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"It seems someone doesn't want me to rest in peace."
— Wei Wuxian hypothesising that his resurrection, the demonic arm and Wen Ning's reappearance is no coincidence
13 years have passed, and the Yiling Patriarch is brought back to life. Despite his intentions to live by unnoticed and away from all those he knows, Wei Wuxian changes his mind when he realizes there's something greater at stake...
- Adaptational Badass: Downplayed. While Lan Qiren still has difficulty suppressing the demonic arm (resulting in Lan Wangji coming in to help), he's only knocked unconscious for a while rather than getting gravely injured to the point of coughing blood and passing out for the rest of the scene like in the novel.
- Adaptational Distillation: The montage of Wei Wuxian trying to get kicked out of the Cloud Recesses and disgusting Lan Wangji is simplified to just his attempt to steal the latter's jade pass in the Cold Springs, allowing this scene and the scene of the demonic arm troubling the Lan elders to take part in the same night instead of different days like in the novel.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed. In the novel Lan Qiren awakens just to complain about "Mo Xuanyu"'s awful flute playing, and he's so irritated that he coughs up blood and passes out again. In this episode, while he still complains about "Mo Xuanyu"'s flute playing, he doesn't pass out from annoyance and not only acknowledges the latter's skills but also seems to appreciate his help in the matter.
- Adaptational Timespan Change: In the novel, the demonic arm issue occurs in the morning after Wei Wuxian gets caught trying to steal Lan Wangji's jade pass in the Cold Springs, and after finding out from the warning bell he immediately goes and helps the latter subdue it. In this episode, both happen in the same evening, and an hour passes after Lan Wangji begins helping the elders when Wei Wuxian decides to go in and join him.
- Adaptation Expansion:
- In the novel, Lan Xichen tells his brother that he will be heading to Jinlintai to discuss matters with Jin Guangyao. This episode fully details their discussion.
- In addition to finding Emperor's Smile jars in the secret compartment under the floorboard of Lan Wangji's house, Wei Wuxian also finds a few bamboo flutes which is unique to this adaptation.
- Back Stab: Wen Ruohan is revealed to have died from getting stabbed in the back by Jin Guangyao.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The man introduced as Meng Yao in his brief cameo alongside Lan Xichen during the Sunshot Campaign last season turns out to not just be the current Jin Clan leader Jin Guangyao, but also the one who dealt the killing blow to Wen Ruohan.
- Dreadful Musician: Downplayed. While Wei Wuxian plays the flute seriously this time around, his current flute is still in an unpolished state which results in some of his notes sounding off. The dissonant tunes are noticeable enough to annoy Lan Qiren awake.
- Exact Words: Lan Wangji isn't incorrect when he tells Lan Qiren that the demonic cultivator helping him is Mo Xuanyu, since Wei Wuxian is in the latter's body.
- Fell Off the Back of a Truck: When Lan Wangji catches him trying to steal his jade token, Wei Wuxian hastily claims he just found it and was trying to return it. Lan Wangji doesn't seem to buy it.
- Flashback: The episode starts off with a flashback that briefly details how the Sunshot Campaign ended. It then skips back to the present time when Lan Xichen talk to the very man who killed Wen Ruohan, Jin Guangyao.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: The woman that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji come across is the Sole Survivor of whatever it was in the mountain that made villagers disappear without a trace. Whatever she saw left her rather unhinged.
- It's All My Fault: Lan Sizhui feels he's to blame for the deaths at Mo Village given that the appearance of the demonic arm is likely not a coincidence. Wei Wuxian reassures him otherwise.
- No-Sell: Wen Ruohan easily shrugs off any attack that the Four Great Clans throw at him head on, even when faced with powerful cultivators like Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen. Jin Guangyao manages to take him down by not confronting him directly and attacking him when he least expects it.
- Reverse Arm-Fold: In the flashback, Wen Ruohan would fold one or both arms behind him while fighting against Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen without even breaking a sweat to show how much he overpowered them.
- Sad Clown: When a demonic cultivator says that he's there to find the Yiling Patriarch's treasures, Wei Wuxian looks troubled for a moment before laughing and joking about how any treasures [of his] can still be found in the mountain.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Worried that Lan Wangji will punish him once the ghost arm is dealt with, Wei Wuxian decides that it's time to leave the Cloud Recesses for good. Unfortunately, his attempt to steal Lan Wangji's jade pass gets foiled thanks to the latter catching his paperman red-handed.
- Tempting Fate: While attempting to steal Lan Wangji's jade token (which is the only way he can get past the barriers surrounding the Cloud Recesses), Wei Wuxian remarks how easy it is when he manages to get what he's looking for. Seconds later, Lan Wangji catches him red-handed.
