The Legend of Shen Li (2024)

An Absolute Slam Dunk of Sweet Victory!

All Xianxias should be like this! PA redemption and a perfect score across the board, which is incredibly rare for me. Obviously watched for both leads in this reunion that blew many dramas out of the water. This was an absolute slam dunk of sweet victory!

Pros: Literally everything! Though I never read the novel, those that did made it obvious that this series followed the novel by about 98% which is very rare. The novel had a solid storyline and this kept it exactly there with apparently lots more comedy. Comedy was good here. Even in the somewhat angsty scenes, it was ever present. Both leads (SL and XZ) delivered stellar performances and their connection started literally from episode one and the mortal realm. Their love transcended all three realms. All of the characters were very layered; though some needed evolution and growth where originally they were annoying. SL playing the powerless chicken while the human XZ takes care of her was just hysterical. Once she returned to the immortal realm, though she still had that prearranged marriage to that annoying FRJ (who up until the end when he finally grew up, I really wanted the maid to hit with her broom), XZ who I nicknamed Mr. Clingy as he clung to her like glue--when he still didn't understand that he was falling for her--and all of their interactions were gold.

There were 3 tragic characters in this story (all done extremely well by their respective actors); MF, and SL's parents. I know people hate on MF about his betrayal but he had no choice as we saw and he explained just before he took his own life. His identity didn't leave him the choice of not betraying her (by killing his own friends in the military but you could tell how much it affected him after the fact) and though at first he was brought up on hatred, it was because of her that he learned about love. But he refused to kill her or harm her and even when possessed fought against the demon FS to help her escape post her "death". If he had the choice, he would have betrayed the demons a long time ago. His own father didn't care about him; which as SL said, he was heartless. MF's only reason for existence according to the two demons was to be a spy and used as a body shell for both. Quite sad and unfair. Her mother was right about being shackled by your identity. Both parents fell in love despite dad being a demon and completely harmless but even they couldn't be saved from the demon emperor. Dad voluntarily had to become the fire seal to keep all the demons in that abyss and mom died shortly after childbirth. Even XZ was shackled by his identity until his death but freed by his long gone friends in rebirth. A fun fact; the actor that played FL or SL's dad, also played opposite ZLY in JOF as someone who was in love with her. And this was also their first collaboration since that show only they played father and daughter here. To have her father save her life through self sacrifice at the end was beyond touching; only time they got to meet each other face to face.

Other great characters were all of the generals, SMY, the maid, lady Jin, Luotian, QY, and eventually FRJ. Each played great roles in the overall story and the lives of our leads. The demon emperor had very few scenes in later episodes and he did ok as a villain; maybe if he played a bigger part in this story, he would have been considered as more but it was FS that offered main antagonist vibes during the entire show. Which being played by this actor who's known for comedic roles was quite a switch up though he was convincing.

Every inch of this show from costumes, CGI, OSTs (LYN's song and two of the BGM's were my absolute favorite), sets, were spot on. Nearly every episode had you rolling in laughter but it knew when to taper that off into seriousness or a bit of angst. I love this modern take on ancient costume drama; the one liners, innuendos, going against the grain, everything was well done and executed. You were invested in the leads and there were no misunderstandings, no annoying guerrilla glue third wheels that spoke in a prepubescent voice and pouted, no tropes, or unnecessary angst. Also no love triangles though SML or MF did love SL, she made it clear right away that no way and that was that. They still fought side by side until the betrayal and even then he was still willing to risk it all to save her. Only other couple were her parents short lived story and the best friend God who was going through trials on earth with the same two women every life cycle but even he was freed. It was so refreshing to see just one couple and the arc of their story as it revolves around times of peace, war, and so forth. Only two full rebirths no more and the ending was great though I wish they spent less time on Lady Jin and her love life and showing them two with her pregnancy and their friends and family in his mortal backyard as it was said in the book. But his proposal and her dropping the baby bombshell leaving him speechless and then chasing her around in the snow was still really awesome. Their love really was eternal.

