Chapter 515: Side story — Zhou Hanchan (Suddenly Resurrected)

“Brother, brother!”
A little girl, about three years old, wearing a pink dress, had bright eyes. Beside her, a slightly older boy forced a smile.
“Hanchan, from now on, it’s just the two of us.”
Zhou Chen stroked Zhou Hanchan’s small head.
Zhou Hanchan asked, puzzled, “Then where did Father and Mother go?”
Zhou Chen said, “They went to a very far place, just like Grandpa and Grandma.”
The rain drizzled. In the once magnificent mansion, those tall but indifferent people ruthlessly drove the two innocent children out.
Their home… was gone!
......
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhou Hanchan learned that her father and mother had gone to a very far place that day, a place from which they would never return.
She still had her brother to rely on. The two lived in the outer gate, often hungry and cold, but Zhou Hanchan felt happy despite their hardships.
"Han Chan, I want to participate in the Inner Disciple Assessment."
"Only by becoming an Inner Disciple can you live like a human being in the Devouring Sun Holy Land, with dignity!"
Zhou Chen spoke resolutely.
Zhou Han Chan, however, looked worried and said, "Brother, the mortality rate for the Inner Disciple Assessment is too high. Senior Brother Yang next door died in last year's Inner Disciple Assessment."
She didn't want her brother to risk his life. Even if it meant a better life, if the price was losing her only family member, Zhou Han Chan would never accept it.
Zhou Chen was determined. He pushed Zhou Han Chan away: "Han Chan, you don't understand yet. Without strength, we'll always be bullied. I don't want to be bullied, and I don't want you to be bullied. I want to take a gamble."
"If I live and become an Inner Disciple, we'll go to the Inner Disciple together. If I die... then you should go down the mountain, find a good family, and live a life of comfort."
Zhou Chen left.
He had one more thing left unsaid... If he couldn't enter the inner sect, how could he protect Zhou Hanchan? Zhou Hanchan had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. In this demonic sect, without strength or background, yet possessing such beauty, was a sin!
He needed immense strength and a higher status to protect his sister.
Zhou Hanchan could only wait and pray that her brother would emerge victorious in the brutal competition!
Finally, Zhou Chen returned! In that cruel trial, less than ten people remained, and among them was Zhou Chen, that familiar face.
"Brother! You're amazing!"
Zhou Hanchan was overjoyed, overjoyed that Zhou Chen had returned.
When Zhou Chen took out three spirit stones and asked her to buy demon beast meat, she didn't think much of it... Although her brother had never let her go out to buy demon beast meat alone before, considering that her brother had become an inner sect disciple, Zhou Hanchan didn't dwell on it.
Fortunately, once the news of Zhou Chen becoming an inner disciple spread, no one dared to make a move against Zhou Hanchan. Everyone knew that Zhou Chen was no longer the same person he used to be. Within the Demonic Sect, for an outer disciple to offend an inner disciple was tantamount to courting death.
Although inner disciples cannot directly attack outer disciples, it doesn't mean they can't use underhanded tactics. If an inner disciple spreads the word, a whole bunch of people will fawn over them.
After buying the demon beast meat, Zhou Hanchan and her brother turned it into various delicacies. Zhou Chen's cooking skills impressed Zhou Hanchan.
Her brother's cooking used to be decent, just edible, but now it's even better than the sect's top chefs.
Zhou Hanchan told Zhou Chen a lot about what was happening within the sect and the gossip of the outer disciples.
Later, she discovered that since the day her brother returned, he had frequently gone into seclusion.
She wouldn't see him for weeks at a time, sometimes even months.
Her brother was becoming increasingly outstanding, from an inner disciple to a true disciple, and then to a personal disciple!
It seemed that another person was hidden within that familiar exterior. Zhou Hanchan began to cautiously probe. What her brother used to love to eat... what he used to love to do... In the eyes of the person inside that exterior, these weren't the most important things. Only becoming stronger was what mattered most!
Zhou Chen disappeared... that person disappeared, and Zhou Hanchan didn't know where he went.
