Built on the foundation of northeastern Chinese immortal folklore, this novel creates a fantasy world featuring the five great immortal clans of foxes, weasels, hedgehogs, snakes, and rats, along with the Five Elements immortals. At its heart is the battle between Ma Laoqi, the reincarnation of an ancient Thunder Department deity formed from pure energy, and ancient demons born of corrupted energy.
Because of the strange circumstances surrounding his birth, Ma Laoqi is branded a “bringer of calamity” and driven out by his family. While wandering, he awakens his divine powers and gains two core companions: Xie Wushe, a ghost king who is the reincarnation of a border-defending general, and Bai Linglong, a thousand-year-old white fox demon queen undergoing a trial of love. The story unfolds across four volumes. Volume One, “The Hidden Dragon in the Abyss,” lays out his tragic past and the first awakening of his powers. Volume Two, “A Low-Profile Return,” sees him quietly investigate cases, face-slap his family’s rivals, and uncover clues to the demons’ revival. Volume Three, “The Immortal Halls in Turmoil,” draws him into a struggle for power among the immortal clans. He earns their recognition by passing the “Three Trials of the Heart,” gathers the legacies of all five clans, and awakens as the Celestial Lord of Calamity. In Volume Four, “The Final Catastrophe,” he unites the Daoist sects, demons, and ghost soldiers to face the demons on the night of the Seven Stars’ alignment. In the end, he refines the demons with his divine nature, becoming one with them, then guards the secret realm beyond the heavens to protect the mortal world.
Blending northeastern folklore, battles between immortals, political intrigue, and passionate sacrifice, the novel follows Ma Laoqi’s growth from a stoic boy into a savior deity. It also portrays the loyalty and deep affection of Xie Wushe, Bai Linglong, and the others. At its core, the story conveys that “compassion requires the thunderous force to act, and protection demands the price of life and death.”