Destiny and Saving (2025)

This is enjoyable to some extent but it could be better

I will admit that this drama isn't the best but I did enjoyed the story to some extent, but in other parts I wish it was done better.

This drama(at the end) could either be a hit or a miss, you either like it or you don't.

I have actually watched all the remaining episodes from Ep 35-40 on the day it was scheduled to finish airing on MangoTv since I didn't want to wait any longer and wanted to see how the ending played out, so I did paid for the remaining episodes. Well 74 cents per episodes (after joining VIP) was okay to watch from its official channel (MangoTv).

✴️ A brief summary to the story ✴️
At the beginning of the story, we are introduced with the female lead, Ni Huan searching for her sister soul fragments so she can bring her sister back due to the ancient war that happened 1000 years ago where her sister died in the process. Ni Huan true form is the ancient Seven Coloured Fire Pheonix, which was revealed that it was extinct 10,000 years ago, and Heavenly King made a note that her rebirth through her Nirvana may bring calamity to the world due to her ancient powers that comes from being the Seven Coloured Fire Pheonix. In the process of searching for her sister, she met the male lead, Bai Yan. Bai Yan true form is the a True Dragon, God of War, where he was frozen in ice and was asleep for 1000 years. She managed to break him free of his slumber and, long story cut short, they both fell in love with each other.

Because Heaven wanted to destroy the potential threat of the Seven Coloured Fire Pheonix, Bai Yan gave half of his cultivation to her, and he sacrificed himself when he gave her his Dragon Pearl to conceal her identity. When she was reborn into her next life as Feng Lixie, she have a cold body that when she activates her powers, she can turn those surrounding her to ice. I believe these comes from Bai Yan's cultivation powers in their past life because Bai Yan powers is ice element, where we have seen him used it against Ni Huan in the past. This would explain why her cold body or her powers doesn't affect Mo Xiao(present life) because they originate from Bai Yan(his past life). Ni Huan in the past element is based on fire due to her true form. So it is not far-fetched to think that her cold body(and her ability to activate that power to freeze)comes from Bai Yan which was transferred to her when he gave her his Dragon Pearl before he died in the past. Just like Ni Huan being reincarnated into Feng Lixie in her next life, Bai Yan was reincarnated as well, but with such an interesting turn of events, he was reborned as the Demon Lord's son, Mo Xiao, which is a contrast to who he was in his past life being the True Dragon God of War. However, despite he is the Demon Lord's son, and he has demonic blood in him, he was adopted into Shu Shan under Feng Yue teachings where he have sealed Mo Xiao's inborn demonic nature in him so all these 18 years under the teachings of Shu Shan, he was raised to kill all demons(which he, himself is, and that's the interesting part since it will add layers and conflicts to Mo Xiao after he found out his true identity, and I love him during those times when he was going through that conflict of what he was raised to be, and who he really is).

On a side note, I found it interesting where he was closed off and reserved around those times because he accepted his fate being the Demon Lord son. I can also tell he have accepted that in this lifetime he cant be with her(despite he loves her), but I love seeing how Feng Lixie is the one chasing after him to open his heart for him to accept happiness again! Since I like seeing Feng Lixie bring back that light and happiness in him during these times.

Mo Xiao and Feng Li Xue was fated to meet again, just like in the past when he told her before he dies that, no one will be able to find her, except for him when he gave her his Dragon Pearl, her identity in being the 'Seven Coloured Fire Pheonix' is concealed, so the Heavens will not be able to detect her whereabouts so in this way, she can live in peace, no one will be able to find her except for him. But all he ever wanted was for her to be protected away from the danger and live happily in peace.

✴️Acting-wise✴️
Zhang Yu Xi, is not entirely new to me since I have seen her played other dramas before such as: Love and Redemption and The Beautiful Lie, so this is the third drama I've seen her in. In this drama, she played her role as Ni Huang, Wu Chen and Feng Li Xue, and she did a decent job in bringing out her characters to life. I like the contrast between the innocent Wu Chen and Feng Li Xue, I felt like it was a mix of her original self being Ni Huang in her previous life. In terms of her character portrayal, she was okay. I do like her but I don't love her. I felt like her hatred for Mo Xiao (ML) was so misplaced how she blamed him for her father's death because I saw that it was her indirectly causing her father's death by disrupting the process from what she didn't know was Mo Xiao's master in trying to save her father. So I never liked her hatred towards Mo Xiao at the beginning, although, I will say that I do like the side to her when she became Feng Li Xie again but only the side to her that think rationally and comes to terms and wanted to save and protect Mo Xiao.

