The novel is about Bai Shuangshan, a villager in Tai'an Prefecture, Shandong Province, and his wife in the Ming Dynasty. Because of the drought, they were both starved to death and left behind a 12-year-old daughter. One day, a monk passed through Tai'an Prefecture and saw Bai Shuangshan's daughter was lonely and helpless, so he felt compassionate and took her to Mount Tai to be adopted by a monk named Master Zhenru, who named her Lian'an. Since then, Lian An has been practicing Buddhism under the guidance of Master Zhenru. Six years later, when Lian An was eighteen years old, she bid farewell to Master Zhenru, went down the mountain to visit Taoism, and established her own school. On the way, she met a white ape immortal who gave her a volume of heavenly scripture called "White Lotus Sutra". Lian An felt as if he had found a treasure, and studied hard, thus learning supernatural powers and spells. Later, when the government forced the people to rebel, she gathered a crowd to rebel against the government, and led the rebels to occupy Liulin Village, established a sect, and became the founder of the White Lotus Sect, Master Bailian.