As winter descends, Chen Xing and Xiang Shu journey north beyond the Great Wall in search of the elusive Dinghai Pearl—only to find that the politics among the tribes of the Chi Le Covenant are just as treacherous as those of the Imperial Capital.
But political strife is not the only danger that awaits them. Restless spirits stir awake, turning their journey into a battle for survival on the icy plains. As Chen Xing refuses to turn back and Xiang Shu struggles to balance duty and destiny, the path ahead grows ever more perilous—one that may force them to fight not just for their mission, but for each other.
Writing reviews for books I love is always a challenge for me; I often find myself wanting to share everything that makes it so special, but I have to remind myself to avoid spoilers. This latest volume exceeded my expectations significantly compared to the first, perhaps because I was already familiar with the characters or because the plot was much more focused and packed with events. The development of the central relationship was particularly beautiful, which added to my enjoyment of the story.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the first volume and felt it was great, this one truly blew me away. The plot was teeming with action—so much happened that I often felt like I was running a marathon, needing to pause and catch my breath before diving back in to read more. Despite the intensity, the book maintained a lighthearted tone for most of the time, making me smile and laugh frequently. However, I noticed a shift in the tone during the second half, which brought a sense of emotional depth that had my eyes welling up with tears.
Chen Xing really shone in this volume; it’s nearly impossible to dislike him. He truly is a ray of sunshine, and his unwavering positivity, even in the face of a bleak and painful future, deeply resonates with me. Even amid danger, he manages to bring humor to the situation. But this volume also revealed a more intense side to him—I was left speechless by how incredibly fierce he can become when provoked.
On the other hand, Xiang Shu stepped up significantly in this installment, embodying the protector that Chen Xing has always yearned for. His genuine care for Chen Xing was palpable, demonstrating that he would go to any lengths to keep him safe. I also appreciated how the author ensured Xiang Shu was developed as his own character, not merely as a love interest. Throughout the story, he confronts betrayal and the heart-wrenching losses of many, while still striving to be a good king, which adds layers to his character arc.
The progression of their relationship was genuinely heartwarming. The yearning between them throughout the volume had me giggling; their love felt pure and innocent. It was delightful to watch each of them subtly trying to gauge the other's feelings. I can’t help but be excited for the next steps in their relationship, even knowing that they have to face considerable challenges before they can attain happiness.
In conclusion, I’m eagerly anticipating the release of volume three because I already miss this captivating world and the characters.
Fei Tian’s Exorcism universe now has five completed books:
1) Post Training Notice: National First-Class Registered Exorcism/Ming Wang (modern supernatural, 2012) 2)Legend of Exorcism/Tianbao (historical, Tang Dynasy 750 AD) 3) Dinghai Fusheng Records (Jin Dynasty, 350 AD) 4) Wan Wu (modern supernatural, 2022) and 5) Qingping (historical, Song Dynasty 1120 AD) with a sixth historical one planned around the Xia to Shang Dynasty, 1600 BCE). Ming Wang has a great FTL, was the first written/published novel so it won’t spoil anything, and is available on the chickengege site. I would definitely wait to read Wan Wu and Qingping after finishing LoE, DFR, and Ming Wang.
But about this volume… -I love that the roles have reversed and now Chen Xing is beyond the Great Wall in Xiang Shu’s homeland. -My heart aches at the loneliness CX feels at times and the secret he keeps -Much vinegar 😂 -Every new character introduced/mentioned in this novel is/will be important -I ❤️ Sima Wei
Even though Ming Wang and Wan Wu are modern, they fit very well in the Exorcism universe with ALOT of crossover. Honestly, reading Ming Wang will explain a lot!
“In this life, those who can follow their hearts and do what they wish are blessed, but a significant portion of the population lives in accordance with the Mandate of Heaven. That includes the burdens they must bear. It’s unfair, yes, but from another perspective… aren’t these the expectations that the heavens have for each and everyone of us?”
The cover art deserves a shoutout. It’s beautiful, moody, and tastefully done. I’m usually not into covers that feature characters or faces, but this one strikes the right balance with its design and tone. Seven Seas has been making strong choices with their cover artists, and this volume is no exception. The story inside leans on emotion more than action, favoring quiet reflection and interpersonal tension over dramatic plot swings. It moves slowly, but with purpose.