Cons: I don't think I can call them cons here but more like slight inconsistencies. Like who was MF's mom? Did she even exist or was he born from fire like SL's dad? Or hatched from an egg? The demon emperor didn't have a body towards the end and because MF self sacrificed, his body couldn't be used for his father. But how did he ultimately disappear? Because after FL broke the seal and took off out of the abyss, we never saw him again. Was he in FL's body when he fought XZ and ultimately purified by XZ and SL? Wish that was shown better. And I didn't like the Heavenly Emperor; just as you think he got the point, he turns around and says or does something that makes you want to just send him into that abyss. Only in the second to last episode did he seem to be a bit wiser. Honestly that was it. No other cons.

Would I recommend it? 110% yes! Literally floored me from start to finish. I didn't skip a single thing. An absolute must watch if you want to laugh, giggle, cry a bit, and just enjoy yourself. One of the best dramas I've ever seen out of any country. Forever put into my watchlist.

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More of the same…

For me, I would say this drama is a little overrated. It’s more of the same type of Xianxia that many of us CDrama watchers have seen many times before. It does have some high points that many shows within this genre doesn’t have.

The Good

Production quality was definitely higher than a lot of Xianxias but by no means perfect. The CGI was more polished, the costumes looked pretty well. I can appreciate that ShenLi did not have a million dangly bits and fake jewels hanging from her. The OST was one of the highlights as the music was very nice. The overall acting was good which I typically expect from an older cast. If this would have been played out by a younger cast, the perception may have not been received well by older watchers due to many younger actors having limited experience in acting. Although this was a serious drama, the comedy was well balanced through out.

The Bad

The plot is typical and predictable. These CDrama Xianxias tend to go through the same cycles and not too many of these stories offer anything new. This story was a character driven plot which they tend to be very slow and at times, not much was happening in most of the episodes. I found myself starting to skip through it towards the end. There were a lot of throwaway episodes that could have shorten this show down to 24 episodes. Although I liked the overall production, the skin smoothing and whitening was overdone and sometimes made them look too unnatural and unrecognizable. I would have also liked to see the actors dub themselves. With more CDramas doing away with dubbing, it’s refreshing to see the actors display their real talent. The credit in this drama goes to the great voice actors who can pull off different emotions in their voices.

I am a fan of the genre and will keep hoping and waiting for a new thrill. This one was average and I likely wouldn’t rewatch it. If you are a fan of the cast, it’s worth checking out. Make your own judgement.

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best costume dráma 2024 !

I give this drama a well-deserved 10 stars, you must see it! I liked them very much in princess agent this couple is one of my favorites the drama has a very beautiful story the chemistry between the main leads is unreal crazy I love them ..zha liying is so beautiful in this drama I love dramas where women protect men this is exactly what I am I needed to see ... I have to admit that Zhao Liying is my second favorite ... the first and my idol is Dilraba, I love her and all her dramas, so this review is not because I am a fan of the actors, but because of the beautiful love story of the strong female lead. perfect scenes, beautiful music, and great talent, I've only seen 10 ep, but that's enough for me to rate it a definite 10! definitely one of the most beautiful costume dramas

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Gods and the Natural Law

I enjoyed this xianxia very much, thrilled to see that it got over 100 million views lately, to share in the excitement.

There was a sprawling cast, with over 70 characters that played a large or tiny but always significant role. Realms and Beasts composed a variegated tapestry that the ancient god, left lonely after the departure of his former many friends, still added to with his magic brush. The core was important, but not so much that it couldn't be lived without. Finally, the time of the gods ended but not our favorites', to enjoy peace and love, and mischief, that added spice, after the worlds shattering events they'd gone through.

The division of that world in Three Realms was explained in a fun "puppet theater" moment, to the Mortal assembly at the marketplace.

