The Earth Dragon Turns Over

Chapter 691: The Earth Dragon Turns Over

"Remember this now, all of you recite it. If you get it right, you'll get some porridge," a White Lotus follower said, crouching down in front of the beggar children. "Child-God, Infant-God, wet your pants before the Old Mother."

"Child-God, Infant-God, wet your pants before the Old Mother."

"Ai, that's good. Come on, one lick each. Then go spread the word. Come back after one full hour, and each of you gets a coin."

As the little beggars scattered, all sorts of ditties spread throughout the city—some slandering the Fa Sect, others praising the White Lotus Society. Even children who hadn't been taught the rhymes started shouting them along for the fun of it.

They weren't just using children; adults were being recruited as well.

"Offer to the White Lotus! Bow to the White Lotus! Bow to the White Lotus, and in the living world, you're safe for a hundred years; in the underworld, you're safe for ten thousand!"

"Believe in the White Lotus, and you'll bear sons!"

"The White Lotus descends to earth, and the common folk rise up! All who enter the faith are brothers. There are no restrictions—rich or poor, male or female, young or old—"

As the White Lotus Society spread through this mountain city, the lotus symbol propagated at an astonishing speed.

For ordinary people, it didn't mean much. But the emergence of the White Lotus gave the followers who had converted to the Fa Sect another choice, a way to turn enemies into allies.

Faced with the White Lotus followers' blatant actions, the city's officials not only failed to stop them but actively made things convenient for them.

The higher-ups had spoken: anyone who opposed the Fa Sect was on their side. As for what to do afterwards... that was a problem for afterwards.

And as the Saintess of the White Lotus Society, Bai Lingmiao was currently seated in a spacious main hall, waiting for an audience with the royal court of the Later Shu Kingdom.

"Senior Sister Bai, where's Senior Brother Li?" Not seeing Li Huowang nearby, Yang Xiaohai seemed a bit nervous.

"Senior Brother Li has some important business. He'll be back soon," Bai Lingmiao replied. She knew where Li Huowang had gone, but she didn't think it was necessary to tell Yang Xiaohai.

At this moment, she looked a little tense, trying to figure out how she should speak when she met the officials face to face.

The old woman with a lotus imprint tattooed on her forehead, as if sensing Bai Lingmiao's anxiety, gave a slight bow and said, "Saintess, there's no need to worry. The Later Shu kingdom is in a state of collapse. They need us. They wouldn't dare make things difficult for us."

Bai Lingmiao nodded slightly, calming herself. Through her Mind-Eye, she perceived everything in the great hall.

The decorations and furnishings all around her were enough to prove that they were being taken seriously. She felt a little more at ease.

When she noticed Lyu Xiucai, who had come along with them, staring intently at a bamboo slip scroll, Bai Lingmiao put down her teacup and walked over.

Seeing Bai Lingmiao approaching, Lyu Xiucai hastily set down the Thousand Greats Record, stood up, and quickly bowed. "Mistress!"

Bai Lingmiao reached out and picked up the bamboo scroll. Her fingers traced the strange characters on the slips. Images of all sorts of bloody, self-mutilating sacrificial content flooded into her mind.

She knew what this was. Senior Brother Li had used it for a long time. This thing was deeply evil—it was not a good object.

Bai Lingmiao sighed softly and placed the scroll back down. "Xiucai, I know you're grieving. Pray more to Wusheng Laomu; it will help ease your pain. Besides, if you want to take revenge on the Fa Sect, the White Lotus Society has many techniques and divine abilities for you to choose from. You don't need to use this."

"Thank you, Mistress!" Lyu Xiucai said, his voice full of gratitude.

Despite his words, Lyu Xiucai didn't seem inclined to put the Thousand Greats Record away. He wanted the White Lotus techniques, but he also had no intention of giving up this scroll.

It was simple: the White Lotus techniques required talent, devotion, and time to cultivate. The Thousand Greats Record required none of that. You could pick it up and use it immediately.

Bai Lingmiao saw through his intentions. Just as she was about to say something more, the ground beneath them gave a violent tremor. Everything in the hall began toppling and sliding.

"Earth Dragon turning over! Quick! Get out of the hall!!"

Amidst the violent shaking, everyone inside rushed out of the hall, escaping the danger of being crushed by the collapsing building.

Steadying herself, Bai Lingmiao saw that the outside world was now in complete chaos.

"The Earth Dragon is turning over!" The shouts and the frantic banging of gongs rose and fell in waves. The entire city was thrown into turmoil. Houses collapsed, the ground split open, and many people even fell into the terrifying fissures that had appeared.

The only saving grace was that it came and went as quickly as it had started. In the span of half an incense stick's burn, it was over.

Looking down from the mountain city, the barren ground in the distance was cracked into pieces, as if the entire land itself were about to shatter.

Just as Bai Lingmiao was trying to understand what this disturbance meant, she saw Li Huowang's body flickering in and out of sight as he rapidly approached her.

"Miao Miao! How many good fighters did the White Lotus bring? Call them all out!"

Li Huowang's tone was unusually urgent. Bai Lingmiao had never seen him so frantic.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong?"

"The Fa Sect aren't just trying to seize the Dragon Veins! They're planning to destroy them all!!" The moment Li Huowang said this, the atmosphere around them turned frantic.

The Child-God was lurking nearby, eyeing them all. And the Great Qi had already shown everyone the consequences of destroying the Dragon Veins.

Soon, apart from those followers whose specialty was proselytizing, the White Lotus members with the white donkey tattoos followed Bai Lingmiao as she rushed toward the Later Shu's Supervisory Heavenly Office.

At this life-and-death moment, the Later Shu's Sitian Jian had mobilized their full force. Li Huowang didn't recognize most of them, but he knew the three people standing at the very front.

The Altar Master of the Later Shu Sitian Jian. The Heaven-Female of the Great Liang Sitian Jian. The Right Uncle of the Four Qi Sitian Jian. It was clear that, in the face of such a crisis, they had called upon every person they could move.

Li Huowang felt many eyes watching him. Some stayed hidden, and he couldn't tell who was looking, which meant there were people in the Sitian Jian who operated in the shadows.

As Li Huowang walked over, the Later Shu Sitian Jian took out a bull-horn trumpet bound with red string, put it to the mouth of his mask, and blew hard. "Wooooo..."

The low, mournful sound of the horn carried far and wide, settling over everyone's hearts like a dark cloud.

As the horn call ended, the several hundred members of the Sitian Jian scattered instantly. They split into groups of three or five and charged out of the city, having apparently received new orders.

"Where are they all going? The Dragon Veins are about to be destroyed. Recapturing them should be the priority." Li Huowang walked over and said to the Heaven-Female.

"Don't worry. At this moment, I will not have them doing useless work. We still have time. The Fa Sect won't find it so easy to destroy the Dragon Veins."

"We must retake the Dragon Veins before the Fa Sect manages to destroy these three."

"How do you know the Dragon Veins haven't been destroyed already?"

"The hours," the Heaven-Female said, extending a withered, long finger. "One Dragon Vein equals one hour. Right now, we've only lost half an hour."

"One Dragon Vein is one hour? There are twelve hours in a day, so that means there are twelve Dragon Veins here?" Li Huowang felt like he was understanding some kind of secret.

"No. There are sixteen hours in a day, and sixteen Dragon Veins. The reason there aren't that many hours anymore is simply that the other Dragon Veins were destroyed long ago."

(End of Chapter)