GRANDMASTER OF DEMONIC CULTIVATION reveals haunting Vol. 2 hardcover: welcome to Yi City

A new set of characters will grace the cover of Mo Dao Zu Shi, and we’re not complaining (naysayers can zip their lips and sit down).

Seven Seas Entertainment has revealed the new hardcover design for Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi, and it takes a different approach from the softcover version—this time focusing on three side characters who are central to the “Yi City” arc. The artwork sets a darker tone with a murky green backdrop, placing Xiao Xingchen, A-Qing, and Xue Yang at the forefront, while Song Lan appears in the background with his back to the viewer.

Ruthie, the artist behind the dust jacket, hardcover, painted edges, and endpaper, teased that the painted edges do, in fact, feature one of the five clans from the series. Volume 2 spotlights Nie Huaisang, younger brother to Nie Mingjue of the Qinghe Nie Clan, holding his iconic fan. The hardcover also shows both Nie brothers and includes a quote: “The farther Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji walked, the closer they pressed together.” Marina Privalova contributed the black-and-white interior art, while color illustrations came from moo.

The original paperback cover of Vol. 2, illustrated by Jin Fang, showed the main couple at the entrance to Yi City. While the hardcover shifts its focus to supporting characters, it aligns with the content of Volume 2 and offers a welcome spotlight on fan favorites who usually get less cover time.

The synopsis for Vol. 2 reads:

Following the trail of a dismembered corpse, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji arrive at the gates of Yi City: an abandoned town shrouded in mist and restless spirits. A fiendish foe awaits them in the shadows, heralding a tale of heartbreak and tragedy. When the mysterious corpse’s identity is finally revealed, the hunt for its killer plunges Wei Wuxian back into the depths of the cultivation world’s politics, where he must keep his enemies close and Lan Wangji even closer.

Written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation follows Wei Wuxian, a disgraced demonic cultivator resurrected by another cultivator’s thirst for revenge. After helping Mo Xuanyu settle the score, Wei Wuxian plans to lie low until a new mystery draws him into the mountains. There, he unexpectedly reunites with his estranged brother Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji, with whom he shares a complicated past. For some reason, Lan Wangji insists on taking Wei Wuxian to the Cloud Recesses—but there’s no way he knows who he really is… right?

Suika and Pengie translated the series. Its success has spawned a manhua (also licensed by Seven Seas), an audio drama, a donghua adaptation, and a live-action drama titled The Untamed. The first paperback volume debuted at No. 9 on The New York Times Best Sellers list for Paperback Trade Fiction in its first week.

Volume 2 will release on November 25 and retails for $29.99 USD / $39.99 CAD.

Source: Seven Seas Entertainment