The Root That Devours Heaven

In the empire of Nine Incense, a child’s worth is measured by the shape of their spiritual root. Noble heirs awaken jade lotuses and dragon veins; beggars awaken weeds. Shen Lian, a grave-sweeper’s son, awakens nothing at all—until the ancient burial mound beneath his village cracks open and a starving black root coils around his soul. It grants him impossible growth, the ability to devour spiritual energy from pills, beasts, formations, and even heavenly tribulations. It also whispers in the voice of a dead god.

Taken into the Cloud-Coffin Sect as a disposable servant disciple, Lian must survive cruel seniors, corrupt elders, lethal pill trials, and a tournament designed to feed the powerful. Yet every humiliation becomes fuel. Every enemy becomes a lesson. As his cultivation rises, he discovers the black root is not a blessing, but the first sprout of a forbidden Dao that once tried to consume the heavens—and the heavens remember.