A Thought Through Eternity

Chapter 65 - Shou Lingren

(ED Note: Shou Lingren could also be translated as Mausoleum Guard. Once he appear in the future again, we would definitely double check which is which, however, for this chapter, we have determined that Shou Lingren as a name was used.)

As he sneezed, Bai Xiaochun awoke from his slumber. He was still unconsciousness due to his heavy injuries before he had fainted. Just as he awakened, he unconsciously hugged his left arm, letting out a scream. But he stopped just as quickly, looked down at his left arm in surprise, and then proceeded to inspect his body, touching here and poking there, and even raised his clothing to reveal his tender stomach.

“Eh? Where are my wounds?” There was horror in Bai Xiaochun’s eyes as he recalled the old man from the village saying that when people died, their soul would enter the underworld. Seeing his body have no wounds on it, he thought that clearly, only his soul had remained… He trembled and raised his head, looking at his surroundings. He realised that the surroundings were desolate. Grass and trees alike had all withered away, and even Chen Heng’s corpse had disappeared.

When Bai Xiaochun looked into the distance, he noticed only mist surrounding him, he could barely see a blur in the distance. His ragged breaths filled the surroundings, his whole body felt cold.

“It’s over, it’s over… I had stayed safe for the entirety of my little life, but this time, I threw my little life away…” Bai Xiaochun was even more certain now, he was scared out of his own wits as he wailed in despair.

“I have not yet given Du Lingfei the chance to repay me with her body… Senior Brother Hou had also made a promise with me… People still don’t know that I am the Little Turtle. I haven’t eaten enough Spirit Tailed Chickens yet. I… I have not achieved immortality…” The more Bai Xiaochun thought about it, the more depressed he got. Tears had gathered in his eyes.

As he was venting his grievances, suddenly… a cough sounded behind him.

This cough came so abruptly that Bai Xiaochun jumped in fright. He abruptly scrambled forward and tumbled before he turned around as a wooden sword appeared in his hands.

“Who!” Bai Xiaochun spoke with a shrill voice as he noticed an old man wearing a long black robe standing like a corpse exactly where he was previously at, staring at him.

The air of death lingering on his body was particularly obvious, especially with the old man’s pale and wrinkled face, it was as though he had just crawled out from his grave. In addition to the strangeness of the surroundings, it made one’s skin crawl.

After Bai Xiaochun could see clearly, he felt his hair stood on end as countless myths about vengeful ghosts filled his mind. But as soon as he remembered that he was supposed to be dead, he calmed down, raised his chin and snorted as he stood up from the ground.

“Okay, so you’re a ghost. I’m also a ghost. After all, I’ve already died. Everyone’s a ghost. Who’s afraid of whom?” Bai Xiaochun walked in front of the old man and circled around him once, producing a buzzing noise.

“You must be this nameless mountain range’s ghost. Don’t fret. I was just passing by and happened to die here by chance and will be gone in a jiffy. Alas, I do not know whether I will be able to continue cultivating immortality after I have become a ghost in order to become an immortal ghost.” Once Bai Xiaochun reached this point, sorrow resurfaced in his heart and he sighed.

The black-robed old man frowned and looked at Bai Xiaochun, then he spoke with a hoarse voice.

“Are you really that desperate to die?”

Bai Xiaochun blanked out before an idea occurred to him, and he suddenly bit his tongue. After he felt the sharp stab of pain, in disbelief, he bit his tongue again. This time, it was so painful that even tears flowed out of his eyes, but his expression turned wild with joy and he danced as he howled loudly towards the sky.

“I did not die!!! Haha, I, Bai Xiaochun, am unparalleled in my cultivation, unrivalled under the heavens. How could I die!” Bai Xiaochun tried to pull the old man’s arm in front of him in excitement, but his hand passed right through the other party’s body in an instant, grabbing only thin air. Only a strong chill was felt when he touched the old man.

“Ah…” Bai Xiaochun stiffened. He looked up at the old man, staring at him blankly. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes widened and he screamed while quickly backing away.

