I think it is not said enough in the community, or rather, it is somewhat shamed in TGCF rpc, to ship Xie Lian and Jun Wu. I saw a lot of interpretations/headcanons/narratives of Jun Wu and Xie Lian sharing a familiar, often father/son (heir) relationship. I disagree.
Jun Wu's obsession with Xie Lian begins with an envious realization that Xie Lian is everything that Jun Wu should have been during his reign in Wuyong. And even two thousand years later, despite his annihilation of the previous heavenly court, now at the top of the food chain as Heavenly Emperor himself, Jun Wu cannot fathom someone like Xie Lian being worshipped in such a way. He gives him trials, tribulations, he forces Xie Lian to kill his people and doom his kingdom, and even in that hatred, Xie Lian emerged to be beloved by many.
Jun Wu does not care about Hua Cheng's devotion to Xianle because he sees how obsessed HC is as well, in his own way. He respects that obsession, although he thinks Xie Lian does not deserve Hua Cheng's "love" since it forgives Xianle and does not push his limits to become a villain and rule the world with a blackened blade.
But this is important because Jun Wu does not want Xie Lian to be this "heir" to some throne. He also does not want to be a mentor to Xie Lian. He literally wants to become Xie Lian, to relive the greatness of Wuyong through the misery of Xianle. Jun Wu becomes so sick with this desire that his envious pursuit and possessiveness trickles into a dangerous, intimate territory. He wants to crawl into Xie Lian's skin, wants to fuse them together as one. I think some people thought that, depending on the translations of the TGCF novels, Jun Wu wanted Xie Lian to give in to the WNF temptation and take over heaven, rule together as "king and prince". I did not read it in that way. Jun Wu wants another half that is just like HIM, a carbon copy he can touch, bite, bleed, and call by a name that no longer means Xianle.
We all saw how he touches Xie Lian, how he gives him favor, how he tortures him so intimately that there is not a single shadow of doubt in me about their relationship. Yes, Jun Wu wants to kill Xianle, he also wants to touch him, to sleep with him (both sexually and territorially). Because for Jun Wu, it is all a matter of control. It is a matter of corrupting Xianle in every possible way, the way Wuyong was corrupted by hatred. Jun Wu's resentment is his love language, and yes, I think his abusive love for Xie Lian pushes him to create all these challenges and problems for himself. Although it is funny to me, but I do not see him being jealous of Hua Cheng. He is just mad the guy is in the way, but he does not mind "sharing".
Anyway, that's my piece on it. I think people who come on here and spit out abuse and shame at people who ship JunLian (calling them incestuous) are illiterate cowards. I also think that really goes for any ship that is out here that gets hate for no legitimate reason. Like what you like (you want father/son dynamic, more power to you but don't act like I am wrong and you are God). Then again, I think it's funny when people mald over villain writers. Like yeah, you are sitting on a "woke" app self-reporting yourself as media illiterate OOF! HAHAHA.
I love Jun Wu. I will die for him. He's an irredeemable piece of shit, and I absolutely love him for it.