Chapter 28: Heaven and Earth Have Wind Disasters

"Manager, this isn't good." Sun Zhang felt a pang of distress. "That courtyard was bought with a hefty sum, meant to bribe Steward Qian. How can we just give it to this kid so cheaply?"

"If we really want to give it to him, we should wait until he helps us secure the fleet first."

The woman in yellow shot Sun Zhang a glance. "Just go as I told you. If we wait until then, a mere courtyard might not be enough to settle things."

Sun Zhang muttered a few words under his breath but ultimately dared not defy his Manager's order and obediently delivered the deed to Li Fan.

Li Fan did not refuse. With nothing much to pack, he moved to the small courtyard on East Street that very day.

Compared to the slums outside the city, the environment around this courtyard was vastly better.

At the mouth of the alley, personnel from the Liuli Government were on duty, responsible for security and public order. The courtyard was also much more spacious than his previous dwelling, with three main rooms and two side rooms on each side. Though not very large, it was more than enough for Li Fan alone.

Declining the several maidservants that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion later sent, Li Fan settled in, quietly waiting for the fleet's next voyage.

Originally, Li Fan thought it wouldn't take long, but an unexpected event made the departure date seem distant.

The wind disaster had arrived!

Earlier, Li Fan had heard the term 'wind disaster' many times in conversations among the people of Liuli Island, but he hadn't paid much attention.

He thought it was at most like the typhoons or hurricanes he had experienced before Transmigration—just bigger storms.

But when the wind disaster truly struck, Li Fan realized he was completely wrong!

That day, Li Fan was at home as usual, practicing the Mystic Yellow Heart Cleansing Mantra, when he suddenly heard a series of urgent sounds outside.

Strange and shrill noises lingered over the island, quickly spreading across all of Liuli Island.

"Hurry home! The wind disaster is coming!"

"Immortal master, bless us! Immortal master, bless us!"

"Mom, where are you! Come home quickly!"

…

The island immediately fell into chaos, with panicked and fearful cries everywhere. Li Fan was momentarily bewildered.

Suddenly, he saw a blue light screen appear in the sky above Liuli Island.

The light screen, like an inverted giant bowl, spanned the entire island, covering everything within.

"The island-protecting grand formation has been activated. No need to panic! Stay indoors and do not go out!" A clear female voice accompanied the light screen, instantly spreading across the island.

"The immortal master is merciful!"

Hearing the rising and falling cries around him, Li Fan looked up and carefully observed the island-protecting grand formation.

Blue light flowed, separating the inside and outside of the island.

Occasionally, characters that Li Fan did not recognize faintly appeared on the light screen, looking profoundly mysterious.

A howling sound like ghostly wailing gradually arose—the wind had come!

Ripples spread across the light screen, completely blocking the strong wind.

Inside the light screen, there was not a single gust of wind; it was perfectly calm.

Heavy rain began to fall from the sky.

Dense raindrops, almost stringed together, pounded against the light screen.

Circles of ripples echoed on the light screen, keeping the torrential rain entirely outside.

Outside was a raging storm; inside the light screen, all was calm and peaceful.

"So this is the power of immortals?"

Li Fan marveled inwardly.

Although he had witnessed Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi's ability to destroy a city with a single move, seeing this island-protecting grand formation still made Li Fan itch with eagerness and boundless longing.

The strong wind and heavy rain lasted for over half an hour.

The rain gradually stopped, and the wind slowly subsided.

Just as Li Fan thought the wind disaster was about to pass, he suddenly sensed something amiss.

The sky not only failed to clear but grew even darker.

Countless dark clouds appeared from nowhere, layer upon layer, seemingly endless, pressing downward.

In an instant, the world turned pitch black.

The thick dark clouds seemed within reach, almost touchable.

The dark clouds seemed to be brewing something, and Liuli Island fell into a brief silence.

The silence was soon broken.

"Boom!"

A thunderous roar exploded in Li Fan's ears.

Boom, boom, boom!

Thunderous sounds erupted from all directions simultaneously, continuous and unending.

Like an endless symphony, they echoed between heaven and earth.

Caught in this immense noise, Li Fan felt dizzy, seeing stars, and his chest felt as if pressed by a huge Stone Slab, making it hard to breathe. Touching his nose, he found blood continuously flowing out.

Alarmed, Li Fan was about to flee back into the house when he felt the ground beneath him shake violently.

As the world spun, Li Fan quickly lost his balance and fell to the ground.

As if being struck by something incessantly, the earth trembled unceasingly.

Li Fan looked up and saw a sight that made him almost stop breathing.

A wall of water of unknown height filled his entire field of vision. Driven by the fierce wind, it bore down on Liuli Island with irresistible force, overwhelming everything!

The towering wave was about to fall in an instant, burying all life below.

Li Fan instinctively raised his hand to shield himself.

"Boom!"

The giant wave crashed against the blue light screen.

The light screen twisted, seeming on the verge of shattering.

But after a swirl of blue light, the screen returned to normal.

Like a rock by the sea, it stood firm amidst the waves.

Failing to swallow Liuli Island seemed to enrage the sea.

Wave after wave struck in succession.

Liuli Island was like a fragile sapling in a storm, seemingly about to be torn apart at any moment.

At many moments, Liuli Island was even completely submerged by seawater.

Li Fan almost felt that this life was about to end.

Fortunately, the island-protecting grand formation proved more reliable than imagined, holding firm without breaking.

The towering waves pounded without ceasing.

This apocalyptic scene left Li Fan almost dazed.

He remained in a daze for what seemed like an eternity until the waves gradually calmed.

But even so, it was only a slight calm.

The wind disaster came swiftly but receded slowly.

Amidst the wind and rain, day and night were indistinguishable.

Li Fan felt that only after about two or three days did the wind disaster finally subside.

"We thank the immortal master!"

The surviving islanders knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly.

From the chatter of the islanders, Li Fan learned a piece of news that shocked him even more.

The wind disaster that Liuli Island had just experienced was relatively small in scale.

Fifteen years ago, the wind disaster had been several times more powerful.

At that time, the island-protecting grand formation could barely hold, forcing it to shrink its protective range.

Thus, after the disaster, the areas not covered by the formation were completely eroded by the wind.

Liuli Island's area was reduced to only a third of its original size.

In the more than ten years following the wind disaster, Liuli Island gathered refugees from all around to slowly recover.

"Wind disaster… so this is what a wind disaster is…"

Li Fan was deeply shaken.

The power of heaven and earth was truly terrifying!