Chapter 581: In Your Dreams, Can You Remember that You Are just a Guest?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
But once Su Ming walked past the children surrounding Wu La, the gloomy presence about Shan Hen vanished. His expression did not change, but he did bring out a beautifully carved beast bone from his bosom and gave it to the children, earning delighted cheers as his reward.
Su Ming saw Shan Hen smile. That smile might be incredibly faint and only lasted for an instant, but he saw it. Just for a brief moment, a happy smile appeared on Shan Hen's lips.
As the chief of the hunters and leader of Dark Mountain Tribe's hunting team, he had to constantly be cold and aloof. He had to make others fear him. The murderous aura and bloodlust on him had to be the thickest, only then could he intimidate outsiders and the miscreants in the tribe, and only then could he… protect his home!
The world before Su Ming gradually became clearly. This clarity was something he could sense in his heart. It was not that his vision had become clear, because the things before had been clear since the start. Slowly, the voices by his ears no longer remained indistinct as well. Su Ming stood there and lowered his head. He looked at his own body. It was the body of a teenager.
"Big brother La Su!" As Su Ming looked at his own body, Tong Tong's rather excited voice rang in his ears. When he lifted his head to look at her, he saw her pouting, and there was a rather glum look on her face.
"You're cheating! I already found you, but you're pretending not to hear me! Hmph, I'm not playing with you anymore." The little lassie was clearly fuming. At that moment, she pouted and ignored Su Ming, hugging her doll and running far away. Pipi quickly followed behind her, hopping as it followed its master into the distance.
'A three day long serendipity… Are you telling me that I can… stay in my home for three days?' Su Ming closed his eyes, but immediately opened them after several breaths. He did not want to waste his time with closed eyes. He wanted to use every single moment he had to remember everything and carve them all deep into his memories.
It did not matter whether they were real or false…
'This is my home.' Su Ming took large strides and walked briskly forward. He wanted to see his elder. This feeling spread out endlessly in his heart until it filled his entire being.
He moved past Lei Chen, who had his head lowered as his mother scolded him. When he saw Su Ming walking past him, he made a face at him, as if he was resigned to his fate.
Yet this expression was seen by his mother, somehow, and she became even angrier. She grabbed Lei Chen by the ear and began another round of scolding.
Su Ming walked past Wu La and the children. His arrival caused the kids to be filled with joy. When they called out to him, Tong Tong, who had just arrived, puffed up her cheeks and started mumbling under her breath with a displeased look on her face.
"Big brother La Su cheated. He promised me, but he refused to play."
There was a hint of disdain on Wu La's face, and she did not bother herself with Su Ming. He did not bother himself with that. He smiled at the children, and as anxiety burned in his heart, he moved past them until he arrived outside a house - his elder's house.
He stood at the door and lifted his right hand, but… could not bring himself to open it. He was afraid. He was afraid that all of this was just a dream, and all of it was fake. He was afraid that if he pushed open the door, he would only see emptiness, and there would be nothing inside.
His shivered. He… was afraid.
"My young Su Ming, is that you? Why are you standing outside? Come in." In the midst of his fear and anxiety from losing his home, a familiar voice reached his ears from the house, and it instantly caused the corners of Su Ming's eyes to turn red.
That voice was as gentle and kind as the one in his memories. It was as loving as he remembered, just like how a parent would speak to his or her child. At the instant Su Ming heard that voice, he could no longer contain himself. He pushed open the door and saw… the old man sitting in the house with his legs crossed as he looked at Su Ming with a smile… his elder, Mo Sang!
The wrinkles on the elder's face was something Su Ming would never forget. The white in his hair was also something that could never be erased from his memories. The gentle voice, the familiar presence, all of these things caused Su Ming's tears to flow from his eyes the moment he saw his elder.
At that moment, he was no longer the murderer who could kill without blinking an eye, he was not the Lord of the Great Frozen Plains who had brought about Heaven Gate's collapse, not the person whom the Fated Kin worshiped, and not the Destiny who had been away for years, learning how to be cold as well as hide his emotions… He was simply a wanderer who had finally returned home after leaving for many years, and was now looking at his family.
"Elder!" At that moment, Su Ming's body was that of a teenager. Tears fell from his eyes uncontrollably, and he swiftly ran to his elder's side, wrapping his arms around Mo Sang.
"Elder, I miss you… I… I miss our tribe, I miss everything here, elder…"
The anguish he had suffered for years, the longing he had carried for years, the tears that he had not been able to shed for years, and the deduction he made that his home was a mere fiction were no longer things Su Ming cared about, neither did he want to think about them. He only had one thought in his mind at that moment, and that was to hug his elder. He did not want to let go. This was the one place that was filled with the most warmth in his life. This was… his family, his home.
Even if it was fake, even if they did not exist, Su Ming did not want to think about it. He told himself that all of it was real. This warmth was also real. Everything here was real.
Mo Sang was momentarily stunned. He looked at Su Ming crying as he hugged him, and a questioning look appeared on his face, but he said nothing. Instead, he patted Su Ming's back, and the smile on his face became even more loving.
"My little La Su, why are you crying? That's not like you. Come, tell me, who bullied you? I'll go teach them a lesson!"
Su Ming had thousands upon thousands of words he wanted to say at that moment, but he could not give voice to any of his thoughts. Could he tell the elder about what had happened over the years? He did not want to destroy this warmth. This gentle warmth would only last for three days, and it was very dear to him.
A deep wave of fatigue rose swiftly in Su Ming's heart, but he did not want to sleep, because he could not find it in himself to part with this. After a long while, he wiped away his tears and let go of the elder slowly. He looked at this old man who was a little younger than in his memories with a dumbfounded expression, then spoke softly.
"Elder, it's nothing. I just had a dream."
"What dream could it be that it made my little La Su so scared that he even cried while hugging me like he did a few years ago?" The elder smiled kindly and stroked Su Ming's head.
"I dreamed that a few years later, our tribe will fight against Black Mountain Tribe. I dreamed of our tribe's migration and my departure… I even dreamed of myself wandering outside, alone…" Su Ming mumbled under his breath, telling the elder about his experiences, the content in his words very condensed. However, every single word spoke of his entire life.
As Su Ming spoke, the smile on the elder's face gradually changed to one of seriousness. Slowly, he began to look at Su Ming with a dumbfounded expression, and after a long, long while, when Su Ming finished recounting his 'dream', the elder frowned.
"Is it true… or false…?" The elder let his eyelids fall slightly, and after some time, when he opened his eyes, he looked at Su Ming.
"It was just a dream. You're awake now, so don't bother about all that happened in the dream. I can tell you this, I am real!"
Su Ming nodded his head quietly as he looked at his elder. He had an endless amount of things he wanted to tell him.
When the sky outside gradually grew dark and a hint of tiredness appeared on the elder's face, Su Ming stood up quietly and wrapped his fist in his palm before bowing to the elder. With an unwillingness to part and a reluctance to leave, he walked out of the house.
The sun was setting in the west. Gentle rays of sunlight scattered on the ground, causing shadows from the houses in Dark Mountain Tribe to appear on the ground. Chimney smoke rose into the air due to the members of the tribe preparing dinner. The wisps of smoke curled in the sky, fusing with the clouds in the sunset, causing them to become an incredibly beautiful sight when the people looked towards them.
The warmth that Su Ming had never experienced ever since he left Dark Mountain rose in his heart at that moment. This warmth was different from the one in ninth summit. That place showed him kindness, gave him friendship, showered him with a teacher's love for his disciple, but in this place… was the scent of his hometown.
As he looked at his tribe members occupying themselves through the evening, looked at the gates to the tribe being thrown open to welcome their warriors who had returned from their hunt, looked at all the things around him, he suddenly could no longer differentiate what was real.
He could no longer tell whether the him just a day ago was just a dream, or whether what he was seeing was a dream.
Su Ming stood on the spot with a blank expression, until a hand slapped him powerfully between his shoulders. His pupils instinctively shrank. He lifted his left hand and grabbed the hand on his shoulder. The instant he turned around, a freezing glare rose swiftly in his eyes, and he pointed towards the person behind him with his right index finger.
This was an almost instinctive action. It was developed through the years Su Ming had wandered outside, but right at the moment he executed this attack, he immediately pulled that finger back and turned his right hand into a fist before lightly punching the other person's shoulder.
"Lei Chen!" This punch was a greeting between brothers, a meeting born from the longing.
