Reverend Insanity

Description

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Humans are the spirit of all living beings, Gu* are the essence of heaven and earth.

With his three views* unrighteous, a demon is reborn.

Former days are but an old dream, an identical name is made anew.

The story of a time traveler who keeps on being reborn.

A unique world that nurtures, refines, and uses Gu.

Spring Autumn Cicada, Moonlight Gu, Liquor Worm, Great Qi Golden Light Worm, Slender Black Hair Gu, Hope Gu…

And a great demon of the world that acts as his heart pleases!

A story of a villain, Fang Yuan who was reborn 500 years into the past with the Spring Autumn Cicada he painstakingly refined. With his profound wisdom, battle and life experiences, he seeks to overcome his foes with skill and wit! Ruthless and amoral, he has no need to hold back as he pursues his ultimate goals. In a world of cruelty where one cultivates using Gu – magical creatures of the world – Fang Yuan must rise up above all with his own power.

Note :

Gu are legendary venomous insects, often used in black magic practices. They can take on the form of several insects, usually snakes, crickets, worms, etc.

Three views = one’s world view, values of worth and philosophy on life.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Cổ Chân Nhân
Daoist Gu
Gu Daoist Master
Gu Zhen Ren
Master of Gu
RI
المبجل المجنون
เทพปีศาจหวนคืน (ไม่มีตอนจบ)
蛊真人
蠱真人
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Warlock of the Magus World (30)
The Human Emperor (13)
Zhanxian (12)
Dungeon Defense (12)
To Be a Power in the Shadows! (WN) (11)
Netheril’s Glory (11)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Code's Masterpieces
  2. 5-Star Novels
  3. male protagonists
  4. ALLCN+
  5. G. O. A. T

Latest Release

Date Group Release
09/19/02 Webnovel c90
11/01/19 Webnovel c39
11/01/19 Webnovel c38
11/01/19 Webnovel c37
11/01/19 Webnovel c36
11/01/19 Webnovel c35
11/01/19 Webnovel c34
11/01/19 Webnovel c33
11/01/19 Webnovel c32
11/01/19 Webnovel c31
07/17/17 Webnovel c9
07/17/17 Webnovel c8
07/17/17 Webnovel c7
07/17/17 Webnovel c6
07/17/17 Webnovel c5
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daoistfellow
daoistfellow rated it
December 8, 2019
Status: c2353
The primary complaint about this novel is the major flaw of all cultivation novels. Because the novel is created chapter by chapter, it is inadequately planned. There are three ways this manifests.

1. Something is built up, only to be dropped later on. An examples of this include the Blood Deity This is the most excusable, as it is even reasonable that resources could be misallocated.

2. Something is retconned in. Examples of this include "killer moves", which are introduced around when Fang Yuan reaches rank 6. However, later perspectives from mortals... more>> have them casting "mortal killer moves". Where were those when Fang Yuan was a mortal?

3. Inconsistencies. Perhaps this is due to my lack of understanding, but what is the distinction between information path methods and wisdom path deduction methods? The answer seems to be that wisdom path is internal, making use of existing information to determine things, while information is external. But then how come there are so many wisdom path methods which don't seem to need any information at all to "deduce", and why are deductions something that the one being deduced can notice and protect against then?

But all this doesn't matter, because although the action isn't planned out, it is clear that the thematic structure is. That it even contains meaningful themes already elevates it above the majority of webnovels out there, let alone the fact that it is planned, coherent, and meaningful. <<less
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darksideskna
darksideskna rated it
December 5, 2019
Status: --
it's a story about MC who is disillusioned with humanity and mortality after living 2 different lives and near 600 years, now after all his sufferings and betrayals, he now pursues to become true immortal with perseverance and relentless in his endeavors.

MC is ruthless with no emotions, extremely intelligent and never loses his calm in front of tremendous opportunities. MC is unapologetic and never regrets his actions and the true extent of this is shown when he refines regret gu which even immortal venerable are afraid to touch.

<spoiler> I loved... more>> the moment when he is surrounded by 3 different factions and the heavens themselves want him dead and leaves him with no path of survival but then he shows the world how unwilling to die he is through his relentless effort to traverse an unending river and ends up creating perseverance gu inside his body through sheer will alone and utilized to conquer the reverse flow river and survive this adversity </spoiler> <<less
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ZUN
ZUN rated it
November 25, 2019
Status: c1
Reverend Insanity is an exceptional novel when compared to the rest of CN novels on this site.

It's Magic system is one of the best I have ever seen and the world forged around the story is more fleshed out than most published fantasy novels in today's commercial market.

