A Sigh for Immortality [Adventure]

Because her eldest sister has been afflicted with a deadly curse that threatens her life, Yi Menglai has no choice but to enter an ancient tomb and seek its riches, hoping to find a way to save her. But as soon as she enters the tomb, she runs into an old enemy and is even taken captive herself, forced to repay a thousand-year-old debt of vengeance for refining demons. Meanwhile, she and her lover from a past life are drawn together and apart by the karma of their previous existence. Yet all of this turns out to have begun with a celestial maiden.

Why did everything begin with the celestial maiden? It seems the whole scheme was laid out before the dawn of time. Their journeys take them across mountains and rivers, from the Jiao God Palace to Jiusheng Town, from the Dragon God capital to the Burial Ground of a Hundred Demons. Their meeting seems fated.

Ranks of demon refiners: Demon Refiner, Demon-Yao, Demon Lord, Demon Apex

Ranks of the Tianbai Dao: Heaven Dao, Immortal Dao, Divine Dao, Divine-Demon Dao, Godless Dao, Heavenly Divine Patriarch

Cool, clingy younger girl pursuer VS seductive, alluring femme fatale pursued

Primarily from the pursued character’s perspective, with some role reversal; mutual devotion.

The pursued character is an antagonist early on, then becomes morally ambiguous later, both dashing and charming.

The pursuer is a mature, composed girl early on, but is somewhat inexperienced in love. Her strong sense of responsibility and rationality mean that she prioritizes duty over romance.

I like writing plot, so there is less romance. Since I was influenced by old-school horror elements as a child, the story includes a lot of nostalgic elements.

This story involves three realms, but mainly focuses on the human world and features an ensemble cast. I have over 1.9 million words written in advance, so I’m unlikely to abandon it. Everything in the story is fictional. The ancient-era arc will be released after the full draft is complete.

This series spans several dynasties, mainly the Qing, Republic of China, Tang, Wei and Jin, and modern eras. Each era has its own timeline and cast of characters.

The Sigh of Immortality series: The Sigh of Immortality / The Sigh of Immortality: Ancient Era / The Sigh of Immortality: Surface World / Tales of the Republic (Republic Era) / When No One Is Awake at Midnight (Apocalypse Era)

Notes:

1. I’ve already made peace with the possibility that this story will be obscure and ignored, so I don’t pay much attention to the numbers. I know it isn’t perfect, but I love it and simply want to finish posting it without leaving myself with regrets.

There’s no need to tell me if you drop the story. Let’s part on good terms. The writing has many shortcomings, and I appreciate criticism that points them out, but please don’t tell me how to write.

2. Almost every character in this story is flawed. They all have their own ideas and ways of handling things, so not everyone will like them. Some side couples are not each other’s first, and their relationships develop gradually. The first-love couple in Volume Two will only complete all their bonds in the Surface World arc. Some characters have no interest in romance, while others are ruthless villains with overwhelming ambition who keep their achievements hidden. Some pairings are not romantic.

3. Although the story leans toward the pursued character’s perspective, they generally take turns pursuing each other. This only comes to an end in the Surface World arc, and everyone gets their own ending. Bonus chapters will mostly be cut or left out. There is a dedicated chapter for each of the two female leads taking the pursuing role, but they will be locked: one chapter has the first female lead pursuing, and one has the second.

4. The protagonists are quite career-focused, and romance is just an added touch. They love thrills and adventure, so the story has a lot of plot. Updates will be scheduled from now on for convenience. Writing yuri is just a hobby; life comes first.

5. A few of the bonus stories will have strong themes centered on women. The Qing and ancient-era arcs mainly depict the lives of impoverished people oppressed by imperial power. The Republic-era wartime arc explores the girls’ hopes and dreams of breaking free from the shackles of social prejudice, as well as resistance to and condemnation of superstitious beliefs and the feudal marriage system.

