Till the End of the Moon

Official Poster

***Till The End Of The Moon*** (Chinese: 长月烬明; pinyin: *Chángyuè Jìn Míng*) is a Chinese television series starring Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu. The series aired on Youku with 40 episodes on April 6, 2023.

## Synopsis

In order to save the world from Devil God Tantai Jin (澹台烬), cultivation disciple Li Susu (黎苏苏), travels back 500 years and becomes Ye Xiwu (叶夕雾) to prevent his rise to power. Unbeknownst to her, Ye Xiwu is married to Tantai Jin, then a hostage prince from the Kingdom of Jing (景国). The two develop romantic feelings for each other, and Li Susu sacrifices herself to change the fate of Tantai Jin and the world.

After losing Li Susu, a grief-stricken Tantai Jin searches for her soul for 500 years and was rescued by a cultivation sect. He becomes a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect and meets the reborn Li Susu again. Just as the two rekindle their love, the revelation of Tantai Jin's birth nature nonetheless brings the three realms into danger again. Facing a brutal fate, Tantai Jin sets in motion a plan and the two work together to stop the end of the world.

## Cast

 Luo Yunxi (罗云熙)
 Bai Lu (白鹿)
 Chen Duling (陈都灵)
 Deng Wei (邓为)

### Main

* **Luo Yunxi** (罗云熙) as Tantai Jin (澹台烬) / Cang Jiumin (沧九旻) / Mingye (冥夜)
	+ **Tantai Jin** (澹台烬): Born with no feelings and an evil bone, he is destined to become the Devil God, a powerful being that embodies all evil, death, and destruction. 500 years ago, he is a mere mortal sent to the Kingdom of Sheng (盛国) as a hostage prince.
	+ **Cang Jiumin** (沧九旻): Alias of Tantai Jin while he was a cultivation disciple of Xiaoyao Sect (逍遥宗).
	+ **Mingye** (冥夜): Tantai Jin enters the "dream of wisdom" (般若浮生) and relives the life of Mingye, the powerful God of War who led the Upper Immortal Realm 10,000 years ago.
* **Bai Lu** (白鹿) as Li Susu (黎苏苏) / Ye Xiwu (叶夕雾) / Sangjiu (桑酒)
	+ **Li Susu** (黎苏苏): Cultivation disciple and daughter of the leader of Hengyang Sect (衡阳宗), she is the Chosen One to use the Mirror of the Past to save the world from the rise of the Devil God.
	+ **Ye Xiwu** (叶夕雾): When Li Susu travels back 500 years ago, she becomes the younger daughter of General Ye of the Kingdom of Sheng (盛国), who is married to Tantai Jin.
	+ **Sangjiu** (桑酒): Li Susu enters the "dream of wisdom" (般若浮生) and relives the life of Sangjiu, a clam princess. After her clan's crown jewel was used to save an injured Mingye, Sangjiu becomes his consort.

### Supporting

* **Chen Duling** (陈都灵) as Ye Bingchang (叶冰裳) / Mo-nü (妺女) / Tianhuan (天欢)
	+ **Ye Bingchang** (叶冰裳): Ye Xiwu's older sister from a different mother. She is the concubine of Prince Xiao Lin.
	+ **Tianhuan** (天欢): An immortal and daughter of Mingye's predecessor. She has an unrequited love for Mingye.
	+ **Mo-nü** (妺女): Sister of Siying who reconnects with Gongye Jiwu.
* **Deng Wei** (邓为) as Xiao Lin (萧凛) / Gongzhi Wuji (公治无忌) / Sangyou (桑佑)
	+ **Xiao Lin** (萧凛): The sixth prince of the Kingdom of Sheng. An upright general and Ye Bingchang's husband.
	+ **Gongye Wuji** (公冶无忌): Li Susu's older disciple brother in the Hengyang Sect.
	+ **Sangyou** (桑佑): A clam prince and Sangjiu's older brother
* Sun Zhenni as **Pian Ran** (翩然), a nine-tailed fox demon who later becomes one of Tantai Jin's lieutenants
* Geng Yeting as **Ye Qingyu** (叶清宇), Ye Xiwu's younger brother and a general

