General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Fangs of Fortune (大梦归离)

Fangs of Fortune (大梦归离, Da Meng Gui Li), also known as Bai Ze Ling (白泽令) and The Story of Mystics, is a 2024 Chinese costume fantasy television series that streamed exclusively on iQiyi from October 26 to November 16, 2024, in 34 episodes¹. Produced by iQiyi with Zuishi Culture and built by the Aoyu studio, it stars Hou Minghao, Chen Duling, Tian Jiarui, and Cheng Xiao, with Lin Ziye, Xu Zhenxuan, Yan An, and Lai Weiming in supporting roles². The story is drawn from creatures in the ancient Chinese gazetteer Classic of Mountains and Seas (《山海经》) and follows a demon-hunting squad in a world where humans, gods, and demons coexist².

Key fact	Detail
Native title	大梦归离 (Da Meng Gui Li); also 白泽令 (Bai Ze Ling) and The Story of Mystics¹
Broadcast	iQiyi, October 26 to November 16, 2024, 34 episodes, airing at 19:00¹
Lead cast	Hou Minghao, Chen Duling, Tian Jiarui, Cheng Xiao; Lin Ziye, Xu Zhenxuan, Yan An, Lai Weiming in featured roles²
Premise	In the Zhenyuan era, the death of the Bai Ze goddess unleashes demon beasts; the demon leader Zhu Yan, in human form as Zhao Yuanzhou, surrenders to help found a demon-hunting bureau¹
Source material	Creature designs drawn from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, with more than ten beasts including Zhu Yan, Lilun, Ranyi, and Chenghuang²
Virtual production	iQiyi's third virtual-production drama, with seven main scenes shot on the IQ Stage system; about 95% of virtual footage needed no post-production³
Reception	Douban opened at 4.9/10 and rose to 5.0 by November 18, 2024; iQiyi internal heat passed 8500 on October 31, 2024; IMDb 7.6/10 from 773 votes⁴^•⁵^•⁶

Spoilers

Premise and characters

The story is set in the fictional Zhenyuan era. The Bai Ze goddess, who governed the realms of humans and demons, dies unexpectedly, and the sacred Bai Ze Order goes missing; demon beasts then roam the human world, causing chaos and bloody murders¹. Zhu Yan, the leader of all demons who has taken human form under the name Zhao Yuanzhou (Hou Minghao), volunteers to surrender and proposes that the imperial court establish a demon-hunting bureau, the Jiyao Si, to quell the disorder¹.

He is joined by four others: Wen Xiao (Chen Duling), the Bai Ze goddess who remains wary of Zhao Yuanzhou; Zhuo Yichen (Tian Jiarui), her childhood friend, a consul of the bureau skilled in investigation and swordsmanship and a descendant of the Bingyi clan; Pei Sijing (Cheng Xiao), a cool-tempered archer formerly of the martial camp; and Bai Jiu (Lin Ziye), a young and timid but gifted physician¹^•². As the five solve cases, they unmask the beasts recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas and gradually uncover a conspiracy behind the demons' attacks². iQiyi's synopsis frames the drama around whether the squad's friendship and the love between the top demon and the goddess can survive the weight of duty and loss¹.

Production and virtual filming

Virtual production. The series was iQiyi's third drama made with virtual production, after My Journey to You (云之羽) and Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Yue Hong; the same creative team had first used the technology on My Journey to You³. Seven principal scenes, including the Sutra Archive pavilion (藏卷馆) and the shore of the Dahai wilderness (大荒海边), were built on iQiyi's IQ Stage system, and the platform stated that the show led Chinese dramas then released in the volume of virtual-production footage, the length of the production period, and the number of virtual scenes³.

Zhu Liang, iQiyi's vice president and head of intelligent production, said the pipeline used millimeter-precision previsualization that accounted for each camera body, lens, and sensor size before key scenes were shot, and that about 95% of the virtual-production frames required no later visual-effects work³. The system also matched virtual rain and snow to live-action precipitation in shape, size, speed, and density, which the production used for scenes such as Zhuo Yichen's room shifting from green trees to snow³. The accumulated digital assets can be reused in later projects³.

Direction. Sources differ on the director credit. Baidu Baike titles the series as directed by Zhang Yimin (张弋敏)⁷, while an iQiyi 2024–2025 slate table lists Guo Jingming in the director column for the title⁸, and commentary in The Paper discusses the show as Guo Jingming's work, describing its signature slow-motion close-ups, lavish sets, and visual style⁹.

Reception

Commercially, the series performed strongly on its home platform. Its iQiyi internal heat value passed 6000 within hours of the October 26 premiere, reached 8000 the next day, and broke 8500 by October 31, 2024⁵. It was named an Annual Outstanding Series in the drama unit of the 2024 iQiyi Scream Night awards on December 8, 2024⁷.

Critical reception was more divided. On Douban, the Chinese review site, the series opened at 4.9 out of 10, a figure reported internationally as a disappointment for an idol-led drama¹⁰, and rose to 5.0 on November 18, 2024⁴. Chinese industry commentators cited by Sina News criticized the slow early pacing, dialogue-heavy episodes, and a mismatch between some actors and their roles, while crediting the visuals, cinematography, and art direction⁴. Guo Jingming's style drew both praise and mockery: one commentary described the show as beautiful in image but loose in plot, with long takes that resembled staged music-video shots rather than storytelling⁹. Among English-speaking viewers the series fared better, holding an IMDb rating of 7.6/10 from 773 votes⁶.

Music and merchandising

The original soundtrack comprises 26 tracks, including the theme song performed by Li Yuchun and the tragedy-themed "Cloak of Dream's Flame" (梦的烛衣) sung by Zhang BiChen¹¹. The drama released a sequence of music videos during its run, among them "无心生大梦" in mid-November and "梦的烛衣" on November 20, 2024⁷.

iQiyi launched an official merchandise line alongside the broadcast, including an official art book, a tie-in novel with postcards and limited signed posters, plush finger puppets, cotton dolls, character standees, keychains, and metal badges, with lottery draws for props used in the series such as Zhao Yuanzhou's white jade pot¹².

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026