Chapter 358: A Good Mother
[For fate, I have an idea,] the Empress began, causing Li Yao to pay attention.
[When you use the heavenly merit to upgrade your enlightenment, you might enter a state of enlightenment,] she explained. [It’s fine if you don’t though, I’ll use my power to force you into the state of enlightenment.]
[When you are in that state, there will be so much information flooding in that you could become overwhelmed, so be careful,] she warned. [You need to focus on fate and fate alone. Don’t miss this chance.]
[You’ll probably also glimpse the law of fate, but don’t try to understand it right now. Just focus on creating a fate domain,] she instructed. [Do you understand?] she asked.
Li Yao nodded her head. "Yes," she said.
[Okay, ready when you are,] the Empress said.
"I’m ready," Li Yao replied instantly.
The moment the remaining heavenly merit disappeared into Li Yao’s enlightenment, she found herself floating in a space filled with countless colors. Each one represented a different concept. The colors kept crashing into her, but she ignored them all. Closing her eyes, she began concentrating.
"The Empress said I can draw from the law of heavenly way," she thought. She tried accessing the law of heavenly way without activating it, just observing it. She focused on how the heavenly way established order.
The heavenly way established order through making rules and enforcing them. But for the law of fate, order occurred naturally, as all things should be. She needed to focus on order that wasn’t enforced through rules but happened naturally.
She concentrated for a long time. Suddenly, she felt something. Opening her eyes, she brought out her hand. A red string approached and started dancing around her palm.
Suddenly, she felt the entire world shift.
A huge pressure descended upon her. Even the string wrapping around her hand seemed to tremble in fear, coiling around her tighter.
She looked up and saw a pale woman covered entirely in white clothing who looked exactly like her, staring down at her. Li Yao wondered if this was the glimpse of fate that the Empress had mentioned.
[Glimpse of fate? Nah,] the woman replied.
She waved her hand, and the scene changed completely. The pale woman now sat atop a huge throne made of ice while Li Yao hung below her, her body chained to the walls with ice.
[This is the law of causality,] she said.
[You know, I thought we’d never meet for another million years or so, but you’ve surprised me.]
She opened her palm and many strings started wrapping around her.
[You see, the thing about laws such as fate, karma, destiny, and causality is that they are all connected. When you completely master a single one, you can access the rest with just a little effort. And as someone who embodies the law of causality, you lost the moment you tried to learn these laws,] she explained.
Li Yao just looked at her expressionlessly, wondering who this weirdo was. She wasn’t making any sense at all.
[Ah, forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself,] she said as she stood up.
She bowed slightly.
[Most people call me Sage, but you can call me Mom.] She raised her gaze to look at Li Yao. [You are my creation after all.]
...
She instantly appeared before Li Yao, caressing her face with her extremely cold hands. [Ah, how magnificent, my creation. It’s perfect,] she said.
As she was about to touch her once again, her hand was slapped away. "Don’t touch me. And who are you? You are not my mom," Li Yao said as she easily broke away from the rest of the chains.
The pale woman looked at her hand. [Hmmm, this is unexpected. It seems I’ve underestimated you once again,] she said. She then smiled. [Ah, your mortal parents? They’re just vessels I used to carry my perfect creation.] She smiled wider. [Won’t you pay your respects to your real mom?] she asked.
Li Yao scratched her head. "Lady, you’re even more insane than me. Who goes around claiming other people’s children as their creation?" she said.
Her expression then became more serious as a sword began materializing in her hand. Her skin started cracking. "Also, am I to assume that you are claiming senior brother’s property as your own?" she asked, her gaze locking with the woman’s.
The woman was taken aback for a moment. She then looked away from Li Yao, holding her chin in thought. "Were my calculations wrong? Is this really my perfect creation? She doesn’t seem that intelligent," she thought.
After some time, she turned back to face Li Yao. [Let’s see what’s interfering with my creation,] she said. Instantly, her hand sunk into Li Yao’s head.
Li Yao found herself in another location. She was chained once again, and the woman stood before her. [Is this the heavenly dao’s plan?] she wondered as she held a ball with someone inside.
She then turned to Li Yao. [Is this your deepest desire?] she asked. Li Yao just stared at her angrily.
The woman smiled. [Well, a good mother lets her kids have what they want.]
[I’ll let you have it if you acknowledge me as your creator,] she said.
"Acknowledge?" Li Yao began.
[That’s right,] the woman replied.
"You dare to give me that which belongs to me?" she asked.
Instantly, the entire world began shaking. The woman looked around nervously. [What’s happening?] she wondered.
"This is what is happening..." Li Yao replied as she appeared from behind her.
The woman tried to look back only to be met with a fist. She was thrown a few meters back, but Li Yao was already there waiting. She caught her by the hair and slammed her into the ground. The ball she held in her hand rolled away, and Li Yao jumped and caught it.
She then looked back to where the woman was, but she wasn’t there anymore. She heard a sound from behind her and instantly turned back. The woman stood in a beam of light, smiling at her.
[That’s enough playing around for today. See you around,] she said before disappearing with the beam of light.