The Desolate Era莽荒纪 • Records of Barbarian Ji of the Primeval Era

Started well... then just got worse and worse. Eventually dropped

Dropped at Book 18 ch 5

Ended up just reading the wiki, the plot was getting annoying for me.


My dao heart is too weak

This one is a really good one so far. It is really different from other xixnia as it actually builds a world that feels real and let's the mc grow in it.
If you expect one of those mcs that's gets isekaied and instantly becomes an emotionless murder Maschine that doesn't make any mistakes, leave.
If you want an actually story with a mc that acts like a real human with emotions and flaws then this is defiantly a recommendation.
I really don't understand how there are so many people complaining how he makes mistakes... Like I know you never made a single mistake in your life, but not everyone can be as perfect as you. There are some mistakes that are just stupid like not giving a f#ck about people he knows and then wondering why they died. But overall most mistakes here make sense in the context of his personality and situations.
It defiantly isn't perfect though and also a bit bland. But for a xixnxoa it is defiantly a sold A- tier so far.

Is this worth reading? I've read the first few chapters and it did not really feel special, underwhelming, even. I've heard about the legends and myths the novel started with in so many novels multiple times that it just felt... overused. Nuwa, Yellow Spring, Golden Crow, Primordial somethingIdon'tremember, Pangu, Grandma Peng (not sure) etc, though they should be normal since they are part of famous Chinese folklore and mythology but just too normal right?

The levels aren't that interesting too, the future paths were laid bare in the first chapters. Then apparently he was kind and came from the same hometown of an influential figure so he was meant to be a high-level being upon rebirth at some divine realm but because of some restriction his power would only be enough to be a knight in there or some sort. Then, he stared at an unknown painting and he got an op meditation skill. Then coincidentally a powerful figure came and caused trouble in the rebirth process so he ended himself up in the mortal realm but he had that op skill so he can grow powerful easily. He was then proclaimed as a genius and with his father being an influential figure in their clan also he can get anything he want. The smooth cultivation process is great but just... for example, the first few chapters actually had not much event happening or conflict (aside from that brief problem in the underworld but i can't even call that problem since he immediately succeeded in bypassing the portal) so there's no chill, no excitement, no blood boiling, no interesting facts, no ominous foreshadowing, just... that. I have no other novels to read currently so I'm desperate to find a hidden gem so I really need a reason to keep going since I would love a novel with more than a thousand chap again.

This cultivation novel is one of the better ones ive read until now even tho it also has its flaws some of which are chars, mc (is kinda bland and also not realy that good of a char some as most other chars in the novel) , sometimes plot , plot predictability (it was way to easy to guess what happens) and other stuff that sometimes made it more average than it had to be.
But i still liked it, not many things were forced and it is in my opinion a very good start for people who didnt read that much cultivation, since it doesnt use many plot devices, which normaly for an unexperienced reader can be hard to understand why/how they work.
There are also good things like some people below already said not many things are forced (even tho in this case it made many things to obvious) or that the pace is good despite it sometimes go in one of the two directions to much.
Otherthings would be relativly rare use of annoying stuff coming his way.
(This point here is both good and bad) The mc first of is way to lucky aswell as breaks through in levels way to often in fights (it is extremly noticable) espically compared to other people he also is sometimes kinda retarded and brings pressure/'danger' onto himself that is totally unnessary even tho he isnt fully at all times under it i personaly didnt like that very much, even tho later it isnt that bad anymore it still is for sometime realy annoying seeing the second divine retard of death here but hey its not that bad in truth.
Also the ending is ok better than in most novels even tho its simple/obvious.
In the end mainly because of those flaws as well as some decisions made by the author i would give it a 6,5-7 as an novel and for the same reason a 7,5-8 as an cultivation novel.
One thing to note tho is i definitivly think its worth a read espically if you are relativly new/unexperienced to cultivation and like it in general.
For experienced readers it can be both it say in general it is better than average but because somethings that are in it it can very well be seen as below average or unreadable for more experienced people. Reasons for that are mainly (it isnt that much of a spoiler but some people way not like it)
(Btw people who say its above 9 have clearly never read truly good cultivation novels or even good novels in general or simply dont have much exp in it would be at most 9 if you truly errdicated all flaws etc out of the novel made it one level better and than you would have 9/10 but otherwise i cant think of a way you could pass it of as 9/10 (well the most likely possibilty is in fact that they dont know how to grade things 5/10 is average afterall the only way it would come even close to 9/10 is if you consider all that trash what we have as WN in the equation)same is ture for people who truly think its below 4/10 (atleast if you dont consider personal enjoyment))

