Exterminating the Clan, Calming the Heart (2)

Feng Tiancheng watched this sword strike, knowing he couldn't block it. He could only use all his cultivation, the Spiritual Power Lu Chen had developed. If this move couldn't kill the Cultivator before him, then he and Lu Chen would be in danger.

There was no more time for Feng Tiancheng to think. He formed a hand seal, his consciousness entering the Twin Fish Plate, and began to draw Lu Chen's cultivation into the Spiritual Power in his lower abdomen.

Slowly, the green light on Lu Chen's forehead faded. Lu Chen directly fell to the ground, unconscious. At this moment, ten red tentacles flew out from the Yin-Yang Plate in his abdomen.

The tentacles flew directly towards the Cultivator leader, striking him repeatedly, shattering and absorbing his Spiritual Energy attacks, and transferring the Spiritual Energy to Lu Chen himself.

The Cultivator leader was merely a mortal cultivator. He had reached this point due to rewards from his sect. Now, seeing such a bizarre technique, he panicked and dared not resist further.

Looking at the incoming red light tentacles and the unconscious Lu Chen, he wasn't sure if he could defeat these strange tentacles. He still had a mission from his sect to complete. After a moment of thought, he grabbed Blind Lu and flew into the distance.

Feng Tiancheng watched the Cultivator leader fly away and finally let out a long sigh, retracting his Spiritual Power.

Feng Tiancheng looked at the departing Cultivator leader and thought of his past glory, debating with various prodigies. Now, he could only hide within a young man's body, feeling a profound sense of melancholy.

Feng Tiancheng flew out of the Twin Fish Plate and began to observe his surroundings, waiting for Lu Chen to wake up.

The village layout now was not much different from the village back then. The ancestral hall before him was where he used to hold discussions and entertain guests; the traces of the past were still visible.

Feng Tiancheng turned again to look at the Cultivators he had just killed. Feng Tiancheng had always felt they had ulterior motives, which was why they had left Blind Lu behind.

Feng Tiancheng sifted through the Cultivators' corpses. Besides a token engraved with a Spirit Plant, they had no other items that could prove their identity.

Feng Tiancheng moved the bodies of the surrounding villagers to the plaza. At this moment, he discovered a zither beneath the ruins of the ancestral hall. He felt a sense of familiarity with this zither, but couldn't recall where he had seen it.

Four hours later, Feng Tiancheng had moved all the corpses to the plaza.

"Grandpa, Grandpa!" Lu Chen suddenly woke up and quickly asked Feng Tiancheng how his grandfather was.

"Your grandfather was taken by that Cultivator, but I don't think he's in any danger. Otherwise, he would be dead by now."

"What you need to do now is cultivate properly. Just ten Cultivators were already too much for us. Next time, if there are more, we won't survive."

Under Feng Tiancheng's comfort, Lu Chen's emotions gradually stabilized.

Lu Chen looked at the scene in the plaza, unable to believe that just two or three days ago, this place had been so harmonious.

Although not wealthy, it was still a happy life with the men hunting together, the women weaving cloth, and the children playing. But now, everyone had been killed.

At this moment, Lu Chen truly understood the meaning of his grandfather's words about ants cultivating, but the price paid was too great.

Lu Chen pounded himself in pain. Slowly, his state of mind began to transform, and an aura of sharpness emerged in his presence.

Feng Tiancheng nodded slightly as he watched Lu Chen's changing aura, thinking, It seems that this major upheaval in the clan has set a goal for Lu Chen's cultivation.

Suddenly, Lu Chen saw the zither in Feng Tiancheng's hand. Lu Chen recognized it as his grandfather's zither. Lu Chen struggled to his feet and ran over, picking up the zither and stroking it, as if his grandfather were still by his side.

As Lu Chen stroked the zither, he accidentally touched a button. A hidden compartment in the zither opened, and a token, a fiery red pearl, and a letter fell out.

Lu Chen picked up the three items. He had seen the token before, but this pearl and letter were new to him. There was a line of text on the envelope: "Left for my grandson, Lu Chen."

Feng Tiancheng looked at the pearl and the token, and suddenly understood where the sense of familiarity came from. These were his old belongings, an identity token and the Yang Sea Pearl. But he didn't understand why these items were here, or who the owner of this zither was.

"Little Lu'er, whose zither is this?"

"It's my grandfather's. He loved playing the zither the most."

Lu Chen opened the letter and, upon reading its contents, finally understood the origin of Blind Lu.

Blind Lu was a Cultivator who had followed the Azure Emperor. After the Azure Emperor ascended, he came to the village to guard the Secret Realm left by the Azure Emperor, and had been waiting for someone who could enter the Ancient Parasol Tree. When he found Lu Chen that year, he saw the pattern on Lu Chen's Twin Fish Plate, and later found this pearl, he knew that day was fast approaching.

Just two days ago, when Lu Chen entered the Ancient Parasol Tree and saw the sky-piercing light, a group of Cultivators arrived, wanting to seize the Secret Realm left by the Azure Emperor. Blind Lu, taking advantage of the chaos, wrote this letter, telling Lu Chen to live well and cultivate diligently. As long as these people hadn't obtained the Secret Realm, no one would harm him.

