Best Xianxia Dramas Based on Novels, Plus One Wuxia Pick

The best xianxia dramas based on novels start with The Untamed: 50 episodes, episode 1 free on WeTV's official English YouTube channel, and a source novel that Seven Seas finished in English in five volumes. Love Between Fairy and Devil comes next for fantasy romance, and its novel is complete in English in two volumes. Every pick below is adapted from a Chinese web novel and has an official, free first episode with English subtitles. We haven't watched these five end to end for this list. On October 24, 2026 we checked each one's official uploads, its publisher page and its r/CDrama threads, and read the free first chapter of the one source novel you can sample online.

Image: episode 1 thumbnails from the official WeTV English, YOUKU English and iQIYI YouTube channels, cropped

What Makes the List

Three rules. The drama has to come from a Chinese novel, so the book exists for when the show ends. Episode 1 has to be free with English subtitles on the studio's own YouTube channel, which rules out re-uploads. And we say plainly where the novel stands in English: on sale, coming, or online as a web novel.

Four of the five are xianxia, stories about cultivating toward immortality, with flying swords, demons and gods. Word of Honor is the one wuxia pick: martial artists, sects and poison, no magic. If the two labels still blur, our wuxia vs xianxia explainer draws the line.

The Best Xianxia Dramas at a Glance

1. The Untamed: Start Here If You Want the Book Next

Image: The Untamed episode 1 thumbnail, WeTV English YouTube channel

The Untamed adapts Mo Dao Zu Shi by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It aired on Tencent Video from June to August 2019 and ended at 50 episodes. Wikipedia notes it passed 9.5 billion views on Tencent Video by June 2021. Episode 1 is free on the WeTV English channel, uploaded August 23, 2019, and Tencent's costume-drama channel has episode 50 up too.

Here's the catch for book readers. "Due to the censorship in China, explicit BL content is removed from the drama and changes are made to the overall plot," Wikipedia says. The structure changes too: one r/CDrama commenter notes the show "did all the flashback at the beginning instead of mixing it in and out like the novel did." That's where people stall. An r/CDrama poster in January 2026 admitted getting about 15 episodes in, shelving it, and only properly getting into it a year later, yet still puts it among "the best dramas I have ever seen." The post suggested the 20-episode Special Edition as a shortcut. The thread pushed back. "I would NEVER recommend The Untamed: Special Edition to anyone who doesn't already like The Untamed," the top reply said, and the original poster ended up telling people to watch the full thing.

Our take: watch the full 50, push past the opening stretch, then read the novel. Seven Seas published all five volumes of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation between December 14, 2021 and May 2, 2023, at $19.99 each, so you aren't waiting on anything.

Finished the show and want the book's version?

Mo Dao Zu Shi novel guide: English volumes and reading order →

2. Love Between Fairy and Devil: The Fantasy Romance With a Finished Book

Image: Love Between Fairy and Devil episode 1 thumbnail, iQIYI YouTube channel

An orchid fairy and a resurrected demon lord end up sharing one body. The show aired on iQIYI from August 7 to September 22, 2022. iQIYI's own YouTube channel has the full first episode free (37 minutes, posted on premiere day) and a compilation labeled "EP01-36."

It's also the pick with the shortest road to the book. Seven Seas sells the novel by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang in two volumes: volume 1 on May 6, 2025 and volume 2 on September 23, 2025, $19.99 each. The publisher's page pitches them as "the novels that inspired the hit Chinese live-action drama on Netflix," so Netflix is the other legal place to look for the show.

Screenshot: Seven Seas Entertainment, Love Between Fairy and Devil (Novel) series page, October 24, 2026

Is it a good first xianxia? r/CDrama argued that out in May 2026. One reply warned that the opening two episodes "have the production quality of a Power Rangers episode." Another answered that it's "great as a first drama, as long as the person is into fantasy." So: if you like big, colorful fantasy, start here. If the first two episodes look cheap, keep going before you judge.

3. Word of Honor: The Wuxia Pick

Image: Word of Honor episode 1 thumbnail, YOUKU English YouTube channel

Word of Honor is adapted from Priest's danmei novel Faraway Wanderers (天涯客). An assassin chief quits his post and gets tangled up with a mysterious wanderer. It ran on Youku from February 22 to May 5, 2021: 36 episodes plus a short bonus clip after the finale. YOUKU English has episode 1 and episode 36 up for free.

No cultivation, no gods. If you came to xianxia for the swordfights and the sect politics, this is the one built only on those. Fair warning on the back half. In an October 2026 r/CDrama thread about episode 35, one viewer called it "the only c drama episode that made me bawl my eyes out."

The book is the long wait. Seven Seas announced the Faraway Wanderers license in August 2026, as a deluxe hardcover with volume 1 due in 2027 at $29.99. Its series page still lists no volumes or release day. If you finish the show this month, you'll have the drama to yourself for a while.

