Chapter 726: His Second Senior Brother and Hu Zi's Origins
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming remained silent for a moment, then asked slowly, "Then who is Dao Chen? What is his relationship with Morning Dao?"
"Dao Chen is Morning Dao Sect's Progenitor and also master of True Morning Dao World. His will has existed for an endless amount of years, and it's said that his level of cultivation has reached an incredibly terrifying stage.
"I don't know the details either. When Master introduced Morning Dao Sect, he once mentioned that his Master, who is our Grandmaster, is one of the many Sect Elders in Morning Dao Sect.
"It doesn't matter whether it is the Immortals or the other races, as long as they have certain qualifications, you will find that you can trace them all the way back to Morning Dao Sect. There is a Sect Elder from Morning Dao Sect behind each of the races.
"Morning Dao Sect is like a huge web that fills all the corners of True Morning Dao World. That's why I said that Morning Dao Sect is actually True Morning Dao World.
"Our Grandmaster has only taken in eighteen disciples in his life. Our Master was taken in as a disciple when he was roaming about the lands of Berserkers. At that time, there were several other Berserkers who also went under our Grandmaster's tutelage. They once went out of the land of Berserkers multiple times with our Grandmaster… But in the end, due to different ideals, due to the difference in opinion regarding their path of cultivation, and due to Master injuring a large amount of people due to an incident, he left Grandmaster and returned to the land of Berserkers.
"When he returned to the land of Berserkers, the injuries he sustained that year did not heal, and he became weaker and weaker as time passed, but it was precisely due to this weakness that he created Change of Heart!
"It's the same Change of Heart that allows our roots and foundations to never change no matter what sort of divine abilities we practice or what happens to our external appearance.
"Our eldest senior brother is a descendent of Nine Li and the Lord of the Shamans. He has been with our Master the longest. I was originally a soul fragment in the world, gathered together by the first Phantom Equal from Phantom Dais Tribe to become a Phantom.
"I never had any intelligence. When Phantom Equal died, I suddenly obtained intelligence… I didn't vanish after that but started drifting about in the world.
"Many years passed, and then, I met our Master. He helped me transform and gave me the Abyss Dragon Scale to gather corporeal form. From then on, I followed Master and became his second disciple." Second senior brother spoke softly, but his voice reverberated in the air.
"Hu Zi's origins are even more complicated. He was also the one who was valued the most by our Master, because his potential surpassed mine and eldest senior brother's. He's…" Second senior brother cast Hu Zi a glance.
Hu Zi drank quietly by the side. He did not speak.
"Yin Death Region is a mysterious place. Master once said that this mysterious existence is a place that even Morning Dao Sect has to be careful of… Berserkers… Heh heh, Berserkers aren't a race that appeared naturally. They are one of the many races within Yin Death Region!
"Based on Master's understanding, there are many races in Yin Death Region, and in Morning Dao Sect's words, these races are all felons!" Second senior brother lifted his head and cast a glance at the sky.
"There are an endless number of worlds in the depths of Yin Death Vortex. That place… is the true Yin Death Region. The place where we Berserkers are located is actually one of the worlds in this gigantic Yin Death Vortex!
"The reason behind why Immortals descended into our world and why it's pretty famous within Morning Dao Sect is because Lie Shan Xiu, our first God of Berserkers was born here!
"He is an anomaly. He's a madman whose level of cultivation went through the roof. He's a powerful warrior that managed to walk out of the land of Berserkers and shocked even Yin Death Region, as well as sent Morning Dao Sect into a buzz!
"He is also the first Yin Death's Child that Yin Death Region eventually recognized and supported at full strength!"
Su Ming's breathing quickened. These things were rather similar to what he understood, but most of them were things that he had never heard before.
"He conquered many worlds and opened a path leading to Bright Yang Region. It was the path leading to the spot where Morning Dao Sect was located in True Morning Dao World, making the land of Berserkers the one and only region that could break into Bright Yang from Yin Death. It is also the path Immortals and the other races from True Morning Dao World use to come to our world.
"Lie Shan Xiu fought against Dao Chen, but did not die. He enslaved the people from various worlds, causing his name to ring through Morning Dao Sect and the land of Berserkers to become the transition spot between Yin Death and Bright Yang.
"That's why Grandmaster could come here and take in our Master as his disciple," second senior brother explained calmly. Every single one of his sentences verified Su Ming's understanding, and from there, he gained a true perception of the world.
