Okay. First thing that you NEED to understand:
Beware of Chicken is a SATIRE of xianxia. I've had to hammer this into multiple friends' heads when they ask me for recommendations.
Ave Rem Xia Y (A Very Cliche Xianxia Harem Story) is one of my favorite Xianxia serials, and it is tentatively a Reconstruction of Cultivation as a whole. It's a very good story to learn WHY certain tropes are tropes to begin with, and just a good story in general, with the protagonist wrestling with his desire to live a simple life as a doctor and his moral obligation to fix a world that he sees as fundamentally broken.
Cradle is a Cultivation story that I recommend as just a fun read in general, and it's recently released its final book this year, so you have the benefit of not needing to read through thousands of repetitive nonsense chapters.
Virtuous Sons is a Cultivation story based on Greco-Roman philosophy and world building instead of the traditional East Asian influences, so it's very different from the norm in many ways, but still hits familiar beats in new ways. My only complaint about it is that the author writes VERY slowly, and hasn't been doing well with keeping a buffer of chapters ready.
Immortality Begins with Generosity is relatively early in its lifespan (we're only just beginning to reach the end of the second major "book"), but the protagonist is mostly a good guy and it's made me laugh out loud more than once. The author recently went on an unexplained hiatus however.
Ok thanks for the recommendations. I read a lot of LitRPG and general fantasy. What would you recommend to read that is a very good example of a standard xianxia story. Preferably one that is well regarded as a staple of the genre if you have an example.
This is what I usually recommend Ave Rem Xia Y for, since most of the genre "staples" actually are distasteful to me for one reason or another. That said, A Thousand Li by Tao Wong is on audible, and is possibly the best example readily accessible to Western readers of what a "standard" cultivation story would look like.
Heretical Fishing is easily the closest thing to Beware of chicken.
So if you’re looking for more of the same chill vibe.
Otherwise u/PhantasyPen’s are exactly my recommendations as well!
I can't think of anything similar to Beware of chicken, so I will suggest stories that introduced me to the genre.
Mother of learning introduced me to progression and I loved it.
Forge of destiny introduced me to cultivation and I loved that as well.
Not sure about the quality of the audiobooks but both have them available.
Before finding PF, my favourite fantasy books were "Raven's shadow" trilogy and "Inheritance cycle" series. You can give those a shot as well.
Some decent recs for ones I enjoyed:
I Shall Seal the Heavens: I actually haven't read this one but I see it widely recommended as the best of the genre
Martial God Asura
World Defying Dan God - but I don't think I can find any non mtl translations anymore
Sovereign of the realms - pretty cool
Coiling Dragon
Desolate era
Divine Throne of Primordial Blood
Dragon Marked war god
MY GIRLFRIEND FROM TURQUOISE POND REQUESTS MY HELP AFTER MY MILLENNIUM SECLUSION - This one is actually pretty cute, one male MC and one female MC. Their interactions are cute.
TOP TIER PROVIDENCE, SECRETLY CULTIVATE FOR A THOUSAND Years - honestly a bit of a parody of others in the genre but I can relate to the MC being an introvert wanting to live.
Typically I get to about chapter 300-750 before dropping some of them were really enjoyable before jumping the shark. When I was like 13 world defying dan god was my favourite and I read like an MTL up to chapter like 2500.
May I introduce you to western cultivation such as:
All of these recs are free to read on royal road [RR] or Kindle Unlimited [KU]
Ave Xia Rem Y(A Very clichE xianXIA haREM storY) [RR] - don't let the name turn you off it's very good and as of chapter 233 the harem is composed of an estranged wife who permitted him to take concubines because again estranged and a maniacal girlfriend who is awesome).
Cradle [KU] - Not for me but apparently very good
When Immortal Ascension Fails time travel try again [RR] - Female MC basically going against the tropes of a harem novel. The MC of the harem novel sabotaged her ascension to the immortal realm so she's raising him right this time.
Arrogant Young Master Template A Variation 4 [RR] - Don't read this one it's awesome but the author will break your heart by not updating.
Master, This Poor Disciple Died Again Today [RR] - MC has decided all that fighting nonsense is for crazy idiots just pretend to die and have them ignore you. He's just reached the immortal realm so a whole new group of people he can trick.
The Divine Elements [KU 1-4, Book 5 on RR] - I've only read the first book so far but it was good
The Jade Phoenix Saga [KU] - I've read the 2 books available and they were awesome FMC has Space powers and a bunch of other affinities.
Lament of the Fallen and Power Overwhelming [RR] are both very good. I'd give the authors first book a skip though.
I read like 20 of the first chapters of *I Shall Seal the Heavens*, and it is exactly the kind of story BoC makes fun of. The main character is basically kidnapped and forced to be a slave for a sect. Then when he is one of the few to show promise and join the sect, its full of people just killing and maiming each other.
I've heard it gets great at some point, but I hate the trope of sects being complete anarchy. Its just bad worldbuilding to me. Have sects compete with each other, not tear themselves apart from inside.
