Chapter 17 The Player

The next day, as dawn broke, the morning was as vibrant as ever.

Everything seemed so ordinary, without anything unusual about it.

However, after Qingjue finished teaching the children the morning lesson, he came out and saw many disciples gathered at the front gate of the Qing family, looking up at the outside.

Qingjue walked up behind them and asked, "What are you looking at?"

They all thought they had been caught slacking off in their cultivation by Qingjue, and felt a little guilty.

One of them bowed and said, "Reporting to the Immortal Lord, we... saw some beautiful clouds outside, so we forgot about practicing our swordsmanship for a moment."

"Clouds?"

Qingjue followed that gaze upwards and saw, in the distance, at the end of the lake, several brightly colored, auspicious-looking seven-colored clouds connecting the earth and the blue sky.

The colorful clouds were like a common natural wonder, something people had seen before, but they were rare, so they took a second look.

In ancient times, people relied on celestial phenomena. In this world where immortal arts and Taoist magic are skillfully used, most people would think that such an omen meant the birth of another chosen one of heaven.

After the disciples finished speaking, they wanted to take their leave, but Qingjue stared at the colorful clouds for a while. He exhaled a long breath, and the past events buried deep in his memory suddenly exploded in his mind.

He suddenly remembered the strangeness of last night, and more keenly than anyone else, he noticed the birds scattering and fleeing.

It looks so much like it, so much like it.

His first, almost instinctive reaction was: "Everyone, follow me! Cover the civilians and get them away from the mountain and their houses immediately!"

"this……"

The disciples at the door were completely taken aback, but Qingjue's expression was more serious than ever before, and he was definitely not joking.

Qing Jue mobilized almost the entire Qing family force, crossing Shuiyun Lake...

The moment I landed, I felt a violent tremor beneath my feet, and the ground began to collapse.

Just ten minutes after Qingjue realized he was about to set off with his men, a sudden, deafening roar turned the calm lake into a raging torrent. From afar, the churning water could be seen engulfing the shore. In that instant, Qingjue's mind was completely blank.

He only managed to utter two words: "Save people!"

The Qing family disciples finally realized what was happening and scattered in different directions, bringing the person to... as quickly as possible.

A safe place?

Where is a safe place?

In just a few seconds, massive landslides occurred in the surrounding mountains, completely burying a small village in seconds, and even cries could not be heard.

The overwhelming black smoke obscured human vision. Qingjue used his inner strength to hold up a house that was about to collapse, but even so, he still saw a piece of flesh and blood fly past his eyes.

Then half the mountain collapsed in this direction, blocking the last ray of light in the thick smoke, leaving the world helpless and alone.

But Qingjue was very strong, powerful enough to save the people of an entire town by himself. He raised his hand and covered an entire area with his spiritual power, catching tons of boulders. But the earthquake continued, and there were more than one place where landslides occurred.

In an instant, it was as if the world had ended.

With a focused mind and clear energy, half a mountain turned to dust in an instant. He could also turn over the earth to bring those trapped under the rubble back to life.

But his hands and feet were still cold and his limbs were numb. More than the exhaustion from over-consuming spiritual energy, the psychological trauma was the real culprit.

The spiritual power of Qingjue flowed down the ground, probing across a radius of ten miles.

With one hand still channeling spiritual energy to withstand the massive shockwave, he drew a spell in the air with the other. A flash of white light appeared, and the crying and terrified people were instantly teleported to the nearest place far from the earthquake zone.

There were a total of a thousand people, including several disciples of the Qing family, but Qing Jue didn't have time to distinguish them.

A mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth; even he was completely exhausted of internal energy. Qinghuan rushed over and supported him.

"Immortal Lord!"

The fear in Qingjue's eyes hadn't faded yet. He shook his head, his voice hoarse: "...There are still people. Go quickly."

"...I understand."

...

After an unknown amount of time, Qinghuan finally managed to help Qingjue sit down and reported the situation: "Almost all four directions have been evacuated. We have saved those we could. As for the rest... some were buried too deep, and we couldn't do anything about it. But thanks to your timely reaction and profound inner strength, it is the best outcome that so many people were saved."

Qingjue regulated his internal energy, swallowed the bloody taste in his throat, and said, "Where are the children?"

The situation was urgent, and he didn't have time to worry about anything else.

"They all actively participated in the rescue during the day. Don't worry, no matter how young they are, they are still your disciples, and they are already much stronger than ordinary people... By the way, Linglai was taken by Qingfeng to reunite with her family. Her parents and brothers only suffered minor injuries. The Ruan family is located far from the mountains and has a strong foundation. The Ruan family head said that you can ask for his help anytime."

“Okay, do as I say,” Qingjue said to Qinghuan. “First, go and check the surrounding area again. Save as many people as you can. Then count the number of dead, help the people rebuild, and send someone to tell the Yun family to ask for help and more supplies… Please bear with us during this time.”

