Finally Delving into Heaven Official’s Blessing

A glittering reaction of a feet-kicking adventure series that helped me re-fall in love with reading.

“Body in the abyss, heart in paradise.”

I‘ve been aware of Heaven Official’s Blessing for awhile now, edits and fan content popping up on my Instagram FYP for years now. However, it wasn’t until I (1) finished watching The Untamed on Netflix and (2) re-fell in love with reading that I looked into more of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s work available at my local library. And thus, I began my eight book expedition into the realm of gods and ghosts.

If you have not yet read the series, here’s a brief, spoil-free rundown on what you need to know:

The series follows the crown prince of Xianle, Xie Lian, who has just ascended to godhood (not for the first time, not for the second time) for the third time in 800 years. Revered as a taboo figure and a “scrap” god, he is sort of the outcast of the heavens and is far more comfortable doing things his own way. In adjusting to his returned godly-status and handling a few ghostly disruptions, Xie Lian meets Hua Cheng, a mysteriously devoted red-clad ghost king. While the combination of a god and supreme ghost is a daring pair in heaven’s eyes, the two embark on a variety of journeys, taking down ghosts and corrupt gods left and right. As the series and the pair’s relationship progresses, we see vignettes of the scrap god’s past and learn that their fates are very much intertwined like the red string around their fingers.

To begin more generally, the writing style is very simple and easy to follow. The sentences aren’t long and convoluted, so it’s easy to get absorbed in the writing and fly through the books at lighting speed. While I did read an English translation, nothing jumped out as clunky and there are ample footnotes for different metaphors and terms that one may not be familiar with. Similarly, in the back of the book, there are detailed glossaries and character guides, the latter being especially useful due to the shear amount of characters introduced throughout the series, some of which go by more than one name.

Now, stay with me on this next statement: The vibe of the writing in regard to plot and pacing is like a superbly-written angsty fan-fiction. I know that may sound like a diss depending on your relationship with fan-fiction, but I truly mean that with the highest praise.

Allow me to explain:

A lot of the fan-fiction I read growing up, regardless of topic, was like a compilation of loosely tied confrontations, tropes, reveals, and feet-kicking meet-cute moments. While a lot of that fan-fiction was written by middle schoolers who maybe didn’t have the planning process of a published author and had a romanticized view of love, it hit those high-emotion, high-impact moments that make you have walk around the room because shit is about to hit the fan. It’s euphoric writing.

Heaven Official’s Blessing has similar “angst.” Around every corner, the stage is set for iconic scenes and confrontations. The nice part is that you never have to wait for them to occur. The moment I would think to myself “Oh, I can’t wait for this character to learn this,” the reveal would happen a few pages later. Unlike in fan-fiction, though, these hooks aren’t loosely tied together or rushed to get to the punchy scenes; they feel genuinely natural and flow from point to point. The series is just packed with enthralling events.

Part of this constant anticipation is created because we learn so much backstory throughout the books, in conversation, character introductions, and flash backs; we think we know which characters know what info, which leads to the expectation of “informing the group” or, perhaps, the revelation that they already know the info or play a bigger part than they may lead on. Additionally, we don’t always know what trial or tribulation is going to confront Xie Lian. There’s not always some big grand quest thrust upon him, so we tend to have to pivot when he manages to stumble into trouble.

Frankly, I’m quite shocked how compelling the casual moments are where where Xie Lian is just building his shrine or finding food. Nothing dangerous or necessarily plot central is happening, but it feels like a nice soothing resting spot for the reader after all the crap Xie Lian has to address constantly. Not going to lie, there are some moments in the book where we are pulled from the slower steady day-to-day moments, and I would say to myself “Ah man, I hope this isn’t the big mission for this book because that sounds rough.”

