Ultimate Note Episode 14 Recap
> Ultimate Note Recap
Chen Wen Jin's shocking revelation left everyone, especially Xie Yuchen, stunned. The man they had long known as Wu Sansheng was, in fact, Xie Lian Huan, who had faked his death and assumed Wu Sansheng's identity, while the real Wu Sansheng remained in hiding. Xie Yuchen, grappling with this profound deception, questioned why Xie Lian Huan, posing as Wu Sansheng, would constantly instruct him to manage the Xie family while operating within the Wu family, never revealing the truth.
Chen Wen Jin elucidated that the archaeological team required a "transparent" identity—someone capable of operating discreetly—to fulfill a task beyond the living, particularly to evade "It." The choice of Wu Sansheng's identity was paramount, enabling a crucial mission. She further unveiled that the real Wu Sansheng had deliberately foregone marriage and business expansion, instead embarking on perilous expeditions, with Wu Xie consistently by his side.
He had subtly guided Wu Xie through pivotal locations such as the Seven Star Palace of the Emperor of Lu, the Paracel Islands, the Qin Mountains, Cloud Top Palace, and ultimately to the Bronze Gate. Among their generation in the Mystic Nine, only Wu Xie had undergone such extensive exposure. It became evident that the real Wu Sansheng's overarching purpose was to meticulously groom Wu Xie as the Mystic Nine's ultimate successor, even while outwardly feigning obstruction.
Wu Xie pressed Chen Wen Jin about the videotapes. She clarified that she had not personally given any tape to Wu Xie. The first tape was given to Cox Hendry, and the second to Zhang. However, Zhang's tape inexplicably fell into Ah Ning's hands, likely orchestrated by "It." As for the tape Wu Xie received, Zhang was listed as the sender, strongly suggesting "It's" deliberate intervention, a manipulation that had occurred before.
Chen Wen Jin asserted that Cox Hendry, Ah Ning's employer, posed no threat to the Mystic Nine, as their objectives aligned, and his involvement merely expanded possibilities. She elaborated that "It" was not a single entity but a pervasive force. Driven by the need for survival and to leave behind vital clues, the archaeological team had filmed videos and stored tapes in the sanatorium. " It" had ensured the tape reached Wu Xie, desiring his presence here.
This implied that Wu Xie was not only the Mystic Nine's chosen one but also "It's," potentially making him the sole individual capable of uncovering the Mystic Nine's deepest secrets. Chen Wen Jin continued her account, revealing that after being rendered unconscious, the archaeological team awoke in a sanatorium, where they spent several years. During this period, they meticulously analyzed the data from the Paracel Islands, which led them to clues for Mount Changbai.
It was then they made a chilling discovery: they had ceased to age. Their subsequent journey to Cloud Top Palace brought them face-to-face with "the Ultimate," described as the absolute culmination of all existence, something that could only be comprehended through direct experience. However, this seemingly eternal youth carried dire consequences. Their ultimate fate, foreshadowed by Huo Ling's current state, was to transform into a non-human entity. Huo Ling was presently in Golmud Sanatorium, her metamorphosis already underway.
Chen Wen Jin disclosed that the antidote to this grim transformation lay hidden behind the Bronze Gate. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was also actively exploring. Fatty stumbled upon an underground chamber, instinctively believing it concealed the Queen Mother's treasures. Zhang descended to investigate, and upon receiving his signal, Wu Xie and Fatty eagerly followed.
Later, one of Mop's subordinates returned from scouting to inform Xie Yuchen that they had located a stone door and that Wu Xie's group had already proceeded through it. Xie Yuchen decided to remain behind to tend to the injured Xie Lian Huan. While caring for him, Xie Yuchen poured out his long-held resentment and the heavy burden he had carried since childhood.
