Original subtitles

♪From primal chaos to the starry sky♪

♪In the whole world, we shall hold the balance♪

♪The cauldron tempers divine blades♪

♪The furnace refines the empty void♪

♪The Way is in mystic fate♪

♪Be brave enough to split the primal chaos wide open♪

[Pull Strings]

[Adapted from the novel by Yan Gui Zheng Zhuan]

[Episode 28]

We finally meet.

Fate's Chosen One.

I'm Jin Chan.

What did you just call me?

You are the one chosen by Fate.

The one chosen by Fate?

Before Fate destroys all,

it will choose someone to be a hero.

In this era,

you are the hero chosen by Fate.

I once believed

that Fate's Chosen One

was her.

It made me take many detours

before I found you.

How do you know Fate?

Because

I was once you.

Everything's in a circle.

All things rise and fall.

This is the law of the Three Realms.

Humans live and die; flowers bloom and fall.

It's the same for the Three Realms.

After the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity,

over half of ancient beings perished.

After the Witch-Demon War,

six out of ten creatures died.

After the Deity-Demon War,

only one in ten of the beings lived.

This

is my fourth Great Tribulation.

What exactly are you?

In this life,

I go by Jin Chan.

My former name

is too far gone.

I don't recall it.

You've seen Fate?

In the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity,

I too was a hero chosen by Fate.

Just like you,

driven by Fate,

I schemed endlessly,

only to end the calamity

that ravaged the Three Realms.

What did you do then?

Back then,

I had many kin,

many friends,

and a lover.

I only remember

that I wanted to save them.

But the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity could ruin heaven and earth.

How could I save them?

It was at that time

that I mastered the Time-Space Stasis.

The Time-Space Stasis.

That divine art

takes a terrible toll.

One use would drain

a lifetime of spiritual power.

But facing the apocalypse,

apart from this move,

I had no other way.

I thought

that if I had endless time

and kept searching my mind,

I would surely find

a way to save everyone.

Within that frozen time and space,

I didn't know how long I thought about it.

Perhaps a thousand years,

perhaps ten thousand,

perhaps longer.

But I never found that path.

I exhausted a lifetime's spiritual power,

and in the end, I failed everything.

Then, at one moment,

I had a sudden realization:

Why should I save everyone?

Fate wants to destroy them.

That is their destiny,

so why should I oppose Fate?

What did you do?

I gave up

being a hero.

I let the Great Tribulation destroy everything.

I only remember

that I sacrificed much.

I've already forgotten

the rest.

From then on,

I hid my name

and waited in silence

for each Great Tribulation.

Before each Great Tribulation began,

I could always find the one

chosen by Fate.

In the Witch-Demon War,

Fate had chosen

one of the Ancestral Witch heirs.

He forged the Pregenesis Sword

to break all magic arts in the Mortal Realm,

hoping to become the hero with it.

But he did not.

Within this Time-Space Stasis,

he pondered for ages

and reached one conclusion:

Only when the Witch Clan fell

could this Great Tribulation end.

So, he betrayed the Witch Clan.

He recast the Pregenesis Sword,

making it unable to restrain demonic arts,

and gave it to the Demon Emperor.

So, that's why the Sword counters magic arts,

not demonic arts.

In the Deity-Demon War,

the one chosen by Fate

was a Quasi-Saint of the Human Clan.

She

was a true heroine.

What did she do?

She found a countermeasure.

A countermeasure?

In the Time-Space Stasis,

she spent five hundred years

refining the Ancestral Wu's remains with her body

and turned

into the Sea-Calming Pillar.

The Sea-Calming Pillar

is forged from a human.

If the Human Clan subdues the Demon Emperor with it,

it means Fate has chosen the Human Clan.

If not,

it means Fate has abandoned the Human Clan.

She did her best,

leaving only the Pillar behind,

entrusting all to Fated Mandate.

All to Fated Mandate...

Though she became a heroine,

no one knows who she is.

She erased her own existence,

gaining a chance to stop the Great Tribulation.

This

is her way to break the deadlock.

A way to break the deadlock.

The Sea-Calming Pillar.

We are both heroes chosen by Fate.

If Fate wants to destroy the world,

how can we stop it?

Three eras, three calamities.

I found all whom Fate chose.

Yet all our efforts

were but mantis arms before a cart

against Fate's grand design.

How could we ever defy

the Fated Mandate?

Wrong.

What is wrong?

You hid one thing from me.

You claim to serve Fate.

Yet you never became a hero.

Could it be

that Fate cast you aside?

You wanted its notice again,

so you changed your face and name,

studying its workings in secret,

aiding Fate

to bring each Great Tribulation.

