Chapter Twelve: Shifting Stars and Turning Heavens (Part One)

When Tao Banxia heard what Tao Ming said, she glanced at Nuo Nuo. "Is that its name?"

Tao Ming nodded. "Yes. Mom, do you know it?"

Tao Banxia quickly waved her hand. "Mingming, you used to call me Mom out of habit, and that was fine, but now that you know the truth, there should be a distinction between master and servant. You should call me Banxia."

"Mom, what are you saying? I was born in the new society, raised under the red flag. I don’t believe in those feudal leftovers. You’ve raised me all these years and treated me as your own child. Calling you Mom is only right." Tao Ming sat down beside Tao Banxia, resting her head on her shoulder.

Tao Banxia reached out to stroke Tao Ming’s head. "Mingming, have you made up your mind?"

Tao Ming nodded. "For Softy’s sake, I have to go to Weishui."

Tao Banxia sighed and fell silent.

"Mom, you still haven’t answered—do you know Nuo Nuo?" Tao Ming didn’t want her mother to remain sad.

Tao Banxia looked at Nuo Nuo. "I knew trouble was coming the moment the door opened. I served the young lady closely since childhood. Whatever she learned, I would pick up a bit as well. Though I was never as gifted as she was, I still managed to acquire some skills."

After a pause, she continued, "Every respectable family in Weishui has a Sanctum, and of course, so does the Qiluo clan. Whenever the young lady heard some secret from the clan leader, she’d always sneak off and tell the four of us."

Tao Ming couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her mother sneaking around.

"But the Qiluo clan’s Sanctum is just for show. No sacred beasts ever appeared there, so no one worried about it. When I saw the one you brought today—yes, it’s probably the White Tiger—I knew things were about to go awry."

"We’ve been away from Weishui for so long, we have no idea what’s happened there. But if the White Tiger appeared in the Qiluo clan’s Sanctum, it must be a big deal. As far as I know, Weishui has four sacred beasts, and the White Tiger is one of them. The royal family would never let anyone else control it."

Tao Ming figured her mother knew even more than she let on, so she asked, "Mom, Nuo Nuo said that according to Weishui’s rules, it has to form a contract with the Saintess within a year, and must go to the Royal Sanctum to be officially recognized, or else the Saintess will be in danger. Is that true?"

Tao Banxia sighed. "It’s worse than just danger. If the Saintess isn’t officially recognized, she’ll lose her life. The royal family set up formations in every Sanctum to keep all the sacred beasts under their control. The moment a sacred beast appears, the formation is triggered, and the beast is restrained. The Saintess who contracts with the beast is also marked with a seal. Only by going to the Royal Sanctum and signing an oath of allegiance with the royals can the seal be lifted. That’s what’s called being officially recognized. This way, the sacred beasts remain firmly under the royal family’s control."

"Why not just not form the contract?" Tao Ming was indignant, raising her voice.

Nuo Nuo became anxious. "If we don’t form the contract, I’ll dissipate!"

"It seems the White Tiger only knows part of the truth. Actually, if the sacred beast and the Saintess don’t form a contract within a year, both will dissipate," Tao Banxia said, frowning.

Nuo Nuo’s gaze turned vacant when it heard this. Clan leader, how could you hide this from me? Isn’t this just asking for trouble?

"How do you know that? Did something like this happen before?" Tao Ming, imagining Softy’s fate, felt a surge of hatred for those royals.

"My young lady told me this in secret. Long ago, the Qin family produced a Saintess, but she happened to be a little girl from a branch family whom no one cared about. The Qin family’s patriarch hatched a clever plan, wanting to secretly transfer her luck to his favorite granddaughter. But they delayed and delayed, and the year passed. The Saintess and the sacred beast both faded away. As a result, the royal family gave the Qin family a severe punishment," Tao Banxia said, a hint of excitement in her voice as she gossiped.

Tao Ming...

Since when was her mother such a gossip?

