YIN AND YANG

"The Yin-Yang, an ancient symbol of harmony and balance, challenges the conventional association of light with good and darkness with evil "

One is known as the harbinger of doom, a jinx, and a cunning "evil" person, but fell in love with the immortal who is the protector of the four realms.

One is kind, and virtuous and was born with an auspicious sign, but fell in love with an insidious person who will do anything to satisfy his ambition.

This makes the 2 main couples the perfect example of Yin and Yang, they complete and balance each other.

This drama has the typical Xianxia traits but with a twist, I assure you that. I'll start by praising the CGI, definitely one of this drama's most powerful traits, it looks so beautiful and doesn't look fake or tacky, especially the love bridge scene(which sealed the deal for me and urged me to keep watching) and the battle of Guixu partnered with the beautiful ost's. The 2 lead couples including the side characters' acting are natural and don't look awkward, they did a great job that I cry when they are suffering and laugh so hard when they are being funny. They left such a deep impression on me that I don't think it will be easy for me to forget them for a few years or even more. One of the things I like in this drama is that the ML is different from other Xianxia MLs who are usually cold & unfeeling, the ML here has social anxiety, awkwardness, and vulnerability, something we basically never see in a Xianxia ML. There is so much to SDYQ that looking back at the first 4 ep., having watched all 40 ep. all I can say is that he's one of the most intricately built characters I've seen in Cdramaland, not just in Xianxia.

I also like the fact that each character was given their own time to shine and doesn't only focus on the leads just like most dramas. This drama has 4 couples that are written so well and weren't rushed so you can see the development, especially for the main couple who went from always bickering and can't stand each other to a lovestruck and can't bear to leave each other even for just a few moments couple. Although the 2nd couple's relationship first started with deception, which made me not like the 3rd prince but after all misunderstandings were cleared between them, it made me root for their relationship (not interested in them at first cause it's the typical bad boy-good girl trope but this couple made me change my mind and actually made me like something that I thought is already overused).

The romance development of the main leads is not as fast as the 2nd couple, they were more of like a slow-burn type but still won't make you feel like it's draggy. The mortal realm is where the romance starts for the main couple and it's also where you see the development between the leads. While the 2nd couple started nicely with all the 2nd ML's lies so their romance development was a bit faster. The pacing is also perfect, not too rushed or with a lot of fillers, especially in the mortal arc where it usually gets draggy, but here, it's action-packed that keeps the plot moving, and also doesn't have a lot of inside dialogue.

There's not much of a misunderstanding and they were all easily resolved and didn't cause major fights between the couples when the lies came to light. Might I also add the skyrocketing chemistry between the leads and the sweet, fluffy moments that are enough to give you diabetes. There are also no love triangles (there is a pentagon though HAHA), each character has their own partners which makes it better because there's no 2nd ML or FL who turns dark after they can't get the girl/boy. I also love how this drama's ML is willing to fight against his own father, the rules he has come to know; practically everything, even the whole world, just for the sake of the woman he has come to love. The woman who told him it's alright to be afraid; the woman who fearlessly & verbally fought and insulted his father for him, the woman who risked her own life to descend to the mortal realm and painstakingly looked for him just so she could revive him. It's practically me and you against the whole world.

The FLs here are also not the usual FLs who are naïve and weak. The main FL is smart and cunning but still kind despite all the abuse she received in her childhood, she stayed strong enough to not let her past twist her into someone resentful when she had every right to be. The 2nd FL might be kind and weaker than her sister, but she has a hidden temper and knows how to stand on her own feet and take care of herself when fighting against her opponent in her own way in the dreary Void realm. I just love the unconditional love both sisters have for each other and the way were willing to sacrifice their lives for each other. I also love that they were the ones to propose to their MLs, and not the other way around.

I'm completely smitten by them and their love story. The main couple's relationship has to be one of the healthiest and most supportive in Cdramaland; actually, both the relationships of YQ & CF are, minus the fact that CF wanted to harm QK, YT, and YQ in the earlier episodes. But in the end, both YQ & CF love their women more than anything and would never harm them. Even a memoryless Youqin couldn't bring himself to hurt Yetan. His love is that powerful. The brothers-in-law even came to terms with each other for their wives and eventually became buddies, but still can't help but make fun of each other every chance they get.

But of course, it's not only the romantic relationships that I love but also the friendships the leads have with their friends: Chaofeng with his comedic & partner-in-crime Haichao, Youqin & his loyal sidekick Feichi, and of course, I will never forget Ye Tan & Di Lanjue; I absolutely love their friendship together with Manman. Di Lanjue, the person alongside Manman who stuck through thick and thin and stayed by Tan's side until the very end( I know Manman would have done the same thing, which I absolutely would have wanted to see), I love how he always protectively puts his arms in front of YT whenever he senses danger like he's ready to sacrifice his life, and basically saying that they will have to go through him first to get to Tan. And might I also add that Di Lanjue even locked the 2 Shaodian siblings up after hearing that Tan wanted the 3 shards to have their own lives, even though he knew that Ziwu had the upper hand on him by knowing a secret that he didn't want others to know and was basically using it to blackmail him. YT, DLJ, & MM grew up together; they knew what each of them was thinking without them saying it, and they protected each other even at the cost of their lives. The 3 of them are practically platonic soulmates.

I would also like to praise the acting of the actors, especially our ML who has to act out 5 different personalities that are completely different from each other. He did it so well that you can clearly distinguish who is who and can't help but feel bad for the other shards knowing there are 3 of them and when Youqin 2.0 came back to life, I was able to see shadows of the shards within him. The FL did well in making her character likable even though it's the kind of FL personality that you'll find annoying but the actress here made me love her character with all her snarky remarks and funny personality. Despite being a newbie the 2nd ML did well on acting his part that he made me hate him but also like him at the same time, same goes for our 2nd FL who was able to portray a gentle but still strong character, and let's not forget our Beast realm prince Di Lanjue; the way he cried when Manman died was so heartbreaking; he didn't sob, didn't scream, didn't make a single sound, but the way his eyes were so red with tears in addition to his facial expressions SCREAMED just how heartbroken he was; his acting was superb! He was and still is the reason why I was crying FULL ON at the coffin scene.
All in all, the acting of the cast in this drama is on point, especially in the crying scenes. I don't think I would hate a character this much or love a character this much but they made me do it.

The writers, directors, and actors nailed every single character and scene in this drama. From the OSTs to the acting to the CGI, and not a single episode dragging; side characters well built; tropes revised and reconstructed; & the awesome chemistry between all the couples; the bar is just too damn high that it's more than enough for me to say that this drama is one of the best, not just in the Xianxia genre but in the whole of Cramaland.

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