Chapter 1322 - 325 - 331

Chapter 325: New Method to Refine the Body

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

No one knew what the Shamans saw. During that night, they disappeared from the edge of South Morning. Their people could only find some broken enchanted Vessels on the land several hundreds of lis away from that spot. Other than that, there were no other clues about them.

All eight of them disappeared.

In fact, there was a Shaman Tribe that was located not too far from the Dead Sea from that place. During the night these Shamans disappeared, no one from the tribe heard anything, not even the sounds of fighting or the casting of Spells, neither did any of them notice anything.

It was as if these Shamans were swallowed by the void.

The Shaman Tribes had been enveloped in terror since several months earlier. This terror was no longer hidden by now and had become increasingly stronger as time went by. That fear spread far, causing a large amount of Shaman Tribes near the Dead Sea to start migrating.

That place was no longer suitable for living.

Sometimes, there would be a long arc flashing through the land of the Shamans. In that long arc was a ferocious beast with a dragon head but with the body of a horse. That creature was not big, and although it was only several hundreds of feet in size, the murderous aura coming from it instilled fear among people when people got closer to it.

Its most distinct trait were the balls of blue flames blazing under its hooves. As it passed through the sky and the long arc disappeared as it left, it would leave behind a trail of fiery hoof prints that gradually vanished into the air.

All the Shamans who saw that creature would put on a look of reverence and wrap their arms around their chest before bending their backs down to bow. There were even a number of them who knelt down with looks full of respect.

Because this creature had a special name. Its name was Shaman Stallion, and only the Temple of the God of Shamans could possess this creature in the entire land of the Shamans.

Yet during the past few months, creatures with the head of a dragon and the body of a horse had been appearing quite frequently in the Shamans' sky. There were about hundreds of ferocious beasts like these charging through the sky in long arcs. They traveled to the corners of the land of the Shamans to deliver sealed orders to the tribes and also to perform their duties.

As the Dead Sea expanded according to the legends in the land of the Shamans and as the Shaman Stallions brought the sealed orders to the tribes, the Shamans began to execute the planned migration.

The storm was about to arrive!

In truth, disaster had already come to the spot near Sky Mist Barrier. Sounds of battle and slaughter shook the sky and earth. The sky there was dark, and the land was filled with a stench coming from the blood that had seeped into the earth.

The war came suddenly upon the Berserkers, quick as lightning, and in a manner the Berserkers were still not completely prepared.

Right then, the sounds of battle echoed in the air on many spots on the gigantic Sky Mist Barrier that stretched far into the distance, and sounds coming from Sky Mist City were the strongest.

Behind the walls of Sky Mist Barrier was the land of the Berserkers. The sky in the distance was covered in ripples and the clouds were spread out like the scales on a dragon's back. It was as if that was a sign that said there was a great sword that was about 100,000 feet in size slicing through the air and stirring up a loud and shocking whistle. As that whistle spread out, the sword charged towards Sky Mist City.

Compared to the anxiety and terror that filled the air in the land of the Shamans, the land of the Berserkers was peaceful. Even if they were about to face the great battle that only occurred once a century, most of the Berserkers were already used to these type of battles, hence they did not treat it as truly a battle to the death but merely a trip to gain experience.

They believed that the existence of Sky Mist Barrier could keep the Shamans out.

They believed that the battle would end several years later, and once it ended, they would continue living in their land, which was filled with their tribes.

Even a large part of those on the giant sword that was charging through the sky while it stirred up piercing bangs also had the same thought. This was just an experience, a battle that could make them instantly famous.

"Refining your body is not what you think. No matter how much extra weight you place on yourself to train, besides allowing yourself to become lighter in your imagination, it has no other uses!"

Su Ming sat at the tip of the sword. His face was pale, but he still gritted his teeth and endured through it. There were huge gusts of wind blowing at the spot where he was, and it was blowing against almost all parts of his body, causing his body to tremble. In fact, even his blood seemed to be going up against a lot of resistance just trying to flow in his veins, causing his heart to feel as if it was a challenge to keep pumping.

Behind Su Ming, Jing Cheng Rong sat calmly, speaking languidly.

Su Ming's lips trembled and his breathing was rapid, but he still gritted his teeth and hissed out his words, "But the birds in the sky fly because they're light. That's why their can have unlimited speed. Doesn't that mean that training my body by adding extra weight is working?!"

"What a joke. Do you only look at birds? Then have you seen ferocious beasts with gigantic bodies flying in the sky? They're so fast that even us Berserkers cannot compare to them. Are they light now?" Jing Cheng Rong gave him a cold sneer before he asked.

Su Ming was silent and could not find any way to retort even after a long moment. The Golden Roc appeared in his mind. It was definitely incredibly heavy because of its big body, but it could travel at incredible speeds.

"Training your body by adding extra weight to it is not right but not wrong either. We can even call it the first step in body refinement, but there are simply too many drawbacks to this. True body refinement means for you to control the patterns of the wind and the direction of the wind resistance. You use these two forces to push your body and continuously fuse them together so that you can walk in the skies as if you're traversing on even ground.

"However, not even I have fully understood this method, so you don't have to think about it for now. Still, this is a direction for you. Only when your direction is correct can you chase after your path. If your direction since the start was wrong, then you'll only be wasting your time." As Jing Cheng Rong spoke in a low voice, he lifted his right hand and pointed towards the spot before Su Ming.

With one point of his finger, a small tear instantly appeared on the protective light screen before Su Ming at the tip of the sword. The moment that tear appeared, Su Ming's body started trembling viciously. He could feel that the thin layer of wind had instantly become several times stronger. The intense pain that made him feel as if he was being torn apart also became stronger.

"If you want to pursue this path, then you must walk down that path with the right direction. Now, think of yourself as a gust of wind and feel the resistance of the wind coming against you. Sense the reaction in all parts of your body when the two forces collide against each other."

Blood flowed down the corners of Su Ming's lips. The sharp pain in his body made him unable to endure through it. The wind coming right against him felt like blades cutting through his flesh. There was not a part of his body that did not hurt. His body swayed as he sat there, as if he was about to be swept away by the wind at any moment and be blown backwards.

Jing Cheng Rong scowled and said with a cold snarl, "You useless piece of trash!

"If it wasn't for Bai Cang Zai, I'd definitely not give you even the slightest bit of my attention! I may need to respect senior Tian Xie Zi, but you're not that worthy of becoming his disciple." Jing Cheng Rong snorted.

Su Ming trembled and blood trickled out of the corners of his lips once again. His body was forced back five feet even though he was still seated. His face was pale. The pain in his whole body made him feel that even the strength required for him to stand up was gone. The circulation of his Qi had become incredibly difficult under the assault of the wind. Even the circulation of his power of Awakening within him had become much slower, as if it was going up against an incredible resistance.

Under this sort of premise, it was very difficult for him to keep his body in the same spot.

"Trash is trash, you're so dumb!"

Jing Cheng Rong lifted his right hand and pointed at the protective light screen before Su Ming at the tip of the sword once again. Immediately, the tear that was previously formed let out a loud rip and became a little larger.

By doing so, the wind blowing against Su Ming instantly became much stronger. Before Su Ming could even get used to the previous wind, he was forced back once again, and he even coughed out a mouthful of blood.

That mouthful of blood was immediately scattered away by the wind, but strangely, at the same time the blood was scattered away, one small drop that had turned into blood mist stayed before Su Ming's body for the span of several breaths before it gradually disappeared.

"Still a useless piece of trash. One incense stick later, I will open up the protective screen a little wider again. If you can't endure it, then get your butt back to the edge of the sword." Jing Cheng Rong scowled and his expression turned icy cold.

Su Ming's face was pale. The act of opening and closing his eyes was already difficult enough in the wind, much less breathing. His body trembled and he was already at his limit, but he kept his eyes glued to the part where the blood mist was just now and did not move his gaze elsewhere.

'Imagine myself to be a gust of wind… It's easy to say that, but how am I supposed to do it…' Su Ming felt troubled, but he did not give up. He simply gritted his teeth and persevered.

Yet he also knew that this sort of perseverance was not of much use.

'That blood mist… how did it manage to stay for several breaths under that wind before it disappeared…'

In his silence, Su Ming suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and coughed out blood once again. Without care for the consequences, he stared at the blood he just coughed out into the wind, and then, everything in his sight seemed to slow down. With his own eyes, he clearly saw his blood turning into mist and tumbling backwards once it came into contact with the wind.

Yet there was a small part of that blood mist that was only scattered away once the wind blew through the fine gaps in between the drops of blood.

At that instant, understanding appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He closed his eyes, and his body gradually moved back once again as wind blew against him.

