# Chapter 1079: Guiding
Ye Fan's golden divine thoughts were like blades... splitting open the heavens... This was a domain belonging to spirit and divine thought, an illusory world where what was sensed and seen might not be real, forged from the incomplete imprints of ancient sages.
The majestic voice vanished, and the heavens and earth became much clearer. The Arhats from all directions were astonished, all looking over.
Ye Fan did not linger. The golden-bodied Arhats he saw were imprints from thousands or tens of thousands of years ago, not clear divine consciousness, making deep communication difficult.
This was like a ruined world. Before some great Buddha imprints, a few spirit monks had gathered, but the more vast regions were desolate.
Of course, not every place could be traversed without obstruction.
Some ancient temples and sacred monasteries shone with brilliant light, illuminating the entire universe, piercing through the clouds, standing atop the most towering mountains. These places were difficult to enter, containing relatively intact imprints of true Buddhas.
In some forbidden areas, Ye Fan could only go around them.
On the sacred mountain where Buddha sounds were like thunder, the great temple was magnificent, radiating ten thousand feet of Buddha light. He clearly saw several ancient Buddhas, as if they were sitting in the distant past, preaching across time and space.
"The Buddhist sect is truly unfathomable. The ancient sages created a spiritual domain. Those who have severed the Dao can enter through deep meditation, comprehending the Dao here, hoping to attain the Bodhisattva fruit in the future."
According to legend, this spiritual domain was based on the infinite thought power of Mount Sumeru, radiating outward.
As for Lantuo Temple, its faith power was ultimately far inferior to Mount Sumeru's, incomparable.
If it were Mount Sumeru, one might enter a strange domain world in the flesh, experiencing even more marvelous things.
Because at Mount Sumeru, there was a place where the spiritual domain materialized, allowing the true body to enter, like a divine realm.
But now... being at Lantuo Temple, what was seen and sensed was not clear. Many places were blurry, not comparable.
Passing through vast ancient battlefields and traversing endless lands, Ye Fan found nothing... He simply did not see An Miaoyi's figure, not knowing where her spirit roamed.
When he reached the depths of this domain, golden lotuses covered the ground everywhere, Dao marks like threads interweaving, making travel difficult.
"This is..."
He finally sensed something, seeing a small stone hut by a spirit lake. The golden lake water was like molten gold... This was pure spiritual energy, one of the origins of this strange paradise.
Here, there were traces left by An Miaoyi. On a green stone shaped like a reclining ox, her imprint was carved, showing she had once comprehended the Dao here.
"The Eight Extinction True Sutra?" Ye Fan muttered to himself, frowning. This was a scripture for severing the mortal world, pure and detached. Though he had never read it, he had heard of it.
The scripture said: If sentient beings have many thoughts, constantly recite and revere the Eight Extinction Bodhisattva... they will be freed from emotions.
Ye Fan moved forward. Soon, he saw another ancient temple with An Miaoyi's Dao marks, where she had cultivated the Divine Flowery Dharma Body... cutting off thoughts, severing delusions, also emphasizing detachment from the world.
The great thousand worlds, the mortal world's illusions, impure with stains... constantly observe the Immortal Platform, clear and bright like crystal... dissolving various thoughts in the human heart, and also the "White Bone Contemplation."
This was a method of leaving the dust, transcending the world, severing the mortal realm, ascending to a state without desires or thoughts, transcending the great world.
Ye Fan worried. Practicing such methods would truly distance one from all worldly affairs, leaping beyond. But could it succeed?
Those who could truly reach this step were only immortals in the nine heavens. How could a person reach this point? It was too transcendent.
Was the Buddhist cultivation of the next life right or wrong? He did not know. If one did this, this life would seem empty, an illusion.
"Miaoyi..."
Ye Fan tracked her traces, calling out loudly, but could not see her. Passing through the Bodhi grounds and then the Ancient Buddha Nirvana Valley, he completely lost her trail.
