Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

WHEN LAST WE LEFT our dignified Xie Lian (who has ascended to heaven three times (and been banished twice)) and the charming San Lang (who pretended to be just a bloke, but could mow down a horde or terrifying ghosts in a heartbeat), who JUST LIKE EACH OTHER, AND JUST LIKE HANGING OUT SOLVING MYSTERIES, OKAY? Xie Lian has finally had to admit that San Lang is almost certainly Hua Cheng, the most fierce and feared ghost in all the realms.

So volume two is where we get to run into some of the consequences of their actions. Solving the last mystery has made them a powerful enemy, and Xie Lian is asked to save a mystery in Hua Cheng's territory. Which leads to a devastating reveal about Xie Lian's past, which Hua Cheng is not going to let lie. Xie Lian also reveals that his method of Cultivation requires chastity, and Hua Cheng maybe has a feeling about that. We get a lot of back story on Xie Lian's mysterious past, and some more Mo Xiang Tong Xiu feels on "What is wrong? What is right? What is black? What is white?"

I am continuing to very much enjoy this series.… (mere)

This is the third series by Chinese author Mo Xiang Tong Xii. After loving the other two (Scum Villain's Self-Saving System & Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation), it was really only a matter of time before I started this one, even though it is eleven-floppity-jillion pages long.

Listen. Is this the best writing ever? No. There is a ton of info dumping and the phrasing is sometimes clunky (though that could be translation, Seven Seas translation is kind of infamously poorly edited) and MXTX is rarely great with female characters. BUT IT SUPER GAY and had me giggling even in the waiting rooms at the passport office and the dentist and I am just so helplessly charmed by the characters. The world feels like it has an incredibly rich history and it's all interconnected and I just love it.… (mere)

Another wonderful entry in the manhua adaptation of "Mo Dao Zu Shi". I remember reading this as it released online, and it's so nice to reread as it finally releases physically (and as an ebook) in English. I'm not sure how many improvements are in this volume, art-wise (and they seemingly coming from the Taiwanese version anyway), but it's nice to know that there were some edits to improve faces and hair.

The art is as beautiful as ever, and the story is still probably the best adaptation of the original novel. There's a lot of really funny moments in this entry, as well as some tragic ones. Overall, I'm really enjoying rereading it. Looking forward to volume 5.… (mere)