiyue had only faked her death. Keeping her agreement with Xiao Zhan, she switched identities and became the second daughter of Qin Yue, the Lady of Anguo. She entered the palace selection and, step by step, became Empress of Great Chu...