The Nine Nether fissure splits the Central Plains, and demonic fog swallows the land.
The former dynasty's Imperial Preceptor painted a Purple Star warding talisman with the essence of his life, only for it to end up a worthless scrap of paper.
Inside a dilapidated post station, the scholar Fu Tianshu uses his finger as a brush and blood as ink to carve the long-lost ancient seal script of “edict” onto a broken stele.
In an instant, golden light surges like a dragon, pierces the demonic miasma, and reaches deep into the Nine Nethers.
The current Imperial Preceptor flies into a rage. Demons attack the post station at night, and the Thousand-Faced Xiao King disguises himself as a disciple, seeking to seize the secret art of talisman-making.
Fu Tianshu writes a thunderfire talisman in blood, burning away the Xiao King's ten thousand false faces, only to see eerie blood markings appear in his palm.
“Backlash from a blood curse?” He gives a bitter smile. “So this peaceful world must be built upon my bones.”
Outside the post station, the dead crops turn green again overnight.
On the stele, a prophecy of the stars slowly appears:
Mars guards the Heart, and the Emperor Star wavers.
