Love Of The Divine Tree (仙台有树) got a pretty solid rating from both international and Chinese viewers after its release. Its score on Douban now is 7.1 which is even higher than idol dramas such as The Best Thing. It is unexpected in a way because the leading actor doesn’t have that many dramas lined up and his popularity didn’t take off as much as his peers after the success of Lost You Forever S2. Perhaps the strength of the plot makes up for the lack of tier one celebrities and the drama could still enjoy generally positive comments. My Love Of The Divine Tree review below will take a deeper look into this drama.
My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Xianxia Romance
Aired: February 2025
Images credit: iQIYI Facebook
The Cast Of Love Of The Divine Tree
- Deng Wei as Su Yi Shui
- Julia Xiang Han Zhi as Mu Qing Ge / Xue Ran Ran
- Chen Xin Hai as Su Yu
- Zhang Wei Na as Mu Ran Wu
- Cao Yu Chen as Zeng Yi
- Ai Mi as Qiu Xi Er
- Hu Wei as Bai Bai Shan
- Min Xing Han as Gao Cang
- Bai Shu as Liang Wu Meng
- Xia Zhi Yuan as Jiu Lao Xian / Wine Immortal
- Zhang Cheng He as Prince Ping
- Ray Chang as Ye Xin / Dun Tian
- Deng Kai as Wei Jiu
- Cheng Zi as Tu Jiu Yuan
Main Characters
Su Yi Shui
Yi Shui is the illegitimate son of Prince Ping. He has a yin constitution which makes him ideal to host a demonic aura in his system. Hence, he is raised as a demon child by his father for his selfish ends. Yi Shui is a dark and bitter man with strong resentment within him before being influenced by his master, Mu Qing Ge. He has 2 trsuted assistants, Yu Chen and Yu Tong.
Mu Qing Ge / Xue Ran Ran
Qing Ge is the Chief of Mount Wester Sect. She is a very powerful cultivator who is ripe for ascension to be an immortal but would rather stay in the mortal world. Qing Ge is a free-spirited woman with a kind and warm heart. She is confident and can be flirty. Qing Ge has her own views about the world which cause other heavenly sects to view her as a heretic.
Ran Ran is Qing Ge’s reincarnation and descends from a fruit. She is born premature and has incomplete roots as well as a weak heart. Hence, she has limited cultivation power. Ran Ran is a cute and cheerful young woman. She is also Yi Shui’s disciple.
Supporting Characters
Su Yu
Su Yu is the son of Prince Zong and Yi Shui’s cousin. Both of their fathers are rivals for the throne. Su Yu is a considerate prince and a good friend of Qing Ge. He has secret feelings for her but knows thats she would not like to be restrained.
Mu Ran Wu
Ran Wu is Qing Ge’s younger sister. She has weakened roots which caused her to have much poorer cultivation powers than Qing Ge. Thus, she is constantly being overshadowed by her sister. Ran Wu is in love with Su Yu but it is a one-sided affair.
Zeng Yi
Zeng Yi is one of Qing Ge’s disciples. His speciality is in crafting magical tools. Zeng Yi is a loyal and kind man. His disciple brothers include Wang Sui Zhi, Lyu Yuan, and Jiang Huai Mu.
Qiu Xi Er, Bai Bai Shan & Gao Cang
The 3 of them are Yi Shui’s disciples and Ran Ran’s disciple siblings. Ran Ran shares a close relationship with Xi Er who is her confidante in love matters.
Liang Wu Meng & Wine Immortal
Both of them are Qing Ge’s friends and like a quiet and free life. Liang Wu Meng is a skilled cultivator with a calm personality. The Wine Immortal is a casual person who prefers tranquility over worldly affairs. He has a weakness for good wine and loves those that are brewed by Qing Ge.
Prince Ping
Prince Ping is Yi Shui’s father. He is a ruthless and ambitious man with an aim to inherit the throne. Prince Ping is assisted by a mysterious masked Magician.
Ye Xin / Dun Tian
Ye Xin is a cultivator and seemingly wise man. He is like an uncle to Qing Ge and Ran Wu as he picked them up from the roadside when the girls were young.
