The tiny, flame-burning lamp wick drew closer and closer, closer and closer…

Jian Chou’s entire being was drawn into that lamp flame, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Not one of the previous six figures remained.

The entire Buddha pagoda hall suddenly became empty.

The gray-furred rat, clutching that silk paper, squeaked once and scurried into the incense burner, also vanishing.

No more blazing flames, no more Buddha pagoda, no more great Buddha.

The world before Jian Chou’s eyes was so dark she couldn’t see her own outstretched hand—pitch black, pitch black.

She stood in this space, her entire body tense, surveying all around.

Yet the darkness was like thick ink that couldn’t be dissolved. Even when she extended her spiritual consciousness, it could only reach about three feet before her and could advance no further.

As if something was obstructing her vision and blocking her spiritual consciousness.

An extremely indescribable sense of danger suddenly rose from her heart.

But after a moment, it disappeared completely.

A light laugh came from the deepest part of the darkness, followed by a long sigh: “Friend Jian Chou need not be alarmed. This is merely a necessary passage to obtain the Master’s records.”

This voice?

Jian Chou’s defensive posture relaxed all at once. She found this voice somewhat familiar.

It actually sounded like the Red Butterfly she had encountered in the Lingering Thoughts realm?

“Fairy Red Butterfly?”

Upon hearing this voice, the being in the darkness first froze, then began giggling, seemingly unable to hold back any longer.

“I already said not to call me fairy… I’m a demon.”

Accompanied by that alluring laughter, a slender waist suddenly appeared in the distant darkness.

As if a beam of light had suddenly illuminated the person.

Pure eyebrows and eyes adorned with brightly colored makeup, sandalwood lips and jade nose, enchanting pupils and painted brows, a crimson long dress embroidered with silver patterns that looked exquisite and magnificent.

Red Butterfly held a small mouse in her pale palm, slowly walking from the distance.

With each step she took, the surroundings grew a little brighter.

One azure lamp after another, though none were lit, the lamp bowls contained oil that hadn’t yet dried up, their wicks old and curled.

Thus, the entire dark world instantly became clear.

This was actually a tall mountain, with a long mountain path built from stone slabs, stretching endlessly, with row upon row of lamp stands on the left side.

The end of the mountain path was shrouded in golden clouds and mist, unclear to see.

Jian Chou was greatly surprised: “An illusion?”

“If you say it’s an illusion, then it’s an illusion. If you say it truly exists, that’s also not false. In the Buddha’s heart, there are three thousand worlds like grains of sand. This is merely one grain among that pile of sand.”

Buddha?

That meant she was actually still within that Buddha hall, just not knowing her specific location.

She looked at the gray-furred mouse in Red Butterfly’s palm, identical to the one on the incense burner in the hall earlier, still clutching that tattered silk paper in its claws.

After brief consideration, Jian Chou understood.

“It seems this realm was guided by Fairy Red Butterfly for Jian Chou to enter, but I wonder what your intentions are, and where are my companions?”

“Before the Buddha are azure lamps, illuminating three thousand zhang of the mortal world. Your companions are naturally also in one of the three thousand worlds.” Red Butterfly’s waist swayed like a willow branch, “Though Lord Lijun promised to take you to read the Master’s records, we believe that the Master’s records aren’t for just anyone to read.”

When mentioning “Lord Lijun,” Red Butterfly’s voice clearly carried dejection.

She already knew of Lijun’s current condition.

Slightly curving her lips, she felt somewhat desolate inside. Looking up, she saw Jian Chou watching her. This Nineteen Continents cultivator had truly beautiful eyes, and beautiful gazes too.

“This path is called the Mortal World’s Thousand-Zhang Lantern.”

A thousand-zhang path with countless lamp stands.

Red Butterfly pointed with her slender finger, sighing softly: “If you wish to read the Master’s records, you need only walk forward and light this first lamp. One lamp, one mortal tribulation. After lighting it, what exactly you’ll encounter, I’m also unclear about and may not be able to help you.”

So that was it.

Mortal tribulation…

This name reminded Jian Chou that Buddhist disciples, when their cultivation reached a certain level, would always descend the mountain for training, called “experiencing all the tribulations of the mortal world.”

At that time on the human isolated island, she didn’t consider this anything important.