Seriously, give this novel a chance. Give this novel 600 chapters to grip you and you won't regret it.

... more>>
Spoiler

If you think there are some plot issues after those 600 chapters, give it another 500 to realize that this novel is one single entity of a large overarching story and some things that seems "lucky" or "convenient" might not be so simple

[collapse]

Fang Yuan is someone who reincarnated into this world, but instead of being the Hero you usually expect, he lived a life of extreme hardships.

In 500 years he ventured from place to place often surviving by a hair's breadth slowly learning how cruel the world he got reincarnated into really was.

Slowly but surely the mild-mannered MC you see in most Light novels became someone cold, cruel and self-serving.

The novel starts with him Returning in time to just a few years after he initially reincarnated with the help of the Legendary Immortal Gu.

This time Fang Yuan is no longer someone who came from Earth but someone who suffered great hardships for 500 years in this world.

He has a great advantage of knowing the future and an even bigger one with knowing one ultimate truth about the World of 5 regions and 9 heavens: "Trust no one and benefit only yourself".

The Magic System

Spoiler

The Magic system is probably my favorite part of this novel.

Every Immortal is essentially a walking financial portfolio.

Every Immortal produces a fixed amount of mana per day, usually a very low number.

Every attack an Immortal makes costs mana, usually much higher than anything he could acquire in months.

Every battle matters in the story because one extra exchange of blows might have irreversible financial consequences for the characters and often does.

This is magnified by the fact that you as an Immortal need thousands of GU to form a single attack and many of them tend to die in the process.

This is also magnified by the fact that you need Several such moves and you also need to continuously feed these millions of Gu living inside of your Personal World.

This is also magnified by the fact that your world aside from being developed to feed these GU by growing plants, raising animals or creating environments also needs a fair amount of investment in Immortal materials to Raise its quality because that is also a multiplier when executing your attacks

This is also magnified by the biggest factor of them all Immortal Tribulation.

In this novel Immortal tribulation comes continuously and tries to destroy your inner world, it is not easy to deal against and remember not only is every attack or defense you make costing you money you do not have, but also the Tribulation is actively destroying everything you worked hard on building up and acquiring.

This results in most immortals being dead-ass broke, resulting in everyone being greedy, selfish and diabolically self-serving when they think no one is looking.

Most Gu Immortal die from Immortal Tribulation because they cannot afford to fight it as time goes by.

To solve this issue Immortals turn their mana into currency and trade with it for things like GU, GU Food, Materials to refine Gu, Recipies, Information and many other things, creating a large global market.
Eventually, competent immortals develop their world in a certain way that can make them money/mana.

Either by specializing in producing food for certain GU types, acquiring materials in dangerous locations, or being a part of the service-based economy of making gu, doing certain tasks they specialize in etc.

Most Immortal are part of factions because of this, they need to be a part of a larger organization to properly utilize and distribute labor to create an effective profit-producing conglomerate.

Remember how I said every Immortal is essentially a walking financial portfolio?

In this world Economic development is strength and it is honestly a refreshing to see when you compare it to someone fighting for 30 days and then just meditating for a few hours to recover and be good to go.

[collapse]

World and Story

Spoiler

I won't go too into this because it's tough to do without spoilers.

The world is extremely fleshed out and acts like how you would imagine a world being with the above-mentioned magic system. People form sects or factions to stabilize economically, but in term, every single one of them will stab anyone in the back if presented with an opportunity just so they can acquire their wealth.

Because Wealth =power and Wealth= you surviving another Immortal tribulation.

There is an overarching plot happening that has been developing for millions of years and you follow Fang Yuan and how he gradually discovers it and how he is a part of it.

[collapse]
<<less
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jonm8389
jonm8389 rated it
November 16, 2019
Status: --
One of the most interesting web novels I have ever read. The basic premise of the novel isn't necessarily new, it follows the path of an "evil" MC as he cultivates. But, the way the author writes the MC is utterly unique. Most novels that supposedly follow "evil" MC's don't actually follow evil MC's. They just follow MC's who are willing to do bad things to protect their loved ones or their interests, while they are technically evil to their enemies in the grand scheme they aren't evil. HOWEVER, the... more>> main character of this novel is one EVIL motherf*cker, and what makes him so evil is that he has NO loved ones and virtually NO emotions whatsoever. Every person the MC interacts with is nothing but a tool on the MC's road of cultivation, this dude will slaughter babies if that gets him what he wants. And, in the course of this novel you will absolutely end up reading some incredibly messed up shit.