I've read tens of 1000+ chapter cultivation novels and this one is by far my favourite, purely because there is no "forced" conflict. No young masters I mean. When he joins the strongest sect, it doesn't turn out that it was the weakest branch that's struggling to stay afloat. When he shows off how awesome he is, no elders on his side try to suppress him. When he cultivates, he stays in seclusion and analyses techniques to increase his comprehension of the Dao. This is the only cultivation novel of this level that I've read where ACTUAL cultivation is such a large part of it, and it makes me truly happy.

For reference, I've read this 3 times from start to finish.

From the creator of Coiling Dragon Ring and Stellar Transformations here is another mortal to god cultivation novel.

Ji Ning is a competent main character with lofty ambitions and the talent to back it up. He starts from the lowest level of cultivation and walks his own path all the way to the top.

If you’re looking for a good cultivation novel, look no further, it is here.

While Desolate Era isn’t perfect, it is better than most other novels in the same genre. It has some arcs that drag, and plot holes that didn’t get filled but it’s no slouch when it wraps everything up.

Solid 4.5

P.S. if you have read IET novels before than you know his romance is never in your face and is a bit more subtle so don’t expect a bunch of romance.

Also, if you’re interested, check out my bookmarks for more novel recommendations.

I have just completely finished reading this novel, what can I say? It was good, very good, there were ups and downs, there were places where MC annoyed me so much that I didn't read the novel for weeks, there's really terrible romance here hahaha, but no matter how I find fault with this novel, I love it, I fell in love with this novel and I can't help it, I'm very I am glad to the ending that the author did not destroy the novel and everything ended perfectly, do I advise you to read this novel or not? Definitely, it needs to be read, the MC at the beginning of the novel can be very, very annoying, but as time passes, the MC is gaining new momentum, so be patient. In general, I was very pleased with this novel

I read this novel and dropped it at book 6 chapter 37.

Pros
-This novel has a fully fleshed out power system and universe with a long history from the start.
-The powers in the novel are either cool as heck or at minimum passable (I mean punching is punching you know) The MC gets access to some cool powers that stimulate the imagination and would make for some cool pictures.
-The world the MC was in had some interesting places with plenty to explore. It was basically boundless, although I dropped before he got too far.

Cons
-The MC has made a couple stupid decisions, some of them he regrets, but some of them he gets away with while having no significant repercussions
-Some arcs or mini-arcs of the story seem to follow the generic cliche of revenge-chains or just enemy-chains. MC will fight disciple, then core disciple, then master, and so on.
-The MC seems to break through in battle a lot and it always conveniently happens when he would lose,die, suffer otherwise. Normally I don't care, but when it happens too often it's just plot armor.

Some people don't care about these cons and if that's you then you will love the novel, but for me the way the character acted and the way the plot developed was simply frustrating. If I had to rate it purely based on my personal enjoyment I would give it a 3/10. I only read so far because I thought it would get better but I just couldn't continue.

If you do try this novel be aware that you should fully read the synopsis and that even then the first chapter may be a bit confusing due to the way it drops you in.

this novel might feel good for beginners but it's not for people who read many cultivation novels. I tried reading till book 10 and kind of dropped at that. The world building was nice although MC was so annoying atleast for me.