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Chapter 1369: Arid Triad Disaster (4)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
When the other Expanse Cosmos came from the space above in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos, the Expanse Cosmoses began to be pressed flat. All lives began to be destroyed, and everything sank into a chaotic state that was equivalent to the end of the world.
Death was everywhere!
The wind between the two Expanse Cosmoses formed a nonstop rumble in space. Amid the noise, in a place no one could see, Su Ming and Arid Triad engaged in a fight to the death.
They did not use any sort of divine abilities, but had their wills crash into each other. As space rumbled, their figures could no longer even be seen in the wind. It was as if they had fused together to become one.
"Su Ming, why must you refuse to realize your error? We are cultivators, and Harmonious Morus Alba is just one life form! Why must you do this?!"
"I'm not doing this for Harmonious Morus Alba, but for myself. If I want to survive, then I must do this!"
"Survive? This isn't difficult. Once we become Harmonious Morus Alba, it won't be impossible for us to continue living. Be it your family or your friends, all of them will be able to continue living!"
"I once told you about the black-robed young man sitting on the Feng Shui compass. I told you he symbolizes destruction. Do you… still not believe me?"
"I know of that person from the memories I Possessed. His name is Xuan Zang, but he is dead. I didn't tell you about this in the past, but I will tell you about him right now, and I will do so clearly. He… is dead!
"He has been dead since a long time ago. In fact, when the nine Harmonious Morus Albas were born, he was already dead. How could he have possibly appeared again?!
"No matter what you saw, those things happened in the past. It's… impossible for him to appear in this place, and the aura of death on Harmonious Morus Alba isn't because of him either, but because if Harmonious Morus Alba does not devour me and become whole again, it will truly die.
"And its death would mean our rise to power!"
"Then… what about Old Man Extermination?"
"I've long since taken note of Old Man Extermination. He has indeed come from another Harmonious Morus Alba. I once suspected that he was the same as me in his Harmonious Morus Alba, that he had also Possessed its will, but his arrival here does not mean that his Harmonious Morus Alba has already died!
"If it died, he would have died a long time ago too. You didn't Possess Harmonious Morus Alba. You Possessed me, that's why you don't know that once you perform the first Possession, unless you become the complete Harmonious Morus Alba, then when one dies, the other will die as well!
"That's why if Old Man Extermination has completed his Possession, it would be easier to explain why he is here. There's definitely another universe in him. But if he hasn't completed his Possession, then his appearance here could only mean that his Harmonious Morus Alba is still around. It's not dead yet, and neither is the black-robed Xuan Zang around. Su Ming, can't you wake up a little?!
"The so-called black-robed Xuan Zang is just someone Old Man Extermination created intentionally. In fact… the Harmonious Morus Alba we are in intentionally showed that illusion to you so that you won't work together with me and so… that you will be obsessed with your beliefs!"
"You… still don't believe it."
With a sigh in his voice, Su Ming's words echoed in space, then he and Arid Triad went to devour and Possess each other. Su Ming was Possessing Arid Triad, and Arid Triad was devouring Su Ming. Their wills erupted with the most brilliant rays of light in their lives.
The devouring and Possession immediately dyed the wind black and white. The white hue was Arid Triad, and the black was Su Ming. The contact of those two colors caused the black and white shades in the wind to look as if they were trying to devour each other.
Either light would devour darkness, or darkness would Possess light. It was… a battle of wills in which someone had to emerge as the winner.
When it became clear that it would be difficult for a result to appear within a short period of time, the butterfly formed by Harmonious Morus Alba fused into the wind. When its will descended, five new colors immediately appeared in the wind.
The original shades of black and white were then matched by a seven-colored light.
Arid Triad was not surprised by Harmonious Morus Alba's appearance. He knew a long time ago that Su Ming and Harmonious Morus Alba were working together. When it happened, Arid Triad's wind swept through the entire universe and harvested one life after another. Once Arid Triad absorbed their life force, he launched a counterattack against Su Ming and Harmonious Morus Alba.
When Harmonious Morus Alba flew around the area with its five colors, a deep-seated hatred appeared in its eyes. It hated Arid Triad and even all the lives in its Expanse Cosmos. It glared at Arid Triad and erupted with hatred it had suppressed for countless years.
"Harmonious Morus Alba, if I could Possess you once, then today… no matter how you poisoned Su Ming with your words, I can still Possess you a second time!
"Since you dared come to this place, let's see… just who among us can persevere till the end and not break!"
There was an air of superiority in Arid Triad's voice. When it reverberated through space, the white wind he formed howled and crashed against the five-colored wind of Harmonious Morus Alba.
At the same time, the black wind Su Ming had formed created a vortex that seemed to pull at the other winds. When Arid Triad and Harmonious Morus Alba crashed into each other, he too joined the fray.
Boom!
The three great wills of that universe had crashed into each other at full strength for the first time. What would shatter because of it would be their wills, what would be reduced to madness would be their souls, and what would be Possessed would be the fragments left behind.
The crash caused Su Ming's whole body to jolt, and the wind he formed looked about to crumble. It was the same for Arid Triad, but it was worse for Harmonious Morus Alba. It looked as if it was about to scatter. Its aura of death was already thick enough, and at that moment, it became even stronger.
At the same time, Di Tian coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. The life matrix floating above him let out cracking sounds and started shattering. Di Tian's eyes were bloodshot, but he growled and formed a seal with both his hands, sparing no pains in using his life to mend the life matrix.
"Arid Triad… die!"
For the first time since the start of the battle, Harmonious Morus Alba's voice appeared in the wind. It was full of hatred that would not weaken in the slightest even if tens of thousands of years passed. When it spread out, it caused the entire world to tremble.
The five-colored wind formed by Harmonious Morus Alba turned into a vortex. It spread out, swept outwards, and crashed into Arid Triad again.
"Su Ming, use the Harmonious Morus Alba Art I taught you!"
At the instant Harmonious Morus Alba crashed into Arid Triad, it quickly spoke. Its voice echoed in Su Ming's ears, but Su Ming… had a calm expression on his face, as if he did not hear it.
A string of incantations had indeed appeared in his mind. They were complex and difficult to understand, but it did not look like there was any danger lurking inside it; it was just a method to shift wills around. However, Su Ming was already in possession of a Dao Divinity. When the incantations appeared in his mind, his Dao Divinity sent him a strong warning of danger.
Boom!
The second crash caused Arid Triad to tumble backwards. The white wind he formed almost disintegrated, and it was the same for Su Ming. As for Harmonious Morus Alba, three of its five-colored light had vanished, and a shrill cry came from it.
"Su Ming!"
"I can help you Possess Arid Triad, but this doesn't mean that I will change my own will to assimilate with yours and become a part of you," Su Ming said slowly.
The instant he spoke, the butterfly formed by Harmonious Morus Alba jolted, and its body disintegrated, causing the wind it formed to regain all five colors. It swept towards Arid Triad, then spread out to form a vortex that surrounded Su Ming as well.
"Harmonious Morus Alba's form!"
A hoarse, ancient voice echoed in space. The vortex formed by the wind created by Harmonious Morus Alba turned into a huge five-colored butterfly. When it flew around them, Arid Triad closed his eyes, and in an instant, his body vanished. As the wind around him howled, he turned into a white butterfly as well.
The third eye at the center of Su Ming's brow flew open. His Dao Divinity opened his eyes as well, and his body vanished too. He turned into the third butterfly in the wind of the disaster—a huge black butterfly!
Three butterflies crashed into each other. It was Harmonious Morus Alba's full powered strike, Arid Triad's attempt to devour Su Ming, and Su Ming's… try to Possess Arid Triad!
When the three of them turned into butterflies and crashed against each other, the huge Feng Shui compass with the black-robed young man in the Vast Expanse Harmonious Morus Alba appeared above the butterfly, and what Su Ming had seen in the past repeated itself. The black-robed young man brought up his left hand and pushed down gently on his Feng Shui compass.
With it, all the runic symbols on the Feng Shui compass immediately shone. Waves of power that could destroy all space erupted from the Feng Shui compass and turned into a great suction force that instantly enveloped the butterfly.
From a distance, it could be seen that the Feng Shui compass was thousands of times larger than the butterfly, and only when it was compared to the butterfly could its size truly be understood!
When it was in the vast universe, due to it not having any sort of comparisons around, its size could not be seen, but right then… the size of the Feng Shui compass also indirectly verified just how large the black-robed young man was.
Before him, the butterfly was the same as a normal butterfly before a mortal!
When the Feng Shui compass began sucking the butterfly and the usual aloof look appeared in the black-robed young man's eyes, Harmonious Morus Alba, who was fighting in a battle to the death against Su Ming and Arid Triad within its universe, shuddered. The five-colored butterfly filled with an unprecedented fear and disbelieving shock.
"This… This presence is…"
The butterfly formed by Harmonious Morus Alba revealed its despair while shuddering. It wanted to give up on devouring Su Ming and Arid Triad and return to its body so that it could see the source of the presence in the Vast Expanse… but there was no longer a need for that. At the moment it noticed the presence, it understood everything.
"He… didn't die?"
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Chapter 1370: Arid Triad Disaster (5)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"He didn't die? Then all Harmonious Morus Albas in the vast universe have to die… This is our predestined fate!"
The butterfly formed by Harmonious Morus Alba shuddered, and madness filled its mind. It understood why it could no longer feel the presence of other Harmonious Morus Albas. It had originally thought that it had lost that ability when half of it had been Possessed.
It had dreamed that once it seized back its other half, it could make itself complete. Then it would spread its wings and search for its family in the vast universe and locate its homeland.
But right then, it came to a understanding that it had not lost its senses… but most of the other Harmonious Morus Albas had been wiped off due to their predestined fates.
"Just how long… have I stopped here?"
In its anguish, Harmonious Morus Alba sensed itself swiftly becoming weaker. It was happening so quickly that it felt like it had instantly lost three-tenths of its power. It knew that it would first become weaker and disappear, and then it would be Arid Triad's turn.
It started laughing madly at that moment, and there was a shrill note contained in the ancient voice as well as a hatred that surpassed all other emotions. The butterfly did not hate the source of that presence, but Arid Triad for having Possessed it!
"Since I'm bound to be wiped off… I will personally witness your death!"
Arid Triad had noticed Harmonious Morus Alba's rapid decline in strength, and so did Su Ming. However, while Arid Triad pounced on Harmonious Morus Alba without hesitation, Su Ming felt his heart tremble. He could vaguely guess what was happening.
"Su Ming, if you want to help me, do it now, and even if you don't want to… you still have to help me! Because only when Arid Triad dies will you have the right to send your family and friends into that world again.
"If Arid Triad does not die, his existence will mean that all entrances leading to the void will be shut. Unless you replace Arid Triad, it will be impossible for you to send the people in Ninth Summit into the other world again!
"You cannot take the risk! And I'll also tell you one thing: That world which you reached with your will does exist!"
Harmonious Morus Alba's shrill voice contained ferociousness. At the instant its words echoed in space, the Expanse Cosmos above Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos sank down and a huge vortex appeared in space.
That vortex was rotating counter-clockwise, and Su Ming could see the River of Forgetfulness in it… The river was flowing upstream, and gradually, he could see the other side of the river. There were figures there, and they were all people he was familiar with…
Their bodies seemed to be pulled by an indescribable force, as if they were about to be yanked out of the passage of time!
Su Ming had seen the River of Forgetfulness flowing in reverse, and he knew that it was not a figment of his imagination, but reality. It was his taboo, and he had searched for signs of Old Man Extermination's interference, for he could not think of anyone else who could possibly be capable of interfering with him.
But at that moment, Su Ming understood. The one who had gotten in his way was the Harmonious Morus Alba before him! This was the way it wanted to control him. If Su Ming did not work with it, it could use it to keep him in check.
Even if Su Ming had gone back on his word in the beginning and worked with Arid Triad, since Harmonious Morus Alba had dared to show up, it meant that it clearly had full confidence in the matter.
Su Ming was silent. He watched the familiar faces in the vortex beyond the Expanse Cosmos, and an unprecedented murderous look slowly appeared in his eyes. This was his taboo, and Harmonious Morus Alba… had violated it!
"You're wrong."
When Su Ming spoke, the butterfly he turned into instantly vanished to transform back to his human form. With a single move, he charged towards Harmonious Morus Alba. By his side, Arid Triad laughed loudly. The white butterfly he had turned into changed into a white whirlwind, and with a howl, it enveloped Harmonious Morus Alba.
"It's too late. You can't prevent their destiny of returning to this place. Only by Possessing Arid Triad will you be able to send them back!"
As Harmonious Morus Alba laughed shrilly, the speed at which the River of Forgetfulness in the vortex flowed upstream increased by a hundred fold. The people on the other side shuddered and were pulled back to the River of Forgetfulness. They were about to return to the other side.
At that moment, nine blood-red runic symbols suddenly appeared on the shore. They shone and turned into a layer of blood fog. It formed a barrier that impeded the reversal of time, and the vortex looked like it was about to shrink and close.
It stunned Harmonious Morus Alba.
With the murderous intent because of Harmonious Morus Alba violating his taboo, Su Ming came charging towards it. He clearly knew that his action of sealing the vortex could only last for a short while and not eternity. He had to rush out within the shortest amount of time possible and send the people of Ninth Summit who were dragged into the River of Forgetfulness back to the other world.
And if he wanted to do so, he had to suppress Harmonious Morus Alba so Arid Triad could Possess it. Only by doing so could he make Arid Triad unable to divide his attention to ruin everything. By the time Su Ming finished planning, he had already closed in on Harmonious Morus Alba.
"I can still make it!"
Red appeared in Su Ming's eyes. His heart was far from how calm he appeared to be. It was aching in pain and trembling. The scene he saw in the secrets of the universe had turned into a shadow looming over his head. It taunted him, acting as a brand that he could never wipe off.
The people in the river were those he cared about the most. They were the people he was the most reluctant to part with. He did not want the scene he saw in the secrets of the universe to become true. He did not want to lose everything and be reduced to being alone!
Even if he was already alone he still had a dream in his heart. He still had hopes and a resolve he was determined to hang onto. One day, he would find Ninth Summit, would locate everyone, and live on in that world!
More blood capillaries appeared in Su Ming's eyes. With madness in his gaze, he rushed at Harmonious Morus Alba. The strongest power erupted from his body at that moment. That will was the accumulation of the four Great True Worlds and his soul. It was the strongest strike in his life!
He had executed it before the black-robed young man, and he had also delivered this attack on Arid Triad in the flesh tunnel. Right then however… Su Ming's Dao Divinity was also added to the strike!
His strongest strike mixed with a hint of Boundless Dao's presence erupted from his body like a life blossoming into a newborn. With his body as a sword and his will as a blade, Su Ming instantly closed in on Harmonious Morus Alba. As it swiftly weakened, a loud rumble that shook the sky and earth reverberated through Harmonious Morus Alba. It even traveled out of the universe and into the vast space beyond, causing the black-robed young man on the Feng Shui compass to lower his head slightly.
Harmonious Morus Alba's body was shot through by Su Ming's attack, and Arid Triad followed closely behind. With a desire that had been building for countless years, an obsessive madness, and shock brought by Su Ming's strongest attack, he turned into a gust of endless white wind that instantly enveloped Harmonious Morus Alba.
Its shrill screams shot into space, and Arid Triad's devouring, the one he had longed for for countless aeons… fully began at that instant!
Harmonious Morus Alba had miscalculated Su Ming's determination. It thought it could control him, but it did not expect that Su Ming's personality would never allow him to submit to anything, especially when someone had violated his taboo. He would either erupt with strength without a word… or would choose to die in silence.
There was no third choice, no compromise!
The price for the butterfly's miscalculation was a swifter death. It allowed Arid Triad to succeed, and Harmonious Morus Alba could no longer see his death. It could only see him devouring it to complete its world!
At that moment, Su Ming did not care about Arid Triad devouring Harmonious Morus Alba. He charged upwards and appeared in front of the vortex. By then, the blood-red seals he had placed before the vortex had become weaker, no longer able to contend against Harmonious Morus Alba's will pulling at them and letting the time to flow backwards.
Su Ming could see the confused faces of the people from Ninth Summit he had sent away behind the thin blood fog.
His heart throbbed in pain upon seeing it. He brought his right hand up and cast his divine ability. At the instant Arid Triad went to devour Harmonious Morus Alba, Su Ming tore through space to send the people of Ninth back to the other side of the river so that it would be impossible for the scene he witnessed in the secrets of the universe to come true!
However… there were times when destiny could be changed, but there were also times… when even if one used their full strength, they would still be unable to do anything to change destiny. The key to it might be right before them, but they could not touch it…
It was just like how time flowed like water in a river, never returning. A person's life was like a dream.
Someone had once asked how long a person would live. They asked why a person's life always moved from winter to summer, why it moved from the beatings of a drum at night in a monastic temple to the bell tolls that rang in the morning to signify daybreak, who sighed in the four seasons that had already passed, and how many farewells passed in the bell tolls…
Who was the one who caused flowers to bloom and wilt with a snap of fingers? Who caused the moon to become full and then wane? When that somebody lowered their head and saw light, did they see the lamps of houses… or the flourishing life that was gradually moving away from them? And how many brilliant lives had faded away?
The only things left were the wrinkles of memories, moving past the faint layer of dust in the passage of time before shattering to pieces.
Perhaps that was Dao.
It was also a shrill laughter let out when the universe was destroyed. Messy long hair had an enchanting purple hue, and it looked like it had turned into the tears in a certain person's heart. They were the color of blood, but when they fused with darkness… they changed to a color whose name people knew, but not the meaning. That color… was purple.
Purple was the fusion of blood and darkness. It was the fierceness of blood and madness of darkness gathered together to turn into death that no one could affect anymore… It dyed the heart purple, turned his blood black, and then gave him a purple hue that no one else could understand but which would terrify them!
With the purple long hair and purple eyes, he became a lone ship that moved through the River of Forgetfulness.
If anyone cast a gentle gaze at that lone ship under the moonlight… they would find that they could no longer see the lone figure sitting on it.
Only some vague pictures remained in the reflections on the river, and only they reflections remembered… a ferryman who was once dressed in a straw cape and wore a straw hat.
Su Ming's Dao had always been one of moving from midwinter to the beginning of spring. He had ventured to autumn… had moved from death to life and opened his eyes, but at that moment… his Dao changed.
'Since the beginning of spring is no longer around, then why would there be a need for me to pursue waking up? I'd rather be in this darkness and search for the shattered figures who will stay by my side.
'Since I would only see death in the world when I opened my eyes, I would rather keep my eyes closed forever. The only thing that will bloom before my eyes will be endless darkness. I will spread this darkness through the world and to all lives. Perhaps… this is my true Dao!'
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Chapter 1371: Arid Triad Disaster (6)
Once the withered bark of the past was crushed and the clear water of the future was added to it, everything would become transparent. No matter what the color was, when a bowl of ink was poured into it, it would dye the whole world… It would never be able to return to how it had been in the beginning.
Su Xuan Yi's Dao was to have his son Lei Chen Possess Old Man Extermination, but before it could happen, he needed a chance and some help. That help… was the hand in which he had turned at that moment.
Right then, he was above Dark Dawn and Saint Defier, and he covered that whole Expanse Cosmos. Beneath this hand… were gazes filled with hatred along with madness before a world was destroyed. With these emotions, an indescribable resentment was formed, and it turned… into a Curse from all lives!
It was a trap, one that Old Man Extermination had prepared for a long time. Under Old Man Extermination's arrangements, the three black-robed men had turned into Su Ming and killed while traveling through the universe, which filled Dark Dawn and Saint Defiers' 360 Expanse Cosmoses with an indescribable resentment towards Su Ming.
Everyone had personally witnessed their friends and family brutally slaughtered by Su Ming and heard their people letting out shrill screams of pain. Those who did not die had to bear with the torment in their bodies and souls, which gave birth to resentment that would last for eternity. Before the world was destroyed, they erupted with unwillingness to die and their madness in an unprecedented manner.
The resentment had no corporeal form… but it could be treated as a form of will. One person's will was not powerful, but if millions, ten millions, hundreds of millions, billions, and especially all the people from 360 Expanse Cosmoses from Dark Dawn and Saint Defier Cursed a person at the same time when their most spectacular brilliance erupted, the resentment… would become real!
This was what it meant to create truth out of nothing!
In a sense, that power could be seen as Dao. If it was placed in a country whose citizens wanted it to be destroyed, then that country would certainly be destroyed!
And that was only when it was viewed in a mortal sense. This logic existed in the world of cultivators too. Once someone used it, they could create a sharp weapon, and during the most crucial moments, it would erupt with its strongest force.
When the resentment from Dark Dawn and Saint Defier's camps gathered together, it was immediately absorbed by the huge hand formed by Su Xuan Yi. It became even darker, as if the power of the universe was contained in it. The palm swayed then, and overlapping shadows immediately appeared on it.
It had split into two!
At the same time, the pupils of Old Man Extermination shrank while he sat on the ancient ship in the fourth Expanse Cosmos. One of the hands sliced through space with Old Man Extermination's will to charge to Arid Triad. The other broke through space too… but it headed to the fourth Expanse Cosmos and Old Man Extermination!
"Su Xuan Yi!"
Old Man Extermination's eyes shone. The moment his words tumbled out of his mouth, the huge palm formed by Su Xuan Yi shot through space and appeared right in front of the ancient ship. Su Xuan Yi's face had manifested on the palm, and it was filled with determination and madness along with hatred he had kept buried in his heart for an unknown number of years.
"Abyss Builders' Possession!" Su Xuan Yi threw his head back and roared. The palm immediately touched the ancient ship with boundless resentment and charged straight at Old Man Extermination.
"You overestimate yourself!" Old Man Extermination harrumphed coldly. "I was the one who created your race. How dare you try to Possess me!"
Old Man Extermination swung his arm. A gust of black wind instantly charged towards the hand while forming a huge skull. Sitting on it was a small human which had the exact same appearance as Extermination. It was his Dao Divinity!
The small human's expression was calm. The skull beneath him opened its mouth wide and charged at Su Xuan Yi.
But when the skull approached Su Xuan Yi, Old Man Extermination furrowed his brows. He swiftly seized the space in the skull's direction with his right hand, and the skull immediately disintegrated.
"Hmph, I can't waste the resentment gathered on you. If my plan for Su Ming is affected because of you, then even if you die ten thousand times, you won't be able to compensate for your wrongs!
"Since you like Possession so much, then I will reward you with the glory of being Possessed by me!"
A ferocious smile appeared at the corners of Old Man Extermination's lips. As he spoke, he swung his arm, and his Dao Divinity appeared in front of him. It opened its mouth and, with a ferocious expression, turned into a long arc that charged towards the palm formed by Su Xuan Yi.
With a loud rumble, Old Man Extermination's Dao Divinity and the palm of resentment formed by Su Xuan Yi crashed into each other. They immediately began trying to Possess one another, but Su Xuan Yi was clearly weaker than Old Man Extermination. In just the span of a few breaths, half of the palm he formed had been occupied by Extermination.
However… there was not a single hint of panic on Su Xuan Yi's face. Instead, a hint of scorn showed up on his lips. It held arrogance as well as confidence that spoke of how he had taken every possible element into account in his plan so that it would be foolproof. He also looked like he no longer had anything left in his life but instead had great hopes that the future would be better.
"Extermination, you lost!" Su Xuan Yi laughed loudly while being Possessed by Extermination.
Old Man Extermination frowned. When he furrowed his eyebrows, his expression suddenly changed. Right then, a third person's presence appeared on Su Xuan Yi's body!
That third presence belonged to Lei Chen!
Lei Chen was sitting in the fourth True World's palace. His body was covered in countless black needles. Hey shuddered, and tears fell from his eyes. His body withered rapidly at that moment. His will, his cultivation, his soul, and everything else about him appeared on Su Xuan Yi in the form of bloodlines!
That was Su Xuan Yi's plan. He knew that he could not fight against Old Man Extermination. His level of cultivation and ability to Possess were a far cry from Extermination's. He knew that if he attempted to Possess Extermination, he would definitely die, which was why he needed better arrangements. There were two requirements for him to succeed. One of them was that Old Man Extermination would not attack to kill him and would give him the chance to Possess him.
That was why Su Xuan Yi had chosen to absorb a large amount of resentment before dividing it into two portions. One of them would approach Su Ming based on Old Man Extermination's plan… and the other portion would be used by Su Xuan Yi to become the element that would cause Old Man Extermination reluctant to kill him!
As long as he hesitated, based on Old Man Extermination's personality, he would want to ensure that his plan with Su Ming would work. That would mean that he would choose to Possess Su Xuan Yi so that the resentment would not disappear and his plan would be unhindered!
That was the first element of Su Xuan Yi's plan!
The second requirement was that Old Man Extermination would not be able to fight against him at full strength. This was easy since his main enemy was Su Ming! With the two requirements fulfilled, Su Xuan Yi held the initiative, and he could execute the second step of his plan…
It was Possession, but Su Xuan Yi would not be the one Possessing Extermination. Instead, he willingly turned his body into a medium… so that his son Lei Chen could connect to Extermination!
His ambition was not to Possess Old Man Extermination completely, but to take a part of him. As long as he could Possess a portion of Extermination, he could be considered to have succeeded.
With even a little, he believed that Lei Chen, who had fused with the Seed of Life Extermination, would be able to stand indestructible… because in a sense, with the Seed of Life Extermination, Lei Chen would share some similarity with Old Man Extermination!
The Seed of Life Extermination's real use was for Old Man Extermination to pass down the creations of his soul through his blood in order to create the strongest person among the Abyss Builders to offer them up to Xuan Zang. That offering would have the Seed of Life Extermination and will go to challenge Xuan Zang.
The person Extermination had originally chosen was Lei Chen. It was why the baby of Su Xuan Yi's wife had seemed cursed. In truth, he was not under a Curse, but displaying the fusion with the Seed of Life Extermination.
However, Old Man Extermination had miscalculated one thing. He miscalculated Su Xuan Yi's ambition and madness and did not expect that he would use the mysteriousness surrounding Yin Death Vortex. That region was a place where Extermination could not peek into. While inside there, Su Xuan Yi extracted the Seed of Life Extermination from Lei Chen's body and planted it in Su Ming.
Then, he planted the seed in Yu Xuan, because she came from the second God of Berserkers' line, and while the second God of Berserker was a Berserker, he lived in Yin Death Vortex and was an existence caught between life and death. It allowed Su Xuan Yi to make some changes in the Seed of Life Extermination… When it fused with Lei Chen again, everything came back a full circle, and it also became an important part of Su Xuan Yi's plan.
"Extermination, you lost. Are you going to control that resentment to seal Su Ming, or will you fight against the Abyss Builders' Possession? To you, this must be something that you can easily decide upon!
"No matter what you choose, in the end, the crux of Possession is that… you absolutely cannot Possess yourself, and what you are doing now is Possessing yourself. You Possessed my son. You are trying to Possess him, who has completely fused with the Seed of Life Extermination, and it means you're Possessing yourself!"
As Su Xuan Yi laughed shrilly, his presence grew weaker. Old Man Extermination's Dao Divinity was rapidly shrinking while in his body. He wanted to give up on Possession, but…
Su Xuan Yi had planned for years. Since he could turn his body into a medium… he had long since made Lei Chen Possess him multiple times. A part of his body belonged to Lei Chen since a while ago.
His presence swiftly disintegrated, but his laughter still echoed in the air. He knew that he had succeeded. At the moment Old Man Extermination chose to Possess him, he succeeded!
"Su Xuan Yi!"
Old Man Extermination's eyes burned with anger. He swiftly retracted his Dao Divinity, but Lei Chen's presence felt like marrow entering bones. He fused with Extermination's Dao Divinity, then entered Old Man Extermination's body as well.
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Chapter 1372: Arid Triad Disaster (7)
Old Man Extermination's expression was incredibly dark. It was as Su Xuan Yi had said. The crux of Possession was that they absolutely could not Possess themselves. This was a law and a forbidden area!
Once they Possessed themselves, it would mean that a part of them had been divided in their own bodies. That unseen division would mean… that no matter how strong or weak the other version was, it would be impossible for them to devour the other, because their strength would be the same. They could… only coexist.
This was something Old Man Extermination knew very well, but under Su Xuan Yi's administrations, he had ended up Possessing Lei Chen, and Lei Chen had the Seed of Life Extermination. Since it came from the same origin as Extermination, it meant… that Extermination was Possessing himself.
He could only watch helplessly as Lei Chen's presence fused with his Dao Divinity and entered his body. Old Man Extermination could already sense Lei Chen's existence as well as his will in his mind. It was filled with hatred for him—an existence he could not wipe off.
"Su Xuan Yi, you bastard!"
A glint appeared in Old Man Extermination's eyes. When he lifted his right hand, he pointed at the palm formed by Su Xuan Yi. With a bang, it shattered, revealing Su Xuan Yi's body in it. Old Man Extermination pointed at him again, and Su Xuan Yi's storage bag shattered. The fifth kiln instantly appeared from it.
When he clenched his fist, the fifth kiln shattered, and the woman's body inside it was reduced to powder along with Su Xuan Yi. They were both completely wiped off.
The hatred in Lei Chen's consciousness grew stronger as he trembled.
"It's fine if you're in my body. You can… watch me destroy everything. When I think of a way of extracting you from my body, I will let you taste despair.
"For now, you will watch me seal Su Ming and turn him into an offering!"
As Old Man Extermination laughed hideously, he brought his right hand up and swung it swiftly at space.
The black-robed young man who was continuously absorbing Harmonious Morus Alba's life force on the Feng Shui compass in the Vast Expanse suddenly lifted his head.
"Offering…" he mumbled.
A hint of expressiveness shone in his aloof eyes, but it was incredibly faint, as if it was about to disappear at any moment. It was only at that moment, however, that he looked to be alive.
As he mumbled, he lifted his right hand and pointed at the butterfly beneath him. With it, a gust of wind was stirred up and turned into a gust of black smoke that swiftly charged to the Harmonious Morus Alba beneath him. He seemed to want to take the offering from the spot where Old Man Extermination had pointed.
At that moment, Su Ming was staring at the people in the vortex. His right hand was already lifted… but he could not touch the edges of the vortex, just like how destiny could not be changed at certain times.
The black palm formed by the resentment Su Xuan Yi had absorbed along with Old Man Extermination's will shot through the vortex with the River of Forgetfulness and appeared right in front of Su Ming. It turned into an endless grudge and Curse… that immediately submerged Su Ming within itself.
It became a seal!
It sealed the strongest cultivator of that aeon, branding him and turning him into an offering awaiting Xuan Zang's descent.
The resentment within the seal turned into countless faces with ferocious expressions as well as madness in their eyes. With a desperate wish for Su Ming to die, they dyed his world black and sealed him in a thick black fog.
"Su Ming, die!"
"You killed all my people! You must die! YOU HAVE TO DIE!"
"Haha! You can't save your family and friends! We'll do everything to kill you!"
"When you killed our people, did you ever think that such a day would come?! Why… aren't you dead yet!"
The countless faces in the fog that appeared around Su Ming had twisted expressions and roared at him constantly. There were so many of them that no end could be seen. They surrounded Su Ming and continuously let out incredibly shrill roars and curses.
They hated Su Ming, hated him to the core!
Su Ming was silent. Grief appeared on his face as he stared at the fog around him. He could sense that the sealing power was not very powerful, but it was strong enough to trap him for a while, and during that time, he did not know what would happen to Ninth Summit's vortex…
"The person who killed your people and all of you… is not me."
There was a determined note in Su Ming's voice. When he spoke, a fierce look appeared in his eyes. He lifted his left hand and gathered the wills of the True Worlds belonging to him before fusing them with his Dao Divinity's strongest attack. Then, he sent it towards the fog.
Booming sounds reverberated through space and shook the fog, making it tumble furiously. Su Ming executed his strongest attack again and again, regardless of the cost. He continued attacking and moving forward, trying his best to rush out as soon as possible.
There might seem to be no pattern to his attacks and he was just attacking nonstop, but only Su Ming was aware that every single time he attacked, he only used his left hand!
As he continued attacking, the palm lines on his left hand gradually grew clearer.
The faces and curses formed by the resentment that filled the fog around him went mad. They, too, did everything they could to stop him.
"Regardless of whether you did it or not, if I say you did it, then you did!"
The sudden voice instantly drowned all the curses from the resentment after it spread through the fog. It echoed in Su Ming's ears, making him come to a halt. He turned his head around and looked towards an empty spot.
There, the endless fog formed the figure of Old Man Extermination. When he looked at Su Ming, his lips curled into a faint smile.
"You are an offering to Xuan Zang. This is your destiny. You can't escape or flee from it. The endless resentment gathered from this universe has turned into a curse, and it is led to you by your palm lines. I've intentionally arranged this for you… but I didn't expect that your Harmonious Morus Alba would be so ruthless, that it would bring back the people you sent away…"
Old Man Extermination smiled faintly and swung his arm. The fog in the area immediately tumbled violently and turned into a huge palm. Su Ming was within it.
"I don't believe in destiny," Su Ming said while looking at Old Man Extermination.
As he spoke, he brought up his left hand and struck at the fog. With it, the fog around him instantly rumbled. Amid them, the palm lines on Su Ming's palm swiftly manifested behind him.
"Were you referring to these palm lines?" Su Ming asked slowly.
The illusory palm lines that had manifested behind him were incredibly clear, and when they touched the fog, rumbles resounded through space.
"These are indeed my palm lines."
Su Ming lowered his head to look at his left hand. When Old Man Extermination's pupils shrank, Su Ming swung his left arm, and it immediately withered. It withered to an extent that it looked like his left arm had melted.
In the blink of an eye, Su Ming's entire left arm disappeared. The only thing left was his left sleeve fluttering in space!
"You were born with those palm lines, and you can't change them. Even if you—"
As Old Man Extermination spoke, his pupils suddenly shrank again, and disbelief appeared on his face. He saw that the fog in the area was swiftly disintegrating!
The faces formed by the resentment in the fog acted as if they had lost their sight. Their vision was gone… and they could no longer find Su Ming!
Even louder booming sounds shot into space at that moment. The fog in the area swiftly tumbled backwards and disappeared, as if the huge palm had turned into a rootless tree that could only fall!
"That's impossible… unless… you…" Old Man Extermination's expression changed. He had thought of a possibility.
"You had cut off your left hand before you left behind your palm print. Not only did you cut off your flesh and blood, you even cut off the connection your soul had to your arm, all so that I would make a mistake.
"It was a trap to lead me into making a mistake, even if you did not know what my goal was!"
When Old Man Extermination spoke, Su Ming did not say anything. Instead, he moved back and stepped out of the fog!
The instant he did so, he saw the seal formed by his blood in the vortex that prevented the River of Forgetfulness from flowing backwards and stopped the people from Ninth Summit from returning to this place. It broke apart at that moment, and the River of Forgetfulness started flowing in reverse. The people from Ninth Summit—all the familiar faces—started appearing outside the vortex. They were already brought back to their old universe!
Red filled Su Ming's eyes, and the third eye at the center of his brow opened. His Dao Divinity opened its eyes as well, revealing madness, but Su Ming knew that he could no longer execute any divine abilities to send them back, because he no longer had any time. He only had one choice left!
Sever the River of Forgetfulness!
He would sever the River of Forgetfulness, cut off its connection with his world, hack off all the preordained fate the people of Ninth Summit had with it, slice off their path back home, for only by doing so could he give them a chance to survive the destruction!
Su Ming did not have time to hesitate. With sadness in his eyes, he lifted his right hand and brought it down violently to cut at the reversing River of Forgetfulness in the vortex!
Even if his heart ached in pain and there would no longer be a chance for him to find everyone again in the future, as long as they were still alive and existed somewhere, it would be enough for him!
The scene he witnessed in the secrets of the universe had long since been set in stone. The loss of his left hand was also part of it, for it was destiny that could not be changed. When Su Ming saw the secrets of the universe in the past, it was all destined to happen.
When Su Ming was about to sever the River of Forgetfulness… a deep voice that caused all of Harmonious Morus Alba to tremble rang out!
"Offering…"
When the word was spoken, everything behind Su Ming was destroyed, and all the lives behind him were… replaced by a finger!
Wherever it went, the galaxy would turn into nothingness. A huge crack was torn open in space… revealing the endless Vast Expanse!
