When the tattered Classic of Mountains and Seas lit up beneath A Yu’s fingertips, he never imagined he would be swept into a trial spanning the entire world of mountains and seas. He would travel through the hidden realms of Qingqiu, Beiming, the East Sea, and the Western Wastes, helping the strange beasts of the Classic of Mountains and Seas overcome their tribulations. There would be no simple monster-slaying and leveling up, only the obsessions and truths hidden behind each tribulation. The foxes of Qingqiu had fallen into a haze of confused memories after the Soul-Remembering Flower was stolen, all because of human greed. Taotie had taken over Jishi Mountain and devoured its creatures, driven out of control by the baleful energy clinging to it. The waters around the merfolk’s Coral City were polluted, a consequence of cultivators chasing profit. Every strange beast’s tribulation reflected the imbalance of the world of mountains and seas.
A Yu’s path to resolving these tribulations relied on more than secret techniques from the atlas. Amid Bifang’s celestial flames, he had to choose between saving the forest and preserving his own spiritual power. During the Black Tortoise’s longevity tribulation, he had to accept the law that life and death could not be reversed. And when Qiongqi tried to sow discord, he had to uncover the plot of the mysterious Spirit Eaters. Made up of traitors from the previous generation of guides, this faction was controlling strange beasts with Soul-Eroding Mist, hoping to seize the Complete Record of the Guardians of the Mountains and Seas and turn the whole world into a vessel for cultivation. Along the way, Su Mo, a scholar who had strayed into the world of mountains and seas, helped him decipher ancient runes; Yinglong revealed that he was descended from the guides; and Qilin awakened the mission of protection in his blood. A Yu came to understand that he was searching for more than the truth of his origins: he was searching for a way for humans and strange beasts to coexist.
When the Chaos Beast was awakened and the power of the void began devouring the world of mountains and seas, A Yu was no longer alone. The foxes of Qingqiu, Taotie, the merfolk, and Zhulong, whose tribulations he had once resolved, gathered at Kunlun Ruins, using illusions, devouring, water
