The single best Chinese fantasy novel I have ever read hands down. And I have read a lot of them but never have I been interested in reviewing them, simply because they could never compare to any of the great western fantasy writers like Martin or Abercrombie etc. This so far is they only Chinese novel that had managed to kindle that sense of awe and immersion that comes when you get lost in the author's world. The best part is the world building and the plot development. At the time of writing this review a total of 1798 chapters are available (raws) and the entire novel is still set in the same "world". There is no "but wait.... There's a more powerful world with stronger cultivators, better treasures" and so on and so forth. The magic here is harnessed by using "Gu" insects which have a single purpose like increase strength, shoot blades etc. They are then combined in interesting ways and one cannot simply pile on a bunch of them together because they need to be fed and can have opposing properties. The plot is absolutely amazing with no lucky "I just found the greatest treasure in the universe, in the trash bin." Everything the MC gets is truly earned. It's not all perfect though. The unavoidable issue with the stereotypical "dog eat dog" cultivation world does not allow for deeply flawed characters, all of them inevitably are a bit too realistic and many a time can seem a bit mechanical. Most of them are still well written though. The biggest concern though is the main character who has a psychopathic attachment to increasing his strength, where it is the entire point of the novel. While there is a reason why he gets this way it's a problem with all xanxia.
Gu Zhen Ren
Liked by 114 people
LIKEDjiatja:I have to disagree with that last part. FY has manage to reach of buddha attainment.Treat all lives equal and be detach of all living things. For FY he see no difference between evil and good. How can you call him a psychopath