Episode Summary
Di Jun is furious about Jin Xiu's disappearance and Man Wu's demon hunting. Kun Lun volunteers to lead troops with Man Wu, secretly aiming to protect Jin Xiu and Hong Ning. Bai Cha rallies demons on Bai Zhou Mountain, killing dissenters. Di Jun questions his past sacrifices. Jin Xiu confronts Di Jun about her parents' deaths, leading to a fight where she's captured; Hong Ning arrives, and Jin Xiu breaks free. Lemon Spirit's group clashes with Bai Cha; Jiao Bo sacrifices himself, and Lemon Spirit is transformed. Bai Cha reveals Lu Jiu's three-tailed fox form and her role in Wu Zhang's turmoil. Kun Lun's forces arrive at Bai Zhou Mountain, facing off against Bai Cha's army, leading to a massive battle with heavy losses on both sides.
Spoiler Alert
So, we kicked off with Di Jun pretty much losing his cool. He’s demanding to know if Jin Xiu has been found, but his men report that Man Wu is off in Bai Zhou Mountain, busy chasing down demons. Di Jun is not happy, basically yelling that bringing Jin Xiu back is the priority – who cares about some random demons right now? Seeing his father stressed, Kun Lun steps up. He suggests he lead troops alongside Man Wu, hoping to smooth things over for Di Jun and, you know, maybe keep an eye on the whole Jin Xiu and Hong Ning situation. Di Jun gives him the green light.
Meanwhile, over at Bai Zhou Mountain, Bai Cha is rallying the demon troops, preaching about getting revenge on the Celestial Realm. To make her point (and probably to weed out dissent), she has two demons dragged forward. These two were apparently hoping to follow Hong Ning, not her. Bai Cha, not one for insubordination, promptly has them killed. Yikes.
Di Jun, clearly going through it, pays a visit to the Heaven's Book Sage. He’s questioning everything, wondering if his plan to make Jin Xiu the next Di Jun to ensure peace in the Celestial Realm was a mistake. He even has a vision of his own father, getting super emotional and asking what he should do. He agonizingly recalls trading his emotions to the Heaven's Book Sage eons ago, questioning if that, too, was a massive error. His father's image then vanishes, leaving him with more questions than answers.
Back to the land of the somewhat-less-tormented, Lu Yao finds Kun Lun. She’s figured out his real reason for wanting to lead the troops: to protect Jin Xiu and Hong Ning as much as possible. Kun Lun admits that without her understanding, he’d be lost. Their heart-to-heart is interrupted by Man Wu, who clearly looks down on Kun Lun and tries to just take the troops and leave. Kun Lun, however, isn't having it and sharply puts Man Wu in his place, forcing him to agree to follow his lead.
Elsewhere, Hong Ning and Jin Xiu are having a serious talk. Hong Ning asks Jin Xiu what her plans are. Jin Xiu is torn; Di Jun killed her parents, but he also raised her. She feels she needs to confront him and ask why. Hong Ning, understandably, doesn't want Jin Xiu to walk into danger, and definitely doesn't want to be left behind. Jin Xiu promises she won’t abandon her. Famous last words, apparently, because the next morning, Hong Ning wakes up to find Jin Xiu gone. True to her word in spirit, if not in physical presence, Hong Ning decides if Jin Xiu is going to face danger, she’s going right along with her.
Things take a dark turn when Lemon Spirit, Lu Jiu, and their crew arrive at Bai Zhou Mountain, only to be discovered by Bai Cha. They refuse to join her cause, and a fight breaks out. They're no match for Bai Cha. In a heartbreaking moment, Jiao Bo shields Lemon Spirit from an attack. He reveals that he was actually killed by Bai Cha when he went to Cang Wu earlier; his lingering spirit found Lemon Spirit because he couldn't bear to leave her and Hong Ning. He wonders aloud if things would have been different if he and Lemon Spirit had gone to Cang Wu together. Lemon Spirit, devastated, assures him they would have been.
With Jiao Bo dissipating, a furious Lemon Spirit attacks Bai Cha but is tragically turned into a lemon. Lu Jiu then reveals his three tails – a three-tailed nine-tailed fox! Bai Cha sneers, remarking that it’s no wonder his father despised him, but mockingly adds that his power will be useful enough for her.
The moment of confrontation arrives: Jin Xiu finds Di Jun and demands to know why he killed her parents. Di Jun’s defense? During the great Celestial-Demon war, he warned Ci Xin (Jin Xiu's mother), but she insisted on staying with the Demon King, thus, in his eyes, disregarding her own honor. A fight erupts between Jin Xiu and Di Jun, and Jin Xiu is injured and chained up. Hong Ning rushes in, declaring that she and Jin Xiu are bound together, life after life. Though Hong Ning was no match for Jin Xiu's captor, Jin Xiu, in a surge of desperate strength, forcibly breaks free from the chains.
Just as this is happening, Kun Lun and his forces arrive at Bai Zhou Mountain, coming face-to-face with Bai Cha and her demon army. Kun Lun lays down the law: Hong Ning assassinated Tian Di (the Celestial Emperor) and her crimes are unforgivable. He offers to spare the other demons if they hand Hong Ning over. Bai Cha scoffs, calling the celestials hypocrites and basically saying, "You and what army?"
To escalate things further, Bai Cha brings out Lu Jiu, planning to absorb his resentment. It’s then that Kun Lun and his men realize Bai Cha is the true source of all the chaos that plagued Wu Zhang country. Bai Cha taunts them, saying the high-and-mighty celestials have never known true suffering and can't understand the world's pain, even pointing to Kun Lun’s multiple reincarnations as proof of his privileged do-overs. It becomes clear that Kun Lun and his soldiers are outmatched by Bai Cha’s power. The episode ends with a massive battle raging between the demons and the celestial soldiers, with heavy casualties on both sides. What a cliffhanger!
