Yang Shen

Yang Shen is a long fantasy-xianxia novel by the web novelist Mengru Shenji. It was serialized on Qidian Chinese Network starting in July 2009 and completed in July 2010, totaling roughly three million Chinese characters. In 2013, Tongxin Publishing House released a print edition in more than ten volumes, the first being Yang Shen 1: Turmoil in the Marquis's Manor (ISBN 9787547708415). The story is set in the fictional Daqian Dynasty, a world where Daoist arts and martial arts coexist. The protagonist, Hong Yi, is an illegitimate son of the reigning Grand Tutor and Martial Sage Hong Xuanji. Motherless since childhood, he is treated with contempt in the marquis's manor. He resolves to earn official rank through scholarship so that he can win the title of "Madam" for his late mother. One night, while reading in an old temple, he is asked by a mysterious woman, Consort Yuan, to teach a group of little fox spirits; this leads him to secret scriptures from the Great Zen Temple and onto the dual path of "cultivating destiny through martial arts and cultivating nature through the soul." Thereafter, the Eight Great Demon Immortals, Yunmeng nobles, princely intrigue, and court conflicts follow one after another, and the truth behind his mother's death draws him into layer upon layer of secrets. Hong Yi rises step by step from an illegitimate son of the manor to a figure who shapes the fortunes of both Daqian and Yunmeng, ultimately approaching the realm of the "Yang God." The book is known for its clearly tiered cultivation system and magnificent imagination, blending traditional Confucian and Daoist cultural elements with philosophical speculation. During its online serialization it set a record of eight consecutive monthly-ticket championships on Qidian Chinese Network; in 2017 it ranked 35th on the Hurun Original Literature IP Value List and was adapted into an online film.