I'm gonna say this straight up: this is probably the best wuxia/fantasy/adventure/epic drama I've watched. Multiple factors add to this such as cast, script, BEAUTIFUL cinematography, actually good CGI and so on.

Story: The story was very fleshed out and complex, and did the novel justice. Each character, even the minor ones felt like they were placed wherever they were for a purpose and not just as a tool for the plot to move on. The plot was a little draggy in some parts but as I don't really pay attention to these things I didn't take any points off for it. One thing I can say is that I never felt like I wanted to take a break from the series (as I do with a LOT of Chinese and Korean dramas) or drop it. In fact, if I ever missed something accidentally, I would go back and rewatch it in case I missed something important. I also fast forward and speed up my other dramas, but I didn't for this one which I think expresses my devotion haha. The plot is also quite original and there are certain things that set it apart from other wuxia fantasy shows. For example, the fight scenes are very realistic. The opening scene really shocked me as you can see the work the crew and actors have done to make it look and feel real (it worked). Also, the regular tropes that other dramas used are completely changed in this drama. For example, in one of the scenes, the Emperor says (I can't remember exactly what he said oops) "A child born of royalty can live and take revenge, but the child of a doorkeeper can't? What sort of rubbish idea is this?" And this actually made me think...

Acting/Cast: Chen Feiyu, being quite young, filled the shoes of the complicated NingQue very well. He was good at expressing happiness, shamelessness, and quick-fire retaliation with his words. His smug face when he won something from someone is so endearing. I would give him personally a 9.5 for acting as just a few scenes (mostly of negative emotions) felt off. Song Yiren was absolutely amazing, and I would say she is the best main character of the show, She was perfect at expressing child-like dependence and admiration for NingQue as SangSang. She also showed off SangSang's practicality and work ethic very well, as well as her underlying love for NingQue. The romance between the two is extremely subtle in the first half, but from episode 40 or so when NingQue returns with Mo ShanShan, it begins to show as the two are forced to confront each other with what they really want from each other. I loved the endearing way NingQue treated SangSang, you could tell that even though he made fun of her and treated her as a maid sometimes, he really cared for her and would do anything for her. In one scene, he says "SangSang isn't the door to my life, she is my life." Oh God. The other side characters did very well in their roles. I found YanSe and WeiGuangMing particularly astounding, and I'm glad some veteran actors had big roles in the drama (unlike some dramas which only focus on the young actors to attract more audiences). Other characters I loved were ChenPiPi (and his bromance with NingQue and his cuteness), YeHongYu (as NingQue said: "You are THE strongest woman I've ever met."), LiYu (the princess of Tang, an ambitious woman) and every person in the Upper Story.

Music: I like most of the songs in the OST and some of them are very suited to a particular character or setting. For example back in the army they would sing the song "Take your life" and so on. However there would be a song for a particular character but then used for another character which was awkward (but it was a nice song so I didn't mind).

Rewatch value: Okay so the only reason I won't rewatch this is because it's kinda long. Also there's a second season, so I'll just wait for that. BUT the second season won't have Chen Feiyu, which is a shame as I grew used to his face and acting style. The romance and other relationships won't be the same... I've heard news that the main lead in the second season is going to be Dylan Wang, who played DaoMingSi in Meteor Garden. I found his character childish in that and kind of restricted to a few emotions (I didn't even finish, stopped at episode 30) so we'll see how it goes.

10/10 recommend!!

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I've just finished watching so everything I am writing now is my immediate and true feelings regarding this drama.

Story: The overall story was very impressive. It was a bit cliche, but which drama isn't? I loved how in the beginning JinMi and XuFeng were both innocent and how the storyline was quite light-hearted. Then the story beautifully progressed into something bigger than the both of them - from the humor and fluff, it was made into something raw and charged with emotion. I especially loved the time they spent in the Mortal Realm, where they were free to love each other without the restraint of their duties as immortals. Their story really developed there, and the mortal arc created a basis in which the rest of the story could progress. After the mortal realm, it began to get quite angsty, with different people trying to take advantage of them and whatnot. It was also when we as the audience felt the most heart broken. After the war, it did drag a bit to create doubt about whether JinMi was going to come back or not. The ending was happy, but perhaps not the most fulfilling. There was a rough explanation about JinMi which I personally felt cheated about as I endured a whole episode waiting for something profound to happen. I didn't really feel satisfied with the whole thing but it was cute to see how they lived their normal life with a son and everything. I was glad that RunYu remained Heavenly Emperor, hopefully he makes great achievements to redeem himself. I don't know how I feel about XuFeng giving up his Demon Lord position, but oh well. However I wanted to see the other characters too, like YanYou and the Moon Immortal etc. at the end. Overall the story is wonderful, but was lacking a little in the end.

Acting: I liked YangZi the most, I feel. She was able to express both the young and naive side of JinMi and also the more mature side who would do their best for love. The progress of how JinMi became her current self was aptly acted out. I also really liked how the voice acting paired well with her character. When she was happy, sad, or angry, the voice was able to bring out those raw emotions. XuFeng was also quite well acted out by DengLun. I remember him in Princess Agents, and I loved him in that. This character is quite different but nevertheless I still love him. In the end, there were a lot of his monologues which made me want to cry, so kudos. I didn't like his voice at times, but most of the time it was good. RunYu was wonderfully acted out. I could feel everything he was feeling, which made me feel very sad at times. The character really gave me an emotional rollercoaster ride - there were times I hated him to the core, and times where I couldn't help but want to comfort him and cry for him. The voice acting suited him perfectly. Every other character was well done, the only one that I am not happy with is SuiHe. The actress is fine, but the movement of her mouth paired with the voice acting didn't really match so it was annoying. Other than that, the cast was superb.

Music: Oh. My. God. The OST made me want to cry everytime and it was stuck in my head whenever I wasn't watching the drama. The times the songs came out were well placed, and the singers did a wonderful job of expressing emotions. The songs were also very well written. All the songs somehow connect with each other in some way, which I really liked. YangZi and DengLun sang a song each and also have a duet. The music is probably one of the best things about this drama, if not the best.

Rewatch value: The drama is quite long and drags a bit in episodes 45-51 and episodes 62-63 and some other areas. I had to skip some parts that I didn't feel interested in. A tip for people who feel impatient: speed each episode up by 1.25x. I find personally that this gives a comfortable timing and also lessens the times where you have to wait for things to happen. The drama is good for rewatching but it's just that it's quite long and quite emotion-packed, so may not be best suited for a quick binge. But if you have the time to devote yourself to this drama more than once, then be sure to rewatch.

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