I finished this drama in 15 days, this is by far the longest drama I have seen. And it was only picked in spite of not being my cup of te a because it was too popular to avoid.

Pros
1. Visuals - this drama is great on visuals, every frame is like a painting, Yang Mi is pretty like Aphrodite, and Bi feng jiu is like Persephone? Idk. For some reason Ye hua only reminds me of hades with his costume, I kept hoping he will switch for a different colour showing that his character has become sunnier, but nope, black does not really suit Mark Chao, nor does that hair style.

2. The subplots were what kept me going, the host of side characters like Ze Yan, Dong Hua Dijun, Li Jing, Mo Yuan and his seventeen disciples, Yan Zhi and all the others, Their back stories and their individual story arcs.

Cons.

1. Too many make out scenes, I get it if romance is your thing, but I watched if for the fantasy element and period setting, but it's first and foremost a romance

2. Clichés - the story has ridden with clichés, girl cross dressing and living among several boys, causing some of them to fall in love with her and having them doubt if they are homosexual, girl who has a crush on main lead creating misunderstanding and hatching plots to separate them.


The music was pleasant, the acting was satisfactory, for some reason I preferred Mark Chao's Mo Yuan over his Ye Hua, None of three character of Yang Mi are really likable, Si Yin is too carefree, by not paying attention to her studies she leaves Mo Yuan with no choice to to take the trial in her place, SuSu is too docile, and Bai Chin is too proud and aloof to others except her family, everyone from Kunlun and Ye Hua. At first I liked her strength and capability but she comes across as stuck up later on. The side characters could have been paid more attention to, their stories more developed.