He also left the token for entering the Secret Realm and the pearl he had found for Lu Chen, telling Lu Chen to cultivate diligently to save him.

Knowing this fact, Lu Chen's guilt weighed even heavier. His ability to cultivate was apparently exchanged for the lives of an entire village. If he could choose again, Lu Chen felt that being a mortal would be perfectly fine.

Feng Tiancheng was also reading the contents of the letter. Lu Chen was heartbroken and didn't think much of it, but he had lived for tens of thousands of years and immediately felt that this matter was not as simple as it appeared.

"Little Lu'er, what is your grandfather's name?"

"I don't know my grandfather's name, but the villagers all call him Blind Lu."

"Blind Lu?" Feng Tiancheng thought of someone. He was an extremely arrogant person, but given his personality, he certainly wouldn't stay here.

He needed to understand what changes had occurred in this world. He also needed to retrieve the fragments of the Primal Yang Twin Fish Compass and check if his other incarnations were still around.

But the most important thing now was to guide Lu Chen to become a true Cultivator, to give him the ability to protect himself. He would never grow in this small place; only in the crucible of life and death could one grow rapidly.

Feng Tiancheng turned to Lu Chen and said, "The village is already like this. The dead cannot be brought back to life. Let's let them be buried soon. You still have a long road ahead, and your grandfather is waiting for you to save him."

Lu Chen looked at Feng Tiancheng, understanding that now was not the time for sadness. His grandfather was waiting for him to save him, and he had to find the murderer and avenge the villagers. All of this was forcing him to become strong quickly.

For now, he had to let the villagers be buried properly before thinking about the next step.

Two hours later, night fell. Lu Chen dug grave pits in the plaza and buried all the villagers, erecting tombstones. He then kowtowed three times before each grave, vowing silently in his heart: he would find the murderer, he would save his grandfather, and he would avenge the villagers.

Feng Tiancheng watched Lu Chen, finding his grandfather and protecting those around him had gradually become a belief and a goal in Lu Chen's heart.

This had become the driving force for Lu Chen's cultivation. Powerful cultivation always stemmed from a purpose. Thinking of this, Feng Tiancheng nodded slightly.

Feng Tiancheng took out a token he had just found on the Cultivators' bodies and handed it to Lu Chen.

"This is a token I just found on the Cultivators' bodies. It should be their identity token. We can start from here and perhaps find your grandfather."

"Your grandfather also said in the letter that he would be fine as long as those people hadn't obtained the Secret Realm. And now, the identity token for entering the Secret Realm is with you. This is enough to ensure your grandfather's safety for the time being. However, we can't guarantee that these people won't harm your grandfather if they can't get the Secret Realm. So, you also need to speed up your cultivation and gain enough strength to save your grandfather."

Lu Chen nodded as he looked at the token.

He had lived in Qingfang Village his entire life, never having seen the outside world. He had no idea which faction this token belonged to, but at least it was a lead.

Lu Chen thought for a moment, finally making up his mind. He said, "Grandpa Feng, I've decided to leave the village and venture out to cultivate. Although Grandpa isn't in immediate danger, accidents can happen. Grandpa Feng, will you come with me? Didn't you say you wanted to travel the world before?"

Lu Chen looked at Feng Tiancheng, seemingly seeking his opinion, "Perhaps cultivators outside will know which faction this token belongs to, and that will be the fastest way to find Grandpa. Once my cultivation is strong enough, I'll not only be able to protect myself but also the people around me in the future."

Feng Tiancheng nodded in agreement with Lu Chen's reasoning. To him, this was undoubtedly the right path. He was currently extremely weak, with at most the strength of the fifth level of the Breath Regulation Realm, and he still needed to recover his cultivation within the Twin Fish Plate. Only by increasing Lu Chen's cultivation could his own recovery speed up.

At this moment, Lu Chen took out the bead he had just obtained and said to Feng Tiancheng, "Grandpa Feng, what use is this?"

Feng Tiancheng took the bead from Lu Chen's hand and then asked Lu Chen to take out the Twin Fish Plate. He said, "This is the Yang Sea Pearl, a fragment of the Primal Yang Twin Fish Compass."

As he spoke, Feng Tiancheng guided the bead and pressed it towards the eye socket of the Black Fish. However, after assembling it, it fell off again after a while.

Seeing this, Lu Chen asked, "Grandpa Feng, do all the fragments need to be gathered together for it to work?"

Feng Tiancheng felt there was some truth to that. He asked Lu Chen to pack some essential items, preparing to take the first step on the path of cultivation.

Behind Green Mountain Village, Blind Lu appeared youthful. A group of cultivators stood behind him, observing everything in the village.

A person behind him spoke, "Lord of Ceremonies, your paper clone has been taken by those cultivators who were fighting over the Secret Realm. However, the young master seems to have the Seventh Ancestor Incarnation of Our Emperor behind him. Should we tell him about our plan?"

Blind Lu shook his head. Although there had been a slight accident, it was good overall. "With him here, we won't need to arrange a guide anymore. Let's go and prepare for the next step."