The Call of the Spring Breeze

In the world of Chenxiao, three sects stand apart: the Xuan Sect governs the world through reason, the Qing Sect takes qi as its foundation, and the Ming Sect venerates the heart. The sky screen enshrouds all living things, imposing a ceiling on cultivation and merciless heavenly punishments. In this land bound by rules, the scholar Liu Changqing joins a declining academy and studies the "principles of the Tao" under his master, Xuan Weizi. He believes that true principles should never become tools in anyone's hands.

To protect his fellow students and teachers, Liu Changqing volunteers to guard the forbidden Starfall Abyss. He remains there for sixty years, secretly combining the strengths of all three sects. When heavenly punishment descends and the three sects join forces to hunt him down, he faces the heavens alone. With three Dao Seeds, "Evergreen," "Still Abyss," and "Return of Spring," he shields six thousand people and breaks through the suppressive power of the Xuan, Qing, and Ming Sects. Then, upon the ruins, he establishes a new doctrine and becomes its founder. He builds no grand temple and raises no golden statue, inscribing only a new Great Path upon the sky screen: the Way of the Spring Breeze.

When the Great Path is complete, the spring breeze sweeps across the world. Liu Changqing breaks through the sky screen and discovers a secret of a higher dimension: the so-called heavenly laws are merely a cage built by an ancient divine race. In the Chaotic Celestial Domain, he establishes the Returning Spring Pavilion and leaves behind twelve Returning Spring Tokens to guide those who come after him. Years later, the spring breeze rises again at the Lookout of Return, and he awaits the familiar gleam of a sword and the scent of wine.

This is a story about "principles": when in doubt, ask the spring breeze. Wherever it blows, a path to life can be found.