There were a lot of endearing and funny moments, some amusing birds, a Cluck Cluck (Kekeda) ; a mischievous Shush (Xuxu) parrot; grand phoenixes ; some fearful monsters ; an awful wizard and his ghostly but murderous ilk. There was banter and wars. Correcting a school of shape shifting Koi fry. Taming a lion. Playing leaf music.

That piece had many look for it : it was the tune, played on the Chinese flute "dizi",of one of the main songs: 不知返 (Bu Zhi Fan, No Turning Back) sung by Wang Heye ; the music, main songs and background music, was beautiful, composed by Yang Bingyin for whom this drama will become a signature work. The opening theme : 碧苍战歌 (Bi Cang Battle song) even got played on a televised full orchestra concert. Among the most remarked pieces of instrumental bgm were : See Vastness (见苍茫) , Invoke the River of Oblivion (引忘川) , and the clucking and mischievous Person Selling Three Things (卖叁之人) that accompanied Furong Jun's pranks.

Almost never a dull moment, despite the flashbacks to remind of key points or offer revelations.

The main cast was excellent:
Lin Gengxin at his best as full and manly, but considerate, God Xing Zhi,
Zhao Liying as an almost Goddess Athena-like immortal wielding her spear,
Xin Yunlai as Mo Fang, the ambiguous subordinate of Shen Li with a hidden past,
He Yu, as the ebullient "playboy" Furong Jun who grew out of his youthful pranks such as hiding a full armory in a Qiankun bag.
Zeng Li as Shen Muyue, the Master of the Immortal tribe and surrogate mother of Shen Li,
Liu Guanlin as the comically feckless Emperor of the Divine Realm, whose indecision triggered the events,
Li Jiaqi as the "Goddess of the highest Daoist Heaven" (Luotian) leader of the fangirls of Xing Zhi in Divine Realm, with blunt methods to get info, was grown enough to consider his personal as well as the Three Realms best interests.

I was puzzled that Huang ChengCheng was included in main cast, although his role as Wang Bao was the least significant.
Qiu Xinzhi as Liu Ming was also less impressive than his main cast status announced, and did not get much screen time.
Wei Zixin as Fu Sheng was not included in main cast, although his fear-inducing scenes were essential in many episodes.
Others not in main cast were remarkable :
Xuan Lu as Liu Yu, and Xu Haiqiao as Fenglai , played as secondary but essential couple,
Wang Yiyao and Zhou Junwei, as the Golden Lady and "cultivator", played another type of couple.
Dong Jie and Song Ningfeng, as Yun Niang and Zhou San Liang, announced one painful way to ascend to immortality,
Li Zifeng, Hu Dandan and Huang Yi played the recurring love triangle that was a cursed cycle, yearning for a choice and end.
Zhou Xiaochuan as Shun Bei ; Chen Zhen as Zhu Fei ; Yang He as Chi Rong ; Liu Yu as Qing Yan were some of the generals that served as necessary personnel for the military parts
Chen Lu as Rou Ya, Shen Li's maid, was lively and fun to watch.

Sometimes, deep reflections and thoughts were proffered : are gods still needed in our new age ? Do they need to be violently killed or cremated, or can they just retire and live for themselves ? Can those who have been put into power and accepted the duties, always be up to their tasks ?

I liked that the drama was a soft romance too, satisfying if not of the steamy sort, and that the marriage question was shown as not that necessary, as a political or society requirement, but just as a cherry on top of the cake, sealing the union in less flamboyant way as sealing an Abyss, but leaving room for sparks and continued slow burn but long lasting fire. This viral message to those who still see marriage as needed at a certain age, with desirable or not age gap, and body appearance in terms of height, roundness of face or filling the clothes as well as the shoes.

The God walking bare feet on the shards was one striking moment to show how despair and depression can hit even those that are relied on, taking them for granted, watching their moves and judging behaviors from below.