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Chapter 1373: Arid Triad Disaster (8)
The finger brought forth destruction. It tore through Harmonious Morus Alba's wings to reveal the Vast Expanse and moved through the fog of resentment Old Man Extermination had created to appear in front of Su Ming.
It contained destruction and a supreme power that could crush all wills.
Su Ming… did not turn his head back. He lifted his right hand; he had already cut the River of Forgetfulness.
His body shuddered at that moment, and he coughed up blood, but he simply gritted his teeth and stood firmly in his spot, allowing the destruction behind him to submerge him. Determination shone in his eyes. He wanted to personally see the River of Forgetfulness cut and the people of Ninth Summit return to their new world once the severed River of Forgetfulness could no longer flow in reverse.
That was why he could not let the finger behind him move past him. He could not let any accident happen to the people of Ninth Summit.
While Su Ming persevered, Di Tian shuddered while in Yin Death Vortex. After coughing up blood, he continued making sure that the life matrix was complete. However, there were already many cracks on it.
Di Tian's eyes were bloodshot. He let out a roar that came from his soul. His body then withered so that he could gather all his life force into the life matrix.
Yet… Su Ming's power was not enough for him to last. His wish could not be fulfilled. The next moment, his legs were unable to withstand the destructive power and shattered. Di Tian's legs shattered as well.
When Su Ming's body was about to be destroyed by the destructive power as well, a six-colored wind appeared beside him and surrounded him, helping him bear the attack while withstanding the enormous force, and in the end, managed to pull him away from the finger.
The six-colored wind was Arid Triad!
Without Su Ming blocking its path, the finger touched the River of Forgetfulness right when it was severed and the vortex was about to disintegrate…
It shattered…
Su Ming saw his eldest senior brother turn into ash at that instant. His second senior brother seemed to sigh softly. He looked at Su Ming, and there was a faint smile at the corners of his lips, but soon, his head turned into nothingness when his body shattered and disappeared into the wind.
Su Ming saw Hu Zi roar, Yu Xuan staring at him, the tears at the corners of Cang Lan's eyes, and Xu Hui pursing her lips before she closed her eyes in anguish.
And the sight of his elder, Chang He, Nan Gong Hen, and all the other people's faces being replaced by Xuan Zang's finger. When the River of Forgetfulness was shattered, the vortex disappeared… and everything was reduced to only a memory.
It was as if the freezing wind and the biting chill had turned into a shrill mourning song and words of resentment on paper without Su Ming's knowledge. In his dream, he heard the desolate notes of a flute from the distance, and the amazing moments in the passage of time turned into eternity, into the leaves of autumn. With a desolate air and loneliness, they fell before Su Ming's suddenly dull eyes.
The autumn leaves covered Su Ming's eyes. It was as if the mountains and rivers from his memories had reached their end without a single sound. When the leaves fell, Su Ming's line of sight was cleared. His dull and lifeless eyes were revealed, and they seemed to contain one single truth—that in the end, all mountains and rivers had to be eternally lonely. They could only be desolate existences in the passage of time, just like snow.
Time seemed to have come to a stop before Su Ming's eyes at that moment. A teardrop that looked like blood fell from the corner of his eye at some unknown point in time. That teardrop slid down his cheek and fell on his foot, then rolled down to the empty galaxy. No one could say whether it would land on a flower named Ninth Summit if reincarnation existed.
Xuan Zang lifted his finger a little, and then, it started to slowly head towards Su Ming with the intent to kill again. Su Ming was his offering, and he would always first taste his offerings before harvesting each Harmonious Morus Alba.
The six-colored wind beside Su Ming turned into Arid Triad. He stood next to him and watched the finger approach him. A smile full of anguish appeared at the corners of his lips, but the look of someone being freed of their burdens was more prominent on his face.
"Su Ming, I was wrong. Everything you said before was real…
"But I don't regret this. I devoured Harmonious Morus Alba and became the master of this universe… I also became an existence who is both a cultivator and a Harmonious Morus Alba!
"I don't know how many years I've lived. I thought I've already forgotten the past, but I still remember that tree… I still remember by family and friends of the past… Su Ming, I've become Harmonious Morus Alba. This is my disaster, but it's not known as Harmonious Morus Alba's disaster. It has the name… Arid Triad's disaster!
"This is my disaster, and if I can have a disaster with my name, then I, Arid Triad… am satisfied with my life!
"But you are different. You've come to understand a hint of Boundless Dao's Realm. You have a greater future ahead of you. Leave this place. If you complete your Dao in the future… remember to take revenge for me, then, at the very least, I wouldn't have wasted the time to get to know you!"
Arid Triad turned his head to look at Su Ming while speaking with a smile. There was determination along with dignity in his expression.
"I've always thought that if we were both born in the same era, we would have become close friends." Arid Triad lifted his right hand and patted Su Ming. Immediately, Su Ming was pushed backwards… When Arid Triad turned around, powerful fighting spirit burned in his eyes while he charged at Xuan Zang's finger coming towards him.
From the distance, the finger looked like a ball of flames… and Arid Triad was like a moth!
Either this was a moth charging towards the fire and its own death, or it was the flames burning the moth. The persistence of that figure… shone with the most brilliant light in all of Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos at that moment!
'Death isn't frightening. I've already completed my Dao, so why should I be afraid of Death?!
'My death will verify my Dao. My death isn't brought by the heavens who have come to destroy me, but my pursuit of Dao which I will do in an even more resplendent fashion!'
"Arid Triad's disaster… Arid Triad's disaster. I, Arid Triad, shall laugh for being able to go through this disaster!"
A long string of laughter echoed in space and landed in Su Ming's ears. It sounded fleeting, like the waters in the river of time. He raised his hand in that water, watched it disappear and listened to the rustling as it slipped through his fingertips. It was as if his memories were sinking as time changed, and his heart was buried in reality. His dreams… filled with sadness while he counted all the tears that he had shed.
Su Ming laughed. He laughed long and hard, and as he laughed, tears of blood fell from his eyes. His laughter was shrill and forlorn, echoing through the entire world and universe. His laughter was filled with madness, along with an even stronger sense of determination!
"Harmonious Morus Alba, as long as I, Su Ming, am alive, if I don't destroy all your people and all your kind, I will not be able to die in peace!
"Extermination, if I don't make you suffer the pain I went through today by one thousand fold, if I don't make you die a death by a thousand cuts, crush your bones to ashes, extract your soul and devour you for ten thousand years… I, Su Ming, will not see light ever again!
"Dark Dawn, Saint Defier, two camps, 360 Expanse Cosmoses… You don't even have to wait for the disaster to bury you, for what you did to me, I will take revenge… by destroying all of you!
"And Xuan Zang… I originally only wanted to live and wait for the day so that I can go searching for the ones I sent to the other world.
"But you… since you stopped me from doing so, you will be the target of my Possession. Even if it will end my life, I will Possess you, because only by Possessing you will I be able to open the Abyss Gate and search for their tracks in the passage of time. And then… I will resurrect them one by one!"
Su Ming's hair did not turn white as in the secrets of the universe. It was still purple, but the grief spreading out from it became an eternal part of Su Ming.
It was as heavy as the color of the universe.
Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos started collapsing before Su Ming at that moment. It was because of the space above pressing down on them. The planets roared and shattered, and the living on them died one after another, reduced to nothing.
The figure of Arid Triad was burning, because the flames from Xuan Zang's finger had lit him up!
Sky and earth, heaven and the universe, space and galaxy… It was as if two huge palms had come into contact to crush all signs of all True Worlds as well as all the existing lives, including… the powerful warriors from the previous aeons who thought they could be safe from the disaster. They had long since noticed that the disaster was completely different from before, but they could not escape from it and could only descend into madness when they died. As they were destroyed, they let out shrill roars that were drowned out by all the rumbles.
Su Ming turned around. He no longer had any legs. There was only a sleeve left where his left arm was supposed to be as well, but from his body came a purple darkness that exuded extreme madness and evil!
His aura was full of the purple darkness. It surrounded his body and became his legs as well as his left hand. Their skin tone was completely different from the rest of his body.
With killing intent burning in his eyes and his crazed heart, he body turned into a long arc. At the instant Arid Triad collapsed, he stepped into Dark Dawn and Saint Defier's camps.
Since the 360 Expanse Cosmoses were certain that Su Ming had attacked them before… he might as well truly attack them. He would fight against the disaster and snatch the lives it was supposed to harvest, because those people… had stopped Su Ming from doing what he wanted with their resentment. Then, just like what the secret of the universe predetermined, if Su Ming was bound to be alone… they would be bound to die!
He stepped into Dark Dawn and Saint Defier and turned into a gust of purple wind in the space between the sky and earth while the galaxy was being flattened by the world above. There was a figure in the wind, and wherever it went, all Expanse Cosmoses and races were destroyed!
While Su Ming killed, he did so with persistence. Only the Expanse Cosmoses of the Heavenly Foxes and the Bear Charters were spared, despite the fact that Yan Pei had died.
When Su Ming walked past the Heavenly Foxes' Expanse Cosmos, Zi Ruo lifted her head and stared at the sky where his figure was covered in purple. Her gaze was profound, and as she stared at him, Su Ming moved away, not lingering around. He did not trouble the Heavenly Foxes, but besides them, the Bear Charters… and the Expanse Cosmos in Saint Defier where the bald crane had once laid beside a lake and stared at an old woman for one hundred years, every other place suffered a bloody storm.
Behind Su Ming, the Expanse Cosmoses that were now void of life welcomed the sky pressing down on them and were reduced to nothingness… Then, with a step forward, Su Ming charged above and shot through space. He entered the fourth wing's Expanse Cosmos and headed towards the region where Old Man Extermination resided with burning killing intent.
Wherever Su Ming walked, the galaxy withered like the bark of the past and was crushed, turning transparent when the clear water of the future was added to it. No matter what the color was, when a bowl of ink was poured into it, it would dye the whole world… It would never be able to return to how it had been in the beginning.
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Chapter 1374: Arid Triad Disaster (9)
'Kill!
'In my world, there is only slaughter left, and only through this slaughter and the hot waves of blood gushing out of living bodies will I know… that I still exist.
'Kill!
'If I don't kill, then the world will think that I killed their kin. If I don't kill, the resentment will only continue growing stronger. If I don't kill… I will let down my heart, my Dao, and Ninth Summit!
'So I… Su Ming, can only kill!
'Be it right or wrong, I don't want to think about it anymore. Right now, I feel like I've lost everything. That feeling of emptiness and the memory of people of Ninth Summit before they were killed have become the madness that made me lose my soul!
'Besides killing… what else can I do? Even if these are all weaklings and should not die, now they… must die! If they didn't interfere, if the resentment they gathered together didn't stop me, none of it would have ever happened…
'That is why… they must die! So, since you're certain I was the one who killed your kin, then we might as well make it so that it is truly me who did so. Since you don't want my explanations… then from now on, I, Su Ming, will no longer explain myself to anyone!
'This is my Dao and my path. Those who know me know my heart, and for those who don't… their deaths have nothing to do with me!'
Su Ming threw his head back and laughed. His laughter was shrill, and the tears falling from the corners of his eyes were red. Wherever he went, a bloody storm would rage. The worlds behind him overlapped as the disaster descended and laughed ferociously.
However, the ferocious laughter turned into howls in the end, because Su Ming had already rained down a calamity, and it… had already baptized the world with blood.
Su Ming walked past Dark Dawn and Saint Defier, his purple gust sweeping up a bloody sea as it rushed into the fourth Expanse Cosmos. He broke through space and shot through the barrier. At that moment he stepped into the fourth Expanse Cosmos, he heard the endless loud rumbles belonging to that area.
However, right then, those rumbles caused extreme annoyance to Su Ming. He was already in a very merciless state of mind. His heart was not calm and neither were his thoughts smooth, hence, he threw his head back and shouted, "SHUT UP!"
While the world rumbled, Su Ming's voice instantly swept through the fourth Expanse Cosmos and filled the entire area. With his will, he changed laws, making the old ones shatter, and the loud rumbles that had existed since an eternity ago were destroyed at that moment.
It was as if the rumbles were afraid and trembling before Su Ming. They stopped moaning, causing the entire fourth Expanse Cosmos to fall into dead silence.
Without the rumbles, the purple gust Su Ming had formed swept through everywhere violently, charging towards the gap leading to the Vast Expanse, for it was the place where Old Man Extermination lived.
The entire universe seemed to be falling backwards at that moment.
Su Ming lifted his head and stared at the area above him… the Expanse Cosmos where Dark Dawn and Saint Defier were located was continuously overlapping with the world he was in as if two huge hands were pressing together to squash all existences.
The fourth Expanse Cosmos began showing signs of collapse. Planets rumbled, continents shattered, and Su Ming saw quite a number of powerful warriors from the previous aeons. They had already lost their souls of cultivators, but when faced with the imminent disaster, they stared at the Expanse Cosmos. There was a hint of reluctance to leave but also the expression of freedom on their faces.
The fiendish and malicious people of the past bent their heads to stare at the plants and flowers beneath them and smiled before they died. Their smiles were sincere, beautiful, and lasting until they shattered into nothingness.
When a person was about to die, their words were filled with kindness, and if their words were kind, it was even more so for his heart.
The destruction of the world made Su Ming feel as if he had lost his heart, as if it had been submerged in nothingness. Only the gust of wind in which he had turned was left, and while charging forward, Su Ming saw a person.
He was tall, and so big that he looked like a hill. He stood on a crumbling planet while laughing sorrowfully at the heavens. His voice echoed in space, and it was filled with regret as well as his bravery that spoke of fearlessness towards death.
The shrillness and grief in his laughter was enough to affect the universe.
Su Ming saw the figure's face, and it belonged to… Lie Shan Xiu!
The first God of Berserkers Lie Shan Xiu!
"I made the wrong bet! Su Ming, I was wrong… but you have to persevere!"
As Lie Shan Xiu laughed shrilly, he did not avoid the collapse of the planet beneath him. He simply allowed the ground to shatter and pull him under. When his figure was devoured, the planet let out a bang, and all the existences within it shattered to pieces, turning into ash that vanished into nothingness.
Yet the grief-filled laughter echoed in the collapsing galaxy, turning into a lingering voice that stayed for a long while, refusing to leave.
Su Ming saw the planet being reduced to powder and watched Lie Shan Xiu choose death. He died because he took the wrong bet, because he felt guilty for his actions against Su Ming, and because the deaths of the one hundred thousand Berserkers had sent him into mourning that could not be put into words. He could only die.
In silence, the purple gust Su Ming had formed appeared at the gap leading to the Vast Expanse. He did not see Tian Xie Zi on the way nor notice his presence. It was as if Tian Xie Zi had vanished without leaving behind a single trace.
Su Ming did not find Tian Xie Zi, but he saw the ancient ship, and on it, he saw… Old Man Extermination!
This was not the first time Su Ming saw him. When he had gained an epiphany of Boundless Dao, he had seen him with his Dao Divinity, but since then… Old Man Extermination's appearance had changed drastically.
Nearly a tenth of his hair had turned black, and a tenth of his face seemed to have become younger. It was clearly different from the old appearance of the rest of his body, and even his presence was jumbled up.
It was as if he had two presences. Even if the second presence was slightly weaker, it seemed to contain an indestructible will. No matter how Old Man Extermination suppressed it, it was impossible for him to chase it away.
Su Ming was familiar with the second presence. It… belonged to Lei Chen!
The instant the purple gust approached the area, Old Man Extermination's eyes flew open. They focused on Su Ming while shining with a dark light.
"Arid Triad is indeed admirable. If he didn't save you, you would have already turned into an offering. But no matter, this is your destiny, you will never be able to escape it."
When Old Man Extermination said that, he raised his right hand and pointed at Su Ming.
With it, the galaxy before him distorted and formed a glowing outline in the form of an octagon. At the instant it appeared, a destructive presence filled the area, and the space seemed to have been forcefully torn open from the world beyond.
Once a huge crack was formed, Su Ming could see the Vast Expanse through it. There was a finger charging forth through there towards Su Ming, aiming to touch him.
"I've been very curious about how you choose a person to be your offering…" Su Ming said while looking at Old Man Extermination.
After speaking, he took a step forward, and once he touched the octagonal glowing outline, it let out an astonishing boom. The glowing outline shattered, and Su Ming stepped out of it.
At the instant he stepped out, the finger came charging forward, replacing the space behind him. When it approached him, Su Ming did not bother dodging and allowed the finger to touch him.
His body roared and shattered. That finger shot through Su Ming's body and charged towards Old Man Extermination.
This scene caused Old Man Extermination's expression to change. When he formed a seal with his hands, his Dao Divinity manifested at the center of his brow. No one knew what sort of divine ability he cast to be able to cause the finger to stop before him, but he did it. The finger slowly went backwards and disappeared into space. Once it did so, a deep voice came from the Vast Expanse.
"You have yet to prepare my offering."
When those words appeared, Old Man Extermination's face turned pale. Just as he was about to speak, the space where Su Ming's physical body had shattered suddenly distorted. The shattered pieces gathered together, and in the blink of an eye, Su Ming's body appeared, completely undamaged!
This scene caused Old Man Extermination to narrow his eyes.
At the same time, Di Tian's entire body had dried and shrivelled in the crumbling Yin Death Vortex. When he coughed up blood, eight overlapping pupils appeared in his eyes, and right then… one of them disappeared!
Only seven pupils were left overlapping one another. The one that had vanished was used to maintain the life matrix, which had crumbled and needed to be gathered together. As long as Di Tian did not die, then Su Ming… would definitely not die either!
This was something Su Ming already knew, which was why he could allow the finger to approach him and destroy his body. Once he appeared again, Su Ming took a step forward and charged towards Extermination.
"Who gave you the right to choose me as your offering?!"
Monstrous murderous intent burned in Su Ming's eyes. The purple tint in his pupils caused his entire being to look as if he was no longer a cultivator, but a fierce spirit burning in flames.
His eyes shone with an eye-catching light, and at that moment, when he moved forward, he did so at a calm, moderate pace, but an increasingly stronger presence erupted from his body. It was so strong that it made the world's destruction stop for a moment!
Old Man Extermination brought his hand up again, and while laughing ferociously, he formed a seal and pointed at him.
"I refuse to believe that you have countless lives!"
With it, the octagonal Rune appeared around Su Ming again. Soon after, Xuan Zang's finger showed up once more from the crack leading to the Vast Expanse, charging towards Su Ming with a power that could destroy everything. It was so fast that it approached him in the blink of an eye…
With a bang, Su Ming's body shattered again. The finger shot through his body, and when it appeared in front of Old Man Extermination, he quickly formed a seal and pointed at the center of his brow. The finger immediately came to a stop and pulled back.
"Where is my offering?!"
The deep voice that came from the crack was as cold and merciless as ever.
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Chapter 1375: Arid Triad Disaster (10)
While in Yin Death Vortex, Di Tian shuddered. He stared at the life matrix that had shattered again above him and let out a crazed roar. Two of the seven overlapping pupils in his eyes vanished!
At the instant they vanished, the life force that erupted from him surged into the shattered life matrix. The time around it seemed to reverse, and the shattered bits gathered together once more.
"Su Ming, what are you doing?!"
Di Tian's eyes were bloodshot. He was maintaining the life matrix with great difficulty, and he knew that if it shattered twice more, then even if he gave up on everything, it would be impossible for him to maintain it in its complete form.
Su Ming's figure gathered together the second time before Old Man Extermination. His eyes shone with an enchanting light which said that he was calculating and copying something.
"Xuan Zang is someone who is dead, or rather, is about to die… and he is blind. He cannot see anything."
When Su Ming spoke, he took another step forward. The distance between him and Old Man Extermination was less than one thousand feet.
When Old Man Extermination heard Su Ming's words, his expression remained the same, but his heart let out a huge thump.
"Then how can he pinpoint the offering? Is it because of this thing?"
As Su Ming spoke, he brought up his right arm and swung it at space. Immediately, an octagonal Rune appeared on his palm!
That Rune was exactly the same as the one used by Old Man Extermination!
The two deaths had not come about because Su Ming was seeking his own end, but because… he had been searching for a way to kill Old Man Extermination. He wanted to know how he was chosen as an offering and why Arid Triad had been so certain that Xuan Zang was dead!
Since things had progressed to that point, the universe had already been destroyed, Harmonious Morus Alba died… and Su Ming no longer had anything to lose, why should he not indulge in a bout of madness?!
With two deaths, he had managed to deduce that Xuan Zang was blind. With two deaths, he copied the Rune to locate him and tell Xuan Zang who was the offering.
When Su Ming swung his right hand and the Rune appeared, Old Man Extermination's expression changed. He stood up swiftly, and his pupils shrank. He had not expected that the strongest cultivator he met in the Harmonious Morus Alba… would be much stronger than all the other strongest in the other Harmonious Morus Albas.
His ability to understand a hint of Boundless Dao had already shocked Mie Shan, but right then… Su Ming had used just two deaths to copy his Rune. This sort of potential was positively monstrous!
At the instant he stood up, Old Man Extermination brought up his right hand without hesitation and pointed at Su Ming. The moment he did so, the octagonal Rune appeared around him for the third time. Yet the moment it showed up, Su Ming also pointed at Old Man Extermination with his right hand.
Old Man Extermination's expression darkened, and a huge octagonal Rune appeared around him too!
The two Runes had nothing different about them. They… were both Locating Runes intended to lead Xuan Zang to his offering!
The moment these two Runes appeared, Xuan Zang's finger showed up through the torn crack in space. Once it descended in the Expanse Cosmos, it paused for a moment, then immediately split into two: One charged towards Su Ming, and the other… rushed to Old Man Extermination.
Booming sounds shook the sky and earth at that instant. Once Su Ming's body came into contact with the finger, it was instantly destroyed, but he did not care about that. He stared at Old Man Extermination with brightly burning eyes. He could see Old Man Extermination once again forming seals with his hands before pushing at the center of his brow.
The finger from Xuan Zang touched the octagonal Rune around Old Man Extermination.
Boom!
The Rune shattered, and Old Man Extermination coughed up a mouthful of blood. Once he let out a roar that shook the heavens, the finger shot through the ancient ship and stopped five feet away from Old Man Extermination, It then retracted and disappeared.
The finger might have disappeared, but Old Man Extermination's ancient ship started shattering layer by layer before it quickly crumbled to pieces…
Without the ancient ship, Old Man Extermination took a few steps backwards. When he coughed up blood again, the shattered pieces of Su Ming's body gathered together again. This time, Di Tian had to pay the price of four overlapping pupils—all the life force and the souls of four people!
What remained after that was only the portion belonging to Di Tian himself!
"Abyss Builders… As expected of the Abyss Builders I created! Su Xuan Yi managed to set me up for his son to Possess me, and he succeeded. I respect him. As for you, within a short period of time, you managed to copy my divine ability! Abyss Builders, as expected, you are a race that should not exist!"
Old Man Extermination threw his head back and laughed loudly. In his laughter was aloofness along with his intent to kill Su Ming.
"But no matter how much you copy me, it's impossible for you to learn the Art to prevent Xuan Zang from attacking. If you can't learn this Art, then you are destined to become an offering!"
"My Master is Tian Xie Zi," Su Ming declared flatly. As he spoke, he brought up his right hand, and the octagonal Rune appeared.
"The first divine ability he taught me was to copy what I see once I clear my thoughts." Su Ming closed his eyes, and when he opened them the next instant, a profound look showed up in his eyes. In that profound gaze was a crazed ball of fire.
"You say I'm an offering? Then today, I declare that you are the offering. Since we are both offerings, let's have Xuan Zang decide… who is the offering!"
Su Ming brought his right hand up, and the octagonal Rune on his palm instantly shone with a blinding brilliance.
A solemn expression that had never appeared before on Old Man Extermination showed up on his face. It was just as he said, Su Ming was the strongest cultivator among the Harmonious Morus Albas he had went to. In fact, if he was in the slightest bit careless, there was a high possibility that he would die.
He had to attack at full force and give his everything in the fight!
Old Man Extermination brought up his right hand as well, and the octagonal Rune appeared, shining with a brilliant light that did not lose to Su Ming's.
"Offering!" At the instant Old Man Extermination spoke, he brought down his right hand and pointed at Su Ming, who was doing the exact same thing while pointing at him.
Their bodies seemed to freeze at that instant, and an octagonal Rune appeared around them at the same time. Right then, the fingers from Xuan Zang aiming to harvest his offering showed up through the crack in space leading to the Vast Expanse!
There were still two fingers. With a destructive presence no one could withstand, they charged towards Su Ming and Old Man Extermination. At the moment they closed in on them, Old Man Extermination formed a seal with his hands and pushed down at the center of his brow.
Su Ming eyes were shining with a calculative light. He did not learn Extermination's actions. There was falsehood contained in them, and if he really learned and copied them, he could already imagine how he would end up.
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. When the third eye at the center of his brow opened, the Dao Divinity within it also opened its eyes. At the same time, Su Ming's presence changed. The wisp of aura belonging to Boundless Dao Realm filled his body in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, his Dao Divinity formed a seal with its hands and disappeared. It fused into his body and instantly became one with him!
This was what Su Ming had learned from Old Man Extermination, the real Art that caused Xuan Zang to not attack him!
The moment Su Ming's Dao Divinity fused with his body, the incoming finger shattered the octagonal Rune, and then it came to a halt five feet before him.
The same scene happened before Old Man Extermination!
Disbelief appeared on Old Man Extermination's face. That divine ability was something he had pondered over for countless years. After verifying it multiple times, he finally understood the gist behind it. Yet right then, Su Ming had managed to copy it completely in a short amount of time. This sent a cold chill down Old Man Extermination's spine.
"That's impossible! This shouldn't have happened!"
Old Man Extermination's hair was a mess, and there was still blood at the corners of his lips. Madness showed up in his eyes. The threat of death descended on him in a blink of an eye. It was a feeling that he had not felt for a long time. It was as if he had returned to the first time he met Xuan Zang and could only tremble with his life about to wiped off at any moment.
Xuan Zang's fingers did not move. If Xuan Zang had a spirit, then perhaps he would begin wondering which was the offering at that moment, but if he did not have a spirit… it would depend on who between Su Ming and Extermination… would first show the signs of an offering!
"Xuan Zang, he's the offering! He's the most suitable offering among all the aeons in this Harmonious Morus Alba!" Old Man Extermination immediately roared. As his voice echoed in space, Su Ming's face remained aloof, and powerful killing intent as well as hatred appeared in his eyes.
"Lei Chen, what… are you still waiting for?" Su Ming asked slowly.
When Su Ming spoke, Old Man Extermination's expression changed. At the same time, a sigh seemed to come from his body. Soon after, the Art Old Man Extermination used to keep Xuan Zang's finger from moving started trembling.
The Dao Divinity showed clear signs of struggle. They would have been ineffective at any other time, since Old Man Extermination would need a single thought to suppress them, but right then…
At the instant his Dao Divinity began to struggle, the finger in front of Old Man Extermination moved, and despair showed up on Old Man Extermination's face. He howled shrilly when the finger touched him.
At that moment, Su Ming personally saw Old Man Extermination's body crumble. As it turned into a bloody mess, his Nascent Divinity was forcefully extracted. It had two heads: one belonged to Extermination, and the other to Lei Chen. Their bodies seemed to have overlapped with each other, and at the moment the Nascent Divinity was extracted from Extermination's body, it was immediately absorbed by the finger…
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Chapter 1376: Absolutely Won't Give Up!
"Becoming an offering does not mean death, but a chance for new life. Su Ming… you might have given up on this chance, but it will be difficult for you to escape reincarnation. I will wait for you in the cycle!
"This is just the beginning of our fight! It hasn't ended yet! I, Old Man Extermination… will definitely take my revenge!!"
At the instant it was absorbed by the finger, Old Man Extermination's Nascent Divinity looked towards Su Ming, showing deeply etched hatred and madness. As it laughed ferociously, its words echoed in space, and when it was completely absorbed by the finger, the finger disappeared.
The entire fourth Expanse Cosmos crumbled. It shattered while rumbling, making it look like everything was about to be destroyed in the blink of an eye.
Su Ming was silent. He watched the destruction around him before turning into a long arc that charged towards the gap leading to the Vast Expanse. Then, in an instant, he rushed out of his homeland!
While in the vast universe, for the first time ever, Su Ming… saw the huge Feng Shui compass. It was so big that its end could not be seen.
Su Ming also saw the withered Harmonious Morus Alba under the Feng Shui compass being continuously absorbed. Its four wings were overlapping with each other while being burned by invisible flames that slowly turned them to ash.
Vaguely, Su Ming thought he could see Arid Triad and hear his murmurs.
"Tree, this time… I'll come accompany you."
Arid Triad vanished, and even the four Great True Worlds, Divine Essence Star Ocean, and everything else was reduced to nothingness before Su Ming's eyes.
The past had become something distant, untouchable. Dark Mountain, ninth summit, the Berserkers, Morning Dao—everything was like fleeting smoke. They gradually faded away, slowly turning into mere memories that would support him so that he could continue onward while alone in the vast universe.
Loneliness seemed to have never left Su Ming. Most of his life after he left Dark Mountain had been like that. It was like a pot of old wine. When he drank with the moon, he could only perform a toast to his shadow…
The winds of time swept up the flowing sand of memories, and it no longer filled a world where he sat in the middle of the night while meditating. The figures in his memories seemed to be near him, whispering words of a beautiful past. Right then, however, they sounded desolate when he heard them while watching the Harmonious Morus Alba being destroyed.
He once wondered whether the glorious past which he lived for thousands of years and which he would see when he turned his head back would exist for tens of thousands of years to become a ballad for the members of the latter generation, but as he watched Harmonious Morus Alba gradually wither… he understood that there would be no continuation.
The song from yesterday could no longer resonate with tomorrow. The murmurs recollecting the past could no longer find any notes from a zither to act as an accompaniment.
Watching the universe's rise and fall was a luxurious desire of other people. It might seem beautiful, but those who experienced it would know that the destruction contained a mournful cry that no one else would understand.
Tears trickled down the corners of Su Ming's eyes.
He was the only one left in the world, and no one could see the tears falling down his face, much less ask him about them. The only things left were the Harmonious Morus Alba who was slowly withering to become wisps of aura as well as a lone figure which seemed to be at the verge of death. It had dull and lifeless eyes.
That figure was filled with desolation…
Harmonious Morus Alba disappeared without a single sound. There was no astonishing rumble, no shrill and forlorn cry that would stun the people. There was only death that left behind no traces, as if someone had just woken up from a dream.
Su Ming was silent. He still had many things he had not done. The remnant of the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe still remained in his storage bag as well as the other Yu Xuan's sleeping body.
At that moment, they became his most precious memories, but thank the heavens… that he still had the bald crane with him.
It had appeared beside him at some unknown point in time to keep him company. They watched Harmonious Morus Alba's destruction together.
They continued staring until a cold and dark voice came from the Feng Shui compass.
"Seventh… Reversed Spirit…"
At the instant this voice echoed in space, a loud rumble shot out from the Feng Shui compass before it began rotating. It did not spin quickly, but it did manage to form an astonishing whirlwind that swept through the universe around them. Then, for the first time, the black-robed young man sitting on the Feng Shui compass… truly appeared before Su Ming's eyes!
He was dressed in a black robe, and his body was so huge that it was difficult to imagine. His dull and lifeless eyes seemed to contain a merciless, aloof look at first glance, but in truth, it was only due to a thick aura of death surrounding him. His cold and dark face seemed to not have changed since an eternity ago, and right then, he was looking at Su Ming.
Xuan Zang did not have sight, but at that moment, Su Ming could clearly sense him staring at him.
More accurately speaking, Xuan Zang was not staring at Su Ming… but at the bald crane beside him!
The bald crane shuddered. When it lifted its head, it stared at Xuan Zang, and a powerful feeling that it was staring at its mortal enemy rose in its heart.
It was also during that instant that Su Ming saw the string of pearls in Xuan Zang's right hand. He had his fingers pinched around one of them, and it was shining with a dark light. Within it, Su Ming saw the shadow of a crane.
That shadow… belonged to the bald crane!
At the instant Su Ming saw the pearl clearly, his eyes shrank, and Xuan Zang slowly lifted his right hand. Then, with the pearl between his fingers, he slowly extended his hand towards Su Ming as if he was about to seize space.
With it, a circular area of tens of thousands of lis around Su Ming instantly roared at a volume that could shake the sky. The universe seemed about to crumble and tumble backwards. A powerful gust of wind that made Su Ming's robes and hair flutter instantly appeared, and soon after, Su Ming saw the world before him turn into a huge palm. With a momentum that could throw the entire universe into chaos, it came charging towards him.
The bald crane shuddered, and Su Ming's eyes turned bloodshot. He swung his arm and immediately swept up the bald crane to put it back into his storage bag. Then, he turned into a long arc that swiftly moved back.
But no matter how fast he was, it was impossible for him to outrun the palm that could practically replace the entire region of the universe. It instantly closed in on him, and when it stretched out, it went to grab him.
Su Ming threw his head back and growled. He brought his hands and formed a seal. His Dao Divinity immediately appeared to cover his body, but the method that could previously make Xuan Zang's finger stop in its tracks was not effective anymore.
Xuan Zang's right hand closed in on him!
Su Ming's pupils shrank. The presence of his Dao Divinity did not go away, but once it gathered around him, he brought his right hand up. At the instant he clenched his fists, his body grew; he used the God of Berserkers Transformation. In the span of a breath, Su Ming grew to nearly one thousand feet tall. With all his power, he sent his most powerful blow at the incoming palm.
BOOM!
The universe started trembling furiously at that instant, and Su Ming shuddered. His body fell back like a kite with its string snapped. He coughed up seven consecutive mouthfuls of blood, and his body shattered. The legs that he had formed crumbled, his left arm disappeared, and only half his body remained.
His presence became incredibly weak. When he fell back, a madness born due to unwillingness to admit defeat appeared in his eyes, but it could not stop his body from being pushed back.
The disparity in strength between him and Xuan Zang was far too great. It was simply impossible for Su Ming to fight against him. At the instant his body stopped, the right hand from Xuan Zang came towards him again. The bald crane's shadow in the pearl pinched between Xuan Zang's fingers shone even more brilliantly than before!
"Give me… the seventh Reversed Spirit… and you… can leave…"
Xuan Zang's cold and dark voice echoed in the universe as the palm came to seize its target, but Su Ming's answer was his laughter and a fearless madness.
He was going to execute Possession. Even if his act of Possessing Xuan Zang at that moment would just be like an egg being thrown at a rock, Su Ming knew that if he did not Possess him right then, there was a high possibility that he would not have the chance to do it again!
Even if… their states of being were completely different and Su Ming's chances of success were slim to none, he had to try it if there was the smallest chance of success.
Because only by doing so could he protect the bald crane. He absolutely would not just watch helplessly as the bald crane ended up the same as the people from Ninth Summit…
Su Ming knew that Xuan Zang only wanted the bald crane, and if he gave up on it to leave on his own, he would no longer have to face the life-threatening disaster. If he did that, he could just leave and go far away from Xuan Zang and live in the vast universe.
In fact, he could search for another Harmonious Morus Alba like Old Man Extermination and enter that butterfly to have more time to understand and gain an epiphany of Boundless Dao's presence. He could even Possess that Harmonious Morus Alba with his current level of cultivation to become stronger… When it died, he could choose an offering, just like Old Man Extermination had done. Like that, he could continue living, constantly looking for another Harmonious Morus Alba.
Then, one day, when Su Ming completely stepped into Boundless Dao, he could engage in a battle to the death against Xuan Zang. This was, logically speaking, the path Su Ming should choose!
Only by doing so would his chances of success grow higher.
But if the price for that decision was to give up on the bald crane… Su Ming would rather not take it!
He could not give up on his friends. If he could turn his back on the bald crane to have a chance to resurrect everyone, then if he had to choose to give up on another life in the future, how would he choose?
Su Ming would not choose that sort of life!
Giving up—those two words had never appeared in Su Ming's life before… and they would absolutely not appear in the future either!
"I… will absolutely not give up!"
Resolve showed up in Su Ming's eyes, but right then, in his storage bag, the bald crane erupted with an even crazier determination!
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Chapter 1377: The Bald Crane's Choice
"You don't want to give up on me, to leave me behind and live alone outside… then how can I let you fight with all you have to win and lose the possibility of your future because of me?!"
