The Legend of Shen Li is a Chinese fantasy drama with the soul of an old Hollywood Movie. Like Cassablanca, It Happened One Night, Love Affair, The Philadelphia Story, or His Girl Friday. You know, the ones that despite being in black and white the entire world metaphorically bursts into technicolor when the two leading actors lock eyes.
I loved those old movies. Cool, confident, well-dressed people slinking around each other with playful, covertly flirtatious dialogue. Strong ladies in designer dresses circling around handsome men with deadly charm.
The Legend of Shen Li is about capable, confident adults finding love in the same suave style of Old Hollywood – but transplanted into an epic historical fantasy romance with many worlds and apocalyptic fates in the balance.
Introducing our two protagonists, Shen Li and Xing Zhi (or Xing Yun, depending on your subtitles) – whom you will fall in love with as they fall in love with each other.
gifs by @movielosopy on Tumblr – link
So let’s talk about the set up to this show – cause it’s bizarre and brilliant.
Story Arc 1 – The Mortal Realm
In the beginning a demon warrior woman with a massive spear is escaping an arranged marriage to an heavenly immortal with a bad reputation. Their marriage is a proposed strategic alliance between the Demon Realm and the Immortal Realm but our warrior woman is having none of it. She’d rather die, thank you very much, and fights off an army to run away. In the fray of her escape she falls to the mortal world and transforms back to her spiritual form – a phoenix.
Except no one in the mortal world knows what a phoenix is so they just assume it’s a weird looking chicken. She is, in fact, a most adorable CGI chicken with little hearts in her feathers and as corny as that sounds, you will adore it.
Saving her from becoming someone’s dinner is a kindly ginseng farmer who takes her back to his picturesque home on the river and proceeds to tease her and cook her delicious meals. It’s clear he knows this chicken is more than meets the eye, but how he knows and what else he might know are mysteries that slowly unravel in the first few episodes.
you can click on any image to enlarge
This drama is picturesque in the extreme and you will enjoy a visual feast while this powerful war general deals with being powerless for the first time in her life, learning to let someone else take care of her and protect her from harm. She’s annoyed and frustrated and ranting – but ultimately gives in to her gentle caretaker, who delights in teasing her and pushing her buttons, amused by her outbursts and antics and obviously quite charmed by her stubborn, bullheaded personality.
gifs above from @zhanglinghez on Tumblr – link
Their roles reverse by episode three as she regains her human form and her powers slowly come back; then she is the one protecting him from local bullies and other dangers. She’s also enjoying bullying him a bit herself, but it’s obviously a giant turn on to her tall, handsome mortal guardian who is grinning like a fool every time she throws him around.
The Legend of Shen Li 与凤行 (2024) | Episode 3 – gifs by @ladynamie on Tumblr – link
Listen, this guy can play our lead female like a fiddle. He’s having the time of his life goofing around the house and wasting the days away with this recuperating warrior. He’s sickly and mortal and other than some impressive knowledge of magic, he has little to protect himself in the world… not that he seems to care. The dude is like Buddha. He’s both calm like an old man who has accepted their fate and oblivious like a child who has no concept of danger… nothing seems to worry him, he’s at peace wherever he goes… and its bizarre and Shen Li is captivated by him.
gifs by @movielosopy on Tumblr – link
Cause this super chill farmer manages to make our leading lady feel… well, like a lady. And also kinda like a little girl. Which is a novelty for her, as she is a military leader and not accustomed to men wanting to act as her shield and take long walks around the property and hold her hand and such.
It’s vacation romance all the way.
Our leading lady is relaxing for the first time in her life, just enjoying the beauty of nature and the slow movement of days, the burdens of her position and realm far, far away. No one knows who she is, no one expects anything from her… she can just melt into the tranquility of a mortal life… eat good food… and enjoy witty banter with her handsome farmer guy.
gifs by @movielosophy on Tumblr – link
The Legend of Shen Li 与凤行 (2024) | Episode 4 – stills/gifs by @ladynamie on Tumblr – link
And in this idyllic setting… with gorgeous cinematography and perfect pacing… the stage is set for these two people to fall in love.
The love stories of adults should feel different from a romance of youth. The same uncertainty, excitement, and insecurities are there but how adults respond to these things is different. But the older you get, the higher your walls are and the easier it is to just give up or walk away. Cause you’ve been alone all this time, you know it can’t hurt you, but this… this new thing… this love thing… this could tear you to pieces if you aren’t careful.
And it involves someone else, so the outcome is not all up to you. For someone who is used to being in control, this is often the scariest aspect of relationships. Cause the stronger you are alone, the harder it is to let someone else in.
And the two lovers in this story are, respectively, some of the strongest people in the known worlds.