The person who had just slapped Su Ming was naturally Lei Chen. He laughed boisterously and let the punch land on his body. A smug expression appeared on his face.
"Even if you hit me a few more times, that puny fist of yours won't do anything to me. What are you doing here? What are you daydreaming about? My mom asked me to call you over for dinner."
Su Ming looked at Lei Chen, and a smile appeared on his face. He walked up and hugged his friend tightly. This was a different hug from the one he gave his elder, this was a symbol of friendship between brothers!
"What's wrong? You're really strange today…" Lei Chen was momentarily stunned, but simply allowed Su Ming to hug him. After a moment, when Su Ming looked at him again, Lei Chen saw something ageless in his eyes, as if they had not met each other for years.
He scratched his head and looked at Su Ming with a questioning look. He even lifted his hand to touch his friend's forehead.
"There's something off about you. Are you sick?" As Lei Chen mumbled, he lifted his hand, and just as he was about to touch the center of Su Ming's brows, he suddenly froze and cast a few scrutinizing looks.
"There's something really off about you! You're not moving away!"
"You're the one who's sick!" Su Ming let out a wry laugh and blurted out those words.
"Yeah, that's the normal Su Ming I know." Lei Chen grinned and patted his friend's shoulder before giving a few thumps on his chest. "Su Ming, I'm a Berserker now. Don't worry. Everything I told you before is true, I'll beat down whoever dares to bully you!
"Once I become the tribe leader… Heh heh, at that time I'll protect you, and then, the both of us will drink and eat meat every single day. I'll have Bei Ling go out hunting for us every day, and then I'll have Chen Xin… Er, oh well, I'll just have her accompany you." Lei Chen walked before him with a smile and brought Su Ming back to the path leading to his house.
Chapter 582: Heaven and Earth!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The sun gradually disappeared, setting in the west. The golden ray of dusk also vanished slowly. At the sky turned pitch black, the stars drew out the outline of the starry sky in Su Ming's memories. The brilliant moon also made those who looked at it unable to help themselves but yearn for their homes as they continued looking above.
But how could a person in his hometown yearn for his home? Su Ming did not know. He only knew that on the first night he returned to Dark Mountain, he still missed this place as he looked at the moon.
He saw the elder. He saw Lei Chen. He saw all the people in his memories, and Su Ming's heart gradually calmed down. All the grass and trees in this place were so incredibly familiar to him. Everything here had etched themselves into his heart, and he could never forget them in his life.
Bei Ling was still as cold as ever to him. Chen Xin still held a degree of care towards him, shown by how he could still not find a single speck of dust in his house.
Perhaps it was love, but it might also have nothing to do with love. Chen Xin might have liked him before, yet perhaps she liked Bei Ling even more.
In his memories, Wu La, the girl who was not incredibly beautiful, had fallen into his arms as she mumbled Mo Su's name under her breath before she died. When she did so, her beauty had surpassed everything else, and it was deeply ingrained in Su Ming's heart, causing him to be unable to forget her.
When he saw Wu La's disdain once again, he could only feel warmth in his heart, and nothing else.
Lei Chen's hearty laughter and the oath he swore let Su Ming feel a heartfelt warmth between brothers. All of these things made him absolutely refuse to believe that these were fake.
The elder's kindness and his warm embrace made Su Ming willing to believe that he had just had a dream the previous night, a dream that had nothing to do with love, but brought with it blood, a dream spanning a lengthy passage of time. A cruel dream.
Perhaps now, he had woken up from his dream.
Su Ming sat outside his house and lifted his head to look at the moon in the sky. The dinner he had in Lei Chen's house had reminded him of many, many things…
There were a few lamps lit in the tribe at night. It was quiet all around him. There was… no wind this night.
Mournful notes from the xun drifted through the night. This was a song played by a member of Su Ming's tribe. It was a song he could not never forget.
"Perhaps it is not just three days. Perhaps by tomorrow, I will find that everything that happened to me was just a dream. Perhaps… I can continue staying in Dark Mountain," Su Ming mumbled. Lei Chen was not with him. During the night, he had been scolded by his mother and was forced to stay home. He even had to pretend that he was asleep.
Su Ming looked at the moon in the sky quietly and listened to the song of the xun, just like… a person who did not know he was a mere guest in his own dream.
He was suddenly struck by a strong urge to go and see Bai Ling, who might not even know him at this point!
When he thought about her, a sharp stab of pain struck his heart. That broken promise which had lasted for eternity after he left. When he turned his head back, he could only hear a sigh; they could no longer see each other.
Su Ming stood up and walked towards the gate of the tribe, but the moment he reached it and was just about to walk through, his footsteps came to a halt, because a person had just stepped out of the darkness before him.
"Who are you?!" a ghastly voice asked. It came from the person who gradually walked out of the shadows to stand under the moonlight. He was, naturally, Shan Hen!
A dark, cold look appeared in his eyes when he looked at Su Ming. When he spoke, a ripple of power appeared faintly on his right hand, making it look as if it was about to gather together into a blade.
"You're not Su Ming. You can lie to the others, but you can't lie to me. The gaze Su Ming uses when he looks at me is different from yours." Shan Hen glared at Su Ming as he spoke with a dark voice.
Su Ming looked at him quietly. This was the senior in his tribe whom he had killed with his own hands in his memories.
"I am Su Ming," Su Ming said softly and walked forward. Shan Hen's expression changed and he lifted his right hand swiftly, but the moment he did so, Su Ming had already walked past him with light footsteps. Shan Hen's entire body trembled. He could not even put down his right hand. During that instant, the moment Su Ming walked past him with a speed so fast his eyes could not catch, he felt a wave of ripples so great that he almost suffocated.
Those ripples were incredibly faint and only spread out to five feet. He was the only one who could sense them, but to him, the strength of that Qi was so strong that it surpassed all Berserkers he had ever met, and even those in the Awakening Realm!
He had a strong feeling that with just a single thought, this person could destroy him, could even wipe out the entire tribe and the entire land!
In his shock, Shan Hen became drenched in sweat. After a long while, he turned his head around slowly, but he could no longer see the teenager.
Su Ming walked on the path to the mountain. His footsteps were unhurried as he moved in the middle of night. With a single step at a time, he walked towards Bai Ling's tribe.
He came to a stop at some point of time. Hesitating for a moment, he looked at Dark Mountain standing tall during the night, and suddenly lifted his right hand before placing it by his mouth. He blew a clear whistle.
Its sound echoed in the air and gradually disappeared into the darkness. Su Ming walked quietly. An hour later, a fire-red shadow suddenly shot out from the forest in the distance.
Along with that figure was a series of happy screeches ringing in the air. The fire-red shadow… was Xiao Hong!
It charged forth and soon appeared before Su Ming with an excited look on its face. Once it jumped and danced merrily around him several times, it sat down squarely on his shoulders and grabbed Su Ming's hair with its paws, playing with it nonstop.
"Xiao Hong…" Su Ming looked at the little monkey on his shoulders and simply allowed it to play with his hair. He lifted his hand and gently patted the little animal with a sentimental and complicated smile on his lips.
"We meet again…"
Xiao Hong let out a few screeches, looking as if it was saying that they had indeed met again, then glared at Su Ming before gesticulating frantically with its hands, showing off its anger, as if it was grumbling to him that he had not come to see him for a very long time.
Eventually, Xiao Hong showed him three fingers. Su Ming knew the meaning - three days. Or perhaps it was three months, or three years, thirty years, or even longer…
Xiao Hong itself was the only one who knew just how long it had been.
As he stroked the fur on Xiao Hong's body, Su Ming strode forward and turned into a long arc that charged towards Bai Ling's tribe. Before long, the gigantic fence that belonged to Dark Dragon Tribe appeared before him.
There were also erect long spears placed on the fence, the tribe's defenses.
Su Ming looked at Dark Dragon Tribe and walked towards it. His arrival went unnoticed by all. When he eventually stepped into the tribe, he spread his divine sense outwards in search of the figure in his memories that always made his heart clench in pain.
He found Bai Ling's house. She had already fallen asleep on this dark night. Her beautiful face was peaceful, and it was a look that was rather different compared to the wild beauty she possessed when she was awake.
Su Ming stood quietly by her bed and looked at this beautiful girl, the faint smile on the corners of her lips. She seemed to be dreaming about something happy.
Su Ming's heart ached greatly. The scenes in his memories rose before his eyes, in the space between him and Bai Ling. Their meeting during the night of the blood moon, them walking around in circles during the snowy night, their low whispers as they told each other their stories, and in the end, their snow-covered hair...
