A cold and dim moonlight. A vast and open land. Boundless desolation. Only a lone wolf lamenting — letting out a mournful sound across the bleak and cold steppe.

In this setting, a grand ancient temple stood tall, stained with the golden hue of light — sacred and solemn, vast and righteous, inexplicably mysterious.

In the great hall, a lone blue lamp accompanied the ancient Buddha. An Miaoyi sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. The face that was white as jade perpetually wore a smile, while her slender jade-like fingers nimbly plucked the strings of the qin — leaping out wondrous notes that rang out clear and resonant.

“Why do you no longer recognize me?” Ye Fan stepped forward, his pace unhurried and gentle. By now he was utterly unlike the sharp and commanding figure who had swept through an ancient-era clan like a thousand-man army.

Dang!

From deep within the temple, a bell toll rang out — its sound traveling hundreds of li, making the entire great steppe tremble. Ye Fan halted in his tracks and braced himself against the sonic wave.

At that moment, an expanse of Buddhist radiance rose up behind An Miaoyi’s head, making her white robes appear all the more pure. In that instant she resembled a bodhisattva — holy and transcendent.

Her dark hair floated freely, each strand crystalline and luminous. A divine ring behind her head guarded her body, lending her an air of venerable and dignified aura. Though she was smiling brilliantly, one could not help but feel that her heart was very, very far away.

“Miaoyi, why do you no longer know me?” Ye Fan asked softly.

“A separation of over a decade. Yesterday is like water that has flowed on — gone, never to return. Flowers may bloom again; geese may return home once more. But if a person turns and looks back — will things still be the same?” A mist gathered in An Miaoyi’s eyes, yet she continued to smile, a stunning brilliance flowing within her gaze.

Ye Fan’s heart trembled. In the most grueling and desperate time of his life — when everyone was waiting to mock him, convinced the Holy Physique was doomed by fate and the curse could never be broken — only An Miaoyi had believed with certainty that he could successfully break through the barrier.

For that, she had even wagered herself. In those days, she alone had bet her entire life on him.

“I am still the same — unchanged.” Ye Fan strode forward in large steps and looked at her earnestly, wanting to draw closer.

Yet the long, unhurried tolling of the bell rang out again. The divine ring behind An Miaoyi’s head shone more brilliantly than ever — Buddhist light blazing clear, transcendent and pure, inviolable.

“Time cannot be reversed. There has never been a road that leads back. Once you take a step forward, all you can do is continue ahead.” An Miaoyi smiled, her gaze soft and gentle — and yet she felt even more distant than before.

Twelve years ago, Ye Fan had left without a backward glance, not even managing to say farewell to this woman. Thinking back on those days, he could not help but fall into a daze.

“Even as we move forward, the person and the heart remain the same.”

Back then, when Ye Fan had successfully broken through the barrier and shattered the curse, he had also been wounded by the great Dao — his life force meager, the road ahead hopeless. He had suffered cold ridicule and sarcasm; even a minor disciple of the Five Elements Palace had dared speak to him with contempt.

During that time, An Miaoyi had scoured the land for spiritual medicines to help him recover, had gifted him the Buddhist Nirvana Sutra, and had even cultivated in dual practice with him to heal his wounds.

All of that — he could not possibly forget.

“Miaoyi, I know you still remember me.” Ye Fan moved forward slowly, speaking in a soft voice.

Throughout this, Li Tian — remarkably — did not say a single word. Together with Yan Yixi, he stood at the entrance to the hall, silently watching everything unfold.

An Miaoyi smiled — dazzlingly beautiful, an immortal radiance blooming from within — yet Ye Fan felt her growing more and more beyond his reach.

“I no longer know you.”

Those words were soft, yet they made Ye Fan’s heart shake. He had come into this world, grown accustomed to the sight of life and death, struggled for survival, cultivated for strength — he had harbored no so-called personal emotional entanglements. What he had known was only a kind of being moved.

And yet now, hearing these words, a pang of bitterness arose. Something deep within him was touched — as though caught and held fast in an instant.

“If you don’t recognize me, then why ask whether a person who turns back will find things still the same?”

“‘If a person turns and looks back — will things still be the same?’ — I was speaking of myself. Once I took that step forward, there was no road back.” An Miaoyi’s voice was very soft. Her delicate jade-like fingers plucked the qin strings, playing a celestial melody that drifted across the open steppe and traveled especially far into the cold of the night.

“What do you mean?” Ye Fan strode forward in large steps until he stood at her side.

An Miaoyi smiled, her dark hair cascading down — smooth as silk. She radiated astonishing beauty. “She waited for you for many years, yet never got to meet you.”

