hey! i haven’t answered something like this yet, so i hope it’s okay that i do this publicly since i have noticed that i’ve Not Shut Up about this series lately. (oops.)
魔道祖师, Mo Dao Zu Shi, is a chinese BL web novel by author Moxiang Tongxiu. the title is often localised as The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation.
it’s a xianxia (chinese semi-historical fantasy) story about a dude who makes funny jokes about solving his problems with necromancy until they’re not jokes anymore! it explores themes of unreliable narration, class injustice, the tragedy of choice and reputation, the pros and cons of true love, generational trauma, the impossibility of making moral choices in times of war, and bunnies.
- a completed english fan-translation by exiled rebels
- a completed audio drama adaptation, fansubbed by suibian subs here
- an ongoing donghua (cartoon) adaptation, localized as The Founder Of Diabolism, which streams for free on the tencent youtube with multilingual subs
- an ongoing manhua (comic) adapatation. the english license appears to be here (search “mo dao zu shi”), with the first 100 chapters being free.
- a spinoff short-form chibi donghua called MDZS Q, also on the tencent youtube
- and, prominently, a completed live action adaptation titled 陈情令, Chen Qing Ling, localized as The Untamed. this one’s on netflix!
that last one is probably the most popular form of it in western fandom! the original novel and audio drama are explicitly gay (and also just explicit in general) (i strongly recommend being over 18 for this one.) but due to censorship, the donghua and live action make it subtextual. the live action also makes a few other structural and design changes, but the basic progression of the story is comparable. when i say they make it subtextual, i mean they had to take out the kissing, sex, and elopement, but the intense decades of death-defying yearning and devotion are still there. you can feel it. you can feel the love!!!
my personal favourite version of the story is the novel, and the audio drama is the most faithful adaptation, so that’s the version i would recommend the most, but all forms are plenty enjoyable! the main couple are very extremely in love! it is not at all their fault i’ve chosen to hyperfixate on the miserable side characters instead!!