/lit/ - Literature

I Shall Seal The Heavens (Book I: Patriarch Reliance) by Er Gen

[Our MC]

Meng Hao is a thrice failed scholar, pondering his life atop a mountain outside of his village. Ever since his parents vanished under mysterious circumstances 10 years ago, life has not been kind. He had to sell his family home some time back just to survive and thus its left this 16-year-old boy rather skinny. There also appears to be some stigma around the color of his skin, as the author makes a point of calling out when his skin lightens during cultivation. After hearing a scream on the side of the mountain and being kidnapped to a distant cult, he somehow finds the silver lining of kidnapping and decides to pursue the path of cultivation.

[Supporting Cast]

Among the kidnapped kids is one that Meng Hao bonds with called Li Fugui – affectionately nicknamed Fatty. The two of them start off as servants to the sect, with only Meng Hao able to raise his cultivation level high enough to join the Outer Sect. Though not advancing as fast as Meng Hao in terms of Qi Condensation, he seems to have found his own path. The boy’s teeth are growing so long that he must find ways to file them down, yet his cultivation base remained incredibly weak. Meng Hao makes sure to visit him frequently and assist with his cultivation, seeking to embrace the tenants of his sect – the Reliance Sect.

Among the Reliant Sect are two Inner Sect members – Chen Fan and Xu Qing. They also happen to be the ONLY two inner sect disciples, as the Reliance Sect has fallen into a dark age and is near collapse. They frequently abduct children to pad out their numbers, though most don’t live long enough to make a different. Though Chen Fan remains distant from Meng Hao for the bulk of the book, he provides vital insight into cultivation and Dao as he too fancies himself a Daoist scholar. Xu Qing however is an enigmatic and cold beauty who Meng Hao finds himself interested in.

[Plot]

As mentioned above, a LIGHT kidnapping occurs that leads to Meng Hao joining the Sect. At first earning his place in the Outer Sect by practicing his cultivation diligently and working with Fatty for success, he begins to experience something like divine luck as he proceeds through the sect. In the Treasure Hall he is scammed by an elder who gives him a copper mirror. Through a clever play on Pill Distribution Day, he’s able to earn the ire of his fellow sect members by giving an extremely valuable pill he won by chance back to Xu Qing… earning him an Immortal’s Cave in which to advance his cultivation. From this point on, Meng Hao continuously discovers new means of aggressively advancing his cultivation.

finished I shall seal the heavens book 1 and shieeet this was fun