- Title: Immortal Samsara
- Original Title: 沉香如屑(Chénxiāng rú xiè)
- Year: 2022
- Number of Episodes: 38
- Genre: Romance, Wuxia, Fantasy, Drama
- Country: China
- Where to Watch: Youku, Viki
List of Recap:
- Immortal Samsara (Episode 1-2 Recap)
- Immortal Samsara (Episode 3-4 Recap)
- Immortal Samsara (Episode 5-6 Recap)
- Immortal Samsara (Episode 7-8 Recap)
- Immortal Samsara (Episode 9-10 Recap)
- Immortal Samsara (Episode 11-12 Recap)
- Immortal Samsara (Episode 13-14 Recap)
- Immortal Samsara (Episode 15-16 Recap)
- Immortal Samsara (Episode 17-18 Recap)
During the last Immortal Samsara episode recap, we saw Yan Dan was placed in the Heavenly Prison, waiting for the punishment for a crime she did not commit. Yumo meanwhile was finally able to break out of the barrier placed by Huo De and he rushed to save Yan Dan. Let’s see how episodes 15 and 16 unfold.
Episode Recap
Episode 15
Placing an invisible spell on himself, Ying Yuan came to visit Yan Dan in prison. She was sleeping but she seemed to sense Ying Yuan’s ‘touch’ on her face. She opened her eyes and started to look around but did not see anything.
Both Ying Yuan and Yan Dan were crying in silence, but Yan Dan did not know she was not alone. Seeing Yan Dan’s distressing state, made Ying Yuan even more resolute to help her avoid the Love Execution.
Suddenly, Ying Yuan sensed the arrival of someone, so he hid himself. It was Yumo. He secretly came to Yan Dan’s prison cell to help her escape. But Yan Dan refused to follow him. If she escaped now, it would only prove that she was indeed guilty.
Nevertheless, Yumo was still not reassured, hence Yan Dan once again told him the same lie she told Luming. She said Ying Yuan was going to send her to the Mortal Realm, hence Yumo should go there first and get everything ready. She will meet him there once she was sent down. Yan Dan was basically telling lies left and right, but in her heart, she was ready to die.
Yumo gave Yan Dan a bowl of fried rice which he had prepared. He told her to wait for him at the Heavenly Gallows in three days’ time. They will go to the Mortal Realms together. Ah this Ying Yuan, how come he didn’t even bring Yan Dan anything. At least some water to wash down the rice, tsk tsk, so inconsiderate.
Three days flew by, it was time for Yan Dan’s punishment. Ying Deng still tried to make life harder for Yan Dan but Ying Yuan protected her by walking her to the Fire Execution place himself.
Along the way, passing the Liao Wu Bridge, Yan Dan told him that she really did not poison Ying Deng and asked if he believed her. But Ying Yuan thought he should continue acting indifferently towards Yan Dan so as not to let her harbor any love for him. In this way, he could save her from the Love Execution. He did not answer her question, but only said that as situation has become like this, she should receive her punishment. Yan Dan was even more disappointed. Her misunderstanding towards Ying Yuan grew bigger and bigger, exactly how Ying Deng wanted it to be.
Arriving at Liao Wu Bridge, Yan Dan remembered the words she said to Ying Yuan in the small hut. She said she was going to kick him off Liao Wu Bridge if he failed to recognize her after he regained his vision. She must be thinking to give him a roundhouse kick off this place （ ´∀｀）. Liao Wu Bridge was the place where the celestial beings jumped off to escape Love Execution. Their celestial spirit will scatter beyond help and they will never be a deity again, and their soul will be lost forever.
Yan Dan felt aggrieved. She did not place the poison on Ying Deng but was punished for it. On top of that, she also felt indignant that her love for Ying Yuan seemed to be punished by passing through this Liao Wu Bridge. She asked Ying Yuan, now that she has fallen in love with him, why has he still not killed her as he promised before. Her words startled the celestial guards escorting her behind Ying Yuan.
Ying Yuan still tried to save and cover for her, stopping the celestial guards who were ready to execute her. But Yan Dan was too upset, with every word, she destroyed all the protection Ying Yuan has ‘arranged’ for her. I feel that at this point, Ying Yuan must have felt like his eyebrows were on fire. If he could, he would have shouted: “Shut up woman!!”. Finally, Yan Dan asked him whether his heart was ever moved by anyone in his life.
Ying Yuan gathered all his will to say that his heart only has the three realms and nothing else. Then the scene that was played was exactly how it was in the first episode. Ying Yuan had his back to Yan Dan. Yan Dan was crying and said to herself that the incense has stopped burning, and her heart was broken. She regretted the lotus that have bloomed. As she let herself fall off the bridge, Ying Yuan did not turn his back but only clenched his fist.
