I was incredibly disappointed. Just as the extra story about the FL's adopted daughter let me down in the novel, episode 38 let me down in the drama.
The entire trip to the North and everything that happens there feels unnecessary, chaotic, and heavily butchered by editing. The transitions between scenes are so abrupt that I had to rewind several times just to make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped anything.
What's more, the very existence of this evil sect led by a woman who, accidentally!, had such a tremendous influence over her husband - a powerful minister - strikes me as a deeply lazy writing choice. The ML's sifu was already an excellent villain on his own. There was no need to give him a scheming wife who suddenly turns out to have been pulling the strings from behind the scenes all along.
Overall, what happens in episode 38, coming right after the beautiful, emotional, and tragic first half of episode 37, has significantly lowered my opinion of a drama that had previously impressed me so much.
The only thing still keeping me invested is the incredible relationship between the two leads. It's rare to find such a touching and genuinely moving couple in a Chinese drama. I tear up almost every time I watch them interact.
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Will I ever get over this drama? I just started rewatching from the first episode on Viki, with comments enabled. But I think it’s good to rewatch coz the first time, I was still overwhelmed by all the information even as I was keeping up with reading the subtitles. I also didn’t have any comments from other viewers on the other platform, which could sometimes help in understanding the context of a scene or dialogue better (especially since I’m not Chinese). Now, I’m more relaxed and able to take in the subtler parts, especially in the dialogues. I have the luxury of not paying attention visually all the time.
One good example of my having failed to catch the nuances during my initial watch is the part when Shen Li in her phoenix form asked Xingzhi (as the mortal Xingyun) what he was going to do in the market. I don’t know any Mandarin and the other platform I first watched this in didn’t give any side notes on such languange nuances so I had no idea of the double meaning behind the words Xingyun used in his reply.
Apparently, the words he used to say that he sells ginseng sounds almost the same phonetically as the words used to mean he was going to sell himself (i.e. prostituting himself). Hence, Phoenix Shen Li’s shock and initial disgust towards him. It made that scene doubly hilarious to me upon second viewing.
I’m also more appreciative now of Shen Li and Xingzhi’s initial interactions in their phoenix and mortal forms, respectively. I’m better able to understand now why Shen Li fell hard for him and how she grew on Xingzhi till she became very dear to him. His beloved, in fact.
As a phoenix in the mortal world, Shen Li was perceived as a chicken, albeit a weird looking one, an ordinary creature with little to recommend it in those days except as food for the people. She was one of the weakest creatures and her life very expendable. What a stark contrast from her life in the Demon Realm, where she is styled Lord of the Azure Sky, wielder of the powerful Red Plume Spear. She is a great general of their army, a princess for all intents and purposes. Here in the mortal world, she’s forced to rely on a sickly and impoverished mortal man for sustenance and protection.
As for Xingzhi, the disparity of his mortal life from his old life is even greater. He is poor and sickly Xingyun, living alone in a house quite far from the center of population. He’s forced to live on meager fare, whatever selling ginseng can bring him. And most of his small earnings go to his medicines. His body is frail so that it seems as if he can die anytime.
Yet in his true form, he is the last of the Ancient Gods in the Sky Above Heaven. He’s the most powerful being in the universe, and the lives of all three realms are in his hands.
As for why Xingzhi chose to live as a mortal in such state, it’s probably because he felt it would give him a more varied and intense experience of humanity and its challenges.
So here were these two beings, reduced to such circumstances, finding themselves living together and depending on each other. They got to know one another without the burdens and trappings of their positions, and it allowed their relationship to grow into something more authentic. In a way, one can say that this brief period where everything started between them was what allowed them to love each other just as themselves, as simply Shen Li and Xingzhi. Not as Lord Of The Azure Sky and The Divine Lord of the Sky Above Heaven and the Three Realms.
This initial arc goes on for several episodes before Shen Li finally returns to the Demon Realm and they meet again, this time with Xingzhi in all his understated glory as Divine Lord Xingzhi, and she as the Lord Of The Azure Sky. I think it was the perfect foundation for the relationship that they developed later on. It was a love so strong that it literally shook all the Three Realms and eventually led to the destruction of the Sky Above Heaven, ending the age of the ancient gods.
Some of the fans complain that the development of some arcs took a chunk out of the series, that some arcs were dragging and they saw little sense in it. For me, those viewers are probably the types who got used to the instant gratification that’s usually seen in Western dramas or those who don’t have the patience to finish reading a book. They always want to skip to the good parts and then they keep pestering other viewers with questions on why this happened or why that is so.
