“The Divine Lady clearly said we needed undivided focus...”
“It's all my fault...”
Just as everyone was feeling deeply vexed, the Divine Lady suddenly raised her hand, her slender fingers as pale and translucent as jade.
A dewdrop from the celestial herb condensed on her fingertip into a crystal-clear droplet, reflecting the myriad lights of the city's households.
A flicker of surprise crossed her features before softening into a faint smile, as if she had witnessed something unexpected yet intriguing.
“There is no need to be so disheartened.” She released her finger, letting the droplet dissolve into a wisp of clear energy that vanished into the air. “Although the scattered golden light of merit did not cure Ye Qingqing's illness as you wished, it was not wasted. It has all integrated into the bodies of the critically ill commoners in the city.”
“As of now, the conditions of all those suffering from severe illness in the city have been alleviated by the golden light of merit. Some have improved by ten percent, others by up to thirty percent. Though they are not fully cured, their lives have been saved.”
“You could say you have obtained what you sought.” Her lips curved slightly. “The karma and fate of this world are truly fascinating.”
Silence.
A deathly silence stretched for three breaths.
The crowd seemed unable to process this sudden turn of events. Then, an unbelievable, almost dreamlike ecstasy washed over their faces.
Cheng Ji was the first to react.
Facing the Divine Lady, he dropped heavily to his knees on the blue-brick floor, producing a dull thud.
That sound seemed to act as a signal.
Everyone in the room snapped out of their daze, turning and kneeling in unison toward the Divine Lady.
“Thank you for your mercy, Divine Lady!” Cheng Ji's forehead touched the ground, his voice cracking with emotion. “Thank you for saving her life, Divine Lady!”
“Thank you for your mercy, Divine Lady!” The others kowtowed along with him, prostrating themselves on the floor with a near-fanatical devotion.
The Divine Lady looked down at the kneeling crowd. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and the plain veil behind her temples drifted gently.
“There is no need to thank me.” Her tone was calm, yet her voice fell clearly into everyone's ears. “It was you who offered your own accumulated merit to alter their fates. I merely followed the Heavenly Dao to let what should happen, happen.”
“Furthermore...” The Divine Lady's gaze shifted slightly to her pale fingertips. In the depths of those eyes, which were always as clear as water, something extremely faint flashed and vanished. “Your actions just now allowed me to comprehend the Great Dao. Helping you save lives with merit this time can be considered resolving a thread of karma.”
The crowd raised their heads, looking at the Divine Lady in excitement.
They had actually helped the Divine Lady comprehend the Great Dao by pure chance? What incredible fortune! What an absolute blessing!
Shen Yu knelt at the edge of the crowd.
He was neither too close nor too far from the Divine Lady.
He also gazed at the Divine Lady, a complex swirl of emotions in his eyes.
Every time someone kowtowed in gratitude, the Divine Lady would say there was no need to thank her.
But he knew very well.
If the Divine Lady had not softened her heart toward mortals time and time again, they would never have grasped that single line of life.
The heavens were filled with gods and Buddhas who looked down upon all living beings as mere ants.
Of those deities seated on lotus thrones and those immortals hidden away in grotto-heavens, how many actually cared whether mortals lived or died?
To a deity, the suffering of the mortal realm was nothing more than a microscopic speck of dust in the endless cycle of the three realms.
Those who would truly pity mortals...
Throughout history, there had only ever been the Divine Lady and the God of Farming.
Looking at the Divine Lady's silver-white hair, his heart grew increasingly heavy with a dull, aching sorrow.
He still remembered when he first met the Divine Lady; her eyes had been completely devoid of emotion, looking at them no differently than she would at fish or shrimp.
Later, the figures of mortals entered her eyes. She broke her own rules for them time and time again, depleting her divine power over and over.
Before he knew it, his eyes grew warm and moist.
Subconsciously, he blinked hard, forcing back the inappropriate moisture.
Suddenly, a flurry of hurried footsteps approached.
“Divine Lady! Divine Lady!”
“This is bad...”
A physician stumbled into the room to deliver the news. His face was covered in black and blue bruises, looking as though he had been brutally beaten with clubs.
“Please, save Young Master Lu and the others! The commoners of Yecheng are going to burn the physicians from Xindu alive...”
“What?!”
Everyone heard this and turned pale with shock.
Cheng Ji and his subordinates in particular were frightened out of their wits by the news, their faces turning deathly pale and their lips trembling uncontrollably.
The physicians from Xindu had traveled thousands of miles, risking their lives to treat the plague in Yecheng, yet the commoners of Yecheng wanted to burn them to death.
What kind of outrageous behavior was this?!
Moreover...
Those Xindu physicians were all devout believers of the Divine Lady!
If that was the case...
Wouldn't they be offending the Divine Lady as well?
Originally, they had hoped to worship the Divine Lady in the future, becoming her believers just like the people of Xindu.
Now, they only prayed that the Divine Lady would not be enraged by this.
The more they thought about it, the more anxious they became.
Cheng Ji braced himself and stepped forward. “Divine Lady, there might be some misunderstanding in this...”
Yun Shu ignored him.
She raised her hand, pretending to divine the secrets of heaven, while actually telling the system in her mind, “Show me the surveillance footage.”
The system wasted no time, quickly pulling up all the surveillance feeds it had previously set up in Yecheng.
Before long, it located Lu Sui and the others.
The screen displayed a chaotic scene of confrontation between two opposing groups.
Lu Sui and the physicians were surrounded by a raging fire. Most of them were in disarray, some with lingering bruises on their faces, and others with dried blood staining their sleeves.
Holding a long sword, Lu Sui stood at the very front. His robes were torn, and blood flowed continuously from his arm, yet he still shielded the defenseless physicians behind him.
Opposite them stood the other group.
They were far greater in number, their emotions running high.
Some held blazing torches, some brandished hoes and wooden clubs, and others clutched stones in their hands, shouting and screaming for blood.
After watching the footage, Yun Shu frowned. She had not expected such an accident to occur on Lu Sui's end.
The fire was raging. If she did not stop it soon, Lu Sui and the physicians would likely perish in the flames.
With no time to lose, she decisively equipped the silk shawl piece, Trailing Flowing Clouds, from the Mystic Sound of the Nine Heavens Set. Lightly tapping her toes, she soared into the sky before everyone's astonished eyes.
【Cheng Ji Shock Value +100】
【Ye Qingqing Shock Value +100】
【Lin Xun Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 387,100】
As Yun Shu flew toward the soaring flames, she opened the system interface to brainstorm a solution.
The healing skill of the Floating Dream Set and the teleportation skill of the Mirror of Retrospection Set were both on cooldown, and none of the other outfits in her wardrobe could rescue so many people from the fire.
She had to try her luck and draw a new outfit!
With that thought, she immediately opened the prize pool.
Just as her finger tapped open the interface, the limited prize pool happened to refresh, bringing two new outfits into view.
Her eyes instantly lit up.
The first outfit, named the Miao Holy Maiden, came with a set skill that allowed the wearer to command all venomous creatures in the world.
Once she headed south, the mountainous forests would present a major obstacle due to poisonous creatures and miasma. Although she had the Butterfly Hidden Pin and did not fear them, normal people entering such forests would be seeking their own deaths.
When that time came, this outfit would be extremely useful.
But right now, she had a far greater need for the second outfit.
The Rainbow and Feather Garment.
This outfit's set skill was to summon rain!
Rate on N.U.
