Deep in an abandoned mine in Qingzhou, Gu Changqing uses up the three pieces of cinnabar inkstone ink passed down through his family to make rubbings of an ancient beast-patterned stele using an old technique. The inkstone’s backlash stains the family heirloom, the Illustrated Scroll of Mountains and Seas, with blood, unexpectedly awakening the image of an ancient Yin-Yang Iron-Eater Beast. There is no System, no interface, only a damaged silk scroll and a lifetime of rubbing skills. As the dead puppets of the Blood Fiend Hall close in, Shen Qingli, a female inspector from the Skywatch Bureau, arrives at his side with her hundred-crafts mechanical arts. From the bottom of an abandoned mine to the golden halls of the royal capital, from the hidden currents of the dynasty to the Four Ancient Fiends, he uses inkstone as ink and bloodline as his guide, taking rubbings of the world’s spiritual essence and forging bonds with the hearts of countless beasts. The Iron-Eater Beast Gun Gun chews through black iron scales, while the Mountain-Quelling Beast borrows the strength of the earth to withstand a third-rank Blood Flood Dragon. He relies neither on blood-refinement to enslave beasts nor on shortcuts to quick success. With every hammer blow and chisel stroke, he carves out his own path to beast mastery. As blood-refinement sorcery shrouds the land and ancient fiends awaken… witness an inkstone craftsman take up his brush and scroll, sword in hand, to challenge the heavens.