Those memories continued playing until Su Ming saw the promise he did not keep. All of these things turned into a wave of grief that filled his heart. He looked at Bai Ling blankly, at the girl who had branded the image of herself deeply in his heart. This girl was his first love.
"Ling Er… I'm back…" Su Ming whispered softly. With a gentle look in his eyes, he lifted his hand to softly touch her cheek. His actions were incredibly light, but the instant his hand almost touched her cheek, her eyes flew open.
Bai Ling looked at Su Ming quietly, but the wildness in her eyes was a light that he would never forget.
Su Ming's hand froze for a moment, but only a moment. Then, without any hesitation, he touched her cheek. Her face was rather cold, but incredibly soft. It made his gaze turn even gentler.
Bai Ling did not move away. Instead, her eyes went wider and she looked at him completely stunned.
When Su Ming eventually lifted his hand, the gentle look in his eyes still remained. He cast a deep look at Bai Ling and stood up, turning his head away. Just as he was about to leave…
"Who… are you…?" Bai Ling's frightened and delicate voice came from behind him.
"Su Ming."
Su Ming walked towards the door of her house. The moment he touched Bai Ling, the chill on her cheeks had made him understand many things in the midst of his anguish.
This was not real. This… was an illusion. This was the serendipity the old xun maker had mentioned. This was an illusory world created based on Su Ming's memories.
This... was a Void Space [1]…
Because in this sweltering season, Bai Ling's face was cold, and that cold came from Su Ming's memories, from the last sensation he remembered of her when they were on the snowing plains. All of this… was fake.
This three day long serendipity was so that Su Ming could understand the existence of fate in the world in his memories…
"You could choose not to believe it, you could think that the Dark Mountain in your memories is fake. As long as you attack and kill all the people you are familiar with here: your elder, Lei Chen, Bei Ling, Wu La, Chen Xin, Bai Ling, and all the rest of them, you'll be able to know the truth!
"When you attack, you will naturally see the face they will show when you kill them with your own hands. At that time, you will be able to tell whether all of this is real or fake. At that moment, you can also overturn Dark Mountain and forget everything about it. From then on, you will no longer have any ties binding you, and there will no longer be anything that will affect your heart.
"Then, in the future, if anyone tries to use Dark Mountain as a set up to make you do something, it will no longer matter.
"As long as you take action… everything will be turned to dust. Then, you will be as if you were truly awake. You will crush the world you believe is unreal, along with the person who is manipulating your fate behind all of this, as if you have truly woken up.
"If you believe, then you must have the determination to bear with the series of difficulties, the sorrows and farewells you will have to say when Dark Mountain appears before you again…"
It did not matter what he chose, he would still be able to arrive at a brief period of completion. During it, Su Ming would be able to take half of the final step required to move from the Bone Sacrifice Realm into the Berserker Soul Realm.
Because this state of completion could turn into a resolve that would make Su Ming no longer be caught in a state of confusion in which he stepped into the Berserker Soul Realm, and the possibility of his success would increase.
"Why… do I feel like you are so familiar to me…?" Bai Ling's voice reached Su Ming's ears, and behind him, she had already sat up to look at him blankly. "Don't go…" she said softly and walked over from her bed, then leaned gently into his back.
Starlight shone through her house and scattered into her abode in a dim, nebulous light. It fused together with the moonlight, and Su Ming could not tell which belonged to the stars, and which belonged to the moon. He could not tell what was a dream, and what was reality. He could not tell what made him happy, what made him sad, and what exactly he yearned for. And he could even less differentiate just which of them was crying.
It was as if they had promised each other a fleeting love, but they could not take with them this state of being together once one of them woke up. This sort of attachment… would only travel further and further away… It would have been better… had they not met at all.
Translator's Notes:
1. Void Space: First mentioned in chapter 214, when Tian Xie Zi isolated a dimension to talk to Su Ming before they went to Freezing Sky Clan.
Chapter 583: All Things Come to an End
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming should leave.
Even if he did not leave, he should still treasure the serendipity the old xun maker had given to him, because this three-day-long serendipity could help him fight against the great disaster he was about to face in the near future.
He should destroy the beauty of this fictitious world, kill all of these possibly created characters—including his family, his friends, his love, and everyone else—to obtain a resolve to give up everything so that he could become strong and fight against fate. He would be remolded once he destroyed everything, and would obtain the cold callousness that belongs to the strong!
This was the true meaning behind the three-day-long serendipity. It was also something the silent old xun maker wished Su Ming could do!
He would have to cut away his emotions and his memories. He would have to be unbothered by his past and his future, then remodel himself by replacing all his memories. He would have to turn cold and merciless to complete this incredibly important metamorphosis!
This metamorphosis was the great completion of the Bone Sacrifice Realm. It was a transition for him to become a powerful Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm. This… was his serendipity!
As Su Ming came to understand this, his mind gradually cleared up; he had managed to guess the old xun maker's way of helping him. He also had a vague feeling that if he walked down the path the old xun maker laid out for him and destroyed everything so that he could remodel his life, then it would mean that he would have seized the control over his own fate. The moment he started rebuilding himself, the state of completion he gained in his heart would also affect his soul.
Then, as his soul gained completion… at the moment he built his life, he would be able to create his very own statue of the God of Berserkers!
It also meant that when he walked out of this world, he would no longer be in the Bone Sacrifice Realm. He would rise to become a powerful Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm amid this strange power and this serendipity that might have been brought forth by the old xun maker paying a heavy price!
After that, he the would have to face that great disaster in his life!
The old xun maker had laid out a path for him. Su Ming might not know who he was, but he could tell that the old man bore no ill-will towards him…
But this serendipity and gift… was something Su Ming could not accept.
Because the price for it was the complete annihilation of everything in this world. Could he kill Bai Ling, who was hugging him from the back? Could he end his elder's life while he was asleep? Could he murder Chen Xin, just so that he could gain completion…?
Could he kill Lei Chen, kill his parents, and destroy everything that was Dark Mountain Tribe?
"I can't…" Su Ming smiled brokenly. He could feel Bai Ling's warmth coming from behind him. He could not do it.
Time trickled by. Su Ming stood there, and Bai Ling continued staying with her arms wrapped around him. The darkness in the sky gradually went away, replaced by a faint veil of light.
During the whole night, the two people just stood. They did not speak to each other. Bai Ling had her head buried in Su Ming's back, and for some unknown reason, the heartbeat she felt against her cheek made her cry tears of love.
They might be from a longing desire between lovers, but she could not wipe them away. They stained Su Ming's clothes.
When morning arrived, Su Ming chose to leave. Bai Ling lay down on her bed quietly, looking as if she had fallen asleep, but the tears at the corners of her eyes remained. One fell to her pillow and disappeared.
That single tear contained an endless amount of recollections, an endless amount of longing, and an endless amount of sighs. Perhaps even Bai Ling could not count them anymore.
Su Ming left Dark Dragon Tribe when it was already morning. He moved quietly through the forest and looked at the rays of sunlight turning into light beams that shone on the ground. The leaves from the trees fell as he moved past them. Xiao Hong seemed to have sensed the complicated feelings within Su Ming's heart, as it sat on his shoulders and did not make a sound.
This was the first day.
There were still two days left for Su Ming to make his choice.
He had originally wanted to go to Wind Stream Tribe, but had lost that desire by now. He looked at Dark Mountain basking under the sun, yet he did not have the thought to go and see the Fire Berserkers' ruins. A feeling of fatigue filled his entire being.
He chose to go home.
He went back to Dark Mountain Tribe, back to his own home.
In the morning, Dark Mountain Tribe was like a world where everything had just risen from slumber. His tribe members went about their individual tasks in the midst of chimney smoke rising into the air, and the children looked as if they would never know exhaustion. They looked forward to each new day, to playing with their friends.
Su Ming came back. He looked at the familiar tribe and sat down quietly outside his house. He looked at the blue sky and the white clouds, looked at the sunlight shining down on the ground, and looked at all the things that existed in his memories about his tribe.
He wanted to engrave everything deeply into his mind once again, to carve this scene into his heart and soul.
"Must I destroy everything here to control my own fate…?" Su Ming whispered to himself softly.
'This sort of destruction might perhaps truly allow me to control my own fate, because a cold and callous heart cannot contain even a single shred of tenderness. If there is no more love, then no matter what else other people do, they would be unable to find a place to stay in my heart.
