Mutated Tao

A gray wild rabbit hopped swiftly through the forest in the darkness before dawn. In the dim light, its dull fur made it nearly invisible and impossible to spot.

However, the rabbit seemed panicked, and it almost crashed into a tree at one point. The ground's trembling suggested that something was chasing it.

The leaves behind the rabbit were forcefully parted as a large bear charged out, frothing at its mouth and frantically chasing after the rabbit.

As the rabbit was about to be caught, several barbed tentacles suddenly emerged from the bushes and ensnared it like a net. The sudden appearance of these writhing tentacles in the dark forest frightened the bear, as it hastily turned and fled. The tentacles tightened and retracted, dragging a red-eyed gray rabbit to Li Sui’s feet.

At this moment, Li Sui focused entirely on the rabbit, paying no mind to the fleeing bear. Li Sui grabbed the rabbit securely as the tentacles slowly retracted back under her skirt. Li Sui gently stroked the rabbit’s furry head, then opened her small mouth and forced the upper half of the rabbit in.

Her cheeks bulged as she chewed, and her eyes squinted with pleasure. She enjoyed meat that had many bones. It was juicy and flavorful when she chewed. The only downside was having to spit out the fur before she swallowed.

After finishing the upper half of the rabbit, Li Sui didn’t continue with the bottom half. She ran happily toward the nearby dirt road while she held onto the half-eaten rabbit.

“Mom, here you go. This is delicious.” Li Sui presented the half-eaten rabbit to Bai Lingmiao, who was trying to start a fire.

“A rabbit? Did you catch this? Such a good girl.” Bai Lingmiao received it, and then quickly skinned the rabbit with her long black nails.

She had gotten along well with Li Sui. Just like a child, some praise would delight her for a long time. As long as Bai Lingmiao treated her sincerely, Li Sui would genuinely regard her as her mother.

“Mom, why aren’t you eating? It’s really tasty and hard to catch.”

Bai Lingmiao smiled gently and shook her head, then cut the rabbit meat into small pieces to add to the white porridge later. “It’s almost dawn. I’ll prepare this for your Dad.”

“Oh.” Li Sui nodded, then jumped back into the nearby woods. “I’ll go see if Dad’s back and receive him.”

“Wait,” Bai Lingmiao stopped her and touched her exposed waist. “Look, your clothes are torn and frayed. If you keep wearing them, they’ll turn to rags. Take my clothes instead.”

After being pulled into the carriage, Li Sui emerged a while later when the sky had lightened. She was dressed in a crescent white outfit, and she dashed toward the woods.

Bai Lingmiao warned, “Suisui, don’t get too close! It’s dangerous when your Dad is cultivating!”

“I know. I’ll just watch from a distance.” Li Sui disappeared into the woods instantly.

Back in the woods, Li Sui didn’t hold back anymore. Various tentacles emerged from her clothes, substituting her feet and making her even faster.

As she neared her destination, she heard a noise from the woods and approached cautiously.

She soon found the source of the noise. It was Lu Xiucai, trembling as he held a red bamboo slip and raised his thumb.

Lu Xiucai gritted his teeth as he pierced three long needles into his nail bed, then pressed his thumb against the ground. “Ahhh!”

“What are you doing?” Li Sui asked curiously and came closer.

Lu Xiucai relaxed his guard when he saw who it was. He knew she was the evil spirit his master raised.

Despite the pain in his finger, Lu Xiucai took a deep breath and forced a response. “I wanted to test how to use this thing so that I don’t mess up when I actually need it.”

“Does it hurt?” Li Sui asked.

“No! Compared to my dad’s madness and my brother’s death, this pain is nothing!” Lu Xiucai gritted his teeth and replied fiercely.

“Oh, then you carry on. I’m leaving.” Li Sui was left confused. She turned and dived back into the forest.

Li Huowang’s cultivation spot was easy to find, as there were few places where trees flew in the sky.

Li Sui climbed to the top of a large tree and watched Li Huowang from afar. He was sitting cross-legged while upside-down, with his head buried in a rock. His body and everything around him floated erratically.

After a while, Li Huowang’s head emerged from the rock and collided with a flying tree, which shattered like bubbles. It was as if all of the world’s rules had ceased to exist around him.

Li Sui quietly observed Li Huowang’s strange cultivation. Though he rarely spoke to her, she understood some things through silent observation. Her father wanted to become stronger to protect them and prevent their deaths. Lu Xiucai had the same goal. He wanted to become stronger too.

Li Sui recalled her father’s opponents. If he wasn’t strong, he would have been killed. This thought made her anxious. She didn’t want her father to die, and she began to ponder how she could help him.

They all want to become more powerful. What should I do to help Dad?

Usually, she burrowed into her dad and served as an extra hand for him, but she wanted to do more.

The question was complex, and Li Sui couldn’t figure out what to do even after thinking for a long time.

She was only a year and a half old, and she had never seen how anyone became strong. Her father was an exception, but she couldn’t understand his methods.

She saw Li Huowang’s shadow float out from the ground along with his body. She quickly descended the tree and ran towards the carriage. She wanted to ask the others for advice.

“Why do you want to become more powerful?” Bai Lingmiao asked with surprise as she tested the porridge’s saltiness with a careful sip from a spoon.

“I want to help my dad and protect him. I want to be useful too.”

Bai Lingmiao thought hard, then gently shook her head. “Suisui, I don’t know either. You’re an evil spirit and not human. Maybe... you could follow them and worship the Heavenly Mater? She’s very compassionate. If you’re fated, she might accept you.”

Li Sui turned to look at the White Lotus Sect followers gathered by the carriages. They knelt and worshiped a glowing white jade lotus amidst white incense smoke.