- #1
y one of my fav authors, Ji Cha. This guy is well known in China for writing harems and for a good reason. The women are not mindless vases and have their own thoughts, schemes, considerations, loyalties, priorities, etc. (E.g., One woman makes someone who loves her watch and listen as she sleeps with MC behind a curtain as revenge - Entertainment Spring and Autumn).His writing may not necessarily be as complex as others, but what makes his works stand out is the rarely found delicate balance between realism and wish fulfillment. He’s married with kids and he has relationship exp so the interactions with women and other characters are realistic. For example, a master who separates MC from the FL won’t be needlessly rude to the MC, he’ll just honestly discuss how if MC wants to be openly with her, he needs to be stronger. Also, you can tell in every single book that he isn’t just adding plot lines to extend the story but that everything was planned and came from a storyboard.In this novel, the whole concept of immortal cultivation is following a quote from the Dao De Jing, "The heavens are heartless, treating all beings like stray dogs" as all cultivators strive to become like heaven and abandon all worldly desires and emotions. The logic being that heaven is heartless, heaven is immortal, hence immortals must be heartless. While MC and a few others are of the opinion that humans can never become heartless like the heavens, so cultivation is about understanding the emotions and desires rather than abandoning them.It follows the traditional xianxia template of weak-to-strong reincarnation with hidden past accompanied with an old grandpa in a ring type stuff. But due to (1) the above premise, (2) the authors own writing, it makes for a very pleasurable and unique read. At some point, one you've read a few xianxia, you've read them all. But no matter how many you've read before, this will still be a refreshing and enjoyable read. Heavy focus on romance and harem. It's like a glass of cool water in the summer. You might not look back and think about it a whole lot, but it is a great enjoyment at the time with no regrets.There is a human TL which is very well edited, but it's ongoing. Best bet is to use Google Chrome's in app TL.