Ode to the Dragon

Ode to the Dragon is a long wuxia and xianxia novel by Qingqing Zimo, serialized and completed on Zongheng Chinese Network, totaling about 1.34 million Chinese characters (word counts vary slightly across different sites). The opening sets the tone with "The Chaos Heaven Diagram unfolds the firmament, summoning demons throws the world into turmoil; a thousand years of bloody rain wash through reincarnation, the Ode to the Dragon's heavenly mourning sweeps away malevolent spirits": the ancient Chaos Heaven Diagram appears in the world, the chaos of summoning demons stirs the winds, a thousand years of bloody rain scour reincarnation, and a campaign to sweep away malevolent spirits unfolds. The protagonist's origins are mysterious; raised among wolves in a wild land, he is trapped by love once he enters the world. Carrying a fragmentary family martial art, at the moment of life and death he must set out on the path of seeking the Way in a "living-dead body," slaying gods and demons with his sword along the way. The book revolves around the ultimate question of the Way of Heaven and reincarnation: Is the Way of Heaven the great Way, or the power in the hands of the strong? Is reincarnation salvation, or destruction? As the protagonist explores his bloodline and origins, he is drawn into the struggles among various factions over the ancient demonic weapon "Summoning Demon," gradually crosses swords with the powerful of all realms, and finally uses himself as a guide to confront the Lord of Death and Reincarnation, seeking to cleanse the three realms and reestablish the order of heaven and earth. The book contains both fierce battles of gods and demons and the appearance of sacred weapons, as well as choices between poignant love and worldly entanglements. It combines the grand scope of traditional Eastern xianxia with intense emotional color, and is a long work that, among traditional cultivation novels, leans toward "literary quality" and lyricism.