As the C-drama officially ended its filming today, Li Yun Rui and Liu Xie Ning’s historical romance drama, Sea of No Return, has also dropped its first trailer (watch below) and, Holy Sheeyut, I have to say this drama looks epic!
The new Sea of No Return trailer has Li Yun Rui as vassal king Yuwen Liang Shi on horseback and surrounded by his troops as Liu Xie Ning, who plays Grand Princess Murong Jun, beats the grievance drum.
The trailer then moves to a scene where the two are together, with a line of soldiers behind them, while a screaming horde of military men rush towards the pair attacking them.
We then see various scenes of the pair either together or alone, which then move to one where they are seated across each other at a tea table as Murong Jun pulls a knife on Yuwen Liang Shi and holds it to his throat.
Some things may be different than what they seem, however, as we see the pair obviously getting married as they are holding a red silk marriage ribbon.
Of course, battles are still not far away, as we next see Yuwen Liang Shi surrounded by soldiers and fighting for his life as Murong Jun stands behind him holding a sword to her throat.
The trailer ends with Yuwen Liang Shi running up the long flight of stairs towards the Royal Palace and kneeling at the feet of Murong Jun as she hands him a blade.
Yep, epic perfectly describes the Sea of No Return trailer.
A drama I have had on my “Must Watch” list since I first heard about it as, not only does its new trailer make this thing look fabulous, but its cast is pretty damned perfect as well.
The cast of Sea of No Return
Along with the two leads, the Sea of No Return cast also has a very large, and dare I see spectacular, supporting cast.
That cast includes Zhang Shi An (Ashes to Crown), Zhou Qi (Xiao Wen Jing / Zhang Mo in The Vendetta of An), Xuan Lu (Rose and Gun), Bai Shu (who I have loved since his performance as Teng She in Love and Redemption), Jiang Xue Ming (Kill My Sins), Wang Qiang Guo (Kill Me Love Me), Ye Zu Xin (whose performance as crippled Marquis Gu Yu in The Vendetta of An was spectacular), Zhang Nan (The Wanted Detective), Yin Xiao Tian (Shendu Fox Detective), Bian Cheng (who played 4th Prince Gong Zi Nan in The Princess’s Gambit), and Li Mu Feng (Generation to Generation) to name just a few.
And, by the way, I really like this pairing of Li Yun Rui and Liu Xie Ning.
He caught my attention when he played Yuan Shen in Love Like the Galaxy, and has captivated me since in dramas like The Last Immortal and Yummy Yummy Yummy. I even liked his performance in the recent Rebirth, even though the drama itself was disappointingly poor. (And yes, I’m hoping Sea of No Return is a huge success for him, after he must have been incredibly disappointed with the reception, both in China and internationally, for Rebirth).
Meanwhile, Liu Xie Ning was outstanding in both Story of Kunning Palace and last year’s Perfect Match, so I’m excited to see what kind of chemistry she can drum up with Li Yun Rui who, I admit, is sometimes a little reserved with his leading ladies.
The Sea of No Return plot looks like this
The drama’s plot too, while, sure, it’s just another Chinese historical romance drama featuring a star-crossed pair, still sounds like a helluva lot of fun.
Baidu describes it like this:
In a chaotic world, one is Yuwen Liang Shi (played by Li Yun Rui), an ambitious prince burdened with a family feud, and the other is Princess Murong Jun (Liu Xie Ning), who carries the weight of the dynasty’s glory.
The emperor fears the prince’s power, while the prince, burdened with family hatred, also harbors ambitions to seize the throne. Because of this, a fierce battle ensues between intruders and schemers.
Yuwen Liang Shi, driven by a mission of revenge, and Murong Jun, determined to protect Daye, both set up schemes, yet gradually become drawn to each other. Family feuds, love, and saving the world all come together as the two break through the chaos of the world, forging an immortal legend.
The 3-month filming for Sea of No Return began on March 6th (see cast booting ceremony photos), and ended today, June 11th, 2026.
And is it just me who, even after two decades-plus of watching Chinese dramas, I am still blown away by how absolutely phenomenal of a series the Chinese are able to create in just three months???
This one, however, looks like a complete standout. Even for the Chinese.
Of course, we will now have to wait a year or so before Sea of No Return premieres, and we can see first-hand how utterly fabulous this one turned out.
I will update you throughout the next, very long, months as more promo pieces, and other trailers, are released.
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