Anyway, whatever else these foolish viewers may say, TLOS will remain one the best CDramas ever. Almost all its characters, especially the ones who portray key roles, were well rounded and developed. And the execution of the story was top-notch, from the first time Xingzhi’s eyes fell on this weird chicken, until the end, when he and Shen Li return to the mortal world to live their life together happily and peacefully in that house where their love first blossomed.
I tried rewatching key episodes of TLOS on Viki with the running commentaries enabled and I was shocked to find a lot of foolish comments from a good number of viewers.
Many revolved around Xingzhi, who some perceived was a weak, useless character who only came in when the battle was over. They couldn’t understand why he refused to intervene in so many key events involving the three realms. In particular, they’re peeved that he doesn’t always come to Shen Li’s aid, especially when Shen Li and Fu Sheng engaged in that epic battle that almost cost Shen Li her life. They felt that if he had intervened, Fu Sheng would have been soundly defeated immediately and Shen Li wouldn’t have had to suffer nearly fatal injuries.
They can’t understand why he’s so emotionless and bland in his expressions and moves so leisurely, even in moments when the three realms seem to be falling all over his ears. They can’t grasp why he doesn’t swoop down to save the day every time there is a problem in any of the realms under his care, which is how they believe gods should act.
And they are puzzled over his behavior towards Shen Li. He sends mixed signals, one moment caring and concerned, another moment cold and indifferent.
It sometimes comes to a point when these viewers think it’s all because of Lin Gengxin’s lack of skills in acting, which, to me, couldn’t be further from the truth.
What these viewers fail to realize or perhaps miss out altogether is the context of what an ancient god is supposed to be and how he’s supposed to relate to the lesser beings who depend on his providence and benevolence.
As an ancient god tasked with making sure that all the three realms are kept in perfect balance, Xingzhi cannot use his divine power to unduly give advantage to one realm over the other, much less give marked preference to one individual over all of the other beings, be they mortal, demon or immortal.
As for his emotions, he doesn’t lack them at all. As with all other ancient gods, he feels all of the emotions that lesser beings have. The difference lies in his willpower. Ancient Gods like Xingzhi are at the highest level of the hierarchy because their level of cultivation and enlightenment is such that they have supreme self-control. They don’t allow their emotions to drive their actions. They always let their minds prevail. It’s a conscious effort for lesser beings but one that ancient gods have mastered to the extent that it has become instinctive to them to do so.
Shen Li understood this perfectly in that scene when Xingzhi came between her and the fiery balls that were falling all over the immortal realm ad almost destroyed the Western Garden where Xingzhi stays, near the portal to his Heavenly Domain. It took all of her powers to counter the attack, to the point that her fiery phoenix form had manifested itself. Yet when she was already weakened and failed to react in time to a gigantic fireball going directly at her, she saw a shield made of white energy protect her from the fireball. And then Xingzhi materialized in front of her, literally in the blink of an eye, and with an almost casual wave of his hand, hurled back all of the fireballs and dissipating them all.
It was then that she realized why her adopted mother and master, Demon Lord Shen Muyue, and the Immortal Lord, Tian Jun, as well as most of the beings in the three realms, warned her that it wasn’t a good idea to provoke Xingzhi’s emotions and desires. Gods are so immensely powerful and their divine essence so connected to the realms, that any slight disturbance in them can cause an imbalance in the three realms.
What’s worse is that if these divinge emotions drive the god’s actions, like what Xingzhi was starting to do because of her, it can be fatal to all other beings. This was proven when Xingzhi practically went berserk when she fell into the East Sea. He channeled all the powers of the heavens and even defied the immense powers of natural law, resulting the demise of many sea creatures. It wouldn’t be too farfetched to say that many mortals probably lost their livelihood because all the fish in the sea had died.
Another thing these viewers failed to grasp is why Xingzhi was thrashed by Fenglai when he’s supposed to be the most powerful being in the universe. Also, why was he dying slowly in Shen Li’s arms after he connected the Xutian Abyss to the Sky Above Heaven.
To answer the first part, he was already severely weakened. The injury that he suffered was dealt by the powers of natural law, the only power capable of fatally injuring an ancient god. Between trying to contain the abyss and blocking Fenglai’s fiery attack, even as he had already spent much of his power rebuilding the Sky Above Heaven, Xingzhi was near the lowest point of his power, though still very powerful compared to other beings.
For the second, his divine life is tied to the Sky Above Heaven. He knew that the only way to totally destroy the Xutian Abyss without harming the other realms is to link the seals to his own source of power: his heavenly domain. But he also knew that it would mean his own demise. Essentially, what I think Xingzhi did was to make himself the ultimate seal upon the five elemental seals. Very effective but very fatal for him.
