He was clearly in a weak state, but apparently, Bai Xiaochun’s moment of crisis had unlocked shocking toughness within him. Ignoring his injuries and his weakness, he vanished into the trees.
“Brother….” Bai Xiaochun murmured, although his voice was too quiet for anyone to hear. He knew that his big brother was going to get food for him, and vaguely remembered that it was only after the white locusts had arrived that the famine started, and disease spread. Everyone back home in their village had either starved to death or died of disease, including their parents.
Bai Xiaochun knew that the only reason he was alive was his brother's strength. After he had fallen sick, his brother had cared for him and even carried him on his back during their journey. When the adults had begun to fight amongst each other for food, his brother had developed a ruthlessness that even they feared.
His brother gave him most of the food. Even when his brother's stomach growled with hunger, he pretended to be full, and would say, “I'm your big brother, aren’t I? Here, eat.”
Thus, Bai Xiaochun remained alive. He remembered that his name was Zhou Chen, and his older brother was Zhou Fan. And he was also sure that, without the dead weight that was himself, his ruthless brother would definitely have had it much better off in this chaotic world….
Unfortunately, despite how his brother had cared for him, his sickness had weakened him to the point where he couldn’t hang on for much longer.
“Without me, my brother would have a much better life….” he thought. Eventually, he closed his eyes and let the snowflakes begin to cover him up, the flame of his life force beginning to flicker out. However, even as that was about to happen, a powerful force pushed the snow away, scattering even the white locusts in the area. At the same time, an old man descended from above, clad in a Daoist robe, an unsightly expression on his face.
As soon as the refugees in the area saw the old man, they kowtowed, trembling. They opened their mouths as if to beg for his help, but even as they did, locusts began to crawl out from inside them….
None of them had the power to even scream as they simply waited to die.
The old man looked at all of the refugees who had already been infected by the parasitic locusts, and a gleam of pity appeared in his eyes. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about the situation. Waving his hands, he put the tortured refugees out of their misery.
Clearly in a horrific mood, the old man turned to leave, which was when he noticed Bai Xiaochun.
“Eee?” he muttered, stopping in place and looking more closely. A moment later, his eyes lit up with disbelief. “A Dao Body?”
Walking over to Bai Xiaochun, he waved his hand, causing a warmth to enter him that stabilized the flickering flame of his life force.
As he looked closer at Bai Xiaochun, his eyes began to shine even more brightly. Throwing his head back, he laughed heartily before picking the unconscious Bai Xiaochun up and flying up into the air with him….
After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, the emaciated Zhou Fan staggered back. Snow was piled up on his shoulders and head, and each step he took left drops of blood on the snow.
He had a few new wounds on his face, and he was bleeding from his abdomen. He was in very bad shape, and yet, his eyes flickered with excitement. Tucked into the fold of his garment was a steamed bun, soaked with blood, that he had risked his life to rob from someone else.
“Little Chen! I found some food for--” Before he could finish speaking, his face fell as he noticed all the corpses in the area. Looking around anxiously, he rushed over to where he had left Bai Xiaochun, only to find no one there. That, and the sight of all of locusts devouring the nearby corpses, made his heart seize.
“Little Chen!” he wailed. “Little Chen!!”
He had lost his only relative. He had lost everything. Trembling, he continued to search in vain. In the end, he dropped down onto the very spot where his brother had been lying, holding the blood-soaked bun, and began to weep.
“Little Chen….” In his despair, he didn’t notice that the scent of the blood had attracted a horde of white locusts, who descended from the sky and swarmed over him.
1. There is a clue here that seems fairly obvious in Chinese, and yet still leaves a lot of room for speculation. Remember a few chapters ago when Bai Xiaochun experienced the vision in the hourglass world, and heard a Master talking to two apprentices? I translated those apprentices' Daoist names as the Worldly Daoist and Mortal Renegade. In Chinese, those Daoist names are Dao Chen and Ni Fan. The brothers in this chapter are Zhou Chen and Zhou Fan. The final characters are the same, implying that the brothers in this chapter have something to do with the Worldly Daoist and Mortal Renegade. Previous Chapter Next Chapter
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Chapter
1240: Valley Of Black Clouds
Somewhere in the void, in the ruins of the Immortal World, next to the sovereign’s head, Bai Xiaochi was paying close attention to everything. He saw Bai Xiaochun shiver, and then weaken in unprecedented fashion. He seemed to be instantly drained of energy, and blood began to ooze out of the corners of his mouth as he toppled down and away from the statue.
However, at the same time, the qi flow, which had remained unmoving this entire time, stirred, and thirty percent of it shot toward Bai Xiaochun!
That portion of the qi flow entered Bai Xiaochun, causing him to shiver. Soon, he was back on the treasured fan, looking exhausted, but excited. As the thirty percent of the qi flow entered him, his cultivation base power suddenly formed a resonance with the ruins of the Immortal World!
It caused his mind to reel as shocking transformations occurred to his cultivation base. As of this moment, Bai Xiaochun was sure… that if he could absorb the rest of that qi flow, and formed a complete resonance with the ruins of the Immortal World, then his cultivation base… would definitely break through to the next level!!
“What did you see?” Bai Xiaochi asked anxiously.
“I saw….” Strange light flickered in his eyes as he recalled what he had just experienced. He remembered being Zhou Chen, and how he had forgotten that he was Bai Xiaochun. It was as if he had actually become Zhou Chen.
More precisely, everything he had said, and even his thoughts, were all memories… recollections of things that had occurred in the past!
Bai Xiaochun looked over at Bai Xiaochi. “The Immortal Imperator’s name… was Zhou Chen?”
Bai Xiaochi shivered. Looking back in shock at Bai Xiaochun, he quietly said, “So you really did succeed….”
Although everything he had said before was true, and he really did hope that Bai Xiaochun would be able get that qi flow, he had believed it to be too hard. And when Bai Xiaochun had fallen moments ago, his hesitation had grown.
But now, he found out that Bai Xiaochun had actually succeeded!
“I saw… the Immortal Imperator as a youth….” Bai Xiaochun closed his eyes and thought back to everything he had seen. Frowning, he realized that he was still somewhat under the effects of what had just happened. As soon as he thought back to the sovereign’s brother, a swell of fondness rose up in his heart.
“If I continue with this, the emotional effects will probably get more serious…. But I have to do it. I need this qi flow to achieve my cultivation base breakthrough!” After considering matters for a bit, he decided that although there were some risks, he could accept that. Eyes flashing with determination, he once again flew up toward the sovereign’s head. Having been through the process once before, and having already acquired thirty percent of the qi flow, he quickly unleashed his Sutra of the Future and Sutra of the Former.