Shen Li is the war general of the entire Demon Realm, adopted daughter of the Demon King, and a fierce and unstoppable warrior woman who is respected and feared by everyone.
And our man Xing Zhi? Oh, he’s the last remaining ancient god, the most powerful being in all the worlds, above the Immortal Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Mortal Realm, a mysterious entity who only comes out of his seclusion in the Sky Beyond Heaven occasionally when situations require it every thousand years or so. Or when he’s so bored that he wanders down to the Mortal Realm to live as a human hoping to escape the existential horrors of being an ancient immortal.
That is a mild spoiler, and I apologize if you were coming to this review blind – but the truth of both their identities are revealed very early in the show and are printed in every description of the show online so it’s not really much of a spoiler in my opinion.
The first few episodes (1-6) are the foundation of this show and of you aren’t won over during this first story arc then go ahead and drop the show – it’s just not for you. To each their own, but… seriously… you weren’t won over? What manner of creature are you?
Overall Rating: 10+/10 – A Xianxia Romantic Epic with the heart of an Old Hollywood movie.
SPOILERS BELOW – just go ahead and watch it if you haven’t – and if you have… then come along and let’s chat more about it.
Story Arc 2 – The Demon Realm
All vacations must come to an end and our lovers are separated in the Mortal World (and how romantic was their separation? Shen Li giving up half of her life’s cultivation power – 500 years worth! – just to ensure her mortal sickly sweetheart can live to old age? And then having to leave him behind to face the rest of his life without her…? The sad but beautiful poetry of it!).
Our girl is punished for her rebellion and locked up for a month in a cold cell. As time is different between the realms, with 30 days in the Demon Realm being 30 years in the human world, she is informed the man she left behind has died of natural causes and is no more. Saddened but resolute, she strides towards the future.
After a breach in the quarantined Abyss (where all the monsters are trapped) causes a massive loss of life amongst her people, our girl reconsiders the marriage proposal she sought to escape. Maybe the alliance between the realms is more important than her feelings. There’s so much at stake, she’s willing to sacrifice herself now to ensure the safety of people. And the man she loved is dead, after all… or is he?
Our ginseng farmer shows up in her life again – dramatically. And he’s not a sickly mortal anymore. He’s an ancient god. The last ancient god. And claims to have no idea who she is or any idea why there might have been a mortal doppelganger of him running around the human world. Shen Li isn’t entirely convinced but then again… why would he pretend not to know her?
someone help me! I’m melting
Whatever opposites attract action was between them in Arc 1 is tripled in Arc 2. Now their true identities are clear to each other and the differences between them more in focus.
Our demon war general is approaching her 1,000th birthday, still young for the immortal realms. She is very much caught up in life, a part of it, carried by it and deeply affected by its twists and turns. The joys and sorrows of her people mean everything to her, and she takes her job as guardian and protector of the realm very seriously. Whereas our ancient god seems to take nothing seriously and is around to waste a little time and, you know, maybe casually save the realm and flirt a bit.
This whole story arc in the Demon Realm is magnificent. I love the shenanigans between the two as she resumes her role as war general and has to deal with this pesky, pushy god who keeps following her everywhere messing with her feelings. The dude knows how to mix business with pleasure and turns every difficult task he must undertake into an excuse to go on “dates” with his sweetie.
This actor has George Clooney vibes, in my opinion. Just a smooth operator. He’s putting down all the moves on this gal even though he’s still trying to pretend like he doesn’t know her (you are not fooling anyone, sir).
gifs by @ladynamie on Tumblr – link
I was already in love with these two but seeing their interactions with their real identities intact was the most rewarding viewing experience I’ve had in months. They’re both super important and proper and respectable… but they both can’t help but revert back to their casual, flirty, grinning “vacation” selves when they are around each other. Especially when they are alone, but even more hysterically when they are in front of other people – who are then shocked and elbowing each other and wiggling eyebrows and whispering cause… can you even image?
So much happens in Arc 2 – it’s great storytelling and world building while remaining character driven.
Text Posts by @xiakeponz on Tumblr – link
Shen Li’s husband-to-be also shows up determined to do whatever necessary to cause her to break off the marriage proposal. He’s the grandson of the Heavenly Emperor, a cutie pie, and a total disaster. What a character! (and what a great character arc, am I right?) Her fiancé is childish, selfish, and naughty… and honestly I kinda adored him immediately cause he’s just a naïve, spoiled mess and floundering wildly in the Demon Realm with its myriad of problems.
And fun fact – it was our ancient god who approved of their marriage! I mean, this was back before he knew who she was but still, it’s so freakin’ funny.
The irony that this cheesy Heavenly Immortal guy would do anything to escape a relationship with this scary demon warrior woman, while our ancient god just thinks she’s a bit feisty and does not seem to realize he’s already in a relationship with her… it’s just too, too good. Like everyone in all three realms knows what’s going on with the ancient god’s heart but our guy is just in total denial.
