Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain Episode 29 Recap
> Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain Recap
Wen Bao went to Priest Zuo, claiming to have located a wounded wolf demon in Jiyang and requested the Beastmastery Sect's immediate assistance. Priest Zuo found this odd, noting it was the Seven Evils Day, when demon powers are at their weakest. Wen Bao insisted the demon was injured and required urgent attention.
This distraction, orchestrated by Wen Bao and Hai Yunfan, created an opportunity for Wang Lu and Xue Boren to infiltrate the secret training base, while Hai Yunfan and the Xue brothers caused a disturbance at the Beastmastery Sect, attempting to steal the Lord Stove. However, they were discovered and had to retreat. During their escape, one of the Xue brothers mentioned that it was Seven Evils Day, making them particularly vulnerable.
Hai Yunfan realized that only demons were affected by this phenomenon, a thought that planted seeds of doubt. Meanwhile, Wang Lu and Xue Boren sneaked into the secret training base. Inside the secret base, Xue Boren spotted Feng Ling. Driven by his concern, he rushed to her side to free her. As he did, he was caught in a formation, forcing him to reveal his true demon form.
Priest Zuo then appeared, identifying Xue Boren as the notorious "Jiyang wolf demon" and accusing him of feigning kindness while murdering innocent girls. Xue Boren, now fully transformed, declared he had hated Priest Zuo for a long time and would avenge those innocent girls. Priest Zuo, confident that the common people would believe him over a demon, engaged Xue Boren in a fierce battle. Their powers were evenly matched, creating a tense equilibrium. Wang Lu arrived, observing the stalemate.
Priest Zuo welcomed Wang Lu, attempting to sway him against Xue Boren, reiterating his accusations. Xue Boren, in turn, urged Wang Lu not to believe Priest Zuo, explaining that the formation in his mansion was actually for saving lives. Wang Lu, feigning doubt about whom to trust, seemingly sided with Priest Zuo and delivered a powerful strike that brought the priest down. Xue Boren thanked Wang Lu for his trust. However, Priest Zuo was not defeated.
He quickly declared his intention to use the Swallow Heaven Great Law with the Spirit Jade, explaining that it was an evil art that used human souls to drastically increase his power. Recognizing the danger, Wang Lu insisted that Xue Boren take Feng Ling and leave, despite Xue Boren's protests that Wang Lu couldn't face Priest Zuo alone. Wang Lu confidently stated he could easily defeat such a "low-level nobody."
Wang Lu attempted to summon Liang Qiu for assistance, calling her name repeatedly, but she inexplicably failed to appear. Left to fight alone, Wang Lu was struck by Priest Zuo and fell unconscious. Wang Lu's soul separated from his body, and he found himself in a strange realm, which he soon realized was inside the Purple Gold Lord Stove. The spirit of the stove appeared, looking identical to Priest Zuo.
The spirit clarified he was not Priest Zuo, but rather the Stove's spirit, the Beastmastery Sect's most valuable treasure. He revealed Priest Zuo's heinous deeds: since taking over the sect, Priest Zuo had mercilessly slaughtered spirit beasts to refine their Spirit Jade, and when those ran out, he forcibly demonized and refined innocent girls to enhance his own cultivation. Wang Lu demanded to know why the spirit hadn't intervened earlier.
The spirit explained that as the sect's treasure, he was bound and couldn't act against the sect leader. However, Priest Zuo's recent hasty use of the Spirit Jade had damaged a part of the stove's seal, granting the spirit a limited ability to assist. He offered to infuse Wang Lu's physical body with powerful spiritual energy and his own soul, though he cautioned that Wang Lu's mortal body might not withstand such immense power.
Wang Lu confidently asserted that his Wuxiang Sword Bones could withstand any attack, prompting the spirit to boost his cultivation to the verge of Foundation Establishment. Before returning, Wang Lu questioned why the spirit resembled Priest Zuo, to which the spirit replied that he was the first leader of the Beastmastery Sect, and thus, resemblance to his descendants was natural. Wang Lu awoke, finding Priest Zuo boasting about his newfound power and plans to dominate the cultivation world.
Mocking Priest Zuo's habit of "talking to himself," Wang Lu declared that he was blessed and anything was possible. He then called upon Liang Qiu to "go to work," and despite her grumbling about his crude manner of speech, they united their power. Wang Lu and Liang Qiu launched a combined attack that decisively defeated Priest Zuo. Wang Lu then gathered the Purple Gold Lord Stove and the cages containing the demonized girls, bringing them back to the Xue Mansion.
Wang Wu had also arrived. Wang Lu, still reeling from his near-death experience, complained about Wang Wu's lack of concern, but she brushed him off, pointing out his significantly increased cultivation and the valuable stove he acquired. After playfully suggesting he wanted "kisses and hugs," Wang Wu instructed him to omit the details about the Lord Stove from his travel report.
When Hai Yunfan and Wen Bao joined them, expressing relief at Wang Lu's safety and offering their help, Wang Lu proudly declared his victory over the Beastmastery Sect leader. Upon meeting Xue Boren, Wang Wu humorously declared him her "love rival" for marrying Feng Ling, before clarifying it was a joke. She then directed Wang Lu to release the rescued girls from the stove.
Wang Lu, ever opportunistic, suggested keeping the stove for their peak's treasury, but Wang Wu quickly dismissed the idea. Wang Wu assured everyone that the girls were only temporarily weak from soul draining and would recover after a few days of rest. She then dispatched Hai Yunfan, Wen Bao, and Xue Boren to take the recovering girls back to their homes, with Xue Boren expressing profound gratitude on behalf of Jiyang's people. Wang Wu simply stated, "We are family."
