Merlyn De Souza is a freelance writer and anime enthusiast based in Goa, India, with a Bachelor’s in English Literature. When she isn’t writing, she can be found exploring various realms of entertainment, including, but not limited to, K-dramas, novels, and even the occasional manhwa. She also enjoys all things creative, like sewing and makeup.

Much in the same way as Korean manhwa, Chinese manhua and novels have steadily been on the rise in the last few years. In fact, the donghua adaptation of *Lord of Mysteries *was perhaps one of the biggest releases of 2025. Coming off the heels of a very successful second season of Solo Leveling, the last year has proved that animation is gradually expanding its horizons beyond just Japanese anime.

The host of upcoming manhwa adaptations, together with the popularity of Chinese anime like *Link Click, To Be Hero X, *and *Lord of Mysteries, more than *proves as much, and it is very likely that more and more Chinese novels will get the anime treatment in the near future. In fact, while *Lord of Mysteries *is eyeing a second season in 2027, its creator just returned with an all-new series.

Cuttlefish, the creator of Lord of Mysteries, has finally returned with a new series, which was released on Qidian on May 22, 2026. The series is titled “Jian Zhu Da Huang,” which roughly translates to The Sword That Illuminates the Wilderness. The series has yet to actually publish its first chapter, with only the option to bookmark the series available so far. That said, the Qidian homepage does provide a synopsis which reads:

Zhu Long: once eaten, parts the primordial chaos, lights the nine realms of shadow, commands day and night, turns the four seasons, and calls forth wind and rain.

The Xiangliu: once eaten, rots the soil, swallows mountains whole, poisons a hundred generations — and its nine heads each roam wherever they please.

The Fei Yi, once eaten, tames every insect, masters the mind, and wards off all disease.

The Yuchong: once eaten, makes one a master of hiding and striking at men through their very shadows.

“Why is this world’s secret teaching, Classic of Mountains and Seas, so different from what I read in my last life?”

Ding Songyan murmured to himself, then turned to the person beside him.

“You’re saying these beasts vanished long ago, and all that’s left are the martial arts created by those who first ate them, forged from the changes in their own bodies? And those arts can still be cultivated?”

From the author of Lord of the Mysteries — a new Eastern fantasy journey through the Great Wilderness begins.

As made evident by the synopsis, The Sword That Illuminates the Wilderness is also a fantasy series like *Lord of Mysteries. Much like its immensely successful predecessor, The Sword That Illuminates the Wilderness is also *specifically categorized as a xuanhuan, or “mysterious fantasy,” albeit with an Eastern setting as opposed to *Lord of Mysteries’ *late Victorian-era inspired backdrop.

All that said, it will likely take some time until English-reading audiences can properly get their hands on Cuttlefish’s newest series outside of any fan translations that pop up. Yen Press is currently in charge of the official English localization of Lord of Mysteries, with Volume 4 set to release on September 8, 2026. *The Sword That Illuminates the Wilderness *may just land an English print release as well if the series can accumulate enough steam, though there’s still plenty of time until then.

China’s newest donghua, Lord of Mysteries, has finally released its first two premiere episodes to critical acclaim from audiences

Unfortunately, outside of the fan circles of its most popular titles, like Lord of Mysteries, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Heaven’s Official Blessing, Chinese novels and manhua have yet to truly permeate the mainstream, making reading on demand like with Japanese manga quite a challenge. That said, Chinese animation is slowly drawing more eyes to this entire, unexplored realm of stories, and right now, Cuttlefish’s Lord of Mysteries is at the very forefront.

Lord of Mysteries ](/db/tv-show/lord-of-mysteries/)

](/tag/animation/)

](/tag/mystery/)

](/tag/action-movies/)

](/tag/fantasy/)