Oh, Xing Zhi. You idiot.
My favorite bits in this story arc are when our ancient god is politely throwing his weight around. Like when he informs everyone that he wants Shen Li to accompany him to fix the barrier of the Abyss, as she’s lying in a bed gravely injured. And the dude who is crushing on her offers to go in her stead but the ancient god is having none of it and insists Shen Li is the one to do it – as she’s laying there with bandages all over her. I snorted with laughter.
Or when he decides he’d like to stay at Shen Li’s mansion and her adopted mom, the Demon King, is reading the signals loud and clear and trying to shut this whole inappropriate romance down but our ancient god will not budge an inch and politely but forcibly bulldozes through any objection to get his way… just delightfully shameless about the whole thing, too.
Could I love this fool more?
He’s just so stubborn and clueless and “I couldn’t possibly cause gods can’t possibly.” I loved it. Our boy probably would have shown up to her wedding still denying he was in love with her… if she hadn’t gone off and gotten herself killed first.
Arc 3 The Heavenly Realm through Arc 1000… or The End, I guess.
I dunno, there are honestly quite a few story arcs in this series and I’m too scatter-brained to go through them all. I’m not gonna rehash the entire show here. The whole thing is great and there is not one story line I would cut from this masterpiece. There’s a whole sequence in the Heavenly Realm, flashbacks to the past, some shenanigans in a cave, some wars, betrayals, recoveries and all that good stuff you know is gonna keep you glued to your chair in a well-written Xianxia.
gifs by @zhoufeis on Tumblr – link
So rather than going through all that… allow me to gush on about particularly cool things I loved in this show instead.
THE SKY BEYOND HEAVEN
Maybe this realm has been featured in other dramas before, but this is my first time seeing it. And the inverted spectacle left me speechless. It was beautiful, it was terrible, it was a cold parody of life with mountains and rivers too distant to access. Perfect like a painting, with no wind, no sound, and most notably… no life. Other than the gods themselves this world was a peaceful void… where night and day did not exist, where time is nebulous, and where a lonely god might go crazy.
A favorite scene was when the Heavenly Emperor, the Demon King, and the granddaughter are trying to open the portal to the Sky Beyond Heaven and failing miserably. It was so unexpectedly funny.
I spent two hours on Tumblr trying to find a gif set of this comedy scene and another hour on youtube but to no avail! So now we all have to just rewatch the whole show to see it, I guess.
THE CGI POWERS
text I sent to my bestie while watching – gif of Shen Li by @zhanglinghez – link & gif of Xing Zhi by @movieslosophy on Tumblr – link
Every magical spell, formation, or power sequence in this show just made all the tiny lights in my brain start flickering like crazy in excitement. I do not need to understand it at all, I just need it to look cool. And it always looked cool.
THE GOLDEN SERPENT
Ms. Jin shows up around ep 29 – not to be confused with some other serpent demons who made minor appearances in previous eps. This gal rolls out of the smoke in full drag, sporting a campy fake mustache, with the playful smirk of a hot lady who knows she’s not fooling anyone and just having fun mucking about.
Like Greta Garbo.
be still my sexually ambiguous heart
Five minutes later she’s showing off her bare legs, telling us about her secret cave where all her naughty thoughts are banished to, and rubbing up against our female lead in the most sexually suggestive “healing” session I have ever seen on screen.
gifs by @movielosophy on Tumblr – link
It becomes clear that she is much like our ancient god, in that she is very old (older than he is – so… very, very old), very powerful, and has become very quirky because of it.
She’s also extremely beautiful.
I feel I should also take a moment to compliment her battle style – using huge paintings like giant magical playing cards. That whole magical showdown was epic. (ep 30)
SEXY TIME IN THE NORTH POLE
It’s Ms. Li who immediately realizes our couple will stay in domestic, sexless limbo indefinitely without a little push and devises a way to get the couple together, alone, and loosen up their inhibitions enough for them to finally consummate their relationship.
I realize these immortals are running on a different measure of time, but us mortal viewers agreed with the snake lady that it was long overdue at this point and we (the fandom) were all begging for it.
Our lovers end up in her cave of forbidden desires, in some glorious colorful led lit sex den, and sexy serpent lady starts whispering into their ears about abandoning their duty and tossing their undies into the fire.
Listen, she did not have to push these two very hard. They happily fell into each other’s arms and figured out some natural mysteries together (ep 30-31).
Of all the ways for Shen Li to fully recover, I love that getting laid finally opened her chakras or whatever and gave her all her powers back. Not that we saw any of it. You know how these Chinese dramas love their censoring regime.