“She… who?” Ye Fan’s voice trembled.

“You know who she is.” An Miaoyi’s expression was gentle, her words even softer, the mist in her eyes thickening.

“She is you!” Ye Fan said.

“You are wrong. The her of the past was me. But the me of today is no longer her.” An Miaoyi smiled, yet her tears were nearly falling.

“Why do you speak this way?” Ye Fan’s heart trembled.

An Miaoyi flung her dark hair — countless strands flying in every direction — as a holy radiance filled her face. She was laughing broadly, yet her tears were already falling, hidden within the cascade of hair.

“Because that her no longer exists. Now there is only me — who no longer knows you.” In that moment, her voice turned cold.

“Miaoyi…” Ye Fan stepped forward, wanting to seize her arm and draw close to her.

But An Miaoyi lightly plucked a qin string — and from deep within the temple, the great bells rang thunderously. Behind her head, the Buddhist radiance blazed intensely, and faintly visible was a great Buddha of compassion.

Ye Fan could not get close. To approach would require force — a great field blocked his path.

“I came here to wait for you only to see you one final time — to fulfill her last wish.” Behind An Miaoyi, boundless Buddhist light shone with solemn, inviolable dignity. The fleeting tenderness of moments before was entirely gone.

“There is no ‘you’ and ‘her’ — there is only one Miaoyi in this world. Regardless of who it is, regardless of what has happened, I will find her and bring her back.” Ye Fan’s voice rang out firm and clear. His steps were resolute. He forced open the Golden Sacred Domain and strode forward.

“Do you intend to raise your hand against me?” An Miaoyi spoke calmly.

“There is only one Miaoyi in this world. To bring her back — I am sorry, but I must offend you!” Ye Fan was forceful. He raised his hand and pressed forward.

Boom!

A flash of Buddhist light — An Miaoyi deflected the strike, then drifted lightly back, sitting cross-legged upon a lotus throne like a female bodhisattva, her bearing august and venerable.

Dang— The great bell pealed — like a Buddhist chant — shaking heaven and earth, rousing the spirit, like a basin of clear water poured over the head.

Boom — boom —

The two exchanged blows within the hall at a speed surpassing lightning. Secret arts and Daoist techniques surged forth together, striking in all directions. The Golden Sacred Domain blazed brilliantly; Buddhist light shone without end. They clashed repeatedly.

Though it was not a fight to the death — merely a small-scale confrontation — it was nonetheless worthy of note, with many astonishing moments. Truly extraordinary.

Whoosh!

A streak of mist and sunset glow burst through the air. They flew out of the temple and began fighting across the desolate steppe, leaving behind trails of dazzling brilliance in the night sky.

“Little Ye, do you need us to step in? Have that sacred weapon blast her down from the sky?” Li Tian called out in his odd manner.

“You’re still joking at a time like this. Let them fight. Don’t meddle.” Yan Yixi shot him a glare.

“I could tell from the start — no one’s going to die in this fight. Little Ye won’t bring himself to do it.” Li Tian muttered.

Ye Fan battled An Miaoyi. From the sky they crashed down to earth, then plunged into a great lake — he could not bring himself to strike with full force, yet was already tremendously astonished. This was the first time he had ever seen An Miaoyi fight. Never before had she displayed her cultivation, and yet she was this powerful — it left even him stunned.

Two hours passed. Ye Fan furrowed his brows and unleashed his terrifying might — otherwise he truly could not subdue this beautiful woman who made the heart ache just to look at her.

“This woman is far too powerful. Damn it all — she’s touched the threshold of the Immortal Third Severance of the Dao. If Little Ye is the slightest bit careless, he could end up injured.” Li Tian’s expression turned grave.

“She is indeed fearsome. To possess this level of cultivation — she is a remarkable woman.” Yan Yixi nodded.

Boom — boom —

Another hour passed. Ye Fan unleashed strike after strike — the Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist suppressing all. The Sacred Battle Technique of the Victorious Fighting Lord evolved through Taiji. The Golden Sacred Domain came crashing down. He took An Miaoyi alive, confining her within a field of golden light.

It was a beautiful figure: dark hair cascading down, a neck as pale and slender as a swan’s, a face like a dream, overflowing with spirit and life.

“Miaoyi, what has happened to you?” Ye Fan extended his powerful divine sense and struck at her Immortal Platform, determined to get to the bottom of this.

A new battle began — a battle of divine senses. An Miaoyi’s body radiated Buddhist light throughout; her divine sense took the form of a female bodhisattva, immensely powerful.

