Worst scripted FL

Very disappointed with this drama's start. I have so many problems and issues with this, will list it out to vent here.1) There is no clear character/ personality provided for the FL and her portrayal is illogical.She is supposed to be missing the 6 senses, with only her sense of taste restored in ep2. The problem is, the show doesn't make it clear what it means when they say 'missing her 6 senses'.- FL can see so how is that missing her sight? But she can't distinguish colours so she is colour-blind? Show is not clear and only dropped that small tidbit in ep4.- FL can hear so how is that missing her hearing? But it seems she can't hear songs? But she can hear people speak? How does that work? - FL can't feel physical pain but she can feel hungry? But she can pretend to be in pain? How can a person pretend to be something they've never experienced? - FL can't feel emotions but the drama clearly shows her to be an emotional person. She gets angry, she gets upset, she gets worried, she gets happy, she gets excited, she gets scared, etc. Her portrayal is not of someone who doesn't feel anything. A person who doesn't feel anything is cold, indifferent and detached which the FL isn't at all. - FL can't smell but in ep3 she can sniff and smell demonic aura? The show is clearly using this 'missing 6 senses' as a plot device whenever it suits them, but ignores everything related to it when it doesn't (which is 90% of the time!).Also, because of all this nonsensical portrayals, it becomes difficult to discern what sort of personality she has. We don't know why she behaves the way she does, what drives her to act in that way under such-and-such a situation, or what sort of values she lives by. Show doesn't bother fleshing out any of this so this FL becomes one HUGE plot device that moves and flip-flops according to the needs of the script. OMG, THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE WORST SCRIPTED FLs.2) Show is very clumsy and clunky in its narrative. There is zero subtlety and refinement in the way it tells its story. It uses its characters to blatantly tell viewers what is going on all the time, it's so in-your-face. 3) Directing is heavy-handed. When I saw the camera close-ups of the eyes, I kept wondering if it had the same director as 'Under The Power' and lo and behold, it did. *face palm*4) None of the characters in the drama so far are appealing or likeable. - The elder sister, Chu Linglong, is one loud, arrogant, gossipy, spoilt brat who seems to only know how to throw her weight around. - All the sect leaders are typical caricatures of wuxia sect leaders - prideful, arrogant, unreasonable, close-minded, selfish, swaggering useless people who only know how to throw their weight around. - Side characters are one-note plot devices. - Even the ML (Sifeng) doesn't seem to have a clearly defined personality and seemed to go with the flow a lot.Except for the nice CGI, I have no idea why this show is so fantastic so far. Lazy scripting & writing, characters are ill-defined and inconsistently portrayed, there's no cohesive logic and the narrative is heavy-handed and unrefined.

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spoilers within due to re-watch

Enjoying the fun Xu Feng-Jin Mi interactions a lot. You can already see that he has a huge soft spot for her since episode 2 with the way he's always smiling at her antics and humouring her outrageous behaviour. He's also quite protective of her and is definitely keen to use the smallest excuse to keep her by his side. They're adorable here - like two frolicking puppies. All the Jin Mi's bookboy events from the epilogue are here. Also appreciating how they are dropping early plot-hints about Run Yu's mother and the Rat Immortal's involvement in the whole revenge setup. Flower Realm did not want to get involved (well done to Chief Zhang), but clearly one of the other flower leaders was lured by the promise of vengeance, which later led to the birthday banquet fiasco.And I just realised how Run Yu found out that Jin Mi is close to Xu Feng - it was from the Moon Immortal who leaked it out. Didn't think too much of this scene in the past but Run Yu did obtain valuable information here. He knew Jin Mi was a female and now she's in Qi Wu Palace as one of Xu Feng's attendants. Potential chess piece material. Was also discussing this with someone else but I had always been wondering why the Emperor has been dallying over appointing Xu Feng as the Crown Prince despite urgings from the Empress and Xu Feng clearly being the favoured son. It was only lately that the penny dropped. In one of the Emperor's talks with Run Yu (after his mother was murdered by the Empress), the Emperor said that only Run Yu had the power and ability to curb the Empress and the power of the Bird Tribe. From this conversation and also from Xu Feng's later conversation about him being happy to live under Run Yu's command because Run Yu was the better person to rule, it's telling that everybody is able to see that Run Yu has the intelligence and strategic ability required to control the balance of power in the court and among the realms. They probably had no idea just how cunning and manipulative he could be but they could definitely see Run Yu's innate talent in this area.Xu Feng is definitely not built to rule, not because he's not smart enough, but I think because his father the Emperor realised that in order to be able to control and maintain power, some element of cunning and ruthlessness is required. This, Xu Feng doesn't really have, because he's a pretty open and honest person who likes to deal with people sincerely and in an upfront way. Xu Feng's natural disposition to trust those close to him and around him makes him open to manipulations from people with hidden ill-intentions, or blind to plots around him. Unfortunately, the Emperor can't name Run Yu as the Crown Prince either because this would probably cause the Empress and the Bird Tribe to revolt and create chaos in the court. So, I think the Emperor must be in a pickle over the choice of his successor, hence the constant hesitations and delays.

