it's Awesome
wow...I’ve fallen in love with this series—the storyline and the actors are absolutely amazing. I really enjoy this genre, and Arthur’s performance in the show is incredible. I love it so much that I’ve already rewatched it several times. I can't wait for next episodes.I just hope it has a good ending...In the novel, it had a happy ending, so I hope the director doesn’t change it.❤️🔥💖
Also, Sima Jiao has made it onto my list of favorite demons—he’s truly charming and kindhearted. His partner is really great too. I just want them to get back to their days together soon.🥹🥰
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A Powerful ML Overshadowed by a Weak FL
Story – 7.5/10The storyline is solid with good world-building, strong plot twists, and a villain that feels genuinely evil. It doesn’t get boring because the conflicts keep escalating, and the whole cultivation + fengshan bloodline element is engaging. But the romance arc is unbalanced. The ML gives everything while the FL contributes almost nothing, which weakens the emotional impact.
I also wonder what exactly makes him fall for her. With just a snap of his fingers, he could find countless women who fit his preferences, women who are sincere and mean no harm. So why her specifically? Being “good” alone isn’t convincing. The ML should have stayed colder and more guarded, letting the FL fall first to create a more natural progression.
From the very start, FL is a total salted fish, carefree, unexpressive, barely contributing to anything serious. Meanwhile, ML is literally carrying the weight of the world: hunted, sealed, traumatized, and emotionally shattered, yet he still fights, protects, and patiently supports her. She forgets him, he consoles her; she’s in danger, he steps in; she’s weak, he bears the burden. Every emotional moment, every sacrifice, every heroic act, it’s all HIM. While she floats along in her “vacation mode.” The imbalance is insane. ML’s growth, patience, and protection shine bright, but FL’s lethargic personality and lack of initiative make the story feel unfairly stacked like all the suffering belongs to him, and all the ease belongs to her.
Male Lead (ML) – 10/10
Charming, striking, and with a deep voice that perfectly fits his protective, tragic, and powerful role. He’s the reason this drama is addictive. His devotion and sacrifices feel real, and he basically carries the entire romance and emotional weight of the story.
Female Lead (FL) – 3/10
She’s lazy, robotic, and emotionless. Even after insane power-ups and personal training, she remains weak and careless. Her only “value” is being the reason the ML doesn’t give up, but she never convincingly shows love or growth. The only time she acts to save him is by reluctantly merging with him after being pressured by the spirit fire. She still wasn’t expressive or affectionate enough, which makes her character flat and frustrating.
Chemistry – 5/10
Most of the chemistry is one-sided from the ML. His intensity and passion are undeniable, but the FL’s lack of emotion makes the relationship feel unbalanced like he’s deeply in love with a wall. The ML, who was sealed for 500 years of pain and resentment, falls too quickly and becomes overly sweet, while the FL stays innocent and detached. The pacing feels wrong: he’s too fast, she’s too slow. Together, they lack dynamic push-and-pull, so the romance ends up flat.
Visuals / CGI – 9/10
The CGI is surprisingly strong for this type of drama. The battle scenes in the sky are visually powerful and well executed, making the cultivation world feel grand and alive.
Overall – 7/10
This drama is worth watching for the ML alone. He’s the heart and soul of the story, and his performance is outstanding. Unfortunately, the FL drags down the romance, and the lack of emotional balance makes their love story feel shallow. The imbalance is CRYSTAL CLEAR. Every growth moment, every sacrifice, every trial - ALL ML. Her passive and indifferent nature makes the drama feel heavily tilted in his favor. and honestly, it’s frustrating to watch someone suffer THIS much while the other just… exists.
With better chemistry, it could’ve been unforgettable. Still, the good action, strong villain writing, and impressive CGI make it entertaining.
💬 My Comment: By episode 15, the FL still doubts the ML’s love, which makes no sense. He has saved her countless times and constantly shown his feelings, yet she stays unsure. The most unrealistic part is how she can go for so long without truly falling for him. Honestly, just looking at him would already make anyone’s heart flutter 🤭.
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FAV XIANXIA DRAMA!!
