While others struggle to suppress their inner demons when forming their Nascent Soul, Nan Yan’s situation is unique. Her inner demon stood right before her, impossible to fight or scold, leaving her at a loss.
“…All Dharma wisdom and supernatural powers, through attaining Dharma wisdom, one can eloquently expound unobstructed Dharma gates, spread Dharma clouds, shower Dharma rain, and use wondrous sounds to reveal and enlighten, leading to pure liberation. Knowing that the minds of all beings in the three thousand great thousand worlds are without difference, as in one world, this is the ten penetrations. Penetration leads to clarity, clarity leads to illuminating the mind and seeing one’s nature, this is the Buddhist method of forming the Nascent Soul,” Ji Yang explained the Buddhist way of Nascent Soul formation. Noticing Nan Yan’s skeptical gaze, he paused and asked, “Ah Yan, why do your eyes show such distrust?”
Nan Yan sat cross-legged, unable to enter meditation. Expressionless, she replied, “This poor nun simply finds it jarring to hear Buddhist principles from the mouth of the Netherworld Prison Lord.”
Ji Yang responded elegantly, “The conflict between our ghost and Buddhist natures makes affection difficult to grow. Moreover, the Buddhist path is easily disturbed by worldly concerns. I don’t want you to be hurt during your Nascent Soul formation, hence my persistent advice.”
If not for his blood-chilling crimson eyes, his refined and considerate demeanor might have made him seem like the wronged party.
Nan Yan retorted, “…You say you don’t want my mind disturbed by worldly matters, so please retreat fifty miles away during my Nascent Soul formation.”
Ji Yang conceded, “Very well, but allow me one last word of caution: if you struggle with your inner demon, retreat when necessary. Don’t harm your foundation.”
Nan Yan challenged, “How are you so certain I won’t overcome my inner demon?”
Ji Yang gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, “I fear your heart may not be sincere.”
Nan Yan recalled her impulsive words about insincerity that night, which he now used against her. After a long silence, she said, “If you’re trying to stop me, there’s no need. After forming my Nascent Soul, I’ll return to Dao Sheng Tian… My mother is there.”
Ji Yang closed his eyes and sighed softly, “…They won’t spare your Buddhist nature. I can’t let you come to harm.”
Nan Yan shook her head, “How long can you protect me? Even if I form my Nascent Soul and reach Huashen realm, can I escape your master’s grasp?”
Without reaching the Five Declines stage, she would remain insignificant before Ying Ze Wei.
Ji Yang had always been aware of this, and he knew that Ying Ze Wei was observing everything between him and Nan Yan.
“I want to find my… my father,” Nan Yan said, looking at him intently. “You know him, don’t you?”
After a moment of eye contact, Ji Yang realized Nan Yan had recovered the memories he had sealed. He replied, “Yes, in the Filthy Valley of Fan State, where we parted years ago, I met Ji Ming…”
As the moon rose, Nan Yan asked Ji Yang to leave, allowing her tumultuous thoughts to settle through meditation.
The Filthy Valley opened once every few years, releasing black jade slips that no one could decipher—except her. She had decoded the shocking Seven Buddhas’ Karma Scripture.
This scripture appeared demonic to most, but only those with a Buddhist nature could maintain their composure under its fierce power and cultivate it.
The black jade slips were intentionally released, meaning Ji Ming was searching for her.
Nan Yan recalled the sorrowful figure she glimpsed in the Filthy Valley when she obtained the Purification Chapter of the Seven Buddhas’ Karma Scripture, her mind now in turmoil.
“Father…” she whispered, tasting the word.
Finding herself unable to focus on forming her Nascent Soul, she decided to take a walk through the quiet forest.
For miles around, all beasts had fled the ghostly aura. After walking for half an hour, Nan Yan heard an unexpected sound.
Logically, all cultivators should have been transported back to Dao Sheng Tian, leaving only her and Ji Yang. Who else could be here?
Concealing her presence, Nan Yan followed the sound to a massive tree. From a hollow came familiar whimpering.
“Li Mian?” she called out.