Realizing Yan Dan has jumped off the bridge, Ying Yuan immediately turned around and jumped off to follow her.
As Yan Dan kept falling and falling, her body underwent torment by this fiery like shadows. Ying Yuan flew towards her to fight off the fiery shadows and suffered wounds on his body as well. As he held Yan Dan, Ying Yuan used his spiritual power to open up a path that seemed safe for them to go through.
On top of the Liao Wu Bridge, Yumo came running with Luming. Zhixi and Qingyun were already there looking devastated and lost. Yumo was dumbstruck when he found out Yan Dan has jumped off the bridge. Yumo had wanted to jump to also follow her, but a barrier stopped him from doing so. Turned out the Supreme Majesty was so angry when he heard Ying Yuan had jumped after Yan Dan and placed the barrier there.
Yumo who was feeling regret and bitterness for not having noticed Yan Dan was behaving strangely three days’ earlier, suddenly felt the lotus seal on his wrist brightened. This meant Yan Dan was still alive somewhere. Yumo was determined to find her.
In the middle of a dark barren land, Yan Dan woke up in Ying Yuan’s arms. Ying Yuan told the shocked Yan Dan that she has lost her celestial spirit, but he has given some of his celestial power to save her.
Yan Dan who was still in confusion, began to ask him why he jumped in after her. Ying Yuan then told her everything, including how he knew that everything Yan Dan did was to protect Zhixi. Hah….can I just say here, although this was supposed to be one of the tender moments in the drama, I don’t like this type of Mary Sue character the most ＼(｀0´)／.
Despite all of that, Ying Yuan still believed that deities cannot be in love. As Yan Dan has lost her celestial spirit and would not be able to return to the Heavenly Realm, Ying Yuan could only bring her to this Night Forgetting River.
Yan Dan was livid. Ying Yuan kept rising her hopes up only to crush it again and again. But Ying Yuan continued to give her this long speech about incense, about how after the incense have been burnt and turn into fragrance, everything ended. Yan Dan also showed him the cocoon of the Dream Butterfly, demanding his promise of a lifetime for her. But Ying Yuan destroyed it with his spiritual power, shocking Yan Dan.
Yan Dan finally accepted her fate to continue crossing the river alone.
The death ripper, Yi Zhang, greeted Yan Dan. He was going to guide her to cross the river to forget her past and go to the Netherworld. She will then turn into human and go to the Mortal Realm. He gave her the Lantern of Death which contained her memories.
Before she went with the death reaper, Yan Dan turned around and told Ying Yuan that when she jumped off the bridge, she was prepared to die. However since she survived but Ying Yuan did not dare to face his feelings, she wanted him to watch her walk into the river and watch her forget about him.
The Dream Butterfly Cocoon appeared in Ying Yuan’s palm. It was revealed that earlier he had put a spell on it so it would appear as if he had destroyed the cocoon. But in reality, it was safe in his hand.
As Yan Dan continued to cross the river, Yi Zhang went to Ying Yuan’s side and persuaded him to leave. This was to help Yan Dan forget her past easier.
Ying Yuan went to the Supreme Majesty in Yuqing palace and admitted his fault. The Supreme Majesty was enraged but he was still willing to let the matter pass for Ying Yuan. However, Ying Yuan begged to be given the Love Execution punishment. He assured the Supreme Majesty that he had enough celestial power hence he will survive the ordeal.
He was then taken to the Heavenly Gallows. Marshall Huo De has been waiting there as he has promised Ying Yuan three days earlier to save Yan Dan. He was shocked with how things developed today.
Unwillingly, the Supreme Majesty gave Ying Yuan the Love Execution punishment and pierced him with the three ice crystals into his body. Ying Deng came to beg for leniency towards Ying Yuan. Huo De also took out his Letter of Immunity which he has prepared for Yan Dan, but Ying Yuan destroyed it by zapping it to dust. Ying Yuan said he deserved to be punished, especially since he had disappointed Yan Dan.
The Supreme Majesty was angered and sent in several more ice crystals into his body. Ying Yuan wondered whether the Love Execution or cutting the heart in half was more painful.
Opportunist Ying Deng used this chance to beg the Supreme Majesty to erase the memories of Yan Dan from Ying Yuan’s mind so he would stop breaking the Love Abstinence Rule.
The Supreme Majesty thought this was a good idea. As Ying Yuan was in despair to have his memories of Yan Dan removed, Yan Dan was also experiencing trouble forgetting about Ying Yuan. Each step she took across the Night Forgetting River was painful.
