一念永恒 · Yī Niàn Yǒng Héng
Most xianxia protagonists chase immortality with grit and determination. Bai Xiaochun chases it because he's absolutely terrified of dying — and he'll do whatever it takes to live forever, including accidentally becoming the most powerful cultivator in the world along the way.
A Will Eternal (一念永恒) is the rarest thing in xianxia: a cultivation story that is genuinely, consistently funny. Not "funny for a cultivation show." Actually funny. The kind of funny where you have to pause the episode because you're laughing too hard to read the subtitles.
The premise sounds like standard xianxia: orphan boy joins a cultivation sect, trains to become immortal, faces increasingly powerful enemies. But Bai Xiaochun — the protagonist — is nothing like the stoic, determined heroes of the genre. He is a coward. A glutton. A shameless schemer who will absolutely try to bribe his way out of a fight, fake his own death to avoid responsibility, or invent an entirely new cultivation technique just to make his food taste better. He is, in short, the most relatable protagonist in all of donghua — a normal person who ended up in a xianxia world and is not happy about it.
Based on the novel by Er Gen (the same author behind Renegade Immortal), A Will Eternal is a prequel of sorts — set in the same universe but centuries earlier, with a completely different tone. Where Renegade Immortal is dark and philosophical, A Will Eternal is bright and chaotic. Same world. Completely different energy. And at 106 episodes across two completed seasons, it is one of the longest and most satisfying complete donghua series available with English subtitles.
Most cultivation stories take themselves very seriously. This one has a protagonist who invents a pill that makes his farts smell like flowers — and it somehow becomes a plot-critical item. How Er Gen turned the entire xianxia genre into a comedy without losing the stakes.
He's afraid of death. He loves food more than power. He once became a sect leader by accident and immediately tried to resign. How the most unlikely protagonist in donghua became also the most beloved.
Both are Er Gen novels. Both exist in the same universe. One is a dark meditation on mortality. The other has a protagonist who names his ultimate technique "Turtle Breathing." How the same author wrote both — and why that matters.
106 episodes is a commitment. Here's what you need to know before starting: the world structure, the cultivation system (simplified), the major factions, and whether to watch subbed or dubbed.
New to A Will Eternal? Read "Why It's the Funniest Xianxia Ever Made" above for a spoiler-free overview of what makes this show special. Then start with Season 1, Episode 1 on WeTV — the English subtitles are solid, and the first episode establishes Bai Xiaochun's personality perfectly within the first five minutes.
If you enjoy this, check out Renegade Immortal — same author, same universe, completely different tone.
Read: Why It's the Funniest Xianxia →