fox demon cultivation manual was frustrating as hell. i cannot in good conscience recommend that novel, despite there being quite a few good moments, unless someone is truly desperate for danmei and has gone through everything better😭
really funny to me that apparently liang yanbei and wen chan supposedly had their big adventure in the first book full of past lives and immortality and gods and demons and then they come back to greet their friend the very boring and uninteresting song ci and hes like. a five tailed fox living on a mountain in the wilderness ordering demons around
By some freak coincidence, Song Ci mistakenly consumed the blood of the Demon King, causing himself to become a demon too. A weak scholar……
Just completed this novel and wanted to record my honest opinion about it. Disclaimer: I apologise if my review comes off as scathing. I am by no means some super critical reader and I read with my brain mostly switched off so I can’t do intricate analyses of characterisation or themes like some of the prolific reviewers/writers here but I could offer a snapshot of this novel and give interested folks a glimpse into how it may fare for an ordinary and casual reader like me.
This is a pretty good read that's not too long.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
✨ What's great about it ✨
Main CP and side CP(s) are cute af
ML is not annoying at all. He's a little cold at the start but becomes super sweet.
The r/s development is really *chef's kiss* 😌✨ I especially loved seeing how Song Ci realised how much he loves Rong Bai and once he acknowledged and accepted that fact, he just went all out LOL
However, sad to say, the novel did have many flaws.
😞 What I was disappointed about 😞
Most female characters were demonised and made into villains: Qingyuan, Situ Zhoulan, Madam Liang, Tu Shan Lian, Madam Feng, that girl Song Ci was engaged to... maybe a few more whom I don't remember at the moment. Rong Bai's mom was the only one who was spared, but even she was revealed to have made concessions to the Tu Shan family that possibly were at Rong Bai's expense.
Plot development was lacking. The author did not flesh out some key points. This would not have required delving deep into the lore/world-building but I think it would've been nice to fill some crucial gaps: think Yan Song, Lou Muge, Ning Shaosi, Yan Bei, Wen Chan and even Rong Bai himself. What's Lou Muge's role in all of this conflict? Where do Yan Bei and Wen Chan stand in the entire story? Why were these two characters intertwined in Song Ci's life? What was Yan Song's goal in offering Song Ci the demonic fruit? What exactly happened in those years after Rong Bai lost Song Ci? How did he come to commit the massacre that allowed him to rise to the top as Demon King? There were simply too many loose ends that the author did not tie up even by the end of the novel.
Villains were mostly one-dimensional—not all of them got equal treatment. A few of them had a whole arc behind them, the rest showed up, died and disappeared or did not have their motives explained.
Nice ensemble of side characters, but they were underdeveloped. This point links to the one above on plot.
The time-space reversal array was a convenient plot device that ended up creating a 'loop'. In FDCM, Song Ci went back to 'save' Rong Bai by altering the course of history, but this does not create an alternate timeline. Instead, we learn that the very reason why Rong Bai left the clan behind and scattered his soul was because of Song Ci's existence during that period of time. Maybe other readers are satisfied with the way time travel was used in this novel, but I found myself very unconvinced. BUT, I must say that that particular arc was exceptionally sweet! I had a blast seeing Song Ci enjoying his life as Rong Bai's new 'demon pet' and his determination to level up in spite of his fear of death.
Overall, this novel started off strong, but started showing its shortcomings towards the latter half. I understand that this book is part of a wider universe and there seems to be a prequel/sequel to it, but I feel that it was a waste the author did not manage to expand on pivotal parts of the novel.
Nonetheless, I did have some arcs I really enjoyed: special shout-out to the Mo Yao Sect arc. I adore Fu Chi x Dai Yanxing and their entire backstory; the development and bittersweet ending just takes the cake. What to do, I just love my romance with some angst LMAO
I would recommend this to those who don't mind the recurring issues with plot and characters. In spite of all its flaws, I enjoyed reading this novel. If you want a cute and sweet read, pick this up! I'm sure you'll love all the CPs!!! 💗
SUCH TRAGIC STORY!!! I already finished FOX DEMON CULTIVATION MANUAL novel but still can't move on from the Jiang Liang and Feng Zhoujun Arc... Like dude, that was truly heartbreaking!!!!
