An absolutely amazing volume! Loved it! It has so many of my favorite scenes!

It’s been a while since I’ve reread this, but it’s even better on a reread. I’m catching all the little things I missed before. A particular favorite is Wei Wuxian noticing the bell Jin Ling is carrying.

Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan, A-Qing, and Xue Yang’s story is always beautifully tragic, and Wei Wuxian reflecting on how it parallels his own life is so sad. Song Lan carefully holding the spirit pouches at the end is so tender and sad. I also thought it was neat how Wei Wuxian thinks about the first of Baoshan Sanren’s disciples to leave the holy mountain, Yanling Daoren, who was later killed after turning evil. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu doesn’t fill in all the little story threads in her works, rather leaving a lot to the imagination, which is fun, but I wonder what his story was, particularly because we know how Cangse Sanren and Xiao Xingchen’s stories end.

It’s also sweet seeing the relationships between the juniors flourish. Jin Ling is very obviously closer to Lan Sizhui than the others, and they’re quite cute together, though his relationship with Lan Jingyi is also quite adorable. And Wei Wuxian is so cute and funny when interacting with them.

I’ve always loved Nie Mingjue’s story. Like so much of MDZS, it’s so tragic but well-written. There’s a bit that starts “Nie Mingjue never got close to other people, and he rarely bared his heart to them. To finally have a competent, trustworthy subordinate whose capabilities and character he approved of, then discover the person’s true colors were not at all what he’d initially thought—it couldn’t have been easy on him.” This is so sad, particularly in regard to his warm reception to Lan Xichen (clearly on those rare occasions when Nie Mingjue opened his heart, he could be very open). He deeply cared for Meng Yao once, when he so rarely cared for anyone, and what happened in their relationship hurt him, as well. And I feel so horrible for Nie Huaisang, who was abused by his elder brother, but also clearly loved him, and yet had to watch him die.

The cover art by Jin Fang is gorgeous, and I feel conflicted talking about the interior art by Marina Privalova, because on the one hand I adore almost all of the pieces, and Xiao Xingchen/Xue Yang fans will be quite happy, honestly. There are some truly beautiful interior art pieces in this. On the other hand, the piece where Wei Wuxian and the juniors are looking at the paper mannequins, while featuring good art of the human characters, is completely off for no apparent reason when it comes to the paper mannequins. The descriptions for the mannequins are quite specific and detailed, and well illustrated in the manhua and animated in the donghua, but here they’re grotesque and innacurate, in a way that’s completely unnecessary and incredibly bizarre, given the description of them immediately follows the image and we are very clearly not staring at what we’re supposed to be thinking of. I truly do not know why they were drawn so wrong, particularly given the accuracy of the other artwork. Creepy lifelike dolls don’t need to be grotesque to be creepy. That’s why mannequins are so common in horror.

The pronunciation guide is also still missing IPA. They really need to add that.

Overall, this is another incredible volume from one of my favorite danmei. I'm so happy to finally have this, I loved it, and I bookmarked nearly every page, and I look forward to volume 3! ( )

Yes, these books still have their teeth round my organs.

Volume Two is almost all Yi City arc and Meng Yao backstory, which are both absolutely plot essential but also involve a LOT of flashbacks. But this volume also contains the absolutely epic moment where Wei Wuxian convinces the reserved Lan Zhan to get drunk, and discovering that Lan Shan likes to GET LICKED after reasoning that Drunk Lan Zhan likes to play chase/tag because of his repressed/austere childhood, decides it would be a SUPER FUN PRANK to KISS DRUNK LAN ZHAN ON THE MOUTH with just ABSOLUTELY ZERO self-knowledge or introspection, 11/10 disaster bisexual Oblivious King moment. I DON'T KNOW WHY HANGING AROUND BORING STICK-IN-THE-MUD LAN ZHAN MAKES ME SO HAPPY. HE IS JUST SO GOOD AT EVERYTHING AND SO FUN TO TEASE AND HIS LIPS ARE SO SOFT.

Listen. Sometimes I am reading MDZS fanfic and I think the "two geniuses who consult zero brain cells when it comes to each other" is fun but over exaggerated, but then I reread the canon and THAT IS REALLY HOW THEY BE.

These characters have my heart forever. ( )

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji follow the dismembered body's trail to Yi City, where they learn the tragic story of A-Qing, Xiao Xingchen, his friend Song Lan, and Xue Yang. This then leads to Jin Guangyao and, finally, to the discovery of the dismembered body's head.

I definitely preferred the first half of this volume, in Yi City, to the second half. The supernatural aspects were fabulous, and both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji got to be awesome. Wei Wuxian acting as a confident and calm mentor/babysitter for the younger cultivators was fun. Also, I enjoyed the massive tragedy that was Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan's story, even if I had trouble remembering what any of it had to do with the series' larger story. My heart hurt for pretty much everybody but Xue Yang.

The second half of this book was mostly cultivator politics, which I wasn't nearly as interested in. All I really cared about were the details surrounding the dismembered body.

Not a very informative review, I know, but I wanted to finally get this off my plate so I could move on to the next volume and eventually let myself do the thing I really want to do, which is read Heaven Official's Blessing. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is okay, but definitely my least favorite of MXTX's works. It just doesn't have enough fun character interaction. I need more than the occasional "Lan Wangji is hilariously drunk and Wei Wuxian is oblivious" scene.

Extras:

A couple full-color illustrations, a character and name guide, a glossary, and black and white illustrations throughout.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

Vol One introduced readers to Wei Wuxian, infamous & newly reincarnated, and Lan Wangji, loyal & indefatigable. They are investigating the mystery of a dismembered resentful corpse. In Volume Two, they journey to Yi City where they encounter Wuxian's nephew Jin Ling and other young disciples, an old enemy, and uncover the tragedy of Xiao Xingshen. They'll discover who the corpse is, but the mystery just deepens.

The heartbreaking story of Xiao Xingshen and Song Lan takes up a lot of this volume, but is well worth the time. It spurs our heroes to greater effort in taking down their enemy and pursuing his mastermind.

This volume was just as engaging as the first. I absolutely loved Wuxian's interactions with the teen disciples, how he teased and protected them in equal measure. The underlying romance builds slowly, the mystery is expanding and the stakes are rising. I cannot wait for more. ( )