A Light of the Righteous Path Has Gone Offline

[Blurb]

As the head disciple of the Wanxiang Dao Sect, Ming Jing possessed a dazzling talent for the sword. Born with a sword bone, she advanced at an astonishing pace, claimed the title at the Douling Tournament, and was hailed as a heaven-blessed prodigy and a beacon of the righteous path.

Yet this peerless genius was branded a traitor for colluding with the demonic race. Her cultivation was crippled, her sword bone shattered, and her meridians severed before she was thrown off a cliff.

On the brink of death, Ming Jing heard a clear, ethereal voice at her ear.

It said she had all the makings of a protagonist, but was merely a minor character in a “pursue-your-wife-to-the-crematorium” story. Her fall from the cliff was only the beginning of the plot.

It said: She should fall into a frigid pool that had been cold for a thousand years and drift with its underground current into a dark cavern. Her corpse would help the cavern's master break the seal, setting off the “pursue-your-wife-to-the-crematorium” story of the Wanxiang Dao Sect's Venerable Daoist, the novel's protagonist.

Clinging to life by a thread, Ming Jing ignored the voice. She fought through the churning waters of the frigid pool, leaving a trail of blood, and dragged herself into the dark cavern.

A woman in red was bound there by blood-red chains, as eerie as a blood demon. In the cavern's dim light, she spoke languidly. “Cultivate with me, and I'll keep you alive.”

The voice grew frantic. “Quick, refuse her righteously, then sever your own heart meridian and die in front of her.”

With a deathly pale face, Ming Jing curled her bloodied lips into a smile. “All right.”

A story about the beacon of the righteous path falling to the demonic path, becoming its ruler, and picking up a wife along the way.

① Ming Jing falls to the demonic path and gives up sword cultivation.

② The Venerable Daoist of the Wanxiang Dao Sect is a woman.

③ The CP were originally the protagonists of a “pursue-your-wife-to-the-crematorium” story.

④ Lots of original worldbuilding, simple tropes, both catharsis and angst.

Here's an upcoming novel. Please add it to your reading list: The Villain's Daily Schemes

The Jiuzhou Continent is ruled by survival of the fittest and the pursuit of profit above all.

As an outer-sect disciple of Qingzhou's Zhengyang Sect, Rong Su has always known what she wants: cultivate, grow stronger, and kill anyone who stands in her way. If someone disagrees, cut them down.

Then she met a little glowing orb that claimed to be the Heavenly Dao and told her she was going to die.

After that, during the outer-sect tournament, she accidentally slept with a young lady from Qingzhou's most powerful clan, who was said to be a great villain. Her life was turned upside down.

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Before meeting Nangong Yan, Rong Su thought her life would never amount to much.

After meeting Nangong Yan, she learned that cultivation wasn't just about revenge. A blade meant for killing could also cleave through clouds and mist, just to glimpse the person beyond them.

① Sex first, love later. The romance isn't angsty, and is sweet (probably).

② The protagonist is invincible in spirit but weak from the start, and will suffer physically.

③ The protagonist has a scar on her face, which disappears later.

④ The protagonist is cunning and puts profit above all else. She won't fall in love quickly.

⑤ The protagonist has a golden finger and will use it to cheat.

⑥ Rong Su is four years older than Nangong Yan.

⑦ Lots of original worldbuilding, not a conventional power-progression story.

⑧ More plot than romance; the protagonist has her own career arc.

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Theme: Love takes courage, perseverance, and sincerity.