The Nine Cauldrons of Xuanhuang

The Xuanhuang Continent was born at the dawn of chaos. Though barren, it brimmed with spiritual energy, and its earliest inhabitants were the demon race and the devils. The demon race excelled at drawing on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to temper their bodies. They could take on human forms and command mountains, rivers, plants, and trees. The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans were the most revered, occupying spiritual lands such as the Qingqiu Mountains in the east and the Burning Heaven Volcano in the south. The devils commanded the power of the netherworld, cultivating by devouring the souls and essence of living beings. They dwelled in the Myriad Devil Abyss in the west and the Bone-Eroding Ice Fields in the north. The two races fought for control of the continent for ten thousand years, leaving the land devastated and its spiritual energy in chaos.

As the continent teetered on the brink of collapse, nine human sages rose to power: the Space Sage, who mastered the laws of space; the Formation Sage, skilled in formations; the Body Sage, who excelled at body cultivation; the Flame Sage, who controlled the origin of fire; the Water Sage, who commanded the laws of water; the Life Sage, who understood the power of life; the Death Sage, who wielded the laws of death; the Soul Sage, who mastered soul arts; and the Heaven Sage, who could discern the secrets of fate. They led humanity to survive in the cracks between the two races. After a century of cultivation, humanity's strength grew enormously, and the nine sages joined forces to launch the War to Exterminate Demons and Devils.

The war lasted a thousand years, at a terrible cost to humanity. The nine sages also expended most of their cultivation, but in the end they sealed the demon race's main forces in the Locking Demon Pagoda in the east and drove the remaining devils to the Sealing Devil Abyss in the west. To restore order and prevent the demons and devils from striking back, the nine sages poured their life's cultivation into forging the Nine Cauldrons: the Space Cauldron, Formation Cauldron, Body Cauldron, Flame Cauldron, Water Cauldron, Life Cauldron, Death Cauldron, Soul Cauldron, and Heaven Cauldron. They placed them across the continent's nine provinces. The cauldrons reinforced the seals and nourished spiritual energy, allowing humanity to flourish.

A thousand years after the death of the Nine Cauldrons' founders, the nine sages, the cultivation forces of humanity had splintered. The orthodox sects upheld tradition and order; the unorthodox sects coveted the Nine Cauldrons and sought to break the seals; and the reclusive sects stood apart from both sides, secretly plotting to seize supremacy.