Legal Household Registration

The dizziness of spacetime transport ebbed away like a receding tide.

Su Miao's consciousness seemed to struggle awake after a long slumber. The first thing she felt was an unprecedented warmth and saturation.

It was as if her entire being—if she could still be considered a "person" now—

was wrapped in an incomparably comfortable, warm fluid brimming with vitality.

Every thought seemed to be gently massaged. The faint ache buried deep within her soul, the damage like cracks spreading through porcelain, was silently nourished and repaired by this power.

She opened her senses.

The sight before her instantly left her stunned.

Though she had no eyes, she could see everything above, below, left, right, and in every direction—a strange, blind-spot-free, 360-degree panoramic view.

She found herself in a small pool, no more than a dozen feet across.

The water was an indescribably wondrous color, as though it had gathered all the light of the sun, moon, and stars and melted it within.

Faint halos of gold, silver, and purple flowed through it, releasing a rich fragrance that refreshed the mind and delighted the spirit.

Just breathing in the scent of the pool water made her soul feel a little more solid.

This bathwater... is kind of high-end, huh?

An utterly untimely thought surfaced in her mind.

She lifted her gaze. Though she had no head, she saw an even more breathtaking sight.

The pool lay near the edge of an Immortal Island. Not far away stood shore cliffs, lustrous as jade.

Mist curled around the island, suffused with rosy radiance.

In the distance, mountain ranges rose and fell, flowing with emerald-like rosy light.

Nearby, strange flowers and exotic plants carpeted the ground. She could not name many of them. Some had leaves that seemed carved from green jade, with Spiritual Light flowing through their veins. Others bore blossoms as large as cartwheels, breathing out seven-colored auspicious glows and releasing fragrances that delighted even her soul.

What filled the air was not mere air, but energy so dense it was nearly tangible!

Thread after thread, like gauze-thin mist and flowing ribbons of light, drifted slowly through the air, glimmering faintly.

One breath made her entire being feel soothed, as if she might float into immortality.

The PM2.5 index here has to be negative infinity, right? And this oxygen content... no, this definitely isn't oxygen!

Su Miao clicked her tongue inwardly.

Farther away, the sky was a flawless wash of blue. From time to time, enormous and bizarrely shaped birds swept past, their outstretched wings blotting out the sky and sun. Their calls were clear and lingering, carrying some ancient rhythm.

She could not understand a single thing they were calling, only sensing that their cries seemed to contain some sort of power.

This bird language... even someone with TEM-8 probably couldn't understand it.

She tried to move, only to find that she could not do so at all.

Her "body" seemed fixed to the bottom of the pool. She could only make her "head" sway slightly.

She tried her best to "look down" at herself.

Then she saw—

A graceful white lotus, its bud just about to bloom.

Its petals were flawlessly white, as delicate as the finest mutton-fat jade, with pure radiance faintly flowing through their veins. Its lotus leaves were crisp green, floating upon the water and supporting that flower bud.

And Su Miao's consciousness was dwelling within that lotus.

Su Miao: "!!!"

So...

After Porcelain Dad spent all that time talking with the Primordial Great Dao, the new body they got her...

was a... lotus?!

She had always thought it would be a body made from lotus flowers, like Nezha's?!

At the very least, she thought she would be some lotus spirit capable of taking human form.

She never expected that when they said lotus, they meant a literal, physical lotus!

"I've turned into a... vegetative person?!"

An immense sense of absurdity crashed over her.

"Literally?! How is this turning misfortune into a blessing, hey?! Though this lotus does look pretty expensive..."

She tried to wave her "arms," but only the white flower bud at the top swayed gently.

She tried to move her "legs," but only the roots at the bottom of the pool squirmed slightly, drawing in more of that comfortable tri-colored divine water.

A profound sense of helplessness, born of being a "plant," welled up in her heart.

She could not walk, could not jump, could not even scratch an itch!

How was she supposed to slack off like this in the future?

She could not even turn over!

Just as she was rendered speechless by her new body, a faint ripple of conversation, seemingly from a higher dimension, suddenly brushed across her senses like a breeze.

It was not sound, yet she could strangely understand its meaning.

A slightly youthful voice rang out, carrying traces of nervousness and respect. It seemed to originate from the very world itself:

[Lord of the Great Dao? Y-You have time to descend here today? Is there something wrong with the operation of this world?]

Then, another voice replied—more ancient and indifferent, seemingly devoid of emotion, yet carrying an almost imperceptible sense of stifled frustration.

It was the same voice that had spoken with Porcelain Dad through "customer service" before.

[Nothing is amiss. There is an item here. Take good care of it.]

The youthful voice—the Primordial Heavenly Dao—seemed to grow even more nervous:

[I respectfully obey the Divine Decree! May I ask what manner of important item it is, to require Your Lordship to personally—]

The ancient voice—the Primordial Great Dao—cut him off, brief and to the point:

[The white lotus in the pond. Within it is an Otherworldly Soul. I have reached an agreement with the ruler of that world and granted it Primordial Household Registration to reside here temporarily.]

[A-An Otherworldly Soul?!]

The Heavenly Dao Youth's voice abruptly rose, full of shock and a hint of panic.