This drama actually went further than only pure entertainment.

I added as a companion piece a series of interlinked posts, that offer information about the drama, thoughts about xianxia realms and the abyss, an illustrated and complete characters' gallery with an alphabetical key to the 63+ portrayed.
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/yu-feng-xing/124265-notes-about-the-legend-of-shen-li-xianxia-drama?pid=3002697&page=1#p3002697

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The Legend of Shen Li - a sugar hit that doesn't quite fill you up

In a Nutshell:
Zhao Li Ying (ZLY) plays the titular character Shen Li, a formidable and fearless General of the Immortal realm army. Her military prowess earned her the title of Lord Bi Cang and she is revered by everyone in the immortal realm. But being still female, she is forced into a political marriage with a playboy from the Heavenly realm. She gets injured while trying to escape and falls to the mortal world as a phoenix, her spirit animal form. She ends up in a marketplace for hungry peasants and is mistakenly sold as a chicken. She is bought by a seemingly carefree and aloof man, Xing Yun, played by Li Geng Xin (LGX), who surprisingly doesn’t turn her into a tasty meal, but instead nurses her back to health. As the most powerful warrior in the immortal realm, she finds her predicament and the doting care by this mere mortal humiliating and embarrassing. However, as Shen Li starts to appreciate his kindness and the simple pleasures of earthly life, she begins to develop feelings for her mortal saviour.

The Highlights:
• I will save you time: Episodes 22 – 29 are the best, followed by episode 1 – 3. Watch the other episodes if you have nothing else productive to do.
• The best executed episodes (see above) involve the mortal realm where Shen Li and Xing Zhi have the freedom to be themselves and just enjoy each other’s company. The cinematography, lighting, costumes, use of natural landscapes, and poignant soundtrack all make their mundane tasks so beautiful and give purpose to the simple surroundings. ZLY and LGX have less dialogue but this is where their acting skills shine, as they are able to sum up Shen Li and Xing Zhi’s raw and organic relationship with each other through simple interactions and subtle facial expressions.
• Beautiful costumes and loved all the outfits Shen Li wears!
• Loved the soundtrack and songs which perfectly captured the grandeur, passion and intensity of Shen Li as the warrior phoenix (the phoenix is the King of all birds in Chinese culture). The “Battle hymn of Bi Cang” will get you fired up to do anything!
• When used judiciously, the special effects/CGI were actually pretty good. Will definitely try and rewatch some of the episodes (especially ep 23 was epic!!) on a big good quality TV screen.
• The script stays faithful to its original novel “Accompanying the Phoenix".

The Lowlights:
• 39 episodes is too long for a drama that is based on a simple and predictable Xianxia story. The result is inconsistent quality where some episodes were well done (see above), some were mediocre, and others just so boring/nonsensical that I tuned out completely.
• We all know that ZLY and LGX can act! But unfortunately, the blinding bright colour palates and ridiculous smoothing filters meant ZLY was stuck in a dead-pan expression and LGX with a permanent look of constipation for most of the immortal / heavenly realm scenes, with only a few sprinkles of brilliance when the script demanded it.
• Some episodes were purely a bombardment of CGI and special effects with not much going on in the plot or character development to warrant such sensory overload. Special effects are meant to support and create the right atmosphere for the story, not serve as a tool to mask the lack of good writing or interesting characters.
• Some of the kissing scenes were really awkward and cringey to watch. I am not sure if it was the ill-placed camera angles or terrible lighting, but one particular "hot and daring" scene (pretty sure you know which one ...) looked like an amateur video cobbled together by a horny teenager in their bedroom.
• I felt like I needed a PhD in Chinese Mythology to understand how all the 3 realms interacted and the concept of rebirth/reincarnation and all the associated mythical animals and spirits. Reading the novel helps a bit. But the lack of world building means some pre-requisite knowledge of the Xianxia genre would help to understand some plotlines. Of course, one can always choose to turn brain off and just watch the show.
• Too much use of internal monologuing. Urgh … might as well read the novel instead!

