- 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)
In the last Immortal Samsara episode recap, the Heavenly Realm won the war against the Demon Clan but at a great price. Ying Yuan, the only greater god who survived, left the Heavenly Realm to die. Meanwhile, Zhixi openly confronted Yan Dan. Let us see how things develop this time in episode 9-10 recap.
Episode Recap
Episode 9
Yan Dan was returning a pile of books she borrowed to the Pavillion of Books. Luming asked her why she looked unhappy even after winning the play competition. He was also surprised that she came alone, without Yumo nor Zhixi accompanying her. But Yan Dan left without giving him any explanation.
The next scene showed Yan Dan waiting for Yumo outside Treasure Pavillion as planned the day before.
She sat on the roof together with the Celestial Turtle. She waited so long that she fell asleep and dreamt of Ying Yuan. In the dream, Ying Yuan became a ghost and came to find Yan Dan for revenge. Although, Cheng Yi looks great with white hair, this scene was still eerie hahaha….
She was startled awake and realized she had fallen off the roof. The treasure within the Treasure Pavillion had been emptied out as well. She has missed the timing to sneak in the Celestial Turtle. But Yumo was still nowhere to be seen.
In Xuan Xin Cliff, Yumo just transformed into human again and was hurrying to go see Yan Dan’s play. He found out he was late for the show but then he picked up a lantern by the stage and left.
Dejected Yan Dan was seen walking through the forest in the Heavenly Realm. Suddenly she saw a white-haired demon like entity bind with chains, tied to the Divine Tree. At first, she thought it was someone from a Demon Clan. But she was shocked to see it was Ying Yuan. Ying Yuan looked demonic, just like in her dream, with the Asura seal breaking through on his forehead.
She was devastated to see him looking like this. Ying Yuan, however, was blind and did not realize who she was. She told him to leave the place immediately and not tell anyone about what she saw.
Yan Dan figured out Ying Yuan was blind, so she suppressed her tears and transformed her voice and said she was an attendant of the Pavillion of Books. She promised him she would not tell anyone about him being here.
She wanted to help to free him from the Divine Tree. But Ying Yuan said he deserved to be there as he was responsible for what had happened in the war with the Demon Clan. He was also poisoned so it was pointless to free him from the tree.
Yan Dan tried to persuade him by saying that everyone was grateful for him and the Supreme Majesty even praised him during the Jade Pool Banquet. Ying Yuan was interested when he heard about the Jade Pool Banquet. He was curious about Yan Dan’s play, War of Genesis.
Fighting back her sobs, Yan Dan reported that the play was performed well and received many praises. Ying Yuan was happy to hear that Yan Dan’s wish was fulfilled. He then asked her to leave. But Yan Dan continued to stay and even offered to re tell him the entire play.
Meanwhile, Yumo was not able to find Yan Dan outside of the Treasure Pavillion. He asked Luming at the Pavillion of Books, but Luming was also clueless. He also told Yumo that he had never seen Yan Dan so depressed.
Yumo then looked for her in the forest thinking she might have taken a stroll there. Unexpectedly, he saw Yan Dan was performing the play for Sovereign Lord Ying Yuan. As he peeked at her from behind the trees, he did not see what Ying Yuan looked like. Yumo then left feeling disappointed, carrying with him the dimming lantern. I guess everyone just expected Ying Yuan would be back for the Jade Pool Banquet and not be surprised to find him in the woods.
At the end of Yan Dan retelling the play, Ying Yuan asked whether Celestial Deity Beiming had also fallen. Yan Dan confirmed, saying that he was ambushed by the Demon Clan and lost his celestial spirit. He died before the Jade Pool Banquet. Ying Yuan finally understood why Yan Dan added a scene of Beiming at the end of her play.
Ying Yuan then asked her to leave and never to come again. Yan Dan tried to persuade him repeatedly, but Ying Yuan said that once the poison in him wreaked havoc, he would not be able to control himself and would harm others. Yan Dan left with the determination to help resolve the poison in Ying Yuan’s body.
Sad Yumo was drinking wine by the pool at Xuan Xin Cliff. He began to feel that living his life as a black fish was more carefree than transforming himself into human. Why is there suddenly vinegar here? So unexpected…
Yumo suddenly sensed someone’s arrival into Xuan Xin Cliff. It was the East Dragon King, visiting his son Ao Xuan and his future bride, Zhao Lan. The two baby dragons were left in the care of Celestial Deity Beiming to cultivate in Xuan Xin Cliff.