"Why does Bai Cang Zai place so much value on a useless piece of…" Jing Cheng Rong had already grown impatient, but before he could even finish speaking, he widened his eyes abruptly.

Su Ming was originally moving from the wind, but he had stopped, and that was not all. Right before the old man's eyes, Su Ming, while still having his eyes closed, stood up and took a few steps forward. Once he came back to his original spot, he sat down cross-legged without any hesitation.

The moment he sat down, Su Ming's hair started flying rapidly while his robes danced madly in the air, but his body was not forced back by the wind. Although he was trembling, he was already in a completely different state than he was previously.

"Hmm?"

Jing Cheng Rong observed him for a moment, and amazement gradually appeared on his face. He lifted his right hand and once again pointed at the protective light screen at the tip of the sword right before Su Mig, causing the tear to widen a little more and the wind to blow even stronger.

Before, Su Ming would definitely not have been able to endure it and would have been blown tumbling backwards, but now, he continued sitting on the spot firmly, simply allowing the wind to blow against the front of his body… Then, the gust of wind pass through his body and came out from his back...

Chapter 326: Old Man

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When he saw a part of the wind blowing against Su Ming exiting his body through his back, a serious look instantly appeared on Jing Cheng Rong's face. He suddenly understood why Bai Cang Zai placed so much value on this youth.

"Not bad, Su Ming…" Jing Cheng Rong mumbled.

'I originally wanted to provoke him through words so that he could endure through the wind a little longer. After all, the wind blowing against us is definitely uncommon due to Frozen Sky's speed. It's wind that is excellent for body refinement…

'And only one person can obtain the chance of body refinement over here at the tip of the sword. It's only because of Bai Cang Zai that I'm allowing this person to train here.

'But… I didn't expect that this person's comprehensive abilities had reached such a level! He actually managed to reach this state through his epiphany!'

Jing Cheng Rong's eyes sparkled as he looked at Su Ming.

'I told him to think of himself as the wind, and by doing so, he could sense the power of wind when both gusts of wind run into each other. By doing so, he could refine his body by using wind to refine wind… but his epiphany had allowed him to surpass that state. He made it so that wind would pass through his body, and then… even if he ran into wind, there is no wind. If the person is there, but at the same time not…'

Jing Cheng Rong was stunned for a moment, then his gaze as he looked at Su Ming became strange.

Su Ming sat there for a long time before he opened his eyes. The moment he did so, a calm look settled within them.

"Senior Jing, this wind is a little too weak. Could you open up the tear a little more?"

Jing Cheng Rong let out a harrumph, but he did not call Su Ming a useless piece of trash anymore. Instead, he lifted his right hand and pointed in the direction before Su Ming. Immediately, the tear widened up a little more, causing the wind blowing in to become stronger.

The instant the wind blew against Su Ming, he closed his eyes, and all the pores in his body opened up. In his head, he imagined his body to have turned into the blood mist. Within him were numerous fine gaps that allowed the wind to pass through. It was as if he did not exist.

It was as if his pores could breathe, and when the wind blew against him, it would be sucked into his pores in a bizarre fashion. Then, it would be rapidly exchanged with something else within his body before being released from the pores on his back.

However, this method of breathing could not replace Su Ming's true breathing. Even with this, he still felt as if he was about to suffocate. In fact, when he was exchanging the air within his body, a sharp pain that grew increasingly stronger came about.

Nonetheless, this method could indeed allow him to achieve and maintain a higher speed that surpassed that of when he took off all the extra weight on him, even as wind blew strongly against his face. In fact, it could even lengthen the duration of the time he could stay in that state.

Time passed by. When the second night arrived, Su Ming opened his eyes and took a few steps back swiftly. He took a few large breaths of air, and the color of his face gradually returned to normal. He had repeated this particular action several times during the day.

Jing Cheng Rong still did not speak. He was instead sizing up Su Ming with a strange glint in his eyes and observing the act of Su Ming using his pores to breathe.

"From what I know, there are some creatures in the world that do not need to use their mouths or noses to breathe. They use their skin to replace their mouths and noses… If I didn't know that you were a Berserker and you didn't occasionally look like you were about to suffocate, I would definitely think you were one of those creatures taken up human form." Jing Cheng Rong spoke with a strange tone in his voice.

He fell into contemplative silence for a while before he commented languidly, "That method of yours is different from the idea I gave you previously. But judging by your looks, you can't stay in that condition for too long. It's still… not perfect."

"But my speed has indeed increased by a huge margin compared to last time, and I can even last a much longer time than before. I'm already satisfied with this result.

"As for searching for an even better method… I'll need to survive through the battle before I have the right to try and gain an epiphany for that." Su Ming remained silent for a moment before he said softly.

Jing Cheng Rong did not seem to agree with him, but once he looked as if he had just thought of something, he did not offer any retorts. He simply turned his words into a sigh.

"Perhaps you're right. Only when you survive will you have a chance. Train on your own. I'm a little tired now…" He shook his head and closed his eyes to start meditating in silence.

The sky during night was filled with stars, but Su Ming did not have the time to look at them. After a moment of rest, he took in a deep breath, then he went to the spot where the wind was coming from at the tip of the sword. Once he sat down, he started refining his body with the method not even Jing Cheng Rong himself understood fully.

In truth, Su Ming himself did not really understand the method either. He simply used the inspiration he gained from the part of the blood mist that had not disappeared immediately. This method may look as if it was not difficult, but controlling all his pores to breathe in required fine control, and it was something difficult for any ordinary person to do.

Even Su Ming himself had to continuously try before he gradually found a pattern to it, only then could he slowly start with the refinement that was completely different from training his body by adding on extra weight.

'I can't give up on the training of adding extra weight to myself. Other people's words are not necessarily completely true. Besides, this battle might last for several years. The level of devastation would be unbelievable. Surviving… is the most important thing!'

A determined look appeared in Su Ming's eyes and he closed his eyes.

Night slowly went away. When the third morning came and the morning sun peeked its head out of the horizon, Su Ming saw a different sunrise in the sky.

The sunrise was so magnificent that it attracted his attention. After a long while, he closed his eyes and immersed himself in refining his body. Night arrived once more, and when the third night went away to welcome another new day, Su Ming stood up and went to Jing Cheng Rong, who still had his eyes closed, looking as if he was deep in sleep.

The moment Su Ming walked towards him, the old man opened his eyes.

"Senior Jing, thank you for your guidance." Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed towards him with gratitude shining in his eyes.

"Don't thank me now. If you can survive through the battle, you can thank me then."

Su Ming was already a little used to the way Jing Cheng Rong spoke. When he heard the old man's words, he simply smiled and brought out the wooden slip Tian Xie Zi gave him before he handed it over to the old man respectfully.

Jing Cheng Rong took the wooden slip and cast it a glance. Then a frown appeared between his brows.

"Senior, I would like leave at this place," Su Ming requested calmly.

"You can leave at any time you want with senior Tian Xie Zi's plate, but there's still a little over a day before we reach Sky Mist City. If you leave now, you will need to head to Sky Mist City yourself." Jing Cheng Rong lifted his head and gave Su Ming a look. "If it isn't really important, I'd suggest that you don't do it."

"This is really important to me." Su Ming looked at the old man.

"I'll give you seven days. With your speed, you'll be able to reach Sky Mist City by then. You can get the city's approximate location by sensing the brand on your life force left on the sword.

"If you don't return after seven days, I will punish you as according to how we punish deserters!" Jing Cheng Rong waved his arm and threw the wooden slip back to Su Ming before he closed his eyes once again and no longer paid any attention to him.

Yet when he waved his arm just now, a spot on the protective light screen behind him started to distort. Clearly, that was the exit he temporarily opened for Su Ming.

Su Ming caught the wooden slip and wrapped his fist in his palm before bowing towards the old man. He turned around and cast a look at Zi Che, who was watching him at the edge of the sword from the crowd. Su Ming smiled and nodded at him with encouragement in his eyes.

Zi Che was silent as he looked at Su Ming, then he gave him a nod as well.

Tian Lan Meng remained sitting at the edge of the sword with her back turned towards Su Ming. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders, and she seemed to be looking at the sky, immersed in her thoughts.

Su Ming averted his gaze, and right under the people's curious gazes, he charged towards the temporary door behind the old man. In a flash, he passed through that distorting light screen.

The instant Su Ming left the screen of light, a deafening roar reverberated in the air. That roar persisted as Frozen Sky charged past him into the distance. When Su Ming turned his head back, he could only see a black dot disappearing into the distance.

Disappearing along with it was that loud rumble he had heard just now.

