Echoes of the Ancestral Awakening
100,000 Years of Refining Qi (Lian Qi Shi Wan Nian or One Hundred Thousand Years of Qi Refining), the relentless donghua adaptation of Zi Shao’s xianxia web novel Cultivating 100,000 Years (Forbidden Leveling Up), marches into its marathon first season with episode 288, released on October 25, 2025, via Tencent Video and Youku.
Produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures and Soyep Studio, this 10-minute ONA installment—part of the ongoing season now surpassing 360 episodes—thrusts viewers deeper into the Ancestral Awakening arc, where Xu Yang’s eternal Qi refining faces a resurgence of ancient sect rivalries. Directed with crisp 3D martial choreography and subtle qi aura effects, episode 288 balances explosive confrontations with philosophical glimpses into Xu Yang’s unyielding solitude.
Premiering on February 18, 2023, as a Winter 2023 donghua, 100,000 Years of Refining Qi has captivated audiences with Xu Yang’s improbable odyssey: the founding disciple of the once-dominant Heavenly Phoenix Sect (or Tianlan Clan in some translations), who, stuck at the Qi Refining stage, embarks on a 100,000-year exile to ascend. 1 3 7 Genres like Action, Fantasy, Martial Arts, and Cultivation propel the story through repetitive yet satisfying power escalations, where Xu Yang’s Saitama-like invincibility—honed over eons of isolation—clashes with arrogant modern sects, all while pondering if he’ll emerge as god or demon.
Episode 288, fan-subbed as “Echoes of the Ancestral Awakening” (official Chinese: “祖醒回响”), follows episode 287’s cliffhanger, where Xu Yang’s casual deflection of a sect raid unearthed a sealed ancestral relic, stirring dormant Qi veins across the cultivation world. With its bite-sized format, the episode delivers a narrative jolt, earning praise on Reddit’s r/Donghua for its “repetitive badassery that never gets old,” despite critiques of formulaic pacing. 8
Plot Overview: Ripples of the Eternal Exile
Nestled in the mist-shrouded ruins of the long-fallen Heavenly Phoenix Sect—a crumbling bastion where ancient Qi arrays flicker like dying embers—episode 288 propels Xu Yang into a whirlwind of rediscovery and defiance. The narrative ignites with a serene yet ominous meditation sequence: Xu Yang, voiced with stoic detachment by Ruiyang Sun, sits cross-legged amid the ruins, his Qi Refining aura—a faint, unassuming haze—interacting with the unearthed relic, a crystalline Qi core pulsing with 100,000-year-old essence.
Soyep Studio’s 3D visuals capture the core’s activation beautifully: ethereal veins spiderweb across the landscape, awakening spectral guardians of the sect’s founding era and sending shockwaves that ripple through nearby domains. A swift recap montage recaps episode 287: Xu Yang’s exile-sparked intervention in a minor sect skirmish, where his effortless Qi palm strike obliterated a Nascent Soul elder, drawing opportunistic scavengers to the ruins.
As the veins stabilize, Xu Yang confronts a wave of intruders—ambitious disciples from the resurgent Azure Cloud Sect, drawn by rumors of the relic’s ascension-granting power. Led by a haughty young prodigy with flashy sword arts, the group deploys a “Cloudburst Formation,” unleashing torrents of azure Qi that flood the ruins like a digital storm.
In a montage of understated dominance, Xu Yang counters with his signature “Eternal Refining Palm,” a technique refined over millennia that absorbs the onslaught, compressing it into a singular, explosive rebound. The animation’s particle effects shine here: azure floods invert into crimson pulses, vaporizing the formation and scattering the disciples in slow-motion awe.
The episode’s pivot delves into introspection amid the fray. Flashbacks intercut the battle, chronicling Xu Yang’s 100,000-year exile: solitary Qi cycles in forgotten caves, witnessing dynasties rise and fall, all while his peers ascended to immortality without him. 1 This revelation ties the relic to his “one-thought god or demon” dilemma—the core offers a shortcut to godhood but risks unleashing a demonic backlash that could shatter the cultivation world’s fragile balance.
An unlikely ally emerges: a timid relic scholar from a minor clan, whose archival knowledge reveals the core’s lock—a blood oath from Xu Yang’s founding days, binding his Qi to the sect’s fate.
