Chapter 345: 《Nirvana in Fire》

"If we walk together in the snow, we can consider this life a shared journey to white hair."

This sentence is the closing line of the review written by Xiao Cai, and it left many netizens feeling emotionally devastated.

At the same time, many people have extended and expanded upon the review written by Xiao Cai.

"Wait! Since Xu Zhangqing sent the snow from Mount Shu to the Nanzhao Kingdom, then, when Zixuan saw the heavy snow falling, didn't that mean she also knew—that he hadn't drunk the Forget-Love Water either!"

Once this comment appeared, many netizens felt a tremor in their hearts.

Indeed, if he had forgotten everything, how could he still remember the Promise he made with Zixuan in the Underwater City to watch the snow together?

This Daoist has already put on the purple robes that symbolize the Sect Leader; he still gives people that same cold, detached feeling, and he is just as lonely when dancing with his sword in the snow.

He perhaps thought that Zixuan had already drunk the Forget-Love Water, and that when she saw the heavy snow, she wouldn't think of him.

She would only feel happy; she would only feel that it was magical.

Little did he know... she also remembers everything!

This ending is actually semi-open.

Everyone can engage in a certain degree of imagination.

Yet its underlying tone is sorrowful; Jingtian does not have much time left to live, and neither does Zixuan.

So Xiao Cai was not wrong; in the grand finale, the audience saw the ruthlessness of Luo Mo, the screenwriter, but also saw his Gentle side.

This is also why many people, when watching the TV series "Celestial Sword 5 3" as children, actually mistook it for a happy ending.

"Celestial Sword 5: Jingtian Chapter" has officially concluded, yet the influence it brought is still continuing.

The ratings over at Octopus TV are climbing step by step, with the Peak Value reaching 1.67!

These ratings could beat the three major satellite channels during the same period.

Except for CCTV, Octopus TV can be said to be looking down on all its rivals during the same time slot.

A second-tier TV station has faintly shown signs of rising.

Who could have imagined that all of this actually came from a Newcomer director and Newcomer Actor who is only 25 years old?

As for Penguin Video, they had long been promoting it with great fanfare.

Because the total viewership of these two parts of the "Celestial Sword 5" series combined is terrifyingly high.

If you don't build momentum now, when will you?

As mentioned before, in the annual data of the four major video platforms last year, Penguin Video was leading in variety shows, providing a beautiful year-end report card.

However, in terms of film and television, because Penguin Video was the last platform to be established and had the shallowest foundation, it was at the bottom among the four major platforms.

In the era when piracy was rampant and video platforms all made their fortunes through piracy, Feiniao Video was the first to purchase legitimate copyrights, which were dirt cheap back then. This point is somewhat similar to the rise of LeTV on Earth.

Pineapple TV followed closely behind; seeing Feiniao Video buying, they also bought some casually.

Therefore, later on, after legitimate copyrights were valued, Feiniao and Pineapple had the most solid foundations in film and television, and that was when the audience began to develop stickiness, habitually using these two platforms to watch films and TV dramas.

During this time, Cheng Wen, the Vice President of Penguin Video, is in a great mood, full of ambition.

"Let the past be the past! As long as we can continuously launch good dramas in the future, that will be enough!" Cheng Wen thought to himself.

At this moment, he seemed to have forgotten that Penguin Video had just flopped with two A Ji projects and one S-Class Project.

It can only be said that the appearance of a phenomenal hit like "Celestial Sword 5" can cover up many shortcomings.

"It's just a pity... Luo Mo refuses to continue filming the 'Celestial Sword 5' series for now." Cheng Wen feels incredibly regretful about this.

He has seen too many screenwriters and directors like this; they always want to break through themselves and are unwilling to walk down one path to the end.

He had also offered suggestions, asking whether they should form a new team to make a sequel to the "Celestial Sword 5" series.

If it becomes a hit, Luo Mo, as the Father of Celestial Sword 5, would naturally take the most credit.

If it flops, it wouldn't be a big problem; Penguin Video would take the blame, after all, Luo Mo is not in the main creative team.

This proposal was still rejected by Luo Mo.

Cheng Wen now values Luo Mo extremely highly, so naturally, he can only let him be, not wanting to fall out with him over this.

"Forget it, it might be better to let the gaming side finish the two 'Celestial Sword 5' games sooner; they should be very popular, right?" Cheng Wen thought in his heart.

Penguin has paid Luo Mo a high copyright fee for the game adaptation!

As for the last part of Luo Mo's Ancient Costume Trilogy, one look and you know it's a big move.

Cheng Wen does not want to miss this drama, and even wants to participate in the investment as a producer.

Not to mention anything else, just the words "starring Luo Mo and Xu Chujing" alone would make the whole drama a hit before it even airs, right?

Mo Xu CP: Is this like celebrating the Lunar New Year?

"It's just that the name of this drama is truly a bit hard to understand," Cheng Wen said in his heart.

"Some people might not even know how to read the first two characters," he muttered in his heart.

"'Langya Bang', it sounds quite like a Xianxia or Wuxia drama."

But Luo Mo told him that what this drama focuses on is—the imperial court and the pugilistic world!

Cheng Wen considered it from a professional perspective; he felt that the drama's title was not particularly suitable for promotion, as it was slightly obscure.

This made him a bit unable to understand what Luo Mo was thinking for a moment.

………

………

Shanghai, Yucheng.