"There are nine cultivation planets beyond Yin Death Region. The Immortals were the ones who placed those cultivation planets there to lock down Yin Death Region… but in truth, they can't seal Yin Death Region. They are just there for the land of Berserkers.
"But besides the cultivation planets, there's also a Rune that Morning Dao Sect laid out themselves, and it is one that the Immortals cannot control. That Rune is made of ninety-nine tiger talismans and forty-nine dragon talismans.
"This is just the first Rune used to suppress Yin Death Region… Even Lie Shan Xiu did not dare touch this Rune carelessly. Instead, he used his great power and his status as Yin Death's Child to open up another path, allowing him to avoid the Rune and exit the place, making the land of Berserkers a special case.
"Master wasted a lot of effort in the past to lure out a wisp of presence from the ninety-nine tiger talismans, though I don't know what method he used to do that. He gathered that presence together into a soul and sent it into a female Berserker he chose. Then, she gave birth to a son… and that is Hu Zi."
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath and looked towards Hu Zi, who continued drinking silently. It was clear that he had known about this since a long time ago, and at that moment, there was not a hint of expression on his face.
"Hu Zi's Enter Dream is a divine ability he was born with. It is a power born from the source of the first Rune. It is an Art that was left behind by the person who laid out the Rune.
"Our Master is a man of great talents. He once said that Hu Zi is the key to break the first Rune, and only Hu Zi alone will be able to do it!" Second senior brother lifted his head and ruffled Hu Zi's head. Hu Zi simply allowed this affectionate gesture. He placed his pot of wine down and looked at Su Ming.
"Youngest junior brother, that's how I came to be. I don't know what Master's plans are. I only know that Master is nice to me, eldest senior brother is nice to me, and while second senior brother constantly hits me, he is also nice to me. Youngest junior brother, you're also nice to me, that's why my life is yours!
"No matter what you want me to do, I will do it," Hu Zi said seriously.
Second senior brother then looked at Su Ming and said slowly, "As for you, youngest junior brother, Master once said… that he can't see through you.
"When you went off to the battle between the Shamans and Berserkers, Master watched you leave, and told Hu Zi and I that he can't tell where you came from. The aura of death in your body is similar to the Emperor of Abyss' True World, but it is different as well.
"Your presence and everything else made Master recall a secret his Grandmaster had once mentioned. It is a secret about what happened in True Morning Dao World in ages past. An unknown amount of years ago, when True Morning Dao World was at its strongest, a couple broke into their world…
"They should have been running from danger. At that time, the woman was pregnant, and the man was gravely injured… but the presence that spread out from his body incited a huge change in the entire True Morning Dao World.
"They did not seem to intend to stay for long in True Morning Dao World, but the change in True Morning Dao World's presence caught Morning Dao Sect's attention, and after using some unknown method, they became certain that the couple possessed… a supreme treasure that surpassed Morning Dao Cauldron.
"That treasure… did not seem to belong to any one of the four True Great Worlds!
"A battle to snatch that treasure began because of that, but the man was too strong. He was so strong that even if he was gravely injured, he still managed to spill a lot of blood. Even Dao Chen, who was at the peak of his condition… lost when fighting against him!
"If the woman had not felt pain in her stomach and started bleeding during the fight, then no one would have been the man's opponent… The woman's physical constitution was incredibly unique. Once she started bleeding, she lost all her cultivation base.
"Morning Dao Sect launched a crazed counterattack, and that was a bloody battle that swept through the entire True Morning Dao World. In the end… the man brought with him his anger, sadness, madness, his dying wife, and even greater injuries, and rushed out of True Morning Dao World.
"Before he left, it's said that his eyes turned crimson, and he turned his head back to look at his pursuers from Morning Dao Sect and spoke something," second senior brother said softly and looked at Su Ming.
Su Ming remained silent. He did not speak.
"This world… shall be built for Abyss!" Second senior brother stopped talking for a moment.
"From then on, the entire galaxy of True Morning Dao World started showing signs of withering. All the spiritual aura in the world gradually dispersed. There were even quite a large number of cultivation planets that turned into wasteland due to the complete drain of spiritual aura.
"This strange phenomenon caused a great wave of panic…
"Morning Dao Sect was no longer as strong as before, but even so, this sect was still the lord of True Morning Dao World.
"Master knew that you were called Su Ming, and because he could not tell where you came from, he thought of that rumor. He also remembered that there was a place that was sealed up in the Immortals' galaxy, and it's said that there is a corpse within that seal." Once second senior brother spoke up to this point, he no longer said anything else.