Yumo who was peeking through the window at the sweet family reunion, felt even more miserable. He was missing his parents, missing his master Beiming and also thought of Yan Dan. He was confused why he felt upset seeing Yan Dan happily interacting with another man. ( ˘▽˘)っ Aiyaa…. Didn’t anyone tell you love hurts…?
With the determination to cure Ying Yuan, Yan Dan went to the Sacred Temple and hung a wishing plaque. She then prayed whole heartedly for his recovery.
Meanwhile, back at the Pavillion of Books, Yumo came by hoping to see Yan Dan. But Luming told him that she was not there. Seeing Yumo’s state, Luming diagnosed that he has caught the likely disease of Love Sickness.
Love Guru Luming laid down the symptoms of Love Sickness, which matched Yumo’s current state of mind. But he then quickly told him that love is forbidden in the Heavenly Realm.
Yumo then told Luming about how miserable he felt. Yan Dan did not even come look for him after he did not show up to the play and at Treasure Pavillion. After pouring out all his dark thoughts, he made Luming promised not to tell Yan Dan anything about this.
At this time, Yan Dan suddenly showed up and reprimanded Yumo for not coming to the play nor the Treasure Pavillion. Yumo made up some reasons and light heartedly asked Yan Dan not to be upset. He also came with the idea to sneak in the Celestial Turtle into one of the East Dragon King’s jars of elixir. Yan Dan agreed, and they promised to meet up the following day.
After Yan Dan left, Luming asked Yumo why he did not tell Yan Dan how he felt. But Yumo wanted to protect their friendship. Luming complained why he was not ambitious at all. I think Luming was just wanting to see the fun.
In another part of Pavillion of Books, Yan Dan was researching on Ying Yuan’s poison, Unexpected Flame. The information said the effect of the poison could claim the patient’s life or turned him into a demon. There was no cure.
Thinking it was impossible for Ying Yuan to turn into a demon, Yan Dan was sure Ying Yuan would die.
At this time, Ying Yuan was haunted by the loss of his friends in the war. He felt tremendous guilt and had wanted to kill himself. His inner awareness had almost crushed his celestial spirit, when Yan Dan suddenly roused him awake.
Ying Yuan reprimanded Yan Dan for coming again. But Yan Dan told him that she had nightmares of him becoming a ghost, wanting to kill her. So, she decided to come and help him to resolve his condition.
Yan Dan brought food with her. To trick Ying Yuan into eating, she spoke nonsense to agitate him. She then stuffed the food into his mouth when he started to scold her. Genius.
Smelling the lotus fragrant on her hand, Ying Yuan began to suspect the Celestial Attendant was Yan Dan. Even when his suspicion was so strong, he could not allow her to stay. He was afraid he might hurt her due to the poison attacked.
But Ying Yuan was unable to make her leave even after repeated admonishment. In the end, he relented and gave her the jade bracelet for keeping distance that he had once given and took back from her.
Yan Dan said she was not afraid even if she had to face the Demon King Xuan Xiang. Hearing the name Xuan Xiang provoked Ying Yuan and his inner demon took over. The surge of power in his body blasted Yan Dan to a nearby tree, breaking the jade bracelet.
Seeing Ying Yuan thrashing around, made Yan Dan worried. She transferred her energy to help him, but the poison attack was so strong. Yan Dan still refused to leave, even when the energy surge from Ying Yuan’s body hurt her.
At night, Yan Dan brought Yumo to sneak into the Heavenly Hospital. Looking at the various valuable and rare herbs, she thought of having Ying Yuan tried them all to delay the poison from spreading in his body.
They finally found the East Dragon King’s elixir jar and sneaked the Celestial Turtle in. Not long after, they heard someone coming, so they hid behind one of the shelves. The two attendants who came happened to be discussing how the poison Unexpected Flame can only be cured by the heart of someone from the Four-Leaf Lotus Clan.
However, the Supreme Majesty was determined to find another alternative. This was because using the heart of the Four-Leaf Lotus Clan, would damage the primordial spirit and cause death. But upon hearing this, Yan Dan was rejoiced.
She went to Ying Yuan carrying a variety of herbs to have him try each one.
As it turned out, Ying Yuan placed a barrier spell to keep Yan Dan out. But quick-thinking Yan Dan tried to shovel her way in while harassing him by gossiping non stop.
