A deadly legacy from China’s ancient Wu Kingdom era resurfaces in the suspense thriller Qi Gen Xin Jian (七根心简). Starring Liu Haocun (刘浩存) as Mu Dai (木代) and Song Weilong (宋威龙) as Luo Ren (罗韧), the drama follows a team racing against time to contain seven supernatural artifacts. These relics, born from celestial anomalies and human sin, threaten to activate a cataclysmic ritual.
The artifacts demand blood, manipulate minds, and transform bearers into vessels of primordial evil. With each relic requiring seven sacrifices, the hunters become the hunted in a battle spanning centuries.
Oracle Bones Turned Deadly
During the Wu Kingdom period (1046–771 BCE), shamans recorded grave sins on oracle bones—turtle shells and animal scapulae used for divination. Seven specific bones documented heinous crimes: murder, betrayal, sacrilege, and others lost to history. These artifacts gained unnatural power during a rare celestial event when the Big Dipper’s alignment emitted cosmic energy. The charged bones developed abilities to control thoughts, amplify malice, heal fatal wounds, and corrupt souls. They became known as the "Heart Slips," each representing one star of the Big Dipper constellation.
A containment method emerged called the "Phoenix Blood Encirclement." By trapping a Heart Slip and using blood from the "Phoenix Team" hunters, the relic could be subdued for forty-nine days. This countdown—seven times seven days—began anew with each captured artifact. Failure to secure a second slip before the period expired would release all contained relics. The stakes escalated when the sixth Heart Slip surfaced in modern times, triggering a new countdown.
Leopard’s Path to Revenge
The conflict intensified through Leopard, Luo Ren’s mercenary rival portrayed by Ao Ruipeng (敖瑞鹏). Years earlier in the Philippines, Luo Ren rescued a girl named Tasha (塔莎), treating her as a daughter. Leopard kidnapped Tasha, triggering a botched rescue where Luo Ren’s team perished. Though Luo Ren gravely injured Leopard—leaving her paralyzed, mute, and blind in one eye—she survived. Her family history intertwined with the Heart Slips; her great-grandfather committed seven ritual drownings matching the oracle bone crimes.
Leopard’s ancestor once carried a Heart Slip until hunter Zhao, Mu Dai’s grandmaster, reclaimed it. After fleeing to Southeast Asia, the family waited generations for vengeance. With Leopard near death, her ancestor activated the sixth Heart Slip using her blood. Empowered by the artifact, Leopard gained supernatural speed and malice. She hunted Luo Ren and Mu Dai relentlessly, nearly killing them in brutal confrontations that tested their combat skills and sanity.
The Seven Stars Kill Pattern
An ancient tripartite ritual called the "Seven Stars Kill Pattern" threatened global catastrophe. Its celestial component relied on the Big Dipper’s cosmic influence. The terrestrial aspect required arranging all seven Heart Slips across land in the constellation’s precise formation. This network determined the ritual’s geographical reach. Finally, the human element involved two groups: bearers possessed by Heart Slips, and their victims.
Each Heart Slip demanded seven blood sacrifices. After forty-nine killings across seven relics, the final bearer would awaken as a "Star Lord." This entity could radiate influence, infecting minds and compelling obedience. The Star Lord’s corruption passed through bloodlines—a "generational continuation" seen in figures like Leopard and Cao Qingshan. They inherited heightened sensitivity to the artifacts, making them ideal vessels. Only the Phoenix Team, possessing elemental attributes linked to wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, could counteract the threat.
Their salvation lay hidden within Guan Si Pagoda, designed by ancient engineer Lu Ban. Its five-element structure featured seven wooden components engraved with characters representing the Big Dipper stars: Shu, Xuan, Ji, Quan, Heng, Yang, and Guang. This architectural marvel inverted the constellation’s pattern. Originally, Laozi sealed the Heart Slips using the "Phoenix Luan Lock" after the Zhou Dynasty. Centuries later, philosophers Mozi and Lu Ban re-sealed them, embedding countermeasures within the pagoda. When reactivated, the relics’ energy would resonate with the pagoda, guiding the Phoenix Team to their location. The race continues to prevent the final sacrifice.
