Chapter Fourteen: The Calamity

  The sky is overcast, gloomy clouds are shrouded, and autumn rain is pouring down!

  In the sky above the forbidden forest, a figure flashed by like a meteor, Xiao Tian's eyes gazing forward, as the fierce wind howled and the fine rain rustled past his ears. Only to see that on Xiao Tian's body, a halo emitting a faint light enveloped him, shielding him from the raging winds and rains that came head-on.

  "Wind Family Village!" Little Tian finally saw the familiar village shrouded in rain, and his eyes suddenly became moist.

  Fengjiazhuang, the wandering son who has been away for six years has returned! The closer he gets to his hometown, the more timid Xiao Tian's heart becomes.

  "The clouds in the sky obscure my vision, and thoughts of home bring tears to my heart." As he hovered in mid-air, Xiaotian murmured to himself, finally understanding the true meaning behind the poem that Rujun had taught him years ago. The petals of flowers danced lightly like a dream, and the endless silk-like rain was as fine as sorrow. This gentle rain, which didn't fall on Xiaotian's body, instead dripped into the heart of this wandering traveler, reminding him of the muddy walls by the village road, the broken fishing nets in the courtyard, the swaying oil lamp light in the dilapidated house, and that kind yet aged face. As these memories flashed before his eyes, Xiaotian's breathing quickened, and he felt a sense of unease in his heart.

  The true person hiding in the ring deeply felt Xiao Tian's emotions at this moment, and secretly sighed in his heart: "This child is kind and gentle, with a strong sense of justice and righteousness. He is indeed a man who values relationships and morality. I am fortunate to have met him. However, the great Tao is emotionless, and the highest principle is to forget emotions. Being overly emotional will inevitably lead to severe inner demons and dangers in his future cultivation path. Alas! Let's see how he will be transformed in the future!"

  "Go!" Xiaotian shouted, and the Hanguang sword flashed like lightning. In a few breaths, Xiaotian arrived at the large pit in the north of the village. He put away the Hanguang sword and walked towards his home in the north of the village. From afar, he saw that dilapidated house, which had been worn down even more by six years of wind and rain. The crumbling earth wall was covered with withered grasses swaying in the wind, and the roof made of mud was overgrown with wild grasses.

  Pushing open the creaky old wooden door, looking at the tattered fishing net hanging on the wall, looking at the short and broken roof, Xiao Tian could no longer hold back, a long-forgotten title, a voice full of nostalgia echoed in the courtyard: "Grandpa——"

  With a creak, the door opened, but instead of Old Man Feng's figure appearing in the doorway, two tall young men stood there. The one on the east side was slender and tall, with a refined and capable appearance, while the one on the west side was slightly chubby, with a large head that was particularly noticeable due to its sparse hair. At this moment, both of them were staring blankly at Little Tian, who was standing elegantly in the middle of the courtyard.

  "Thin monkey, Big Head, it's you!" Little Tian took a step forward and grabbed the hands of Thin Monkey and Big Head, saying excitedly.

  "Little Tian Ge? Little Tian Ge, is that really you?" Da Tou was the first to react, excitedly grasping Xiao Tian's hands tightly with both of his own, shaking them as he spoke, with joyful light shining in his eyes.

  "Little Tian, you're not dead? Haha, that's great!" Thin Monkey exclaimed, hugging Little Tian tightly. "Wuwu, I thought you were dead!" The excited Thin Monkey was overjoyed to the point of tears.

  "You're just waiting for me to die, aren't you?" Xiao Tian gently patted the thin monkey's shoulder and pulled over the excited and bewildered big head, with sparkling tears in his eyes.

  "Right, Little Tian, come and see Grandpa!" Da Tou seemed to remember something, and hastily pulled Xiao Tian into the house.

  "Grandfather——" Looking at the hunched figure on the kang, Xiao Tian was as if struck by a heavy blow, and stood frozen in place, unable to move.

  Is this still the familiar grandfather? Only to see that Feng Lao Er's originally short and thin body had become even thinner, his hair and beard were all white, his face was waxen yellow, his eyes were deeply sunken into their sockets, his eyeballs were dull and yellowish, without a single spark of vitality, and his lips didn't have a hint of blood color. Only the slightly trembling hands and rapid breathing could prove that this was still a living person.

  "Grandpa——" A heart-wrenching cry echoed from the broken house. But Feng Lao Er remained as still as a wooden stake, as if everything in this world had nothing to do with him anymore.

