Feud

Awkward and Painfully Boring

After 6 episodes, I can confidently say this is one of the most boring dramas I’ve ever dropped. The plot is bizarre and nonsensical, with events crammed in without emotional buildup or proper character development. It feels more like a parody of xianxia than a serious drama. The dialogue is weak, the humor feels forced, and the pacing is erratic. The theme song sounds like a knock-off of the song Unsullied from the Ashes of Love.

Visually, it is overdone, with exaggerated colors that make everything look fake.

To make things worst, Bai Lu and Zeng Shunxi are completely miscast in these roles, and they have zero chemistry and completely mismatched vibes as a couple. A waste of great talent on a poorly written, emotionally hollow mess.

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Good start with non sense ending

The story is passable, and there’s no denying the actors are skilled—I’ve admired their performances in other works. However, in this particular drama, they seem unable to inject the emotional depth the story demands. Something feels off, almost like they’re just delivering lines rather than living their roles.

Once the characters’ real identities are revealed, there’s an abrupt and jarring shift in personalities. These 180-degree turns don’t feel earned or natural; instead, they seem like an attempt to quickly pivot the narrative. It gives the impression that the creators opted for a “safe” storytelling approach—leaning into romantic comedy tropes instead of pushing for something more daring or layered.

Overall, it’s the kind of show you watch when there’s nothing better available. It’s not engaging enough to draw you in, but it doesn’t frustrate or annoy either—which, in today’s drama landscape, is still something. In a sea of frustrating titles, at least this one feels watchable, even
At this point, the drama feels more like filler content than an actual story. The pacing drags endlessly, and most of the episodes could be skipped without missing anything significant. This plot could’ve easily been wrapped up in 10–20 episodes.

Also, the supposed “equality” between the male lead (ML) and female lead (FL) is more claimed than shown. If she’s truly his equal, why doesn’t she have her own kingdom, army, or loyal followers? Instead, she has to rely on mortal sects. More importantly, despite repeated claims of equal power, the FL is clearly weaker—she can’t even land a hit unless the ML lets her. That’s not strength, that’s restraint on his part.

The characters lack substance. There’s no real backstory, no emotional grounding—just a set of people moving through the motions without any sense of individuality. They don’t feel like real people with real motivations. Instead of connecting, I felt detached. I didn’t love or hate anyone—I just felt nothing. That emotional void is a clear sign that the drama has failed to make a real impact.

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From beginning to end, the story is a series of irrational decisions made by aimless characters. No one stands out as wise or truly strong. Even after achieving something as grand as immortality, the characters remain shallow and confused.

It’s like watching chess pieces being moved around at random by a writer who’s lost track of the game. Characters are introduced or eliminated without purpose, as if everything is happening just for the sake of drama, not because it serves the story.

The most baffling part? The ending. It’s illogical, emotionally hollow, and completely forgettable. What does the FL even achieve? Living in an illusion? Changing a past that has no real consequence on the present? There’s no emotional payoff, no meaningful closure—nothing that stays with you.

Honestly, the biggest flaw lies in the writing. What started with potential ended in complete disarray.

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Lessons from Cheng Yi

Mysterious Lotus Casebook is my unbeaten Cdrama favourite and Cheng Yi my cdrama King. So my interest in this was a little selfish as I wanted to see more of Shunxi. Watching this, within the first 3 episodes, I was already in love with his acting. He's the type of character that speaks with his eyes, something that Cheng Yi does really well, for me at least.

Xianxia and I have a bit of a yin and yang relationship ourselves, and I know these sorts of stoic, never speak their feelings ML's are abundant, but within the first episode, I was hooked on Bai's character.

It was like an immediate, "ohhhhhhhh, oh noooo," he's going to hurt my feelings. And I was right, he did. It was the classic, seems like an asshole character, but is in fact, baring all the pain and trouble. Simping, I believe some might call it.
But he had me. Just like Cheng Yi with every show I have watched him. Tortured prince lazer gaze and I couldn't look away.
He went up my 'must watch' list very quick.

By the ending of episode two, I knew I was going to binge this.

With that said.

What really took me out throughout this whole damn show, was how everything was preplanned. Literally every arc but the last, was just one plan after enough and after a while, I kind of rolled my eyes. It felt like one giant troll for the audience.
The illusion arc, ok, that one makes sense.
But the first one, didn't really sit well with me, because why would everyone act like they're on stage for each other. That to me, genuinely did not make sense. Bai wasn't there so why? I would have preferred an 'awakening' style approach but maybe the writer just didn't want something that is so common with Xianxia.
The character switch just didn't make sense to me if it was all such a pretend. I did feel some scenes were too long too. It's like they gave some scenes some extra minutes to stretch the episode but minor criticism.