Zhou Hanchan only knew to cultivate diligently... One day, she suddenly discovered something: she seemed to be able to devour anything, whether person or object, turning it into power!
"The Devouring Divine Body... so that's how it is."
Shortly after Zhou Hanchan discovered her secret, a young man in white robes suddenly appeared before her. The surrounding aura froze. The young man smiled: "No wonder those two suddenly died. I clearly didn't let them die."
"I thought they were just protecting a crippled Gluttonous Body. Such a inferior physique, worrying that I would harm them was unnecessary."
"So, what they truly wanted to protect back then was you! The Devouring Divine Body!"
The sunlight faded, and the surrounding shadows grew larger. Fear gripped Zhou Hanchan's heart... just how terrifying was this person?
The next moment, the young man's voice reached her ears:
"Do you want to avenge your brother? To bring your former brother back?"
That voice, like a bewitching venomous insect, stirred Zhou Hanchan's heart, and finally... she nodded!
"A fragmented Gluttonous Body is perfect as a whetstone!"
He hadn't witnessed a sibling rivalry in so long!
With the help of the White-Clad Great Sage, Zhou Hanchan's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. Possessing the Devouring Divine Body, she was capable of devouring anything.
Finally, Zhou Hanchan's opportunity arrived. The Devouring Sun Holy Land was destroyed, and she appeared... Looking at that disheveled, familiar yet unfamiliar figure, she suddenly thought... If this person were truly her brother, how wonderful that would be?
Unfortunately, this person was not her former brother. She would kill this person, avenge her brother, and replenish the missing Devouring Divine Body essence within her.
In this battle, Zhou Hanchan never expected that someone as powerful as her would still be no match for her. Just when she was in a life-or-death crisis, the sword just missed her. At that moment, she was stunned. That person did not choose to kill her.
In that instant, she seemed to see the person who had gently stroked her head, sheltering her from the wind and rain. She repeatedly tried to convince herself, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
"I...have no family left..."
She had no family left! Not a single one left in this world!
......
Later, Zhou Hanchan never imagined that her high and mighty master, a Great Sage, would die at the hands of a mysterious person. That mysterious being completely ignored her. From that day on, she regained control of her own destiny, secretly hunting down geniuses, devouring their essence, ascending the Emperor's Path, and slaughtering all the powerful.
She also possessed a title that struck fear into the hearts of all: the Devouring Demoness!
In an ancient ruin, she discovered a mysterious item, a treasure from an ancient era, one of the fragments of the Book of the Dead. With this fragment, she comprehended the workings of creation, broke through her limits, and took another step forward in devouring divine bodies, entering a forbidden level and falling into slumber.
Upon waking, she was suddenly pursued in her room and engaged in a fierce battle with an unparalleled genius. The battle raged all the way to the Ancient Emperor Realm, where countless treasures awaited, yet none could withstand the power of immortality. She killed the prodigy of the various imperial lineages, devoured his essence, and was reborn in a second life!
When the Ancient Emperor Realm reopens and she returns to the heavens, she will be able to attain the Dao of the Great Emperor. She must find a way for the dead to be resurrected; the Book of the Dead must hold such a secret!
The Ancient Emperor Realm reopens. When the prodigies of the outside world discover that Zhou Hanchan is still alive, and that once she leaves, no one will be able to compete on the Emperor's Path, they all join forces to ambush her... She is severely injured. Although she is incredibly powerful, capable of killing any quasi-Emperor in a one-on-one fight!
But that is a monstrous talent representing all the forces of the heavens. Even someone as powerful as her is severely wounded, suffering irreparable injuries. At the last moment, someone secretly intervenes, allowing her to escape at the cost of her life.
"Brother...could it be you?"
Endless darkness enveloped her. In that instant, her world was plunged into darkness. Having failed to refine the Dark Demon Embryo, she recalled her past and gradually succumbed to the darkness...
The once mighty Devouring Demoness, who roamed the heavens and struck fear into the hearts of countless geniuses,
fell!