Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 4

This volume was my companion on an incredibly difficult day, and I could have hardly had a better book in my purse to face it with. Even though the darkest moments of this series — Jiang Cheng's concern for Wei Wuxian and his frustration/fear at not being able to protect him. Wei Wuxian's despair at not being able to protect the Wen remnants — and the utterly tragic confrontation that follows. The depths of Lan Zhan's bereftness...

Maybe someone else's pain and fear was a good distraction from my own. Especially when I know how in this case (except for Jiang Cheng), it will be resolved.

I love them all forever.

The penultimate volune of MDZS jumps in never lets up. It opens with Wei Wuxian rescuing the Wen remnants and steamrolls right to the epic battle at Nightless City before returning to the present time and the new siege of the Burial Mounds.

The events leading to Wei Ying's downfall are heart-wrenching. Thankfully, he does not stand alone any longer; he has Lan Zhan at his side this time. Once again, I was amazed at how faithful The Untamed tv show is to the novel as the events match closely. The greatest diversion arises from the romance. And wow does the book deliver in spades on that! Lan Zhan's drunken night in Yunping is so much more (satisfyingly) erotic and brings the romance front and center. To the frustration of the reader, it show more also highlights how the two men struggle to really communicate with one another. Unspoken feelings are misinterpreted and both are left hurt and confused. The reader is left emotionally exhausted but desperate for Volume 5. show less

Here we have more flashbacks, this time to the period after the Sunshot Campaign. The Wen Clan has nearly been wiped out, and its remnants are being cruelly mistreated by the Jin Clan. Wei Wuxian, who has calmed down considerably since volume 3, is helping Wen Qing find her beloved little brother Wen Ning and ends up establishing a new home for the remnants of the Wen Clan at the Burial Mounds, the very place where Wen Chao once left him to die.

This volume completes the story of Wei Wuxian's downfall and then jumps back to the present. Wei Wuxian's identity has been revealed and he is believed to be responsible for a horde of fierce corpses. Pretty much everyone except Lan Wangji and some of the junior cultivators wants to kill him. show more However, some undeniable and shocking truths finally come to light.

As a whole, I'd still say that Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is my least favorite of MXTX's series. The overall story structure could be better, and there are so many characters that not even Seven Seas' character and name guide could always help me keep things straight. That said, this volume was good. So good that I need to review it now, the day I finished it, so that I can start volume 5 without fear of mixing up events and revelations.

This volume took the previous three volumes' worth of story threads and characters and tied it all together, sometimes in surprising ways. There were at least a couple revelations that made me gasp aloud. Even though I knew it was coming, the full story of how Jin Ling became an orphan was heart-crushing, and I now feel somewhat bad for some of my prior assumptions about Wei Wuxian. But only somewhat, because his killing spree in the previous volume was pretty intense.

The story of his time as the Yiling Patriarch was more touching than I expected, and Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had some really wonderful bittersweet moments. And I think my soul left my body for a moment during one particular revelation at Lotus Pier. WEI WUXIAN.

I wasn't sure if this was going to be structured like SVSSS, with the last volume reserved entirely for side stories. FYI, even if the final volume includes some side stories, the main story doesn't conclude with this volume. There's still a villain to be faced. Also, Wei Wuxian messed up, and Lan Wangji and I need him to fix things.

I think this volume might have convinced me to give the live action show another go - I know it won't follow the books exactly (uh, definitely not), but surely it will give me Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and A-Yuan having a meal together while A-Yuan plays with toys a stoic Lan Wangji bought him?

Now, off to start volume 5.

Extras:

Character & name guide, glossary, two full-color illustrations, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

The penultimate volume of MDZS features the resolution of two sieges of the Burial Mounds, which I found more moving than anticipated given I knew what was coming from The Untamed. The juxtaposition of events in Wei Wuxian's two lives really demonstrates how cycles of violence are perpetuated. Not to mention how quickly an angry crowd can shift their focus from one scapegoat to another. In contrast to previous volumes, I found myself more interested in the Wens than the (still adorable) juniors. The emergence of fierce corpses from the blood pool was a climactic moment and their reaction to Wen Ning and Lan Sizhui very touching.

Although dramatic plot denouements dominate, there are also some lovely romantic Wangxian moments; Wei Wuxian show more leaping from the tree was my favourite. Jiang Cheng's reaction to observing this was interesting... Some very complicated vibes there. By the end of the book Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have technically got married and definitely had sex, but still haven't talked about their feelings. So each appears to think they took advantage of the other while drunk, despite being embarrassingly in love with and obsessed with each other. Plus they've totally wrecked a hotel room.

The Seven Seas edition is as beautifully presented as ever. I would have liked an illustration that included Wen Ning and Wen Qing, but enjoyed those included. Wangxian fighting together on page 183 and the tree moment on page 239 were particularly pretty. show less

Another wonderful part of the novel! I had more trouble rereading this part not because this part is bad but because one of the sections is a particularly emotionally fraught part for me (ah Xizuan's death just hurts so much, I feel so bad for everyone) and it was hard to return to it again after reading it the first time, reading it in the manhua, and then seeing it in the donghua, but I finally pushed through, and I still love the story and the wonderful book.

Jin Fang's cover art is so beautiful! I just love it! idledee's interior color illustration is so sweet! I generally really enjoyed Marina Privalova's interior art, though again Privalova took some liberties with certain scenes so that the scenes are just drawn incorrectly, but show more there's nothing as egregious as some of the ones in previous volumes (sorry not sorry, still annoyed about the Yi City piece), so overall it's fine. I particularly liked Wei Wuxian falling out of the tree. That was lovely.

While this volume has some very painful parts in it, as they all do, it also has some of my favorite scenes, including when Wei Wuxian leaps from the tree into Lan Wangji's arms, when Wen Ning reveals the core transfer to Jiang Cheng, drunk Lan Wangji giving Wei Wuxian a chicken, the Juniors being very overwrought by seeing Wangxian, protective Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling being very in love with Sizhui, Nie Huaisang being Himself, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian being hopelessly in love with each other, and the little but obvious ways they express it... There's so much goodness! Even the painful parts are good, it's just sad at times. The characters in this story really have it rough.

Overall, another great volume! Looking forward to volume 5! show less

TBC