Silence gradually returned to the vast sky. Su Ming stood alone in the air as he looked in the distance. He only averted his gaze after a long while and took a step towards the ground.

Due to the ice hoops on him exploding some time ago, the instant he took that step, his speed immediately reached an astonishing level. As he charged forward, he felt a strong blast of wind crashing onto his body, and the moment that blast of wind closed in on him, Su Ming activated that breathing method he came up with through his own understanding.

In a flash, he disappeared without a trace.

That speed had already reached a state that would startle all those who saw him. After a moment, at the top of a mountain in a mountain range on the land of the Berserkers, a gust of wind charged through the air. Distortions appeared in the air as well, and Su Ming stood on top of the mountain looking as if he was a series of afterimages overlapping with each other.

His face was pale. Once he appeared, he took a few deep breaths in succession, and only then did he gradually start to recover, but his eyes were bright, and his heart pounded rapidly against his chest.

"I'm much faster than before… and I could even last an hour in this state!"

A smile appeared on Su Ming's face, and he waited till his Qi calmed down before he lowered his head to look down the mountain range. Not too far away, he saw a small Berserker tribal village that was surrounded by a forest.

Chimney smoke rose from the tribe in the morning. He could even hear the faint sounds of children playing. As he stood on the mountain, Su Ming saw the people within the small tribe working on starting a new day.

This was the second time Su Ming came to the tribe. His gaze fell on a normal looking house within the tribe.

He walked down the mountain and towards the tribe.

Su Ming arrived without a sound. With his current level of cultivation, he could step into the small tribe without letting any of its people notice him. When he appeared within the tribe and stood right outside that ordinary house, he heard a song played by a xun coming from within the house.

That song was filled with a serene tone that made those who heard it feel peace within themselves.

Su Ming stood there and closed his eyes to immerse himself in the song. After a long while, the notes slowly disappeared, and an old, raspy voice came from the house.

"You're here…"

"I am Su Ming, and I would like to request an audience with you, Senior." Su Ming opened his eyes, and they were calm. He wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed.

"Come in. I've already finished repairing your xun."

Su Ming lifted the flaps to the house respectfully. The instant he stepped into the house, he saw that everything was the same as before. In fact, the old man had not even changed the position of where he was sitting. It was as if the old xun maker had not gotten up in those days. As he turned his eyes towards Su Ming, there was a kind smile on his face.

His eyes�� were empty.

Chapter 327: Deserter

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Su Ming might not feel any hint of power from the old man before him, and in fact, the old man felt as if he was just a candle flame that would be extinguished by a gust of wind, but Su Ming was still filled with respect in his heart towards him.

He respected this old man, but not because even Tian Xie Zi had to sit down quietly before him when he came to him.

He respected this old man, but not because he was mysterious, neither was it because of Tian Xie Zi, whose robes even had to change its color when he came before him.

Su Ming respected this old man for one reason alone - He repaired that ordinary bone xun for him. That xun contained all of Su Ming's memories, and the act of repairing his xun was an act of kindness to him.

He was grateful to this old man, that was why he respected him. For this alone, no matter how high Su Ming's level of cultivation would become, and even if the old man was truly just an ordinary person, that respect would never change.

"I will forever remember the kindness of you repairing my xun!" Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm towards the old man and bowed deeply towards him.

The old xun maker continued smiling, then groped about at the straw mat beside him with his right hand. Very soon, he brought out the bone xun that belonged to Su Ming.

"There are some things that can't be considered as acts of kindness. Since you believed that a blind man like me could repair your xun and trusted me with it, then it was tied to me through fate, and you were also tied to me through fate.

"This is fate, it is not an act of kindness." The old man lifted the bone xun with his right hand, and with his left, he brushed against the surface of that xun lightly.

"Come. Sit before me… The xun is incomplete, but the broken parts on its body aren't the main cause for it. The main cause is that it no longer has a soul. Did its previous owner pass away when he was playing a song?" the old man asked softly.

Su Ming sat down silently before the old man. He looked at the bone xun in the old man's hands, and a hint of sorrow appeared in his eyes.

"That should be the case then…" The old man sighed.

"Its owner's life was not the only thing that disappeared, what went with it was the xun's soul. That is why it is no longer willing to make any sound. That is the main cause for it being broken." The old man lifted his hand and pushed the bone xun in the direction before Su Ming.

It was only during this moment that Su Ming could tell from the details that the old man was indeed blind.

"Can it… Can it still produce sound?"

Su Ming took the bone xun. There were cracks on that thing before, and now they had all turned into red, blood-like lines. It looked as if the cracks were sewn together, and the xun was much heavier. It felt heavy in his hands.

"I can only repair what is broken outside. As for the fact of its soul refusing to sing, that is not something I can change with my power. The only person who can change it is you," said the old man softly.

"I have always believed that xuns have songs, that is why they moan when they sing… If xuns didn't have souls, how could they bear the weight of the people's emotions? How could they produce sound and let people get immersed in their songs?

"However, there are some who can sense the xun's soul, and others who cannot." The old man trained his eyes on Su Ming, but the emptiness in his eyes made it seem as if the world he saw was different from the people around him.

"Xuns have souls…" Su Ming mumbled. He remembered holding that xun during many nights when he felt lonely while quietly playing a song that only he could hear. The sorrow in the song was like moonlight falling down onto the ground, and it allowed Su Ming to recount his memories time and again.

"The xun's soul is dead… That death is vague and cannot be explained with words, but right when I saw it, I knew that its soul was no longer present.

"If you want it to sing once again, and sing with a voice that belongs to you, a voice that you want to hear, then you will need… to give it a new soul!" The old man's voice echoed in the house with an ancient tone.

The children's playful laughter occasionally traveled in from the tribe outside. Sometimes, they sounded close, and sometimes, they sounded as if they were far away, causing Su Ming to feel a little dazed as he continued listening to it.

"How can I do that?" Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the old man.

"Forget it." The old man remained silent for some time before he closed his eyes.

Su Ming looked at the xun in his hands blankly for a long time before he got up and bowed deeply towards the old man. As he turned around and was just about to leave, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Senior, the Land of South Morning will be plagued with a lot of disasters, especially where the tribe is located, since it's not too far away from Sky Mist City… If you can, please migrate to the center of the land. The battle this time might not be like the previous battles that only occur once a century," Su Ming said softly and lifted the flaps to the house before he went out.

The moment one of his feet stepped out of the house, the old man's ancient voice came from behind him.

"There is no place in the world that is absolutely safe, but similarly, there is no place in the world that is absolutely dangerous. Do plants have a choice where they grow?"

Su Ming stopped for a moment. He had a somewhat hazy notion of what the old man meant. In silence, Su Ming walked out of the house and into the small-sized tribe.

As he looked at the bright sky, a conflicted look appeared on his face, but there was a firm resolution within his heart. He knew that he was about to face a disaster the likes of which the Land of South Morning had never seen. He also knew that there might be countless people dying in this disaster.

He could also choose to run and find a place to isolate himself, so that when the disaster arrived, he might be able to escape from the crisis. Yet he could also choose not to run and make himself stronger as he went through the baptism of the disaster!

If he trained normally, then during the span of time that would last less than a decade, his growth would slow down. If he wanted to live and make himself stronger, then he must have a heart that did not fear death.

If he could not find any serendipities, then he would battle till he found himself a serendipity. If he could not get any fortuitous encounters, then he would kill until he obtained a fortuitous encounter. If he ran into a wall during his training, then he would use fresh blood to solve that problem. If his life was in danger, then he would use the desperation that would appear within him during the crisis and create a path of survival for himself.

"There is no place in the world that is absolutely safe, but similarly, there is no place in the world that is absolutely dangerous…" Su Ming mumbled, and as he walked further into the distance, his footsteps grew increasingly more firm.

Su Ming continued walking down the village this way. He did not activate his speed, neither did he circulate even the slightest bit of his power, not even his Qi. With just his body, he walked through the mountain range and the forest within, just like an ordinary person.

He walked in the direction of Sky Mist City.

His destination was Sky Mist City, but the destination within his heart was Dark Mountain. He might be walking down this path, but in his mind, the path he saw… was still Dark Mountain's.

He was walking on his path back to his home. He was walking through his memories, as if he was reminiscing.

The mountain range rising and falling, along with the humidity, as well as the swamps in the forest, did not make Su Ming stop for too long. Three days passed by as he continued walking this way.

In truth, if Su Ming activated his speed, the distance which he had just traversed during those three days could be instantly traveled, but he did not do it.

In the beginning, he was intentionally trying to forget his own power, and to forget everything. Yet gradually, as he walked through the mountain range, the forest and the plains, when he could not see anyone else in the vast world before him, he slowly began to be able to get into a condition as if he had forgotten everything.

He forgot his power, forgot that he was walking on the lands of South Morning, forgot his own goals, forgot many things… and when the fourth night arrived, Su Ming became tired in that forest.

He leaned against a big tree, exhausted, and lifted his head to look at the night sky, at the moon that was partially hidden behind the many leaves within the forest, and as he looked at them, Su Ming brought out his xun.

He placed the xun by his mouth and closed his eyes before gently blowing into it. Yet even after a long time, no sound broke the calm of the forest. Still, nostalgia appeared on Su Ming's face, as if he was immersed in the xun song playing in his memories.

In this silence, there were three people charging towards the edge of the forest from Sky Mist City, to a spot in the forest that was rather far away from where Su Ming was, but not too far away.

Those three people were incredibly careful as they moved forward. The person leading the team had his eyes closed. Around them, in an area of several thousands of feet was an invisible wave of ripples that was echoing in the air. When those ripples touched the trees, they would bounce back a little, only when they touched the small beasts in the forest would a large amount of ripples gather.

Under the moonlight, the picture of a bat could be seen carved onto the leader's face. It was not a Berserker Mark… It was a Totem!

It was the Totem of the Shamans!

One of the two people following behind that person was incredibly brawny and looked as if there was an enormous power stored within his body. The bulging muscles made him seem like a small hill. With every single step he took, he would make the earth seem like it was trembling, but strangely, not one sound was made.

That person carried a gigantic battle axe on his shoulders. There was a dark reddish brown stain on the blade of the axe, and that was the stain left behind when blood dried up.

The other person was a petite and thin figure. Judging from the curves of the person's body, it could be seen that it was a woman. She had a normal looking appearance, and the skin tone of her face leaned on the darker side. Her gaze was electrifying, like lightning. Of the three of them, only the woman was relaxed at the speed which they were using to travel at that moment. It was as if she even had to slow down to achieve that speed so that she could move with the other two.

There was a poisonous snake tattooed on the woman's face, causing her to look rather ugly.

Before long, as the three people charged forward, they stopped within the forest. At that moment, they were only 50,000 feet away from Su Ming. Yet clearly, these three people had not noticed his existence, and Su Ming was immersed in the soundless song. None of them knew that their race's mortal enemy lay 50,000 feet away from them, and should they run into each other, they would definitely fight to the death.

"This is the place. According to our promise, we have to wait here for about two hours for Wu Duo. Ying Huan, you're the fastest among us. Patrol the area 100,000 feet around here once to make sure that this place is safe.

"From what the map says, there should be no tribes here. The closest tribe is still a little far off from this place. There should be no Berserkers appearing in this place, but we still need to be careful."

"If Wu Duo doesn't appear two hours later, I will leave." The woman among the three people turned around and cast a glance at the person who spoke just now, then said those words before she disappeared into the darkness.

"Wu Duo likes killing. If he doesn't come, I will leave as well." The man with the battle axe on his shoulders sat by the side and cast a cold glance at the person with the bat tattoo on his face.

"Don't worry. He needs the Shaman Crystals we brought with us. He'll definitely come. Then it won't be a waste for us sneaking into the land of the Berserkers after so many of our people died. With his Spell, we can turn into Berserkers and avoid… the Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands."

The man with the bat tattoo on his face spoke with a gruff voice. The moment he mentioned the Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands, his breathing quickened slightly.

Chapter 328: There is Something on my Back!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Speaking of which, it's all thanks to your people in Shamanic Bat Tribe, or else we wouldn't have been able to sneak into Sky Mist Barrier." The man placed the battle axe by the side and brought out some medicinal salve before he smeared it on the wounds on his body. There were a lot of blood stains on his body.

"You're indeed a merciless one to have sacrificed hundreds of your tribesmen for this one chance." The man smiled.

"If we don't enter the land of the Berserkers, we will definitely die when the Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands arrives. To survive, this is nothing, especially compared to you pretending you died to escape."

The man with the bat tattoo on his face let out a cold snort.

"We should be the first batch of people using this method to escape into this place. It's a pity… that the risk for this method is very high, and only three to five people at most can come in, or else, if we presented this method to the Temple of the God of Shamans, we would be able to obtain quite a large amount of rewards." The man frowned, then avoided the topic of just now.

"It's useless even if you hand it to the God of Shamans Temple. Do you think they don't know about this method? With the strength and how terrifying Sky Mist City is, they must have seen through this as well, but they didn't seal the wall off. There's a very 'profound' reason for this." The person with the bat tattoo laughed coldly.

"Oh? I thought that Wu Duo was the one who first discovered this method. He has already disappeared for more than a decade and has been living among the Berserkers. I wonder what is his level of cultivation now." The man lowered his head, his eyes sparkling.

As the two people chatted with each other, they would occasionally look around them carefully. If there was even a hint of movement around them, even the slightly rustle of grass, they would attack immediately. After all, to them, this was the land of the Berserkers, and all the people in this land were their enemies.

Even with their levels of cultivation that were equivalent to the initial stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm, they still did not dare venture too deeply into the land of Berserkers. They had already paid a large price to be able to enter this place, and they could no longer return to the Shaman Tribe. Right now, they only wanted to find a small Berserker Tribe, hide their identity, then follow the tribe as they migrated, which would allow their chances of surviving through the catastrophe to become higher. They did not want to die in battle.

At that moment, there was a shadow slicing through the forest around 20,000 feet away from the two people. That incredibly fast thing was the woman of the three people patrolling the area. She was searching through the forest incessantly, and gradually, she came to be at a spot that was less than 30,000 feet away from Su Ming. With her speed, even if she was patrolling through the area while going in a circle, she would still discover him within less than the time taken for an incense stick to burn.

Once she ran into Su Ming, a Berserker, when they had yet to conceal their identities as Shamans, they would be engaged in another battle to the death.

Su Ming was leaning against a big tree with his eyes closed. There was nostalgia on his face, and in his hands, he held the bone xun while he played that soundless song. If anyone took a closer look, they would be able to vaguely see that there were some faint and barely indistinct ripples around Su Ming. The ripples spread out around him and echoed in a circular area of several hundreds of feet.

"Xuns have souls, that's why they can produce sound… What I blew in is wind, but what comes out is the notes produced by the soul…" Su Ming mumbled and opened his eyes to look at the bone xun in his hands. After a long, long time, he closed his eyes once again and immersed himself in the soundless song.

Gradually, once he managed to forget everything on the way to this place, he forgot about himself holding that bone xun under the big tree during the dark night. He no longer tried to see whether the xun could produce any sound but started searching for the feeling of home as he listened to the song in his memories.

On his face, Dark Mountain Mark gradually appeared. The trees and plants in Dark Mountain Tribe gradually surfaced on his chest hidden under his robes, and falling snow slowly appeared around that tribe, causing his closed right eye to turn red, little by little.

The ripples around him became stronger, causing the area of about hundreds of feet around to become distorted. Even as his presence was hidden away as he stood within the area.

It was as if Su Ming no longer existed.

He was immersed in the song, in his memories, and he leaned against the big tree unmoving.

Time trickled by, and soon, the time for an incense stick to burn passed by. A shadow dashed past an area that was 3,000 feet away from Su Ming. That shadow stopped, revealing a petite figure, and the Shaman woman appeared on the spot. She swept her gaze around the area, then disappeared in a flash.

Time continued trickling by, and in a manner not even Su Ming himself noticed, the distorted ripples around him started rising and falling like waves. As they reverberated in the air, they started spreading out, and once those ripples reached an area of nearly 500 feet, suddenly, a mournful song begun in the silent night!

The sound of the xun was originally rather weak and sounded like the first whimpers of a baby, but soon, that sound gradually stabilized and turned into a mournful sound that contained an endless amount of sorrow. It filled the air in the area, and even spread out further into the distance.

Su Ming's eyes were still closed. He was leaning against the big tree with the xun held beside his mouth, still, unmoving. Yet the moment the xun produced its very first sounds available for others to hear, a white storage bag that was tied to Su Ming's robes suddenly let out a red glare. That red glare flew out from the bag, then right before Su Ming and amidst the large amount of distorted ripples, the Fire Ape appeared.

It squatted on the ground with a curious glint in its eyes as it stared at Su Ming. In truth, that storage bag could not hope to keep it locked within. If it wanted to, it could come out at anytime it desired. This was what Su Ming promised it, that was why he never sealed the bag tightly.

It stared at Su Ming blankly. That sorrowful sound within the song made it feel horrible, but it continued squatting and listening in silence.

Su Ming's shadow casted under the moonlight started swaying. A pair of red eyes appeared at the shadow's eyes, and within those eyes was bafflement.

