When Lu Chen woke, the entire pit was filled with black impurities, giving off a foul stench.
Lu Chen hurriedly climbed out of the pit. With a single jump, he vaulted more than twenty feet into the air and plunged straight into a small lake beside it.
Lu Chen stared at himself in astonishment. His body had become slender and tall, his skin as fair and tender as a baby's, his facial features sharply defined, while his soft, lustrous black hair hung obediently to his waist.
Lu Chen could scarcely believe this was himself. He remembered that he had only arrived here three or four days ago. How had he changed so much? He hurriedly climbed from the lake and grabbed Feng Tiancheng. "Grandpa Feng, how did I become like this?"
"You have successfully entered the Qi Gathering Realm. Every part of your body has been strengthened, and your physical strength has already reached the great completion of the Qi Gathering Realm. A single punch carries roughly a thousand jin of force. Once your cultivation catches up, your strength will double again."
"Furthermore, each of your minor realms grants you a thousand jin of strength, more than twice that of an ordinary person. Once your cultivation reaches great completion in the Qi Gathering Realm, one punch will carry nearly ten thousand jin of force. With a few fortuitous encounters, it may grow even stronger." Feng Tiancheng raised his head and looked at Lu Chen with a genial smile. "Try out your strength now and get used to it."
Lu Chen swung his hand and struck a stone. With a bang, the stone instantly shattered into powder.
At the sight, Lu Chen could no longer contain his excitement. He raised his head to the sky and shouted, "I can finally cultivate! I'm a cultivator now!"
But Feng Tiancheng suddenly grabbed Lu Chen. "It's time for us to leave. I'll accompany you in your cultivation for a while."
Lu Chen looked at Feng Tiancheng in surprise. "Grandpa Feng, you're coming with me? That's wonderful! Grandpa will definitely be happy to see you return with me."
Feng Tiancheng smiled. "My mission has already been completed. I want to go out and take a look, to see what exactly has happened on the continent and why the Primal Yang Twin Fish Compass shattered into this state. My true body has already ascended, so if I wish to leave, I can only reside within your Twin Fish Plate. Besides, your cultivation still needs my guidance, doesn't it? Hahaha."
With that, he led Lu Chen outside.
Standing beyond the city, Feng Tiancheng held the Twin Fish Plate in his hand and formed a hand seal, drawing the entire city, along with its medicinal herbs, Spirit Plants, and the phantom of the old man outside, into the Twin Fish Plate.
On the way back, Feng Tiancheng began guiding Lu Chen in using the Twin Fish Plate through his consciousness.
Inside the Twin Fish Plate, Lu Chen looked around at its space. He had never seen a magical treasure like this before.
Feng Tiancheng explained, "This is a magical treasure I used while cultivating in the past. It contains a world of its own. I created seven levels of space within it, storing secret arts and divine abilities, pills and materials, Spirit Plants and spirit beasts."
"Your cultivation is still insufficient, so you can only use the middle level for now. As the core, this place has the densest spiritual energy, and you can use it as a cultivation ground. Once your cultivation advances and you recover the other fragments, the spiritual energy density throughout the entire space will double, and it will gain even more functions."
Before they knew it, they had reached the village entrance. Lu Chen was about to rush inside when Feng Tiancheng abruptly pulled him back.
Feng Tiancheng looked at the village, his brows slightly furrowed. Though he had not returned for a long time, the village should never have been filled with such a bloody aura. There was danger here.
Lu Chen looked at Feng Tiancheng, not understanding what he meant, then turned back to look at him.
"Grandpa Feng, let's go. You stayed inside the Ancient Parasol Tree for so long. You must miss this place terribly, right?"
"You'd best prepare yourself. Something must have happened here."
Feng Tiancheng gathered all his cultivation around himself. If anything happened, he would be able to act at the first moment.
Hearing Feng Tiancheng's words, Lu Chen found it strange. How could the place where he had lived for so long possibly be dangerous?
The moment they entered the village, a thick stench of blood rushed at them. Blood covered the ground throughout the village.
Lu Chen's eyes reddened at the sight, and he charged forward.
At first glance, he saw Aunt Wang clutching Little Doggy in her arms, frozen in the posture of running forward. Yet a sword had pierced through her from behind, pinning her to the ground as blood continued to pour out.
Looking at Aunt Wang and Little Doggy's corpses, Lu Chen could still picture how they had urged him to work hard just two days ago. He still remembered Little Doggy saying they would cultivate together, but now...
Lu Chen carried Aunt Wang and Little Doggy down and laid them on the ground. He trembled helplessly. Perhaps being unable to cultivate would have only saddened him for a time, but now, seeing his loved ones die before his eyes, all he felt was despair.
Lu Chen suddenly thought of his grandfather and ran madly toward home, shouting, "Grandpa! Grandpa is still here! Aunt Wang and Little Doggy are already gone. Grandpa, nothing must happen to you!"
Feng Tiancheng's brows drew tightly together. He knew two people could not possibly account for such a heavy stench of blood. More people must have been killed. He hurried after Lu Chen.
Along the way, Lu Chen saw the villagers he had once lived alongside.
Uncle Wang, Aunt Sun, Brother Xiao Ma, Grandpa Zhao—after they returned from work or hunting, they would always bring him some strange little trinket. Brother Xiao Ma had even rubbed Lu Chen's head two days ago and said he believed Lu Chen would surely become the village's first cultivator. But now, all of them lay on the ground.
Just then, a voice reached Lu Chen's ears. "Run! A group of cultivators came to seize Heavenly Emperor's treasure. Everyone in the village has been killed!"
