[Ensemble cast and political scheming] [Rebirth through reincarnation] [Fate-bound tragedy and fiery resolve] [Everyone has a plan]
People still pass around an old tale:
Once there was a mountain, and on it stood an immortal temple. Six disciples lived within, their fame spreading far and wide.
Then the land fell into turmoil, the mountain gate was struck by disaster, and the Immortal Venerable sacrificed themself to protect the world.
One battle shattered the temple’s lofty ideals. The six disciples scattered: four wandered the ends of the earth, one was laid to rest beneath the green hills.
Only Nan Fengchi remained, keeping watch over the ruined temple year after year.
She was the youngest disciple of her sect. On her one journey down the mountain to seek enlightenment, she had barely touched the summit of the Great Dao when news came of catastrophe at the mountain gate. By the time she rushed back from a thousand miles away, only broken walls and emptiness remained.
Fate has never been gentle.
Bound by a limit on her lifespan, she will not live past twenty-five. Burdened with the fate of all living beings, she must search the Eight Regions and gather the Star Prophecy fragments scattered across the world.
She roamed mountains and rivers, searching desperately, fighting desperately to survive and fulfill her promise. In the end, she saw through it all: the game laid out by the Heavenly Dao had always offered them only one path, and it led to death.
The cycle repeats, fate entangles all. Every living soul is a chess piece, every youth dragged into the mortal tribulation.
But so what?
The Heavenly Dao may be merciless, but we will defy heaven all the same.
She stood atop a mountain reaching ten thousand feet, facing the fierce wind, and asked the winds that had swept over mountains for ages: “Do you remember the youth’s name?”
The wind swept through the empty mountains and answered from afar: “Nan Fengchi.”
She smiled gently, her eyes filled with the calm of someone who had watched a thousand sails fade into the distance.
So the mountain wind remembered every dawn and dusk, remembered the young souls who had lived with such blazing spirit. It alone forgot the mortal past that fate had denied them.
