The Broken Ring

The elders of the Hehuan Sect say Su Wan is a "treasure": while other disciples need passion to cultivate through dual cultivation, she only has to swallow a couple of grievances to boost her cultivation.

But Su Wan knows she's nothing more than a cauldron marked as "defective" by the Xuantian Sect, fated to have her bones carved out and soul extracted, then be sealed into the sect's grand protective formation.

Until one day, as the morning and evening bells rang together, Ye Huaijin, the Buddhist sect's young master, came walking through waves of snow up three thousand steps. In one hand he held the Sutra of the Immovable Buddha; with the other, he took her pulse. "Your spiritual roots have shattered into stardust. I'll pick them up for you, one by one."

She thought he had come to save her.

Only later did she learn the truth.

When she was framed for consorting with demonic cultivators, the Buddhist master, eyes red, snapped a string of prayer beads. He kept repeating, "I mustn't," as the beads cut into his knuckles until they bled.

When her cold poison flared and she awoke in pain in the middle of the night, he awkwardly recited the Diamond Sutra like a lullaby. His chanting was low and hoarse, and one tender "Wanwan" was worth more than countless pain-relief pills.

On the bones of a Buddha, a love tribulation grew wild.

Every tear she shed made his precept scars burn hotter.

Every time she smiled, another crack appeared in his Buddha heart.

It turned out the fiercest love tribulation was a tuberose growing from within the Buddha's bones.

With every bloom, one more precept of his shattered.

With every night in flower, another part of his mortal world collapsed.

When she returned with her spiritual roots intact, intending to restore his good name, she saw that the Buddhist master had already fallen into demonic cultivation for her sake.

His white robes stained with blood, he still smiled with his palms together. "I can save all living beings, but I cannot save you alone."

Su Wan kissed the cold prayer beads, her tears falling onto their sacred patterns. "Then let me save you instead."

[Reading Guide]

1. A truly celibate Buddhist master × a seemingly sweet, fragile cauldron. They save each other, and both fall hard.

2. A noble, aloof beauty falls into demonic cultivation for love. The heroine grows stronger; later, the hero suffers, but the heroine doesn't. She is his beloved.

3. One-on-one romance, happy ending. They pretend to cultivate immortality, but they're truly in love.

[Bonus Scene]

One day, the disciples of the Hehuan Sect gathered to watch:

The supposedly immaculate Buddhist master had Su Wan pinned beside the lotus pond, teaching her the Heart-Cleansing Mantra line by line.

For every wrong character, one kiss.

The disciples: ...

Is this cleansing the heart or indulging desire?

The Buddhist master raised his eyes and said calmly, "I am saving my wife. Please do not disturb us."

She was the tuberose written into his fate, her subtle fragrance piercing his Buddha bones. From then on, his meditation was in chaos, and only she could bring him peace.

Theme: Love tribulations are not hard to overcome at all