A hundred years ago, Jiang Chan was a legend in the cultivation world.
She made a name for herself at a young age, possessed extraordinary talent, and rose to the top of the cultivation sects with a single sword.
But then disaster struck. In pursuit of greater power, her cousin stripped her of her spiritual roots, her fellow disciples took her sword, her sworn enemy gouged out her exquisite heart, and the friend she'd once risked her life to save cut out one of her eyes.
Her spirit shattered, and she slept for a hundred years. When she awoke, she was shocked to find the cultivation world utterly transformed.
Spiritual energy had all but vanished, evil things ran rampant, gods and ghosts were beyond comprehension, and shamans peered into the heavens.
The gods and Buddhas that once filled the skies were no more. In their place ruled grotesque entities no one had ever heard of:
The Flesh Bodhisattva beckons souls and guides them across; the Bone Buddha Lotus draws in spirits and binds them. The Corpse Gu Cave Maiden gathers ghostly fiends; a coiled dragon lurks in the Liuxiang Labyrinth.
Most cultivation sects had fallen, and cultivators lived in constant fear. The enemies from her past, now carrying her sword and wielding her bones, had become worshippers of evil beings and begged them for protection.
Jiang Chan awoke in a fallen sword sect no one had ever heard of. The sect leader took pity on her, alone and covered in scars, and accepted her as a disciple, giving her an ordinary sword.
Her master was nearing the end of his life, her senior brother was a good-for-nothing, and her senior sister was a frail, fourteen-year-old bean sprout.
Her scarred hand closed around the plain, unadorned sword.
Jiang Chan said, "I know a little about swordsmanship. Would you like to learn?"
A hundred years later, Jiang Chan was still a legend whose name shook the Nine Provinces.
She could descend into the deepest underworld and slay demons.
She could also stride into the heavens and shatter gods and Buddhas.
[Reading Guide]
Chinese folk customs + a hodgepodge of my own take on cultivation, with a touch of weird Lovecraftian horror. The female lead is probably a little unhinged.
Theme: None
