VAULT Comics – the best in science fiction, fantasy, and horror graphic novels!
Alchemy * Magic * Secrets
In this world, knowledge is power. And power is everything.
Lu Jie woke up in a world filled with scheming sects, arrogant young masters, and the mad chase for the immortal heavens. He wanted none of it. But his plan to escape the sect is interrupted by an old Alchemist’s pills that heal him within moments—a magical cure.
These medicines ignite the flame of curiosity to learn true magic, rekindling his love of discovery. Lu Jie sets out to study the immutable truths hidden within the world and soon finds a new path of cultivation that could take him to the very top. The path of science.
Modern Chinese fantasy genres have already made their way into the global literary scene, and many Western readers are eager to read them for the first time. One of these is xianxia, a subgenre that incorporates Chinese mythology. To be considered xianxia, a story must include a specific story arc. Just as the romance genre should end in a Happily Ever After or Happy For Now, xianxia should be about humans seeking immortality. When reading a synopsis of a xianxia story, the term “cultivation” almost always comes up because the characters in a xianxia story “cultivate” powers from the sect they join.
“Cultivation,” in this context, means the quest for immortality and supernatural abilities. Another subgenre, wuxia, is often confused with xianxia. While wuxia operates alongside xianxia, as it also features a cultivation arc, it’s mostly a historical fantasy or alternate history, whereas xianxia draws upon Buddhism, Taoism, and traditional Chinese medicine to craft its worldbuilding. Because these two share a common theme, the definitions have blurred in popular usage. But the most important distinction is that xianxia stories are typically about cultivation to achieve immortality.
Then there’s xuanhuan, which defies all traditional storytelling rules in xianxia or wuxia by allowing authors to make their own.
Like wuxia and xuanhuan, most xianxia stories are available as web novels, with manhua being rare exceptions. The web novel versions are more common than manhua, as not all xianxia stories receive the manhua treatment; only the bestsellers do.
If this is your first time reading a xianxia, you’re in luck. The stories listed below already have successful web novels, but the manhua version improves the overall reading experience. As is the norm, these stories revolve around cultivation, the desire to seek immortality or break free from the bonds of mortal life.
Xianxia stories are accessible on platforms such as Royal Road, Web Novel, and Wuxia World, but their manhua adaptations may be harder to come by. If there is one, it may not be readable to a general English-speaking audience.
Here are your eight introductions to xianxia comics:
The Husky and His White Cat Shizun by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou, illustrated by Yuan Dian Gezi Manhua
This is a popular danmei novel that follows a tyrant-turned-human.
Tyrant Taxian-jun defeated all of his opponents and became the mortal realm’s first emperor. Still, he remains unhappy and has some enemies on his side. Nobody seems to love him, so he kills himself.
As he reincarnates as his younger self, Mo Ran, he joins the cultivation sect Sisheng Peak. In his new life, he plans to exact revenge on those who mistreated him, particularly Chu Wanning, the cultivation teacher who betrayed him.
As he executes his evil plans, he realizes there’s more to the cultivation teacher than he expected.
Song of the Sky Pacers by Xia Da
Set in the Chen Dynasty, concubine Jing gives birth to twins: a boy and a girl. The boy is born with a cinnabar mole, or a wisdom mole, on his forehead, and the girl has six fingers. Because of the girl’s rare condition, she is abandoned by her family.
Fortunately, she’s raised by a kind-hearted person, whereas the boy grows up to be a disciple.
Chong Zi by Shu Ke
This is a romance xianxia that captures the star-crossed lovers trope. Chong Zi has demonic blood in her veins, but she’s generally kind-hearted. She’s the daughter of the demon King Ni Lun, so people naturally question her allegiances. The immortal Chu Bufu rescues her from a grim fate.
Chong Zi then becomes a disciple of Luo Yinfan, the protector of Xianmen, who accepts her despite her past and deliberately ignores a prophecy that she will one day be like her father—a demon. But a conspiracy involving her background forces him to kill her.
She lives again and returns to her former master and lover, Luo Yinfan, who recognizes her. Once again, she becomes the subject of the same conspiracy. To defend herself against her attackers, she’s forced to use her demonic abilities.
The Master of Diabolism by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and Luo Di Cheng Qiu
This is a manhua adaptation of a best-selling web novel about two powerful men whose fates become entangled.
Wei Wuxian was once a powerful cultivator. Not long after, he experimented with demonic cultivation, which eventually led to his demise at the hands of enemies.
After 13 years, he’s reborn. With the help of a young man who sacrifices his soul just so Wei Wuxian can carry out his revenge, he meets another cultivator named Lan Wangji, who stays by his side and guides him in the right direction.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality by Wang Yu
Han Li, a poor and ordinary village boy, joins the Seven Mysteries Sect in Jianghu. He’s accepted as a disciple by the leader Mo Juren.
Being poor, he’s at a significant disadvantage. But through this sect and the help of his master, he discovers his path to immortality.
I Shall Seal the Heavens by Er Gen
This is probably one of the most well-known xianxia stories in China.
Meng Hao, a young scholar, is forced to join a sect of immortal cultivators. Without knowledge of this brand new world, he’s vulnerable to strong cultivators.
He must quickly learn the ropes or fail to survive in their world. With the help of his Confucian and Daoist background, as well as his unwavering determination to win against all odds, he stands a chance to adapt.
Heaven Official’s Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and STARember
Xie Lian, a former crowned prince who ascended as a god, is exiled from the heavens. It’s been 800 years since he was mortal and ascended, but he’s now a disgrace in heaven.
As he ascends to godhood for the third time, it causes a conflict among his fellow gods. With no followers to back him up to regain his godhood, he descends into the mortal realm to pay his debts and reverse the curse on him.
Along the way in the human world, he meets a young man with whom he forms a strong bond.
Zhu Xian (Celestial Destroyer) by Xiao Ding
The story follows Zhang Xiao Fan, a boy from Grass Temple Village. As a young boy, he loves to play with other children in the village, but one day, his life changes forever. He and his friend Lin Jing Yu are suddenly caught up in a fight between a monk and an assassin.
His village is destroyed, and everyone dies except him and his friend. Fortunately, the Qing Yun Sect takes them in. Lin Jing Yu becomes such a strong disciple that many masters praise him, while Zhang Xiao Fan fails to meet the expectations.
Nonetheless, despite his initial difficulties, one master accepts him as a student.
Xianxia, and by extension, wuxia and xuanhuan, may not be as popular in the English-speaking world as traditional book genres, but they are enjoyed by many in Asia and are now being discovered by others.
Just like xianxia, here are other genres of literature popular in languages that aren’t English.
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