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Unexpected allies help the protagonists finish off the corpses. The cultivators set their eyes on Jin Guangyao after finding out about his shocking misdeeds. A showdown with the man in question begins at Guanyin Temple.
- Adaptational Villainy: It's left ambiguous how involved Jin Guangyao was in his son's death in the novel. In this episode he explicitly admits to have given him the Mercy Kill treatment.
- Adaptation Distillation: While the cultivators leave the Burial Mounds and travel on boat to the closest refuge before meeting the mysterious women in the novel, the episode saves time by having the women (well, one woman and what's left of the other one) brought directly to Burial Mounds.
- Adaptation Expansion: This episode adds to the scene of Granny Wen approaching Lan Sizhui by having her also give him the toy she made for her grandson Wen Yuan (which was found by Wen Ning in the previous episode). Lan Sizhui is shown holding on to it while watching the Wen remnants' corpses disintegrate.
- Badass in Distress: The otherwise powerful clan leader Lan Xichen is held hostage by Jin Guangyao at Guanyin Temple, apparently in exchange for Nie Huaisang's life.
- Big Brother Instinct: Nie Huaisang's words imply that his safety is what's keeping Lan Xichen hostage, showing the latter's protective instinct towards his deceased sworn brother's younger sibling.
- Death by Adaptation: Sisi, the second woman the Gusu Lan clan cultivators were meant to escort, died when they were ambushed during the trip which forces everyone to find out her story via Inquiry being performed on her soul fragments. In the novel, however, both women are alive to talk to the cultivators.
- Death Glare: When Jiang Cheng calls Jin Guangyao a Son of a Whore, he has a terrifying expression of rage on his face.
- Eye Take: Lan Sizhui's eyes widen in surprise and confusion when Granny Wen's corpse approaches him and gives him the toy she made for Wen Yuan.
- Fan Disservice: A group of female prostitutes in revealing clothing about to sleep with a shirtless man? Appealing. A group of elderly female prostitutes in revealing clothing about to sleep with a frail-looking shirtless man who's tied to his bed so he can't escape his death by sex, all schemed by his son? Very unsettling.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing:
- Wen Yuan's toy that Wen Ning found in the last episode falls out of his robes and into the Blood Pool while he fights the corpses. A moment later the corpses of the Wen remnants emerge from the very Blood Pool.
- Someone's shadow is visible outside of Guanyin Temple when Wei Wuxian asks Jin Guangyao if he led Jin Zixuan to his demise. As Jin Guangyao answers him, it's revealed that the shadow belongs to Jin Ling.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Jin Guangyao claims to have had no choice in keeping his marriage to Qin Su and killing his son, due to various circumstances making it difficult to do otherwise (for example it would look suspicious calling off the marriage after fighting hard for Qin Su's father's approval which would had forced him to reveal his father's heinous act).
- Interrogating the Dead: With Sisi dead, Lan Wangji has to perform Inquiry on her soul fragments in order for everyone to find out what she wanted to tell them.
- Irony: The cultivators led both Wei Wuxian and the Wen remnants to their demise during the First Siege and intended to kill the former once again for the Second Siege. How does the Second Siege end? With Wei Wuxian and the corpses of the Wen remnants saving everyone. A cultivator is laughing mad by this revelation.
- Mercy Kill: Jin Guangyao implies he killed his son out of kindness, as he didn't want him to grow up with potential defects and be ridiculed by society.
- Out with a Bang: The Inquiry flashback reveals that a group of elderly prostitutes were made by Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao to rape Jin Guangshan on his deathbed.
- Papa Wolf: The usually grumpy uncle Jiang Cheng shows more of his protective side towards Jin Ling in this episode.
- He threatens Jin Ling to not follow him back to the cave while handing him Zidian, something that eerily parallels his last conversation with his mother when she made him leave Lotus Cove and died at the Wens' hands.
- He's quick to put a comforting hand on Jin Ling's shoulder during his breakdown and give a cold look at everyone else criticising him for his tears and anger towards Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning.
- At Guanyin Temple he stops Jin Ling from approaching Jin Guangyao after finding out the latter was responsible for Jin Zixuan's death, and continues to hold him close when the teen is distraught over his paternal uncle's words.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Jin Guangyao doesn't hold back when he makes a speech about Jiang Cheng's past actions against Wei Wuxian (specifically leading the First Siege) and correctly points out that things could had been different if he had more faith in his former martial brother.
- The Reveal:
- It's been rumoured that Jin Guangshan passed away by going Out with a Bang. That is true, but the exact circumstances? As Inquiry reveals, he was essentially gang-raped by a group of prostitutes hired by Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang.
- What made Qin Su so distraught to the point of killing herself a few episodes ago? She found out from the letter that she and her husband are half-siblings, and that he had their son killed to avoid revealing their incestuous relationship in case he didn't grow up healthily.
- This episode confirms that Su She's Hundred Holes Curse scars are backlash from when he inflicted Jin Zixun with the curse 13 years ago, indirectly causing both his and Jin Zixuan's deaths.
- Rewatch Bonus: With Su She admitting to cursing Jin Zixun 13 years ago and thus leading him and and Jin Zixuan to their demises, Jiang Cheng (aka the latter's brother-in-law) looking angry after seeing Su She's scars last episode becomes understandable.
- Stalker Shot: Jin Ling is shown outside the temple eavesdropping on the protagonists' confrontation with Jin Guangyao. Right at that moment the latter confirms that he holds some responsibility for Jin Zixuan's death, prompting an outraged Jin Ling to barge in.
- Undying Loyalty: Even as corpses the Wen remnants remained in the Blood Pool while waiting for Wei Wuxian's return, and they repay the kindness he's shown them by protecting him from the Fierce Corpses.
- Villain Has a Point: Jiang Cheng has no comeback to spare when Jin Guangyao makes sure to let him know that he is no less guilty than anyone else for his involvement in Wei Wuxian's downfall and subsequent demise, telling him that plenty of things could have been avoided had he only trusted Wei Wuxian. To rub salt in the wound, he reminds Jiang Cheng that he is the one who led the forces during the First Siege.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious:
- This is a rare occurrence of the courteous Lan Sizhui (who uses honorifics and titles whenever possible) referring to Jin Ling by birth name and not "Young Master Jin". This indicates how desperate he is to stop him from lashing out at Wen Ning, who had just helped save everyone from the corpses.
- Lan Xichen begins calling Jin Guangyao "Clan Leader Jin" instead of his usual Affectionate Nickname "A-Yao" ("Yao" in the official subtitles) while denouncing him as his sworn brother, showing how much of his trust in him has been lost.
