Tens of thousands of demons in this world roam; half call the city of Zhaoye home. As for the other half, they’ve all died in Canglang Northern Territory, controlled by the Tiansu Immortal Xiao Fuxuan.
Only one demon has been imprisoned for twenty-five years and still lives— the chief of Zhaoye City, Wu Xingxue.
Wu Xingxue woke up one day to find himself in an unfamiliar place, occupying a demon’s body. Then he encountered Xiao Fuxuan, an immortal who presides over punishment, who apparently has imprisoned the demon for 25 years. But things are definitely not what it seems, and their journey together uncovers the truth bit by bit.
The mysterious atmosphere, occasional comedy, and unspoken romantic tension between the couple kept me hooked. Even when the book became tedious at times—especially during the lengthy flashbacks that stretched over several chapters—I still found it hard to put it down.
These flashbacks happen frequently, often involving side characters I didn’t always find interesting. With a bit more patience, I did see how all the pieces fit perfectly into the larger tapestry of the story. Still, I wish the narrative had been more concise sometimes.
The main couple’s story is compelling and, at times, heart-wrenching. Some of the side characters are funny and endearing, providing enough entertainment to keep me reading until the end.
Ok so this is the type of fantasy danmei where you get thrown in at the deep end and you have to figure out who everyone is and what is going on as you keep reading.
But, I'm just TOO confused as hell to carry on. I'm starting to think the only immortals I need are the ones in TGCF.
If you have more patience than me then give this a go and don't let this review put you off.
4.5* but I won't round them up to 5* because one thing that I wanted to happen didn't happen
In classic Mu Su Li fashion, this is a love story. As one of my favourite authors, I always expect greatness from her and she never disappoints (Sorry, Mou Mou, I'll come back to you one day, I promise).
My favourite novel by her is Global Examination, this is probably shocking to no one but this might be the second favourite, depending on how high the reread value is.
Ok, let's talk business. The description is incredibly unhelpful so I'll summarize it: This book is about a man who woke up in someone else's body - or so he thinks. Wu Xingxue is about to find out that it's not so simple and alongside our ML (Xiao Fuxuan) and his 2 sidekicks he is going to discover what happened and why his memories are missing. (Can we talk for a second about Mu Su Li's love for amnesia trope????)
At first I wanted to say that this is not necessarily a romance, but more like a....story of self discovery???? But no, that would be VERY inaccurate. This is the type of story that will make you think "Ah so this is love". Fated lovers never disappoints, really.
I can't reveal too much so I won't spoil the experience but I can tell you this: EVERY CHARACTER MENTIONED IS IMPORTANT IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
The reason why I gave this 4.5 instead of a 5 is because the side cp is too tragic: I wanted more of them, I feel like they deserve their own book too. There's also the little point that it is a bit hard to get into the story and might be confusing at times, but I think it's because I always read it after coming back from work and was too tired to actually concentrate.
I feel like I want to say so much but I forgot all of it. Anyway, just read it, the fan translation is complete and it will be published through Seven Seas as well (my wallet is crying but my heart is happy).
This felt very long. I love Mu Su Li, but most of this could have been cut, and it would have been a much better story for it.
However, the overall plotline and character dynamics were well done. Their enemy was Heaven itself, the Lingtai Heavenly Law, and despite the enormity of the trial before them, Wu Xingxue and Xiao Fuxuan never had any qualms. Even when they had limited memories, they still defied the institution that perpetuated chaos and destruction in the guise of doing good.
“This was the Tianxiu Immortal Xiao Fuxuan, on behalf of all life in the world, questioning heaven.”
This was a good story, but it won’t be one I’ll come back to.
post-read: will post a review tomorrow as it's 12:30am right now that I got this over with:)
💌: i genuinely wanted to like this novel as I love musuli's works, and i loved the character stories very much, but this fell short at solving the plot..being a novel that was too plot intensive, if loose threads aren't tied it becomes complex and starts feeling too long that happened with this one, some part of the plot was draggy the only relief was the relationship between Tianxu & Wu XingXue and their intertwined pasts and also the backstory of Yunhai and the immortal head, for me there were a lot of questions that were left answered? like who was the lingtai heavenly law? why were there so many chaotic lines? why were Xiao Fuxuan & lingwang connected ? even if these were answered, for me differentiating it from the plot was difficult af! I loved the characters but genuinely the story could have been a little short..and explanatory!
