No sooner had Dabei and Duozhi stepped out of the cave mouth than a blindingly strong light struck them, so intense that they could not open their eyes. They had moved only a few steps when they realized that both of them were engulfed in a dazzling white light and could not tell which direction was which at all. Duozhi suddenly said:
“Dabei, I’m having trouble breathing. I want to sit down. My whole body has gone soft and limp — I don’t want to sleep, but I have no strength. It feels as though my breathing has stopped and the qi and blood throughout my body have stopped circulating.” Before he had even finished speaking, Duozhi sat down right where he was and crossed his legs. Dabei also felt her breathing grow a little difficult. But then she discovered that the Mani Jewel in her heart had begun to spin at tremendous speed, ceaselessly radiating light in every color, as though brimming with vitality and vigor. The light around her coalesced into a swirling stream of energy that was drawn into the Mani Jewel through the crown of her head and her chest. Dabei felt her breathing stop. Her body became warm and cozy, very light, until she could no longer feel its presence. The Heavenly Eye Mirror in her head also sprang to life, repeatedly flashing dazzling light and, with each flicker, drawing the light outside into the mirror. The light given off by the mirror was intensely cool and refreshing, and Dabei could only watch it all calmly, her body as if held fast by a body-freezing spell, rooted to the spot and unable to move. She thought she must not let herself be trapped like this, but she could not even produce a thought of anxiety; she only felt that her heart and brain had vanished, and she could find no place for a thought to arise. Her whole body was immersed in an ethereal, empty illusion. The Mani Jewel and the Heavenly Eye Mirror seemed to keep drawing energy from this light without cease, and the jewel spun faster and faster. Then, all at once, the Mani Jewel came to an abrupt stop. Dabei felt everything congeal. There was only an ethereal Dabei, not knowing where she existed — no breath, no thought arising, no birth and no death — all of it had turned into a silent, still light, joyfully dwelling in the air.
Suddenly, with a bang, the Mani Jewel burst forth with a radiance spanning ten thousand zhang. Its light was tens of millions of times stronger than the blinding white light around it. In the instant that radiance flashed, Dabei lost consciousness and was swallowed up by the light.