Tao Banxia patted Tao Ming’s hand. "Now that things have come to this, you must take Softy to the Royal Sanctum as soon as possible. Get the seal removed first, then worry about everything else."

Tao Ming nodded, then turned to Nuo Nuo. "Hurry up and draw some blood for me. I have a lot to do."

With a miserable look, Nuo Nuo extended its paw and, as if used to it, made a small cut on Tao Ming’s index finger.

As soon as she saw the blood, Tao Ming hurried into the small building, took the Celestial Sphere from the tea table drawer, and pressed her finger against it.

She watched as the blood seeped into the orb and disappeared, after which the sphere floated up and shot into her forehead.

Tao Ming felt a chill between her brows. When she reached up, there was nothing there, but suddenly she felt dizzy, as if she had heatstroke—her chest tight and nauseous.

Fortunately, the sensation passed quickly. When she recovered, Tao Ming realized something new had appeared in her mind.

Seriously? Everything just goes into my head—my brain is becoming a warehouse!

After her silent complaint, Tao Ming focused her attention on the new presence and realized it was a massive honeycomb! The spherical structure was probably a hundred meters in diameter, covered with countless hexagonal holes, each sealed with something like a transparent film, emitting a faint white glow.

Curious, Tao Ming pressed her eye to one of the holes. All she saw was white light; she hesitated to stick her head in—who knew what might be inside?

While Tao Ming was wondering what to do next, one of the holes suddenly radiated a dazzling white light and drew her in.

It felt like riding a little boat down a rapid; she was bounced about and entered a sealed room. The room was square, roughly thirty square meters, with six silver walls. In the center of the floor was a stone pedestal the size of a laptop.

Tao Ming walked up to it and saw it was covered in countless strange characters—none of which she recognized.

How was she supposed to use this? This was harder than translating oracle bone inscriptions for an archaeologist!

Just as she thought this, the writing on the pedestal began to move. After a moment, it settled into lines of simplified Chinese.

Well, isn’t that convenient—artificial intelligence!

She focused and read: "Celestial Sphere, a spatial artifact. Ownership is determined by chance. Its character varies according to its master."

"Ownership is determined by chance? So whoever picks it up owns it? That’s too random!" Tao Ming muttered.

"The Celestial Sphere is adorned with thousands of portals, each leading to a different world. Depending on the master’s strength, a varying number of worlds are open for exploration."

Great, so I’m probably still a rookie and can’t explore much!

"Detected: Master is located in World No. 66, possesses genes from World No. 68. Worlds 66 and 68 are now open for exploration."

"This is Gate Zero, the control core of the Celestial Sphere. After reading, please press the Confirm button below."

Sure enough, there was a Confirm button. But wait—wasn’t this a world of cultivation? Why was there an AI?

Perhaps sensing Tao Ming’s thoughts, another line appeared: "The artifact will adapt to the master’s experiences and present itself in the most familiar form."

Fine, artifacts can’t be explained scientifically anyway.

Tao Ming pressed the Confirm button. The pedestal flickered and three buttons appeared: two rectangular, one round.

The rectangles were labeled 66 and 68. The round button read "Warehouse."

Tao Ming pressed "Warehouse," and the right wall slid open to reveal a doorway.

She walked over and peered inside—a vast space filled with all sorts of items, the walls glowing faintly. It was truly magical.

Tao Ming approached the nearest pile of objects. There were boxes and cases stacked haphazardly, which gave her a headache.

"How am I supposed to find anything in this mess? At least organize them!" she grumbled aloud.

No sooner had she spoken than the warehouse walls began to ripple, shelves sprouted out, and the items on the floor flew up and neatly arranged themselves on the shelves.

On the closest shelf, Tao Ming saw a nameplate that read "Tao Sisi." There was a box the size of a shoebox on the shelf.

She opened the box and found two familiar white stones, similar to the contract stone Nuo Nuo had produced, with a piece of paper underneath them.