This drama is about the life of Taintai Jin - a human that is destined to become the Devil God and destroy the world. He is your anti-hero male lead that you can't help but fall in love with, sympathise with and even pity. He is a tragic character that from episode 1 till episode 40 experiences injustice, suffering and pain. The female lead is not your typical and innocent character - she is righteous , strong-willed and a tough cookie to crack. From episode 1 she has a mission and no matter how challenging it is, she sticks to her mission until the end.

ROMANCE/RELATIONSHIPS:
The drama is not for the faint of heart. It has tons of betrayals and the most angsty relationship I've ever watched. Beware that this is not a fluffy love story. The romance is the true definition of love-and-hate and it stays that way until the end. The relationship between the main leads is complicated - they want to kill each other but at the same time can't help but love each other. The misunderstanding trope is heavy in this so have that in mind. The chemistry between the leads is phenomenal and they truly carry the whole drama. There are also two side couples - one of them you will probably dislike, and the other you will love and cry for. All and I mean all characters are morally grey at one point or another in the story which makes it very captivating to watch.

VISUALS/CGI:
The visuals are absolutely stunning, CGI is top-tier, the fighting scenes are majestic, the costumes are striking. The male lead alone has about 50 stunning costumes. This is where the high-budget has been spent and it's well worth it. It's truly the most visually beautiful Xianxia you will ever watch in 2023.

PLOT/EDITING:
The plot is very fast paced with tons of layers and backstory. There are 4 arcs - the Mortal arc, the Dream arc, the Mortal kingdom arc and the Immortal arc. All of them have something new and unique to show you and they weave in together like magic. From start till the end, the storyline between each arc connects really well which is impressive. The plot and characters really make the story multi-layered and can be quite complicated so you definitely need time to digest everything. You will not find any fillers. In fact the drama was originally supposed to be 56 episodes but due to China's new regulations it had to be cut down to 40 episodes right before it aired. Unfortunately what this means is that sometimes the pacing is off and the editing is choppy which especially can be seen in the last 10 episodes. But even so, in my opinion it doesn't take away from the experience of watching this addictive drama and it's still worth it.

ENDING (MINOR SPOILERS)
The ending is totally heartbreaking. It's open ended and can have different interpretations - you will have to watch it and judge it for yourself. Due to China’s regulations the drama had to be cut from 56 episodes to 40 which means that the story wasn’t fully wrapped up for the support characters in the end. In short, everything is open ended.

OVERALL:
This drama has become my all time favourite xianxia because of the emotional impact it has had on me. It’s been days since I’ve finished this and I’m still thinking about it constantly. Despite its flaws (I blame China’s regulations) it will always hold a special place in my heart. I truly believe if we had received the uncut version, the drama would have easily become the greatest masterpiece of all time. The male lead is absolutely phenomenal in his anti-hero role as he is totally unique and different from any other cdramas. His acting is top-tier, his character story is top-tier and for him alone it's 100% worth it to watch this drama.