Where to Start with Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, often abbreviated as MXTX, is a Chinese web novelist whose three completed series have become a global phenomenon. Writing in the danmei genre (Boys’ Love fiction with male romantic leads), she published her novels on the Chinese platform JJWXC between 2015 and 2019. All three have been adapted into animated series, and one inspired the live-action drama The Untamed, which became an international hit. Her work blends xianxia world-building, mystery, humor, and emotionally devastating romance into stories that have attracted readers far beyond the traditional danmei audience. The official English translations, published by Seven Seas Entertainment, became New York Times bestsellers.
Start here
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Vol. 1
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu · 396 pages · 2021 · Moderate
Themes: cultivation, redemption, romance, mystery, morality
The first volume of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s debut novel, published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. Wei Wuxian, once the most talented cultivator of his generation, was destroyed after experimenting with forbidden demonic arts. Thirteen years later, he is resurrected in a stranger’s body and reunited with Lan Wangji, the stoic, rule-bound cultivator who was once his rival. Together, they begin investigating a series of supernatural incidents that lead back to the secrets of Wei Wuxian’s past life.
Why Start Here
Of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s three novels, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is the best entry point. It is shorter than Heaven Official’s Blessing, more structurally focused than The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, and its mystery-driven plot provides immediate momentum. You know from the first chapter that something terrible happened to Wei Wuxian, and unraveling what it was, and who was truly responsible, keeps you turning pages through all five volumes.
It is also the novel that showcases MXTX’s range most clearly. The humor is sharper here than in her other works, the horror sequences are genuinely unsettling, and the central relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji has a slow-burn intensity that rewards patience. Wei Wuxian’s voice, irreverent and warm and masking real pain, is one of the most distinctive narrative voices in contemporary Chinese fiction.
The world-building is intricate but approachable. Cultivation clans operate like rival families with their own techniques, politics, and grudges. The system of spiritual cultivation, from sword flying to musical exorcism, is inventive and internally consistent. You learn the rules as the characters use them, which keeps the exposition from ever feeling heavy.
What to Expect
A 396-page first volume with a dual-timeline structure that alternates between past and present. The tone moves between comedy, mystery, and genuine horror, with the romance developing gradually beneath the surface. Interior illustrations by Marina Privalova are included. This is the start of a five-volume series, and while each volume advances the mystery significantly, the full emotional impact builds across the complete work.
Alternatives
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu · 420 pages · 2021 · Moderate
The first volume of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s longest and most ambitious novel. Xie Lian, the Crown Prince of Xianle, ascended to godhood at seventeen, fell from grace twice, and now wanders the mortal realm as a junk collector after eight hundred years of misfortune. When he accidentally ascends for a third time, he is dispatched to investigate a ghost haunting a mountain pass, where he meets the enigmatic Hua Cheng, the feared Ghost King of Tonglu Mountain.
Why This One
If you have already read Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and want more of MXTX’s work, Heaven Official’s Blessing is the next step. It is her most expansive novel: eight volumes that build an entire cosmology of squabbling gods, ancient grudges, and a love story that spans eight centuries. The world is larger, the emotional stakes are higher, and the payoff is extraordinary.
Xie Lian is a different kind of protagonist than Wei Wuxian. Where Wei Wuxian is sharp and irreverent, Xie Lian is gentle, self-deprecating, and seemingly ordinary despite his divine status. His kindness has survived centuries of betrayal, and watching MXTX slowly reveal the depths of what he has endured is one of the most powerful reading experiences in the genre.
The heaven she imagines is not serene. It is a bureaucracy full of vain gods who care more about their temples and follower counts than about the mortals below. The satire is pointed and funny, and it gives the story a social dimension that elevates it beyond a simple romance.
What to Expect
A 420-page first volume that establishes the world, the central mystery, and the relationship between Xie Lian and Hua Cheng. The pace is more leisurely than Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, with more world-building and a broader cast. The tone balances humor, adventure, and slowly mounting emotional weight. This is the beginning of an eight-volume series, and the full scope of the story takes time to unfold. Patient readers will be richly rewarded.