The verdict:
This drama is like eating nothing but sweets all day - you get a nice big sugar hit, but at the end of the day still feel dissatisfied and rather empty inside. 6.5/10 – watchable but nothing groundbreaking.

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Redemption after PA

This was a very high budget drama with great fight scenes and CGI. It had an equal mix of humour and seriousness between the main leads; ZLY and LGX played their roles perfectly, and the banter between their characters was fantastic. FL's usual serious demeanor worked very well with ML's much more lax and teasing personality.

However, the humour completely missed the mark for me for the other characters. This affected the plot for me quite a bit as when the conflict actually came, everything seemed low stakes and not as serious since we've seen all these characters cracking jokes like two episodes before. The main antagonist was also a pretty bad actor so it was another thing I could not take seriously. To be honest, other than the main FL and ML, I didn't care about 98% of the side characters as most were just for comedy purposes or their characters weren't fleshed out enough for the audience to care about them.

If you're looking for a high-paced drama - this is most definitely not it. It's a slow burn with a slow moving plot but it's a beautiful production so you don't really notice it as much. It's also got a wonderful, no doubt about it, happy ending which is A+.

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slow burn

I think there's a lot of overhype behind this drama. it's a little slow and dragged out. The story is decent but I find that it would be hard to binge watch this show cause some episodes are pretty pointless.

I think the hype is around the actors and visuals more than the actual story itself. the show does visually present well, with all the fights scenes and scenaries of the worlds.

The title character has these internal monologues that I find quite annoying at times as she's constantly doing it in every scene instead of talking to the male lead. She's also presented as being very brave and confrontational as she's always ready to fight. it's OK to be brave but her cockiness is quite irritating.

Overall there's not much drawing attention other than the look of the show.

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It has good romance, but the story is the weakest.

This xianxia drama has several strong points. First, it brought to us the long awaited pairing, Zhao Liying (as FL, Shenli) and Lin Gexing (as ML, Xingzhi), after the phenomenal Princess Agents (2017) which gave us such a disappointing cliffhanger. Second, the characterization of FL as a war general and ML as the last ancient god is so fresh. We got a non typical main female who is not bubbly, childlike, naive, and damsel-in-distress type as well as a god who is really can do something majestic and wonderful with his tremendous power. Third, this drama is very good in the department of CGI, costume, make up, setting, and worldbuilding. It is visually so pleasant to eyes and satisfying. Fourth, it shows us the perspective of common people to the events in the story, like the joy of people when Shenli and her troops won the war and the sadness of people when Shenli and others died. Also, it describes daily lives in mortal world, immortal sect, and heavenly palace. It makes the story is pretty relaxing, easy to follow, and suitable for comedy. Fifth, the story shows us how love evolves step by step from zero. It gives us the reason why Shenli falls in love to Xingyun/ Xingzhi, and vice versa. Sixth, it gives us a very happy ending. As a romance, this drama is undeniably so good.

However, this drama still cannot escape the trap of xianxia tropes, therefore is unable to create new/ unique direction for Chinese fantasy story. Xianxia is a highly predictable genre. The ingredients are somewhat determined by the heaven: Three realms, power struggle between immortal sects/ divine gods and demon clans, war between good and evil, sweet romance, angsty forbidden love, evil/ pitiful/ passionate third wheeler, self sacrifice, (pseudo) sad ending, and resurrection as the definition of final happy ending. Every xianxia out there are just changing the dose, concentration, and emphasize to make their "dish" different. The Legend of Shenli is no different. It just emphasizes the sweet romance, lovey-dovey, and chemistry between FL and ML more, while decreases the dose of power struggle, angsty forbidden love, and the war of three realms, and makes the impact of the third wheelers to minimal. Plot wise, there is nothing distinctively new. Because of that, the story is so boring. It starts the same and ends similarly. If you don't watch this drama, you have nothing to lose. It is not a drama which set a higher bar for future drama.