Yet she hadn’t expected that today, having arrived at the Nineteen Continents, she would learn that Buddha was real, Chan was real, and these mortal tribulations were all real.

Taking a step forward, Jian Chou looked toward the blurred golden shadow at the mountain path’s end and suddenly smiled, asking: “It seems that reaching there, one can obtain Master Buyu’s ‘Qingfeng Nunnery Forty-Eight Records’?”

“Correct.”

Red Butterfly smiled slightly, though her gaze held some contemplation.

She sighed softly and said quietly: “But you’d better not light the lamps.”

“Not light them?”

Jian Chou had already walked to the mountain path’s side. Trees grew lushly on both sides, and before her stood a lamp by the mountain path.

The lamp bowl was made entirely of bluestone, appearing to have weathered countless years of wind and rain, with many mottled traces. The lotus-shaped lamp bowl held a small amount of oil and a curled wick.

She was already prepared to light this lamp when Red Butterfly suddenly said such a thing.

Jian Chou stopped and turned back to look at her.

Red Butterfly’s fingertips gently stroked the mouse’s fur, while her enchanting eyes flickered with compassion: “You, someone with an incomplete soul who would die upon reaching Soul Departure, cultivating that path—what’s the point? Why suffer so?”

“…”

Her body suddenly stiffened for a moment.

Jian Chou’s bright gaze, like blade light, stabbed at Red Butterfly’s face as if facing a great enemy!

“Light the lamps?”

Xie Buchen looked with slight surprise at the Red Butterfly who appeared before him.

He stood in a wind and rain corridor.

Pattering raindrops fell from the sky into the lake water on both sides of the corridor.

This corridor was very long, its end shrouded in misty rain, unclear to see.

On the left side of the corridor stood row upon row of azure lamps.

Xie Buchen’s gaze slowly moved from Red Butterfly to the mouse in Red Butterfly’s palm, finally settling on this long row of azure lamps.

Finally, he leisurely exhaled and listened to the surrounding rain sounds: “When I last came to the hidden realm, I passed through a plaza and learned by chance that beneath a Buddha pagoda in the hidden realm, there was a Red Butterfly who understood the Buddha’s heart of three thousand worlds, possessing three thousand butterfly dreams. With one flutter of wings, she creates three thousand mortal worlds.”

“…”

Red Butterfly was slightly stunned for a moment, then began giggling.

She walked to the corridor’s edge, gazing at the pattering rain outside, saying seductively: “You’re quite a clever person. Entering the hidden realm twice, you know indeed more than your companions. By rights, I should like you more and smoothly let you take the Master’s records. Unfortunately, I prefer your sweetheart more…”

Sweet…

heart?

In that instant, Xie Buchen’s indifferent yet gentle gaze suddenly sharpened, his body instantly tensing like a fully drawn bow.

“Oh my, it seems even the most rational people become a bit flustered when someone hits their weak spot…”

Red Butterfly’s laughter penetrated layers of misty rain, traveling very far away, yet no one could hear it.

“I thought you were a heartless soul who could remain detached until the end… Hahaha, truly unexpected! Fate toys with people! You and her are the most interesting people I’ve seen in the hidden realm…”

She spoke and laughed, seductively spinning around.

Turning back to face Xie Buchen, she saw the killing intent leaking bit by bit from his eyes, almost becoming tangible, yet his entire being remained unmoved in place, just watching her.

As if…

Should she say one more word, the next moment a sword would be at her throat.

But what kind of person was Red Butterfly?

The more Xie Buchen acted this way, the more she felt the joy of mischief.

“Snap.”

A light snap of her fingers, and a red butterfly wing materialized in the void, vividly bright.

The butterfly wing instantly scattered into dust, yet scene after scene appeared, like memories stained with ink and wash, blurring as they faded.

“I’ve seen too many heartless people in the world, but one as ruthless and decisive as you is a first… In the Mortal World’s Thousand-Zhang Lantern, I couldn’t help but peek at what you were thinking…”

Red Butterfly’s voice sounded quite innocent.

She narrowed her eyes, sizing up Xie Buchen, watching his complexion gradually turn ugly, barely able to suppress her laughter.

Countless scenes flashed rapidly in the void.

Xie Buchen listened to Red Butterfly’s mocking voice and raised his nearly wooden gaze to look.

