- Core Plot: Wang Lin is an ordinary boy from the foot of the Hengyue Mountains in the Yue Kingdom of Tian Nan. Orphaned at a young age, he is taken in by an elder in charge of menial disciples at the Hengyue Sect and becomes the lowest-ranked servant disciple. With mediocre talent, he is widely dismissed as having a “mortal bone.” After three years of cultivation, he is still stuck at the first Qi Refining level, suffering constant bullying from his fellow disciples. While clearing out an old pavilion at the sect, Wang Lin unexpectedly discovers a damaged ancient text, the Heaven-Defying Art. It requires no spiritual roots and allows its practitioner to cultivate by devouring the “baleful aura” between heaven and earth. He begins practicing it in secret, and his cultivation advances by leaps and bounds. To obtain resources for his training, he risks venturing into the outskirts of the Hengyue Mountains to hunt low-level demons. But when he is pursued, he is forced to kill a fellow disciple and flee.