It destroyed the abyss, but also destroyed the Sky Above Heaven, and finally brought the age of the ancient gods to an end.
It was a long drawn out and painful death for him because of the sheer power that was involved in the destruction that he had to cause to save the realms.
Another key element these viewers miss out on is the recurring theme of fate coupled with the free will of all the beings. Xingzhi as a god is actually fully aware of the fate of Shen Li, but he cannot divulge all his knowledge to her because it can adversely influence her actions and the way she will live her life. He has known from the start who and what she is, and I think he also knew how critical she would be to his own life. He also knows her power and abilities as the Phoenix and Lord of the Azure Sky and he respects that. Hence, he doesn’t fight her battles for her, nor does he insist in always interfering in the way she lived her life. Shen Li has free will and he respects that. God though he may be, but he can’t force any of the beings in any of the realms to live their lives the way he thinks they should be lived, even if this leads to their own destruction.
Many times, I don’t know if some of the viewers even pay attention to the story or, even more, to the story that not’s being said. I guess many of them - though not all - just watch for the eye candy. I feel so sad for them because they’re missing out on so much.
TLOs is such a beautiful tale and acted out perfectly by the actors. Too bad they only choose to look at the surface
To be honest, I think this scene was anticlimactic. It shows Xingzhi back again in the form of an ancient god. And not just his old form, but in that of a god who has attained the highest level of power and cultivation, as is usually represented in fantasy lore by the platinum hair.
Had this been shown at the very end, it would have revealed the results of the jade pendant that the Ancient Snake Demon Jin had given Xingzhi, in exchange for his and Shen Li’s help in winning Mu Zichun’s heart. According to Jin, this jade pendant was an ancient artifact that could restore Xingzhi’s divine power to its original level. This was all he needed because, for all intents and purposes, he was already reinstated by the Natural Laws of Heaven as a Divine Lord when he died to save the three realms from complete destruction.
If one can recall, his friend, the god Qingye, already had platinum hair when Xingzhi was just a newly-born god. Qingye was already considered the top among all the gods. Amazingly enough, even at the time, Xingzhi had already come after him as a close second.
Or maybe this was the true ending of the story, and episode 39 was just showing a glimpse of their blissful married life together.
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Someone made a beautiful montage of TLOS with the song “Not Knowing To Turn Back” (english translation of the title). This song is such a beautiful theme for Xingzhi. It really speaks of his deep loneliness as the last of the ancient gods, burdened with human emotions and longings yet forbidden from ever letting himself experience them. It’s an emotional prison that all the gods before him had been cursed with by the Laws Of Heaven.
Between him and Shen Li, Xingzhi’s situation is more tragic. Shen Li, though burdened with the responsibilities of being the Lord of the Azure Sky and heir apparent of the Demon Lord, is never really alone in her responsibilities. It’s just that she’s the kind of person who’s overly independent and often too self-reliant for her own good. Yet in truth, she can rely on so many other immortals to help her carey the burden of responsibility. She has her adopted mother and all the other generals and high-ranking demons who are beside her.
Yet for Xhingzhi, he is the only one left and he holds all the power that sustains not just the three realms but the Sky Above Heaven as well. He knows that one seemingly small mistake on his part can compromise everyone in the universe and may even destroy them all.
I loved Shen Li’s character and cheered for her, but I felt more for Xingzhi. Ultimately, he had a lot more to lose in the end.
I’m still putting off watching the rest of it because I know how it ends. Another thing is that, compared to TLOS, LGX and ZLY’s characters have less scenes together in the second half. Chu Qiao/Xing’er has more scenes with Yan Xun. It kind of makes it hard for me sometimes to appreciate how her love for Yuwen Yue grew since she spent more time with Yan Xun. In the novel, she practically dedicated many years of her life to Yan Xun’s cause. It therefore seemed to make more sense to me that she would love Yan Xun.
Maybe her falling for Yan Xun was borne of their shared experiences and dreams of freedom from the oppression of the Wei Empire. He represented her own ideals. Hence, when he started to stray from her idealized view of him, she fell out of love.
On the other hand, her love for Yuwen Yue may be a truer kind of love. She loved him for who he really was and what she was when she was with him. He helped her discover her true self. And I guess the fact that he loved her enough to let her go so many times, yet still always being there for her and protecting her, empowered her. Yuwen Yue always gave her the choice even if it meant becoming his enemy on the battlefield.
Too bad this series has an open end. I already spoiled myself by watching the final scenes when Chu Qiao failed to save Yuwen Yue so I know that it was the moment when her power was finally reawakened. Another season to cover the rest of the novel would have been great, but at this point, I think whoever would produce that would have to convince ZLY and LGX to reprise their roles.