'But…' Su Ming looked at the children running around in the empty space before him and closed his eyes.
'Are they also fake…?'
The sky gradually darkened. Dusk left, and moonlight shone on the ground. Su Ming continued sitting there, watching everything within his tribe. He did not think, merely looked at the sun rising and setting.
He knew that when the sun rose again, he would welcome the last day he could be here in Dark Mountain.
He had no idea when he would be able to come back. Perhaps never.
Su Ming closed his eyes. The song of the xun echoed in his ears, as it sang in the tribe. The night… went by.
The sky was no longer clear when the next morning arrived. There were dark clouds up ahead, and it started drizzling, but Su Ming did not think about anything on his last day in this place. He smiled and stayed by the elder's side, chatting with him, happily went to help grandpa Nan Song sort out the herbal storage, and even played with the children as if he was one himself. He told them stories, and the occasional bell like laughter tumbling out of their mouths turned into the most pleasing sound in the tribe.
He play-fought against Lei Chen while laughing, just as he did all those years ago, when he was ignorant about the world outside. In fact, he was just like a teenager that did not need to think. He had his friends, his family, and he was happy, without a single care in the world.
Wu La might still be incredibly disdainful towards Su Ming, but he faced her with a smile and without a single complaint. He helped the girl with her tasks, and that smile on his face caught even Wu La by surprise. Her cold exterior gradually warmed up.
And as if Su Ming did not know the meaning of fatigue, he acted extremely politely and courteously towards Bei Ling on his final day, all while thinking of the help Bei Ling had given him during his childhood and his kindness for teaching him the bow. Even the cold Bei Ling gave him a complicated nod after a moment of silence, and the both of them started firing their arrows side by side, just as they had done many years ago.
As for Chen Xin, she smiled happily as she sat by the side, watching the two men who had walked into her heart. She would occasionally walk up to hand them water, her laughter ringing in the air.
All the people in the tribe could sense something different about Su Ming on this day. During it, he busied himself from morning till dusk, and straight down to midnight.
The smile on his face remained as a constant presence… but as night fell and moonlight scattered on the ground, the reluctance to part behind his smile was left unseen.
When night came, Su Ming's smile turned into one of pain. He looked at the lights in the tribe gradually extinguishing, one by one, looked at the bustle of activity in the tribe falling into silence, and felt sharp stab of pain in his heart.
"Is it time…?" Su Ming mumbled. He knew that when the sun rose again, he… would disappear from this beautiful world.
The pain on his face slowly morphed into a faint smile. He had to smile, he wanted to smile. Even if he was about to leave, these three days had already made him incredibly content.
As he smiled, Su Ming did not look at the moonlight, and neither did he look at the darkness and the tribe around him. Instead, he pushed open the door to his house and walked in before lying down on his small bed. He looked at the familiar sights around him, and with a smile on his face, he slowly closed his eyes.
"Sleep. Perhaps when I wake up, I will still be here…" he whispered softly.
In the end, he did not choose to walk down the path the old xun maker had pointed out for him, even if he would have been able to arrive at the Berserker Soul Realm if he did it, and even if he would be able to obtain the power to fight against the disaster that would soon come.
Even so, he… still chose to walk down his own path.
All that people said was real or false, might not truly be real or false.
The reflection of the moon and flowers in the lake was also the moon and the flowers themselves!
He could create a new life if he destroyed everything, but it did not mean that he could not create a new life if he kept everything here intact and turned them all into the most beautiful moments in the deepest parts of his memories. He could make his heart not turn cold, make his love never fade, and he could still build a new life!
'My fate is my own. I will choose it myself. If I say it is real, then in my heart… it is real.' Su Ming closed his eyes, and gradually, he fell asleep.
'Goodbye… my dear Dark Mountain…
'Goodbye… my dear family…
'My friends… my love, everything in my childhood… you will forever remain in my heart. You will forever be the warmth in the deepest parts of my heart… Farewell…'
This was the sleep he had never been able to find after he left Dark Mountain and even when he was on the ninth summit. This feeling was a scent in his memories…
Since Su Ming fell asleep, he did not hear a sigh echoing faintly in the air. That sigh contained a tone within it that would make people feel unclear as to what it meant, and they would be unable to tell just what it was.
The world was gradually shrouded in fog. It... slowly faded into nothing.
When Su Ming opened his eyes once again, the first thing he heard was the sound of the sea, the first thing he smelled was the stench from the sea, and the first thing he saw… was the lonely island. There was no Dark Mountain, no tribe, and not a single soul around him.
The only living creature that could be found lying there was the bald crane that was opening its eyes blearily.
Su Ming stood there for a long, long time until he closed his eyes again. After a moment, he reopened them slowly.
'The dream has ended.' Su Ming could still see the things that had happened during those three days. A wave of sadness weaved itself into his bearing, and it was one of grief from the soul and pain of longing for home.
It was a bitterness that wind could not blow away. This was the beautiful moment he chose.
Su Ming sighed. He wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply and respectfully towards the island under his feet. He was bowing towards the old xun maker, thanking him for the three day long serendipity.
Once he bowed, he lifted his head and took a step forward. He seized the bald crane, turned into a long arc, and charged into the sky.
The island slowly vanished behind him. Only a sad song from a xun could be heard echoing in the air, as if it was sending Su Ming off, and it remained until he left into the distance.
Chapter 584: Ambush!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Almost the moment Su Ming flew out of the island, the face of a ghost suddenly appeared on the surface of the Dead Sea. It was a corpse that was hidden under the surface of the sea. It had no head, and the ghost face had formed on its bare chest.
In the Dead Sea at the edge of Eastern Wastelands were more than a dozen of ghost-face corpses like this one. The ghost faces on their bodies shone with a dark light right then, and shrill howls that no one could hear started echoing in the air.
Immediately after, the clone that was sitting and meditating at the edge of Eastern Wastelands opened his eyes swiftly, and a cold chill flashed past his eyes.
A cold, callous smile appeared on his lips.
"You finally appeared, my son." He stood up slowly. But just as he was about to take a step forward into the sky, he suddenly frowned, and after a pensive moment of silence, he sat down again.
'Someone completely hid Destiny's presence away from me earlier, and I was unable to detect him. If it was done by someone, then this person's power is definitely nothing to be scoffed at. South Morning…' Di Tian's eyes shone and a cold sneer appeared on his lips.
At that moment, Su Ming was flying calmly in the sky. However, his sorrow was a presence in his soul that simply could not be hidden away. It surrounded his entire body, causing all others to be unable to get close to him, or else they would be lost in his world and have their whole being affected by his sadness.
'A great disaster… The only thing that can be considered a great disaster and is aimed solely at me in Yin Death Region is… Di Tian!' Su Ming's pupils shrank, but killing intent shone within them.
'Judging at the time, it is also about time Di Tian sent his clone down here. There's a high possibility that this great disaster comes from him.'
Killing intent shone in Su Ming's eyes, and a burning fighting spirit rose in his heart. To him, Di Tian might be a great disaster, but similarly, Su Ming harbored a resolve that he would absolutely kill him!
If Di Tian did not die, then it would be difficult for Su Ming to control his own actions. Having an enemy like this was a driving force for Su Ming himself. Only when he killed Di Tian's clone would he be able to control his own fate in the land of the Berserkers.
'The real Di Tian might be incredibly strong, but over the years, he only sent his clones to this place. Maybe it's because… he can't come here on his own!
'But this is just a guess. If who I fight this time is also his clone, then it means that my guess is correct! If it's really his clone, then I might have a chance against him!'
Su Ming dipped his head down and looked at his right index finger. Wrapped around it was a tiny part of the hair from the first God of Berserkers!
'I killed Di Tian's first clone all those years ago, and today… I will kill his second!
'I had been unable to tell just how powerful Di Tian was in the past, and neither had I been able to gauge Hong Luo's level of cultivation. I only knew that they had surpassed the Berserkers' Berserker Soul Realm.
'But now that I think about it, Hong Luo's level of cultivation is clearly equivalent to those who are walking down the path of Life Cultivation. By the looks of it, he didn't seem to know about the missing element in his Life, so he shouldn't have reached Life Privation!
'He had only arrived at the level of Life Matrix. Perhaps when he was at the pinnacle of his strength, he was stronger, but when he was me, he was indeed only at that level!
