The Ancient Cypress (3 Volumes)

摩云生Oct 2024

3.2

Word count: 306K words
Chapters: 52

Summary

This set consists of three volumes: The Song of the Ancient Cypress (Volume One), The Song of the Ancient Cypress (Volume Two), and The Song of the Ancient Cypress (Volume Three).

On the fifteenth day, every martial artist and every member of the unorthodox factions was awaiting that day. Ten years earlier, a deep feud between the Tiannan Sword Sect and the Crimson Brow Sect, through a strange twist of fate, led the five great schools to jointly elevate a young man not yet twenty from a reputable orthodox family—Lei Yun—to the position of leader of the greenwood alliance, despite the monstrous crimes of the "Three Supremes and Two Lords." The "Crimson Brow Divine Lord" painted the five masters' supreme arts onto human skin. Why, then, did Lei Yun, for the sake of the five pages of the "Human Skin Manual," incur his master's misunderstanding and turn against Ouyang Zi, "Lord of the Central Peak," breaking their bond of master and disciple? Now he is the common enemy of the martial world and also its greenwood alliance leader. How will he cope...

Editor's review

The three volumes of The Ancient Cypress Ballad are a traditional wuxia novel by Mo Yunsheng, centered on the identity dilemma of the young Lei Yun, caught between the orthodox and unorthodox paths. Not yet twenty, he is thrust into the position of leader of the greenwood alliance; then, because of five pages of a “human-skin manual,” he is misunderstood by his master and turns against Ouyang Zi, “Lord of the Central Peak,” breaking their bond of master and disciple and becoming the common enemy of the martial world. This premise keeps interrogating the boundaries between right and wrong, name and reality. The novel opens with the tension of a countdown to a “fifteenth day” martial arts gathering, and unfolds layer by layer the old feud between the Southern Heaven Sword Sect and the Red Brow Sect and the transmission of the Three Wonders and Two Lords’ arts. The plot is dense and the relationships intricate, making it suitable for readers who enjoy old-school jianghu grudges and a young alliance leader’s growth arc. The three volumes form a set with a continuous rhythm, good for binge reading over a longer holiday or during commutes; readers who prefer fast pacing, strong logical deduction, or modern narrative techniques should adjust their genre expectations somewhat.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love long traditional wuxia novels and enjoy feuds among orthodox and unorthodox sects
Readers who like a young alliance leader’s growth arc and plots of masters and disciples turning against each other
People who need a complete novel set for continuous reading during holidays or commutes
Readers interested in old-school jianghu curiosities such as the “human-skin manual”

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer modern, fast-paced narratives with strong logical deduction
Readers unaccustomed to many characters and interwoven sect plotlines
Readers who want each volume to stand alone and do not want to follow a three-volume series

Reading tips

Read the opening “fifteenth day” setup in the first volume and clarify the relationship between the Three Wonders and Two Lords and Lei Yun before continuing.
Prepare a simple character-relationship chart and note sects and master-disciple grudges as you read to reduce confusion.
Try to read the three volumes consecutively to avoid forgetting clues during long gaps.
When you reach the reversal of Lei Yun’s identity, look back at earlier foreshadowing to appreciate the old-school wuxia technique of laying groundwork.

版权信息
古柏行（第一册）
楔子
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
八
九
十
十一
十二
十三
古柏行（第二册）
十三
十四
十五
十六
十七
十八
十九
二十
二十一
二十二
二十三
二十四
二十五
二十六
二十七
古柏行（第三册）
二十七
二十八
二十九
三十
三十一
三十二
三十三
三十四
三十五
三十六
三十七
三十八
三十九
四十
四十一
四十二
四十三
四十四
四十五

FAQ

I haven't read any other works by Moyunsheng. Can I start with this series?

Yes. This is a complete three-volume novel that begins with Lei Yun being thrust into the position of leader of the Green Forest Alliance; the characters and their grudges unfold gradually within the book and do not depend on prior events from other works. As long as you are comfortable with the multi-sect storytelling style of traditional wuxia, you can start with Volume One and enter the story directly.

Do the three volumes have to be read in order?

Reading in the order of Volume One, Volume Two, and Volume Three is recommended. The story advances layer by layer around Lei Yun's identity dilemma and the master-disciple falling-out triggered by the "human-skin manual"; character relationships and suspense are linked across the volumes, and skipping around can easily cause you to miss key groundwork, affecting your understanding of later plot developments.

Is this series suitable for readers new to wuxia?

It can serve as an entry point to traditional wuxia, but readers need patience for the old-school narrative style with many characters and many sects. Elements such as the opposition between good and evil, the alliance leader's growth, and the struggle over the manual are typical; if you have read similar works before, it will go more smoothly. Readers with no prior exposure to wuxia are advised to try the opening of Volume One first before deciding.

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About the author

摩云生 Author

Mo Yunsheng is a Chinese author known for wuxia (martial arts) fiction. Public information about him is limited, and no clear records of his life, nationality, or dates of birth and death are available. The library currently holds eleven of his works, with the representative titles Gubai Xing (The Song of the Ancient Cypress) and Jianguang Wanzhang (Sword Light Ten Thousand Zhang), each presented complete in three volumes, suggesting a preference for longer, structurally complete narratives. Judging from common classifications, Mo Yunsheng's writing centers on wuxia themes, and his titles draw imagery from classical poetry and the aura of swords and weapons, reflecting an aesthetic rooted in traditional martial arts fiction. The serial, multi-volume publication of his works indicates continuous storylines in which characters and plots develop across volumes, suiting readers who enjoy long wuxia narratives. Lacking the author's own statements or external reviews, the specific features of his style are difficult to discuss in detail; based on the available titles, however, he has built a modest body of work in the wuxia genre, and his naming and volume structure show an awareness of the traditional serialized long-form novel.