khyie's Reviews (267)

Translator abandoned

Just wasn't working for me.

Translator abandoned

I'm... clearly not a fan of crematorium novels.  I don't mind wife-chasing novels but this wasn't for me.

I set it aside to read something else and have zero desire to go back to it.

I was bored and the reviews don't fill me with any confidence that my opinion of the novel is going to change, only go downhill so I'm done.

I set it aside to read something else and realized I have absolutely zero desire to return to it.

Ah... I had this story in my TBR list and then I must've removed it at some point because I decided that for one reason or another, I didn't want to read it, but it started popping up on my tumblr feed so I gave it a shot and I'm so, so glad I did.  I think it was about chapter 15 when I realized this was probably going to be my favorite book I'd read this month.  Possibly this quarter.  A lot of it probably comes down to the fact that I found it a bit subversive of a lot of the more common things I see in danmei.  The main cast are pretty much all villainous characters, except Baili Qingmiao, but they're also all interesting and bizarre people.  Wenren E as a demonic sect leader who encouraged pretty much all of the villainy of his followers but also had a hardline on leaving the common people alone and frowned upon destruction of souls because of the way it upset the karmic balance and caused things to be harder for his followers to progress wasn't a stance I've read in a danmei novel before and I really enjoyed it.  The worldbuilding was pretty weak, at least in terms of establishing a scene, but the grander themes were heavily emphasized.
I was also really appreciative of the supporting cast.  Shu Yanyan and Qiu Congxue were particular highlights in the story.  I loved that Shu Yanyan being a seduction cultivator was so thoroughly embraced.  The novel never really criticized her being unapologetically slutty.  She was forthright with what she wanted and categorically evil, but she also had her own philosophy and her own pursuits and others may not have shared it but the narrative never looked down on her for it.  It was, in fact, repeatedly made clear that if it weren't for the fact that Wenren E and Yin Hanjiang were so powerful, she would easily have been the leader of the demonic cultivators because she was super smart and cunning.
I also really loved dumb but straightforward Qiu Congxue.  Some of her lines had me cackling and she was such a good addition to Baili Qingmiao's team.  Baili Qingmiao herself could've easily been an incredibly annoying character, but as the reader you were drawn into Wenren E's perspective on the matter and yes, there were times of sheer frustration, but there was also the overarching mystery of just what was making her so obsessed with He Wenzhao and how to help her break free of that obsession.  It tied in nicely with emphasizing the differences of love she, He Wenzhao, and Wenren E and Yin Hanjiang felt.
I really liked the handling of the relationship between Wenren E and Yin Hanjiang as well.  There was a significant emphasis on the fact that Yin Hanjiang's obsessive follower tendencies towards Wenren E were harmful, especially in the way he was suppressing what he personally wanted to do in order to conform to Wenren E's vision for him and also Wenren E realizing just how much he'd (unintentionally) wronged Yin Hanjiang and trying to fix it.  The development of Yin Hanjiang from an obedient puppet to his madness to embracing himself was really nicely handled.
Ah!  Another thing I really enjoyed... If you're like me and kind of tired of the constant emphasis on looks in danmei, especially beautiful jade bodies and youthful faces, etc, etc, etc, you're not going to find much of it here.  Wenren E doesn't really care what people look like for the most part so the narrative doesn't talk about it much either.  Most of the time, the appearance descriptions usually also tie into character or plot points.  Like, Baili Qingmiao being very beautiful is brought up pretty much only because she was the female protagonist of the novel that Wenren E read and he was trying to understand why everyone was so obsessed with her.  Shu Yanyan's appearance is described mostly to show what kind of cultivator she is.  Qiu Congxue wants really badly to be a skeleton and is deeply upset when she gains a flesh body.  Wenren E's appearance is a big old question mark because he has no reason to care about what he, himself, looks like.  Well, except the scars on his body which somehow tie into his cultivation powers.  Yin Hanjiang's appearance only starts getting brought up a lot towards the end because it's also illustrating his descent into madness as well as Wenren E realizing his own feelings and Yin Hanjiang becoming a genuine equal to Wenren E instead of his most loyal subordinate.  Very refreshing overall.
Anyway, I had a grand old time reading this story and if it's the last really good book I read for 2022, I won't be sorry.
Some cons to the book that I found negligible problems but YMMV, again, the scene setting was terrible.  I could not describe most of the locations that were mentioned, in more than like, 2 to 3 words.  Some, like the demonic sect, which we spent a helluva lotta time in, I couldn't describe at all.
The MC and ML were incredibly OP.  Like... wtf op.  The number of times they easily beat people who were supposedly way stronger than them was frequent and it was never really clear why they were so successful. 

Also, the MC essentially destroys his own body and cultivation twice and comes back with a new, better body and all of his power still intact for... reasons.  His will is strong.  Or something.

This book was, in a word, boring.  I've actually read another book by the author, Very Happy, that I really enjoyed at the time although it was super Gary Stu.  So when I read that this one was Gary Stu as well, I figured I knew what I was getting myself in for.  I didn't.  I really didn't.  This villains were the dumbest of all dumb, relentlessly trying (and failing) to pit the MC despite "realizing" multiple times that they were nowhere near his match.  Everyone who is a somewhat good person instantly thinks MC is the greatest thing that has ever existed anywhere, ever.  He has one web drama that blows up and all of a sudden he is the most wanted actor ever, while additionally no one has ever heard of him so he can continually makes waves.  He's not only the best actor ever, he's also the best calligrapher ever, the best painter ever, the best historian ever, and the best student ever, with the best family ever, and he's the most gentlemanly person ever, and all of the people who don't like him are clearly trash and not worth even considering.
It makes me scared to even look at Very Happy again, tbh.  Was I just in a perfect frame of mind to read a book this bad and think it was good?