In the last years of the Dayong Dynasty, natural disasters occurred frequently, foreign enemies were around, and the empire was about to collapse like a building. The prince Xiao Jingyan, who is dedicated to innovation but is trapped in the whirlpool of political intrigue, and Gu Yanzhou, a capable minister who comes from a poor family and is aware of the current situation, try to turn the tide.
However, the suspicion of the imperial power, the greed of the family, and the war of the rebel army crushed all their efforts one by one. When the capital fell and the king died in the country, Gu Yanzhou had to carry the spark of civilization entrusted by the prince - a "secret palace" that included the empire's technology, classics and talents, and led the last survivors to cross the ocean south to find the legendary "Penglai Continent".
This is not a story about victory, but a story about failure, survival and legacy. It tells the story of how when a great civilization inevitably collapses, the people in it protect the last light and let the roots of civilization emerge from the ashes again in a distant land.
