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A review by aromarrie
Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 3 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I will never forget you."
my most favorite volume in the series so far :')
the series has been incredibly dark & gory from the start but being transported backwards in time to witness the fall of the Kingdom of Xianle, xie lian's home, was one of the most challenging things i've ever read. it was seeing this heavenly official be chided for trying to mix himself up in mortal matters as his former home faces a crisis where the people of Yong'an, a poor city within Xianle, facing a drought and a refugee crisis like no other.; it was seeing just exactly why gods & mortals do not mix in a mortality crisis like this as xie lian slays mortals who are trying to fight for their own future, and clashes with mortals like lang ying who added so much to the somber reading experience. it was knowing the dire fate of the Kingdom of Xianle as they faced a pandemic that was truly alarming but seeing it all in real time, seeing how chaotic things truly got before temples and statues built in xie lian's name were eventually burned down in a mortal fury, it was a fiery sight to see, and very disheartening, too.
with this series being split up into volumes, it really adds more to my memorable reading experience because of the way this publisher goes about splitting each volume into their own separate story, but keeping the threads attached so that the details of the events in this volume tangle with what we knew from the previous. the connections made to details i was made aware of in the first volume added so much more depth and left me quite stunned because of the implications of it. this was as such with the mention in volume one of Xianle facing a pandemic centuries ago where a disease called Human Face Disease was spreading, only for me to actually see all the terror that happened and to understand how dire the fatalities were, both in bodies and spirits, in this volume here. it was also seen in the connection of hua cheng, aka Crimson Rain Sought Flower, who i can't help but compare to this young soldier boy that stood loyally by xie lian's side all those years ago and also honghong-er with the nods to the red umbrella that's a symbol of hua cheng's, as well as the red string tied around one of his fingers.
seeing how they were connected to the actions of xie lian made xie lian's character truly so compelling because we see him make some mistakes that were rooted in purely good intentions in the buildup to the fall of his former home, and yet the implication that the little boy he went out of his way to help, despite going against rules, was possibly hua cheng himself is just absolutely astounding. even more so is seeing how large these cast of characters are, and how interwoven they are in the centuries that their fates have been linked to each other. the lore of these gods and the ghosts as well is truly everything, as was seen with shi qingxuan and their backstory in volume two and is even further delved into by the end of this third volume here. the Four Calamaties are a fixture in this series that is one of my favorites of all the lore, one of them including hua cheng himself, but there's also the matter of White No-Face, aka White-Clothed Calamity.
this being, once sighted, is a sign that extreme devastation will collapse in the general area it shows itself in, and as it was mentioned in volume one, it showed itself to xie lian shortly before the fall of the Kingdom of Xianle. actually meeting this character in this volume made my heart drop, and there was even an illustration created in its likeness on page that added more to the ominous tone of the story. at the time when xie lian caught this figure, he wasn't truly aware of its meaning, but as the reader, i had the doomed knowledge of the fate that was to come. in the scene that it first appears, it felt even more daunting because it was in a moment where xie lian truly seemed to have tore something inside himself and was genuinely crossing a line that would have irreversible consequences. there was the knowledge that by xie lian having likely been the root of the birth of this calamity due to him involving himself in mortal matters, it added much much more complexity to everything he had done up to this point and what damage he's already done, all with good but disastrous will.
it was moments with his family, the king & queen of Xianle, that painted him in a light where he still was very young at the time, and his ascension truly added to this burden as this once-Crown Prince of Xianle wanted to fight for the people but ultimately aided in their demise. the words of his mentore, Chief State Preceptor, mei nianqing, will always haunt me:
"You used your divinity to interfere in mortal matters . . . You've completely upended the predetermined fate of the Kingdom of Xianle--made a complete and utter mess. For the sake of balance, nature will breed things to bring everything you've derailed back on track."
there is some lightheartedness to be found among the heavenly officials as they play their games in the Heavenly Realm in the present day, such as the scene with the Mid-Autumn Festival, an annual event associated with familial reunions and such where mortals also light their lanterns to worship the heavens (there's definitely more to it, but this is my brief overview of it from what was depicted in this volume). watching as these gods in a more relaxed atmosphere as they oversaw how many lanterns were lit for each & every one of them added to the intrigue of the story that is quite grim in an overwhelming majority but still has moments where camaraderie and mischief are alight among the characters. there's still a lot of mystery, and this volume ends on quite a cliffhanger that connects to what i said earlier about shi qingxuan, and is even connected to another piece of lore that only enriches the story even further and i look forward to seeing it get uncovered more soon.
this was genuinely a fantastic read, as this entire series has always been but here, things were intense on a whole other level and i was invested in every moment of it.