Ye Fan recited his own sutra, calling to her divine thoughts, wanting to communicate with her spirit and guide her back.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of waves. Passing through an ancient ruin, a cliff blocked the way ahead, and a silver sea surged skyward.
A stretch of stone veins lay horizontally, blocking the mysterious silver sea. He vaguely saw a beautiful figure, robes fluttering, leaping into it.
"Sea of the Past!"
Ye Fan rushed over hurriedly. On the cliff were these three large characters, clearly naming the silver sea. Stretching endlessly, where was the beautiful woman?
"I clearly saw it. That should be an imprint left long ago. She leaped in from here..."
Ye Fan muttered to himself, wanting to descend into the sea, but he sensed a great crisis, incompatible with his Dao.
"I do not believe in the past, nor cultivate the next life. I only believe that being invincible in this life can make one eternal. This sea is called 'the Past.' I cannot enter it; it clashes with my Dao."
He stood on the precipice, frowning, then suddenly let out a long roar, striding forward, saying: "I believe in my own Dao. What Sea of the Past? Everything is illusory. Sweep through this life invincibly, fight all the way through, then beneath my feet is the immortal path of this world."
To find An Miaoyi, Ye Fan disregarded danger, leaping into the sea. With one punch, heaven and earth shattered. The silver divine sea evaporated into a region, unable to stop him.
Within ten zhang, nothing could approach. Even Buddha light shining everywhere was harmless. Golden lotuses bloomed, Dao marks in ten thousand strands, but they could not cut off his path.
"Rumble!"
Silver waves surged skyward. Golden lotuses rooted in the void, nearly drowning him, but he shook out boundless golden light, sweeping away all obstacles.
"The immortal path lies ahead; I climb it myself. The Buddha's path is for the Buddha to walk. My path, I walk myself. I need no one to guide me." He emitted heavenly sounds from his mouth, scattering all kinds of Dao marks, not changing his course, charging forward courageously.
He firmly believed that as long as he was invincible, he could break through everything, dominate all himself, not relying on the illusory future, nor wavering over the past.
"Open for me!"
Ye Fan's entire body overflowed with golden light... like a sun illuminating the path ahead. With every move, he casually struck, shattering the silver sea, startling heaven and earth.
He searched through this silver divine sea, unstoppable, astonishing some golden-bodied Arhats who looked over, feeling perplexed.
"What kind of person is this, daring to cross so recklessly? He does not purify himself with the Sea of the Past but instead shatters everything..."
Ye Fan charged into the depths, searching a hundred times, but ultimately found nothing. He saw no hope, not knowing where An Miaoyi had leaped to.
Finally, he opened a path, defeating the silver Sea of the Past, and crossed out.
Standing on the cliff, he remained silent for a long time. Everyone had their own different Dao... wanting to call An Miaoyi to appear, but he had no way to change her path or bring her out.
With a long sigh, Ye Fan had stayed in this spiritual domain long enough. He could only withdraw helplessly.
Inside Lantuo Temple... powerful energy surged. His soul returned to its shell, his vitality fully restored, surprising some old monks.
An outsider had truly entered the Bodhisattva Realm and then calmly withdrawn. This was not common since ancient times.
"Benefactor, you have an affinity with our Buddha. Would you be willing to enter Lantuo Temple... If so, in the future, you could surely attain the status of an ancient Buddha, perhaps even become a Buddha Ancestor." Ku Ci said.
Ye Fan was speechless. The people of Lantuo Temple wanted to convert him to Buddhism. That was impossible. How could he agree?
"Master... Has Miaoyi awakened?"
Inside the nine-story stone pagoda, the clear and beautiful figure's aura grew weaker. The lampwick fire, as small as a bean, was about to go out. The person, the lamp, and the stone Buddha were all extremely dim.
Like a gust of wind passing, everything would reach its end.
"Miaoyi... wake up." Ye Fan called out. This was worrying... She had been in closed-door meditation until now, never awakening. Her spirit might be about to extinguish, leaving only the fleshly body in the mortal world.
