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Love of the Divine Tree: Spoiler-Free Mini Review

Jul 25
3 min read

Updated: Sep 21

Deng Wei and Julia Xiang kissing in a still from Love of the Divine Tree

Title:

Love of the Divine Tree (2025) 仙台有树

Platform:

iQIYI, WeTV

MDL & Douban Rating:

8.5 & 7.1

Genre:

Xianxia (High Fantasy)/ Romance

Episode Count:

40

Parental Guidance Rating:

PG: Minor "fighting" and blood spitting a la Xianxia.

Staring:

Deng Wei (Lost You Forever)

Julia Xiang (Legend of the Magnate)

Chen Xin Hai (The Double)

Zhang Wei Na (Blood River)

Deng Kai (Pursuit of Jade)

RBTS Rating:

7/10 Stars: A Master and Disciple switch roles in a mortal realm focused Xianxia, with a refreshing Female Lead and a Debbie Downer of a love interest.


Cast From Left to Right: #DengWei, #JuliaXiang, #ChenXinHai, #ZhangWeiNa, #DengKai


Synopsis:

Su Yi Shui, a talented young cultivator, had his destiny changed by his master, Mu Qing Ge, eighteen years ago. Mu Qing Ge, known as the "female demon", was also branded with a bad reputation and presumed dead. Eighteen years later, Mu Qing Qe transforms into Xue Ran Ran, and Su Yi Shui, now the head of the West Mountain Sect, takes the critically ill Ran Ran as his disciple, vowing to protect her for life. Thus, the roles of master and disciple are swapped, and various amusing and unusual stories unfold between them. @MDL



Spoiler-Free Mini Review:

Love of the Divine Tree was surprisingly successful at its time of release, which was especially unexpected considering that both leads were stepping into main roles for the first time. The drama revolves around a master and disciple relationship that Freaky Friday's itself by having the pair switch roles. Focusing on themes of sacrifice, pre-conceived biases, and embracing who you are and who can choose to be, Love of the Divine Tree is a breath of fresh air in a genre gone stale with one lifetime too many, and the lifeless aesthetics of the overused Heavenly Realm.


Love of the Divine Tree Poster with Deng Wei and Julia Xiang

The leads had a fun push and pull relationship, but I liked their dynamic better when the Female Lead was at her full power. Speaking of the Female Lead, God bless the dubber who didn't give her the toddler voice. Top marks just for that. Julia Xiang did a great job with the dual role and I'm excited to see what she does next. The side characters (minus the sister) were solid and, once again, Deng Kai plays a toxic bad guy lol.


Though I mostly enjoyed Love of the Divine Tree, I have some critiques: The men. Just all of them. They were wimps in wigs. Su Yi Shui (ML) was a bit of an angsty baby (everything about him made me think of a teenager in their Emo phase), Su Yu (2ML) was obsessive (because of course), and Wei Jiu was late in the uptake. I also had some production qualms with the sighing music, ill-fitting costumes, and the occasionally wonky audio. The drama was additionally bogged down by the usual Xianxia goldilocks pacing problem where things moved too quickly during crucial story elements, only to then drag out lesser plot points. Also, how does that much time pass and no one ages lol? The sister (Mu Ran Wu) was an annoying character whose sole purpose was to provoke. She was poorly wirtten and just regurgitated the same lines from scene to scene.


What is the purpose of this Mask? It's giving Lana Del Rey during Covid. The crimped wig was also alot.


As is the case for most Xianxia's, Love of the Diving Tree is a mixed bag. I did enjoy it more than I thought I would, and I think it's unique and of higher quality than many of the dramas coming out of the genre today. But I was ready for it to be done by the end.


Something to note: The show was re-edited into chronological order after the first 6 episodes were released due to complaints about the confusing timeline. So there are two versions in existence, but the "official" one is linear.


Love of the Divine Tree Poster with Deng Wei and Julia Xiang

Story=3.5 (More logical than most, but lacked spark) , Acting =3 (Didn't love the ML), Production Quality=4 (esp. for the ML's crimped wigs lolz), Rewatch Value=2.75 (maybe), Ending=4.5 (solid ending, but I was too ready to be done), Enjoyability= 3.25 (some ffwd was used)


Entire cast of Love of the Divine Tree

Trailer:


Director: #YinTao (Empress Reborn and Unveil: Jadewind)

Screenwriter: #LiuFang (Mysterious Lotus Casebook)


*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images used on this blog. All images belong to their respective copyright holders and are used for commentary and review purposes. All reviews, opinions, and statements expressed on this blog are my own and are intended for entertainment and informational purposes only. They reflect my personal thoughts and interpretations and should not be considered as factual.



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