What if you

are the hand behind every disaster?

Where did I slip up?

Because I know math.

Math?

It was 13,000 years

between the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity

and the Witch-Demon War.

It was also 13,000 years

between the Witch-Demon War

and the Deity-Demon War.

Yet from that war until now

is only 1,000 years.

Why won't Fate wait

the remaining 12,000 years?

The ways of Fate

are beyond mortal understanding.

Fine.

Then let me put it another way.

You said you've sacrificed too much

and waited so long that you forgot.

I don't think you can forget.

♪I know the world's full of deceit♪

Because

you failed.

♪Why not change forms and play♪

You said you'd seen every hero.

But if only heroes

could stop the Great Tribulation,

why did you appear then?

Could it be because

you never meant to stop it

but to bring it on?

You want to prove to Fate

that your failure

wasn't due to your own limits

but because no one can succeed.

You spent a lifetime's cultivation

on the Time-Space Stasis

to trap those heroes

and wear them down

until they gave up being heroes.

Am I right?

Fate!

I'm no hero!

I lost completely!

Indeed.

♪And set formations in the world♪

In the Witch-Demon War,

that Witch Clan hero

only recast the Pregenesis Sword

because you

bewitched him for hundreds of years

in this Time-Space Stasis, right?

In the Deity-Demon War,

I planned to use the same old trick.

Sadly, it didn't work.

In the Deity-Demon War,

the deadlock

the Quasi-Saint heroine broke

wasn't the one set by Fate,

but the Time-Space Stasis

set by you.

♪No need to ask♪

I trapped her in the Time-Space Stasis.

But once the Sea-Calming Pillar she forged

exists in time and space,

it will never vanish.

I've lost.

No wonder.

No wonder people outside say

the Sea-Calming Pillar appeared out of nowhere.

No one knows its origin.

Because that heroine

spent five centuries forging it

in your Time-Space Stasis.

To the outside world,

it was but an instant.

She and I fought for five centuries

in the Time-Space Stasis.

Five centuries.

So,

the mastermind behind all these disasters

is you.

In the Witch-Demon War,

I deceived the Witch Clan ancestor,

planting in him the ambition to rule all.

In the Deity-Demon War,

I stirred enmity between the Human and Demon Clans,

pushing them to a final, bloody battle.

You also deceived

the Two Saints of Westdawn,

making them sneak into the Dragon Palace,

unleashing this catastrophic calamity.

You all believed

the Two Saints of Westdawn pulled every string in secret,

never suspecting

that from beginning to end,

those Two Saints

were nothing but puppets in my hands.

You infiltrated the Dragon Palace,

and everyone assumed

you wanted to free the Demon Emperor to weaken the Three Sects

so the Westdawn Sect could reap all the spoils.

But your real aim was...

To destroy the Sea-Calming Pillar

and free the Demon Emperor,

so I can prove to Fate

that I wasn't beaten by the last Chosen One.

I've seen every Chosen One,

and no one saw through it.

You

are the first.

So,

you want to trap me with the same trick.

Can you do better than that Quasi-Saint

from a thousand years ago?

Yes.

You're in the Time-Space Stasis.

How can you do it?

I've already placed

all the pieces.

I need only wait for them to move,

and they will break your scheme.

First step:

Amassing troops to build momentum.

Second step:

Reinforcements to aid the fight.

Where are the reinforcements?

The Ascendance troops are here.

The Elucidating and Seizing Sects will arrive soon.

Form ranks to face the Demon Emperor.

A thousand years ago,

even the Three Sects lost to him.

These people

are not enough.

Third step:

Entering the mightiest deity.

Voidcity.

Demon Emperor.

After a thousand years,

you've changed so much.

In this battle,

the Demon Emperor was caught off guard,

while the Grand Mage of Voidcity

had armed himself fully.

Subduing the Demon Emperor was no trouble.

Primordial Vessel!

Break!

Demon-Subduing Eye!

Open!

Try my thousand-year Rotbreath!

Wind-Stilling Pearl!

Take it in!

But don't forget:

The Demon Emperor's soul is in Yunxiao.

The one hurt

is only Fairy Yunxiao's body.

So, this was also your design.

My design?

I merely serve Fate.

But you surely did not expect

that I kept one move hidden.

All those attacks

were only to pin down the Demon Emperor.

The true key

lies there.

It's her.

[Before the Time-Space Stasis]

When?

As the Time-Space Stasis began.

You found me in the end.

If you still seek atonement,

answer me one question.

Kuai Si controlled Qi Yuan, my mentor,

with a magic instrument.