It's also a lot fun to see the MC when he interacts with other characters, flawlessly acting to reap the maximum benefits from any situation. There times when you can even forget how evil the MC is during his interactions, only to find the MC ruthlessly slaughtering his allies in future chapters. It makes me really sad that this novel was discontinued. I read somewhere, that apparently some of the MC's incredibly f*cked up actions draw parallels to past actions of the Chinese government.

Regardless of whether it gets finished in the future or not, I absolutely recommend reading the chapters that exist. After all, it is a web novel and there was a pretty good chance it would have a shitty ending anyway.

Addition: The only thing in this novel that makes like no sense is the MC's brother. That dude is literally the epitome of hypocrisy. He acts in a righteous manner literally to conceal how terrible he is as a person, and how insecure he feels every time he sees his brother succeed in anyway. And, given the history he has with the MC, the brother's actions make no logical sense. The MC has literally been protecting his brother for years. <<less
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s0n1k
s0n1k rated it
September 15, 2019
Status: c253
True sequel to Warlock of Magus World. Man or man this guys kicks as being evil and atrocious... This novel is either your things or you wouldnt like it one bit. MC is evil, greedy, vicious, calculative and also manipulative. He recalls some future events from his past so he WILL steal /kill for his gain. Did I say MC is evil? this novel should have been named the devil or something similar
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RabiezMonkey
RabiezMonkey rated it
July 6, 2019
Status: c130
waaa... so good... d (^.^) b It is quite a rare treasure I found amongst all webnovel's LN –.–

but 2000++ chapters and still ongoing... I hope it won't be more than 3000 chapters. or i'll get bored... hic hic...

fang yuan is ruthless. thank god he is not my boyfriend (ohoho :p)

... more>> I kinda felt like "OhWow" when Bai NiNg Bing turned into a woman (LOL) I thought that it would be interesting to add some "unsual" romance in this kind of cultivtion story... bromance...

buuutt it was only in my dream as the author is 100% decent guy. He didn't even take note of our poor rotten fujoushis' fragile hearts... TT_TT

I Really Ship Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing!!! Yeah...!!

The author is briliany, made me think : "how could he write a story like this... so... so deep scheme..."

It was actually a mistery for me...

I like this type of anti-hero story the most. And so far, Fang Yuan is my number 1 favorite character. more a ruthless schemer than Leylin...

My only wish is... that I can read this story till the last chapter. <<less
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Zeusomega
Zeusomega rated it
May 11, 2019
Status: c2335
Slow start

But the interactions are very detailed. You can picture the unique personality of characters, not like the cliche s*upid young masters. The MC is very smart, trust me he cuts way above the other xianxia heroes (and he's not a hero as well XD) . And he is very good at acting and deceiving. He is a control freak. And it's good. The adventures, and the power progression is slow. Not that his cultivation is slow, it's the way the story is written, there is little to none time skips, so the story is slow. The power structure, the gu masters, growing gu's, it's kinda too vague and it's all too conceptual powers. Like there is a gu called
Spoiler

" eat my words" and it cancels the vow gu, I mean I get it but the naming is just vexing, and this not even the crazy ones.

[collapse]
. All in all its a good read, and a must read for anyone looking for a anti hero novels like wmw.

Edit:

Correcting some mistakes.

The gu cultivation is vague at start but the author doesn't let one down and explained fully and in depth, it's a very unique cultivation where management and resources are key part of cultivation and it's very addictive later on. It's a true gem that shouldn't be missed, I take back any diss I've made, there are small flaws but can be totally ignored in the big Picture.
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rhianirory
rhianirory rated it
April 21, 2019
Status: c250
i don't mind that the MC is a villain protagonist; I've seen worse on this site and he's clever and interesting as long as you don't mind that he has no compassion or moral compass. Which he shouldn't have, being a demonic cultivator and 500 yo monster and all. He's actually killed less so far (in this life) than some of the other novels with righteous MCs who kill for face or pride or because someone dared to sneeze on them once when they were weak, none of which this... more>> MC cares about. The difference between him and the righteous MCs in other books is that he doesn't bother to justify his killing; he does it because the situation calls for it and is unapologetic about it.