At that moment, a wave of madness from the soul itself erupted from Su Ming's storage. With a bang, the storage bag opened on its own, and the bald crane flew out from within. The sleazy look that was usually on its face could no longer be found, and neither was its obsession for crystals. Instead, its eyes were focused on Su Ming. There was reluctance to part in them, along with the fond memories of sharing thousands of years of friendship and companionship.
"I… don't want to lose my memories again. I don't want to forget my home after I lose them, and neither do I want to forget my best friend…"
The bald crane sighed softly. When it flew out, a bloody mess of a carcass also flew out of its storage bag!
The carcass was the bald crane's physical body. It had not wanted to fuse with it no matter what in the past, because it knew that once it fused with its physical body, it might forget all its new memories. It would no longer be the bald crane, but the unfamiliar Kong Mo!
The bald crane would no longer have its personality, and it would truly be an unfamiliar entity, which was why it did not want to fuse with its body. It did not want to, right from the bottom of its heart, because it was satisfied with its new form and its new life. In fact, it could vaguely feel that it was the happiest since it had ever been.
But right then, since Su Ming was ready to risk everything for it, the bald crane could do the same thing for him. It would fuse with its physical body so that Su Ming would not throw away his life in attempting Possession at that moment. It would fuse with its body to fight against Xuan Zang so that… Su Ming could have a chance to leave!
"Su Ming, this is my choice!" The bald crane howled, and at the moment Su Ming looked over, it made its choice and fused with its physical body. "If there comes a day when you remember me… and I still remember you… I will come find you!"
The physical body fused with the bald crane at that moment. As it squirmed, the bald crane let out a shrill scream of pain. Black feathers grew all over its body. Its aura instantly grew, and once it reached an astonishing degree, a seven-colored light instantly erupted from the bald crane.
"I like seven colors…" The bald crane threw its head back and roared shrilly. Its eyes instantly grew aloof, and its presence became cold. At that moment, it was no longer the bald crane…
"I… am Kong Mo!"
The bald crane swiftly lifted its head and let out an astonishing roar. With what remained of the bald crane's will in its mind, it swiftly charged towards the incoming Xuan Zang's hand.
Its eyes became red, and a crazed presence erupted from it with a bang. Its roars shook the universe, and it spoke in an aloof, ancient voice.
"I am not Kong Mo either… I am… the seventh Reversed Spirit!"
Su Ming's eyes were also bloodshot. At that moment, he did not hesitate. His life began burning, and what burned was not just his body, but also his soul, his Dao Divinity, and his will!
"With my burning will, I will reopen the gate in the universe once more. I will recreate a river, and it will be named the River of Forgetfulness. I will reform a world that will lead to another world's space!"
Su Ming swung his arm, and when his voice echoed in space, with his burning life, he lifted his right hand and pointed at the space behind him. The full power of Su Ming's will erupted at that moment, and a huge vortex showed up. It vortex rotated with a loud bang before revealing a world!
The moment Su Ming activated the world that might or might not have any connection with the River of Forgetfulness he had severed, the bald crane's figure touched Xuan Zang's palm.
Booming sounds instantly echoed in the universe. At the moment the palm paused, the bald crane let out a shrill scream of pain. Its body exploded with a bang. It fell backwards in a blood mess, but brilliant light exploded from the seventh pearl to form an astonishing suction force. It enveloped the bloody bald crane, intending to suck it over.
Su Ming threw his head back, and the flames burning his body reached their peak. In an instant, he appeared beside the bald crane and grabbed it, helping it withstand the suction force. Even if it instantly made Su Ming feel as if his body was about to be torn,a large number of cracks appeared on his skin, and blood covered him head to toe, the pain only made the flames burning his body to become stronger!
He used his body to fight the suction force in place of the bald crane with the knowledge that they would be separated forever and a hint of a reluctance to part. He showed no hesitation, however. He activated his full power and threw the bald crane into the other world he had activated!
With his own body, he fought against the pearl's suction force, and with the flames burning his body, he released his strongest power to send his brother, his friend, the companion who had stayed by his side for thousands of years into the other world!
The bald crane's eyes were unfocused at that moment, as if its memories had become jumbled up, as if it had remembered… some of the past.
There was a person in those memories, and he was smiling faintly at it. He extended a hand to it and brought it to multiple worlds over thousands of years.
'What is that person's name? I forgot… I can't remember… even if his face is no longer clear… And… who am I?' The bald crane's eyes gradually fell shut. Under the power brought forth by Su Ming burning everything of his life, he threw it into the vortex and sent it into the other world.
"If there comes a day when you remember me and I remember you, I will come find you…"
Su Ming watched the bald crane fall into the distance, watched it disappear into the vortex, watched the vortex vanish, and a smile appeared on his face.
A black feather left the vortex before it disappeared. It floated towards Su Ming, landing right on his palm…
"Huh? You again? Damn it, y-y-you… Why must you always follow me?"
"Heh, let me tell you, your Grandpa Crane is very powerful Oh well, I won't make things hard for you? Well? Why aren't you leaving yet? Can't you sense this powerful presence coming from me?"
"Crystals! Darn it all, I'll do whatever it takes! So many crystals… I'll do it! I'll do it!"
"Su Ming, you damned fool! You can't die here, you coward, you bastard! If you really want to die, then I will die with you!"
"Su Ming… I want to cry…"
Su Ming clenched his fist and held the feather tightly in his palm. His body was tumbling backwards swiftly due to the suction force at that moment, heading towards the huge hand.
His body started cracking more. It gradually turned into a mess, but resolve appeared in Su Ming's eyes, along with a madness that spoke of his lack of fear for the universe. At the instant he approached the palm, even if his body was about to break down, he forced himself to turn around. At the instant he got infinitesimally close to the palm, the determination to continue living appeared in his eyes.
"Abyss Builder… Possession!"
Boom!
Su Ming's body shattered completely. As his flesh and blood flew everywhere, the huge palm clenched all signs of his being in its fist. Then, when the palm vanished, the black-robed young man sitting on the Feng Shui compass lowered his hand with a numb expression.
It was as if he had seen the bald crane leaving, but he showed no signs of any change in emotion. It was as if… there was never any emotion in him. Since the seventh Reversed Spirit was no longer around, then it shall be so.
He gradually lowered his head and slowly shut his eyes as if falling into a deep sleep. He simply allowed the Feng Shui compass to drift about in the vast universe without any destination in mind.
By the time he fell asleep, he had no noticed that when he pulled his right hand back… a black feather had appeared in his palm.
His act of holding the feather was exactly the same as Su Ming's action of holding onto his determination.
End of Arc 6.
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Chapter 1378: Beyond the Mountains are More Mountains, and Beyond the Towers are More Towers
Arc 7: How Many Cycles of Life and Death Has One Person Missing?
Beyond the mountains are more mountains, and beyond the towers are more towers.
Water is water, and beyond the sky is more sky.
The sky was blue. A soufflé of white clouds decorated the sky. If anyone looked over, it would seem as if the sky had turned into a beautiful picture. If the wind blew, the clouds would be drifting into the distance, so the picture would not be still, but form a world.
Su Ming stared at the sky blankly. He had woken up a month ago. During it, he might have accepted the reality around him, but he could still not understand… where he was.
His memories ended at the moment he attempted to Possess Xuan Zang. Due to the difference in their states of being, the chances of success had been slim to none, but at the moment Su Ming performed his Possession, he had burned his life and soul to the peak, which was why it was not impossible for him to succeed.
However, if he succeeded, why was he not Xuan Zang? And if he failed, where was he right then?
Su Ming lowered his head to stare at his body, then fell silent.
"Xuan Er, you're daydreaming again."
A stern voice came from nearby. The speaker was an old man with a head full of white hair and an awe-inspiring face. He was dressed in a gray long robe and wore a straw hat. While holding a wooden staff, he was looking at Su Ming.
"Master…" Su Ming stared at the old man before him. He might have woken up a month ago, but every single time he saw this person, his heart would tremble, and he would wonder whether everything before him was real.
The old man… was Tian Xie Zi!
He looked exactly the same, and even his intonation was just like in Su Ming's memories. He could not tell whether it was the past or the present.
"It's only been a month. You have to remember that there is a total of six thousand years, one hundred cycles of sixty years. There will be ten cycles for you to cross mountains, rivers, and plains with me. You will watch multiple sunrises and sunsets with me and gain an epiphany of the changes regarding the four seasons. You will learn of the principles of the world to search for the truth and the innate kindness of a person…
"And then, you will have to wander around on your own for ninety cycles of sixty years. Only by doing so will you have the right to contend against your eldest and second brother, and only then will you have the chance to become a future ruler, and I… will not have let down your father," the old man said faintly. He struck the ground with the staff in hand, then turned around and continued onward.
"Follow me."
His voice was ancient, and it echoed on the hill. It seemed to fuse with the breeze around them before drifting to the sky, gradually turning into the darkening clouds up ahead, then finally transforming into snow.
It was winter.
Su Ming followed behind the old man quietly. He crossed the hill and walked past a lake that was not frozen. In the distance, the setting sun shone on the land with its last rays of light, casting Su Ming's reflection on the lake.
He was a teenager with a handsome face. He was dressed in a gray long robe and wore a straw hat, but there was an expression of someone who was lost on his face.
He was the third prince of Ancient Zang, and he had two older brothers. There was a tradition in Ancient Zang that before the emperor handed over his crown, all his sons had to travel and experience the world for six thousand years with the cultivators their father had personally assigned to them.
After the one hundred cycles of sixty years, the princes would return, and a fight for the throne would commence. Only one prince was destined to live through it, and the blood of those who died would be cast into his crown. Then he would become the ruler of the kingdom.
And that kingdom… was named Ancient Zang. It was the ruler of the entire land and a supreme entity in the entire world. It stood above all cultivators and all sects!
This was the additional memory that had appeared in Su Ming's mind besides the ones he originally possessed. At some unknown point in time, it had been branded into the depths of his soul as if it had always belonged to him.
However, he could not remember his eldest brother's name nor his second brother's face. The strongest feeling he had was that he had to follow the old man before him for ten cycles of sixty years.
"Drink." The old man stopped and turned his head around to cast a glance at Su Ming while pointing at the lake.
"When the water in a lake does not move, it will reflect the sky. Drink this water, and you will feel as if you have swallowed a corner of the sky. This lake… will be named Sky Lake."
As the old man spoke, he bent his back and extended his hand to scoop up a handful of the water in the lake. He brought it to his lips and drank it.
In silence, Su Ming shifted his gaze to the lake. He did not bend his back, however.
The old man lifted his head and looked at Su Ming.
"Why should I drink this water? Even if it reflects the sky, and even if I feel as if I've swallowed a corner of the sky after I drank its water, I'll just be lying to myself," Su Ming shook his head and said languidly.
"Lift your head and look into the sky in the distance," the old man said calmly.
Su Ming lifted his head. At the instant he saw the sky, he narrowed his eyes. He saw that there was a small region in the distant sky that seemed… to have been devoured!
"I don't know the lake's original name, but since I passed by it and said that it is the sky, then it is the sky. When I drink the water in the lake and say that I've swallowed a corner of the sky… then I will have swallowed a corner of the sky.
"If you're hung up on this, then you will be governed by karma," the old man said faintly.
Su Ming fell silent. After a long while, he suddenly laughed. Why should he care about karma? Why should he care about where he was? Why should he seek an answer? As long as he continued walking forward, it was enough.
"Your disciple has learned his lesson."
Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm. Once he bent his back, he crouched down, brought his right hand up, and placed it in the water, but he did not scoop up the water. Instead, a dark glint shone in his eyes, and he gently patted the surface of the lake.
At the instant he did so, the water in the lake roared and tumbled about. Endless ripples spread out, causing the sky that was originally reflected on the surface to immediately shatter and disappear from view.
"Why did you do this?" The old man frowned.
"Master, you say that it's the sky, and once you drink it, you would have swallowed the sky. I say that it's not the sky, hence I don't need to drink it." Su Ming stood up and looked at the old man.
"You have quite the ambition." A hint of praise that disappeared as soon as it showed up appeared in the old man's eyes, but soon, his gaze grew fierce, and the tone of his voice changed.
"But your logic doesn't work, and you're a little too conceited. When I say that the lake is the sky, it's because I gained the feeling of looking at the sky when I looked at the lake. That is why I went along with the will of heaven and said those words, and which is why I could swallow the sky, because that is what the will of heaven has depicted, and I just went along with it.
"But you… disturbed the lake as if you've disturbed destiny. Before long though, the lake will return to normal, and it will reflect the sky. To it, you are just a passerby.
"You are complacent. You laugh at the water, disturbing it, but the lake is also laughing at you. If you don't believe me… then look at the lake when it is calm. You laugh at the calm water, but can you not see your own reflection? It is laughing at you," the old man said calmly. His words were uttered slowly, and they seemed to contain Dao.
"I don't believe in destiny."
Su Ming did not turn his head back, but vapor rose from the lake the moment it was about to become calm once again. The vapor instantly turned into fog. It covered the surface of the lake, and after the span of around ten breaths, Su Ming swung his arm at the lake with his back still turned towards it.
Wind immediately blew across the area. Once it sent the fog away, there was nothing left of the lake; it had disappeared without a trace. Only the ugly mud in a deep pit could be seen. There were also countless fish, prawns, and all sorts of lives in it.
"Now, it is completely gone," Su Ming said faintly.
The old man was silent. He cast a profound glance at Su Ming, then shook his head.
"The blood of the royal family in Ancient Zang is the strongest in the universe. This rumor is indeed real. Let's go. We still have a long way ahead of us." The old man turned around and no longer looked at the lake. He continued onward.
Su Ming lowered his head and did not look back at the lake. He followed the old man and continued onward. To Su Ming, be it the goal or the end, they were not important on the journey. It was a path to search for Dao… a path through which he could make himself stronger.
He walked past mountains, rivers, four seasons, and past ten years.
The old man walked in front, and Su Ming followed behind. Ten years ago, the reflections of Su Ming on the lakes showed a teenager. As of then, he was already a young man. His strides had become larger, and the expression of someone who did not know where he was headed could no longer be found on his face either. The calm expression from when he was in Harmonious Morus Alba was back.
Stars glimmered in the night sky while bonfires burned on the ground. Su Ming sat beside one of them, and across him was the old Tian Xie Zi. After ten years came another blizzard. The two of them sat cross-legged and sensed the cold behind them as well as the hot wave crashing into their faces.
The old man had his eyes closed as if he immersed in his own training. He did not care about the changes around him. Su Ming lifted his head and stared at the blurry moon in the sky behind the snow above him. It looked like falling dust.
This moon was constantly around, but the people he knew… were not. Su Ming thought of the past quietly and went through his memories. While immersed in them, he entered the world that belonged to him and searched for the sighing ferryman.
"How many famous sects and clans are there in Ancient Zang?" the old man, who still had his eyes shut, asked in an ancient voice. It mixed with the wind and snow, fused into the crackles of the burning bonfire before reaching Su Ming's ears.
"Seven sects, twelve clans." Su Ming still stared at the blurry moon when he answered calmly.
"What are the differences between sects and clans?" the old man asked again.
"Sects extend to the endless space, and they are given their status by Ancient Zang. Clans come from the emptiness of space, and they don't receive enlightenment from anything else."
"What will happen every single time the throne is handed to a new ruler?" the old man continued asking.
"The seven sects will cause a stir, and the twelve clans will descend into chaos. When the princes fight for the crown, the world changes." Su Ming moved his gaze away from the blurry moon in the sky and watched the bonfire burn while he answered calmly.
"I've told you about the limits of the level of cultivation in this endless world ten years ago. Do you still remember it?" the old man asked flatly.
"When you attain great completion in Avacaniya Realm, you can gain an epiphany of Boundless Dao Realm. Once you obtain your Dao Divinity and gain an epiphany of this Realm nine times, it will mean that you have advanced your Dao Divinity by nine levels. Nine is the limit, and once you achieve completion, you can reach a breakthrough and step into Boundless Dao Realm!
"There has never been a person who has reached Boundless Dao Realm before, which is why there are people who understand Dao, but do not understand what boundless means," Su Ming answered calmly. He had come to understand all these things during the ten years through the bits and pieces the old man had told him.
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Chapter 1379: Water is Water, and Beyond the Sky, is More Sky
"Nine levels of Dao Divinity… With three, you will reach Dao Divinity Realm; with six, you will reach Dao Immortal Realm; with eight, you will reach the peak and you can be known as a Great Dao Paragon… When you reach nine, only then can you be known as a Dao Divinity.
"There are only three Dao Divinities in the world, and they have been eternal existences since ancient times. These three people have never perished, and the fourth has never appeared either. So, naturally… someone who has truly reached Boundless Dao Realm has never appeared before as well!"
The old man stared at Su Ming, and his voice lingered for a long time in the blizzard, refusing to disappear.
"Never?" Su Ming suddenly asked.
"There has!" The old man suddenly smiled, and there was a hint of old age on his face, as if he had almost reached the end of his life, but when Su Ming stared at him again at the next breath, he looked as if life had just begun for him. He did not continue with this topic, but stared at Su Ming, and pride gradually showed up in his eyes.
"You can now go out and experience the world on your own. You have to change your appearance so you are no longer Xuan. You should have another name and join a sect. No one must know that you are a prince, and six thousand years later…
"Remember… to return to Ancient Zang, and I will wait for you outside the city gates at that time. At the moment you step inside the city gate… I will teach you your final lesson."
The old man smiled faintly and stood up. He cast Su Ming a deep glance, then turned around with a smile to walk into the blizzard.
Su Ming watched the old man leave into the distance, and when his figure became indistinct, he asked softly, "Master… what is your name in this life?"
"You already have the answer in your heart." The old man's voice came from the blizzard, lingering in the wind and refusing to leave.
The answer had already appeared in his head at the very first moment Su Ming had laid eyes on the old man when he had woken up ten years ago.
Tian Xie Zi!
No matter who he was in that life and that world, in Su Ming's heart, the old man was Tian Xie Zi, the man whose fate was entangled with Mie Sheng due to his interference and because his ninth change of heart had been disrupted. The two of them were connected even until Harmonious Morus Alba was destroyed!
While in the fourth Expanse Cosmos, Su Ming had seen Lie Shan Xiu choose to kill himself while laughing shrilly, he did not see Tian Xie Zi, and neither did he sense Tian Xie Zi's presence. Right then… Su Ming understood, but when he thought about it in detail, he felt as if he could not understand it.
Whether or not he understood was not important, however. What was important was that his path was under his feet, and he had to continue treading down the it until there came a day when he came to an understanding of all the steps in the process. When he turned his head around, he would be able to see the beauty of pursuing the truth.
Su Ming smiled. He stared at the flames and felt as if he could see the Harmonious Morus Alba in the fire. He saw various scenes, faces, and the fleeting moments that remained in his memories.
"Whether or not this world is true or just an illusion, Master has given me the answer ten years ago…" Su Ming said softly, and in his smile was understanding.
"And I've also given him the answer." Su Ming closed his eyes. He sat in the blizzard, next to the bonfire. The snow was like dust connecting the sky and earth.
It was connected to Su Ming's heart, and when his heart turned deadly still, Su Ming closed his eyes to hide his determined resolve to pursue the truth.
"This is a Possession. Xuan Zang… I will accompany you! I will take a look at the light shining in your eyes at the final moment you open them, I will know whether it belongs to the death of your Harmonious Morus Alba, or whether it belongs… to my resolve and madness!"
Su Ming's eyes flew open at that instant, and the snow in the area became still. The wind stopped blowing, and the snow stopped falling.
Su Ming was no longer as handsome as he was ten years ago. His hair had grown longer and gradually covered his shoulders, then reached his waist. Its color was no longer black, but had instead been dyed in Su Ming's blood… turning into purple with a tint of crimson!
His hair was purple, and his robe was white. His appearance was no longer youthful, but had a hint of ancientness. His body was no longer lanky, but lean and slender.
At that instant, Su Ming… changed back to his appearance in Harmonious Morus Alba. He… had returned!
At the moment he opened his eyes, the third eye slowly opened at the center of his brow. It caused the world to shudder with a bang, because when he opened his third eye… his Dao Divinity also woke up!
"My wills… are you… still there?"
When Su Ming murmured those words, he lifted his right hand. At the moment he focused his gaze, it was as if thousands of years had gone by. When the palm lines of his right hand turned into purple flames, they burned, and the snow in the area turned into fog. It filled the area and made it indistinct to the eye.
In the flames on his palm, Su Ming saw the True Morning Dao World, the Emperor of Abyss' True World, True Immortal Sect World, and True Sky Hill World!
The four Great True Worlds were born from the flames in Su Ming's hands at that moment. Perhaps they had been destroyed in the past, but right then, they appeared once more!
However, a strange dark light slowly appeared in Su Ming's eye. In held a hint of determination. Su Ming sensed the wills of the four Great True Worlds on his palm… but they only existed in the fire. They could not appear outside it, and Su Ming could not have them fuse with his soul, like he had done in Harmonious Morus Alba.
After all… Harmonious Morus Alba was already dead!
'But why… can I still sense your dissatisfaction? Why can I sense all of you calling to me? Why can I sense… the signs of your existence in this world?'
The light in Su Ming's eyes grew stronger. Once he stood up slowly, he brought his right hand up and pushed the flames at the center of his brow.
During that moment, his whole body shuddered. Blurry pictures immediately appeared in his third eye. They flashed past until he saw all of them clearly.
A butterfly was struggling as if it was unwilling to give up. It did not have a body. Su Ming could only see its soul, and it was… Harmonious Morus Alba's soul!
The Harmonious Morus Alba's soul gave Su Ming a familiar feeling. In fact, he could even see… a torn gap on its wing!
That Harmonious Morus Alba… was Su Ming's homeland!
The thing that sealed its soul was the void. It seemed to be endless, but in truth, the void… was just a pearl shining with a strange light!
There were clouds surrounding the pearl, and it contained a universe that sealed the Harmonious Morus Alba. The pearl itself was floating in a huge palace. The light shining from it filled up the entire place.
The palace was built on top of mountains. By its side were numerous other palaces. There was no end to them.
Iron chains connected the mountains as bridges, and if anyone looked from a distance, they would find that the mountains formed an incredibly huge Rune.
Once the Rune as well as the mountains shrank indefinitely in Su Ming's eyes, they turned into palm lines. When the palm furled into a fist, Su Ming saw the owner of the palm. He was a middle-aged man, who was dressed in a long red robe, sitting and meditating.
There were thousands of cultivators kneeling down and worshiping him below. They were listening to his breathing while he meditated as if they could gain an epiphany of Dao just from that.
All of them were in a huge field. Beyond it was a huge basin surrounded by mountains. There were… countless cultivators in that basin, and when Su Ming saw the basin shrink, a huge stone monument that reached the sky erected on a cliff to the east of the basin came into his view.
Carved into the stone monument were eight words—Seven Moons Sect, Sky Beyond the Sky!
At the instant Su Ming saw the eight words clearly, they distorted and turned into an eye. It swiftly looked through space as if it could see Su Ming's gaze. At the same time, the red-robed man sitting on the field opened his eyes.
"How preposterous!" he said with a cold harrumph.
When he spoke, an aura that even Su Ming felt was incredibly strong shot through space and crashed in a domineering manner against Su Ming's gaze.
At the same time, an overlapping shadow walked out of the red-robed man's body. It moved and turned into his clone. It stepped into the air and with the divine sense Su Ming had used to observe as a clue, it instantly charged towards Su Ming.
As a soundless rumble reverberated through the air, Su Ming's third eye fell shut. His body shuddered slightly. He took a few steps backwards, and a trickle of blood flowed down the corners of his mouth. He lifted his head swiftly and stared at the sky.
At the moment Su Ming closed his third eye, the red-robe man's image appeared in the sky far away from Su Ming. The middle-aged man could not find Su Ming's tracks. He swept his gaze past the land, but he did not find his target.
'He's an alert one at least… This one has extraordinary power. He's already at the first level of Dao Divinity Realm.'
The red-robed man moved his gaze away from the ground. He was in deep thought for a while before he turned around and stepped into the air to disappear into the sky.
'Third level of Dao Divinity Realm, Dao Spirit Realm!'
Su Ming stared at the sky. He could sense the strength and mighty pressure from the red-robed man he approached in Seven Moons Sect. His mighty pressure surpassed what was possessed by all the living beings Su Ming had ever met, except Xuan Zang.
'This is a world that is even stronger and bigger than the Harmonious Morus Alba I was in!'
Brilliant light abruptly began shining in Su Ming's eyes, because Harmonious Morus Alba had only attained great completion in Avacaniya Realm, which was why… in terms of level of cultivation, all the people in its world could not surpass this Realm. Only in its last aeon could a life form that could break this limit appear, such as Su Ming, who had gained his Dao Divinity after he obtained his epiphany of Boundless Dao Realm.
This world he was in right then clearly surpassed the universe of Harmonious Morus Alba, which was why… powerful warriors of whom Su Ming had to be wary appeared. Yet it was precisely because of this that Su Ming might be able to find the path to become stronger.
He was silent. After a long while, a glint appeared in his eyes.
"I must come to repossess my wills. This is clearly the difference between me and the cultivators in this place."
Su Ming's eyes sparkled. As he mumbled, he turned into a long arc that charged into the distant sky.
'Right now, my most important task is to join Seven Moons Sect!'
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Chapter 1380: In Your Dreams, You Don't Know That You've Grown Old
"When you learn who you are, you are no longer you. When you no longer know who you are, you… will be you!"
Murmurs reached Su Ming's ears and echoed in his head. When the sentence turned into a loud bang and roared in his heart, Su Ming opened his eyes.
Sweat had appeared at some unknown point of time on his forehead. The sky outside was silver, and it was because of falling snow. The land, dressed in a silver cloak, reflected a light that did not belong to the darkness of night.
Su Ming sat in a stone cave naturally formed due to a crack in the mountain. It was a place he had come upon while charging to Seven Moons Sect for three months. In the seemingly endless land, he had sat down cross-legged and began regulating his breathing.
He was incredibly far away from Seven Moons Sect. Even if he had reached the first level of Dao Divinity, he still needed several years to reach it.
Because of that, he did not choose to continue on without stop, but would occasionally rest so that he would constantly be at the peak of his form.
Right then, he opened his eyes.
He stared at the night sky beyond the cave and remembered the dream he just had. He seldom had dreams, for they would not appear when he meditated, but he had just had a dream.
Su Ming was only familiar with one sentence in the dream. The words from it echoed in his mind, and even when he opened his eyes, they lingered in his ears and refused to leave.
In silence, Su Ming stood up and walked out of the stone cave. Under the snow and amid the wind, he left behind a trail of footprints while walking into the distance. He crossed mountains and frozen rivers. The sun rose while he walked, and when it set, a city showed up ahead of him.
In the dusk, the city shone with light all over the place. There were voices coming and going, which filled it with activity…
Su Ming watched at the city, then closed his eyes. After a moment, when he opened them, he walked towards the city.
The families there had huge red lanterns hanging from their houses. Many children played, and their laughter was like tinkling bells. Almost every person was smiling, and their joyful faces filled the city. It made Su Ming remember… his Master bringing him to an unfamiliar city every single year on that day to sense… the atmosphere of a new year.
It was the last day of a year. Once dusk was over, night would fall, and when the sun rose again, another year would start.
Every year, all of Ancient Zang would celebrate it. All the cities in the land would be filled with a joyous atmosphere. Families would hang lamps high on their houses, and light would shine from them in the wind and snow as if it could chase away the cold from each house so that… the night would no longer be cold.
Su Ming walked through the city and observed his surroundings. He gradually lowered his head, and when he walked into the corner of an alley… he saw a noodle stall. In the cold wind, steam rose into the air, hiding the old man who was cooking noodles. He was indistinct to the passersby.
The noodle stall was not huge. There were only four or five tables, and a screen like that of a tent flap covered it so that the stall could hide from the snow, but the screen could not block much of the wind. There were about three men sitting inside and eating hot, steaming noodles while drinking soup as if trying to chase away the chill in their bodies.
"Old man Wu, it's new year now, bring out some of the old wine you've been treasuring. Let us have a taste of it," one of the men eating noodles said with a smile. When he spoke, his breath formed white vapor, and it was incredibly distinct in the blizzard.
"You lot… Oh, fine." The old man cooking noodles seemed to have smiled. He turned around and brought out a pot of wine before placing it on the table.
"That's the spirit. At least our efforts of coming here today to keep you company were not wasted." The man smiled, then immediately picked up the pot of wine and took a big gulp from it.
Su Ming walked into the noodle stall at that moment and sat at a table in the corner while watching the snow outside.
"Owner, one bowl of noodles, please."
The old cook turned his head around and cast a glance at Su Ming, then picked up a bowl and scooped up a huge portion of noodles. He also added some meat in the bowl before he placed it in front of Su Ming.
Su Ming stared at the noodles on the table, then started eating them quietly. The taste of the noodles was quite good, and the soup was hot. Once it entered his mouth, it filled it with warmth that even the snow no longer felt cold.
Time gradually passed. When night fell, not many people could be seen on the streets. It was festival time and also a day for families to reunite. At such a moment, a family would be together. The adults would watch children play, the lamps shine, and in the warmth of their homes, they would experience the tenderness of familial love.
Compared to the snow outside, practically everyone had that warmth so they did not have to suffer the cold, but Su Ming… he did not have that warmth.
When the men in the noodle stall left, the moaning wind caused the tent flap to let out loud fluttering sounds, and Su Ming sighed softly.
"Why aren't you going home?" The old cook sat at a nearby table. He picked up the pot of old wine, warmed it up for a while, then took a swig from it and looked at Su Ming.
Su Ming was silent for a while before he spoke slowly. "I can't find the way home."
"It's not that you can't find the way, but you don't have a home, right?"
The old man smiled. He picked up another pot of wine and stood up to walk over. Once he sat down, he placed it in front of Su Ming.
With the help of the light from the lamp, Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the old man. He was a mortal who had already reached the end of his life and had a face full of wrinkles.
Su Ming picked up the pot of wine. Once he took a sip from it, he watched the snow outside and asked languidly, "What about you?"
"I have a home, but I'm the only one in it. It doesn't matter whether I go back or not. I would rather be here."
The old man smiled. When he did so, the wrinkles on his face seemed to have increased, making the smile look full of anguish.
Su Ming did not speak. He drank, and in the wind and falling snow, the bright moon appeared in the sky. There were lamps on the thousands of houses around him, and there was also a lamp in the noodle stall, but that lamp was not warm. Instead, there was a desolate air about it.
He felt… his thoughts shift. He thought that he had already buried the yearning he would feel at that moment every single year and the beautiful moments from the past, he thought he no longer felt pain because he was heartless, but right then, under the shadows cast by the light from the lamp, he felt a pain that wind could not blow away and snow could not bury.
In the pain and cold, Su Ming remembered his elder, his senior brothers from the ninth summit, Yu Xuan, Cang Lan, Xu Hui… the bald crane, and that one single face in his memories.
As he thought about them, he finished the pot of wine.
He drank wine, because he no longer had any tears left. He could only pretend that the wine was his tears. Once he drank it, it became a bitterness and anguish that he could never chase away from his heart. If that was the case, he might as well let that bitterness remain in him for all eternity, and might as well let the anguish stay with him forever, because only by doing so… will he know that he was still alive.
Only then would he know that he… was not dead yet. Only then would he have more determination to change everything. Even if it was practically impossible… Su Ming still wanted to make it possible!
"Where is your family?" The old man watched Su Ming. When he spoke in his hoarse voice, he picked up another pot of wine and placed it in front of Su Ming.
"They're very far away. What about you?" Su Ming shook his head.
"My family? Heh heh… I originally had a huge family. I had a grandson, and he had a bunch of people to keep him company, and they were all my family… He even found a few wives, and the house was very lively." The old man drank wine, and his eyes filled with nostalgia.
"But one day, when I woke up, he was gone. We could no longer find him, and the house that was bustling with activity was no longer lively. Everyone went out to search for him, and they left one after another. They went to many places, but they never managed to find him.
"I am the only one left in this place. The house is empty. I don't know where he went to, and neither did I go out to find him. I want to stay here. I light a lamp in the house and wait for him. If he comes back one day, I don't want him… to be unable to find his home. I don't want him… to be unable to see the lamp in the house guiding his way," the old man mumbled. His voice was hoarse, and a hint of ancientness seemed to have been added to the snow.
"But honestly, I'm not really alone… Compared to me, our emperor is the one who is lonely…" The old man sighed softly. He picked up a pot of wine and drank from it again.
"We know that the emperor has three sons. When they will come of age, they will be taken away by someone to wander about the world… and when they leave… they will leave for six thousand years…
"During those six thousand years, he will be alone. He will have to light a lamp in the capital as well to lead the princes back home, because there is a legend in our kingdom saying that each prince has a possibility of losing their way while they are out wandering. They may no longer remember the way home." As the old man spoke, he lowered his head as if he had become drunk.
Su Ming was silent. He finished the final mouthful of wine from his pot, then stood up to walk past the old man. With a swing of his right hand, the snow and wind around him avoided him, making the place warm. Then, he walked out of the noodle stall and into the blizzard. He left the city and joined the wind of the night, going in the direction of Seven Moons Sect.
When Su Ming left into the distance and his figure disappeared into the night sky beyond the city, the seemingly drunk old man slowly lifted his head and stood up to stare at the night sky. His appearance slowly changed as if time was changing, and he turned into a middle-aged man.
He sighed softly.
"When you learn who you are, you are… no longer you. When you no longer know who you are, you… will be you."
As he sighed softly, the entire city turned into an illusion. Only the middle-aged man was left standing alone in the snow and wind. As he sighed softly, he turned around and walked quietly towards the capital city of Ancient Zang.
"What is real, and what is fake? Xuan Er… three thousand years have passed. When… will you ever gain your epiphany? You seek the truth, but what is the truth? You believe that certain things are fake, but what is meant by falsehood?" the middle-aged man murmured. With pain in his heart, he gradually disappeared into the snow and his figure slowly faded away.
Only the snow remained drifting about in the air. There seemed to be a sigh contained in it, lingering for a long time in the world…
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Chapter 1381: In the Fog Over the World, Who Would Climb to the Highest
Wind drifted, and snow floated down.
In your dreams, you don't know that you've grown old. In the fog over the world, who would climb to the highest.
The night was distant. Smoke curled into the sky.
Gossip and truth were just a bridge. How many cycles of life and death had it been? There was always one person missing.
Su Ming left. He did not want to care whether the city behind him disappeared. The old man's words still lingered in his mind, affecting his heart. His Dao and his determination, however, allowed him to continue treading down his path just like how he always did.
Seven Moons Sect was Su Ming's first target. He wanted to enter the sect and retrieve the will belonging to him over there. Even though Su Ming had noticed the strength of the red-robed man in the part of the sect he had observed and found out that he was much stronger than him, he still could not prevent Su Ming's footsteps, despite the fact that he was a true powerful warrior in Dao Spirit Realm.
He walked through the seasons and the years. On one rainy day, Su Ming stared at the sky in the distance. He saw the mountains surrounding a huge stone monument that shot into the clouds.
Seven Moons Sect, Sky Beyond the Sky!
Su Ming stared at the mountains and the stone monument, then sat down on a tree crown in a forest that was quite a distance away. Rain poured from the sky, lightning flashed, and thunder howled when Su Ming closed his eyes.
He was not in a hurry. He wanted to wait for a chance to be the first to enter the sect.
The chance finally appeared after Su Ming had waited for a month. It was still raining on that day. When noon arrived, eight long arcs appeared in the sky and charged past him from Seven Moons Sect. They were eight disciples from Seven Moons Sect.
The leader of the eight people was an old man, and behind him were seven men and women. They charged through the forest while heading into the distance.
Su Ming opened his eyes. When he looked over, his gaze fell on the old man. He would be a Sublime Paragon if he was in Harmonious Morus Alba. His power was quite extraordinary. Behind him was a girl. She had a clean, beautiful face, but there was a cold and arrogant look in her eyes. When she occasionally turned her head around, she would glance at the teenage boy behind her in contempt.
The boy's face was pale, and his eyes were shut tight. They might look as if they were a group of eight, but in truth, the boy looked like a puppet, and his body was controlled by the string of bells the girl held tightly in her hand.
The other people were also quite young, but most of them had nervous expressions on their faces. They occasionally looked at the old man in the lead while traveled forth in silence.
