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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
Loved reading a novel with POV from the “demonic” cultivators/sects. Similar to MDZS, we find out that they can be (somewhat) decent people just on a different path (ahem, WWX) and that the “righteous” sects are full of evil people and intentions (reminds me of some religions). I’m giving this one 5* because I would definitely re-read it if it got officially published in English.
Took a while to get invested in this novel because initially I had no attachment to any of the characters. By chapter 16-17 it ended up really growing on me and I knew I was going to love the story. This is a web novel which is always challenging for me and I listened via Natural Reader- so not my ideal reading experience.
Lots explanations about cultivation throughout the novel that would be really beneficial to readers new to danmei and/or cultivation (the different levels, qi, meridians, etc).
🔵Xianxia with transmigration? No, not really transmigration but the main characters are side characters in two different books (you’ll find much better explanations in other reviews here on Goodreads haha)
🔵Interesting world building and a nice, tight plot (story is short compared to most danmei I’ve read)
🔵Really fun characters!
🔵Multiple female characters I actually ended up loving/enjoying.
🔵Minimal romance but it’s there and it’s adorable. Clueless demonic cultivators 😆
I definitely think this book should get picked up for official translation into English. It hits the spot in so many areas!
*** I’ve been told by multiple people it just officially got licensed for English publication (announced by JJWXC website) today !!!***
Took a while to get invested in this novel because initially I had no attachment to any of the characters. By chapter 16-17 it ended up really growing on me and I knew I was going to love the story. This is a web novel which is always challenging for me and I listened via Natural Reader- so not my ideal reading experience.
Lots explanations about cultivation throughout the novel that would be really beneficial to readers new to danmei and/or cultivation (the different levels, qi, meridians, etc).
🔵Xianxia with transmigration? No, not really transmigration but the main characters are side characters in two different books (you’ll find much better explanations in other reviews here on Goodreads haha)
🔵Interesting world building and a nice, tight plot (story is short compared to most danmei I’ve read)
🔵Really fun characters!
🔵Multiple female characters I actually ended up loving/enjoying.
🔵Minimal romance but it’s there and it’s adorable. Clueless demonic cultivators 😆
I definitely think this book should get picked up for official translation into English. It hits the spot in so many areas!
*** I’ve been told by multiple people it just officially got licensed for English publication (announced by JJWXC website) today !!!***
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my all-time favourite Danmei books. A fantastic take on the transmigration trope. The main character has INCREDIBLE emotional intelligence and maturity while still being entertaining and frustrating at times (in a good way). The comedy blew me out of the water and left me humiliated among lots of train passengers after snorting too loudly. The respect that this book has for the “original protagonist”, not throwing her away and instead developing her into a fully-fledged person, was amazing. Such a short book for something so convincing and appealing and just overall, FUN!
I spent about a week straight reading this; it even broke through my desire to play the new Horizon Forbidden West 24/7, which was a powerful urge indeed.
It might be a familiar plot, but it's being played largely humorously, with a bit of mystery and an interesting deconstruction of what cultivators /do/ to the environment ('righteous' or 'demonic').
The head demonic cultivator, Wenren E (Devil Venerable himself), has a romance novel dropped on his head, and the novel seems to tell the story of his world; at the end of the romance, he dies, and his 2nd in command goes mad.
This is not an ideal outcome for Wenren E, who accepts the idea of his death but not of the sad fate of his subordinate. He starts interfering.
The actual great joy of this book is that it really LIKES all of its female characters, who take up quite a bit of screentime:
Fallen Primordial Goddess to naive romantic righteous cultivator Baili Qingmiao; Secretly an evil ghost cultivator who was once just a whole skeleton with a human head and a ghost for a brain until Baili gave her a body and caused a weird indebting situation, so she’s Baili’s master, Qiu Congxue; Baili Qungmiao’s disciple, a hungry ghost who swore vengeance on Baili for exorcising him but is so afraid of being eaten by Qiu Congxue that he falls in line, Su Huai; and The Singular Brain Cell Holding The Party Together, Zhongli Qian
Having slice of life adventures!!!!!
One brain cell!!! Qiu Congxue as everyone’s mentor and making them all worse lol!!!! They’re incredible!!!!
It might be a familiar plot, but it's being played largely humorously, with a bit of mystery and an interesting deconstruction of what cultivators /do/ to the environment ('righteous' or 'demonic').