  "Little Tian Ge, after you went missing in the forbidden forest six years ago, Wind Grandfather fell ill and became a bit crazy, muttering your name every day. For several years, I and Yan Er, Da Tou and others took turns to take care of him. A month ago, Wind Grandfather suddenly couldn't speak at all and became like this now. The doctor said... the doctor said..." Monkey's words became hesitant.

  "What did the doctor say?" Little Tian asked anxiously.

  "The doctor says we should prepare for the worst!" Skinny Monkey said with a sob.

  "Ah?" Xiao Tian was shocked, his heart suddenly felt like it had fallen into an ice cellar, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He let out a mournful cry, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. The spiritual energy inside Xiao Tian's body began to rapidly disorder, and the golden elixir in his dantian also started to frantically rotate. With a sword hum, the Huan Guang Sword suddenly flew out from Xiao Tian's body and automatically revolved around his head. Xiao Tian's face was as pale as gold paper, his lips were white as snow, and his limbs were violently trembling. A weak whirlwind began to blow around him.

  The sudden change stunned Skinny Monkey and Big Head, leaving them standing there like wooden chickens, unsure of what to do.

  "Not good! Walk fire into magic!" Along with an old voice, a ring on Xiaotian's left hand flashed, and a short figure suddenly appeared in the house. It was Duanzhenshenren, but it scared Suihou and Datou to jump. What happened now has already exceeded their understanding.

  Only to see the Great Truth's hands flip over, pressing onto Xiao Tian's back. Two streams of pure true energy entered Xiao Tian's body. One stream followed Xiao Tian's meridians and straightened out the chaotic spiritual energy within his body. The other stream rushed straight to the dantian, calming the restless golden dan. After a short while, Xiao Tian's complexion gradually recovered, and the Huan Guang sword let out a soft hum as it returned to Xiao Tian's body. Only then did the exhausted Great Truth slowly withdraw his palms.

  "Wo... thanks for the help, bro." Xiao Tian calmed down.

  "Little Tian, it's too dangerous! You're a cultivator now, don't be so reckless in the future. Your grandfather isn't dead yet, what's the hurry?" said Daquan True Person with lingering fear.

  "Right, big brother, I just forgot about you in the heat of the moment. You can save Grandpa, right?" Little Tian asked, suddenly realizing.

  "There is a jade bottle carved with medicinal herbs inside the ring, you took it out." said Daquan Zhenren.

  In the gaze of Skinny Monkey and Big Headed Stupidity, Little Tian flipped his hand over, and a bottle carved with medicinal herbs appeared in his hand.

  "Take the medicine in here?" Xiaotian pulled out the stopper and poured out a bright green pill. A strong medicinal fragrance suddenly spread throughout the broken house, and Shouhuan and Dahu felt invigorated, greedily sniffing their noses.

  "This medicine is called 'Condensed Qi Pill', it's used by us cultivators to supplement our spiritual energy, but your grandfather can't take it directly, otherwise his body which has blocked meridians and poor breathing would be burst open by the powerful medicinal properties of this pill. Just place the pill under your grandfather's nose."

  "Hmm!" Xiaotian carefully placed the Cong Qi Dan under Feng Lao Er's nose. Strangely, in a short while, Feng Lao Er's pale face showed a hint of rosiness, and his breathing also became much steadier.

  "It's effective, really effective!" Xiaotian was delighted.

  "Hmm, Little Tian, this Cong Qi Dan can only treat the symptoms and not the root cause. It can temporarily save your grandfather's life, but to thoroughly restore his health, we need to think of another way." said Daquan Zhenren with a deep thought.

  "Hurry up, what's the solution?" Little Tian asked anxiously.

  "Actually, your grandfather's body is basically dead now, only a will to live is supporting his life. It's too difficult to cure him, I'm afraid the only way is to use a kind of spiritual grass called Dong Xu Cao in medicine, then he can recover." said Daquan Zhenren.

  "What's Dongxu Grass? Where is it?" Little Tian looked back at the medical books he had read before, but didn't have any impression of this spiritual grass.

  "This herb has purple or red flowers, resembling chrysanthemum, slightly smaller, growing in the water, with only two leaves, blue in color, shaped like a small sword. It is said that the leaves are highly toxic, and anyone who comes into contact with them will die immediately, while the flower is a spiritual medicine, having the effect of reviving the dead. This spiritual herb is rarely seen in the divine continent, and it is said that only in the Longevity Valley of Mount Luofu, a place for cultivating immortals, can it be cultivated."

  "Mount Luofu? Longevity Valley? Whatever sacred place it is, even if it's a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, I'll still go take a chance for Grandpa!" Little Tian said resolutely.

  Something came up at noon, so the update was a bit late, please forgive me, there will be another update tonight.