Wei Jiu
Wei Jiu is the Chief of Scarlet Sect. He is an egoistic man who wants to be strong to defeat Qing Ge and Yi Shui for embarrassing him.
Tu Jiu Yuan
Tu Jiu Yuan is the elder of Scarlet Sect. She grew up together with Wei Jiu who is the heir to the sect. But Wei Jiu’s father saw Tu Jiu Yuan as being more capable when they were young. So, he gave her the position of sect elder and half of the sect’s token to watch over Wei Jiu then.
Synopsis
18 years ago, a powerful cultivator named Mu Qing Ge forced Si Yu Shui into being her disciple. She knew he was the identified “demon child” who could release the Spirit Spring which forms the evil Mortal-Demon Lord’s power. She tried to bring Si Yu Shui back to the right path and sacrificed her reputation as well as her life to protect him. Mu Qing Ge claimed that she is the demon child to deceive everyone before she died. With her death, the location of the Spirit Spring became a mystery.
Su Yi Shui was full of regret over Mu Qing Ge’s death which was also caused by her jealous sister’s trickery. Her sister, Mu Ran Wu, died along with her when she greedily tried to absorb her spiritual powers. Su Yi Shui gave up half of his golden core to nourish the Reincarnation Tree to bring Mu Qing Ge back to life. 18 years later, the tree produces 2 fruits. Mu Qing Ge is reborn as Xue Ran Ran who is weak as her sister had absorbed her powers and has no memories of the past. Mu Ran Wu is reborn with full recollection of her past life and assumes Mu Qing Ge’s identity.
Su Yi Shui takes in Xue Ran Ran as his disciple to protect her and make her stronger. With her weak disposition, Xue Ran Ran is at risk of being hunted by those who want to locate the Spirit Spring. Mu Ran Wu also wants her dead to hide her fake identity. To complicate matters, Su Yi Shui falls for Xue Ran Ran when he shouldn’t. He has cultivated an icy replacement for the part of the core that he has given up.
Love Of The Divine Tree Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)
Love Of The Divine Tree has a happy ending. Yi Shui and Ran Ran work together to try to defeat Ye Xin. Su Yu, who is one of the people needed by Ye Xin to build a new realm tower, kills himself to try to stop the plan. But Ye Xin is able to continue forming the tower. Yi Shui fights Ye Xin to give room to Ran Ran to destroy the tower. Ran Ran manages to do so. Once the tower is destroyed, the Dragon Goddess and the immortals could descend to the mortal realm and stop Ye Xin. They crumbled the tower that Ye Xin has rebuilt in an instant. Ye Xin dies and fades away with regret.
As Ye Xin has caused much destruction, Yi Shui, Ran Ran, and their disciples stay to rebuild Mount Wester. Once it is rebuilt, the couple have their wedding. Then, they quietly leave the sect to travel the world. Bai Bai Shan is entrusted to be the new chief. Wei Jiu is able to coax Tu Ji Yuan back to the Celestial Sect.
13 years later, the Mount Wester sect is being handled well by Bai Bai Shan. Xi Er and Gao Chang become teachers to the new recruits with stories about Yi Shui and Ran Ran. In the meantime, Yi Shui and Ran Ran are leading an ordinary life away from the sect with 3 kids. Yi Shui is the one taking care of them and the housework while Ran Ran contentedly laze around in contrast to the time when she has to cook for him as his disciple. They have build a home around the reincarnation tree.
When Did The Leads Get Together?
In Episode 13, Ran Ran begins to question herself if she is developing feelings for Yi Shui. She plans to confess her feelings but Yi Shui preempts it after he learned of her intention. However, Yi Shui gives him to his feelings and kisses Ran Ran while drunk after she confessed to him in Episode 17. Ran Ran realizes Yi Shui is drunk and thought he has mistaken her for Qing Ge in Episode 18.
