Swords of Legends

Synopsis

Set in the Tang dynasty, a young boy named Han Yunxi (Li Yifeng) is infected by the aura of an ancient demonic sword known as the Sword of Burning Solitude. After his entire tribe was killed, he was brought to You Du by Sword Deity Yinzhen, where he meets Feng Qingxue (Yang Mi), who saved his life. Qingxue is part of the immortal order in You Du governed by Goddess Nuwa, who ensures that all ancient magical swords are properly sealed from the mortal realm. In an attempt to re-seal the ancient demonic sword, the people of You Du almost killed Yunxi, whose lifeforce is tied to the sword. To ensure his safety, Yunxi was brought to Tian Yong Cheng (Sword Guild City) by Ziyin, where he was given the name of Bali Tusu and trained as a swordsman together with his senior brother Ling Yue (William Chan).

Years later, while slaying demons, Tusu meets Ouyang Shaogong (Qiao Zhenyu), who is on a quest to find a jade ornament that will help him create a resurrection elixir to revive his lover, Princess Xunfang (Gillian Chung), who died in a flood. They are joined by Qingxue, who left You Du to search for Yunxi and her long-lost brother Feng Guangmo (Vengo Gao) who disappeared 11 years ago after the massacre of Wu Meng Valley; Fan Lansheng (Ma Tianyu), a young master who seeks to escape an arranged marriage and a fox-turned human Xiang Ling (Zheng Shuang) who is searching for her parents.

Eventually, Shao Gong succeeds in making the resurrection elixir and Tu Su's mother is awakened. Only then does Tu Su discover that Shao Gong has secretly endangered his mother. Shao Gong intends to use the jade ornament to control Tu Su and use him to assist his grand dynastic plans to rule the world.

Cast

Main

Li Yifeng as Baili Tusu (百里屠苏) / Han Yunxi (韩云溪)

Huang Tianqi as young Baili Tusu / Han Yunxi

Han Yunxi is the son of the Wu Meng valley's head shaman. After his whole tribe was massacred, the aura of the Sword of Burning Solitude was inserted into him to save his life, including one half of Crown Prince Changqin's celestial soul (Sword of Burning Solitude). He was then brought to Tian Yong City and trained as a sword immortal under the name of Bali Tusu. Three years later after an incident where he was accused of killing his fellow disciple, he left Tian Yong City to search for the murderer who killed his family and destroyed his village, thus beginning his journey.

Yang Mi as Feng Qingxue (风晴雪)

Xu Shuo as young Feng Qingxue

The future head shaman of You Du, who shares the fate of sealing the evil aura of the Burning Sword. In order to search for her long-lost brother, she came to the mortal realm where she met and fell in love with Tusu, whom she once saved when they were young.

Qiao Zhenyu as Ouyang Shao Gong (欧阳少恭)

An elder of the Qing Yun clan, who specializes in healing and medicine. Possessing only one half of Crown Prince Changqin's celestial soul (Pure Light Lyre [纯阳琴]), he wanders aimlessly in the mortal world for centuries until he meets Xun Fang, the princess of Peng Lai. However, a flood disaster which destroys Peng Lai occurred and separated the two. Having lost his one true love, Shao Gong would stop at nothing to get what he wants in order to get his revenge on Heaven, who he blames for Xun Fang's death.

Gillian Chung as Xun Fang (巽芳) / Jin Niang (瑾娘)

The princess of Peng Lai. After she was being saved by Shao Gong from a pack of wolves, the two fell in love. Her hair simultaneously turned white as a result of using too much internal energy. Her face was destroyed because of the Heavenly Disaster and her voice became hoarse and rough. In order to preserve her youthful looks and unchanging beauty in Shao Gong's memory, Xun Fang disguised herself as Ji Tong and stayed by his side as his caretaker. Chung also simultaneously plays Jin Niang, who morphs her appearance to look like Xun Fang in order to gain Shao Gong's affections.

Supporting

Ken Chang as Sword Deity Ziyin (紫胤真人), a sword immortal and teacher of Tusu and Ling Yue.

Zong Fengyan as Sword Deity Hansu (涵素), the leader of Tian Yong sect.

Chen Zihan as Hong Yu (红玉), a sword spirit under Ziyin who is in charge of protecting the Burning Sword. She has a secret crush on Ziyin.

Dilraba Dilmurat as Fu Qu (芙蕖), Hansu's daughter. She is a good friend of Tusu and has a crush on Ling Yue.

Ying Haoming as Ling Duan (陵端), the second disciple of Tian Yong sect. He likes Fu Qu. He hates Tusu and treats him as a monster.

Cai Zhentao as Ling Chuan (陵川)

Dai Zixiang as Zhao Lin (肇临)

Vengo Gao as Yin Qianshang (尹千觞) / Feng Guangmo (风广陌), Feng Qingxue's brother and You Du's shaman who is responsible for sealing the Burning Sword. After losing his memory because of a type of medicine that Shao Gong gave him after the latter saved him, he changed his name to Qian Shang. Eventually, he discovers Shao Gong's true nature and stops him from unleashing his evil plan.

Li Xiaolu as Han Xiuning (韩休宁), Tusu's birth mother and the Head Shaman of Wu Meng Valley.

Liu Fang as Grandma You Du (幽都婆婆), shaman of You Du

Shen Baoping as Head of You Du (幽都长老)

Yang Chengcheng as Huan Huan (欢欢), Qingxue's attendant.

Yu Zikuan as Grandpa Qiu (秋爷爷)

Liu Tingyu as Goddess Nuwa (女娲大神)

Others

Qiao Zhenyu as Crown Prince Chang Qin (太子长琴)

Wei Wei as Serpent Qian Yu (水虺悭臾)

Hao Zejia as Hua Shang (华裳), head of Hua Man Lou and Qian Shang's lover.

Zhang Yunlong as Hei Yao (黑曜), a black cat demon who works for Qing Yun Sect. After being fed by Qing Xue, he fell in love with her.

Ma Wenlong as Luo Yunping (洛云平), a plant demon who possessed the Heng Yu Jade and was reborn as a human.

Yu Yuang as Yan Mei (延枚), a cattle demon.

Tian Zhenwai as Xiang Tianxiao (向天笑), a sailor in Qing Long Town who takes Tusu to Mt Yao.

Lu Xianlin as Zhuo Yunfei (卓云飞), also known as Yin Sha, a killer under Xie Luwei.

Jia Qing as Chou Xinrui (仇馨蕊), Yunfei's lover.

Xi Xue as Xie Luwei (血露薇), leader of a human kidnapping organization.

Wang Weiyang as Xiang Moyang (襄墨阳), Xiang Ling's nine-tailed fox father and previous head of the Qing Qiu kingdom.

Zhang Qian as Jiang Li (姜离), Xiang Ling's human mother.

Zhu Rongrong as Yun Ge (云歌), a general who betrayed the Qing Qiu kingdom and killed Xiang Moyang.

Ren Xuehai as Chief of Tie Zhu Hall (铁柱观观主)

Hei Zi as Emperor Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇)

Production

The drama was filmed from July 2, 2013, to October 10, 2013, at Hengdian World Studios and Xiandu.

Reception

The drama was a huge success, topping viewership ratings and market share; and was the most viewed drama online at that time.

The drama was praised for its exciting action scenes, suspenseful plot devices and matching casting.

However, it was criticized for its special effects and weak storyline.

Ratings

Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue