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Descension (BL Xianxia Fantasy Romance): Book 2
A CHAIN UNBROKEN
"Some wounds never heal. Some chains never break. When power fades, what remains?"
Betrayed by Ruan Yanjun, the feared and ruthless immortal of the cultivation world, Luo Fan never expected to cross paths with him again, let alone be bound to him by fate. But when the survival of the continent depends on the man who once discarded him for a piece of scroll, Luo Fan is given an impossible escort Ruan Yanjun to safety and keep him alive at all costs.
Stripped of his former power and hunted by the very sects that once revered him, Ruan Yanjun is as insufferable as ever—arrogant, unreadable, and dangerously captivating. Yet beneath the sharp words and careless smirks lies a man burdened by secrets too deadly to reveal.
As enemies gather and fragile alliances begin to fracture, Luo Fan must battle more than external enemies—he must face the conflict raging in his own heart. Will he keep fighting to escape the chains of his past? Or will he once again fall into the hands of the man who has never stopped watching him?
"Some wounds never heal. Some chains never break. When power fades, what remains?"
Betrayed by Ruan Yanjun, the feared and ruthless immortal of the cultivation world, Luo Fan never expected to cross paths with him again, let alone be bound to him by fate. But when the survival of the continent depends on the man who once discarded him for a piece of scroll, Luo Fan is given an impossible escort Ruan Yanjun to safety and keep him alive at all costs.
Stripped of his former power and hunted by the very sects that once revered him, Ruan Yanjun is as insufferable as ever—arrogant, unreadable, and dangerously captivating. Yet beneath the sharp words and careless smirks lies a man burdened by secrets too deadly to reveal.
As enemies gather and fragile alliances begin to fracture, Luo Fan must battle more than external enemies—he must face the conflict raging in his own heart. Will he keep fighting to escape the chains of his past? Or will he once again fall into the hands of the man who has never stopped watching him?
- GenresFantasyHistorical
574 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 28, 2025
55 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 12, 2025
✨️SO MUCH DRAMA
✔️ betrayal
✔️ a dick being cut off 🔪 ❤️❤️
✔️ different cultivation sects
✔️ weird maybe love triangle?
✔️whole world thinking our MC's are fucking
✨️A sweet in-book bedtime story about a beautiful priest and a demon falling in love and having a daughter (definitely no self-insert☠️)
✨️Luo Fan's hatred for the obnoxious Lord Ruan fueling and strengthening his dark core is peak comedy. Yessss, guuurl 💅
✔️ betrayal
✔️ a dick being cut off 🔪 ❤️❤️
✔️ different cultivation sects
✔️ weird maybe love triangle?
✔️whole world thinking our MC's are fucking
✨️A sweet in-book bedtime story about a beautiful priest and a demon falling in love and having a daughter (definitely no self-insert☠️)
✨️Luo Fan's hatred for the obnoxious Lord Ruan fueling and strengthening his dark core is peak comedy. Yessss, guuurl 💅
September 8, 2025
Going into Book 2 of the Descension series, A Chain Unbroken, I had high expectations after loving the first book (5 stars for me). Unfortunately, this installment fell a little flat in comparison.
The beginning of the book was heartbreaking. Luo Fan’s grief after losing Jinjing was raw and painful to read, and it pulled me in immediately. I was crushed by her betrayal—or what we were led to believe was betrayal—until Huang Wei revealed she had been forced into that decision. That twist hurt even more.
As for Ruan Yanjun… honestly, I should’ve expected his actions, but somehow I still wanted more from him. There were moments where the tension between him and Luo Fan almost tipped into something deeper—especially the scene before their departure when Luo Fan reacted physically to Ruan Yanjun’s advances—but then it fizzled into nothing. That “almost but not quite” energy was frustrating.
On the positive side, I loved the continuation of the world-building, the depth of the history, and the lore we’re uncovering. Yan Yan’s ability to weave information into the plot keeps me hooked, and the character development is still strong in places. But the execution started to stumble toward the end.