my problem with this story is the gu system. Yes they have their rank cultivation, but a lot of their power and strength comes from which gu they acquire and I don't like a set up where power is so reliant on outside forces which can be taken away by stronger people even after it's been refined into the body. It's like a pay to play MMORPG player relying on money and equipment rather than ability; it's all well and good until it's lost/stolen/dropped upon death and their left with just their stats and nonexistent abilities. I know other cultivation novels all have the magic thingamabob or the ring of whatchamacallit which have to be hidden or it will be taken but these gu can and will be taken as soon as it occurs to the author that the MC might be getting too OP. It's very unreliable. At least in other cultivation novels they don't have their goldfingers snatched like that, (though sometimes abilities magically disappear and never show up again). It's irritating. <<less
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zyyy96
zyyy96 rated it
March 21, 2019
Status: c2257
The manhua is a must-read, in my opinion. Yes, the MC is a bastard and a villain (the first sentence of the summary explains that), but he is also such a badass and so loveable. Finally a good MC in these kinds of manhuas, every other MC is the same, get revenge on a family of a**holes, become god-like, beat stronger a**holes every chapter, collet many girls. This guy doesn't do that. He's in a true sence of the word "cold", and doesn't take sh*t from anyone. Also, no love... more>> interest. Plus points for that. One of my all time favorites :) <<less
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penprog
penprog rated it
March 17, 2019
Status: c829
The first thing to know before starting this novel is that Fang Yuan is evil. For a penny of gain he would betray allies and kill without mercy.

I was sickened by some of the actions of Fang Yuan (the protagonist) at first but you slowly begin to understand his actions in the context of the world that he lives in. In this world, life is as cheap as dirt. Family and clans exist to bolster power. Righteousness and law exist to oppress. There is not one moment in this novel... more>> where the protagonist can rest. Every sliver of power is earned and the power he gains only serves to increase the stakes and draw the attention of other smarter and more powerful beings.

The pressure and suspense are good but what is even better are the schemes. There will be situations where you will be genuinely surprised. There will be situations where you will only see two possible choices but Fang Yuan will pick a third and it will not feel contrived.

This novel is what happens when a genuinely smart author writes a smart character. <<less
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Syntheticspirit
Syntheticspirit rated it
February 5, 2019
Status: --
Excellent! An extremely mature protagonist. He does whatever he needs to do and doesn't give a sh*t about what others think about it.

This story's characters in general, are a level higher in intelligence than your average Xiaxia story so if you enjoy schemes (and plot twist) and a protagonist that is intelligent you'll be sure to enjoy this.
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Gabby
Gabby rated it
September 9, 2018
Status: c442
I like the fact that the main character is an unscrupulous villan. He can some times act like he is righteous or he can suddenly be your worst nightmare. This adds a sense of mystery to the story as it is always hard to guess what he will chose
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dommychi
dommychi rated it
August 3, 2018
Status: c409
At the latest arc ending around 400, I must say it's the most intense and epic ending to any arc I've ever read out of webmovels. The author is a genius.

Translation could use some better editing, editor is missing out on mistakes every now and then, but it's not a big issue.

I don't think I can stand reading standard tropes anymore after this :' (
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Topanada
Topanada rated it
June 7, 2018
Status: c299
Obeying the law and living in constant worry, bandits live in pleasure every night; Those who harm other to benefit themselves ride horse, while those were righteous and fair starve in hunger; Those who build bridge and repair road go blind, while those who mu*der and cause arson have many offspring. When I died, I asked buddha, buddha said : There was nothing I could do!
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WinByDying
WinByDying rated it
May 14, 2018
Status: c59
Edit:

c420: I love the folklore stories now and then. The plot is very well done for a reincarnation novel. Some parts were really entertaining. The characters aren't s*upid, but still pretty flat. The protagonist is selfish and has motivations for all of his pretty violent actions, I like how consistent he is.

The one thing I don't like is how there are seemingly Gu for everything, and some of the names. It was interesting when they were all little insects or beasts of the sort, but, "vertical crash Gu" or whatever... more>> it's called just doesn't do it for me. Really? What type of insect or beast would that be? It hinders my imagination and that's pretty unfortunate.

And plenty of the lower star reviews... Are because people aren't patient enough to give a story the time to build itself up... Shame.

=============================

To me, for a xianxia, every aspect of this novel is at least above average. Altogether, this makes for a great novel. A grade above many others' such as Tomatoes'.

If you can accept the protagonist that is. Some say the protagonist is a bit edgy or childish, but I'm not of the same opinion. He's not really that evil either, just very uncaring, like a shark in the financial world.

Other characters so far have not shown much change, but they weren't all s*upid, weren't entirely flat. 59 chapters aren't necessarily enough to see much character development though. I have hopes and expectations.

I cannot comment on any overall plot. It may and probably will still come.

I like the way it is written.

Hopefully it keeps treading the gray line in between dark edginess and normal xianxias.

5/5 on NU, I wouldn't really give it a 5 anywhere else but it is more than a 4 though. <<less
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MeatEatingPriest
MeatEatingPriest rated it
January 2, 2018
Status: c146
I really like this novel. Everytime I see an update I am happy. Thanks to the translator, Skyfarrow for bringing us this great work.