Chen Xing and Xiang Shu remain a compelling pair. Their connection grows through conflict, care, and hard-earned trust. Chen Xing carries the burden of responsibility with quiet strength, while Xiang Shu’s loyalty comes through in restrained, often wordless ways. Their dynamic feels believable—sometimes uneven, but never hollow. The emotional clarity takes time to surface, yet once it does, the impact is real.
What stands out is how naturally the book blends history and fantasy. The landscapes, from grasslands to tundra, feel vivid and grounded. The spiritual system—Heart Lamps, exorcism, and energy—draws from cultural roots rather than relying on arbitrary rules. This volume rewards readers who want character depth and emotional weight over speed. It’s a slower read, but a satisfying one.
4.5 ⭐️ MUCH better overall compared to vol 1 (which I liked but this was a significant improvement). The overall formatting issues I had with the previous volume were also fixed here, which made the story flow better. But GODDAMN do I love toxic jealous yaoi, in which this volume we were FED
”Sometimes, I want my mother and father to come back to life, so that we could live outside the Great Wall just like before.” When Chen Xing glanced at him, Xiang Shu’s eyes were closed. “But things don’t always happen the way you want. They’re dead, and so is my anda. Everyone’s gone… it’s just like the banquet we hold during the Autumn Close Festival. Everyone finishes their drinking and says goodbye, then goes where they should go. What I want is simple to say but impossible to achieve: I want this banquet to never end.”
FTYX never disappointing in delivering something so hilarious, leaving you with questions, but when you unwrap it it’s so fragile, so tender, and you find a story and or character filled with so much pain. So much misunderstanding, but you can’t be mad at it. The way each of these characters have so much depth to them makes his stories so beautiful. (˶˘ ³˘(´͈ ᵕ `͈˶) Very well balanced with excellent world building!
I was more satisfied with the ending of this volume than I was with the previous volume. It seemed less random and more polished. The powers and scenes used flowed nicely. This volume made me truly appreciate the connection between CX and XS. It’s another one of those where everyone in the world misunderstands them, everyone assumes and wants something from them, but these two unfree beings find freedom in each other. Despite being trapped in the rolls that they must play, The Divine Exorcist and the Great Changyu, they have no way of escaping it, but they have the choice in whether to be with each other or not.
I love that we can already see the feelings they have for each other. We can already see that Chen Xing so selflessly is willing to leave. We see Xiang Shu going after him on his own volition, then rescuing Chen Xing again and again. No one is forcing him, and despite putting on the act of “I did it because I wanted to smack you,” we all know Xiang Shu… we all know you love him. Hehe ( ˶˘ ³˘)♡
BTW... I love Xiao Shan! I hope this cutie comes back!
⚠️ Spoiler from here on: ⚠️ * * * * * * * * * I love the message that this novel brings: The idea that war leads to more war. Resentment leads to more resentment. Hatred fuels hatred. I was so devastated when the Akele died… and then you find out later that his one desire to have his wife and only son live, died! How devastating! ( ;´ - `;) They were murdered! Akele and his wife don’t get that happiness -ever- to have a son live a prosperous life. All because Che Loufeng seeking revenge for his lost lover. And in the end, he betrayed his anda, Xiang Shu, who only loved him dearly like a brother. It’s sad that in the end Che Luofeng did regret his decisions, but his decisions lead to the consequences of thousands dead, including his own death.
I can’t even describe how much I am loving Chen Xing. He’s so funny and his inner thoughts are seriously the funniest dialogue next to Peerless’s Bu Qu, TGCF’s Xielian, and Everybody Love’s a Cannon Fodder’s Xie Sui! ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵) Chen Xing’s heart is so warm and i just wanna hold him… I don’t want him to die! T^T So many things this plot is unfolding. If he dies, I hope he comes back to life using the Phoenix Ashes! 。°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°。
Anyway, that is all for now! I’lll shut up now. GO READ IT!
I'm SO SAD this is my first DNF for a fei tian novel but I just know this won't be for me
this is so sad because the first 100 pages of volume 1 were so incredible, and then it just seemed to go entirely downhill from there. this volume specifically I just could not get over how badly everything was written, I got about 150 pages in and everything was being told to us rather than shown. there was a little dialogue or interactions between characters and far too much was happening all the time that we never got to spend any time looking at details, I feel like I barely knew these characters even after 500 pages with them.
