The Sacred Ruins — Chen Dong's novel
At a glance1,696 chapters · completed
The Sacred Ruins adapts Sheng Xu (圣墟), Chen Dong's (辰东) novel launched on Qidian in November 2016 and completed after 1,696 chapters. On an Earth where spiritual energy is suddenly reviving, strange fruits appear in the mountains and transform living beings. Chu Feng, a heartbroken student, wanders into the Kunlun Mountains and awakens a power that will propel him into a world of mutations and legends.
Origins and publication
After Shrouding the Heavens and Perfect World, Chen Dong changed his starting point. Sheng Xu opens in a modern, recognisable setting, that of the "return of spiritual energy" (灵气复苏), a very popular subgenre in which magic reappears in our world. The story then rises towards a vast cosmology and eventually joins the universe of his previous novels, with shared characters, objects and secrets.
The novel was also published on Chuangshi, Qidian's sister platform. It is sometimes known by alternative titles such as Wan Ling Jinhua ("the evolution of ten thousand spirits").
How it differs from the donghua
Build Dream Animation's donghua, announced by Tencent for 2026, had not yet aired at the time of writing. It is expected to adapt the start of the novel, with the mutating Earth and Chu Feng's first adventures. The novel goes much further: it quickly leaves Earth for ever larger worlds, and its most important revelations concern the link with Perfect World and Shrouding the Heavens.
Reception and success
Sheng Xu dominated Qidian's rankings during its serialization, carried by Chen Dong's fame. Opinions are more divided than for his two previous novels: some readers loved the modern opening and the final revelations, others found the middle too long and the ending rushed. For the author's fans, though, it is the piece that gives the shared universe its full meaning.
Trivia
- The title Sheng Xu means "the sacred ruins".
- Chu Feng awakens his power in a bronze mountain of the Kunlun range, a key place in Chinese mythology.
- The novel belongs to the "return of spiritual energy" (灵气复苏) genre, in which magic returns to the modern world.
- Readers are often advised to read Sheng Xu after Shrouding the Heavens and Perfect World to appreciate its revelations.
My take
Sheng Xu is the Chen Dong novel I recommend last, and for good reason. The modern opening is very enjoyable, with mutant animals and unexpected humour, but the novel then loses pace. Its real value appears for those who know the other two: the links between the three stories are a genuine reader's pleasure.
Who is it for?Chen Dong fans who have read Shrouding the Heavens and Perfect World, and lovers of fantasy set in the modern world.
— Spidermas, for Donghua Fan
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The authorChen Dong 辰东Qidian's "god of plot holes"