Love in the Clouds

We haven't watched this one. This section is based on the episode synopses on Baidu Baike, English and Chinese Wikipedia, and Chinese and English reviews, and we'll replace it with a verdict once we have one.

The hook is that both leads are in disguise. Chinese coverage sums it up as two strong leads who each hide who they really are, and much of the first half is a game of cat and mouse: Ming Yi playing a harmless dancer to get close to Ji Bozai, and Ji Bozai keeping his own past out of sight while he plays along. Baike's professional review credits the drama with breaking xianxia habits through this pairing, and through a story about six realms fighting over spiritual resources rather than a destined love between gods. The Qingyun tournament, where the realms send fighters to win those resources, frames the whole story, so expect plenty of combat.

Reception in China was solid. Douban users gave it a 7.0, high for a recent xianxia, and Maoyan ranked it the top costume drama by effective views in October 2025. One English-language review called it the Mr. and Mrs. Smith of xianxia, liked the rivals-to-lovers setup, and was less kind about Lu Yuxiao's acting. The world design also drew attention: the production says the city of Jixing Abyss was modeled on Chongqing's Hongyadong (洪崖洞), the stacked riverside buildings, and that Yaoguang Mountain draws on classical paintings.

The tone is mostly sharp and playful, with banter and double bluffs, but it darkens in the last third, when the identity reveals land and a war between the realms takes over. Several supporting characters die. Content notes: poisoning, violence in combat, and scenes of grief.

Ming Xian is the crown prince of Yaoguang Mountain, and she is a woman. She has lived as a man since she was 13 and has won the Qingyun tournament seven times. At the eighth, Ji Bozai, a fighter with a prison background who represents the rival realm of Jixing Abyss, lures her into a forbidden well that seals her power and takes the title. She comes out of it with her spiritual veins broken by a poison called Lihen Tian (离恨天), and a flower mark on her body counts down the year she has left. Sent away from court, she takes the name Ming Yi and poses as a dancer from Moonlit Blossoms (花月夜) to get close to the man who beat her. He isn't who he seems either. Love in the Clouds (入青云, Ru Qing Yun) is a 36-episode Youku xianxia drama from 2025 starring Hou Minghao and Lu Yuxiao, directed by Zhi Zhu (知竹) and Peng Xuejun (彭学军) and adapted from a novel by Bai Lu Cheng Shuang (白鹭成双). It aired in China in October 2025, and in the US it streams on Netflix, Viki and Youku.

Love in the Clouds premiered on Youku on October 8, 2025, at 12:00 Beijing time, with four episodes on day one and then two a day for members. English Wikipedia gives October 26 as the last date, while Chinese Wikipedia says updates for non-members ran into early November. It reached Hami Video in Taiwan on October 15, 2025. Baike says its Youku heat score passed 10,000.

The drama was registered in August 2024 and filmed at Hengdian World Studios from August 31, 2024 to January 10, 2025. It was planned at 40 episodes, cut to 36 in June 2025, and licensed for broadcast on July 3, 2025. It was produced by Seasons Pictures (拾上影业) and Spark Studio (拾伴影业) with Youku and 三牛影视, and Yi Rui (衣睿) composed the score. The soundtrack includes "Love Through Clouds" (爱入青云), sung by Huang Xiaoyun as the opening theme, "Poisoned Wine" (毒酒), sung by Liu Yuning as the ending theme, and a song by Hou Minghao.

Internationally, we found it in the US on Netflix, on Viki free with ads, and on youku.tv, all on November 1, 2026. English Wikipedia also lists Viu in some regions, which we haven't checked. There is no announced second season, but Baike describes the novel as the first in a series, so more adaptations are possible.