SPOILERS: Ep.25-29 Recap, Q&A, Novel Comparison

A lot happened from ep.25 onwards and many questions were raised. Some of us tried to answer some of them based on the drama so far and the source novel, but it might be better to unpack them here in the discussion.  
 
QUICK RECAP:
Ep.25
•MXL meets demonized Zhao Ming for the first time inside the illusion space he created and he tells his version of their backstory - storming the Divine realm, CP "betraying" him by pushing him off and destroying the Celestial ladder, and him being sealed by the Book of Fate in the abyss for 10,000 years. He swears to take everything of his back.
•XXC arrives and ZM reveals that a fragment of his soul became XXC. ZM and XXC fight but they realize XXC has the real JunTian.
•XXC and MXL escape from the illusion space and reunite with the members of the Xuntian Sect reinforcing the Immortal Array. It was relayed that the Spirit Clan simultaneously attacked Snow City, Xuntian Sect, Mirage Palace but Jade Sky Palace got the brunt of it.
•Parents of FLS were on the verge of death and they said their last goodbyes.
•XXC and MXL confront JL and they learn how he became HXW's righthand man. JL wants freedom for the Spirit Clan but Abao reprimanded him for causing so much death and destruction.
•MXL and XXC have some alone time with MXL reaffirming that she chose him so she will follow him despite the difficulties.
•GQM was abducted by NXY so he could find out where the real Chaos Pearl is. He dropped his friendly facade and trapped GQM in a painting when she started evading his questions.
•HXW shows up and NYX says he will destroy HXW if he harms MXL. They plot together to kill XXC.

Ep.26
•HXW's wanted poster and reward poster for GQM were put up and spread to the sects.
•FLS and Abao have a heartfelt talk about JL's attack.
•NXY showed up with GQM info and talked about HXW's plan. He was already able to deduce that MXL is the Chaos Pearl.
•HXW brought GQM to the old site of the Celestial ladder to lure the real CP. GQM protects MXL by not admitting her identity.
•FLS, MXL and XXC arrive. MXL hugs XXC and goes to replace GQM.
•GQM insists on repaying the debt she owes MXL so when she attempts to off herself, HXW pushes her into whirling space with FSL following her.
•NXY shows up and triggers the Immortality array.
•Flashback to a convo between XXC and QGJ. They talked about how XXC figured out HXW is the evil cultivator and QGJ told him a way to set up a new Immortality array.
•NXY set up 3 death doors in the array instead of just one for HXW. His reasoning was to kill both guys and for MXL to survive through his protective jade token. He will die too as payback to MXL for killing XXC.
•They all suffer the backlash. MXL however put the jade token secretly in XXC's waist sash so she dies instead of him.
•Flashback to XXC talking to Xuanxin about this dangerous plan and entrusting the Alliance to him. MXL was eavesdropping.
•XXC is cradling MXL and he asks JunTian to attack NXY since he keeps crawling to them but FY zaps him out of there.
•XXC tries to revive MXL to no avail. Her blood drips into the platform and the Celestial ladder reforms.
•JL brings the Spirit Clan to the edge of the abyss as per HXW's instructions who tries to gather their spirits for his ascent to the Celestial ladder but XXC stops him.
• HXW talks about how as a child he witnessed the Divine clan controlled, oppressed humans, and asked for child sacrifices. Emperor Zhao Ming was the first human to cultivate spiritual power. He eventually rebelled and climbed the Celestial ladder to kill the Divine clan but lost.
•HXW climbs the Celestial ladder but finds no one in the Divine realm. He sees a light and goes to a higher platform where the Book of Fate is. He realizes that the events 10,000 years ago were rewritten. Lies were made about ZM and became the fake truth and fake legends- creating a fake world.  