Almost the moment the first notes of the song came out from the xun, the female Shaman who disappeared from the spot 2,000 feet away from Su Ming suddenly appeared as if she had just walked out of thin air. A wary look appeared on her face as she stared in the direction where Su Ming was, which was also the direction where the song was coming from.

Murderous intent appeared in her gaze, but she hesitated for a moment and decided not to act rashly. Instead, she chose to gradually move backwards.

The sound of the xun started spreading out to an even wider area, and lingered in the air even as the notes resounded in a circular area of several thousands of feet. In fact, some lingering notes from the song even spread out to further distances in the quiet night.

The melody of the song sang of sorrow and solemness, making those who heard it feel their emotions stirring within them. It was as if there was some sort of strange power within those notes and they could touch souls.

Several tens of thousands of feet away in the forest, the two Shamans who had sunk into silence after their short exchange lifted their heads at almost the same time and wary looks appeared on their faces.

"Did you hear that?" That brawny man tightened his grip around the battle axe, and murderous intent appeared in his eyes.

"The sound of a xun…" The man with the bat tattoo on his face stood up grimly.

"This is already night time, and to the Berserkers, this place should be quite far away as well. There aren't any Berserker Tribes around this place, and the sounds from a xun suddenly appeared…" At the same time the murderous look appeared in the man's eyes, anxiety bubbled within him as well.

The man hesitated for a moment before he asked softly, "Could it be Wu Duo?"

Before the man with the bat tattoo on his face could answer, an aloof voice belonging to a woman came from the patch of forest beside them.

"No, he's a Berserker." Along with that voice came the female Shaman, who had been at the spot 2,000 feet away from Su Ming just a moment ago and had now returned to her companions.

"What is his level of cultivation?" the man with the bat tattoo on his face immediately asked.

"He didn't seem strong to me. Besides that song of his, which was a little strange… this person's level of cultivation should not even be at the Bone Sacrifice Realm," stated the woman coldly.

"Not even the Bone Sacrifice Realm?" The man with the battle axe let out a sigh of relief, then started laughing ominously.

Yet the man with the bat tattoo on his face frowned and turned his gaze towards the female Shaman.

"Since he's not even in the Bone Sacrifice Realm, why didn't you kill him off?"

"This is the land of Berserkers. If we're going to attack, then we're doing it together. I'm not doing it alone." The woman's voice was still as aloof and indifferent as ever.

"Wu Duo is about to be here. Come on, we'll finish off this person quickly, and once we kill him, we need to search the area and see whether there are any other Berserkers around, or else there'll be trouble." The man with the bat tattoo on his face charged into the forest with a glint in his eyes.

The female Shaman followed behind him. When she moved, her body was like a wisp of smoke, making her seem as if she was drifting through the air.

"Since he's not even in the Bone Sacrifice Realm, I'll rip his skin off and see whether I can wear it on myself." That brawny man licked his lips in a bloodthirsty and cruel manner as he followed closely behind them.

The three of them could be said to be moving incredibly cautiously. Even if they were about to fight against a Berserker who had not even reached the Bone Sacrifice Realm, they still chose to act together. From this alone, it could be seen that they did not have even the slightest feeling of safety within the land of Berserkers.

"Ying Huan, you're fast. Launch the first strike later, but don't kill him. Keep him alive. There's something off about him, and I have some questions to ask that Berserker." The man with the bat tattoo on his face instructed the female Shaman by his side as they dashed forward.

The three of them traveled incredibly quickly, and before long, as they ran in a straight line over those 50,000 feet, they arrived at a spot not too far away from Su Ming. Yet as they got closer, the mournful song became clearer, and in that silent night, that song made them feel incredibly uneasy.

When Ying Huan heard his words, she nodded. She too thought that there was something odd about that Berserker.

3,000 feet, 2,000 feet, 1,000 feet, 500 feet, 300 feet… Like long arcs, the trio stirred up piercing whistling sounds in the air as they traveled at full speed. When they arrived at the spot 300 feet beside him, they saw Su Ming leaning against the big tree, still and unmoving. They also saw a Fire Ape with fiery red fur squatting down before him.

Almost the moment these three people arrived, the Fire Ape turned around abruptly and bared its teeth while glaring at them. Right then, the woman, who excelled in speed among the trio, charged forward suddenly. She was originally 300 feet away from Su Ming, but in the next breath, she appeared right beside him. A cold glare appeared in the woman's eyes and she lifted her right hand. Five black needles could be seen in her hand, and she thrust them towards Su Ming's jugular notch.

Yet the moment this woman was about to swing her lifted right hand down, she suddenly let out a shrill, pained cry and started trembling while coughing out blood. On her face was shock and disbelief.

"There's something on my back!" The woman's shocked scream was filled with utmost terror, and her body started withering away rapidly, as if her flesh was going to be instantly devoured.

The man with the battle axe widened his eyes, and terror could be seen within them. By his side, the man with the bat tattoo sucked in a sharp breath. He just saw clearly that there was a black shadow that looked like a layer of skin behind Ying Huan. It was stuck to her, rapidly spreading all over her as if it wanted to envelop the woman's body within.

Chapter 329: He Feng's Thoughts!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

That strange sight shocked the male Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face. He had never seen such a bizarre Art before. In fact, he did not even know what that shadow was.

All of this happened too quickly, and he only managed to see the shadow immediately appearing behind him the moment Ying Huan got closer to the young man playing the xun while leaning against the big tree. That shadow got closer to her without a sound, and what came next were Ying Huan's screams.

The man with the battle axe came to an abrupt halt as he was moving forward, and his heart started pounding against his chest. The things that happened before them right then made him and his companion's skin crawl.

Almost the moment the female Shaman let out that shrill cry, the shadow behind her opened its mouth wide and covered her entire body completely, making it seem as if the woman was swallowed by it.

It would have been fine if that had just been the case, but once the female Shaman was swallowed up by the shadow within the area that was filled with the song's ripples, the fire-red ape that was squatting before the young man leaning against the tree glared at them with a murderous look.

The ape had originally not bothered the Shamans, but at that moment, as it let loose its murderous aura, a brutal sensation came crashing into them. That ape moved and turned into a dash of fire-red that charged towards the man with the bat tattoo.

It was so fast that it arrived almost instantaneously, and as the Fire Ape swiped at him, the pupils of the man with the bat tattoo shrank. As he tumbled backwards and coughed out a mouthful of blood, his chest was turned into a bloody mess, his face was filled with shock. As he retreated, a sharp whistle came from his mouth, and his entire body instantly turned into a layer of mist. Only then did he manage to avoid the Fire Ape's fatal strike.

"Meng Heng! Kill that Berserker!" That sharp cry tumbled out of the male Shaman's lips, who had now turned into mist, and as his body moved back, the Fire Ape chased after him furiously.

Meng Heng was the brawny man with the battle axe. There was not a hint of hesitation in him. He knew well that this was the Berserker Tribe's land, and every single step they took here was filled with danger. If he cared about his own safety at this moment, then once the other two died, it would be difficult for him to survive. It would be better if he tried and fought for his life!

This was a battle none of the three Shamans had expected. They had originally thought this to be an easy battle. Their opponent was just a Berserker in the Awakening Realm, not even one in the Bone Sacrifice Realm. Yet he had not even struck, his body had not even moved an inch, and one of their own had already been swallowed bizarrely by a black shadow, while the other was currently being hunted by an ape. They were in grave danger.

"Just what is this person's status within the Berserker Tribe?!" The brawny man let out a low growl and charged towards Su Ming like a cyclone with his battle axe in hand.

'His status within the Berserker Tribe must be really high, or else why would he possess that treasure that could swallow Ying Huan and own that ferocious beast that can even fight against Fu Ge when he's just a Berserker who hasn't even reached the Bone Sacrifice Realm?!

'This person must be really weak and can't even hold his own in a fight. Fu Ge must have asked me to kill him because he saw through this. Once this person dies… all his treasures will be ours!'

A fierce glare appeared within the man's eyes. He was so quick that with just one step, he had already closed in on Su Ming, who was by the big tree while playing the xun, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.

"Die!"

A strange green light appeared all over the man's body. As that green light flashed, his lifted right hand swelled up, and a bloodthirsty aura spread out from the battle axe. With one swing, the axe sliced through the air, straight down towards Su Ming's head.

Not too far in the distance, shrill, pained screams rang out from the mist, which had been ripped apart several times by the Fire Ape once it caught up to it. The mist's speed increased as it escaped once again, and the male Shaman who had turned into the mist saw the axe swinging down on Su Ming as he hastily retreated.