At the last moment before memories of Yan Dan disappeared from Ying Yuan’s mind, he captured them and sealed them in his celestial spirit. This infuriated the Supreme Majesty even more (not to mention Ying Deng), but Ying Yuan begged miserably and said he did not wish to forget about Yan Dan. Cheng Yi looked so wretched here, I cannot help to also feel sad for him.
Ying Yuan promised the Supreme Majesty that he will dedicate his life to protecting the three realms but begged to be allowed this once to keep the memories. The corners of Ying Deng’s mouth twitched; she looked as if she just swallowed acid here. It was glorious.
The Supreme Majesty, acting like the doting father to Ying Yuan, agreed to his request. He left after throwing in a few more ice crystals, three times bigger than the ones he threw out before.
Huo De wondered why Ying Yuan was as stubborn as Yan Dan. He then asked Ying Deng to help Ying Yuan back to his palace to rest. Uh oh, from the look on her face, it seems like she was up to no good again.
Episode 16
At the Night Forgetting River, Yan Dan approached Yi Zhang and asked how much further to reach the shore. Yi Zhang replied that the shore will never be reached if she was still dragged down by her obsession. Hearing this news, Yan Dan started to wonder if she will ever be able to reach the shore.
Yi Zhang then advised her to rest first before continuing her journey across the river in a few days.
Back in Yanxu Heavenly Palace, the celestial attendants were helping Ying Yuan settle in his bed to recuperate. The Supreme Majesty came and observed that Ying Yuan’s power was dissipating. He immediately helped Ying Yuan to stabilize his condition. The Supreme Majesty then asked the attendants to help take care of him for the next few days. He must not have any contact with fire lest it aggravate his wound from the crystal frost and cause him to fall into a coma for hundreds of years.
The Supreme Majesty also requested that his visit was not revealed to Ying Yuan.
When Ying Yuan woke up, he noticed the belt which Yan Dan has fixed for him was no longer on his person. He was given a new set of clean clothes while he was unconscious. The belt, together with his torn clothes, were brought to the incinerator to be burnt.
Ying Yuan immediately flew into the incinerator to retrieve the belt. Man, I smacked my forehead right at this part, too much drama. Qingyun and the other Yanxu palace attendants, who chased after him, were all panicking.
Ying Yuan managed to bring back the belt, but all his celestial power was gone. Despite all Yanxu palace attendants’ pleadings, he refused to see the Imperial Physician. Instead, he chose to leave the Yanxu Heavenly Palace and would no longer be a Sovereign Lord.
Ying Yuan went to Gou Dan Ju Hut in his scorched robe but wearing the belt Yan Dan made. Looking absolutely wretched from the head to toe. He went inside and started to torment himself with the last words Yan Dan said to him at the Night Forgetting River.
Yumo also came to the hut and felt furious that Ying Yuan was still living peacefully inside the hut, while Yan Dan has jumped off the Liao Wu Bridge. He wanted to attack Ying Yuan, but Luming stopped him from exposing his identity.
He further explained to Yumo that Ying Yuan has done so much in order not to let Yan Dan be punished in the first place. He even jumped off the bridge to help Yan Dan cross over when things went awry. In the end, Luming managed to convince Yumo that what was important now was to find Yan Dan in the Mortal Realm.
At the Magical Artifact Pavilion, Zhixi was sorting through Yan Dan’s belongings that had been taken out from her room in Yanxu Heavenly Palace. Surrounded by gifts that Yan Dan originally prepared for her, Zhixi regretted her mistake.
When she went to the Sacred Temple and made a prayer for Yan Dan. Suddenly Ying Deng slithered in and made horrible remarks about Yan Dan. Zhixi tried to speak up for her but Ying Deng viciously reminded her of the deal they made together. Because of that Zhixi will always be under her control.
Ying Deng left after she destroyed the blue crystal bottle filled with heavenly blessings given by Yan Dan to Zhixi. Zhixi then made a decision to right her wrong and avenge Yan Dan.
In her study, Ying Deng received report from one of the attendants that Zhixi has requested for the list of those who crossed the Night Forgetting River. Ying Deng found out she has bribed the official to get this list. Ying Deng then arranged to have the list faked to also include Yan Dan’s name as one of those who managed to cross the river.
Meanwhile in Gou Dan Ju Hut, Ying Yuan was busy with a pile of documents on celestial affair. I thought he quit his job already, turns out he only demoted himself. Zhixi came to him at this time. At first, he had wanted to ask her to leave but Zhixi brought a list in her hand. She told him that Yan Dan has crossed the river successfully.
Feeling broken hearted inside, Ying Yuan did not receive the list from Zhixi’s hands. But Zhixi continued to say that now Yan Dan has crossed over, Ying Yuan should not worry about her any longer and get some rest to recuperate. She reprimanded him for drowning himself with work to numb himself of his feelings. What is this Zhixi playing at?