Su Ming did not pay too much attention to the men, women, and the girl. Once he swept his gaze past the old man, he stood up from the tree crown. Just as he was about to follow them, a glint suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he looked in the direction of Seven Moons Sect.
Dozens of long arcs charged into the air. They left in the same direction as the old man, and behind them were close to one thousand long arcs. Both groups had appeared at the same time.
Soon after, Su Ming saw nearly ten thousand long arcs even further away. A thought appeared in his mind at that moment. When he looked over, the long arcs formed a complete unit. Each of them had an elder bringing with them several teenagers. Some had seven to eight people following them, and some had dozens of teenagers following them.
At that moment, all of them charged into the distance. Judging by the teenagers' looks, most of them were nervous and anxious, but there were also a few who were calm.
Most of them were in Heaven Cultivation Realm. They had not reached World Plane Realm just yet.
Su Ming pondered over this for a moment before he took a step and followed everyone. He tailed after them quietly, and when the sun set, the ten thousand figures stopped beside a canyon.
"It's time for the annual Seven Moons war. Most of you have already joined the sect for more than ten years. Usually, you only watch the others get through the Seven Moons disaster, but today, it is your turn.
"All disciples, enter the canyon. There are three thousand spirit plates in it, and there are nine thousand people among you. Only those with the spirit plates will have the right to be the disciples of this sect.
"Those without the spirit plates will become food for the beasts in the canyon eighteen hours later. You should know this very well. The rules have not changed. Those who get more than one hundred spirit plates can join the sect and be chosen by the sect elders. Only this will allow you the chance to get the recommendation to enter the inner sect and train for a year there. Keep this in mind, it is a recommendation that you can only obtain from the sect elders."
Besides the teenagers, there were hundreds of middle-aged and old elders who had extraordinary power. One scholarly looking middle-aged man dressed in a white robe was the one who was speaking, and his voice echoed in every direction.
"My fellow Daoists of the same sect, we might be at the lowest tier in the sect and have to guide the training of the disciples who join our sect for one hundred years, but when a disciple of ours shows outstanding results, we will also be rewarded by the sect. In fact, we might even have the chance to be promoted. This matter has happened every year in the past, and I wonder who among us will be lucky this time.
"But no matter what, fellow Daoists, if you are promoted, please do not forget to please give us guidance if there is a chance."
Once the middle-aged scholar finished speaking, he wrapped his fist and bowed deeply towards the hundreds of cultivators around him.
Expectation appeared on those cultivators' faces. They wrapped their fists in their palms towards each other and bowed politely.
"Get prepared, all of you. The sect elder will arrive soon, and then, the war to enter the inner sect of Seven Moons Sect will begin!"
The middle-aged scholar stood up and swept his gaze past the near ten thousand anxious teenagers. He spoke faintly, and his expression was an awe-inspiring one. To the teenagers, he brought about an incredibly oppressive feeling.
Su Ming watched it from a distance while deep in thought. He gave up on the idea of Possessing the cultivators here, and with a sparkle in his eyes, he looked at the sky.
He did not wait for long. When noon arrived and the sun shone at its brightest, the rain also seemed to have fused with the sunlight. At the instant the rain gained seven colors while in the air, a loud, thunderous roar sliced through the sky. It looked like a crack had been torn in the sky, and a person walked out of it slowly.
He was dressed in a long, blue robe, and he was an old man with a head full of white hair. He had a stern, dignified look in his eyes, and when he walked out of the crack, even the rain stopped.
At the instant he appeared, the middle-aged scholar and the hundreds of cultivators immediately wrapped their fists in their palms and bowed respectfully.
"We… greet Sect Elder Wen!"
The old man in the blue robe nodded slowly. When he swept his gaze past the near ten thousand teenagers on the land, a fierce glare showed up in his eyes.
"Today, you will all be going through the test to join the sect. Those who succeed will join the inner sect, and will become the most valuable disciples of Seven Moons Sect. You will be the future of Seven Moons Sect.
"In the past, we never lacked those who are talented wanting to join the inner sect. There are plenty of those who have reached Avacaniya Realm in one thousand years. But if there are those among you who can obtain one hundred spirit plates, then will be able to join the inner sect straightaway to be chosen by the sect elders. If that person has enough potential, they can even obtain the right to train in the inner sect's Sky Beyond the Sky. There have been… twelve people who reached Avacaniya Realm in one hundred years in the history of Seven Moons Sect!
"Now, the competition to enter the inner sect of Seven Moons Sect begins!"
After the old man in blue spoke, he swung his arm. Booming sounds immediately shot out from the canyon, and fog tumbed about inside it. In an instant, it turned into a huge vortex. The faces of near ten thousand teenagers standing at the edge of the canyon turned pale, and they were instantly dragged into the vortex by its suction force, unable to help themselves.
Su Ming's expression remained the same. He watched the awe-inspiring old man in blue. He had already reached Avacaniya Realm, but he was only in the initial stage of that Realm. Even though Su Ming no longer had all his wills with him, if he wanted to kill that person, he could use the power of his Dao Divinity. It would be as easy to kill him then as making a flicking motion.
'This Seven Moons Sect has unfathomable strength, and the powerful warriors in it are as numerous as clouds… I don't know how many of them are in Dao Divinity Realm either. If I Possess this old man, then even if I find the chance to retrieve my will, it might be difficult for me to escape… and the pearl is in the red-robed man's hands. It'll be difficult for me to snatch it back anyway.
'Judging by what is happening here, if I want to enter Seven Moons Sect via Possession, instead of Possessing this old man, it might be better… for me to Possess one of the teenagers…
'There are only twelve people who reached Avacaniya Realm in one hundred years, huh? If I 'reach' the first level of Dao Divinity Realm within one hundred years as a disciple, I wonder how great of a shock it will be to Seven Moons Sect. Then, I will have a greater chance to get close to the red-robed man!'
Su Ming fell into a moment of pensive silence before his eyes sparkled. A resolute look appeared on his face, and with one move, he instantly charged to into the vortex.
With his level of cultivation, if he did not want anyone to see him, then even the old man in blue would not be able to find any traces of him. In a flash, Su Ming disappeared into the fog.
He entered the canyon and charged into the depths. On the way, he saw a corpse lying in a crack on the wall beside him. The body belonged to a teenager Su Ming had seen before—he was the puppet-like boy controlled by the girl.
At that moment, the boy's entire body was thin and withered. He was already dead. All his life force seemed to have been forcefully snatched away by a Secret Art so that the caster could stimulate her own strength.
Once Su Ming swept his gaze past the area, he paid no more attention to the corpse. He charged forward, and in the span of a few breaths, an invisible barrier that others would find hard to detect appeared in front of him.
The barrier would do little to block anyone's path, but it served to divide the area, separating the canyon into two parts. At the instant Su Ming approached it, he came to a stop. He levitated above the barrier, and his eyes sparkled. When he pressed his right hand on the barrier, he closed his eyes.
After a moment, when he opened his eyes, he frowned.
'These disciples are indeed highly valued by Seven Moons Sect. There are around a dozen divine senses constantly watching everything in the trial grounds…
'Among those divine senses, there are three… that are very strong. If I was just passing by, it'd be fine, but once I Possess someone, they might notice me…'
Su Ming pondered this for a moment, then a thought suddenly appeared in his head. He turned his head back and looked at the corpse of the boy in the crack.
"We were fated to meet. Then, I'll use your dead body… and with your appearance, I will become the strongest prodigy Seven Moons Sect has ever seen," Su Ming said faintly, and with a single move, he charged upwards.
At that moment, in the huge field Su Ming's divine sense had once seen in Seven Moons Sect was the red-robed man. He sat there as before, and there were around a dozen calm cultivators around him. Most of them sat indifferently, but their gazes were all fixed on the huge crystal floating at the center of the field.
There were countless pictures in the crystal, and each one contained a teenager. They showed… everything that happened within the canyon.
"This girl is pretty good. She managed to find a spirit plate in such a short time."
"This lad is also good. He's a ruthless one, and he attacks without hesitation. If he has good potential, then he'll be a promising shoot."
The dozen people spoke to each other with indifferent expressions while they sat in the field.
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Chapter 1382: Blood of Seven Moons
At the same time the sect elders of Seven Moons Sect observed the near ten thousand pictures and practically every disciple in the huge crystal, the teenager who had already breathed his last in the crack on the walls of the canyon suddenly jolted.
Su Ming's body was slowly overlapping with the boy's body. In just the span of a few breaths, Su Ming's body completely disappeared, and the boy opened his eyes.
An aloof and calm glint shone in them. The boy had never had such a gaze before. It only belonged to one person, and that person was Su Ming!
When he opened his eyes, the body he Possessed gradually recovered from its shrivelled state. Once the boy regained his appearance, Su Ming slowly sat up, exercised his neck, shook his body, and his expression returned to normal. However, a freezing glare shone in his eyes, despite the calm look on his face.
'Wang Tao, huh? A person who didn't catch anyone's attention among the outer sect disciples in Seven Moons Sect. Constantly bullied, and now, all his life force was even sucked out by his senior sister to temporarily increase her power, all for the sake of being able to show off her abilities in the Seven Moons disaster…
'Since you died with resentment and I will make use of your body, we can be considered somewhat linked through fate. I will first… take revenge for you and end your grudge, then with your face, we will become the most brilliant existence in Seven Moons Sect!'
A malicious and ghastly sneer appeared on Su Ming's lips. Once he lived through the drastic change in Harmonious Morus Alba, his personality had changed a lot.
He did not care about other people's survival nor the changes in the world. He only cared about his own resolve, and for that, even if he had to overturn the world, he would walk down a path that did not require him to turn around in regret.
And while he walked down his path, all those who tried to block him… would die!
If anyone saw the smile on Su Ming's lips right then, their hearts would definitely let out a thump. They would feel as if they were in an ocean of blood, as if a poisonous snake had fixed its eyes on them. An endless chill would spread from the bottom of their heart, and they would even feel the shadow of death looming over them.
Su Ming pushed his right hand against the wall and turned into a long arc that charged towards the barrier below. He did not stop for even a single moment. Without a single sound, he phased through the barrier and appeared in the trial grounds for the outer sect disciples of Seven Moons Sect.
There was a new sky above him, and it was red, just like blood. Wreckage and dust covered various parts of the ground. The cities showed signs of history, which gave off a desolate feeling.
Su Ming descended from the sky. When he landed on the ground, he slowly straightened and lifted his head. He did not look around him, but instead, with a frosty look, he walked forward.
At the moment he Possessed the boy, his level of cultivation had been automatically suppressed by ninety-nine-hundredth. With his inborn talent for Possession, unless he ran into a person whose level of cultivation surpassed his by a big margin, then even those in Dao Spirit Realm would find it difficult to discover him. They would only be able to detect the presence of a cultivator in Heaven Cultivation Realm, which was what he showed on the surface right then.
'If I want to enter the inner sect of Seven Moons Sect and become the greatest of the sect, then I can't keep a low profile… Since there are ten something divine senses constantly observing this place, then perhaps there's already someone who has noticed me. If that's the case… then I might as well act arrogantly.'
A ghastly smile appeared at the corners of Su Ming's lips. He suddenly rushed forward.
When he descended into the trial grounds, an additional picture appeared among the near ten thousand pictures within the huge crystal observed by the ten something sect elders in the field in Seven Moons Sect. That picture clearly showed Su Ming's figure, and as he rushed forward, it followed him.
"For some reason, this boy entered the trial ground much later than the others," a married woman dressed in an orange long robe among the ten something people said faintly. Her gaze stayed on the picture showing Su Ming in the crystal.
"It's fine. Their survival is connected to the trial. It's only natural that they make some preparations for such an important matter. He might have lost some initiative by entering late, but if his preparations were more complete, it's also another method to win," an old man next to the woman said with a smile. He had also noticed Su Ming's figure suddenly appear among the pictures.
"Hmm? That boy you spoke of is quite interesting…" As the two of them spoke, a blue-robed scholar sitting not too far away pointed at the crystal with a smile.
In Su Ming's picture among the near ten thousand pictures in the crystal showed a sword flash behind the teenager. It belonged to a boy with a sinister and ruthless expression. He charged towards Su Ming.
He was fast, but the main focus of his attack lay in his sword. It instantly closed in on Su Ming, but Su Ming only took a step to the side. When he turned around, he lifted his left hand, and with the momentum he had gathered, he made a seizing motion behind him, directly catching the boy's neck.
At the instant fear and alarm appeared on the boy's face, Su Ming tightened his grip, and blood trickled out of the corners of the boy's mouth. Then, he breathed his last.
This scene attracted the attention of the two people who were previously talking to each other, but soon, they moved their gazes away. Scenes like these appeared everywhere in the near ten thousand pictures.
Even the blue-robed scholar only smiled before he moved his gaze away to look at the other disciples. They wanted to find someone who would catch their fancy so that they could ponder about taking them in as disciples.
While they were highly expectant towards someone being able to obtain one hundred spirit plates, this was something that rarely happened, which was why they did not pay too much attention to the matter, unless… someone showed signs of being able to do so.
Su Ming let go of his left hand while in the world of ruins in the canyon. The boy in front of him fell to the ground with eyes wide open. Su Ming swept his gaze past the boy, then turned around and continued into the distance.
While he moved through the vast land, he did not travel fast, but soon, the ruins of a city appeared in front of him. No one could say how many years it had been since the city had been abandoned. At that moment, when Su Ming swept his gaze past a broken wall, a cold sneer appeared at the corners of his lips, and he stepped into the ruins.
At the instant he stepped inside, a shrill cry immediately shot into the air. Seven boys and girls formed a Rune at the same time and instantly enveloped him within.
It was a Sword Rune. The moment it shone with a red light, a huge net appeared above Su Ming. It looked like it could cut all manner of flesh and blood.
While the seven people laughed ferociously, flashes of swords shone around Su Ming. He moved and immediately appeared in front of a boy. He lifted his right hand and struck him. A bang shot up, and the boy's eyes went wide. When he coughed up blood, Su Ming grabbed his body and threw him to the ground.
With it, the boy's body shattered. When his flesh and blood gushed out, Su Ming brought up his right hand and seized the air. All the boy's blood immediately tumbled backwards and charged towards Su Ming's right hand. When he unfurled it, a blood-red moon appeared in the air.
It was a low-leveled Art in Seven Moons Sect, one of the three Arts mastered by the boy Su Ming had Possessed. The Art was known as Blood of Seven Moons.
"Blood of Seven Moons."
When Su Ming spoke flatly, the blood-red moon exploded with a bang, and countless droplets of blood spread through the area, turning into crescent blood moons that were as sharp as blades. In an instant, they shot through the six people, making their bodies shudder, and all of them were immediately torn to shreds.
Su Ming swung his right hand, and three spirit plates flew out from the flesh and blood around him. They fell into his palm, but he did not put them away into his storage bag. Instead, he held them in his hand, and when he moved forward, the three spirit plates crashed into each other. They let out tinkling sounds that rang through the area.
Su Ming swung his arm, and the blood drops immediately tumbled backwards to gather together to form a blood-red moon that was the height of an adult man and enveloped Su Ming. It filled him with a murderous air.
Just as he was about to leave, Su Ming suddenly stopped moving. He frowned, then turned around slowly and looked at the ruins and dust around him. He observed the area, and eventually, his gaze landed on a broken stone monument.
There were a few indistinct words on it. At the instant Su Ming saw the stone monument and the words on it, a barely noticeable shudder went through his body.
Due to the indistinct words being incomplete and fragmented, only two words could be seen clearly… They were… Star Ocean.
'Divine Essence Star Ocean…'
Su Ming's pupils shrank, and a confused look appeared in his eyes. He had seen the stone monument before. It was a world monument erected beyond Black Ink Planet that he saw when he stepped into the galaxy of Divine Essence Star Ocean.
He had sent his divine sense over and scanner it before.
When Su Ming focused his gaze on the broken stone monument, the blue-robed scholar among one of the ten something sect elders on the field in Seven Moons Sect took note of him again.
"This boy has extraordinary power, and he's also ruthless. He neutralized the plot those seven concocted to kill him… This boy is outstanding, the Seven Moons Art gained a different flair when he cast it. He's not bad!"
A hint of praise appeared in the eyes of the blue-robed scholar. He watched the blood moon envelop Su Ming in the picture, and the others noticed Su Ming as well at that moment because of his words.
There were pictures constantly disappearing from the crystal, and every single time it happened, it meant that a disciple had died. The near ten thousand pictures had quickly been reduced to only six thousand something.
At the same time, on the other side of the crystal, six thousand names appeared. There was also a number next to them. The numbers showed just how many spirit plates anyone had obtained.
At that moment, the person at first place was a person called Ye Long. He had obtained over thirty spirit plates!
Judging by the name, the person in second place was a girl, and she was… Chen Feng. She had already obtained around thirty spirit plates!
As for Wang Tao—represented by Su Ming—he was ranked in the hundreds. Among the six thousand something names, he was completely insignificant.
"This boy is pretty good, but it is solely for what he did just now. Only when he gets into the top ten will he be worthy of our attention," an old man in a white long robe said flatly after sweeping his gaze over the picture with Su Ming.
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Chapter 1383: Reveal
"I'm more curious as to why he won't put the spirit plates into his storage bag but chose to hold them in his hand."
A sneer appeared on the lips of a young man sitting next to the red-robed man among the ten something sect elders. He spoke with a smile, but it was filled with a chilling air.
"Haha, since all of you don't think he'll be of any good, I'll have the right to choose him first." The blue-robed scholar smiled and lifted his right hand to point at the crystal. Su Ming's picture immediately floated out and levitated in front of him.
The instant the scholar extracted the picture belonging to Su Ming, the ground in the pictures around his instantly shuddered and roared. From a distance, around a dozen figures charged towards him.
The figures had appeared incredibly suddenly, and a powerful killing intent immediately filled the area, but Su Ming's expression did not change. When the ten figures drew close to him, he lifted his right hand, lowered his head, and pushed his hand against the ground.
Booming sounds immediately echoed in the air, and a storm was stirred. It spread out through the area and obscured everything in Su Ming's picture. Several breaths later, when the storm and dust faded away, what remained on the ground were bloodless corpses as well as a blood moon that was twice as large compared to before.
Su Ming left into the distance. He was no longer holding just three spirit plates, but six of them. They knocked against each other and let out clear tinkling sounds.
Since the blue-robed scholar had isolated Su Ming's picture, it immediately drew the attention of the ten sect elders in the area. All of their eyes immediately brightened.
Only the red-robed man and the most beautiful woman in the field kept their eyes closed and continued meditating. They did not even look at the picture.
The woman's beauty could make people question her existence. It was enough to make everyone's hearts race. She wore a purple dress, and as she sat there, she looked like a royal peony. There were a few crystal shards at the center of her brow, and it seemed like they reflected all the lives in the world.
"What's his name?"
"This person… is Wang Tao. His is the only name that has six spirit plates."
"This is no longer the power of those in Heaven Cultivation Realm. He is… someone who is already near World Plane Realm."
"Not bad. Be it Blood of Seven Moons or Ground Crushing Fiend, the power showed when he executed these divine abilities is already enough for him to easily win against all those in Earth Cultivation Realm."
When the ten something sect elders spoke to each other, the picture showing Su Ming changed again. A mountain appeared in front of him, and on that mountain stood a lean figure. That person did not seem to be a boy, but a young man.
He was staring at Su Ming.
"This is Chou Wu. He has seven spirit plates, and he's one of the outstanding ones in this trial. I wonder who will win between him and Wang Tao."
While the ten something sect elders watched the picture, Su Ming stood in midair and stared coldly at the young man standing at the top of the mountain in front of him.
"You should know me. Hand over your spirit plates and get lost. If you do, I'll spare you. I'll only give you the span of three breaths!"
There was arrogance in the young man's voice. When his words landed in Su Ming's ears, Su Ming's expression remained the same. He continued staring at the young man coldly, and when the three breaths were over, the young man laughed coldly. He turned into a long arc and instantly charged towards the blood moon encasing Su Ming.
"You're just asking—"
Before the young man could finish speaking, Su Ming took a step forward. With the spirit plates in his right hand, he brought it up, seizing the young man's throat, making the spirit plates crash into his windpipe. His action instantly cut off the young man's speech before he could finish it.
At the same time, Su Ming seemed to have reached a breakthrough in his level of cultivation. The walls between Heaven Cultivation Realm and World Plane Realm shattered, and the presence of World Plane Realm spread out from him!
The young man whose neck had been seized immediately shuddered. His eyes bulged out, and shock appeared on his face. Blood poured out of his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and all his pores.
All of the blood in his body was flowing in reverse. It turned into blood threads that charged towards the blood moon around Su Ming. In just the span of a few breaths, all the blood in the young man's body was emptied from him and absorbed by Su Ming's blood moon.
Su Ming let go, and the withered young man fell down. Su Ming seized the air with his right hand, and the young man's storage bag immediately flew out. When Su Ming patted it, he brought out seven spirit plates and added them to his own. He thus had thirteen of them.
The ten something sect elders on the field had witnessed it, and various changes appeared on all their faces.
"He… reached a breakthrough? The Blood of Seven Moons has actually reached this level in his hand!"
"Just what sort of potential does he have? He actually reached a breakthrough just like this?"
"Thirteen spirit plates. He's already at twelfth place!"
"The number's increased again. Now, it's fourteen spirit plates!"
"Sixteen!"
Almost all the sect elders in the field had their gazes trained on Su Ming, and they immediately saw his speed increase once he reached a breakthrough in his level of cultivation.
From a distance, he looked like a blood moon hanging high in the sky and shining with a strange, evil light. As he charged forth through the trial grounds, he ran into some people, and he absorbed all their blood. It grew the blood moon, and he obtained another few spirit plates.
Su Ming knew from the start that he would become the center of attention. He also knew that he had to catch the sect elders' attention, for only then could he execute the next step of his plan.
As for being exposed? Su Ming was confident that with his inborn ability, it would not be easy for others to find anything wrong about him. The only time when he did something unusual was when a slight look of confusion had appeared in his eyes upon seeing the stone monument. It had, however, turned into a heavy feeling that was buried deep in Su Ming's heart.
He moved forward at a moderate pace. The divine sense he spread out had the power of those in World Plane Realm, and with over ten spirit plates in his hand as bait, he ran into quite many people who came to snatch his plates.
'This Blood of Seven Moons has quite the extraordinary power.'
As Su Ming moved forward, he cast a glance at the blood moon around him, which had grown to be about fifty-sixty feet tall. He could sense the increasingly stronger power accumulating within it, and it allowed him to fly faster.
It was as if he had truly turned into a blood moon. It hung high in the sky and was incredibly eye-catching. The more than ten spirit plates in Su Ming's hand were especially attention grabbing. They were enough to cause a large number of people to target him.
Six hours later, the spirit plates in Su Ming's hand had grown to thirty-one. Some of them were dyed in fresh blood, and when they knocked against each other, they let out tinkling sounds. It seemed like they brought with them a murderous aura as well.
Some people who had originally wanted to assault Su Ming changed their mind. Upon seeing the spirit plates in his hand, they felt as if they had been doused with cold water. With a shudder, they immediately turned around and fled.
Su Ming did not chase them. In truth, he had never taken the initiative to attack to get any of the over thirty spirit plates. They had all come into his hand when he easily crushed those who wanted to kill him due to greed.
However, gradually, he ran into fewer and fewer people. Clearly, as time passed, the disciples who entered the trial either died or chose to hide once they found a spirit plate. Unless the end of the trial came, they would definitely not venture out.
Su Ming continued moving through the sky. There were still those who believed themselves to be strong enough to attack him. They wanted to obtain more spirit plates to become the owner of one hundred spirit plates, which was something that did not happen in each trial.
There were also some who had come to an agreement and acted in groups, intending to win through numbers. They worked large groups to gather spirit plates for a few people in their group.
The smallest of such would number between three to five, and the largest would have dozens of cultivators. Once they ran into each other, they would most often choose to avoid conflict. Unless the end of the trial was near, battles which would end with both sides being gravely wounded did not appear.
There was practically no one who moved alone like Su Ming. The tinkling sounds that came when the thirty-something spirit plates in his hand knocked against each other and the sheer number itself made him into a target, despite the astonishing and terrifying blood moon around him. When the disciples who had formed groups ran into him, they could not control their desire to try and snatch his spirit plates.
It happened again and again. Dozens of disciples appeared in front of Su Ming once more, and each of them had their eyes fixed on his hand. When their gazes landed on the spirit plates, greed appeared in their eyes.
Su Ming cast a glance at the dozens of people. He moved, but he did not attack. Instead, he headed into the distance in the form of a long arc. From a distance, it looked like the blood moon had turned into a bloody scar. Su Ming moved in the front, and the dozens of disciples chased after him.
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn later, another group of dozens of people saw Su Ming, and they did not hesitate in joining the fight for his spirit plates.
When another hour passed as they continued to chase after him, under Su Ming's intentional control, slowly, nearly three hundred disciples were behind him. In fact, there were even more long arcs swiftly approaching him from farther away. They formed a vague encirclement around him.
"It's about time."
Su Ming came to a halt, and a ferocious smile appeared on his lips when he turned around. The people before him might be weak, but Su Ming had never felt unable to kill the weak. Since they had chosen to provoke him, they were destined to die.
When turned around, he brought up his right hand and seized the blood moon around him, then swiftly yanked it downwards. The blood moon shattered with a bang, turning into countless drops of blood that spread out through the area.
When the ten something sect elders in the field thought Su Ming had been driven to a corner and forced to flee, they saw his level of cultivation… rise again!
From the initial stage of World Plane Realm, he reached the middle stage, and he brought forth a slaughter that made even the expressions of sect elders change. The battle lasted for the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, and the area around Su Ming went quiet.
When he swung his arms, a huge blood-red moon of three hundred feet appeared around him. Shock and fear appeared on the faces of the disciples who had wanted to close in on him. Without any hesitation, they immediately turned around and fled.
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Chapter 1384: Sect Elder Lan
"He reached a breakthrough again? This has never happened in the trials in the past!"
"This is strange. There's definitely a problem!"
"Unless this boy's potential is the rare kind that only appears one in tens of thousands or once in a blue moon, there is definitely something odd about him!"
"If there's nothing strange about him, then… I will be his Master!"
All of the ten something sect elders in the field stopped looking at the other pictures, and all of them cast their gazes on Su Ming.
The level of cultivation he reached after his two breakthroughs might still be weak in their eyes, but the meaning of the breakthroughs was completely different, which was why they paid so much attention to it.
After all, the legendary thirteen old monsters in Seven Moons Sect who reached Avacaniya Realm in one hundred years had reached Dao Spirit Realm by then, and among them, six constantly trained in the inner sect's land. The seventh… was right by their side at that moment—he was the red-robed man.
The seven had all once showed astonishing potential in the trial grounds, but even so, none of them were as unbelievably incredible as Su Ming.
The three hundred something tall blood moon formed by Su Ming turned into a nightmare in the trial grounds. Wherever he went, few disciples dared to provoke him. Usually, when they saw him, they would be stunned, and then they would turn around and leave.
The battle against the hundreds of people moments earlier had caused Su Ming's name to travel to all those in the outer sect via voice communication. Because of that, the blood moon turned into a sign… Its master could never be offended!
Su Ming already had one hundred and forty spirit plates in his hand!
The sounds created by the spirit plates knocking into each other came from inside the blood moon and echoed in the area. The clear sounds no longer incited greed in others when they heard them, but fear.
The blood-red moon was a true nightmare in the trial grounds.
When four hours passed, Su Ming came to a halt and looked into the distance. He saw a few long arcs charging forward. There were a total of five people, and they were originally heading towards him, but upon noticing the blood moon, they instantly changed course.
The person in the lead was a girl, the one who had sucked away all the life force from the boy Su Ming had Possessed, and the four people beside her were the people who knew him.
When they saw the blood moon in the distance, their expressions immediately changed. Yet the moment they turned around and were about to leave, Su Ming appeared right in front of them. His face in the blood moon clearly appeared in the five's eyes.
Once they saw him, their expressions changed drastically. They filled with shock, especially that of the girl. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. She came to an abrupt halt and stared at Su Ming in disbelief.
She sucked in a sharp breath. When she took two steps backwards, she cried out instinctively, "You… You're still alive!"
Su Ming's expression was originally aloof, but at that moment, he thought of something, and hatred as well as resentment appeared on his face. The sight of it caused the girl to release a sigh of relief in her heart.
The ten something sect elders also saw the hatred and resentment on Su Ming's face.
At the same time, they also saw Su Ming move forward in the picture. Booming sounds shot into the air, and shrill screams of pain echoed in the area. Be it the girl or the other disciples, they were not Su Ming's opponents, and it was clearly within the sect elders' expectations.
But the moment Su Ming was about to kill the girl, the red-robed man sitting at the top of the field opened his eyes for the first time. He brought up his left hand and pointed at the picture of Su Ming. The girl immediately distorted and disappeared from before him.
Just as the sect elders expected, surprise and shock appeared on Su Ming's face. He looked around him for some time, then with uncertainty on his face, he turned into a long arc and charged into the distance.
The ten something sect elders on the field did not say a single word at that moment. They looked towards the red-robed man together, and they saw the girl appear in front of him with fear and alarm on her face. With some unknown method, the red-robed man had forcefully brought her over.
Before the girl could even speak, the red-robed man lifted his right hand up in an aloof manner and pushed down gently against the top of her skull.
Shrill screams of pain tumbled out of the girl's mouth. Her body twisted and trembled. Veins popped up on her face, which was due to her memories being searched through in detail by the red-robed man.
After the span of a few breaths, the girl shuddered and turned into nothingness, disappearing from the red-robed man's hand.
"Wang Tao. Entered the sect seventeen years ago. Has quite promising potential, but his personality is weak. He had his body controlled by someone under the same Master using a Secret Art and also had his life force as well as cultivation base taken so that this girl could have an increase in her power for twenty hours.
"He should have died, but he managed to live. It's easy to tell what happened…" A glint appeared in the red-robed man's eyes, and he looked towards the incredibly beautiful woman sitting across him, who was still meditating.
"Sect Elder Lan, please cast your Art and find out what happened."
The incredibly beautiful woman opened her eyes for the first time at that moment and looked towards the picture of Su Ming. In her eyes, the light of divination appeared, then she closed them.
"This boy possessed hidden potential. It is the type that would set his life matrix once his original one was broken. His whole life will be filled with serendipity that will mould him into someone great. He will be the strongest and most important person under the heavens, and the souls of deities will fill his four pillars [1]!"
"What is the meaning behind it?" the red-robed man asked slowly.
"His life is one of nobility, and we are not to involve ourselves with him. He is an entity rarely seen in Ancient Zang. If we can have him by our side, then our prosperity and fall will depend on a single thought from him. If we prosper, our sect will flourish and stand at the peak. If we fall, then our sect will degenerate and be reduced to ruins. His kismet…
"If we kill him, then we will incur the wrath of heaven, if we are killed by him, then our deaths will adhere to the will of Dao. There is no explanation for this," the incredibly beautiful woman said softly. Her eyes were closed, hiding the hint of confusion and shock that had appeared in them at that moment.
Once the woman finished speaking, the ten something sect elders in the area immediately fell silent. Incredulousness appeared on their faces, and a glint appeared in the red-robed man's eyes.
"Sect Elder Lan has never described someone's life matrix as such…"
"I want this boy. I'll take him in as my disciple!" the blue-robe scholar said firmly. The moment he opened his mouth and said those words, the eyes of the sect elders in the area all shone. They cast their eyes on Su Ming's picture.
"You can't do that. This boy's personality makes him suitable to practice my cultivation method. It'll be better if I become his Master."
"How laughable. I was the one who saw this boy first. How can I have him fall into someone else's hands? The one who first saw him is connected to him through fate. This fate cannot be spoken, but this boy will follow me, and he will surely reach Avacaniya Realm!"
The ten something sect elders immediately spoke. What they valued was not Su Ming… but Sect Elder Lan's words about his life matrix!
"Enough. I will personally take this boy as my disciple!" the red-robed man said slowly with a scowl. Once he finished speaking, the sect elders in the area immediately fell silent. They might be slightly unwilling to accept such a decision, but they did not continue speaking.
Except for…
The incredibly beautiful woman opened her eyes at that moment, and determination as well as resolve showed up on her face. "Your life matrix clashes with this boy's, and you show signs of dying. It'll be better if he will become my disciple."
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Chapter 1385: The Figure in the Dark
The blood moon hung high in the air. In the world in the canyon, the moon around Su Ming had grown to nearly five hundred feet. It looked incredibly huge, and a thick, bloody presence filled the area.
As Su Ming moved through the land, gazes filled with respect were directed at him. They came from the hidden disciples as well as the cultivators whose greed had long ago been suppressed by their fear. In just a few short hours, Su Ming's figure was deeply ingrained in their minds.
Before then, Wang Tao had held no fame!
After the trial, his name would ring through all the outer sect. After all, some of the cultivators who survived knew the name of the body Su Ming Possessed. As the blood moon moved around, his name… rose up.
The clear tinkling sounds from the one hundred something spirit plates in Su Ming's hand knocking against each other drifted about with a strange, sinister tone that had a murderous air. All the outer sect disciples of Seven Moons Sect who heard it felt their hearts tremble.
None of them dared to offend their owner.
Su Ming eventually stopped on top of a mountain and sat down on the summit. From a distance, no one could see his figure. They could only see an incredibly brilliant blood moon at the top of the mountain.
That mountain and the land around it turned into a forbidden area. Even if the Seven Moons Sect disciples nearby continued fighting against each other and snatching each other's spirit plates, no one dared to take even half a step towards the mountain.
Su Ming remained seated and no longer ventured outwards. He had enough spirit plates and had no plans to get more of them. At that moment, he sat on the mountain quietly with a calm expression and waited for the game—to him—to end.
There was not much time left.
All the sect elders on the field saw Su Ming sitting on the mountain. They stared at his side profile, the blood moon, the one hundred something spirit plates in his hand, and gradually, the deductions of his life matrix by Sect Elder Lan rose up in their heads again. For some unknown reason, even though the sect elders believed that they had reached the peak of their cultivation, a feeling that they could not put to words slowly appeared at the bottom of their hearts. That feeling was akin to a chill.
A surprised glint appeared on the red-robed man's face. He watching Su Ming in the picture while thinking about Sect Elder Lan's words. After a long while, a confident smile appeared at the corners of his lips.
'This boy's life matrix clashes with mine… and I show signs of dying? Interesting, I'd like to see just how I'd die!' A brilliant light shone in the red-robed man's eyes before he closed them.
Across from him was the incredibly beautiful Sect Elder Lan. She stared at Su Ming's figure in the picture with a hint of confusion in the depths of her eyes.
'Why… is this person's destiny entangled with mine in such a manner? The marks of entanglement are not in my body… but in my life matrix.
'Why..?'
When the people in the field fell silent, a figure slowly approached from the distance to the invisible forbidden area that was the mountain where Su Ming sat.
The figure was lean and had a handsome face. The person was dressed in white while his long black hair danced in the air, giving him a strange type of charm. However, his calm demeanor was more prominent that his charm.
His calm was different though. Su Ming's calmness was due to the peace in his heart bringing about the calmness on his face, but that person… treated himself as supreme, so he had to appear calm.
His calmness symbolized supremacy and arrogance. They lay at the bottom of his heart, however, and were not shown externally.
The man, too, had plenty of spirit plates. Based on their numbers, he had a total of one hundred of them in his hand.
He stopped before Su Ming's invisible forbidden area. When he lifted his head, he looked at Su Ming meditating in the blood moon not too far away from him. He did not say a single word. He stopped in his tracks, but he did not move back. His gaze was fully focused on Su Ming.
Time slowly passed. When only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn was left before the trial's end, the white-robed boy still remained staring at Su Ming beyond the invisible barrier.
His gaze seemed to contain fighting spirit. It was like fire burning in his eyes.
"Ye Long!" After a long while, he suddenly spoke. His voice shot up and traveled into Su Ming's invisible forbidden area, then into Su Ming's ears. "My name is Ye Long!" the white-robed boy said again.
Su Ming opened his eyes and directed his gaze on the white-robed boy's face. At the moment he saw him, a dazed look appeared in his eyes, and he felt as if he was not looking at Ye Long… but a prodigy from the past in the field beyond Wind Stream Mountain in Wind Stream Tribe—Ye Wang.