"Kill him!" that male Shaman shouted, then withdrew once again.

The brawny man laughed ominously. That blow contained all his strength, and he was confident that even if he ran into a Berserker in the initial stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm, if they were just like this young man, who would not even dodge and just allowed him to cut him down, they would surely die.

Yet when the Shaman-now-turned-mist looked on eagerly and the brawny man began envisioning Su Ming being cut in half with a savage look on his face, Su Ming remained unmoving, a black bracelet on his wrist. It suddenly dissipated and broke off from Su Ming's wrist in the form of black mist, which rolled together and turned into the form of a woman's body. She appeared before Su Ming, right in front of the man, and lifted her right hand to receive that strike.

The woman appeared too quickly, so quickly that she almost materialized in the span of a breath. Her whole entire body was black and her face could not be seen. They could only see her curvaceous body, and as her hand touched the axe swinging down, a loud bang abruptly rang out.

The man holding the axe shuddered, and his right hand instantly exploded, causing the axe to fall back with a humming sound in the air before it turned into an arc that fell into the forest in the distance. That man trembled, and blood mist burst forth from his body. He staggered backwards and coughed out a huge mouthful of blood with a pale face. Without any hesitation, he retreated, and once he did so, shock appeared in his eyes.

He was not the only one shocked. The male Shaman who had turned into mist was also stunned. As he continued retreating, the Fire Ape, which had been incessantly chasing him down, suddenly froze. That distance was the limit of the chain wound around the Fire Ape's neck. It could not continue onward. It bared its teeth and let out a low growl, then slightly backed off at a very slow pace.

Using that chance, the male Shaman changed back into his physical form from the mist. His breathing was quick as his heart pounded with lingering fear, but when he saw Meng Hao coughing out blood, withdrawing in haste, his breathing stilled.

The woman formed by the black mist standing before Su Ming glared at the two Shamans coldly. She did not speak, but her gaze alone was enough to make their hearts tremble.

'The middle stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm!' The male Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face felt a bang go off in his head the moment his gaze met the woman's.

The brawny man's entire right hand had exploded and was now a bloodied mess. His direction as he fell back was different from the male Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face. He did not dare go to where the male Shaman was, the Fire Ape was there.

Between them was Su Ming, leaning against the big tree with his eyes closed.

The short battle became silent. The Fire Ape squatted on its spot and swept its gaze at the two people coldly. The woman formed by the black mist did the same thing.

'He possesses a valuable treasure that could swallow Ying Huan, owns an ape that has the power equivalent to that of those in the Bone Sacrifice Realm with a speed that is shocking, then has a Spirit Slave that is in the middle stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm protecting him… How could he be so powerful? He's supposed to just be in the Awakening Realm!'

The man with the bat tattoo on his face was pale. He knew that there was no hope for him to win this battle, and he was just about to leave…

In the other direction, the brawny male Shaman's heart was also racing in fear. The dangers in this battle made him lose all will to continue fighting. Now he only wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. He had gone through many trials and tribulations before he finally managed to get into the land of Berserkers. He did not want to die here.

To the brawny man, that young man leaning against the tree with his eyes closed was filled with enigma. He did not want to get closer to that mysteriousness. He just wanted to get out of this place.

Yet the moment thoughts of escape appeared within him and his fellow Shaman with the bat tattoo and they were just about to run into two different directions, their bodies suddenly froze.

With increasing fear, they saw a figure gradually appearing out of thin air, right at the spot before Su Ming and behind the Fire Ape, where Ying Huan was swallowed up previously.

That figure had a curvaceous body but leaned on the slightly petite side. It was a woman with a tattoo on her face that made her look ugly. That woman… was the Shaman, Ying Huan!

She reappeared!

However, the originally empty eyes of the newly appeared Ying Huan were suddenly filled with a lively glare. Standing there, she lowered her head to look at her own body. Then, as the other two Shamans were stunned still, she moved her limbs. By the looks of it, it was as if she was not too used to this body and needed time to get used to it.

"She's… not Ying Huan!"

The male Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face instantly turned stark pale. He just saw very clearly, coldness and unfamiliarity showing up within the newly appeared Ying Huan's eyes.

The brawny man also noticed this. Terror appeared within his eyes, and he retreated hastily without any further hesitation.

Almost the moment he started retreating, the Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face also instantly fell back. The two of them ran in opposite directions, but right as they took their very first steps, the newly appeared Ying Huan smiled with a hint of darkness on her lips. She charged towards the man with the bat tattoo.

The black figure that was given to Su Ming by his eldest senior brother and was floating before him also moved and turned into a gust of black smoke that charged towards the brawny Shaman.

Only the Fire Ape remained around Su Ming while it let out displeased growls, because it was tied down by the chain around its neck.

Before long, from another side of the forest came wisps of smoke that looked like a person. A woman appeared right before Su Ming, and a human head fell from the wisps of smoke before they charged towards Su Ming's right hand and turned into a black bracelet.

Some time passed by, and a muffled screamed echoed in the air. After a moment, from another side of the forest came a man. This person was the Shaman, Fu Ge, who had been running away. As he walked forth, he kept shaking his body as if he was trying to get used to it. In his right hand he held a human head, and it belonged to Ying Huan.

His eyes sparkled, and he stopped a hundred something feet away from Su Ming. His gaze fell on him, and his eyes sparkled, a murderous gleam evident within them. It was as if he was hesitating and being unsure. His eyes shone with killing intent as he continued observing Su Ming.

Pitter…

Patter…

The blood from the human head in his hand let out pattering sounds as it fell on the ground, and the sound was incredibly distinct in that quiet night.

Almost the instant he stopped moving, the Fire Ape turned around and glared at the thing with the Shaman Fu Ge's appearance. It snarled and growled at him, because it could sense it. Even though this person's form was different, it was still that shadow that the ape despised.

That person's hostile gaze made the Fire Ape's growls turn increasingly more murderous.

Chapter 330: Punishment!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The bat tattoo on the man with Fu Ge's appearance was originally dark, but at that moment, dim light started shining on it. He lifted his foot slowly and took one light step towards Su Ming.

The instant he took that one step, the Fire Ape stood up swiftly, lifted both its arms towards Fu Ge, then struck its chest repeatedly with madness shining in its eyes, looking as if it would immediately strike should Fu Ge take one more step into its territory.

The man who looked like Fu Ge was not bothered by the Fire Ape. He kept his gaze trained on Su Ming, who still had his eyes closed, and lifted his right foot once again, but hesitation appeared within him once more.

As he hesitated, he had his eyes fixed on Su Ming and stared at him with a piercing gaze as if he wanted to see whether there was anything off about him. After a long while, killing intent appeared within his eyes. Yet the instant he was about to put his foot down on the ground for the third time...

"He Feng, are you tired of living?" a calm voice suddenly asked.

The instant that voice spoke, the killing intent within the eyes of the man who looked like Fu Ge disappeared. He shuddered slightly and instantly knelt down on one knee.

He saw Su Ming, who had been leaning against the big tree, open his eyes. The xun in his hands was already placed on the ground, and he was looking at him coldly. Strangely, even though Su Ming was no longer playing any songs on the xun, the mournful notes from the song still echoed gently in the area.

"Master, you're mistaken. I only wanted to return to your side."

He Feng's heart shuddered, and he quickly lowered his head. He looked calm, but the emotions in his heart were surging wildly due to that one sentence from Su Ming, along with Su Ming's gaze.

Su Ming did not speak. He only stared coldly at the man before him, who had the appearance of a Shaman but was in truth He Feng. This was the first time he saw He Feng's mystical ability. That mystical ability was incredibly strange, and it was enough to make Su Ming feel a little alarmed.

He Feng had a rebellious bone within him, and that was something Su Ming knew since a long time ago. This person was not willing to be used by him, that was why he harbored unfaithful sentiments. If Su Ming wanted to use this person, then he must dominate He Feng using extreme measures, forcing him down beneath him forever, have terror fill his mind. Only then would Su Ming be able to control him.

He had to control He Feng using fear!

Su Ming closed his eyes, and the instant he did so, He Feng, who had been kneeling on the ground, suddenly started shuddering viciously. As he trembled, He Feng let out shrill and pained cries that were filled with intense agony, as if he was going through an unimaginable amount of suffering.

He continued screaming, and as He Feng trembled, he found himself not even being able to keep his body upright. He fell to the side, and as convulsions wrecked the body he had just obtained, the body started withering away and drying up rapidly.

A large amount of black smoke could even be clearly seen coming from the body's skin as it continued to rot and wither away. There was a countless number of Wings of the Moon within that black smoke devouring the body madly.