Ran Ran learns Yi Shui is the demon child in Episode 22 when she sees snippets of his past at the entrance of an ancient pool that collects people’s obsessions before they can enter. But she is adamant of not abandoning him as she knows he has been protecting her all along. She also discovers from Zeng Yi that Yi Shui had used half of his core to nourish the Reincarnation Tree after Yi Shui’s icy heart shattered when he exhausted his powers to save her.
In Episode 23, Ran Ran tells Yi Shui that she won’t leave him although he tries to push her away. He leaves her a farewell letter instead as he plans to sacrifice his life to seal the Spirit Spring in the netherworld. In Episode 25, she tells him that she already knew she is Qing Ge and convinces him that they should work together to solve the problem.
They become a couple in Episode 27 after escaping from a dangerous mission to foil Su Yu’s immortality plan. Ran Ran also forcibly returns Ling Xiao back into Yi Shui’s body although it will cause her to lose her formless spirit roots that form her cultivation. This will ensure Yi Shui can transcend and have a chance of survival when he seals the Spirit Spring.
Is There A Breakup?
There is no breakup after Yi Shui and Ran Ran got together. But Ye Xin wipes out Yi Shui’s recent memory to revert him back to the time when he still have evil thoughts in Episode 30. This is the stage in his life when he finds Qing Ge repulsive and wants to kill her. To break the spell, Ran Ran has to make Yi Shui fall in love with her again. Before she could do so, Yi Shui is possessed by the residual demonic energy of the Mortal-Demon Lord and the Spirit Spring is returned to his body in Episode 35 due to Ye Xin’s scheming.
Ran Ran manages to drive the demonic energy out of Yi Shui’s body during a fight in Episode 37. After being awakened, Yi Shui shatters his own essence core to completely eliminate all residual demonic aura in him. Yi Shui then falls unconscious and prefers to just die than be healed. Ran Ran enters his dream and frees him from his regret in Episode 38. He keeps thinking that he had killed her once and wants to stop himself from harming her again. Ran Ran convinces him that she is still alive and well. Yi Shui then awakens and has regained his memory to reunite with Ran Ran.
Is There Any Love Triangle?
Su Yu is in love with Qing Ge but didn’t dare to express his intentions in her past life. He knows that she has a free spirit and would not like to be bound. On the other hand, Ran Wu loved Su Yu and became jealous of her sister. But when Ran Wu is reborn and assumes Qing Ge ‘s identity, Su Yu brings her back to his palace in Episode 11. He proposes to Ran Wu in Episode 12 and Ran Wu gladly accepts.
When Su Yu knows Ran Ran is Qing Ge, he asks her to return to the capital with him in Episode 20 but gets rejected with the excuse that she needs to cultivate to become stronger first. Su Yu refuses to give up and becomes obsessed over wanting Ran Ran for himself. He forces Ran Ran to marry him in Episode 26. She pretends to agree in a deceptive bid to help Yi Shui to counter Su Yu.
In his weakened state in Episode 36, Su Yu asks Ran Ran if she has ever loved him. She replies that she has always treated him as a friend.
When Did Ran Ran Regain Her Memory?
In Episode 13, Ran Ran sees fragments of her past during her encounter with Wei Jiu. She could also unlock some of her memories that ties Ling Xiao to Spirit Spring when she transcends to another cultivation level in Episode 20.
After Yi Shui left her and Mount Wester in Episode 23, Ran Ran enters Ling Xiao’s memory in Episode 24. She sees Yi Shui and Su Yu confronted each other over Qing Ge. Su Yu knew Yi Shui is the demon child and blamed him for causing Qing Ge’s death. Yi Shui accused Su Yu of using and manipulating Qing Ge to restrain him which made Su Yu just as bad. Yi Shui then used half of his core to nourish the Reincarnation Tree and left a shred of his soul to accompany Qing Ge’s fruit. That shred is Ling Xiao.
This makes Ran Ran realize that she must be Qing Ge since Ling Xiao was with her since she was born. She now has shallow memories as Qing Ge and gets Zeng Yi to tell her the whole story of the past.
