Mutated Tao

“Heaven and Earth, all things change… The sun and moon rotate while the Heavenly River swings in the sky. Spring and autumn come and go, and the four seasons change without fail. Grass, trees, wood, and the fruits of it all. Sacred crossing…”

Bai Lingmiao sat on the white lotus throne, her upper body split in half. All four of her hands formed a lotus seal, making her look like a tree.

The other devotees of the White Lotus Sect surrounded her and chanted the same mantra as her. All of them sported an expression of mercy and reverence. The white lotus motif on their forehead flickered from time to time.

The phenomenon wasn’t happening at just this one location. The devotees of the White Lotus Sect in every corner of the world had set aside their work and were chanting simultaneously. The sheer number of devotees in the sect was enough to fill the entire Liang Kingdom with the sound of their collective chants.

The magnificent scene made everyone else show respect or reverence towards them. They even softened their tone when they spoke.

The ceremony ended after one division. Bai Lingmiao opened her eyes, and the hall gradually grew silent.

Everyone looked at her hopefully, waiting for her to announce something. They were ultimately disappointed.

The Heavenly Mater had personally requested that the ceremony be performed every day. Its purpose was to bring the Void Home down to earth through the earnest prayers of the devotees.

The devotees bowed to Bai Lingmiao as they sat up from their cushions and left. The bustling hall grew quiet again.

Bai Lingmiao sat up from her cushion and was about to pick up her white shoes when a familiar voice came from her back. “Do you think the ceremony will work? I don’t think so. I doubt that the Void Home would descend here even if they were to chant ten thousand times.”

Bai Lingmiao shook her head lightly. “We are all devotees of the White Lotus Sect. The Heavenly Mater told us it would work, so it will work. We have to believe.”

Even though she didn’t want to admit it, Bai Lingmiao believed that the Void Home was real. What if it really existed and her family was residing in the Void Home?

“Hmph! I don’t know what you are doing right now.”

“We are doing what we must do.” Bai Lingmiao reached the door to find that some of the devotees, the ones with the white donkey motifs tattooed on their backs, had prepared a palanquin for her.

She sat on it, and the devotees held up the palanquin. They took her towards an alleyway in the distance.

The alleyway was messy and dirty, with people swarmed by flies while rats incessantly fed on their flesh. It was full of people who could not die, even if they wanted to.

When Bai Lingmiao disembarked from the palanquin, the people somehow sensed her. They wriggled their dirty bodies and raised their dirty hands towards her white dress.

Everyone longed for her. Their eyes filled with desire as they gazed at the Saintess. They wanted her to grant them death.

Bai Lingmiao looked at them with immense sadness and benevolence. All of them were living humans, yet their existence was now even more miserable than that of a ghost.

She extended her arms and waved them above their foreheads, her heart brimming with thoughts of mercy. Every time her hand passed by someone, they would fall to the ground with a smile.

Waves of people died in Bai Lingmiao’s hands. Amid the crowd, Bai Lingmiao appeared even purer to the people, even if her upper body was split into two.

Too many people in the Liang Kingdom wished to die. Many of them had traveled there in hopes of being reincarnated.

Bai Lingmiao didn’t know how many people she had granted death to, but she felt that it was worth it every time she saw them smiling after being released from the shackles of life.

However, no matter how many people she sent off, countless others were still suffering, particularly those who had already been reduced to ashes…

After dealing with the people in the alley, the merciful Bai Lingmiao continued to pray to the Heavenly Mater.

“O merciful Heavenly Mater, please grant the embrace of death to the people again..”

She wasn’t sure if the Heavenly Mater heard her, but she persevered and prayed daily.

Why hasn’t the Heavenly Mater returned Death to us?

Bai Lingmiao questioned her from time to time. If the Heavenly Mater had it, she should’ve given it back.

Perhaps something happened to the Heavenly Mater? Bai Lingmiao thought it was possible and wanted to do something.

“Heh. What could we mere mortals do if she encountered a problem?”

After hearing the Second Deity, Bai Lingmiao returned to her palanquin. Instead of returning to her hall, she went to the Surveillance Bureau.

“Helping or not is one thing. Being able to do so or not is another thing.”

Bai Lingmiao's excitement surged as she saw a figure in red robes appear before her. She almost called her Sui Sui but stopped in time. “Chief, thank you for meeting me.”

“Saintess, is there an issue?” Xuan Pin waved her arms, and both Bai Lingmiao and Xuan Pin shrunk to the size of a grain of rice. No one could hear what they were talking about now.

“The Natural Disaster is still in effect. Is there anything the Surveillance Bureau is doing to mitigate it?” Bai Lingmiao asked. The Surveillance Bureau was typically in charge of dealing with Natural Disasters.

“Is there anything the White Lotus Sect could do to help? Just let me know and we’ll do our best.”

Xuan Pin paused. “What did the Heavenly Mater say?”

Bai Lingmiao’s face darkened as she lightly shook her head. “The Heavenly Mater asked us to have the ceremony every single day. We received no further response even when I used the Twelve Merit Jade Lotus.”

“Something happened to the Heavenly Mater.”

Xuan Pin’s words made Bai Lingmiao’s heart skip a beat. “What?”

“Usually, a Siming who obtains a Heavenly Dao dispels the Natural Disaster within half a day. However, this Natural Disaster has lasted for over a few months. I fear that something might be wrong with the Siming holding onto this particular Heavenly Dao.”

Xuan Pin continued, “I also fear that the Heavenly Dao of Death might not be the only one being affected. The Heavenly Mater is still in charge of the Heavenly Dao of Mercy.”

“If Death and Mercy are gone, then… what can we do to end the Natural Disaster?” Bai Lingmiao asked earnestly.

Xuan Pin pondered and asked, “Did you say that the Heavenly Mater requested you to conduct the ceremony every day? Could you elaborate on what the ceremony entails?”

Bai Lingmiao did not hesitate to reveal every step of the ceremony since Xuan Pin was Li Sui.

Xuan Pin recorded something on her long robes with her slender fingers. She scrutinized it carefully after writing down the steps of the ceremony. “I think I know why she wanted to have the ceremony. She needs it to escape. The Heavenly Mater is being trapped. If she manages to move a bit, the Heavenly Dao of Death should return. Maybe we could try and help the Heavenly Mater by combining the forces of the Surveillance Bureau and the White Lotus Sect.”