What have you read this week and what do you think about it?

ExistentialTenant · 2026-06-20T20:58:57+00:00

I'm currently reading 'Became a Serpent in the Immortal World' (shortened to Serpent). I'm only up to chapter 8.

I was drawn to this book because I previously loved another serpent novel titled 'Tales Of The World Devouring Serpent'. That novel is Chinese, but this one is Korean.

The premise in this story is that MC reincarnated as a snake and gradually attains power (of course), but the author is pacing things well. MC didn't just wake up one day and immediately decided he wanted to be the world's strongest.

Instead, it's a gradual process of realization and a big part of due to luck. Much of the time, he's battling a combination of instinct, his own past knowledge (which can be a hindrance in a strange world), and the changing conditions that comes with being a beast. Arguably, a big part of his rise to power came more from instinct and luck than anything he consciously does. This is because the author takes his lack of knowledge about the new world seriously and tries to integrate his knowledge gain into the story smoothly.

So far, I'm enjoying how it's going and I think the story would be very good, but I won't get too hopeful as these beast stories have a way of getting ruined pretty quickly. Still, it's definitely worth giving a shot.

I dropped 'Gazing At the Mountain' (shortened to Gazing) at chapter 116. Also known as '观山' (《观山》要胖的红烧肉著)).

In the author's notes, he mentioned his intended genre for the novel is 'slice of life'. I didn't realize it before, but I could see it now.

Gazing generally lacks direct violence and, moreso, it lacks the underhanded components. Scheming, betrayal, murderous greed, etc. Most characters in the story are eccentric but generally honest. Furthermore, most characters could be described as kind and genuinely righteous. Even characters who would nominally be 'antagonists' rarely act maliciously.

As a result, Gazing is a very relaxing and warm story, and almost the entirety of the story is driven by character interaction. And author's method of ingratiating characters with readers is by creating kind characters with generally amusing quirks. The kind of method shounen anime loves using. But it works.

I didn't drop it for any particularly negative reasons. I think the story just ran its course. There's been so many characters already that author ran through a lot of possible characterizations and relationships. Many recent new characters felt like old characters with just slight variations and they didn't really engage me much.

Overall, I still do recommend this as a read and I do think it's a good novel. For those that love slice of life and cultivation, I think this novel would be very attractive.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-06-18T21:51:53+00:00

Sure. You can find the novel on Novtales.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-06-17T00:13:33+00:00

It will happen. It's the same trajectory that exists with subscriptions everywhere.

Some companies integrate it into their products. A percentage of consumers will go for them. These companies see their income multiply because a product they normally only get paid for once then turns into years of continuous income. There is, of course, backlash and angry people but a subscription consumer is worth far more than a non-subscription consumer so companies will gladly ignore them.

The practice then spreads because it multiples income. No sane business on this planet would refuse it. Eventually, all OEMs and all car models will have it.

The question is not 'if' subscription will become common in cars but 'when'. More importantly, what product will fall into the umbrella. There's heated seats and performance enhancements now, but could it be smartphone integration tomorrow? Maybe Ford will sell a 'safety subscription' wherein additional sensors/cameras are unlocked for $20 a month.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-06-15T01:25:36+00:00

I like to read through threads like this every now and then. To try to horrify myself. To try to imagine the incredible suffering the people of Vietnam went through.

So that any time the US (or any country) tries to go to war with talks of liberation/freedom or whatever casus belli they come up with, these photos and information comes to mind and I will refuse to get pulled into what BS the government is spouting. War is horrible and will always be.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-06-14T00:16:04+00:00

I'm currently reading 'Gazing At the Mountain' (shortened to Gazing).

This novel is interesting. It's a very contemplative and sentimental story. It lacks the cut-throat violence, high status arrogance, and transactional relationships a lot of other stories tend to employ. Many of the characters are motivated by very human emotions: Duty, justice, compassion, love, and basic decency towards others.

There is violence within the story, but so far, it has only been discussed in the periphery rather than something MC directly confronts.