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Hypocritical script with hypocritical protagonists

Holy cow, I'm already losing patience with this drama and its illogical narrative but this episode went up another level. I'm sorry but I HATE hypocritical scripts with hypocritical characters. In this show, if the protagonists accuse people, trick people, shout at people, and win, the drama pictures this as GOOD. But if the 'bad guys' do exactly the same, it's BAD. I don't know how many people realise this not-so-subtle discrimination but this ridiculous protagonist halo is seriously killing my love for the characters. I can't even root for the main characters when I find their core personalities to be just as bad, if not worse, than the villains but just because they're the protagonists of the show, they are painted as 'in the right'. Yes, I'm even looking at the ML and the FL.

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spoilers from re-watch within

Bahahaha! That whole 4-pleasures education session was great. And the whole after-effects upon discovery was even better! And it didn’t slip my notice that Xu Feng was openly eating grapes in front of Jin Mi while he and Run Yu were contemplating punishments for the Earth Immortal. I’m sure Xu Feng is trying to send a message to Jin Mi that he’s seriously displeased by eating those grapes (he threatened to peel her and bite her and eat her if she didn’t behave in the Demon Realm, didn’t he?) but I’m sure that kind of ‘subtle’ message was completely lost on her, hahaha! I don’t know about you but I found the scene where a drunk Phoenix slipping off Jin Mi’s hair ribbon and then removing her hairpin to be quite sensual. The lighting, the slow-mo cascade of satin and hair, the dreamy look in his eyes… woah. And they played the Yang Zi-Deng Lun duet right at that moment too, nice touch. Too bad it was cut short by Phoenix’s sudden soberness and awareness of the situation, gah. And aww… after hearing about Jin Mi’s near-death experience with Qiong Qi, Xu Feng went and gave her his Phoenix feather so that it can protect her in future. He’s such a sweetheart, he’s doing everything he can to look after her even though he believes that they cannot be together. :)

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spoilers from re-watch within

Run Yu went to visit Jin Mi after being informed by Kuang Lu that the Empress is closely monitoring him. There must be a plan in there somewhere! But seriously though… why would he do that. He’s not in love with the girl but he deliberately seeks her out. Mining for more information about her and Xu Feng, I’m sure. I think he’s also trying to establish more of a connection with Jin Mi because thus far, his only contact with her has been that one incident by his pond and during their adventures in the Demon Realm. Even while they were in the Demon Realm, he didn’t get to have any personal time with her to build a personal connection because of third party presence. In order to influence, one needs to not only understand another but to also establish some sort of relationship which allows or facilitates being influenced so I think he might have decided to do just that. At this juncture, he knows that Xu Feng is in love with Jin Mi so any influence Run Yu has over Jin Mi will also indirectly affect Xu Feng. And anything which affects Xu Feng will also affect the Empress. The boy is putting his chess piece in place. Jin Mi has become a valuable pawn. And we know that this later gave him great pay-offs. Jin Mi grew to know him better and sees him as friend. Her ‘like’ of him then played perfectly for the Water God to misunderstand. Gucheng King giving us insights into the Emperor’s personality, which isn’t positive in the slightest. Breaking promises, using other people to his advantage, grabbing power tools from others, this Tai Wei Emperor is really another piece of work and unfortunately, Run Yu takes after him. Xu Feng is nothing like him, good grief. Can I just say that I absolutely love that villa Run Yu and Jin Mi were staying at during their trip to the mortal realm. The whole place is beautiful - the little pavilions and courtyards, and that open pavilion leading out into the lake is just breathtaking. Pu Chi’s facial expressions are gold! The actor is fantastic - the way he walks and the way he moves as Pu Chi is really like a carefree playboy. It’s always such fun whenever he comes on-screen. I also like how he’s almost always wearing pastel green outfits. It somehow makes his character come across refreshing and bright, compared to the whites and pale golds of the Heavenly Realm, or the blacks in the Demon Realm. Xu Feng in deep blue also looks nice. I think he looks better in darker coloured clothes, they give a nice contrast to his fair skin tone.