And because I wasn't enjoying it I decided to look up spoilers because I'm someone who actually sometimes enjoys them because it can help me get through some boring or Not as good parts of books And keep reading until I get to the good parts... unfortunately when I looked up spoilers for this one all I kept finding were things that had me going well I am going to absolutely hate this book LOL
so unfortunately I will not be continuing in this series which I'm very sad about because again I do really love this author but I guess you can't win them all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Xiang Shu is now officially Chen Xing’s protector, but he has no idea that the future they imagine will not come true. Chen Xing’s death is fast approaching, and the peace he craves is unlikely to come true in his lifetime. Ugh, I’m so sad for him all the time.
We are now past where I've read in the manhua. I like the arc where they go to Xiang Shu's homeland and go into the mountains. I liked the ending on the boat with a clear line to the next arc.
I am really enjoying the central relationship in this . An easy read it's got enough to keep you reading without bogging you down in too many names and places. I really enjoyed it
So did not expect this to turn out to be a 5 star. I watched the donghua, and it was entertaining reading what I already knew. But Xiang Shu had tremendous character growth in this one and I absolutely loved how their relationship grew too. I was cackling throughout the book, it made me so happy. Can't wait for the next vol.
Can I just say, the art in this volume was particularly beautiful, maybe the most beautiful I've come across in a danmei so far. I literally gasped at one point and thought, "Damn, they're even prettier than I imagined!"
Humorous, emotional, and kept me on the edge of my seat! I feel like it kept my attention better than the first, and has left me anxiously waiting to see what is coming next!
I applaud Fei Tian Ye Xiang for his dedication to make every character of consequence gay, and for making Xiang Shu chase Chen Xing over half the continent of Asia.
5/5! I'm really loving their dynamic—bickering enemies to lovers! They make me laugh so much! You can see their relationship slowly growing, and I'm here for it.
Chen Xing journeys to Xiang Shu's home by the Yin Mountain, where he meets Xiang Shu's people. Chen Xing, a Han man, decides to open up a clinic to help the tribesmen and becomes a divine doctor who has helped these sick people. During one of his clinic sessions, someone gets critically injured—Che Loufeng, who's Xiang Shu's sworn brother. Xiang Shu begs Chen Xing to save him.
What I thought would be an instant friendship between Chen Xing and Che Loufeng did an absolute 180 because of Che Loufeng's jealousy. Che Loufeng's resentment just kept growing. He made me so mad at some points, especially when he would target Chen Xing. I loved that Chen Xing tried his best not to let what Che Loufeng said get to him! I also felt that Xiang Shu was shocked by Che Loufeng's behavior around Chen Xing.
We got a glimpse of Chen Xing's feelings for Xiang Shu, only for him to deny them. Then he'd question them and deny them again. My poor Chen Xing!
What I'm liking most about this volume is that we get to see more of Xiang Shu and how he shows more emotions. He's grown a little bit kinder to Chen Xing, but they still have their moments. I feel like he's also gotten more curious about Chen Xing, and he's even been caught staring at him sometimes. I love when Chen Xing and Xiang Shu get into deep conversations. They both get to learn about each other on a deeper level. I also think these conversations open up their connection, because they've started to feel each other's emotions.
This volume had me crying a few times! The betrayal and loss of someone he trusted the most—having to say goodbye to his sworn brother by his own hands, just like he had to say goodbye to his father—was so gut-wrenching. I'm worried about how this novel is going to end with Chen Xing only having three years left to live! How am I going to handle it if he dies?!?
I think I know why, but WHY DID XIANG SHU CHANGE THE BLANKET!!
I've decided to continue reading the rest of the story! Happy reading!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
There's something so sad in this story to me. Magic has been drained from the world. To have something like that and loose it feels like a profound loss. Chen Xing is the last exorcist and he is trying to bring magic back to the world. He has a protector in Xiang Shu, the king of a mongol tribe north, basically.
There is so much pain, loss and death in this story. Xiang Shu just keeps losing. Chen Xing helps him and hurts him in various ways. I wouldn't be surprised if all the lands are going through this. Basically, the dead is rising all over the middle Kingdom and we have a name and we haven't met this person yet. All these famous people have been brought back to life and they are forced to serve this demon god obsessed cult.
Most of the story happens north of the Great wall up in Mongol territory and Russia. At the end of the story, we even move over to Korea. These are all places 2,000 years ago with different names.
Chen Xing seems so weak with only his heart lamp. They seemed balanced on a thread. I do love Chen Xing's luck factor. Sort of awesome when that happens.
