Mutated Tao

Chapter 577: Heavenly Mater

Li Huowang carefully stepped down the white jade stairs while looking at Bai Lingmiao nervously.

He slowly undid the white silk ribbon covering her eyes, revealing her white eyes.

Her irises were no longer pink, and her eyes had become completely white. Bai Lingmiao looked just like a statue made out of white jade, especially with her white skin and hair.

“Senior Li, I am fine. Do not worry. I will protect you from now on.”

Bai Lingmiao slowly snuggled into Li Huowang’s embrace and smiled faintly.

Li Huowang pushed her away gently and looked at her blinded eyes.

“Miaomiao, tell me. When did you leave me? What happened? And who are they?” Li Huowang pointed at the White Lotus Sect members, who were meditating nearby.

The White Lotus Sect members were of people of different ages and sexes but all of them were wearing white overalls with a white lotus motif on their forehead.

They were sitting at specific locations inside an incomprehensible formation.

“We are the White Lotus Sect, and we made a different branch when we scattered. We have the surname ‘Lian,' while the branch with the Saintess has the surname ‘Bai,'” explained Lian Zhibei, the person whom Li Huowang had met while hunting a spiritual sin.[1]

Lian Zhibei had a face of humility rather than the cheerfulness that Li Huowang had seen in her long ago.

“White Lotus? Saintess?”

Bai Lingmiao held Li Huowang’s hands and explained, “Lian Zhibei was the one who took me away when you were in the middle of your hysteria. Do you still remember it?”

Li Huowang could still remember it. It was when Yang Na’s father carried Yang Na away from the hospital. He could still remember how hard she cried on that day. The next moment, Li Huowang then watched as Yang Na’s face overlapped with Bai Lingmiao's face, while Lian Zhibei's face overlapped with the face of Yang Na's father.

“I remember.” Li Huowang sighed and nodded lightly. “But what’s this about becoming the Saintess?”

“They said I’ve been chosen by the Heavenly Mater to become the Saintess," Bai Lingmiao remarked, and she sounded excited as she said, “Senior Li, do you know that the Heavenly Mater actually exists?! She’s actually alive, too!”

Bai Lingmiao's voice became full of longing as she added, “The Heavenly Mater is an ancient Buddha that cannot be killed. She’s waiting for me to finish living my life here before accepting me in the heavens. My parents were members of the White Lotus Sect as well. Since they worshiped her throughout their entire lives, their spirit has returned to the side of the Heavenly Mater, as their fleshly body is no more.”

Li Huowang wanted to correct her, but he didn't say anything in the end. Bai Lingmiao had finally pulled herself out of despair. Was he really going to pull her back into the darkness?

“Senior Li, did you know that the Heavenly Mater told me that my parents really missed me?”

Li Huowang frowned, and his heart started to waver at Bai Lingmiao's words.

Bai Lingmiao had regressed to her previous state before she was fed the Black Taisui. If he pulled her out of her delusion, she could return to her previous self, which was in endless torment, just like him.

“Er Jiu, you seem to not believe in the words of the Saintess? I need to tell you that what she’s saying is true! Thanks to the disturbances in the Heavens, the Heavenly Mater is back. If not, how do you explain why the sect members’ strength has improved so much? How will you explain the powers that the Saintess received from the Heavenly Mater? The White Lotus Sect is no longer the same sect that will easily get bullied by others! The descent of the Heavenly Mater means that spring has come for us as well!” Lian Zhibei exclaimed, and the other members of the White Lotus Sect shouted with her.

Li Huowang stared at Lian Zhibei and found that she had become incredibly unfamiliar. He suspected that this was her true identity and that her previous identity was fabricated.

“Senior Li, it’s not what you think. The Heavenly Mater is really back. She wishes to turn everything back to normal, just like her own piece of heaven, the Void Home. There is no pain and suffering there.”

Bai Lingmiao stroked Li Huowang’s forehead, and the scenery before Li Huowang abruptly peeled away. Using Bai Lingmiao as the medium, Li Huowang saw a dense layer of white ribbons.

There was a colossal entity before him, but the entity's figure was wrapped tightly in white ribbons. Li Huowang couldn't see the entity's true body.

Despite that, Li Huowang could still feel the unending pity and mercy radiating off the entity.

The entity was none other than the Heavenly Mater, and Li Huowang could feel her emotions, too. He sensed that she was afraid of hurting him, so she covered herself with white ribbons.

Mercy, love, and concern... Those were the emotions that Li Huowang could feel from the Heavenly Mater, but for some reason, those emotions were a bit... different than he initially thought.

Li Huowang was intrigued by the sight before him, and he stepped forward to take a closer look at the Heavenly Mater.

However, Li Huowang was suddenly pulled back to where he was standing. He noticed the palace walls around him and realized that nothing had changed. It felt like he had just woken up from a dream.

Bai Lingmiao supported Li Huowang as she asked, “Senior Li. Did you sense it? Are you finally convinced that I’m telling you the truth?”

Li Huowang looked at Bai Lingmiao and took a step backward in shock. “So the Heavenly Mater has obtained the Heavenly Dao related to mercy?”

The pure emotions that he felt from the Heavenly Mater were similar to the extreme pain that he felt from Ba-Hui.

The Heavenly Mater did exist, and she controlled the Heavenly Dao related to mercy—at least, that was what Li Huowang knew at the moment.

“Senior Li? What are you talking about? The Heavenly Mater is the Heavenly Mater.”

"I see,” Li Huowang replied, shaking his head. Ba-Hui ruled over pain, but the Heavenly Mater ruled over mercy, so she could be considered to be benevolent.

At the very least, it was one of the better Simings out there, as it meant Bai Lingmiao was safe for now.

Retrieving the Dragon Vein was a much more pressing matter that he had to attend to, so he was more concerned with it.

Li Huowang was soon going to face a powerful enemy, so had no time to talk much about other matters.

“Don’t get too close during our fight against Shai Zi later, all right?” Li Huowang warned.

However, Bai Lingmiao shook her head lightly and replied, “Senior Li, don’t worry. I can help you using the techniques that I’ve learned from the Heavenly Mater. Didn’t I help you just now? Also, this is the will of the Heavenly Mater. If Shai Zi succeeds in his plot, the Liang Kingdom will be reduced to ashes. The White Lotus Sect is not going to let that happen.”

1. Bai(白) means white, and Lian(莲) means lotus. However, the Lian they used in the raws is a different character with the same pronunciation 连 instead of 莲. Maybe using 莲 would be too obvious and they might get captured haha ☜

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

Aiya, I forgot to introduce you guys to the Chief of Si Qi's Surveillance Bureau. Here's how he looks like! Credits to 格子的乱七八糟on douyin!