Later, Wang Lu questioned Wang Wu's casual acceptance of Xue Boren being a demon. Wang Wu, with her usual bluntness, chided Wang Lu for his lack of perception, finding Xue Boren rather charming and seeing no issue with their union, even humorously stating, "Others can be a talented gentleman and a beautiful lady, why can't they be jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards?" Wang Lu was taken aback by her unconventional views.
Hai Yunfan, still harboring suspicions from the "Seven Evils Day" comment, remained doubtful about Xue Boren. Wang Lu tried to dissuade him without revealing Xue Boren's demonic identity. He argued that their initial assumptions about the Xue brothers being evil were wrong, and that Priest Zuo was the true culprit. He highlighted Xue Boren's actions—saving the girls and fighting Priest Zuo—as evidence of his good character.
Wang Lu reminded Hai Yunfan that Lingjian was a "sect of law" that required evidence, urging him not to let hatred blind his judgment. Later, Xue Boren privately thanked Wang Lu for covering for him. Wang Lu feigned ignorance about any secret. Xue Boren then admitted his demonic nature, clarifying that he and his brothers were not wolf demons but rather dog demons (specifying breeds like Alaskan Malamute, Shiba Inu, Samoyed, and Huskie for his brothers).
He emphasized that they had always sought to live like humans and had secretly protected Jiyang, never committing any evil deeds. Wang Lu then asked about the time-stopping formation in the mansion. Xue Boren explained that Feng Ling had been suffering from a mysterious illness since moving into the mansion, which no doctor could cure, and she refused treatment.
Suspecting it was a result of some dark magic from the Beastmastery Sect, and unable to destroy the sect immediately, he created the formation to temporarily stabilize her condition. Wang Lu acknowledged his thoughtfulness. Xue Boren vowed to confess his true identity to Feng Ling when the time was right, but Wang Lu warned him about Feng Ling's father, Leader Feng Yin, a master of "Star Divination," who might discover their secret and cause trouble at the wedding.
Wang Lu advised Xue Boren to keep his weaker brothers hidden to avoid exposure. Wang Wu visited Feng Ling, who was experiencing pre-wedding jitters. Feng Ling confessed her fears that Xue Boren might discover the Nine-tailed Fox seal within her body and see her as a monster. Wang Wu dismissed this, playfully suggesting he might find it "familiar." Feng Ling also worried about marrying without informing her father, Leader Feng Yin, fearing his disappointment.
Wang Wu, in her characteristic humorous style, joked about the dire consequences if Feng Yin found out immediately, but then advised Feng Ling to keep it secret for now. She reassured Feng Ling that once children were involved, Leader Feng Yin would likely soften his stance, even jesting about Feng Ling's ability to bear children.
Wang Wu ultimately encouraged Feng Ling to focus on her present happiness, promising to face future challenges with her and even jokingly offering to marry her herself should things go wrong. Unbeknownst to Wang Lu, Hai Yunfan's suspicions continued to fester. He observed Chaiqi, one of the Xue brothers, acting furtively and followed him discreetly into a secret chamber. There, Hai Yunfan discovered Chaiqi in his true demon form, a dog demon, recovering from injuries.
Before Hai Yunfan could react, Xue Boren ambushed him, knocking him unconscious. Meanwhile, Wang Wu playfully ambushed Wang Lu, teasing his improved reflexes. Wang Lu, ever proud, boasted about his significant progress in cultivation and how even Liang Qiu, his sword spirit, now held him in high regard.
However, Liang Qiu immediately contradicted him, asserting that he was only "a little stronger" and still vastly inferior to their senior brother, Ouyang Shang, whom she and Wang Wu described as a truly perfect and flawless hero, much to Wang Lu's exasperation. Wang Lu then offered Wang Wu some special grade anesthetic powder he had acquired for her, but she revealed that she no longer needed it.
She explained that during a recent miraculous journey, she had cultivated all 108 of her Wuxiang Sword Bones to their golden body form, achieved great divine power, and thus ended her monthly suffering after overcoming a heavenly tribulation. Overjoyed, Wang Lu spontaneously hugged her, creating a brief, awkward, yet tender moment. Wang Lu quickly changed the subject.
Wang Wu then expressed a lingering unease about the time formation in the mansion, feeling there was something "off" about its unique design, despite Wang Lu's explanation that Xue Boren had created it solely to protect Feng Ling from her illness. Wang Lu reminded Wang Wu that the Xue brothers were in fact dog demons and not wolf demons as initially thought.
Wang Wu was surprised, then chided Wang Lu for not being more upfront with Feng Ling about Xue Boren's true nature. However, she quickly admitted she hadn't told Feng Ling either, reasoning that Feng Ling was already overwhelmed with anxiety about her own Nine-tailed Fox seal. Wang Wu mused on the irony of the "fox and dog" couple, hoping they would cope well when their respective hidden truths eventually came to light.
Wang Lu, in turn, expressed his deep concern about Hai Yunfan's persistent prejudice against demons, admitting his repeated failures to persuade him otherwise. He hoped that Feng Ling's seal would remain intact and the Xue brothers' identities undiscovered, as he truly didn't know how he would manage the inevitable conflict if they were exposed.
Wang Wu, with her usual pragmatism, concluded that they should simply "wait and see," emphasizing that the immediate priority was to ensure Feng Ling's wedding went smoothly, leaving all future troubles for Wang Lu to handle.
