Episode Summary
After finding the seventh relic, the team discovers that the curse has evolved, now requiring a human sacrifice to be sealed. Facing certain death, Luo Ren proposes a desperate plan: inject the relics into their own bodies to act as a "Living Knot." Upon doing so, they fall into an illusion where the seventh relic, in the form of Zhang Guanghua, reveals a millennium-long conspiracy. They learn they are descendants of ancient disciples, chosen as "containers," and their entire quest was manipulated. The episode ends as they lie unconscious in the real world, and a possessed Yan Hongsha menacingly approaches Yi Wan San.
Spoiler Alert
The Seven Relics of Ill Omen, Episode 31 Recap: The Living Knot
Just when the Phoenix Squad thought they had reached the endgame, they discovered they were merely pawns in a much older, more sinister game. The reunion of the seven ancient relics doesn't bring salvation; instead, it triggers a deadlier, evolved version of the curse, forcing Luo Ren and his team to make an unthinkable choice. The episode culminates in a shocking revelation that reframes their entire quest, revealing that their journey was never a matter of chance, but of cosmic design.
A Deadly Reunion
The episode kicks off with the team's pet, Cao Fangfang, bizarrely pecking at an ancient, gnarled tree. Mu Dai, acting on instinct, hacks open a tumor-like growth on the tree and tosses it into the water.
An Evolved Curse and a Glimmer of Hope
The Shaman (Shen Gun) delivers the grim news: the relics have evolved over the centuries.The weight of this revelation crushes them. Cao Yanhua breaks down completely, while Yi Wan San laughs bitterly at their hopeless situation.
Seeking solitude, Yan Hongsha retreats to her room. It's her birthday, and she quietly sticks unlit matches into a cup of instant noodles, a lonely celebration. But her friends haven't forgotten. Yi Wan San rallies the others, and they surprise her with a birthday cake, a small, warm moment of hope that cuts through the suffocating despair.
Luo Ren's Desperate Gamble: The Living Knot
As the Shaman tries to lift their spirits with a bucket of fried chicken, Luo Ren finds inspiration in an unlikely place: a child's maze drawing on the street. A radical idea forms in his mind. He gathers the team and declares, "If we play by the old rules, we die. We have to become the 'living knot'—something that can't be destroyed." His plan is insane: to inject the relics directly into their own bodies, turning themselves into human containers to seal the curse.The odds are, at best, 50/50, but with no other options, the team unanimously agrees.
Vows in the Snow and a Final Request
On the eve of their potentially fatal decision, the team prepares for the worst. Yan Hongsha clutches a photo of her grandfather, while Mu Dai chooses not to tell her guardian, Huo Zihong, to spare her the worry. As a rare snow begins to fall, Luo Ren takes Mu Dai's hand. "If we make it back alive," he says, "let's get married." Mu Dai smiles and nods, sealing a promise in the silent, snowy woods.
The five members inject the relics and hand a dagger to the terrified Shaman. "If anything goes wrong," Luo Ren instructs, "you know what to do." An agonizing ten minutes pass with no change. To break the tension, they joke about trivial things they're entrusting him with and decide to take one last group photo. Just as they pose, they all freeze, their bodies going rigid. They've been pulled into an illusion.
The Millennium-Long Conspiracy Revealed
Inside the illusion, Zhang Guanghua appears, but not as they know him. "I am the seventh relic," he announces with a cold smile. He proceeds to unravel a conspiracy that has spanned a thousand years. When the ancient sage first scattered the relics, they secretly embedded five "connectors" into the minds of his disciples. The Phoenix Squad—Luo Ren, Mu Dai, and the others—are the descendants of these very disciples, carrying the connectors deep within their minds.
The ultimate goal of the relics is nothing less than the destruction of the world. The seventh relic then turns its attention to Mu Dai, revealing a personal truth about her identity: she was never an abandoned baby.
The episode snaps back to reality. The Shaman has dragged the five unconscious team members into a tent. Cao Fangfang is nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Yan Hongsha's body begins to contort unnaturally as she slowly, menacingly, moves toward Yi Wan San.
The episode ends on a terrifying cliffhanger, leaving several questions hanging in the balance. With the "connectors" now activating, is Yan Hongsha's horrific transformation a direct result of the relic's control, or is another force at play? And how will the stunning truth of Mu Dai's parentage provide the key to stopping the impending apocalypse?