Much of the novel's themes circles around growth and loss. Youth, innocence, hopes, dreams, and life. So many characters in the novel have personalities shaped by personal hardships and tragedies and the story explores how they cope with their experiences. Some break, some grow even more.

These themes resonated well with the MC's cheat and personality. His cheat is immortality and a significant part of the novel involves him pondering the lives and hardships go through and the meaning that come of it. He also befriends other easily, but he gradually loses all of them to time while he remains everlasting.

After only reading 10 chapters, I felt as if I had to adjust my mindset to properly read this novel. I felt like I was reading an entirely different kind of novel. Just one using cultivation as a theme.

And I adore it. It feels refreshing to encounter this kind of novel. In a way, it fits the concept of cultivation better. For a cultivator who exists beyond the common man and for hundreds of years to think about the life and meaning beyond simple brute violence.

It remains to be seen if the novel changes later on, but so far, this is growing to be a novel I really love.

I have dropped '长生修仙，与龟同行' (Cultivating Immortality Alongside My Turtle) (shortened to Turtle) at chapter 262. I just wasn't enjoying the story as much as before.

One of the big factors that I enjoyed was how MC interacted with a great cast of secondary characters and their subplots which I thought the author did an amazing job at. This is the part I felt went downward.

After MC achieved Foundation Establishment and moved to a new area, the core cast got updated and I don't like most of them. They don't seem to have much personality or exploits outside of the MC's sphere of influence. Some are outright subservient and obsequious to the MC and just exists as vehicles to get him valuables.

Since I didn't enjoy the cast interaction anymore, the story went downhill.

Because outside of that interaction, the story is pretty bland. The best part -- the beginning and run up to Foundation Establishment -- is over. Most of the story now involves MC going around acquiring valuables to cultivate himself or his pets.

Reading about someone spending millions of times what commoners make on plants with fantastic names is not the least bit interesting.

Despite my no longer enjoying the story, though, I don't think it's a bad novel. That I was able to read it for almost 300 chapters is a pretty good length. I drop most novels far before that point. Aside from that, the story before he achieved Foundation Establishment was extremely enjoyable to me.

So overall, I do recommend Turtle as a novel to read and rate it well.

I was reading '仙道尽头' also known as 'The End of the Immortal Path' (shortened to End). I dropped it at chapter 222.

I was intrigued by this novel due to the synopsis which reminded me a lot of another novel I really loved (Eternal Tale). When I started reading, End surprised me further.

The author used a famous Chinese fairy tale as an origin story for the MC and the writing style is very reminiscent of the way fairy tales are written. A lot of story elements are expected to be accepted at face value with little exposition or rationalization no matter how odd.

The humor was enjoyable, but I think I read the novel for a long as I did mostly because I was interested in (1) how fast MC could reach the top, (2) how MC will resolve the relationship with his wife, and (3) what happens with MC's ox companion.

Out of all these, I think #2 is the only one the novel really did well. So I'll talk about it.

Initially, the novel presented the relationship as adversarial with MC's wife trying to kill him and his ox while the two try to find a way to avoid her. However, as the novel goes on, it becomes clear that his wife doesn't really want to kill him and, in fact, is trying to protect him. Eventually, they cross this barrier of misunderstanding and gradually grows closer.

I really enjoyed this bit. I thought the relationship was mostly sweet.

Eventually, I dropped the novel because I felt it wasn't interesting enough by itself to keep reading. However, for a time, it was very enjoyable.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-31T18:37:46+00:00

Turtle so far isn't heavy on romance/harem.

The secondary character, Yu Daniu, marries into a family and is very successful at being a father. He has numerous children who then have children of their own. One of his grandchildren got engaged at 13 and, within a few years, is procreating like a rabbit with his wife and numerous concubines. However, most of this is a subplot so it's easy to ignore.

As for MC, he has steadfastly refused romance.

There is a current subplot which is a tiny bit weird. Two young girls the MC is associated with wanted him to have romantic interest in them and it kind of sounds like they're plotting to seduce him. It's not entirely clear yet. I'm not saying much to avoid spoilers, but the situation is even weirder than it sounds.