The head demonic cultivator, Wenren E (Devil Venerable himself), has a romance novel dropped on his head, and the novel seems to tell the story of his world; at the end of the romance, he dies, and his 2nd in command goes mad.
This is not an ideal outcome for Wenren E, who accepts the idea of his death but not of the sad fate of his subordinate. He starts interfering.
The actual great joy of this book is that it really LIKES all of its female characters, who take up quite a bit of screentime:
Fallen Primordial Goddess to naive romantic righteous cultivator Baili Qingmiao; Secretly an evil ghost cultivator who was once just a whole skeleton with a human head and a ghost for a brain until Baili gave her a body and caused a weird indebting situation, so she’s Baili’s master, Qiu Congxue; Baili Qungmiao’s disciple, a hungry ghost who swore vengeance on Baili for exorcising him but is so afraid of being eaten by Qiu Congxue that he falls in line, Su Huai; and The Singular Brain Cell Holding The Party Together, Zhongli Qian
Having slice of life adventures!!!!!
One brain cell!!! Qiu Congxue as everyone’s mentor and making them all worse lol!!!! They’re incredible!!!!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
it’s a marvellous journey of resisting fate, reinventing yourself, and existing around others - each of moments can be quite difficult.
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What happens when the cold-hearted leader of a demonic sect finds out he's actually destined to be the second-male lead in a Mary-Sue novel? A hilarious, yet thought-provoking, journey of self-discovery and finding out the meaning of love (cause apparently no one in the demonic sect has experienced such a thing).
The Devil Venerable takes a look at many tropes from both Mary-Sue and Stallion novels and simply asks "why?" Why does this silly girl trust everyone she meets? Why does she like that despicable man? Why the hell would I fall in love with her? Why do all these women like this horrible man who's just out to garner power and admiration? He asks these questions, finds the logic hidden within, and ultimately leads the Mary-Sue protagonist down a road of redemption to becoming her own woman, all while constantly face-slapping the stallion progtanist on the way. It's highly cathartic.
I have to really praise this novel simply for the fact that it's quite rare you come across a boys love with a well-written, fleshed out female character. Never mind multiple.
The original protagonist, Baili, is an absolute hard-to-care-about airhead in the beginning. As she meets and interacts with people from the demonic sect though we learn why she is like this and she slowly but surely becomes her own person. Ultimately she realizes the love she was chasing after was only hurting her.
Then we have Qiu CongXue and Shu Yan Yan who are two women with a large part in guiding Baili to her realizations. They're both domineering in almost completely opposite ways. Qiu CongXue puts no importance in her womanly appearance, or in her entire physical being really, as she wholeheartedly dedicates herself to being a ghost cultivator (which results in her being a literal walking skeleton). Whereas Shu Yan Yan is a powerful dual cultivator; taking on many lovers, showing the ugly side of men, and never deigning to fall in love.
Beyond those three shining stars, the novel is full of exciting side characters ranging from the downright disgusting stallion protagonist to the poorly overworked scholar who just wants to be a teacher.
Now the main couple themselves, Wenren and Hanjiang, have a great dynamic but their story honestly takes a back seat compared to the world building and the side characters. You really wouldn't even think it's a boys love novel until about 3/4 of the way through. That's not a bad thing though as the whole story is a bit of a lead up to these two understanding what love is and Wenren realizing what he's had under his nose this whole time.
My only complaint, which is just a personal dislike, is that I hate hate hate the trope (in xanxia, high fantasy, etc) where the leads first meet when ONE of them was a child. Yea, yea, it's all just numbers when everyone can live for multiple centuries and more but it's just a big ick for me. Even the Mary-Sue/Stallion couple actually grew up together and were basically the same age, but the main couple has to be centuries in age apart? It's just weird, yea? Especially when baby Hanjiang being saved by adult Wenren was a big part of his feelings developing; he's literally been attached to him since and ultimately it turned into obsession. Don't like it. Nope.
BUT their dynamic is refreshing in that they're both very strong, competent, and unabashed. Not the best, nor most interesting, couple I've read but certainly no where near the worst.
Their relationship isn't the meat of the story anyway; it's about losing love, finding love, finding yourself, and being yourself.