Tong Meng Shi, the Male lead plays Bai Yan and Mo Xiao is entirely new to me since I have never seen his other dramas before. In terms of acting-wise, I felt that he did a better job acting out the painful/teary scenes when compared to the happier ones since I felt like when he smiles, in certain parts it felt kinda forced to me that didn't seem genuine, that is probably one of the main reasons why I like to see those scenes when he's expressing sadness, or when he is in pain(but holding back the pain) better. But that doesn't mean I don't like it when he smiles, because when he smiles in other times and they look genuine to me, I do like it. His facial features actually reminds me to Raymond Lam(TVB, Hong Kong actor) during some of those scenes to be honest so I do think he is charming in his own way. I actually do like his character portrayal of Mo Xiao on my end. I think I prefer his character Mo Xiao better than Bai Yan since Mo Xiao have more layers to his character when compared to Bai Yan, although I really miss his dragon form since I personally love Dragons as a mythical creature on my side so it's too bad we can't see him regain his dragon form at the end.. I love Mo Xiao when he goes to the dark side since I love seeing the conflict he is going through between his immortal side vs his inborn demonic side. I found him charming and looks the best when he puts his fringe down(and not have it all up) and I especially love it when he wears black on his side. He looks charming in black outfit imo. The him when he changed into the black costume where he redid his hair style looks handsome to me, but too bad he didn't kept that hairstyle for long.

Han Dong, supposedly he is the 2ML in this drama? Lol. Well to be honest this isn't my first time seeing him since I've seen him in The Blossoming Love, Moonlight Mystique and this drama, so this is the 3rd drama I've seen him in. They are all evil roles though, so I am starting to think does he have a thing for these kind of roles or not... his character in this drama being Chong Guang... is not... really my cup of tea, but if other's like him then I supposed I can understand why. I didn't like his character in this one is he is borderline possessive of Li Xie and doesn't respect what she wants or likes and just wants her for himself, which I find it annoying and selfish and it gets repetitive to the point I roll my eyes at those scenes... but in the ending part, finally Chong Guang did something that made me appreciate his character and that is he is SELFLESS for once. He finally do it to show me he truly cared for Li Xie in a SELFLESS manner which is nice for a change. This is when finally that side to his character appeals to me, I just wish he was like this earlier and didn't take the final moment to show me this. In terms of his character portrayal in the 3 dramas I've seen him in, I will say I like his character in The Blossoming Love the most, but in this drama I do like that side to him AT HIS FINAL MOMENTS.

Fu Fang Jun, is not new to me either. I have seen him in Love and Redemption(LAR) as he played as my favourite character(Wu Zhi Qi), I actually love his character better in LAR. In this drama where he played as Xie Ling Yun, I did like his character at first and enjoyed his friendship(xiong-di) relationship with Mo Xiao, but when he "killed" Mo Xiao by putting that sword through his chest and push him down the cliff, I lost my like for him... I didn't like how he didn't trust in the good in Mo Xiao or believed in him when Mo Xiao told him he didn't hurt his comrade. When Mo Xiao was falling down the cliff and was so heart broken... when Xie Ling Yun was yelling his name, and griefing, I was like "urgh, you were the one who did it, what are you screaming for???", then he was in a comatose state for what? For how he couldn't accept what he(himself) did or he was guilty? So why did he do it to begin with? I wanted him to feel so bad afterwards and apologize to show his sincerity but when he finally said it to Mo Xiao, and Mo Xiao accepted his apology like that, it felt so unsatisfying. I know he was in that comatose state but dude was forgiven so lightly for almost killing Mo Xiao by just a simple apology and I didn't even get to see him feeling remorse after he found out Mo Xiao was innocent. I mean I knew Mo Xiao would forgive Xie Ling Yun on his end because that is just who he is but I wanted that part to be handled better from Xie Ling Yun side from the writers. That was what I didn't like and how it was handled. Yeah he apologised to Mo Xiao when he saw him again but I just wish it was done better in terms of 'displaying Xie Ling Yun remorse longer/more effectively'.

