The Immortal Ascension Episode 17 Recap
> The Immortal Ascension Recap
As Han Li and Dong Xuan'er fled the city, they were spotted by Mo Caihuan. After Han Li explained they were being pursued by enemies from Yan Clan Stronghold, Mo Caihuan offered to guide them through an old, secret waterway she knew. However, the path ended in a dead end just as their pursuers closed in.
Dong Xuan'er, after a brief introduction with Mo Caihuan, urged her to escape on her own while she and Han Li held off the enemy. Realizing she would only be a hindrance, Mo Caihuan reluctantly left, wishing them safety. While the escape was underway, the elders of the Seven Sects, convened by Hongfu at Yellow Maple Valley, were discussing the recent fall of the Jiang and Cheqi Kingdoms to demonic forces.
Their meeting was interrupted by the arrival of Nangong Wan and her disciple, Xuan Yue. Xuan Yue had just returned from investigating Yan Clan Stronghold and reported to Nangong Wan that the stronghold had allied with the demonic sects, using a wedding as a pretense to activate two grand arrays and trap all the attending Seven Sect disciples. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Nangong Wan immediately brought Xuan Yue to present his findings to the assembled elders.
Meanwhile, Han Li's cultivation powers returned as they escaped the city's array, but he and Dong Xuan'er were immediately confronted by Wang Chan in an open field. Han Li falsely introduced himself as Li Feiyu of Yellow Maple Valley and taunted Wang Chan, who deployed a blood mist and trapped them in another array.
With their flying talismans rapidly depleting, Han Li used his last one to send Dong Xuan'er to safety, ensuring he could at least account for her survival to his seniors. Left alone, Han Li engaged in a fierce battle with Wang Chan. He deployed various artifacts, including the Cyan Mirror and Azure Drake Banner, and used the Cyan Sword Technique.
Despite acknowledging Wang Chan's superior cultivation, Han Li managed to wound him and force his retreat by unleashing a poisonous Azure Smoke, which he had created from Blackflood Drake venom acquired in the Bloody Trial Ground. Han Li, however, was also heavily injured in the exchange.
Back at the elders' meeting, Xuan Yue's full report confirmed that all Seven Sect disciples at the wedding had been killed, and Nangong Wan warned that the demonic sects' true goal was the conquest of all of Yue Kingdom, not just the borderlands. Elsewhere, Yan Ruyan awoke from her coma to learn from her father that she had been married to Wang Chan, heir to the Ghost Spirit Sect, and their clan had officially joined the demonic side.
Horrified, she accused her father of betrayal, but he justified his actions by revealing that the Seven Sects had abandoned them and that Wang Chan had used the blood of countless Seven Sect cultivators in a Blood Spirit Spell to save her life. He told her she could never return to the righteous path and that, with her heavenly spirit root, she was now the clan's only hope for the future, destined to become their first Nascent Soul cultivator.
After the main meeting, Hongfu and other elders privately questioned Nangong Wan, sensing she had held back information. Nangong Wan admitted she learned from a demonic cultivator that several Core Formation cultivators within the Seven Sects had already defected, warning them to be wary of traitors.
She then proposed a three-pronged strategy for the war: first, Nascent Soul elders from each sect must engage their demonic counterparts to contain the highest level of conflict; second, Core Formation cultivators must lead the main forces on all fronts, a duty which Hongfu and Li Huayuan accepted for Yellow Maple Valley; and third, elite Foundation Establishment disciples must form scout teams to rescue survivors and gather intelligence, with Xuan Yue leading the Masked Moon Sect's team.
When Hongfu expressed concern for Dong Xuan'er, Li Huayuan voiced his faith in his exceptionally cautious disciple, Han Li, believing he would have ensured their survival. Hongfu remained skeptical given Han Li's lower cultivation, while Nangong Wan, upon hearing his name, also grew worried for his fate. Han Li later reunited with a waiting Mo Caihuan. He confirmed that while he hadn't killed Wang Chan, he had severely injured him.
Sensing a great war was imminent, he gave Mo Caihuan a pouch of pills, urging her to use them to settle down safely in the Imperial Capital. Saddened by their fleeting reunions and her own mortality, Mo Caihuan tearfully asked if having a spirit root would have allowed her to stay by his side. When Han Li remained silent, a response she noted was characteristic of him, she embraced him one last time.
As Han Li walked away after their parting, his injuries overcame him, and he collapsed, coughing blood, leaving a distraught Mo Caihuan to rush to his side. Meanwhile, a disciple reported back to Nangong Wan that they had rescued two royal children from the fallen kingdoms. The disciple also witnessed the demonic sects forcibly testing all commoners for spiritual aptitude and conscripting anyone with a spirit root, including children, as disposable fodder for the front lines.
Nangong Wan condemned the inhumane practice and resolved to raise any rescued children with potential within the sect. At the Ghost Spirit Sect, Wang Chan formally introduced himself as Yan Ruyan's husband. She vowed to kill him, to which he mockingly suggested they engage in dual cultivation to increase her power for her eventual revenge. Soon after, Wang Chan's aunt arrived, congratulating him on his success but chiding him for being injured by a "no-name from Yellow Maple Valley."
Citing his injuries and new marriage, she informed him it was his father's will that he remain behind from the front lines, revealing that their armies had already been reinforced by the newly conscripted mortals. After she left, Wang Chan grimly told Yan Ruyan that his aunt was the one person who most wished for his death, a complex dynamic he suggested she would have to get used to in her new family.
Back at Yellow Maple Valley, the sect master called for volunteers to join the Seven Sects' scout teams. Chen Qiaoqian, feeling indebted to the sect for her Foundation Pill and wanting to help her friends, stepped forward for the dangerous mission. The sect master approved, assigning her and Wu Xuan to the team led by the Masked Moon Sect's Xuan Yue.
Concurrently, a formal decree was issued to all Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining disciples of Yellow Maple Valley, ordering them to report to the front lines and fight the demonic sects without retreat or surrender, officially marking the beginning of the war.
