The Immortal Ascension Episode 28 Recap
> The Immortal Ascension Recap
Li Huayuan approached the Yellow Maple Valley Grandmaster, inquiring why she had sent Senior Hongfu away. The Grandmaster subtly confirmed that "that person" had visited, prompting Li Huayuan's surprise. The Grandmaster then questioned if Li Huayuan still remembered the first lesson she taught him upon his initiation: that the highest state of cultivation involves absolute detachment, letting go of desire, and knowing when to give up.
Li Huayuan affirmed his memory of these teachings, including the Grandmaster's assertion that without clear thoughts, cultivation is pointless. He acknowledged the Grandmaster's strategy to sacrifice a little to preserve the sect, admitting he couldn't have devised such a plan himself. However, Li Huayuan pressed further, asking if Senior Hongfu and his disciple Han Li were aware of this arrangement.
When the Grandmaster hesitated, Li Huayuan declared he would ask Hongfu directly if she was willing to be handed over to Yunlu, whom he accused of slaughtering innocents and planning Yellow Maple Valley's destruction, stating Hongfu would rather die than fall into his hands. The Grandmaster clarified that it was a "trade," not a "betrayal."
Meanwhile, Han Li and his group found themselves under attack by the Demonic Flame Sect's Skyfire Spell, with each lava drop hitting like a Foundation Stage strike. Hongfu rallied them, urging them to defend together and hold their ground, assuring them that their "Wind Cloud Banner" artifact would prevent them from being tracked. As two Core cultivators from the demonic sects approached, Hongfu stepped forward to confront them.
One of the cultivators, introducing himself as Skull from the Ghost Spirit Sect, insulted her age and appearance. Hongfu noticed Fu Yunzi's aura on them, and Skull's companion confirmed they had faced the old Daoist, returning Fu Yunzi's whisk as a relic. Hongfu offered to overlook their earlier rudeness for returning the keepsake, but insisted on taking her disciples with her. Skull revealed they were there for Hongfu, calling the disciples "extras."
Realizing the true target, Hongfu declared battle, instructing her disciples, including Han Li and Qu Hun, to immediately break out, save themselves, and regroup at the spot marked by the Soul-Binding Spell. As Hongfu engaged the demonic cultivators, Han Li and his group escaped. Han Li led them towards the pre-arranged meeting spot, hoping for safety, but upon arrival, he found several injured disciples and realized the demonic cultivators had already ambushed the location.
He quickly deduced there would be no one coming to pick them up and took charge, telling the surviving disciples to follow him. Just as a demonic cultivator recognized Han Li, identifying him as Han Li and not Li Feiyu, and prepared to strike, Li Huayuan appeared. He saved Han Li, expressing relief and a hint of frustration at how difficult Han Li had been to find.
After confirming Hongfu had stayed behind to stall the demonic cultivators, Li Huayuan praised Han Li's efforts. He then gave Han Li a mystic pouch containing supplies and spiritual gems, asking him to distribute them among his senior siblings if he encountered them. Additionally, he gave Han Li a personal copy of his cultivation insights, specifically for him to study when attempting to break through to the Core Formation Stage.
Han Li hesitated, suggesting Li Huayuan distribute them himself upon his safe return, but Li Huayuan brushed off his concerns, explaining it was merely "travel funds." He then advised Han Li to heal and prepare himself, emphasizing that the upcoming battle was for Core cultivators, and Han Li should quickly leave Yue Kingdom to escape the demonic sects' reach. As Li Huayuan prepared to depart, Han Li questioned if he truly had to go.
Li Huayuan confessed his mission was incredibly dangerous and he might not return, but he had his reasons, stating that "the longer one lives, the more one realizes some things in this world matter more than your own life, like certain people." He then used his power to remove the Soul-Binding Spell from Han Li, considering it a debt repaid by Yellow Maple Valley, and urged him to leave Yue Kingdom to see the beautiful sights for him.
Elsewhere, Wang Chan, having survived an encounter with a Core cultivator, vowed to kill Han Li himself as he headed to regroup with their Grandmaster at Yellow Maple Valley. Meanwhile, Hongfu was still battling the demonic cultivators who sought to capture her while allowing her disciples to be harmed. Li Huayuan arrived, providing Hongfu with a high-grade pill for healing and confirming Han Li's safety.
