This is a long xianxia tale inspired by Journey to the West. Sun Yueju, daughter of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, and Huang Juxian, a yellow chrysanthemum spirit who attained the Dao, is born on Flower-Fruit Mountain. She bears the chrysanthemum-bone Dao physique left behind by an ancient chrysanthemum immortal, combining compassion for all living beings with the indomitable pride of her stone-monkey bloodline. The calamity of Journey to the West was not simply a natural manifestation of the Heavenly Dao. The upper ranks of the Celestial Court manipulated the calamity, and their meddling gave rise to the source karma fire, or calamity force, formed from countless hardships and resentments. The shadow of the Eastern Wasteland calamity is quietly gathering in the dark.
The young Sun Yueju embraces the Daoist conviction, “I will not rebel against Heaven; I will set it right.” She refuses to destroy the order of the Three Realms through violence, vowing instead to correct the flaws in the laws of Heaven and protect innocent beings. She becomes a confidante of Hong Haier, who bears the mark of the source karma fire, and together they face one deadly peril after another: battling treacherous foes in the Starfall Abyss, seeing through their obsessions in the Guixu illusion, confronting slander and false accusations at court, venturing into the hidden realm of the Ancient Ruins of Qingwu to seek a manual on ending calamities, and delving into the nameless chaos wastes to face the source of the Sea of Resentment.
Hong Haier was once the Good Fortune Child beneath Guanyin. Having seen through the calculations and compromises of the halls of the immortals and Buddhas, he chooses to return to the mortal realm and struggle against the karma-fire curse within his soul. This story is about more than battles between immortals and demons or challenges in secret realms. It also exposes the sickness at the heart of the Celestial Court's old system and explores the weighty question: “Can the greater good justify sacrificing the innocent?” The protagonists do not seek to eradicate calamity force, the embodiment of suffering, but to find a way to resolve its root causes in the system and in people's hearts. The novel is filled with thrilling battles between immortals and demons, as well as the warmth of everyday life, and tells the epic coming-of-age story of young people holding fast to their convictions and carrying on through political struggles and looming catastrophes.
