Travels along the Astral Road

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

After a long rollercoaster of real-life issues (once again), I have returned. For now, I am attempting to post every Sunday, but I want to get back to the normal schedule as soon as possible (1 chapter per week, on Wednesdays).

The words in these scrolls depict the path of Bai Qi, the greatest scholar of his time after he was forced to leave his life, achievements, and even body behind to save himself.

Assuming the persona of Wu Guang, he will have to start his cultivation from zero on the weakest area of the lowest plane possible. How, when, and at what cost will he reach his previous strength? Will he even reach or surpass it? Or will he fall along the way?

A mix of XianXia and XuanHuan with slight touches of Western fantasy.The first book will center more on explaining qi, cultivation, and other elements of the genres - so if you are searching for some constant battle action, the start may be a bit slow.The second one will go on a probably OP trope, with the MC being simply too good for his environment.Plans are to write at least seven-eight "books" (About 120 chapters per book). Currently, the chapters being uploaded are part of the5th book.

Honestly, the first two books require a full rewrite, one that I am hesitant to start until I finish the story. I have attempted to edit the first few chapters to at least follow my way of writing/formatting, but I was forced to stop because of time issues.The current schedule is at least one chapter every week, usually on Wednesdays.

[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon Challenge], always. Completed Challenge, x2Waiting for the next one!On hold for now :S

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2021
Author: aero001

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 3.7/ 5.0
Followers: 362
Views: 1,192,649

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(6)

Dougulas KaienRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I agree with alphaReviews this story is better than most xanxia, and the strongest aspect is the action (and build up toward more action). I also find myself skimming through the info dump on cultivation. The problem is that since MC is a reincarnated soul of a former master, he is more knowledgeable than most people on the current plane. I think the author would be better off dialing back on the explanations until they touch on the mc's current situation.
Once the author finishes the current arc (which I expect to result in mc leaving the plane via ascension), he might get a better reception from readers on Amazon than Royal Road.
CiellandrosRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I don't have much to critique the story on, the main character is quite fun to read about and the world building is fairly excellent.
I do think that he has had a few minor inconsistent areas in his actions and character, but the explanation would probably be due to story related reasons.
It has been referenced that he has been acting a bit strangely for an old immortal, but there are times where I feel like he should have been more influenced by his new body/hormones/bonds/etc. than he seemingly was. I know that might sound like an odd gripe, but to me, the main character having such ironclad control at times was far stranger than if he had been lost in other feelings/thoughts/experiences.
As an example, I don't care how old you are mentally, dealing with a teenager's hormones should not be as easy as he makes it out to be, no matter how ironclad his control is. Likewise, a new body is bound to have some quirks that are different from his previous one and bonding as strongly as he did should probably have had more of an effect on him, even if it is just a minor change. I get he's an op mc, but having a few new things to deal with makes him more interesting. Doesn't even have to be a flaw persay, so long as it adds to his character.
Again, none of that is a deal breaker by any stretch, and due to story reasons, I can give it a pass, but it is something I thought about pretty consistently while reading.
I guess my other critique is mostly grammatical errors and awkward sentences. While they aren't that common, they do occasionally rear up and take me out of the story. However those can be taken care of with some editing, and otherwise just be ignored so long as the story remains as interesting as it has been thus it deserves a solid 4.5 stars.
All in all I'd recommend it to anyone who like to read well woven world building cultivation novels with a fun op mc.
alphaReviewsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Here was my review of volume 1+2:
So I have mostly enjoyed reading the story and find that it is better than most xianxia, however, I still see a number of issues.
The biggest is how characters in this story are functional but not really human, emotional or relatable. In particular, the MC is extremely boring, being someone distant from everyone and everything. With him being so old and so focused on leaving the plane for a higher world, no relationship seems to matter to him beyond utility and being fair to people who treat him well (ie: I don't care about side character, just like the MC, so I don't care much about whatever is happening to them).
There also is a lack of challenge, tension and danger, although the author does keep it present, sometimes quite well:
There was an excellent section early on where the MC was fighting in tunnels under the city - this was really well done, not only for how well the fighting was described, but also for how good the tension was.
Unfortunately, subsequent conflicts have not been as satisfying, even though they are pretty good by xianxia standards.
There are a lot of characters, but they aren't very memorable. They show up for a while, then often get forgotten by the reader by the time they are back (particularly significant when reading chapters as they get released). That being said, the chapters are released quickly so reading as they get released has generally been fun and the story has been easy to follow.
I guess the story is an odd mix of fun and boring, but I have enjoyed it enough to keep reading up to this point.
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I was a bit hesitant to jump into volume 3, to be honest, and let a lot of chapters accumulate before reading again, but then was honestly surprised to see a lot of improvement on all fronts.
The action and plot seem tighter, better focused, and overall more satisfying. It also seems like the side characters are becoming more interesting as well. Lots of original little things here and there.
The
cadambankRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Since the Author had started the rewrite, I am giving a half star more.
Overall this fic is good and interesting for this genre.Earlier chapters show authors inexperience and this boring. But after a hundred or so chapters and especially from mid of volume two onwards, story got interesting.
No empty chapters only having author notes is a plus. The only part which I would like more focus on is the crafting side as except for a few(max 3) chapters in each volume, deals with that and it is so underused.
The MC also experiences character growth and the unforseen consequences of his actions in prologue haunting him through out. Even leading to death of a few characters. That is a plus.
BullerRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Maybe that's why I didn't enjoy what I read. Would have loved to give the go old hidden gem of the site and just smack it on with flush before leaving without further comment. But, that would be lying, and I don't like doing that to such a level.
The personality didn't work for me, the way they talked, walked, and thought not being like anything I could see a living being do. And what a heavy sentence that just was. Some might actually have enjoyed this side of a personality if people even call it that. I just see it as cliche(and not in the good way)
I don't think this story deserves a low score just because I couldn't get behind it, so I'll leave it as a 4/5
SykicChrisRoyal Road
★★ 2.0
The sentence structure and grammar are rough. The train of thought is jumpy and hard to follow. The author notes that English is his third language, so it makes sense.
The plot is awkward. It’s hard to care about the protagonist’s actions or the people around him due to the references of his past life and how great he was. He doesn’t really need anyone or anything. There’s nothing to be curious about or invested in.