### Mortal Realm

* Li Peien as **Pang Yizhi** (庞宜之), an official and disciple of Xiaoyao Sect. Prince Xiao Lin's close confidant.
* Li Jiahao as **Gan Baiyu** (甘白羽), Tantai Jin's loyal bodyguard
* He Zhonghua as the **King of Sheng** (盛王), father to Prince Xiao Lin
* Liu Min as **Jing Lan'an** (荆兰安), servant to Tantai Jin's mother and chief of the Moon Tribe
* Chang Lufeng as **Ye Xiao** (叶啸), decorated general and Ye Xiwu's father
* Deng Jinghong as **Ye Zeyu** (叶泽宇), Ye Xiwu's good-for-nothing older brother
* Huang Yunyun as **Yue Yingxin** (月莹心), Tantai Jin's maid during his childhood
* Tian Jing-fan as **Chuntao** (春桃), Ye Xiwu's maid

### Demon Realm

* Ancient Devil God (上古魔神), previous Devil God who was defeated by Mingye 10,000 years ago
* Yu Bo as **Dimian** (谛冕), a cultivator of demonic powers who falls for Chu Huang
* Wang Yifei as **Siying** (姒婴), a drought demon and lieutenant to the Devil God
* Wang Xizhao as **Jingmie** (惊灭), lieutenant to the Devil God

### Upper Immortal Realm

* Zhang Zhixi as **Chuhuang** (初凰), a phoenix and ancient god who controls space.
* Chen Bohao as **Jize** (稷泽), the ancient god who controls time. The only god remaining in the present timeline.
* Qi Xiaxia as **God of Wind** (风神)
* Zhu Lilan as **God of Gold** (金神)
* Jin Chao as **God of Thunder** (雷神)
* Zhao Yuanyuan as **God of the Moon** (月神)
* Li Junchen as **God of the Sun** (日神)
* Li Jingyi as **God of Fire** (火神)
* Chen Heyi as **God of Water** (水神)
* Zhou Xiaofei as **God of Earth** (土神)
* Shen Ruina as **God of Wood** (木神)

### Cultivation Realm

* Huang Haibing as **Zhaoyou** (兆悠), leader of the Xiaoyao Sect who becomes Tantai Jin's mentor
* Zheng Guolin as **Qu Xuanzi** (衡玄子), leader of the Hengyang Sect and Li Susu's father
* Huang Xinyao as **Yue Fuya** (月扶崖), daughter of Jing Lan'an who later joins the Hengyang Sect
* Lin Shengyi as **Zanghai** (藏海), eldest disciple of Zhaoyou at the Xiaoyao Sect
* Li Xing-lin as **Zanglin** (藏林), second disciple of Zhaoyou at the Xiaoyao Sect
* Wang Jia-min as **Zangfeng** (藏风), third disciple of Zhaoyou at the Xiaoyao Sect

## Crew

* Lead Producers: Wang Yirong (also Creative Director), Zhou Jing
* Director: Kuk Kok Leung
* Director & Action Director: Wang Haiqi
* Screenwriters: He Fang, Luo Xuan
* Art Director: Luan Hexin
* Makeup Designer: Tsang Ming Fai
* Costume Designer: Huang Wei
* World Concept: Hua Tian Concept Art
* Special Effects: Shen Xufeng
* Guest Composer: Guan Dazhou

## Original Soundtrack

On April 5, 2023, the production announced an extensive playlist of 13 tracks on its official Weibo. The soundtrack features vocals from an all-star cast such as Liu Yuning and unites popular OST singers Zhang Bichen and Mao Buyi on a duet for the first time.

## Production

The series began filming on October 16, 2021, and wrapped on March 26, 2022. The booting ceremony was held on November 6, 2021.

## Promotion

Youku held a press preview on April 2, 2023 and announced the next day that the drama will air from April 6 to May 9, 2023. The drama's marketing strategy is unique in the unprecedented amount of physical ads placed and strong focus on douyin (China's Tiktok). The promotional materials emphasized the show's *Dunhuang Grottoes* aesthetic inspiration and elaborate costumes.

The drama broke Youku's record with ~5.4M reservations ahead of its debut (the previous record was ~3.8M).

Physical ads in ChangshaPhysical ads in a Hangzhou shopping mall
## Reception

Till The End Of The Moon is a commercial success in China, helping Youku reach the highest number of downloads on the App e since 2018, and netted a premiere day market share of 22.76% to become the most-watched period drama on its opening day since 2020.

The drama was praised for its exquisite costumes and depictions of Dunhuang culture and Chinese mythology, and is credited with boosting tourism direct GDP for relatively unknown cities of Bengbu and Xuancheng due to similarity to existing statues and place names. Bengbu for example, received a record amount of tourists during the 2023 Labour Day holiday period, largely due to the popularity of the series.