His father and uncles had successively passed away, forcing him, at a tender age, to assume leadership of the Mystic Nine. He expressed his profound frustration that Xie Lian Huan, now known to be alive, had silently observed his struggles for years without divulging any secrets, merely instructing him to protect the Xie family without even identifying the true enemy.
To divert Xie Yuchen's troubled thoughts, Black Glasses introduced the topic of Shibie Pills, a fabled elixir of immortality associated with the Heavenly Queen Mother, said to grant longevity and perpetual youth by containing Shibie. Xie Yuchen surprisingly revealed he had encountered these rare pills himself. Among Xie Lian Huan's possessions, he had found a Yellow Silk book detailing various locations, one of which he had visited at great peril. This perilous location was a repository for Shibie Pills.
Black Glasses then cautioned him that these pills were, in fact, lethal. They pondered whether the pills depicted in the fake palace's murals were these very Shibie Pills and if they bore any connection to Chen Wen Jin's condition. Black Glasses also noted that the Yellow Silk book pointed to Tamutuo as another significant site.
Given that both Chen Wen Jin and the real Wu Sansheng had reached Tamutuo, they mused that the mysteries of "the Ultimate" and the Queen Mother's Palace might soon be unveiled. Wu Xie's team finally arrived at the true Palace of the Heavenly Queen Mother, a majestic structure guarded by countless jade servants. Fatty admired them as ancient Chinese artworks, while Wu Xie recalled Zhang's earlier caution that these jade servants were not as they seemed.
Within the palace, they discovered the Floating Furnace, the Queen Mother's alchemy crucible, hovering above the ground to draw energy from the Dragon Vein. Mop, overcome by avarice, ignored warnings and touched the pills meticulously arranged on a celestial disk near the furnace. These pills were configured according to star signs, and their disturbance triggered a mechanism that sealed their escape route. The jade servants animated, wielding long swords and assaulting the intruders.
Despite the team's fierce resistance, the jade servants appeared invulnerable. Wu Xie quickly discerned that black-haired snakes controlled the jade servants, noticing them emerging from broken armor, and realized that destroying the snakes was the only way to neutralize the threats. Chen Wen Jin observed that the jade servants exclusively attacked men, deducing that her own scent, a result of a pill she had previously consumed, was protecting her by confusing the controlling snakes.
Facing overwhelming odds, Fatty, in a desperate gamble, decided to use his dynamite to blast open the sealed entrance. However, the door, revealed to be an unyielding bronze gate, remained unscathed by the explosions. The sheer force of the blasts, nevertheless, dislodged the suspended Floating Furnace, which crashed down and miraculously created a new passage. The group swiftly descended into this newly revealed area.
Although it initially appeared modest compared to the blinding opulence of the fake palace, this newly revealed area, constructed from the finest materials, boasted ancient murals remarkably preserved over three millennia, a testament to the Queen Mother's ingenious concealment of her true palace. There, Wu Xie immediately recognized a familiar symbol—a mark Zhang had left many years prior in a different passageway.
He implored Zhang to recall how he had escaped or why he had left the mark, acutely aware of Zhang's persistent memory loss. Meanwhile, Xie Yuchen and Black Glasses, having waited patiently for some time, grew restless. Xie Yuchen entrusted an employee with watching over Xie Lian Huan and set off to find Wu Xie and the others.
Their search, however, led them unexpectedly into what appeared to be the Queen Mother's biological laboratory, where she had delved into the secrets of eternal life. Inside, they observed peculiar crystal cases containing preserved specimens, including what appeared to be human-animal hybrids. Wall paintings adorned the laboratory, depicting various creatures.
They speculated that the Queen Mother was experimenting with ancient immortality techniques, such as those attributed to Fu Xi, who was said to possess a serpent-human form and live for centuries. It seemed the Queen Mother had established this snake-rearing laboratory based on Tamutuo's climate, but she appeared not to have ultimately utilized this specific method for her own longevity, as her human form was depicted interacting with Emperor Wu in the fake palace's murals.