This was a clash of Dao. Auspicious vapors descended from the heavens. Sacred light surged up from the earth. Lotus petals drifted down in every direction — a scene of divine and transcendent sensation. The five tones of Daoism. The sacred speech of Buddhism. All resounded and thundered together.

It was a resplendent small world — the clash of two people weaving one extraordinary spectacle after another.

Boom!

In the end, Ye Fan descended from above — and in the very instant before injuring An Miaoyi, he used his own Primal Spirit to take hold of her divine sense.

A light laugh rang out. A familiar, melodious voice — magnetic, incomparably soft — said: “Little man, you’ve come back. You really have gotten stronger and stronger.”

“Miaoyi!” Ye Fan released her and gazed quietly at this woman, whose star-like eyes were now hazy and misty. She was even more stunning than before — a softness had been added, and it felt as though his heart had drawn much closer to hers.

“I never imagined I’d get to see you one more time. It seems my attachment runs deep — powerful enough to make her yield against her will.” An Miaoyi’s smile was sweet, her eyes intoxicating and seductive. One smile could topple a city.

“What do you mean? Who is ‘her’?” Ye Fan stared at her in a daze.

“She is me — a version of me who cut you away, who cut away part of herself.” An Miaoyi smiled faintly. The words were convoluted, yet Ye Fan understood at once.

“The Immortal Third Severance of the Dao — and what you chose to sever was everything related to me. No — what you severed was a part of yourself, erasing everything connected to me.”

“You had gone far away, left this world behind — without a single backward glance, without the slightest lingering attachment. Would you have had me spend my days lost in empty remembrance?” An Miaoyi’s smile was beautiful, yet within it was a trace of self-pity.

A pang of bitterness moved through Ye Fan’s heart. This woman who appeared all tender charm and beauty — her heart could at times be very proud, even, at moments, almost unyielding.

He still remembered vividly the words An Miaoyi had once spoken — bleak and resolute.

“If my life is thrown into disarray, I will fall into the torrent of the mortal world. If the day comes when I stand as empress, I will sever every person connected to me — washing away all the glory and disgrace, all the rise and fall of my life!”

He stood and looked at this woman for a long time without speaking — until a gust of wind stirred him back to awareness.

“You have touched the threshold of the Immortal Third Severance of the Dao?”

“There is no need for surprise. Many people are stuck here, unable to cross it. Many must spend a lifetime severing the Dao.” Reaching this point, An Miaoyi smiled and said: “But Little Man is still impressive — step by step, he caught up and reached this place. Over a decade has passed, and though Wang Teng has become ever more fearsome, he remains blocked outside the Immortal Three Gates of the Dao, unable to cross — no match for you, who stand on the eighth small step of the second level of heaven on the Immortal Platform.”

The Immortal Third Severance of the Dao — severing the road before the cultivator, leaving no Dao to seek. Many spent their entire lives battling it, making not a single step of progress.

At this threshold, ten years of cultivation and a thousand years of cultivation made little difference. If one could attain enlightenment, if one possessed great and unyielding resolve, perhaps one day the breakthrough would come in an instant. If clarity never arrived, one might be stuck for an entire lifetime.

Heaven severs the Human Dao — destroying the foundation.

The Immortal Third Severance of the Dao — severing the cultivator’s road. But a person may also sever the Dao themselves: cut yourself once — sever the attachments of the heart, cut cleanly, cut completely — and carve out your own Dao!

“Severing the road of the Dao — and you made such a choice…” Ye Fan looked at that flawless face.

An Miaoyi smiled with radiant, captivating warmth. She came to stand before him. “If I fail, from that point on everything becomes smoke and clouds. If I succeed — in ten years, a hundred years — I will step across into the Immortal Third threshold, and all will be remembered once more.”

Ye Fan reached out and gently stroked her jade-like cheek, saying softly: “How could you ever fade into smoke and clouds on the wind? I promised to guard your Dao — to ensure you succeed. At the very least, you will become a female Sage.”

“Hey, hey, hey — there are still two living people standing right here, you know! Oh, and there’s also a child — don’t be so outrageous, please!” Li Tian produced little Tong Tong and let her out.

The little one had barely appeared before she burst into tears: “You lecherous uncle! Go step in dog droppings somewhere! I don’t want to train under you, and I don’t want to step on you!”

“Damn it all, this child is really impossible to like.”

“Master…” When Tong Tong saw Ye Fan fly off hand in hand with An Miaoyi, she immediately wailed and shouted after them.

“Forget it, stop calling out. Can’t go killing the mood. This is not the moment to barge in on them.” Li Tian patted her on the head.