“It’s a ghost!” Just now, he thought that he had really died, so it didn’t matter, but now, he was really frightened and even more stories of vicious vengeful ghosts flowed in his mind.

He backed away until he reached the boundary of the mist. There was an invisible wall that prevented him from escaping. He leaned against the wall and shakily held the small wooden sword. Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes as big as he could, ideas spinning in his mind. In the end, he looked pitifully at the black-robed old man.

“Grandfather, if you have any unfulfilled desires, I, Bai Xiaochun, will definitely help you fulfil it…”

The black-robed old man had a strange look on his face as he looked closely at Bai Xiaochun. He felt as if the boy before his eyes and the iron-blooded man from before were two different people, and slowly, he fell deep in thought.

“Perhaps such people are most suited to cultivate the Unending Longevity Technique…” The Elder softly mumbled to himself. He shook his head with a smile on his face, feeling relieved. Turning around, he flew off into the distance.

“The Unending Longevity Technique is separated into the Unending Scroll and the Longevity Scroll. There are five volumes for both the Unending Technique and the Longevity Technique… The one that you have cultivated is the most wide-spread first volume of the Unending Technique, the Impenetrable Skin Technique. These days, some who have mastered the Iron Skin can still be found, as for those who have mastered the Bronze Skin, they are truly rare, almost nonexistent!” The black-robed old man was gradually moving further away, but his voice was still carried to Bai Xiaochun, echoing beside his ear.

“The Unending Scroll is to break through life’s five greatest shackles. The Longevity Scroll is to crack eternity’s five greatest seals!”

“If you properly cultivate it, your Impenetrable Skin can reach the level of the Gold Skin, then you can reach the first restraint of life’s shackles. As for whether you can break through the shackles, it all depends on your luck.”

“We were destined to meet. I am giving this pill to you as a present. It can give you a little help in your breakthrough of the Impenetrable Skin Technique and mastering the Bronze Skin. I am giving you this jade slip, within it, the Unending Technique’s… second scroll is recorded, Indestructible Golden Body!

The Unending Longevity Technique is… extraordinary!” The old man was far away and his figure was vague, but following his lingering voice, two rainbows appeared for an instant and stopped in front of Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun’s mind shook and he looked at the old man’s disappearing back absentmindedly. He now realised why he didn’t die and why his wounds had all been healed. This person had saved him.

And the reason for that was… because he had cultivated the Unending Longevity Technique.

Even though Bai Xiaochun was afraid of death, he looked extremely favorably on kindness. He knew that with the wounds he previously sustained, he would have died nine times out of ten. His body shivered and he took a deep breath, bowing deeply in the direction that the old man had left in.

“Many thanks to senior for his kindness in saving me and passing on his knowledge. If Senior would please tell me his name…” Bai Xiaochun shouted out.

“This old man is … Shou Lingren.” The old man had already disappeared. His voice was faint and melancholic, as if it had travelled from ages long past.

Simultaneously, the mist barrier separating the surroundings emitted a “kaka” sound and broke apart in an instant. The mist dispersed, reconnecting this enclosed space with the outside world once again. A gust of wind passed, blowing Bai Xiaochun’s long hair. He raised his head and looked into the distance, remaining silent for a long time.

“The Unending Longevity Technique… life’s five greatest shackles, eternity’s five greatest seals?” He softly mumbled. Those were the things that he had never heard of before.

After half a day, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and looked at the pill and jade slip floating in front of him. He took the jade slip into his hands and scanned it with his spiritual sense, confirming that the contents of the second scroll of the Unending Technique were recorded within.

(ED note: we previously used “divine sense” once, that was a negligence on my part, I apologise to the readers for any confusing that might’ve caused. -Crimsonguard)

After stashing away the jade slip, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes fell on the pill. Even though he had become a Medicine Apprentice, he could not identify this pill’s grade. He held it in his hands and closely inspected it as he had a cautious personality. There was a thoughtful look in his eyes. He understood that if that black-robed senior wanted to harm him, there were countless ways to do so, therefore, this pill should only benefit him and not harm him.