While I did say I never had to wait for confrontations or reveals, there were a couple of moments where I wanted information about Xie Lian’s past experiences with White No-Face (the big bad) to be shared with Feng Xin and Mu Qing (his friends and attendants from his princely days). That, however, is just me as a reader wanting a dramatic reveal for every dramatic moment; Xie Lian’s past is so traumatic that I can’t get over some of the things he went through. Granted, for me, it was fresh knowledge. For Xie Lian, there is no purpose at this point to reveal his traumas from 800 years ago to Feng Xin and Mu Qing. This tells you more about Xie Lian’s character than mine. I am more like his spontaneous, confrontational 20-year-old self, and not like his wise 800-something self.

More on that, Heaven Official’s Blessing does a great job of creating round and complex characters with rather thorough character arcs. Each character has their own motivations, backstory, and secrets, and your perception of them change greatly the more you learn about characters. You will love characters you thought you hated and hate the ones you loved.

This sentiment does not exclude our main character Xie Lian. For most of the series, the arcs take place chronologically. However, there are a couple arcs where we hop back to when Xie Lian was just a royal teenager handling his first ascension and the atrocities of war. While I dreaded these arcs at first since they would typically cut away from a climactic moment, I would finish them with a deeper understanding of Xie Lian. The past and present show two versions of the same person. With our perception of him in the present, we know the ways in which he wouldn’t act the same way as he did 800 years prior. From smaller things like sleeping on the ground to larger, irrational outbursts, these flashbacks make it shockingly clear how much Xie Lian has grown from his princely-early ascension days. His character is so incredibly complex and colorful.

One thing in particular that really struck me about Xia Lian’s character growth over the span of centuries is that he knows now when to give up or pass along a mission. In his twenties, he would try to handle all the problems himself, from trying to resolve a drought, cure a disease, and win a war. Now, he willingly passes along missions to other heavenly officials to wrap things up or steps from conflicts no longer involving him. This struck me as unique when reading. Very rarely do you not see adventures to completion because our main character is our “hero.” Xie Lian, however, doesn’t want to be a hero necessarily. He doesn’t go looking for glory; he just has terrible luck and winds up getting tangled up in godly issues. Good thing he has the incredibly lucky Hua Cheng by his side to help.

Speaking of Hua Cheng, lets talk romance. Frankly, the romance aspect of it all was not as wild as I thought it would be. With how the fandom reacts on social media, I thought the books would be a lot more romance forward. Don’t get me wrong, their relationship is an essential part of the story; Hua Cheng and Xie Lian’s relationship is intertwined over 800 years, but it’s a slow-burn (unfortunately for Hua Cheng, it was a centuries long slow burn). Bro gets an A+ for the 800 years of yearning. Get you a man who yearns like Hua Cheng.

Hua Cheng lives for Xie Lian. It is said directly and is present in every action does, every word he says. From simple things like catching him when he stumbles and telling him to not do anything dangerous to being willing to fully sacrifice himself for his love, Hua Cheng is fully and forever devoted.

There are dozens of iconic lines from Hua Cheng conveying his undying loyalty and reverence for Xie Lian, but one quote stuck out to me in particular that I don’t see getting mentioned too often. While I can’t locate it (I know, bad prep work on my part), it was to the effect of Hua Cheng telling Xie Lian,

“Nothing can stop you.”

Yes, it was a passing line, easily overlooked by many for his more superfluous and lavish declarations, but this hit me. I don’t know if it’s just me and where I’m at in life, but if someone were to say that simple phrase to me, I would be motivated for the next 800 years.

All in all, while reading this series, I was constantly kicking my feet, reading for hours on end, and putting the books down to walk around my room and rehash the events for the invisible ghosts in my closet. It was a joyful reading experience that I haven’t experienced since middle school. I would look forward to reading each night and would go to sleep thinking about what just happened and what I think will happen next. It felt like I was watching a movie every nigh. It was just so fun, and I’m glad I read this series because I think it really accelerated my love for reading again. The challenge for me now will be finding something new to read that holds up against Heaven Official’s Blessing. I’m afraid my bar is too high now.