Wusheng Laomu

Li Huowang stood on the white marble steps of the Great Liang palace, one foot on a higher step, the other on a lower one, his eyes restless and uneasy as he looked at Bai Lingmiao before him.

He reached out and pulled the ribbon from her face, revealing the pupil-less white eyes beneath.

White pupils. White skin. White hair. For a moment, Li Huowang felt as if he were looking at a piece of jade that didn't breathe.

"I'm fine, Brother Li. I'm very well, don't worry. I'll protect you from now on."

Bai Lingmiao said this as she leaned gently into his chest, a faint smile on her face.

Li Huowang pushed her away, staring into her blind eyes. His expression was grim. "Miaomiao, tell me. When did you leave me? What happened in that time? And who are they?" His finger pointed toward the White Lotus believers meditating near the rooftop terrace.

There were men and women, old and young. The only thing they shared was that they all wore white, and on each of their foreheads was painted a white lotus.

They sat on the ground, arranged in a pattern that no outsider could understand.

"We are the White Lotus Society. When we scattered back then, we were a separate branch. So our surname is 'Lian.' On her side, the Saintess, her name is Bai." Lian Zhibei, the one who had once helped Li Huowang fight the Ling Nie, walked out.

Her face was full of piety now; there was not a trace of the familiar, easy-going middle-aged woman he had once known.

"White Lotus? Saintess?"

Beside him, Bai Lingmiao took his hand and explained quietly, "Back then, it was Senior Lian who carried me away while you were having an episode, Brother Li. You remember, don't you?"

The moment she finished speaking, Li Huowang instantly recalled Yang Na being carried away by her father, and her tear-streaked face.

Then, in his mind, Yang Na's face gradually became Bai Lingmiao's, and Yang Na's father was replaced by Lian Zhibei.

"I remember. I remember." Li Huowang let out a sigh and nodded slowly.

"And what's this about a Saintess?"

"They said I was chosen by Wusheng Laomu. So they picked me to become the Saintess."

As she said this, a flash of excitement crossed Bai Lingmiao's face. "Brother Li, you know what? Wusheng Laomu is real! She's alive!"

Her voice grew dreamy. "Wusheng Laomu is the eternally unborn, eternally undying ancient Buddha of heaven. She can deliver us from this mortal world and return us to the Native Land of True Emptiness. My parents were both White Lotus believers. They believed in Wusheng Laomu their whole lives. So even though their bodies are dead, their souls have returned to her side."

Li Huowang opened his mouth to refute it, but stopped. Bai Lingmiao had finally crawled out of her earlier pain. Did he really have to drag her back out by force?

"Brother Li, you know? Through Wusheng Laomu, I got to talk to my parents. They missed me so much, so much..."

As he listened, his brows knit tightly. Li Huowang's thoughts churned violently. This Bai Lingmiao reminded him of himself, back before he had been fed the Black Tai Sui.

If he forced her out of this now, she would probably become as hopeless and miserable as he once was.

"Erjiu, it seems you don't believe the Saintess? But I'm telling you, it's true. Thanks to the celestial anomaly, Wusheng Laomu has returned. Otherwise, how else would you explain our White Lotus spirit-mediums becoming so much stronger than before? How else would you explain the techniques the Saintess was granted by Wusheng Laomu?"

"The White Lotus Society is no longer the ant that anyone could step on! The White Lotus has descended to the mortal world—the people shall rise!"

Lian Zhibei grew more and more fervent, until she was shouting at the top of her lungs. The White Lotus believers all shouted along with her in unison.

Li Huowang looked at this stranger before him. This was probably the real Lian Zhibei. The way she had acted before must have been a disguise.

"Brother Li, it's not what you think. Wusheng Laomu really has returned. She really just wants to turn everything in this world back into the Native Land of True Emptiness, where there is no suffering or torment."

With that, Bai Lingmiao reached out and gently touched his brow. In an instant, Li Huowang, using Bai Lingmiao as a conduit, felt as if countless white immortal flosses were floating before his eyes, suspended in midair.

There was something there, as massive as a mountain, but its body was entirely hidden behind the tangled white immortal flosses. Not a single part of it was visible.

But even so, Li Huowang could feel an endless compassion and care emanating from it.

That was Wusheng Laomu. He could sense her emotions. She was there. She had hidden herself behind the immortal floss because she was afraid that her true form would hurt him.

"Compassion." "Loving-kindness." "Care." Feelings that were similar yet subtly different drifted out, unbroken.

Amidst this sensation, something stirred in Li Huowang's heart—a flicker of curiosity. He instinctively wanted to draw closer, to see her countenance.

Shiiing—

Li Huowang snapped back to where he was, stunned. The surroundings were still the palace halls. Nothing had changed. It was as if everything that had just happened was a dream.

Bai Lingmiao gently steadied him, her voice soft. "Brother Li, did you feel it? Now do you understand that what I'm saying is true?"

Coming back to himself, Li Huowang looked at the Bai Lingmiao before him and took a half-step back, his face filled with shock. "So... Wusheng Laomu currently presides over a Way of Compassion?"

From that brief contact, he had felt an emotion of absolute purity—just like the pain that came off Bashe.

Wusheng Laomu was real. And she was a Siming who presided over compassion. At least, she was a Siming who presided over compassion right now.

"Brother Li, what are you talking about? Wusheng Laomu is just Wusheng Laomu."

"No... nothing." Li Huowang shook his head, slightly relieved.

Compared to his own Bashe, who presided over pain, a Siming who presided over compassion seemed so much kinder. If Bai Lingmiao had to have contact with a Siming, better this one than some other.

At least for now, Miaomiao seemed to be in no danger. And the dragon vein crisis was pressing. He needed to deal with The Dice first.

With a great enemy before him, Li Huowang had no time for other matters. He said to Bai Lingmiao, "When we fight The Dice later, don't stand too close."

Bai Lingmiao shook her head gently. "Brother Li, you really don't need to worry. Wusheng Laomu has granted me divine powers. I can help. Wasn't I the one who helped you when you were in danger before?"

"Besides, this is Wusheng Laomu's will. If The Dice's schemes succeed, Great Liang will be plunged into misery. We White Lotus believers absolutely cannot allow that to happen."