He is a poor scholar newly arrived at court, and also the chosen one bearing the birthmark of the Dark Bird. Lin Yu holds half of a chipped game piece as he stands amid the ruins of Luocheng, watching the Yellow River flow backward, carrying golden Gu worms with it. Who could have imagined that this game piece would lead to an immortality curse spanning three hundred years, and to the mystery of the twin bloodline he shares with the enigmatic Su Ran?
A bond between twins, a cycle of life and death: From the poisonous Gu trap atop the snowy peaks of Tianshan to the ancient bronze coffin in Tianchi Lake on Changbai Mountain, each encounter between Lin Yu and Su Ran turns the gears of fate. When Su Ran vanishes in a blood sacrifice, the faded eagle pattern on his shoulder reappears on a young man from the Western Regions. The cycle of their twin bloodline begins anew, but is it salvation or a curse?
Power plays like Gu, every step fraught with danger: At court, princes vie for the throne, the new emperor grows suspicious, and the Eastern Depot rises. Lin Yu goes from moving the pieces to protecting the board. The Silver Whip of the Dark Bird Guard must purge the remnants of Gu sorcery while also fending off the emperor's covert attacks. The imperial examination fraud case, the Shadow Guard's betrayal, the legend of the dragon vein... Every struggle for power conceals deadly Gu poison.
Wonders of Gu sorcery, sharing the life of heaven and earth: A Five Elements Gu formation redirects the Yellow River, while the Immortal Gu Mother parasitizes an emperor's heart. In a bronze coffin unearthed at the ruins of Medicine King Valley, Su Ran's "corpse" suddenly opens its eyes, and its golden pupils reflect a chaotic world twenty years in the future. When the constellations of the Dark Bird and the Golden Roc align, a battle of Gu Mothers that will rewrite the laws of heaven and earth is about to erupt!
