Journey of Chongzi being adapted from the Novel "ChongZi" by Shu Ke, is the Prequel to Song of the Moon, which is an adaptation from it's Novel "Fly to the Moon".

It is noted that it's 40 episodes, but there's a released bonus episode 41 for 9 minutes something where it shows the happy ending, so DON'T MISS OUT!

"ChongZi" Story/world building takes place around 3-4 generations BEFORE Fly to the Moon (Novel). The main protagonists Luo Yin Fan (ML) and Chong Zi (FL) are the ancestors to Luo Ge and Luo Ning in Fly to the Moon (Novel). So both Luo Ge and Luo Ning are direct descendants of Luo Yin Fan and Chong Zi (on their father side), around 3-4 generations later.

Both are Novels written by Shu Ke, but each have it's own Drama Adaptation respectively: Journey of ChongZi (from the Novel: Chongzi) and Song of the Moon (from the Novel: Fly to the Moon).

As far as adaptation goes, Journey of Chongzi did a better job in following the novel when compared to Song of the Moon(SOTM). In SOTM, the drama completely deviated from the Novel in terms of Story direction and Characters portrayal. As a Novel Fan to Fly to the Moon, I am still bitter at this fact, because the drama(SOTM) didn't do it's Novel justice. I understand that in each adaptation, there will be changes, some for the better, some may not, but looking at the comparison between these two dramas, I honestly appreciate Journey of Chongzi better than Song of the Moon(Because I am a Novel Fan to Fly to the Moon), I was sad how they completely changed my favourite character Yue(God of Moon) in Song of the Moon being reduced to little-to-no significant/screen time in SOTM

So, looking at it from this perspective, this is another reason why I appreciate Journey of Chongzi is because the character: "Wang Yue"(or "Yue" for short) true identity is God of Moon - The last surviving God from the God Realm, where he now carry a second identity Demon God. I love seeing "Wang Yue" being portrayed as a "Grey character", because this is more closer to his Novel Spinoff "Fly to the Moon" where he is the ML (protagonists), being paired with the FL (Liu Shao). I was sad/disappointed and feel sorry for those who never read the novel to 'Fly to the Moon' will only see Yue (God of Moon) as how he was portrayed in the Drama: Song of the Moon, because in the Novel, he is MORE than what was portrayed in Song of the Moon. In the Novel, Yue NEVER died, and there was NO evil spirits controlling his body! But why do the script writers have to go and changed the story direction in Song of the Moon Drama?! It's such an insult to fans who loves "Yue" in the Novel! I know this may sound like I hate his character portrayal in the Drama(Song of the Moon), that's not really the case, without reading the Novel, and without that comparison between Novel vs Drama, I do like God of Moon, but after reading the Novel, where there is that comparison, I came to find out just how unfaithful the Drama was to Yue(God of Moon) character, so when I look at it in this angle, it just makes me sad how the drama handled his character in SOTM!

In this drama: Journey of ChongZi, "Wang Yue" will always be a character I appreciate! I appreciate the drama for giving me this character portrayal and I appreciate Wang Zhuo Cheng for bringing out this version to "Wang Yue" in this drama. He did an excellent job in portraying the character "Wang Yue", and I definitely love his character here as Wang Yue better than his character as Jiang Cheng in The Untamed XD. Oh but hey, no hate from me on Zhang Binbin in his 4 different character portrayal in Song of the Moon, since I love his acting in Song of the Moon too! But it is really too bad, he didn't get to bring out that side to Yue (God of Moon) from the Novel that I come to love! (I blame the script writers for this!), I mean, considering his acting ability on Hei Yue, I think he will do just as good as Wang Zhuo Cheng imo!

In terms of Casts goes, there are some familiar faces that I recognize, e.g: Deng Wei (Miss the Dragon), Dong Yan (Miss the Dragon), Asher Ma (Word of Honour), Li Dai Kun (Word of Honour), Wang Ruo Lin (Word of Honour again XD), Wang Zhuo Cheng (The Untamed), and Gao Han (Falling into your Smile).

*** CHARACTER THAT I LOVE***
- Luo Yin Fan - In the overall, in terms of character, I do love him. He is among my favourite in this drama. I actually have not seen this actor Jeremy Tsui before, so this my first impression of him with no other references to his other work. Based on this drama alone and his portrayal in the character: Luo Yin Fan, I have to say that sometimes when he expresses his love, and his micro expression, especially through his eyes, he really reminds me of DiJun in Eternal Love (Pillow Book) and Ten Miles Peach Blossom.

The first scene that left a deep impression in his acting for me, was the scene where he held Chong Zi in his arms in her first life, after she "died", and he was grieving over her death because he blames himself for not being able to protect her in the end. I know it's ironic because he was the one who killed her, and while I was shocked when that happened i.e. him being the one to do it, but I didn't blame him on my end, because Chong Zi thanked him after he did it. This already signify that she wanted him to do it, to free her from the control of the evil spirit/energy controlling her body, which may even use her body to force her to do the things she didn't want to do. I love how strongly he express his regret in killing her. Usually the one who lives on in regret is the one who hurts the most; so when I see how Yin Fan held her in his arms and cried, he played that part so well, that I literally cried in that scene.

