Question about Haixing and Dixing energy incompatibility and Ye Zun eating people in Guardian

[likealeafonthewind]

I've been going over this in my head and I feel like I'm just going around in circles so I'm hoping some of you will have some ideas or are willing to talk through this with me. Cut for spoilers:
 
Okay, we know that Dixing energy and Haixing energy are incompatible, right? That's why when the Haixingren blew himself up, it injured Black Cloaked Envoy and that's why Shen Wei was able to kill Ye Zun (because his energy changed to be like a Haixingren rather than a Dixingren).

But....hasn't Ye Zun been eating both Dixingren and Haixingren (all those guys from the underground fighting ring, for example; also Lin Jing). Wouldn't the incompatibility of their light energy life force cause him problems when he digests them? 

I could headcanon a way for Shen Wei to have been able to kill him with the light energy - that it was really because he himself didn't completely transition from dark energy to light and that the mix of both in his body was going to cause an explosion sooner or later, whether he was in Ye Zun or not (so when he was cutting himself in ZYL's apartment, he was trying to keep the balance between both energies, to keep them stable...I think someone else mentioned this in another post actually, so it's not my original headcanon, but it works).

But that still doesn't explain why Ye Zun's able to eat both Dixingren and Haixingren without, I don't know, at least some indigestion. Also, he apparently may not be able to digest inanimate objects? Or it takes longer? Because Sha Ya's guitar case is still in his digestive system when Lin Jing gets eaten, even though she herself is gone.

And then, along the lines of how Shen Wei got some Haixingren energy - was it a trade-off? Did ZYL get some of his Dixingren energy in return? Or was Shen Wei simply using the Longevity Dial to connect their life forces so that he could extract the Dixingren energy that had injured him and some of ZYL's light energy came with it? (And then maybe once they're connected, they can't disconnect? Maybe the Longevity Dial works by trying to equilibrize [I made up this word, lol] two different life forces? So with Li Qian and her grandmother, since they were both Haixingren, the balance was a compromise between both their health and lifespan? But for ZYL and Shen Wei, because one is a non-powered Haixingren and the other is a long-lived all-powerful Dixingren, equilibrium was reached by healing ZYL's eyes and reducing Shen Wei's powers and possibly both of them would have shared a lifespan somewhere between a Haixingren and a Dixingren if they hadn't both sacrificed themselves for the cause.

Sorry, that got a little rambly. Anyway, please share any thoughts you have below.

Comments

[rheasilvia]

I've only seen the last episode once and I can't bring myself to watch it again so I may not be remembering this correctly

Yeah, I get that. :-/ I've seen it about 4 times now, but I still can't think about that scene very well because, argh. Still, I consulted my notes, and you are absolutely right, Shen Wei first has Lin Jing push it all the way in, then sends out Lin Jing and the others, and finally pulls out the ice cone himself to release the final burst of energy. I guess he wasn't sure he'd have the strength to push it all the way in and then pull it out again?

Oh man.

The moment Shen Wei chooses coincides with Ye Zun being attacked physically - Zhao Yunlan has just stuck the Mount-River Awl into his forehead - so I think he was just waiting for a good moment, when Ye Zun would be already weakened, and perhaps distracted.

I thought that maybe it was the contact or the exposure to raw Haixing energy that killed Ye Zun? As opposed to when he's able to gradually digest and process the Haixing energy without it bleeding all over his internal organs?

That's what I thought, too. It's far too much for his system to handle at once. Despite his goat-like nature. ;-)

I was trying to think of any times in the show we might have seen ZYL displaying Dixing powers after being linked with Shen Wei but I can't.

I don't think there are any (and the unusual strength ZYL displays later is just because of the serum). I'd love to see it explored in fic, though. They really did just lack the time.

[likealeafonthewind]

I guess he wasn't sure he'd have the strength to push it all the way in and then pull it out again?

Maybe if all he needed to do was let the Haixing blood spill out into Ye Zun's system, he could have managed pulling the ice cone out on his own (and was maybe only thinking he needed to do that?). But then he got there and saw that Lin Jing was still alive in there, so he came up with the plan for Lin Jing to give that last push to trigger his powers so that he could save him (and later, the other two)? Because I doubt he was expecting for Lin Jing to still be around to help him with this.

Zhao Yunlan has just stuck the Mount-River Awl into his forehead

I wonder if he knew that happened because of his link with ZYL? Or was there a sign inside Ye Zun's body?

I'm glad you took notes about this so that neither of us had to go back and rewatch this episode, lol. Did you take notes on all of the episodes? Would you by any chance be interested in contributing to a Guardian wiki?

[rheasilvia]

he could have managed pulling the ice cone out on his own (and was maybe only thinking he needed to do that?). But then he got there and saw that Lin Jing was still alive in there, so he came up with the plan for Lin Jing to give that last push to trigger his powers

Yes! That makes perfect sense to me. Indeed, he couldn't have known how slowly Ye Zun digested his victims, and that there would still be someone in there to help him.

When ZYL sticks the Mount-River Awl into Ye Zun, some of his dark energy escapes, and the undigested people inside him get thrown about a bit. So Shen Wei knows something is weakening and/or distracting Ye Zun, and it's a good moment.

I did take notes on almost all of the eps - I only need to go back to eps 5-11 and take notes on those, too. I got carried away on my note-taking rewatch and ended up just watching them and not taking notes. ;-) In my defence, they are among my favorite eps!

I'd be interested in contributing to a Guardian wiki in theory, but the problem is that I don't know where I'd find the time! I think it's great that you're making one, though - fandom will definitely benefit from a wiki. There are so many things to keep track of in this series...

[solo]

If you'd simply share the notes you have, I'm sure the rest of us could integrate them into the wiki. I had notes too, which Bonibaru now has and which I could also contribute.

[rheasilvia]

Alas, my notes are hand-written in an actual paper notebook... and there are a lot of them. It's simply much easier for me to take notes by hand, and I hadn't considered the need for digitalization. :-/

[solo]

OMG are you Shen Wei? I bow to you, your Excellency.

Not. Get with this millenium.

Take photos and send them to me. :) I'll do the rest.

[rheasilvia]

I sent you an example pic... don't know if you really want to invest that much time, but hey, let me know. :-)