The ballad of WangXian has reached far and wide, the song has ended but the people do not leave. Here are examples of the best tracks of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi.
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Animation
- The opening "Drunken Dreams of the Past" (醉梦前尘)
, sung by Lin Zhixuan aka Terry Lin, a really famous Mandopop singer who got nominated for the Golden Melody Awards' "Best Mandarin Male Artist" five times.- The musical style is very reminiscent of the older classical wuxia shows' opening music. It is both nostalgic and majestic, invoking the feeling of heroism associated with wuxia. It's very befitting the main character Wei Wuxian. The two major instruments used are flute and guqin, the instruments representative of the two main characters.
- The lyrics are mostly written from Wei Wuxian's perspective, about his sense of justice and his relationship with Lan Wangji and how "not once have [they] betrayed [their] own hearts". It also touches on how, despite his just intentions, Wei Wuxian falls from grace. This song has definitely moved this writer to tears.
- There's the duet version sung by Zhang Jie and Bian Jiang (who voiced Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, respectively). Since the song is essentially about them, this song might hit the listener in a personal level, with the rearrangement of the tune and the new vocals invoking a deeper sense of nostalgia, sorrow, resolution, and love.
- The official Korean version of the song is able to keep true to the feel of the original version while putting its own spin on the theme thanks to the singer's solemn yet equally powerful vocals.
- The first ending: "Asking the Zither" (问琴), sung by Yin Lin, a rather well known "Chinese-wind" singer who had previously worked on some of the most popular fan songs in the fandom. If "Drunken Dreams of the Past" is from Wei Wuxian's perspective and is a song about his heroics, then "Asking the Zither" is from Lan Wangji's perspective during the thirteen years after Wei Wuxian's death. It details how Lan Wangji mourns Wei Wuxian; drinking Wei Wuxian's favorite wine, crossing the entirety of China to quell chaos, bringing justice the way Wei Wuxian attempted. The original novel never went into details about Lan Wangji's experiences in those thirteen years but this song manages to convey a sense of that melancholy ("time passes by, who has forgotten and who has their heart broken"). The song ends on a hopeful note, however, with the lines "looking back with a smile, it all seemed to be a dream", foreshadowing Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's eventual happy ending.
- "No Envies" (不羡), the second ending theme song sung by the pop group S.I.N.G, perfectly captures the more downhearted side of the story with its beautiful instrumentals. It's telling that this song is featured in episodes 9 to 13 of the first season, which covers the entire period when everything starts to go downhill for our protagonist. That being said, the lyrics are more uplifting since, as said in its title, both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have nothing to worry about as long as they have each other.
- "Cloud's Longing" (羡云) is the donghua's rendition of the In-Universe song "WangXian". One could say that among the three existing renditions, this is the most heartfelt, since while the lyrics of the other two songs make it obvious that this is from the viewpoints of both the protagonists after the events of the novel, this version is clearly sung from Lan Wangji's sole point of view during the time he started coming to terms with his feelings for Wei Wuxian. After the final episode of the donghua aired on October 16, 2021, a duet rendition was released, sung by none other than Zhang Jie and Bian Jiang. With the timing of when the song was released, it hammers in that after all that they had been through, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji find comfort and home in each other and have finally made their way towards a happy ending together.
- Kiro, the first ending of the Japanese dub sung by Aimer, is a powerful ballad that perfectly fits the show's tone. The lyrics capture the bittersweet feeling of someone trying to keep the same views in life even with the spiral of time and seasons passing by while waiting for spring to come, and it can also be a viewpoint of Lan Wanji mourning and honoring his memories of Wei Wuxian while waiting for him to come back.
Audio Drama
- The first ending song, "Unknown Song" (何以歌), sung by Aki Ajie, who also sang "East Wind's Blessing" (东风志), one of the most popular fan songs in the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi fandom. Even Mo Xiang Tong Xiu herself went out of her way to sing it. Aki Ajie described her inspiration for "Unknown Song" on Weibo as such:Aki Ajie: If "East Wind's Blessing" was about the deep feelings from Lan Wangji's perspective, this piece is about the sudden realization from Wei Wuxian's perspective. I have always thought that the feelings between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian throughout the entire book properly started the time Wei Wuxian played his flute to calm the Ghost General (Wen Ning). When Wei Wuxian so naturally played that flute melody, what was floating on his mind? Unbeknownst to even himself, it was his memories of a certain individual. That short song does not even have a proper name; its composer was Lan Wangji and its performer Wei Wuxian. That moment, the winds of change began to blow and another war loomed imminent. Ever since the instant of that intimate flute song, Lan Wangji's eyes were able to pierce the strange skin to see the familiar soul underneath. The principle object of worship, Wei Wuxian, only discovered later that all along, his heart had been persistently remembering another person.
- The first duet between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, Evocation (招魂). In context, the resentful energy from the spirit within the severed left arm is so strong it had injured several Lan clan members, including Lan Wangji's uncle (who passed out). Wei Wuxian was the only one strong enough to duet with Lan Wangji to summon the spirit in hopes to pacify it. The major instruments are also zither and flute, with Wei Wuxian's flute taking the lead role. Which makes sense seeing as he is the titular Founder of Diabolism and knows how to deal with dead, resentful spirits. The drum in the background is pretty indicative of the dire situation. This is an awesome song in universe too given Wei Wuxian played this on a crappy flute he made in matter of minutes.
- The track that plays in Season 2 Episode 7 when the Sunshot Campaign nears its end, with the sounds of the dizi, guqin, and xiao, along with operatic chanting in the background, combining to make an epic requiem.
- The erhu cover of "WangXian" that plays when Wei Wuxian finally confesses to Lan Wangji might be the most emotional rendition of the song yet, being the epitome of classical Chinese music all the while moving the listener to tears.
- "Set Me Free From This World" (人间纵我), the final ending theme of the audio drama, is an epic yet equally emotional rock song that succinctly narrates the story in its own way. The final lyrics do this best: the world is morally grey; hate, love, evil, and good are not as simple as they seem; but our heroes — after all the suffering they went through separately and together — found happiness by each other's side and will now live a content life together for the years to come.