He had the same expression, the same determination, the same tone, and the hidden feeling of supremacy in his heart.
Su Ming did not speak. He only closed his eyes again.
The fighting spirit in Ye Long's eyes might have become stronger, but he never took the step forward. At the instant the trial ended, he lifted his foot, and took a step backwards instead. When he turned around, the entire world suddenly turned dark, and shrill roars rang out.
Hordes of ferocious beasts appeared in the clouds and fog in the sky, though more accurately speaking, they were not creatures, but spirits, because their bodies were illusions formed by fog. At the moment they appeared, they charged towards the ground.
A part of them charged towards Su Ming, but at the instant they drew close to him, the spirit plates in his hand let out a brilliant light. It covered a boundless distance, frightening the ferocious spirits who wanted to pounce on him. Just as they were about to move back, their bodies were sucked towards him against their control. The spirit plates acting in a manner of a seal, yanking the spirits inside themselves.
One spirit plate could seal one ferocious spirit. Su Ming simply sat there, and in just the span of a few breaths, all one hundred something of his spirit plates contained a spirit.
With the spirits, the spirit plates appeared the same, but there were faint streaks of light flowing through them, as if to show that they were no longer ordinary.
This happened not just to Su Ming, but to Ye Long as well. All the people with spirit plates in the trial grounds saw the same scene. Each of the plates sealed a ferocious spirit, and once it was done, the owners of the plates were no longer attacked.
As for the Seven Moon Sects disciples who did not obtain any spirit plates, they began screaming shrilly in pain. The sounds of their bodies being torn apart rose and fell in the trial grounds…
Destructive spirits continued appearing in the trial grounds for an hour before they disappeared, and a huge vortex formed in the sky. It spun with a bang, and an old voice traveled out from inside it.
"The outer sect promotion trial for Seven Moons Sect ends now. Congratulations to all of you… for becoming the disciples of the inner sect!"
When the voice echoed in the air, a suction force rose up in the area, and the figures on the ground turned into long arcs that charged towards the vortex.
There were boys and girls among those figures. Some of them had excitement on their faces and some had respect. Their expressions were different, and it was related to their actions in the trial grounds. The excited ones were those who avoided the disaster, and the respectful ones were those who barely escaped death.
There were also quite a few who had complicated expressions on their faces. When they looked at each other, they could see the killing intent and the will to fight in each other's eyes. Those people were clearly ones who had formed grudges between them due to the fights for spirit plates during the trial.
The moment the disciples flew up towards the vortex, a long arc shot through the sky like a white dragon. It charged from the ground, and wherever it went, no matter which disciple it was, their expressions would change, and they would avoid it. When they looked at the figure in the white light, their gazes were filled with respect.
It was Ye Long.
Ye Long's face was calm. Wherever he went, no one even thought of getting in his way. He charged straight towards the vortex in the sky.
Su Ming stood up at that moment. When he took a step forward, he did not make the blood moon disappear, so he looked like a blood moon turning into a long arc. The world rumbled when he walked towards the vortex serving as the exit.
The moment Su Ming's blood moon appeared in the eyes of the disciples who were also heading towards the vortex, surprised and terrified cries filled the air. Compared to everyone moving away from Ye Long to make a path for him, Su Ming's entrance was even grander. The moment he approached the exit, the expressions of the disciples in the area filled with shock as well as alarm. They instantly spread out, and when they looked back at Su Ming, their eyes showed great fear.
With Su Ming around, they did not dare to continue flying. Instead, they levitated in midair. No one knew who was the first to wrap their fists in their palms, but soon, everyone in the area wrapped their fists in their palms and bowed simultaneously towards him.
"Greetings, Eldest Senior Brother Wang Tao." In the beginning, the voices were rather scattered, but soon, they gathered together to turn into a single voice that echoed in the air.
The person who was ranked first among the outer sect disciples would naturally be given the title of eldest senior brother. In their hearts, this was the only title for Su Ming.
The youthful voices echoed in the air and spread in every direction. They also reached the ears of the ten something sect elders. They watched what was happening, but no one spoke. They only felt pity towards Ye Long standing in the corner of the picture.
If Su Ming had not been around, all of this would have belonged to him!
Ye Long was silent. He stared at Su Ming, then after a long while, he lowered his head, wrapped his fist in his palm, and also bowed.
Su Ming came to a stop. The blood moon around him gradually disappeared, then with a swing of his arm, it turned into blood rain. When it poured down on the ground, he took a step forward, and was the first… to step into the vortex in the sky.
Behind him was Ye Long, and after him were the other people. When all the disciples entered the vortex, the trial grounds sank into darkness as if they had been sealed.
The countless ferocious spirits in the darkness roared. Their voices were filled with forlornness and madness, but they could not escape the seal. They could only wait for the next disaster of Seven Moons, for only then they could devour flesh and blood.
Gradually, the shrill roars faded away, and suddenly… a figure appeared beneath the stone monument Su Ming had observed. It was a man in a black robe. He stood quietly in the depths of the dark underground and silently stared at the words on the stone monument. After a long while, he sighed softly.
There was an ancient tone in that sight, and a hint of nostalgia that others might not be able to hear, but one that Su Ming would definitely understand if he was there.
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Chapter 1386: My Name is De Shun
Dao was not solitary.
The ones who understood Dao would lament that their Dao was not solitary. Su Ming… had also thought of that question before.
He was the first to walk out of the vortex, but there was no other emotion besides calmness on his face. It was as if he was walking on the path to search for Dao. The peace in his heart was reflected on his face in the form of indifference.
There was an old man among the near one hundred cultivators who were responsible for the training of the outer sect disciples in Seven Moons Sect. Once he saw Su Ming, his expression changed to show disbelief.
Once the others saw Su Ming, they immediately sent word to each other as well. Soon, all the people shifted their gazes to the old man whose expression had changed. In their eyes were harmless envy. In fact, there was even a hint of respect in them.
This was not the first time they sent disciples into the trial grounds, so they knew very clearly that no matter which trial it was, the first person who had the right to walk out of the vortex was definitely… the strongest and most prodigious in that trial!
But the old man felt as if his heart had frozen over. He forced a smile on his face, but it was filled with bitterness and anguish. In fact, he even took a few instinctive steps backwards.
When everyone's gazes landed on Su Ming's right hand, the area suddenly fell into dead silence. After some time, the sounds of sharp intakes of breath appeared. Everyone had discovered that there were one hundred something spirit plates in Su Ming's right hand!
"A Chosen!"
"A Chosen has appeared in this trial!"
"Haha, Brother Chen, this time, you have hope of getting promoted! Congratulations! A Chosen has appeared among your disciples!"
Shock was on the cultivators' faces, but the moment they spoke, Ye Long appeared behind Su Ming. In his hand, he also held one hundred spirit plates. Immediately, all the cultivators in the area were completely stunned.
"Two… Two Chosens appeared in the trial this time!"
"He's Ye Long! I know this boy, he's the disciple of the chief attendant!"
"Having two Chosens appear in one go is incredibly rare in the history of Seven Moons Sect. I wonder if they can become sect elders in the end, and whether one of them… will reach Avacaniya Realm in one hundred years!"
The cultivators in the area were all shocked after seeing Su Ming and Ye Long. When they spoke, they continuously looked towards old Chen and a middle-aged scholar.
There was a gratified smile on the scholar's face. When he looked at Ye Long, his face was filled with praise. Occasionally, his gaze would fall on Su Ming, and his eyes would narrow. Clearly, Su Ming's appearance was completely out of his expectations. He had thought that Ye Long would definitely place first in the trial.
The old Chen's face soon lost its paleness, but his smile was still a little unnatural, and it was especially so when his gaze swept past the crowd behind Su Ming and he found no signs of the girl who had absorbed the life force of the body Su Ming Possessed. A hint of pain appeared in his eyes. When he looked at Su Ming, a barely noticeable killing intent entered his gaze.
As the people on the land spoke to each other, even the old man who had originally been sitting and meditating in the sky felt a hint of shock. His gaze landed on Su Ming and Ye Long. He did not even bother paying attention to the people behind the two of them, who had now all come out of the vortex and become inner sect disciples.
After taking a look at Su Ming and Ye Long, the old man stood up. He would be polite to the two Chosens. After all, no one could say just what would their future be. If he formed good ties with them while they were still weak, it would be beneficial for him in the future.
He had seen examples of that before. When he got up and was about to speak, a long arc sliced through the air from Seven Moons Sect. Once it drew close, it turned into a young man.
He was dressed in a long red robe and had an aloof expression. Once he appeared, he swept his gaze across the land. His eyes landed on Su Ming and Ye Long, and the aloof look on his face disappeared, replaced by a faint smile.
"The two of you must be junior brothers Wang Tao and Ye Long. Please come with me to the inner sect's field. The sect elders are already waiting for you. They asked me to bring the two of you to them."
When the young man spoke with a smile, he wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to Su Ming and Ye Wang.
Su Ming got up and appeared next to the young man. When he wrapped his fist in his palm and returned the greeting, Ye Long joined them as well. The three of them turned into long arcs that instantly left into the distance, leaving behind three afterimages and the envious gazes from the other people.
"Junior brothers, you are both proud sons of heaven. I admire you very much for being able to be personally summoned by the sect elders!"
While the three of them rushed forward, the young man spoke with a smile. He no longer had the aloof look on his face. Clearly, it was only aimed at other people. As for Su Ming and Ye Long, he would naturally not treat them aloofly.
"If you have a chance in the future, please do remember to recommended those of us in the same part of the sect, and if you run into anything you don't understand in the inner sect, you can come to me. I am De Shun. My De means morals, and Shun is related to my personality, because I like things going smoothly," the young man said with a smile, then turned his head around to look at Su Ming and Ye Long.
At the instant Su Ming heard the young man's words, he narrowed his eyes in a barely noticeable manner, then scrutinized the young man before him. He did not speak, just nodded.
His expression might have seemed as calm as ever, but in truth, a huge storm had started raging in his heart. In the new world, he had seen a different Tian Xie Zi, a different Ye Wang, the ruins of Divine Essence Star Ocean, and a different De Shun!
All of this forced Su Ming to think carefully about what the world was. Was it truly the world in Xuan Zang's body? He had clearly Possessed Xuan Zang, so why had he become connected to the strange world?
And if it was truly the world in Xuan Zang's body… then why would the people which gave him a sense of familiarity appear? Just what was going on?!
A hint of confusion appeared in the depths of Su Ming's eyes, and there was a hint of alarm and fear in it. A terrifying thought had appeared in Su Ming's head, and it frightened him.
It has to be known that with Su Ming's level of cultivation and his control over his emotions, even if Harmonious Morus Alba was destroyed, he did not show fear, but at that moment, it had really entered his eyes.
But Su Ming suppressed it soon after it appeared.
'I need more proof. I can't make judgements hastily!'
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He followed the young man called De Shun and stepped into the sky above the basin surrounded by mountains in Seven Moons Sect.
All along the way, De Shun chattered about things regarding the inner sect of Seven Moons Sect, and even spilled some secrets. He spoke about everything in great detail.
From a distance, Seven Moons Sect looked incredibly huge. It seemed to form a Rune, which filled the place with an unseen mighty pressure. When the three of them descended from the sky, De Shun still continued speaking.
"From here onwards, you can't fly anymore. It would be a sign of disrespect to the sect, and it's easy to cause misunderstandings, so please remember this well, junior brothers." As he spoke, he brought Su Ming and Ye Long to head to the field in the distance through the path laid out before them.
Along the way, they ran into quite a number of Seven Moon Sect disciples. Most of them showed a friendly attitude when they saw De Shun. Some of them even joked with him, which was a telling sign of how great were his connections.
When they drew close to the field, De Shun stopped and wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming and Ye Long.
"Junior brothers, I can only send you this far. Keep walking forward, and you'll step into the field. In the future, if we meet again in the sect, we'll be friends. Come to me if you have any questions," De Shun said with a smile. Once he bowed to them, he turned around and left.
Su Ming cast a deep glance at De Shun's back.
"I don't like that person. He's a little too unctuous for my liking. He definitely has his motives for getting close to us," Ye Long said slowly.
"I don't like him either." Su Ming smiled. He turned around and walked towards the field in the distance.
Ye Long cast a glance at Su Ming's back. He did not speak, but followed behind him. The two of them gradually walked into the field.
The moment they stepped into it, the ground shone with the activation of a Rune. The light instantly reached millions of feet and swallowed up Su Ming's and Ye Long's bodies.
When Su Ming and Ye Long reappeared, they were still on a field and the sect looked the same, but there was a distinct lack of people in the surroundings. The area was silent.
There were ten or so huge chairs in the field, and different figures were sitting on each of them. The chair right in front of Su Ming was occupied by a red-robed man, and he was staring at Su Ming with brightly burning eyes while his chin was propped up against his right hand.
Ye Long sucked in a deep breath. His expression was neither superlicious nor obsequious. He wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply to the red-robed man in front of him.
"I, Ye Long, greet all sect elders."
"Why didn't you bow?"
The red-robed man did not look at Ye Long, but instead stared at Su Ming. He spoke languidly, and his voice held a strange power. When it echoed in the area, the sky to instantly filled with thunderclouds.
Su Ming did not speak. His gaze landed on the red-robed man's hand, and once he saw the pearl on his palm, he calmly wrapped his fist in his hand and bowed.
The red-robed man cast a profound glance at Su Ming, then suddenly chuckled.
"Ye Long is quite good. I will personally take him as my disciple. As for Wang Tao… Sect Elder Lan, be sure to teach him well. One hundred years, let's see… who will be the Chosen!"
After the red-robed man spoke, he swung his arm. Immediately, the dark clouds in the sky rumbled. The entire field instantly became blurry.
When a soft sigh spread out, the field disappeared. Su Ming appeared on the previous field. It was empty all around him, besides… an incredibly beautiful woman who had appeared in front of him.
She stared at him, and he also lifted his head to stare at her. At the moment their gazes met, memories flashed through Su Ming's mind against his will, and it was the same for the woman. After some time, when Su Ming's mind cleared, surprise appeared in his eyes.
The woman seemed to not want to meet his gaze, however. She turned her head away from him.
She was silent for a moment before seeming to come to a decision. "You have a strange life matrix. I… can't be your Master either. Come with me, I will find an honorable Master… who is suitable for your life matrix."
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Chapter 1387: Who Woke Me Up?!
Once the woman spoke, she turned around and walked into the distance. Su Ming stared at her back with a strange light in his eyes. The memories he had seen earlier made him think.
Su Ming did not speak. Instead, he walked into the distance after the woman.
When he arrived in an area to the left of Seven Moons Sect, he found himself among a group of buildings. There was an octagonal Rune there, and a huge pearl, which was about ten feet big, was floating above it.
From outside the Rune, the pearl looked normal and uninteresting. There was nothing striking about it, but when the woman walked into the Rune—Su Ming did not follow her straight away—the pearl shone with a brilliant, five-colored light. Strangely though, it was limited to the Rune, and not a single bit of it spilled out.
That was why Su Ming could not see the five-colored light while he was in the Rune last time. Instead, only when he waited outside the Rune did he see the light shine.
The woman looked at the five-colored pearl, then turned her head around to look at Su Ming before she spoke softly. "Wait here for a moment. I'll be back soon."
Her voice was very gentle, and her words suggested that she did not treat Su Ming as a junior, but instead … as an equal.
Su Ming did not say anything. He only nodded.
The woman lowered her head. When she turned around, she brought up her right hand and pointed at the pearl. It shone and looked as if it had turned into water droplets. One of them floated up and landed on the woman's fingertip. At the instant they touched, the water drop covered the woman's entire body and instantly brought her into the pearl.
Su Ming stared at the pearl, then his eyes sparkled. In silence, he sat down next to the Rune. His expression was one of calm. He closed his eyes and began meditating.
The pearl contained another world that looked to be located beyond the one inhabited by most people. The sky there had five colors, and the ground was divided into thirteen pieces. Each piece of land seemed to contain countless lives.
The woman stood in the sky and looked towards the thirteen continents. Eventually, her gaze fell on the third continent, and with a single move, she turned into a long arc that charged towards the third continent.
She approached it instantly and saw countless mountains standing tall on the land. There were cultivators on the mountains. When the woman arrived, they lifted their heads and looked at her. Terror appeared on their faces, and all of them prostrated themselves on the ground to worship her.
The woman charged forward until she arrived at the tallest mountain in the third continent. That mountain was shaped like a sharp blade stabbing at the sky. From a distance, it seemed to tower over everything. A ghastly, cold air spread out from it, covering the ground at the foot of the mountain in a layer of ice and snow.
"Who is it?!"
At the instant the woman approached the mountain, a thunderous voice shot out from behind the mountain. A giant which was hundreds of thousands of feet tall and covered from head to toe in blue fur showed his head.
Dark light shone in his eyes. When his voice echoed in the air, a violent gust was stirred up, causing the ice and snow from the ground to cover even the sky and everything between the sky and earth.
"I, Lan Lan, greet Fa Wang. I have a matter in my hands, and I would like to meet my Master." The woman stopped moving. When she looked towards the giant, respect showed up on her face. She bent her head and bowed to him.
The blue-furred giant cast a glance at Lan Lan, then grinned. He nodded and retreated to the area behind the mountain, where he disappeared without a trace.
Once the blue-furred giant vanished, Lan Lan sucked in a deep breath. Determination showed up on her face, and with a single move, she turned into a long arc that charged towards the mountain. After a moment, when she drew close to the mountain, she sped up and rushed to the summit.
Soon, after moving through layers of clouds and fog, Lan Lan reached the top. There was a huge coffin placed at the summit. It was frozen in the snow and wind, and it was the only item there.
There was no lid over the coffin. Through layers of ice, a body could be seen lying inside as if dead. The person was thin, so skinny that he practically no longer looked like a man.
Lan Lan walked to the side of the frozen coffin. She stared at the body in it and stayed quiet for a long time.
"Master, I'm sorry, I have to wake you up beforehand. I ran into something I don't understand, and this matter will affect all of Seven Moons Sect… because it concerns another great sect elder, and it also concerns… a person whose life matrix is rarely seen in Ancient Zang!
"I can't describe this person's life matrix, but when I see him, I have a feeling that I've known him for several lifetimes… Besides this, his life matrix is also entangled with Seven Moons Sect, and with one thought, he could bring it to prosper or flourish…
"I can't make a decision. Great Sect Elder Dao Han also had signs of death… Master, please forgive me for waking you up beforehand…" Lan Lan said softly.
Once she finished speaking, she gritted her teeth. She lifted her right hand and drew it across her left arm. Blood immediately gushed out, but it did not land on the coffin. Instead, it gathered at the tip of her finger. The blood there slowly stopped being red and turned golden!
When it fell from her finger, it landed on the ice in the coffin. The drop of golden blood swiftly fused into the ice, turning it golden right before her eyes!
At the same time, the entire mountain trembled with a bang and swayed. It did so at such an intense manner that cracks began appearing on the ice in the coffin. Cracking sounds rang out, and the cracks merged together to form a huge runic symbol.
In just the span of a few breaths, the runic symbol shone with a piercing golden light, causing the ice to begin melting. As it did so, white smoke spread out, and in the blink of an eye, it enveloped the coffin.
Lan Lan took a few steps back and knelt on one knee on the ground.
More white smoke appeared as the cracking sounds grew louder. After the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, all the ice melted. The white smoke spread out swiftly. It filled the area, covering the summit in what might look like clouds and fog from a distance.
When all the ice was gone, the drop of golden blood landed at the center of the body's forehead. In the blink of an eye, it fused into the man's skin, and endless golden light spread out from the body. It formed a wave of life force that instantly spread out through the veins, flesh, and blood in the body.
Wherever it went, the withered veins, the shriveled flesh, and the rotten blood felt seemed to be activated. When the golden light fused into the body's already withered heart, it visible turned red… and started beating!
"Who… woke me up?!"
An old and ancient voice that seemed to have come from the past spread out at that instant. Once it appeared, all the lives on the third continent shuddered and knelt down in worship.
"I, Lan Lan, greet my Master." Lan Lan said softly while kneeling.
"Lan… Lan…"
The voice made it seem as if the owner did not contain too much thought. When his murmurs echoed in the air, a withered arm was suddenly lifted out of the coffin. At the same time, the body in the coffin opened his eyes to reveal a pair of black eyes. The darkness in them covered the color of his pupils. The man slowly sat up in his coffin.
His body was skinny and withered. He looked like a corpse that had been dried in the wind for an unknown number of years, but at the instant he sat up, the presence spreading out from his body caused the world to be still, the air to tremble, and all sentient beings to lower their heads. It was a power that could make all lives tremble.
It stood above all cultivators, and it was… a presence that surpassed those in Dao Immortal Realm and was just one step away from belonging to Great Dao Paragons… It was the powerful presence of those in the seventh level of Dao Realm!
That presence was very weak, but even if it was weak, it was enough to destroy the universe!
"Lan… Lan… my disciple, you should not have made me wake up. The time has not come for me to wake up just yet. One will be in charge, and the other twelve will be asleep. This is an ancient tradition and also a rule we must adhere to. Only by doing so can we continue living, and only by doing so can we continue becoming stronger…
"And you… should have not made me wake up beforehand. This era is the era of Great Sect Elder Dao Han. This is the era in which he is in charge of Seven Moons Sect. During an era… there can not be two great sect elders existing at the same time!
"And you… went against the great law of the sect. You made me wake up three hundred aeons beforehand…"
The withered body sat in the coffin while speaking with anger evident in his voice. It echoed in the world and the heavens, causing the rumbling sounds from the third continent to shake the sky.
Violent gusts of wind howled. When the body spoke, a huge face appeared in front of Lan Lan. It roared as if it wanted to devour her.
"A person with a life matrix rarely seen in Ancient Zang has appeared, and your disciple…" Lan Lan gritted her teeth. Just as she was about to continue speaking, the huge illusory face contorted to turn into a huge hand that pressed down at the top of her skull.
Lan Lan did not dodge. Instead, she closed her eyes and simply allowed the palm to fall on her. At the instant it touched the top of her skull, the palm stopped moving. Waves of her memories were instantly sensed by the man.
After a moment, the palm disappeared. At the same time, the man in the coffin slowly stood up. When he did so, the fog in the area immediately tumbled backwards. It charged towards him and fused into his body, so flesh and blood grew on him until he was no longer a withered husk of a human.
When a shine showed up on his skin, the clouds and fog turned into a simple and unsophisticated sky blue Daoist Robe, and it was draped on a… middle-aged man who had an enchantingly beautiful face and who looked like a woman!
"Bring that person called Wang Tao over… You did well in this matter. You should have made me wake up earlier, my child."
The middle-aged man walked out of the coffin. When he looked at Lan Lan, there was a gentle look on his face, as well as a kind and loving expression.
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Chapter 1388: Life Sage's Chance
While meditating in the Rune with the five-colored pearl in Seven Moons Sect, Su Ming opened his eyes slightly. He sensed the fluctuations of aura from the pearl.
The aura belonged to that woman. Once a few breaths passed, Lan Lan's face gradually appeared on the surface of the pearl.
"Don't worry, my Master… wants to see you."As Lan Lan spoke, a drop of liquid showed up on the huge pearl. It slowly drifted to Su Ming.
Su Ming's expression remained the same. He mulled over it for a while, then swiftly brought up his right hand to tap the liquid. Immediately, the liquid covered his right hand, and in the blink of an eye, his whole body. It turned into a suction force that pulled him into the pearl.
At the same time, Lan Lan's face disappeared.
Su Ming manifested in the air above the thirteen lands in the world inside the pearl. When he swept his gaze across the area, he narrowed his eyes in a barely noticeable manner, then looked at the third continent under him.
His gaze shot through clouds and fog, and he saw a middle-aged man dressed in a simple, unsophisticated sky-blue Daoist Robe standing at the tallest mountain on the third land. Lan Lan stood right beside him.
The moment Su Ming saw the man clearly, his pupils shrank in an unnoticeable manner. The feeling that person gave him was incredibly shocking. When he stood there, the entire world seemed to have to lower its head. That person's appearance seemed to be able to make the sky instantly darken, for only he could stand above the heavens.
Even when he stood on flatland, he could still make the flatland stand above all mountains!
When Su Ming's gaze landed on the middle-aged man in the distance, the middle-aged man in the simple sky-blue Daoist Robe also cast his gaze on Su Ming.
At the instant he saw Su Ming clearly, a sparkle appeared in his eyes, and his lips curled up into a profound smile.
"Come." When he spoke faintly, his voice spread through the air and reached Su Ming's ears. A vortex appeared in front of Su Ming. Within the vortex was the mountain with the middle-aged man.
Su Ming was quiet for a moment, then he stepped into the vortex. When he reappeared, he was already standing at the top of the mountain, right in front of the middle-aged man.
"A Life of being able to bring prosperity and decline with a single thought. Interesting. Very interesting…"
The middle-aged man scrutinized Su Ming. When a smile appeared on his face, it seemed to contain some sort of epiphany. He shook his head, and a blue plate instantly charged towards Su Ming.
"Fine then, I will take in one more disciple…"
When the middle-aged man spoke, his expression suddenly changed. He looked at the sky, and blood capillaries immediately appeared in his eyes.
Hesitation showed up on his face, but it instantly turned into determination.
"I will take you in as my successor disciple. In regards to your practice… Lan Lan, you are fully in charge of it. Wang Tao… is not your junior brother, but your senior brother. I will allow you to use all the rules in the sect to make your Senior Brother Wang Tao become the strongest of my line!"
The middle-aged man in the simple sky-blue Daoist robe did not speak slowly. Instead, his words tumbled out of his lips one after another. When Lan Lan heard him, her eyes went wide, and surprise showed up in them.
She originally thought that her Master would take Su Ming in as a disciple in name, so she was shocked when she heard that he would take him in as a successor disciple, and Su Ming was even… her senior brother in her Master's line. This did not fit with Lan Lan's judgment, but it allowed her to understand that her Master valued Wang Tao even more than she had expected.
"Go! Fa Wang, send them away immediately!"
The expression of the middle-aged man in the simple, sky-blue Daoist robe changed again. When he spoke, his voice was low, and he lifted his right hand to swing his arm. Immediately, a violent gust of wind roared, and a giant covered head to toe in fur appeared behind the mountain. He jumped up, grabbed Su Ming and Lan Lan, and charged into the sky.
At the moment the fur-covered giant stepped into the sky, he shot through the air and disappeared. Before that though, a glint shone in Su Ming's eyes. When he lowered his head to look, he saw blood trickle out of the corners of the middle-aged man's mouth.
When Su Ming was brought out of the world by the fur-covered giant, the middle-aged man dressed in the sky-blue Daoist robe on the mountain suddenly coughed up blood.
His body instantly became older. Signs of withering also showed up on him, causing him to take a few consecutive steps backwards. When he lifted his head, a ferocious look appeared on his face, and he threw his head back and laughed.
"The Life of a person who seizes the kismet of the world and who stands above all existences. He is the Third Prince of Ancient Zang, but also… not! No matter what, he has a noble fate, and it is not to be spoken. If I become his Master, then I will have hope to become a Great Dao Paragon. In fact… it will no longer be a dream to become a Dao Divinity!
"But… his kismet is so strong that even with my level of cultivation, I can't withstand the backlash from his life matrix for becoming his Master…"
He had already become an old man. When he laughed at the sky, he coughed up blood again, then moved back once more. His face turned incredibly pale, and he looked as if his life was about to end.
"To bring about prosperity and decline with one thought. Perhaps Seven Moons Sect… is about to flourish soon! My eleven fellow Daoists, you don't need to sleep anymore. Wake up…" The man, now an elderly, brought his right hand up at that moment, then pushed down swiftly at the mountain under his feet.
With it, the mountain immediately rumbled. Even the entire land began to shake violently. It affected the oceans as well as the other lands in the area, making all of them tremble, except the thirteenth land at the borders of the world.
When the eleven lands began to shake, eleven old presences erupted from their continents.
"This is the chance to become the Life Sage, the chance to become the Emperor's Educator. This chance… is the final chance for the twelve of us!" As the old man's voice echoed in the air, the eleven presences swiftly erupted!
They turned into eleven long arcs that charged towards the mountain where the old man was and swiftly descended, turning into eleven men and women who were rapidly changing from their withered states.
They did not say a single word. Once they came, they sat down cross-legged and surrounded the old man in the sky-blue Daoist robe to quickly form… a Rune.
It immediately shone with a powerful white light, which spread through the area and covered the entire world. It began to look like a white void…
At the same time, within Seven Moons Sect, Su Ming and Lan Lan manifested outside the pearl in the Rune. Lan Lan observed Su Ming closely before she spoke softly.
"Senior brother, you have indeed gained a serendipity. Since Master has taken you in as his successor disciple, it is only logical that you belong to Master's line and come under his tutelage."
When Lan Lan spoke, she brought her right hand up, and a blue plate appeared in her hand. Drawn on it was a picture of mountains. Once she touched it, her body disappeared into the plate, and even the plate vanished without a trace after flashing once.
Su Ming was absorbed in his thoughts. When he turned his head around, he cast a glance at the pearl that was no longer shining with the five-colored light. In silence, he brought out his own blue plate. Once he cast a glance at it, he patted it.
His body, too, immediately disappeared from Seven Moons Sect.
When he reappeared, he was on a tall mountain. It was so tall that it shot into the clouds. It looked exactly the same as the one in the third continent, where the middle-aged man was.
It would have been the same if not for quite a few exquisite towers on the mountain… There were many cultivators in them, and when Su Ming looked over, he could see snow on the summit in the distance, where a huge palace stood.
He stared at the palace for a long time before shifting his gaze away and looking at the foot of the mountain. Seven Moons Sect was there, but when he looked over, he felt as if there was a layer of fog covering it. It was like Seven Moons Sect had become slightly blurry in his eyes. Though more accurately speaking, they were overlapping shadows. It was the feeling as if all the buildings in the sect had overlapped with each other.
Seven Moons Sect was a basin surrounded by mountains, and Su Ming was on one of those mountains.
Lan Lan appeared beside him. She stared at Seven Moons Sect at the foot of the mountain and said calmly, "Seven Moons Sect has a total of seven layers of Sky Beyond the Sky. The first layer is the world of the outer sect, where you previously were. That includes the field of the inner sect and everything that you saw. All of them are in the first layer.
"The world where Master is located is the seventh layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. As for the sixth layer, only the great sect elder who is in charge of the affairs in the sect can reside there. It can be considered a supreme treasure.
"We are currently staying in the fifth layer. This is the place where only the successor disciples off all the Great Sect Elders have the right to live and train.
"The fourth layer is where the disciples of the sect live, though their accommodation is made based on their status. My disciples live in the fourth layer, and it's the same for the disciples of other sect elders.
"The third and second layers are allocated to the inner sect disciples based on their levels of cultivation, and besides the outer sect, the first layer is also what we show of Seven Moons Sect to the outside world.
"Seven Moons Sect practices the Seven Lives Art. Once we complete the seven lives and sit at the seventh layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, we can manifest seven figures in the world outside… When we reach the peak of this cultivation method and complete the first level of Dao Divinity Realm, we can make our Dao Divinities overlap with our bodies and form seven Dao Divinities!
"The plate Master gave you has the cultivation method of Seven Moons Sect given only to successor disciples. Senior brother, you can go on ahead and ponder over it to gain an epiphany. Your level of cultivation is still low, so if you have something you don't understand, you can come to me. Before you each Avacaniya Realm, I will be the one in charge… of Master's line in the sect."
Lan Lan cast a deep look at Su Ming, then bent her head and her knees slightly to bow to him. Then, she turned around, stepped into the air, and went to the palace covered by the snow at the summit.
"Senior brother, if any of the spots in the mountain catch your fancy, please feel free to turn it into your abode for cultivation purposes." Only her faint voice still echoed in the snow and reached Su Ming's ears.
Su Ming's expression was calm. He stared at the indistinct and overlapping Seven Moons Sect at the foot of the mountain. After a long while, a glint appeared in his eyes.
'This so-called Master should have discovered something, but this suits my tastes and will help to check the truth. I need to… watch how other people do things. By doing so, I can indirectly verify my own assumptions.'
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Chapter 1389: Seven Lives Art
When Su Ming looked at the Seven Moons Sect at the foot of the mountain, one sect and one clan of the seven sects and twelve clans in Ancient Zang started shuddering and rumbling in an unseen manner.
It was One Dao Sect and Asura Clan!
Legends had it that One Dao Sect was the oldest sect in all of Ancient Zang, with only the royal family claiming a longer heritage. It had a long history, and it was difficult for the other sects to compare with it. There was also very few people who could find it..
An ancient temple stood in the land, and in the temple there were three statues. They had calm expressions and had been placed in the temple an unknown number of years ago.
There were plenty of cracks on them, and they criss-crossed each other to form a picture. Anyone who saw it would find themselves thinking that there was a world contained in the picture formed by the cracks.
One Dao Sect existed in the world formed by the picture made by the intersecting cracks on the three statues!
In fact, more accurately speaking, One Dao Sect was a sect that existed in all cracks in the world. As long as there were places in the world that had cracked, One Dao Sect would exist there.
Its mysteriousness and strangeness made others wary of it…
At that moment, the twelve Great Sect Elders in Seven Moons Sect had woken up. At the instant they set up the Rune, all the regions in Ancient Zang that had cracks in it… let out cracking sounds, and the cracks spread out.
It was especially so for one particular mountain. From a distance, it appeared to be dark red. There were countless cracks on it, but it had not shattered nor broken down. There was a fire lake in the mountain, and its heat was astonishing. It gave off the feeling that if anyone fell into it, they would instantly be burned to a crisp.
There was a huge rock in the fire lake, and that rock was also covered in cracks. Sitting on it was a half-naked man, who was also covered in cracks. Not a single inch of his skin was undamaged. His hair was crimson red, and it was the same shade as the fire lake.
At that moment, his eyes flew open to reveal his pupils. They were also filled with cracks, and at first glance… they seemed to be blood capillaries.
"My brother… have you also joined a sect? Judging by the fluctuations, it should have come from Seven Moons Sect!" The man grinned, and killing intent showed up in his eyes.
"I wonder if you've already woken up, or are you still in a daze… If you've woken up, then I wonder how will it feel to be the only one awake while all the people in the world are drunk? If you are still in a daze, then I wonder how it will feel for you to be the only one in a daze while all the other people in the world are awake?
"No matter what, it should be good. It is just like I said before… the battle between us has just started."
The man laughed loudly. As he did, the red hair that covered about half of his face flew up to reveal his crack-filled face.
If Su Ming was there, he would definitely be able to recognize him at first glance. That person… was like Lei Chen, but he resembled… the younger version of Old Man Extermination even more so!
In the westernmost area of Ancient Zang was a desert. Erected in it was a huge stone monument. There were no words on the stone monument, but if anyone with extraordinary power came over and saw it, their hearts would definitely roar as if they had seen a sea of blood and countless ferocious beasts.
The stone monument was a clan. It was known as Asura Clan, and it led to the place where Asura World was located!
Asura World was a created world, and the strongest sect in it was known as Asura!
At that moment, there was a ferocious beast that was one hundred thousand feet in the dark world. It had the form of a human, but there were three spiral-like horns on its head. It sat cross-legged on the ground, and around it was mud and skeletons…
The young man in a white robe was sitting on top of a huge beast's head. His expression was calm, and when his black hair fluttered in the wind, he opened his eyes slightly to reveal an aggressive glare.
It could be vaguely seen that there was a figure in his right eye, and it was a man dressed in an Emperor's robe!
"Three thousand years of trials, I wonder if… you will be different compared to that brother of mine who chose to be foolish for the remainder of his life for friendship…
"If you are as foolish as ever, then perhaps… before three thousand years are up, you will already have been eliminated."
The young man smiled faintly, but the figure dressed in the Emperor's robe in his right eye had a mocking look.
The young man's smile froze at that moment.
"You are me. You are the one I sent in the past to throw the soul Xuan sent for refinement, but now that you returned, you refuse to merge with me!" The young man's voice was cold, and when he spoke languidly, he sounded as if he was talking to himself.
"How laughable. I am Di Tian, a life born during the 967th aeon in Harmonious Morus Alba. What connection do I have with you? It's hilarious that you don't even know about it!"