Was it the Rank-XII Golden Lotus?

It was merely modeled

on the Rank-XII Golden Lotus.

Its power was limited.

It could only bind Aureate Immortals.

But the principles are the same, right?

Exactly.

The so-called Golden Lotus

is merely a soul hidden in blood water.

When the mind is confused,

this soul

can sneak into the body

and finally control that body.

So, if we drain out this blood water,

we can break the Rank-XII Golden Lotus.

What are you going to do?

Drain out the soul?

Wen Jing is from the Blood Gnat Clan.

Drawing blood

is her specialty.

I see.

As long as you weaken the Demon Emperor

and let Wen Jing drain his blood,

you can rescue Fairy Yunxiao.

But have you considered this?

When the Demon Emperor's blood enters Wen Jing's body,

Wen Jing will also be controlled by his soul.

What?

Have you run out of tricks?

The Blood Sea

is practically barren.

Yet there's a kind of tree

that can grow there.

It's called the Blood Sea Tree.

The blossoms of the Blood Sea Tree

are lovely.

So lovely.

When they're in full bloom,

the whole Blood Sea

becomes a dreamlike vision.

But the nectar of these flowers

won't dissolve in the Blood Sea's water.

For our blood-sucking Blood Gnat Clan,

it's an inescapable, lethal poison.

You actually got her to go this far.

It wasn't me.

She chose this herself.

Once I drink the Demon Emperor's blood,

what the Demon Emperor gets

will be a dying body.

Thus,

we can destroy the Demon Emperor.

No matter the outcome of this war,

I'll atone with my life.

Is that enough?

Brilliant, brilliant.

The Demon Emperor has yet to appear,

yet you've already set four deadly schemes.

How relentless, each step interlocking.

You're the cleverest Chosen One I've ever seen.

I'm beginning to understand

why, in this life's Great Tribulation,

Fate chose Yunxiao first

and then chose you at the last minute.

If we had met earlier in past lives,

we could have been close friends.

I'll pass on that.

My apologies.

You carry too much karma.

I won't get involved.

Do you think

victory is already yours?

By my calculations,

once these four moves are done,

my chance of victory is...

98%.

You think only you can deduce it?

I was once the Chosen One.

Your method is brilliant,

but you missed one thing.

I missed something?

What did I miss?

The Pregenesis Sword.

In the Deity-Demon War,

the Demon Emperor ruled the Three Realms.

He relied on the Pregenesis Sword

that foils magic arts.

With that Sword in hand,

do your schemes

still stand a chance?

That Sword bested me twice.

How could I overlook that?

Of course not.

So,

you made arrangements.

What?

You lost your tongue?

Afraid I'll spot your flaw?

In the Witch-Demon War,

I saw that Witch Clan hero

forge the Pregenesis Sword.

He feared outsiders might wield it,

so he placed a restraint on it:

Ancestral Wu blood.

Without Ancestral Wu blood,

it's just an ordinary sword.

Back then, the Demon Emperor kept

all Ancestral Witch heirs in his palace

as living blood reserves.

Each time he went to battle,

he used the Pregenesis Sword

to slay an heir.

You won't find Ancestral Witch heirs.

Because you let them leave.

You sent them to a refuge

and set a formation to guard them.

Paper butterflies mark the only path.

What are you doing?

What kind of labor is this?

This isn't labor.

We're fleeing for our lives.

Fleeing from what?

The Grandlord sent a dream order.

On the wedding day,

we're to find a place to hide.

Today, for all we know,

a great demon may come for us.

A great demon?

Did you hear something?

Impossible.

You'll never find the Bear Stockade people.

I spent three days in the East Sea...

Finding the most hidden spot.

Have you considered

that this hidden spot

was a trap

set just for you?

You are so cautious.

When you brought the Bear Stockade people here,

you must have left them a hiding place.

I only had to create such a place.

With your skills,

you'd surely find it.

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

They only came here three days ago.

In so little time, how could you...?

You foresaw this years ago?

As I told you,

you are not the only seer.

Do you remember now?

A thousand years ago,

I crushed your Three Sects.

With the Pregenesis Sword,

who dares oppose me?

Do you know where you lost

in this move?

Where did I lose?

You were too cautious.

Is caution a fault?

That's why

you became easy to read.

Every step you take

is flawlessly precise.

Once I know your goal,

I can predict your every move.

As I said,

you are the smartest Chosen One I've seen.

But

also the easiest to beat.

I...

Every Chosen One I've met before

made surprise moves.

Foolish as they were,

they still caught me off guard.

