Ashes of Love Episode 8 Recap, Plot

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King of Yan City was heartbroken upon seeing his critically injured son, Xuan Shou, and angrily confronted Xu Feng, also mentioning Chi Shou's ongoing mental instability. Xu Feng defended himself, explaining that Xuan Shou was stable after receiving 500 years of his magic power and a Golden Reinvigorating Elixir from Supreme Lord Lao. This elixir would cause Xuan Shou to sleep for three days and nights, after which he would naturally awaken once his energy was restored.

However, King of Yan City dismissed this as Xu Feng attempting to evade responsibility, even accusing him of blaspheming the Heavenly Emperor. King of Bian City intervened, suggesting that the true focus should be on apprehending the individual who deliberately released Qiong Qi. He presented his findings: on the day of Qiong Qi's escape, the guard roster at the Soul Suppress Palace had been mysteriously altered, leaving the palace unattended for half an hour during a shift change.

He also discovered dragging marks on the floor around the Melding Soul Cauldron. Given that only high-ranking Heaven Realm immortals, like Xu Feng, possessed the ability to shrink the massive cauldron for transportation, and demons did not, King of Bian City concluded that a powerful figure within the Demon Realm had intentionally orchestrated Qiong Qi's escape to ignite conflict among the six realms.

Based on King of Bian City's astute analysis, King of Yan City became convinced that King of Gu City was the perpetrator. In a private meeting, King of Yan City confronted King of Gu City, striking him with a palm attack and demanding to know if he had released Qiong Qi. King of Gu City admitted his actions, acknowledging that the Demon Lord's attack confirmed his guilt.

He explained his long-standing resentment towards the Heaven Realm, particularly Heavenly Emperor Tai Wei, who he felt had unfairly suppressed the Demon Realm since the great war, despite their historical balance of power. He declared his refusal to continue living under the Heaven Realm's thumb. His reasons for releasing Qiong Qi were two-fold: to exact revenge for a past incident at Wangchuan River and to assess the true strength of the Heaven Realm.

He asserted that the Heaven Realm was now a "paper tiger," much weaker than before, with Xu Feng being their only formidable individual. King of Gu City believed that by eliminating Xu Feng, the Heaven Realm would cease to be a threat. King of Yan City was persuaded and agreed to meticulously plan their next moves.

Later, King of Gu City's subordinate reported that, as instructed, the demon doctor had ensured Chi Shou would remain permanently insane and Xuan Shou would never recover. Despite the internal injury from King of Yan City's attack, King of Gu City remained unfazed, confident that the Demon Lord's reign was short-lived. He vowed that once he ascended to become the ruler of all six realms, he would repay all past humiliations twofold.

Jin Mi brought a bowl of bitter medicine for Xu Feng, explaining that she had spent the entire morning preparing it and that "good medicine always tastes bitter." Xu Feng initially found the medicine too unpleasant to drink, but when Jin Mi threatened to spend more time growing a Lingzhi for him instead, he relented and quickly consumed it.

After finishing, he playfully chided her for looking disheveled after cooking and joked about all the "weird things" she had fed him since their first encounter, from honey to various soups and now this extremely bitter concoction. Xu Feng then praised Jin Mi for her significant contribution in subduing Qiong Qi and offered to ask his father, the Heavenly Emperor, to officially commend her.

When Jin Mi asked for a personal reward, Xu Feng generously offered to transfer 1000 years of his magic power to her. Overjoyed, Jin Mi hugged Xu Feng, explaining that Fox Fairy had taught her that "hug gratitude" meant expressing thanks with a physical embrace. Later, Liu Ying visited Xu Feng, noting his improved health. Xu Feng confirmed he was well and planned to return to the Heaven Realm the following day to report Qiong Qi's capture.

He asked Liu Ying and King of Bian City to continue monitoring King of Yan City and King of Gu City, and Liu Ying assured him of their commitment to maintaining the truce. Meanwhile, Jin Mi, alone, spoke to the Melding Soul Cauldron, assuring her friend Rou Rou, who had died 900 years prior, that she had avenged her and would soon gather enough magic power to bring her back to life.

Suddenly, she heard Rou Rou's voice emanating from inside the cauldron, pleading for help, claiming to be in immense pain and burned by a fire seal. Unbeknownst to Jin Mi, this was Qiong Qi's mind-tricking spell, manipulating her with the illusion of her deepest desire. Bewitched, Jin Mi opened the cauldron and moved to break the supposed "fire seal." Just as she was about to do so, Xu Feng arrived.

He swiftly cast a red-glowing spell that enveloped the illusion, revealing it to be Qiong Qi, which he immediately re-sealed within the cauldron. Xu Feng's hand then showed distinct, dark red bloodstains—symptoms of Qiong Qi's plague needles. He collapsed, but before losing consciousness, he recalled Fox Fairy's words about falling deeply in love and being willing to sacrifice his life, realizing the truth of his profound feelings for Jin Mi.

A distraught Jin Mi, understanding she had been tricked, blamed herself for Xu Feng's injury. Xu Feng reassured her that his cultivation could temporarily resist the poison, but managed to utter "Night Rattan" before completely fainting. A Heavenly doctor confirmed that Xu Feng was suffering from plague needle poisoning, an extremely potent and normally incurable toxin.

The doctor explained that the poison would progress from his skin to his blood, then bone marrow, and finally his heart and lungs, leading to a complete loss of magic power within three days if an antidote wasn't found. Run Yu and Liu Ying were informed of the dire situation.