It's different to most cultivation novels in that the protagonist is self-serving and does "bad" things but is not particularly egdy or malicious about it. Just kind of cold and calculating like an insect. Usually if a novel has a less than morally upright protagonist they're typically pretty egdy teenage angst/violent about it or actually just a good guy who thinks the ends justify the means. Not... more>> so in this novel. The protagonist is refreshingly honest about his motivations. He also isn't insecure or overly concerned about how others view him which is again a stark contrast to other novels, where an MC even one viewed as morally upright will slay or maim people vaguely related or unfortunate enough to be in the same sect as someone who barely slighted them. If the protagonist makes a move it's carefully considered and will yield benefits.

He's also smart and uses his rewind status well. He's a schemer but also knows his limits, he keeps a low profile while getting more powerful even at the expense of his standing among his peers. But he isn't a pushover, he just knows when to pick his battles. Which I feel is a much more realistic approach in a world where people cultivate.

The world is cool, the cultivation is related to Gu which are sort of bug things that typically grant a single ability. Im interested to see the rest of the world outside his provincial home town.

Overall I am a big fan and would recommend it to anyone, especially a jaded reader of chinese novels who seeks out something different. <<less
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Asterism
Asterism rated it
July 3, 2017
Status: c965
This book is my favorite Chinese novel to read. This book has style and it also has subtlety in the right measure - in a way that really shows how Fang Yuan is a demon reborn.

A strong point of this novel is the world building.

I read ahead in the mtl to chapter 500 and the story never got boring.

Some criticisms of the novel I feel are valid (like repeating things too much), but others are pretty s*upid and suffer in reading comprehension like -

  1. Saying Fang Yuan is a hypocrite. No, no, no. Hes not. His name could mean square and circle, implying his mastery of the rules. He will use the rules to his advantage when it suits him and break them when they don't. He was never a hypocrite in the first place because he never truly believed in the rules. They are just there and a tool to use.
  2. Killing. Each death has a motive. Some people get stuck up over the hunter family that was killed, but this is early in the novel. Later, when you see people who have all sorts of investigative methods to reveal the truth (reading minds, etc), you find that his actions are quite justified. The mortals would have told the detective what Fang Yuan wanted - and then they would ask why he wanted boar meat. And that would have lead them to the inheritance. In the novel, the inheritance was just a possibility in the detective's mind and was never confirmed. His strength was just explained as innate strength rather then something he got from eating boar meat. Fang Yuan covered his ass.
  3. Boring stories. Man those Ren Zu stories are amazing, and lead up to one of the greatest endings Ive read ever in the second book.
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zegye
zegye rated it
February 6, 2023
Status: c200
one of the overrated novels.

disappointed

they said unlike other clichéd cultivation novels, in fact this novel had a lot of clichés.

the author always repeats words, I've read the words repeated several times.

MC feels bland like a killer robot, he has no interesting personality.

At the start of the chapter, MC's inner monologue about society is a kinda annoying.

super edgy MC suitable for teenagers.

yep, this novel is for edgelord teenagers.
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JingXingXiu
JingXingXiu rated it
January 5, 2023
Status: c1
I love this novel. Because it shows the reader a real world of cultivation. The protagonist Fang Yuan was not a bad guy from the beginning. He survived in this world for a long time and slowly became a person who only wanted to pursue eternal life. He is full of feelings, but his ideals are above all else. His persistence is touching. I highly recommend reading this book.

However, due to translation problems, the reader cannot experience the charm of his original text. There are some poetic harmonies in this... more>> that cannot be represented. This is very regrettable. <<less
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alome226
alome226 rated it
September 3, 2022
Status: c2334
The Best.

Its a bit sad that this novel was banned.

I'll skip past the general stuff of this novel cause there's tones of em in other reviews.

... more>> Anyways... Fang Yuan is the perfect execution of the philosophical concept of "Neutral Evil".

This novel is a bit dark... not for the faint of heart. But, if you get past that darkness, you will see deep philosophical concepts woven into the story. The concept of Fate, Emotions, Love, Success, Failure, Self, Luck, etc., are well explored but also greatly integrated into the story itself. The "Legend of Ren Zu" in itself explores the Self, what it means to be human, hence
Spoiler

the greatest human path inheritance, and in my opinion, including the readers

[collapse]
.

If you delved into philosophy before, and also reads cultivation novels, maybe you'll share my opinion of this novel being a masterpiece unlike any other. <<less
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