Hu Zi watched Su Ming remain silent by the side.
The night grew darker. The sea breeze brought with it humidity and a hint of cold as it blew past. It lifted Su Ming's hair, and he raised his head to look at the sky before closing his eyes.
After some time, a smile appeared on Su Ming's face. He opened his eyes and looked at his second senior brother as well as Hu Zi.
"I don't know whether this is related to the couple you mentioned, second senior brother… but I do know that I am… the soul of the corpse sealed in the land of Immortals," Su Ming stated calmly.
His second senior brother and Hu Zi did not say a word, but after a moment, Hu Zi lifted his head swiftly, looked at Su Ming, then lifted his right hand to hit his chest.
"Damn it all! Damn those Immortals! Youngest junior brother, don't worry, your senior brother Hu Zi will definitely get your physical body back!" Hu Zi said loudly. A serious expression that came from the depths of his heart appeared on his face.
"It doesn't matter what statuses we have. I am your second senior brother, and you are my youngest junior brother. We… are family." Second senior brother smiled. That smile that was just as it had always been in the past was especially warm in this dark night on the ninth summit.
"Our Master has gone missing. He should have run into an accident or been taken by force from the land of Berserkers… No matter what, this isn't our Master's will. We must search for him!" second senior brother said and clenched his fists.
"But where should we look for him?" Hu Zi asked loudly.
"Hu Zi, do you remember those rather strange words Master said before he left?" A glint appeared in second senior brother's eyes, and a ray of dark light showed up inside them.
Chapter 727: Blood of Nine Li
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Before Master left, he once looked at the sky and said something." Second senior brother looked as if he was remembering something.
"He said… 'It's almost time. But the Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands appeared, could it be?'" Second senior brother's eyes shone as he looked at Su Ming. "That's what he said. Youngest junior brother, can you find any clues based on these words?"
"It's almost time? Then we must first know what 'time' Master was talking about. As for him mentioning the Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands in his second sentence, it must mean that Master had associated something with it and formed some guesses because of it. The thing that he guessed is what Master did not say in his unfinished sentence," Su Ming said slowly.
"When I was suppressed under Great Leaf Immortal Sect's mountain, I examined these words for a long period of time. I thought back on all the words Master had spoken after I started following him, but I did not manage to find what he meant by the word 'time'. Youngest junior brother, Hu Zi, did Master ever talk to you about anything that is related to 'time'?" Second senior brother looked at Su Ming and Hu Zi.
"I can't remember. There shouldn't be." Hu Zi scratched his head.
Su Ming remained silent for a moment, but couldn't recall anything. Yet soon, a focused look appeared in his eyes, and his gaze landed on the statue that was eldest senior brother.
"Eldest senior brother was the first who mentioned that Master's presence was no longer in the land of Berserkers, and he had even guessed it. Besides, he is the one who's been with Master the longest, perhaps… eldest senior brother knows."
As Su Ming spoke, second senior brother and Hu Zi also looked towards their eldest senior brother, who was now a statue.
After a period of silence, second senior brother sucked in a deep breath.
"We'll talk about this when eldest senior brother wakes up. I've thought of a method to wake him on our way back. We'll have four fifths of a chance that this method will allow eldest senior brother to wake up." Second senior brother then looked at Hu Zi.
"Hu Zi, your level of cultivation is the lowest, but your Enter Dream is very abstruse. Try using Enter Dream to find eldest senior brother's consciousness in the statue. His consciousness should be clouded, but even if it is, he won't hurt you, since you are his junior brother. Once you find eldest senior brother's consciousness, use your Enter Dream and protect his consciousness so that it won't disappear."
Hu Zi nodded gravely. To him, this was as important as saving his Master, and it was at a level that was even more important than his own life.
"Youngest junior brother, it's difficult for my level of cultivation to be categorized using the Berserkers' levels of cultivation. Based on my perception, my current combat abilities have surpassed those who have attained great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm, but are still a little inferior to yours.
"Among the three of us, your level of cultivation is the greatest, and you have to do the most important task." Second senior brother looked at Su Ming when he said those words.
Su Ming met second senior brother's gaze, and a brilliant sparkle appeared in his eyes as he waited for his next words.
