Chapter 64 - Spirit and Funeral
“Spread out, search for Bai Xiaochun! Whoever finds him will be rewarded with contribution points by me personally! Any Fallen Chen Clan members you see on your search are to be exterminated!” Ou Yangjie glanced at the retreating Li Qinghou, the surrounding disciples immediately spreading out after his command.
Ten thousand mile radius, two thousand disciples. The search lasted for a whole month.
(ED note: one li is 576 meters, or 630 yards)
At the end of the month, the area was almost completely covered, yet there were no signs of Bai Xiaochun. They did find, however, the bodies of the Fallen Chen clansmen killed by Bai Xiaochun, discovering the causes of their deaths, shocking more and more of the disciples.
Many of the bodies were killed with a single move, puzzling the disciples as to how a sixth level Qi Condensation outer sect disciple had managed to do it.
Qian Dajin was troubled, suddenly thinking that it would be great if Bai Xiaochun had already truly died. He did not want someone so fierce and as his opponent and Li Qinghou’s anger too had disturbed him greatly. He groaned inwardly.
“Damn it, if you had such a background, why didn’t you mention it? If you did, I would have never involved myself with you!”
The tragic condition of the three eighth level Qi Condensation corpses of the Fallen Chen clansmen in the forest of the nameless mountain were especially hard to forget, causing the minds of those who found them to tremble.
One month of searching finally convinced them that Bai Xiaochun… was probably dead, in this nameless forest where monsters dwell, there were simply too many methods for a person’s corpse to disappear.
They also knew that the one after Bai Xiaochun was most likely at the ninth level of Qi Condensation and realised that Bai Xiaochun was… dead.
After a month, the search was concluded and the disciples returned to the sect. They did find Hou Yunfei, his heavy injuries were healed by the sect with no effort spared.
Hou Yunfei and Du Lingfei’s contribution to the sect was greatly rewarded, but they found no pride nor happiness in it, only sorrowful memories.
They were unwilling to return to the sect, but their wounds were too severe. Li Qinghou was the only person who stayed after the disciples’ departure. He searched for two whole months in the nameless forests, thoroughly searching everywhere except where even he was incapable of reaching. It was clear to him that Bai Xiaochun was here, but he just couldn’t find him. It was as if Bai Xiaochun only appeared to be in the forests, but in actuality, he seemed to be in another world.
He had also encountered many powerful monsters, battling them had resulting in a few injuries. After two months had passed, he found blood on the branches of a tree, along with a torn piece of a robe.
“If I hadn’t brought you to the mountain…” Li Qinghou closed his eyes, picturing Bai Xiaochun on top of a mountain, with a fearful expression. The moment he pulled him from the peak and into the outer sect… The ten stone tablets…
His sigh spread in the silence as his appearance became older. He took the fabric and put it together with seven others, all smeared with blood
Li Qinghou silently exited the forest, transformed into a rainbow, and flew away.
The Fallen Chen Clan’s betrayal ended with the wrathful display of the Spirit River Sect’s power, utterly annihilating the traitors. The news spread, and when the four continents’ masses of cultivator clan and sects discovered the Fallen Chen Clan’s ultimate demise, they felt a stronger wariness for the Spirit River Sect.
As for the cause of the household’s decision to commit the betrayal, Spirit River Sect investigations uncovered many clues - the Blood Pulse Mark was only a part of it, a deeper reason lay beneath it, shocking the entire sect.
Had the Spirit River Sect not prevented the Fallen Chen Clan from succeeding, the result would have been a dire catastrophe involving all of the cultivator clans around the Spirit River Sect. It would have resulted into betrayals from one clan after another with irreversible consequences, shaking the entire sect.
Du Lingfei and the others had contributed greatly to preventing the disaster, Bai Xiaochun in particular. Without him, the information would have trouble reaching the sect in time.
Bai Xiaochun sacrificing his chance of survival for the greater goal of luring away the enemy had made its way to many hearts. The world of cultivation was filled with selfish people, and those like Bai Xiaochun were a very few. The fall of someone like him pained even the sect’s elders.
There was a lot behind the incident. As more information was uncovered, silence plagued the Spirit River Sect, for some reason, the sect had ceased further investigations, but the Foundation Establishment elders remained vigilant.
A storm… was brewing.
The seven ancestors of the South Bank and the North Bank, along with the many elders, came to