Ep.27
•HXW rages against the BOF and he falls into the lower platform. He uses his blood and sacrifices his life to make an array to destroy the Divine realm platform.
•XXC carries MXL's body out and the Spirit clan shows their respects by kowtowing.
•XXC brings MXL back to Snow City and tells her that he needs to do things but he will come back to her so just wait.
•NXY refuses FY energy transfer. He has a conversation in his head with MXL.His internal conversation mentions XXC is innocent but he alludes to following the foretold fate he divined years ago and wanting to protect CP. MXL says she doesn't need his kindness or life. He decides to die.
•Flashback to the Divine clan asking BOF to suppress the Spirit Clan and he approves the request so their fate is changed. He returns to the upper Heavens platform. CP asks him if it's boring to observe the realms and he says he doesn't care because they are fleeting.
A later flashback of CP/A Zhu attacking BOF, saying he doesn't understand love and if he refuses to change ZM's fate, she will. She then falls and he follows her to the mortal world to see for himself what love is.
•Since NXY's soul already died, TianMing took over his body.
•The Human and Spirit clans sign a peace agreement and all gave a verbal vow. Xunxian became the new Alliance leader.
•XXC tells his two aides about MXL being the CP and what he and the world owe her. He entrusts Snow City to them.
•He goes to the Phoenix forest to wait for the Lotus of Life to bloom and encounters FX again. Waiting a long time, it finally bloomed and before eating it, he gave a memory stone to FX so she sees the sacrifice QGX made for her.
•XXC climbs the Godslaying or Divine Execution platform, enduring 38,000 celestial winds to the body and spirit. He eventually makes his way to the top where he is healed of his injuries.
•XXC meets the Wheel of Time who also doesn't know why he is alone. He only remembers that someone asked him to wait for someone. XXC asks to save MXL but warns that a price has to paid by him. He can be sent back in time but minimal interference should be made. He wishes to return to the point before the Immortal array was broken by HXW.

Ep.28
•XXC goes back to the past after being warned of the consequences of changing others' fate. His first attempt was going back to Snow City before the Immortal array was broken so he pursued HXW but he failed due to the 1-day limit.
•His second attempt was during his younger self's seclusion and younger MXL's stay at the Dark Abyss. It shows MXL surviving against the dark clan members and the Desire demon. XXC fell into MXL's trap but got out. He promised to teach her skills but she got disgruntled when he mentioned her da gege won't want her to live for revenge.
•XXC was forced to return to Snow City since the time limit was almost up. He saw his father in his sleeping quarters tidying his clothes. He realized his father did love him and wanted to approach him but he didn't to avoid disrupting events in that timeline. He bowed and the Xuanling seed that fell earlier in his clothes fell out. It landed in his courtyard and grew into a tree there. He fainted and dreamt that MXL has awakened. But his spirit just returned to the Divine Execution platform and learned he failed again.
• His third attempt was to go back seven years ago when MXL was at the Gao estate as a spirit slave. The overseer was beating her up and he saved her. He took her to treat her injuries, eat delicious food like pastries, buy new clothes, and watch fireworks. He realized he was the da gege she was referring to but initially didn't want to get her entangled with him again because he just wants her to be happy. Eventually, he promised to take her away. He goes to Elder Gao to ask for her spirit lock to be unlocked so he can take her away.

Ep.29
•Elder Gao was suspicious of XXC's request for a spirit slave so he asked his steward to check on it. The overseer was accusing Ling-ling of stealing clothes and beating her.
•Sang Qi started his attack so the city and the Moonlight Heights estate went into chaos.
•GQM and LL's clothes were swapped as they were sent to different directions to fool the attackers. XXC went to the girl in a red cape thinking it was Ling-ling but it was GQM. She thanked XXC and asked him to escape with her. He told her to go but to remember that sacrificing others for her is not right.
•XXC caught up with LL and killed the attackers. However, Elder Gao figured out that LL is the Chaos Pearl and wanted her for her power. He accused XXC of colluding with SQ but XXC reminded him that Elder Gao should know best why SQ is attacking.
•XXC told LL to close her eyes. Since he doesn't have enough cultivation in his 18yo body and his spirit is weak from the failed time travel attempts, XXC decided to destroy his spiritual channel hoping that the blast would be enough to kill Elder Gao to protect LL. He followed it up by driving his sword through. Elder Gao also attacked him and they both fell. Elder Gao died first but XXC soon followed.  
•His spirit left the body and stood watching LL. Suddenly, chaos power started exuding from LL because of her sorrow. It broke through LL's spirit lock and went into XXC's spiritual channel. SQ arrived and told LL that he will help her with her revenge on anyone including himself. SQ took her away.
•XXC's father arrived and covered up Elder Gao's wounds to avoid detection that it was XXC's sword that killed him before taking the still unconscious18yo XXC away.
•XXC's spirit went back to the platform and realized that his small kindness became the reason for the path MXL took and even killed her.
•The Time Keeper told him he is an observer who cannot make changes. Even for TianMing, he is only shown the end which is also the beginning and all attempts at changing it are also destiny. Chaos Power can reverse cause and effect so if XXC destroys his spiritual channel, the Chaos Power given to him by LL will return to MXL but it will not be a rebirth but an exchange since XXC will die.
•XXC used his Jade Vault technique to put limits on his soul so if it is captured by an outlaw, he/she will not be able to do evil deeds. He destroyed his spiritual channel to return the Chaos power to LL. His spirit went to ZhaoMing and merged with him. The Chaos Power went to MXL's body on the Snow Cliff which woke her up. She now knows that XXC was da gege and he has sacrificed his life for her. She is crying as she mourns for him while making a vow to protect the world he loves and not to blame her if she dies protecting it someday.
•TianMing shows up and MXL is so angered about his role in XXC's death. She wants to avenge XXC's death but she is still weak and still getting used to having her Chaos power back.
•TM introduces himself and activates an array to bring them to Greenview estate. He talked about their being born from Chaos and being together for tens of thousands of years. MXL said she doesn't remember and only knows he killed XXC. She refuses to be with him but TM forces her to get married. He traps her in the room with his power.
•ZM causes demonic energy to rise in the Dark Abyss as he arrives at the Temple of Divine Execution.  
•Xuanxin asks the Alliance and Spirit clan to send their best cultivators to help suppress this demonic energy. Abao talks to her dad and tells him to be careful.
•All the demons and spirit clan members are powerless against ZM. He introduces himself and tells them of the new rule in the Abyss as their new Demon Lord.
•MXL refuses to change into her wedding dress and insists on wearing mourning clothes. TM says he doesn't believe in marriage but this is something MXL wants to do with XXC and he can oblige her wishes.