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spoilers from re-watch within

Poor Xu Feng. The odds are so stacked against him. Jin Mi and her stupid Pill, Flower Realm leaders against their relationship, Imperial family against their relationship, Water God also against their relationship, Run Yu after his girl… only the Moon Immortal is on his side. Mountain to climb for this boy… but climbed it he did.I like that Jin Mi is so certain that Xu Feng will keep his promise to her. That’s Xu Feng - he keeps his promises. Even in the mortal realm, he kept all his promises to her. This guy’s a keeper, gah.The dejectedness when he thought he was related to Jin Mi by blood… Poor Phoenix. And it’s nice to see that despite the Pill, Jin Mi is also falling in love with him. Interesting way of the show to put out a scene of her subconscious and of her meeting her locked up self in a tightly closed bud. Clever visual depiction. Emperor has his own plans to use Qiong Qi. Run Yu really takes after his father in this respect too. Xu Feng got a 10,000 years old fire ginseng while Run Yu got a 1,000 year old snow lotus. Man, that’s quite blatant favouritism. Wonder if it was deliberately done by the Emperor. Oooh, Liu Ying vs Sui He passive aggressive trade-off. They don’t like each other at first sight. LOL. And the Moon Immortal is also so blatant in his dislike of Sui He. Hahaha, the way his face completely falls every time he sees her, it’s hilarious!The Empress knows that Run Yu is not a simple character. She’s right on the money and one can’t really blame her for her hostility towards Run Yu. She’s just being a protective mom in front of a dangerous snake. Xu Feng telling his mom he’s not ambitious and not interested in the throne take#1. I’m going to try and count how many times he did this, lol. That Emperor-Run Yu conversation was really interesting. Full of hidden meanings and subtle testing of each other. Emperor testing Run Yu on the Qiong Qi incident and on world domination possibility and Run Yu carefully crafting an answer that probably clears some of the Emperor’s doubts and made him come to a decision. Huh.

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spoilers from re-watch within

Ah, another case of Xu Feng’s lack of ability for diplomacy in the face of the Yancheng King’s sons’ injuries. He’s practical, that’s for sure, and goes for practical solutions - passing cultivation and healing pills - but doesn’t seem able to address the emotional or political side of things. Run Yu was right to be concerned about whether Xu Feng could handle things or not. Also, again, Xu Feng’s strong sense of belief in the Imperial household’s dignity comes through again - rebuking others over casting slurs in their direction. I think, in his mind, there needs to be a sense of awe, respect and dignity accrued to the Imperial house by virtue of their status. It’s like in Thailand where you can’t speak ill of the King - there is a level of sacredness accrued by virtue of their position. I suppose when you’re in the army, there is a greater sense of respect for rank which is not necessarily echoed by others outside of that institution. Gucheng King is your classic viper and he’s really so good at inciting people and diverting attention. The Demon Lord is being completely outplayed by him. Can also see by the conversation between these 2 Kings that they consider Xu Feng to be the main stumbling block to their world domination plans and that he must be eliminated. Poor Xu Feng… targeted by Su Li (Run Yu’s mom) and now targeted by the Demon Kings. No wonder the Empress has her hands full trying to protect him from all attacks. The chinese saying of ‘tall tree attracts strong winds’ is so true here. And in the meantime, Run Yu is flying under the radar. Perfect. LOL, Xu Feng and his dislike for bitter medicine. Love the faces Deng Lun makes every time he sniffs or drinks bitter medicine. Fussy bird! Lucky he has Jin Mi to coax him into taking his medicine, and aww… you can see he’s really enjoying those hugs! They’re so adorable!And well done to Moon Immortal! You called it right and you made Xu Feng realise his feelings! And I liked how the minute Xu Feng realised how he feels towards Jin Mi, the earliest opportunity he gets, he readily confesses and is unashamed to even let others hear about it. Upfront Xu Feng is laying all his cards on the table, right there and then. No room for misinterpretation except Jin Mi has the stupid Pill and is therefore clueless over the enormity of his statement. Argh.

