Scattered Parting

大咸鱼Jan 2026

2.5

Word count: 19K words
Chapters: 11

Summary

Having fallen from Taiyi to Jinxian, Tianwen races away with the Yiniaos and Hundun, leaving behind the demonic qi-ridden Youhuang Valley in search of a chance to rise again. Yet he escapes the dragon's pool only to fall into a tiger's den: at the Pushang Immortal Market, eager for quick success, Tianwen stumbles into a consumption trap and plunges into heavy debt. To repay it, the trio of fugitives stumble and scramble, exhausting their savings until they have almost nothing left. But extremes reverse themselves: though Tianwen falls again and is mired in hardship, he refuses to concede, and deep within he gains a newer understanding of the source of the Heavenly Dao. The three regroup and set out once more...

Editor's review

Sanli weaves immortal-cultivation practice together with the pressures of worldly survival. The protagonist Tianwen falls from Taiyi to Jinxian and flees the Youhuang Valley with the Yiniaos and Hundun, hoping to find a chance to recover, only to fall into a consumption trap at the Pushang Immortal Market out of impatience for success, incurring enormous debt and nearly bankrupting the trio. The novel's strength lies in writing the cycle of fall—debt—flight—another fall as a curve of continuous descent and repeated rebound: the dignity of cultivators is stripped away bit by bit by debt and destitution, making for a reading experience both absurd and poignant. The author does not let the protagonist turn things around through a single epiphany; instead, when he has almost nothing left, he comes to understand the source of the Heavenly Dao anew. This treatment of extremes reversing themselves gives the comeback a credible fulcrum. It suits segmented reading on a commute or before sleep: the early flight moves at a brisk pace, the mid-section debt predicament is somewhat oppressive, and the later shift in understanding deserves slow reading. If you are familiar with the traditional immortal-cultivation hierarchy, you will more easily feel the落差 brought by each fall.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like immortal-cultivation settings but are tired of smooth, overpowered progression
Readers who can accept a protagonist who suffers repeated setbacks and grows slowly
Readers interested in the contrasting premise of cultivators falling into worldly economic hardship
Readers who want a touch of real-world allegory within a brisk narrative

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting the protagonist to quickly return to the top with密集 satisfying moments
Readers with low tolerance for oppressive plotlines such as debt and flight
Readers who prefer a strict traditional immortal-cultivation system and a serious dramatic style

Reading tips

Read the flight and Pushang Immortal Market sections first to get a feel for the pace, then go back and fill in the prior setup.
Treat the three falls as structural markers, and compare the protagonist's shifts in understanding after finishing.
Slow down at the consumption-trap passages and pay attention to how the author handles the secularization of cultivators.

版权信息
第一节违郢
第二节初贾
第三节迷毂
第四节贷患
第五节奢靡
第六节债迫
第七节讼庭
第八节抄没
第九节罚没
第十节初晖

FAQ

Can I read Sanli directly without having read the previous work?

Yes. The book opens by establishing Tianwen's situation—fallen from Taiyi to Jinxian and leaving the Youhuang Valley with the Yiniaos and Hundun—and the main character relationships and reasons for flight are gradually filled in through the narrative, so new readers can follow the main line. If you want a fuller understanding of the contrast before and after the fall, you can read the previous work first.

The protagonist keeps falling—won't it feel too frustrating to read?

The oppressive feeling is concentrated in the middle section's debt and flight portions, but the author lightens the heaviness with the trio's awkward interactions, and each fall leaves room for cognitive progress. At the end Tianwen gains new insight into the source of the Heavenly Dao and sets out again; overall it is a curve of descent followed by rebound, not unrelieved suffering.

Are the consumption-trap and debt plotlines in the book a reflection of reality?

The materials only state that at the Pushang Immortal Market, Tianwen, eager for success, falls into a consumption trap and incurs heavy debt. It can be read as a narrative design in which cultivators are caught up in worldly rules, but it should not be overinterpreted as an allusion to specific real-world events; when reading, go by what the text presents.

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About the author

大咸鱼 Author

Da Xianyu is an author active on a Chinese book platform. His public information is limited: his real name, nationality, and dates of birth and death are not recorded, while the platform holds as many as 83 of his works. Judging from his representative titles, he focuses on compiling and anthologizing classical Chinese poetry, covering poets and lyricists such as Bao Zhao, Yu Xin, Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, Tao Yuanming, Xie Lingyun, Yan Yanzhi, and Nalan Rongruo—figures spanning the Southern Dynasties, the Jian'an and Wei-Jin periods, and the Qing dynasty. He has also compiled "100 Golden Aphorisms of Nietzsche," indicating some interest in classic quotations from China and abroad. His works are commonly classified under classic works, ancient poetry, and prose miscellanies, and his approach leans toward selecting texts and editing popular-reader editions. Overall, these books are aimed at general readers, presenting classical poetry through carefully chosen pieces; the broad coverage of his anthologies reflects a systematic attention to the thread of ancient poetics and makes it easier for readers to begin by poet or by period.