Aspiring to the Immortal Path

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A young boy named Tang Jie was searching for a path into immortalhood when he happened to save an immortal in need, resulting in the latter owing him a karmic debt.

What? You want to repay me with mere Spiritual Enhancement Pills? Is that how cheap you view your life to be?

As a result, Xu Muyang ended up having to drag the brat with him.

You’ll never shake me off now, thought Tang Jie.

Associated Names
One entry per line
仙路争锋
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
The Ruler Of Darkness (2)
Immortal Devil Transformation (1)
Joy of Life (1)
Legend of the Cultivation God (1)
Ze Tian Ji (1)
Nightfall (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Action - Cultivation - Adventure (On going)
  2. all of my 5/5 novels
  3. Novels that I have read 2
  4. If you like Reverend insanity
  5. quality novel for veteran reader

Latest Release

Date Group Release
03/27/24 Hosted Novel c754
03/26/24 Hosted Novel c753
03/25/24 Hosted Novel c752
03/22/24 Hosted Novel c751
03/21/24 Hosted Novel c750
03/20/24 Hosted Novel c749
03/19/24 Hosted Novel c748
03/18/24 Hosted Novel c747
03/15/24 Hosted Novel c746
03/15/24 Hosted Novel c745
03/13/24 Hosted Novel c744
03/12/24 Hosted Novel c743
03/11/24 Hosted Novel c742
03/08/24 Hosted Novel c741
03/08/24 Hosted Novel c740
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30 Reviews sorted by


LoneDK
LoneDK rated it
December 2, 2021
Status: c664
This novel started out so strong. The MC was actually quite smart, his enemies are also decent and believable. It somehow managed to avoid most of the tropes of cultivation novel that I've seen so far. The MC is literally a Chinese politician thrown back in medieval times. He knows how to play his enemies and how to make allies. It was fun and the MC seemed to have built a group of side characters around him that would develop with him. Not only that, at the beginning of the... more>> story, the MC made a vow that set a clear object for the story to follow. It had all the makings of a really good, 5/5 webnovel. All the author had to do was to stick to the object, develop his cast of characters and he was golden. He didn't do that.

Instead of building on what he had set up, the author kept reusing old idea, introduce meaningless new side characters and neglect old ones. Sure, you will still see some off them mentioned in passing but characters that should have been central were quickly sidelined and it was such a shame because I would have loved to read more about these characters.

The author also reused a lot of similar plot line. For example, in the early parts of the novel there is this great sequence where the MC was kidnapped and chased across the country. He had to use his wits to outsmart his enemy and survive. It was well written, I was actually caught off guard by the MC's planning. Really well done. However, guess how many times the MC would "get chased down by more powerful enemies and had to outsmart them" by the time I reached chapter 664? Three more times. And these were full blown story arcs that spanned nearly one hundred chapters. They got progressively staler and staler and I ended up skipping a lot of them without missing a story beat.

But that's not even why I dropped this novel. The reason why I dropped is because by chapter 664, it has become painfully clear that the author has lost the plot. Instead of focusing on the main story, the MC get side tracked again and again on some random quest (albeit some pretty good but mostly boring). The culmination of all of this side track is the world hopping. He gets accidently transport to another world, and another world, and then another world. All the while neglecting the main world with its wonderful plotline and characters. After the third world, I dropped the novel. Honestly it's a shame because this novel had so much potential <<less
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Cute Potato
Cute Potato rated it
August 9, 2022
Status: c250
If I have to describe this novel using one word, that would be: bloated!

... more>>
Spoiler

The author is too smart for his/her own good. They refused to take the simple and straightforward path. Everything has to be overly complicated and convoluted. A cultivation technique can't possibly just that, it has to have hidden purpose, supposed to be used like this during that using this resources so that it could be this way. A friendship/ brotherhood cannot be just that, it has to involve schemes and secret background and interests and gains.

Some reviewers called this novel "slow", but I don't think it's slow at all, but rather it takes too many turns. Instead of moving on with the plot, the author keeps adding random side quests. Many time while reading, I stopped and asked what's the point of this part/arc?

