In the Blood Lake Realm, revealing the truth.
Xu Qing stepped into the temple, burned a stick of incense, and offered it before the goddess, saying: "This humble spirit, a deity of Bao Sheng Temple, aims to protect mothers and infants, to extend human lineage. The goddess is an ancestral deity of humanity, her virtue affecting all beings. This junior, in the pursuit of the way, deeply feels the grace and comes especially to pay respects."
After speaking, Xu Qing bowed deeply again, saying: "Furthermore, I have another request. With calamity rampant, demonic aura rampant, humanity seems plunged into deep water and fire, unable to rescue themselves. Though my magical power is shallow, I admire the goddess's legacy and grand aspiration, wishing to inherit her will. To purge evil plague, cleanse the universe, and return the mortal world to peace."
"If possible, I wish to ask the goddess to be my teacher, to seek a method to heal the world..."
After Xu Qing finished speaking, he opened the Blood Lake Realm, intending to use the millions of wishing powers to offer another stick of incense to the goddess before him.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing cherished the last bit of possibility. As soon as he inserted the Spirit Incense into the Incense Burner, the surroundings began to distort and change.
The old incense table seemed swept of snow, revealing the fresh grain of agarwood.
Looking again at the grand temple, golden ovens emitted auspicious mist, purple fog steamed, silver candles before the divine altar shone brilliantly, lighting the entire temple magnificently.
Xu Qing glanced upward, only to see the face of a rigid clay sculpture on the divine altar peeling off its chips, transforming into a bright throne adorned with dragons and phoenixes, cranes and gryphons flying.
Upon the throne, a goddess with a stately and elegant appearance, like an immortal visiting the mortal realm, glanced at him with lowered brows.
Xu Qing felt his scalp tighten, yet dared not move an inch until the goddess before him spoke a sentence, at which he eased his breath.
"Amidst calamity, for you to hold fast to your original intent is rare indeed. Now you have set forth such a grand vision. If I do not give you some guidance, I would appear cold and unfeeling, undeserving of your benevolence."
Xu Qing could hardly contain his excitement and immediately stepped forward to bow, saying: "Disciple greets Master..."
The goddess saw him and naturally accepted, without uttering a word of disapproval.
Xu Qing, witnessing this, felt even greater joy. After wandering the mortal world for so long, he finally grasped onto a powerful ally he could boast about!
"Today, you have shown this commitment and come to seek my teaching. It signifies a master-disciple bond between us. However, I am merely a goddess of the Imperial Temple, so I shall temporarily accept you as a named disciple and impart some skills for confronting calamities."
"If you do well, I might someday accept you as a formal disciple, allowing you to cultivate within my palace."
Xu Qing bowed again, whether the goddess's subtle descent could perceive his identity beyond that of a Bao Sheng Temple deity, Xu Qing cared not.
Lady Bao Sheng's mentor, what does that matter to Xu Qing?