She spoke of a couple who were caught breaking the Love Abstinence Rule. They then jumped off the Liao Wu bridge to be together. Ying Yuan explained that by doing this their primordial spirit will be destroyed. They would not be able to become celestial beings ever again. Their memories will be erased, and they will become mortals suffering the Mortal World. A fate worse than death.
Hence, Ying Yuan continued to advise her not to fall in love and avoid calamity.
As Yan Dan continued to shovel, she accidentally hit a metal plate covered with runes in the ground. Dark shadows suddenly emerged and chased her. Yan Dan at first thought it was Ying Yuan who conjured them. But it was not Ying Yuan. Those shadows were the Dark Souls of Asura who have been sealed for 10,000 years.
As the shadows kept trying to attack her, Ying Yuan broke out of the barrier spell and rescued Yan Dan. Among the shadows was a sword that tried to strike at Ying Yuan but Ying Yuan was able to break the attack.
All of a sudden, a man appeared sitting on top of the sword. He was the spirit of the sword Ren Hun Jian. He previously belonged to the Asura Clan King, Xuan Ye. The spirit sword tried to attack Yan Dan. And then…. let me just say there was some badump badump scene that made me stick my tongue out because it was not tastefully done.
Even though he lost his vision, Ying Yuan was still able to defeat the spirit sword easily. But his inner demon suddenly resurfaced, causing the Asura seal on his forehead to reappear and even his appearance changed. The spirit sword suddenly recognized him. But before he was able to say anything, Ying Yuan placed a seal in his throat to stop him from saying whatever he was trying to say.
But the spirit sword was still able to talk. He wondered why an ascendant of the Asura Clan was living in the Celestial Realm and harmed the Asura Clan. Yan Dan, who was beside Ying Yuan, was surprised to hear this news. She has always thought that Ying Yuan was born as a celestial being.
Ying Yuan said that the Asura blood in his veins was an evil that should be eradicated. He went on to say that Ren Hun Jian was responsible for the massacre during the War of Genesis. He advised the spirit sword to atone for his sin. The spirit sword then said that he has been sealed away for a very long time. Then he submitted himself to Ying Yuan and went into his body, covering the primordial spirit inside him.
Yan Dan was worried, but Ying Yuan said he will die soon. Hence the sword will die together with him saving the world from Asura Clan.
After exerting so much energy to save Yan Dan, Ying Yuan’s power was depleted and he fainted.
Episode 10
Yan Dan was covering Ying Yuan with ice inside a bathtub in a little hut. Seeing Ying Yuan feverish and without his celestial power, Yan Dan regretted herself in the past for having wished Ying Yuan would lose his celestial power like today.
For some reason, his body froze over instead. Yan Dan hesitated but she then transferred her energy into Ying Yuan. Ying Yuan’s condition seemed to improve by this action, so Yan Dan continued with the treatment.
Surprisingly, the seemingly unconscious Ying Yuan moved in and kissed Yan Dan!! I was shocked, I did not see it coming. Well it was not really kissing but more of sucking her Lotus Breath for strength. Ahahhaha I have somehow made it worse.
With cut and swollen lips, Yan Dan was seen accompanying Ying Yuan by his bedside. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Yan Dan on the other hand, began to feel the rising of her affection to Ying Yuan. Now she was worried whether Ying Yuan would really kill her for breaking the Love Abstinence Rule.
Ying Yuan stirred awake, and he tried to get up from the bed. However, with his energy depleted, he was not able to take a few steps without fainting.
To coax him to rest, Yan Dan distracted him by competing to name the place they were currently in now. Yan Dan first helped write his name. Ying Yuan then felt her writing. Now he has confirmed her identity, she was truly Yan Dan.
Ying Yuan raised his hand and began to touch her face. At her lips, he asked why she had a wound there. Bahahahaaha ( ՞ਊ՞)
Yan Dan smacked his hand away and told him she accidentally bit her lip while eating. Ying Yuan then suspected if he was the one who did that to her when she was trying to give him the Lotus Breath. He then treated her wound with his power.
Thinking that he would soon die, Ying Yuan did not want Yan Dan to suffer and wanted to give her some protection.
During the fight with the sword spirit, Yan Dan’s hair pin broke. So Ying Yuan gave her a new hair pin. It was made out of a 1000-year-old wood that could heal wounds.