Hongfu revealed that the Yellow Maple Valley Grandmaster had likely evacuated the other disciples, and that the deal between their Grandmasters, including the Soul-Binding Spell placed on them, was all part of a pre-arranged trade. Hongfu stated that trading her capture for the safety of Yellow Maple Valley was a deal worth making.
Hongfu then gave Li Huayuan Fu Yunzi's whisk, commenting that the demonic cultivator gave it to her but Fu Yunzi would likely prefer Li Huayuan to keep it. They reminisced about their youth, recalling mischievous acts like sneaking into Clear Void Sect for spirit herbs and accidentally destroying a pot of Fu Yunzi's newly refined pills, causing him to cry for days. The demonic forces had breached Yellow Maple Valley's Mountain Barrier, signaling its fall.
Li Huayuan, resolute, declared that as long as they lived, Yellow Maple Valley persisted, and intended to clear a path home. Soon after, Yunlu, accompanied by Wang Chan and Dong Xuan'er, arrived on the scene. Wang Chan’s aunt gloated, believing their Grandmaster’s presence guaranteed their enemies’ demise. Yunlu informed everyone that Yellow Maple Valley was finished and he would honor his pact with Grandmaster Linghu: Hongfu would stay, and everyone else must retreat.
He congratulated his daughter, Dong Xuan'er, on Han Li becoming her inner demon, saying it would hinder her cultivation, but she pleaded with her father not to kill Han Li, instead asking him to allow Wang Chan to face him. Upon seeing Li Huayuan, Wang Chan identified him as the Core cultivator who had saved Han Li. Li Huayuan attempted to persuade Hongfu to leave, but she urged him to go instead.
Resolute, Li Huayuan declared that death was the only outcome at this point and bravely challenged Yunlu. When Yunlu refused to engage, citing his agreement with Linghu, Li Huayuan challenged his audacity as a Nascent Soul cultivator, then proposed a wager: if he could force Yunlu to make a move, Yunlu would have to release Hongfu. Hongfu, knowing Li Huayuan was no match, tried to dissuade him.
Li Huayuan, despite Hongfu's warnings, pressed his attack on Yunlu, accusing him of being cold-hearted and arrogant, and shamelessly destroying homes and lives for personal gain. Dong Xuan'er pleaded with both of them to stop, urging her father to heal. Li Huayuan, however, reflected on a lesson he learned on his first day in cultivation: that the world's iron law dictates the strong take what they want while the weak must bow.
He declared that if that was all the world offered, it was meaningless. With a final surge of power, Li Huayuan shattered his own core, forcibly boosting his cultivation to a devastating level. This extreme act compelled Yunlu to make a move to defend himself. Victorious, Li Huayuan exclaimed that he had won, and then his eyes closed, his life force fading. Hongfu cradled him, insisting they were going home.
Dong Xuan'er implored Hongfu to come with them, but Hongfu, seeing Dong Xuan'er had grown, told her she must now walk her own path. Yunlu, initially moving to seize Hongfu, was restrained by Dong Xuan'er's desperate intervention. After the tragic battle, the Moonshadow Sect Grandmaster, Nangong Wan, received an urgent report that Yellow Maple Valley had fallen to the demonic sects.
Her attendant confirmed that Grandmaster Linghu had retreated with elite disciples, Core cultivator Li Huayuan had died in battle, and Cultivator Hongfu had fled. Despite her own recent injuries and her sect master's instruction not to overexert herself, Nangong Wan immediately called for a team, stating her intention to go to Yellow Maple Valley herself.
She also inquired about the fate of the Foundation and Qi Refining disciples, learning that one group, led by Hongfu, had been almost entirely wiped out in an ambush. Reflecting on Han Li's escape from the clutches of the demonic sects, she mused that if he had truly died, it would be too easy for him. Despite still suffering from internal injuries from a Core cultivator's attack, Nangong Wan resolved to personally investigate.
She ordered that the Moonshadow Sect would offer aid to any struggling Yellow Maple Valley disciples and then announced she would enter secluded cultivation, allowing no one to disturb her without permission.
