Ninth Path
A long-form, character driven, dark, high fantasy series in an arcanepunk setting, with cultivation magic.
Book 1: The Bad Apothecary
The Bad Apothecary
Release plans:
- As a serial on Royal Road – Dec 18 2025
Find it here. - In print and ebook – Jan 26th 2026
Blurb:
Diwu stumbles into the capital half-dead—wounded by something no healer can cure. Nestled in her flesh is a strange pathogen carrying corruption, the antithesis of the Natural Order.
Desperate, she trades freedom for survival and falls into the grip of the Hierarchy—a ruthless organization that keeps power in check by any means necessary. Their offer: treatment in exchange for loyalty.
Her first assignment entangles her with Nex Teres, a battle-hardened cultivator with no interest in playing agent. But the Hierarchy doesn’t ask—it coerces. Bound by duty and circumstance, they’re sent to a lawless outpost where Diwu was first infected—and where the name of a long-dead legend has surfaced: the Bad Apothecary.
Writing sample: here.
Book 2: Extraordinary Ruin
Extraordinary Ruin
Blurb:
Returning from the badlands, Nex and Diwu try to find their place within the Hierarchy. Complications quickly become routine: a violent attack shakes one of the city’s most powerful houses, mysterious deaths riddle the city, and every answer leads to more questions.
As Diwu struggles to keep up with the relentless life of an agent, her need to repair what was broken grows urgent. Fear of exposure forces her to lie, estranging her from Nex and leaving her in a precarious position.
But fate, schemes, and dread soon draw Nex and Diwu into a city-wide maelstrom, where connections run deeper than they ever expected.
