Dogmatic Princess

I know, right? All the things you've mentioned in your post? *nods in hearty agreement* Seriously. It has literally been two months since I watched the last episode (from my initial watch, anyway :) and I STILL have to get my daily fix of the MDZS/CQL/GDC world.

（⌒▽⌒ゞ I've been way past serious with this obsession since...mid-Augustish? LOL The novel has a lot of fun things that the drama couldn't do.
There's also smut.
*✲ﾟ*｡✧٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶*✲ﾟ*｡✧

I'm learning to accept that I shouldn't measure other dramas up against The Untamed. I know that there's not likely going to be anything quite like The Untamed anytime soon, but that doesn't mean dramas can't be enjoyable anymore. It's taken a while to feel like I CAN start a new drama again. As long as I'm able to rewatch The Untamed to my heart's content, I feel like I'm going to be okay.
(＾▽＾)

Even if your friends don't understand the love, we do. ♡(.◜ω◝.)♡

For chapters 1 - 24:
https://www.sakhyulations.com/novel/heaven-officials-blessing/

For chapter 21 to the end:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oXnp5Y2OD70i78utu4BcQ3xgAlygypd0

It's a fun read. GDC/MDZS/FOD is still my fave though.
Enjoy! (　＾∇＾)

This drama has that effect on people. We understand. (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

This is such a fun show! I'm enjoying both Nokdu and Dong Joo's characters. So much hilarious confusion between these two!
Love all the cross-dressing o((*^▽^*))o

(*≧艸≦) Indeed. You watched an amazing drama that shows an incredibly deep friendship between the two main leads. Your brain will process all those longing gazes between them as something that is normal and acceptable between a couple of guys. You'll also believe that that each time Wei Ying falls into Lan Zhan's arms, it's also quite natural. The gentle way that Wei Ying strokes Lan Zhan's hand as he puts him to bed is just a sign of friendship, as is the tenderness that Lan Zhan treats Wei Ying with as he lays against him on the boat after finding out about the Golden Core.

Ah, such a friendship that these two have! It wouldn't be surprising at all if one were to lightly trace the contours of the other's face to show care or perhaps a light brush of their lips against each other would be a particularly sweet gesture of friendship...

I find this hilarious because it would seem like YiBo would be good at flute twirling because he's normally so coordinated. XD

Because you need all the links （‐＾▽＾‐）:

Translated Novel: https://exiledrebelsscanlations.com/grandmaster-of-demonic-cultivation/

Donghua (Anime) on Tencent's official YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/m346FShZ5Dc

Translated Manhua (Manga):
https://mangarock.com/manga/mrs-serie-100173630

Audio Drama:
https://kittykat2010.tumblr.com/mdzsaudio

LOL That’s my headcanon.

One of the reasons I love the ending is because it is clearly a happy ending, but is open enough you can decide what version of happy you want. It’s a very clever final scene.

Hence the reason I don't actually ship RY with JM. He deserves better. ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
I really want RY to have his own story.

I totally have a soft spot for those guys who have a tragic past. I can understand why they go dark and feel they deserve some love. :D

The first time I watched it, I totally shipped the canon couple. However, I'm slowly doing another rewatch with people who have not seen it before and I've declared that I'm rooting for Run Yu. They are now having a total angstfest because they ship Jin Mi with Xu Feng and she just killed him off. Mostly, I'm rooting for Run Yu to mess with their heads because I still ship Jin Mi with Run Yu - but I really, really think that Run Yu deserves love.

Run Yu in Ashes of Love.

I'd start with the novel first. You'll have a better idea of what's going on in the audio drama with the details from the novel. You'd also be surprised at how closely the drama follows the novel in many places. The novel has more morally grey areas than the drama does and, of course, includes all the BL aspects of the story, so those were changed to appease the censors. There are lots of little Easter eggs in the drama for all the novel fans/readers, so you might consider a rewatch after reading it.
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Thanks for sharing that! These are the sort of things I think about too. While I agree with her assessment, I also think that it would be a whole different kind of pain that Lan Zhan goes through because his soulmate's life was literally in his hand, but he couldn't hold on and save him because Wei Ying wanted to prevent Lan Zhan from falling too.

In the drama, we find out that Wei Ying didn't actually lose control - someone interfered. Lan Zhan mentions that the situation is not as simple as it seems just as the battle at the Nightless City begins, so he know that there has been something going on behind the scenes by that point. After Wei Ying is reincarnated, Lan Zhan says that he has regrets - he wasn't by Wei Ying's side. While the book Lan Zhan doesn't know what happened to Wei Ying since he was bed ridden when he died, at least he had done everything in his power to save him after the battle at Nightless City, including giving him spiritual powers and pretty much admitting his love for Wei Ying. Wei Ying's death was beyond his control. In the drama, however, the focus was more about whether Lan Zhan trusted Wei Ying's ability to control the Stygian Tiger Seal. Lan Zhan gives the impression that he doesn't fully trust that Wei Ying can control it. Ultimately, it's not Wei Ying who lost control - he was set up and used as a scapegoat while someone else was able to override his control over Wen Ning and the ghost puppets during those times that things got really ugly.

Lan Zhan couldn't save Wei Ying and blamed himself for not being by Wei Ying's side at that final battle in Nightless City. After all, Wei Ying committed suicide. I imagine that Lan Zhan spent 16 years believing that he could have done things differently. If he had trusted Wei Ying and supported him and stood up for him in front of the others (like he finally does at Koi Tower after they had investigated Jin GuanYao's secret room and Wei Ying's identity is revealed), Wei Ying might not have jumped off the cliff. Sixteen years of torturing himself with these thoughts... I think that's a considerable amount of suffering.

For weeks I felt the angst that they would be separated at the end because the opening credits show that scene, so I understand that physical pain. Thank the Jade Emperor that we got that "Wei Ying" at the end along with his incredible smile.

Of course, we all know that it couldn't show Lan Zhan in that last scene because he's wearing traditional red wedding clothes and is carrying a couple of jars of Emperor's Smile in one hand and Wei Ying's wedding robes in the other. That had to be censored. ಠ‿↼

Here's a site that I've used to understand more of the terms when it comes to the whole concept of the cultivation world: https://immortalmountain.wordpress.com/glossary/wuxia-xianxia-xuanhuan-terms/

The Untamed/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation doesn't delve deeply into the whole cultivation system - it simplifies it in order for the focus to be on the characters and their relationships. I've read a few more novels which have that cultivation setting and I've learned a lot. The eastern fantasy genre fascinates me.

Go study. Take a minute to patch your soul back together. Then come back to the drama with a box of tissues. If you're crying, then I know you'll stick with it until the end. I promise it's worth it. What episode are you on?