After Luo Mo finished making lunch for Xu Chujing, the two sat opposite each other in the living room, with the script for "Langya Bang" in their hands.

The character played by Luo Mo is naturally the male lead, Mei Zhangsu.

Xu Chujing's character is the female lead, Princess Nihuang.

Judging from her temperament, she couldn't be better suited to play Nihuang.

On Earth, the actress who played Princess Nihuang was actually deeply loved by many middle-aged men, who felt that she possessed an indescribable feminine charm.

Xu Chujing was even more beautiful and alluring, yet her gaze was cold enough and her aura powerful enough.

Luo Mo had just auditioned her; Princess Nihuang was a character who led troops into battle to kill the enemy, a heroine who did not yield to men. Xu Chujing had not yet put on makeup, nor had she drawn her facial features to look more heroic, but her acting state was already spot on.

At the same time, when "Nirvana in Fire" first aired, many people expressed that the chemistry between Hu Ge and Liu Tao was slightly lacking.

Part of the reason for this was perhaps because the two "Chinese Paladin" installments were too deeply rooted in people's hearts, and the actresses they acted alongside back then were all young girls.

Luo Mo and Xu Chujing would not be troubled by this; to be precise, ever since "Cat Demon", the public's calls for them to collaborate again had been very, very high.

"Very good, you've captured the state perfectly," Luo Mo exclaimed in admiration.

"Then I must thank Director Luo for taking time out of his busy schedule to give me a private audition at my home," Xu Chujing said deliberately.

"Don't say it like that; actually, going to my home for an audition would be even better," Luo Mo said shamelessly.

Xu Chujing glared at him slightly, too lazy to pay him any mind. In her view, Luo Mo was currently stuck in the stage of just being a smooth talker; he had the heart to be a rogue, but not necessarily the guts.

Luo Mo thought for a moment and said, "By the way, you underwent basic training for fight scenes before filming 'Cat Demon', right?"

"Of course," Xu Chujing said.

Her body coordination was very strong, and her flexibility was also very good; she felt she had a talent for fight scenes.

The Heavenly Queen Xu said directly, "My coordination and flexibility are better than most children still in school. When I trained with several supporting actors back then, I could complete high-difficulty movements that they couldn't."

"Is that so?" Upon hearing this, Luo Mo looked her up and down, his eyes lighting up.

Xu Chujing felt his gaze, and for a moment, she couldn't tell if he was happy from a director's perspective, or if... he was thinking something else.

"Then can you ride a horse?" Luo Mo asked again.

"I can," Xu Chujing said directly.

"That's great," Luo Mo was overjoyed.

In his view, the role of Princess Nihuang in this drama was basically settled.

His future happy life was also basically settled.

………

………

"Nirvana in Fire," another critically acclaimed masterpiece from Hu Ge following "Disguiser."

Luo Mo also quite liked the drama "Disguiser," but due to some special reasons, it was not easy to film.

To be objective, when "Nirvana in Fire" was broadcast, its initial ratings and online viewership numbers were not particularly eye-catching.

Because the drama's title was not very attractive, many people didn't even recognize the characters. Coupled with the very long setup in the beginning and too many characters introduced in the first few episodes, many people felt it was exhausting to watch and even hard to understand.

However, as the Drama gradually entered its prime and word-of-mouth fermented, the drama actually became more and more popular after it finished airing.

At the same time, it also won awards until their hands went soft!

For example, the Outstanding Television Drama Award at the Flying Heaven Award, first place in the Top 100 Television Dramas at the Huading Award, and so on.

Yes, as the final installment of Luo Mo's Ancient Costume Trilogy, Luo Mo had the ambition to win awards for "Nirvana in Fire."

This drama was praised by almost everyone at the time, and its rating on a certain bean site was as high as 9.4.

It ranked second on the list of high-scoring Chinese-language drama series on a certain bean site.

In Luo Mo's view, "Nirvana in Fire" was a huge challenge for him.

Whether it was in terms of starring in it himself or in terms of directing the drama.

If he hadn't accumulated directing experience and continuously refined his own acting skills, he wouldn't have touched this drama.

Of course, the full support of the National Theatre of China also gave him a bit more confidence.

By the old rules, once one drama concludes, it's time to release news about the preparations for the next one.

Luo Mo Studio announced in a high-profile manner across the entire internet that the initial preparations for the final installment of the 【Ancient Costume Trilogy】 were already more than halfway complete!

The title of the drama is—"Nirvana in Fire"!

Once this news came out, it instantly triggered heated discussions across the entire internet.

Of course, there were naturally a large number of people who said: "How do you read the first two characters again?"

Regarding Luo Mo not filming the "Chinese Paladin" series for the time being, many people expressed immense regret.

However, more people felt curious.

"Will it still be filmed with the original cast from 'Chinese Paladin'?"

"Initial preparations are more than halfway done; does that mean the casting work is also basically finished?"

"What genre is this drama? Xianxia? Wuxia?"

"Will Ding Xiaoyu still be in it? Who will play the female lead?"

"I just feel like it won't be Xianxia anymore. Luo Mo is already the ceiling of Xianxia; he will likely transition to something else."

In fact, the netizens didn't know that the genre of this drama was actually hidden in the name.

If you don't believe it, look at the first letters of this drama's title put together.

(ps: First update, asking for double monthly tickets!)

(End of this chapter)