Episode Summary
Wangquan Hongye, with whitened hair, dramatically enters Shenhuo Mountain Manor to confront Jin Renfeng. After a brief clash, the Wangquan Sword and the Wangquan family's elite guardians arrive, along with Butler Fei and young masters, forcing Jin Renfeng to allow Huai Zhu to be "married" into the Wangquan family as a concubine – a strategic move to save her quickly. Though a concubine in name, she's treated as a primary wife. Hongye becomes the new Wangquan family head but loses his "sword heart." Huai Zhu then tasks Butler Fei with finding Qin Lan (who is secretly protected by a decoy) and researching Jin Renfeng's blood-changing technique. She discovers a weakness: the stolen blood doesn't regenerate. Huai Zhu attempts to assassinate Jin Renfeng, managing to wound his hand but getting severely injured herself. Wangquan Hongye saves her and further injures Jin Renfeng, causing him to age rapidly. With the Yiqi Meng weakened, demons attack, and Hongye struggles to maintain peace, doubting himself and losing his connection with his sword.
Spoiler Alert
So, the episode kicks off with Wangquan Hongye, looking like he’s been through the wringer – his hair mostly white – making a dramatic entrance at Shenhuo Mountain Manor. He literally carves open the main gate with his sword energy and just drags his sword in, step by heavy step. Jin Renfeng, the current big bad at the manor, doesn't even recognize him at first. But Huai Zhu? She knows that sword energy anywhere; it’s her Wangquan Hongye.
Jin Renfeng, ever the antagonist, immediately launches a "Divine Fire" attack at Hongye. Hongye parries with his sword, but here’s the kicker – it’s not the Wangquan Sword. So, while it blocks the fire, the blade disintegrates into dust right after. Ouch.
Thinking Hongye is no real threat now, Jin Renfeng whips out an even more powerful "Pure Yang Fire." Instinctively, Huai Zhu throws herself in front of Hongye to shield him. But just when you think it's over for them, the legendary Wangquan Sword itself comes flying in from out of nowhere, easily neutralizing the Divine Fire! And if that wasn't cool enough, Wangquan Mountain Manor’s four elite guardians – Feng, Yu, Lei, and Dian (literally Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning) – drop in from the sky to protect Wangquan Hongye and Dongfang Huai Zhu. Jin Renfeng tries to play it cool, but then Fei Guanjia (Butler Fei) from the Wangquan family strolls in, and he’s not alone. He’s brought all the top young martial artists from the Wangquan family. Now, Jin Renfeng starts to sweat.
See, the Wangquan family and Shenhuo Mountain Manor are pretty evenly matched in power. But with the Wangquan’s four top guardians and their best young fighters all gathered, Jin Renfeng knows he’s outmatched, no matter how skilled he is. Fei Guanjia, despite this massive show of force, states their purpose clearly: the Wangquan family is here for a marriage. They intend to marry Jin Renfeng's "cousin," a certain Churi Huai Zhu. Jin Renfeng is obviously furious and doesn't want to hand Dongfang Huai Zhu over. However, Fei Guanjia lays out the power dynamics and the potential consequences, leaving Jin Renfeng fuming but ultimately forced to let the Wangquan family take Huai Zhu.
Now, why "Churi Huai Zhu"? It was a clever move by Fei Guanjia to hide Dongfang Huai Zhu’s true identity as the eldest daughter of the Dongfang family. This way, Jin Renfeng, who had taken control of Shenhuo Mountain Manor, couldn't use her real status as an excuse to prevent them from taking her. And here’s another twist: Wangquan Hongye could only marry Huai Zhu as a concubine. It was a tough pill to swallow, but a necessary evil. Marrying her as a primary wife would involve a ton of complicated rituals and procedures, giving Jin Renfeng plenty of opportunities to sabotage things. Marrying her as a concubine, however, was much simpler – an eight-carrier sedan chair could take her away. It was the quickest, most straightforward way to get her out of there.
Fei Guanjia delivered on his promise to Wangquan Hongye. In return, Hongye kept his end of the bargain: he picked up the Wangquan Sword, officially becoming the new head of the Wangquan family. Taking Huai Zhu as a concubine was indeed the only viable solution at the moment. However, the Wangquan family, classy as ever, conducted the wedding ceremony with all the honors and rituals befitting a primary wife. After marrying into the Wangquan family, Huai Zhu's status within the household was no different from that of a primary wife. On that day, the most formidable swordsman Dongfang Huai Zhu had ever known took up the most powerful sword in the world, but tragically, his "sword heart" – the very essence of his swordsmanship and spirit – was gone.
After the wedding, Huai Zhu had two important matters she needed Fei Guanjia’s help with. Before she even spoke, Fei Guanjia, perceptive as always, guessed the first was about Qin Lan. He had already sent people out to search for Qin Lan. Furthermore, he arranged for a niece of similar age to live in a hidden, protected location, guarded by Feng, Yu, Lei, Dian, and four elite disciple teams in rotation. This was a decoy, to make everyone believe Qin Lan was safely hidden there, thus stopping any further searches for her.
Huai Zhu's second request was to investigate the origins of the Shuizhi Yaozu (Leech Demon Clan)'s blood-changing technique and how Jin Renfeng learned it. Fei Guanjia brought her all the ancient texts related to this dark art. From these records, Huai Zhu discovered a critical weakness: while the technique could steal the Dongfang family's spiritual blood, it couldn't regenerate it. This meant even a small wound could be fatal to Jin Renfeng.
Armed with this knowledge, Huai Zhu planned an assassination. Unfortunately, Jin Renfeng was wearing protective armor. She managed to slash his hand, but in retaliation, Jin Renfeng severely wounded her. Just as he was about to deliver a killing blow, Wangquan Hongye appeared, taking the hit for Huai Zhu. He then counter-attacked, wounding Jin Renfeng. The effect on Jin Renfeng was dramatic: he aged rapidly, soon looking like an ancient, withered old man. The price for Huai Zhu? Severe injuries and a greatly weakened constitution.
The episode doesn't end there. Because the Yiqi Meng (Unity Alliance) had lost most of its young elite fighters, its overall strength was massively diminished. The Yaozu (Demon Clan) seized this opportunity to launch widespread attacks. Pleas for help flooded Wangquan Mountain Manor like snowflakes, and all eyes were on Wangquan Hongye, the new family head who had lost his sword heart, to see how he would handle this crisis. Wangquan Hongye threw himself into stopping the conflicts between humans and demons, but it was an endless battle; he couldn't kill all the demons. The peace he so desperately sought between humans and demons remained elusive. After sacrificing everything to prevent the Hei Hu (Black Fox) from entering their world, only to see things devolve into this chaos, Wangquan Hongye began to doubt himself profoundly. This deep self-doubt had a tangible effect: he could no longer achieve that perfect, spiritual union with his sword.
