I enjoyed this xianxia very much, thrilled to see that it got over 100 million views lately, to share in the excitement.

There was a sprawling cast, with over 70 characters that played a large or tiny but always significant role. Realms and Beasts composed a variegated tapestry that the ancient god, left lonely after the departure of his former many friends, still added to with his magic brush. The core was important, but not so much that it couldn't be lived without. Finally, the time of the gods ended but not our favorites', to enjoy peace and love, and mischief, that added spice, after the worlds shattering events they'd gone through.

The division of that world in Three Realms was explained in a fun "puppet theater" moment, to the Mortal assembly at the marketplace.

There were a lot of endearing and funny moments, some amusing birds, a Cluck Cluck (Kekeda) ; a mischievous Shush (Xuxu) parrot; grand phoenixes ; some fearful monsters ; an awful wizard and his ghostly but murderous ilk. There was banter and wars. Correcting a school of shape shifting Koi fry. Taming a lion. Playing leaf music.

That piece had many look for it : it was the tune, played on the Chinese flute "dizi",of one of the main songs: 不知返 (Bu Zhi Fan, No Turning Back) sung by Wang Heye ; the music, main songs and background music, was beautiful, composed by Yang Bingyin for whom this drama will become a signature work. The opening theme : 碧苍战歌 (Bi Cang Battle song) even got played on a televised full orchestra concert. Among the most remarked pieces of instrumental bgm were : See Vastness (见苍茫) , Invoke the River of Oblivion (引忘川) , and the clucking and mischievous Person Selling Three Things (卖叁之人) that accompanied Furong Jun's pranks.

Almost never a dull moment, despite the flashbacks to remind of key points or offer revelations.

The main cast was excellent:
Lin Gengxin at his best as full and manly, but considerate, God Xing Zhi,
Zhao Liying as an almost Goddess Athena-like immortal wielding her spear,
Xin Yunlai as Mo Fang, the ambiguous subordinate of Shen Li with a hidden past,
He Yu, as the ebullient "playboy" Furong Jun who grew out of his youthful pranks such as hiding a full armory in a Qiankun bag.
Zeng Li as Shen Muyue, the Master of the Immortal tribe and surrogate mother of Shen Li,
Liu Guanlin as the comically feckless Emperor of the Divine Realm, whose indecision triggered the events,
Li Jiaqi as the "Goddess of the highest Daoist Heaven" (Luotian) leader of the fangirls of Xing Zhi in Divine Realm, with blunt methods to get info, was grown enough to consider his personal as well as the Three Realms best interests.

I was puzzled that Huang ChengCheng was included in main cast, although his role as Wang Bao was the least significant.
Qiu Xinzhi as Liu Ming was also less impressive than his main cast status announced, and did not get much screen time.
Wei Zixin as Fu Sheng was not included in main cast, although his fear-inducing scenes were essential in many episodes.
Others not in main cast were remarkable :
Xuan Lu as Liu Yu, and Xu Haiqiao as Fenglai , played as secondary but essential couple,
Wang Yiyao and Zhou Junwei, as the Golden Lady and "cultivator", played another type of couple.
Dong Jie and Song Ningfeng, as Yun Niang and Zhou San Liang, announced one painful way to ascend to immortality,
Li Zifeng, Hu Dandan and Huang Yi played the recurring love triangle that was a cursed cycle, yearning for a choice and end.
Zhou Xiaochuan as Shun Bei ; Chen Zhen as Zhu Fei ; Yang He as Chi Rong ; Liu Yu as Qing Yan were some of the generals that served as necessary personnel for the military parts
Chen Lu as Rou Ya, Shen Li's maid, was lively and fun to watch.

Sometimes, deep reflections and thoughts were proffered : are gods still needed in our new age ? Do they need to be violently killed or cremated, or can they just retire and live for themselves ? Can those who have been put into power and accepted the duties, always be up to their tasks ?

I liked that the drama was a soft romance too, satisfying if not of the steamy sort, and that the marriage question was shown as not that necessary, as a political or society requirement, but just as a cherry on top of the cake, sealing the union in less flamboyant way as sealing an Abyss, but leaving room for sparks and continued slow burn but long lasting fire. This viral message to those who still see marriage as needed at a certain age, with desirable or not age gap, and body appearance in terms of height, roundness of face or filling the clothes as well as the shoes.

The God walking bare feet on the shards was one striking moment to show how despair and depression can hit even those that are relied on, taking them for granted, watching their moves and judging behaviors from below.

This drama actually went further than only pure entertainment.

I added as a companion piece a series of interlinked posts, that offer information about the drama, thoughts about xianxia realms and the abyss, an illustrated and complete characters' gallery with an alphabetical key to the 63+ portrayed.
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/yu-feng-xing/124265-notes-about-the-legend-of-shen-li-xianxia-drama?pid=3002697&page=1#p3002697