✴️ Pairings/Ending ✴️
There are several pairings in this drama, so I will state below how I feel about them and their ending.

Mo Xiao/Bai Yan and Feng Li Xie/Ni Huang being the main pairing to this story. In terms of pairing chemistry, they were decent to watch. I enjoyed it but I will be honest that while I do like them and do see they have chemistry but I don't love them in that sense that made me fangirl for them. I do however feel for their scenes though so this was the reason why I watched this drama to the end, to find out how their ending would be like... After watching the ending, I don't know how to feel about them... I don't like it for the fact that after all that development, I felt like it was tossed down the drain since they couldn't get to live happily ever after under their identity as Mo Xiao and Feng Li Xie. I mean, I love it when Mo Xiao regained his past memories as Bai Yan and Feng Li Xie at the same time regained her memories as Ni Huang in their past life, but why do they have to sacrifice themselves just to get a new beginning where they are newly/reborned and cultivate in Shu-Shan? Is this their reincarnated self? Or just them without their memories? I hope it was the latter to be honest. Since Mo Xiao introduced himself to her as Bai Yan but he doesn't remember her. But considering there wasn't a time skip, I felt what happened at the end is them starting afresh in their former identity as Bai Yan and Ni Huang again (without their memories), and have a new beginning through this life to live freely on their side. It was implied they will fall in love again (but I still wish they would have their memories intact though!!)

Xie Ling Yun and Jing'er is another pairing in this story where you can see their love developed throughout the story, they got their happy ending with a wedding so their ending was a happy ending. It's a nice pairing, but I feel neutral towards this pairing.

Chong Guang and Feng Li Xie, while I honestly, don't have anything against master and disciple romantic relationship since I do like this in other dramas if it is done right but in this drama, it is awkward as hell. How he wants her to get marry with him and was so selfish about having her is minus appeals for me. Some of their scenes was cringe for me too. So I tend to skip some of their scenes on my side. I disliked the repetitiveness when he capture her to have her by his side -.- but despite all this, I did like his final moments in the drama (like what I said earlier). Well since Chong Guang is intended to be a third wheel put into this LT, you know how the outcome turns out.

✴️ Some of my favourite scenes ✴️
☆ Episode 24 when Mo Xiao was wearing black and he was healing Li Xie in the water, where he transferred the poison to himself to cure her of the poison that she was inflicted by the wedding robe, the Mo Xiao in that scene when he was wearing black and especially his with his fringe down like that was charming/handsome to me.

☆ When Mo Xiao returned to being the Demon Lord son, when he changed his outfit and redid that hairstyle, again that was another scene I find him charmingly handsome in that scene where, despite he was sad as you can see through his subtle expression but he acted cold and distant towards Feng Li Xie when she came to him. I love seeing that side to him and wish I get to see it more.

☆ The mother and son moments was nicely done. I mean I've been waiting and waiting for her to find out that Mo Xiao is her son for so long and they keep dragging it out, but when she finally found him again, even when it took a while for Mo Xiao to open his heart to her, I can understand what he was going through, but when he finally did and when he called her "mother" again, that scene really touched me. She is truly a great and loving mother and I'm glad that despite Mo Xiao was outcasted by Sushan sect, which he grew up in, he finally found a family again from his mother who loved him.

✴️Overall✴️
Overall, the drama is a decent watch for me. I mean I did pay to watch the remaining episodes on my side through MangoTv and I do also like the remaining episodes, I felt like the remaining episodes when Mo Xiao return to being the Demon Lord son was interesting. I just wish there was a proper closure between Mo Xiao and his mother since I've come to like their relationship on my side.

I also wish that Mo Xiao and Li Xie can live on without having to renew their identity and forget each other at the end and start all over again because I felt like it was a slap to the face that they cannot live on in their present self as Mo Xiao and Li Xie(with their regained memories of their past life: Bai Yan and Ni Huang). This is why I want to take it that they temporarily just forgot their memories and will somehow regained it offscreen.... their ending is Bittersweet...(I am leaning more towards the bitter part :( )

In the end, I wouldn't say this drama was a failure. I have seen other dramas which is much worst than this. I've read someone said this drama was filmed in 2021, so I don't know why it took 4 years for it to be released because if this was released in 2022 or 2023, it could be a hit back then if they have more episodes to tie up loose ends.