NOVEL-DRAMA COMPARISON

Again, lemme preface everything by saying that the screenwriters are freaking brilliant! They took majority of the novel as the main story vehicle but enhanced the characters and the side characters to have more intentions, motivations and depth.

I'll point out some significant changes below based on ep.25 and 26:

A. In the novel, Fu Lan Sheng's dad was actually a vile person. He married FLS's mom because of her influence and wealth. He faked his care for her throughout their marriage. CangLi was actually the son of his friend but he coveted CangLi's mother so he had his friend killed and took her. He pretended to raise CL as his foster son but is almost like a hostage so that the mother would do his bidding. That's why CL hates him so much. In the passage scene, dad Fu ran away and was the one to set off the death array even though FLS, his wife, CL and Abao were still there so that they'll be killed.

In the drama, he was a good and loving father and husband. He even covered up the scandal of his brother(CangLi's dad in this case) and took the hit on his reputation. The scene of FSL's parents bidding him goodbye while smiling because they don't want him to see them dying hit hard. It was heartwrenching to see him brushing her hair, talking about their love story, and finally resting beside each other.

We can also see them hashing out FSL's character and becoming stronger. His moral compass is good. Abao was afraid that by her father's action FSL would hate her through extension but he doesn't. He said he doesn't want to live for revenge but he rightfully doesn't want to see CL anymore coz he was the reason for his parents' death. I expect we will see more of his growth as the next master Fu.

B. In the novel, HXW just wanted to have more power. Admittedly, he also wanted equality for the spirit clan but his character wasn't explored much.

In the drama, his main purpose in living for thousands of years was to kill the divine clan because of what they did to humans and ZM.

They actually showed him as a kid that lived during Emperor Zhao Ming's time. At the time the Divine clan were capricious gods wanting a lot of offerings and sacrifices. They cause diseases, drought, etc. so that the humans can keep worshiping them and in return they "give" abundance back. Those boys and girls you saw wearing white were supposed to be human sacrifices but ZM had enough and attacked the Divine realm to get rid of these gods. The Divine clan got scared and asked the Book of Destiny to rewrite history - making ZM the "evil" emperor, and trapping him in that hellish abyss.

That's why HXW said these are fake when he read the book on the platform because he knows and lived the truth. He just didn't know all of the gods have been killed or cast into the Dark Abyss so the Divine realm is empty.

C. In the novel, Gao Quimin stayed the mean sprited and entitled biatch she was since little. In the drama, she has shown to ask for forgiveness for her mistake and eventually protective of MXL. Same as FLS, we'll prolly see more of her growth too. Hoping to see an update of GQM and FSL soon. 

Wow that's very decent of you to summarize and help the audience understand the plot for ep 25-27. They have packed alot in the last 3 episodes and I definitely appreciate the info.

I just read the novel/drama comparison part and I actually like the changes the drama made. It's more of a pleasant watch. So glad GQM is not the annoying vindictive SFL.

This was an interesting read thank you. 

 fancy:

This was an interesting read thank you. 

Welcome! Just some personal observations that might clear up some Qs. Let's keep watching! ♡

This is so thoughtful of you, Micha. Can't find this kind of infos on the comment section. Thank you for sharing!

@Micha, thank you for taking the time to put it all in one place. It's really useful.

If anyone knows, please help...I've got a question re: CP/MXL's birth. I understood it as she was birthed as a twin with GQM, but they left her under the Xuanling Tree because they thought she was demonised/defective. And they assumed GQM was the CP. Is that correct?