The climax builds in a relic chamber confrontation, where the prodigy rallies reinforcements, summoning a mid-Soul Transformation beast to bolster their assault. Xu Yang’s response is peak overpowered poetry: he channels the veins into a “Ancestral Echo Barrier,” spectral ancestors manifesting as Qi phantoms that dismantle the beast with casual precision. Yet, the core’s activation stirs a subtle curse—fleeting visions of demonic temptation, where Xu Yang glimpses himself as an iblis devouring realms.
The episode closes on a gripping cliffhanger: as the Azure Cloud survivors flee, the scholar deciphers a map fragment to a hidden exile vault, murmuring, “The ancestor’s path defies heaven—will it break the world?” Xu Yang’s eyes narrow, Qi flaring, teasing episode 289’s vault delve and potential demonic surge.
Key Plot Beats:
- Relic Vein Activation: Xu Yang’s meditation unleashes sect-wide Qi ripples, blending serene visuals with escalating intruder waves for immediate tension. 0
- Azure Cloud Intrusion: The formation clash highlights Xu Yang’s effortless counters, satirizing flashy modern techniques against eternal refinement.
- Exile Flashback Montage: Introspective glimpses into Xu Yang’s millennia of isolation add emotional layers to his “Saitama cultivator” persona.
- Cliffhanger Map: The scholar’s discovery sets up a relic-hunting arc, amplifying the god-or-demon philosophical hook. 3
This efficient structure maximizes the 10-minute runtime, favoring satisfying smackdowns over drawn-out exposition.
Character Developments: The Exile’s Unyielding Core
Episode 288 polishes Xu Yang’s archetype as the ultimate underdog immortal—his palm strikes remain comically casual, yet the curse visions crack his stoic shell, hinting at the toll of eternal Qi stagnation. The scholar ally introduces fresh dynamics: a wide-eyed foil whose reverence borders on comic relief, potentially evolving into a disciple arc without harem clichés. 8
Supporting Evolutions:
- Azure Cloud Prodigy: From arrogant invader to humbled survivor, his retreat sows seeds for recurring rivalry, critiquing sect hubris.
- Spectral Ancestors: Brief manifestations add ghostly mentorship, echoing Xu Yang’s founding disciple roots.
- Beast Summon: A disposable threat that underscores Xu Yang’s anti-climactic dominance, reinforcing the series’ satirical edge.
These nuances keep the cast lean, focusing on Xu Yang’s solitary journey amid fleeting interactions.
Themes and Symbolism: Refining the God-Demon Divide
True to Zi Shao’s novel, episode 288 probes xianxia’s existential core: Xu Yang’s Qi veins symbolize stagnant potential—bound by exile yet infinite in depth—mirroring the cultivation world’s fleeting glories against his timeless grind. The ancestral echoes evoke Daoist cycles of refinement through adversity, where one thought tips godhood toward demonic abyss, satirizing power fantasies with Xu Yang’s “forbidden leveling” irony. Amid the action, themes of isolation resonate, portraying exile not as curse but crucible for unyielding will.
Production Quality: Qi Pulses in Crisp Exile
Soyep Studio’s 3D animation impresses with efficient flair: Qi veins throb in crimson lattices, palm rebounds exploding in restrained particle bursts. The soundtrack—minimalist guzheng drones building to thunderous clashes—mirrors Xu Yang’s understated power, while voice acting delivers his sparse lines with gravelly wisdom. At 10 minutes, pacing is snappy, though some note repetitive animation loops in fights. It holds a 7.5/10 on AnimeXin, praised for “badass simplicity” that shines in marathon viewing.
Dropping amid the 2025 donghua surge, episode 288 has lit up forums. Anichin’s Indo sub stream hit 1M views, with Reddit users calling Xu Yang “the GOAT Saitama cultivator” but joking about the “repetitive god-smack formula.” 8 9 WeTV’s official English subs fuel global traction, though purists on r/Donghua debate if it “gets better” post-200 episodes. 3 Stream it ad-free on AnimeXin or Lucifer Donghua for 4K multisub access, with downloads on DonghuaStream—ideal for bingeing this eternal Qi saga.
Conclusion: Exile’s Echo in Endless Refinement
Episode 288 of 100,000 Years of Refining Qi Season 1 is a timeless pulse in Xu Yang’s odyssey, where veins awaken and sects shatter. Its lean fusion of satire and supremacy captivates, blending overpowered xianxia with philosophical grit in a donghua built for the long haul. Stream it on AnimeXin or WeTV for a 10-minute reminder: in Qi’s endless cycle, the exile endures.