Sensing mixed spiritual energy, Nan Yan peered into the hollow. To her shock, she found Li Mian with cracked skin, nearly drained of blood—a horrifying sight.
“Help… help me…” Li Mian could barely speak, her fingers scratching at the tree wall.
Nan Yan watched Li Mian’s hand movements for a moment before sighing, “What a pitiful soul…”
She crouched down, placing medicinal pills in Li Mian’s mouth and drawing healing runes with her hands. She began channeling Buddhist spiritual energy, learned from Chou Shan Academy, into Li Mian’s body.
Halfway through the process, the seemingly dying Li Mian suddenly opened her eyes. With lightning speed, her fingers released a purple mist that enveloped Nan Yan.
“You…” Nan Yan managed only one word before collapsing onto Li Mian.
Simultaneously, laughter erupted outside the hollow: “Well done, sister. I only need her person; you can take her spiritual energy.”
Li Mian sat up, her skin healing rapidly. She laid Nan Yan down, noticing her fiery bridal attire. Raising an eyebrow, she said, “Brother, this woman has a complicated background. Are you sure you want to get involved?”
Li Chi entered the hollow, seeing Nan Yan’s vibrant appearance for the first time. He was captivated: “Is this… is this her appearance? She looks so much like Lady Nan Fang.”
Li Mian coldly watched Li Chi as she left the hollow, saying, “Then enjoy, brother. Don’t waste the Entangling Emotion Flower I gave you.”
With that, she limped away, leaving Li Chi staring at the unconscious Nan Yan. After a while, he reached out to touch her, but as soon as his fingers grazed the Vermilion Phoenix Robe, they felt scorched, forcing him to withdraw.
“Hiss… What treasure is this wedding dress?”
Some magical clothes automatically repel strangers unless the owner permits it, requiring force to touch otherwise.
Li Chi sneered, producing a flower emitting a pink mist. He inhaled deeply before placing it on Nan Yan’s brow.
“This rare treasure, scarce in the world, can captivate one’s mind, causing lifelong obsession… This woman has refined her Buddhist practice and shouldn’t be tainted by emotional barriers. Once the Entangling Emotion Flower takes hold, her cultivation will be forever limited to the Golden Core stage.”
Sure enough, the flower soon imprinted on Nan Yan’s brow. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked, her eyes unfocused.
Li Chi exclaimed joyfully, “First, take off that blasted wedding dress!”
Nan Yan nodded, but as her hand touched the sash, she paused. “The necklace on your neck… it frightens me.”
As Li Chi frowned, Li Mian called from outside, “Brother, how can you conduct business while wearing Father Marquis’s consciousness vessel? She’s a Buddhist cultivator, highly sensitive to such things.”
Frustrated, Li Chi yanked off the necklace and tossed it away. “Mian’er, keep watch. After enduring so much from that fellow, I deserve some compensation. Today, I’ll have this woman for sure.”
Seemingly satisfied, Nan Yan reached into her robe and said, “Turn around. I’ll show you something good.”
Li Chi asked eagerly, “Oh? What is it?”
Nan Yan’s smile vanished, the haziness in her eyes clearing completely. She pulled out her prayer beads and struck Li Chi’s nape mercilessly.
“Purify your six senses!” she shouted.
This was Nan Yan’s most potent move at the Golden Core stage. With several loud cracks, Li Chi’s protective layers shattered, and an unparalleled Buddhist force pierced his Dazhui acupoint like a golden awl.
“Mian’er, kill her!” Li Chi snarled, retreating several steps. As he turned to command Li Mian, he saw a great scythe descending, its blade reflecting Li Mian’s vengeful grin.
“Dear brother, let your sister take Si State for herself!”
When Nan Yan emerged from the tree hollow, the ground was covered in blood. She watched dispassionately as Li Mian absorbed all of Li Chi’s flesh, blood, and Golden Core. As Li Mian’s evil aura showed signs of forming a Golden Core, Nan Yan spoke without emotion, “Though it’s not my concern, as a Buddhist, I must ask—have you truly reached the point where you must devour each other to survive?”
