The Talisman That Subdues Heaven’s Mandate

In the first year of the Tianshou era, Wu Zetian deposes the Tang dynasty, establishes the Zhou dynasty, takes the throne under a new reign title, and makes Luoyang the capital, renaming it the Divine Capital. Her new policies, which abolish the imperial clan and change the official colors, provoke fierce resistance from the old Tang court and its loyalists. The Prince of Han, Li Yuanjia, and the Prince of Yue, Li Zhen, lead other imperial princes in secretly joining forces with the Guanlong aristocratic clans and northern garrisons. Under the banner of “restoring the Tang and executing the demon empress,” they build up their strength across the prefectures. Meanwhile, the Three Teachings seize the opportunity to stir the game. A prophecy left three hundred years earlier by the Daoist Patriarch, “The talisman emerges to guard the age; a settled heart brings order to the world. The shamanic lineage inherits antiquity; Buddhism and Daoism return to the truth,” becomes the central clue sought by the imperial clan, the female emperor, and the Three Teachings alike. Everyone is searching for the “Bearer of the World-Guarding Talisman,” hoping to seize the power to overturn or stabilize the realm.