- Wang Yue - Played by Wang Zhuo Cheng - Do I need to say more? XD See above why I love him, I won't get into this on my end again, since I probably will be repeating myself. But I will have to add this about what I found funny about him is that I laugh everytime when he say "I can help you, but you have to beg me" LOL, like he sure has a thing for wanting / enjoying people begging him XD. But oh well, considering his status, I think he is worthy of that since he is, afterall a God LOL. How can I not love him? He did definitely make me fangirl, and I definitely love him in the black cloak, swoon worthy!!. There are also time when it shows he looks a bit sad, or him expressing concern which is quite rare, and I really enjoy the scenes that have him in it, even when there are times I want to give him some smack for some of the things he says LOL, but I never hated him and I don't think I can, not especially after I found out that my suspicion was right that he is my favourite character (God of Moon) in his spinoff Novel 'Fly to the Moon' (Yue!!!)

- Mu Yu (Senior Mu) - Which have another identity as Tian Zhixie, I came to really love this character on my end, given how loyal he is towards Chong Zi. Although I didn't like that he was manipulative at first, and created all these situations to make others point fingers at her, which push her further down that path, but I did came to love him on my end during his time, how he shows his loyalty to only her when Chong Zi became Demon Zi, and how he's always by her side. I was sad when he died though, and I wish he didn't die. But I will be honest, how he sacrificed himself to help Luo Yin Fan remember ChongZi is one of my favourite moments in this drama, it highlighted how unselfish he was and he only wanted Chong Zi to be happy on his end. Truly a worthy character to like!

*** WHAT I LIKE IN THIS DRAMA ***
There are many memorable scenes that I love, which I won't go into details since I don't want to spoil the surprise for those who have not watch it yet. But if I am going to say about one of the things I love about Drama Yin Fan is that he is not ashame to admit that he loves/have Chong Zi in his heart, and that he treats her specially. I mean, even when his two Shixiong question that his actions towards her already cross that boundary that a master have for their disciple, he never denied that Chong Zi is special to him in that sense, and I love how he was written like that in the Drama.

Another scene I really love was when Yin Fan came and take the bride (Chong Zi) away during her "wedding" with Wang Yue lol. It is a powerful scene where it shows Yin Fan fears in losing Chong Zi, when he never thought Chong Zi will want to marry anyone else but him. Yin Fan (imo) was cool in that scene, and I can just watch that scene and what follow afterwards on repeat. I am not ashame to also admit that when Yin Fan forcefully kiss her afterwards, I literally fangirl on my end :P

This is also an important scene that I have to mention, what Yin Fan showed me in episode 31 when he told Chong Zi to not leave him again, and that he doesn't want anything else but her, he can even be nobody as long as she can stay with him. He even told her that it is not impossible for him to leave Nanhua for her. I have always wanted to see in the drama where Yin Fan shows me he chose Chong Zi (as his main priority ) over his responsibilities as the immortal chief and I'm glad I got this moment in this episode. I really appreciate that they give us this scene in the drama. I see that as a character development for him, since before all this, he wanted both Congzi and to protect the common people(which is his responsibilities as Chief of the Immortal Realm). It is nice to see that he finally realized that he can't really have both, and that in the end, his decision was he chose Chong Zi above his responsibilities (that path he's been walking on, all those years).

*** WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE ***
- Those Immortals that claim they are "righteous" when their actions is SO HYPOCRITICAL. I don't think I have ever hated the immortal realm so much! There's only a few in the immortal realm that I DON'T DISLIKE: Luo Yin Fan , Qin Ke, Zhuo Hao.... And.... Wow, that's it!!!

- Pheonix Tears - (!!!) I cannot believe I will be seeing this in this drama!!! I have always hated this spell and the effects of this spell!! Honestly, I don't know why they would create something like this!! I don't like the effects of it, and I especially DON'T like it when the person forced the victim to drink it without them knowing it!!! Poor Luo Yin Fan, Luo Ge and Luo Ning in their respective stories being succumbed to this spell!! But for Luo Ge (in Song of the Moon), at least it worked out for the best to cure him of his Soul Devour spell, otherwise, I wouldn't have forgive what happened on my end!!

- Quite honestly, I didn't enjoy any of those moments, when Yin Fan was under the effect of Pheonix Tears and when he hurted Chong Zi... It was the most painful time to watch for me, and I really was tempted to fast-forward those scenes on my end, I don't know how much I curse the screen when his Min Shixiong and Ting Xie was lying to Yin Fan and make him misunderstand Demon Zi even more.... But I couldn't really blame Yin Fan during those times, since I know what the effects of Pheonix Tears does... Can they just destroy that spell?!

*** MAIN PAIRING: YIN FAN x CONG ZI ***
I felt like this is like a Reverse Harem, since there's several Men loves Chong Zi!! Sometimes I wish it wasn't the case, because if they end up being the characters I also like, I feel sorry for them because their feelings is unrequited.

I don't ship Chongzi romantically with anyone else except Luo Yin Fan. Chongzi and Luo Yin Fan is the endgame pairing that I love and rooted for since the beginning.

