Chapter 753 - 345: Hope

Chapter 753: Chapter 345: Hope

Divpo City, endless mist and relentless abyssal monsters remain unchanged day after day.

The Sarawo Mine, however, presents a different scene. Although still the harsh environment, a sense of hope and tranquility has appeared in the miners’ eyes.

In the work shed, Batty looked at his Divine Relic, the Compassionate and Merciful Heavenly Mother Blade, gently stroking the blade, feeling a sense of cold resonance flowing into his heart without any barriers.

Batty let out a long breath. After returning from the last mine exploration, he had a heart-to-heart with Bamuta, establishing true trust. However, Bamuta was straightforward and would not take him on further explorations until Batty ascended to Angel. Having Batty, Bamuta was no longer in a rush; he recognized his role to support Batty, to welcome the descent of Deity. His insignificant power didn’t matter, only serving as protection at this stage.

The awakening of the third Life Star made him feel closer to Mr. Cancer.

To transform objects is to be like the Tathagata. ℯℯ𝘭.

Bamuta reminded him that cultivation is individual; only through trials and sincere understanding, and especially through realizations gained from personal actions, can one truly awaken and feel the deity’s compassion.

Begging is greed and degeneration. Mist City has already proven this through painful lessons; the mistake must not be repeated, nor should the only light be extinguished again.

Thus, during this period Batty restrained his behavior of asking about everything and instead turned inward to cultivate.

Batty closed his eyes and silently recited in his heart, "To transform objects is to be like the Tathagata."

Suddenly, a faint golden trace appeared on the blade, and in the blink of an eye, it spread from the edge to the entire blade like ink dispersing, as if a light golden film covered the whole Heavenly Mother Blade. It was the ability of the blade’s third Life Star, symbolizing brightness, redemption, and purification. The surging power and purifying soul indeed felt transformative.

Batty concealed the golden light, withdrawing the Mother Blade into his body. It wasn’t as sharp as when guided by Mr. Cancer, but he finally found his own rhythm and understanding. Mr. Cancer had once said that everyone sees the celestial net differently, meaning that the same Divine Relic can awaken different powers of the third Life Star in different hands. Mr. Cancer provided the direction, showing him the distant mountains, but the path to those mountains still had to be walked by him to truly belong to his power.

The sound of knocking echoed, followed by Bamuta’s voice.

Batty got up and opened the door, seeing Bamuta with a serene smile, seemingly with a hint of joy in his eyes.

"Elder, what is it?" Batty, moved, welcomed Bamuta into the shed.

As Bamuta walked in, he spoke softly, "There is news about your sister."

"She..." Batty paused slightly, his gaze flickering as he looked at Bamuta, lips slightly parted as if wanting to say something but not knowing how to speak.

Bamuta patted Batty on the shoulder, "Don’t worry, she is working as a laborer in a reputable Sheren grain merchant’s shop. Although tough, it’s relatively decent in Roto, at least she’s living in the city."

Batty looked at Bamuta gratefully, rubbing his fingers, instinctively blurting out, "Amitabha Buddha."

Bamuta’s eyes flickered, smiling subtly, yet with meaning, "Cultivate well; there will be opportunities in the future."

Compared to those Roto villagers living between the lighthouse and the Inner City, Batty’s sister’s situation was indeed considered better. In the city, they didn’t have to worry about abyssal monsters suddenly appearing, and even the whispers were lighter. Moreover, working in a Sheren household was much safer than working under the Tisora, who could arbitrarily implicate and kill an entire Roto family merely for a glance.

Batty took a deep breath and poured a bowl of water for Bamuta. He knew that Bamuta wanted him to focus more on cultivation. His sister was indeed his main concern, and now, aside from using the wooden fish to resist the whisper’s erosion for the Rotos, all his time was devoted to cultivation.

Bamuta sat down, pondering for a moment, and asked, "Is the third Life stable?"

"Stable." Batty nodded.

Bamuta’s gaze deepened, recalling the golden light that appeared when their group chanted Amitabha Buddha. After returning, no matter how sincerely he chanted, the golden light did not appear.

Undoubtedly, the golden light was some sort of divine manifestation, proof that a deity was watching over them. He indeed sensed that hidden power of chanting maxims within Batty. Now, he had placed all hope on Batty. On the path of the Lightkeeper, he had reached the end; though Batty had only just reached Three Lives, with a deity’s attention, Bamuta firmly believed that Batty was the light of hope they awaited in despair.

"Very well, going forward, we have to be cautious about your path choice. Fundamentally, you’re still on the Lightkeeper’s path, but it’s somewhat different because of that one’s guidance. I look forward to you walking a path distinct from the Lamp-Burning Angel, as it means new hope; however, I believe the Wish Power required for promotion would be similar to that of a Lightkeeper. The Lightkeeper’s promotion requires becoming the spiritual leader of the Roto; I’m already preparing for this, so you need not worry."

The spiritual leader is the unique nourishment needed on the Lightkeeper’s path, also why, despite being a Sheren, Bamuta is the spiritual leader of the Roto. During this time, he was always developing more core believers for Batty, each carefully selected, not only trustworthy; between trust and preaching, many trials were set. Only such filtered core can gather enough Wish Power to lift the Hidden Power necessary for Four Lives.

Taking each step slowly, Batty was forging a different path, but its essence was tightly connected to the Lightkeeper. With his experience as the Lamp-Burning Angel, Bamuta would naturally prepare the necessary nourishment for Batty’s ascension in advance.

"Elder, what do you think was causing everyone’s Spiritual Ability to disappear at that underground river’s step after the door?" These days, though Batty needs only to cultivate, the pressure on his shoulders has become more apparent.

Bamuta’s eyes deepened momentarily, as if recalling something, but soon a smile appeared on his face, pondering as he said, "I have some guesses; from past exploration experiences, that road, each step forward faces greater challenges than the last... The disappearance of Spiritual Power could be a purely mental challenge, or a strength restriction—being stripped of power because we haven’t reached that level yet. There are many reasons, but regardless, you’ll only be able to touch it after becoming an Angel; we were lucky enough with the Greedy Angel."

Speaking, Bamuta stood up, patting Batty’s shoulder, "Don’t rush; you’re still young, and I... still have some spare strength, at least, better than my mentor..."

Bamuta watched Batty’s slightly relaxed brows, his smile deepening. At least he saw hope, whereas his mentor faced the genuinely ruthless abyss, entrusting everything not out of hope, but because of the Lightkeeper’s persistent inertia.

But he was different; looking at the young Batty, the outcome would also be different.