Synopsis:
The Final Step on a Thousand Li Journey.
The half-Immortal tyrant of Cai has been defeated, but at a devastating cost. Wu Ying has sacrificed both his chance at immortality and his greatest treasure. Now, gravely injured and with his cultivation path shattered, he has to rebuild with the help of his friends.
To find his true destiny, Wu Ying must question everything he once knew, retracing his journey from the beginning. But this time, he does so with a broken body and shattered cultivation, racing against time before his injuries claim him.
Review:
A bit (read: a lot) bittersweet feeling in more ways than one. Overarchingly, I was a huge fan of Wu Ying and his journey all the way from get go and it is sad to see it come to a close.
Coming to this book, it kind went a full circle from Book 1 where we see a young and naive Wu Ying ready for adventures to now, where’s more of a jaded experienced veteran, cynical and world weary. A logical progression of character development that has been done well. The last 2 or so books has been more on introspection and philosophically coming to terms with his conditions and contemplating the next step forward adn this book continues down that path. Though I have to admit, I really missed the pristine sense of adventure that made me a fan of the the earlier books, the iron has been tempered, Wu’s path is one of strife and commitment rather than fund and adventure.
The ending to the book is as bittersweet as the ending of the series. I so wanted Wu Ying to have a “and they all lived happily forever” ending, but the one he got was as fitting. I still haven’t figured out if I feel like smiling or crying…it just evokes a bunch of mixed but strong emotions!
Need to call out the prose, which often borders on the poetic. The way the words flows feels like the author has touched on the Dao of Words and it’s lent itself into this book. Though I’m more of a plot centric reader, this deserves special appreciation.
Though I did feel that the books meandered a bit through the middle segments, it was a finale that is satisfying and left a lasting impact.
A series I was happy to enjoy from start to finish. Hope there’s more on the next leg of Wu Ying’s journey! I’d gladly read A Million Li more.
Highly recommended!
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