Heaven Official's Blessing Vol. 6 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Heaven Official's Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The story of Xie Lian, the trice-ascended god, and Hua Cheng, the king of ghosts, continues where it left in the previous volume. They’re in the ghost realm, striving to reach the volcano where the ghosts will battle over who will emerge as the ghost supreme. Their job is to prevent anyone from becoming one.

Their journey takes them inside a system of caves that turns out to be Hua Cheng’s old lair. There, finally, Xie Lian learns just how far in the past their connection reaches. Nan Feng and Fu Yao (now in their true forms) are determined to keep the two apart, but they only manage to make Xie Lian declare his feelings for Hua Cheng in one of the sweetest scenes of the series so far.

But opposing force is at work too. White No-Face, who Xie Lian fears more than anything, shows up. Despite all their efforts, he reaches the volcano, and the final battle commences. But the combatants aren’t who Xie Lian thought they would be.

The rest of the volume takes place in the past. We learn why Xie Lian fears White No-Face, and it’s a tragic and heartbreaking story. Xie Lian is on the run with his parents and attendants, the future gods Mu Qing and Feng Xin, after the fall of Xianle. Things are dire and Xie Lian becomes more and more disillusioned with people around him who he’s worked so hard to protect.

When Xie Lian is at his lowest point, White No-Face appears. It’s a story of mental manipulation and physical torture, and it works. Reader follows in disbelief as Xie Lian sheds his godhood to become an instrument of avenge.

But there are small things around him trying to make him see the good in the world. A compassionate human, and a persistent ghost determined to make him remember who he is. But White No-Face is too powerful, and they might be too late.

This was one of the best volumes so far with true tragedy and growth. And for once, it didn’t end in the middle of a scene or at cliffhanger but with a new beginning for Xie Lian. But the present-day battle inside the volcano is yet to come. It’ll be an agony to wait for the next volume to be translated.