Chronicles of the Ashen Cauldron

Three hundred and seventy-two years after the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty, the First Emperor melted the Nine Cauldrons to forge the Ashen Cauldron and established an ancestral decree: every emperor must offer up their soul upon ascending the throne to preserve the dynasty. The world praises emperors who sacrifice themselves for the Dao and bring eternal peace to the people, but only the imperial family knows the secret: the Ashen Cauldron never consumes souls. It devours the emperor's lifespan.

The current Emperor Chengjin is only twenty, yet already withered and near death. During the winter solstice soul-burning ceremony, Crown Prince Xiao Chengji lost his mind and disrupted the sacrifice, screaming that there was a ghost in the cauldron. He was imprisoned in the Sky-Piercing Tower.

The Crown Prince's grandson, Xiao Jintian, was born with the ability to sense ashen energy. He had intended to obey his late father's orders and keep his head down, but he could not suppress his resolve to uncover the truth. He met Xie Mingzhu, daughter of the Grand Chancellor, who carried the mission of destroying the cauldron and knew the secret art of extinguishing ash. Together, they navigated the forces of the Ashen Cauldron Office, court nobles, and border warlords.

The cauldron seals the Taotie; the emperor is the sacrifice. Should one feed oneself to the cauldron to prolong the dynasty's false peace, or shatter the cauldron and break the pact, welcoming a new age of chaos? Beneath the ashes, all are trapped. Only those who dare defy fate can stand tall before the people.