Battle Through the Heavens: I Am Han Feng, Respect the Teacher and Value the Dao

Tigers killed people; people killed tigers.

It was fate.

Han Feng picked up the fierce tiger's corpse, returned the way he had come, and tossed it beside the path.

By then, the woodcutters had already gone home, so Han Feng raised his Sword Finger and wrote four large characters on a sturdy tree: "The vicious tiger has been slain."

After doing all that, Han Feng glanced at the deserted mountain valley. Blue Dou Qi condensed into wings behind his back, and he shot into the clouds like a sharp sword.

Calamity

Flying freely through the mountains would not draw attention. Avoiding crowds was Han Feng's true way of traveling.

After flying for some time, Han Feng passed over Qingshan Town and arrived at the outskirts of the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

Seeing that night was about to fall, Han Feng decided to find a nearby village and ask for lodging.

Some areas on the outskirts of the Monster Beast Mountain Range were still safe, so small villages had gathered there as well.

Han Feng flew high in the sky, carefully scanning below in search of a small village that might be fortunate enough to receive Medicine Emperor Han Feng's presence tonight.

At this hour, everyone should be cooking. With smoke from their chimneys as markers, they should be easy enough to find.

After flying a little farther, Han Feng finally spotted a wisp of cooking smoke in the distance.

He sped up and was about to descend, but in the next instant, he froze.

The village at the foot of the mountain ahead was shrouded in purple mist.

Even from afar, it gave off an ominous aura.

Han Feng frowned. His Dou Qi Wings beat rapidly, and he streaked down like a ray of light, landing near the village.

A fiery barrier formed by the Sea Heart Flame isolated Han Feng from the outside. Every trace of purple mist scattered the moment it touched it.

"Is this... poison?"

Standing amid the purple mist, Han Feng felt a familiar sensation rise within him.

Without time to think further, Han Feng immediately used his Soul Power to inspect his surroundings.

Yet what he saw made his scalp go numb.

In every household, corpses lay stiffly on the ground, their skin tinged purple and their eyes bulging. All were signs of poison entering the body.

Han Feng's heart sank.

In a situation like this, the entire village was likely dead.

Could this have been a mass poisoning?

One that targeted an entire village.

If the Blood Pattern Fierce Tiger he had found that morning harmed people because of its nature, then this poisoning of an entire village was a naked crime.

Han Feng had seen no shortage of brutal and bloody scenes, but that did not mean he had grown numb to them.

With a trace of anger in his heart, Han Feng formed a hand seal.

"Gather!"

A Dou Emperor could draw upon the power of heaven and earth.

The poison mist filling the sky quickly gathered toward Han Feng and was gradually compressed into a palm-sized poison crystal.

Afterward, Han Feng walked toward the village, whose outlines had become clear.

The fleeing corpses now revealed their helpless, terrified, despairing expressions. Han Feng used his Soul Power to examine the life force of each person.

But without a doubt, no one had survived that lethal poison gas.

Until he passed a small house, Han Feng paused and stopped.

From inside the small room, he heard a living being whose heartbeat was still clear and steady.

Han Feng pushed open the door and saw the scene within.

The hut was small, and judging from its furnishings and decorations, the family must have been poor.

A mother and daughter sat leaning against the stove, tightly embracing each other.

The mother's face was pale as paper, her eyes tightly shut. Blood seeping from the corner of her mouth had already crusted over, yet she still clutched her daughter tightly, as though she wanted to protect her within her arms.

In stark contrast to her mother's expression, the little girl in her embrace had a rosy complexion and long, steady breaths. She slept deeply, as though she had consumed some great tonic.

Han Feng felt a mix of emotions.

He finally knew what that familiar feeling had been.

Calamity Poison Body, accompanied by poisonous gas.

Stepping forward, Han Feng gently lifted the girl's clothes. On her lower abdomen, he saw that Seven-colored Poison Line.

With a deep sigh, Han Feng looked at the girl, who was only four or five years old, and the anger in his heart quietly faded.

The Calamity Poison Body could bring calamity upon those nearby with the slightest mishap.

If someone with this constitution had been born into a great cultivator clan, there would still be ways to stop it. But if they were born into an ordinary household, once it erupted, it would become a tragic disaster.

Ordinary people had no power whatsoever to resist that overwhelming poisonous gas.

Han Feng tried to lift the girl from her mother's arms, but the mother's tightly locked fingers were terrifyingly rigid.