Ran Ran’s Identity As Qing Ge
Ran Wu knows Qing Ge is still alive when the latter uses a technique to fight off a demon in Episode 14. As their hearts are locked together with a Soul Devouring Lock spell, Ran Wu can detect the effects. In order to trace her sister’s identity and location, Ran Wu informs Wei Jiu of her sister’s existence in Episode 15. She claims that her sister is causing her powers to be suppressed and hence, she can’t recall where the Spirit Spring might be.
Ran Wu learns Ran Ran is Qing Ge after witnessing the latter’s fight against Tu Jiu Yuan in Episode 17 and informs Wei Jiu about Ran Ran in Episode 18. In Episode 19, Ran Ran could wield Qing Ge’s sword which makes Su Yu believes she is Qing Ge. Everything comes up in the open between them in Episode 25 when Ran Ran enters his palace to try to save Yi Shui whose body has been captured by Su Yu.
Ran Ran gets back all her spiritual powers and memories in Episode 34 after Ran Wu is forced to return her powers and break the Soul Devouring Lock between them in order to save herself.
Ran Wu’s Identity Exposed
Wen Hong Shan of Hollow Sect knows Ran Wu is not Qing Ge because of a scar on her face, Everyone thought the Wen Hong Shan’s scar was caused by Qing Ge but only the 2 women knew the truth. So, when Ran Wu mentions that she was responsible for the scar, Wen Hong Shan knows she is a fake in Episode 13. Wen Hong Shan threatens Ran Wu into finding the real Qing Ge or she would expose her secret.
Su Yu knows Ran Wu is not Qing Ge in Episode 17. Besides the big difference in personality, his guard reports that Ran Wu has secretly met with Wei Jiu which Su Yu believes Qing Ge wouldn’t do.
Ran Ran finds out that Ran Wu is only posing as Qing Ge in Episode 21 based on a formation that Ran Wu has set up. Su Yu postpones his marriage to Ran Wu with a flimsy excuse in Episode 23 after making used of her in a secret aim to lengthen his life. Wang Sui Zhi warns Ran Wu that Su Yu is manipulative and isn’t sincere towards her but she refuses to listen. She confronts Ran Ran when Su Yu plans to marry Ran Ran instead of her in Episode 26. They drop all pretenses about their identities during the confrontation.
Su Yu then orders Ran Wu to be killed for trying to hurt Ran Ran in Episode 27. He tells her that he already knew she is an impostor much earlier. Ran Wu is saved by Wang Sui Zhi. The latter knows her secret but helps her anyway because he loves her and she had saved his life in the past. This is revealed in Episode 29.
Ran Wu’s Fate
Ran Wu is unrepentant due to her hatred for her sister. She helps to free Ye Xin from the netherworld in Episode 30 in the hope that he can help her with her cultivation. She has to return all her powers to Ran Ran and breaks the lock that bound them together to save herself from a resentful soul’s attack in Episode 34. In Episode 36, she continues to work for Ye Xin because she wants him to bring her to a new world that he creates that will have no Qing Ge.
Ye Xin is angry at Ran Wu and casts a Life-Death Spell on her in Episode 38 when she fails to watch over Su Yu who has been taken away by Concubine Zhou. She is given 5 days to capture the child of the Green Dragon or she would face a painful death. Ran Wu captures the child in Episode 39 but Wang Sui Zhi wants her to stop her action and not to turn demonic. He has transferred the Life-Death Spell to himself to release her from Ye Xin’s control. Wang Sui Zhi then scatters his heart to break Ran Wu from the demonic forces that are engulfing her.
Before Wang Sui Zhi dies, he tells Ran Wu to lead a happy and peaceful life. He also pleads with Ran Ran to forgive Ran Wu as she has lost her cultivation powers and could do no harm. Wang Sui Zhi’s death causes Ran Wu to lose her sanity as he has always been by her side.
What Happened To Su Yu?