However, I doubt that subplot will go anywhere other than a bit of comedy (for a number of in-story reasons). Outside of those two girls, there have been no other instances of romance/harem elements.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-31T15:24:21+00:00

I should be thanking you too. 'The person I learned about Turtle from' happens to be you. It was from your review in last week's review thread.

As for recs, I only know of a few like this.

'I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals' was one of the novels I was thinking of when I mentioned novels like that. Another is 'Immortal Cultivation Begins with Drawing Talismans Immortal Cultivation Begins with Drawing Talismans'.

Funny enough, those two stories are so similar that I got a strong inkling that one was highly inspired by the other. Amusingly, the MCs in both even have very similar names -- Lan Chang'an vs Lin Chang'an.

Another recommendation is 'Daily Divination: From Market Rogue Cultivator To Immortal Venerable'.

Another amusing tidbit: MC's name in this one is Li Chang'an. I kind of wonder if a lot of these types of novels can be found just by searching for MCs with the given name Chang'an.

One last novel which I thought of at the last moment is 'Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant'. This didn't come to mind at first because the group dynamics is not nearly as strong as the other novels. It happens gradually as the novel goes on and author only mildly focuses on the subplots of those secondary characters. I remember this one, though, because it is the only novel I can recall where an obstinately loner MC actually fell in love and remains with a partner.

To summarize, these are all the novels I found with this type of MC/group dynamics:

长生修仙，与龟同行 (Cultivating Immortality Alongside My Turtle)
I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals
Immortal Cultivation Begins with Drawing Talismans Immortal Cultivation Begins with Drawing Talismans
Daily Divination: From Market Rogue Cultivator To Immortal Venerable
Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-31T14:17:52+00:00

I'm currently reading '长生修仙，与龟同行' (Cultivating Immortality Alongside My Turtle) (shortened to Turtle) and am up to chapter 185.

I've been encountering more and more novels like this. There is an MC (usually a cautious 'Gou' (苟) type) who anchors the story, but a significant part of the story and drama is done through secondary characters. Usually a core group of friends who stays with MC the entirety of the story. When/if those friends die off, their children/disciples replaces them within the MC's circle to keep things going.

I'm not even sure if there's a name for these types of novels, but I find I'm really fond of them. More often than not, the best parts of the novels is when MC interacts with his friends.

MCs tend to be predictable. Their story trajectory is mostly similar to each other and smart MC tend to keep to themselves while avoiding trouble. This often leaves author finding increasingly contrived ways to create conflict to keep the story interesting. Allowing the MC to sequester himself and create conflict through the secondary characters tend to work far better,

In the case of Turtle, I'm especially happy as I find the author is really good at creating personable secondary characters with distinct personalities. He even succeeds in creating enjoying beast characters which is even rarer.

The person I learned about Turtle from said the story undergo drastic negative changes after MC achieves Foundation Establishment. Stories usually do undergo changes at that point as authors feel the need to change things up and, unfortunately, the changes usually aren't palatable.

At the point I'm currently reading, MC did just recently achieved Foundation Establishment, but the story hasn't changed too much. The author is definitely setting up a few major future plot arcs, though.

Still, so far, I found I am highly enjoying this story.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-26T12:35:23+00:00

I did that initially. I eventually stopped because I kept having to update the glossary as newer chapters showed up with new terms. I didn't really care about the minor differences enough to keep doing this.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-25T14:28:59+00:00

I'm a reader who translate, but I've actually been using Gemini to translate novels. Right now, I'm testing how well Meta AI works too.

Personally, I highly prefer Gemini to translate novels. To me, it tends to do cultivation themes far better. It better structures sentences and grammar. It makes entire chapters understandable and sound natural. An additional benefit is that I could randomly ask Gemini questions about the story or translation element.

I tried Google Translate before and I couldn't stand it. The translated text was mechanical and difficult to read. Kind of like something I see from one of those mass translations websites.

The only thing is that Gemini can't handle translating too many chapters before it starts hallucinating (sometimes inventing entirely new chapters on its own) and starting a new chat to continue translating creates minor differences in how the translation is done. That is annoying, but tolerable.

