Episode Summary
In "Feud" Episode 5, an assassination attempt on Li Qingyue by a shadow assassin, secretly sent by Fan Ling'er, goes awry. Li Qingyue fights back but is ultimately chased off a cliff. She is rescued from a deadly fall and a subsequent dragon attack by Bai Jiusi. Initially, Bai Jiusi distrusts her story, believing she has ulterior motives for being near the forbidden Cold Pond.
Spoiler Alert
Feud: Episode 5 Recap & Spoilers
The episode opens with a shadowy assassin materializing at Li Qingyue’s bedside, ready to strike. Just as the figure lunges, a closet door bursts open. Yin Tongzi, who was hiding inside, shouts a warning, giving Li Qingyue a precious moment to react. A fight ensues, but Li Qingyue, with her limited magical abilities, is quickly overpowered. She uses the chaos to escape, desperately seeking out Ning Yan, who has transformed into a divine tree to rest and cultivate her powers. Despite Li Qingyue’s frantic calls, Ning Yan remains unresponsive.
Elsewhere, a worried Fan Jiaojiao seeks out her daughter, Fan Ling'er. She fears Ling'er might do something rash to harm Li Qingyue and urges her to let go of her animosity. Ling'er dismissively brushes off her mother's concerns. Though Fan Jiaojiao is initially placated by her daughter's nonchalant act, she notices something terrifying as she leaves: Fan Ling'er has no shadow. She instantly realizes her daughter has used the forbidden "Eye-Killing Tree" to dispatch the assassin and rushes off to intervene.
Her intervention comes too late. The shadow assassin corners Li Qingyue on a cliff's edge. In the struggle, she loses her footing and plummets into the abyss below. Miles away, Bai Jiusi senses a sharp pang of danger connected to her. Li Qingyue’s fall is broken by a thick vine just before she hits the ground, but her ordeal is far from over. A furious white flood dragon emerges from the lake at the bottom of the ravine. As Li Qingyue stares in panic, Bai Jiusi suddenly appears and swiftly subdues the beast, forcing it back into the depths.
Bai Jiusi immediately questions a shaken Li Qingyue, demanding to know why she is in this forbidden place. She recounts the assassination attempt, but he is skeptical, suspecting an ulterior motive. His distrust is so strong that he considers killing her himself to prevent future complications. However, seeing the genuine terror and honesty in her eyes as she faints from her injuries, he stays his hand.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Zhang Suan is training relentlessly, driven by the hope of ascending to the heavens to protect Li Qingyue. His master, seeing his desperate efforts, informs him of the imminent arrival of the Scorching Sun Fruit. This legendary fruit can not only repair Zhang Suan’s damaged "Qi Sea" but also grant him the power to ascend. Though the competition for the fruit will be fierce, Zhang Suan becomes determined to claim it. He also begins to inquire about the history of the powerful Great Cheng Xuanzun, learning of a bygone era when a group known as the Four Spirits were formidable enough to rival even Bai Jiusi. He learns they resided in the Cang Lei Dian Palace—the very same place Li Qingyue was first housed in the Ninth Heaven. He discovers a dark truth: it was Bai Jiusi who led the charge that annihilated the Four Spirits and imprisoned their powerful mount, a white snake.
Back in the Ninth Heaven, Li Qingyue lies unconscious while Bai Jiusi launches an investigation into her attack. However, no one can corroborate her story of a shadow assassin. Ning Yan, having lost her five senses as part of her cultivation, was completely unaware of the events. Fan Jiaojiao and Fan Ling'er listen as Cang Tu delivers his report. Ling'er cleverly deflects suspicion, suggesting that Li Qingyue fabricated the entire story as an excuse to get close to the Cold Pond. Terrified that her daughter's actions will be exposed and ruin them both, Fan Jiaojiao pressures Ling'er to either flee or confess her crime.
When Li Qingyue finally awakens, her first question is whether Bai Jiusi came to see her. Ning Yan sadly informs her that he did not. This sparks the first real seed of doubt in Li Qingyue’s mind about his true intentions for marrying her. She questions Ning Yan about the white snake in the Cold Pond, but Ning Yan only knows that the area is strictly forbidden.
At the same time, Bai Jiusi is alerted that the seal on the dangerous entity Prison of Illusions is weakening, and he rushes away to reinforce it. When Li Qingyue tries to leave her courtyard for a walk, she finds that Bai Jiusi has stationed high-ranking guards at her gate, effectively confining her. Frustrated, she decides to focus on learning magic with Ning Yan.
The truth is finally revealed when Bai Jiusi interrogates Yin Tongzi, who recounts the night's events exactly as they happened. Struck with guilt for having wronged Li Qingyue, Bai Jiusi immediately orders a personal kitchen to be built for her as a gesture of his apology. Later, Yin Tongzi also reveals to Li Qingyue that Bai Jiusi had been visiting her secretly while she was unconscious, watching over her from the shadows. Realizing his feelings for her are genuine, her doubts melt away, and their bond deepens. However, this tender moment is followed by an alarming discovery: she learns that the white snake imprisoned at the bottom of the Cold Pond—the former mount of the Four Spirits—is scheduled to be destroyed through magical refinement the very next day.