When Destiny Brings the Demon is a delightful fusion of fantasy, romance, and modern wit that breathes fresh life into xianxia dramas. Anchored by the dynamic portrayal of Sima Jiao—a once-bitter immortal master slowly thawed by the laid-back charm of Liao Tingyan, whose "salted fish" disposition (a humorous metaphor for enduring apathy) offers a beautifully grounding contrast . Their unlikely bond evolves across three lifetimes—spanning the fairy palace, the demonic realm, and the human world—as they navigate trials, revenge, and redemption . The storytelling shines with its refreshing modern inflections—characters drop playful terms like “boss” or “vacation,” adding relatability and humor to the mystical landscape . Visually the series is a feast: graceful traditional costumes in silk and vibrant fabrics blend seamlessly with sophisticated digital effects that bring creatures like serpents and otters to vivid life . Overall, it strikes a brilliant balance—mixing heartwarming romance, multidimensional character development, and enchanting visuals—in a narrative that’s both heartfelt and delightfully unexpected.Was this review helpful to you?
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A hero would sacrifice you for the world, but a villain would sacrifice the world for you
Cute romance, but weak plot: 7/10 ⭐️I watched this drama while it was airing, but initially dropped around episode 12 and, after picking it up again because of its high rating, I remember why. The story just doesn’t fully engage me and feels mediocre overall for its high rating.
The transmigration element seems a bit unnecessary since the FL adapts to the cultivation world almost instantly. Apart from some modern knowledge about technology etc., her past life barely matters. It feels like it was just added to the overall comedy which I did enjoy sometimes. But she could have simply been written as a "native" character in that world.
While I find the FL very relatable for simply wanting to enjoy life, eating good food and treating everything like a vacation, and I really like Wang Yinglu as an actress (she was amazing in 12 Letters!!), her character feels kind of naive. She fell in love very quickly, especially considering that the ML is introduced as the story’s biggest villain. Yes, he is clearly a victim of the other sects, but he’s still portrayed as dangerous. Yet she doesn't seem to question that and trusts him very easily, and their romance also develops at a pace that feels rushed. But despite my criticisms, I do think the romance is very cute which is why the first arc was actually enjoyable. Watching their feelings develop was so sweet and heartwarming, especially since they do have lots of chemistry on- and off-screen!
Another issue is that the side characters (and the acting) don’t particularly interest me, and their storylines don’t add much engagement :(
What I really like though is the beautiful soundtrack. The OST is really amazing and one of the highlights of the drama!
What I like the most so far:
✿ The way Sima Jiao adores Liao Tingyan and would burn the world for her 🥹
✿ This drama did the star-crossed lovers trope and "villain would burn the world for their love" the best!!
✿ Liao Tingyan being all silly and cutesy!
✿ The OST!
✿ The comedy is fine too, most of the time ^o^
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Very refreshing I WANT MORE DRAMA LIKE THIS
I started watching this drama because of Feng Baobao, but it turns out I fell in love with Arthur Chen too. Both of their performances are absolutely magnificent and fit the characters perfectly. It’s been fun and enjoyable to watch so far. Definitely the best drama of the year. I want drama like this more moreWas this review helpful to you?
The Usual Stone Cold ML melted down by the Cutesy FL
Sima Jiao is the last of his clan, with blood so precious it is coveted by cultivators all over the realm for being potent for cultivation and healing. But also because of this, Sima Jiao is held prisoner by the 8 Palaces upon the annihilation of his clan 500 years ago when he was just a little kid. As he is on the verge of breaking free from his prison, a Liao Tingyan is sent together with 99 other palace disciples in the name of serving him but in reality each carries a mission of either killing Sima Jiao or mating with him to bear his descendant. The demon cultivator Liao Tingyan did not even remember her own mission because she is actually a modern soul that had transmigrated into the ancient realm just before she was sent to Sima Jiao. The initial suspicion of Sima Jiao towards Liao Tingyan turned into curiosity as the latter keeps refusing to kill the former despite so many chances he gave her. And so, when he finally broke through his seal placed by the 8 Palaces, he decisively brought Liao Tingyan with him in order to further investigate the origin of her mission and figuring out how to topple 8 Palaces altogether. And of course, after going through life and death, both fell in love with each other.Cant help but notice how much of a trope this show turned out to be. It is the third work of Wang Yinglu’s that I saw, also third of Arthur’s, and sadly I could not finish it. Honestly I totally love her as Feng Baobao in I Am Nobody, and I adore him as Ning Que and Duan Xu, but no amount of adoration I have for both actors could make me finish this.
Liao Tingyan, the body that FL transmigrated into in this title, had been fun to watch in the first 10 episodes as she tries to adapt to the new foreign world, but she grows annoying as she started to fall for ML, and went full on acting baby-ish and cutesy when the ML reciprocrated. I especially couldnt stand how the FL was written to be too naiive, dim-witted and not too bright to read the room, this on top of being a damsel-in-distress just turned me off completely.