If you have nothing to watch you can give this drama a go. It isn't the best but it is watchable. The story does pick up in the later episodes so for those who dropped it would be a sad missed imo. But the decision is entirely up to you. While there are some parts I find is draggy but for some of those parts that I like, I will rewatch it again. And who doesn't like a romance between a Dragon(Bai Yan) and Pheonix(Ni Huang)? I sure do! Since these two are my favourite mythical creature!

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Most Useless ML Ever

The female lead’s brilliant performance is the only flicker of life in this otherwise dead-on-arrival drama.

The male lead is a disgrace — a sniveling, spineless, brain-dead caricature masquerading as a protagonist.

He spends every moment either sobbing, dithering like a coward, or being led around like a clueless pawn. No strength, no intelligence, no presence — just dead weight dragging the entire story down.

His acting is so wooden and lifeless, it’s an insult to the very idea of a male lead. Watching him stumble through the show feels like being forced to suffer the worst humiliation.

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Poor ending

The beginning of the drama was good. I liked the concept and the reason behind the second phase of the story. In addition, I enjoyed the performances of both the leads and the supporting characters. This time, I even liked the acting of the person who played the devil. His makeup was cool—simple, yet effective—and for the first time, a devil didn’t actually look like one. I don’t know why, but he looked good. Everything was going perfectly. However, when the female protagonist spent some time with him and then left him for his sake, the story started to lose its charm. After that, everything felt bland. It seemed like they were unnecessarily stretching the story. Even the ending didn’t feel satisfying.

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Could Have Been Better!!

This was one of those shows that starts interestingly, takes a nosedive in the middle and ends in a surprisingly weird way!

I’m a huge fan of Zhang Yu Xi, especially her historical dramas, so it isn’t a surprise that I was going to watch this show. The storyline pans across two different lifetimes and the 40 episodes project the main couple in an ill-fated relationship. The fact that them being together could bring catastrophe to the world is a whole new conundrum. And even though, the male lead primarily focuses on the wellbeing of common people, his love for the female lead mostly clouds his judgements. Frankly, both of them are kind of obsessed with each other, so you can’t just blame one person. It does get tiring in the second half where both leads make questionable choices because of each other. Watching them act dumb despite the fact that they are both smart and intellectual was boring. But the storytelling is quite addictive, so it makes you sit around and take notice. Except for that annoying obsessive Demon Lord who keeps pinging on your radar and you just want him gone forever!

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2025/05/08/destiny-and-saving-series-review/#more-1788

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Destined to disappoint

The biggest problem with this drama is that there isn't enough story and development of characters to sustain 40 long, meandering episodes. If condensed and streamlined, it could have been a pretty straightforward xianxia story about two star-crossed lovers who try to go against their destiny to save the world and each other. The highlights of the story are when Mo Xiao first meets Wu Chen (a naive, amnesiac version of Feng Lixue, her true persona) and when Mo Xiao struggles with his true identity. Everything else is either too rushed and glossed over (the opening arc in Heaven) or unnecessarily drawn out (the Suyu mountain arc).

In any case, it was still enjoyable to see Tong Mengshi as the male lead, although his character is made too be too weepy for my taste. And Han Dong is consistently Han Dong, bringing yet another villain/antagonist to life, albeit at some moments a bit too outlandish. The opening song is catchy, and the ending at least brings everything together satisfactorily, although I wish there was more of a bookend in addressing the Heavenly people horrible treatment of Bai Yan, Ni Huang and also Chong Guang (before he became Chong Guang).

This will probably be one of the more forgettable xianxia dramas out there, but if you need your xianxia fix or if you just want something to casually watch while eating or cleaning your house, this would be an option.

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I like Zhang Yu Xi's acting and choices in stories most of the time so as well this time too

But not only do I like Zhang Yu Xi in this one drama the way her character is written and directed to act I am here significantly because I have noticed Fu Feng Jun is in this one as well...this guy is very cute beyond his treatment but as his treatment states it's going poor for this cute guy... it's really hard for everyone to be cute and successful in their acting career and he definitely shows it vividly especially because he is rather modest in his role pursuit as it seems to me because he is taking whichever place he can get...even if he is a villain he'd be a cute villain and will do it just attentively but in this one he is not a villain but a disciple of righteous sect but he is still very significant in the play and the cutest righteous sect member

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