Ying Yuan asked her to leave, saying that this is his own business.
He then took a walk to the Sacred Tree, feeling desolate.
At the portal gate, Yumo was planning to go to the Mortal Realm to look for Yan Dan. But he changed his mind when he realized he needed a permit from the Supreme Majesty. On top of that, he will also have to turn into his real form once he passed the gate, which would expose his identity as a Nine Fins Clan descendant.
Thinking on how to solve this problem, he walked around and passed Pingxiang Hall. This was the place where Yan Dan and her group used to practice her play. Reminiscing while going through the props, he came across a book containing records about the Nine Fins Clan. Yan Dan has used this book as part of her research. He brought it back with him to Xuan Xin Cliff to see if he could find any useful information.
At Xuan Xin Cliff, Zhao Lan who was delivering food to Yumo, saw him fell to the floor with one of his horns broken off. Based on information he found in the book, Yumo was planning to use his horn to break a gap in the sky and go the Mortal Realm. The book warned that this method was comparable to killing oneself, and must only be used as last resort.
Disregarding Zhao Lan’s cries, Yumo refined his broken horn and turned it into a blade.
Yumo was now too weak to break the barrier and look for Yan Dan. He asked Zhao Lan for help. Determined, she went to Luming at the Pavilion of Books. Luming told her that Yumo can only be saved with Pill of Nine Refinements which was a very rare medicine. Only the Supreme Majesty has this pill. It was acquired from an ancient beast with so much effort for many years. Hence it was impossible to ask for it from the Supreme Majesty.
Therefore, Luming decided to go to Yuqing Palace and steal it for Yumo. Such was their friendship. But Zhao Lan rejected this idea and suggested her own way to get the pill.
Zhao Lao has been betrothed to Ao Xuan since birth, however their marriage was delayed since they just acquired their human form. As part of Zhao Lan’s plan to help Yumo, she requested for the marriage to be held sooner. She even requested for the Supreme Majesty to hold a banquet to celebrate the bestowment for the marriage.
She then used this opportunity to request a wedding gift from the Supreme Majesty, which was exactly the Pill of Nine Refinements. Out of everyone’s expectation, the Supreme Majesty actually granted her request and gave her the pill.
At the Sacred Temple, several Imperial Soldiers were pouring their spiritual power to fix the crack on the pillar. Suddenly Ying Yuan came. He just came back from fighting with the demons in the Demon Realm, hence his robes were specked with blood stains.
The General reported that the crack in the pillar must have been sustained during the attack by Xuan Xiang’s Nine Tailed Hydra. A deity must have placed a spell on it to minimize the damage, but he did not know which deity it was. Ying Yuan exerted his power to the spell that was applied on the cracks. He found out it was Yan Dan’s lotus power that fixed the pillar.
But as how things were, he knew Yan Dan would not want her name to be recorded in the Heavenly Register. So, Ying Yuan requested for the matter to be recorded as how he narrated. An unknown deity has risked her life during the war and did the right thing by fixing the pillar. Although she was unknown, but all the beings in the Heavenly Realm admired and were grateful to her.
Ying Yuan then poured his power to the limit to fix the pillar entirely. He wished for Yan Dan to have a peaceful life. He passed out afterwards.
In Xuan Xin Cliff, Luming was pacing back and forth, worried for Yumo who was lying unconscious in bed. Yumo suddenly opened his eyes and checked the lotus seal on his wrist. Seeing it was still there, he sighed in relief.
Luming immediately scolded him for being reckless. Then he told Yumo the sacrifices Zhao Lan had to make to enable him to heal and regain his human form again.
Yumo caught up to Zhao Lan before she left with her Dragon Clan. He tried to stop her from leaving and marrying the insufferable Ao Xuan. But knowing that to Yumo the most important thing was to save Yan Dan, Zhao Lan still helped him to go to the Mortal Realm. Luming also offered his help to distract the soldiers. Wuwuwu, I cannot even imagine how Zhao Lan must really love Yumo.
But as Yumo and Zhao Lan were opening the gap in the sky, Ao Xuan saw them and thought they were going to elope. Well, I had to give it to him that he had enough sense to know that Zhao Lan did not love him. He placed an ancient spell from the dragon clan in the sky and caused Yumo to suffer heavy injuries when he tried to cut the gap using his blade. The blade then lost its power and dissipated from his hand.
Just when they thought Yumo had failed, the sky began to crack, and a gap appeared. Yumo said his goodbyes to Zhao Lan and left. Ao Xuan who hid behind a pillar, was surprised that Yumo was able to break through his spell. He began to wonder who Yumo really was.
