Love of Thousand Years Episode 25 Recap
> Love of Thousand Years Recap
At the grand sacrifice ceremony, Xuanzhu, filled with an internal resolve, stepped forward. Believing only she could restore the Great Li kingdom, she dramatically declared herself unworthy to stand at the altar. To the shock of the assembled officials and common people, she grabbed the princess's memorial tablet and revealed the truth: the true princess, Yanyan, known to them as Tan Chuan, was still alive. This revelation ignited an uproar among the crowd.
Zuo Zichen shielded Tan Chuan from the chaos and led her away. He explained that Xuanzhu's harsh words were merely a facade for her pride and vulnerability, a desperate attempt to compel Tan Chuan to accept her destiny. Tan Chuan urged Zuo Zichen to pursue his own path, promising to take responsibility for the situation. Upon returning to find Xuanzhu, Zuo Zichen discovered she had already departed, leaving behind only a silk handkerchief.
Madam Qiu Hua confirmed Xuanzhu's resolute departure, remarking that her daughter no longer seemed to want any grand title, not even to be her own daughter. Zuo Zichen vowed to find her. As Xuanzhu traveled, she was ambushed by Li Yuan, who mockingly revealed he had survived being shot. He recounted his torment while imprisoned in a bottle and promised to exact vengeance, emphasizing that Xuanzhu was important to his plans.
Later, Madam Qiu Hua confronted Zuo Zichen, questioning why he was pursuing Xuanzhu when he knew Yanyan was alive. Zuo Zichen simply reiterated Xuanzhu's importance to him. Separately, Tan Chuan sought out Prime Minister Zuo. Acknowledging a strange sense of familiarity with her, he listened as Tan Chuan knelt and revealed her true identity as Princess Yanyan. She recounted how her master helped her escape the capital and assume a new identity to one day avenge her family and country.
Deeply moved, Prime Minister Zuo honored her status but cautioned her against the extreme danger of seeking the spiritual lamp. Tan Chuan insisted, feeling responsible for its loss and the potential calamities it could cause, and entrusted the care of Li's people to him. Later, while drinking alone in grief, Tan Chuan was found by Bai.
He urged her to be strong, revealing that Fu Jiuyun had gone to a perilous "destination of fate" to acquire the Qingying stone, the only artifact that could kill the State Preceptor. Bai explained that Fu Jiuyun had concealed this dangerous mission to protect her and was now in grave danger. Elsewhere, Fu Jiuyun and Meishan journeyed into an icy region that grew progressively warmer.
Meishan offered powerful protective items, but Fu Jiuyun was suddenly enveloped by dark energy and captured by the Demon King, who named him as the spiritual lamp wick. Through a bronze mirror Fu Jiuyun had left behind, Bai and Tan Chuan watched his struggle. The Demon King boasted that he now wielded seven combined forces, enough to tear glacier enchantments and manipulate the Suzerain, taunting that the Qingying stone was not there.
Learning Fu Jiuyun was trapped in a volcanic crater in the extreme north, Tan Chuan demanded to go to him. Bai transported her to the town below the volcano, but Tan Chuan insisted on venturing into the treacherous alternating zone of ice and fire alone, as Bai, being the immortal of mirror, would shatter in such an environment. Meanwhile, Zuo Zichen's search for Xuanzhu led him to her scattered belongings before he was knocked unconscious by an assassin, Dugu Duotian.
He awoke to find Ting Yuan, who explained that Xuanzhu had been captured by the Suzerain, whose body was now possessed by Li Yuan. Ting Yuan, having tracked the demonic presence from the capital to Xiangqu mountain, offered Zuo Zichen a spatial transference to the extreme north.
At the volcano, the Demon King tormented the trapped Fu Jiuyun, vowing to tell Tan Chuan that Fu Jiuyun was the lamp wick, wanting him to die in despair as the Demon King destroyed the lamp. While searching for Fu Jiuyun, Tan Chuan encountered an imposter disguised as Xuanzhu. After she saw through the disguise, the imposter, Luchuan, and his accomplices ambushed and abducted her.
Ting Yuan and Zuo Zichen cautiously entered the Suzerain's hiding place, which radiated a strong demonic aura. Inside, they found the State Preceptor with Li Yuan's preserved body. The State Preceptor tried to persuade Li Yuan to acknowledge him as his father, promising to reunite his spirit and flesh. Skeptical, Li Yuan only agreed because his body was intact.
However, the State Preceptor then brutally betrayed him, absorbing his spiritual power and declaring he no longer needed to fight for a "carcass." Tan Chuan, who had been brought there and lay on an ice bed, subtly awakened but feigned sleep. The State Preceptor noticed and chillingly revealed the shocking truth: Fu Jiuyun was the spiritual lamp's wick.
If Tan Chuan were to light the lamp, Fu Jiuyun would be incinerated, and she, as the one to light it, would also die. As Xuanzhu cried out for help from nearby, the State Preceptor mocked Tan Chuan, revealing Fu Jiuyun was right there, waiting to be consumed.
