Qin Feng's clairvoyant ability takes a strange turn before a Tang-dynasty Buddhist statue.
The instant his fingertip touches the halo on the statue's back, a thousand years unfold before his eyes: the sculptor's chisel rising and falling, monks risking their lives to protect it amid the ravages of war, and a high monk's vermilion annotations on a sutra... These spiritual remnants, known as "karmic imprints," point to a trove of secret Buddhist treasures blending Han Chinese and Tibetan traditions, scattered among the people.
The forgery gang known as the Fatebreaker Hall has long coveted these treasures. They produce fake gilt-bronze Buddhas, alter palm-leaf scriptures, and even use chemicals to erase the "imprints" from authentic works. Driven by greed, their destruction is draining the spirituality from Buddhist artifacts that have endured for a thousand years. Thangka pigments fade for no apparent reason, and strange rust appears on bronze Buddhas, as if silently bearing witness to the crimes.
Qin Feng embarks on a new journey to authenticate treasures. With his clairvoyance, he sees through the flaws in fakes: from the secrets of proportion in the Treatise on the Measurement of Buddhist Images to the natural sheen of mineral pigments in thangkas; from the directional codes of mandala arrays to the gentle spiritual glow of sacred relics. Every appraisal is a conversation with time, and every act of protection is a stand for the preservation of culture.
When the karmic imprints form a complete chain of memories in his clairvoyant vision, and the Fatebreaker Hall's schemes lead to an even deeper trove, Qin Feng finally understands: true appraisal means more than telling genuine artifacts from fakes. It also means protecting the spark of civilization's inheritance. This adventure, woven from Buddhist destiny, karma, and fervor, is only just beginning.
