Novel has classic xianxia elements but is very slow paced. MC has a heaven-defying cheat item and also has a lot of luck. The difference is that he is presented as someone who doesn't have talent for cultivation. At first, I was ok with that but it seems like the novel could also end like this - a cultivator with a very bad talent reaches the top of cultivation world. I already don't like this... with cheat item to create precious pills and eat them like snacks, with great luck... more>> to encounter high-level cultivation techniques but with no talent for them, to become top.

Spoiler

Also it's kind of weird that MC has such a bad talent for cultivation, but is actually very smart and observant in many situations, where he ended up being the only survivor. Also, when he was just starting on path of cultivation, he was kind of described as very smart when learning a technique that didn't require True Qi - Blinking Sword Art. Then after that, when he just reached the Foundation Establishment level - he cultivated Azure Essence Sword Art to fourth layer without stopping, just to absorb remaining medicinal power of his last Foundation Establishment. So is he talented or not?

[collapse]

The cultivation world seems like it's dying, nobody is sharing their knowledge about cultivation so not many techniques are presented and even the planet seems like it's dying - not nearly enough cultivation resources because of great number of cultivators - nice foundation for a great scale war, I hope. Up until now, there are no long-lasting cultivation buddies, it's mostly about stabbing people in the back and killing. There is indication about some possible romance, but I'm not hoping for much.

It doesn't seem like there will be some interesting cultivation techniques to cultivate soul or to cultivate body or something like divine sense or some special sword arts (or any other weapon) or anything related to space, time or some other "high-level stuff"... I actually don't understand quite how MC cultivates except for few occasional sentences where he sits and consumes some Spiritual Qi or just plumps himself with pills. So far, there is no training period nor has his master thought him anything so far (and it doesn't seem like he will ever). <<less

Plot:

Average village boy joins a sect, embarking on the path of cultivation.

Pros:

... more>> - Decent translation. Regular updates.

Cons:

- Slow paced. I found the first 100 chapters (volume 1) to be mind numbingly boring; in the middle of the first big fight (50 chapters in) I was so turned off I dropped it for a month before I was able to pick it up again. Not being able to write an entertaining fight in a martial arts story was a red flag to me. The only upsides were the interactions he had with that one friend and his experiments with his cheat item. Got slightly better in volume 2 when he gets into the cultivator world. Writing style is still long-winded though, there's a lot of fat that could be cut.

- Dull world building; as generic as they come. Tropes: monsters are almost extinct in the world, magic professions have a horrifically low success rate, everyone is poor, everyone is out to get the MC, loner MC, side character deficiency syndrome. I personally prefer adventuring/monster hunting RPG shenanigans in my fantasy novels over the constant comeuppance over the never-ending tide of forgettable side characters that disrespect/scheme against the MC that's common these days. Recommendation:

I found it rather boring, there wasn't a hook that drew me into the story and I'm not really attached to the world or any of the characters. +1 star for lots of content I guess. <<less

If this was another novel, eh a beauty!! Must collect her as harem member, but this MC, just like meh, I prefer my little life more than flesh enjoyment. Just like author's other novel like demon's diary, this MC is average person (appearance, talent, etc). But he's cunningly solve problem, like typical colleague you find from work which steadily got promotion and advance into your boss position even though you still swim in low position. Such an refreshing MC when you bored with handsome, jade like MC like BTTH.

UPDATE: I'm at a boring arc.

The beginning of the story

The cultivation method is unique, the MC is weak but not in the usual boring way. He can't have access to the fighting skills as the others but all about him is unique.

Besides, he leaves in secret from other disciples because of special circumstances who became weirder with each chapter (not having any real contact with the life of the sect) and he has to face a terrible plot that unveiled itself in a surprisingly smart and interesting way. The antagonist... more>> is really cunning and well developed, even other side characters are interesting.

This is a xanxia but without the usual s*upid empty characters, recurrent occurrences or plot armors (didn't see anything like that until now), even the MC's personality is well constructed.