[My Lord! Th-This may harm the Primordial origin! To privately introduce a soul from another world—if the others were to—]

[It is not private.]

The Great Dao's voice remained calm, but there was an unquestionable edge to it.

[It is an exchange—Agreed Immigration. You need not worry. Simply watch over it. Unless it is a catastrophe that destroys heaven and earth in the Primordial World, do not disturb my peace.]

The Heavenly Dao Youth seemed to choke on his words. After a long while, he muttered softly, sounding aggrieved and confused:

[An equal exchange? Using the Twelve Petals Pure World White Lotus in exchange for... for such a weak Otherworldly Spirit? My Lord, have you been... ahem, My Lord, this spirit's origins are peculiar. It possesses no cultivation whatsoever. What if—]

The Great Dao's voice seemed to pause, as though recalling some unpleasant experience. Its tone became even flatter, even carrying an almost imperceptible trace of disdain:

[...Just keep her safe. So long as she does not die, that is enough. As for the rest, do as you please.]

After a moment of silence, it added another sentence. It sounded like it was speaking to itself, yet both the Heavenly Dao and Su Miao, secretly eavesdropping in the pond, heard it clearly:

[...Besides, with her? She is beneath even a Primordial ant. If she can destroy this world... heh, that would save me quite a bit of trouble. I would finally have a reason to—]

The rest of its voice gradually faded, seemingly touching upon certain unspoken calculations. In the end, it vanished completely. That supreme will had departed.

Only the Primordial Heavenly Dao remained, apparently left in a mess for quite some time.

Su Miao listened with her heart pounding, torn between fear and laughter.

So, in the eyes of this Primordial Great Dao, she was a "troublesome freebie," tossed to a subordinate department for the Primordial Heavenly Dao to manage. He even thought she was too weak to possibly destroy heaven and earth?

And if she did destroy it, it would make things easier for him?

What kind of blame-shifting boss was this?!

And this Heavenly Dao... he sounded like a teenager?

He felt a little innocent and easily fooled, somehow?

His own boss had forcibly shoved an "otherworldly burden" onto him, and he seemed pretty aggrieved about it?

Fine. It looked like her Direct Guardian was a young man, while the big boss was both a hands-off boss and a Joker...

This opening was getting more and more "interesting."

Su Miao complained inwardly.

At that moment, the Heavenly Dao Youth seemed to have finally digested this sudden "entrusting of an orphan."

With resignation and helplessness in his voice, his consciousness lightly swept across Su Miao's soul in the pond, now fused with the Twelve Petals Pure World White Lotus of his world, as though registering her as a matter of routine:

[Since that is the case... then stay here properly.

This is Fangzhang Immortal Island in the East Sea, protected by an Innate Grand Formation.

It is difficult to find from the outside, and difficult to spy upon as well. For you, it is the safest place.

The pond contains Three Lights Divine Water. It is remarkably effective at nourishing the divine soul and rebuilding the physical body. Make good use of it.

Do not... do not cause trouble for this Heavenly Dao.]

As soon as the voice fell, it too vanished without a sound. It seemed to have hidden away somewhere to silently process the reality that "a Lin Daiyu had fallen from the sky"—a troublemaker, in other words.

Mount Fangzhang?

Three Lights Divine Water?

Innate Grand Formation?

Su Miao silently committed these terms to memory. She did not really understand them, but they sounded powerful and safe.

She examined herself once more.

The Pure World White Lotus's roots were buried deep in the bottom of the pool, greedily yet elegantly drawing in the vast, gentle energy within the Three Lights Divine Water.

That energy passed through its roots and stem, through its lotus leaves, slowly flowing into the flower bud and nourishing her soul.

Together with the small piece Great Dao had given her earlier, the scraps of the Twenty-Four Petals Pure World White Lotus Origin that had already fused into her soul allowed the Twelve Petals White Lotus to offer no resistance at all—in fact, it actively accepted them, repairing her soul.

And imperceptibly, according to some innately perfect blueprint, they began nurturing a true physical body for her.

At the same time, scattered fragments of innate inheritance belonging to the Pure World White Lotus itself began passively, intermittently pouring into her consciousness.

[Spiritual... energy...]

[Refine... transform...]

[Cultivate...]

[Dao...]

The information was vague and incomplete, like a shattered dream.

But she could roughly understand that the dense energy around her was called "spiritual energy," and that she could absorb it through this lotus body to engage in something called "cultivation," thereby becoming... stronger?

But cultivation?

How was she supposed to cultivate?

Like a plant, through photosynthesis?

Su Miao thought dazedly. Forget it, I'll just soak for now...

This divine-water bath was seriously comfortable...

Since she could not move anyway, she simply relaxed and continued soaking blissfully in the Three Lights Divine Water. As she absorbed energy, she also curiously "observed" the magnificent, wondrous, and unknown Prehistoric World beyond through the invisible Innate Grand Formation.

A new life beginning as a lotus seemed... not too bad after all?

Wrapped in the warm, rich Three Lights Divine Water and steeped in pure, dense Innate Spiritual Energy, Su Miao's soul, already exhausted from her sudden death and transmigration, quickly succumbed to that supreme comfort and fell into a deep sleep.