The Devil Venerable takes a look at many tropes from both Mary-Sue and Stallion novels and simply asks "why?" Why does this silly girl trust everyone she meets? Why does she like that despicable man? Why the hell would I fall in love with her? Why do all these women like this horrible man who's just out to garner power and admiration? He asks these questions, finds the logic hidden within, and ultimately leads the Mary-Sue protagonist down a road of redemption to becoming her own woman, all while constantly face-slapping the stallion progtanist on the way. It's highly cathartic.
I have to really praise this novel simply for the fact that it's quite rare you come across a boys love with a well-written, fleshed out female character. Never mind multiple.
The original protagonist, Baili, is an absolute hard-to-care-about airhead in the beginning. As she meets and interacts with people from the demonic sect though we learn why she is like this and she slowly but surely becomes her own person. Ultimately she realizes the love she was chasing after was only hurting her.
Then we have Qiu CongXue and Shu Yan Yan who are two women with a large part in guiding Baili to her realizations. They're both domineering in almost completely opposite ways. Qiu CongXue puts no importance in her womanly appearance, or in her entire physical being really, as she wholeheartedly dedicates herself to being a ghost cultivator (which results in her being a literal walking skeleton). Whereas Shu Yan Yan is a powerful dual cultivator; taking on many lovers, showing the ugly side of men, and never deigning to fall in love.
Beyond those three shining stars, the novel is full of exciting side characters ranging from the downright disgusting stallion protagonist to the poorly overworked scholar who just wants to be a teacher.
Now the main couple themselves, Wenren and Hanjiang, have a great dynamic but their story honestly takes a back seat compared to the world building and the side characters. You really wouldn't even think it's a boys love novel until about 3/4 of the way through. That's not a bad thing though as the whole story is a bit of a lead up to these two understanding what love is and Wenren realizing what he's had under his nose this whole time.
My only complaint, which is just a personal dislike, is that I hate hate hate the trope (in xanxia, high fantasy, etc) where the leads first meet when ONE of them was a child. Yea, yea, it's all just numbers when everyone can live for multiple centuries and more but it's just a big ick for me. Even the Mary-Sue/Stallion couple actually grew up together and were basically the same age, but the main couple has to be centuries in age apart? It's just weird, yea? Especially when baby Hanjiang being saved by adult Wenren was a big part of his feelings developing; he's literally been attached to him since and ultimately it turned into obsession. Don't like it. Nope.
BUT their dynamic is refreshing in that they're both very strong, competent, and unabashed. Not the best, nor most interesting, couple I've read but certainly no where near the worst.
Their relationship isn't the meat of the story anyway; it's about losing love, finding love, finding yourself, and being yourself.
3.5 but I’m rounding down just because it’s not on the same level as my other 4-star danmeis.
This was such a ride. To start off, I had such a good time reading this. I was cracking up, kicking my feet and giggling, gasping, all that. Similar to Scum Villain, this book is a satire, so of course, it’s filled with tropes and the subversion of tropes that just make you want to cry laughing. But I’ll express specifically what I loved:
Wenren È. Most well-adjusted, level-headed, self-aware danmei lead I’ve ever encountered. But at the same time, hilariously oblivious to the feelings of the one he cares about most. I just appreciate how well he handles things, his thoughtfulness. The fact that he uses a halberd to fight is so awesome. He really is venerable!
Yin Hanjiang. Y’all, I was so freaked out by him throughout this story. But in a good way. Every time he put on that damn mask, I got whole-body chills. The Blood Hell scene where he’s chasing Wenzhao with the drum is seared into my mind. I really appreciated his character growth and how he is finally able to let go of everything he’s been repressing for 100 years, able to finally be himself in front of Wenren È. Also his sword becoming a triangle blade, ALSO very cool. Both male leads individually: LOVE!
Let me also discuss the women in this book. It’s been very refreshing to read danmei lately where female characters are treated with more respect and as actual interesting characters. Of course, Baili Qingmiao is a bit dumb for a while, but that’s part of the satire. But Shu Yanyan and Qiu Congxue? The mean sisters….they were just such wonderful additions to this story. The fact that Qiu Congxue regains her flesh body and still chooses to return to having a skeleton body was hilarious but also really refreshing to have even a female character in such a trope-y novel be so desexualized, if that makes sense.
Let’s not forget Zhongli Qian. We love you, king!