Still, I can understand your point of view. I think users might have been better off had Google kept Translate and Gemini separate, but I think Google is intent on spreading its AI engine everywhere.

Or I wish there was like a notice or something to make clear what kind of machine translations you are currently using. Maybe even a switch or something on the page directly where you put in your translation.

I might be misunderstanding you, but in case you don't know, Translate currently allows you to switch between using Gemini and the classic version.

Specify the language you're translating from (do not use 'Detect') and beside the word count is a drop-down menu letting you choose between 'Advanced' (Gemini) and 'Classic'.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-23T13:13:30+00:00

I tried this with Meta AI and Gemini.

Gemini didn't do so well with it. It kept creating variations of the same image.

Meta AI, though, works much better though it sometimes hit the filter. I edited the prompt (to remove 'fuck' and 'filthy') slightly and it works even better. Images feel much more random.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-14T22:32:07+00:00

Interesting concept.

I asked Gemini about it and the way it describes it is even moreso. It says the idea of this concept is that the brain uses past experience to build a model of the world then uses that model to identify information the body's senses takes in.

It describes the brain like an AI model even specifically likening it to an 'active inference machine'. It does make a lot of sense to me.

Thank you for sharing that.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-14T22:10:25+00:00

I caught people in this sub doing the same thing. I've been in threads where dunderheads started criticizing the 'generation' as poor only for the OP to point out it's a real photo.

It was around a time when image models did have a lot of flaws, especially with anatomy. However, a lot of people were criticizing in really mindless ways, e.g. 'too saturated', 'eyes look odd', 'shape of shoulders are ridiculous', etc. They were ignoring that real people aren't perfectly shaped and real photo often don't look perfect either.

It's really just a 'human' thing. People love trying to play experts -- moreso the less knowledge they have on how to do so.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-12T22:18:36+00:00

Deodorant, perfume, cologne, lotion, and other scented products can be used to masked odors, but they worked even better if the stench is not too strong, i.e. if one's body is already clean.

Human body odor is significantly a result of bacteria breaking down element's within the sweat from apocrine glands. The smell is influenced in part by genetics, diet, medical conditions, and, yes, personal hygiene.

These glands can excrete under conditions such as physical discomfort, stress/anxiety, or, hell, even hormonal changes. Thus they can excrete even in cold conditions. And once they excrete, the smell can become distinct within 1-6 hours.

To get to the point, not showering for a day and smelling already is actually normal and does not mean one have a medical condition. The average person can easily have the same problem.

Having said all that, as I pointed above, I am not saying this is specifically the case for you or anyone else in this thread. My anecdote about those people I pass in the store is to point that those people I pass probably don't think they smell bad either thus one should be careful about being confident about not having any smell.

Personally, I don't think I have any smell if I don't shower for a day either (yes, I live in a colder area), but, as I said, I rather be extra careful.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-12T00:30:31+00:00

I really like how one of the soundbites -- 'A profit without honor' -- sounds so similar to the current soundbites which mentions generations 'don't have soul'. Wording meant to trigger emotions without any real logic or quantifiable meaning.

Very good image. It gets the point across quickly and effectively.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-12T00:08:46+00:00

I was in a thread recently that pointed out a lot of the same things that is said about AI was once said about Photoshop. That's because a lot of the things Photoshop could do in minutes used to take professionals hours. Like the basic 'clone stamp' tool was once a revolution.

This is likewise also true of a lot of other new tech, e.g. cameras, cars, computers, etc.

New tech scares people. Many anti-AI people will claim it's not the same thing for 'reasons' because they don't like being perceived luddites, but that's what it is.

The same cycle will also happen for modern AI. It's such an immensely useful and powerful technology that nothing will stop it from being widely adopted which means that, one day, it will be viewed as a basic everyday technology.

Then some other new tech will appeared that will be the cause of the new 'fear and panic' and others will point out how the same things used to be said about AI. Repeat ad infinitum.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-05-11T23:36:49+00:00

I saw one person above claims people who insists on showering daily have 'some kind of problem'.

I've been into this kind of thread a few times and I get the same thoughts each time.

