I don't think this drama needs a review because seems like everyone and their friends have watched it. I am late to the party, but better late than never, right? I am glad I gave this a chance because I haven't really watched any long dramas in the past few years.

This drama is interesting. The initial episodes took a lot of time for the world building but when it came around, it was captivating . I think the beginning was quite good and I was interested enough to keep watching on. Unlike some people I am not a big on Chinese historical dramas but I am glad I gave it a try. I can say this drama has opened the unexplored world of Chinese wuxia / historical shows for me.

It was hard for me to get convinced to watch this drama because I am not the biggest fan of Yang Mi. But the promise of an epic romance had me curious and I binge watched the whole thing in a few days. I think I only took breaks to eat or sleep lol. I devoted my entire time to this drama.

Story: Like I said, quite interesting. I wouldn't say this is the best drama I have watched because some of my favourite Korean sageuks are impossible to top. I would say I might have judged this with high standards but then this is supposed to be the best of best. My favourite parts in the drama were episodes 26 - 35ish. This drama was best when it was sad and filled with angst. There were some episodes I didn't care for in the beginning because the way the leads fell in love were a bit unconvincing. But I freaking loved Ye Hua's devotion and loyalty to Bai Qian. He is one of the most unparalleled loyal drama heroes ever!! I loved his chemistry and passion for the heroine which I believe to be quite rare in the C-dramaworld. Some of the kisses were memorable and I loved Mark Chao's gaze and how he looked at Qian Qian for the entire drama.

The other whole plot I was loving was Dong Hua and Dilraba's loveline. I am a bit biased because I love Dilraba because she is super cute but their love story was also awesome. I must say the only time I came close to crying was in one of their scenes. I don't cry easily while watching dramas so I should say I enjoyed their plot more.

There were some other side plots and characters that I did and didn't care for. I also skipped some scenes here and there but I did overall like some characters. Zhe Yuan(? - I am bad at remembering names) was my favourite High God. Even Mo Yuan was boring in some places but Zhe Yuan always came through.

Acting: I didn't see any phenomenal acting anywhere. Mark is a good actor but I need to see more of his works to be his fan. The actors were all good, but I've seen better. Yang Mi was good in certain scenes but I am not a fan so it is hard for me to praise her overall. Dilraba needs improvement but she wins me over with her cuteness. I don't think I have much to say about anyone else.

ENDING: OMG if not for the ending it would have been a waste to watch. It was a bit nonsensical but I'll take it because it made my time worthwhile.

Also, side note: the constant mentions of their ages was cringey. I would have enjoyed it more without the constant reminder that they were all ancient lol.

Give it a go if you are still hesitating like I was till now.