"Flower-Plucking Records": Love Her Beneath the Lovely Moon, A Skillful Hand Paints Her True Form-Notes on a Few Cultivation Novels
by Lihuo
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I. "Dust Along the Immortal Road"
I spent these past few days immersed in "Dust Along the Immortal Road" and "Song of the Evil Wind." While my blood was still hot and my memories fresh, I set down a few impressions.
First, my new love, "Immortal Road." Although I had not read many cultivation novels, I believed this was a very, very special one among them.
"Immortal Road" had four extraordinary qualities: the grandeur of immortals, a pervasive ancient elegance, wit and humor, and the tender feelings of young lovers.
There was no frenzied leveling and slaughter, no endless blood-deep vendettas. From its opening onward, "Immortal Road" unfolded in a leisurely, contented atmosphere. Tense situations were rare, and even the occasional fight usually mingled comedy or tenderness into the action, making it hard to feel anxious.
Luofu's wondrous scenery, the Dragon Palace's marvels, immortal music stirring the heavens, beauties like jade.
The years spent in the Qingyun mountains, the courage and loyalty shown across western Sichuan-was this not what they amounted to?
The author, Guan Pingchao, set the story during the Western Jin and later bestowed the empty title "Central Court Grand Master" upon his protagonist, Zhang Xingyan. His yearning for the Jian'an Spirit was plain to see.
That bearing of following homeward geese with one's gaze while sweeping a hand across five strings was also what "Immortal Road" pursued throughout.
The chapter titles each stood complete in themselves, yet could often be joined into poetry. Their language was refined, their meaning exquisite; such skill had seldom been seen since Master Jin Yong. Better still, this was no mere play with words: the titles matched their contents remarkably well. Reading "Clouds Fly, Swords Dance Across a Thousand Miles" and "Drunk, I Draw My Sword and Strike