I've been staring at my screen for a while now because I don't know how to start what I want to say. I'm not sure how I can encapsulate the feelings I have felt and threaded upon while reading through this books in a way that can justify the multitudes I have just experienced but I will try.
Honestly at first, I was having troubles trying to feel myself into the book because as the main character is "confused" with his identity, I was also confused. And a few chapters later, it all made so much sense and the elation I felt was truly undeniable. Grasping the world building, and the delicious dynamic between the demon Wu Xingxue and the Immortal Xiao Fuxuan was like a treat to me! I really really loved the subtle hints of their relationship plus the melancholic undertones to their past shrouded in mist. They truly had a very long journey. The book had seven arcs which practically first started at Wu Xingxue remembering only Quedu, and it having Quedu at the final bits. Truly the world has its own ways to cycle through multiple lifetimes worth of happenings.
Anyway, I don't want to divulge a lot about the plot but one thing I can say is that everything that happened is truly terrifying. Terrifying in a way that it leaves you unable to breathe because of crying and clutching your chest to chest because it hurts so much. Goodness, I heard some things about the knives in Shangxian but nothing can beat the feeling of experiencing it yourself. I even had to stop reading for a day because it felt so much and just thinking about what's happening, and "what happened" leaves me in utter shambles. Also, this book will really make you think about the "unfairness" and "balance" between good and evil, right and wrong, which the "heavenly laws" are trying to hold. It will really make you think and reflect because if the heavenly machinations are truly formless, shapeless, and devoid of care about the mortal affairs, why are some things still happening? Truly daunting.
Moving on, I LOVE WU XINGXUE AND XIAO FUXUAN. Their karmic relationship is so fucking good and beautifully crafted, I feel so tender all over! Also, Xiao Fuxuan has set the bar high for me, I am so in love to be honest. His love for his Lingwang is something you cannot compare to anything. I get why Wu Xingxue, the one standing beside heaven, cannot resist him like an addiction he cannot recover from. Well, Xiao Fuxuan is even more head over heels to Wu Xingxue. Tianxu, for one person here he’d make exception after exception! I wish for them to live until the end of this world. Making merry and traveling the world together with their fourteen kids, especially Fang Chu and Ning Huaishan. I am so sad and happy at the same time! They have experienced so much! And the 300 years of separation, I cannot bear to think about it. So I hope nothing but the happiest days to them.
"Everything they’d undergone must have been forgotten by the people of the world just for the sake of a few moments like these..."
The other characters have also brought me immense pain and joy. Separations are normal between people because we are all bound to pass away or something but! When MuSuLi wrote about the other characters, I cannot help but also choke on my tears because when I really think about it, no one among them is truly evil. Yi Wusheng, Feng Juyan, Feng Feishi, and especially Mingwu Hua Xin and Yunhai, plus the others. They're all so kind in their own ways, being just implicated by the world's troubles, I cannot help but sigh. I fucking wish for the happy ending Hua Xin and Yunhai deserves. I don't want to say anything else but those two! Those two! Please, let them have it. I am begging!
I still want to say a lot but it seems that I already did! I have to stop yapping before I spoil too much. I just wish for all characters to "meet old friends" and create moments that will last a lifetime.
Also, Shangxian is basically the start of other shared universes from MuSuLi's other stories. I am looking forward to the other books. I hope I catch glimpses of "another story" on them. Thank you so much!
"There was an adage, that no banquet in the world would go without end, that old friends would ultimately say their goodbyes. But, should one in their mind’s eye that memory tend, a meeting parted would one day reprise."
Me gustó mucho la historia al principio. La personalidad de los dos protagonistas es literalmente una de mis combinaciones favoritas, pero sentí que era demasiaaaado lenta,,, la trama era muy interesante, pero avanzaba a un ritmo taaaan lento, especialmente el romance😿 sé que más adelante muestran más de ellos, pero no logré conectar como pensé que lo haría ;( también siento que habría sido más interesante si hubiera habido inmortales del pasado que hubieran perdurado en el tiempo como ellos y así tener diferentes perspectivas de los eventos?? Terminé abandonándola por el capítulo 60 porque me aburría y sentía que me estaba forzando a leer. Aun así, les tengo cariño a los protagonistas,, eran muy cutes entre ellos🫶
It took me a while to get into this one. In the beginning, I was a bit put off by its similarities to the other novels of her I'd read, like the MC's memory loss towards the ML, or the general relationship dynamic of stoic-gremlin. It also took a while for the plot to pick up and relate to the main characters; the first arc or so seems detached from their story - while later it becomes clear that it isn't, this meant I wasn't fully engaged at first.