This novel has a lot of potential! <<less

I really.. can't comment anymore then what was said below me.. curse you person! But yea standard XianXia start up and plot... MC from poor family, trys to get strong, gets strong... somehow.. and yea we know where its going..

Recommended if you like any other xianxia novel right now. :3

As the TL or editor of ISSTH/ I Shall Seal The Heavens said it doesn't matter what kind of talent you have even if it is below average or if you don't have any talent at all as long as you are the main character your plot armor shall carry you to victory, so yeah standard xianxia stuff like all 100 other works which are just carbon copy's of each other. Pretty good if you liked any of the previous xianxia works you may have read, but don't expect originality... more>> because there is none here or elsewhere so don't delude yourselves. Regardless is worth the time spend on reading it and the translators do their best so yeah overall a nice if repeated story. =D <<less

This is a real quality work and one of my favourite cultivation novels.

I shall mention some points which distinguishes it from garbage novels (or the vast majority) :

1) The world-building is phenomenal

... more>> 2) The world's ancient China influence makes the world have depth with an air of mystique - it feels like there's a real immortal history backing the world. It has that author's "vision" which underlies a good book - a world which feels tangible

3) It's serious - none of this transmigrated from earth garbage which is an immediate red-flag for me

4) The translation is impeccable, with plenty of variety and detail to the language. It reads like a decent English language book would

5) The MC typically doesn't: borrow power, rely on gimmicks or those stronger than him

6) Very immersive

7) The MC is resource-conscious, calculating and aware. Not some idiot who constantly jeopardizes his own safety against an enemy who could kill him instantly, for no apparent reason other than to advance the plot

8) The world feels considered and balanced (insofar as possible for a novel of this nature)

Subjective/possible negatives:

1) The MC is quite the lone-wolf typically

2) MC relies a lot on artifacts (some of which self-created)

It is a little bit long-winded and repetitive at times (and I can imagine that many people would think this particularly if their English isn't very good or they're young), however, in my opinion a lot more novels need to emulate what this novel does right. <<less

This novel can get slow pace at times. I had to take more than a year break half way through. I feel the novel is not complete after the last chapter. There's a lot of room for continuing MC's adventures. Perhaps RMJI the sequel.

Overall, the novel was enjoyable read. I would certainly read the sequel if that ever came about.

I accidentally rated the story in 4 stars instead of intended 3.

I've been gripped by this story for quite a bit. For a long while the stories of companionship, hardships and losses were fairly balanced. For a story that spawns for more than 12k chapters, that's quite an achievement. Unfortunately, I don't think I have it in me to continue reading it as the writing becomes abysmally repetitive and boring by the Sealed Mountain arc and continues to be the same old repertoire of betrayals and character using his numerous... more>> treasures to battle. Never you mind that by Nascent Soul middle stage it seems almost like the author completely forgets to keep a neutral and equitable barter exchange outlook of the character.

Past chapter 1000 this is a story for those who like to read about side characters and the main character's endless grind to true immortality.

For me personally, that is not enough sustenance to continue reading. <<less

I'll break this down to points really quickly for those who're wondering about whether to read the story or not.

TLDR: Starts good, goes downhill pretty fast. If you like treasure hunts in a cultivation world, done repeatedly, you'll like this.