The storyline is the weakest point of this drama. It is such a pity, because this drama has unique FL and ML introduction and relationship dynamic. The ML is not a god with pitiful backstory. He is just the last ancient god who is bored by his lonely life and very long existence. He enjoy mortal realm to experience its liveliness and playfulness. He is indifferent to things. He really has immense power, dependable, and unbeatable in every battles as he is the highest god. And, the FL is a female general. She is very strong, mature, selfless, achievement oriented, and thinking the big picture. She is fierce and bloodthirsty hero. Interestingly, deep inside her heart, she wants to be cared as a ordinary woman and to have normal life. This has been a very good story premise. BUT, this drama lacks exploration to their psychological dynamic (internal conflict) and too late to introduce the enemy to defeat and their stakes (external conflict).

The story would be very unique if they keep the initial premises and don't change the FL and ML's dispositions easily out of love (after the first moral arc), and make sure to fix every plot hole. Personally, I don't like the idea of humanization of god which is a special being. It is actually not reasonable for thousands years god to fall for merely 1.000 years female immortal, like he has never met a woman before and the FL is the only woman in the entire universe. Love makes him weak, stupid, stubborn, suffered physically, ashamed, confused, etc. Where does his wisdom from living for thousand years go? When ML dramatically froze the entire sea just to find Shenli, where does his omniscient go? He should be a transcendental being, with transcendental mission, and achieve it with transcendental love to other beings. And, when he is died due to fatal injury, it is really a problem of power scaling. Above him, there is only the Heaven which is greater in power than him. But, how come he is powerless when facing the King of Demon and dealing with the crisis in Xutian Abyss? How come he is more vulnerable than Shenli, a mere immortal and a phoenix? Is he really a god? What a fantastic being!

Also, the enemy is laughable. Just non intelligent flying black smokes going rampant in the air (miasma)! What is so fearful about that? It lacks personification and has no motive. It is created by unknown process, by a crazy power hunger immortal, yet so powerful because people said it is powerful and fearful. The furthest ability it has is just killing people or causing bruises. And Fu Sheng and Mofang (the agents behind the resurgence of miasma), how can they be that powerful and able to "kill" Shenli? What cultivation do they have or how do they train? We never know. They just exist like a decoration, to make the story has some actions and for Shenli to show off her spear play. And, it is really not good for the story because "Every hero needs a villain. Without a great villain, there are no great heroes." So, what is the point of Shenli's designation as a great war general? She just beat the villain using brute force, no intelligent maneuvering, and strategic action.

This drama indulges us so much with romance, BUT without problems to solve decently using Shenli and Xingzhi's great potentials as a war general and a greatest god in the realm. For you who love lovey-dovey couple, you might love this show purely for the romance. But, it you watch for some depth and substantive theme, I suggest you to save your time. This drama would only cause you a desperation.

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I can't fall in love with you... But, I can't control it either...

Overview of Plot:-

Adapted from the novel "Yu Feng Xing", the drama "The Legend of Shen Li" tells the tale of Shen Li and Xing Zhi, and their love that grew under heavy responsibilities.

To maintain peace between Divine and Spirit(Immortal) Realms, an arrange marriage was forced on Shen Li for political alliance. Shen Li run away from Immortal Realm to escape the marriage. But during her escape, she got wounded and fell into Mortal Realm. Due to her injuries, she temporarily lost her powers, resulted her to lose her human form. She transformed back into her pheonix form and caught by a vendor. The vendor mistook her as a fat chicken, so plucked her feathers and put her on sale in a cage.

Xing Yun, a bored and frail man, bought the chicken-cum-phoenix from the vendor and helped her to treat her injuries. Shen Li finds that this man is no ordinary. Strange enough that he can understand what she's saying, on the top of that, knows many strange divine formations but has no trace of spiritual powers. He loves to prank her but takes care of her at the same time.

