Ye Fan’s heart gave a sudden jolt. He opened his eyes wide. Within the cold body in his arms, a divine soul imprint had appeared — she had actually revived.

Lost and now found again. A woman who had died now had life once more — feeble though it was, it was real in just this way.

“Miaoyi!”

Ye Fan called out to her, gripping her hand with force, terrified that a single loosening of his grip would mean losing her forever. One step into heaven, one step into hell — he had been on the verge of despair, and now joy had arrived without warning.

His emotions surged in great rise and fall, the sensation of nearly losing her, while the woman in his arms revived from the very brink of death, overwhelming him.

The peerlessly beautiful woman had entered a death-sealed retreat and had already become a very cold corpse. He had believed they were forever separated between heaven and man, never to meet again — that it would become his greatest regret.

“You’re back. As long as you’re alive, that’s what matters…” he murmured softly.

An Miaoyi’s face was bloodless and very pale. Her delicate features looked as though they were carved from white mutton-fat jade. The pair of eyes that had once been so ethereal now lacked luster, dim and slightly hazy.

She slowly extended her hand and wiped the tear-stains from his face. Her body was very weak. She had returned from the Bodhisattva Realm through great hardship and danger, nearly entering nirvana.

All these years had passed, yet An Miaoyi had not diminished in beauty by even a fraction. Her immortal quality had grown even more internalized and restrained. She had gained a kind of tranquility and serenity, while losing something of her allure and coquetry. Washed clean of all adornment, she had become even more captivating.

She smiled weakly. After so many years, to reunite in this Western Land of Lanto Monastery stirred a feeling within her that words could not describe. Her eyes shimmered with a gentle glow as she said, “It really is you. In the Bodhisattva Realm, I heard your call. I found my way out from where I was lost and made it back with great difficulty.”

“You’ll be fine. I’m here — I will certainly be able to protect you completely.” Ye Fan’s gaze was resolute. He uttered a soft incantation, activated the “Zhe” character secret art, and sacred light overflowed from his entire body, enveloping An Miaoyi.

Though his Zhe character secret art was incomplete, there was scarcely anything in the world that could rival it. Whether the Phoenix Tribulation Rebirth Art or the Nirvana Art, none could surpass it.

An Miaoyi’s injuries were primarily to her divine soul — she had nearly lost herself within the Bodhisattva Realm. The Zhe character secret art could restore both her physical body and treat her primordial spirit, and almost in the blink of an eye her condition improved considerably.

“I feel much better…” Within a short time she was able to sit up.

From a distance, Master Ku Ci, who had left, now returned. Though he was a golden-bodied Arhat and his heart was ordinarily as undisturbed as still water, even he now showed a look of surprise. She had clearly entered nirvana — how could she have revived?

“Can this be a person chosen and sheltered by the Buddha himself, which is why she could remain in the Bodhisattva Realm for so long, leading us all to mistakenly believe she had entered nirvana?” he murmured to himself.

Then he strode forward and inquired about what had happened, very eager to know.

“I crossed the Sea of the Past and then waded the River of Future Lives. At the horizon I saw two great Buddhas — one was Amitabha, and the other was Shakyamuni. I had no way to choose between them. In the end I walked straight ahead, passing through the space between the two Buddhas… and finally became lost.”

An Miaoyi spoke softly, recounting what she had experienced in the Bodhisattva Realm during those days.

“All that matters is that you’ve returned!” said Ku Ci.

He had imprisoned An Miaoyi within the nine-storied stone pagoda without malicious intent — he believed that she might one day attain the rank of Bodhisattva, and that a hundred years of bitter cultivation within the pagoda was essential.

Ku Ci departed, unwilling to disturb them further.

“You came back…” An Miaoyi murmured softly, gazing steadily at Ye Fan. She slowly rose to her feet, her divine soul now stable and settled.

She had grown somewhat slender. Her black hair fell soft and smooth, her expression serene and otherworldly. Though she stood right before his eyes, she seemed as though she might drift away at any moment — impossibly distant.

“I struggled and fought my way back — yet I was still late. Even after deep reflection, I could not forget this shore. So I returned.” Ye Fan spoke softly.

“Fourteen years. I never thought we could meet again.” An Miaoyi said quietly.

Ye Fan walked beside her, and together they left Lanto Monastery. The evening glow stained the western sky red, stretching their shadows long behind them.