• The beginning is great for those who like a slow story with acceptable progression. The world building is great.
• The story isn't about some super talented super handsome genius.
• After a couple of hundred chapters, it loses its direction and turns into a catch'em all fiasco where the MC goes on dozens of treasure hunts, always getting the treasures, while supposedly being unlucky. After 1200 chapters, I can tell you that the author basically ignores everything for the sake of treasure hunting, wasting a hundred chapters at a time for one treasure hunt or another. Of course eventually, the MC has so many treasures that he doesn't use them all. When the author starts realizing that the story's progress has stalled, he does one of the most common dumb things an author can do, which happens often in Chinese Xianxia, he repeatedly presses the skip-skip-skip button. So instead of us getting a decent story about a cultivator's struggle to take a step forward. We end up with Treasure Hunt-Skip-Treasure Hunt-Skip-Treasure hunt, and eventually a super skip that takes the significance out of an important part of his and the story's progression.
• The Author is h**ny af, but he'd wanted to make his MC a lonewolf, so in the beginning it's limited to jade beauties everywhere, and some mol*sting here and there. While in the real world, extreme beauties are maybe 1 in a 100. In this stories, regular looking women are 1 in a hundred. Eventually, the author starts succumbing to his horniness and all the women start falling for the MC. Though he doesn't legit start a harem as far as I have read.
• The author is too lazy to write MC relationships, whether they're male or female. Whenever he makes male friends or becomes part of a faction. He disappears those people or relationships somehow, and eventually it becomes obvious that he's not doing it for plot or character purposes. He just doesn't want to write it.
• MC gives women preferential treatment on many occasions to his detriment, even though he's supposed to be a very goal-oriented person, again, author's h**ny.
• The repetitiveness of his treasure hunts gets extremely boring eventually. I'm practically skipping over those chapters these days.

I'm saddened, because this had potential, but as always, Chinese novels just disappoint. Chinese xianxia authors seem to lack the capability to write a believable and coherent plot. Read at your own peril.

Decent read, though fights do tend to get overly dragged on later on in the novel. Romance is so bare bones, that there may as well be none, as what there is of it is always so badly written & worth the word count.

This novel has decent writing/translations, I enjoy the cultivation aspect so it was never boring. What really killed my interest in this novel was the repetitive pattern the author got into. The MC arrives at a place, a conflict breaks out, mc's side is always losing, MC escapes from the conflict as a result. Rinse and repeat. I also detest the mc's rat like personality of how he always has to run from any conflict even when he's powerful enough to stand his ground. He also comes off like pos... more>> who cares nothing for his relationships and only himself. Another big downside of this novel is the "romance." There's no harem even though the MC doesn't shy away from hitting on a lot of girls. The female lead and the MC had about 3 or 4 interactions and barely spent any time together. Every single random side character got more screen time than the female lead. This author do not know how to write romance. Which is why he's hellbent on making sure the MC does not spend any screen time with the female lead. Every time they're about to meet, something happens where they have to separate. By the end of where I left off, the MC became an arrogant pos who's so pretentious that it's cringy to read. <<less

A good start, but does get repetitive after with Han Li . Still, not a terrible read if you are okay with something a bit more mindless.

I have not read anything this boring in my whole life. The main character is bland, weak, and survives all the time just because of luck. The first few chapters were okay, albeit a little bit boring. Before the demons started appearing it was a solid 6-7/10, but after the demons appeared it dropped to 2-3/10. I can't force myself read this.

If you plan on reading this, do yourself a favor and don't. Value your time, and don't waste it on this.

Top tier Xianxia novel, definitely worth a read. I would rank it in the top 5 of all Xianxia novels. Anyways the only problem I really had with it was I didn't like the romance much. I got used to it though, so it isn't too much of a problem. Overall this is a classic that's worth reading if you like the genre.

It is a good read but it is also pretty bland because the MC doesn't really have a goal or purpose for getting stronger, so the whole novel is about cultivating hard and you don't really feel the MC is enjoying the journey.

Read, had expectations, was dull, tasteless- even soundless to describe.

Quit, came back, quit and came back- but this time, for a final time.

I read a few Xianxias my very first 7 chinese novels, none of them were this dull and just nonactive- so as to say. They were full of intention of driving you into their own universe and mingling YOU with their characters and events. You could feel all over that sh*t was going on and there wasn't s*upid stuff hollywood-like and even less disney development or dreamworks... more>> amazingly fatal childish character progression; it was more about discovering an author's work, not a novel's structure portrayed ever so obviously in front of your eyes and so vaguely at that... : "this happened, then that, MC tried this, but no works and enemy is completely advantage, even though weaker"; is one of the most things you'll see in the novel, I at least, did so in 572 chapters non-stop, like every 6-11 chapters or so. And is the same story, go somewhere, get the thing and OR get tricked easily like a dumbfack idiot, then chased, then hide, then go out, then fight, then exposed, then repeat; it's never-ending.

