---Southern Gu Family---
A scorching sun was hammering down on the ocean to the far west of the Xi Guang Province's southwestern coast. Sitting cross-legged on an aerial striker, calmly hovering above the sea, was the lion-shaped Mike.
He was continuously soaking in the sun's heat while mumbling, and incessant chants traveled across the sea. He had arrived at his target location two days ago and started preparations. His eyes opened when there was a change in the signal stone.
It was time to finish this long-ass spell he had channeled for 2 days and nights. As he stopped channeling the power and began finalizing the spell, the clear sky and the burning sun were blocked by thick, roaring clouds.
A thunderstorm was raging, and there was movement in the sky.
....
"The weather has been too warm lately, the corpses are decaying too quickly," Gu Ling complained, enduring the stench of the Insect Farm. He looked down at the pit filled with mangled human carcasses, covered in flies and maggots.
The stench was overwhelming, forcing them to work with scented masks to endure it. With the recent weather, even the high and mighty elder of the main family would probably be able to smell this up in their palaces and manors.
"These corpse gu are so picky. The moment the meat is a little older, they won't touch it," he added with a sigh over all this waste. The venom of Corpse Gu was as potent as Corpse Poison, but at this rate, they might lose their current Corpse Gu generation if things continued like this.
"Then just throw them to the Carrion Gu like always," his cousin and co-worker said, annoyed. His own work wasn't going so well either, as far as he heard. The Snow Silk Moths and Ice Swimmers weren't doing so well in the current heat.
"If I could, I would. Those guys are already overfed from yesterday. Give them anymore and they will go into a second breeding season. Do you want to be overrun by Carrion Gu? Yeah, me neither," Gu Ling explained why he couldn't do things as usual.
They were having everyday idle talk as they skipped work, when the cousin suddenly stopped talking. He squinted his eyes to look at the horizon. Gu Ling followed his line of sight to look in the direction of the ocean.
The Gu Farms were on the outer regions of the estate, so the smells and sounds wouldn't bother the noble members of the clan. Although the stench was terrible, they had the least obstructed view of the ocean.
Meadows of green grass and fields of golden wheat led down to the beach, where a small trade port had been growing splendidly. Beyond that was the clear blue ocean that usually invited to a quick dip with its moderate temperatures. It had been their blessing in these past two days.
However, now the horizon had grown darker. There was a spot darker than any rain cloud, darker than any thunderstorm Gu Ling had ever seen. The Qi Gathering Realm expert's heart started to pound faster, as the darkness grew bigger at a visible speed. Like a hand of doom reaching out to them.
At this moment, the alarms of the estate started ringing. They were neither the only ones nor the first ones that had noticed the impending catastrophe. With the alarms sounding, the estate came to life. People who had been lazing around, suffering from the heat, had jumped into movement.
"We have to get back inside! They are going to seal the gates!" the cousin brought him out of his stupor. The two men joined the growing crowd of people who worked outside the main residence and were rushing back inside.
On their way in, they saw the formation team working tirelessly along the walls. They tried to tune the defensive barrier to face the natural disaster. It had barely been a couple of minutes since Gu Ling saw the darkness on the horizon, but they were too late.
By the time he entered through the gates, the rain had already begun, and strong winds were blowing over the roofs and through the streets. The rain was like a monsoon, and he was immediately drenched.
Waterfalls were shooting from the roofs, and the water rose on the streets and paths, unable to drain as quickly as the rain was falling. Before he could even reach his own home, the streets had turned into rivers, flowing around his ankles.
His cap was gone with the wind, and chaotic gusts kept blowing his hair around and in his face. He charged and fell into his house, throwing the door shut behind him. There was no dry spot left on his body, and the winds had sapped all warmth from him.
Standing inside the entryway of his home, he could still hear the heavy rain drumming on the roof above, as if it was hellbent on breaking a hole through the shingles. He threw away his sopping wet clothes and put on a pair of new ones, all the while he listened to the wind and rain outside becoming even stronger.
He had never experienced a storm like this. There had been heavy rains and tropical storms, but nothing had ever seemed this...dangerous. The barrier didn't seem to help either. He heard the tiles of his roof rattling.
Would his home hold? Probably not. His heart was heavy as he looked around the place he spent most of his life. The rattling on the roof became louder, and even doors and windows joined the cacophony of the raging disaster.
He faced the hard truth. His house was probably done for. Either it would float or be blown away. Houses could be rebuilt, but lives couldn't be brought back. He put on sturdy boots, a hat, and a rain cape, and put his most precious possessions into his little cosmos pouch. With how the storm was brewing, Gu Ling doubted he could stay for much longer.
Stepping out into the heavy rain, the forceful winds immediately tried to strip his rain cape away. The water streams blasting down the streets had already reached his doorstep. Holding onto his rain cape and hat, he placed his foot into the torrents, almost losing footing immediately.
He looked at the sky, which had turned dark as night. He quickly lowered his gaze when the wind pulled on his hat and threatened to throttle him with the hat strap. This was a weather no ordinary mortal would be able to endure, even he, at the 7th level of Qi Gathering, had a hard time fighting the wind, water, and rain.
Panic started to rise in his mind as the wind pushed against him stronger and stronger, and the wind sucked individual roof tiles into the sky. Over the roaring of rain and thunder, he heard the cries of wood and stones as a house right beside him collapsed, ripped apart by an invisible hand.
His steps quickened as he infused internal energy into his legs for strength. In the distance, he saw the barrier of the main residence shining in the darkness like a brilliant pearl. For just a moment, he had hope that maybe, if he reached it, he might be able to be let in to safety.
However, he quickly came to his senses. This was a false hope. Even if they bent the rules and let people in, it would already be full. The bigger problem was that safety was not guaranteed. He couldn't help it, but the fear of nature was greater than his trust in the main family's formation.
"Ack!" he got hit in the head by a broken tile the moment he lost focus. The next moment, he dove into the flood to evade a broken beam coming down to squash him. Houses left and right fell apart, their pieces becoming the weapons of the storm. Shrapnels aiming for his life.
He fought the raging flood and debris in it to get back on his feet. The gusts now carried the howls and cries of people with them, quickening his steps further. People who thought they could trust these miserable structures. There was no use in staying here; it was actually a danger. He had to get out of the residence, away from flying debris and collapsing buildings.
Opposite the Gu Farms, on the other side of the estate, away from the sea, were only dunes and planes, if he could find a place to hole up there...
BOOM!
Lightning descended from the sky, and he lost control of his body, shaking violently. Unable to resist, he fell back into the muddy sewage covering the streets. The world went dark as he was carried away by the flood.