18 years after Qing Ge’s death, Su Yu has become ruthless and cruel. In Episode 21, it is revealed that he has been poisoned by his brother in a fight for the throne and does not have long to live. In order to lengthen his life, Su Yu has been killing cultivators for their golden cores to suppress a dragon that he has brought to his palace lake in Episode 24. To stop Su Yu, Yi Shui possesses the dragon’s body and learns that Su Yu intends to use a spell to merge with the dragon and ride on its longevity. He is putting everyone in the capital at risk with the dragon’s ferocity.
Knowing the Yi Shui has entered his palace to free the dragon, Su Yu changes his plan to capture Yi Shui and possesses his body instead in Episode 25. He wants both immortality as well as Ran Ran. He forces Ran Ran to marry him in Episode 26. Ran Ran pretends to agree to buy time to foil his plan. During their wedding ceremony in Episode 27, Yi Shui escapes with the dragon. After a brief fight, Su Yu’s plan fails. He couldn’t take over Yi Shui’s body and his primordial spirit has dissipated as a result in Episode 28. He is bitter that Ran Ran still chooses Yi Shui over him.
Ye Xin lets Su Yu live for another 6 months with a spell in Episode 30 but with diminishing senses. Su Yu realizes what Ye Xin is up to but is forced to listen to him. He is also tempted by the attractiveness of a perfect new world that Ye Xin wants to create due to his regrets. However, Concubine Zhou’s influences him against it in Episode 38.
Who Is Ye Xin?
Ye Xin is actually Dun Tian. He ascended to become an immortal by defeating the Mortal-Demon Lord hundreds of years ago. But his wife and daughters were killed when he chose to continue fighting the Mortal-Demon Lord rather than saving his family who had been held hostage. In Episode 30, it is revealed that Ye Xin tried to stop Qing Ge from sealing the Spirit Spring in the netherworld. In response, she sealed him up after a fight. Ran Wu sneakily releases him for her own selfish ends when Feng tells her to do so.
Feng is Su Yu’s trusted advisor but he is actually Ye Xin’s fragment. He gets close to Su Yu because he knows he can make use of the prince to free himself from Qing Ge’s seal. Ye Xin’s ultimate aim is to open up a new realm whereby his wife and daughters would be revived as he regretted sacrificing them to ascend. But he needs Yi Shui and Spirit Spring’s power in order to do so.
In Episode 31, it is revealed that he gave Ran Wu the lock and made used of her to kill Qing Ge. This is because Qing Ge had become too powerful that she was a hindrance to his plan. Yi Shui also realizes Ye Xin was the Magician advisor to his father after seeing his portrait in Episode 32.
Love Of The Divine Tree Review – Fresh Elements In A Fantasy Drama
Love Of The Divine Tree has elements of a xianxia drama with the typical rebirth storyline. I think once you have watched a few xianxia dramas, you will notice a pattern that points to recycled plots. So, scriptwriters have to be really creative and add in unique components to give freshness to the story. Love You Seven Times is one such example. While Love Of The Divine Tree is not strictly a xianxia drama as the protagonists are still mortals, it still has a very strong xianxia flavor. Rebirth, jealousy, amnesia, and demonic energy feature prominently in the saga. These are all the usual xianxia fares.
What makes the story different though is the way the protagonists’ relationship has been swapped around after the female lead’s rebirth. From being a master to the male lead, she is now his disciple. The relationship dynamics are switched and it is interesting to see the change. As the story progresses, the relationship between these 2 lovers also evolves due to their past identities. Thus, the story is refreshing in that sense.
The other factor that makes it different from a typical xianxia drama is its core story of human cultivators. Rather than the usual immortals versus demon lord saga, Love Of The Divine Tree takes a different path. It is more about human emotions that form the characters’ inner demons due to their life experiences. Feelings such as jealousy, regrets, guilt, and love drive the characters’ actions.
Interesting Characters
The protagonists are highly likable characters. The male protagonist, Yi Shui, is ruthless and coldhearted before turning into a good man, thanks to the female protagonist, Qing Ge. Hence, you can see his change and immense regret for his earlier deeds. I also really like Qing Ge for she is a cocky and badass kind of heroine. But her heart is full of kindness and she is always prepared to give others a chance to repent. Qing Ge’s reincarnation, Ran Ran, is more cutesy and weaker. But she is resolute and courageous to do what needs to be done rather than resigning to fate.
