This is a truly epic fantasy xianxia romance spanning three realms that is heavily imbued with characters, cosmic rules and hierarchies, black and white magic and other elements from Chinese mythology and legend. Even though many of the themes are familiar, they are brilliantly woven into a riveting and memorable fantasy fairy-tale of how all beings - deities, demons and humans are capable of good and evil; no one is immune from love and hate and all the emotions in between. We are all different and yet still the same.

After an devastating war, both the demon lord and god of war disappear and peace returns to the realms. A thousand years later, Chu Xuanji is born into the Chaoyang Sect; one of the righteous cultivating sects. At an elite martial arts tournament, she meets Yu Sifeng, the rising star and heir apparent of the mysterious Lize Palace. A strong bond of friendship is formed between the younger generation that leads them on many adventures as they pledge to help Xuanji recover shards of a magical artifact that can restore her six senses. In doing so, they set in motion a chain of events that can lead to the return of both the god of war and the demon lord and once again bring chaos to the realms. They also uncover secrets of their past incarnations and conspiracies that follow them to the present.

Where this xianxia stands out from the other huge xianxia hits of past years is that there is a very well written external plot that is not just there to facilitate the love story. Both the internal and external plot are very well woven together and are mostly evenly paced so that both plot lines converge into a very satisfying and climatic ending. In fact, the external plot is much more intriguing and balanced than the love story so I urge you to resist spoilers and just enjoy the gradual reveal of the backstory and the way it impacts many of the main characters. Although this director still cannot seem to restrain his excessive love of angst, at least in this drama the internal plot did not manage to destroy the external plot as it did in Under the Power. Indeed I personally enjoyed the external plot and colorful surrounding characters much more than the love story notwithstanding the sparkle between the leads.

As for the love story, well it has all the hallmarks of a xianxia hit - it is an extreme and obsessive love story that transcends many lifetimes and thousands of years and is undaunted in the face of challenges by more powerful beings from the three realms. Phew! Exhausting! The chemistry between the OTP is undeniably both sizzling and moving. It does not hurt at all that both actors smooch with an enthusiasm rarely seen in these kinds of shows. But the way the relationship is written is too unbalanced with Sifeng taking way too many hits for Xuanji. Most of the angst takes place in episodes ~40s+ which is late in the game and after the couple already goes through many experiences that should cement their mutual trust. So for Xuanji to be so easily swayed and manipulated makes her character regress and seem just not smart (as opposed to heartless). To deal with her so shabbily just so that Sifeng (who had already gone through so much), can spit blood a few more times is unnecessary and excessive. Within the most angsty arc, the drama indulges in flashbacks and digresses into boring one dimensional characters (e.g. Yanran) with little plot advancement. Everything comes together again in the final 6 episodes that culminates in one of the most engaging and strongest finishes I have seen in a long time. It would have been much better had they explored some of the threads in the last 6 episodes earlier and in greater depth.

As the backstory is revealed, it is evident that Xuanji is an old soul that experienced a lot of trauma that still echoes from her past incarnations and restrains her emotional development. This doesn't really come out until the end because while the main cast is really quite exceptional, Yuan Bingyan is the weak link. She did an amazing job as the young and artless Xuanji and as Xuanji in love with Sifeng but was not able to mature the character or convey some of the rage, torment from her past incarnations that haunts her character nor can she fully convey the inner conflict Xuanji experiences when forced into heart wrenching choices. This becomes most apparent at the end when stacked up against the more nuanced and compelling portrayals by Cheng Yi, Li Xinze and of course Liu Xueyi as the drama draws to an emotionally epic climax at the end.

I know Cheng Yi is by far the fan favorite and is in a completely different league in terms of his acting skills and his unforgettable portrayal of Sifeng's indomitable love and the unthinkable suffering he goes through for Xuanji. This character and this actor is a true example of how to suffer successfully, spitting blood so painfully beautifully time after time that it never fails to fan the flames of rabid fandom to new heights. While he is a truly amazing actor, I think it is actually Liu Xueyi's Haochen that is the anchor of the entire production. I know this is an unpopular and uncommon view but the truth is this drama begins and ends with this character. He must be one of the most manipulative, duplicitous, hypocritical and universally hated villains out there that I still can't help feeling pity for. Liu Xueyi's acting is truly phenomenal from his portrayal of an arrogant high deity who can't even see that he has fallen in love to his conscious acknowledgement that he has strayed from the right path but keeps on going nonetheless. The complexity of his emotions, the suppressed fury when he is thwarted and the inner conflicts he experiences is effortlessly and subtly conveyed with the twitch of a facial muscle, a flicker of an eyelid or a tiny tightening of the lips. In his own way, he suffers as much as Sifeng but obviously not as successfully - probably because he swallows and bottles up all that venom and suffering instead of spitting it right out like our Sifeng. I will leave you with one final thought - love him or hate him, we must thank Haochen. Because if he did the right thing to begin with, there would be no love story.

While for me this falls short of a masterpiece, there is so much more to it than a smoking hot love story and it is so rare to get such a good villain that is complemented by such an outstanding cast. The production value is very high and they did a fabulous job with the CGI. When I finished watching it, I felt like it was a 9.0 but unfortunately a year later, I was never even tempted to re-watch any part of it so I downgraded this to an 8.5/10.0.