The person in the young man's right eye was Di Tian, and the mockery in his sneer was very prominent.
"The age of Harmonious Morus Albas has been gone for countless aeons. They were devoured by us, the Xuannese. Your memories are in reality, fake. I added them in you to disrupt his trial.
"You still don't understand what is real or fake!" The young man brought his right hand up swiftly and tapped his right eye.
"I, Di Tian, know what is real. The world in which I lived was real, and the world in which you live is just a lie. This is a world created when Su Ming Possessed Xuan Zang. This is… a Possession against you!"
Di Tian laughed loudly. Resolve showed up in his eyes when he saw the finger draw close to him, but pain immediately appeared on his face, as if he had just been sealed.
"Su Ming, if you can wake up, then you will be the black-robed man sitting on the Feng Shui compass. If you lose yourself and believe in this world, then you… will no longer be you!"
Di Tian's voice slowly became weaker. When the young man pulled his finger back, Di Tian's figure was no longer around, but had instead been sealed and kept hidden in his body.
"You are already lost. If that's the case… then be refined in my body. Possession… such an absurd concept. This should be my brother's idea… Su Ming, so he believes himself to be Su Ming, hmm?" the young man said calmly, and a cold smile appeared on his lips. He closed his eyes.
Within Seven Moons Sect, Su Ming moved his gaze away from the sect below him. To the right of the mountain was a protruding wall of rock at the mountainside. He chose… one of the houses there that seemed uninhabited.
The house was very simple. It did not have any carved railings or jade steps, no exquisite and beautiful pavilions. It looked as ordinary as a wooden house could. Besides a table and a wooden bed, there was no other furniture in it.
It was clean, tidy, and simple. Su Ming swept his gaze across the area, then brought up his right hand and swung outwards. A layer of seals instantly appeared around the area and enveloped the house. Su Ming sat outside the house, just like how he sat alone under the wooden house beside the River of Forgetfulness.
"Seven Lives Art…"
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He lowered his head and looked at the blue plate in his hand. His gaze landed on the picture of mountains carved on the plate, and he sank into deep thought.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, three months went by. During them, no one came to bother Su Ming while he was outside the wooden house, but most of the cultivators on the mountain had come to know of his existence. The people living on the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky were not disciples, but cultivators who did not belong to any faction.
The cultivators who had a status like Lan Lan could be considered part of Seven Moons Sect, but also not part of Seven Moons Part. Su Ming had already noticed that besides Lan Lan, there was another woman in the mountain. She was also the disciple of the middle-aged man in the sky-blue Daoist robe, but she did not live at the top of the mountain. Instead, she was at the foot.
During the three months, Su Ming sat outside the house and kept staring at the plate in his hand. The Seven Lives Art had stirred up quite a large amount of interest in him. It seemed to be a Great Dao Art that could refine his cultivation base.
Before, Su Ming had reached the first level of Dao Divinity Realm, but he had only had a vague idea about such a method to increase his power. Right then, as he continued researching the plate, he slowly gained a bit of an epiphany.
'Seven Lives Art. It might seem complicated, but in truth, the principles behind it are very simple. Make your own shadow… fade by seven layers and turn them into seven lives… This is different from clones. It's instead an Art that allows you to use your shadow to exchange for life.'
When another month passed, Su Ming's eyes sparkled. Under the setting sun, he lowered his head to look at his shadow.
After thinking for some time, he lifted his right hand and pointed at his shadow. It immediately twisted and became blurry. Just when Su Ming was about to test the Seven Lives Art that he had come to understand, bell tolls suddenly echoed in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky.
They came from a distance, and when they reverberated through the mountains, they formed countless echoes. At the instant the whole place trembled, the same bell tolls came from the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, and the same happened in the second layer. When the first layer rang with the same bell tolls, Su Ming frowned. He canceled the idea of testing his Art and lifted his head to look into the distance.
Countless runic symbols appeared right above Seven Moons Sect in the distance. They intersected with each other, and when they turned into a circle, they formed a huge Feng Shui compass!
However, it was slightly indistinct. It was not located in the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, but in the fourth layer, which meant it appeared indistinct to Su Ming.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. When he looked at the Feng Shui compass, he saw a long arc charge out from the mountain that practically overlapped with his mountain. That long arc charged to the Feng Shui compass formed by the runic symbols.
It was Ye Long!
Dressed in white, Ye Long rushed towards the huge Feng Shui compass formed by runic symbols. Once he swept his gaze across the area, he sat down on the compass.
Ye Long also appeared indistinct to Su Ming. This was because he existed in a different world. He could not see Su Ming, but Su Ming could see him.
"I, Disciple Ye Long, will challenge Seven Moons Sect's Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky based on my Master's orders!"
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Chapter 1390: Senior Brother, Please Wait
"I will allow it! All members of the sect will watch you. If you cannot live through the third formation… then you will die."
Right after Ye Long made his declaration, a low voice echoed through the five layers of Seven Moons Sect's Sky Beyond the Sky.
That voice belonged to Dao Han, the red-robed man.
With a calm expression, Su Ming cast a glance at the Feng Shui compass formed by the countless runic symbols. At that moment, the Feng Shui compass began to spin and completed the first formation.
Ye Long, who was sitting and meditating on it, suddenly jolted. Resolve showed up in his eyes. Once he shut his closed them, he stayed still on the Feng Shui compass.
Su Ming cast a glance at him before moving his gaze away, back to the blue plate in his hand. He no longer paid any attention to Ye Long, but started pondering over the Seven Lives Art.
Unlike him, quite a number of cultivators of Seven Moons Sect watched Ye Long challenge the Rune from different layers of Sky Beyond the Sky. When an hour passed, the Feng Shui compass formed by the runic symbols let out loud rumbling sounds. It spun again, and the complexity of its rotations dazzled those who saw it.
"Second formation!" The red-robed man's voice echoed flatly in the air at that moment, causing more Seven Moons Sect disciples to focus their attention on Ye Long.
As if Su Ming did not hear him, he continued being immersed in contemplating the Seven Lives Art. When four hours passed, Ye Long trembled while on the Feng Shui compass. Veins popped up on his face. He gritted his teeth and let out a low growl, and the Feng Shui compass immediately began rotating again. Runic symbols filled up the area, and when their light reached spread everywhere, the red-robed man's voice appeared again.
"Third formation."
When his words echoed in the air, another Feng Shui compass appeared above Ye Long. When both Feng Shui compasses rotated at the same time, blood trickled out of the corners of Ye Long's lips, but he continued to persevere.
When nearly eight hours had passed and the rising sun of the morning cast its rays on the land, Ye Long let out an astonishing cry. The Feng Shui compass above him disappeared. As his body shuddered, he stood up slowly. Upon seeing it, the cultivators of Seven Moons Sect began to speak among themselves at a volume that even Su Ming could hear them.
"I, Ye Long, have not let down my Master's teachings. I have successfully resisted three formations!" Ye Long sucked in a deep breath. He wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply towards a mountain in the distance.
When he stood up, he swept his gaze past the mountains in the area and suddenly spoke once again.
"Wang Tao, I've already cleared three formations. Will you… dare challenge this Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune just like I did?!"
When Ye Long's words echoed in the air, the inner sect disciples of Seven Moons Sect in the fourth layer's Sky Beyond the Sky immediately began speaking to one another. Those in the third, second, and first layers were also doing the same.
There were quite a few people in the fifth layer where Su Ming stayed who began paying attention to the matter as well.
Su Ming's expression was calm. He cast a glance at Ye Long, but did not speak. Instead, he closed his eyes. He had already discovered some methods to practice the Seven Lives Art. After a while, when he opened his eyes, he lifted his right hand and pointed at his shadow. It immediately started contorting, and overlapping images appeared.
Ye Long's voice lingered in the air. After a long while, when he saw that Su Ming did not take any action, he repeated his words, but still, no one came forth in response. In the end, Ye Long turned around, transformed into a long arc, and charged towards the mountain in the distance. Once he left, the Feng Shui compass formed by the runic symbols in the land gradually disintegrated.
Seven Moons Sect became calm again, but Ye Long's name was etched deeply into the minds of the many disciples in the sect.
Time passed, and another year went by in the blink of an eye. During it, Ye Long challenged the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune the second time, and that time, he survived through the fourth formation!
Three years later, he cleared the fifth formation!
Another four years passed, and Ye Long became one of the few people who had cleared the sixth formation. It could be said that during those eight years, Ye Long had become famous in Seven Moons Sect. Practically no disciple did not know about him, and he… was gradually seen as the prodigy with the most potential among the sect members.
Ye Long had only taken eight years to clear the sixth formation, which was far shorter than what everyone else needed.
As for Su Ming, he seemed to have been forgotten. Be it Lan Lan or the red-robed man, they had never appeared in front of him..
Only Ye Long persisted in questioning Su Ming every single time he finished his challenge, asking him whether he dared to challenge the Rune. Because of this, even though Su Ming seemed to have been forgotten, he was still very famous among the disciples in the sect.
But his reputation was mostly negative…
Over the eight years, Su Ming had been mulling over the Seven Lives Art. He tried it a few times, but he was not pleased with the results. Then, on the morning eight years later, when he lifted his right hand and formed a seal, he tapped his own shadow. He bit down on his tongue and coughed up a mouthful of blood, making it fall on his shadow.
His blood instantly melted, making the shadow turn red. Then, as Su Ming slowly pulled his finger back, his shadow twisted and overlapped with the blood… A red figure separated from his shadow!
Two shadows were then under Su Ming!
One was black, and the other red. Facial features slowly appeared on the red figure, and gradually, it appeared the exact same as Su Ming. A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He lifted his left hand and patted the red figure.
The figure immediately vanished.
The moment it disappeared, in the protruding rock wall on the same mountain in the first layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, the air at the same spot as Su Ming… distorted rapidly, and a figure appeared.
That figure was Su Ming!
It was not a clone, and neither was it a Possessed body. Instead, it was a projection formed by Su Ming's Seven Lives Art.
It was Su Ming, and it had an unbreakable connection to Su Ming's real body. At that moment, once it walked out, it lifted its head and looked at the sky. When it smiled faintly, it turned around and walked down the mountain. Su Ming wanted to test the projection and see what was the difference between it and a clone.
He had just taken a few steps forward when he came to understand many things. His eyes sparkled, and his figure fused with the mountain. When he reappeared, he was already at the foot of the mountain.
"This isn't a physical body, but is an entity which is similar to an illusion, which is why it is so difficult to destroy, but it's not a soul… This Seven Lives Art is nothing ordinary," Su Ming mumbled softly.
When he walked to the foot of the mountain, he suddenly came to a stop and looked at a bamboo forest to the right. A woman was sitting and meditating there.
Notes that seemed to have come from a xun drifted in the air. They echoed without anyone noticing them.
When Su Ming looked at the figure behind the bamboo forest, he was aware that the woman was the other disciple of the middle-aged man in the sky-blue Daoist Robe. She was the junior sister under the same Master who he had never met before.
Su Ming did not bother her training. He moved his gaze away and turned around to walk into the distance. He went down the mountain and entered the Seven Moons Sect which the world saw in Ancient Zang.
"Have you heard? Eldest senior brother Ye Long will attempt to challenge the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune during the next few days. The senior brothers from the second layer mentioned this before. They said that they will be able to see the Talisman Rune then."
"I wonder whether Eldest Senior Brother Ye Long will be able to succeed this time…"
"It's not so easy to clear the seventh Rune. It's not been long since you joined the sect, so you don't know about this, but I heard from others that Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune is in truth an ancient Rune the thirteen great sect elders obtained from some place in the past. There's a total of thirty formations in the Rune, and it's said that not even the thirteen great sect elders can clear more than twenty-seven formations!"
While walking through Seven Moons Sect, Su Ming ran into quite a number of disciples along the way. Most of them were discussing Ye Long among themselves.
After all, during the eight years, Ye Long's name had already become famous in Seven Moons Sect. He had already cleared six formations, which was an incredibly shocking speed. He was already feverishly idolized by quite a number of disciples.
His status was also that of the disciple of Dao Han, one of the thirteen great sect elders. He might not be a successor disciple and was just a normal disciple that did not have the right to live in the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, but even so, his status was great enough to be the subject of envy among the cultivators of Seven Moons Sect.
"That's nothing. It's just the sixth Rune. To us, it might be shocking, but there are some among the disciples in the second layer who have cleared the sixth formation, and practically all the senior brothers and senior sisters in the third layer have cleared the sixth formation. It's even more so for the eldest senior brothers and sisters in the fourth layer!"
"You can't compare it this way. How many years did they take to clear the sixth formation? Ye Long only used eight years. Just take a look at who else could do this in just eight years?!"
"Isn't there still Wang Tao around? Heh heh, that person Ye Long challenges every single time… I'd really like to take a look at how that person who was stronger than Ye Long in the past has changed."
"Speaking of this Wang Tao, it's a bit strange, but there's practically no news about him. He joined the inner sect with Ye Long, but Ye Long has already become Great Sect Elder Dao Han's disciple, while Wang Tao seems to have disappeared."
The different discussions continuously reached Su Ming's ears as he walked forward. He naturally did not pay any attention to anyone's words. As he walked forward, he saw many people's shadows. They contorted once he walked past them, as if they had become much weaker, and he… became slightly stronger than when he was in the beginning.
But Su Ming had also come to discover that there was no shadow under his feet.
While walking in a circle, he gained an epiphany. He turned around, about to return to the mountain, when a solicitous voice reached his ears from behind him.
"Senior brother, please wait!"
Once Su Ming heard the speaker, he stopped moving. When he turned around, he cast a glance at the figure who was running swiftly towards him.
It was an old man who was dressed in a normal disciple's robe and had the cheeks of a monkey.
He ran over and cried out with an assiduous look, "Senior brother, please wait. Heh heh, with just one look, I could tell that you are someone outstanding. Clearly, you're not someone who will remain as a normal, average person. In the future, you will surely be successful and stand above all others." The old man was dressed crudely. Once he arrived beside Su Ming, he began chattering nonstop.
"Senior brother, when I saw you, I felt that we were fated. How about this, I have some spirit cores and great medicine which can help you in refining your cultivation base. They will make sure you get to soar in the sky. I usually do not sell this to other people, but it can't be helped, we're fated. Come, take a look." As the old man spoke, he came closer to Su Ming and drew his clothes apart to show a dozen something bottles hanging on the inner part of his robe.
"So? Do you see anything you like? You know Ye Long, right? Let me tell you this, if Ye Long didn't buy my spirit cores and medicine in the past, it would have been impossible for him to clear the sixth formation!"
The old man immediately began introducing the spirit cores and medicine. He brought out bottle after bottle while yammering nonstop.
"I have some medicinal herbs with me as well. Look at this… and at this. Let me tell you, senior brother, I can't sell this to you, Ye Long has already reserved it.
"And this… Ah, I can't sell these to you as well, the great sect elder won't allow me to sell this to you, but if you truly like it, and since we're connected by fate, I'll grit my teeth and sell it to you!"
The old man's spit flew into the air while he spoke. As he continued, he seemed to notice that Su Ming had yet to speak, and he instinctively lifted his head, looking at Su Ming.
It seemed to be the first time he looked at Su Ming's face clearly. When he saw it, he was first stunned, then his expression suddenly changed drastically!
"You-you…"
Shock and disbelief appeared on his face. It looked as if he had just come face to face with the most shocking thing in his life!
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Chapter 1391: This Person is a Scoundrel!
"What about me?" Su Ming smiled faintly. A faint light shone in his eyes, and when he spoke faintly, he took a step forward.
The old man with the cheeks of a monkey turned incredibly pale. He instinctively stepped back and nearly fell down. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, but as a cultivator, he still had some semblance of self-control. When he moved back, he sucked in a deep breath and quickly forced a smile on his lips, but that smile looked even worse than a crying expression.
"It's-it's nothing. I didn't know that you have descended to this place, senior. I was even trying to sell you all those scrapped medicinal pills just now. Please forgive me, senior. I hope that you will not punish me," the old man said quickly. At that moment, he seemed to have calmed down, and he sounded as if he was begging for forgiveness.
"Oh?" Su Ming stared at the old man in front of him with the ghost of a smile on his face. When he took a step forward again, the old man's face changed, and he quickly took a few steps back.
"Did you truly manage to tell that my status of a senior… or do you know me?!"
Su Ming's eyes instantly shone brilliantly. When he took another step forward, the old man let out a shrill cry, but this time, he did not move back. Instead, he knelt in front of Su Ming with a loud thump.
"Senior, please forgive me, please spare my life, I didn't know about you before this. I only just… only just realized that you don't have a shadow under your feet. Only then did I come to understand that you are a senior in the sect who has gained some achievements in terms of practicing the Seven Lives Art," the old man explained while shuddering.
Su Ming frowned and scrutinized the old man before him. The man's face and his words when he peddled his medicinal cores caused Su Ming's memories to surge. He felt as if he had returned to the Wind Stream Tribe and he had just met the old man named Bei Qiong!
Besides his clothes, everything about the old man from his memories matched the person before his eyes. That old man had tried to sell Su Ming some medicinal herbs, and he had even given him a torn storage bag.
Originally, when he had noticed him, Su Ming had not paid him any attention. The old man before him was not the first familiar person he ran into in the rather strange world he inhabited as of right then. Be it Tian Xie Zi, the quite different looking De Shun, or Lan Lan, all of them gave Su Ming a unique feeling.
Because of that, while Su Ming had recognized the old man, he had not shown any signs of it on his face. There were also not many emotions in his heart. He only kept an eye on the matter.
But when the old man had looked at Su Ming for real… he had shown an expression which could not be controlled. This immediately caused Su Ming to show great interest towards him.
After all, Su Ming's appearance was not his original one, but that of Wang Tao. If the old man knew Wang Tao, he would have let it slide, but even if he knew Wang Tao before this, it was impossible for him to be that shocked upon seeing him.
Unless… he had participated in Wang Tao's death, but eight years had passed since that matter had transpired. Even if he had truly participated in Wang Tao's death, with the old man's level of cultivation, he would not have such a lack of self-control and be so shocked by Su Ming that all blood would drain from his face.
There was one more explanation for it, and it was the one that stirred up the greatest amount of Su Ming's interest. It was possible… that the old man truly knew him. Not Wang Tao, but Su Ming himself!
With this guess, Su Ming took a few steps forward, and the mighty pressure that spread out from them were all solely directed at the old man. Under that sort of oppression, he wanted to make the old man break down. It would make it more likely that he would tell the truth.
But Su Ming did not expect that under his oppression, the old man had provided a different kind of explanation. It sounded quite plausible, and when he thought about it carefully, it fitted the situation from before quite well.
Which was why Su Ming furrowed his brow.
The old man knelt down with a thud. When he had spoken before, his voice had not been soft, and the scene had caught the attention of the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the area. Many of them looked over, and there were even some people who were already rushing over.
The matter concerned Su Ming's secret. He did not want to complicate anything, and he could not find any loopholes in the old man's explanation anyway. Su Ming observed the old man once more, but he only found terror on his face. Besides that, he saw no other emotions.
"You can leave now." A barely noticeable glint shone in Su Ming's eyes.
Sweat had broken out on the old man's forehead. Before Su Ming gave him the permission, he did not dare stand up. But when Su Ming spoke and the mighty pressure on him vanished, he quickly stood up, and respect appeared on his face. His expression spoke that he had just escaped death. There was also a hint of regret on his face, as if he was regretting his act of peddling his medicinal cores to Su Ming just then.
All of his expressions fit what he had said earlier. Once he stood up, he quickly wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply to Su Ming.
"Thank you, senior. Thank you so much." After he spoke, he turned around and quickly walked away.
Su Ming looked at the old man's back. When his eyes sparkled in a faint light, he suddenly spoke up. "Bei Qiong."
The old man did not seem to have heard his words. He did not stop for even a moment. When he was about to leave into the distance, Su Ming smiled faintly.
"I still have your storage bag. It once belonged to you, and even if thousands of years have passed, I still have a way of taking your presence from it. You… can't leave."
Su Ming's words reached only the old man's ears. At the instant he heard them, he staggered slightly. Even though he instantly recovered his footing, his expression had already changed. He knew that at the instant he staggered, he had already exposed himself, and just when he hesitated…
"As I thought, it's you!" Su Ming growled.
With it, the old man looked like a startled bird. He instinctively began to run, wanting to quickly flee, but Su Ming did not rush after him. When he saw the old man fleeing hastily, a cold sneer appeared on his lips.
Su Ming took a step forward, but right then, several figures swiftly appeared from the towers before the old man. No one could fly in the sect, so they could only walk briskly. The person in the lead was a black-robed old man, and there were eight cultivators following behind him.
"How preposterous! Who would dare to insult my disciple!"
The black-robed old man laughed coldly. With a swing of his arm, he charged towards the land. Clearly, someone had told him about Bei Qiong kneeling down before someone. When he approached, Bei Qiong quickly cried out for help.
"Master, please save me! Please save me! This person… This scoundrel wants to snatch my medicinal cores!"
The old man did not react to the plea, but the people following behind him had strange expressions.
Everyone in the first layer of Seven Moons Sect knew of Bei Qiong's personality. If there was truly a scoundrel around, then Bei Qiong was the most deserving of that title.
"I'd like to see just which disciple has the guts to commit such acts of violence in the sect! This is an offense against the laws of the sect, and you must be chased out of the sect!"
While the old man spoke with a cold sneer, he walked out of a jade pavement beside a tower in the sect, then looked at Su Ming.
After that first glance, his expression changed drastically. He sucked in a sharp breath and took a few staggering steps backwards. Even the people behind him had stunned expressions on their faces. They did not know Su Ming. Their stunned expressions were due to the black-robed old man's change in expression and his instinctive reaction.
The old man groaned in his heart. Before, he had been striding forward from the jade pavement between the towers, which was why he did not see Su Ming. He had only thought that Su Ming was just a conceited disciple who did not know how things worked and had decided to bully his disciple.
Yet when he walked out while burning with rage and saw Su Ming, his heart let out a heavy thump. Other people might not recognize Su Ming, but there was no way he would forget him.
The old man was naturally Old Chen who had guided Wang Tao in the past, the boy Su Ming Possessed!
Since Su Ming stepped into the inner sect, the old man had harbored a grudge for the first few years, and his heart had been filled with uneasiness and anxiety. He was afraid that Su Ming would return to cause him trouble. Even though there was a huge difference between their levels of cultivation, Su Ming had become an inner sect disciple, so was different. There were plenty of methods for Su Ming to make the old man's life miserable…
But quite a few years had passed since then. When he saw that nothing happened to him, his old arrogance returned. It was especially so as of right then, after eight years had passed. Due to Su Ming forgetting the matter, the old man had also almost completely forgotten about it.
But it had never stopped being a thorn in his side. It constantly caused him to feel anxious, and it was especially so when he heard that Su Ming seemed to have come under the tutelage of some sect elder when he went around asking for information. It had even left him to be terrified for some time.
However, there had been no news about Su Ming for eight years, and gradually, he buried his fears at the bottom of his heart.
When he saw Su Ming again, everything that transpired eight years ago instantly appeared in his head, and his raging heart filled with nervousness. He might not be afraid of Su Ming based on his level of cultivation, but he held incredible respect for the sect elder behind Su Ming. With a sect elder that he could not figure out no matter how he asked about, the old man had grown extremely nervous.
When Su Ming's gaze landed on Old Chen, he spoke flatly. "You're the one who wants to chase me out of the sect?"
Old Chen's expression changed. Before he could speak, a middle-aged man from the eight people beside him laughed coldly. He pointed at Su Ming and shouted.
"How dare you not kneel down and greet Attendant Chen when you see him? Whose disciple are you? Call the attendant in charge of you. We have to settle this matter, or else—"
That man was clearly used to being arrogant. His expression was ferocious, but before he could finish speaking, Old Chen turned back to slap him, pushing the man one hundred something feet backwards.
"Damn it, how dare you?! Is it your place to speak?!" the old man shouted in exasperation. When he looked at Su Ming, he quickly forced a smile on his face, then wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to him.
"So it's Brother Wang. Haha, it's been eight years since we last met, and your elegance is greater than before. Haha, I didn't manage to recognize at first. I hope you do not mind."
As Old Chen spoke, he bowed again with his fist in his palm.
This action and his words immediately stunned the people in the area. They all looked at Su Ming simultaneously. After all, Old Chen was incredibly domineering in the outer sect. It was especially so after Wang Tao was chosen to join the inner sect.
The old man had been promoted to chief attendant based on the rules of the sect. After that, there was rarely anyone who dared to provoke him in the outer sect.
Yet right then… he was acting as if everything was not like that, and all the disciples in the area began making assumptions towards Su Ming's identity.
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Chapter 1392: Sect Rules
"You-you're Wang Tao!"
At that moment, while the outer sect disciples in the area were still wondering about Su Ming's identity, someone remembered his appearance and recalled the legendary blood moon!
All the disciples in the area were surprised upon hearing his words. They looked at Su Ming with scrutinizing gazes. To them, Wang Tao was a name they knew by heart due to its fame.
No news about Wang Tao had appeared since the Seven Moons disaster, but after he had been accepted into the inner sect, Ye Long, every single time he challenged the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune, would try to make him challenge the Rune as well. Because of that, despite Wang Tao seeming being forgotten by the people in Seven Moons Sect, his name… had never left the people's minds for a long time.
"Wang Tao… is him?!"
"I remember now! Chief Attendant Chen was promoted because Wang Tao was among the people he guided!"
While the crowd burst into commotion, Su Ming looked as calm as ever. He cast a glance at Old Chen, who looked nervous, but how hid hatred in his eyes.
"I want this person!" Su Ming lifted his right hand and pointed at Bei Qiong.
Bei Qiong's expression changed. He instinctively took a few steps back, and terror appeared on his face.
Old Chen was silent. After some time, determination showed up on his face, and when he looked at Su Ming, he spoke with a smile.
"It's been many years since we met, and of course there's nothing wrong with such a trivial matter, but… Bei Qiong is my disciple. This is… Brother Wang, you're forcefully demanding him from me, and it is against the rules of the sect."
While speaking, Old Chen brought out a jade slip in secret with his right hand. He squeezed it slightly, and a smile blossomed on his face. He had already made his decision in his heart.
'Wang Tao, oh Wang Tao, they said you came under the tutelage of a sect elder, but it does matter whether this is real or not. Even if it is real, you still have to obey the sect rules. You've already committed an offense against the sect by trying to forcefully obtain an outer sect disciple!'
Old Chen laughed coldly in his heart. At that moment, he quelled the nervousness he previously felt and even let murderous intent grow in his heart.
However, he wanted to kill Wang Tao openly and in an upright manner. He wanted to use sect rules to punish him. If he did it like that, then even if a sect elder tried to interfere, he would stand at the side of the sect rules, and his act of trying to kill Su Ming would not be connected to him.
Su Ming's expression remained the same. He no longer looked at Old Chen. When he took a step forward, he walked towards Bei Qiong, whose expression changed. He was just about to move backwards, but he was grabbed by Old Chen and pushed forward, straight into Su Ming's direction.
"Don't be afraid. If you don't want to, no one can force you. He's not a sect elder just yet, and neither is he an attendant. He has no right to take you away! If he tries to forcefully take you away from my hands, he would break the sect rules!" Old Chen enunciated every single word while staring at Su Ming.
"But… But he…"
Just as Bei Qiong was about to leave, Su Ming approached him. He smiled faintly, then brought his right hand up and swung his arm, successfully grabbing Bei Qiong's arm. He then made to leave.
"Wang Tao, how dare you?! Do you truly dare to break sect rules? I might have been connected to you in the past, but I can't just ignore you breaking sect rules like this!"
Old Chen's eyes brightened, and he immediately took a few steps forward while shouting loudly.
"Sect Rule 37: Within Seven Moons Sect, besides the sect elders and attendants, no one can interfere with the outer sect disciples' training nor force them to do anything. This is a form of protection for the outer sect disciples, because outer sect disciples are the foundation that ensure Seven Moons Sects' increasing strength!
"Wang Tao, if you don't stop now, I will report this to the sect, and I will have them punish you! I've already recorded everything that you've done!"
Old Chen took a few steps forward again, and his power spread out from his body with a bang. When he lifted his right hand, he revealed the jade slip on his palm!
Su Ming cast a cold glance at Old Chen, but did not say anything. He grabbed the wailing Bei Qiong and turned into a long arc to leave.
"Master, save me! Master, this scoundrel… He-he has no shadow! He's a person in the sect who has gained some achievements in practicing the Seven Lives Art!"
With a terror on his face, Bei Qiong screamed in a shrill voice. Upon hearing his words, the disciples in the area immediately looked at Su Ming.
When Old Chen looked over as well, his pupils shrank. He was stunned.
"So what if he gained some achievements in practicing the Seven Lives Art? Does it mean that he can break sect rules?! And… Wang Tao, you've broken another sect rule. Besides the sect elders, no one in Seven Moons Sect is allowed to fly! Even us attendants can only fly for short periods of time if we have to settle something urgent!"
Old Chen kept his focus on the sect rules. As he spoke, he leapt up and charged towards Su Ming. At the instant he flew up, dozens of long arcs appeared in the sky.
All of them were outer sect attendants. They had already received the news and were charging over. The person in the lead was the white-robed scholar Su Ming had met in the past. He was the chief attendant, and because of Ye Long, he had become the master of the outer sect. When he arrived, his expression was awe-inspiring.
"Stop!"
His voice rumbled like thunder. In an instant, it echoed in every direction. With one glance, he saw Su Ming and Bei Qiong, who was in Su Ming's hand.
"Sect master, this person has broken a number of sect rules in succession. He first came out to capture an outer sect disciple without any reason, then he flew without authorization even though he isn't an attendant or a sect elder. I couldn't manage to talk him out of it, so sect master, please make a final decision in regards to this matter! This is the proof."
Once Old Chen saw the white-robed scholar, he started laughing coldly in his heart, thinking that he would finally teach Wang Tao a lesson so that he would know that he was not to be easily provoked.
As he spoke, he threw the jade slip to the white-robed scholar. Once the scholar caught it in his hand, he frowned and looked at Su Ming.
Su Ming was in midair, not feeling in a hurry to leave. Instead, he stood calmly and stared at Old Chen, who had left his previous nervousness behind and replaced it with arrogance.
The white-robed scholar frowned and cast a glance at the ground underneath. Quite a large number of disciples were in the area, watching the event unfold.
The white-robed scholar quite disliked what Old Chen had done. While they had to obey the sect rules, there were certain times when they did not need to pay much attention to them.
One of such was the appearance of an inner sect disciple wanting to capture an outer sect disciple. As long as it was not too overboard, they would usually not pay too much attention to such an event. After all, those in the inner sect had a much higher status, and it happened frequently that they required a furnace or an outer sect disciple to become their servant. There were far too many times such a thing happened for them to manage all of them.
However, right then, Old Chen had sunk his claws into the matter and refused to let go, which made it hard for the middle-aged scholar to handle the matter. If he used sect rules to attack Su Ming, he would naturally offend the sect elder behind him.
The middle-aged scholar also recognized Su Ming as the disciple who had appeared with Ye Long in the past. He had his own channels and learned of things that other people did not know about Su Ming. He had heard that the youth had gone under the tutelage of Sect Elder Lan.
"Junior Brother Wang, how about we settle things like this: Please let me have that outer sect disciple first, and I will handle matters. What do you say? As for the other things, it's been many years since you've returned to this place, and it was just a moment of impulse. We can talk things out," the middle-aged scholar said while smiling faintly.
A glint appeared in Old Chen's eyes, and he let out a cold harrumph.
"Sect master, that won't do. Since Wang Tao broke the sect rules, you must punish him, or else other people will learn from him. What will we do then? Right now, right before all the disciples below, please serve justice!"
Since Old Chen had already offended Su Ming and had evidence of his wrongdoing, he would naturally not let him off easily. As long as he had evidence, he would be much safer in the future. At the very least, he could defend himself if Su Ming wanted to target him.
Su Ming smiled faintly in midair, his expression never changing. At that moment, he spoke flatly. "Oh? And I wonder what sort of sect rules have I broken?"
"Do you still need me to repeat myself? First, you broke the rule of flight. Second, you captured an outer sect disciple, you—"
Old Chen was smiling coldly during his speech, but before he could finish, his expression changed in a drastic manner, and an incredulous look showed up in his eyes. In fact, even the expressions of the white-robed scholar and the other attendants changed.
As for the disciples in the area, all of them were still in a daze, even though they also saw… Su Ming flick his left wrist and reveal a blue plate in his hand!
They did not know what that plate was, but Old Chen, the white-robed scholar, and the dozens of outer sect attendants knew clearly what it symbolized!
That plate… could be said to be a supreme treasure in Seven Moons Sect, and only sect elders could be in possession of them. Once they had them, their statuses could be said to have reached the peak of Seven Moons Sect!
The only ones above them were the great sect elders in charge and the twelve sleeping great sect elders. Besides them, there was no one else in the sect whose status surpassed those with the blue plates. At most… they were of equal status.
Before the people with the blue plates, sect rules and sect laws were all just a joke! If they wanted to fly, they flew. Forget capturing an outer sect disciple, even if Su Ming wanted to kill them or chase them out of the sect, he only needed to say a word.
"I, Xu Yi, sect master of the outer sect, greet Sect Elder Wang."
When the white-robed scholar's expression changed, he wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply to Su Ming.
"We greet Sect Elder Wang!" The dozens of attendants behind the white-robed scholar bowed together with nervousness and respect on their faces.
As for the outer sect disciples in the area, they had dazed expressions while quickly kneeling down.
"Greetings, Sect Elder Wang!"
Even the people next to Old Chen swiftly bowed to Su Ming with nervousness on their faces.
Old Chen's face went pale while full of disbelief. He had not expected that Su Ming… would be a sect elder!
It was something he would have never guessed. To him, Su Ming would be just a disciple of a sect elder at best His mind jolted, and he quickly lowered his head. Nervousness and terror instantly returned to his heart, and he bowed deeply to Su Ming with his fist in his palm.
"Greetings… Sect Elder Wang."
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Chapter 1393: You Are Su Ming!
"I lack a servant," Su Ming said flatly while standing in the air. He cast a glance at Bei Qiong, who was in his right hand. By then, Bei Qiong's face had already become pale. When Su Ming looked over, he looked full of despair and was begging for mercy.
"Sect Elder Wang, if you value this person, then it is his serendipity. We had some misunderstandings between us just now, so I hope that you will not mind."
The white-robed scholar stood up and spoke respectfully to Su Ming. He did not suspect Su Ming's identity. THey were within Seven Moons Sect, so no one would dare to pretend to be the sect elder.
And Su Ming was still a member of Seven Moons Sect. If he pretended to be a sect elder, he would be exposed in a moment. Ripples had spread out of the plate once it appeared, but up till then, no sect elder had come forth, which was a very telling sign of what was going on.
"Sect Elder Wang, I hope you will be magnanimous enough to forgive me. I had been careless previously. If this disciple is fortunate enough to become your servant, then it is his serendipity," Old Chen quickly said while forcing a smile on his face.
There was terror in his eyes; fear had been instilled deep in his heart towards Su Ming. It was not due to him being intimidated by his level of cultivation, but his status in the sect. It destroyed any desire Old Chen had to provoke him. In fact, the regret he felt at that moment had already caused his heart to tremble.
Su Ming shook his head. When the hearts of the people let out a thump, his gaze landed on Old Chen. There was still the ghost of a smile on his face.
"Becoming my servant is a serendipity?"
"Yes… this is naturally a great serendipity. It is a chance everyone dreams of having. Bei Qiong, follow Sect Elder Wang obediently. You have to set an example for your junior and senior brothers!" Old Chen said quickly.
"Then… you come with me. The servant I choose is not Bei Qiong, but you." Su Ming's words were calm, but when they landed in Old Chen's ears, he felt as if thunder had roared by his side. He was left stunned, and his expression changed drastically again. He instinctively moved back.
"This… This is… I…" He was practically speechless. "Sect Elder Wang, I am the chief attendant of the outer sect. This is… This is just…" Cold sweat broke out on Old Chen's forehead.
"Sect Master Xu, I don't really know much about the sect rules, so I'll let you handle this matter." Su Ming's smile remained the same. Since Old Chen had insisted on using sect rules against him, then Su Ming would also use sect rules against him.
