When Destiny Brings The Demon Episode 1 Recap
> When Destiny Brings The Demon Recap
For five hundred years, Sima Jiao, a unique spirit body, has been sealed away on Three Saints Mountain. As the time for his release on the night of the new moon approaches, the beings of the Three Realms are filled with trepidation, for Sima Jiao, also known as the Lord of Mercy, possesses boundless power. The mountain's perpetual bloom is a testament to his vibrant energy. Yet, it is precisely his immense power that strikes fear into their hearts.
Five centuries ago, during a time of widespread chaos and fierce battles in the Three Realms, he was the sole survivor, merely an infant. When the Demon Realm discovered a totem on his forehead, they understood he carried the purest essence of demonic energy and was the only one capable of maintaining peace across the Three Realms.
To ensure his blood and divine power would forever serve them, they collaboratively sealed Sima Jiao for five centuries, publicly stating he was merely in secluded cultivation. Now, uncertain of his current state, various realms have begun to send disciples, ostensibly to care for the Lord of Mercy, but truly to probe his situation.
From his elevated position within the mountain, Sima Jiao, who was imprisoned by the Eight Palaces and whose place as ruler of the Celestial Palace they usurped, reflects on his dire situation, trapped in this lightless prison. He, however, has forged the Spirit Fire's avatar, and on the approaching new moon, the mountain's barriers will no longer confine him. He only needs one last piece to turn the game around and alter his fate.
Meanwhile, Liao Tingyan, originally a modern-day laborer, was on her way home from an overnight shift when a sudden bolt of lightning struck her, blurring her senses and making her feel as though her soul had exited her body. When she awoke, she found herself inhabiting the body of a junior sister in Serene Vale, a branch of the Four Seasons Palace under the Gengchen Celestial Palace.
Disturbed by her unfamiliar clothes and surroundings, she rushed to a mirror and saw a strange, beautiful face. Her master, Dongyang Zhenren, entered, inquiring about her well-being. Liao Tingyan, confused by the title "Master" and her new reality, was told she had been his disciple for over three months and that a barrier on Three Saints Mountain had damaged her Soul Manor, causing her memory loss and muddled speech.
Her master then informed her that the Lord of Mercy, the highest elder and last of the Sima clan, was ending his five-hundred-year seclusion, and various sects were sending disciples to serve him. Master Dongyang Zhenren was taking her to the selection, though he assured her Serene Vale was merely there to make up the numbers. Liao Tingyan, dismayed at the prospect of more "hustle" even in this immortal world, reluctantly agreed, hoping to simply get by quietly.
They arrived at the vast Gengchen Celestial Palace, spanning thousands of miles, where a golden phoenix soared overhead, casting its light upon a select few, including Liao Tingyan. She was baffled by her selection, as she had only intended to be a mere participant. Other disciples, like Yu Rongrong, openly questioned how a "three-spiritual-root loser" like Liao Tingyan could be chosen over them, attributing her success solely to her pretty face.
Inside the Fengqi Pavilion, where Sect Master Shi Qianlv and the Eight Palace heads gathered, the selection process required disciples to meditate and activate their heavenly crown. During the selection, Sima Jiao's furious roar from within the mountain terrified the assembly. His voice, threatening to kill them all upon his release, led Liao Tingyan to wonder if he was a demonic patriarch rather than a righteous one.
Sect Master Shi, along with the Heaven Palace's head, whose disciple Mu Nisheng was seen as their palace's hope, presented the chosen disciples. As the selected disciples, including a disguised Wan Ling, proceeded further into the Three Saints Mountain, the oppressive cold and eerie atmosphere left Liao Tingyan on edge. She made several attempts to escape, feigning illness and stomach pains, but was thwarted by an invisible barrier, much to the amusement of Sima Jiao, who was watching from afar.
She observed the other disciples' bravery in following a large snake that seemed to guide them, while she calculated her chances of slipping away unnoticed. Eventually, she decided to stick with the group, fearing being alone in such a creepy place. The group ascended a towering structure with no elevator, and blood splattered ominously as they neared Sima Jiao. He dismissed the disciples as fools and demanded their presence.
Liao Tingyan, upon seeing his youthful, well-maintained feet and then his face, was surprised to find him a "pretty boy" with a volatile temper. Yu Rongrong and the imposter Wan Ling approached him, proclaiming their devotion, but Sima Jiao, seeing through their lies, rejected them. The Spirit Fire within him grew restless as he fixed his gaze on Liao Tingyan. He accused her of trickery, but she insisted on her innocence. Finally, Sima Jiao commanded everyone to leave.
Outside, the disciples expressed their fear, speculating that the "mad" Grandmaster was merely stocking up on "fresh meat" for his pet snake. Liao Tingyan, noting that the ambitious "palace schemers" like Mu Nisheng didn't seem to care for her, decided to continue her strategy of staying low-key. As she walked, her feet began to blister. Ye Ruling, a disciple of the Yin Palace, offered to help and alleviated her pain.
Liao Tingyan introduced herself, jokingly asking if Ye Ruling was also someone who preferred to do the bare minimum, which Ye Ruling misunderstood as a reference to the Demon Realm. Liao Tingyan explained her desire to avoid serving the Grandmaster, preferring a simple life. Ye Ruling, surprised by her lack of ambition, explained the immense cultivation benefits of gaining Sima Jiao's favor.
Liao Tingyan, however, remained resolute in her desire for comfortable survival and suggested finding a sunny spot to settle down. Ye Ruling declined her invitation, but offered help from the back hall if needed. Unbeknownst to Liao Tingyan, her entry into the mountain was part of a larger scheme. The Young Master of the Four Seasons Palace spoke with an unseen accomplice from the Demon Realm.
He revealed that he had cast a spell on Liao Tingyan during the selection, allowing her to secretly absorb spiritual energy and replace Yue Chuhui. Their plan was for Liao Tingyan to kill Sima Jiao, which would shatter the Immortal-Demon Barrier and free the Demon Realm from its desolate confinement. The Young Master assured his accomplice that their desires would be fulfilled once Sima Jiao was dead.
Meanwhile, the Young Sect Master of the Shi family observed that life lamps were already extinguishing, fearing for the disciples given Sima Jiao's ruthless nature. He explained that Sima Jiao's madness was a tragic consequence of his past: five hundred years ago, Sima Shi, another member of the Sima clan, went insane and incinerated White Deer Cliff, wiping out their entire family. Only the infant Sima Jiao survived, possessing a rare atavistic bloodline that fused him with the Spirit Fire.
This burdened him with the responsibility of sustaining the Spirit Fire with his own flesh and blood, an existence of endless torment, a life worse than death. To preserve this precious bloodline, the Eight Palaces had imposed seals and curses, preventing him from taking his own life, and imprisoned him on Three Saints Mountain for five centuries.
The Young Sect Master remarked that it was no wonder Sima Jiao had succumbed to madness, having been orphaned at birth and then merely exploited by the Eight Palaces. He gave Sima Jiao a bowl of soup, noting that the Grandmaster still held some regard for the Shi family, but he gravely doubted the fate of the other disciples, who harbored their own hidden agendas.
From his solitary confinement, Sima Jiao continued to ponder Liao Tingyan, mystified by her presence that made the Spirit Fire restless, wondering what she was truly plotting, and if she could be the one he needed.