'As for Di Tian's clone, his level of cultivation had clearly surpassed the Life Matrix Realm, since he could kill Hong Luo, but he shouldn't have reached Life Palace just yet. Life Palace… to understand all the changes in the world, to know the regrets of the universe, to learn of the power of Law. If he had reached Life Palace, then he shouldn't have been injured when he killed Hong Luo!
'I'm certain that his clone was at the Life Privation Realm!
'Life Matrix, Life Privation, Life Palace, World of Life… These are the four great realms in Life Cultivation. Right now, from the understanding I've gained, I have managed to reach the borders of Life Matrix, but I haven't reached the Berserker Soul Realm in terms of my level of cultivation, that's why I only have the presence of Life Cultivation but can't truly step onto its path.
'But… it's not as if I have nothing to use when I fight against his clone!'
Su Ming flew incredibly quickly, and as he charged across the sea, his eyes sparkled with a pensive light.
'All of these are just my guesses. If Di Tian himself came here this time, then I won't be able to run away from this disaster, and if his clone this time is much stronger than the one he sent in the past, then this battle… is also pretty much sealed in his favor.
'Great disaster…' In silence, Su Ming went past the fuzzy borders of South Morning and arrived at the vast Dead Sea right outside them. As he continued rushing across the sea, a ruthless glare gradually appeared in his eyes.
He charged down towards the surface of the sea. Right before him was a small island. It was not big, but not incredibly small either. Judging by its area, it was about the same size as the island that belonged to his Fated Kin.
The island was the same as all the other islands Su Ming had met on the way - there was not a sign of life that could be found on it. It was empty, and not a single hint of green could be located. It looked just like a bump in the sea.
Su Ming charged down and landed on the island. With a glint in his eyes, he spread his divine sense and covered the entire island. Once he did so, he went to the center and sat down.
'Since the disaster is bound to come, then I might as well choose my own battlefield. I will wait here… for the disaster to arrive!'
A chilling glare shone brilliantly in Su Ming's eyes. He lifted his right hand and seized the air before pushing his palm flat against the ground. With it, the ground started shaking, and immediately after, a brilliant shade of red appeared at the spot where Su Ming's palm had met the ground.
Once the red meadow appeared, it started spreading outwards rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it had already spread to an area of several hundreds of feet. Su Ming bit the tip of his tongue and coughed up a mouthful of blood that landed on the grass. Immediately, the red grass started sashaying around in a strange fashion and grew rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the meadow covered the entire island and even spread out to cover the surface of the sea.
This was the first time Su Ming had used his full strength to activate that red meadow by making it absorb a sufficient amount of blood and life. As it spread into the sea, that absorption of life reached its full capacity.
The entire island had turned completely red.
When Su Ming lifted his right hand, a black flagpole appeared on his palm. It had been a long time since he used this thing. This… was one of the treasures he had obtained from Han Mountain City, and it was one of the divine abilities that belonged to Han Mountain's ancestor.
Su Ming did not know the details, but he could still bring out some of its power, and could… make it explode!
This was the first counterattack he prepared for his enemy!
Su Ming placed the flag pole by the side, then patted his storage bag. Immediately, a large stone monument flew out - it was the legacy left behind by the first God of Berserkers.
No one among the Berserkers could obtain any sort of inheritance from it any longer, but its existence itself brought about a terrifying force that could frighten all the Immortals. If Di Tian truly came here, then the moment he saw this stone monument, he would definitely be surprised and horrified!
This was the second strike Su Ming prepared for Di Tian!
When he erected this stone monument on the island, a flicker of light flashed in his eyes. He lifted his right hand and slapped his storage bag, and immediately, a transparent mountain rock flew out. Within it was naturally the small black humanoid that had lost one of its fingers.
The creature had its eyes closed, as if it was sleeping.
"I have an offer, will you take it?" Su Ming looked at the small black humanoid and asked flatly.
The creature did not move, but after several breaths, its eyes flew open and it stared at Su Ming, with its eyes shining with a strange light.
"What offer?" Its voice was rather piercing to the ears.
"With your full strength, help me kill a person. It doesn't matter whether I live or die in the end, I will return you your freedom!"
The small black humanoid was silent for a moment before it suddenly spoke.
"Why should I believe you?"
"My seal is on your body. It depends entirely on you whether you want to take this offer. I will only offer this once, and I will never make it again!" Su Ming stated calmly.
The small black humanoid struggled for a moment, and a hint of madness appeared briefly in its eyes before it gave a nod.
Su Ming swiftly lifted his right hand and slapped the transparent mountain rock, and the seal on the mountain rock immediately vanished. Right then, Su Ming cast his divine sense on the small black humanoid, and after a swift scan, the creature flew out of the mountain rock.
The instant it was out, it lifted its head and let out a piercing roar towards the sky before it looked swiftly towards Su Ming, who remained as composed as ever while looking at the small black humanoid coldly.
The creature was silent for a moment, then wrapped its fist in its palm towards Su Ming.
"I'll trust in your words, and I don't want to be your enemy either. Our goals are both the same, we both want to leave this place!" After it spoke, it disappeared into the air with a single step, vanishing from Su Ming's eyes.
Even if Su Ming swept his divine sense through the area, had he not left his will in the creature acting as a seal, it would be difficult for him to find it.
This was the third gift Su Ming prepared for Di Tian.
"Di Tian…"
Su Ming lifted his right hand and flung his arm. Immediately, a piece of debris from one of Great Yu Dynasty's palaces appeared before him. He had obtained this item in the frozen world, and when he brought it out, he pressed his right hand on it, and the meadow around him instantly covered it up.
Su Ming's divine sense was connected to the debris. When he first fought against old Mo Luo on Scour Sieve Island, a thought had appeared in his head regarding the Art he used to bring out Great Yu's illusion. Afterwards, he had done some experiments and, keeping in mind that he had gone to the real Great Yu Dynasty before, if he cast this illusion, its might would definitely be great.
This was the fourth present he prepared.
Once Su Ming finished doing all these things, he fell into a brief period of pensive silence before he brought out the virescent sword. He looked at it, and a hint of reluctance appeared in his eyes, but it soon disappeared, to be replaced by a solemn expression. With his right hand holding the sword, he lifted his left hand and gently brushed his finger across the blade. As he did so, a strange glare appeared in his eyes and a string of complicated sounding words tumbled out of his mouth. He even had his Nascent Divinity dispersed to fuse into the sword slowly as he swept his finger across the blade.
The small virescent sword trembled and let out a piercing whistle. After a moment, a blinding glare came from its blade, and a tragic air of sadness spread out from within sword. That presence was filled with a reluctance to part with Su Ming, along with affection...
This was the fifth present Su Ming prepared for Di Tian.
With the special method he obtained from Hong Luo, he would offer up this sword and have the power of its soul erupt forth so that it could withstand his might when he flicked the blade!
Chapter 585: Di Tian's Clone!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming used the virescent sword in his hand and stabbed it into the meadow. Once it sank into the ground, he closed his eyes slightly, and as bell chimes echoed within him, Han Mountain Bell manifested itself outside his body. Once it flew out, the picture of the Nine-Headed Dragon on it gained a vivid edge, and it sounded as if its roars filled the world.
"Nine-Headed Dragon…" Su Ming whispered softly.
"Candle Dragon…" The instant he said these two words, the small Candle Dragon at his collar immediately flew out, and with a leap, crawled into the meadow, disappearing. At the same time, the bell in the sky grew larger, and as it grew endlessly, it replaced the sky above Su Ming before rushing into the thick, dark clouds above and hiding itself away from sight.
This was the sixth gift Su Ming prepared for that disaster!
'And the seventh…' Su Ming's eyes sparkled. He looked at the mark of the crimson dragon on his arm. The crimson dragon had opened its eyes at the moment and was also looking at Su Ming. There was resolution in its gaze.
Without even needing Su Ming to speak, the crimson dragon on his arm manifested itself, then lifted its head and roared before it charged into the sky with its gigantic body. It disappeared swiftly into the clouds and vanished from sight.
But it was still there. Su Ming could tell that with just a single thought from him, the crimson dragon would have its strongest power erupt from its body to destroy the entire world.
This was his seventh gift!
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. When he lifted his hands, the power of lightning erupted from the Lightning Crystal of Inheritance within him. This power surrounded his body, and as he watched the endless amount of lightning sparks swimming on his skin, he closed his eyes and struck his chest with his right hand.
As lightning crackled all over his body, Su Ming opened his mouth and spat out an item!
