Joyce Lite Fulgencio

I went into this mainly because of Deng Wei, but I ended up staying for Su Yishui and Xue Ranran/Mu Qingge. And honestly, I didn't expect to get this attached to them.

What I liked most about this drama is the relationship between the leads. It wasn't just the usual “we meet, misunderstand each other, suffer, then fall in love” xianxia formula. Their relationship had so much history behind it—master and disciple, past and present lives, guilt, sacrifice, identity, and all the things they never got to say to each other. Watching Su Yishui grow from that rebellious, emotional disciple into the mature sect leader he became was probably one of my favorite parts of the drama.

And Deng Wei really impressed me here. Su Yishui could have easily become the typical tragic, tortured xianxia ML, but Deng Wei gave him so much personality. The younger Su Yishui was impulsive and almost feral 😂, while the older version carried so much restraint and regret. You could actually feel how much losing Mu Qingge changed him.

I also really liked Ranran/Mu Qingge as a character. Mu Qingge had that strong FL energy I always look for—powerful, confident, and not someone who just waits around for the ML to save her. I especially enjoyed seeing the difference between Mu Qingge and Ranran while still feeling that they were the same person underneath. Julia Xiang did a good job making the two sides feel distinct without making one completely disappear.

The chemistry between the leads was another big win for me. There was a lot of emotional weight to their scenes, and when they finally got their moments together, they actually felt earned. Even the memory-loss arc, which I normally would have been rolling my eyes at by that point 😂, ended up working for me because of how much Su Yishui's feelings still came through even when he couldn't remember her.

And THANK GOD for the ending. 😂❤️
After everything these two went through, I needed an actual happy ending. Not “they'll meet again in another lifetime,” not “their souls remain together,” not some open-ended nonsense. An actual happy ending. That alone made me forgive quite a few things this drama put me through.

Now, the problems.
The pacing. This absolutely did not need to be 40 episodes.
There were stretches where I was fully invested, then suddenly the story would slow down and I'd find myself thinking, okay, we get it already. Some of the explanations and political/conspiracy parts felt unnecessarily long, and the final arcs could have been tighter.

And then there's Mu Ranwu. 😭
Girl, I was SO tired of this woman.
I don't mind a complicated antagonist, but her storyline went on for so long that there were moments when I just wanted the drama to move on. Every time I thought, okay, surely we're done with this now, she'd come back with another scheme, another power-grabbing attempt, another reason to make me annoyed. 😂
I also wish the drama had spent a little more time developing some of the other characters and conflicts instead of repeatedly circling back to her.

That said, I never reached the point of wanting to drop the drama. Even when the pacing tested my patience, Su Yishui and Ranran kept me watching. And once the bigger pieces of their story started coming together, I was glad I stayed.

This isn't going into my absolute top-tier xianxia list, and I definitely wouldn't call it perfect. But it's one of those dramas where, after finishing it, I can genuinely say:
“Yeah, I'm glad I watched this.”
Beautiful leads, great chemistry, a ML who actually grows, a strong FL, plenty of angst, and—most importantly—an ending that doesn't punish me for investing 40 episodes of my life. 😂

Would I recommend it?
Yes, especially if you like xianxia with a strong romance, reincarnation/past-life elements, devoted MLs, powerful FLs, and a story that actually gives its main couple a proper happy ending.
Just be prepared to occasionally whisper:
“PLEASE. MOVE. ON.” 😭