To give you an idea how convoluted this novel is, the MC schemes and manipulates a wounded cultivator for about 30 chapters just so he could point the MC to the right direction (a sect). But no he can't just come to the sect and apply to become a student. He first has to con and manipulate an old mortal couple and convince them to adopt him, why? Because the couple know a person who worked for a small mortal clan who has quota to the student application. So the MC schemes his way into the clan for three years, to become a servant of a young master who has the quota. He then schemes to get rid of the other servants to make sure that he would become the main servant. This goes on for dozens of chapters. Eventually he succeeded and managed to become a student/servant. But wait, it's not actually the sect at all, it's actually just a mortal academy set up by the sect to allow mortals a chance to enter the sect. Years of scheming and manipulating just to become student-servant in a prep school.

All the while he's hiding from a huge sect due to some mcguffin. After years of laying low, the first thing he does in the academy/prep school was to announce his name in a grandiose way, alerting the sect who was looking for him and put him in their crosshair. Note that the sect didn't even know what he looks like, they only had his name, had he used a fake name, the MC would be safe and fine, he doesn't even have to do anything else. But no, that would be far too simple and straightforward. Everything has to be convoluted, remember? There's a reason for this idiocy, because he's scheming! Lol, the MC is so much smarter than everybody else, of course. He has everybody else figured out, he knows what everybody would do at any given time at any given situation. It says that the MC has no golden finger, but omniscience is actually his cheat, since evidently he's a is god that can manipulate everyone with a simple word or two, and predict everyone's move ten steps ahead because he's so smart and scheming... *rolls eyes*

So anyway, it's bloated. It's 250 chapters in, the MC is still a worthless student in the sect's prep school, not even an outer disciple, let alone an inner disciple. Last I read, he spends a hundred chapters trying to get his useless young master to get selected as a disciple of a sect elder, or something. Because an elder can't just pick a talented student as a disciple, he has to set up a contest and it has to involved a series of long missions and numerous obstacles and schemes (there's that word again) and tricks and adversities, and remember, it's not even for the MC, it's for his master. And of course it's also not just a simple disciple searching, it also involves SCHEMES and factions and sect politics and ideologies war and so on.

In conclusion, it's tiring and bloated, and... dropped.

So, why giving this 3 stars if I'm dropping this? Well because 1 and 2 starts are reserved for tr*shy novels. This novel isn't "tr*sh" per se, it's just trying too hard to be different by adding stuff I don't care about. It's not bad for CN novel standards, it's just not for me.

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darthpsykoz
darthpsykoz rated it
October 5, 2021
Status: c38
I am happy to read a good (so far) Xianxia after a long time! A bit slow paced, but the MC is calm, collected & is willing to lower his "face" to achieve his goals. The side characters are also interesting and certainly more fleshed out than in other novels. So far, I am impressed and hope that this gets translated fully.
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wayofflow
wayofflow rated it
April 25, 2022
Status: c802
I read up to the translated chapters and then listened to the chinese-audio book.

Like other reviews here, the first 200-300 chapters of this story is fresh. Characters feel smart, multi-dimensional. Many factors can influence an end result.

Well, it has all gone to sh*t as the story progresses. I don't know why I stayed for so long. Every common trope has been exhausted and overused. The main character as well as every side character randomly losses IQ just to progress some cliche storyline. No character matters other than the main character,... more>> side characters are developed and just forgotten.

Even the main character's intelligence takes random dips. This has become as dry as any other generic cultivation novel. I cannot force myself to go further.

4.5/5 For first 200ish chapters

1/5 for For Chapters 200-800 <<less
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InfiniteDichotomy
InfiniteDichotomy rated it
January 24, 2022
Status: c1301
This novel was pretty interesting compared to most cultivation novels, so I was pretty eager to read it and completed the MTL.

My honest rating would be 9/10. It's not a prefect novel by any means, but since most cultivation novels are absolute garbage, this novel is a masterpiece in comparison.