"I understand, I'll get on it right away. You should rest now, your internal energy has been greatly depleted."

"I'm fine, I'll go take another look around."

“…Alright,” Qinghuan glanced at him with concern and said, “Immortal Lord, you are more eager for this matter than I imagined….”

They, as cultivators, emphasize tranquility, and the foundation of the Qing family's cultivation method is also based on this. They couldn't avoid such natural disasters, but they did their best to protect the people, which is already a great achievement.

Qinghuan thought that Qingjue would handle it more calmly, just like usual. Although he could chat and laugh with them and get along well with the children, he always kept a barrier between himself and all of them.

Qinghuan felt that layer of something was probably what was called divinity? He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but in short, he could view everything in this world with a calm and ordinary mind.

This time was different; Qinghuan clearly sensed that Qingjue wasn't as... at ease.

Amidst massive casualties, the immortals would only cast a pitying glance.

Only those who have personally experienced it will give it their all.

Qingjue was perfectly clear that he could not ignore the situation or calmly analyze it.

For a long time, he couldn't sleep. When he closed his eyes, all he could hear were cries and screams coming from underground, through the steel bars, concrete, and soil.

The cries gradually subsided until they died from lack of oxygen in the bottomless underground.

The last warm embrace he felt gradually cooled down.

"...There's no time to be in a hurry when it comes to saving lives. You have to know that without us, even more people would have died."

...

Qingjue woke up in a cold sweat, not knowing what year it was, and thought it was all a dream.

He gently touched a child's head.

Jie fell asleep by the bed during the day. He still had some baby fat on his face, making him look like a soft cotton ball.

Qingjue felt a sense of healing, but was quickly brought back by reality. He sat up abruptly, waking up Jie Zhoujian who was next to him.

"Master?" Xie Zhoujian rubbed his eyes. "Are you alright? You slept all day."

Ah, he remembered. He had been busy for several days because of the earthquake and hadn't had a break.

Fortunately, the Yun family acted generously and promptly, with Yun Yuelin personally leading a group to help. Other smaller families in the surrounding area also contributed their modest efforts to help the people of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou rebuild their homes.

Qingjue collapsed yesterday. When Qinghuan and several disciples carried him back to the Qing family, the children were terrified.

In their eyes, their master is omnipotent, a powerful being, and a god-like figure.

But this method of purification actually exhausted him.

"Silly child," Qingjue said, patting his head after hearing Jie Zhoujian's words. "Even the most powerful person cannot fight against natural disasters for everyone alone. Naturally, the most worthy of reverence are the gods..."

At this point, Qingjue paused for a moment.

He couldn't believe that the earthquake had anything to do with a cultivation novel; was it really just a natural disaster?

When he used his internal energy, he seemed to detect a subtle anomaly underground, but Qingjue was unsure what it was.

The principles behind natural disasters are beyond the scientific comprehension of even with modern technological advancements, let alone someone who has never been exposed to such research.

Qingjue took the cup of water that Jie Zhoujian handed him with both hands, moistened his throat, and after finding out the current situation, asked, "Where are the others?"

"Everyone is helping... Master, please don't move. Senior Sister Qingfeng and Elder Zhenling came to see you and said that you need to rest now."

Teleportation is one of the most energy-consuming spells, and this time Qingjue is a large-scale group teleportation, which is simply beyond human capabilities.

He only lost several decades of cultivation.

Post-disaster reconstruction is proceeding in an orderly manner. With Qinghuan around, there is no need for Qingjue to take charge of the overall situation for the time being. Moreover, the little guy in front of him probably won't let him leave.

Qingjue naturally tried to argue: "Then why don't you go during the day?"

“Zhoujian is here to keep Master company,” Jie Zhoujian said. “My junior sister and I felt that you would be lonely if you woke up and couldn’t see anyone, so we sent me to keep you company.”

A group of precocious children, actually there to keep an eye on him.

Qingjue pinched Jie Zhoujian's face, which felt very soft, and was about to say something when the door was pushed open by someone she hadn't seen in a long time.

"You stinky fox, you can even sit up now. Looks like you're recovering quite well."

Yun Yuelin leaned against the door frame, glanced at him, and said, "The people are going crazy over it, saying that you descended from heaven to save people from fire and water. You've really pulled it off, kid. You win this round."

Qingjue remained silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you."

He had heard everything from Jie Zhoujian. The Yun family came to help almost without hesitation and at the fastest speed. Their healthy competition was one thing, but encountering such a disaster was another.

But that doesn't mean Yun Yuelin can stand his unfamiliar appearance.

Yun Yuelin's disgust was almost overflowing. She leaned back and frowned, "...Can't you be normal for once? Did you sleep all day and ruin your brain?"