In Shen Li's life, it's the first time that someone get to see her vulnerable side and she felt the warmth of protection from someone else. Just like that, the fate of these two got intervened.

Who is this mortal? Is it just a short and unimportant encounter in Shen Li's thousand of years of life? What else the fate is holding in its book for these two?

Main Characters:-

Shen Li (Zhao Li Ying): A pheonix and God of War of Immortal Realm, who was born with a pearl in her mouth. In terms of powers, she stands in tops of the three realms and very few can compete with her. Even if the sky fall, she can still stand on her own. Skilled in battles and the top General that worshipped by many. Whenever she engages in battle, she alone upholds the morale of all her immortal army.

Xing Zhi/ Xing Yun (Lin Geng Xing): Xing Zhi, the last Ancient God, possesses formidable powers but is forbidden to have personal feelings, for the greater good of three realms. A God, who is on such a high pedestal that no one is there to keep him company. After living a lonely life for thousands of years, he always wanted to experience the fun of the world. A thousand years ago, in the fierce battle of Xutian Abyss, he single-handedly sealed away thousands of Chimeis, that were wreaking havoc upon the three realms. After the battle, he secluded himself and is nowhere to be found.

My Impressions:-

The plot is a typical Xianxia but very well executed. The drama has very slow pace and the angst part starts in later half. Though it is slow paced but a lot of light-hearted and humorous moments keeps the audience from getting bored.

Coming to the acting part, it's as expected as from experienced actors. Main leads are great in portraying their characters. Zhao Li Ying immerged on screen as a power lady showcasing her abilities especially in battle scenes. Lin Geng Xin's portrayal of Xing Zhi is such a wonderful piece of art. The God who is bearing the responsibilities of three realms and is lonely and indifferent for years, yet has a different level of sense of humour and teasing. The chemistry among leads is extremely good. One is fierce as fire and other is calm as ice. They understand each other's every concern and responsibilities.
The love of Shen Li and Xing Zhi developed bearing the heavy duties.

Epic CGI and sublime OSTs are the highlights of the show. This level of CGI, I have only saw in ALP and TTEOTM before. The OSTs are great, adding the sentiments to the scenes and fit perfectly. Costumes for Shen Li are so beautiful and her jewellery has a modern touch which look appealing together.

In supporting cast, I loved Furong Jun and Shen Mu Yue. Furong is such a fun character and finally, as I expected, he got matured by the time it was needed the most. The ones I don't like at all are the Heavenly Emperor and the maid of Shen Li.

Pros:-

• Even being a typical Xianxia story, the plot is still very well executed.
• Strong, matured and independent female lead who doesn't always need someone to save her in trouble. She knows how to get her way right and how to lead others.
• Calm yet funny male lead who knows how to make viewers smile and feeling butterflies with his flirting skills which is paired with calm and serious face. He always has solid reasons for his every action.
• Responsible leads who keep their responsibilities of safeguarding the people all above, even above than their personal feelings. And they did it from starting to end.
• Mutual understanding and trust among leads and the spirit of realizing their love but without compromising their duties.
• Male lead let the female lead deal with her matters herself, as this is what she prefers the most, until it's out of her control and no other person can deal with it.
• High quality production, therefore, great CGI and pleasing OSTs.
• Some modern elements are added in the drama.
• No secondary couple till the very last episode hence proper screentime given to main leads.
• A full episode of happy ending which is rare in Xianxia genre.

Cons:-

• The drama is very slow-paced which may feel boring to few viewers.
• Few episodes are like fillers so it would be better if it has 30 to 35 episodes rather than 39.
• The divine realm seems like a bunch of idlers who can't even protect their own realm and still try to boss around. They go to find Xian Zhi for help every time and even try to make decisions for him. This is a bit annoying.
• Too much skin smoothening filters used which affects the overall quality of expression delivery.
• Sometimes lighting is a bit off or too bright, specially in first half of the drama but it gradually improved.