The sudden change did not make He Feng surprised. He was incredibly intelligent, and right from the start Su Ming said those words, he knew that he was definitely going to be punished.

Yet he was not at all bothered by this punishment. In his mind, there was in no way Su Ming would kill him. Even if he wanted to kill him, he would not do it now. After all, He Feng would be of incredible help to Su Ming during the battle in Sky Mist.

He believed wholeheartedly… that Su Ming would not dare to kill him!

'It's just going to be a light punishment, and it's just to let me know that he's my owner so that I won't have any rebellious thoughts. Judging from such an immature tactic, Master, you're still too naive. You might have changed a lot during these years, but compared to me, you're still lacking!

'I'll just show a pained face so that you'll be happy when you see it and feel relaxed, then I'll make some promises and it'll be enough to deceive you.

'This is just a show, and I'll act it out with you.' He Feng laughed in his heart coldly, though he was still screaming out in pain while begging for mercy.

He Feng might be rebellious, but the Wings of the Moon were not. To the souls of the Wings of the Moon, Su Ming was their king. Su Ming's will was their everything, and with just one thought, he could let them willingly do anything, even if he was demanding them to self-destruct.

Hence, even if He Feng had fused together with the Wings of the Moon, and by spreading out his will haf become the main body after the fusion, but everything that he had was from the Wings of the Moon!

That was why, He Feng, who had never gone through any sort of punishment before, had still underestimated the pain.

As his newly acquired body continued trembling and he kept screaming, He Feng went through two different pains coming from his body and his soul. He felt his body rotting away, sensed the pain of his soul being ripped apart, and the indescribable agony of his entire being, his body and his soul, being devoured by the Wings of the Moon.

'Damn it, why does it hurt so much?! Su Ming, you as*hole, you bastard, once I regain my freedom, you'll be the very first person I devour. Remember that!' He Feng raged in his heart, but his face was filled with pain, and his voice became increasingly agonized.

"Master, I did wrong… I did wrong. Please forgive me, please spare me this once…" He Feng's body convulsed on the ground, and his pained screams made even the Fire Ape's eyes change. His screams reverberated in the air and intersected with the mournful notes of the xun.

"Master, I won't dare to do it again. Ah… please spare me… Please spare me…" The new body He Feng acquired had already completely withered away and turned into a dried up corpse. Its flesh had completely rotted away, and the black wisps of air coming out of the corpse started tumbling about like smoke. The shrill screams were also coming from the shadows of the Wings of the Moon that were occasionally appearing in the smoke.

Su Ming had his eyes closed as if he could not hear anything and did not bother about him one bit. Time trickled by, and once He Feng's screams reached their peak, his voice slowly started to weaken.

'Su Ming, I'll never forgive you!'

"Master… please spare me…"

'Su Ming, I'll return this pain I suffered back to you several fold in the future! You won't kill me, I know that!'

"Master… I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, please spare me this once… just this once… just this once…"

He Feng's thoughts and words were two complete opposites, but gradually, the curses in his mind slowly dwindled down, and the pleads for mercy increased, because gradually, He Feng discovered something terrifying.

Wisps of smoke started drifting out of the ball of black smoke floating in midair. Once every wisp of smoke separated itself and drifted out of the ball, they would turn into a Wings of the Moon that would wander about in the area. Gradually, the black smoke became less until eventually, there was only one wisp left from that black smoke, and within it was He Feng's shivering soul.

"Master, please spare me!"

He Feng's soul looked as if it was about to dissipate, and as that black smoke was continuously dragged out, his soul became weaker, but that was not the true cause of what made him terrified. Occasionally, He Feng lifted his head and looked at the sky, and when he did, the anxiety in his pleads for mercy grew increasingly stronger. By then, the curses in his heart were gone without a trace.

The sky had already started to brighten up. The morning sun had peeked its head out of the horizon in the distance, and before long, it would show up completely. Once it did, the darkness on the land would be chased away, and a new day would arrive.

To Su Ming, this was just another day, but to He Feng, it would be the final moment of his life!

He originally did not fear daylight, but once he fused with the Wings of the Moon, even though he could still exist during the day, he could only do so if there were shadows around.

Yet as he was being punished by Su Ming and the Wings of the Moon in his body were dragged out by his will, in this state where he lost the Wings of the Moon, he suddenly realized that for some unknown reason he was immensely terrified of the sun. In fact, he even had a feeling that if the morning sun shone on him while he was in this state where the Wings of the Moon had yet to return to his body, then what awaited him was absolute death!

This was something he had never imagined was possible. It was something completely out of his expectations!

As time passed by and the morning sun was about to appear fully, He Feng's terror reached its peak, because he just realized he had made a horrible miscalculation!

'He wants to kill me! He actually wants to kill me!' Extreme fear appeared on He Feng's face. He was terrified now, truly terrified.

'That's impossible! He must still be thinking of just scaring me! He'll definitely not destroy me for such a small mistake, not after wasting so many weeks in fusing me with the Wings of the Moon!

'This is him warning me, that's right… this is just a warning!' He Feng continued consoling himself, but his eyes were glued to the horizon.

Suddenly, right the moment he looked over, the morning sun appeared in the horizon, and at the same time, the darkness enveloping the land started disappearing at a shocking speed along with the darkness within the forest where Su Ming was.

He Feng sank into fear, the fear that had been long absent from within him. He had only experienced this fear right when he was captured by Su Ming in the past and had originally forgotten it, but now, he suddenly remembered. At that one moment all those years ago, he had been certain Su Ming would not kill him, but in truth, if it had not been for He Feng convincing Su Ming with his final sentence, He Feng would have been long dead.

'He really wants to kill me!'

He Feng let out a pained scream, and as the darkness disappeared while sunlight descended on land, his body started rapidly dissipating. As he disappeared, he went through pain that was several times more intense than that time in the past, and the feeling of death rose swiftly within him.

"Master… I did wrong, I made an absolute mistake, I was truly wrong. Please forgive me just this once, Master-AAAHHH!!!!" This time the scream was not fake. He Feng was truly begging for mercy.

Yet his plea did not get Su Ming to open his eyes.

He Feng was already in despair. He could tell that his body was about to disappear and his soul about to scatter into nothingness. When that happened, he, He Feng, would no longer exist. A deep seated terror and regret filled his entire being.

As he continued screaming, half his body disappeared, and when his head was almost gone as well, he suddenly remembered how he escaped death in the past.

"Master, I don't want freedom! I'd rather follow and serve you with my entire life! I did wrong, and I will do this as punishment for myself!!"

"You don't want freedom?" Su Ming opened his eyes. "I will give you freedom, but it won't be within 500 years. I will now increase it by one fold. After 1,000 years, you can be free," he declared unhurriedly.

The moment he spoke, He Feng suddenly realized that… there seemed to be something different about Su Ming...

Chapter 331: Wu Duo

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The flatly spoken words had a chilling tone that made He Feng shiver.

Su Ming lifted his right hand and pointed it at him, and immediately, the wandering Wings of the Moon let out piercing shrieks and charged back towards He Feng. Once they surrounded him in multiple layers, He Feng managed to not completely disappear when the morning sun rose fully in the sky.

The Wings of the Moon fusing once again into his body gave He Feng a feeling as if he had just escaped death. In his heart, fear now replaced all thoughts of rebellion. He simply could not get a grasp of Su Ming's thoughts, because how he thought Su Ming would react was completely different from how he truly acted and thought.

Just like today, he had originally thought that Su Ming would definitely not truly kill him. While he was indeed not dead, He Feng knew that if he had spoken a little slower just now, then what awaited him would have been death.

He Feng had an incredibly wild nature and could not find it within himself to accept being someone else's slave. Right now, fear took up a large part of his heart, even if slowly, as that fear gradually drained away, he would once again… try to backstab Su Ming.

But for now, he would not dare to, not when he had not found a way to avoid the huge threat brought by the sunlight. He would not dare to try and kill Su Ming again.

Su Ming understood this fully.

He did indeed not want to kill He Feng. After all, his power was strange, and he would prove to be incredibly useful in Sky Mist Shaman Hunt. As for this person's possible betrayal... well, Su Ming had his own plans to deal with it.

He Feng, who had by then fused back with the Wings of the Moon, turned into a shadow. He bowed towards Su Ming with fear lingering in his heart, then blended back into Su Ming's shadow.

On the ground were two bloody heads and one rotting and withered corpse.

When the Fire Ape saw that Su Ming was awake, it yawned by his side, then casually picked up the brawny Shaman's head before starting to toy around with it. If anyone saw this scene, it would be difficult for them not to be scared.