"Gather blood from Shamans' hearts. The more you can gather, the better, especially from Shamans' Great Patriarch. This person's level of cultivation was extraordinary in the past, and I remember that he had reawakened during the battle between the Shamans and Berserkers. His heart's blood is the most crucial!
"But you have to be careful of this person. When Master was at his weakest, he had fought against this person before. He had not been his opponent because this person had a talisman on him. This talisman came from Morning Dao Sect. Based on what Master said, that talisman was created from a huge portion of power that came from a Morning Dao Sect Elder's mind. It could make the Shamans' Great Patriarch become stronger after nine deaths!
"Based on Master's analysis, this person is the same as him, having been taken in secretly as a disciple by those in Morning Dao Sect. He was then given the important treasure, that allowed him to reach a state of being almost indestructible.
"Every single time he wakes up, he will have nine lives, and every single time he dies, his power will increase exponentially. When he dies the ninth time, the talisman's power will spread out in a large area, making it seem as if he died, but in truth, his body will enter deep sleep. The talisman will absorb the power of the world by itself at that time, and once it collects a certain amount, Great Patriarch will wake up again.
"This is an incredibly strange cultivation method. It fuses with the Shamans' Spells, making the Great Patriarch into an undying and imperishable existence… He has the Shamans' blood of Nine Li flowing through his veins, and that blood is incredibly thick in him. That's because due to his indestructible status, he has sucked away practically all the blood from all the Nine Li Shaman Lords in the land of Shamans.
"But he won't kill all of them. Every single time, he will leave some alone so that they will give birth to the next generation. This way, he can devour more of them. If eldest senior brother had not been saved by Master, he would have been killed by the Great Patriarch.
"When the Great Patriarch awakened from his sleep, our Master, Western Sea Clan's Guru Li Long, and a mysterious powerful warrior fought together against him, and only together did they manage to destroy him after his ninth death.
"It's a pity that Master's injuries did not heal during those years, or else it would have not been so difficult for him to kill that person. It would have also not been impossible for him to search for where the Great Patriarch's real body was hidden when he disappeared and went into deep sleep, making it difficult for Master to destroy him completely.
"Youngest junior brother, your current level of cultivation has surpassed our Master's when he was injured. Go and kill the Great Patriarch, find where his real body is hidden, and then take his blood of Nine Li. This is the key to awakening our eldest senior brother!
"Only by using blood that is purer than our eldest senior brother's and Hu Zi's protection can I cast the Great Heavenly Phantom Art and lure all the Phantoms in the land of Berserkers to attack the power in the Immortals' Enchanted Vessel, which is in our eldest senior brother's body.
"I can't go along with you to fight against the Great Patriarch, either. I will have to make my body disintegrate during this time to stir up the Phantoms in the land of Berserkers and make preparations to cast the Great Heavenly Phantom Art," second senior brother said in a low voice.
Su Ming nodded without hesitation. Based on his memories, he was that mysterious person from all those years ago, so his understanding regarding the Great Patriarch was greater than that of others.
Second senior brother hesitated for a moment, then spoke up once again. "If you can't find the Great Patriarch's hiding place and obtain a lot of Nine Li's blood, then we'll have to use the second-best option. Go to Western Sea Clan where Guru Li Long has a Shaman Dragon. That dragon once devoured some of the Great Patriarch's blood of Nine Li while they were fighting.
"I heard that it went through a mutation later on. If you can extract that mutated blood of Nine Li, we might be able to use it. Although that blood will only have four tenths of a chance to wake our eldest senior brother, but if you can't find the Great Patriarch's hiding place, we'll use it!"
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and he asked calmly, "If I get both the Great Patriarch and the Shaman Dragon's blood of Nine Li, then what will be the chances of waking our eldest senior brother?"
"If you can get both of them, then I'm certain I'll have nine tenths of a chance to make our eldest senior brother rise from his sleep!" second senior brother said solemnly with a serious expression on his face.
Su Ming nodded. Once he cast a deep look at the statue that was his eldest senior brother, he exchanged glances with Hu Zi and his second senior brother. He saw the determination and resolve in their eyes, and his own resolve was reflected in their eyes as well.
"Err… youngest junior brother, remember to talk to Yu Xuan and borrow that mutt. With it around, no one can harm you," second senior brother suddenly said and winked at him.
Su Ming frowned, and with a rather strange look on his face, he turned around and walked towards the place where Yu Xuan stayed.
