In Liulichang during the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong, Shen Yan, a timid antique apprentice, just wanted to live a stable life with his craft of restoring cultural relics. An ordinary repair brought him into contact with a bloody memory that had been sealed for hundreds of years - a damaged jade, which turned out to be the last token of the Qingyun Sect, the cultivation sect, and made him the new sect leader.
Under the surface of the prosperous age, spiritual energy quietly revived. The imperial court secretly searches for cultivators, the powerful minister Nalan Rongde practices evil methods to swallow up luck, and the remaining sect forces have their own agendas. Relying on the "Vientiane Deduction and Treasure Appraisal System" that was unexpectedly awakened, Shen Yan pieced together clues from pieces of antiques, and with the help of calligraphy and painting restorer Su Zhenyue, he managed to survive in the cracks of history.
He must find out the truth about the annihilation of the sect a hundred years ago, and rebuild the Qingyun Sect amidst the encirclement and suppression by the court's hawks, evil officials and internal fighting within the sect. And at the end of this treasure-appraisal journey, an even more astonishing secret will be revealed: the survival of cultivators is actually closely linked to the fate of this ancient empire, which is facing changes unseen in three thousand years.
