Wei Wuxian as a character is one of the major reasons I love this story! He is a free spirit and seems careless at first glance. Which he is if it is about anything like discipline and proper etiquette... But when it comes down to it, he has his priorities straight. He carries a lot of pain from his parents' early death and always feels like a stranger in the Jiang family deep down. Still, he gives his best to be a good brother to Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng and support them to the best of his abilities.

The feelings between him and Jiang Cheng are set up to be difficult from the beginning. Their complex bond is shown very well and the gradual triumph of Jiang Chengs animosity over his brotherly affection for Wei Wuxian is very credible. 

Wei Wuxian is a man who would never abandon his principles, stubborn to a fault. This is his most admirable trait and also what leads to his downfall. His insistence on opposing the Wens in the Xianwu of Slaughter's cave is what ultimately leads to the death of his adoptive family and the loss of his golden core. His insistence on saving the remnants of the Wens is what ultimately leads to the siege that costs him his life. Those are all chivalrous acts that require great courage. Unfortunately, no one is willing to acknowledge that aside from his adoptive father Jiang Fengmian and, as we learn later, Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji is the epitome of the saying "silent waters run deep". He cares deeply, loves deeply and is willing to sacrifice everything for his convictions and feelings. In that regard, him and Wei Wuxian are incredibly similar which I think is the basis for their mutual understanding and affection. 

While I was a bit exasperated by Lan Wangji's coldness towards Wei Wuxian's teasing when they were kids, I absolutely love the ways in which he expresses his affection towards him in the present timeline. Big bro Lan Xichen shipping them really paid off! What really stuck to me was how he calls Wei Wuxian "mine" while being drunk. And the other memorable drunken episode: Tying Wei Wuxian's hands with his headband! He basically announces to all his youngsters and Jin Ling that he married Wei Wuxian, while Wei Wuxian is completely oblivious about the headband situation for so long! (  ≧ᗜ≦)

Also, the fact that he recognizes Wei Wuxian after his reincarnation based on the song that he sang for him in the cave. I was melting when he says the title "Wangxian" at the end. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu really fed her readers well with this one! And Wei Wuxian's confession? Wonderful! With an embarrassing touch: "'You're right,' he said. Then he yelled, with all the breath he could pull into his lungs, 'Lan Zhan! Lan Wangji! Hanguang-jun! I...I genuinely wanted to sleep with you earlier' [...] 'Or, in other words - I fancy you, I love you, I want you, I can't leave you, I whatever you.'" - From Volume 5 of The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Other characters that I love are the youngsters including (especially) Lan Sizhui. The moments where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji explain to them the ways of the world, scaring them shitless in the process (Yin City!) are both cute and funny! The revelation that Lan Sizhui is Wen Yuan? Absolute peak and well-prepared!

The whole past arc that includes Wen Ning's and Wen Qing's death is incredibly well-written and emotionally devastating! But I signed up for it because I want my soul to be skillfully destroyed! ᕙ(  •̀ ᗜ •́  )ᕗ

Back to being serious: I love stories with a complex thematic and a deep emotional impact but I generally appreciate that there are a lot of funny and wholesome moments to balance the heartbreak. My favorite quote in this regard: "Even if he were to possess another in order to avenge himself... based on Wei Ying's taste, he would never pick a gay, donkey-riding lunatic with his face painted like a hanged ghost!" - From Volume 1 of The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

But we would never say anything against little apple! We love little apple!!!

The plot following the cursed dismembered corpse leading to the discovery of Jin Guangyao's betrayal of Nie Mingyue is well executed and gives all the other characters time to shine on the way. Generally, Jin Guangyao is a very well-written antagonist who became twisted due to his own tragic past and the resulting inner demons he couldn't subdue. 

Nie Huaisang also gets his brief moment in the limelight as he goes from being a useless crybaby wimp to spymaster in the shadows (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

There are three major things that bothered me here:

First, I think it is great to make Nie Huaisang a strong character who uses everyone's perception of him to take revenge by pulling the strings from the shadows. However, I don't think this was well-prepared. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love a good plot twist. Hell, I live for them! But when there is a plot twist, I want to be able to look back and see the hints that pointed to it and that I missed. 

I don't want to anticipate the plot twist but I want to know that I could technically have anticipated it. In this case though, the hints went completely past me. If there were any. Also, they mention in the end how it is possible that Nie Huaisang orchestrated everything but they can't be completely sure, then move on. Excuse me? You just found out that your crybaby good-for-nothing former classmate was the eminence in shadow all along? And you just let it slide? (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

Second, the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. Yes, it is a mess. Yes, their communication is terrible and no, we don't expect a full reconciliation. That would be way too unrealistic. However, they could have had a talk and could find at least some common ground. Especially after the golden core reveal, there are too many things that are left unsaid. This is something Mo Xiang Tong Xiu solved much better in Heaven Official's Blessing.

Third, concerning the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. Yes, we know that they liked each other all along since they studied together in their teens. While Wei Wuxian masked it by being overly flippant and deceived himself, Lan Wangji supressed his feelings, thinking they were unbecoming and that Wei Wuxian was a bad influence. Somewhere in between, this changes and Lan Wangji acknowledges his feelings and becomes deeply devoted to Wei Wuxian while Wei Wuxian only realizes his feelings after his reincarnation.

As a reader, I didn't quite get where the turning point came for Lan Wangji. We don't get many scenes that show how they bond, so I cannot clearly understand this shift. I would have wished for more explicit bonding between the two early on in the story, before the reincarnation. A good example would be if Wei Wuxian had actually comforted Lan Wangji in the cave instead of leaving him alone.

Those last two points I made fall under the category "missing or lacking emotional resolution" that I already criticized in The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System. It has improved for this book and I think Mo Xiang Tong Xiu managed to get rid of this weakness completely in her next work Heaven Official's Blessing.

Some last remarks: I don't really like Jiang Yanli. She keeps being the poor, gentle and wronged damsel in distress (maybe I'm exaggerating a bit). But compared to her mother and the strong and resolute Wen Qing, she falls a bit short. I would have wished for some more character development for her.

Lastly, the two very explicit scenes at the end in the inn and in the bushes (⸝⸝0⸝⸝0⸝⸝) ... I think this amount of smut in the end was a bit unnecessary concerning the fact that there was no proper build-up for it.

The very last thing: I found Jin Ling a bit too bratty and annoying. Also, I think it's a bit strange that he became the sect leader. I get that he was the heir but I just can't imagine him being up to the task of taking over so many responsibilities.

Please do me a favor my dear readers. Watch this video that explains the entire plot by mentioning only Jin Ling and his Uncle... (¬‿¬)