The western wasteland stretches for a thousand miles of red earth. The cliffs of Broken Bone are studded with the remains of giant beasts, and the mournful call of the bone-watch post is humanity’s final warning. This is an ancient purgatory overrun by the strange creatures of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and a battlefield where humanity fights to survive with blood and bone.
Thirteen-year-old cliff guard Shi Zheng uses a black-iron spike as his weapon and dragon-lizard hide as armor, sounding a life-saving warning amid the burning winds and the fangs of red-scaled earthworms. The old cliff guards defend the stronghold with bone knives, while A Man, a trail scout, uses his tracking skills to find a way forward. The people of the western wasteland eke out a living among the remains of strange creatures, unaware that a greater crisis is lurking in the dark: Shaji Thorn Stronghold is wiped out overnight, the giant claws of a Rift Beast tear through the red earth, bone-winged kites migrate south from the northern wasteland, and even the blackstone scorpions of Blackstone Mountain grow ever more violent.
As the Great Desolation’s upheavals intensify and humanity’s living space continues to shrink, Shi Zheng grips his bloodstained weapon and sets out from Broken Bone Cliff. He crosses a plank road built along the tailbone of a Qingluan and ventures deep into the perilous Blackstone Mountains, determined to carve out a path to survival in a world beset by strange creatures. This is a struggle to “build mountains from human bones.” Every step teeters between life and death, and every stroke of the blade leaves its mark on civilization. In the thousand-year contest between humanity and the strange creatures, who truly rules the Great Desolation?