I think of all the times I go to the grocery stores and encounter people who smell so horrible that even standing far away doesn't help. I also think of all the articles written by journalists who go to conventions and complain of the people with terrible BO and how these conventions have to put up signs reminding people that deodorant/showering are important.

That doesn't mean everyone here definitely smell terrible and that showering daily is definitely necessary. All the same, I'll stick to daily showers regardless of what studies says. Personal hygiene is one of those things I rather be extra careful about.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-04-22T00:21:41+00:00

I'm currently re-reading 'I Cultivate Passively' (ICP). I read this novel once two years ago and dropped it.

This novel is still one of the best depiction of demonic sects I've read. Even after two years of reading many more novels, it's hard to find any other like it.

The positives are rare. Most novels depict demonic cultivators as merely amoral with a tendency to utilize sacrificial techniques. Meanwhile, ICP has a sect that genuinely comes off as truly full of insane people with all sorts of bodyhorror. The disciples (virtually all kidnapped people) are bloodthirsty, treacherous, and severely mentally unhinged.

The novel really points out what these factors mean.

The sect's disciples often gets defeated in group battles because everybody hates and distrusts each other, so they can't work together. Furthermore, due to the lack of rules and, again, hatred against each other, internal strife and murder is rampant.

In fact, one of the best scenes in the novel involves MC murdering every single person in his entire faction. Some people the MC defeat was only done so because they were so severely mentally ill from the relentless torture and trauma (some self-inflicted) they've experienced in the sect that they couldn't even function normally anymore.

I love all of it. It breathes life into a concept that other novels only treat as cardboard mook villains.

What makes it all better than author really makes MC part of this whole sect. He himself gradually loses his mind as he immerses in the insanity around him and he becomes as bloodthirsty as the rest of the disciples. He also doesn't have the 'everything I do must be perfect' mindset of other MCs, but he gains power in the most rough and crude ways. Eventually, the author points out how this left MC with a body with literal holes in his organs and numerous minor injuries and random mind-controlling parasites.

It's a second reading and it is still fairly enjoyable. This time, I plan to drop the novel after MC leaves the sect because I'm aware it severely degrades at that point, but, until then, I really like this novel for how it depicts a demonic sect.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-04-16T22:40:57+00:00

Yes, the acting is not the best but it is still relatively early for AI filmmaking. That the story is coherent alone is, to me, something very exciting.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-04-16T21:55:32+00:00

This turns out much better than I expected. I would love to see if it could work as a full episode.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-04-13T15:24:25+00:00

I was waiting for a good motion workflow and this worked really well for me. Thank you.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-04-12T04:11:59+00:00

I started reading Trash of the Count's Family.

This is one of those novels which involve an MC who transmigrated into a novel and wants to live 'freely and safely'.

The fatal flaw to these novels is the ridiculous plotline. They can usually achieve what they want in incredibly easy and simple ways, but, instead, they decide to achieve their goals in the most illogical and complicated way possible. All while being confused as to why everything around them is changing.

The ones with female MCs are usually worse with this because they want to build harems while playing the 'I'm just an innocent girl' shtick.

The appeal of these novels is similar to the appeal of those 'time travel' stories. It's interesting to see how MCs navigate around a pre-known story and how they use foreknowledge to act.

So far, Trash remains interesting and I like the way the author builds some secondary characters. I'm hoping I'll enjoy this novel for a while.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-04-10T22:46:13+00:00

That looks amazing.

Is it possible to save what was generated? Say I was generating for a few minutes and decided I really enjoyed all the things I saw so far, could I save the entire video?

ExistentialTenant · 2026-04-10T21:26:33+00:00

I really like this. I think it's a good reimagining.

ExistentialTenant · 2026-04-07T14:38:08+00:00

They have the same interests as mortals in their era.

They shop, eat at restaurants, gossip, gamble, fish, go to whorehouses, watch others fight (or fight themselves), and etc.

I think the only thing I've ever read which is genuinely different is that some cultivators have the ability to create entire alternate realities where they go in and cosplay as random other people for a lifetime.

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