A flower spirit from the sea of irises in the spirit realm takes human form and follows temple bells to an ancient temple in the mortal world. The aloof Buddhist cultivator Jingchen names her Qingyuan. Innocently ignorant of romantic love, she constantly questions what love is and boldly asks to marry him. Though Jingchen repeatedly refuses her, he secretly hides a strand of her thread within his Buddhist prayer beads. Qingyuan wanders the mortal realm witnessing the suffering of all beings, and later sacrifices her spirit core to save her sister Qingji. Her spiritual power goes out of control, causing her to fall into the underworld. As she leaps into the River of Forgetfulness, Jingchen's prayer beads shatter into pieces. Protecting her remnant soul, he places it upon a lotus dais and exhausts his millennium of cultivation to aid her rebirth, fading away himself while vowing to walk the cycle of reincarnation in her stead. As ages turn and the lotus blooms, he returns to keep his promise.

Craving Joy (50 episodes) - AllShorts