Chen Zhou, a modern graduate student in traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology, accidentally touches an ancient alchemy cauldron inscribed with seal script during an archaeological excavation. He transmigrates to the Qin Empire in the thirty-fourth year of Qin Shi Huang’s reign (213 BCE), becoming a low-ranking alchemist summoned to the palace. By then, Qin Shi Huang has unified the six kingdoms, and although the palace is crowded with alchemists, most are frauds. Armed with modern knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine and a background in chemistry, Chen Zhou stands out in the alchemy workshop with his “scientific alchemy.” Step by step, he earns the trust of Ying Zheng, the “Ancestral Dragon,” while being drawn into the power struggles of the late Qin. He must not only produce a genuine elixir of immortality, but also secure a sliver of hope for this emperor of the ages and his empire before the great edifice collapses.
