I see a lot of people have rated this very highly and maybe it’s because I've watched too many drama's over the years that it takes something quite special for me to give a rating of above 9. In my honest opinion this drama was great and had a very intriguing but sometimes cliche story.
Cheng Yi was by far the standout performance in this show from beginning to end. It broke my heart every time his character suffered but it got to the point where I was waiting for him to be hurt as it happened almost EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. If you play a drinking game where you took a shot every time he spat blood, you would probably be too drunk to finish the drama.
He is such a multifaceted actor and I could not imagine a better person to play SF. I am a sucker when guys start to cry because it's so much more painful to watch and you don't see it as often as appose to females as they are seen crying all the time. I've seen him before in the Nobel Aspirations series as the second ML but found him quite stoic and not very memorable. Could have just been due to the writing though and not a reflection of his talent. Nonetheless, he knocked it out of the park with this performance and I hope that his popularity will continue to rise as I cannot wait to see more projects from him.
Crystal Yuan played the FL lead well, but she did not impress during the emotional scenes. She was convincing as the playful XJ in the earlier episodes but lost her spark midway through when things got more intense. She was in no way stiff but did not convincingly portray deep sorrowful emotions. I am sure that after watching episode 48, you as the audience would probably cry more than she did on screen. Savage but the truth.
Their chemistry was undeniable though and I feel like a lot of people can/will overlook a lot of flaws in the drama because of this.
In terms of the story, I like how it was not super predictable and did have a few mysteries in there to keep you interested. One of the main reasons why this story is appealing (especially for the female audience) is the idea of a love story that transcends 10 lifetimes. One of its main flaws is the FL just seems soooooooooooooooo heartless in all of them except from the last one. I would have liked to see more of the 9 lifetimes when the FL finally realises, she loves him and suffers knowing she killed him. This is another one of the story's flaws as it seems like SF is literally the only one suffering, repeatedly. Some would argue that the XJ also suffered especially in episodes 48-51 but in my view, it wasn't nearly as much as SF.
SF suffered ALL throughout the drama trying to protect her. At the start I could understand that she did not have the correct senses to even know what suffering is but after she got her senses back, she still did not suffer that much. I am in no way a masochist that likes seeing others suffer but damn, these writers were hell bent on making SF shoulder EVERYTHING all the way to the very end.
This drama is not without flaws but has an amazing cast who are all talented. I really enjoyed the snake lord character as he provided some much needed comical relieve in a lot of the episodes. LL, XJ sister was also a great character who was brave, loyal and feisty. She also portrayed emotions beautifully and the scene where she abandons her dad and home for the love of her life was super heart-breaking. The music was good and played at the right moments to evoke your emotions. This is definitely a great drama and it's been awhile since we've had an epic love story like this so I can understand the hype.
Must watch drama but obviously it's 59 episodes so I would recommend starting it when you have time as you will quickly get addicted. Also prepare tissues as you will need them. If you’re watching with friends than please try out my drinking game I mentioned earlier as I would love to know how it plays out LOL

Happy watching guys!!