my most favorite volume in the series so far :')
the series has been incredibly dark & gory from the start but being transported backwards in time to witness the fall of the Kingdom of Xianle, xie lian's home, was one of the most challenging things i've ever read. it was seeing this heavenly official be chided for trying to mix himself up in mortal matters as his former home faces a crisis where the people of Yong'an, a poor city within Xianle, facing a drought and a refugee crisis like no other.; it was seeing just exactly why gods & mortals do not mix in a mortality crisis like this as xie lian slays mortals who are trying to fight for their own future, and clashes with mortals like lang ying who added so much to the somber reading experience. it was knowing the dire fate of the Kingdom of Xianle as they faced a pandemic that was truly alarming but seeing it all in real time, seeing how chaotic things truly got before temples and statues built in xie lian's name were eventually burned down in a mortal fury, it was a fiery sight to see, and very disheartening, too.
with this series being split up into volumes, it really adds more to my memorable reading experience because of the way this publisher goes about splitting each volume into their own separate story, but keeping the threads attached so that the details of the events in this volume tangle with what we knew from the previous. the connections made to details i was made aware of in the first volume added so much more depth and left me quite stunned because of the implications of it. this was as such with the mention in volume one of Xianle facing a pandemic centuries ago where a disease called Human Face Disease was spreading, only for me to actually see all the terror that happened and to understand how dire the fatalities were, both in bodies and spirits, in this volume here. it was also seen in the connection of hua cheng, aka Crimson Rain Sought Flower, who i can't help but compare to this young soldier boy that stood loyally by xie lian's side all those years ago and also honghong-er with the nods to the red umbrella that's a symbol of hua cheng's, as well as the red string tied around one of his fingers.
seeing how they were connected to the actions of xie lian made xie lian's character truly so compelling because we see him make some mistakes that were rooted in purely good intentions in the buildup to the fall of his former home, and yet the implication that the little boy he went out of his way to help, despite going against rules, was possibly hua cheng himself is just absolutely astounding. even more so is seeing how large these cast of characters are, and how interwoven they are in the centuries that their fates have been linked to each other. the lore of these gods and the ghosts as well is truly everything, as was seen with shi qingxuan and their backstory in volume two and is even further delved into by the end of this third volume here. the Four Calamaties are a fixture in this series that is one of my favorites of all the lore, one of them including hua cheng himself, but there's also the matter of White No-Face, aka White-Clothed Calamity.
this being, once sighted, is a sign that extreme devastation will collapse in the general area it shows itself in, and as it was mentioned in volume one, it showed itself to xie lian shortly before the fall of the Kingdom of Xianle. actually meeting this character in this volume made my heart drop, and there was even an illustration created in its likeness on page that added more to the ominous tone of the story. at the time when xie lian caught this figure, he wasn't truly aware of its meaning, but as the reader, i had the doomed knowledge of the fate that was to come. in the scene that it first appears, it felt even more daunting because it was in a moment where xie lian truly seemed to have tore something inside himself and was genuinely crossing a line that would have irreversible consequences. there was the knowledge that by xie lian having likely been the root of the birth of this calamity due to him involving himself in mortal matters, it added much much more complexity to everything he had done up to this point and what damage he's already done, all with good but disastrous will.
it was moments with his family, the king & queen of Xianle, that painted him in a light where he still was very young at the time, and his ascension truly added to this burden as this once-Crown Prince of Xianle wanted to fight for the people but ultimately aided in their demise. the words of his mentore, Chief State Preceptor, mei nianqing, will always haunt me:
"You used your divinity to interfere in mortal matters . . . You've completely upended the predetermined fate of the Kingdom of Xianle--made a complete and utter mess. For the sake of balance, nature will breed things to bring everything you've derailed back on track."
there is some lightheartedness to be found among the heavenly officials as they play their games in the Heavenly Realm in the present day, such as the scene with the Mid-Autumn Festival, an annual event associated with familial reunions and such where mortals also light their lanterns to worship the heavens (there's definitely more to it, but this is my brief overview of it from what was depicted in this volume). watching as these gods in a more relaxed atmosphere as they oversaw how many lanterns were lit for each & every one of them added to the intrigue of the story that is quite grim in an overwhelming majority but still has moments where camaraderie and mischief are alight among the characters. there's still a lot of mystery, and this volume ends on quite a cliffhanger that connects to what i said earlier about shi qingxuan, and is even connected to another piece of lore that only enriches the story even further and i look forward to seeing it get uncovered more soon.
this was genuinely a fantastic read, as this entire series has always been but here, things were intense on a whole other level and i was invested in every moment of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Grief, and Pregnancy