Shen Nian, an abandoned orphan, was adopted by a mysterious woman, A Qing, when he was six years old. Ah Qing taught him how to carve wood, read, and perceive the spirit of objects. Two years later, he left behind the carving knife and the word "Wait for me" and disappeared. From then on, Shen Nian embarked on the road to find Ah Qing, bringing with him the remnant soul of a man who had been dead for three hundred years and had a lot of venomous words.
After three thousand years of pursuit, Shen Nian grew from a mortal to a "dream watcher" respected by all races. He accepted his disciples Yun Lian (genius in formation), Qing Luo (talent wizard), Xue Zhan (Prince Shura), and became friends with Ah Li (fox demon), Tie Hammer (dwarf), Xiao Yao (mortal medicine girl), and Xiao Piao (a boy from the ghost tribe). He experienced three near-death awakenings of void, reincarnation, and temporal spiritual roots, and spent fifty years undercover as a body-snatching demon, finally gathering five hidden spiritual roots.
When he was five hundred years old, he broke through the folds of time and rescued Ah Qing, but she had aged and lost her memory and did not recognize him. He awakened her with a five-hundred-year-old wooden sculpture, and Ah Qing passed on the origin of creation to him before disappearing.
At the age of eight hundred and sixteen, Shen Nian ascended to the ninth heaven, opened the door to the tenth heaven, and saw Ah Qing falling. He became the "door", allowing the two "questions" to intertwine - she finally learned to "be asked", and he completed the transcendence from "the questioner" to "the question itself".