Heard, sooooooooooo many things about this one, was soooooooooo expectant, I took my time, was patient, and all three times I s*upidly began again, was slapped right at the front of my face- 'why?!' and so I damnfully gloriously and most than anything else- satisfactorily give up on this tr*sh.

In many other novels you hear about plot holes and plot armor. Most of them are ('cuz I know) little b*tches b*tching around like a god/goddess, they're just 'jealous' (???) of a main character doing cool stuff with his own abilities but call it another thing. But when it comes to their sweet beloved novels, it becomes the most stable, sincere and obviously non-toxic relationship (sounds familiar). Where I'm going is, MC's fights are all over plot-holes and plot armor making him stay alive at the last minute, no- like really, the last minute of some chapter is literally the last of that even so that the cycle can continue, it's lazy and shameless as f*ck, writing that is.

MC never fights with his powers or understanding, only magic treasures are the real cultivation, the real characters, the REAL main-character. Makes no sense, this isn't Xianxia writing, this is just bored-lazy writing.

Would never recommend this. <<less

Wow what a journey! I gotta say, compared to other protagonists, Han Li's power is at the bottom. He has no overpower BS, the cheat item is a support item, and his luck is the worst. But that's what make this novel stood out and worth reading.

The novel introduced a lot of adventures to different realms and lots of different races, lots of character development. Also not to mention old characters reappearance after hundreds of chapters. This is not something common in other novels where they would throw away old... more>> characters and never mentioning them again.

The last 50-60 chapters of the novel feels kind of rush and open-end. I guess it's to setup for the sequel. Overall, good read. 4/5.

I recommend reading on wuxiaworld rather than other website. The comments along with each chapter makes the reading experience more worth it. <<less

Man, first arc was top, than it wa good, and then a little higher tha ln mediocrity, I especially hate this expressions changes that happen to everyone, man, there are million of ways to describe peoples' emotions, but here there are expression changes almost every chapter and it's go worse, MC has experienced so much, but he'll be startled at almost anything, thas has value. Well there are ton of tr*sh xiaxia, so you can read until you are bored to death, than just stop, and maybe start again in... more>> year or two. <<less

Story was good, but the massive all out battle setting begin to corrupt it. Rather than being anticipated of what's going on, it became rather dulled for me. MC got plenty of treasures and if he lost it, he will acquired a new one. The battle resolve around these many treasures. So in the end I felt like 'Oh damn, this MC so pitifully weak which lead to a disappointment!'. None of those treasures is really powerful. His sword formation was just so so and it took very long time... more>> to arrange to be effective in battle. Got divine treasure, but it's might only to show up at later stage, there you go another tr*sh. Got replica fan divine treasure, 1 wave all magic power's gone, got to drink myriad spirit water, and what's funny it's to slow and most of the time it's not effective either. So to sum up, MC waste all his time to refine these pathetic treasures and his also pathetic exotic insect + puppet + corpse whatever, and use all of these in battle. To rotate all of his treasure taken up 2 to 3 chapters!!!!

I lost it! I think I will just binge reading till the end and skip most of the pathetic exaggerated battle :/

--Above review until chapter 1125, and below for until chapter 2082

Just want to add 1 more annoying thing. Author already gave out a name for one character in the story, but in the following story, he still naming that character with the nickname he gave earlier. So instead of direct naming like Di Xu, Ye Yao, he called it the crimson robed man, the woman from Ye family, the squared face old man and so on. If these characters only show up for 2-3 chapters, it's OK. BUT they appeared like in 20-30 chapters, so it's really annoyed me :/

Same thing still happened like previous 1000 chapters. Han Li got additional clone/ spirit bodies, spirit beast, many new techniques and the fight was about 3-4 chapters long and sometimes got dragged to 10+ chapters long (like when he fought with sacred ancestor's clone). Keep rolling all of his skill or many of so called trump card. <<less