Chapter 3 Darkest Hour
In the darkness, Zhan Nianchuan stumbled and ran, with only one belief in his heart: to return to Xiaoshui Village and find his father.
Getting closer to home, Zhan Nianchuan's steps slowed down.
This is not right!
There was darkness between heaven and earth, and it was so quiet that it was scary.
Zhan Nianchuan felt that he was also being swallowed by darkness, and boundless fear struck him, making his body and mind tremble.
Where are the lights at the entrance of the village?
Where is the night watchman at the entrance of the village?
Where is dad?
The night wind blew by, carrying a strong smell of blood, as if there was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood ahead. Zhan Nianchuan looked up to the sky and roared:
"father!"
The sound came from far away. Zhan Nianchuan swung his broken arms and rushed into the village like a sharp arrow. He suddenly tripped over the rocks and trees on the ground and fell to the ground.
The stubble of the broken wood stabbed his face, and the blood flowed. He didn't realize it, struggled to stand up, and began to roar.
"father!"
"Uncle Three!"
"Aunt Tiger!"
"Second girl!"
Zhan Nianchuan's eyes were filled with blood clouds, and the clouds collapsed, and a bloody rain poured down.
He knelt on the ground and howled loudly, roaring in despair like a wild animal in desperate situation.
"Father, where are you?"
"Dad, Chuan'er is back."
"Dad, I will never call you old man again, and I will never laugh at you for not being as good as me. Come out."
"Why don't you talk?"
"sorry Sorry......"
The morning light is slightly dewy and the chill is biting.
Zhan Nianchuan knelt on the ground like a stone sculpture, lifeless. There was no expression on his face, but it seemed to contain all the expressions in the world.
In front of him was Zhan Shou, whose body was covered in blood and flesh, and his face was unrecognizable.
"Dad, I'm here to accompany you. Wait for me."
Zhan Nianchuan spurted out a mouthful of blood, fell forward heavily, and rested his head on Zhan Shou's chest, just like he did fifteen years ago.
......
High in the sky, the two monks were talking while flying away, very angry.
"These damned sea monsters actually attack innocent mortals, and they are still at the foot of our Xuantian Mountains. They are really arrogant and treat our Xuantian Sect as nothing!" A short, fat monk with a pale face was very angry.
"It's strange to say that the sea monsters have been going crazy recently and are attacking us humans. They keep claiming that they are revenge for our massacre of ordinary sea beasts." The middle-aged monk next to him frowned.
These words made the pudgy monk stunned, "Slaughter ordinary sea beasts? When have we human beings ever done this? Hiss, is this massacre of this small village also revenge?"
"It's not impossible, eh... there's actually still a living person, it's that kid from last night." The middle-aged monk scanned the ruins of the village below with his spiritual consciousness, and was greatly surprised, and then lowered his escape light.
The entire village has been completely reduced to ruins, with huge claw marks everywhere, corpses strewn on the ground, and blood turning the land in the village completely black.
A young man wearing coarse linen clothes and covered in blood fell on top of a bloody corpse, his arms twisted at a weird angle. It was Zhan Nianchuan.
The middle-aged monk stretched out his right hand to grab Zhan Nianchuan's arm, and probed his spiritual consciousness into his body. His face soon showed a look of horror, and he looked at Zhan Nianchuan again and again.
"Junior brother Ye, is there something wrong?" The short and fat monk saw the middle-aged monk's expression as if he had seen a ghost and was very puzzled.
"You'll know after you come and take a look." Brother Ye Xing put down Zhan Nianchuan's hand.
The short, fat monk stepped forward and grabbed Zhan Nianchuan's hand, his eyes widening suddenly.
"This... this... how can he still be alive?"
"That's right," Brother Ye Xing frowned, "Both his arms were broken, his sternum was completely broken, and several broken bones penetrated his organs. Most of the blood in his body was lost. Yet he is still alive and viable after such serious injuries! "
"Furthermore, his injury was caused by the seahorse that hit him last night. Although the seahorse just hit him casually in a hurry, this kid didn't die and even made it all the way here."
The pudgy monk was stunned and felt unbelievable, "You mean he was so seriously injured and traveled dozens of miles to get here?"
