Frost_edelweiss

Yeees. I stray over there too, for fluff once in a while 🤣🤣🤣
And I agree that 4 /37 episodes is not enough to get an opinion on "chemistry", esp. since synopsis makes it clear it is not love at first sight, but development and growth.

He does look young, yes. 28 at time of filming. Playing a senior pro top hotel manager oversea returnee, taking over management of a luxury brand hotel? It does take some suspension of disbelief, in appearance, although he is a skilled actor. I am still in waiting to see how this will develop.

that's a while ago (2014) 🤣
One signature role of Yang Zi to remember.
Yes at the time, Niu Junfeng played the brother Hu Xiang Jiang to her Hu Xiang Xiang, wartime fiancée of Gu Qingming played then by Wallace Huo.
杨旎奥 Yang Ni'Ao (one nickname is "AoAo") was barely 21 when she filmed that Battle of Changsha period drama.
And now, she was not yet 31 when she filmed Best Choice Ever (June to September 2023, in Shanghai and Anhui province)

Besides, that time is less expensive than having actors come back to dub themselves, which many do now, nonetheless, in the time assigned for the shoot. In a modern drama, there are less constraints from machinery such as cranes for "wirework" around the set (check the beginning of Romance of Tiger and Rose, for a fun glimpse of that sort of work), and no bulky costume and make up, wigs etc, which are wonderful to look at in historical costume, wuxia, or xianxia, so it would be easier for the actors to dub themselves when needed, if something was not clearly enunciated. Although actors are not all proficient at voice acting which is a special job (as was also shown in some dramas that show their importance as part of the plot, i.e. in Forever and Ever, Love Me Love My Voice).

Some voice actors have become "the" voice of one or more, and some have also at times become the choice voice actors who the screen actor/actress chose for themselves. Some voice actors are known to have a voice similar to the one they dub, so that's a relief when they can perhaps share time. Voice actors have valuable contribution and some of them have become well-known such as Bian Jang.

But in this drama, there is no name listed for dubbers on the Baidu drama page for the 41 actors listed. So I assume it is their real voices.

don't spoil it for the new watchers, but : yes.

To me, it looked like the world view of traditional shanshui Chinese paintings, with the void between lower planes and more lofty ones. It was reinforced by the black (ink) and white colors, the brush Xing Zhi used to "repair" the falling heavens, on the large scroll painting with colors. I felt a connection between the painting action and the "world building actions" that creative artists, plastic or literary, use to gift us with the fruit of their imagination. Behind creative process, there's always a mystery (despite some may reduce it to "reasons") which link it to the arcane. In Chinese lore, there are also scrolls with cryptic, magic messages, like in the Yi Jing which are to be used by the action of throwing objects as one could throw spells.

Xianxia being a godchild of Daoism, encompassing other faiths and views like old folk religion and Buddhism, and the cycling between various forms and planes of existence of souls (or soul shards that must be reunited), the action of painting and unfolding scrolls, the talk about stars that might be picked, seemed symbolic of the importance of "higher powers", and magic. The Milky Way is indeed important in Chinese myths, so there may have been some influence for the set and CGI design, there.

But in the "Beyond heaven" depiction, Xing Zhi being seated on a round flat plane with void around, and in the distance, a sketchy peaks-barrier like veils hanging from nowhere, fluidly showing a sort of crumbling and rewinding : all that was rather removed from my notion of the void of interstellar deep space. I viewed it more like symbolic of a magical, unfathomable, removed, vision or "plane" where the power of the mind could create at will, such as the walls Xing Zhi put around Shen Li, or the wine that lonely Xing Zhi drank, the shards he walked on to get at least a feeling of pain against the depressing numbness and void.

It could also be in modern worldview, an alternate or parallel universes in the string theory where energy might create the tools to build and act.

From arts, pictorial, plastic, or alchemist, to science : action is the link and the cause of cycles, ancient or renewed, and finally, we end up wondering where and how freedom can arise, since cycles when "broken", are merely replaced by other ones...
This xianxia can induce quite a few philosophical thoughts ! 🤣

Time for me to break the cycle, and check soon what Yang Zi has for us in her new family drama! For a change, back to firm mortal ground! 🤣🤣🤣

buttom, button? wondering?
The triangle was indeed a "heavens being cruel" instance, but it got a resolution in the end, not the one you might wish, although the three linked souls do not vanish in destruction. To me, it was an illustration of the indecisiveness and possessiveness that can harm all involved, when someone thinks it is better to acknowledge unfaithfulness to appear "honest" and in fact, use a lover for selfish reasons. That's why that god was condemned to yearn "forever" until Xing Zhi, with the support of all the gods that kept some power, broke the cycle, and set the three free as a consequence.

yes, for both and more

it's a good nutshell explanation for me too.
Although "space"? I just viewed it as another "ethereal plane"
Because "deep space" is where my starship usually roams, exploring planets that can be quite close to xianxia, in landscapes, but are fundamentally different, lol
That said, you are right about the signature link of xianxia to Chinese superstitious or religious beliefs with 3 or 6 realms of existence, and anyone can interpret the Yi Jing oracles as they choose, or the way the dao appears. So yes, it's complicated, there are many conflicting stories, so one is free to choose one view or another, personal or agreed on with others.
Your post is way shorter than my rambling essays 🤣

It's a fluid denomination.
As the saying goes : "traduttore, traditore" - translations often betray the meanings. There is no "perfect translation".
If you feel comfortable with demons as "friendly demons", why not call it Demon realm.
If you are conflicted by religious views that see Demons as all inherently evil and non useful, non redeemable, then, in this story, better stay with "Immortals" (sort or warrior archangel-like figures in this story).