In truth, targeting the old man was not something Su Ming would do based on his personality. He would just kill him normally, but when Su Ming Possessed Wang Tao, he sensed Wang Tao's hate for the old man. It was a hate that could not be resolved by just killing the old man. It could only fade away by continuously tormenting him.
Since Su Ming had Possessed Wang Tao, he did not mind satisfying some of the deceased boy's wishes.
"This matter… Sect Elder Wang, based on sect rules, sect elders can decide the fates of all disciples in the outer sect and inner sect at will, including the attendants. If they fight back, then you can kill them straight away!
"But if other sect elders come to stop you, then the Sect Elder Council will make a decision," the white-robed scholar swiftly explained. As he did, he cast Old Chen a cold glare.
Su Ming nodded, then closed his eyes. After ten something breaths passed, he opened his eyes and smiled faintly at Old Chen.
"Looks like no other sect elders are going to stop me. As for you… do you want to be my servant… or do you want to be wiped off?" Su Ming's voice was faint, but to Old Chen, it sounded like a funeral bell. He looked around him while trembling, then gritted his teeth.
"I am willing to be the servant of the sect elder!"
When he said those words, the bitterness in his heart could not be described with words, but what else could he do besides that? He could see Su Ming's killing intent, and if he refused, Su Ming would immediately open his mouth and order him killed.
If he fought back, he would die in an even more wretched manner!
He had the most supreme will in Seven Moons Sect, the will of the sect elders who stood above all other people!
"Then come with me."
Su Ming nodded at the white-robed scholar with his expression as calm as ever. He cast a glance at Old Chen, then turned around while still holding the pale Bei Qiong in hand and turned into a long arc that left into the distance.
Old Chen was conflicted. While feeling uneasy and terrified, he had to fly after Su Ming. He continuously comforted himself by saying that his level of cultivation clearly surpassed that of Su Ming. There were a lot of people around right then, so he could not do anything, but if Su Ming tried to do anything while they were in a place with few people, he could protect himself.
This thought allowed Old Chen to find a hint of confidence while quaking in his boots due to his nerves.
When Su Ming left, the crowd was too stunned by what had transpired before them to move. Only after a long time had passed did everyone disperse, and Wang Tao's name immediately spread through the outer sect like a violent gust.
As for Su Ming's status, the other sect elders in Seven Moons Sect clearly knew about it since a long time ago. However, none of them wanted to have this news leave, which was why the matter had become a secret.
When Su Ming revealed his own identity and exercised his power as a sect elder, the other sect elders did not stop him for such a small matter. After all… since ancient times, the number of great sect elders would mean a corresponding number of sect elders. It was something that had never changed since an eternity ago.
Those who became sect elders were the chief successor disciples of the thirteen great sect elders. They were also the greatmasters of the disciples of their Master's line. Take, for example, Lan Lan, she was the greatmaster of the line of disciples belonging to the man with the sky-blue Daoist robe.
But eight years ago, Su Ming had been added to their number, causing the number of sect elders in Seven Moons Sect to be fourteen when there were still only thirteen great sect elders.
This should have caused a great dispute in Seven Moons Sect, but strangely… each sect elder received a message from their sleeping Master in regards to it. They were told that this was something that all great sect elders had come to agree upon!
That included the red-robed man Dao Han who had been managing Seven Moons Sect over the past few aeons. He too did not say anything, which meant that he had also tacitly agreed to it.
Because of that, when Su Ming revealed his status as a sect elder for the first time for such an insignificant matter, nobody batted an eye. It was a matter concerning Su Ming and the attendant who had guided him in the past, so everyone understood what was going on and did not wish to interfere with it. They also did not want… to offend two Sect Elders at once: Su Ming and Lan Lan!
With Bei Qiong in hand, Su Ming charged to the mountain. Old Chen followed behind him. Before long, the three of them arrived at the cliff where Su Ming's wooden house was in the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, though they were still in reality, still just at the first layer.
Su Ming lifted his foot and stepped on the ground. His figure immediately disintegrated to turn into a shadow that enveloped Bei Qiong and Old Chen. He then charged to the area above them and vanished.
When they appeared, they were already at the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, standing on the cliff. When Bei Qiong and Old Chen appeared, they immediately saw another Su Ming, who was sitting and meditating.
At the same time, they saw the Su Ming who had brought them turn into a shadow. He walked to the spot behind Su Ming and overlapped with his figure. Then, the meditating Su Ming slowly opened his eyes.
Su Ming lifted his right hand and pointed at Old Chen. The old man immediately let out a shrill scream of pain. His whole body was instantly covered in flames. When they spread out, they turned into a huge red kiln that enveloped Old Chen in it.
His screams lingered in the air, but the shock in his heart cause filled him with more terror than the pain he suffered. The moment before, Su Ming's attack had been filled with a power that he found himself unable to fight against. It was as if when compared to Su Ming, he was a child. This caused his shock and the pain he felt to turn into a dual attack on his body and his soul.
Old Chen was not the only one who felt fear. Bei Qiong, whose face was completely pale at that moment, felt the same fear. The scene caused his pupils to shrink. He instinctively took a few steps backwards, but behind him was a canyon, and he could not retreat anymore. As his body shuddered, he quickly put on an obsequious look on his face.
"Sect Elder Wang, your power is as great as the heavens itself, I am…"
"Before you appeared in front of me, I've heard these words before, and I'm already sick of them," Su Ming said faintly with his eyes on Bei Qiong.
"Urk…" Bei Qiong became even more nervous.
"Talk," Su Ming said calmly.
"I-I really don't know what to say. Sect Elder Wang, everything that went wrong is my fault. I should not have tried to peddle to you those fake medicinal cores. I've done wrong, I've truly done wrong…" Bei Qiong wailed and fell prostrate on the ground again. On his face was an incredibly regretful look.
"Tell me, who am I?"
Su Ming's expression was the same as ever. When he lifted his right hand and pointed at Bei Qiong, a gust of black wind immediately appeared and instantly blew at him. While spinning swiftly in the area, it immediately became like a sharp blade that caused Bei Qiong to scream in pain.
Countless fine wounds appeared on his body, and when the black wind blew past them, they immediately began rotting. The threat of death instantly filled Bei Qiong's heart.
"I will give you ten breaths to think. There is no grudges between us, and I don't want to perform a Soulseek on you, because it will harm your life, but if you insist on not speaking…"
Su Ming's words did not show a single hint of whether he was happy or angry. He had yet to finish speaking when the chilling intent in his words was felt by Bei Qiong.
"One," Su Ming said flatly.
"Two…"
Within the black wind, conflict appeared on Bei Qiong's face. When he screamed again in pain, more wounds showed up on his body, and as blood gushed out, the black wind gained a purple tint.
"Three…"
"I truly know nothing. Sect Elder Wang, please spare me. Y-y-you… You're Sect Elder Wang, I only know that you're Sect Elder Wang…"
"Six…"
Su Ming's expression did not change. He watched the black wind quietly while his voice echoed in Bei Qiong's heart like a funeral bell.
"Seven…"
"My expression only changed because I saw that you did not have a shadow. I didn't lie to you. Sect Elder Wang, please listen to me, I… I…"
Bei Qiong's screams became louder. By then, most of the black wind had turned purple. As it spun, some spots on Bei Qiong's legs even started to show bone!
"Nine…"
Su Ming's expression remained the same. When he said that number, he raised his right hand and seized the air in the direction of the black wind. Bei Qiong, while screaming in the wind, immediately started falling, and the top of his skull came to be right before Su Ming.
"Ten," he said flatly the next moment
Right when he spoke, the black wind let out a roar, and Bei Qiong was yanked towards Su Ming. Right when Su Ming was about to grab the top of his skull and perform a Soulseek on him…
"Su Ming! Su Ming! YOU'RE SU MING!"
Bei Qiong seemed to have used up all his strength and screamed shrilly.
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Chapter 1394: A Battle of Arts!
Su Ming narrowed his eyes in a barely noticeable manner, and his lifted right hand stopped in the air. His burning eyes were fixated on Bei Qiong, and the ghost of a smile gradually appeared at the corners of his lips.
Once Bei Qiong saw it, his heart trembled. Compared to Su Ming's previous callous ruthlessness, he was even more afraid of his current expression. This caused him to be unable to guess what Su Ming was thinking of, and he could not guess what he would do next.
But he could guess that Su Ming would definitely think of asking him why he knew Su Ming's name, and why he could tell that he was Su Ming, even though his appearance had clearly changed!
"Su Ming… how did you manage to tell that I'm Su Ming?"
Su Ming smiled. He stared at Bei Qiong and did not attempt to refute his words. Instead, a glint appeared in his eyes. A huge pressure instantly fell on Bei Qiong.
"I… I'll tell you… It's…" Bei Qiong hesitated for a moment, but when he looked at Su Ming, he gritted his teeth. "You… are Su Ming, but also the Third Prince of Ancient Zang!"
When he said those words, Su Ming's expression remained the same, but a roaring storm had come to rage in his heart. Bei Qiong knew so much? This caused Su Ming to fall silent, and the light in his eyes grew stronger.
Bei Qiong was silent for a moment before he slowly spoke. His voice was slightly hoarse and seemed to contain nostalgia. When he looked at Su Ming, a complicated look appeared in his eyes.
"Three thousand years ago, the Third Prince of Ancient Zang left the royal capital to wander about the universe for six thousand years. During his travels, he lost his way and became immersed in the era of the ancient Harmonious Morus Alba. He lost himself there…
"He's not the only one who lost himself. All his friends and all the people who had formed ties with him through preordained fate during his travels had also lost themselves because of him.
"And while my level of cultivation isn't high, as the descendant of Ancient Zang's Taoist Master, I have a much longer life compared to normal people, and during the past… I was also lost with you.
"But I woke up much faster than the others, and after I woke up, I noticed that… Due to my bloodline, once I woke up, I retained my memories from when I was lost. However, I noticed that the people who woke up after me were confused. They no longer had the memories from the time when they had been lost…
"It's as if it was just one meditation, a short time of being confused. I could also see that a portion of their souls had been split from them, and while they were in the worlds where you were lost, they were them, and they were themselves in Ancient Zang as well.
"But they were also different…"
Bei Qiong sighed softly and lowered his head."Harmonious Morus Alba is fake…"
Su Ming was silent. After a long time and without any changes in his expression, he spoke flatly. "You said a lot, but you didn't answer me how you managed to tell that I'm Su Ming."
"If I look at you now, I can't tell that you're Su Ming or the third prince of the past… but back there, you didn't appear before me with your real real form. The one I saw was a shadow figure you formed through the Seven Lives Art.
"People's appearances can be different, but shadows… are like a person's soul. They might appear different under the sun, but very few people know that the darkness of the shadow can allow an observant person to see another's real self!
"But there are only few who know of this Art. I have the bloodline of a Daoist Master in me, which is why I can tell what is different and was able to recognize you."
Bei Qiong smiled wryly. Judging from his looks, he seemed to be sighing and regretting being able to identify Su Ming.
Su Ming's eyes sparkled, and the shock as well as disbelief showed by Bei Qiong when he saw him appeared in his head. All of what Bei Qiong said provided a perfect explanation for how he had acted.
"I've already told you what I know of the truth. After I woke up, I've also been pondering over the reason why you lost your way, and I discovered that this is closely connected to the second prince as well as the eldest prince. The two of them worked together to stop you by making you lose your way!
"Third prince, please… wake up. Everything during the era of Harmonious Morus Alba was fake. That time was not real, not even a single bit of it. You can find all the people you met in Harmonious Morus Alba in Ancient Zang. The people in Ancient Zang are real, and the ones in Harmonious Morus Alba were just wisps of lost souls. They were fake!
"As long as you wake up, they… will immediately wake up and remember you, such as Sect Elder Lan. She's one of those people. Three thousand years ago, she went out to train, and she ran into you, but she can't remember it now… because you still haven't woken up.
"Third prince, be it for you or for your friends, please wake up. As long as you wake up, then all the people will remember you!
"I don't know what you went through in Harmonious Morus Alba during the later days… but even if the people in that world died, as long as you wake up, you will realize… that they are all still by your side!" While Bei Qiong spoke, there was a hint of pity in his eyes.
"I've said all I know. If you don't believe me, you can perform a Soulseek on me. I've told numerous lies in my life, but this time… I did not lie!" Bei Qiong lifted his head and looked at Su Ming with a firm look.
Su Ming was silent. No one could tell what sort of emotions were tumbling in his heart right then. He lifted his head, but he did not look at Bei Qiong. Instead, he looked at the sky high above. He stared at the blue vastness as well as the clouds and fog. He also stared at the sun hidden behind the white clouds.
All of them seemed incredibly real. When he looked to the side, the world in the distance did not seem to have an end. There was a long line that seemed to connect the ground and sky together.
After Su Ming looked around, he lifted his right hand. Before Bei Qiong could react to the situation, Su Ming pushed his hand on top of Bei Qiong's skull. With it, Su Ming's power instantly spread out and enveloped Bei Qiong's entire body. It seeped into his head through his will to search through his memories.
In them, Su Ming saw many things, and among them was everything that Bei Qiong had mentioned before. However, this time, he did not hear words, but saw pictures.
Bei Qiong shuddered. Soulseek was incredibly harmful to a person, but there was a firm look in his eyes, as if he had already come to an understanding. Since he could not avoid it and destiny had already arranged for the meeting between them, it would be better… for him to make Su Ming wake up so that he would know what is real and what is fake!
When the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn passed, Su Ming moved his right hand away and put it down gently. He did not find any signs of Bei Qiong's memories being changed. Everything in them was what Bei Qiong had experienced.
"Third prince…" Bei Qiong's face was pale, and he looked incredibly weak. When he shifted his gaze to Su Ming, he was about to speak, but…
"You can leave now," Su Ming said faintly and closed his eyes.
He swung his right hand, and immediately, the black wind became a gentle breeze that swept up Bei Qiong's body. It sent him through layers of Sky Beyond the Sky until they reached the first layer of Seven Moons Sect.
The breeze beside Bei Qiong disappeared then, but he did not immediately leave. Instead, he stood still and lifted his head to look at the mountain in which Su Ming stayed.
Even though he could only see the first layer, he vaguely felt that he could see the overlapping mountain from the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky and Su Ming sitting there alone, meditating.
Bei Qiong sighed softly.
'So it's not about the eldest prince or second prince being powerful and suppressing you in a manner that you cannot wake up… It's because you don't want to wake up yourself… You're immersed in Harmonious Morus Alba. You'd rather sink into the nine layers of earth and refuse to believe in the nine heavens.'
When Bei Qiong shook his head, he looked to have become much older. He then turned around and walked into the distance.
His shadow was elongated, but it stayed by his feet… However, while that shadow seemed to have gained a hint of ancientness, but it seemed to be wearing a straw cape and a straw hat. Slowly, it became fainter until it overlapped with itself. When it slowly faded away, even Bei Qiong did not notice it.
On the mountain, Su Ming closed his eyes while sitting quietly. When the sun in the distant sky began to set, a woman appeared outside his house.
It was Lan Lan, and it was the first time she had appeared in that place in the eight years. She stood beside Su Ming and stared into the distant evening sky.
After a long time, she lowered her head and looked at Su Ming, who still had his eyes shut. Without saying a word, she turned around to leave.
When night fell and stars glimmered in the sky, midnight fell, and Su Ming… opened his eyes.
His gaze was calm, but in the depths of that calmness was a determination that would cause others to stare at him. That determination was like fire, and it could burn the world and the night sky.
"There are no signs of his memories being changed. This means that his memories are real, but the truth of his memories does not mean that they are the reality!" Su Ming declared slowly.
"Because my memories were not manipulated either, and if they're real, then it means I am also real! But there must be one that is fake…" Resolve was in Su Ming's eyes, and a fierce light shone in them.
"He accidentally revealed the biggest loophole just now, and because of it, his seemingly perfect story had a flaw.
"He should have called me Mo Su, not… Su Ming! After all… when we were in Wind Stream Tribe, I had changed my name to Mo Su. I had left after that and never met him again. When I searched through his memories, his memories in Harmonious Morus Alba also ended in Wind Stream Tribe!" A surprised glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes.
"But he called me Su Ming…" A profound smile appeared on Su Ming's lips. "Xuan Zang, is this your world or my world? You and I… we both know this clearly. My will is not something you can change so easily.
"This is a battle of Arts… between you and me."
When Su Ming said those words flatly, a roar of thunder suddenly rang out in the night sky. Rain began to fall from the sky as the dark clouds hidden in the dark night gradually gathered together.
The rain was not heavy at the start, but in the blink of an eye, it looked as if someone had tipped over a basin in heaven. A curtain of water enveloped the mountains, the land, and Seven Moons Sect.
But… the rain only poured in the first layer. Su Ming could see the rain in the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, but he could not sense it.
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Chapter 1395: Second Level of Dao Divinity Realm!
The rain was falling. Those in Sky Beyond the Sky could hear it, but not touch nor sense it.
It was just like the past Bei Qiong spoke of. Su Ming could see the path he treaded clearly when he turned his head. He could find the tracks when he went forward, but when he turned around and walked back… he would find that the path had been split in two.
Su Ming stood on the cliff with smile appeared on his lips. His expression was chilly, and there was a profound meaning behind it. When it corresponded with the resolve in his eyes, it turned into an evil look that could not be spoken. It was as if his eyes could see through all the changes in the world, as if he could see through the cycles of life and death in the past, and as if he could see through everything about himself.
It was like an epiphany. If he lost himself within it, then on the day he woke up, he would only believe that he was awake, but in truth, he would still be lost.
If he did not get lost and kept true to his heart, he would never, ever… be lost again!
During that moment, his Dao Divinity, which was sitting and meditating in his third eye, opened its eyes. They also had the light of understanding. The rain… had come coincidentally, at the perfect timing, and also… too suddenly!
What Su Ming saw was not rain, but a figure moving further and further away in the rain at that moment. That figure was ancient and had a straw cape over his shoulders as well as a straw hat on his head… like a ferryman… and like the Master in Su Ming's memories.
During that instant, lightning flashed. When it illuminated the ground, the figure before Su Ming's eyes seemed to have come to a stop. It slowly turned its head around. Its gaze seemed to land on Su Ming, but when Su Ming saw the face clearly, the figure disappeared with another flash of lightning.
Su Ming closed his eyes, but his third eye remained open. The Dao Divinity in it did not close its eyes either. The light of epiphany grew stronger, and then, the Dao Divinity in his third eye curled its lips into a smile.
He… understood!
In the world that may be real or fake, he lit up with the light of enlightenment for the first time. The enlightenment caused Su Ming to be even more determined, and it also made his resolve firmer. His heart calmed down, and in that very first battle that could be said to be a battle of Arts against Xuan Zang… overlapping figures gradually appeared on Su Ming's Dao Divinity.
As his Dao Divinity overlapped, the rain in the world outside became heavier. The curtain of water covered everything. It seemed like even the fifth layer of the Sky Beyond the Sky had been covered by a curtain of rain, but it was still the same. Su Ming could see it, but he could not sense it. There were multiple worlds separating Seven Moons Sect into parts.
The feeling of his Dao Divinity overlapping with each other became stronger in Su Ming's third eye, then, the sky roared, and thunder shook the world. At the instant lightning illuminated everything… the feeling of his Dao Divinity overlapping in Su Ming's third eye became stronger.
But it seemed as if something was lacking. Even if the overlapping made it seem as if he had gained two Dao Divinities, it was difficult for him to separate them. They could not truly turn… into two Dao Divinities.
'Through all of my life, I pursued the truth and sought Dao. When I walk down this path, longevity is no longer important. Divine abilities are just decorations, and the essence of pursuing the truth is the Dao I seek…
'I seek to answer my questions. I search for an understanding, for… a Dao belonging to me, Su Ming!
'This Dao is my pursuit. This Dao is my way to understand the changes in the world, the changes in the cycles of life and death. When I walk down this path, I will persist in my beliefs. This… is the path of searching for my heart!
'It is like this rain. I look at it from Sky Beyond the Sky, but if I want it…'
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He lifted his right hand and seized the air in the direction of the foot of the mountain. When thunder rumbled and Su Ming pulled his right hand back, there was rain on his palm!
The rain slipped through the cracks between his fingers, and Su Ming's lips curled into a smile. His smile grew brighter. When he threw his head back and laughed, the Dao Divinity in his third eye… swiftly split into two!
When the overlapping reached its limit, the second Dao Divinity appeared!
At the instant it happened, Su Ming reached a breakthrough in his level of cultivation. From the first level of Dao Divinity Realm, he stepped into the second level of Dao Divinity Realm. His hair flew, and his robes fluttered. The rain in the world outside became stronger, The thunder roared even louder, and the lightning became even brighter!
This rain came at an opportune moment, at the perfect moment!
Its arrival made Su Ming's epiphany instantly reach a higher level, allowing him to understand his Dao even better.
Su Ming's cultivation instantly erupted from his body. It immediately reached a breakthrough from the first level of Dao Divinity Realm and reached the second level of Dao Divinity Realm. If he took another step, he would reach a complete transformation. He would become… part of the few powerful warriors in all of Ancient Zang. He would step into Dao Spirit Realm!
'Xuan Zang, I believe that my world is real. I believe that I am Su Ming, not the third prince, much less… you!
'Xuan Zang, this is a battle of Arts involving Possession. You attack me, and I will counter… but there will come a time when I, Su Ming, will be the one who attacks, and you… will sink into this world. Let's see… who among us will be the first to wake up!
'Every single time the two of us engage in a battle of Arts… I will become stronger!'
A ferocious look appeared on Su Ming's face. When he swung his arm, his hair instantly turned purple. The purple hair did not belong to Wang Tao, but belonged to Su Ming.
He stood up at that moment. The rain around him turned red at that instant, having been dyed by the darkness of night and Su Ming's will. It was as if it had become a vast ocean of blood.
As it rumbled and roared, Su Ming stood on the cliff. Beneath him was a canyon and Seven Moons Sect. His long hair became messy due to the wind blowing against it, but it could not throw his heart into chaos.
He lifted his left hand, and immediately, a ball of fire that seemed like it would never be extinguished floated up from his palm. The fire burned, having been formed by Su Ming's will. That fire was like Su Ming's resolve—inextinguishable!
The flames shone with Su Ming's memories. In the wind and rain, on the cliff, and when everything in the area seemed to have turned into a raging ocean of blood… Su Ming lowered his head and looked at the fire on his palm. His gaze was no longer fierce, but had become gentle.
In the fire, he could see Arid Triad, the four Great True Worlds, his three senior brothers, his elder, Cang Lan, Yu Xuan, Xu Hui, plenty of smiling faces… and the bald crane!
In the flames were Dark Mountain, ninth summit, and all that Su Ming treasured and for which he was willing to give up on everything. It was… the source of the strength that allowed him to be firm and to keep walking down his path!
It was also… his taboo!
After a long while, Su Ming clenched his left hand gently, putting out the flames that were the manifestation of his memories and his divine sense. When he lifted his head, he looked at the curtain of rain in the sky and watched the lightning and the rumbling thunder.
Clarity appeared in his eyes.
"I am Su Ming."
The moment he spoke calmly, numerous runic symbols showed up in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky amid the thunder and lightning. Their appearance immediately stirred up howls and rumbles that drowned out the lightning and thunder. At the moment it attracted the attention of those in Seven Moons Sect, the runic symbols formed… a huge Feng Shui compass in the sky of the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. It could be seen on every single layer of Sky Beyond the Sky.
As the Feng Shui compass rotated with loud bangs, a figure moved towards it from a mountain far away. Once that figure stepped into the Feng Shui compass, it could be seen clearly. It belonged to a young man.
He was dressed in a white robe, and his eyes were like stars. His black hair fluttered in the wind, making him look incredibly handsome, and needless to say… he was Ye Long!
"I, Ye Long, will challenge the seventh formation of the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune. Master, please grant me permission!"
Ye Long wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply towards the mountain from whence he came. His words were clear and echoed in the rainy night. They made the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky tremble and many of the Seven Moons Sect disciples who were meditating in the rainy night to immediately open their eyes.
As their gazes gathered on Ye Long and a crowd formed up, a flash of lightning sliced through the air with a loud, thunderous boom. It illuminated the area and the huge Feng Shui compass as well as Ye Long standing on it to all those who looked over.
"Permission granted!"
At the instant the deep voice spoke, the lightning in the sky shuddered. It no longer dared to appear. Thunder became fearful and did not dare make a sound either. Even the rain seemed to ripple. Each droplet seemed to contain the figure of a red-robed man.
Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the sixth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. It was… the world which belonged to the red-robed man, the supreme treasure of Seven Moons Sect only the great sect elder in charge of managing the sect could control.
Only once the red-robed man's voice faded away did the lightning dared to shine again, the thunder dared to roar, and the rain dared to pour down.
Ye Long, while sitting on the Feng Shui compass floating in midair, stood up at that moment and threw his head back to roar.
"Seventh formation!"
His voice echoed, and the Feng Shui compass beneath his feet began rotating with loud bangs. The runic symbols spun and shone nonstop, while above him, the second Feng Shui compass appeared. At the same time, the third Feng Shui compass manifested as well!
The three Feng Shui compasses were each larger than the last. When Ye Long moved, he appeared above the third Feng Shui compass. He brought up his arms and pushed down on the Feng Shui compass. Immediately, the three Feng Shui compasses roared at the same time. Huge waves of power spread out, then gathered on Ye Long, which made his face contort. Veins popped up on his face, and he growled.
There was a total of thirty formations in the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune. Only one Feng Shui compass would appear during the first formation, and during the third formation, the second Feng Shui compass would appear. When someone challenged the seventh formation, the fourth Feng Shui compass would appear. The general rule was that one additional Feng Shui compass would appear with every two formations, and right then, there were four Feng Shui compasses above Ye Long as he was growling.
The topmost was a talisman formed by rain. It floated above the three Feng Shui compasses as if it had fused with lightning and shone with endless light.
What Ye Long needed to do was to stand above the fourth Feng Shui compass. It would mean… that he had successfully cleared the seventh formation!
Under the people's gazes and amid the thunderous roars of thunder, Ye Long's roars became the most prominent sound in Seven Moons Sect. As he trembled, he slowly stood up and phased through the Feng Shui compasses above him. At the moment he stood on the fourth Feng Shui compass… he successfully cleared the seventh formation!
The thunder was like his might, and the lightning was like light shining on him. The rain and the world looked like they were a background for him.
Ye Long's black hair danced in the air. Once he stood up straight, he threw his head back and let out a long cry.
"Wang Tao, it's been eight years. During them, you've never answered my challenge! Today… I will still ask you this question: Do you dare challenge the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune?!"
His voice resounded through Seven Moons Sect, and the eyes of all people who heard it sparkled.
While seated on the cliff, Su Ming slowly lifted his head!
His eyes sparkled with a brilliant light!
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Chapter 1396: Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune (1)
At the instant Su Ming lifted his head, his eyes sparkled brilliantly. The rain became heavier, and as thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, they illuminated everything for a time.
As if he was an entity existing between darkness and light, Su Ming… slowly stood up.
His robes fluttered, and his purple hair danced while he stood on the cliff. Thunder roared even louder at that moment, and lightning intersected with each other. It looked as if night and day were joining together, changing places constantly… in an attempt to overlap with each other.
"As you wish," Su Ming said flatly.
His voice echoed in the fifth layer of the Sky Beyond the Sky, then entered the fourth layer. Once it attracted the attention of all the people in the fourth layer, Ye Long whipped his head up, and his eyes sparkled in a way that they had never done before.
Su Ming's voice continued echoing in the air. It entered the third layer, the second layer, and eventually echoed in the first layer. During it, even the roars from the thunder could not drown out his voice. They became faint, and the light from the lightning also seemed to fade away. There were no more flashing lights.
When all the people's gazes were directed at the sky, Su Ming swung his arm and took a step into the air. With that one step, he stepped off the mountain, and with another, he stepped into the fourth layer. He landed on the huge Feng Shui compass and stood… beside Ye Long.
All the people's gazes in Seven Moons Sect were gathered on Su Ming.
"That's Wang Tao?"
"He's Wang Tao! He's that Wang Tao! Have you heard? That person isn't a normal disciple. He's… one of the sect elders!"
"Sect elder, that's impossible…"
"Heh heh, I wonder how many formations this sect elder can clear. If he can't even clear three or five formations, then he's just a joke."
The buzz of discussion instantly reverberated through Seven Moons Sect, and it was especially loud among the outer sect disciples in the first layer. They paid attention to the event the most. After all, practically all of them knew about what had happened not too long ago in the outer sect, and their curiosity in regards to Su Ming was incredibly strong.
As for the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the second and third layers, not many of them knew that Su Ming was a sect elder. Once they heard that piece of information, they were surprised, and derision became the dominant emotion when they looked at Su Ming.
Even though they did not know how he had become a sect elder, but in Ancient Zang, the deciding factor for respect was still a person's level of cultivation. If it was not high, then no matter what status that person had, they would only be able to temporarily obtain respect and polite treatment.
It would not last long. They would be like a tree without roots. Once the chance arose, someone might ensure their untimely demise.
Only those with matching levels of cultivation compared to their status could live long, and only they could obtain true respect.
Besides those from the second and third layers, even those from the fourth layers also looked at Su Ming with mockery. They looked at him like a clown, and their attitude towards him was full of aloofness and disregard.
"I'd like to see just what sort of ability this Wang Tao has after not showing his face for eight years!"
"I admire this Ye Long somewhat, but Wang Tao? Hehe, we'll know once we watch him."
"He's just a coward, what's there to watch? Hmph. He lives in the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky… Looks like the rumors from the outer sect disciples about this person being a sect elder are somewhat believable."
"Sect elder? What right does he have to be a sect elder?!"
Divine thoughts went back and forth through the fourth layer, and when the people training there looked at Su Ming, their expressions differed, but most of them were aloof.
"Sect members of the third line, when you see this Wang Tao in the future, you will have to immediately kneel down and worship him, then respectfully call him your Uncle-Master."
When the mocking words came from the fourth layer, the Seven Moons Sect disciples who were training in the projection of a mountain all had incredibly sullen expressions on their faces.
The mountain in which Su Ming had stayed for the eight years belonged to the third line. Right then, the disciples who stayed in it in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky were disciples whose status were one rank lower than that of Su Ming. All of them were scowling at that moment with dark expressions. The mocking laughter from the other lines in the mountain left them incredibly embarrassed.
"Eldest senior sister, this Wang Tao… He…"
"Damn it, why did he have to embarrass us? Since he already avoided the challenge for eight years, he should have continued doing that. Why must he embarrass us like this? He's just making our sect the laughing stock!"
The disciples of the third line knew more than the others, for example, they knew his status. They had not been willing to speak of it during the years, but right then… they were forced to face the problem.
"Let him know his own strength. When we meet him in the future after that, he will not put on airs just because he's our senior!"
"This is a disgrace, the third line's disgrace!"
A woman who looked to be twenty years old in the mountain in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky belonging to the third line frowned. When she spoke flatly, her voice echoed in the air, causing all the people in the third line to fall silent.
"That's enough. He hasn't challenged the Rune yet. Once he finishes challenging it, you can go on and humiliate him as much as you want, it won't be too late then!"
The woman was eldest senior sister and Lan Lan's head disciple.
Amid the buzzing noise in the area, Ye Long stared at Su Ming on the Feng Shui compass. Strong fighting spirit was in his eyes. During the trial in the past, he had never taken the step into Su Ming's blood moon-enveloped mountain, and it had become a constant thought in his heart.
It filled his mind and became the reason why he continuously used the Rune to prove himself over the eight years, and it was also the reason why he kept challenging Su Ming. His opponent had never appeared, but it only served to make Ye Long even more determined.
At that moment, he finally saw Su Ming, the person who could no longer avoid him. They met for the first time since eight years ago!
"With eight years, I've successfully cleared seven formations. Wang Tao, as the person known as the eldest senior brother due to the trial in the past, today, I want to see how many formations you can clear!"
Ye Long laughed loudly. He turned into a long arc and returned to his mountain. He turned around after landing on it and looked at Su Ming with brightly burning eyes.
When he had spoken, the buzz in the first four layers of Seven Moons Sect instantly became a little quieter, but soon, they grew loud once more.
"I remember now. This Wang Tao surpassed all the others in the trial in the past. It's said that he obtained one hundred forty something spirit plates during that time!"
"Hehe, you only remembered now? That's right, it's that person! But his splendor only lasted for a brief moment."
Amid the discussions, Su Ming stood on the Feng Shui compass and watched the fourth Feng Shui compass beneath him disappear. Then, it was followed by the third Feng Shui compass, and after it, even the second Feng Shui became an illusion. After they disappeared, Su Ming stood on the first Feng Shui compass right at the bottom.
"I, Wang Tao, will challenge the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune!"
Su Ming's words were simple. At the instant he spoke, he heard quite a lot of mocking laughter. It was also during that moment that a languid voice came from the sixth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky.
"Permission granted!"
That voice belonged to Dao Han, the red-robed man. When Ye Long wanted to challenge the Rune, Dao Han had to approve of it, because Ye Long was his disciple. If it was anyone else, they would not deserve him opening his mouth for them.
But Su Ming… was a sect elder, and only the Greatmaster of Seven Moons Sect had the right to approve sect elders who wanted to challenge the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Runes.
Perhaps the outer sect disciples from the first layer in Seven Moons Sect did not have much knowledge about it, but the disciples from the second to the fourth layers knew about it. At that moment, all of them instantly fell silent. The rumors regarding Su Ming being a sect elder seemed to have been true.
But even though the Seven Moons Sect disciples had become quiet, most of them had derision and scorn in their eyes when they looked at Su Ming. Only a small part of the outer sect disciples in the first layer of Seven Moons Sect were excited and hopeful.
While standing on the Feng Shui compass, Su Ming lowered his head to look at the runic symbols forming it and remembered the bald crane.
'If the bald crane was here, it would definitely open a betting pool, then with an excited and eager expression, it would wait for the harvest.'
As Su Ming thought about it, a smile appeared on his face. He shook his head, then lifted his right leg and stomped on the Feng Shui compass.
As booming sounds echoed in the air, the Feng Shui compass began rotating. A powerful pressure instantly spread out from the runic symbols to gather on Su Ming.
"I've been silent for eight years. It's about time that I show a bit of my power, or else… it's not too good for people to constantly call out my name."
When Su Ming spoke faintly, he did not even spare a glance at the pressure that was gathered on him. Instead, he lifted his right foot again and stomped on the Feng Shui compass.
With a bang, the pressure that had gathered on Su Ming instantly crumbled. Crumbling with it was the rotating Feng Shui compass. It fell apart, and the countless runic symbols tumbled backwards as if they could not withstand the power from Su Ming's stomp.
"Second formation."
When Su Ming spoke, the runic symbols that had spread out instantly gathered together to form a Feng Shui compass once more. At the instant it rotated, Su Ming lifted his foot again and put it down gently.
BOOM!
In front of the shocked faces of the Seven Moons Sect disciples, the Feng Shui compass crumbled again and tumbled backwards in every direction. It looked like its mighty pressure and the power of the Rune were so weak that they could not even withstand a single hit from Su Ming!
When the Feng Shui compass crumbled again, Su Ming levitated in midair. "Third formation," he then said flatly.
The moment he spoke, the hope and excitement within the outer sect disciples in the first layer grew, and the inner sect disciples in the second layer were all flabbergasted. They clearly knew the strength of the first and second formations. While they might not be too difficult… Su Ming had cleared them with just a few simple steps, which left them in disbelief.
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Chapter 1397: Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune (2)
Compared to the inner sect disciples in the second layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the third layer might have also been stunned, but their expressions remained the same. After all, it were just the first and second formations. They might not be able to clear those formations as easily as Su Ming, but they were not difficult for them.
However, the derision that was originally on their faces had mostly disappeared and were replaced by seriousness. Su Ming's act of clearing the formations just then had stunned them.
Only the people in the fourth layer remained contemptuous.
"That's nothing. We can do that as well, it's just that there's no need for us to do so."
"It's clear that he doesn't have enough confidence, that's why he's acting like this to redeem himself!"
"Heh heh, the first three formations are nothing. Once he gets past the fifth formation, only then will the Rune show its true strength. I wonder if he will even have the chance to see it."
