No, I don't think blowing up Ye Zun was a happy coincidence as such. I don't actually think he turned himself into a brother-killing bomb, I think at some point he realises he could be one. (There's to me a fairly important process and intent distinction.) At what point he realises that, and whether he realises it as "I might use this (if it's my last option)" or as "I will use this", I feel less sure about.
The stuff I feel relatively sure about (I know views differ, but this is how it reads to me) is that the backlash from the sundial exchange took him by surprise, he hadn't expected he'd get damaged. But he still doesn't think he's in mortal peril/has no options. (The dinner scene right after Zhao Yunlan's eyes are fixed doesn't make sense to me, mood-wise, if he just learned he's definitely going to die and - important - be separated from Zhao Yunlan.) But he realises something isn't right, and tries to fix himself. Around this ep here, he's realising the fixing is a little tricky, but he can get through it. There are a couple of other instances in the upcoming eps where he runs into the way he's damaged himself, and those still take him by surprise. I'm currently on episode 33 of a rewatch, and honestly? I am still not getting the vibe from him that he definitely thinks it's over for him. I know there's some foreshadowing, and like I said in my comment to Manka, it's not that I don't see where some of the other interpretations are coming from, but still, my impression is not "plans to die (and leave Zhao Yunlan)", by that point.
But it does get a little fuzzier after that. I remember that on my previous rewatch, I still wasn't getting the impression that he went to Dixing knowing he'd definitely die right until very very close to the end; more that it was one of several options and he was up for using that one if it became necessary. And I don't find it inherently implausible to think that if they'd been able to get Ye Zun some other way, he might have been able to heal in time. But I've only seen the final couple of episodes twice, and the first run was fairly traumatic and OMGWTFBBQ, so, heading into those for a third time, I expect to be testing some theories and taking a critical look at what might be preference.
Another thing coming into it for me is the fact that I initially took the bomb thing also as a failsafe in case Ye Zun ever ate him, because Shen Wei is so powerful that Ye Zun getting all of his powers by itself would be scary. So the read of "if Ye Zun ever gets me, I can blow us both up" was more intuitive to me than "I will maneuver a series of complicated circumstances into just the right setup so he will eat me, in order for me to blow us both up." But I also concede that the idea of a failsafe and keeping Shen Wei's powers from Ye Zun is something never mentioned or addressed on the show.
(Sorry this got so long, I'm not actually trying to convince anyone, but this is a question for which timeline is important... and nuance... and lots of words, apparently.)
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The stuff I feel relatively sure about (I know views differ, but this is how it reads to me) is that the backlash from the sundial exchange took him by surprise, he hadn't expected he'd get damaged. But he still doesn't think he's in mortal peril/has no options. (The dinner scene right after Zhao Yunlan's eyes are fixed doesn't make sense to me, mood-wise, if he just learned he's definitely going to die and - important - be separated from Zhao Yunlan.) But he realises something isn't right, and tries to fix himself. Around this ep here, he's realising the fixing is a little tricky, but he can get through it. There are a couple of other instances in the upcoming eps where he runs into the way he's damaged himself, and those still take him by surprise. I'm currently on episode 33 of a rewatch, and honestly? I am still not getting the vibe from him that he definitely thinks it's over for him. I know there's some foreshadowing, and like I said in my comment to Manka, it's not that I don't see where some of the other interpretations are coming from, but still, my impression is not "plans to die (and leave Zhao Yunlan)", by that point.
But it does get a little fuzzier after that. I remember that on my previous rewatch, I still wasn't getting the impression that he went to Dixing knowing he'd definitely die right until very very close to the end; more that it was one of several options and he was up for using that one if it became necessary. And I don't find it inherently implausible to think that if they'd been able to get Ye Zun some other way, he might have been able to heal in time. But I've only seen the final couple of episodes twice, and the first run was fairly traumatic and OMGWTFBBQ, so, heading into those for a third time, I expect to be testing some theories and taking a critical look at what might be preference.
Another thing coming into it for me is the fact that I initially took the bomb thing also as a failsafe in case Ye Zun ever ate him, because Shen Wei is so powerful that Ye Zun getting all of his powers by itself would be scary. So the read of "if Ye Zun ever gets me, I can blow us both up" was more intuitive to me than "I will maneuver a series of complicated circumstances into just the right setup so he will eat me, in order for me to blow us both up." But I also concede that the idea of a failsafe and keeping Shen Wei's powers from Ye Zun is something never mentioned or addressed on the show.
(Sorry this got so long, I'm not actually trying to convince anyone, but this is a question for which timeline is important... and nuance... and lots of words, apparently.)