Once it picks up, though, it got good. It used three of my favorite themes/tropes. One - some sort of fated connection between the MC and ML. This book even went a bit over the top in dropping in fated connections here and there, but I love the trope so much I don't even mind. Two - it had one of those parallel-but-doomed relationships (not a romance-coded one, but nonetheless) with an antagonistic character, one who discovered emotion and humanity through this relationship. A delightful trope. Three - the concept of a heavenly authority, which is supposed to inanimate and neutral, having and acting on its own preferences brought about by its supposed balancing act was really enthralling. In fact, since the plot was driven mostly by points two and three, I really enjoyed it. It was pretty fast-paced and complicated, dealing with alternate timelines and interwoven with flashbacks as the MC regained his memories, but I managed to keep up and had a hard time putting the novel down.
In addition, the romance dynamic was just what I was looking for. Coming off a grimdark bad ending novel, I wanted to read something where I knew there would be a satisfying romance. And this didn't disappoint! The romance had great pacing, and was confirmed at just the right point in the story.
wow ok i did NOT expect to love this as much as i did. this book was absolutely phenomenal from start to finish, probably one of the most interesting and well thought out plots i‘ve encountered in danmei. time travel and manipulation is a HUGE part of the plot and the way it’s done is just absolutely flawless. i tend to get confused very easily when it comes to time travel stuff, but i didn‘t have that problem here whatsoever. it’s just so satisfying to see everything come together. just know that EVERYTHING you read will be important and most likely come back at a later time. actually i think this book is best to read in one go, i can’t imagine having to wait for all the 7s volumes to release, since it’s quite important to have to plot fresh in your mind.
the romance was just soooo. idk. soft? tender? actually romantic? i absolutely adored them. ofc it was a big part of the story but at the same time their love was just so matter of fact and i love me a danmei with a couple so solid, no misunderstandings or miscommunications. they had their struggles in the beginning, but never with each other. if you‘re looking for some steamy scenes you‘ll be disappointed tho, there was a lot implied, but never described in detail. personally, i loved it this way.
i also have to say, in the beginning their dynamic and the story reminded me quite a bit of wangxian, tho i quickly realized it’s going in a different direction. but i do think every mxtx fan would enjoy this!
lets freaking go. seven seas licensed this!!! im so excitedddd! AHHHH IM REALLY EXCITED FOR THE ARTWORK TOO.. I ALREADY KNOW ITS GOING TO BE BEAUTIFULLL
This is probably my favourite danmei series. I can’t comment on any pre existing translations though because I only read the original raw on JJWXC.
The characters are well designed and I’m a huge fan of their interactions. The plot line is strong thought the various time lines can be quite confusing (they go back and forth in time, and alternate timelines like infinity war lol.) and I think musuli doesn’t know how to prompt users that something’s about to happen imho. But I’m reading this a second time and it suddenly makes a lot of sense 😂
Overall, I felt like the story had good amount of romance and plot, but sometimes it felt like I fell behind due to the constant changing timelines (that's probably a me issue). This is the kind of story were most characters are worth paying attention to because they do end up becoming a larger part of the plot and to be honest all of them are worth loving. This is probably the first danmei I have read were secondary characters outside of the main couple were really fleshed out and given a chance actually show the reader their POV. I especially loved the chapters that were dedicated to Yi Wusheng
A recurring discussion within the story is love and obsession. The mc Wu Xingxue is able to to look beyond his own peace and interests to do what is right and stop the endless cycles of violence ; however, his efforts are hindered by others' inabilities to let go of their obsessions. The raw emotion of people's' obsession with keeping their loved ones alive or preventing disasters was very heartbreaking and made it difficult to place blame on them since their actions appeared to be an after effect of circumstance.
Highly recommend this book for fans of danmei, it isn't too long but does have a lot of substance to it. I would only warn people ahead of time that there are a lot of changing timelines and the story will just flow better if you try to keep track of them. I read a couple of fan translations (one completed and the other one only up to chapter 12) and the automatic MTL that google pops up when I use the jjwxc website. PS: I also really liked that the author used some slang for the dialogue, it added a lot to the comedic aspect of it
The heartbreaking, heartwarming and heart touching love story of the immortal tree and a boy just 17 but dead on the battlefield. Wu Xingxue uprightness, his unyielding believe in doing good despite all the treachery committed against him by the heavens is spectacular.