The other side characters are just as enjoyable to watch. The demon, Wei Jiu, is a comical fellow that you can’t take seriously despite his ambition and ego. Qing Ge’s disciple, Zeng Yi, is always at his wits end trying to handle Yi Shui and the latter’s growing affections for Ran Ran.
However, 2 of the villains are your average characters driven by jealousy because they can’t get the one they love. Their endings are kind of meh after all that they have done to harm others. It is also not hard to guess who the ultimate villain is halfway through the story. On the bright side, there is no demon lord to seal up for a typical xianxia finish. But on the downside, all the things that he has to do to achieve his aim is just a tad sensational.
Proper Ending
Love Of The Divine Tree has an ending that is properly accounted for. It is not a complicated story but the villain does need to do a few things to achieve his goal. Therefore, why he does certain things and how they happen need to be laid out for the story to make sense especially towards the end. The script needs to put them together in a coherent way. I think all these aspects are well-explained that it is hard to spot a plot hole.
The last episode is not rushed and the ending doesn’t feel forced unlike Moonlight Mystique. Neither does it leave you with an open interpretation like The Longest Promise. Instead, it takes the time to wrap things up in a satisfying manner. About half of the last episode finishes up the battle with the main villain. The remaining half is left to give a proper account of the characters’ lives.
I feel it is better this way than the trend of having a short bonus episode to give viewers what they want especially for costume dramas. This one bucks the trend. The pacing is well-planned to ensure it has time left to give viewers a fulfilling ending.
Acting & Chemistry
Deng Wei is definitely better here in his acting compared to Lost You Forever. I see much improvement with his greater array of emotions. Playing Yi Shui, the actor needed to show both the good and evil side of the character. I think he did well to project those different facets of this complex role. Yi Shui changes throughout the story switching between good and bad as his heart is infused with demonic energy. Deng Wei handled this pretty effortlessly. His acting is convincing and you can detect the change in the character.
Similarly, Julia Xiang also has to play a character that underwent a transformation through a rebirth. Her portrayal of Qing Ge makes the character full of confidence and sassiness. Then, she has to change her acting a little to depict Qing Ge’s reincarnation as someone more cutesy and friendly. In other words, the actress has to make the character different and yet, the same. I feel that she was able to bring out the subtle difference required for the 2 roles quite well. I first noticed Julia Xiang in Forever Love and then Love In Time. She is still very young and there should be plenty of opportunities for her to move up if she picks the right projects.
The chemistry between Deng Wei and Julia Xiang is on point in Love Of The Divine Tree. They look sweet together with their petty fights as well as serious talks. Thus, their romance becomes becomes a pleasure to watch.
My Verdict – Good With Some Complaints
Love Of The Divine Tree is indeed a good xianxia-like drama to watch. At the very least, it doesn’t follow a typical xianxia plot with some unique elements being added in for a fresher story. So, no hypocritical immortal emperor here to spoil your mood! The story centers around a bunch of human cultivators instead. However, it still has some parts that are standard xianxia themes. For instance, the female protagonist’s sister’s extreme jealousy is a big part of the story. You will find her annoying.
In addition, there is an amnesia arc for the male protagonist which is kind of draggy to me. Perhaps it is because the amnesia plot line is so common in this genre that I’d wished it could be quickly got over and done with. Furthermore, it feels repetitive because the female character also can’t recall her past life. So, you have 2 protagonists who can’t remember their past at one stage or another. You also can’t run away from the self-sacrifice and saving one another trope.
I can’t say that the drama is boring though and I didn’t really give in to the urge to skip any episodes. However, I think it would have been better if the story a bit more compact with a few episodes less. So, for this review of Love Of The Divine Tree, I would give it a score of 7.5/10. Be prepared for some cliche xianxia plot lines but the unique elements should provide a good measure of originality. Watch if you are a Deng Wei fan as he has shown improvement here. It would also be a great choice if you are a sucker for rebirth and romance dramas.
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