Support characters also lack depth and background that I failed to feel any connection with them. The Snake guy, Ruling, Yuan Che - all fell short. Basically they were not impressive - the absolute fillers to the plot. I wish I could push on to the finish line, but as FL’s voice becoming more and more whiny as the episode progresses, I realized I just could not stand her anymore.
As for romance, the kissing scenes were somewhat sweet in the beginning, but when the writer decided to blast scene after scene of their hands and lips all over each other, even while suffering from flesh injuries, honestly they just grew intolerably boring and much too sappy for my liking. I lost count how many times I fast forwarded with rolled eyes. I also realized this show had a tremendous amount of scenes of the main characters in bed, either making out, comforting the injured half, or merely conversing, but the number definitely surpass any other shows that I’ve seen in just the last 5 episodes I saw. Look, I get that in this world, your soul partner could heal you by entering your consciousness, but whats up with the overzealous kissing and feeling each other up while doing the healing, complete with the injured losing all their clothes in the process (but funnily the healer did not)? Was the screenwriter insinuating that they shagged? How did they shag if they were inside the soul manor thing? The dorkiest one would be when Sima Jiao was ‘gravely injured’ and Tingyan was supposed to have performed the soul manor healing thing, then Jiao was awake and pulled Tingyan back while Tingyan plead, “I can’t take it anymore!” Is that a hint that theyre doing it while dual cultivating or something? Oh lord, make it make sense. 🙄 The amount of such scenes made me feel like I was watching amature soft porn skit instead of the usual romance/xianxia kind of show. Not sure if they had this in the novel or the adaptation amped up such scenes just for the fans.
The amount of precious Sima blood being spilled was also overbearingly ridiculous. For a 500yo grandmaster, it is funny how Simu Jiao’s power keeps getting toned down with each battle, rendering him gravely injured each time (but still strong enough to keep saving FL and make out with her every chance he get). He basically has the supreme blood and powers compared to the rest of cultivators who were mostly born after his imprisonment except for 3 palace heads, and yet he keeps narrowly escape their siege with serious injuries that left him incapacitated for days after each confrontation (read: more making out when Tingyan performed the soul manor healing on him 🙄😒). This character just doesnt exude supremacy at all.
I love Arthur as an actor, and boy I keep seeing the innocent Feng Baobao which I adore so much when I saw Liao Tingyan, but this plot is a strain to my eyes as I keep rolling them episode after episode. Not only was the romance too overbearing and looked cheap, the action choreograph also failed to garner any wows from me. I guess I’ll just move on now.
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WDBD join my favorite fantasy Cdrama (don't remember how it is called)
I am not confident to say about this drama firstly cuz both main characters are not familiar with me much. BUT now I become big fan of them. It's worth to watch because instead of many twisted and extra drama, it's simple, direct and super cool male lead energy. Visuals are not necessary to mention. Especially male lead , I satisfied him a lot. Even FEUD is good for overall, I don't like too many make up. Whatever it says, I cannot accept too much make up. He looks really handsome naturally and I envy his skin🥹. Lastly, this is a drama u should watch before u die if u r cdrama enjoyerWas this review helpful to you?
MUST WATCH
im loving this drama so far. no dull moments. I recommend 100/10. no boring episodes. all c drama fans should consider watching this, i dont think yall would regret. im loving the female and the male lead. love the snake guy too. this drama is a combo of "funny" and "serious" and im 100% loving the plot.Was this review helpful to you?
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Totally Worth Your Time!
I remember being extremely bored and seeing that there was a new xianxia drama out. At first I did not expect much but this turned out to be amazing! This reminded me of Love Between a Fairy and Devil quite a lot.Arthur Chen and Wang Ying Lu were perfectly casted for their roles. I felt like Ying Lu’s character was quite realistic and overall her character was very likable. Arthur Chen’s character just got better as I was watching! We could see his character evolve from being a cold hearted “villain” to becoming extremely caring and lovable.