This item was black and was a cauldron-shaped object with nine holes in it. This thing had always been in Su Ming's body, and it was the item that was formed when he absorbed the lightning from the world as he Awakened in Han Mountain City!
There had never been much changes within this item, as it resided in his body, up till the moment he absorbed the Lightning Berserker's inheritance. Su Ming had sensed something different within it, as if there thousands upon thousands of threads connecting this item to the Lightning Berserker.
In fact, even if the black stone fragment had played the largest role in him being able to obtain the Lightning Berserker's inheritance, without this cauldron-shaped thing, the stone fragment would not have been able to find a guide to bring out lightning.
The instant Su Ming spat out the nine-holed cauldron-shaped thing that was his Origin Vessel, the lightning around him charged into the item and disappeared without a trace, causing one of the nine holes to be filled to the brim with lightning!
Su Ming narrowed his eyes. With a swing of his arm, the item charged into the clouds in the sky. At the instant it buried itself there, thunder rumbled, and an infinite amount of lightning started swimming in all directions in the sky, then gathered within the nine-holed cauldron!
That was not the end. Su Ming started forming various seals with his hands and had his Nascent Divinity cover his entire body. He was, at that moment, casting the Immortals' Nine Transformations from the Nine Transformations, Ten Transfigurations, One Voice Art!
The first Transformation, the second Transformation, the third Transformation… Every single time Su Ming changed the seal with his hand, he would send that Transformation into the seal. With each Transformation, the lightning in the sky would increase by a countless amount, which resulted in the second hole within the nine-holed cauldron to be filled, and the third hole was also gradually filling up with lightning.
Su Ming's limit arrived at the seventh Transformation due to his level of cultivation. At that moment, four holes within the nine-holed cauldron in the clouds had already been filled with lightning.
This was the eighth gift he prepared for the person who would bring him his disaster!
'One more…'
Su Ming looked at his left hand. Under his gaze, it gradually turned black, and soon, that dark shade filled his entire palm. However, before long, that black shade gradually started fading away, and only… the palm lines on his left hand remained black. Compared to his normal skin color, those black lines were quite a terrifying sight.
"The Curse…"
When Su Ming mumbled under his breath, his gaze fell on his right hand. There was a black glare shining on his right hand at the moment, but it soon disappeared, as if it had hidden itself in his right hand.
"This is the ninth gift… Di Tian, let's hope you're really the one who will be bringing me this disaster… I will wait for you here… with these nine gifts!"
Su Ming closed his eyes and calmed his breathing. He started waiting in silence.
He had already laid out the entire board for the battlefield, and would now absolutely not leave this place. If this disaster was truly Di Tian, he would definitely come.
Su Ming waited for three days. During them, he did not move a single inch and kept his eyes closed as he meditated, and by doing so, his condition continued improving, until he reached his strongest state.
He knew that the disaster this time would be incredibly difficult, but he could not back down from this fight, and neither did he have any space to withdraw. He could only fight!
He had to fight!
He had to slaughter his way through, to clear a path for himself to control his own fate. He had to kill until everything changed!
Fight!
Red capillaries gradually appeared beneath Su Ming's shut eyes. A battle spirit and killing intent that surged into the sky rose in his body, and like a storm, it started sweeping through the entire area.
He wanted to fight. He wanted to fight against Di Tian, fight against his fate, fight against his confusion, and fight against his whole life!
When the fifth day arrived and Su Ming's battle spirit reached its peak, a wave of distortions appeared in the sky in the distance, and a person walked out from within.
That person was dressed in an Emperor's robe and wore a crown. With an aloof look on his face, he cast a cold glance at Su Ming sitting on the island beneath him. Naturally, that person was Di Tian!
After waiting for several days, he had noticed that Su Ming was no longer heading toward Eastern Wastelands. After a moment of hesitation, he chose to not wait any longer and come to Su Ming himself. To him, changing Destiny's path would not be too hard… even though he had run into a period lacking control during all his years of observing Su Ming.
But he believed that this period of emptiness, where he did not see him, was not enough for his plans to fall!
Di Tian did not even say a single word when he saw Su Ming. He simply took a step towards the island where he was. At that moment, his aloof appearance and his emotionless expression gave a loud voice to his tyrannical behavior!
Along with the Emperor's robe, the awe-inspiring presence caused Di Tian to look as if he was the sovereign in this world, as if every single piece of land under the sky was his domain, and with an overbearing presence that screamed of him being the only sovereign that could exist in this world, his foot landed. The world roared, and the Dead Sea beneath him started churning and tumbling backwards, as if it could not withstand the pressure of his arrival!
At that moment, the imposing presence of Di Tian was the exact same as the clone's who had fought against Hong Luo all those years ago!
'It's not his real seal…'
At the instant Di Tian took that one step and the world started roaring, Su Ming's eyes flew open. With a single move, his body flew up, and the Undertaker of Evil's Armor covered his body. Once it did so, the Spear appeared in his hand.
All of these things happened in a flash. In the blink of an eye, Su Ming had already equipped the Undertaker of Evil's Armor.
Di Tian completely ignored the armor's appearance. Once he took the first step, he lifted his right hand and swung his arm towards Su Ming through the air. An astonishing wave of fog started churning, and as if it wanted to cover the entire world within, it rushed forward towards Su Ming!
Su Ming let out a cold harrumph. At the instant his body rose into the sky, he took a step forward. When his foot landed, the air roared. This was not a normal step, it was… Su Ming's God of Berserkers' Seven Steps!
The first step!
With it, the layers of clouds above Di Tian's head thinned out, and a huge footprint appeared. With a piercing howl, it charged towards Di Tian.
Once Su Ming took that step, he immediately took another. He did not stop moving his feet and walked another six steps forward. Once he was finished, six footprints that were each bigger than the last appeared and replaced the entire sky above Di Tian's head. With loud rumbles, they sank down and crashed into the vast fog that had appeared when Di Tian swung his arm.
At the instant a shocking roar reverberated through the air, Su Ming took his seventh step, and with it, the biggest footprint abruptly descended, causing the rumbling sounds, which had already been shocking enough, to become much louder!
When Su Ming finished executing the God of Berserkers' Seven Steps, his speed reached an unimaginable extent. When the piercing roars continued shaking the world and space itself was still being torn apart, he had already charged through the air with the Undertaker of Evil's Spear in hand. Like a long arc that shot through space, he appeared before Di Tian and sent his spear straight towards the center of the clone's brows!
This was Su Ming!
He took the initiative to attack, no longer merely resisting like he did all those years ago. This spear symbolized his fight against fate. This spear represented the resolve in his heart. This spear… contained his hate towards Di Tian!
The significance behind his change from being forced to fight back and attacking on his own was great, and the change itself was as huge as the world being overturned!
A loud bang that buried all other sounds spread out swiftly, but Di Tian's gaze was as calm as ever. Not a single hint of change could be seen in his composed expression. In fact, he did not even take half a step backwards. He merely lifted his right hand and tapped the tip of Su Ming's spear.
A bang reverberated in the air, and Su Ming coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backwards before turning into an arc that fell on the island. He… failed with this strike!
The strength of Di Tian's clone was so great that he only needed one finger to injure Su Ming… but there was a price to it. A thin gash appeared on the pad of Di Tian's finger.
"Looks like you've improved by quite a large margin over the years, considering that you were able to injure my clone… but you still need to walk down your predestined path so that I won't be disappointed."
As Di Tian spoke, he closed in on the island. However, right at the instant Su Ming fell on the ground, a strange, faint smile appeared on the corners of his lips.
There were three reasons behind Su Ming launching his attack. One of them was due to his resolve and the change in his attitude. The other was to test just how much his body could handle. The final reason… was to lure Di Tian to this island!
Now, his adversary was here!
"Di Tian!" Su Ming roared. He lifted his right hand and swiftly pressed it on the seemingly ordinary looking stone monument, the monument that the first God of Berserkers had left behind containing his inheritance that would only last until the third God of Berserkers!
At the instant Su Ming's palm fell, a hum came from the monument, and a presence belonging to the first God of Berserkers manifested within the world, causing Di Tian's expression to change for the very first time as he walked over!
"This is… Lie Shan Xiu's presence!"
Chapter 586: Devastating!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lie Shan Xiu's presence should not possess a powerful might, because it was originally not very strong. It was rather faint, in truth. After all, it was an inheritance that lasted only till the third God of Berserkers. There was not much left.
