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Someone makes a surprise appearance at Guanyin Temple, and the confrontation comes to an end with more twists and turns. Wei Wuxian returns to Lotus Cove for the first time since being resurrected.
- Adaptational Badass: Nie Mingjue as a fierce corpse is so powerful than the Twin Jades have trouble subduing him with their music even with Wei Wuxian's help in this adaptation.
- Adaptational Late Appearance: In the novel, the cast go to Lotus Cove in between the Second Siege and Guanyin Temple. Here, the relocation to Lotus Cove occurs after the Guanyin Temple confrontation (with a few modifications) to act as the donghua's finale.
- Adaptational Nice Guy:
- Jiang Cheng is visibly more concerned for Wen Ning after the latter takes a blow from Nie Mingjue that was meant for him and Jin Ling than he is in the novel, where he feels nothing but confused anger since he has trouble processing that the man he blames for his family's deaths would still risk his "life" for him.
- The change in mob mentality towards Wei Wuxian by the end of the episode is more positive than in the novel. While the cultivation world is still wary of Wei Wuxian and feel neutral towards him at best in the novel, in this episode a few cultivators go out of their way to respectfully greet him alongside Lan Wangji and the gossipy civilians talk about relying on his great talent if they run into trouble again.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the novel at Guanyin Temple, Jin Guangyao is mainly concerned with escaping unscathed and only deals with the protagonist party by rattling them with his words and holding them hostage. In this episode however he also attempts to unleash fierce corpses via the Stygian Tiger Amulet and the watchtowers to doom everyone.
- Adaptation Distillation: The battle with Nie Mingjue's corpse is shortened but otherwise remains intense and climactic.
- Ambiguous Situation: Downplayed. While all hints points towards Nie Huaisang being the mastermind behind everything, Wei Wuxian admits that they can only speculate it since they have no evidence to back his theory up.
- An Arm and a Leg: Lan Wangji sneaks up behind Jin Guangyao and slices off the arm that's holding the Stygian Tiger Amulet, ruining his plans of summoning fierce corpses.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji whip out their bamboo flute and sword respectively with their backs to each other before attacking Nie Mingjue's corpse.
- Because You Were Nice to Me:
- Su She's flashback shows he became loyal to Jin Guangyao because the latter was polite to him and actually remembered his name, a stark contrast to how Jin Zixun mistreated him in last episode's flashback.
- Wei Wuxian reveals that at Guanyin Temple he had a vision of Sisi defending Jin Guangyao and his mother when the latter was being humiliated at the courtesan house, and theorises that it's why Jin Guangyao spared her life but not the other prostitutes after killing his father.
- Beware of the Nice Ones: The polite, kind-hearted and timid "head-shaker" Nie Huaisang? Turns out he's apparently willing to devise a very elaborate revenge plan that not only kills his brother's murderer but also ruins his reputation big time. Even if it means manipulating others and playing dirty.
- Blood from the Mouth: Lan Xichen coughs up blood while attempting to soothe Nie Mingjue's corpse with his flute Liebing, a sign of his weakened state from having lost a lot of his spiritual energy.
- Call-Back: Lan Wangji once again uses the Chord Assassination Technique, which he previously used at Xuanwu Cave, in an attempt to stop Nie Mingjue.
- Chekhov's Gun: The watchtowers that were first noted during the investigation in Yunping City several episodes ago turn out to form a giant array in the area, which comes in handy for Jin Guangyao when he attempts to summon fierce corpses with the Stygian Tiger Amulet. Fortunately the protagonists also predicted this and warned Lan Qiren ahead of time, allowing him to dispel the array at one of the towers.
- Continuity Nod:
- Wei Wuxian observed in Nie Mingjue's first attack several episodes ago that his hatred for Jin Guangyao was so bad that he even chased after anyone who's close in blood to him (such as Wei Wuxian in Mo Xuanyu's body and Jin Ling). If one watches closely his corpse this episode, he does primarily target the three aforementioned men.
- At one of the vendors Lan Wangji gives Wei Wuxian a rattle drum, a toy the latter was shown to be fond of in the Season 2. The way Lan Wangji hands it to him also echoes their Forgotten First Meeting as children.
- The way Jiang Cheng watches Wei Wuxian underneath a tree parallels the first time he encountered him post-resurrection.
- Death Glare: Jin Guangyao flashes a murderous look at Nie Huaisang when he realizes that the latter might have been Obfuscating Stupidity all this time so as to not reveal he has been planning his revenge against him.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation:
- Downplayed with Su She. He still ends up getting impaled through the chest by Nie Mingjue just like in the novel, but he also gets blown up into pieces afterwards.
- Jin Guangyao dies a more gruesome death in the novel by getting his neck snapped by Nie Mingjue before both men are sealed in the coffin together. In this episode, Nie Mingjue's resentful energy takes form of a giant hand and bursts into flames as it surrounds Jin Guangyao prior to the statue crashing down on them.
- Due to the Dead: Wanting to pay proper respects to the Wen remnants (who were thrown into the Blood Pool in the First Siege after their deaths) and also seeing how much they meant to Wen Ning, the junior disciples go out of their way to gather as much of their ashes as possible into their pouches to give to the Ghost General.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing:
- When the Stygian Tiger Amulet starts to lose effect, Jin Guangyao notices that Lan Wangji disappeared from Wei Wuxian's side when he wasn't looking. The next moment, he gets his arm chopped off by the man in question.
- When Jiang Cheng is unable to fend off Nie Mingjue, chains appear and Nie Mingjue's arm pierces a body. A moment later it's revealed that it was Wen Ning Taking the Bullet.