4. The Immortal Ascension: For Readers Who Like Cultivation Grind

Image: The Immortal Ascension episode 1 thumbnail, YOUKU English YouTube channel

This one adapts Wang Yu's A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality. Episode 1 went up on YOUKU English on July 27, 2025, and runs 51 minutes. r/CDrama's drama hosts tracked it through episode 30.

The novel is the easiest one here to sample, so we read the first chapter on Wuxiaworld. "Second Fool" is the village's nickname for Han Li, a ten-year-old farm boy. A Third Uncle comes by with an invitation to the Seven Mysteries Sect's entrance test, and his father agrees once he hears about the monthly allowance. Han Li leaves home planning to get rich and come back; the chapter ends by telling you money will soon mean nothing to him. Wuxiaworld lists the novel as Completed at 2,455 chapters, with 4 free chapters every 23 hours.

Screenshot: Wuxiaworld, A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality novel page, October 24, 2026

Viewers split along the same line readers do. "There is no real romance, and I know this will put some people off, but it's not needed. Han Li has no time for that," one wrap-thread reviewer wrote. Another quit at episode 13: "I realize this type of cultivation (boot, loot, repeat) wasn't for me." If you want the leveling-up rather than the love story, this is your pick.

Thinking of reading the 2,455 chapters?

A Mortal's Journey to Immortality review: is the novel worth it →

5. Till the End of the Moon: Only If You Want Heartbreak

Image: Till the End of the Moon episode 1 thumbnail, YOUKU English YouTube channel

Till the End of the Moon adapts Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script by Teng Luo Wei Zhi. It premiered on Youku on April 6, 2023, with 40 episodes. Wikipedia says it took a 22.76% market share on premiere day, making it the most-watched period drama since 2020. Episode 1 is free on YOUKU English.

It's last here because it divides people more than the rest. A December 2025 r/CDrama post called it a show that "deserves all the hate it gets" for its stretched-out writing. The top reply said it "caters to different type of audiences which love angst and tragic love." A commenter who read novel spoilers added that the book's male lead is darker than the show's, "basically a psychopath." Go in wanting angst, or skip it.

The English book is furthest off: Seven Seas lists Till the End of the Moon (Novel) volume 1 for August 3, 2027, at $20.99.

Which of the Best Xianxia Dramas to Start With

• You want the book right after the show: The Untamed, then the five Seven Seas volumes.
• You want a fantasy romance with a short book: Love Between Fairy and Devil, two volumes.
• You'd rather have swords than spells: Word of Honor, and expect the novel in 2027.
• You already read cultivation web novels: The Immortal Ascension, with the novel free in small daily doses on Wuxiaworld.
• You want to cry: Till the End of the Moon, and believe its tragic reputation.

New to the genre altogether? Our beginner's guide to xianxia explains what the label means and how it differs from its neighbors. If you finish The Untamed and want more novels like it in English, the best danmei xianxia novels in English is the next stop.

How We Checked This

On October 24, 2026 we opened each drama's episode 1 on its official YouTube channel (WeTV English, YOUKU English, iQIYI) with yt-dlp and recorded the channel, upload date and that it was public. For The Untamed and Word of Honor we also confirmed the final episode on an official channel. We read the Seven Seas series pages for Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Love Between Fairy and Devil, Faraway Wanderers and Till the End of the Moon, and the Wuxiaworld page and chapter 1 of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality. Air dates, episode counts and the censorship note come from Wikipedia. Viewer opinions are quoted from r/CDrama threads dated December 2025 to October 2026. We didn't rank by our own viewing, because we haven't watched the five end to end. The order reflects how quickly each show leads to a book you can read in English, and how strongly viewers recommend or warn against it.

References

• The Untamed (TV series), Wikipedia
• Word of Honor (TV series), Wikipedia
• Love Between Fairy and Devil, Wikipedia
• Till the End of the Moon, Wikipedia
• The Untamed EP1, WeTV English (YouTube)
• Love Between Fairy and Devil EP01, iQIYI (YouTube)
• Word of Honor EP01, YOUKU English (YouTube)
• The Immortal Ascension EP01, YOUKU English (YouTube)
• Till the End of the Moon EP01, YOUKU English (YouTube)
• Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel), Seven Seas
• Love Between Fairy and Devil (Novel), Seven Seas
• Faraway Wanderers (Deluxe Hardcover Novel), Seven Seas
• Seven Seas Licenses 18 New Releases at Anime NYC 2026, Seven Seas
• Till the End of the Moon (Novel), Seven Seas
• A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Wuxiaworld
• r/CDrama: If you've struggled to get into The Untamed
• r/CDrama: The Immortal Ascension, final review thread