I did genuinely enjoy the show. The saving of the first Meng did make me a little queasy and on two separate occasions, my eyes filled with tears. So far, only Cheng Yi has managed to do that for.

Bai Lu has been around for a while, I have watched and enjoyed her before. Her voice actress knocked it out of the park with 'that' scene. You will know when you watch it because damn, between the voice actress cries and Bai Lu's devasted face, it's an emotional scene to watch.

Bai Lu and Zeng Shunxi, did well together. Their chemistry seemed a lot more subtle but I think that went with deep yearning that the character of Bai felt. Not knowing what he done to deserve the love of his life's wrath. It was meant to be a deep will I or won't I kind of feeling, rather than a passionate blaze. The confliction between the characters was the main point.
I did feel like the show slowed a little after the reveal, which it takes to episode 23 to happen. Odd, since that's the final arc lol But I may have felt that way because we see a lot more of the side characters afterwards, to develop them in order to have their ending.

It's a bit of a roller coaster ride of guess what, and who's who, with glorious sets and hairstyles, but it has a classic xianxia style ending. Thankfully they at least save time to wrap up everyone's story, instead of rushing to a finish. That's something that really annoys me so I appreciated that.

Overall, it is a classic Xianxia style plot but with obvious twists in an effort to make it different and considering the genre's ending standards, it was a fairly happy ending.

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If you're not prepared to stick this one out until the end, this drama isn't for you.

For a drama that I can't commit to saying I particularly loved, I actually have a lot to say about it. This is a strangely addicting drama. The story is unconventional but pretty interesting if you're willing to hold your questions until the end lol I just don't necessarily agree with the way it's being told. I was very upset for the first 10 episodes. The way this story is being delivered in terms of timing and plot holes can get very stressful for people who are impatient. But once I finished and was given all the context, I think they wrapped the story up on a strong note. There was an art to the messy way that this drama fed us information which will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea. It was one of the most unpredictable dramas I've ever watched. For me, the suspense level felt more like I was watching a mystery, rather than a xianxia. There's no overly fluffy love in this. From the beginning it seems that both the FL and ML are deeply flawed to the point where it's in question for most of the drama whether or not the audience should even want a happy ending for them.

ML & FL: Visually, they are a beautiful pair, which is usually the case with anything Bai Lu is in. The first 2/3 of the show it's really hard to take a stance on either of these two because we aren't given enough information about their past together. So in the beginning everything they do and say to each other just seems completely toxic, unhinged and unjustified. In my opinion, the drama waited a little too long to explain the reasons behind their "feud" and could potentially lose viewers who are impatient over this. The show starts in the present and clearly whatever trauma they both went through has driven them both insane. Siling's rage and scheming seems too intense and cruel. And although it's clear Bai Jiusi is hopelessly in love with FL his mistrust is too strong too allow him to make any reasonable decisions when it comes to her. But he is also so blinded by his love that he is delusional and willing to trust her over and over. Between her hatred and his ignorance this story is just a cocktail of misunderstandings for a good while. I found myself eating my words and changing my opinions about the leads and some of the side characters so often in this drama that I was starting to get whiplash. But the more and more context about their past the drama gives, the better it gets.

The First Love Tribulation: The two of them coming from the same power source and the urge to constantly engage and challenge each other forces their lives to be forever intertwined. So I can see how they would embrace an attempt at love. But their opposite and opposing natures ultimately resulted in that love turning toxic when it came time for their love tribulation. They are fire and ice. He's a cold-hearted, by-the-book type and she is a bleeding heart naturally but also completely reckless in all her decision making. She lets her emotions blind her in every situation, shoots from the hip, and has little to no regard for the consequences afterwards. They just have completely opposite personalities and priorities but both clearly mean well.
Sadly, the way the tribulation ends (or doesn't) is in disaster for both of them. And once the trauma that Siling experienced afterwards is revealed, her future actions/feelings towards BJS are a lot more understandable.

Bai Lu and Zeng Shunxi did really well in their roles. As a Bai Lu fan, I've always thought her acting was better in modern dramas. But she really seems to connect with this role differently than other xianxias I've seen her in and her performance was really impressive. This is my 2nd encounter with ZS and I think he did a good job playing off BL and owning this character. The script and dialogue were pretty solid in this drama but it's the delivery from BL and ZS that was most impressive.