When morning arrived, Hu Zi was sleeping soundly while hugging eldest senior brother's statue. Second senior brother was sitting cross-legged by his side, and as his body gradually distorted, Su Ming took with him… two mutts and a woman with a clear laugh and left the ninth summit in four long arcs.
There was no way Yu Xuan would not join this sort of thing…
As for the other mutt, that was the bald crane. It suddenly felt that this form would make it look more imposing. As it flew, it even started barking to its heart's content while feeling proud of itself.
Chapter 728: God of Shamans Island
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Two people, two mutts… or perhaps more accurately speaking, it should be a dragon and a bald crane.
They turned into four long arcs in the sky and flew towards the portion of the Dead Sea beyond Freezing Sky Clan's island. Su Ming's expression was calm all along the way, but his brows were constantly furrowed. All of this was thanks to Yu Xuan, who had a lackadaisical demeanor while she ate roasted seeds by his side.
Yu Xuan's demeanor varied a lot from what Su Ming could sense. She would occasionally be mischievous, then shy and naive, then ignorant and confused, then dignified and graceful. Right then, this lackadaisical manner gave her another temperament.
Yu Xuan, who was beautiful to begin with, became even more striking due to her lackadaisical demeanor. If this was just the case and she had only continued lazing around this way, Su Ming might not have frowned, but the sounds of her chewing on those seeds constantly echoed in the air during their journey, and even the moaning wind could not cover up those crunching sounds.
"Little dummy Su, you've been constantly frowning all along the journey. Let me guess, are the sounds of me eating my seeds bothering you?" Yu Xuan spat out some roasted seed skins, and the yellow mutt immediately darted forward to gulp them down. The black mutt that was the bald crane was just about to snatch them, but when the mutt which was a dragon bared its teeth and glared at it, the large black mutt immediately put on a look of flattery and made a gesture as if it was saying that the mutt should go first.
Su Ming ignored Yu Xuan. That woman gave him a feeling that he could not see through her clearly, and this made him incredibly cautious. At that moment, he looked as calm as usual as he flew over the Dead Sea in the form of a long arc. His eyes were cast forward. In that direction was a layer of purple fog that surrounded an incredibly large area, and it filled every nook and cranny of that place.
That spot was Su Ming's destination. It was one of the three islands in South Morning, and it was occupied by the Shamans.
When they were just right outside the fog, Su Ming stopped and looked at the thick purple fog in that place. He sank into pensive silence, and Yu Xuan noticed he was treating her as if she did not exist, so she let out a soft harrumph, and a thought appeared in her head. Immediately, a sly look flashed in her eyes, and she let out a light cough.
With it, the mutt that was chewing on the skin seeds immediately perked up its ears and lifted its head to look at the fog. A look of scorn appeared on its face, and it let out a low growl.
That growl sounded like a dog's bark but also like a dragon's roar. It started off at a normal volume, but after a moment, it grew so loud that it shook the sky and earth, turning into a loud rumble that was deafening to the ears. This rumble was like a violent gust of wind that swept past the sea and charged straight towards the fog. Within an instant, it crashed into that fog, though the crash could not be seen. The fog that filled the area immediately started tumbling about violently, and the lingering sounds of the previous rumble echoed in the air.
In the span of a breath, the fog that had seemed thick disintegrated under the roar and started falling back swiftly. It looked as if a violent gust of wind was sweeping up leaves. Right before Su Ming's eyes, the fog… disappeared without a trace.
But that was not all. What Yu Xuan did could be considered as an act of helping Su Ming, but clearly, that was not the case. Once the fog disintegrated and fell backwards due to the mutt's growl, a huge island appeared on the surface of the sea.
That island appeared to be a small piece of land. Green covered all of the ground, and there were even some mountain ranges that lay sprawled on it. A primitive and slightly humid presence came crashing into their faces. At that moment, as the fog fell backwards, the ground also moved along with it...
As the growl echoed, an endless number of trees was pulled off the ground with their roots and fell back along with the retreating fog. If anyone lifted their heads to look from the island, they would see a layer of rolling purple fog, trees, earth, and even an innumerable amount of birds and beasts being swept away against their will.
As the ground shook, several powerful presences spread out from the forests and the mountain ranges, and along with them came shouts that were filled with shock and anger.
"Which audacious lunatic dared to offend God of Shamans Island?!"
"Are you asking for death?! All those who enter God of Shamans Island without permission must die!"
