One monk abstained from lust until he broke his vows; one cultivator pursued inner peace until he went mad. Wu Jie, a young novice monk who sweeps the grounds at Kaye Temple, was born with a Buddha's heart and a demon seed, and can hear the lingering voices of the dead. Shen Zhuyue, an outer disciple of Qingming Abbey, carries a ledger of yin and yang and specializes in exposing the world's lies. Both were cast aside by their respective sects. Forced together by a wanted notice, the two young men set out into the mortal world. Ghostly songs on pleasure boats, a widow borrowing a corpse, a top scholar breaking off his engagement... Behind these strange cases lies an astonishing scheme, the Red Dust Tribulation, devised by the Buddhist and Daoist sects to ensure their nation's fortunes endure. When they discover they are merely chosen sacrifices, the monk and the Daoist resolve to overturn the board. They seek neither supremacy nor immortality. Before the people, they will restore the true meaning of Buddhism and Daoism: not to cast off the mortal world, but to keep its lamp burning!
