* Beberapa karakter numpang lewat doang. No explanation. Just puuuf lenyap dari peredaran. Shen, Dhao, terus Jiang siapalah. Mendadak nggak dijelasin nih ke mana? Mungkin karena jumlah episode yang mepet cuma 100-an jadi nggak ngekover semua, ya?
* Original ML nggak banget. Untung Xiao Yuyan bisa muncul.
* Kurang banyak ngebahas dunianya. 😭
* 🥺 Manis banget kapal Xiao dan Xu. ❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
English title: Disguised as the Beloved of the Deceased Immortal Lord
I thought the premise / description of the story was really interesting, which is why I picked it up. Overall I enjoyed it, but the story followed a pretty formulaic pattern for quite a while, and the FL felt overly immersed in her role rather than a transmigrator who's just acting. Also, perhaps to make up for the lack of romance for most of the story, but when the FL and ML do get together I found it a bit too much; there was too much sweetness.
The premise is that the FL Xu Wanci transmigrated into a xianxia novel about cultivators. Her original character was obsessed with the OG male lead, Chu Qingchuan, and did everything she could to get his attention. Let's just say she wasn't popular at all in their sect, Taiqing Sect. When the story starts, the FL just woke up in this world and she's already facing possible death as she's on trial for attempting to scheme against the og female protagonist, Jiang Qiuning. Armed with her knowledge of the novel, the only thing that can save her at that point is by making up a relationship with the Immortal Venerable Qingyan, who sacrificed himself 100 years ago for the whole cultivation world. By making up this connection, the FL makes herself indispensible to the world by carrying the weight of all the karmic debts owed to the venerable.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
Obviously when she first brings up such a relationship during the trial and claims that she was only obsessed with the OG male lead because she believed him to be the reincarnation of the venerable, no one fully believes her but still lets her off the hook on the tiny possibility that she truly is the venerable's beloved. The FL knows this too, so that's why she's constantly on tenterhooks and keeps taking dramatic actions to prove she's serious, from attempting suicide to removing a priceless artifact from her body to show the world that she's resigned to death and doesn't even care about her cultivation anymore.
When I mentioned earlier that the story felt formulaic, that's what I was referring to, as for a while there's always someone doubting her that she has to prove the relationship to. Once she gets past one hurdle, she immediately starts thinking about the next based on her knowledge of the story's events.
Also, it's briefly mentioned that she was an actress in modern times, but she came off as overly immersed in her role. It read more like she was a cultivator who happened to have complete knowledge of the story rather than she is a modern person who transmigrated into the story. I know she's supposed to be naturally gifted at cultivation, but I also found it a bit hard to believe how easily she was able to reform her sword intent and advance in her techniques given that she had no martial arts training of any kind in her previous life as an actress.
Other than focusing on establishing her relationship to the venerable, the other thing that the FL really focuses on is cultivation. Why? Because she knows what's coming up in the story and knows she needs to get strong fast in order to survive some of the upcoming obstacles. So the whole story is essentially about her cultivating and establishing her identity as the venerable's lover, while at the same time grabbing some of the rare cultivation artifacts that should've gone to the og male lead using her knowledge of the novel. As she's doing all this, she picks up a small harem of admirers who like her for one reason or another, whether it's due to her strength or her connection to the venerable. It was to the point where I honestly thought one of them would be the ML, but alas I was wrong.
The romance kicks off pretty slowly, which makes sense given that the ML's body no longer physically exists and his soul was scattered 100 years ago. His consciousness has been mixed in with the heavenly Dao and he's just chilling up there observing everything as a neutral party, but slowly the actions and words of the FL get through to him and he starts feeling emotions, until he finally has a physical body again. It was a really interesting build up, as I've never read a story where one of the main characters doesn't even have a body for most of the novel XP
There are a lot of scenes like the one below as he observes her and starts feeling the stirrings of emotions:
At some point, Xiao Yuyan—who had once regarded all things in the world as illusions—found his gaze lingering on one person.
In the Spirit-Nurturing Secret Realm, surrounded by countless spiritual plants, Xu Wanci stood. The erratic beating of his heart echoed loudly in his ears.
She… did not love Yan Shuo.
She loved… him.
Every action she had taken, free from control, had been for this moment—to leave, at all costs.
Betting her life, abandoning everything, severing all ties without hesitation.
Such a powerful, pure, resilient, and courageous soul.
Xiao Yuyan slowly pressed a hand to his chest.
The still surface of water rippled, layer upon layer.
This feeling—tenderness, affection, joy—
It was the stirrings of love.
The seed buried deep within his heart had finally taken root, its tendrils entwining deeply, waiting only to break through the soil.
A gentle breeze swept away the gloom, and within the void, an endless blue sky emerged.
Xiao Yuyan extended his hand. The power of the Heavenly Dao surged from his palm, descending gently upon Xu Wanci.
Bathed in this energy, every spiritual plant in the secret realm released dense spiritual energy, swirling around her and flooding into her body.
The romance, once it starts, is toothachingly sweet. I like a good fluffy romance but this was way too much for me. Even though the ML is the most powerful cultivator in the world and is revered by all, he's the most clingy and whipped husband ever. In his eyes, the FL can do no wrong. Even when she comes clean to him about lying about their past, he not only lets it go but blames himself for not being there for her when she needed him. This is why the last part of the story was less interesting to me, as it focuses on their overly cheesy life together.
At some point, I did get a little bit lost in the story, as it's mentioned the ML uses his powers to go back into the past to meet her when she's just a simple outer sect disciple. To the FL, these short meetings come in the form of dreams, but for the ML, these are actual memories that he's forming. Interestingly, because of these past "encounters," the FL's lies are never exposed to be false even near the end when she faces one final test around her relationship.
Overall it was a decent read but not one I'd go back to again.