Lingxi was born with a “Chaos Spirit Vein” and branded a worthless talent. She has always lived in the shadow of her gifted older sister, Nuchou. When the Ten Shamans' rebellion breaks out, Nuchou turns to stone and falls into a deep slumber while sealing the ferocious Taotie. Lingxi's world collapses. To obtain the royal court's treasured Vermilion Bird Soul Crystal, the one thing that can save her sister, she is forced to assume Nuchou's identity and marry Xin You, the young lord of Nanzhao. Thus begins a marriage born of political convenience.
Newlyweds and allies, they agree to take what they each need. As they journey together into the perilous Cangwu wilderness in search of the Vermilion Bird, they face repeated deadly ambushes by the regent Xiangyou and the remnants of the Ten Shamans. In their darkest moments, guided by a mysterious black shaman healer, Lingxi begins to confront the true potential of her Chaos Spirit Vein and forge a unique path that blends the healing arts of the white shamans with the controlling arts of the black shamans. From the miasma-ridden river's Gu curse to the shifting illusions of the quicksand, every battle fought side by side gradually melts their cold arrangement into trust and devotion.
At the final showdown on the altar, Lingxi awakens her powers in a moment of crisis. Using herself as a bridge to harmonize yin and yang, she unexpectedly summons the Vermilion Bird Soul Crystal. Together with Xin You, she shatters the conspiracy. After their victory, Lingxi saves her sister and finds true love with Xin You. She returns to neither faction. Instead, she combines everything she has learned and founds the “Mountain-Walkers,” a lineage devoted to “roaming the mountains and seas, bringing harmony to all things.” She leaves behind the “Art of Entering the Mountains” and a bone flute as tokens, while her book, “The Vermilion Bird of Nanzhao,” becomes the ultimate guide for later Mountain-Walkers seeking to follow their founder's footsteps and unravel the mysteries of the mountains and seas. A legend that began with a rescue, grew through a journey taken together, and culminated in a new legacy now gives rise to the sweeping epic of “Twelve Provinces of the Mountains and Seas,” opening the saga of the world beyond the mountains and seas.
It feels real and thick