The ending to this show was a bit rushed and I have noticed in the threads there is a lot of confusion on the ending. I posted my theory of what happened in a spoiler shortly after this finished airing but I think by now it is a bit lost. This tries to answer two questions: i) how did LX get out and ii) how did JC get out.

i). How did LX get out?

Once the abyss is opened it is not that difficult for the powerful high gods to get in and out. JX and his sidekick did when they were trying to kill LingYue and JC rescued LY with no issue as well. LX is a high goddess it shouldn't be hard for her -she transformed into a bird and flew out after sealing the gate. In fact earlier in the show Zhonghao mentioned to  JX (when he was torturing him) that only the phoenix tribe had access to the abyss. That is also likely why JC sifu seeked out LX at the mouth of the abyss before JC discovered and interrupted them. Sifu was probably going to ask LX to help him seal the gate and leave JC out of it.

ii) How did JC get out?

First of all JX and YT are giant  liars - they deal in incomplete truths. JC was tricked by JX - JX told him that he would have to sacrifice himself to guard the gate and give up his life with LX. JC believed him and put his affairs in order. It was kind of true because he could only push the evil forces back but he couldn't seal the gate. They couldn't harm him either. It was a draw and he was stuck there. YT was the one that told him two people were needed to seal the gate - he wasn't powerful enough on his own - also not complete info but what do u expect from the baddies? It all came together when JC and LX realized JX became the Demon King and was already outside the gate and drawing all the evil forces out towards him. That's why it was impossible for JC to seal the the forces inside the gate. Once JX came back to the gate to confront them, they were able to push him and all the evil forces around him into the gate. JC restrained JX while LX sealed the gate. It only took one person to seal the gate, LX did it by herself while JC held JX/Demon King back.

This part is mostly guessing but I think  it took JC 300 years to finally kill off JX/Demon King  and then it was safe for him to unseal the gate to get out and seal it again. The last part is just my guess it is left open. But the drama gives us many hints on how he got out. JX admits that his desire for LX was his inner demon that made him cross to the dark side. LX tells their daughter that YT was someone who loss her battle with evil. And the former Demon King had once also accused JC of opening his heart to evil once he fell for LX. So the key to emerging from the gate has to be something to do with defeating the evil in his heart figuratively or if you want to make it literal then killing JX (evil). LX and JC are both so moral and honorable, they have almost no dark side and are forgiving to their enemies. You could say they have no evil in their hearts so if anyone is able to get out it should be JC and LX. And maybe it is just as simple as once JC can eliminate any evil from his heart he can literally just walk out because the seal only keeps evil in. I like it that they left it to us to think about it.

Thx JaLD and great to see you on the threads again! :)

Actually when Zhonghao and his minion captured Jingxiu and tortured him much earlier on (before Jingxiu becomes blind) they explained that only the bird/phoenix tribe can access the abyss. I forgot which episode but it is said very clearly there.  LX father could not get out because the top was sealed by powerful magic to keep him there but once it was opened he should have been able to exit. Her mother couldn't come out because Jingxiu almost killed her she was too weak but Jiuchen saved her. 

It could be a minor logic hole and it was long ago and maybe  I am no longer paraphrasing the conversation accurately. I just recall that the phoenix tribe inhabits an in between realm and the abyss is basically their dungeon so it is impossible for the common immortals to easily access it. The gate is different it is even harder to access as it is used to imprison evil spirits including the demon lord. and it is located in the abyss itself. After the demon lord was imprisoned there both the gate and the abyss were sealed. The ML is a great god, the third most powerful in the heavens so of course he is able to access it. 

Heheh yeah its xianxia don't look too hard at it... I guess that applies to most drama...

Sadly this is often the case with most c-dramas, good editing is still something they have yet to achieve. I think if you surf the various sites (weibo, bilibili) often a lot of excluded clips and footage gets dribbled out over time. Esp if there is renewed interest due to the Emmy nomination.

I love the ML but I think his styling was so completely wrong and pastel is not his color palette. It is unfortunate because he looks so handsome in Brotherhood of the Blades 1 and 2. 

LMAO!!! That is a great clip, tyvm!!! I love BTS but I must admit I didn’t watch as many of the LAD ones because Chang Chen is not as goofy as Mark Chao so I didn’t think they were having as much fun on the set. If you watched any of the BTS for Rise of Phoenixes it’s obvious that Nini and Chen Kun had a blast!!! 

I just finished this beautiful drama and I love Chang Chen and Nini’s performance. Styling for Chang Chen is not good but his acting is superb. I’m having withdrawal syndrome right now… he is just so good…