We meet a new character. He is the adopted son of a Yao. I miss having more yao around. The kids is pretty cool, very vicious.
The snowy landscape was pretty awesome. It's hard to believe people survived back then in weather like that, but they did.
I think this series is fun. The author is playing the long game with the love story. We are still in flirting stages or something. OH well.
I can't wait for vol. 3 to come out. I enjoy this story. IT's so unusual.
this book put me through it... volume 2 of dinghai fusheng records follows chen xing as he follows xiang shu and the hu clans past the great wall. chen xing quickly adapts to the hu way of life, and proves himself a valuable ally when he not only treats the ailments of the hu people, but is able to save the life of xiang shu's anda (sworn brother).
it is a feitian book, however, and things are rarely that simple. volume 2 really pushes chen xing and xiang shu, both as characters and with their not-relationship relationship. add in xiang shu's immense responsibility as the great chanyu (which often puts him at odds with his desire to protect chen xing), unexpected feral-child acquisition, and xiang shu still not knowing about chen xing's ticking timeline, not to mention the hordes of living corpses (now with familiar faces joining the undead) and betrayals and revenge... yeah, its messy.
messy in a way the author handles so so well though. and is it even a feitian novel if the mcs don't have unexpected wet dreams due to literal sleeping next to each other, and one of them panics because of it... god, i kinda love this author.
Do you love a gentle, sunshine boy x standoffish, grumpy protector with a heart of gold pairing? If so, this story is SO for you!
Like many Danmei, this is very much a “slow burn” romance.
But, in this second, the relationship between our two dear main characters is really beginning to blossom and transform into something more tender. Through the many challenges they face together in this book, we see them growing closer and coming to better understand the other.
It’s very sweet at moments to see Xiang Shu, in particular, demonstrating that he cares about oblivious Chen Xing in his own gruff manner. These silly boys just can’t talk to each other about their feelings, can they?
Anyway.
I’m so very much locked in on this story now. I REALLY can’t wait to read the next book. It’s going to be torture to wait.
But, all that said, I definitely recommend this series and this author! They may be my favorite Danmei storyteller~
This is another great entry into the series that focuses a little bit less on plot and more on the building relationship between Chen Xing and Xiang Shu.
It does feel a bit abrupt when Chen Xing has a little “oh, is this love” moment, which causes him to soften a little more around Xiang Shu and even feel a little bit of jealousy towards Che Luofeng (warranted).
But it was Xiang Shu who really shone in this volume- both in his quiet loyalty to Chen Xing and in his vulnerability around his strained history with his Anda and the guilt he feels around the death of his father.
A lot happens but it still feels sort of transitional, with the plot picking up speed towards the end in a lead up to volume 3.
A good read and the aftermath of the blanket scene had me cracking up but it mostly just makes me excited to see where we are going next.
5/5 My favorite volume so far, there was a lot more development here that helped flesh out XS. I'm really curious about his mother's family side and how she ended up with XS's father. I find it very amusing how CX just seems to find friends or allies everywhere he goes, that lucky star of his looks a lot like plot armor. Bet if SY read this book, he would be amazed at the MC halo of CX too. But now that more of the Heart Lamp was mentioned and the consequences of it's usage have been revealed (to some extent), I wonder if the reason that CX will die young is related to the Lamp. Will it just end up consuming his life force? Or will the resentment cause too much damage to him? Definitely looking forward to the next volume
This arc was so angsty! I mean there was the classic humor tagged Fei Tian but he just decided to make a mass kill… Well, the first book too was like that but this one just felt worse because of the attachments with the main characters.
There’s also a development in the romance part. All the people could see that they had feelings for each other but they were both in denial!
Slow burn… really slow burn.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I found this one much more enjoyable than the first! The MCs growing closer attributed greatly to this enjoyment but also I felt the action scenes and the emotional scenes hit harder this time around. We spend a great deal around some of these side characters so I felt myself growing more attached.
The plot is also coming together a bit more in this one! Overall, it's a great read.
(4.5☆) i really liked it!!! feels like i got to know the characters of chen xing and xiang shu a lot better, and im enjoying seeing how the whole plot is unfolding. also xiao shan my semi-feral SON i love you
I far prefered this volume to the previous. Especially towards the end, it was an enjoyable read :) would go further into detail but im tired... so simply put, there were expectedly some parts to it i disliked, but also many that i did like. Will get the next book in the series. (⌒‐⌒)