Lanto Monastery — kirin beasts lay curled at the foot of the cliffs, sacred grasses grew along the small paths, and the fragrance of flowers filled every corner. Everywhere was quiet and peaceful, threaded through with traces of the Dao.

“It’s truly wonderful that you came to see me.” An Miaoyi smiled like a gentle woman — bright eyes, white teeth, a touch of allure, a touch of warmth. Yet Ye Fan felt a subtle catch in his heart, as though something had grown distant.

Ye Fan smoothed her black hair and walked with her toward the outside, stepping along the small path paved with smooth pebbles, passing through one hall and pavilion after another, walking side by side. In the last rays of the setting sun, it all felt very warm.

“I’ve chosen the path of Buddhist cultivation, and by now I have attained certain fruits of the Dao.” An Miaoyi said.

“I know. Master Ku Ci said you could attain the rank of Bodhisattva — it should not be too difficult.” Ye Fan nodded.

“Having stepped onto this path, one needs a mind of tranquility, free of desire and seeking. Walking, yet empty. Sitting, yet empty. In speaking, silence, movement, and stillness — all is empty. Even if a white blade were pressed against one’s head, it would be like a sharp sword cutting through the spring wind.” An Miaoyi spoke softly.

Ye Fan’s expression stiffened. He finally understood why he felt An Miaoyi was somehow distant — it was not that the two of them were far apart in body, but that her state of mind had become something different.

“Everyone possesses the Buddha-nature. Even Buddhas are human — why must one cast away so much? I do not wish for you to walk such a path.” Ye Fan said.

“Everyone possesses the Buddha-nature, but it does not mean everyone must become a Buddha.” An Miaoyi shook her head.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. They walked on in silence — warm, yet with an invisible distance between them.

“Why cultivate Buddhism? There are countless Dao methods in the world. If you are willing, I can obtain for you the great sutras of the human race’s Great Emperors, and let you choose among them.” Ye Fan said.

“I share a karmic affinity with the Buddha. Buddhism suits me.” An Miaoyi shook her head.

Ye Fan was about to say something more when An Miaoyi extended a jade hand and pressed it lightly against his lips. “Say nothing. Let us walk on together.”

A long time passed. The sun had already set. In the growing dimness of the sacred mountain of Lanto, tree shadows swayed and medicinal herbs sent their fragrance drifting through the air. Ye Fan could no longer hold back.

“Miaoyi, this path is not easy to walk. You need not take it. There are many choices. Why confine yourself in the Western Desert?”

“This is my path. When I entered the Sea of the Past and waded through the River of Future Lives, my heart was filled with such tranquility — it told me what I should and should not hold onto.” An Miaoyi said.

“I… do not wish for this for you.” Ye Fan looked at her.

She had once been a peerlessly beautiful woman. Yet now she was to spend her days beside a blue lamp and an ancient Buddha, severing all mortal ties — how cruel was that?

“What is wrong with this? My heart is tranquil and boundlessly fulfilled. To bear witness to a Buddhist flower blooming in vivid brilliance — my Dao lies entirely within this.” An Miaoyi spoke, her eyes alive with shimmering light.

“Come away from the Western Desert with me.” Ye Fan said, with great sincerity.

An Miaoyi sighed softly. She looked at him. There was reluctance in her eyes, and lingering attachment — yet she shook her head.

Suddenly, she pressed her hand to her brow. Cold sweat appeared, and her eyes grew misty. “Once, I severed my Dao… and forgot the past.”

“What?” Ye Fan seized her arm.

“Now, everything has come back to me. But when you left fourteen years ago, I made a choice…” Two lines of crystalline tears slid down from An Miaoyi’s beautiful eyes.

“The severing of the Dao erased the memory, and now it has returned. Some imprints cannot be wiped away.” Ye Fan’s gaze was resolute. “Buddhism speaks of future lives — but that is nothing more than avoidance. Where is there any cycle of rebirth? Where is there any reincarnation? All that we can exist within and perceive belongs only to this one life.”

An Miaoyi grew calm. She said with gentle softness, “Do not cling. This is my path.”

“It is not clinging. It is that you truly should not be choosing Buddhism.” Ye Fan suddenly became forceful and overbearing, seizing her hand. “Come with me and leave the Western Desert.”

