Chapter Twenty-Four: Strange Situation

  In the midst of increasing dizziness, Lu Yufeng found himself becoming lighter and lighter, as if drifting with the wind. As soon as he had this feeling, Lu Yufeng discovered that he couldn't move anymore. Even more bizarrely, Lu Yufeng found that he had turned into a small blade of grass standing on the mountain cliff, swaying in the wind, feeling like he could leave this desolate mountain cliff at any moment.

  It was in this state that Lu Yufeng felt like he had been through a very long time, starting from being a small grass and slowly growing up. Maybe it was ten days or maybe it was a month, every day watching the sun rise and set, absorbing the water between the cliffs, slowly growing. It felt just like a piece of driftwood floating on the ocean, rising and falling... Also didn't know how long had passed, Lu Yufeng felt more and more powerless, slowly, Lu Yufeng lost consciousness.

  Luyu Feng's consciousness was once again a blur, and when Luyu Feng came to again, he found himself transformed into a small tree. Rooted in the dense thicket, competing with the surrounding trees for water and nutrients in the soil.

  Luyu Feng found that the small tree he had transformed into was only able to receive a limited amount of sunlight due to the shade provided by the surrounding large trees. Therefore, Luyu Feng made an effort to absorb as much nutrition as possible from his surroundings, including the nutrients from the grass and flowers. As long as it was something he could seize, Luyu Feng would not let it go. Gradually, the small tree that Luyu Feng had transformed into grew into a large tree. Due to Luyu Feng's persistent efforts, the branches surrounding him became even more dense, blocking out the sky and covering all the other trees, which lived under his branches. The roots beneath the soil stretched out in all directions. From then on, Luyu Feng no longer worried about being unable to absorb enough nutrients and sunlight.

  Suddenly one day, the sky flashed with lightning and thunder, dark clouds covered the sun. This was a sign that a storm was approaching.

  The storm, the tree that Luyu Feng transformed into was not without having experienced it before, but this time there were no signs of its ferocity. Luyu Feng knew that this storm would be another survival test for many flowers, grasses and trees, and one that would be even more terrifying than any previous one. Luyu Feng had survived under such tests before.

  The strong wind and heavy rain came as fiercely as Lu Yu Feng had expected, with a momentum that seemed to crush the city under dark clouds. Lu Yu Feng grasped the ground tightly with his roots to prevent the invasion of the storm. However, the small trees and plants under Lu Yu Feng's feet were not as capable as him, after all, Lu Yu Feng's trunk and roots were extremely luxuriant.

  Those small plants were blown down by the wind and rain, and the soil was loosened after being invaded by torrential rains, causing many trees to be uprooted.

  Luyu wind silently endured the invasion of wind and rain, feeling the power of wind and rain growing stronger and stronger, but still guarding its own land. Luyu wind, in order to smoothly get through this storm, borrowed the power of the wind and rain, tightly gathering its branches to reduce its force-bearing area. However, this made things difficult for the trees under Luyu wind's feet.

  At the beginning, Lu Yu Feng opened up the branches that covered the sky and blocked out the sun, able to shield most of the storm for the trees under his feet. They themselves only bore a small part of the wind and rain. However, now Lu Yu Feng had retracted most of his branches in order to safely pass through the storm, these shrubs were withstanding far more than before the invasion of the wind and rain.

  Lu Yu Feng also discovered this situation, but Lu Yu Feng did not hold up the branches to block the wind and rain. In the face of survival tests, Lu Yu Feng was not great enough to sacrifice himself to help others.

  Suddenly, a sense of sorrow rose in Lu Yufeng's heart. This sorrow was what he felt from the small trees. Lu Yufeng had occupied most of the nutrients and sunlight here, using them to grow, but when danger came, he abandoned them, not providing any protection for them.

  "No! Since I have transformed into a great tree, they are my kin. With power comes responsibility, and this responsibility is not given by others, but rather, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. This is what I should undertake! Just like those Huaxia people who need our protection!" At this moment, Lu Yufeng's military quality was revealed, and he slowly stretched out his branches.

  "What's more, if I hadn't absorbed most of the nutrients here, perhaps they would have had enough to grow and might have been able to get through this difficult time. In that case, I should all the more use my own strength to preserve them." Lu Yu Feng's branches had already reached the beginning stage, but Lu Yu Feng didn't stop there and continued to stretch out with all his might.

  The Lu Yu wind felt that as it expanded, the area of its impact grew larger and larger, and the intensity of the storm's invasion grew stronger and stronger. Its main trunk had already begun to bend, and the degree of bending was getting more and more severe.

  The branches of the Lu Yu Feng had stretched to their maximum extent, and some small tree roots had been pulled out of the mud by the wind and rain.

  Lu Yu Feng felt that he had reached his limit, but Lu Yu Feng did not give up and instead persisted in his bitter struggle, persisting in his commitment to the trees beneath his feet.

  The storm continued to ravage, and Lu Yu Feng also collapsed under such circumstances, "Boom..."

  "Farewell! Fellow traveler of a lifetime." Lu Yufeng had forgotten that he was human at this moment, and truly regarded himself as a giant tree.

  "We grew up together, absorbing dew and sunshine together, experiencing wind and rain together..." Lu Yufeng's consciousness became blurry once again.

  "Ah..." Lu Yuexiang slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, finding himself still sitting in the same place where he had started his meditation. The sun had already slowly sunk below the western horizon, and he remembered that when he had entered meditation, it was at dawn... In this one day, I experienced two realms, once on the cliff's small grass, and once in the midst of a forest's great tree." Lu Yuexiang gradually recalled his experiences from this day.

  "I am a small grass on the cliff, experiencing the passage of time, gradually completing the process of life. For the entire nature, it is like a floating driftwood in the vast ocean, tiny and powerless..." Lu Yufeng felt all the feelings that the little grass brought to him.

  "I am the big tree in the forest, when I have the strength to reach the sky, I am their reliance. When they encounter danger, it is me who can help them. This is a persistence and responsibility that belongs to me, as long as I am able, it is my duty!" Lu Yufeng's feelings towards the big tree became even more profound.

  "But why would I enter such a state?" Lu Yufeng had never heard of his own situation.

  "Could it be... this green liquid drop?" Lu Yufeng suddenly discovered that his perception of the natural law had become even deeper.

  The wind of Lu Yu comes from the surrounding trees, and the kindness it feels is the kindness it receives. In the past, although Lu Yu could use his understanding of natural laws to accomplish some things, every time he used these laws, he felt a sense of rejection that was out of place with his surroundings, making him feel like an outsider who had forced his way in.

  But now, Lu Yu Feng felt that these trees had accepted him and regarded him as one of their own kind.

  Lu Yu Feng suddenly felt a tremor coming from his dantian.