There he was, pinned to the stone pillar by Wu E’s five black feather arrows, unable to move, yet seeing Jian Chou in the midst of enlightenment, completely unaware of approaching danger…

The Xie Buchen in the scene seemed to be the same disheveled Xie Buchen of the past.

He endured heart-rending agony, hesitating and wavering between saving and not saving…

Finally, still that flick of his finger…

The Immovable Bell flew out, and the scene instantly shattered.

“Tsk tsk… Once you personally killed your wedded wife with one sword strike, yet today seeing her in trouble, you actually acted to save her.”

An extremely mocking voice came from Red Butterfly’s mouth.

“Is it truly that you must have those four seal talismans in her hands? You have the Grand Luminous Seal and could have used it to threaten Lord Lijun into opening great conveniences for you. The world has more than just her path to walk… yet you still chose her…”

That voice was simply melodious.

Xie Buchen stood in place, not moving at all.

Red Butterfly gently stroked the gray-furred mouse like petting a lazy kitten: “You humans are truly complex…”

She pulled out a brilliant smile, also casting her gaze to the void.

The scenes continued flashing rapidly.

This time, it was that most dangerous moment—

The Grand Luminous Seal collapsed, and the hidden realm began to crumble.

Terrifying fissures appeared in the ground, stone pillars crashed down thunderously, and his world overturned with them.

That falling Xie Buchen had an expression that seemed very complex—so complex it was unfathomable.

Jian Chou in mid-air looked at him only once—

Disgust, hatred, vindictive pleasure, pity, indifference, and regret.

The regret of not being able to kill with his own hands.

Then he suddenly smiled, seemingly carefree but actually full of calculation.

He opened his palm toward her.

In that instant, she threw herself toward him recklessly, forcefully extending her hand toward him.

Clap.

The moment their two palms clasped together.

He had originally thought he should feel a twisted vindictive pleasure, but when he raised his eyes and saw her gritted determination, felt that warm blood flowing down, that vindictive pleasure vanished like melting ice and snow.

Too many, too many things crawled out from memory’s tomb.

So many that even Xie Buchen could hardly capture them all.

There was the time at the Marquis’s mansion, in the Rain-Listening Song Tower, when she held his clean, pale hand, drawing four hundred and eighty temples, drawing the west wind illuminating the setting sun;

There was when their household fell and great disaster struck, when she pulled him running through the darkness—the wind was cold, but her hand was warm, sweaty yet gripping tightly;

There was on the river passenger boat, with night rain pattering, when they stood at the bow watching the approaching ferry, and he solemnly grasped that hand…

Those extended hands, those clasped hands—in past days, how many times had they shared that knowing, tacit grip?

How many times in danger had she recklessly extended her hand toward him like this?

That hand was still the same one from his memories.

Just like that, slowly overlapping together.

Something buried in the tomb, at this very moment, accompanied by the sound of those hands tightly gripping, accompanied by the flowing warm blood, accompanied by the sound of the surrounding world’s heaven and earth cracking…

Completely, utterly broke through the earth, completely, utterly…

Resurrected.

“How pitiful…”

Red Butterfly drew out her voice, the pity beneath her eyes becoming somewhat more real.

“You’ve fallen in love with her again…”

A light sentence, yet like thunder rolling across the sky, instantly exploding the world into pallid white!

What had once been extinguished was rekindled.

“…”

The scenes in the void had gradually dispersed.

Xie Buchen stood for a long time, still gazing, silent.

Red Butterfly couldn’t see his expression, only knowing that anyone whose heart had been spied upon wouldn’t feel particularly good.

Wearing a smile, she parted her lips, looking at that motionless figure, about to speak her next words—

Xie Buchen’s statue-like figure standing beneath the wind and rain corridor suddenly moved.

Just that one movement made Red Butterfly’s heart skip a beat!

He slowly turned toward her, his face bearing the pain of being deeply trapped in memories, along with confusion. But the next moment, his thin, bloodless lips curved up…

A smile both extremely gentle and extremely bloody!

Red Butterfly couldn’t help but take a step back.

Within that indifferent shell stained by misty rain, beneath that calm and refined face, seemed to lurk a mad and cold monster!

His tongue tip lightly curled, producing that almost tender phrase—

“The more I love, the more I kill!”