An Miaoyi smiled. That peerless face — a single smile was enough to make a city fall. For a moment, the entire dim sacred mountain seemed to brighten around her. “Do you truly not want me to cultivate Buddhism?”

“Yes.” Ye Fan nodded. He was unwilling for An Miaoyi to spend the rest of her life beside a blue lamp and an ancient Buddha, growing old alone in the Western Desert.

“Then you must wait until I have attained the rank of Bodhisattva and am able to walk freely in the world. Right now, the ten thousand races are rising together, and the sages from beyond the domain are coming. Without attaining Bodhisattva-hood, how could I walk under heaven?”

“You wouldn’t be trying to put me off, would you?” Ye Fan asked, taken aback.

“No.” An Miaoyi smiled brilliantly, stunning and captivating.

“That’s all right. Should there come a day when you are truly hindered by the Buddhist faith, I will come to bring you away. As long as I am invincible in this present age, nothing can stand in my way!” Ye Fan said.

“The little man has a touch of dominance about him.” An Miaoyi’s smile spread like ripples across water. Her complexion glowed, her black hair danced in the breeze, her eyes shone like stars. “I’ll wait for you to come for me.”

Ye Fan nodded, took her hand, and walked with her across several spiritual veins, heading deeper into the sacred mountain together.

“In the days to come, whatever happens, you must believe in me — just as I believe in you.” An Miaoyi said.

The moonlight was pure and white, falling like immortal feathers scattered from above. The lake shimmered with points of light, and spiritual energy drifted through the air.

Ye Fan scooped up the clear water with a jade ladle and poured it over An Miaoyi’s hair, helping her wash it. Flecks of immortal light shimmered, and ripples spread across the lake.

An Miaoyi laughed softly, gave him a playful push, and said, “I’ll do it myself.” She shooed him away from the area.

Before long, water splashed as she moved through the lake like a fish swimming freely. Her pale body gleamed like ivory, shimmering with a crystalline luster.

In the distance, Ye Fan sat beside a campfire, roasting some wild game. He did not know why, but he felt An Miaoyi had truly grown somewhat far away — even though she had said they would be reunited in the future.

Before long, the beautiful woman stepped out of the lake and walked toward him with light steps, wrapped in a feathered robe that outlined the curves of her flawlessly white body — perfect beyond compare, with a slender waist that seemed cradleable in one hand, long and straight jade legs without a single blemish.

Her long hair was still wet and heavy with droplets. Her face of white mutton-fat jade bore a faint smile. Her every movement was of unparalleled grace — pure and ethereal beyond the mortal world, like a celestial maiden who had mistakenly tumbled down from the heavens.

“Let’s go.” An Miaoyi ate one spiritual root and did not touch the wild game.

“All right. I’ll walk you back.” Ye Fan nodded and rose to his feet.

“Back where?” An Miaoyi asked.

“Is it not to Lanto Monastery?” Ye Fan asked.

“The future is still far away. I know you are setting out on a journey soon. For the next half-month, I am not a follower of the Buddha, and you are not the human race’s Holy Physique. We are simply an ordinary pair, living a stretch of ordinary life.” An Miaoyi said.

Ye Fan was momentarily startled — then he took her hand and led her away, leaving the sacred mountain and bidding farewell to Lanto Monastery.

For the next half-month, they were like an ordinary pair. They nested together, watching the morning sun rise and the setting sun fall in the west, walking across grasslands and venturing into the great desert — simple and joyful.

At night, they lay together gazing up at the star-filled sky. Ye Fan pointed out for her the direction of the other shore of the stars, telling her what kind of world it was.

Time was brief, and it passed so quickly.

The sky above was thick with stars. The moonlight was soft and hazy.

“We will meet again.” An Miaoyi rose, her back turned to him. Her pale and perfect back shimmered with a snowy luster, like jade.

Ye Fan stepped forward and held her ivory body close, unwilling to let go. If he could choose, he would rather be an ordinary mortal.

“Half a month has passed. You must go.” An Miaoyi gently pushed him away. Her feathered robe flashed and concealed her flawless jade body. Her expression was serene — incomparably pure and ethereal, as though she were very far away, standing atop the Nine Heavens.

Swish.

A blue lamp appeared beside her. The wick’s Buddhist radiance flickered, jumping suddenly to life. The ancient bronze lamp cast her in a light that made her seem even more ephemeral and otherworldly.