Anyway, as one, now classic, song went :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjlNF7ui1M
"Us (us, us, us, us) and them (them, them, them, them)
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me And you (you, you, you)
God only knows
It's not what we would choose -- to do ---
Forward he cried from the rear
And the front rank died
And the general sat
And the lines on the map
Moved from side to side
Black (black, black, black)
And blue (blue, blue)
And who knows which is which and who is who
Up (up, up, up, up)
And down (down, down, down, down)
And in the end it's only round 'n round (round, round, round)
Haven't you heard it's a battle of words
The poster bearer cried.... "

It's just a battle of words. And this xianxia is much lighter than the song I quoted. Not depressing at all, lots of humor, and hope, love, and freedom in the happy end!

thanks for liking, and for the flower you sent it !

immortals did not faze me as much as "diviners", sometimes spelt "deviners" in comments. I too, autocorrected in my mind to more familiar Demon Realm and Heaven Realm. With some debating with myself about the "Extranatural heaven" looking up to "Natural Law" higher ethereal and hidden "place". But for once, these Demons except Liu Ming, and his creations (the Chimei, Fenglai, maybe also the wizard?) looked more like another type of immortals, who could supposedly shape-shift to the initial beast form they were originally from, although we did not see many do so.
Still, since original platform took the option to translate as they did, and we had the puppet show in the beginning (where Xing Yun sat with CluckCluck to be told together with the people of Qingsheng market, about the three world's creation story), I just went along with that "canon" (if not perfectly satisfactory) translation choice. Viki does really great, but over translating can also lead to other confusion.
As for seeing such "new takes on names", there are other xianxia that do not use the hitherto widely accepted Demon/Immortal or Heaven/Mortal division same way : it is up to authors who are sometimes quite creative in their visions (example: Cangyan Sea etc). That's why I wrote this essay, during airing :
https://kisskh.at/discussions/yu-feng-xing/124265-notes-about-the-legend-of-shen-li-xianxia-drama?pid=3003893&page=1#p3003893

they are both popular actresses, that's all.
Yang Zi was famously FL in a past xianxia called Ashes of Love, and another called Immortal Samsara, so they are (as all who do that sort of dramas), competitors. Also for fame and screen time.
But I don't think there's any bad blood between them. Yang Zi is younger although she has been on screen longer since she was a child actress. But she has less fans (60 millions) than Zhào Lìyǐng who has 90.9million fans, second only to Yang Mi.
Some rumors about snarky fan exchanges from the fireflies (ZLY fans) and purple rice (YZ fans) groups spread about the time of CNY when the Zhang Yimou movie "Article 20" (a story about self defense and beating), in which ZLY plays, was airing to large success. Anti-fans, of which celebs have plenty, may have had a black hand in this.
As An chuxia, keen observer of c-dramaland's dangerous jungle, stated just before: "aoao" (one nickname for YZ, whose Ig handle is yangzi_aoao), and "zhaozhao" (one nickname for ZLY) are not enemies at all, and I don't think fireflies and purple rice are that keen on being discourteous to each other in "defending" their idols.
Let's support them both, and welcome Best Choice Ever, the new family drama with YZ that will premiere tomorrow on WeTV at 19:30 as per this announce : https://twitter.com/Yz1106Aoao -- for those who can manage to wrench themselves away from n-th rewatch of Shen Li, of course 😅

But no, they are only good friends according to what I read:
ZLY tried marriage, for a short stint, has a young child whom she co-parents with her ex (no hard feelings between them apparently),
and LGX is rumored to have a gf but is among the discreet people, so we get to know more about his Corgi dog(s) than about his private life, same as for ZLY who shows more of her wardrobe (beautiful "phoenix design" special for the live stream, and her own poodle, Furball) than anything more intimate, which is of course none of our business.
So that's all we know, thanks to the buzzfly paparazzi who stalk all those celebrities, spreading rumors about this and that, lately that Yang Zi is "worried" by Shen Li's success presumably because she often followed the social media posts on Weibo (why couldn't she simply be among the 108 million who were glued to screen watching it, last week? I like Yang Zi too, so will surely watch one or more of her very soon 3-4 upcoming dramas).
Let's just admire them all, together or separately in the dramas they delight us with, as the skilled actors they are, and make a clear distinction between fiction and real life.

Nice, lol

Btw, I have added some more data in the Notes:
#1 show second week running among the top ten TV dramas last week,
108 million views, and
the Lin Gengxin VIU interview snippet link,
following the GIF already put in a while ago, for the variety show of April 11 that we are all impatiently waiting for 😝
https://kisskh.at/discussions/yu-feng-xing/124265-notes-about-the-legend-of-shen-li-xianxia-drama?pid=3002699&page=1#p3002699 (promotion and reception section of the Notes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brD_RcaoWos link to it ; it's a 3'23 snippet.
I have added a picture and the link in the promotion section of the Notes, together with the ranking as #1 watched for second week running in the top ten TV shows :
https://kisskh.at/discussions/yu-feng-xing/124265-notes-about-the-legend-of-shen-li-xianxia-drama?pid=3002699&page=1#p3002699

Same question, it's only at #16 on my WeTV VIP app.

wow! worth watching ? I clicked on it randomly ... Perhaps I'll give it a try too, then.
It's only reached 16/28 episodes on WeTV for me.
Just saw it got #4/10 on the popularity ranking of online dramas for the past week, according to Marcus Sim's reporting.

He'll find another and better love, now that he is free from obsession :)
Heavens (Natural Law) are rebuked, the time of the gods is over, now is time to build a new world free from fate.

That was also my conclusion. Now an ordinary mortal, he can move on...