To prevent widespread panic and chaos across the six realms, Run Yu instructed Immortal Qi Huang and Kuang Lu to return to the Heaven Realm and keep Xu Feng's condition strictly confidential, a request that King of Bian City also pledged to uphold. Jin Mi then remembered Xu Feng's faint mention of "Night Rattan."

Immortal Qi Huang confirmed that the Night Rattan, a sacred plant from the Floral Realm's Pure Fountain that takes 10,000 years to grow, was indeed the antidote. However, they acknowledged the difficulty of obtaining it due to the deep-seated animosity between the Floral and Heaven Realms. Jin Mi bravely volunteered to retrieve it, despite Mr. Hu's warning that Chief Peony remained furious with her for leaving the Water Mirror.

Jin Mi resigned herself to the fact that Chief Peony would likely refuse her request, and Liu Ying offered to accompany her for support. Run Yu approved, promising to wait with Xu Feng outside the Floral Realm. Jin Mi departed, vowing to save Xu Feng. Upon arriving in the Floral Realm, Jin Mi and Liu Ying were met by Lian Qiao, who initially reacted with fear towards Liu Ying, mistaking her for a typical monster of the Demon Realm.

Jin Mi then consulted Mr. Hu about how to acquire the Night Rattan from Chief Peony. Mr. Hu confirmed that Chief Peony was still very angry about Jin Mi's unauthorized departure from the Water Mirror and would never willingly part with the sacred Night Rattan, which he himself had only seen once in a millennium.

Realizing that a direct request would be futile, Jin Mi decided she would use her transformation skills to sneak into Chuying Court and steal a plant, with Liu Ying joining her. Inside Chuying Court, Jin Mi began searching frantically through numerous plants. Her actions did not go unnoticed, and Chief Peony soon discovered her.

Liu Ying immediately stepped forward to explain Xu Feng's critical state from the plague needles, desperately pleading with Chief Peony for the Night Rattan and promising future repayment. However, Chief Peony sternly refused, citing the Floral Realm's long-standing feud with the Heaven Realm and coldly stating that Xu Feng, as a supreme immortal, could simply regain his magic power over a few millennia. Jin Mi interrupted, revealing that Xu Feng had been injured while protecting her.

An enraged Chief Peony quickly silenced Jin Mi, accusing her of constantly causing trouble. She ordered Jin Mi to be taken back to the Water Mirror and confined for a month of reflection, while simultaneously having Liu Ying bound and forcefully thrown out of the Floral Realm's protective barrier. Outside the barrier, a frustrated Liu Ying, despite being overwhelmed by multiple flower fairies, vowed to retrieve the Night Rattan.

Inside, Jin Mi continued to argue with Chief Peony, appealing to her kindness and arguing that others should not be punished for her mistakes. Chief Peony, however, remained unyielding, scolding Jin Mi for her "ill-mannered and willful" behavior and confirming her one-month confinement. Jin Mi desperately pleaded with her to save Xu Feng first, offering to accept any punishment afterward. Mr. Hu expressed his deep concern for Jin Mi.

Trapped in her confinement, Jin Mi lamented Chief Peony's "iron heart" and resolved to grow the Night Rattan herself. She asked Mr. Hu for a detailed description, and he obliged, drawing a sketch and explaining its characteristics: green leaves, blue flowers, growing on the north side of a mountain, and blooming only once a millennium.

Jin Mi then embarked on countless attempts to grow the Night Rattan using water from the Pure Fountain, but each effort failed, leaving her increasingly disheartened. Meanwhile, outside the Floral Realm, Run Yu was bravely transferring his water-element magic power to Xu Feng to stabilize his critical condition. Kuang Lu expressed concern, reminding him that ice and fire were opposing elements, making direct power transfer impossible and warning of severe backlash and qi deviation if he proceeded.

Run Yu explained his method: he would first use a portion of his spiritual power to heat his internal water-element spiritual power, then transfer the vaporized true qi into Xu Feng's body. He acknowledged the immense danger to himself but disregarded the risks, stating that Xu Feng's life was paramount and he could not afford to be cautious in such urgent circumstances. As Jin Mi was about to give up, she accidentally pricked her finger.

A drop of her blood fell onto a red rope and then onto the soil, and to her amazement, a Night Rattan miraculously sprouted. Mr. Hu confirmed its authenticity, and with the precious Night Rattan now obtained, he helped Jin Mi sneak out of the Floral Realm by having her transform into her true form. Jin Mi successfully met Run Yu and the others outside the Floral Realm, bringing the vital Night Rattan.

Relieved and hopeful, they quickly prepared the antidote. Jin Mi ground the Night Rattan into juice and personally fed it to Xu Feng, who made a swift and complete recovery. Upon regaining consciousness, Xu Feng immediately reached for and held Jin Mi's hand. At that precise moment, Chief Peony appeared. Witnessing their affectionate exchange, she sternly reprimanded both of them for their "frivolous" and inappropriate behavior.

Jin Mi attempted to take full blame for her actions, trying to protect Mr. Hu and Lian Qiao. However, Xu Feng intervened, accepting responsibility for initially bringing Jin Mi out of the Water Mirror and offering himself for punishment instead. Chief Peony dismissed his intervention, asserting that the internal affairs of the Floral Realm were none of his concern.

She sharply warned him to "behave yourself and mind your speech," implicitly accusing him of being a womanizer and explicitly stating that the fairies of the Floral Realm were off-limits for him, regardless of his charms. Xu Feng, however, steadfastly denied any misconduct and unequivocally declared to Chief Peony that Jin Mi "is indeed the one I cherish."

Episode 7 Recap

Episode 9 Recap