The notes from Su Ming's xun gradually disappeared as the morning sun rose into the air and light illuminated the land. Su Ming looked at the clear blue sky and took a deep breath. Then he slowly stood up after having sat cross-legged for the entire night.

When he got up, popping sounds came from within his body. Those pops were like the sounds of bones knocking into each other, like his flesh rubbing against itself. As those sounds echoed in the air, Su Ming's Mountain Mark appeared on his face. Under his clothes, Dark Mountain Tribe manifested. Snow trailed down his skin, and red appeared in his right eye.

The entire Picture of the snow covered Blood Moon and Dark Mountain was completely revealed. Light shone on the picture, and a song played by a xun could be heard faintly in the air. It was as if that song itself existed within Su Ming's Berserker Mark. When that Berserker Mark was completely revealed, it would naturally ring in the air.

Su Ming's hair started moving without wind. He lifted his head, then slowly, his feet floated off the ground until he was three feet away from the ground.

A powerful cultivation aura abruptly erupted forth from Su Ming's body.

His level of cultivation had reached the later stage of the Awakening Realm after his first change of heart before the auction. He was already only one step away from reaching great completion. Su Ming had already understood at that time that he needed the sound of the xun to complete that one step. He needed to play out the melody in his memories, and if he could do it, then his Dark Mountain Berserker Mark could fuse completely with his memories.

When his Berserker Mark rumbled with power, it allowed his level of cultivation to move straight from the later stage into the great completion of the Awakening Realm!

After the auction, Su Ming came to this place, retrieved his repaired xun, walked for three days until he forgot everything, and only on the fourth night, the quiet night filled with bloodshed and murder, did he manage to truly play out a song on that xun, causing the xun to obtain a soul once more.

This soul was formed through the accumulation of Su Ming's memories. This soul… was the soul of Su Ming's Berserker Mark!

The presence of power within Su Ming became increasingly stronger, and after a moment, the ground in a circular area of several thousands of feet rumbled. The trees rustled as if there was a huge gust of wind blowing past them.

Su Ming's body was floating several dozens of feet away from the ground. A brilliant glow appeared in his eyes, and a feeling that he held the reigns over an incredible power in his hands rose within him.

It might seem like there was only a level between the great completion and the later stage of the Awakening Realm, but in truth, the great completion was the peak of the Awakening Realm. It was the most powerful level within it.

Those who reached this level could call themselves Berserkers who had attained great completion in the Awakening Realm. That level was also known as Inferior Bone, because there was only a paper thin distance between that stage to the Berserkers' Bone Sacrifice Realm.

If they managed to reach a breakthrough, then they would be able to tear through that paper with just a poke of their finger, but if they did not manage to reach a breakthrough, then even with time, they would not be able to wear out that sheet of paper.

Su Ming gradually descended from midair, and the moment he stood on the ground, his hair slowly fell on his shoulders. He had his eyes closed, and when he opened them a moment later, tranquillity could be seen within them.

'This is the fifth morning, there're still two days left… I don't have enough time to make it back to Sky Mist Barrier from this place.'

When Su Ming had his eyes closed just now, he was not just calming down the fluctuations in his power, he was also sensing the location of the brand belonging to his life force.

He could somewhat sense its position, and from there, deduce the approximate distance between himself and the brand.

'If that's the case…'

A brief spark appeared in Su Ming's eyes and he picked up the female Shaman's head before he threw it to the Fire Ape. The Fire Ape leaped up and caught it. Once it did so, its face lit up with a smile. It held the two heads by their long hair and tied them to its waist, then patted its chest in Su Ming's direction while putting on a face as if it was really strong.

Su Ming then walked towards the dried up corpse of the man with the bat tattoo on his face. With his right hand, he slashed down at the corpse's dried up throat. Rumbling and cracking sounds appeared. Before Su Ming could pick up the head, the Fire Ape had already run towards him, unable to control itself. It snatched up the man's head, causing it to be separated from his body. Not one drop of blood fell from the tear between the head and its body.

Fire Ape became even more pleased with itself and quickly tied the three heads together on its waist. It shook its body several times beside Su Ming, growing even more excited.

Su Ming did not lift his head but continued staring at the headless corpse. Once he patted several spots on the corpse, he found a grass-woven bag.

That bag looked really worn out, but when Su Ming held it in his hands, he realized that this bag had the same function as a storage bag. With his divine sense, he left his own Brand on it without any difficulty.

"Hmm?"

Su Ming poured out the contents of the bag onto his palm, and out fell a stone about the size of a fingernail. That stone glowed in five radiant colors under the sun, and wisps of smoke could be seen within, giving it a rather pretty look.

There were about a hundred stones like this within the straw bag.

Besides those stones, there were also some medicinal herbs Su Ming had never seen before. There were also quite a large amount of these herbs in the bag.

Su Ming put away the straw bag into his bosom then stood up. With one move, he disappeared from the spot, and when he reappeared, he stood in front of the brawny man's headless corpse located in a spot in the forest not too far away from where he was previously.

Once he searched through that corpse, Su Ming frowned. He got up and disappeared once again. This time, he reappeared beside Ying Huan's corpse in opposite the man's corpse. He searched through her body, but there was still no straw bag that could be found.

A barely noticeable glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. Once he got up, he started walking into the distance in the forest. The Fire Ape followed behind him. Somewhere along the line, it had found the giant battle axe and swung it over its shoulders. That battle axe was very heavy, but with the Fire Ape's natural godly strength, it did not feel that the axe was heavy.

Su Ming looked at it, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Xiao Hong," Su Ming called out to it softly.

The Fire Ape lifted its head and rolled its eyes at Su Ming, then ignored him.

Su Ming smiled, then with one move, he charged forward at a high speed. The Fire Ape quickly followed behind him, and a competitive look appeared on his face. It was clear that it was not satisfied with how it lost to Su Ming the last time they raced.

The man and ape dashed forward, and two hours later, they left the forest and appeared on a spacious grass plains. The grass rustled in the wind. Some wild flowers could be seen, and their faint fragrance wafted in the air, causing the uninhabited place to be filled with a beauty that no human was present to appreciate.

"How is this place for you?"

Su Ming stopped on that grass plains before he asked languidly. His voice echoed in the area. The Fire Ape looked around itself, then thought that Su Ming was talking to it, causing it to roll its eyes at him again.

"Sir, you've been following me all the way and escorted me here, but still choose to keep silent. Could it be that you still aren't ready to attack?"

Su Ming turned around and looked towards the distance, in the direction where his back was previously, his eyes burning brightly.

The Fire Ape was momentarily stunned, then immediately looked in that direction.

As the grass continued swaying in the wind on the grass plains, a thin and frail figure slowly revealed itself and walked towards Su Ming. Once he was several hundreds of feet away, he stopped.

It was a thin and tall person wearing a long black robe. He looked to be in his 30s. His gaze was perceptive, and he had his hair done in many tiny braids that were scattered behind his head.

He stared at Su Ming with a grave look on his face.

Su Ming, too, stared at him, and their gazes met each other from where the two of them stood several hundreds of feet away from each other.

"I am Wu Duo, of Western Sea Clan!"

After a long while, the man lifted his right hand and a deep blue plate appeared in his hand. He threw it towards Su Ming.

That plate turned into a deep blue line that charged towards Su Ming, but Su Ming simply took a few steps back and let the plate fall to the ground. He did not touch it.

When he saw Su Ming doing this, the man's pupils shrank, though it was barely noticeable.

"I am Mo Su, of Dark Mountain Tribe," Su Ming stated calmly. "It is none of my concern to which clan you belong to, but you took away my battle prize. You will have to give me an explanation for that."

Su Ming stared at the man. From what he could sense, this man had also yet to reach the Bone Sacrifice Realm. He was the same as he himself - they had both attained great completion in the Awakening Realm.

Yet this man gave Su Ming the feeling as if he was standing before a ferocious and murderous lone wolf. That murderous aura had far surpassed that of the three Shamans earlier who had power equivalent to those in the Bone Sacrifice Realm.

When he heard Su Ming's words, the man fell silent and did not speak. Similar to what Su Ming sensed, he could also tell that this Mo Su standing before him looked as if he was just in the great completion stage of the Awakening Realm, and what was more, he had just arrived at that level. Still, he felt uneasy about Mo Su, especially when this person had noticed him following behind secretly. This alone made Wu Duo unwilling to act rashly.

Besides, he also understood that he definitely could not judge Mo Su by his level of cultivation alone if he could kill those three Shamans. He had also never heard of Dark Mountain Tribe, which meant that Mo Su had made it up on the spot.

"Perhaps you followed me for this," Su Ming said slowly and lifted his right hand. A gem the size of a fingernail, shining brilliantly with five colors, appeared on his palm.