As he was deep in thought, he looked around before stashing this pill as well. In a flash, he went outside, looking at the surrounding forest along the way with mixed feelings. There was now fear lingering in his heart as he recalled the extremely dangerous situation that he was in when he was previously in a fierce battle with the Fallen Chen Clansmen.

“I do not know how Senior Sister Du and Senior Brother Hou are doing… whether they managed to escape or not…” Bai Xiaochun was deep in thought. He had not taken out the jade slip to try and contact them from fear that if the Fallen Chen Clan had not been exterminated, then the transmission from the jade slip might cause some trouble. He now opened his storage pouch and took out Feng Yan’s Wind Rider. He toyed around with it a little and quickly realised that the boat can actually be used.

There was joy in his eyes as his expectations were confirmed. He was also not in a rush to leave, so he had searched for a cave in this mountain range to rest inside. He took out the Turtle-shell Pot and refined the pill that the black-robed old man had given him.

Very quickly, silver light radiated from the pill as three spiritual lines appeared on it. Bai Xiaochun held the pill with a decisive look in his eyes and swallowed it in one gulp. In the instant that he swallowed the pill, there was a rumbling that filled his body; it was as if a ball of fire had suddenly exploded and turned into an indescribable vitality Qi, spreading rapidly throughout his whole body.

His body shook and he clenched his teeth, persevering as he operated the Unending Longevity Technique and slapped his body. Gradually, the skin on his whole body was no longer pitch-black in colour as a bronze hue appeared. This bronze colour became more and more noticeable until finally, he practically looked like a bronze statue.

The power in his body soared, and a powerful feeling emerged from the bottom of his heart.

However, the effects of this pill did not end there. After Bai Xiaochun had refined it three times, this pill seemed to have achieved a shocking quality. When the skin on Bai Xiaochun’s body had completely turned bronze, his whole body suddenly trembled and a “kaka” sound could be heard, as if something broke.

In that moment, cracks had actually appeared on his skin. More and more of these cracks appeared with each passing minute. They became more and more densely packed until finally, they covered his entire body, the pain similarly intensified. But under Bai Xiaochun’s perseverance, silver light gradually appeared underneath those cracks.

The Impenetrable Skin was divided into four levels which were Iron, Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Even the black-robed old man was unable to foresee that with Bai Xiaochun’s refinement, the pill that he had given to Bai Xiaochun would actually have the Impenetrable Skin breakthrough once again after the Bronze Skin.

A rumbling sound echoed yet again within Bai Xiaochun’s body, and this time, it continued for several days. Even more cracks appeared on his skin until finally, it started falling off like moulting. Every fragment that fell off revealed skin that amazingly had a silver hue.

Ten more days had passed by the time Bai Xiaochun had shed the last fragment of skin on his body. His whole body was now emitting a silver glow from head to toe. Even though it was a faint silver colour, when he opened both of his eyes, even they had a silver glow to them.

His body flashed with an immense speed that set off a shocking ripping sound. It was obvious that his speed had more than doubled as compared to before.

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes flashed with ecstasy. He clenched his right hand into a fist and threw a punch at a nearby rock. A monstrously loud sound echoed out as the rock crumbled in an instant, not into pieces, but into powder.

This power of his was several times greater than before.

Bai Xiaochun was thrilled as he sucked in a deep breath. Currently, he was confident that if he battled Chen Heng once again, he would definitely not end up as badly as he had before.

With these tests of his, he discovered that even more shocking was the strength of his protection. His whole body, covered in the Impenetrable Silver Skin, had actually made even the wooden sword that had been thrice refined unable to harm him at all.

Bai Xiaochun was overjoyed. After he saw that the Unending Longevity Technique had stopped changing his body and his fair and clear skin had been restored, Bai Xiaochun changed his clothes again and headed into the distance with full speed, pleased with himself.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8th guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by:Nat

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch

Translated by XianXiaWorld

ED Note: Remaining two guaranteed chapters of the week would be covered tomorrow with the sponsored chapter. We’re truly sorry for the inconvenience.