"This... is truly dangerous... This is how the sacred monks of successive generations and ancient Buddhas sat in nirvana." Ku Xi frowned.
An Miaoyi had entered closed-door meditation, her spirit entering the Bodhisattva Realm. No one knew what she had encountered, but she could no longer awaken.
"Miaoyi... wake up!" Ye Fan recited sutras, wanting to guide her back, awaken her potential, using the fleshly body as a vessel to gather her soul.
However, another half month passed. An Miaoyi's body had even grown cold. Her spirit had been separated from her fleshly body for too long, her vitality returning to stillness.
It was not that her flesh was about to die, but the danger was extreme. The flesh's potential believed the primordial spirit had withered and could not return, so it began to protect itself.
The human body was a treasure. Even if the spirit died, the body could exist for a long time. This seemed to be manifesting now.
"Closed-door meditation... Is she really going to sit in nirvana like this?" Ye Fan's voice trembled. He clenched his fists. He wanted to enter the Bodhisattva Realm again.
However, the result was disappointing. He went in and out seven times, with no result.
"Miaoyi, don't die..." Ye Fan was anxious, his emotions violently agitated. Was the farewell fourteen years ago truly eternal?
"Soul, return!" He sat cross-legged inside the stone pagoda, calling out with his heart, wanting to guide a lost spirit back.
Ku Ci recited Buddha's name, chanting sutras continuously. It was now very clear. Like the sacred monks of successive generations before, An Miaoyi had sat in nirvana, unlikely to return.
"Why is this happening?" Ye Fan cried out in grief.
He stood up abruptly and entered the Bodhisattva Realm for the eighth time. This time, he advanced bravely, opening the way all the way, even breaking into the imprints left by many great Buddhas.
Many magnificent sacred temples were visited by him. He stood there, roaring to the heavens, searching for that pure and transcendent woman.
In this blurry world, filled with Buddha light, his radiance also illuminated the entire heaven and earth. Like a deity standing tall, overlooking all directions, he shouted loudly, calling for An Miaoyi.
He was like the greatest ancient Buddha, roaring through heaven and earth, radiating invincible light, illuminating all directions.
Finally, he returned exhausted once again. Ye Fan was nearly in despair. Even being invincible could not change everything.
Another forty-nine days passed. Ku Ci the divine monk judged that An Miaoyi had sat in nirvana, with no hope left.
A group of old monks chanted sutras, sending her to the Western Paradise. They all knew no miracle could happen; it could not defy heaven.
Ye Fan entered the Bodhisattva Realm for the ninth time. This time, he nearly perished inside. Struggling to break out, he roared to the heavens in fury, powerless to turn the tide.
"Miaoyi..." Ye Fan called out, holding the cold body, walking out of the Buddha pagoda, filled with grief.
"She has officially sat in nirvana. Look, Buddha flowers have flown from her head, proving her soul fire has gone out." Ku Ci said.
A fragrance filled the air. Large petals of flower rain fell from the void, scattering throughout the stone pagoda. An Miaoyi's body was completely cold. The green lamp had gone out.
"How could this be?" Ye Fan was lost and disheartened. He stroked that cheek, feeling no warmth, unable to stop tears from falling.
The petals in the void fell. The last bit of light went out. The fragrance dispersed. An Miaoyi's expression was serene, as if in deep sleep.
"Miaoyi... wake up." Ye Fan wept.
Ku Ci led the old monks out. There was no way anymore. Even the soul flowers had scattered. How could she awaken?
The stone pagoda was quiet. Ye Fan sat alone, holding the cold body. What was cultivation for? In the end, it led to such separation by life and death. What meaning did it have?
"Miaoyi... wake up." He called out again and again, tears continuously falling.
No one knew how long passed. A weak voice sounded: "You cried..."
The jade-like cold body moved slightly. On that peerless face, a pair of eyes opened with difficulty. (To be continued)