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spoilers from re-watch within

Cheeky Jin Mi gave the Biancheng Princess the runaround - instructions for the long way around a square “left, left, left and then the door.” - so that she could make it in time to watch the action, haha. And she was so enthusiastic when Liu Ying suggested a re-match. Xu Feng’s broad grin at seeing her so excited - I think he gets a real kick out of being given an opportunity to impress Jin Mi with his fighting prowess (hence that hunting collection display, lol). He hadn’t had breakfast yet but who cares about that when he can show off a bit in front of the girl he loves? :)Xu Feng speechlessness when confronted with his ‘spring dream’ by Liu Ying, ahahaha! Love it! I really like this scene where the 4 of them are at table and chatting away on ‘controversial’ topics. The meaningful looks and glances all over the place are just such great drama. I can only imagine the kind of thoughts that must be running through everyone’s heads here but their facial expressions are a great indication. Deng Lun and Yang Zi did so great here. And ahahaha, Xu Feng’s attempt to cover up his dream with Jin Mi. And that raisin throw in his face, hahaha. I just love these cute little interactions. In the meeting with the Demon Kings, we can see the brothers’ operating styles. Xu Feng, in speaking bluntly, quickly offends the Demon Lord. Run Yu diplomatically steps in to sooth his anger with placating platitudes and persuasion.The Gucheng King is one really sly and tricky guy. And very clever too. In one move, he’s able to create a situation full of variables and trouble, and yet keeps his hands clean. Got to admire his evil cunning plans - they are very effective and efficient. And those 2 sons of the Yancheng King are hilarious! My friend who watched this show told me that when those 2 boys appeared, the chinese netizen comments were all along the lines of, “just from the appearance of these 2, you know they’re going to be cannon fodder!”. LOL. Run Yu’s even shaking his head at these two while Xu Feng doesn’t even want to look. Branching King’s coughing when Liu Ying was speaking was hilarious! He’s a great dad! Loved the whole Qiong Qi showdown section - can still feel that air of tension and anxiety, even upon a re-watch. I find it interesting to see Run Yu has barely any reaction to seeing Jin Mi grow all the lingzhi - he’s silently observing and taking note of Jin Mi’s skills, and I’m sure he’s slowly piecing together her identity through all these clues.

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spoilers from re-watch within

