He was once Li Cangming, a demonic overlord who shook the winds and clouds of the Xuanqiong Realm. But one moment of poor judgment bound him to the shackles of sainthood through the "Supreme Virtue Merit System." To heal his grievously wounded origin and stay alive, he has no choice but to wear the perfect facade of "True Person Xuanming" and become the leader of the righteous path. Every day, the System assigns tasks that strike right at his demonic heart: help an old lady cross the street, buy candied hawthorns for a crying child, take a blade for a foolish disciple... He forces himself through each one, sick with disgust, and receives only meager healing and enough power to maintain his disguise.
In secret, he can only fill the void in his strength and offset the immense cost of his disguise by hunting rogue cultivators and devouring the origins of their demonic souls. Torn between identities, he suffers day and night. Then, at the grand demon-slaying assembly, his nemesis, "Blood Butcher" Luo Hou, makes a stunning accusation at the cost of his life: "The demonic aura around you is a hundred times denser than mine!"
The crowd erupts, killing intent surging into the sky! Li Cangming's world-ending demonic flames are about to consume everything in his palm when the System displays its absurd final task: [Please embrace your accuser and apologize sincerely.]
Below the stage, the little girl he once coaxed with candied hawthorns cries out with all her might, holding up half a skewer of red fruit: "Uncle Saint is a good person!"
Light and darkness tear at each other in the depths of his soul. How much longer can he wear this crown of sainthood, woven from lies and slaughter? As demonic flames and the glow of candied hawthorns intertwine, who is the one true reflection in his hell of endless torment?
