Chapter 688: Earth Dragon Turns Over

Chapter 688: The Earth Dragon Stirs

"Remember this well, all of you—recite it correctly and you'll have sweet candy to eat," said a White Lotus follower, squatting down before the beggars gathered before him. "God of the Son, God of the Little One, urinating in front of the Mother."

"God of the Son, God of the Little One, urinating in front of the Mother."

"Oh, such good children. Come here, one lick each. Go on, tell everyone what you've heard. Return after an hour with your tale told, and each of you will get a piece of candy."

As the little beggars scattered about, various rhymes spread throughout the city like wildfire. Some mocked the Law Sect, others praised the White Lotus Sect. Even children without any sect affiliation would join in the chaos.

It wasn't just children who were being used; adults were also being recruited.

"Offer to the White Lotus, worship the White Lotus! Once you worship the White Lotus, you'll be protected for a hundred years in this world, and a thousand in the next!"

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

"The White Lotus has descended from heaven, and all people shall rise up! All who join are brothers, no restrictions upon joining—regardless of wealth or poverty, gender or age, men, women, young or old..."

As the White Lotus Sect spread through this mountain city, the lotus pattern spread rapidly.

Ordinary citizens weren't particularly concerned, but the appearance of the White Lotus Sect gave those faithful to the Law Sect another choice—a way to turn enemies into allies.

Faced with such a bold response from the White Lotus believers, the local officials didn't stop them but instead offered every convenience.

Orders had come from above: anyone who helped fight the Law Sect was considered one of their own. What came afterward could wait until there was something to follow.

As the Holy Maiden of the White Lotus Sect, Bai Lingmiao sat now in a spacious great hall, waiting to be received by officials from the Later Shu court.

"Sister Bai, where is Brother Li?" Yang Xiaohai looked around anxiously, not seeing Li Huowang.

"Brother Li has urgent matters—he'll return shortly," Bai Lingmiao knew where Li Huowang had gone, but she felt there was no need to tell Yang Xiaohai.

Her expression was somewhat tense now, pondering how she should speak when meeting the official representatives.

The old woman beside her, whose forehead bore the mark of a lotus, seemed to sense Bai Lingmiao's thoughts. She bowed slightly and said, "Holy Maiden, do not worry. Now that the mountains and rivers of Later Shu are broken, they seek our help, so they will not trouble us."

Bai Lingmiao nodded slightly, calming her heart a bit. Through her spiritual perception, she sensed everything within the great hall.

The decorations and furnishings around her spoke volumes of how much they valued her presence. Bai Lingmiao's heart settled a little more.

When she saw Lü Xiucai, who had come with her, staring intently at a bamboo scroll, she put down her teacup and walked over.

Seeing Bai Lingmiao approach, Lü Xiucai quickly set down the *Great Thousand Records* and stood up to bow respectfully. "Mother of the Sect!"

Bai Lingmiao reached out and picked up the bamboo scroll, her fingers tracing over the strange characters. Bloody self-mutilation and sacrificial content flooded her mind.

She knew what this was. Her brother Li had always used this. It was extremely sinister—it was no good thing at all.

Bai Lingmiao sighed softly and placed the bamboo scroll back down. "Xiucai, I know you're suffering inside. Pray more to the Mother Without Birth, and it will make you feel better. Moreover, if you want revenge against the Law Sect, you can choose any techniques and methods from the White Lotus Sect. There's no need to use this."

"Thank you, Mother!" Lü Xiucai said gratefully.

Though he said as much, Lü Xiucai showed no intention of putting down the *Great Thousand Records*. He wanted both the White Lotus Sect's techniques and the *Great Thousand Records*.

White Lotus Sect techniques required talent, devotion, and practice. But the *Great Thousand Records* required nothing—just pick it up and use it.

Bai Lingmiao saw his thoughts. Just as she was about to say something else, a violent tremor shook the ground. Everything in the hall began to topple over.

"The Earth Dragon stirs! Quick! Get out of the hall!"

In the violent shaking, everyone rushed out of the hall, escaping the danger of being crushed under falling buildings.

Bai Lingmiao, maintaining her composure, saw that the outside world had also fallen into chaos.

"The Earth Dragon stirs!" Shouts and drumbeats rose together. The entire city was in disarray—buildings collapsed, ground cracked open, many people even fell into fissures in terror.

Fortunately, such disasters came quickly and passed just as fast. In less than half a stick of incense time, it was over.

Looking down from the mountain city, the distant barren land was cracked into pieces, as if the earth itself was about to split apart.

Just as Bai Lingmiao couldn't understand what was happening, she saw Li Huowang appear and disappear intermittently, quickly approaching her.

"Miao Miao! How many skilled warriors did the White Lotus Sect bring? Bring them all out!"

Li Huowang's voice was unusually urgent. Bai Lingmiao had never seen Li Huowang so anxious.

"What's wrong with Brother Li?"

"The Law Sect isn't planning to seize the dragon veins—they're going to destroy them entirely!" When Li Huowang said this, the atmosphere immediately turned tense.

With the God of the Son watching closely, the fate of destroying the dragon veins had already been shown by Great Qi.

Soon, except for the believers who excelled in spreading the faith, those White Lotus followers marked with white donkey tattoos followed Bai Lingmiao toward the Later Shu Celestial Observation Bureau.

In life-or-death peril, the Later Shu Celestial Observation Bureau mobilized completely. Though Li Huowang didn't recognize most of them, he recognized the three people at the front.

The Master of the Later Shu Celestial Observation Bureau, the Xuan Pin of the Great Li Celestial Observation Bureau, and the Zheng Bo of the Four Qi Celestial Observation Bureau. Clearly, facing such a crisis, they had brought out everyone they could.

Li Huowang could feel many eyes watching him. Some people weren't hiding in the shadows—he couldn't identify who was watching him. It seemed some people in the Celestial Observation Bureau preferred to stay in the dark.

When Li Huowang approached, the Later Shu Celestial Observation Bureau pulled out a horn tied with red cord, placed it in a mask, and blew forcefully, "Woooooo~~~"

The deep sound carried far away, like a dark cloud covering everyone's hearts.

After the horn sounded, hundreds of Celestial Observation Bureau members scattered instantly. They grouped in threes and fives and rushed out of the city—apparently, they had received new orders.

"Where are they going? The dragon veins are about to be destroyed—we must reclaim them first!" Li Huowang walked over to ask Xuan Pin.

"Don't worry. At this moment, I won't let them idle. We still have time—the Law Sect won't destroy the dragon veins so easily."

"We must seize the dragon veins before the Law Sect destroys these three."

"How do you know the dragon veins haven't been destroyed yet?"

"Time," Xuan Pin extended a thin, withered finger. "One dragon vein equals one time unit. We've only lost half a time unit so far."

"One dragon vein equals one time unit? A day has twelve time units, so we have twelve dragon veins?" Li Huowang seemed to grasp some secret.

"No, a day has sixteen time units, sixteen dragon veins. The reason we don't have so many now is because the dragon veins were destroyed previously."

(End of Chapter)