Haven’t had such a good xianxia in a while! I was not a fan of the amnesia plot but ngl it was not that bad. I was able to enjoy this drama to a max!! The leads had a ton of chemistry, lowkey wished the ending was a little more flavorful but totally worth my time!😭😭
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The most love moments
I thought love of the divine had a lot of lovey dovey moments! This definitely had much more intimate ones I didn't not expect.Pros: the fl was hilarious, I thought the fl wasn’t physically a fl but realized it made her even the more charming, the story was interesting, ml was great, the love in this was great so much sometimes I was like hmm is this like girl corn??, it was a happy ending, the twist was also interesting, good side characters, songs were good, I adore all the physical contact it was soo good
Cons: the amnesia and constant good byes are a bit annoying but they are lucky they made the story pretty interesting so I was able to move on, the ending in the real world was good but a bit short
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This review may contain spoilers
"My soul will always recorganize yours in every lifetime"
The background of the story, located in Sansheng Mountain where lived an elder of Sima Clan, Sima Jiao. He has been locked and sealed down by the Great Eight Clan for 500 Years. The mighty Sima Clan, known as clan with special bloodline that having a almighty power that able to being God. Sima Clan blood are used to nourish a True Fire, that is wanted by everyone for increasing the level of their cultivation quickly. Sima Jiao's parents which known as father Sima Shi and mother Sima E, back then forced to married each other in order to maintaining the longlive of their Sima Clan bloodline. Whole clan vanished for making sure that Sima Jiao being able to integrated as one with the True Fire. Therefore, since kid Sima Jiao already carrying on this heavy burden that grows up as his biggest pain and trauma.Liao Ting Yan - Female Lead
Demon clan, the Cold Fish that only one existed in the world. A very cheerful and relax character that doesn't like conflict. Mature, brave, and romantic type of person.
Sima Jiao - Male Lead
Sima clan, the last descendant of the Sima clan that have a special bloodline. Introvert and hard to trust people, ever since he was a kid already tortured that making his character being so complicated. Very loyal person to his beloved one, he will sacrifice anything even himself.
After 500 years being sealed, Sima Jiao finally waken up a new body that he wanna use to threaten elder of the Great Eight Clan. Successfully, the Great Eight Clan feels that they need to making up plan to letting their descendant of clan may favor Sima Jiao to having bloodline with and kill Sima Jiao. Between this chaotic situation, there come a girl from a future that out of sudden waken up as Liao Ting Yuan. Unfortunately, Liao Ting Yuan also selected in between 100 Girl that sended by the Great Eight Clan to serve Sima Jiao as disciple. Not knowing the real identity of Liao Ting Yuan is demon clan, Sima Jue is the first one to find out.
Their first encounter very awkward that Sima Jiao thought that everyone sended is sharing a mutual motive that will only bring harm for him. But somehow, Liao Ting Yuan countlessly trying to avoid him, not wanted to be entangled either kill him. Sima Jiao noticed this difference between her and the others. By accident, when Sima Jiao being tortured with the burning feeling of True Fire, Liao Ting Yuan magically helped him to feel better and heal him just by skinship of their forehead. Knowing this as a chance, Sima Jiao choose to leave her by himside as a workers.
Through the plot of journey and problem, bond between Sima Jiao and Liao Ting Yan getting stronger. Without realizing both of them started growing a romantical feelings, they are teaming up to punish the villain Great Eight Clan with Shi Qian Lv as the leader. By the time when Sima Jiao successfully working on their plan, accident happens that separated Liao Ting Yuan with Sima Jiao. Second lifetime started right after they're being separated, from the origin cultivator banished into demon's realm.
Eighteen years separated, but destiny bringing them back together finding it's own way back. Sima Jiao knowing that the one he's been looking for right existed in demon realm. He searched the whole city, and unintentionally they are meet up. Sima Jiao trying to gain Liao Ting Yan trust since she has lost her memory because of Shi Qian Lv that deceived her as his daughter. It just feel that their soul belonging to each other and everything goes helping them back together again as one. After all the hardship, they need to face another great battle that once again make them separated and suffering great causes.
They never gave up on each other, in order to saving Liao Ting Yan from demon core that keep growing stronger after the last battle, Sima Jiao sacrificed himself making her getting the True Fire and Sima Jiao vanished. Liao Ting Yan refused to accept, she force to save Sima Jiao by sending it last spirit to find it way in human realm.
Sima Jiao was born as the king of human realms, meet up again with Liao Ting Yan. Finally this time they successfully stopped the chaos caused by You Yan (demon leader). The fighting scene was iconic, and ending just perfectly written. In love with the story and character
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My first xianxia
Great stories, captivating cinematography, excellent acting. Arthur Chen so on point in portraying the great 500 years grandmaster sima jiao. With the aura and the vibe of a true grandmaster. Wang yinglu did a great job as liao tingyan. Eventhough the storyline a little bit different with the novels but its not draggy at all.Was this review helpful to you?