But I ain’t gonna lie, I wasn’t even mad about it. Extending it over two episodes, leaving us panting over a kiss then fanning ourselves when they start peeling clothing off each other’s shoulders.
the sex may be censored but the song lyrics were not!
As the camera pulls back, leaving them in a pink fog of passion. They panned away to show us the tablets of the ancient gods celebrating and the very foundation of the Heaven Beyond the Stars being seismically rocked by our lovers.
I mean… message received!
The next day they straighten up their robes and it’s back to business for these two. No time for a honeymoon. At least our girl doesn’t have to worry about becoming a virgin ghost anymore, that’s one less concern off her plate.
SHEN LI’S FIRE DADDY
Ah… there are SO MANY SCENES and moments and characters and interactions in this show. I was thoroughly engaged and entertained for HOURS. But the whole backstory of the creation of the Abyss via magical scroll flashback scenes had me swooning.
Like Shen Li’s daddy actually being literal fire transformed into a human man? My sweet little fire monster! Created to be a killing machine but accidentally baked him into a cinnamon bun.
And his lovely romance with Shen Li’s momma? Sniffing up on a girl within 24 hours of being alive. That’s how it’s done, my man.
this actor is so good at playing simple ho hotties who save the day
Now was it just me or did you get the distinct impression that papa phoenix didn’t quite understand what he was signing up for when he volunteered to be the fire tribute in the Abyss formation seal? Like, it seemed to me his idea of a long time was quite different from everyone else’s. I got the feeling he legit did not understand he was signing up for a lifetime chained to a rock. Then again he was just born yesterday, more or less…
THE EMPEROR’S GRANDDAUGHTER BECOMES A FAN GIRL
When the Heavenly Emperor’s granddaughter uses her brother as a television to watch scenes from his memory of Xing Zhi and Shen Li together… listen… I can relate. I know a lot of the fandom wasn’t a huge fan of this gal, but I thought she was hysterical and loveable in her own way.
The subtle and overt humor in this show is top notch.
MO FANG’S GOTH MAKEUP
I actually did enjoy Mo Fang’s character – but not enough to write about it in any detail. He’s a strong supporting character and his story is tragic and sad. I know a lot of fans seemed to enjoy shipping him with Shen Li’s fiance -and usually I am one of those fans but in this story it just did not read that way at all. Anyways, I am a sucker for men with black eyeliner and this boy went full goth. Smooches.
THE ANCIENT GOD MAY HAVE SOME FEELINGS
And of course there is THE SCENE.
The moment that our ancient god faces something out of his control – and totally loses control.
I am talking of course about when our man learns that Shen Li died in battle over the sea and had a complete meltdown of epic proportions – and defies the natural order, freezes the damned ocean, catches divine lightning in his hand, and screams at his maker.
gifs by @ladynamie on Tumblr – link
Our guy was just really, really struggling. Even after he freezes the ocean he’s still like “What? It’s normal, I just want to find her body, it’s perfectly normal, I’m not grieving the lost love of my life, gods don’t experience grief or love, what are you talking about?”
And I get it. The dude is ancient. He just didn’t think he was capable of it. He thought whatever it was would be fleeting, a fond memory perhaps to look back on later. But the jolt of her death, of the sudden loss of opportunities for second chances, he finally has to be real with himself and acknowledge what’s going on in that heart of his.
Xing Zhi was experiencing a paradigm shift and everyone was going to go through it with him, even the poor fish.
Only after 10 days of wandering over a frozen sea does it finally occur to our man that he’s totally in love.
images & text by @dangermousie on Tumblr – link
Ya’ll, I live for some extreme gestures. Go big or go home, am I right?
Ugh, and when he finally finds her body – tracking her with only a few drops of blood in the ocean like a supersonic shark, running up and down the coast like a widow searching for signs of a shipwreck…
I swear I gasped when he found her laid out in the cove and pulled her into his arms and says “you’ve saved my life.”
YOU’VE SAVED MY LIFE.
Oh my god, just… no one is ever gonna top that, you hear me?
Here she is… giant magical bolts through the bones of her body… her five senses shattered… on the edge of consciousness… and he’s just so grateful she’s alive. She has no idea who has picked her up and is muttering threats and offering bribes and fighting for her life and he’s just so moved by her strength, even when she’s got nothing left… geesh, the pure look of love and admiration on his face as he’s carrying her across the sand… it was so beautiful.
Okay, okay, enough.
I obviously love this couple.
And thankfully this show also loves this couple.
Everything about this show is great. I have zero complaints. I loved it, adored it, wrote this long blog about it and now here we are.
I hope if you haven’t seen it but were considering it and ran this deep into spoiler territory you have been convinced to try out this Chinese drama.
You won’t regret it.
I promise.
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