The protagonist is intelligent and actually relies on clever strategy rather than some sort of cheat ability, yet he still has his cool moments where he overwhelms his opponents. The enemies are actually threatening as well, instead of rolling over every... more>> time they get face-slapped. There's also no harem drama either, and the female characters feel like actual people instead of being jade beauties without a personality.

So why don't I consider this novel perfect? A few reasons:

    • Slow beginning. It takes at least 100 chapters for the novel to get interesting. The parts without cultivation involved are a chore to get through.
    • Lack of comedy. I'm not a huge comedy fan, but I still thought the novel could use a few more lighthearted moments.
    • Due to the protagonist relying a lot on strategy, it takes a while to get to the payoff where he triumphs. Some arcs feel a bit long, since you have to wait for his plan to unfold.
This novel also suffers from a lot of problems all good cultivation novels have to deal with. The side characters have a hard time keeping up with the protagonist's cultivation and become more and more irrelevant, the actual cultivation system becomes more generic at higher levels, and the final ending is vague and unsatisfying.

Despite its flaws though, this novel stands out from a sea of tr*sh. If you're tired of the usual faceslapping young masters tropes and want to read a protagonist with actual challenges that he overcomes through clever strategy and skill instead of overpowered nonsense, then this is the novel for you. Just be aware that it's a bit slow paced since it's more intellectual. <<less
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LegitPotatoXx
LegitPotatoXx rated it
November 4, 2021
Status: c68
It had a very interesting start with clever and smart MC with intriguing and well written characters. I really liked how the plot was developing and how the MC plans a lot of things and uses his smarts. However the pacing of the later chapters ruin it. 3k words per chapter and barely anything happens, it's just info dumps after info dumps which drastically ruined the experience so 3/5 for a story which otherwise would have been much higher.
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bRabbit
bRabbit rated it
October 20, 2021
Status: c52
Probably one of my favourite cultivation novels of all time, and I've read a lot.

I've seen complaints about info dumping, and whilst the novel can be slow, all the information is relevant and interesting, and you can tell the author has put a lot of thought into his world building (unlike most).

Ultimately, this novel is going to be a long and slow journey, so if you're after instant gratification and a protagonist who ascends like a rocket... Go read Top Tier Providence (which is great but very different).
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riida
riida rated it
October 10, 2021
Status: c43
3/5 seems low compared to other reviews, BUT, while there are no major issues and the characters and plot aren't bad, they aren't great either.

Protagonist is on rails and even though there are plot twists, he achieves every one of his goals. He's a bit interesting, but he is ALL there is to carry the story, and "a bit" isn't enough.

Another problem that while the chapters are very long, they actually don't progress the story much, because of CONSTANT info-dumps. Instead of letting the reader naturally learn about the world... more>> and other story backgrounds bit by bit as the story progresses, that information is condensed into large paragraphs which are dumped inbetween the plot points. It's like reading a booklet in a book. Annoying. <<less
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oer
oer rated it
October 8, 2021
Status: c41
Fire, characters and relationships between characters are all done super well. Logical MC, no face smacking young masters, no women falling over themselves love at first sight bullshit, just a well written novel (so far).
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Wakashii
Wakashii rated it
June 19, 2022
Status: c300
I don't think I have enough words to say how incredible this novel is, at least until now....

This novel has a lot of plots, and insights about the cultivation world, about having hardships and having to endure many adversities to prevail. Its not like any cliche novel where the MC is going to be saved by the plot, no, the MC is one of the smartest MCs I ever saw. He's clever, cunning and smart, the way he looks at the world is neutral, you can't call him evil or... more>> good, he's just a cultivator with principles.

I would say that its a fair 5/5 but it's kinda lacking in good fights, it's more about plots and knowledge than fights. It's also a very good novel for anyone that likes good side characters, since in this novel, almost everyone is very intelligent. Mc's enemies are veeeery smart, and you can say that the only reason MC wins is because he puts himself with 'miracle' situations that no one would expect.

Can you imagine a kid plotting against cunning old cultivators? (That's one of the 'miracle' situations.)