- Flashback Cut: Right before Su She dies, he thinks back to when Jin Guangyao first noticed him and was one of the few who treated him respectfully.
- Foreshadowing: Nie Huaisang's eyes turn cold for a second before he looks panicked and screams at Lan Xichen to watch out. This hints at the later revelation that he may have plotted Jin Guangyao's demise all along and is quite the actor himself.
- Gossipy Hens: By the time the protagonists reach Lotus Cove, civilians have already begun mocking Jin Guangyao and spreading rumours about him.
- Gray Rain of Depression: It begins to rain while Lan Xichen lets Jin Guangyao's death sink in. By the time everyone's relocated to Lotus Pier and and can take a breather, the skies are clear again.
- Hourglass Plot: Lan Wangji lost a close companion to the First Siege 13 years ago while Lan Xichen had his sworn brothers around and was close to Jin Guangyao in particular. By the end of episode, Lan Wangji now has Wei Wuxian back by his side, while his older brother has lost his last sworn brother in devastating circumstances.
- Kinder and Cleaner: While Jin Guangyao's last words are the same as in the novel, his extremely brutal profanity is omitted.
- Match Cut: As Wen Ning thinks back to when his clan attacked Lotus Pier many years ago, the scene transitions from the main building in the present to the same building burning down in the past.
- Papa Wolf: Jiang Cheng rarely leaves Jin Ling's side during the intense turn of events in this episode. He's willing to risk his life to protect his nephew by putting himself in front of him when facing Nie Mingjue's corpse at Guanyin Temple, and afterward he drags the teen along with him when they go to Lotus Pier to recuperate.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: The protagonists' involvement in the penultimate arc at Guanyin Temple in the novel mostly concerns their romance subplot, so its omission here due to censorship means they have less to do; this adjustment as well as the dialogue-heavy scenes would make the arc a less impactful way to finish the story. The donghua thus rearranges things so that the Guanyin Temple confrontation takes place before the events at Lotus Pier, leaving the adaptation to end on a more meaningful note by focusing back on the protagonists and their relationship.
- Really Dead Montage: As if showing Jin Guangyao getting engulfed to Nie Mingjue's resentful energy and crushed by a statue wasn't enough, Lan Xichen mournfully staring at the mess at Guanyin Temple while thinking back to all of his happy memories with him drives home that his younger sworn brother is truly dead.
- The Reveal:
- The whereabouts of Wei Wuxian's infamous flute from his first life, Nostalgia, is finally cleared up when Jiang Cheng throws it at him at Guanyin Temple, revealing his former martial brother had kept it all along.
- The mysterious cultivator that's lured the protagonists into the main plot of the story is revealed (or at least implied) to be none other than Nie Huaisang himself.
- Rewatch Bonus: Many of Nie Huaisang's scenes become more meaningful after this episode's revelation about him possible being the true mastermind.
- What little the audience can see of him from his obscured figure at Yunping City earlier this season matches his appearance.
- Many of his scenes this season suggest he knows more than he lets on. For example, he's shown with Hidden Eyes after he "finds out" about his brother's dismembered body at Jinlintai, and he is very vocally responsive to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's words during the Second Siege.
- In his debut episode during the Cloud Recess flashbacks he lamented how low his cultivation power is, and a turtle in a pond is shown. At Yunping City earlier this season when he shows up with his figure obscured in the end, the animal is again shown in the water — hinting at his identity and also suggesting that despite his slow progress he is now powerful in his own right.
- Stalker Shot: As Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji sneak off on a boat by themselves rather than attend the banquet, Jiang Cheng is shown watching them from a distance underneath a tree with a contemplative look on his face.
- Taking the Bullet: Wen Ning takes the blow from Nie Mingjue meant for Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling, something that especially shocks the latter considering he's been wanting to avenge his father his whole life. Although being impaled in the chest isn't all that harmful to Wen Ning since he's already technically dead, the uncle and nephew duo nevertheless look worried.
- Taking You with Me: Defied. Jin Guangyao initially attempts to drag Lan Xichen with him to his impending death. Seeing his sworn brother so resigned to his fate, however, is too much for Jin Guangyao to bear; so he changes his mind at the last minute and pushes Lan Xichen away before Nie Mingjue's resentful energy engulfs him.
- Tastes Like Friendship: Although they've already been respectful towards Wen Ning up to this point, Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen offering him tanghulu note to lift his spirits is the first sign that they genuinely want to befriend him. Despite not actually being able to eat anything, Wen Ning smiles in appreciation.
- Undying Loyalty:
- Despite being at a disadvantage, Su She's determined to protect Jin Guangyao until the very end, and ultimately sacrifices himself at Nie Mingjue's hands.
- Jin Guangyao rants that, despite his wrongdoings against everyone else in his life, he has never betrayed Lan Xichen nor considered it. This intent remains true to the end — after briefly considering dragging him along to his death, he pushes his sworn brother out of the way to save him from Nie Mingjue's wrath.
- Wham Line: Jin Guangyao's accusations towards Nie Huaisang sheds a new light on how much influence the latter may have actually had on the plot and hints at his true colours.Jin Guangyao: What a "Head-Shaker" indeed. Huaisang, not bad indeed. You hid yourself so well for all these years. Even I didn't notice.
- Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Nie Huaisang's eyes widen with smaller pupils when he panics and warns Lan Xichen to watch out for Jin Guangyao. If the latter and Wei Wuxian are to be believed, however, the Qinghe Nie Clan leader actually exploited this trope to trick Lan Xichen into thinking his sworn brother was going to harm him, thus prompting the Gusu Lan Clan leader to fatally stab him.