However, if the monument's power to instill fear was used against the Immortals who had trembled under Lie Shan Xiu's might all those years ago, then the effect of this presence would reach a terrifying degree.
This was not a suppression ono one's cultivation base, neither was it going to cause Di Tian any physical damage. Instead, it was something that would affect his heart, a mighty pressure that came from the soul itself!
This mighty pressure would be stronger the greater was the Immortal who had trembled in fear due to Lie Shan Xiu's might. They would be like terrified birds who were injured by an arrow once and from then on would fall when they heard the sound of the bow again. Right then, Di Tian behaved in the exact same way!
Before he had made his name known, he had watched the first God of Berserkers raining slaughter on the Immortals. That mighty power and that terrifying massacre was his eternal nightmare.
At the instant he sensed Lie Shan Xiu's presence, Di Tian's heart trembled, a sight rarely seen on him. That shock caused his mind and expression to go blank for a brief instant.
That brief state of blankness was to Su Ming the chance he had been waiting for after all the preparations he'd made, it was also the reason behind why he prepared all the gifts for Di Tian!
At the instant the clone went into a daze, Su Ming pressed both his arms on the ground, and the red meadow immediately surged into the sky, and an area of more than thousands of feet could be seen surging up in to the sky. Red fog seeped out from the meadow, and the instant it filled the air, Su Ming grabbed the flagpole and stabbed it into the ground.
When he did so, the red fog that had spread out immediately gathered together, to turn into a gigantic shadow, and with a huge roar, it charged towards Di Tian. At the same time, with a yank from Su Ming's right hand, all the grass from the meadow flew up and enveloped Di Tian.
"Explode!" Su Ming let out a low roar, and the instant the meadow enveloped the dazed Di Tian, the flagpole let out a loud bang and exploded. The impact formed from it charged straight towards the clone.
Almost the instant the red meadow collapsed, the shadow in the red fog grabbed Di Tian's body, and right when it looked as if it was about to devour him, a look of struggle appeared on Di Tian's face. Clearly, he was about to wake up from the sudden shock the first God of Berserkers' presence had brought on him.
There was no way Su Ming would waste this chance he had seized after so much difficulty. He formed a seal with both hands and swiftly pointed forward!
"Illusion of Great Yu!"
As he pointed forward, his Nascent Divinity swiftly spread out and fused into the debris from one of Great Yu's palaces in the collapsed meadow. The debris swiftly let out a powerful dark light, and as it shone, the dark light instantly enveloped Di Tian within. The absent-minded look appeared once again, the signs of Di Tian waking up disappearing.
This happened because he had sank into the illusion of Great Yu. It was the Great Yu Dynasty that Su Ming had brought up from his own thoughts after seeing the country itself with his own eyes. The level of authenticity in it was unparalleled!
Right at the instant Di Tian became dazed once again, Su Ming let out a low roar. Right then, a flash of black suddenly appeared, and that black light was naturally the killing move Su Ming had prepared - the small black humanoid!
This creature was of unknown origins and had a mysterious background. Its strength could also not be deduced, but at the moment it appeared, it instantly entered Di Tian's body.
Su Ming seized the ground through the air with his right hand, and his body shot up. At the same moment he flew up, a virescent sword quickly charged towards him, and once Su Ming held it in his hand, he swiftly closed in on Di Tian!
The murderous aura from the sword in his hand rose into the sky and fused with the sword's aura itself. As it swept through the air, Su Ming cracked the sword like a whip on Di Tian's body, but right at the moment the sword's strike was about to reach him, a freezing glare appeared in Di Tian's dazed eyes and they became filled with clarity. There… was not a hint of blankness in him!
"The illusion of Great Yu Dynasty… I had personally joined in the fight to destroy the Great Yu Dynasty all those years ago and had even brought you away from it. This illusion… is too weak!" As Di Tian spoke calmly, he formed a seal with his right hand and pressed towards the incoming sword aura.
"I am the heavens. All manner of living exists beneath the sky. Under my rule, all the living are given different souls. If I am unwilling, I can retrieve those souls… Heavenly Deprival of Souls." At the moment these cool words that did not hold a hint of emotion tumbled out of Di Tian's lips, he pointed at the sword aura with his right index finger.
At the instant his finger touched the sword, Su Ming heard a shrill scream of pain coming from the small virescent sword in his hand. The sword also became dimmer in an instant, as if its soul was rapidly disappearing from within.
That one finger shot through the sword aura and charged straight towards Su Ming!
In the time of crisis, he swiftly lifted the sword in his hand and bit his left index finger. At the same moment he started fighting against Di Tian's finger, he swiped his left index finger across the blade.
By the time he drew that line of blood, Di Tian's finger had already touched the sword. A clear sound rang in the air, and a large amount of cracks appeared on the sword. A strange power came from it, and with a force that seemed as if it could separate a person's soul from its body, that power swept towards Su Ming.
Without any hesitation, Su Ming flicked the sword, and a sharp sword whistle reverberated through the air. A wave of sound from the sword also swept towards Di Tian.
The sword started shattering, inch by inch, and broke down in Su Ming's hands, but all the sword pieces swept towards Di Tian and crashed into his incoming finger.
Loud, booming bangs echoed in the air. Su Ming coughed up blood and his body fell backwards. Di Tian's face grew slightly colder and darker.
"You do have a few tricks up your sleeve, but do you have any left now?!"
Di Tian spoke coldly and took a step towards the pale and rapidly retreating Su Ming, but at the moment he took his second step, Su Ming's body came to an abrupt halt and a dark light shone in his eyes.
Di Tian frowned. Then, a roar shot out from the clouds in the sky. It was a dragon's roar, the crimson dragon's roar. A crimson dragon of ten thousand feet peered out from the clouds in the sky at that moment and glared at Di Tian. It did not know him, but it could sense that presence of the person who had killed its previous owner stained his body!
Roaring, the crimson dragon charged towards Di Tian, but with a calm face, the clone lifted his right hand and swung it forward.
"The dragon's soul formed by Hong Luo's Earthen Aura divine ability… dust to dust, earth to earth. There will be no second sovereign in the world!" He spoke calmly, but the moment his words were voiced, a shudder ran through his body, and a look of disbelief appeared in his face.
The divine ability he had just cast had not been brought outwards, but had instead… appeared within him. It was like self-mutilation, as if someone had just cast the exact same Art right in his face. It was used right back on him, and during that instant, Di Tian's body became slightly faded out!
The crimson dragon let out a low roar, and seizing that chance, it closed in on Di Tian, with its mouth wide open. As it roared, its body swept through the land. A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He knew exactly what had happened to Di Tian, because during moments before, he had sensed a hint of the small black humanoid's presence. He did not have time to think about how the small black humanoid had managed to do this though, because he could not waste this chance!
Closing in, Su Ming lifted his right hand. At the instant he raised his right index finger and closed in on Di Tian, his finger touched the center of the clone's brows. However, right when his finger touched him, a powerful rebound crashed straight into his body. Blood trickled out of the corner of Su Ming's lips, and his body fell backwards.
The crimson dragon went through the same series of events. As the power crashed into it and it was sent flying backwards, the waves of power that came from the Earthen Aura Dragon Vein had not even managed to injure a single hair on Di Tian's body. Instead, the crimson dragon had suffered a powerful rebound, but it went charging right back at him again, and was sent hurtling back once more. After a few times, its body shrank greatly and it even showed signs of withering away.
Di Tian's face grew as dark as thunderclouds. He simply allowed Su Ming and the crimson dragon to attack, not bothering with them. Instead, he lifted his right hand and struck his chest. With it, a shrill scream of pain came from within his body. Then, right from his back, a small black humanoid started being forced out, its body crumbling. Just as it was about to be completely kicked out—
"Nine-Headed Dragon!" Su Ming shouted, and immediately, an endless amount of bell chimes came from the clouds in the sky. When another chime sounded, as the clouds in the sky tumbled in the air, a bell that was several thousands of feet in size descended rapidly and covered Di Tian within it.
At the same time, the Nine-Headed Dragon's illusion manifested in the sky. The awakened heads roared and spat out an innumerable amount of vengeful souls right at Han Mountain Bell. The vengeful spirits filled the sky and earth, surrounded Han Mountain Bell, and even shot through the bell to charge towards Di Tian!
At that moment, Di Tian lifted his head and roared. Immediately, the small black humanoid broke down and was completely forced out of his body, but during that instant, a red glare that even Di Tian himself did not notice charged straight towards him.