The speaker was the Old Beggar from the village. Covered in blood, he looked at Lu Chen.
Lu Chen hurried over and tearfully picked up the Old Beggar. "Grandpa Beggar, it's me, Little Lu! I can cultivate now! Why did the village become like this? Why are all the villagers gone? Where is my grandfather?"
The Old Beggar struggled to open his eyes and looked at Lu Chen. "Little Lu, is that you? You've become a cultivator already. Your grandfather... they took him to the ancestral hall and are making him hand over Heavenly Emperor's treasure."
Suddenly, the Old Beggar seemed to recall something and shoved Lu Chen away. "Run! You're no match for those people. Run! You have to live, you have to liv—"
Before he could finish, the Old Beggar's hand fell limp, and his breathing stopped.
"Grandpa Beggar, Grandpa Beggar! Don't die, don't die." Lu Chen looked at the Old Beggar, his body trembling helplessly.
Feng Tiancheng watched from the side. He had not expected the village to end up like this. He looked toward the ancestral hall. "Stop crying. If we make it in time, we might still be able to save your grandfather."
Feng Tiancheng could sense the aura of living people within the ancestral hall.
"Really, Grandpa Feng? Then let's go!"
Lu Chen hurriedly laid the Old Beggar on the ground and followed Feng Tiancheng toward the ancestral hall.
Outside the ancestral hall, Feng Tiancheng pulled Lu Chen behind him and hid beside a pile of grass. "There's a group of people inside. We can't rush in recklessly. The Twin Fish Token's spiritual power was nearly exhausted last time. Without spiritual power to replenish it, I may not be able to defeat them. We can only think of another way."
Feng Tiancheng had Lu Chen take out the Twin Fish Plate. "I will borrow your body to use a secret art in actual combat once. But after using the secret art, without spiritual energy to support me, I will be weakened for a long time. So we only have one chance."
Lu Chen looked at Feng Tiancheng and nodded heavily. "Saving Grandpa comes first."
Feng Tiancheng held the Twin Fish Plate in his left hand and aimed it at Lu Chen, while his right hand formed a seal in the air. A burst of azure-green light rose from Lu Chen's body. This was the color of Feng Tiancheng's wood attribute.
Lu Chen felt the aura around him steadily growing stronger. Is this what a true cultivator feels like? Lu Chen muttered.
As the aura gradually stabilized, Lu Chen looked at Feng Tiancheng. "Grandpa Feng, what should I do?"
Feng Tiancheng withdrew the Twin Fish Plate. "I will take control of your body. Watch from the side. Today will be the first lesson I impart to you: steadying the heart."
Feng Tiancheng raised both hands above his head and formed a gesture. Lu Chen's body began to mimic it involuntarily. Feng Tiancheng transformed into a streak of azure-green light, merged into Lu Chen's brow, and took control of his body.
Controlling Lu Chen's body, Feng Tiancheng formed a hand seal before his chest. An azure-green sword radiance appeared before him.
Feng Tiancheng explained, "This is called Sword Manifestation, a small technique for using spiritual energy. Once you reach the Breath Regulation Realm, you can draw the spiritual entity within your celestial pool out of your body and use it to attack."
Though Lu Chen found it astonishing, he was terribly worried as he looked toward the ancestral hall. "Grandpa Feng, hurry and begin. I'm worried about Grandpa."
"Zha!"
Feng Tiancheng shouted, controlling the enormous spiritual energy sword as it slashed toward the people with strong auras inside the ancestral hall.
The huge sword struck the ancestral hall with astonishing force, cleaving it into ruins.
Three people were killed outright, while four others were badly wounded, their snow-white bones exposed.
They had clearly not expected another powerful cultivator to be in the village, and they all watched Lu Chen warily.
Lu Chen saw a cultivator who appeared to be their leader, gripping Blind Lu.
Lu Chen shouted, "Grandpa! Grandpa! That man is my grandfather! Save him!"
Blind Lu did not respond to Lu Chen. He appeared to have fallen unconscious.
Feng Tiancheng looked at the cultivators before him. More than ten of them were somewhat difficult for him in his current state. He could only end this swiftly.
With that, Feng Tiancheng summoned five small flying swords and sent them slashing rapidly toward the cultivators ahead.
Seeing the flying swords rushing toward them, the cultivators raised their weapons to block and dodge. But the swords came too quickly, and three more people were cleaved to death.
Looking at the six cultivators remaining, Feng Tiancheng casually picked up a longsword from the ground, rose into the air, and began fighting one of them.
Feng Tiancheng's cultivation was currently restricted, but his battle experience from countless years remained. How could the group before him possibly be his match? With a backhanded flourish of his sword, he killed the cultivator before him, then turned and flew toward another.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Gradually, the cultivators fell one by one, while Lu Chen's body steadily slowed. In the end, only the cultivator leader holding Blind Lu remained.
The cultivator leader had been observing Lu Chen the entire time. Seeing Lu Chen's body slow, he understood that Lu Chen had reached his limit. Now was the time for him to strike.
The cultivator tossed Blind Lu aside, raised the magical treasure longsword in his hand, and unleashed a blast of spiritual energy at Lu Chen.
Feng Tiancheng exhausted all his strength just to raise the sword in his hand, barely blocking the spiritual energy attack.
Feng Tiancheng controlled the sword in his hand and sent it flying toward the cultivator. But before the sword could reach the cultivator leader, Lu Chen's body could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.
The cultivator leader looked at Lu Chen and burst into laughter. "So what if your cultivation is strong? You still can't hold on! Boy, your life is mine now."
With that, he raised his sword and hacked down at Lu Chen.
Before you continue