A Losing Business?

At both ends of the cross-plane "customer service hotline," the brief clash and bargaining between the two supreme wills seemed to have come to an end.

There was no further sound from the Primordial Great Dao's side, but an invisible will to "fulfill the contract," tinged with faint resentment and reluctance, began to permeate the void.

It was as though a wealthy but culpable client had no choice but to hold their nose and honor a promise—one made at a "fire-sale, jump-off-a-building price," no less.

In the depths of the void, a soft, utterly pure white radiance slowly lit up, as though it could wash away all filth and turmoil.

Within that white light, the phantom of a swaying lotus could vaguely be seen. Its petals layered upon one another, containing boundless Vitality and sacred purity. Yet the phantom seemed incomplete, its edges blurred, as if it were a small portion carefully stripped from some far greater original body.

This was the Pure World White Lotus Origin mentioned in the agreement.

Though it was merely a scrap from the corner of the Twenty-Four Petal White Lotus, the Innate Spiritual Essence it emitted—and that pure aura of "impervious to all laws, with all evil fleeing at its approach"—was still intoxicatingly powerful.

Compared to the damned, ill-omened glow of the [Salted Fish System], it was like clouds and mud!

The Primordial Great Dao's will stirred slightly, as if its heart still ached over the loss.

The Pure World White Lotus had been transformed from a Chaos Green Lotus Seed, a top-tier Innate Spiritual Object. Even a tiny fragment of its origin was incomparably precious.

Each one was unique, especially an origin of the White Lotus belonging to the Primordial Main World.

Yet now it had to be used as a physical vessel for a fragile soul from a Low-Magic Plane, one with no background or roots whatsoever, simply to settle this utterly nonsensical dispute...

No matter how it was calculated, this was a catastrophic loss!

But the agreement had been made, and karma had been forged. For the sake of the Primordial Heavenly Dao's dignity—and to avoid greater trouble, such as that unreasonable fellow on the other side continuing to pester them—this loss-making deal had to be done, whether they wanted to or not.

That speck of pure White Lotus Origin drifted lightly toward Su Miao's bewildered Dead Fish Eyes soul, as though guided by something.

Su Miao only felt an indescribably warm, comfortable, reassuring force gently enveloping her.

It felt like someone frozen stiff in the dead of winter suddenly soaking in a top-class hot spring, every particle of her soul letting out a satisfied sigh.

The weakness and unease brought on by her sudden death and the system's fright were rapidly being soothed and nourished away.

"Wow... th-this feeling..."

Su Miao was so comfortable that her soul was nearly floating away, and even her Dead Fish Eyes narrowed into two slits.

"It's ten thousand times better than a spa! This compensation... isn't it a little too generous?"

From the shock of the National Fortune Golden Dragon's appearance, to the confusion of the two great wills' "customer service conversation," to now being wrapped in White Lotus Origin like some premium heated blanket, Su Miao's emotions had gone through a roller-coaster ride.

A secret delight at having "found fortune amid disaster," like the old man who lost his horse, bubbled up beyond her control.

"Pure World White Lotus... that sounds incredibly lofty! So I'm going to become... a lotus spirit?"

At the mention of a lotus spirit, the first person Su Miao thought of was—

It was him, it was him, it was him—our little hero Nezha!

Curiously sensing the warm power around her, she began letting her imagination run wild.

"I wonder if I'll come with a natural floral scent after taking form? Will petals fall off when I walk?"

Yet amid her joy and novelty, as she watched the National Fortune Golden Dragon's phantom around her gradually fade, seemingly preparing to withdraw after accomplishing its task, a deeper reluctance and panic suddenly seized her.

"W-wait!"

Su Miao no longer cared about studying her new body. She desperately sent her thoughts toward the golden dragon phantom, her tone urgent and carrying a trace of suppressed tears.

"Y-you're leaving already? Am I just... being emigrated out like this? Even if the benefits over there sound pretty good, b-but-but... the pressure is sky-high too! It's the Primordial World! Tribulations break out at the drop of a hat! I-I-I... I'm just a salted fish, I'm scared!"

She tried to "build rapport," to "get close," and in a flash of inspiration, even called out the name that felt most reliable in her subconscious.

"Por... Porcelain Dad! Motherland! Can't we discuss this? I... I still want to go home... back to Blue Star... Even if I reincarnate as a cat! Can't you avoid leaving me all alone over here?"

