Deng Lun was made for his role in this show, and had it been another actor, it is very possible I wouldn't have loved this show as much as I did. There are literal full episodes I will skip in this show as I just didn't care for a lot of the side plots and storylines. By the second half of the show, it starts to go downhill and fast. Especially as Jinmi's character goes from lighthearted and fun to -groan- dang near despicable and annoying, and Xufeng isn't in a lot of these later episodes due to well, you'll see.
It is a long show, that could have been shortened for greater impact. Lots of annoying soap dramatics and ridiculousness that I wish had been done very differently or taken out entirely. A lot of subplots and things that also just don't even make sense.. which I am noticing more and more happens a lot in this type of genre. I also wish the second male lead was cast with someone entirely differently, and incorporated into the story in a manner that could actually cause a very big second lead syndrome to make the war in the end even more heartbreaking and understanding. From start to finish I did not like the second male lead. I also grew really tired of all of the plotting and manipulations and dramatics from the many villains of the show. So much soap when all I wanted was romantics. There were a lot of characters I really hated watching and wished were cast or presented differently.

There is a lot I have qualms with about this show .. so why the high rating and why do I still love this show?

Deng Lun is an absolute gem. He is attractive and charming, and the scenes they do have in falling in love and being together are so sweet and endearing. I haven't been able to watch his other romance shows with the same effect .. This character must have fit him so well. I keep trying to imagine different people cast for this story but it is hard for me to imagine anyone else who could be better for his role in my opinion. I feel like I rewatch this just to see him falling in love.
Production was done well in my opinion. The costumes are beautiful, the fantasy scenes and landscapes are beautiful, and even when some of the graphics or filming are very obviously film/theatre/cgi, I didn't really mind. As for the writing, I really enjoyed some of the comedic scenes and some of the sweeter side characters and plot lines. The light hearted ones were a breath of fresh air from all the doom and gloom. I loved a lot of the internal thoughts and silliness. Even the innocent misunderstandings. I still laugh at a few.

Every time I think about Ashes of Love I keep thinking about all of the ways this story had so much potential to be so much better, but I can't imagine them being able to remake this in a way to fix all of the many shortcomings of its predecessor successfully without perfect casting and impeccable planning and writing. I really don't know of any actor who would be better for the main male lead than Deng Lun. The actors and actresses would have to have amazing synergy and it's hard to imagine which current actors/actresses could even play which parts. The main leads would be incredibly important. The story would have to be improved significantly, and the many mistakes of the original ironed out.
To be fair, the reason I even consider any of this is because of how much I enjoyed the show. Otherwise I wouldn't even consider what it'd be like to remake the story. Any remake would have to be better than the original, otherwise there is no point.

I can see why a lot of people don't like this show.. but I can also see why it is so incredibly popular too. There is a reason why with every new fantasy Xianxia this show is often brought up in comparison.

My summary. There is a lot about this show I don't like.. but I keep coming back to it. Deng Lun was perfect for his role. When the show is bad, it is really bad, but the parts that are good, are really good. If you're like me, you'll end up rewatching the few episodes and scenes that are worthwhile just because they're so sweet and learn to skip over all the annoying ones (which can be more than the sweet scenes in number unfortunately). The scenes of them falling in love and getting to know one another over time are really cute. The love scenes are so sweet.

This is actually the first show that made me look for other Xianxia style shows because of how much I enjoyed it. I've watched quite a few now, all because of this show, and they all have a lot of the same problems. I'm always looking forward to creators making this genre so much better, because the potential is definitely there. I will say, there is not another Xianxia I have seen that I've liked better than this show, despite how many things I've found wrong with it.
If you have any interest in this genre, this show is a must see.