Anchor of Shadows:

In the frost-bitten peaks of the Kunlun Mountains, the illustrious Li Clan hides a secret that has rotted their honor for three centuries. Their eldest son, **Li Zheyuan**, once the "Lion of the North" and the Empire’s greatest general, carries a celestial curse. By night, he transforms into the Black Qilin—a violent, violet-eyed beast of shadow and primal hunger. By day, he is a man of frozen pride, trapped in a body that is slowly being consumed by madness.

As the ancient seals holding the Beast’s mind begin to shatter, the clan grows desperate. They seek a "Pure Yang" anchor—a human soul of such solar purity that it can tether the Prince’s sanity and cool the furnace of his cursed blood.

Enter **Xiao Chen**, a brilliant but impoverished scholar from the capital’s gutter. Driven by a fierce love for his starving sister and a desire to clear his father’s disgraced name, he signs a contract with the Li Clan. He is led to believe he is being hired for a prestigious spiritual ritual, a task of meditation and ancient sutras.

He arrives at the mountain manor only to realize the terrifying truth: the "ritual" is a physical sacrifice. He is thrown into the Abyss of Nine Heavens, not as a priest, but as a living vessel for the Beast’s carnal and spiritual needs.

**The Story Follows:**

* **The Scholar’s Survival:** Xiao Chen must endure the nightly violations of the Beast and the biting arrogance of the Prince’s human form. Armed only with a sharp mind and a resilient spirit, he begins to uncover the web of betrayals within the manor—specifically the affair between the Prince’s wife, **Lady Meilin**, and his brother, **Li Guanting**.
* **The Beast’s Awakening:** As Xiao Chen’s "Pure Yang" essence begins to heal Zheyuan, the Prince starts to regain his humanity. The cold, aristocratic warrior finds himself developing a dark, possessive fixation on the scholar who was meant to be his tool.
* **The House of Shadows:** While the Prince and the Scholar forge a bond in the darkness of the abyss, the world above plots their destruction. Xiao Chen must navigate the lethal politics of the Li Clan to protect himself and the man who has become his tormentor and his shield.

In a world where gold buys blood and pride masks a monster, a common scholar must decide if he can love the beast that broke him, and a fallen Prince must decide if he is willing to burn down his legacy to keep his anchor.

Explicit sexual content, including male/male encounters.


Non-consensual scenes and dark themes of possession and control.


Violence, blood, and psychological intensity.


Supernatural transformations and fantasy horror elements.


Chapter 1 - Content Warning