Oh, I just realised that in order to protect Jin Mi from Qiong Qi, Xu Feng threw his Phoenix feather at her. Wow. And aww... he doesn't want Jin Mi to go back to the Flower Realm with Lao Hu... And Jin Mi doesn't want to go back either because she will be disciplined by the Flower leaders, lol. "It's like serenading to a cow..." LOL, Xu Feng, you have no idea how accurate that statement is! XDI seriously can't help but feel a little sorry for Xu Feng, whether it's in the book or in the drama. The poor boy is falling in love, looking for little signs of encouragement and affection from her and is coming up flat, flat, flat. Or she seems to blow hot and cold, and he can't understand it. It's hilarious but pitiful at the same time, lol. And it completely explains his mood swings, haha. I remember in the book, there was an incident where Jin Mi had pissed Xu Feng off again with her cluelessness and she overheard Xu Feng's guards complaining amongst themselves that he's being unusually harsh. And when they saw Jin Mi they were like, "YOU! It must be YOU! He's always very nice to all of us. You're the only one who can make him this bad tempered!"And Jin Mi was internally thinking, "Xu Feng really has loyal subordinates, they always think he's kind and nice, I bet even if he were to slice me in half with his sword, they will think he was being kind in killing me quickly." or something along those lines. It was hilarious because I think it's such a little snapshot of how Xu Feng is normally unflappable and calm but Jin Mi is like his kryptonite. :DLOL, Jin Mi harassment! Pulling off clothes! "I'm fine if it's me, but you mustn't pull on other people's clothes." Aww... Xu Feng! Tacit consent for future harassments. I'll bet he's probably looking forward to a time when Jin Mi always pulls off his clothes, XDAnd I liked that little sermon from Xu Feng about how with great power comes great responsibility. Since he's not one to talk in circles, it's probably a reflection of his beliefs. He definitely has a thread of honour and integrity running through him, and feels a greater sense of responsibility for those under his care. No wonder he makes such a great general and no wonder so many of his subordinates love and respect him. <3And that's it... with that kiss, Xu Feng is officially a goner for Jin Mi. That kiss really sealed the deal and his fate... he won't ever be the same for it again. He couldn't even sleep that night! Also nice imagery of the tree blooming with phoenix flowers at the same time. His destiny with Jin Mi has definitely started. Woo hoo!Gah, he's so happy to see her hiding in his clothes. The cheeky boy!I really like the drama's visual depiction of the Wangchuan - the black river with its luminescent green souls residing in it. It's very similar to a lot of chinese drawings. There's a dark eerie and silent feel about the whole atmosphere which is very fitting for the Netherworld. And I love them in their black outfits! The colour really suits them, especially since they are so fair-skinned. Can't believe Phoenix gave her 2 pigtails, lol, I wonder if it's some sort of fantasy wish-fulfilment thing. I also like Night's Demon Realm outfit here - very regal looking and a lot more elaborate than Xu Feng's. Interesting bit of styling here. Xu Feng so happy to see his brother, aww... he really loves Night. Phoenix's 'spring dream', hahahaha! And I loved Jin Mi's whole reaction to it, priceless!

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potential spoilers within

It's really good to see Deng Lun as cheeky Xu Feng on screen again. He really is different from his novel counterpart. He did start of a little arrogant and entitled, but I like how he's actually quite patient with Jin Mi's ramblings and in true Xu Feng sense of honour, he decided to repay her for her 'help' by taking her out of the Flower Realm. He's so cheeky in purposely making the ride fast and turbulent for Jin Mi until she said that she was going to throw up, in which his innate sense of cleanliness then caused him to slow down and be caught by Chief Haitang. That little exchange with that flower leader and that smirk at the end was *_*. We don't often get to see Chief Zhang of the Flower Realm in action either but I liked her fight scenes in the Bird Tribe. Phoenix arrives in the Demon Realm and confronts the kings in confident style. Though his character has been toned down from the novel, you can still see his self-confidence and boldness on display here. He's facing down thousands of demon troops and 3 kings and he's completely unafraid nor intimidated by them. And for all his despicableness, I actually find the Gucheng King character to be amusing. Seeing him roll his eyes or hide a disdainful smirk or stifle a yawn behind the Yancheng King's back is hilarious. His facial expressions and twitches are gold. And he's already a shady character here when he pushed the Biancheng King in front of the fiery arrow Xu Feng aimed at the Yancheng King. Liu Ying was quick to divert that arrow from hitting her father. Heavenly Realm in a tizzy over a potential war and Xu Feng just swans into the Heavenly Realm as carefree as you please, lol. I didn't fully appreciate how Deng Lun plays Xu Feng in the early episodes but now am loving it a lot more. :)

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When a charming show starts going downhill...

This is the episode where things start falling apart, mainly because of bad scripting on the part of the main female lead (Nantisa/ Ooy).



I was completely unable to relate to her reason and motivation for cutting ties with Att after being confronted with the fact that he once liked someone else in high school. Art's subsequent attempts to explain that it was so long ago in the past and that he no longer holds such feelings for said girl only falls on deaf ears. Ooy, instead of behaving like the grown up woman she is supposed to be, reverts back to being 13 years-old with her tantrum-throwing and tears over something so ridiculously petty.



I blame bad script-writing here where the scriptwriters were not able to come up with a better, more substantial and more believable issue for Ooy's over-reaction here. This heroine has descended from charming to un-likable in the space of 40 minutes, what a disappointment indeed.

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