The Book of the Blazing Night, Eaten by Embers

The spiritual springs in the ley lines of the thirty-six cities of Jiuzhou have been dry for three hundred years. The feudal lords and royal clans all prolong their lives by offering living beings as sacrifices through “spirit pacts.” Yin Wujiu, heir to the throne of Nanzhao, is struck by lightning and awakens the “Eye of Burning Time,” through which he glimpses the truth: his father’s bones are locked within the ley lines, and the city’s people have all become offerings. To break the curse of his supernatural power, which burns away his lifespan, he is forced to sign a “Life-Burning Pact” with Zhuohua, a sharp-tongued sword spirit. But he is drawn into a shocking conspiracy in which the spiritual veins of all thirty-six cities have been stained with black blood.

“For every day your life-flame burns, you’ll see one more inch of filth in this world.”