In my eyes, there's nothing wrong with Master and Disciple getting together in a romantic relationship, if they love each other of course, as I have read/seen many of those tropes made canon in Chinese Stories. It's only a problem if they want to make a controversy out of that topic.

You don't have to like Master and Disciple Romance, because everyone is entitled to their preferences, and if that's not for them, then that's not for them, but don't hate on Master and Disciple relationship just for the sake of ruining it for those who are more open minded in acceptance of how their relationship started off at first.

Chemistry is also subjective, people may not see the chemistry between Yin Fan and Chongzi, but for me, I still do, and they have chemistry in my eyes, I saw and love their chemistry very early on, because I love how Yin Fan dotes on Chong Zi, and I love how he loses his cool when it comes to expressing his love for Chong Zi. It's always a highlight for me. The way he shows me this through his micro-expressions that he cared for her, and protects her from his shixiong, I love him for that.

In terms of pairing, between SOTM (Luo Ge and Liu Shao) and Journey of Chongzi (Luo Yin Fan and Chong Zi), I love them both equally, but if I am going to be honest, I personally enjoy the kiss scenes between Yin Fan and Chong Zi better than Luo Ge and Liu Shao :( Because at least there was an effort when they kiss, compared to none in Song of the Moon :(

** FINAL BATTLE. DRAMA PERSPECTIVE **
What I got out of that battle is that in order for him to master the Heart Mirror Spell final stage, Yin Fan have to let go of his love for Chong Zi(to be indifferent), but he cannot bring himself to do that, he wanted to hold onto his love for her, so he chose the other way, which is to sacrifice himself to master that technique and save Chongzi instead, because he couldn't bring himself to kill her again the second time. HE COULDN'T KILL HER. I am glad they showed me this, because if he did kill her again the second time, wouldn't fans be more upset because it's like back to square 1 in Chong Zi first life. So for me personally I saw that more like a development AND a contrast to how back then he had no choice but to kill her with his sword to protect Nanhua but this time, he chose to do the opposite, to protect and save her from being the matyre to the sword forever.

I may be a minority but that part when it revealed that it was an act from Yin Fan when he put his sword in reverse to have Chong Zi kill him(she was going all out), and when Yin Fan told Chong Zi to not be afraid and that it's now over. For me personally I did cry in that scene because I love how they play out their emotions... She is saved from Ni Lun Sword because she was cleansed by Heart Mirror spell. That did came at the expense of Yin Fan death though, but I did love the message implied behind what happened and that (1) Yin Fan would rather die than to let go of his love for her... (2) He couldn't bring himself to kill her again the second time.

It was Chong Zi choice in the end to want to go into the sword and them being a spirit together, because she couldn't live in a world without him in it. Yin Fan would do the same too if the situation was reverse since he made it clear to the immortals when he blasted his Min Shixiong that if Chong Zi is dead, he won't live on either... So to me it's just the reverse scenario of that scene from what Chong Zi showed me when she went into the sword as well.

*** ENDING ***
Let's just say that if they had ended on episode 40 with that ending, I would have been annoyed and pissed off, but considering they had an extended bonus episode 41 showing what happened later, I am happy with the ending for Chong Zi and Yin Fan. All I asked for in a Happy Ending where my favourite CP is concerned is to see them alive and happily together. And I got that in episode 41, I was also touched by all the flashbacks they put in that episode as well especially a surprised scene that I thought was deleted... but you see both Yin Fan and Chong Zi can get out of that place and go to the mortal realm fine, so looking at this aspect I think it ties in similarly to the novel ending(for that part). And I personally love how Yin Fan calls her in an affection way 娘子 in the restaurant when he came back with the jar of wine (in episode 41) which I see it as in the context of 'wife' when he call her that (it's something subtle but I love that)!

I actually love this ending over SOTM. I remember when SOTM ended, I literally ranted, so for those who don't like this ending, I can relate, looking at this in another perspective (my feelings towards Song of the Moon ending). SOTM wasted one final episode to do two endings, which is sad seeing how the drama itself already deviated from the Novel (Fly to the Moon), poor Yue(God of Moon) in the novel was so much more than what we got adapted in the drama when they changed it (still bitter about that)

Overall, I understand and I agree that this drama can definitely be better, there are times, where I also wanted to see certain scenes happen but it never came, so I was quite disappointed in that. But honestly, for me, this drama positives outweighs the negatives. I just wanted to say as an overall message that (if it makes you feel a little better), at least Journey of ChongZi have a better adaptation from the novel when compared to SOTM which is completely changed in the Drama. Both dramas have it's flaws in it's own way, but I just don't think Journey of Chongzi is THAT bad to get a rating below 5. At least for the ending, we were given an extended bonus ending, where it shows Yin Fan and Cong Zi is together, it is at least similar to the Novel. Consider that lucky, because we didn't get that in SOTM, instead it was all over the place and there was a deleted ending in SOTM that I know was filmed but IQIYI never release it!

P.S.S. For Chongzi Novel, I can't say I love how some of those scenes played out either, after reading the novel, as the overall, I can clearly say I love and enjoyed the drama better than the Novel.