This novel is just too coherent, when I imagine somewhat a real cultivation world where the strong preys the weak is the law, I would say this novel has one of the best ones. <<less
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Myxir
Myxir rated it
February 2, 2022
Status: c150
I really enjoyed the first arc of this novel ending at chapter 130, it's a shame that people stop at chapter 70 and worse that they discourage others from reading the payoff.

MC is a screwed average talented cultivator with believable motivation, the difference to other novels is that the author is smart enough to write a smart character without confronting him with dump characters. He is not well liked by the majority of the other characters.

The fights are challenging varied and resolved without Deus ex machina.

Characters are enjoyable, while not... more>> the best some side character even reviece a small character arc.

Pacing isn't the best early on, which can be forgiven once you realize how much seemingly unimportant information contributed to the payoff.

Give this novel a try! <<less
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Panniom
Panniom rated it
October 8, 2021
Status: --
This novel has great potential, from the chapters I've read so far.

Its shaping up to be a really great cultivation novel. The world building is going along quite well. The story itself might not be that special but this novel has a really interesting main character along with some good side characters as well.

So far there was no young master face slapping and the "villains" don't seem to be dumb either.

I hope it continues this way and gets even better! I can only recommend it at this point.
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Nahtaniel
Nahtaniel rated it
October 7, 2021
Status: c40
It rather slow placed cultivation story but this a quality story.

The MC is cautious (without cheat or system), knew to lower his head and more important knew to don't bear any useless grudge. Let hope he will still be the same when he become a powerfull cultivator (too many time I disapointed in Xianxia story in the long run).

That nothing extraordinaire but this very well done story for now. If you want to give a Xianxia story a chance (or a second chance) that the story for you.
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lament
lament rated it
October 7, 2021
Status: c39
One of the most competently written story I've read so far. Unlike other xianxia authors Zero Destiny shows his comprehension of actual interpersonal relationships and motivations. As a result any hints of romance actually make sense and reflects reality where people don't just fall in love because the plot calls for it. In fact so far there isn't any actual romance, only the beginnings of what could be.
The characters in this story are all very understandable and fleshed out. The main character in particular is very comprehensive in his... more>> motivations and goals as well as his bottom line in regarding those goals. It's a slower pace but I see it as the author taking his time to set up the story. It's still a little too early for me to judge this story as a whole, but from what I've read (39 chapters) this story has the potential to be one of the classics of xianxia.

Oh and huge props to the translator. This story has bits of classic literature and pretty esoteric explanation of things such as meridians and whatnot but the translator has done a fantastic job. I imagine this is a harder story to translate but they're doing a great job. <<less
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xianxia_reader
xianxia_reader rated it
August 13, 2023
Status: c264
After reading so many novels I see there is a pattern to most CN novels. One of the patterns is to write about each and every detail about "cultivation" or "tournaments" etc to fill in the details. It works out fine in the beginning because you need details for story building. The author then starts to use it as a crutch and each arc gets longer and longer with each excruciating detail to pad up the arc. You can then randomly skip 10-15 chapters and still follow the story because... more>> there is progress. That is the problem with this story. First couple of arcs go by fast and then starts tournaments etc and thing ground to a halt because everything has to be explained. <<less
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Deragone
Deragone rated it
October 21, 2022
Status: c823
I'm going to write a review here for two reasons:

-One because I have a feeling that past this point the novel will go down the hills.

-Two because I think all those chapters before that are worth reading!

... more>> Shoutout to Hosted Novel for making an excellent translation out of this novel, but if people want to read it at speed mach 10, there's WNMTL here for you.

Anyway, where do I begin, yes the beginning, the beginning of the novel is the best, where the quality is at it's peak and where people shoutout 4D Chess! out of nowhere with all the schemes that are coming by at each chapters, the world is well builded and if you read it expect enormous paragraphs in this novel and little dialogues, meaning warning incoming! INFO DUMP IN YOUR FACE! the battle are typical of a cultivation novel but as a novel made before 2010 what do you want? A banana?

