CHAPTER 5: SLAUGHTER, CALMING THE MIND (2)

Feng Tiancheng stared at the incoming sword strike, fully aware that he couldn't withstand it. With no other choice, he poured all his cultivation into unleashing the Grand Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Mantra that Lu Chen had learnt during his time at the spirit qi pool. If this move failed to kill the cultivator before him, both he and Lu Chen would be in serious danger.

There was no room for hesitation. He quickly formed a hand seal, sent his consciousness into the Twin-Fish Medallion, and began channeling Lu Chen's qi into his lower abdomen to prepare for the technique.

The green light at Lu Chen's forehead gradually faded. He lost consciousness, and his body collapsed to the ground. Just then, ten red vines shot out from the Yin-Yang Core at his waist, straight toward the cultivators' leader.

The vines struck him again and again. Each hit shattered his spirit qi attack and absorbed the qi within, channeling it back into Lu Chen's body.

The leader was merely a mundane cultivator and wouldn't have progressed this far in his cultivation without the rewards his sect had given him. Confronted with such a strange ability, he panicked and no longer dared to face it head-on.

He glanced at the red vines closing in and then at the unconscious Lu Chen. He wasn't sure if he could overpower this strange ability, but he needed to complete his mission. After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed Blindman Lu and flew off into the distance.

Seeing the leader flee, Feng Tiancheng stopped channeling his qi and let out a long breath.

He watched the fleeing figure disappear into the sky and couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion. He had once commanded the winds and the clouds and discussed the Dao with geniuses from all over, but he had now been reduced to hiding inside the body of a teenage boy. The contrast left him filled with regret.

Feng Tiancheng emerged from the Twin-Fish Medallion and began surveying the area while waiting for Lu Chen to wake up.

The village's layout hadn't changed much from his time. The ancestral hall in front of him was the same one he had used to meet guests and hold discussions. Traces from the past still remained.

Feng Tiancheng turned to look at the bodies of the cultivators he had just killed. He strongly suspected they were after something else, which was probably why they had kept Blindman Lu alive.

He searched the bodies of the dead cultivators. Aside from a single token engraved with a spirit plant, there were no other clues about their identities.

While moving the bodies of the villagers to the plaza, he noticed a guqin buried beneath the ruins of the ancestral hall. The instrument felt strangely familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen it before.

Four hours later, he had finished moving all the bodies.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!"

Lu Chen suddenly woke up and quickly asked Feng Tiancheng about his grandfather.

"That cultivator took your grandfather away, but I don't think he will be harmed. If that cultivator meant to kill your grandfather, he would've done so already. What you need to focus on now is your cultivation. We barely survived against ten cultivators. If there are more next time, we won't make it."

After hearing Feng Tiancheng's words of comfort, Lu Chen gradually calmed down.

He stared at the plaza, where the villagers' corpses now lay. He struggled to believe how this had been a place of peace and harmony just days before.

The villagers had never been wealthy, but their lives had been filled with quiet joy. The men had hunted side by side, the women had woven cloth together, and the children had laughed and played without a worry. Life had been simple, yet full of warmth. But now, all of them were gone.

At that moment, Lu Chen finally understood the true meaning of his grandfather's teachings on an ant's path of cultivation, but the price he paid for this understanding was far too great.

He pounded his chest in anguish. Slowly, his state of mind changed, and a razor-sharp intensity began to form within his aura.

Feng Tiancheng observed the change and nodded slightly to himself. It seems this great upheaval within the village has finally given Lu Chen a clear goal in cultivation.

Lu Chen suddenly noticed the guqin in Feng Tiancheng's hands. He recognized that it was his grandfather's most treasured instrument. He scrambled to his feet and rushed over. Holding the guqin tightly, he ran his fingers over the instrument, feeling as if his grandfather were still by his side.

He accidentally pressed a hidden button on the guqin. With a faint click, a secret compartment opened, sending its contents spilling onto the ground—a token, a fiery-red pearl, and a letter.

Lu Chen picked them up. He had seen the token before, but the pearl and the letter were new to him.

Written on the envelope was a single line: To my grandson, Lu Chen.

Feng Tiancheng looked at the pearl and the token. He instantly understood where that earlier sense of familiarity had come from. Those were his long-lost belongings: the Yang Ocean Pearl and his identity token. However, he couldn't figure out why they were here or who the owner of the guqin was.

"Little Lu, whose guqin is this?"

"It was my grandpa's. He loved playing it the most."

Lu Chen opened the envelope. After reading the letter, he finally learnt the truth about Blindman Lu's background.

Blindman Lu was a cultivator who had once followed at the Green Emperor's side. After the Green Emperor ascended, Blindman Lu settled in this village to guard the secret realm that the Green Emperor had left behind in the ancient parasol tree.

Since then, Blindman Lu had been waiting for someone who could enter the secret realm. Upon finding Lu Chen, seeing the pattern on the Twin-Fish Medallion in his hand, and then subsequently discovering the pearl, Blindman Lu knew the long-awaited day was quickly approaching.

A few days ago, Lu Chen entered the ancient parasol tree and saw the light shooting into the sky. Then a group of cultivators arrived, intending to seize the secret realm. Amidst the chaos, Blindman Lu wrote this letter and told Lu Chen to stay alive and keep cultivating. He assured Lu Chen that as long as the cultivators didn't get the secret realm, no one would come after him.