In the end, they named the little hut 苟誕居Gǒu dàn jū , not sure what it means. But Yan Dan picked it out from both of their ideas.
Yan Dan was determined to take care of Ying Yuan. A small service for someone who was a protector of the people.
Yan Dan painfully took a petal from her lotus flower spirit to be made into an incense. It would help suppress the toxin inside Ying Yuan’s body and help clear his mind. She was hoping this would help Ying Yuan regained his will to live on.
Ying Yuan on the other hand, realized the atmosphere in the hut is dark and gloomy, not suitable for plant spirit like Yan Dan. Thus, as a parting gift he conjured a spell to make the space filled with light.
Yan Dan took the opportunity of this change in the atmosphere to lie to Ying Yuan. She said there was a pond filled with lotus nearby and she took him there to enjoy the scent. Taking advantage of Ying Yuan’s blindness, Yan Dan actually took him to the hill surrounded garden and burnt the lotus incense she has prepared for Ying Yuan’s benefit.
Ying Yuan knew of Yan Dan’s deceit, but he decided to accept her kindness.
Yan Dan then ‘drew’ the lotus pond on Ying Yuan’s palm to help him envision the view. In between, she also confessed and ‘wrote’ her feelings to Ying Yuan; how she adored him and wanted to be together with him. Waaa Yan Dan so bold.
Ying Yuan suddenly realized the mistake he had made. He then tried to avoid Yan Dan, but Yan Dan was not taking no for an answer. To revive his spirit, Yan Dan took Ying Yuan to a swing she made in the other part of the forest.
Enjoying the day swinging back and forth, feeling carefree, Ying Yuan smiled probably for the first time in his life. Cheng Yi is really top notch actor!
It was nighttime and Yan Dan was exhausted after working hard the entire day. Ying Yuan covered her with a blanket as she slept on the bed. Even in her sleep, Yan Dan still mumbled that she will definitely find a cure for Ying Yuan. This made Ying Yuan happy, he felt no regret were he to die now.
The following day, Ying Yuan asked Yan Dan what kind of incense she was burning. He felt the effect of the incense was able to keep the poison attacks at bay. But Yan Dan refused to tell him honestly what the incense was.
Ying Yuan then said not to waste any effort on him as he was a walking dead man. Yan Dan then responded by saying she knew of a cure which was using the Four-Leaf Lotus.
However, the moment Yan Dan said this, Ying Yuan became furious and told her that he was already guilty being the only survivor from the war. He did not need other’s sacrifice just so he could live.
Ying Yuan felt Yan Dan was foolish to have spared so much effort for him. But he was also helpless towards her.
The next scene showed Yan Dan visiting Luming at the Pavillion of Books. She asked for a record about the four Sovereign Lords, hoping to see anything there that might help Ying Yuan with his nightmares, which he often had. She then borrowed a Dream Butterfly from Luming to peek into Ying Yuan’s dream.
But it was still some time until she could use the butterfly since it was still in its cocoon state.
It was three days before Ying Yuan’s birthday. Yan Dan insisted in giving him a present, which was a coffin big enough for two (whaaattt….?). She also made him a red paper doll which looked like him. Yan Dan then placed the paper doll inside the coffin and burnt it. Afterwards, she declared that day was the day of Ying Yuan’s rebirth.
In the evening Yan Dan presented him with a cup of wine to celebrate his birthday. Afterwards, they each made a wish for each other’s well-being. It was the first time Ying Yuan ever celebrated his birthday with someone.
In the middle of celebrating, Ying Yuan’s head suddenly drooped. He was in a dream. He was dreaming he was by the Jade Pool. and the Four-Leaf Lotus flowers have not yet bloomed. Beiming and Huanqin were still there, joking around with him.
Not far from the Jade Pool, he saw Yan Dan. Together with Yan Dan, he travelled to all realms. This happy dream caused Ying Yuan to smile, and Yan Dan was glad to see it, while also wondering what he was dreaming about.
But in an instant, the sweet dream turned into a nightmare. The Unexpected Flame poison was acting up. Yan Dan tried to help him but the poison has spread too deep. She went to get some ice to help to stabilize his temperature. But when Yan Dan came back, Ying Yuan seemed to be standing and walking around in the room.
He was still dreaming of Yan Dan. But his actual body was reaching out to her from behind the window screen. Yan Dan then welcomed his touch from the other side. Uughhh this scene was fiery hot!!! Can’t wait for the next episode!