Li Mian, appearing satiated, carefully gathered the remaining bones into a sachet. Her face twisted into a grotesque smile as she spoke, “Brother always doted on me. Since childhood, he gave me whatever I wanted. When I was sickly and disliked the maids who fed me medicine, he had their fingers cut off one by one for my amusement.”
Nan Yan’s lips twitched slightly as she rotated her prayer beads. “You’re not innocent either. How do you know I won’t kill you after Li Chi’s death?”
“You won’t. The rules of the cultivation world are like those in Fan State. Anyone with a name and background always has a weakness,” Li Mian replied, her appearance restored to its former beauty. She secured the bone-filled sachet to her waist and caressed her smooth face. “The most appealing thing about you righteous cultivators is that as long as someone like me is useful, you’ll always find reasons to spare us.”
Nan Yan responded, “I’m listening.”
Li Mian sneered, “I saw clearly at Youquan River… You possess a Buddhist nature. Once triggered, it emits a unique Buddhist aura. After we leave, the people of Dao Sheng Tian won’t let you go. You could seek protection from powerful cultivators in other States, but you can’t be sure there aren’t Dao Sheng Tian’s spies everywhere. The only option is to go to Fan State.”
Nan Yan asked, “So, what are you offering in exchange for your life?”
“The whale ships to Fan State aren’t monopolized by Chen State. No one would expect you to leave the Upper States on an evil cultivator’s whale ship.”
Five days later, Ji Yang dismissed a demon reporting on the expanding spatial rift at Ten Karma Mountain and returned to the forest where Nan Yan was.
He had intended only to observe from afar but soon witnessed a surge of spiritual energy. In the forest’s center, a golden image of the Thousand-Armed Guanyin Bodhisattva solidified, its expression solemn. The implements in its hands, especially the lotus, vajra, and whisk, seemed favored by the Buddhas, causing the surrounding ghost energy to retreat.
Soon, he was the only ghostly entity remaining.
—She still couldn’t let go after all.
As the surrounding space began to compress, Ji Yang knew the mountain and sea realm would soon forcibly teleport Nan Yan away. He approached, parting some withered branches, and saw Nan Yan sitting cross-legged on a green stone, dressed in red. Before he could speak, a round, chubby Nascent Soul rolled to his feet.
“…”
The Nascent Soul, barely palm-sized and so plump its eyes were barely visible, wore a long string of prayer beads around its neck. It nuzzled against his clothes, looking aggrieved.
Ji Yang knelt. Being Half-Face-Ghost, he could touch the Nascent Soul without it passing through him. As the tiny Nascent Soul climbed onto his palm, the warmth reminded him of the past.
“Just like when you were little…”
Nan Yan’s Nascent Soul opened its mouth but, having just formed and lacking spiritual connection, couldn’t speak. It looked at Ji Yang pitifully, seemingly anxious about something.
Ji Yang cupped it gently in his hands and sat beside Nan Yan’s body. “It’s a pity you’ve grown thinner over the years. Your Nascent Soul seems more adorable now. Since you’ve formed your Nascent Soul, this realm of mountains and seas can no longer contain you. I’ll accompany you back to Dao Sheng Tian… Hmm? What’s this flower on your forehead?”
Nan Yan’s Nascent Soul suddenly became agitated, frantically rolling to stop him, but Ji Yang had already touched the flower mark on Nan Yan’s forehead. Instantly, the mark seeped into Ji Yang’s body like a faint light.
As the mark left Nan Yan, the Nascent Soul quickly returned to her body. She opened her eyes and urgently said to Ji Yang, “It’s some sort of Entangling Emotion Flower. Whoever touches it loses their mental faculties. If you feel anything strange, expel it quickly!”
A faint pink halo appeared around Ji Yang’s pupils. As the space’s teleportation force intensified, his gaze upon her grew more fervent.
“This one has a question for the Bodhisattva,” he said.
“Speak,” she replied.
“After we leave, how many of your family members must this one deal with before the Bodhisattva becomes this one’s wife?”