Mutated Tao

“Infection of murderous aura?!” Lu Xiucai looked around at the chaos caused by the murderous aura. It had caused drastic changes to the personalities of those affected.

He broke out in cold sweat when he imagined his wife and friends suffering the same fate.

Lu Xiucai was overcome with anxiety. Ignoring everything else, he quickly hopped onto his carriage, made a sharp turn, and sped back towards Cowheart Village.

Although the journey out had been swift, the return felt agonizingly slow. He didn’t know if he’d make it in time, but he could only press onward. He tossed out all his theater tools and belongings to make his return faster, keeping only Lu Zhuangyuan and Juan’er with him.

As the carriage raced down the dusty road, Lu Xiucai spotted a figure standing by the roadside. It was a man who looked like an ordinary farmer, yet somehow exuded an air of peculiarity.

The man clutched a kitchen knife, his body and mouth smeared with blood. It was impossible to tell if the blood was his own.

He stood motionless, glaring at Lu Xiucai with seething hatred. The murderous aura had consumed him, giving him the courage to commit acts he wouldn’t have done before.

The cart sped past, but the man’s gaze burned deeply into Lu Xiucai’s memory.

He realized this wasn’t an isolated incident. The same madness was erupting throughout the Great Liang. The entire Great Liang had gone mad.

“Faster! Go faster!” Lu Xiucai whipped the horse continuously until it foamed at the mouth.

He couldn’t control the events happening elsewhere, but he was determined to help Cowheart Village, home to everyone dear to him.

After rushing the entire way, Lu Xiucai finally arrived just before dawn. The exhausted horse collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

Lu Xiucai stood on the edge of the village, still shrouded in morning mist. He hesitated, fearing a repeat of the horrors he’d seen in the small town.

His face paled as he finally forced himself to walk into the mist.

As he ventured further, he sensed wisps of murderous aura seeping out of the fog. His heart sank lower and lower. “No… no, no!”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He rushed into the fog desperately and headed straight into Cowheart Village.

Finally, he broke through the mist and froze. He saw a towering red blade radiating murderous aura, spreading in every direction.

The blade was not inside the village itself. It was embedded in the ground near Bai Lingmiao.

Bai Lingmiao sat quietly on a stone opposite the blade, dressed in white. She silently watched Cowheart Village awaken to a rooster’s crow.

She gently said, “Don’t worry, I knew they’d come today. I stopped them.”

Her expression grew conflicted. “Logically, I shouldn’t have done it. All followers of the White Lotus Sect were summoned to be infected by the murderous aura. However, I used my authority to shield my fellow disciples…

“I know I should be impartial, but the thought of everyone becoming a soldier and being sacrificed was unbearable. Even if we lose, I want them to live a little longer…”

Lu Xiucai stepped forward and said, “Mistress, I don’t know what others might say, but I know you did the right thing.”

He continued, “There’s no point in worrying so much about right or wrong. Someone strong will always rise to hold up the falling sky. Our priority should be protecting our own people. We can figure out the rest later.”

Bai Lingmiao turned toward Lu Xiucai. “But what if you’re the one meant to hold up the sky?”

Lu Xiucai had no answer. He stood there in silence.

Bai Lingmiao rose as the Second Deity emerged from her back, pulling out the massive red blade from the ground and wrapping it tightly with white silk.

Lu Xiucai noticed she was planning to leave and moved to follow her. But before long, his wife stopped him. “I knew you couldn’t bear to leave me! I knew it!”

Ignoring the commotion, Bai Lingmiao strolled through the village where she’d grown up. It was filled with people again, almost as if it had returned to its former glory.

She walked to the Bai Family’s ancestral hall and looked at the ancestral tablets on the wall. She took three incense sticks from the offering table, lit them carefully, and kowtowed nine times toward the tablets.

She kneeled on the mat, deep in thought as she gazed at the ancestral tablets. After a long time, she took a deep breath and picked up the blade wrapped in white silk.

I may have spared my kin this time, but I won’t send others to do what I’m unwilling to do myself. That would be shameless.

As she slowly unwrapped the blade from the silk, the murderous aura filled the air, causing the tablets on the wall to vibrate.

I cannot be soft-hearted if I want revenge for Suisui.

The confusion on her face faded as she gripped the blade, replaced by a look of fierce determination.

Simultaneously, the expression of the Second Deity softened. Their four hands firmly grasped the blade, while a palpable hostility manifested on their faces.

The two of them simultaneously curled their lips, revealing cruel smiles.

With great force, they swung the enormous blade, firmly gripping it with their right hands. The sharp blade severed the candle’s wick, spilling the melted wax onto the incense.

The incense was lit, and the flames began to ignite the offering table. The flames from the table set the entire wall of ancestral tablets on fire. When Bai Lingmiao walked out of the ancestral hall, thick smoke had already begun to billow inside.

“Get water! Quickly put out the fire! There’s a ton of grain stored below! Enough to feed us for decades!” Puppy shouted in panic, leading the others from Cowheart Village to extinguish the fire.

After Bai Lingmiao walked out of Cowheart Village, the followers of the White Lotus Sect, marked with White Donkey tattoos, gradually gathered behind her. This group included various people and elderly Lamas. Their numbers swelled into a massive force.

Bai Lingmiao held the red blade in both right hands, picked up a drum from her waist with her left hand, and grasped a spine sword with her last hand.

This was Li Huowang’s spine sword, though he no longer had any use for it.

Bai Lingmiao sensed a connection between the Great Qi and the Great Liang through the spine sword she held. Both mouths opened simultaneously, saying, “Prepare the sect. We must quickly spread the murderous aura across the entire Tianchen Kingdom!

“Today, the Tianchen Kingdom has no ruler. We must help the Heavenly Mater reclaim her Void Home!”

“Yes, Saintess! As the Red Yang’s calamity ends, the White Yang shall rise!” the White Donkey followers replied in unison.