6. The protagonists do not save each other, but they do choose each other. The first female lead saves herself, while the second strives to move forward. Though they are bound by their past lives and love each other, they remain emotionally and personally independent. As their creator, I only want them to grow old together. After a million words, themes of family of origin, the conflict between loyalty to family and filial duty, standing up to the strong who bully the weak, and becoming your own person will gradually come to the fore. As the first female lead once told her mother, “I am your daughter, but I am also my own person.”

This is also a story about the protagonists growing into their true selves.

Updates are scheduled through next May, and the whole story should be finished around then, probably by the end of May 2023.

The bonus stories are scheduled to be finished on June 22, 2023. Since the bonus volume is long, it may be delayed until July. Anything I can’t finish in time will be included in The Sigh of Immortality: Surface World.

The Sigh of Immortality volumes:

The Jiao God’s Han Palace

A Dream in New York

The Rakshasa Ghost City

A Thousand Ages of Demons

The Nine Lives of Reincarnation

The Primordial Wilds

The Corpse Demon’s Siege

Bonus volume:

Who Remembers, Love That Cuts to the Bone (This depends on how things go. If it pushes the story over two million words and feels too long, I’ll leave this bonus story out.)

A short bonus story, The Rouge House, has been added.

The Rouge House

They say the Rouge House is full of beautiful women, each with a lovely, melodious name.

They say the red mansions and fragrant boudoirs ring with song all night, whether it’s a pear blossom weighing down a crabapple, a bridal sedan singing of a flower wedding, or a courtesan finally finding respectability. In the end, it is all just a dream, and even in old age, each woman is left to face life alone.

Women of the demimonde, from one generation to the third: from lives steeped in humiliation to the liberation of courtesans.

Who Remembers, Love That Cuts to the Bone

My darling, lost and unfound, I miss you until I fall ill.

In the cages, beneath the shackles, buried in the earth: my flesh and blood.

Did the moonlight ever shine on your battered form, its mottled glow falling on your scars?

Father thinks of you. Mother searches for you. From a brand-new schoolbag to dust gone old, just as the smile that once seemed so recent has faded from memory, along with a few scraps of silver stained with filth.

From ancient times to the present.

A Century’s End

Fu Chengxian, it’s 2080. I never thought we’d grow so old.

I see that your hair has turned completely white, snowy strands framing the wrinkles that grow ever more numerous on your face. Look, my hair has turned so white too, and I have so many wrinkles. How did we get so old? In the blink of an eye, our temples have turned white as frost. It feels like only a moment has passed, though decades have gone by.

Fu Chengxian, Mianmian has become the finest successor and leader, guiding dozens of generations of Tianbai members. Bai Wudao has grown so capable too. She has trained one outstanding leader after another. They’re all doing well.

Fu Chengxian, I love you. I’ll see you again soon.

Today is September 4, your birthday. I don’t think I have much time left either. Time passes so slowly...

In 2080, Yi Menglai, the first chief of the Spirit Cultivators, died in front of the tomb of Fu Chengxian, the fourth young mistress of Tianbai. They were both over a hundred years old.

The Lord of a Hundred Ghosts came to their graves and murmured as he gazed at Yi Menglai’s tombstone:

“You used every last bit of your power to spend a lifetime growing old together, staying by each other’s side until the end. Lian’er, you truly wagered everything for love...”

I really love them. I want them to grow old together, and even then, meet again in another life. Fu Chengxian said goodbye to many people in the Surface World arc, and Menglai stayed by her side for a long, long time. They went through so much together, and little by little, they grew old.

I want to write about a lover tenderly stroking her beloved’s whitening hair with hands that have grown wrinkled too.

The two meet by the Bridge of Helplessness, their souls leaning against each other. After pouring away the soup of oblivion, they playfully step into the cycle of reincarnation.

One lover lies quietly beside the loved ones who have already passed away; the other quietly follows her.

Love is like a dream, vanishing in an instant;

But their love will never die.

P.S.

The first female lead will never compromise with her family of origin.

Theme: Uphold sound values and become your true self.