Divine Destiny Episode 23 Recap
> Divine Destiny Recap
Demon Emperor Yi Xuan adamantly refused to release Ji Ruochen, asserting his authority. However, the Endless Sea owner, a mysterious voice, scoffed at Yi Xuan's bravado, reminding him of their long-standing acquaintance and his reluctance to resort to force. The Endless Sea owner then turned to Ji Ruochen, questioning why he sought help when he possessed the means to free himself. Ji Ruochen, bound by spell-infused vines, realized the owner was suggesting he could utilize the Blue Fire within him.
As Ji Ruochen focused, the blue flames surged, melting away his restraints. Seeing Ji Ruochen was fine, the Endless Sea owner promptly disappeared. Enraged by Ji Ruochen's escape, Demon Emperor Yi Xuan pursued him, boasting that the power of the Sand Sea could counter even divine soldiers. Yet, as Ji Ruochen fully unleashed the Blue Fire, an ancient divine weapon, the Asura Spear, astonishingly recognized him as its master.
Stunned, Yi Xuan swore to kill Ji Ruochen despite his newfound power, prompting Ji Ruochen to flee with Zhang Yinyin. Ji Ruochen and Zhang Yinyin found refuge with an Old God named Jia Geng, who claimed to have merely stumbled upon them while collecting herbs. Jia Geng immediately recognized Ji Ruochen's prowess, noting his acquisition of the Asura Spear. Ji Ruochen explained the spear had chosen him, crediting Jia Geng's swift wind for helping him escape the Demon Emperor.
Jia Geng revealed he had used his divine power to mask the area from the Demon Emperor. Ji Ruochen also noticed his injuries had miraculously healed, and Jia Geng explained it was due to their proximity to a spiritual cave within the Zijin Palace, a source of potent spiritual energy. While speaking, Jia Geng's son, Jia Xuan, a powerful spiritual tortoise who had cultivated for a thousand years, became agitated.
Jia Geng revealed that his son had been severely injured by Demon Emperor Yi Xuan after causing chaos in the Zijin Palace over a century ago, and he had been using the spiritual cave to heal him. Ji Ruochen then confessed their mission was to destroy the spiritual cave.
Jia Geng, while admitting he usually stayed out of the Three Realms' conflicts, implored them to wait until Jia Xuan’s wounds were fully healed, which were almost mended after over a hundred years of treatment. Moved by Jia Geng’s plea, Ji Ruochen agreed to wait. Jia Geng observed Zhang Yinyin, realizing she had exchanged her precious memories for Nuwa's tear to save Ji Ruochen.
Ji Ruochen was astonished by Jia Geng's insight and desperately asked if Zhang Yinyin's memory could be restored. Jia Geng stated that amnesia caused by Nuwa's tear was incurable and advised Ji Ruochen that his relationship with Zhang Yinyin, akin to a moon in a mirror or a flower in water, would only bring more pain if he clung to it.
He could, however, eliminate the demon poison that had recently resurfaced in Zhang Yinyin due to her spiritual power becoming chaotic after the Love Devouring Venerable took her memories, causing the Huanyao Root to reawaken. Jia Geng promised to create pills to suppress the Huanyao Root again. Suddenly, the spiritual power within the spiritual cave surged, causing Jia Xuan to lose control and rush towards it.
Despite Ji Ruochen's desperate attempts to stop him, Jia Xuan became increasingly frantic, compelling Ji Ruochen to make a difficult choice. Realizing the cave's dangerous influence on Jia Xuan, Ji Ruochen reluctantly used the Asura Spear to destroy it. With a thunderous collapse, the spiritual cave was gone. Jia Geng lamented Jia Xuan's fate, stating this outcome was "God's will," as his son's greed and eagerness for healing had led to his transformation.
Back in the Endless Sea, its owner, addressing Gu Qing as Qingyi, spoke of her impatience, referencing her visit to the Dragon and Tiger Universal Cannon, and dispatched Ling, Dragon Elephant, and White Tiger to protect her, explicitly instructing them not to interfere with the spiritual cave's destruction. Meanwhile, the Imperial Advisor, having been injured during the attempt to prevent the spiritual cave's destruction, became frantic upon learning of it.
He began manipulating Gu Qing by fabricating stories that Ji Ruochen had fully succumbed to the Nine Nether Blue Flames, becoming a demon who indiscriminately killed and was disrupting the Three Realms. Despite Gu Qing's initial disbelief, Yinfeng echoed the Imperial Advisor's claims, emphasizing their duty as members of the God Realm to eliminate demons. Reluctantly, Gu Qing agreed to confront Ji Ruochen.
The Imperial Advisor, in a private conversation, expressed his belief that Gu Qing's lingering affection for Ji Ruochen made her easily manipulated, but he planned to force her hand if she proved unable to act. In the aftermath of the spiritual cave's destruction, Jia Geng implored Ji Ruochen to accept Jia Xuan's soul, which had transformed into a Chaos Thunder Dragon, as his primordial weapon, giving his son a purpose.
Ji Ruochen agreed, transforming the dragon into a ring he wore. Jia Geng then revealed the spiritual cave's true nature: while it could heal, excessive absorption of its spiritual energy could corrupt one's mind, as it had Jia Xuan. He explained that Master Ziyang’s decision to destroy all spiritual caves was to prevent imbalances in the Three Realms' destiny. He hoped Ji Ruochen would destroy all the remaining spiritual caves in the world.
As the moon grew full, Jia Geng also shared a secret: on the night of a Seven-Star Combination and full moon, during a space-time dislocation, there might be a fleeting opportunity for individuals to experience a temporal reversal, which could potentially offer a turning point for Zhang Yinyin's memory, though he couldn’t guarantee its success. Soon after, Demon Emperor Yi Xuan, furious about the spiritual cave's destruction, led a massive hunt for Ji Ruochen and Zhang Yinyin.
Ji Ruochen, now aided by the Chaos Thunder Dragon, managed to defeat the Demon Emperor, who then retreated, vowing to track them down. With the Demon Emperor defeated, Ji Ruochen found himself facing a new dilemma. Zhang Yinyin, due to her amnesia, repeatedly experienced the painful cycle of falling in love and forgetting him, and Ji Ruochen could no longer bear to see her suffer or expose her to further danger.
He decided to send her back to the Xixuan Mountains. However, Zhang Yinyin, known for her stubbornness, flatly refused to leave, asserting her place by her husband’s side. Ji Ruochen’s companions, including Zhang Yinyin, Xuanzhen, his wife, and Qiushui, also vehemently opposed his plan to go it alone, reminding him of past dangers where they had saved him and emphasizing that he could not complete the mission to destroy the spiritual caves on his own.
Ji Ruochen, frustrated, tried to intimidate them by boasting about his newly acquired primordial weapon and superior cultivation, claiming he could leave them anytime. Despite his arrogance, his friends remained defiant, frustrating him further. Seeing their unwavering resolve, Ji Ruochen conceded that if they truly weren't afraid of death and insisted on accompanying him, there might be another way forward.