Blindman Lu left two items with Lu Chen: the token required to open the secret realm and the pearl he had found. He urged Lu Chen to cultivate hard so that he could one day save him.

After learning the truth, Lu Chen felt even more burdened with guilt. His ability to cultivate had come at the cost of an entire village's lives. If he could choose again, he would have rather lived a simple life as an ordinary person.

Feng Tiancheng looked over Lu Chen's shoulder and read the letter too. Lu Chen, overwhelmed with grief, wasn't thinking much, but Feng Tiancheng, with his tens of thousands of years of experience, immediately sensed that things weren't as simple as they appeared.

"Little Lu, do you know your grandfather's name?"

"I don't. The villagers always called him Blindman Lu."

Feng Tiancheng suddenly thought of someone, a man of immense pride and haughtiness. Nevertheless, he quickly discarded the idea. Given that man's personality, he would have never willingly remained in such a desolate place.

In any case, Feng Tiancheng needed to find out what had happened to this world. He also had to recover the scattered pieces of the Yuanyang Twin-Fish Disk and determine whether his other avatars still existed.

However, right now, the most important thing was to guide Lu Chen into becoming a true cultivator, someone capable of protecting himself. Rapid progress could only come through life and death trials, and he would never grow in a small place like this.

Feng Tiancheng turned to look at Lu Chen. "There's no changing what happened. The dead cannot come back to life. It's better to lay them to rest as soon as possible. You still have a long road ahead of you, and your grandfather is waiting for you to save him."

Lu Chen met Feng Tiancheng's gaze, acknowledging he understood this was not the time to grieve.

His grandfather was still out there, waiting to be rescued, and he still had to uncover the killer and avenge the villagers. To do that, he needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

The villagers needed to be buried first. He'd figure out his next move after that.

Four hours later, night had fallen. Lu Chen had finished digging graves in the village square, properly burying each villager and placing a tombstone above them.

He kowtowed three times in front of every grave and silently vowed in his heart, I will find the killer. I will rescue my grandfather, and I will avenge everyone in the village.

Feng Tiancheng observed Lu Chen closely.

It was clear that Lu Chen's desire to save his grandfather and protect those around him had taken root as a firm belief in the boy's heart.This belief was now the driving force behind Lu Chen's cultivation. After all, strong cultivators always carried a purpose behind their training.

With this in mind, Feng Tiancheng nodded.

He then took out a token he had just retrieved from a cultivator's body and handed it to Lu Chen.

"This was found on one of the corpses. It should be their identity token. We can use this as a lead. Maybe it'll help us track down your grandfather.

"Your grandfather mentioned in the letter that as long as those people don't get their hands on the secret realm, he'll be safe. And now, the identity token needed to enter the secret realm is in your possession. That alone is enough to ensure his safety for a while. But them being unable to access the secret realm does not guarantee that your grandpa won't be harmed. That's why you must speed up your cultivation. You can only save him once you're strong enough."

Lu Chen nodded as he stared at the token.

He had lived in Greenheaven Village his entire life and had never seen the outside world. He had no idea which faction this token belonged to, but at least now he had a clue.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen finally made up his mind and said, "Grandpa Feng, I've decided to leave the village to cultivate and seek opportunities to get stronger. My grandpa is safe for now, but accidents can still happen. Please, come with me. Didn't you say you wanted to travel the world?"

He looked at Feng Tiancheng, as if seeking his approval. "Maybe some cultivators out there will recognize which faction this token belongs to. That way, we'll find my grandpa sooner. Once I become strong enough, I'll be able to protect myself and everyone around me."

Feng Tiancheng nodded in agreement. This was undoubtedly the right choice for him. He was currently extremely weak, with a strength at most equivalent to the fifth level of the Qi Absorption Realm. He still needed time within the medallion to recover his cultivation. The faster Lu Chen improved, the faster Feng Tiancheng could regain his strength.

Just then, Lu Chen took out the pearl and asked, "Grandpa Feng, do you know what this is?"

Feng Tiancheng took the pearl from Lu Chen's hand, then had him bring out the Twin-Fish Medallion.

He explained, "This is the Yang Ocean Pearl, one of the pieces of the Yuanyang Twin-Fish Disk."

As he spoke, Feng Tiancheng guided the pearl and pressed it into the eye socket of the black fish on the medallion. It fit for a moment but then fell out again.

Lu Chen asked, "Grandpa Feng, does that mean all the pieces need to be gathered for it to work?"

Feng Tiancheng found that Lu Chen's reasoning was sound. He then told Lu Chen to pack some essentials before he took his first step on the road of cultivation.

***

Behind the mountains of Greenheaven Village, Blindman Lu, now appearing as a young man, stood with a group of cultivators. Their gazes were all directed at the village.

One of them said from behind, "My lord, your paper clone was taken by the cultivators fighting over the secret realm. But it looks like the young master is now being followed by the Green Emperor's Seventh Ancestral Avatar. Should we tell him about our plan?"

Though there had been some unexpected turns, things were generally moving in a good direction.

Blindman Lu shook his head. "With him around, we no longer need to arrange a guide. Let's go. It's time to prepare for the next step."