litRPG (which this novel is not, and I have yet to try properly, that's what the KU free trial is for)

I didn't like the humor. Or rather, whatever humor I did like was not enough to make me like the book as a whole. How the rice grew. How “nutrients” affect the soil. How things connected in a way it could somehow understand, despite never hearing of such things before.Yun Ren had taken to sparring a bit with Tigu, after the whole debacle at the Dueling Peaks. The girl was actually a fairly good teacher— and then Xiulan, Bi De, and Jin had all joined in. It was called the Stone Gate. An impressive, foreboding sight, with the roaring crash of the thundering rapids occasionally defeated by the wind screaming through the Howling Fang Mountains, an interplay that produced a haunting melody. And Xiulan was optimistic for the future, she really was. It would be hard, but she believed that they could overcome any obstacle. They reached the town at noon exactly, the sun directly overhead. They were into the Grass Sea now, where most of the sects of the Azure Hills operated.

An enormous set of rapids dominated the pass, the churning river disgorging a thundering cascade that would flow down into the distant Pale Moon Lake. The ground started filled with the lush green grasses of the Azure Hills, before transitioning to a more desolate landscape of pines and craggy boulders bigger than the largest buildings squatting along the pass like silent guardians. I did not realize how much this genre needed a book like this. Irreverent in a wonderfully earnest way. Whitty and funny and a book that succeeds in making you feel while not taking itself too seriously. Excellent worldbuilding with organic exposition and the best damn rooster any man could ask for. Probably? But it was an excuse to iron out all those little details, and make it better than it was. And more in tune with feng shui, which was a real thing here.This webnovel stands out not for having a cool idea on how to deconstruct a setting (he takes the piss out of the xianxia genre, deservedly) but for spinning a touching, character-focused story out of that. Il y a beaucoup de subversion du genre de cultivation dans ce roman, une histoire par ailleurs sympathique et bien menée, des personnages attachants. Et, par contre, si vous voulez des scènes d'actions, inutile de le lire, ce n'est absolument pas le focus de l'histoire. Gou Ren shrugged. “I can afford it. I got my cut of the cash for the harvest. It's shitloads of money… more than I kind of know what to do with.” This reads a little like a deconstruction of the genre, what with all the criticism peppered at the arrogance, entitlement, and overall destructive nature of cultivators, presumably the Canadian author speaking with the protagonist's voice against the more problematic aspects on an otherwise beloved genre. I wouldn't know, as this was the first novel of the sort I've managed to get invested in enough to read through the first volume. Perhaps having read a few more classical and cliche counterparts would have given me some context to view the book in a different light, but I must now play the hand I've been dealt. Not many details are known about Rou Jin’s life before transmigrating, which he refers to as the Before, beyond the facts that he was originally from Canada, he had a good relationship with his family and he has had experience working in a farm. Remembering his old life causes him such discomfort that he prefers to avoid thinking about it altogether.

Next is a Carnivine, which debuted in the Chapter "the Maiden of the Mist" this volume. These massive Spirit Plants are native to whats known as the Deep Fenns, an area of the Misty Lake that his pervaded by a poisonous fog. Most of the time, they're about the size of a man, and can actually be fought off by mortals. But Given enough food, these Spirit Plants can grow to the size of palaces—an ecological disaster in the making. As with Battle Mage Domestication by Seth Ring, Jin goes about farming differently. It's never explained how new Jin because a much more powerful cultivator than the original Jin, but it's apparent through his actions that he is. He buys a plot of land in a qi starved area at the edge of the empire and sets up shop.

Because while an adventure was all well and good, it was sharing that adventure with one’s family that truly made the difference. Scared and distrustful of cultivators -> accepting that he has to engage in it and that cultivators are as varied and potentially good as mortals Hell yeah! Do you know how great it is to be able to eat meat and not get the shits?” She demanded. Seriously, the humor was broad and with a heart to it that drew me in completely. I'm calling this an easy five stars and only wish I knew who to recommend it to because it is just so weird. Character arcs are almost always interesting in their development and satisfying in their conclusion, and often tie into important setting details: the dangers of doing too many drugs in the pursuit of power, the weight and restrictions of martial arts sect politics, and so on. And, remarkably for a genre that's heavy on power fantasy and (very) low on internal consistency, there's quite a bit of effort spent in explaining how a world with exponential power differences works, politically.

But before that happens the old Jin Rou's soul leaves and a new one steps in. This one is from Canada in the present day, and wants to bring some modern amenities to his life in medieval Xiansia China. Summer’s Sky thanks Eighth Master ,’ the sword, a jian blade, intoned, speaking directly into his mind. It was a little weird and it tingled sometimes, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The sword rattled. ‘ Another new blend? Approval. ’ She was Big Little Sister, like Chunky said! Or… Tianlan Shan, like those other ones said? That one sounded right too... Or was she Fa Ram? Or was she “Mother Earth?”And btw, I hope you don't think I'm saying this just to complain. My intentions are to outline why I'm struggling to enjoy the story right now, and what needs to be done to fix it for this one reader. There's a balance between slice of life and plot for readers who don't like slice of life just for the sake of it, and you're not getting that balance right currently. Volume two spends way less time with the MC, which is interesting. At this point, he's hardly needed. As I said, he's boring and acts more like a hub for the actual active ingredients in the pot.