As those shouts rang out, nearly a hundred people flew up from the ground. Those people were all dressed in beast skins, which gave them a primeval appearance, but the Shamanic presence within them was incredibly pure. Among them were Soul Catchers, Battle Shamans, and Spirit Mediums, and most of them were Medial Shamans. Some of them even exuded vast presences, and those were Latter Shamans.
Yu Xuan placed her hands behind her back with a smile and stood by the side, even whistling a few notes, as if this had nothing to do with her.
Su Ming had been wondering whether he should break in or search for the Great Patriarch in secret and fight against him alone, but once Yu Xuan made a mess of the place, sneaking in was now impossible.
He knew that Yu Xuan had done this because of her personality and because she was angry that he had ignored her all along the way. She might have caused him some problems, but Su Ming still did not spare her a glance. He slowly moved forward.
The hair of Su Ming, who was dressed in white, was dancing in the wind. His expression was cold and aloof, and when he walked over, the Shamans closed in on him. At the instant the long arcs approached him, the presence of Life Cultivation swiftly erupted with a bang from his body.
The eruption of his presence caused the weather to change instantly and the air behind Su Ming to immediately distort. A powerful might spread out as his power erupted, covering the entire land.
"Stand back," Su Ming stated flatly. His voice was not loud, but as the mighty pressure and his power spread out, his voice entered the hearts and souls of the near hundred Shamans around, sounding like an endless amount of thunderbolts that crackled at the same time. It caused the Shamans' expressions to immediately change drastically, and all of them, including the Latter Shamans, coughed up blood.
In fact, besides some of the Latter Shamans, all the others felt their hearts tremble when they coughed up blood due to Su Ming's voice and might. Their consciousness was immediately shaken till they scattered, and they plunged down from midair. They might not have died, but they were knocked out by his voice alone.
The Latter Shamans gritted their teeth to remain awake, but blood started pouring from their eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Shock and disbelief appeared on their faces, and those emotions turned into screams of fear.
"This is not great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm… You… You…"
"Who are you?!"
Almost at the same time Su Ming's might spread out, four presences that belonged to End Shamans immediately appeared. When they charged towards Su Ming, they turned into four people before him.
They were three men and one woman. Two among them were old men, while the last man and the woman were both in their middle ages. Once they appeared, they stared at Su Ming with incredibly grave expressions, as if they were facing off a powerful enemy.
Long arcs charged forth behind them from the entire God of Shamans Island. In the blink of an eye, thousands of long arcs flashed in the sky and transformed into Shamans. Their faces were pale, but they gritted their teeth and stood in midair as they looked at Su Ming from the distance.
Su Ming swept his gaze past the four End Shamans and stated flatly, "It's just a Shaman island, and you already have four End Shamans."
"Sir, who might you be? What have we from God of Shamans Island done to offend you? Please tell us." One of the four End Shamans, an old man with a lot of brown patches on his face, spoke with a hoarse voice.
His heart was in great shock. This person had managed to knock out nearly a hundred Shamans by just his might alone, and even the Latter Shamans had started bleeding from their eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. This sort of power was something that he could not match.
Before Su Ming even managed to get a word in, Yu Xuan's voice immediately rang out loudly and clearly by his side.
"Don't you understand yet, old man? This is a robbery. Do you even know what a robbery is? We're here to rob you!" An excited look appeared on Yu Xuan's face. Her voice reverberated in the air, causing the faces of the old End Shaman and all the other Shamans behind him to turn incredibly sour.
"Robbery?" The middle-aged female End Shaman beside the old man let out a cold harrumph, and killing intent appeared in her eyes.
Su Ming was indifferent. His gaze never fell on those Shamans, but was cast at the distance. Over there, he could see a mountain in the deeper parts of the island. That mountain was very tall, but strangely enough, while he could see it when he first cast his gaze on it, when he stared at it long enough, that mountain would disappear.
'The Shamans' sacred mountain…'
Su Ming was not unfamiliar with this land and this sacred mountain. He had come to this place before. It was before the Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands. At that time, Hong Luo had woken up, and he had his first battle against Di Tian's clone beyond this sacred mountain.
He still remembered that there was a coffin on the Shamans' sacred mountain…
It had been many years since then. Now that Su Ming had come here once more, the huge mass of land he remembered had turned into an island. He looked at the Shamans' sacred mountain in the distance, and had a feeling that many things had changed in the world.
In silence, he walked forward, and as he lifted his foot to take his first step to that place, a great, mighty pressure spread out with a bang, causing the air in the area around Su Ming to immediately begin distorting.
