Ding Songyan remembers a different world. A past life where the Classic of Mountains and Seas was nothing more than ancient mythology, a collection of strange tales told to children before bedtime. Zhulong, the Torch Dragon, was just a story. Xiangliu, the Nine Headed Serpent, was just a legend. Feiyi, the Plaguebane, was just a name in a dusty book.
But this world is not that world.
Here, the creatures of myth were real. They walked the earth, breathed chaos, and ruled the wilderness with powers that defied comprehension. And humanity did what humanity has always done when faced with something stronger. They fought. They killed. They consumed.
The old texts tell the truth in this reality. Zhulong, once eaten, cleaves chaos, illuminates the Nine Obscurities, commands day and night, alters the four seasons, and summons wind and rain. Xiangliu, once eaten, erodes the earth, swallows mountains, poisons a hundred generations, and its nine heads act independently. Feiyi, once eaten, repels insects and vermin, fortifies the spirit, and wards off all diseases. Yu, the Shadow Fiend, once eaten, excels at ambush and concealment, and spits sand to strike down foes.
These are not metaphors. These are recipes for power.
But there is a problem. A terrifying, impossible problem.
Ding Songyan stares at the ancient texts, then at the world around him, then back at the texts. None of this matches what he learned in his past life. The Classic of Mountains and Seas he remembers was a completely different book. The creatures, the powers, the rules, none of it aligns. Either his past life memories are wrong, or this world runs on a set of myths that should not exist.
The person beside him delivers the final blow. Those creatures vanished from the world long ago. Only the martial arts remain, forged by those who first consumed them, shaped by the transformations wrought upon their very bodies. And these arts can still be cultivated.
Ding Songyan falls silent. Lost in thought. The Sword Illuminates the Great Wilderness. But what good is a sword if the entire map is a lie? He needs answers. He needs to understand why this world’s secret Classic of Mountains and Seas is so different from the one he knew in his past life.
And somewhere in the great wilderness, something ancient is waiting for him to ask the right question.