Past chapters 400, it takes some hit here and here in it's quality but not enough for one who was interested in it to give up reading it, like me, you can still get hooked up as much as when you read the beginning even after
Spoiler

The world travel to the Blood River Domain and the Azure Dragon Domain

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but after that that when things gets a little bad for me, the pace is accelerated and BOOM! The author throw me this bullsh*t that I didn't expect

Spoiler

At chapter 823, Tang Jie decide to travel beyond the RoseCloud Domain to find a way to save someone who he feel guilty of something done to her, the place is going to is called the Primordial Domain or whatever, and the bad thing about it is I feel like it's just a higher realm like in those tr*shy novel that we have all read once.

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Not that it's bad but... when compared to the beginning, it's a let down, a huge let down, of course I may be wrong and after chapter 823 the story will only get better and better, that is too be read, alas the hope for this to be true ain't here for me, not that I'm stopping the novel, just a break.

In conclusion for this novel, 4/5 stars up to 823 chapters for me with the beginning of it which rocks, the middle still rocks but less than the beginning and at 823 chapters, there the sign of it's downfall. <<less
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buddhaboy
buddhaboy rated it
August 2, 2022
Status: c324
the translation is unusually good. The MC is scheming without being totally unconscionable. I like the romance subplot but its incredibly minor, like a couple scenes spread across hundreds of chapters

if I was going to advise my prior self id say this:

its a typical xianxia in a lot of ways. The relatively well-written english combined with a tolerable MC is enough to give it a chance
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mrdarkness369
mrdarkness369 rated it
October 28, 2021
Status: c33
The MC is smart and although still has a bottom line I like him anyways except the part where he swears a heart demon oath to avenge his immortal friend, for me the main problem is pacing wise because after he became a a servant so he could get a servant spot for the academy storyhasent even progressed its just a competition for the spot, like from this pace I can guess the academy is going to be the same he will compete against other studens from the academy to... more>> earn a spot for the sect. <<less
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kamishiniyari
kamishiniyari
June 19, 2023
Status: c396
One of the better ones in the world of xianxia novel.

When I realized that this novel is older than dtpb (divine throne of primordial blood- same author) that I read first, I laughed becase this one is clearly superior to dtpb, and it's 15 years old at the time of this review, truly interesting, I started reading xianxia on 2012 or something, and my earliest novel was Panlong, that happened to be released in the same year as this novel, and if I would say, this one is the superior... more>> novel. Good interactions between characters interesting MC that uses a lot of fun schemes (naturally some of them wont hold under tight scrutiny, but it's still fun), and the writing style that's more restrained and more emotionally controlled (from author self righteous opinion) if I were to compare it with dtpb.

The weakness of this novel is mostly info dumps, some of them are important, some of them are not, but what bad is that all of them are inappropriately verbose. The other weakness will be sudden change in MC demeanor, I'll call this zero destiny self insert random bout, it's not that bad in this novel (at least in the current number of chapters that im reading), but im fastening my seatbelt and getting ready for a crash knowing I am reading zero destiny novel. This is an early review however, might change slightly, or even greatly as more chapters get translated, I mean he managed to ruin dtpb near the end, as this is his earlier work, it might be possible for it to fall earlier. As of 400 ish chapter, I'd say the novel still holds it's charm, but author random bout of MC character draft change really pisses me off, I guess he really need to make MC do something illogical to keep the plot going. Some people said it's readable until 200, but then again the opinions are always to each their own. I'll recommend it as must try to read, and you can just drop it if you find it unsatisfactory later on, as the translation is still ongoing, I'll probably will just follow it as it goes, hopefully it doesn't really piss me off like dtpb and I can finish. <<less
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RajSanthosh
RajSanthosh rated it
February 21, 2023
Status: c500
Ok now... This is awesome story..

It has

    • Smart Mc
    • Mind games between MC, Villains and side characters
    • Not usual xianxia tropes
Every best thing came to an end when MC gets a love interest.

Nah.. I am not saying she is the bad thing in the story like

iris in flash or

sakura in naruto. It is just the story becomes booring, not so interesting after she appears.

In short

Novel is best till C131 (its a solid 6/5 stars)

After C132 it becomes somewhat less interesting... (3/5 stars)

The novel just going downhill...
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