The red glare was too fast and had already reached a distance of less than three feet from Di Tian. The clone waved his arm, and the red glare distorted slightly before it started using its body to resist the power from Di Tian's swing.
But… with a bang, that red glare broke down and turned into a bloody mess. It… was the small snake!
Yet even though its body had broken down, its head still remained. It bit down on Di Tian's hand, causing his left hand to instantly turn black!
Di Tian's face filled with rage. He had never been in such a pathetic state before, and it was especially humiliating since his level of cultivation surpassed Su Ming's by quite a large margin. But right then, due to his many moves, Di Tian had been injured!
"Men's revolution can be replaced by the heavens. This is what it means for the heavens to take over men!"
Di Tian's voice echoed in the air, and the power within him erupted. This caused the small snake that had managed to injure him to shatter. The awakened heads from the Nine-Headed Dragon rushed into Han Mountain Bell right as the small snake was about to die and opened their mouths wide to devour Di Tian.
A loud, violent bang reverberated in the world for a long, long time and did not disappear. Instead, that sound became even greater. For the first time, a large amount of damage appeared on Han Mountain Bell, and it shattered. Its broken pieces could be gathered together once again, but clearly, they no longer contained the spiritual aura the bell once possessed.
The Nine-Headed Dragon let out a shrill cry of pain and exploded, turning into wisps of fog that surged out in all directions.
Chapter 587: The Ninth Gift!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Han Mountain Bell was sent back!
The Nine-Headed Dragon disintegrated!
The small Candle Dragon only had its head remaining and not much life force left. At that moment, it was tossed far away!
Anger appeared on Di Tian's face. This sort of dishevelled state was something that was incredibly rarely seen on his person.
"You're just an imitation of the Great Eastern Wasteland Desert Bell, how dare you try and seal me?!"
Di Tian's hair was a mess. His left hand had originally been black, but was rapidly regaining its actual skin color. Black liquid fell from the two wounds from the small snake, and by the looks of it, before long, he would be completely recovered.
Right at the moment Di Tian took a huge step forward, and in his anger was fully intent to end what he believed was a farce, a chilling glare appeared in Su Ming's eyes. Immediately, as the clouds in the sky tumbled, a shocking, thunderous roar traveled forth.
At the instant it sounded, a gigantic bolt of lightning crashed on Di Tian with an unbelievable speed and loud, rumbling sounds.
Di Tian's pupils shrank, and he instantly vanished. Right then, a deafening thunder clap rose into the air, and the place where Di Tian had been standing shattered completely!
Su Ming seized the air with his right hand, but at that moment, a great sense of danger rose swiftly within him. Without a single bit of hesitation, the Welcoming of Deities immediately appeared in his hand and he swallowed it.
At that moment, Di Tian walked out from the space behind him and lifted his right hand. Then, with a superior might that could not be withstood, he pushed his palm straight towards the top of Su Mimg's skull!
The space around Su Ming was completely sealed off by this attack, causing it to be absolutely impossible for him to dodge the fatal blow!
Once he was struck, he would lose all his memories. When he woke up again… perhaps he would still be him, but he… would also no longer be himself!
The hand came towards him, and Su Ming's fate seemed to be sealed. However, there was no absolute certainty in the world, and accidents could happen in every situation, including those that seemed certain! Almost at the instant Di Tian thought his palm would hit Su Ming without a single obstacle, it was less than three inches away from the top of his skull, after all, suddenly, a ray of golden light swiftly spread out from Su Ming's body!
There were five layers to this golden light, and when it spread out, the first layer that touched Di Tian's hand shattered, but within the circle that was closer to Su Ming, another layer appeared.
As the light screens shattered, more would appear, and they continuously spread out. Within that short instant, the layers had shattered several tens of thousands of times, but they never disintegrated. The seal always stayed!
This golden screen of light that would eternally exist with those five layers reappearing in an endless cycle was naturally the Five Direction Seal that held down the second God of Berserkers' left hand!
If this seal could hold down the God of Berserkers' left hand, then there was no way that Di Tian's clone would be able to break its might within a short period of time!
Su Ming's Qi continuously rose within the screen of light. At that moment, the Qi that was spreading out from his body after he swallowed the Welcoming of Deities was that belonging to the second God of Berserkers. Di Tian was incredibly familiar with it, and his expression changed.
But right at the moment his expression changed, the nine-holed cauldron appeared once again from the clouds in the sky. As of then, only three of the four original filled holes were brimming with lightning. Once it appeared, a red flash of lightning came crackling down from the sky and charged towards Di Tian.
"I didn't expect that you would have Divine Will's Lightning. As I thought, Destiny, I can really give you no chance! But this Divine Will's Lightning and that Five Direction Seal should be your last tricks!
"I'd like to see just how you will fight against me when I break your Five Direction Seal. So, the second God of Berserkers' inheritance, hmm…?"
With his intellect, Di Tian could tell with just a glance that this Five Direction Seal was not under Su Ming's control. This thing had appeared to protect him just because the second God of Berserkers' Qi had risen within Su Ming's body at that moment.
He might be referring to it as a protection, but it was in truth sealing Su Ming within!
The person inside could not get out, but the people outside could not get in either!
Yet to Di Tian, the Five Direction Seal's existence was protecting Su Ming at that moment, that was why even though he knew that this thing was actually a seal, he still chose to try and break it open!
With his power, perhaps he would be unable to do so within a short amount of time, but when he lifted his head and cast a glance at the lightning in the sky, a cold sneer appeared on his lips. He lifted his right hand, pointed towards the lightning, then lifted his left hand and pushed it towards the screen of light that belonged to the Five Direction Seal.
With a loud bang, the red lightning struck Di Tian. He jolted forward and lightning filled his entire body in an instant. It swam through him and left through his left hand. crashing onto the Five Direction Seal.
Soon after, another bolt of lightning crashed down. Di Tian let out a low growl and clenched his left hand into a fist. At the moment the lightning sparks gathered on his body, he rammed his fist against the Five Direction Seal.
It had begun cracking due to the lightning earlier, and as it continuously crumbled and shattered, when that punch landed, its speed as it repaired itself started showing signs that it could not keep up with the rate of destruction. There were no longer five layers of light that appeared outside. Only three remained.
Su Ming could not dodge. He might be in the Five Direction Seal, but the area around him was frozen up, resulting in him being unable to retreat, unable to resist, unable to struggle, but he did not plan to do so. Instead, with calm eyes, he stared at Di Tian's actions.
The black stone fragment on his neck was flashing. Within this temporary period of safety, Su Ming had time to change his plans.
At that moment, the final bolt of lightning came crashing down. Right when it came in contact with Di Tian, a glint appeared in the clone's eyes. He lifted his right hand, about to touch the screen of light and have this Divine Will's Lightning add to the power of his cultivation base before channeling it to Su Ming so that he would get a taste of his own medicine, while Di Tian himself remained uninjured, an event that was completely out of his expectations happened!
A cold sneer appeared at the corners of Su Ming's lips, and during the instant Di Tian wanted to have him suffer the might of the Divine Lightning, a dark ray of light surrounded his body and he disappeared without a trace!
Once he disappeared, the Five Direction Seal dissipated, and because of that, the place where Di Tian was about to send the power from the Divine Lightning was gone!
Di Tian's pupils shrank. Lightning erupted abruptly within his body and filled him entirely, causing blood to flow out from his mouth for the first time ever since the battle had started!
Because of the lightning, his body also became numb, and during that instant, his cultivation base froze for a moment. If it had been any other moment, this would not have mattered, but right then, almost the moment Di Tian's plan failed, Su Ming reappeared in midair!
He had stepped into the dimension in the stone fragment and had taken out the Welcoming of Deities when he was in it, that was why the Five Direction Seal did not stop him when he reappeared. With a single move, he charged towards Di Tian.
"Di Tian, this is the ninth gift I've prepared for you!"
Su Ming's face was freezing cold. Killing intent shone in his eyes, and he pressed his left hand, with the black lines, straight at the center of Di Tian's brows.
A loud boom that shook the skies reverberated in the air. As Di Tian roared in anger, Su Ming coughed up blood, but just when it seemed like he was about to be sent flying off by the rebound, he lifted his right hand, and a black bone spike took shape!
This was the God of Berserkers' spike! It was the one and only God of Berserkers' spike Si Ma Xin had hold on to!
The instant Su Ming was sent back, he warped and without caring about the injuries on his body, he sent that God of Berserkers' spike straight into Di Tian's chest!