This is a belated review-- I saw Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain back in Dec 2019. Unlike most viewers, I fell in love with the drama within the first 5 mins of ep 1. It was that simple-- a funny conversation between Wang Wu and Feng Yin (Head of the Lingjian Sect) and I was sold. With most dramas I need a few eps, but for Lingjian it took only 5 mins and 我入坑了。 Because of this I have also seen My Unicorn Girl (by the same director), that was not as charming. I guess having 2 experienced actors in the opening scene with really fantastic comedy lines made a difference :) And I was tickled how the very handsome Roger Kwok (Feng Yin) look like an Uncle here.

To be honest, the next few episodes are a bit flat (the back and forth between the Old Man and Zhu Qin in the quest to find Wang Lu was a highlight though). The RPG part of the quest although refreshing, was a bit uninteresting as it drags. But the story picks up again when Wang Lu was accepted into Lingjian Sect and became Wang Wu's disciple. With Wang Wu in the scenes, the drama brightens up a lot!! The S&M part of Wang Lu's training was so hilarious and fun that quite a few period dramas copied this (the recently ended Court Lady is an example, hack it even has the same ML Xu Kai undergoing the same S&M training).

And as Wang Lu goes through various quests in alternate realities, illusions and more RPG situations-- the drama is a fantastic dreamland of wonders and fun! Supported by an amazing cast of actors, Ling Jian should be that comedy drama which you MUST watch.

My utlra favorite parts of the drama are:

1) When Wang Wu was held captive by Hai Tian Kuo. The shenanigans that Wang Wu got into in order to escape was hilarious and showcased her great acting skills ❤

2) The boyband performance of Wang Lu, Hai Yun Fan and Wen Bao. Initially I found this part very cringe and didn't like it. But on subsequent rewatch of the drama, I start to accept the craziness of the boyband and enjoyed it more.

3) When Feng Ling fell in love with Ouyang Shang. It did a parody of rom-coms -- the accidental meet in the rain, the female impersonation as male in order to enroll into a school, the fall into his arms, etc. were very well done and fun

In conclusion, good comedy becomes GREAT when you have a cast of capable actors with great comic timing and willing to sacrifice their image for the story. Sandrine Pinna was not worried that she'd look ugly in the scenes, but just went ahead and act according to script. And Xu Kai made a sacrifice to dress up as female in one scene! Do check for the behind the scenes for that as there are more that was shot but due to censorship, they were eventually axed in the final edit.