This is gonna be hard to review. This drama had so many big names I'm not sure how it turned out to be the hot mess it is.
Also, I tried to watch this twice: once earlier on, near when it was first broadcasted, and then again more recently (late 2023) because I couldn't finish the 1st time and thought I'd try again--and I STILL could not force myself to watch it all (and I really did want to like it, I really tried...more on this later)

Story - Admittedly, I enjoyed the story in the earlier episodes for the most part. Enough to watch consecutive episodes and wonder what will happen next. And then suddenly there was some strange plot twist and I still can't clearly wrap my head around what exactly happened but the story was very jarring and confusing between 2 apparently very different arcs. There are dramas with multiple time skips and alternate universes that are far less confusing. From there it just goes downhill, I'm trying to relearn the characters. I'm trying to understand new characters. I'm trying to understand how this ties into earlier episodes and where the hell this drama is going. I will give up before figuring it out since I never finished, whether it was my first watch attempt or second. Perhaps if all the actors and specifically the main leads were stellar, their performances might've been able to carry but no, there were issues there for me as well.

Acting/Cast - Mixed bag here. I will start with the positives.
Bai Lu. She had a supporting role here in this drama. I am her fan now but I was not at the time I first watched this drama. Her portrayal of the female general really stuck with me. She convincingly portrays a female who is at times a strong bad-ass, at times vulnerable, someone who has her flaws and was focused on an old flame but also holds strongly to her moral integrity even when it put her at odds with loved ones. This role put Bai Lu on my radar and for that at least, I do have to thank this drama. I've seen complaints that Bai Lu as 2FL got too much screen time. In my opinion this was partially due to the discrepancy in acting caliber between FL and 2FL. After I gave up watching this drama, I did at least seek out Bai Lu's scenes in remaining episodes just to see more of her portrayal.
Song Weilong. He did alright as ML. Did not make as much of an impression as Bai Lu but I didn't really have major issues with his acting--perhaps a bit wooden at times but got the job done IMO. As a side note, I'm currently watching a 2023 drama of Song Weilong's and I do think his acting has improved over the years.
Also, I did overall like the Dr. Gu/Tianji Pavilion master--on a few occasions I felt the acting was a just a tad overdone but generally a commendable job.
And then there are the problems:
Guan Xiao Tong. The FL seemed alright in the beginning, although her acting was somehow jarring for me in that it couldn't really pull me into the story. I can't quite put my finger on what--maybe expressions were a bit forced or unconvincing, or maybe there was not enough breadth in conveying her different emotions and mental states (I felt like she had much the same expression and tone of voice all the time) but she was unable to evoke emotions from me as a viewer. Her cry scenes did not make me feel sympathetic or want to cry with/for her. It made me cringe, I felt it was unconvincing. But when the story in the beginning was still decently compelling, I could somewhat overlook it as passable and press on (the acting is not SO off that it can't be somewhat salvaged by a decent plot). Once the story itself took a nosedive, having a lead who I felt could not carry and contribute to viewer immersion was hugely detrimental and even more noticeable when she is right there in comparison-distance to Bai Lu's acting chops. Were there complaints about too much screen time for 2FL vs FL? Well then, perhaps FL should work on making her scenes more compelling.

Music - Did not make an impression on me but did not find it distracting either so I figure its good enough.

Rewatch - Well as someone who actually TRIED to rewatch it and still failed to force myself through the whole thing, I'd say no. I had tried to rewatch recently since I'm now a Bai Lu fan and thought I should go back and try and finish this. Still couldn't do it, and best I could do was skip to General Huo Xuan's scenes and call it a day.

Overall - I really don't want to rate any of the dramas that Bai Lu is in low, but gotta be honest. I couldn't even force myself to finish this drama, how could I possibly rate it highly. =\ I suppose maybe if breaks in story arc continuity and a disappointing performance from a main actor is not a deal breaker for you, you might still be able to find something to enjoy.