Episode Summary
In the aftermath of their battle with a beast, Han Li and Nangong Wan are accidentally exposed to an aphrodisiac toxin. They escape the closing forbidden area together after Nangong Wan loses her powers. Han Li is accepted as Elder Li Huayuan's disciple, while Nangong Wan is left powerless and troubled by her thoughts of Han Li. A new threat emerges as Wang Chan intercepts a vital Blood Spirit Flower meant for the Yan family, offering them a dubious alternative.
Spoiler Alert
After dealing with the ferocious beast, Nangong Wan takes its primordial spirit, leaving the valuable carcass for Han Li. However, she finds that she must assist him. As she attempts to retrieve the beast's inner core, something unexpected happens. They discover the beast was a rare male, and it releases a potent aphrodisiac toxin, causing both of them to lose their senses and fall into a daze.
They awaken just as the trial in the forbidden area is ending. The elders have opened the gates, warning that any disciple who doesn't exit by nightfall will be trapped until the next time the grounds are opened. Nangong Wan, now realizing the embarrassing circumstances of their situation, is mortified. To make matters worse, she has lost all of her powers. She briefly considers killing Han Li to ensure his silence about the incident.
Han Li, however, quickly swears that he will never speak of what happened to a soul. Their immediate problem is a sealed exit. Nangong Wan knows the method to open it, but in her powerless state, she needs Han Li's strength to execute it. Working together, they escape just in time. Before they part ways, Han Li introduces himself and asks for her name. Though hesitant, she tells him, and he offers his help should she ever need it, an offer she coolly dismisses.
Outside, the elders are waiting as the forbidden area seals behind the last of the disciples. Han Li emerges alone, assuming Nangong Wan has already left. It's a grim outcome; only five disciples from the Huangfeng Valley have survived the trial. Elder Li Huayuan, pleased with Han Li's survival and success in gathering some spirit herbs (Han Li cautiously only reveals a few), wins a bet with the other elders. He officially accepts Han Li as his personal disciple, a huge honor that Han Li eagerly accepts. Li Huayuan is impressed by Han Li's somber reflection on the danger of the cultivation path, seeing it as a sign of a good heart, and gifts him a sword technique manual.
Elsewhere, a powerless Nangong Wan reports her suspicions about demonic cultivators in the trial to her sect leader, who advises her to focus on recovering her strength. However, she finds herself unable to stop thinking about Han Li.
Meanwhile, a crucial delivery goes awry. Nangong Wan had arranged for a Blood Spirit Flower to be sent to the Yan family fortress. The messenger is ambushed and killed by Wang Chan, who steals the precious flower. He then approaches the Yan family, claiming that while the flower can only sustain a life, he possesses a special technique that can truly cure Yan Ruyan's ailment and even advance her cultivation.
Upon his return to the sect, Han Li is greeted by his fellow disciples, including Dong Xuan'er. They now treat him as an equal, a brother-disciple under the same master. While Nangong Wan is stuck in seclusion, agitated by her recurring thoughts of Han Li, he is focused on his own goals. Using his mysterious Small Green Bottle, Han Li begins cultivating the spirit herbs he gathered, knowing he must reach the twelfth layer of his training before they fully mature.