2CP: Zhang Suan is definitely pretty to look at but very boring to me. He was always hell bent on these pointless missions where he is chasing after the FL when she really doesn't need his help. Even after he finds out she is an ancient goddess married to BJS he still doesn't give up. His story line is tedious and when he first met Ling'er I had hoped he would wise up but that never happens. So he remained a lukewarm character for me at the end. Ling'er, however, completely won my heart. She was beautiful, smart and tenacious in all the best ways. Her loyalty and love for Siling was so sweet and Siling was definitely a better parent figure to her than her own terrible father was. And this is another point that makes me irritated with 2 ML again. The way Siling acts towards him, and all mortals really, is not just like a leader, but also like everyone's mother. So after seeing this and he still doesn't drop his romantic feelings for her, he is just a hopeless fool in my book.

Side characters: In the beginning, every single character, not excluding the leads, does not make any decisions based on logic. Everyone is similar in that their actions are based on their current emotions/hearts first. Everyone except Li Mo. I like how he only feels the caring kind of love for all beings instead of romantic love. It makes his decision making more rational and he takes his time before acting in any situation. In a drama full of lawless, overreactors his grounding presence became a staple for me and was both welcomed and refreshing. As for everyone else, at first I found their impulsiveness more annoying than charming because the show made absolutely no attempt to explain these characters on a deeper level. But as the show progressed each character becomes easier to understand and sympathize with. Even the brash Long Yuan plays a critical role here.
My other 2 favorites were Ning Yan and Yin Tong Zi (Story Demon). They were both so funny/adorable and their little friendship was cute.

Ending: I have to say from the first 20 eps I did not see myself liking the leads or rooting for their love story at all. But one thing this drama did well was mind games and twist and turns. Surprisingly, by the end I thought they wrapped up their story nicely and I even shed a few tears for them in the last third of the show. I don't regret watching this drama at all. It's not a favorite but it was an interesting watch with little to no boring parts. I do not see myself rewatching it, as the first 2/3s of it was very stressful lol

OST and Cinematography: The OST is pretty good. The theme song is by far the best song but the background music isn't annoying or overly intense. It fits every scene well. The graphics are decent and the various settings are vibrant and interesting. The costumes don't do much for me but the hairstyles are pretty cute.

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Don't corner yourself again

So I like the initial episodes more because it was a light hearted sweet romance, I like how they fulfilled our fantasies by showing wedding, kisses and everything good in the 1st few episodes. Other then that is was pretty mediocre for me cus I have already watched alot of dramas with similar plots like this is the standard formula for c historical drama which is to feud instead to just talk with each other. I wasn't impressed by the villain like they showed how he mercilessly let the god child die but was a little hesitant to kill the eating tao. The 2nd leads were also underwhelming they started good but at last the boy was sitting there not even trying to save the girl and after everything solved he still remained distant with the lady. So overall I watched it. It wasn't boring, I didn't have to skip it, the scenery was good and everything. A good drama for bailu and jz fans but not like very special or anything like that.

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I too was also feuding with the drama

First off I rated this a 10 when I was just beginning it (So around EP1-14), but things went down hill from there. A great start, the plot was unique I loved the way the timeline was set, but then things just got repetitive and repetitive and I found myself fast forwarding and watching in 2.5x speed. Honestly I just wanted to know how it would end, I reached a point where I no longer really cared about the characters.
But the acting was nice. Plus Bailu did not fail to give us VISUALLLLS! I have been converted, I now see the hype around her beauty. Zheng Shunxi also really carried his role.

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The last act sort of ruined it for me…

This story started strong with the feud between the two leads at the forefront. The many twists, at the beginning and middle, had me caught up in wanting to know how the story would go. It was initially uniquely written, with the main couple and their lifelong love/hatred but introducing a third party, ruined it.

The Good

The characters were interesting and complex. I appreciate that there wasn’t a right or wrong side (until the intro of the final boss) and each of their stories centered on love and hate which blended them perfectly into the theme of this show.

The pacing of the show was done well. They fed us the main couples story little by little, keeping the audience guessing and allowing us to form our own opinions about the point of the feud.

The true pain both of our leads felt that kept the feud going was very relatable. At one point, I felt that there was no coming back and no way they would end up together after that.

The Bad

Intro of an external party behind the scenes, feeding the feud. Wasn’t needed! It basically undid everything that happened between our main couple and became a plot device to force them to a “happy ending.” Quickest way to ruin a story. Same thing with what happened with Bai Juisi at the end, another plot device to undo the hatred in basically a couple of episodes. Why couldn’t the story have just taken a natural flow of these two complex characters!? I will also say this, I felt as if their hatred had more passion than their love. Maybe it’s because 90% of the show was about hatred and then the forced love of our FL at the end, was unconvincing. Lastly, I didn’t like how some characters just basically disappeared from the story (heavenly emissary, four venerables). What was the point of them besides being filler. Other characters were also fillers in the story as well.