My biggest issue was the repetition. Luo Fan’s inability to express himself in new ways—repeating the same lines and emotions over and over—got tiresome. The same goes for Ruan Yanjun. His constant teasing or wearing the same “devilish smirk” over and over lost its edge after a while. I get that he’s supposed to be the “devil,” but reading the same descriptions page after page dulled the impact.
For me, slow burns are amazing when done right, but once they start looping instead of progressing, it’s time to move things forward. I felt like this book reached that point, and instead of pushing Luo Fan and Ruan Yanjun’s relationship to the next stage, it stalled.
Overall, the first book is still my favorite and sits firmly at 5 stars. This second book is a solid 3 stars—it had powerful moments and strong lore, but the repetition and lack of movement in the romance made it weaker. I’m still planning to read Book 3, though, because I love the series enough to keep going. My hope is that the romance finally begins to bloom, because if I have to read the same teasing lines and facial expressions on repeat again, I might lose my patience.
The beginning of the book was heartbreaking. Luo Fan’s grief after losing Jinjing was raw and painful to read, and it pulled me in immediately. I was crushed by her betrayal—or what we were led to believe was betrayal—until Huang Wei revealed she had been forced into that decision. That twist hurt even more.
As for Ruan Yanjun… honestly, I should’ve expected his actions, but somehow I still wanted more from him. There were moments where the tension between him and Luo Fan almost tipped into something deeper—especially the scene before their departure when Luo Fan reacted physically to Ruan Yanjun’s advances—but then it fizzled into nothing. That “almost but not quite” energy was frustrating.
On the positive side, I loved the continuation of the world-building, the depth of the history, and the lore we’re uncovering. Yan Yan’s ability to weave information into the plot keeps me hooked, and the character development is still strong in places. But the execution started to stumble toward the end.
My biggest issue was the repetition. Luo Fan’s inability to express himself in new ways—repeating the same lines and emotions over and over—got tiresome. The same goes for Ruan Yanjun. His constant teasing or wearing the same “devilish smirk” over and over lost its edge after a while. I get that he’s supposed to be the “devil,” but reading the same descriptions page after page dulled the impact.
For me, slow burns are amazing when done right, but once they start looping instead of progressing, it’s time to move things forward. I felt like this book reached that point, and instead of pushing Luo Fan and Ruan Yanjun’s relationship to the next stage, it stalled.
Overall, the first book is still my favorite and sits firmly at 5 stars. This second book is a solid 3 stars—it had powerful moments and strong lore, but the repetition and lack of movement in the romance made it weaker. I’m still planning to read Book 3, though, because I love the series enough to keep going. My hope is that the romance finally begins to bloom, because if I have to read the same teasing lines and facial expressions on repeat again, I might lose my patience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2025
Truly A Love Story
I read this book with no expectations. It broke my heart, it gave me hope, love, redemption, loyalty, and betrayal. A man whose life was shattered by trusting too much in the goodness of man. An extremely well written story that took me up, down, and all around. I look forward to reading the next book.
I read this book with no expectations. It broke my heart, it gave me hope, love, redemption, loyalty, and betrayal. A man whose life was shattered by trusting too much in the goodness of man. An extremely well written story that took me up, down, and all around. I look forward to reading the next book.
November 29, 2025
Something different
I enjoy watching Chinese and Korean fantasy shows on Netflix. I like costume and fantasy dramas. Have watched a few BL shows and when I saw this series, I thought Why Not give it a try. Glad I did! Can't wait for next book to see where this goes. I keep picturing my favorite Chinese actors as the characters. Great fun.
I enjoy watching Chinese and Korean fantasy shows on Netflix. I like costume and fantasy dramas. Have watched a few BL shows and when I saw this series, I thought Why Not give it a try. Glad I did! Can't wait for next book to see where this goes. I keep picturing my favorite Chinese actors as the characters. Great fun.
December 12, 2025
The 😔
As I cry at the end, can't wait for the next book. The switch from weakness to powerful was unexpected.
As I cry at the end, can't wait for the next book. The switch from weakness to powerful was unexpected.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews