Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain Episode 34 Recap
> Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain Recap
The sect elders urgently summoned Wang Wu, informing her that the Champion Tower, essential for the upcoming Five Sects Championships, had been eighty percent destroyed and would take at least seven days to repair, making it unusable for tomorrow's competition. Given the gravity of the situation, other sect leaders were also called to discuss a solution. As everyone felt helpless, Master Shuiyue offered her own artifact, the Spirit Gate, for Lingjian Sect to use as an emergency measure.
Wang Wu was furious, convinced that Shengjing Sect was behind the sabotage, but with time running out, she had no choice but to accept the Spirit Gate. Back in her quarters, Master Shuiyue praised Du Songzi and Hai Yunfan for their success in destroying the tower, which she believed would prevent Wang Lu and Wang Wu from cheating. She explained that the Spirit Gate's illusionary challenges were randomly generated and unpredictable, even for her as its creator, thus ensuring fairness.
She warned Du Songzi and Hai Yunfan to be especially wary of Xue Zefang from Junhuang Mountain and Wang Lu from Lingjian Sect, tasking them with keeping those two in check to secure Shengjing Sect's victory. The next day, the Five Sects Championships commenced. Wang Wu, acting as the chairwoman, welcomed the participants, explaining that contestants would be teleported into the Spirit Gate to face randomly generated illusionary challenges.
Each successfully passed level would earn points, and the disciple with the highest cumulative score would be crowned champion. Wang Lu was surprised by the sudden change in the artifact, as his meticulously laid plans for the original Champion Tower were now obsolete. Liu Li xian expressed concern about getting trapped inside, but Wang Lu motivated her by promising a lifelong free meal pass to all sect canteens if she became champion, which immediately changed her mind.
Meanwhile, the sect leaders, including Master Shuiyue, had to actively channel their magic into the Spirit Gate to ensure its proper functioning and the safety of the disciples inside. Master Shuiyue seized the opportunity to mock Wang Wu, implying she was a cheater, which Wang Wu angrily denied, suspecting Shengjing Sect's involvement in the Champion Tower's destruction. Inside the Spirit Gate, Wanfa Sect's Zhan Ziye quickly identified a weak point near a stone gate, impressing Kunlun Mountain's Zhou Mumu.
However, Junhuang Mountain's Xue Zefang scoffed at their observations, stating the obvious. Du Songzi then deliberately provoked Xue Zefang, hinting at his hidden affections for Zhou Mumu and bringing up Hai Yunfan's betrayal of Junhuang Mountain to join Shengjing Sect. This exchange quickly escalated into a heated argument, almost resulting in a physical altercation, but the sudden opening of the Spirit Gate and a countdown interrupted them, prompting everyone to rush inside.
As Shengjing Sect's disciples entered, Xue Zefang suddenly cast the Six Lights Prison spell, trapping them. Wang Lu quickly realized it was a trap. His warnings came too late, as most of the participants had already rushed into the fake Spirit Gate. Wang Lu confronted Du Songzi, exposing his trick.
An elder outside explained that Du Songzi had used a Flash Charm to distract everyone, then concealed the real entrance with the Mirror and Reflect illusion, creating a fake gate with a countdown to induce panic and force others into the trap. Wang Lu revealed he noticed Du Songzi's phantom lacked a shadow, and Hai Yunfan's unconvincing acting further exposed the deception.
Outside, Master Shuiyue and other elders confirmed that the trapped disciples were indeed sealed in a dimension sack, effectively eliminating them from the competition. While Du Songzi boasted about Shengjing Sect having all their disciples still in the game, compared to Lingjian Sect having lost half its numbers and other sects only one or two remaining, Wang Lu countered that numbers didn't guarantee victory.
The remaining participants, including Wang Lu, Wen Bao, Liu Li xian, and Zhu Qin from Lingjian Sect, along with Zhan Ziye from Wanfa Sect, Zhou Mumu from Kunlun Sect, and Shengjing Sect's Du Songzi and Hai Yunfan, then entered the true Spirit Gate. They arrived at the Eight Virtues Hall, adorned with eight gates representing virtues like filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, and courtesy.
A disembodied voice announced that only those possessing the most virtues would win, and fighting was strictly forbidden, with violators immediately disqualified. Realizing their numerical disadvantage against Shengjing Sect, Zhan Ziye and Zhou Mumu approached Wang Lu to form an alliance. Wang Lu agreed, on the condition that they would blindly follow his commands. He decided to begin with the "Filial Piety" gate.
Inside the Filial Piety gate, they found themselves in a gambling setting with "Parents Tile" and "Children Tile." The rules stated that a "Parent" would give an unspecified amount of magic stones to a designated "Child," and the "Child" must then return double the amount to the "Parent" to complete the act of filial piety and earn points. " Parents" would gain money but no points.
It quickly became clear that only those with "Children Tiles" could earn points to pass. Du Songzi immediately brought out his Yin-Yang Treasure Chest, boasting about Shengjing Sect's vast wealth and offering to buy the "Children Tiles" from others. Zhu Qin, however, countered that he also possessed considerable wealth. Wang Lu then proposed a fair game: they would use all fourteen tiles (seven Parents, seven Children) for the fourteen remaining players.
One group would shuffle, and the other would draw seven tiles, leaving the rest for the opponent. Du Songzi agreed but demanded that everyone make a Heart Swear to honor the outcome and cooperate. Shengjing Sect took on the role of shuffling the cards, while Wang Lu's team would draw.
Zhu Qin attempted to use his Breaking Eye to identify the original cards, but Du Songzi, using the ancient Duplication Magic, created countless identical copies of the tiles, making it impossible to discern the true ones. Wang Wu, observing the scene, recognized the lost art, realizing that only by drawing the single original "mother tile" among the duplicates would the fake ones disappear.
At this critical moment, Liu Li xian, seeing the round tiles, exclaimed that they looked like the "Lord’s Pancakes" her master once brought back, noting that they were magical and seemingly endless. Wang Lu immediately understood; Liu Li xian's unique Sword Heart allowed her to distinguish truth from illusion. He motivated her with the promise of corn, urging her to pick the original "mother tiles." To everyone's astonishment, Liu Li xian effortlessly picked out five Children Tiles. As Wang Lu and his allies celebrated their unexpected success, Du Songzi erupted in a sudden, booming laugh.