mo dao zu shi () is a donghua series aired in 2018 and 2019, based on the bl novel of the same name written by mo xiang tong xiu (). it is produced by tencent penguin pictures and b.c may pictures, and created by g.cmay animation & film. the series depicts a fictional xianxia world where humans attempt to cultivate to a state of immortality, known as xian (). the protagonist of the series, wei wuxian, due to certain circumstances, deviated from the conventional cultivation path to xian, and eventually created mo dao (the demonic path), which is why this series is often unofficially translated by fan communities as "grandmaster of demonic path/cultivation", or "the founder of diabolism".