Xiao Fuxuan the sullen, taciturn judge who many fear, reveals himself to be a being filled with empathy and love. For it is love that binds these two, through all their ordeals, trials, reincarnation and different dimensions.
And it is also love that caused so much pain and death and unnecessary evil in this book of great tales. Yet I must state that love and duty made it all right at the end. Mu Su Li continues to surprise with her tales of the supernatural that leaves readers yearning for me, the storyline is so closely interwoven, the characters so relatable, the plot so thick and real that you could almost feel your imagination turn to reality whilst browsing through this book.
I implore those who are avid readers of romance, M/M romance, fantasy and the supernatural to devour this book. You will not regret it!
Debo decir que es una MUY buena historia. Sin embargo, se me hacía pesada leerla.
No sé si es la forma en cómo está escrita o es porque todo se va revelando de forma muy lenta.
Xiao Fuxuan y Wu Xingxue son muy lindos, sin embargo, no me generaron fanatismo. Solo son lindos y ya xD.
Asimismo, me pasaba que leía comentarios en parte donde decían que estaban llorando o que les generaba mucho dolor y sinceramente, no me lo pareció. Quizá mucha novela danmei me hizo inmune? No lo sé 🤣🤣🤣.
Igualmente, la recomiendo. Es una novela relacionada con Cooper Coins (que aún no leo pero luego de leer esta, ya me entraron ganas... Pero no tantas xd... Iré sin expectativas).
La trama es súper enredada, pero el final logra satisfacer... Así que no está mal.
PS: creo que tengo algo con la escritura pues me di cuenta que es la misma autora que Mou Mou y pues... Es una novela con la que no pude 🫠🫠 y terminé abandonando 🫣.
No considero que sea una mala novela, pero sí una que conmigo no terminó de convencerme. Aunque ya venía pareciéndome un poco aburrida, después del arco V la lectura se me hizo pesada e incluso insufrible por (varios) momentos. Intenté seguirle el ritmo, pero el proceso terminó resultándome agobiante, sobre todo porque no logré conectar con la pareja, que fue mi principal dificultad con la historia. Esta es una opinión totalmente subjetiva, porque reconozco que tiene elementos que puede resultar interesante para otros lectores. A mí, en lo personal, me costó bastante. Me pasó algo similar con Copper Coins, aunque esa al menos sí pude terminarla bien (con mas paciencia). En este caso, leí casi entre líneas porque no quería dejar a medias una novela de Musuli, a quien aprecio mucho, e hice todo lo posible por dar una opinión honesta y considerada.
Una profunda historia de amor y destinos enlazados Y una interesante manera de presentar el como una simple accion desencadena toda una sucesion de eventos y la posibilidad del "y si hubiera hecho esto de manera diferente.." la verdad, despues de copper coins, no le habia dada mayor importancia a Musuli, despues de mi intento fallido con examen de ingreso, pero con esta historia, me dio ganas de mas de sus historias de cultivacion
It took me long time to finish it - not because characters weren't likeable, or because story wasn't good - Mu Su Li got a beautiful quality to her writing that captivates me every time. It's a very good novel, but I couldn't truly get into it. Another read might be compelling, to truly immerse myself into this world. But I do recommend it for everyone that wants a story without easy answers and happiness interwined with sadness, as it is in life.
Por fin pude terminar esta maravillosa novelas, me fue muy difícil encontrar una buena traducción. 😭😭 Se a convertido en una de mis favoritas. Amé cada momento de la pareja principal, son tan lindos juntos 😍😍😍😍 Xiao Fuxuan protegió desde el principio hasta el final a Wu Xingxue, me duele todo lo que tuvieron que pasar para ser felices, pero al final lo lograron con sus 14 hijitos jajajsjjs
not really my jam as i feel this is for a specific audience that isn't me LOL (not to say that this isn't a good book, it just wasn't for me) i did not feel invested in the relationship either. the frequent bits and pieces of flashbacks interspersed with whatever multiverse plot going on made the story tough to follow. would have given 3/5 but i really enjoyed the extras 😂
I managed to survive both University and this novel at the same time, cheers.
I really liked it !! Some parts were kind of tedious for me to read but overall it was very engaging and fun. The relationship between Wu Xingxue and Xiao Fuxuan was beautiful, they literally went back thousands of years