Other bad parts included production value. Sound was off in lots of scenes (background music was too loud, misplaced sound effects) and CGI wasn’t good. Spiritual power was just wisps of air and fight scenes were okay-ish.

Gets a 7 from me. It’s above average but not very memorable, nor much rewatch value. There are better Xianxias.

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Wasted Words and What-Ifs, The Script Stumbled—The Performances Soared

This drama does had lots and lots of potential, especially when veteran like Bai Lu is casted. But it fell down in the middle of nowhere. The character I'm most impressed with is Bai jiusi. His love towards HRY is his everlasting commitments, His unspoken loyalty and quiet strength is remarkable. His role was well written. Also Ling'er, one of the very good supporting roles, her sacrifices are immense. The Plot twists at the beginning made me hooked up to the stories expecting more to be unveiled but in vain.
This drama is elevated by stellar casts.
But the story? Ok I can understand that this story itself is about the love tribulation. But why are there so much useless characters consuming time?
That White snake, I suppose the spirit of god would always be by there side and help them. It can't be in mortal realm that's fine but even after that it didn't appear. Is it written only to carry Bai Lu for her grand appearance in front of BJS?
The four Venerables? Like why do the production even waste money for their costumes and time to record their scenes?
The emissary, didn't even appear on screen only the envoy came that too just to give punishments to the leads.
There are also other sidekicks, without proper story and use.
The swords? Which god's sword can be controlled others? forget about control, Zhuri didn't even recognize HRY(it's owner) before piercing her.
The villain? Honestly the cause for is doing isn't strong enough considering his enemy already died. It's like he don't have any other work to do, So he is pulling all this.

Also HRY changed the fate of the child in the parallel world, but anyhow, as lord yu ya said, the child would consume all the spiritual power of HRY and drain her to death.
The plot started out so well , The graph dropped in the mid. But the Main leads stabilized the graph with their acting alone.

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A Visually Stunning Fantasy That Hits Hard, Then Stumbles Softly

✨ The Beginning – Hooked From the First Scene
I honestly didn’t expect to fall this fast, but Feud had me right from episode one. The visuals? Stunning. The OST? Addictive (Bai Lu singing? Yes please! 🎶). The world felt magical yet heavy with meaning.

Bai Lu’s presence is everything — delicate yet powerful, and she pulls off both sweet and savage like a queen. 👑
Joseph Zeng was a slow burn for me, but once he settled into the role, his emotions really started to hit. The chemistry between them? Beautifully complex. 🔥💔

⛅ The Middle – Moments of Magic, Moments of Meh
This is where things got a little rocky. There were episodes I absolutely loved — full of emotion, betrayal, longing, and redemption. But then there were scenes that just… didn’t land. Some plotlines dragged, and a few side characters felt half-baked. 😐

Still, there was always something that pulled me back in — whether it was the quiet heartbreak in a single glance or a soft moment between the leads that left me teary-eyed. 🥺

⚠️ Hidden Thought: Around episodes 13–18, things get foggy — the pacing dips, motivations blur, and you might start questioning where the story is even going. But if you’re patient, it slowly finds its way again.

🥀 The Final Arc – Not Bad, But Not Deep Enough
I’ll be honest — by the end, I was mostly watching just to finish it. The emotional depth that grabbed me in the beginning started to fade. Conflicts felt rushed, resolutions too clean, and some emotional payoffs never came. It didn’t ruin the drama, but it didn’t elevate it either. 😶

That said… Joseph’s childlike scenes? Surprisingly touching. Bai Lu stayed strong till the end. And even when the plot felt shaky, the visuals, acting, and emotional weight held everything together — just barely.

❤️‍🔥 What I Loved
✔️ The lead chemistry (soft yet intense)
✔️ Stunning sets, styling & OST 🌸
✔️ Themes of grief, healing, and self-worth
✔️ Bai Lu’s transformation into Siling – absolutely slayed

🥴 What Didn’t Work for Me
❌ Weak pacing in the second half
❌ Blurry cinematography (seriously, was the lens fogged up?)
❌ Supporting characters felt underused
❌ The final conflict lacked real emotional punch

💭 Final Words
Feud is like a painting that’s beautiful from afar, but a bit messy up close.
It had the potential to be a masterpiece, and at times it really was. The story dives deep into grief, power, forgiveness, and healing. And even when it stumbles, the core emotions still resonate.

If you enjoy xianxia with emotional depth, flawed but lovable characters, and a romance that isn’t afraid to hurt first and heal later — this is worth your time. Just manage expectations, and you’ll likely come away satisfied. 💔🌿

✨ Final Rating: 8/10 – Not perfect, but still worth the journey.

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