Season 3: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
Continuing the investigation of the Demonic Left Arm, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji make their way to Yi City. What they find there turns out to be linked to both Xiao Xingchen and the Yueyang Chang Clan, which was massacred by Xue Yang.
- Adaptational Badass: While he doesn't take part in any fighting at this point in Yi City in the novel, Wei Wuxian effortlessly fights off a fierce corpse in this episode with simple demonic cultivation and his bamboo flute as an Improbable Weapon when normal cultivation is shown to have no effect, establishing once again how powerful he is as the Yiling Patriarch in this adaptation.
- Adaptation Distillation: Before to going to Yi City in the novel, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji learn about the Yueyang Chang Clan's massacre from a tavern waiter and visit the clan's cemetery to investigate, where they unexpectedly run into an enemy. For the sake of brevity in this episode, this is simplified to a brief flashback of Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi discovering the Yueyang Chang Clan corpses which prompts Lan Wangji to explain the backstory.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: The protagonists run into Little Apple and Fairy prior to going to Yi City, something that doesn't happen until after their business in Yi City is done in the novel. This is how they find out beforehand that the junior disciples are around.
- Badass Boast: After casually fighting off the fierce corpse, Wei Wuxian remarks that while the person who turned them is indeed skilled, "when it comes to demonic cultivation... [he's] the founder".
- Bait-and-Switch Sentiment: When Little Apple comes running towards Wei Wuxian, the latter assumes it's for a heartwarming reunion and opens up his arms for a hug. However Little Apple runs right past him, as it was only interested in eating the apple he was holding in his hand.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The previously mentioned Xiao Xingchen becomes relevant in the episode when his involvement in the Yueyang Chang Clan massacrist Xue Yang's imprisonment is revealed and the protagonists later finds his sword Frostwork's mark on Chang Ping's corpse... and then runs into the famed man himself.
- Female Gaze: When Wei Wuxian opens up his shirt to show that the curse mark isn't bothering him, the camera doesn't shy away from focusing on his bare chest. Neither does Lan Wangji.
- Friendship Denial: When Wei Wuxian comments that Jin Ling must have gotten close to Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi for the trio to be working together, Jin Ling denies it in tsundere-fashion and retorts that he wouldn't be hanging out with them if it weren't for the cat corpse incidents. Wei Wuxian isn't convinced in the slightest.
- How We Got Here: The episode begins with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji travelling to Yi City. It then cuts to two hours earlier in Shudong, explaining their current situation and how they made the decision to go to the aforementioned city.
- Improbable Weapon User: When his bamboo flute has no effect on the fierce corpses, Wei Wuxian still makes use of it by whacking a corpse with it. Combined with demonic cultivation, it proves to be effective.
- Instant Messenger Pigeon: Although it's not clear how much time has passed since the message was sent, a messenger pigeon carrying a letter from Lan Xichen (who's just left Qinghe) locates Lan Wangji in Shudong with little trouble.
- Interrogating the Dead: Lan Wangji performs Inquiry on Chang Ping's corpse in order for the protagonists to find out what happened with Xue Yang, Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan.
- No-Sell: The fierce corpses can unusually ignore Wei Wuxian's flute commands, leading the latter to conclude that the corpses are under the Stygian Tiger Amulet's control.
- Not So Above It All: Lan Wangji is not usually one to tease, yet he can't help but faintly smile in amusement when he refuses to tell an annoyed Wei Wuxian how he recognised him.
- Ominous Fog: As established in The Stinger of the previous episode, Yi City appears to be a ghost town and is completely shrouded in mist. Sure enough, the characters run into trouble when fierce corpses appear.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: The novel explains via the narration (which Wei Wuxian is hearing from Lan Wangji himself) what happened when Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan demanded Xue Yang's imprisonment at Jinlintai and how Chang Ping supposedly died. To give a more effective exposition in the donghua format, all of this is shown to the protagonists and audience via Inquiry.
- Previously on…: Since this episode marks the beginning of the new season (and aired nearly two years after the last episode), it begins with a short recap of the first two seasons.
- Security Cling: When Fairy makes its entrance chasing after Little Apple, a terrified Wei Wuxian throws his arms around Lan Wangji's neck and clings behind him. The latter sighs but doesn't object, even patting Wei Wuxian's hands to comfort him.
- Series Continuity Error: The Stinger of the Season 2 finale showed Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian finding a corpse with Xiao Xingchen's sword mark in Yi City and then encountering the man himself, who greeted them from a distance with a Slasher Smile. This episode revises the scene by adding in Jin Ling, having the protagonists do Inquiry after finding the corpse (specifically Chang Ping's) and then separating them before Xiao Xingchen enters the scene, and the man makes his entrance by slashing at the fierce corpses without looking sketchy so far.
- We Will Meet Again: In the Inquiry flashback, when he was being taken away to be imprisoned, Xue Yang sinisterly whispered in his capturer Xiao Xingchen's ear that they'll meet again.
