During the Wanli era, undercurrents ran deep. A great plague in Ningbo, a bloody massacre in Fuzhou, a river dragon stirring in the Yellow River, an avalanche in the Kunlun Mountains... Behind each bizarre calamity, the shadow of the Netherworld Sect spread in silence. They offered living beings as sacrifices, plotting to open the legendary Guixu and usher evil demons into the world.
Shen Canglang, a young man of mysterious origins, was thrust by fate into the role of a Leyline Walker, charged with sharing this world's breath and fate. From the moment he swallowed the Earthheart Lotus, a flower that brought vitality but also disaster, he was set on a path from which there was no turning back.
Though his body was broken, he crossed plague-ridden cities, waded through rivers running red with blood, climbed snowbound mountains, broke into the forbidden imperial palace, and ultimately ventured to the desolate reaches of the South Sea. Along the way, he saved those who needed saving, slew the demons who needed slaying, and upheld the principles that had to be upheld. There was a beloved woman who waited ten years without regret, the trust of companions who entrusted one another with their lives, and tears of relief from the people who survived catastrophe, along with betrayal, sacrifice, and endless loneliness.