"That's right," Brother Ye Xing glanced at Zhan Nianchuan with admiration in his eyes, looking at Zhan Shou who was lying under him, "He should have someone he cares about here."
"And I can feel that his physical body is terrifyingly powerful, and his soul is also extremely strong. He is obviously a mortal, without any fluctuations in mana, but he has a strong body that is as strong as a physical practitioner."
The pudgy monk nodded sympathetically and added: "And he has spiritual roots."
"There are spiritual roots? Why didn't I sense it?" Brother Ye Xing raised his eyebrows.
"It's the five spiritual roots. It's too complicated, so you didn't notice it. It's a pity." The short and fat monk looked at Zhan Nianchuan with a look of regret.
He really admired this boy. He had an amazing physical body, a strong soul, a tenacious will, and a strong emphasis on love and justice. Unfortunately, his qualifications were too poor.
The Five Spiritual Roots are the worst spiritual roots. Those with the Five Spiritual Roots can absorb the vitality of the five elements of heaven and earth, and can practice all the techniques. However, the efficiency of absorption is the lowest. Therefore, it takes a person with the Five Spiritual Roots to break through and advance. It has the most resources and takes the longest time.
For a long time, it has been a consensus in the world of immortality that those with five spiritual roots are equal to mortals.
Although Xuantian Sect is not well-known in the world of immortality, it will never accept a person with five spiritual roots as a disciple.
"Wouldn't it be better to let him work as a handyman? Anyway, his body is so strong, no one can beat him." The monk surnamed Ye didn't think it was a problem.
"Head boy?" the short, fat monk thought thoughtfully.
......
Zhan Nianchuan woke up leisurely.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Zhan Nianchuan found that he was still lying on the ruins of the village. However, most of the injuries on his body had healed. All the bones had been connected and his arms could move. When he was in shock, a voice called out. His mind exploded.
"In half a month, Xuantian Sect will open its doors to recruit disciples and servants. If you are interested, you can go."
Zhan Nianchuan was stunned, the thoughts in his mind were like boiling water, and bubbles kept popping up one after another.
"Xuan Tian Sect, the person who saved me is a member of Xuantian Sect?"
"Recruiting disciples and servants? My benefactor thinks I can enter the Xuantian Sect?"
"I was so seriously injured, but my benefactor was able to heal me so quickly. The immortal is really amazing."
Looking around in confusion, with corpses strewn all around, Zhan Nianchuan quickly found Zhan Shou, holding his father who was beyond recognition and bloody, and couldn't help but burst into tears again.
This is the second time Zhan Nianchuan has cried in his life.
Fifteen years ago, he was a baby. He was drifting in the Wangchuan River and fell into a desperate situation. He did not cry.
Nine years ago, he saw a tiger for the first time and saw villagers being mercilessly disemboweled by tigers. He did not cry.
Over the years, every time he made a mistake and was severely beaten by Zhan Shou, he did not cry.
He was covered in scales, and when he was laughed at by his friends, questioned and even cursed by the villagers, he did not cry.
However, now he has burst into tears twice.
His sky fell.
With tears in his eyes, he found a shovel, dug a big hole under his house, and buried Zhan Shou's body in it.
After adding the last shovel of soil to Zhan Shou's grave, Zhan Nianchuan knelt in front of the grave, his eyes blood red, and he never shed another tear.
"Dad, Chuan'er will definitely enter the Xuantian Sect and will definitely destroy the four monsters to avenge you. You have always told me to be careful not to expose my scales. Chuan'er understands and will be careful about everything."
After saying that, he kowtowed three times to Zhan Shou's grave.
Later, he endured his grief and buried all the villagers whose identities he could identify under the ruins of their homes.
The bodies of Erniu's parents were found, but Erniu's body was not found. Zhan Nianchuan found one of Erniu's dolls from the ruins and buried it with Erniu's parents.
As for the corpses that could not be identified, he dug a big pit near his grandfather's grave and buried all the corpses together.
The next evening, the setting sun was as bright as blood, and the entire Xiaoshui Village turned into a simple tomb of a hundred people.
......