Yes, that was the truth.
Sangsang could not get rid of the world of mortals embodied in her. Therefore, she searched for the Buddha and entered the world inside the chessboard. She deeply bonded with Ning Que in that world and thus experienced the three poisons of attachment, aversion and obsession.
Ning Que wanted to save her, so he helped her shake off the three poisons of attachment, aversion and obsession to dispel the world of immortals in her body. By building the statue of Buddha, they had cut her bond to the human world.
The Academy did not see this, neither did the Buddha plan it this way. Throughout the endless samsara, no living beings could have ever predicted her will because she is Heaven.