Conclusion:-

If you wanna see a powerful and wise female lead and a Xianxia with appropriate balance of humour and angst with slow burn romance, then this is for you guys....

"Life is a journey from nothingness to nothingness but I still want you to accompany me on this journey of nothingness."

In the first quater of 2024, this is the best drama I've watched. So I highly recommend it...

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Easy watch

Drama starts weak but quite comical. The main guy eventually proves to be overpowered which waters down the overall experience. We expected the weak sickly guy to grow strong and get the girl from others by force, by defying fate, but it's the exact opposite.

The main female character doesn't have enough qualities to be called a legend. She kills human foes as if they are cockroaches but shows mercy for some lowly pets instead, disgusting set of values.

Immortals, divines and such don't hold the wisdom associated with their titles, just plain people joining the drama as if they were all belonging to the same political realm. How did they get so high anyway?

Overall, fun to watch, but nothing special.

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Stunning visuals & OST but weak plot

This xianxia stands out with its stunning CGI/visuals, an OST that elevates each scene and unfortunately with a very weak plot. The drama is about the daily life of the Phoenix Warrior (the female lead) and her love story with the only remaining Ancient God (the male lead), who’s tasks are both to protect the realms.

The first 10 episodes start in the mortal realm and show us how the main leads fell in love. The main lead’s chemistry was great and the writers did a great job in balancing their maturity with the ability to still joke around. The fight scenes stand out here with beautiful CGI and the added OST elevates these scenes, giving me chills with its otherworldly vibes.

The middle of the drama is where it got boring for me. Many things were happening but at the same time I felt nothing significant was actually happening plot wise. We were mostly following the female lead and her engagement with her three men (her lover, her arranged husband and her loyal subordinate). I did love their scenes together but I needed more angst and complexity or at least some faster movement and development. Many of the scenes in the Immortal Realm felt like fillers and I had to ff/skip a lot. There was a lot of back and forth between the leads with the vibe “will-they-won’t-they”.

The last 10 episodes delivered in terms of plot and angst. They were action packed and well-paced. The final episode was very unique as it felt like an extra special episode. The drama explained everything well and wrapped up all loose ends.

It’s worth mentioning that there were guest appearances with side love stories that I loved watching. Some were even as short as only 2 episodes but they touched my heart. These love stories for me were a great addition to the drama.

POSITIVE:
- Otherworldly OST. I’ve never heard such a mesmerising OST, it was very unique and made each scene 100x times better. In fact I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have felt strong emotions if it wasn’t for the music.
- Great chemistry between the leads.
- Badass female lead with strong on screen presence especially during fight scenes. Her deadpan look is so good.
- Male lead who can crack jokes with a straight face. He is one of the best jokesters I’ve watched.
- The only drama where I 100% ship a chicken with a man.
- Stunning CGI! One of the most visually beautiful xianxia I’ve ever seen.
- Great fight scenes that can rival Marvel cinematography.
- Hot intimate scene (one but totally memorable).
- Side love stories from guest appearances that are short but totally touch your heart.
- No love triangles.

NEGATIVE:
Only two points but they are very significant!
- Plot was weak as it lacked the complexity and angst that I was looking for. Many things were happening but at the same time, it felt like nothing significant was actually happening plot wise. A lot of back and fourth. Perhaps if the drama was shorter I would have enjoyed it more. I’m pretty sure the whole plot is around 5-10% of the drama.
- Too slow paced and boring at times. As mentioned above, everything was just too calm and I had to ff/skip a lot of scenes (especially in the Immortal Realm).

OVERALL:
This wasn’t exactly my cup of tea but you might enjoy this drama if you want a slow paced and calm xianxia that focuses on the love story between the leads and their daily lives + you want beautiful visuals and music.

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