They were not the only ones calm. It was the same for Ye Long. He did not have any sort of changes in expression because of how Su Ming had cleared the first two formations. He had never underestimated Su Ming in the slightest. In his eyes, Su Ming could clear up five formations, and only when it came to the sixth or the seventh that he would certainly experience difficulties.
Everyone's expressions changed the next instant.
When the Feng Shui compass beneath Su Ming gathered together and became whole, a large number of runic symbols also appeared above him to form an even bigger Feng Shui compass. At the instant the third formation appeared, Su Ming appeared above the second Feng Shui compass. He lifted his foot and placed it down gently.
Booming sounds instantly shook the sky and earth. When they echoed in the air, they drowned out the thunder. The Feng Shui compass under Su Ming's feet crumbled along with the one beneath it. The brilliant light formed by the two Feng Shui compasses breaking down at the same time… caused the pupils of all the disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky to shrink.
In fact, some of the disciples in the third layer had already stood up. They went to their cliffs and stared at the sky with different expressions from before.
As for the disciples in the second layer, they had already begun making a huge ruckus, and it was even more lively among the outer sect disciples in the first layer. Their voices echoed in the air, many of them cries of surprise.
The collapse of the first and second formations was not enough to prove anything. After all, there was a limit to the power of the Rune's first and second formations. As long as someone had power that surpassed the limit, they could do what Su Ming had done.
If that limit was categorized into a number, and that number was ten, then if someone had a power level of eleven, they could also make the formation explode. It did not matter if they had eleven or ten thousand, they could make the formations explode. That was why cultivators could not tell just how powerful a cultivator who did such a thing was, but when the formations grew stronger, the limit would continuously increase. The third formation was already ten times the strength of the second formation.
But… Su Ming had still managed to crush it while looking as calm as ever!
Such a thing shocked many people.
But it was destined that the shock brought by that rainy night had only begun. At the instant the cultivators trained their gazes on Su Ming, he opened his mouth, and his words echoed in every direction, reaching the ears of practically every cultivator in the sect.
"Fourth formation."
Right when his voice appeared, the howls and whistles from the Rune grew piercing, and the two collapsed Feng Shui compasses formed by runic symbols instantly gathered together under his feet.
When the runic symbols rotated, waves of even stronger mighty pressure spread out. It felt like the descent of the might of heaven, as if an invisible hand had appeared from the air to seize Su Ming.
His expression remained the same, however. Nothing about him changed. The moment he called for the fourth formation, he lifted his right foot and placed it down. Booming sounds echoed in the world, and as the Feng Shui compass under his feet shattered, the second Feng Shui compass under it also did not last.
It looked as if it was not the fourth formation, but still the first formation. This brought shock to all the people watching, but before their discussions and shocked gasps could travel far, Su Ming rose up again.
His robes fluttered, and his purple hair seemed messy while it danced in the air. Behind him, thunder rumbled. As lightning intersected with each other, it illuminated his body, making him an incredibly clear sight to the crowd.
"Fifth formation!"
His words instantly caused the thunder to become background noise. Lightning had to avoid him, and rain froze. The third Feng Shui compass appeared under Su Ming's feet, and the two Feng Shui compasses that had crumbled gathered together once more.
The three Feng Shui compasses floated in the air, and Su Ming was above them. During that moment, he was the center of everyone's attention. In the distance, Ye Long's face turned a little pale. He fixed his stare on Su Ming, because he had not expected that Su Ming could so easily… clear four formations in one go!
It was not hard for him to imagine Su Ming clearing four formations, but he would have never guessed… that he could do it so easily. It almost felt like all the things that had happened to him during the eight years had just turned into a joke.
Ye Long remembered the challenges he had issued over the eight years. Right then, it felt as if it was just a mockery.
At that moment, the other cultivators in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky no longer had mocking looks on their faces. Instead, they paid full attention to Su Ming. They no longer said anything to the people from the third line either, because they had been shocked by the ease with which Su Ming cleared the formations.
Most of the people from the third layer were standing on cliffs and staring at Su Ming. As for the second layer, the cliffs there were filled with practically every single person from the second layer. And they were even more packed in the first layer of Sky Beyond the sky.
"It's just the first four formations. Let's see whether he'll be able to do things with such ease in the fifth and sixth formations!"
"Yes, all of us have already cleared more than seven formations, and it's especially so for eldest senior brother Fei Feng from the first line. He is the strongest in this generation. He has already cleared nineteen formations!"
"Besides senior brother Fei Feng, senior brother Chen Tao from the second line has also cleared seventeen formations!"
"That's right, there's also senior sister Yue Yan from the third line. I remember that she has already cleared sixteen formations. There are also some others who have cleared more than ten formations. This Wang Tao… is still going to be just a joke."
"Hmph, look at the thirteenth mountain. The disciples managing the thirteenth line have all cleared more than thirteen formations!"
As the disciples from the fourth layer discussed among themselves, the three Feng Shui compasses gathered together again, and Su Ming lowered his head to cast a glance at the one beneath his feet. A surprised glint appeared for the first time in his eyes.
'This Feng Shui compass… The more I look at it, the more it resembles Xuan Zang's Feng Shui compass…'
Su Ming's eyes shone. He could sense that the three Feng Shui compasses were exuding an increasingly stronger mighty pressure as they continued rotating, but despite it being far stronger than before, it could still not affect Su Ming.
However, as Su Ming looked at the compasses, he had a vague feeling that their rotations had a pattern.
'Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune. Since this Rune has such a name, then it is definitely related to the Seven Lives Art…'
Su Ming pondered it for a little while. He did not immediately make the Feng Shui compasses crumble like he did previously, but began to observe them closely.
His eyes suddenly shrank. He could see that… there seemed to be two shadows on the two Feng Shui compasses starting from the bottom. The two shadows were of him!
'The level of this Rune is still too low, I can't see too many changes…'
A brilliant light shone in Su Ming's eyes as he was deep in thought. Then, he no longer took a step forward. Instead, he swung his arm. With it, the world roared, and the Feng Shui compass underneath him trembled. As the people in the area cried out in surprise, the Feng Shui compass crumbled again, and the two beneath it also started shattered.
"Sixth formation!"
Su Ming lifted his head. A sparkle, one that showed when he was deducing something, shone in his eyes. When he opened his mouth to speak again, the three Feng Shui compasses manifested under him once more, and Su Ming lifted his right hand and swung it again.
Loud booming sounds shot up, shocking the hearts of all the cultivators beyond the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. There were even quite a number of Seven Moons Sect disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky who had their previous assumptions shaken at that moment.
"This is… Could this be the signs of him wanting to clear the tenth formation?!"
"Could it be… Could it be that we can see another person clear the tenth formation today? In Seven Moons Sect, only one person can clear the tenth formation every ten years or so. Could it be that this Wang Tao wants to clear the tenth formation?!"
"It's impossible. His level of cultivation will not allow him to do so. Even for us, the tenth formation poses quite a challenge. There might be a number of us who have cleared it, but besides the senior brothers and sisters who have cleared up to the thirteenth formation, not one of us can be absolutely certain to be able to clear it again!"
"That's right, this is too absurd. He has only joined the sect for a few years. It's not so easy to gain the epiphany for the tenth formation!"
While the disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky were discussing among themselves, Ye Long's face had turned stark pale, and he looked as if he was using all his strength to not fall back. He stared at Su Ming blankly, and anguish gradually appeared on his face.
He had come to finally understand what was going on. For the past eight years, Su Ming had not been avoiding him. Instead, he had simply deemed the challenge beneath him. Right then, there was a high possibility that Su Ming had been annoyed by Ye Long's continuous bothering and chose to make a move only because of that.
'Over the past eight years, I have just been a joke in his eyes… I can't accept this! I can't!' Strong fighting spirit appeared in Ye Long's eyes. However, even he did not know that his fighting spirit was fake and just created by himself. It was a weak existence…
"The seventh formation… He still hasn't cleared the seventh formation yet." When Ye Long murmured those words, he looked at Su Ming once more.
Three Feng Shui compasses gathered together under Su Ming, and above him, the fourth Feng Shui compass swiftly appeared. It was so big that it looked like a plains. At that moment, it levitated above Su Ming and rotated together with the three Feng Shui compasses beneath it.
As they did so, Su Ming lifted his head to look at them. The light of understanding gradually appeared in his eyes. While the people in the area watched and waited, he smiled.
"So that's how it is! Then, I might as well have the eighth and ninth formations appear together!"
While saying that, Su Ming lifted his right hand and swung his arm. This time, the Feng Shui compasses did not crumble. Instead, more runic symbols appeared above the fourth Feng Shui compass to form… the fifth Feng Shui compass!
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Chapter 1398: Dao Divinity Shadow Descension (3)
At the instant the fifth Feng Shui compass appeared, a buzzing sound that could not be described with words stirred up in the Seven Moons Sect. The many outer sect disciples in the first layer of Sky Beyond the Sky all sucked in a sharp breath. They stared at the sky with wide eyes and disbelief on their faces.
They could not believe that the fifth Feng Shui compass had appeared before the seventh formation had been cleared!
"What-what's going on?!"
"I've been in the outer sect for many years. Besides Ye Long, I've also seen many inner sect disciples clear the Rune, but this is the first time… I've seen something like this!"
As the outer sect disciples went into an outburst, the Sect Master of Outer Sect, the white-robed scholar and the former guide for Ye Long let out a soft sigh. He knew that Ye Long's pride would not let him accept that there was someone else in his generation who was stronger than him. That was why he had issued all those challenges, and that was also why such a sight… would deal an incredibly great blow to him.
"Ye Long… lost. He completely lost. He chose the wrong opponent." The white-robed scholar lifted his head and looked at Su Ming, who was among the five Feng Shui compasses. A hint of respect appeared in his eyes!
That respect was not due to Su Ming's status, but because of Su Ming's actions. The white-robed scholar was the Sect Master of the Outer Sect, and he had been in Seven Moons Sect for many years, which meant that he understood the meaning of what was happening right then.
It was… something that would only happen after a person had come to gain an epiphany of the first nine formations. It did not mean that Su Ming was about to challenge the seventh formation, and neither was he going to clear the eighth or the ninth formations. It was… the tenth formation!
"He jumped straight from the seventh formation to the tenth formation… There has not been many who managed to do this since ancient times." The other attendants of the outer sect around the middle-aged scholar looked towards Su Ming with respect in their gazes.
The disciples from the second layer of Sky Beyond the Sky were in the same state of commotion as the outer sect disciples in the first layer. In fact, the uproar there was no quieter. At that moment, all the cultivators from the second layer were standing on their mountains and staring at Su Ming in disbelief.
They were inner sect disciples, and they knew what they were seeing, because they had seen it before. They had seen some who had succeeded, and they had also seen those who had failed, but when it happened, all those who tried to challenge the Feng Shui compass like that became famous people in Seven Moons Sect.
It was at that moment that everyone understood just how stunning was the appearance of the fifth Feng Shui compass!
"The tenth formation!"
"This is the tenth formation. This Wang Tao… gained an epiphany during the seventh formation and caused the Rune to change, so the tenth formation appeared!"
While the second layer of Sky Beyond of Sky was buzzing with noise, the commotion that stirred in the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky was also astonishing. There was no longer derision in the cultivators' eyes; it had been replaced by excitement and anticipation.
They longed for Su Ming to succeed. They were excited to see it happen because it did not seem… like he would stop just there!
Compared to the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, the core disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky all had differing expressions. They stares were fixated on Su Ming, since they had an even more thorough understanding of the tenth formation. The shock in their hearts was even stronger because of that.
The disciples who had mentioned previously that Su Ming was about to challenge the tenth formation had excitement on their faces. When they looked at Su Ming, the mockery on their faces had turned into expectation.
And those cultivators who cleared the tenth formation had respect appear in their eyes when they stared at Su Ming as well. At that moment… it could be said that there was not a single gaze that contained the derision they once had!
Su Ming had used his actions to crush all the scorn targeted towards him! It was especially so for the people from the third line. Right then, their excitement and cheers were even strongest and the loudest. Quite a number of them seemed to have accepted Su Ming, changing sides in a battle!
However, they had just accepted Su Ming as an equal. They did not have the respect towards him as a senior. Whether or not their acceptance would eventually turn into respect would depend on… which formation Su Ming would eventually stumble!
"It's impossible for him to succeed! It's not so easy to clear the tenth formation! I'll watch him fail!"
"Indeed, if the tenth formation could be cleared that easily, I wouldn't have needed to try eight times to clear it!"
There were quite a few people saying such words in the fourth layer. As their discussion echoed in the air, Ye Long stared at the five Feng Shui compasses before him, and blood trickled out the corners of his mouth. He took a few staggering steps back, and when he fell down on one knee, he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood.
He struggled to lift his head with anguish on his face.
"I can't accept this."
When he mumbled those words, Su Ming lifted his head to look at the even larger fifth Feng Shui compass that had appeared above him. His expression was still the same. When the fifth Feng Shui compass rotated with a bang, waves of mighty pressure instantly descended on Su Ming.
For the first time ever, he had a feeling as if his body was about to split while under the mighty pressure. The sensation was very weak, but it still managed to excite Su Ming. He observed the mighty pressure without caring that it was descending on him. Instead, he paid attention to the patterns of the five Feng Shui compasses' rotations.
When he saw figures on the five Feng Shui compasses which looked like his own shadows, his eyes sparkled.
'This Rune helps Seven Moons Sect disciples split their shadows from themselves… and it's the strongest in the five Feng Shui compasses that appear in the first nine formations. Once all of them appear, the feeling of splitting apart is meant for people to experience it. If a person can endure it, they will be able to split their first shadow figure! It is the second life mentioned in the Seven Lives Art, the one besides the person's very own life!
'I've already had a shadow figure split from my shadow, so I don't need the Rune to help me split my shadow, but I wonder if my shadow continues to split, will another shadow figure appear?'
Su Ming's eyes sparkled, and he slowly closed his eyes to sense the feeling of being split apart so that he could check his thoughts.
Time passed, and soon, the time it takes for one incense stick to burn was over. The people who were observing Su Ming in Seven Moons Sect were waiting to see whether he would succeed. They were not in a hurry, because all those who challenged the tenth formation would require quite a large amount of time to clear it. The longest stretch of time had lasted for several months, and the shortest was several days.
But when the time it takes for an incense stick to burn was over, Su Ming's eyes flew open. There was a hint of regret in them.
'The first nine Runes… or rather, the tenth formation is a little low in grade. Since I've already had a shadow figure split from my shadow, the formation is of no use to me. But I'm quite interested in it after seeing what it can do.'
Su Ming's eyes sparkled. A faint smile appeared on his lips, and he lifted his right hand. This time, he did not swing his arm, but pushed his palm at the center of his brow. With it, the shadows appeared on the other Feng Shui compasses and gained corporeal form. The five Feng Shui compasses let out loud bangs, and the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the area were completely stunned.
Their jaws fell slack in disbelief when they saw the five Feng Shui compasses… overlap with each other while the loud bangs roared in the air.
Su Ming's illusory figures on them also overlapped with one another. When the loud bang shook all the people's hearts, they saw…
Besides a huge Feng Shui compass left in the sky, another Su Ming had appeared across from the original one!
It was Su Ming's shadow figure. When it stood there, the first four layers of Seven Moons Sect instantly fell into dead silence. After a moment though, a loud commotion that did not lose to the one previously shot up into the air.
"This… This is… He actually succeeded!"
"In just the time it takes an incense stick to burn? He cleared it in just the time it takes an incense stick to burn! That's impossible!"
"He actually managed to clear the tenth formation. This is… but it's too fast. Could it be that the first ten formations are truly that easy for him? Wang Tao, Wang Tao, the Chosen eight years ago… Could it be that after being silent for eight years, he appeared to shock all of Seven Moons Sect!"
"It's impossible for him to stop now. Could it be that he wants to challenge the head disciples in charge of each line and clear thirteen formations?!
"If he can clear the fourteenth formation, he would obtain two shadow figures, and it would mean that he has managed to perfect the Three Lives Art!"
"What a joke. Starting from the eleventh formation, the Shadow of Punishment will appear. The many shadows are refined from the shadows from the cultivators we of Seven Moons Sect have killed over countless years. If this Wang Tao is lucky, he will run into the weaker ones, but if he has bad luck… Heh heh…"
"You can't say that. While the Shadows of Punishment will indeed appear starting from the eleventh formation, each formation has a limit to their power. It's impossible for a shadow that surpasses the limit of the formation's power to appear."
The commotion reverberated through the air. Compared to the fourth layer's understanding of the Rune, the understanding of the cultivators in the third layer was not great, but they could still see some things. That rainy night was bound to be unforgettable for them.
The outer sect disciples from the first layer and those from the second layer were in an uproar. Their voices echoed in the air, causing Seven Moons Sect to be in a state of commotion that it had never experienced before.
Ye Long had already lowered his head and no longer looked at Su Ming. Even the unwillingness to admit defeat in his heart had turned into numbness, and then, to stillness.
He had lost. He had completely lost.
It was at the instant Su Ming cleared the tenth formation that he… was noticed by the powerful warriors whose level of cultivation were second only to the head disciples and head disciples who were in charge of leading the thirteen mountains in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky.
However, the level of attention they gave him differed due to the difference in the number of formations each head disciple had cleared. The head disciple from the first line, Fei Feng, remained seated in his own cave abode without any changes in his expression. He did not even open his eyes, as if Su Ming's act of clearing the tenth formation was not something that posed a threat to him nor even something that would require Fei Feng to pay attention to him.
He was not the only one acting like that. Chen Tao of the second line—a man with a rather sullen face—also remained seated in his cave abode. He did not pay any attention to the matters in the outside world.
But it was different… for the eldest senior sister Yue Yan, who had previously spoken from the third line. Her eyes were as clear as water, and she had been paying attention to Su Ming since the start. At that moment, a fierce glare gradually appeared in her eyes.
"Where… will your limit be?" she wondered softly.
When the cultivators from the fourth layer gathered their gazes on Su Ming, he slowly lifted his head to stare at the night sky above him.
"I like darkness… Then, before daylight, let's see how many formations I will clear."
Su Ming lifted his right hand and swung his arm at the sky.
"Eleventh formation!"
When his voice echoed in the air, thunder roared. Clouds tumbled and spread outwards to reveal a clear piece of night sky adorned by stars. The starlight gathered swiftly on the Feng Shui compass where Su Ming stood to form a shadow!
"Who… awakened my shadow? Three thousand years ago, I was killed by the thrice cursed sect elder of the ninth line in Seven Moons Sect… I am Guru Xing Chen!"
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Chapter 1399: Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune (4)
There was endless resentment in that voice, along with a hint of madness brought by an unwillingness to admit defeat. When it echoed in every direction and resounded through Seven Moons Sect, the figure in front of Su Ming on top the Feng Shui compass turned into a shadow.
However, that shadow stood vertical and soon began to distort. In the blink of an eye, it turned into an old man with a head full of white hair and dressed in a long robe with stars on it. Veins popped up on his face when he glared at Su Ming.
"Seven Moons Sect disciple, Seven Moons Sect disciple…"
Once the old man cast a glance at Su Ming, he laughed madly. Waves of powerful killing intent spread out from him!
At the instant the old man appeared, cries of surprise rang out in the first layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. Once the outer sect disciples joined the sect, there were few who managed to see the eleventh formation of the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune. Upon seeing it, they immediately began paying attention to it.
Compared to them, the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the second layer of Sky Beyond the Sky were different. Their expressions changed at that moment. Their knowledge of the world was much greater, so most of them had already seen someone clear the eleventh formation… but they had never seen Guru Xing Chen before.
Different shadows had appeared when other people cleared the eleventh formation, but they had never exuded such mighty pressure and crazed killing intent as Guru Xing Chen.
Those in the second layer did not know who he was, but the disciples in the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky did. At the moment they saw him, they took a few swift steps forward as if they wanted to take a closer look at him.
Their expressions changed, and in the end, a grim look settled on their faces.
"Guru Xing Chen… He's a powerful warrior who brought chaos to Ancient Zang three thousand years ago. He was then killed by a sect elder of our sect. I didn't expect… that this person would have already been refined into a Dao Shadow!"
"I heard about him before. Apparently, most of the cultivators who participated in killing this Guru Xing Chen from Seven Moons Sect came from the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. Those of us in the third layer might have been allowed to join the operation, but only a few of us had a direct hand in it. Most of us were in the periphery to set up a Sealing Rune.
"This Wang Tao… He might have quite a bit of difficulty in clearing the formation this time. It would have been fine if he had ran into someone else, but he just had to run into… Guru Xing Chen, who was infamous throughout the land!"
When the disciples in the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky were shocked because they saw Guru Xing Chen and began discussing about him among themselves, the cultivators in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky who could be considered to be the most elite of the cultivators in Seven Moons Sect filled with killing intent that came from the depths of their souls.
The sect elder had not appeared in the beginning of the battle. The disciples had been the ones who attacked, but Guru Xing Chen had cast an unknown divine ability that increased his cultivation base exponentially for a short period of time, allowing him to reach the terrifying first level of Dao Divinity Realm. To him, killing them was as easy as crushing ants. He did it, of course, which stirred up the sect elder's anger, and he had personally descended there. Once they engaged in a fight that shook the sky and earth, the sect elder killed Guru Xing Chen.
They had never managed to find the Secret Art Guru Xing Chen used to increase his level of cultivation from the initial stage of Avanicaya Realm to the first level of Dao Divinity Realm within a short six hours. No matter how Seven Moons Sect searched his soul, they could not find it.
While the Secret Art could not really allow him to remain in the first level of Dao Divinity Realm for a long period of time, but it was so powerful that Seven Moons Sect placed high value on it. That was also the reason why… his body was destroyed, but his shadow was left behind and sealed in the Rune.
Most of the disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky knew of that secret, but it was the first time that Guru Xing Chen had appeared in the eleventh formation. Upon seeing him again, old hatred rose in the hearts of the disciples from the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. The battle in the past had been a wretched one. Those of the same line beside them had died one by one, and even three head disciples in charge of leading the mountains had died.
"It's that person!"
"It's a pity that when I challenged the Rune in the past, I never met his shadow, or I would have definitely taken revenge for Senior Brother Xu!"
"His body was destroyed by the sect elder, so only his shadow remains. His level of cultivation has been reduced to the later stage of Plane Kalpa Realm. It wouldn't be difficult for me to kill him if he only has that level of cultivation!"
"Wang Tao, kill that person!"
"Wang Tao, that person killed a lot of disciples from Seven Moons Sect in the past! Kill him!"
Voices rose and fell from the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. When they landed in Su Ming's ears, he cast a glance at Guru Xing Chen, and a thought appeared in his heart.
'It's impossible that he brought chaos to anywhere in Ancient Zang with his level of cultivation. It's also impossible for Seven Moons Sect to have needed to mobilize so many cultivators to surround and seal him… Even if he was in the initial stage of Avacaniya Realm… Looks like this Guru Xing Chen has quite a number of secrets.'
A ghost of a smile appeared on Su Ming's lips when he cast another glance at Guru Xing Chen.
'And this is the first time this person appeared in the eleventh formation in three thousand years. I won't believe that my luck is so good that I met him. Someone… must have manipulated it!'
Su Ming shook his head.
Guru Xing Chen roared at that moment. He formed a seal with his hands, and two black phoenixes flew out of his hands. When they intersected with each other, they occupied most of the Feng Shui compass. Piercing screeches charged at Su Ming, closing in on and enveloping Su Ming.
"You've gone against the rules."
At the instant the black phoenixes enveloped Su Ming and hid him from view, a deep voice spoke from the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. It echoed in the mountains and landed at the top of the mountain belonging to the third line, right in the palace where Lan Lan sat meditating.
"This person is not supposed to be released. We only use the Rune to suppress him. Sect Elder Lan, I will need an explanation."
Lan Lan opened her eyes and said softly, "Greatmaster, my Master sent a message in regards to this. If you have any objections, please ask my Master."
Once she said those words, the voice from before did not speak again.
Lan Lan cast her gaze to the area outside as if she could see through the palace to the Feng Shui compass where Su Ming was at that moment.
"Master is in isolation right now. It's impossible for him to have participated in this… Only when you kill the man in front of the disciples of the fourth layer… will they accept you.
"No one in Seven Moons Sect could find his secret, but I have a feeling… that you can."
As Lan Lan mumbled to herself, a loud bang that shook the sky and earth shot out from the Feng Shui compass in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky.
The two black phoenixes let out shrill screeches of pain. They disintegrated, and the Feng Shui compass became clear again. Su Ming was standing as if he had never done anything, but the eyes of Guru Xing Chen shrank.
"Bring out what made you bring chaos to Ancient Zang, or else you are not worthy of me attacking you," Su Ming said flatly.
His voice was calm, but when it traveled through the area, it shocked the cultivators from Seven Moons Sect.
With an unprecedentedly grave look on his face, Guru Xing Chen lifted his right hand and swung his arm at the air. Immediately, the world rumbled. An indistinct crack appeared in the sky, but if anyone looked closely, they would see that it was not a crack. It was… a huge whip!
The red whip did not have corporeal form and was just an illusion. When Guru Xing Chen lifted his right hand, he grabbed it.
"Besides having the Secret Art that allowed me to reach the first level of Dao Divinity Realm within a short period of time and become an overlord of a region, I also had this… Space Whip!
"It's a pity that besides me, no one knows where the real body of the whip lies. And you too… can only see the illusion of the whip… manifested from my heart.
"You won't have a chance to personally experience its real might. Still, it can be considered to be your serendipity to witness the might of this illusory whip."
A ferocious smile appeared at the corners of Guru Xing Chen's lips. When he lifted his right hand, the Space Whip let out a roar as if it had just cracked the space in the world. In an instant, it turned into a red line that charged towards Su Ming.
He remained as calm as ever, but a thought appeared in his mind. The old man had spoken too much, and the information he revealed as well as the discussions from the people around him caused Su Ming to smile when he looked at the old man.
Right when his smile appeared, the whip charged at him. Su Ming took a step forward, lifted his right hand, and grabbed it. Immediately, he caught the red whip.
But the instant he touched the whip, a loud bang shot up in his heart. Memories instantly rose in his mind, and they all came from Harmonious Morus Alba. They tumbled about as if they had been stirred up by a strange power in the whip.
Su Ming's body jolted. He felt as if his shadow and his soul were about to be extracted by the whip, as if he was about to be separated from Wang Tao, from the body he had successfully Possessed.
'This whip…'
Su Ming's eyes sparkled. He circulated his cultivation base to forcibly stop the whip's power to stir his memories. When he took a step forward, with the whip seized tightly in his right hand, he drew close to Guru Xing Chen, whose eyes had went wide and whose jaw was slack from shock. Su Ming raised his left hand and swiftly struck Guru Xing Chen between the eyebrows.
A wave of power belonging to Soulseek swiftly spread out from Su Ming's left hand. He planned to search through Guru Xing Chen's memories for the true whip from and the Secret Art that allowed his level of cultivation to increase exponentially for a short period of time.
"That's impossible… you… you managed to catch my Space Whip?!"
Guru Xing Chen saw Su Ming's left hand approach him, and a hint of scorn suddenly appeared on his face, but that scorn was not very strong, since the shock he experienced just then diminished it.
"No one can search through my memories! If the thirteen Great Sect Elders of Seven Moons Sect could not do it… you have no chance!"
Guru Xing Chen laughed loudly when Su Ming's left hand pressed down at the center of his brow. Su Ming leaned into Guru Xing Chen then and whispered softly into his ear, "That's because before me… there have been no Abyss Builders here nor any Arts that could reverse time!"
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Chapter 1400: Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune (5)
"You…"
Once Guru Xing Chen heard Su Ming's soft whisper, his pupils shrank, but the next instant, his eyes became unfocused, as if he had become dazed. Su Ming's right hand was pressed against the center of his brow. The power to reverse time was revealed for the first time in Ancient Zang, and it fused into Guru Xing Chen's soul.
At that instant, a picture appeared in Su Ming's mind. A man in a black robe was standing in the picture. With a cold face, he stood on a tall mountain. A huge door was floating before him.
At that moment, the door was open. The black-robed man took a step forward to walk through the door, but he turned his head slightly around, as if he wanted to cast a glance at the world before he stepped inside.
In that man's right hand was a string of pearls… as well as a red thread that connected the nine pearls together, and that red thread was… At the instant Su Ming saw it, he remembered the illusory shadow of the Space Whip Guru Xing Chen had brandished just then!
"Those who search for my Dao, when you tread down this path of mine which might kill you or allow you to live… you may call out to the power I, Xuan Zang, left behind in my homeland!"
When the voice echoed in the air, the picture vanished from Su Ming's mind. At the same time, Guru Xing Chen let out a shrill scream of pain. He trembled while sounding incredibly forlorn.
At that moment… the rain turned into… snow. It was endless. As the snowflakes floated down from the sky, even the entire western side of Ancient Zang began snowing…
As well as the eastern side, the northern side, the southern side… All regions in Ancient Zang, including the seven sects and twelve clans began having snow at that instant, and it was the same for all the cities and land in Ancient Zang.
At first glance, it looked like snow, but when people took a closer look, it showed up to be dust… All of Ancient Zang, be it mountains, rivers, the seven sects and twelve clans, and the royal capital… felt a rotten presence at that instant.
It only appeared for an instant before it dissipated. Disappearing along with it was the snow that covered all of Ancient Zang…
Su Ming lifted his left hand. At that moment, Old Xing Chen eyes went wide, shining with incredulousness while he stared at Su Ming in a daze. Gradually, his body began to tremble…
"You… You are… master…"
As he mumbled, his body let out a bang, and he turned into bits of glittering light. They spread out and eventually turned black before shattering to pieces.
At the instant Guru Xing Chen's body disappeared, Seven Moons Sect fell silent, but soon, the loudest commotion erupted since Su Ming had begun clearing the Dao Divinity Shadow Descension.
It was especially so for the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. Su Ming's act of killing Guru Xing Chen allowed him to obtain many people's approval. The buzzing from the commotion at that moment was mostly filled with expectation, and it was even more so in the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. Very few people had derision and disapproval towards Su Ming's act of clearing the Rune at that moment. Instead, it had turned into acceptance!
Due to their acceptance, the words that tumbled out of their mouths were filled with chants calling out for the twelfth formation. Their voices echoed in the air, spurring Su Ming on, expecting him to challenge the twelfth formation!
"Twelfth formation!"
"Twelfth formation, Wang Tao! Challenge the twelfth formation, continue until you reach your limit!"
"If you can clear the fourteenth formation, you will gain a second shadow figure! Wang Tao, you have to clear the fourteenth formation!"
Various voices rose and fell. When they echoed in the air, Ye Long was already leaning against the wall of the mountain behind him with a pale face as he stared at Su Ming on the Feng Shui compass. He no longer had any idea how to express the mixed feelings and anguish in his heart.
Amid the cheers, more powerful warriors from the fourth layer began to pay attention to Su Ming, especially the head disciples of the thirteen mountains. At that moment, seven of them had opened their eyes and fixed their stares on Su Ming. There were solemn expressions on their faces.
Su Ming had already proven to be somewhat of a threat to those seven people.
With everyone's gazes trained on him, Su Ming stood on the Feng Shui compass. He closed his eyes to hide the contemplative glint in regards to the things he had just seen.
Soon after, when he opened his eyes, he looked as calm as before. No one could tell whether he was happy or angry nor if there were any emotions surging in his heart.
Su Ming lifted his right hand and pushed downwards, in the direction of the Feng Shui compass below him.
With it, the Feng Shui compass roared. In the blink of an eye, it began rotating, and as it did so, it grew to be nearly twice the size. If anyone saw it from a distance, they would find themselves shocked by the size.
It levitated in the air above Seven Moons Sect, and at the moment it rotated, the countless runic symbols began shining brilliantly before floating out of the Feng Shui compass. Then, they gathered in front of Su Ming… to turn into a figure which was thirty or so feet tall.
That figure was pitch black and full of explosive power, but in the blink of an eye, it gained corporeal form and turned into a huge man. He was covered from head to toe in scars, and once his body came into full view, he opened his eyes and let out a roar that shook the sky and earth.
"Great Mourner Huang Xian, the cultivator who was killed and sealed eight thousand years ago!"
"That's right! That's his shadow! He's the Rune shadow that most commonly appears for the twelfth formation!"
"I've seen several senior brothers challenge the twelfth formation, and the Great Mourner can appear in two states. One of them is his current state, and the other is when he goes mad. His power will increase exponentially, and he will reach a terrifying state!"
Amid the discussions, the thirty something feet tall man let out a shocking roar.
"I am the shadow of the twelfth formation, unless you defeat me, your progress will stop here!"
As the man roared, he charged at Su Ming. When he lifted his right hand, the air roared. He threw a punch at Su Ming, and his fist instantly closed in on him.
Su Ming's expression remained the same. At the instant the man closed in on him, he did not move back, but forward. Once he took a step, he lifted his right hand. He clenched his fist and threw a punch straight at the incoming man.
"I've laid low for eight years. It's about time for me to show my power."
At the instant Su Ming said those words, his punch clashed against the man's.
A loud bang instantly surged into the sky. It shook eardrums of all the cultivators in the area. The man jolted and let out a shrill scream of pain. His right hand crumbled, and when he staggered backwards, Su Ming took a step forward with a calm expression. Once he drew close to the man, he unfurled his fist, straightened it… and seized the man's neck. He squeezed down slightly, and the man's screams came to an abrupt halt. As he shuddered, veins popped up on his face.
A growl escaped his throat at that moment. His body became bulkier, and veins covered his skin. As his power increased exponentially, his expression became ferocious. Madness showed up in his eyes. In the blink of an eye, he grew from thirty feet to nearly fifty feet tall, and he still continued growing!
As he grew taller, even Su Ming, who had the man's neck in his grasp, floated up from the Feng Shui compass.
"Get lost!"
The man let out an astonishing roar. He raised his arms as if he wanted to grab Su Ming, but before he could touch him, without any change in his expression, Su Ming increased the strength of his grip. Immediately, the man, whose body was clearly growing stronger and bigger, jolted.
An incredulous expression appeared in his eyes. When his lifted arms fell, Su Ming released his grip. His body landed lightly on the Feng Shui compass while the man's body fell with a bang.
All his life force was crushed when Su Ming had increased the strength in his grip.
He had not crushed the man while he was at his maddest, but while he had his strength increase continuously in explosive bursts. It might seem easier, but only those with outstanding power could understand the principle behind it and which one was harder!
The power required to crush him while he had his strength increase in explosive bursts surpassed what was required when he had reached his full strength.
"Thirteenth formation."
Su Ming stared at the man's body as he gradually dissipated from the Feng Shui compass. The man did not die, but instead returned to the Rune to wait for the next person who came to challenge, and then, he would wake up again.
At that moment, all the Seven Moons Sect cultivators in the area had excitement on their faces. Before Su Ming had challenged the Rune, they had not expected that they would see something like that. In fact, when Su Ming had just begun challenging the Rune, they would have never expected that he… would arrive where he was right then!
The thirteenth formation was a checkpoint for all the disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond of Sky. Those who cleared it were few even among the disciples of the fourth layer. Only the head disciples in charge of the mountains and the powerful warriors of each mountain could clear them.
To most disciples, clearing the twelve formations was already their limit, because the shadow serving as garrison of the thirteenth formation was an existence most disciples could not fight.
Because of that, there was a categorization the inner sect disciples of Seven Moons Sect had for the thirteenth formation that did not belong to the sect rules, and that was that the thirteenth formation… was a checkpoint where their status would increase by leaps and bounds once they cleared it!
Those who cleared the thirteenth formation would no longer be ordinary disciples, but powerful warriors serving as inner sect disciples of Seven Moons Sect. They would get most of the resources, best training as well as a status that would bring all eyes on them.
There were less than a hundred people among the disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky who had cleared the thirteenth layer!
And at that moment, Su Ming was going to challenge the formation that served as the great checkpoint. Everyone's excited gazes were on Su Ming. When the Feng Shui compass rotated with loud bangs and its size increased by leaps and bounds… an ancient voice echoed from the Rune.
"I am the one who guards the thirteenth formation… Sect Elder Wang, greetings."
When the man's words echoed in the air, a black figure appeared on the Feng Shui compass. It instantly became clear and turned into an old man dressed in a white robe.
Su Ming had seen him eight years ago. He was one of the thirteen sect elders!
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