There were also some genuinely horrifying scenes in this book that I’ll be thinking about for a long time. The exploration of inner demons and mental fortitude is also something new for me that I really enjoyed. Did I mention I love the Venerable, by the way…
What I was lukewarm about/what I did not quite like:
Unfortunately, I think that the scenes of the leads’ relationship post-getting-together felt a little stale and unexciting. I loved the chemistry and tension between them, even the problems between them, that functioned as the build-up, but it seems that the author could not really envision fully who they were together alone. Especially from Wenren’s POV actually. While of course I could believe he loved Hanjiang back, something about his side felt a little rushed and incomplete. Can I also mention how I’m getting a bit tired of the danmei trope where one of the pair turns into a child for a while for….what reason? The one extra with the leads was also just unsatisfying. For once, the author left too much to the imagination. How does that happen?? In this genre??
The story overall just felt a little rushed at the end. Things felt a little rushed and too easy in defeating the blood demon. I really wouldn’t have minded this had the post-love-confession scenes not falling flat but you know.
This novel was also confusing as Hell for someone like me who is still a novice in the world of Chinese xianxia web novels. I could hardly keep up with the differences between Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Body Unity, Void Boundary, etc and what actually distinguished them.
Overall, this was a fun read and not too long. Definitely would recommend to anyone who enjoyed Scum Villain. It’s got its angsty moments, but it’s light-hearted and not hard-hitting enough that it won’t leave you feeling depressed for a week after. Thanks for buddy reading this with me, Kristina
This was such a ride. To start off, I had such a good time reading this. I was cracking up, kicking my feet and giggling, gasping, all that. Similar to Scum Villain, this book is a satire, so of course, it’s filled with tropes and the subversion of tropes that just make you want to cry laughing. But I’ll express specifically what I loved:
Wenren È. Most well-adjusted, level-headed, self-aware danmei lead I’ve ever encountered. But at the same time, hilariously oblivious to the feelings of the one he cares about most. I just appreciate how well he handles things, his thoughtfulness. The fact that he uses a halberd to fight is so awesome. He really is venerable!
Yin Hanjiang. Y’all, I was so freaked out by him throughout this story. But in a good way. Every time he put on that damn mask, I got whole-body chills. The Blood Hell scene where he’s chasing Wenzhao with the drum is seared into my mind. I really appreciated his character growth and how he is finally able to let go of everything he’s been repressing for 100 years, able to finally be himself in front of Wenren È. Also his sword becoming a triangle blade, ALSO very cool. Both male leads individually: LOVE!
Let me also discuss the women in this book. It’s been very refreshing to read danmei lately where female characters are treated with more respect and as actual interesting characters. Of course, Baili Qingmiao is a bit dumb for a while, but that’s part of the satire. But Shu Yanyan and Qiu Congxue? The mean sisters….they were just such wonderful additions to this story. The fact that Qiu Congxue regains her flesh body and still chooses to return to having a skeleton body was hilarious but also really refreshing to have even a female character in such a trope-y novel be so desexualized, if that makes sense.
Let’s not forget Zhongli Qian. We love you, king!
There were also some genuinely horrifying scenes in this book that I’ll be thinking about for a long time. The exploration of inner demons and mental fortitude is also something new for me that I really enjoyed. Did I mention I love the Venerable, by the way…
What I was lukewarm about/what I did not quite like:
Unfortunately, I think that the scenes of the leads’ relationship post-getting-together felt a little stale and unexciting. I loved the chemistry and tension between them, even the problems between them, that functioned as the build-up, but it seems that the author could not really envision fully who they were together alone. Especially from Wenren’s POV actually. While of course I could believe he loved Hanjiang back, something about his side felt a little rushed and incomplete. Can I also mention how I’m getting a bit tired of the danmei trope where one of the pair turns into a child for a while for….what reason? The one extra with the leads was also just unsatisfying. For once, the author left too much to the imagination. How does that happen?? In this genre??
The story overall just felt a little rushed at the end. Things felt a little rushed and too easy in defeating the blood demon. I really wouldn’t have minded this had the post-love-confession scenes not falling flat but you know.
This novel was also confusing as Hell for someone like me who is still a novice in the world of Chinese xianxia web novels. I could hardly keep up with the differences between Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Body Unity, Void Boundary, etc and what actually distinguished them.
Overall, this was a fun read and not too long. Definitely would recommend to anyone who enjoyed Scum Villain. It’s got its angsty moments, but it’s light-hearted and not hard-hitting enough that it won’t leave you feeling depressed for a week after. Thanks for buddy reading this with me, Kristina
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes