The Great Ruler Episode 17 Recap
> The Great Ruler Recap
Headmaster Ling Xi was called out of seclusion to mend the severely damaged core of the North Sect's protective formation. Student Ye Sun'er urgently informed her about the breach and the need to protect the students. As Headmaster Ling Xi was performing her duties, she encountered Mu Chen, who was stumbling in the night due to his blindness. Upon learning his name, she seemed surprised. To test him, she transported him to a secret realm.
Both Mu Chen and Jiu You were disoriented, unable to sense their surroundings. Mu Chen deduced it was a space created by a spiritual formation, reasoning that if teleportation arrays could move between spaces, then formations could also create new ones. Headmaster Ling Xi confirmed his astute observation, revealing her presence everywhere within the space and noting his stubborn nature, much like someone else she knew. Meanwhile, Cangsheng trained Mu Bai in martial arts.
With his inner demons now quieted, Mu Bai's progress was swift, rapidly reaching Cangsheng's level. Cangsheng, concerned about the Dragon Palace's potential attack given the weakened North Sect, decided to leave and guard the border. Mu Bai, having resolved his past issues, volunteered to join Cangsheng, accepting the inherent life-or-death risks outside the Sect's protection.
Cangsheng entrusted Mu Bai with a token artifact given to him by Headmaster Ling Xi, which granted its holder free passage in and out of the North Sect. Cangsheng revealed Headmaster Ling Xi had given him two such tokens, hoping he would find a worthy partner for the second. Trapped within Headmaster Ling Xi's triple-layered spiritual array, Mu Chen struggled through numerous failures. Jiu You grew impatient and hungry, questioning his methods.
Mu Chen, however, realized his approach of destabilizing the space was correct; the flaw lay in the overlapping of the arrays. Understanding that formations require precise, complete overlaps for stability, he successfully deciphered and broke free from the array. Headmaster Ling Xi, whom Mu Chen now addressed as "Teacher," examined his eyes, noting that the root of his problem lay deep within his spiritual veins.
She promised to find a way to heal him, for which Mu Chen expressed gratitude, much to Jiu You's annoyance. Mu Chen explained that Headmaster Ling Xi had helped him master complex formations. Xuantong and Luo Li shared a moment, recalling their younger days training together when Luo Li was just ten. Xuantong acknowledged her growth but reminded her that even he would be hard-pressed to defeat a Lord-level practitioner like Xue Lingzi in a surprise attack.
Luo Li, driven by the desire to protect her people, expressed a desperate need to get stronger and faster. Xuantong advised her, given her current injuries, to avoid combat and promised to earn the necessary power points for her. Mu Chen asked Jiu You to guide him to Luo Li, but due to Jiu You's limited sensory range, they ended up encountering Qingshan in a familiar area.
Qingshan urgently informed Mu Chen that Xue Lingzi, having infiltrated the North Sect disguised as a new student, had destroyed the core of the protection array in Teacher Zhu Tian's room and almost abducted Luo Li before Cangsheng intervened. Mu Chen rushed to the arena where Luo Li was competing, apologizing for her ordeal. Luo Li assured him she acted willingly.
Mu Chen then told her about He Yao's promise to cure his eyes and implored her to stop fighting and rest. Luo Li agreed not to impede Mu Chen's visits to He Yao but stipulated that if He Yao failed, Mu Chen must not stop her from seeking other solutions. She then agreed to cease her sparring. Luo Li accompanied Mu Chen to He Yao for treatment, a process that inflicted intense pain on Mu Chen.
He Yao claimed to have found a cure. However, he dismissed Luo Li, stating he would inform them when the actual treatment was ready, implicitly indicating he wished to treat Mu Chen alone in subsequent sessions. Elsewhere, Xue Shi suggested to Xue Lingzi that with Headmaster Ling Xi reinforcing the North Sect, it was now more difficult to breach.
He proposed they seek assistance from Wen Qingxuan, suggesting they leverage her to break through the North Sect's defenses, thereby gaining merit and capturing the goddess Luo Li. Despite initial reservations about owing Wen Qingxuan or incurring Evil Deity's displeasure for acting without explicit orders, Xue Lingzi found the plan appealing. Black Dragon was furious at Mo Xingtian for failing to exploit the brief moment when the North Sect's protective array had been broken, chastising him as incompetent.
Wen Qingxuan then appeared, proposing an alliance and subtly warning Black Dragon against incurring Evil Deity's wrath. She implied that Black Dragon sought to use Evil Deity's power to defeat his long-standing foes and cautioned that failure would lead to severe repercussions from Evil Deity. In the snowy wastes, Xue Lingzi reported to Evil Deity about the emerging alliance between humans and gods. Evil Deity initially rebuked Xue Lingzi for his unauthorized actions that nearly jeopardized his grand scheme.
However, acknowledging Xue Lingzi's success in breaking the North Sect's array, Evil Deity forgave him. Xue Lingzi then pledged his full support to Wen Qingxuan in her efforts to conquer the North Sect. Wen Qingxuan, having learned from He Yao that Mu Chen harbored a contracted beast, the Jiuyou Bird, believed it was bound by a life-and-death pact.
She conceived a plan to refine the Jiuyou Bird into an Undying Phoenix Core Pill, which she intended to present to Evil Deity, hoping its nirvana power would expedite Evil Deity's recovery. She bestowed upon He Yao the Soul Erasing Spell, a powerful spiritual art capable of severing spiritual veins from a living being, confident it could extract the Jiuyou Bird's pure divine power.
She emphasized that this was a singular opportunity, as breaking the contract would result in the death of both Mu Chen and the Jiuyou Bird, thus requiring a complete and pure extraction. Mu Chen returned to He Yao for further treatment, accompanied by Luo Li.
He Yao introduced his student, Huo Feng, and then requested Luo Li and Huo Feng to leave, stressing the critical and uninterrupted nature of the final, most painful stage of the treatment, urging Mu Chen to endure. During the procedure, both Mu Chen and Jiu You experienced excruciating pain, a sign that Jiu You was being manipulated. Alarmed by Mu Chen's cries, Luo Li attempted to enter but was blocked by Huo Feng.
She forced her way in and was overjoyed to find Mu Chen's eyes open and he could see her. Mu Chen gratefully thanked He Yao. However, Luo Li quickly observed that the poison within Mu Chen remained. He Yao explained that he had only temporarily suppressed the residual poison to restore Mu Chen's vision; a complete cure would require a long and arduous process.
Luo Li confronted He Yao, accusing his spiritual technique of being "secretive" and "aggressive," noting the unusual blue color of his spiritual power, which she deemed "unorthodox." She declared that Mu Chen would not return. Mu Chen, however, defended He Yao, arguing that his restored sight proved the treatment's efficacy and questioning Luo Li's excessive suspicion, stating that if He Yao intended harm, he would have been dead long ago.
Luo Li retorted by recalling Mu Chen's past deceit, but Mu Chen insisted he never caused her harm and that He Yao was well-intentioned, asking her not to be unreasonable. Later, Mu Chen apologized to Luo Li, who accepted his apology. Luo Li then also apologized to He Yao. He Yao, despite Luo Li's earlier words, advised Mu Chen to continue daily check-ups to prevent further damage to his spiritual veins, as the poison still lingered.
As they left, Luo Li affirmed to Mu Chen that she would uphold her promise not to spar again, and Mu Chen thanked her. After Mu Chen's departure, Xuantong approached Luo Li. She confided in him that while Mu Chen could see, the Dark Blood Spell was still active, and she sensed something amiss. It was then revealed that He Yao was a subordinate of Wen Qingxuan.
He Yao informed Huo Feng that Luo Li's interruption of the Soul Erasing Spell forced him to merely suppress the Dark Blood Spell temporarily and restore Mu Chen's sight, a ruse to mislead Luo Li. His true objective was to extract Jiu You's power and ultimately kill Mu Chen. Determined to quickly obtain the necessary power points to enter the Lei Territory and find the Jade Knot Grass, Luo Li and Xuantong planned their entry.
Their combined power points (Xuantong's undisclosed amount plus Luo Li's 4,370) were still insufficient for the 16,000-point Lei Territory entrance pass, leaving them short by 11,630 points. To bridge the gap, Luo Li, defying Xuantong's protests, mortgaged her Luo God Sword—a sacred heirloom and her ancestor's sword, valued at 16,000 points. With the pass secured, they entered the perilous Lei Territory, with Xuantong reiterating his duty to protect her.
Later, Mu Chen began to exhibit an increasingly volatile temper, a side effect of the Soul Erasing Spell. Qingshan encountered an agitated Mu Chen, who was looking for Luo Li and angrily grabbed Qingshan's collar. Qingshan was bewildered by Mu Chen's sudden personality change. Soon after, Mu Chen collapsed and fainted. Qingshan rushed to inform Headmaster Ling Xi about Mu Chen's sudden affliction, leaving her shocked by the news.
