Chen Mo, heir to a reclusive sect, descends the mountain on his master's orders carrying nothing but a broken jade talisman, only to be drawn into a clandestine battle over supernatural powers in the city. He saves Tang Kexin, an advertising director who turns out to be the last survivor of the reclusive Tang Clan. The two are hunted by various factions over the fragments of the Mountain-and-River Seal. Luo Yishou, an antiques dealer, hides riddles; agent Bai Feng's loyalties are unclear; and Zhao Tiezhu, a fight-club owner, gives them his wholehearted support. Chen Mo uses ancient martial arts to overcome firearms and inner cultivation techniques to thwart technology, gradually uncovering the secret behind his sect's destruction. But the Black Serpent's pursuit, Tianshu's scheme, and infighting within the Tang Clan all intertwine, making the city's turbulent underworld far more dangerous than he imagined. When the final fragment appears, Chen Mo discovers that he is the fated sacrifice: he must either save the world or destroy himself.