But

I only had to tweak

your move

to speed up the Great Tribulation.

You're using me.

Why did this Great Tribulation

come after only a thousand years?

Because

you sped all this up.

I did all this

for Fate.

Fate.

Did you see?

I'm your best pawn.

You saw me.

You heard me.

You responded to me.

Fate,

I helped you start this Great Tribulation.

I helped you destroy the world.

Only I understand your will.

Look at me again, Fate.

Look at me again.

[Celestial Emperor strikes]

[Formation]

[Chaos Bell]

[Demon Emperor appears]

[Water Dragon Spout]

[Wen Jing attacks]

Wen Jing.

Wen Jing.

You still remember me?

Yes.

In these past thousand years,

though I've forgotten much,

I still remember you.

♪See mortal joys and sorrows♪

Are you okay?

What do you remember?

I remember

you were hunted down

and wounded

that day, just like today.

Then, you fell into my palm.

And then?

Then

you drank my blood,

slept in my bed,

and made the juniors think

I hadn't bathed in ages.

And after that?

And then,

we were together,

sharing company.

You even practiced swordplay with me.

And so many years passed.

So many years.

Let's stop here.

Alright.

We

will stop here.

[Wen Jing ambushes]

There must be something I missed.

There's a way to avoid the Great Tribulation.

There must be.

There must be.

There must be.

Little Uncle.

Senior, go!

Changshou, go!

No, that's wrong.

No, that can't be.

There must be a way.

There has to be a way.

But if only heroes

could stop the Great Tribulation,

why did you appear then?

Yunxiao,

you are my only chance.

Wake up!

Is caution a fault?

That's why

you became easy to read.

There must be a way out.

Li Changshou,

you've lost.

[Demon Emperor appears]

[Demon Emperor appears]

There must be a way out.

There has to be.

Li Changshou,

do you like

the Great Tribulation?

Have you figured it out?

Yes.

I figured out that everyone will die.

Your predecessors

deduced for over ten thousand years,

all in vain.

How long has it been?

If you ask about time,

less than an instant.

If you ask about experience,

3,600 years.

3,600 years...

Less than an instant.

Don't worry.

Soon,

you'll forget

their grudges,

their names,

and even yourself,

just like me.

By then,

there will be no more pain.

Jin Chan,

you exhausted a lifetime's cultivation

to trap me in this Time-Space Stasis.

Was it worth it?

I'm forsaken by Fate,

outside of samsara.

A lifetime's cultivation is nothing to me.

I'll just cultivate again from scratch.

This lifetime,

meeting a genius like you

was worth it.

Let me show you something.

What do you want to show me?

I'll show you what I've deduced.

Tired?

How long has it been

since you had a proper meal?

You old fool.

Where did you get it?

Ascendance Sect.

It's a good place.

It's just

another Mortal Realm.

You're

deducing things,

day and night, every moment.

Aren't you tired?

I've gotten used to it.

So, have you figured it out?

I thought I had.

But things only get more complicated

and chaotic.

You were wrong?

So you feel defeated?

Have you ever thought

that being wrong

is actually normal?

You've always been right.

You get one wrong occasionally,

and you feel like the sky is falling.

Then look at me.

I'm always wrong.

I'm never right.

Yet I've lived safely till now.

All thanks to me.

Yes.

With a disciple to shoulder it,

the mentor can make mistakes freely.

Changshou,

have you ever thought

that someone will shoulder it for you

when you make a mistake?

Will there be?

I know.

You always feel you're alone.

But Changshou,

do you still remember

a bird flying overhead,

sweeping past?

Splat! A dropping

nearly hit your shoulder.

Do you recall us

sitting by Jade Division's pond,

catching a tiny fish,

and making a big pot of fish soup?

Have you ever thought

of those missing sheep

eating only flowers, not grass?

And

your Junior Ling'e, who ate little

but always stayed plump

and so mischievous?

Changshou,

all these years,

many people, many things

have surrounded you.

You have never been alone.

♪See mortal joys and sorrows♪

♪Reunions and partings, as fate unfolds♪

♪Alas, love has many twists and turns♪

♪Memories filled with sorrow♪

♪Slowly, wishes turn to regret♪

♪You've gone afar, like mist fading♪

♪Tearfully, this life's bond is not over♪

♪Past fragments vanish into night♪

♪Down a few more cups of wine♪

♪Through land and sea, I ask you to come♪

♪For honor's sake, upright and grand♪

♪Alas, our story is short♪

♪Slowly, wishes turn to regret♪

♪You've gone afar, like mist fading♪

♪Tears fall, this fate's not done♪

♪Past fragments vanish into night♪