The National Fortune Golden Dragon's phantom seemed to pause slightly. The dragon head formed from rules turned toward her, and its gaze no longer carried the cold majesty it had shown the system at first. Instead, it revealed a... gentleness that was almost helpless?

A steady, benevolent thought echoed softly through Su Miao's consciousness, like an elder soothing a child:

"Child, for every world to nurture every life is an exceedingly difficult matter, containing immense karma and cost. Generally speaking, when a living being passes on, its soul will eventually return to the heaven and earth of its own world, cycling again and again. This is the natural order of the Great Dao."

Su Miao's thoughts instantly sank.

"So... so I still can't..."

"That is not the case."

The thought gently interrupted her.

"Your situation is unusual. The Black-Hearted System forcibly abducted you, inflicting irreversible damage upon your soul origin. Blue Star's Spiritual Qi is sparse, and its rules favor Reincarnation rather than restoration; it no longer has the strength to nourish and heal your Soul Injury. If we forcibly send you back, what awaits you will not be rebirth, but the gradual dissipation of your soul power until you are completely annihilated."

Su Miao's soul jolted violently.

"And the Primordial World—"

The thought continued explaining.

"Though danger lurks on every side, Spiritual Qi is abundant, Dao Rules are manifest, and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures are countless. With this Pure World White Lotus Origin to reshape your foundation, so long as you cultivate steadily, your soul damage will naturally heal little by little as time passes, perhaps even surpassing what it once was. This is currently the only plan that can preserve you and grant you a future in the long term."

So... that was how it was?

It was not that they did not want to send her back. Going back was equivalent to a slow suicide?

And staying in the Primordial World, though it meant starting on hard mode, at least gave her a chance to recover and grow?

Su Miao fell silent. The grievance born from feeling "abandoned" gradually faded, replaced by a heavy realization that she nevertheless had to accept.

"Th-then, in the future..."

She asked softly, clinging to her last sliver of hope.

"Will I still have a chance... to go home and take a look?"

The phantom of the National Fortune Golden Dragon seemed to nod slightly, the thought it conveyed carrying encouragement and expectation:

"Of course. Once you cultivate in this world to the Saint Fruit Position, transcend time and space, and with a single thought comprehend all worlds, you will naturally possess the ability to open a passage and return for a visit. When that time comes, I... and your homeland will both welcome you home."

Saint Fruit Position!

Su Miao nearly choked on her breath.

Though she had no idea exactly how high a realm that was, just hearing the name told her it was absolutely at the very tip of the pyramid!

The difficulty was like asking a fresh graduate straight out of school to become the world's richest person!

But at least... it was something to hold on to.

A hope so absurdly distant, yet one that truly existed.

"O-okay..."

Su Miao sniffed her nonexistent nose and tried her best to pull herself together.

"I... I'll work hard to stay alive! I'll try... not to be such a salted fish! I'll strive to... become a Saint sooner... and go home for a look..."

Her tone carried the determination of a warrior cutting off his own wrist, though she still sounded terribly timid.

The National Fortune Golden Dragon's phantom seemed to reveal the gratified satisfaction of "a child worthy of teaching," and one final gentle thought brushed across her soul.

"Good. Take care."

As those words fell, the golden dragon phantom lingered no longer.

The golden Laws chains wrapped around the remains of the [Salted Fish System] suddenly tightened, crushing it into an imperceptible speck of light. Then, carrying away this "spoils of war" and "evidence of guilt," they vanished into the void in an instant.

As if they had never appeared.

Only Su Miao's soul remained, tightly wrapped in that small cluster of pure, warm White Lotus Origin, floating in the empty void.

At that moment, the ethereal, indifferent will of the Primordial Great Dao descended once more. Seemingly too lazy to waste any more words, it directly "fulfilled the contract."

An invisible yet irresistible force lifted the bundle containing Su Miao's soul. Like launching a carefully packaged satellite, it cautiously cast her toward a newly born coordinate somewhere within the boundless chaos below, wreathed in immortal aura—

East Sea · Fangzhang Immortal Island.

"Ahhh—We're leaving already? Wait, I haven't mentally prepared myself yet, ahhh—"

Su Miao's mental scream swiftly faded into the distance, vanishing into the passage of spacetime transmission.