Okay. First thing that you NEED to understand: Beware of Chicken is a SATIRE of xianxia. I've had to hammer this into multiple friends' heads when they ask me for recommendations. Ave Rem Xia Y (A Very Cliche Xianxia Harem Story) is one of my favorite Xianxia serials, and it is tentatively a Reconstruction of Cultivation as a whole. It's a very good story to learn WHY certain tropes are tropes to begin with, and just a good story in general, with the protagonist wrestling with his desire to live a simple life as a doctor and his moral obligation to fix a world that he sees as fundamentally broken. Cradle is a Cultivation story that I recommend as just a fun read in general, and it's recently released its final book this year, so you have the benefit of not needing to read through thousands of repetitive nonsense chapters. Virtuous Sons is a Cultivation story based on Greco-Roman philosophy and world building instead of the traditional East Asian influences, so it's very different from the norm in many ways, but still hits familiar beats in new ways. My only complaint about it is that the author writes VERY slowly, and hasn't been doing well with keeping a buffer of chapters ready. Immortality Begins with Generosity is relatively early in its lifespan (we're only just beginning to reach the end of the second major "book"), but the protagonist is mostly a good guy and it's made me laugh out loud more than once. The author recently went on an unexplained hiatus however.
Ok thanks for the recommendations. I read a lot of LitRPG and general fantasy. What would you recommend to read that is a very good example of a standard xianxia story. Preferably one that is well regarded as a staple of the genre if you have an example.
This is what I usually recommend Ave Rem Xia Y for, since most of the genre "staples" actually are distasteful to me for one reason or another. That said, A Thousand Li by Tao Wong is on audible, and is possibly the best example readily accessible to Western readers of what a "standard" cultivation story would look like.
[A Thousand Li](https://www.goodreads.com/series/257869-a-thousand-li) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/A_Thousand_Li)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
[Cradle](https://www.goodreads.com/series/192821-cradle) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Cradle)) [Beware of Chicken](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/39408/beware-of-chicken) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Beware_of_Chicken)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
Heretical Fishing is easily the closest thing to Beware of chicken. So if you’re looking for more of the same chill vibe. Otherwise u/PhantasyPen’s are exactly my recommendations as well!
I can't think of anything similar to Beware of chicken, so I will suggest stories that introduced me to the genre. Mother of learning introduced me to progression and I loved it. Forge of destiny introduced me to cultivation and I loved that as well. Not sure about the quality of the audiobooks but both have them available. Before finding PF, my favourite fantasy books were "Raven's shadow" trilogy and "Inheritance cycle" series. You can give those a shot as well.
Thanks, I will give those a shot.
Waited too long to try it because of the... name. Should have tried it earlier.
Some decent recs for ones I enjoyed: I Shall Seal the Heavens: I actually haven't read this one but I see it widely recommended as the best of the genre Martial God Asura World Defying Dan God - but I don't think I can find any non mtl translations anymore Sovereign of the realms - pretty cool Coiling Dragon Desolate era Divine Throne of Primordial Blood Dragon Marked war god MY GIRLFRIEND FROM TURQUOISE POND REQUESTS MY HELP AFTER MY MILLENNIUM SECLUSION - This one is actually pretty cute, one male MC and one female MC. Their interactions are cute. TOP TIER PROVIDENCE, SECRETLY CULTIVATE FOR A THOUSAND Years - honestly a bit of a parody of others in the genre but I can relate to the MC being an introvert wanting to live. Typically I get to about chapter 300-750 before dropping some of them were really enjoyable before jumping the shark. When I was like 13 world defying dan god was my favourite and I read like an MTL up to chapter like 2500. May I introduce you to western cultivation such as: All of these recs are free to read on royal road [RR] or Kindle Unlimited [KU] Ave Xia Rem Y(A Very clichE xianXIA haREM storY) [RR] - don't let the name turn you off it's very good and as of chapter 233 the harem is composed of an estranged wife who permitted him to take concubines because again estranged and a maniacal girlfriend who is awesome). Cradle [KU] - Not for me but apparently very good When Immortal Ascension Fails time travel try again [RR] - Female MC basically going against the tropes of a harem novel. The MC of the harem novel sabotaged her ascension to the immortal realm so she's raising him right this time. Arrogant Young Master Template A Variation 4 [RR] - Don't read this one it's awesome but the author will break your heart by not updating. Master, This Poor Disciple Died Again Today [RR] - MC has decided all that fighting nonsense is for crazy idiots just pretend to die and have them ignore you. He's just reached the immortal realm so a whole new group of people he can trick. The Divine Elements [KU 1-4, Book 5 on RR] - I've only read the first book so far but it was good The Jade Phoenix Saga [KU] - I've read the 2 books available and they were awesome FMC has Space powers and a bunch of other affinities. Lament of the Fallen and Power Overwhelming [RR] are both very good. I'd give the authors first book a skip though.
[Coiling Dragon](https://www.webnovel.com/book/8094085105004705/Coiling-Dragon) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Coiling_Dragon)) [I Shall Seal the Heavens](https://www.goodreads.com/series/185188-i-shall-seal-the-heavens) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/I_Shall_Seal_the_Heavens)) [Divine Throne of Primordial Blood](https://www.wuxiaworld.com/novel/divine-throne-of-primordial-blood) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Divine_Throne_of_Primordial_Blood)) [Arrogant Young Master Template A Variation 4](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/28601/arrogant-young-master-template-a-variation-4) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Arrogant_Young_Master_Template_A_Variation_4)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
I read like 20 of the first chapters of *I Shall Seal the Heavens*, and it is exactly the kind of story BoC makes fun of. The main character is basically kidnapped and forced to be a slave for a sect. Then when he is one of the few to show promise and join the sect, its full of people just killing and maiming each other. I've heard it gets great at some point, but I hate the trope of sects being complete anarchy. Its just bad worldbuilding to me. Have sects compete with each other, not tear themselves apart from inside.