Looking at the girl's peaceful face, Han Feng could not help thinking of the Heavenly Poison Girl from his previous life.

Are you her?

If so, then it truly is fate.

Fate had brought them together again, and in this life, Han Feng already possessed a way to change the Heavenly Poison Girl's destiny.

Yet fate seemed equally cruel. The girl had not escaped her first calamity.

How was Han Feng supposed to explain to her that everyone in the village had died because of her Calamity Poison Body?

His emotions were incomparably complicated as Han Feng turned and walked out of the room.

To be fair, the Heavenly Poison Girl of his previous life had committed countless sins. She had created many high-grade poisons and controlled the upper ranks of cultivators in the Cloudy Empire.

After Han Feng obtained a method to resolve the Calamity Poison Body, he had considered using it to persuade the Heavenly Poison Girl to lay down her butcher's knife.

Unfortunately, by then, the Heavenly Poison Girl had already died suddenly from the backlash of her poison body.

Those cultivators had also been buried alongside her when the poison spiraled out of control.

If this had been the Heavenly Poison Girl from his previous life, Han Feng would not have felt much pity.

But in this life, she was still a child whose mind had not yet matured—Han Feng never believed in sins one was born with.

The girl slowly woke up, but what awaited her was a hell of despair.

"Mother, Mother!"

The girl struggled free from her mother's embrace, only to discover that her mother's hands were as cold as ice.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

At that moment, the girl innocently believed that her mother was merely sick, clumsily examining her body.

Han Feng silently watched everything. In some matters, the little girl was not as fortunate as he was.

They had both become orphans, but Han Feng had been only an infant at the time and had no memories of it.

The little girl, however, was now too old to be fooled with excuses.

"Little Girl."

Han Feng suddenly spoke, startling her.

"Y-you, who are you?"

"Do you remember what happened just now?"

Han Feng asked.

The little girl froze, then fearfully backed away a few steps.

"I, I..."

Terrifying memories began flooding into her mind.

At dusk, she had accidentally eaten a medicinal herb. Then her head began to feel dizzy. When she returned home, her body started releasing waves of purple gas. Mother, Mother, she...

The girl's tears began pouring uncontrollably. She shoved Han Feng aside and ran outside.

She ran into a neighbor's home and saw the neighbor's miserable corpse.

Staggering along, the little girl continued to another house and found several more bodies...

After running through all the nearby houses and failing to find a single living person, the girl finally broke down and collapsed onto the ground.

"I'm sorry... Mother..."

"I'm sorry... everyone..."

Han Feng walked over to the girl but said nothing.

"C-can you save Mother? Save everyone?"

The girl cried to Han Feng.

Other than herself, he was the only living person at the scene, even though she did not know him.

Han Feng fell silent. After a moment, he said, "I'm sorry. They... are already dead."

The girl glared at Han Feng in fury.

"No! Mother isn't dead! Everyone isn't dead!"

A thunderous boom sounded in the sky, and rain began pouring down without warning.

Han Feng did not argue. He merely looked up at the sky as the curtain of rain soaked his face.

Destiny

The rain grew heavier and heavier, soaking both of them to the skin in no time.

The girl was still crying. Her tears ran together with the rain, and her purple hair clung wetly to her skin, leaving her helpless and pitiful.

Though Han Feng stood in the rain as well, his long hair remained neatly tied. Even as the rain drenched him, it did nothing to diminish his bearing.

He looked at the girl with pity. He had no right to stop her from grieving.

Just as he had not presumptuously taken the girl away and deceived her by claiming that the villagers had died from some other cause.

When facing others, Han Feng first offered them equal respect.

The girl was repenting, and the last trace of hesitation in Han Feng's heart turned to resolve.

"The Spirit of the Great Sea forgives you. From this moment onward, your sins shall be cleansed."

Han Feng slowly bent down, placing his large hand over the girl's wet purple hair.

At the same time, a beating ocean core rose behind him. Azure light swallowed the darkness of the sky and illuminated it until it shone bright.

Warmth drove away the cold rain. The girl raised her head blankly, hope in her eyes.

"Your calamity ends here!"

Han Feng's figure was enveloped in sacred sea light. In the girl's eyes, he looked like a god descending into the world.

At that moment, she believed that her mother had not lied to her.

"Child, don't be afraid. One day, you will find a place where you belong."

"Mother..."

The girl's tears filled her eyes once more. She slowly closed them and let herself fall into the endless sea.

Han Feng carried the girl into the house. Warm Dou Qi dried the rainwater from both of them.