At the instant his might spread out, the expressions of the four End Shamans on the island changed at the same time. They could sense the terrifying pressure from Su Ming's body clearly, and if they continued standing in his way, they would be crushed.
The Latter Shamans who were bleeding from their eyes, nose, ears, and mouth and were standing closest to Su Ming found that they could no longer withstand the pressure. They coughed up blood and immediately fainted. Their bodies fell to the ground.
Almost at the instant these Latter Shamans fell unconscious and Su Ming took that one step forward, the four End Shamans let out low growls and spread out their powers at the same time. Those waves of power turned into four divine thoughts that belonged to End Shamans and pressed onto Su Ming in an invisible manner to resist against the suffocating presence coming from him.
Su Ming remained as calm as ever. He took another step forward. This was the second step he took. At the instant his foot landed, his presence crashed into the four divine thoughts from the End Shamans.
A soundless rumble turned into waves of ripples that spread out. The four End Shamans coughed up blood at the same time and all of them staggered three steps back. There were looks of disbelief on their shocked faces.
When Su Ming took his third step, his presence of Life Cultivation Realm came crashing forth with a momentum that could topple seas and mountains, and that presence pressed down on the four End Shamans as well as the thousands of Shamans behind them.
The four End Shamans immediately coughed up blood and were forced back once more. This time, they were not the only ones who moved back. The thousands of Shamans behind them also moved back at the same time.
With each step Su Ming took, they would take a step backwards, and it was especially so for the four End Shamans. As their faces turned pale, they coughed up blood and were forced back even more.
There was no need for Su Ming to fight. He only needed to spread his presence of Life Cultivation Realm, and it was already enough for to suppress everything.
Chapter 729: Do You Remember Me?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Just who are you?!" The old End Shaman whose face was filled with brown patches coughed up blood. As he retreated, he shouted loudly. His eyes were filled with red, and the shock in his heart could no longer be described with words.
'With just his pressure alone, he managed to force all four of us backwards and made our Qi run wild, injuring us. We can't even attack. He… Just what level of cultivation does he have?!'
The other three people's faces were pale, and the same thoughts were running through their heads. In their eyes, Su Ming had already far surpassed them in terms of level of cultivation. In fact, they did not even possess the right to retaliate under the pressure of just standing before him.
"Him? He's called Su Ming. He's the God of Berserkers. Can't you tell?" Yu Xuan said in a lively voice from the side. She had followed Su Ming to this place to play. At that moment, when she saw the Shamans' expressions, she felt incredibly elated.
Almost at the instant Yu Xuan said those words, the four End Shamans' expressions changed completely, and even the thousands of Shamans behind them cried out in surprise.
The four End Shamans completely gave up on resisting. God of Shamans Island was not completely isolated from the world. They would occasionally venture out, and they already knew what had happened in Eastern Wastelands a year ago.
A God of Berserkers was born in the place where the Immortals landed. Then, Eastern Wastelands Tower shone with blood light that reached ten thousand lis. After that, Hidden Dragon Sect was destroyed, Sky Mist Dao was destroyed, three sects of Evil Sect were destroyed, and Great Leaf Immortal Sect was completely wiped off Eastern Wastelands.
There was no way they could put up a fight against this sort of enemy. Besides, they had no doubt about Yu Xuan's words. This was the only plausible explanation for how Su Ming's power could be so great they wouldn't even have the chance to retaliate.
Su Ming frowned, then took a step forward before he disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already behind the thousands of Shamans and was moving in the direction of the Shamans' sacred mountain. His actions might seem slow, but in truth, he was crossing ten thousand feet with each step he took.
Yu Xuan did not follow when Su Ming moved into the distance. Instead, she lifted her chin before the thousands of Shamans, then kicked the mutt that was baring its teeth while casting sideways glances at the black dog which had ran to the ground at some point in time and was currently searching through the personal items of the unconscious people.
"Do you know that you've offended someone?! Someone offered ten thousand crystals to buy all of your heads!" Yu Xuan let out a fake cough and pretended to be experienced and mature when she spoke.
"But our Lord God of Berserkers is a kind man and harbors no grudges against you, so he doesn't want to make things too hard for all of you. How about this? Bring out all the things you have and put them together to see how much they are worth. As long as the difference isn't too big, we can let this slide.
"But… heh heh, if you dare hide anything and not give it up, then don't blame me for being vicious."
While Yu Xuan was speaking and pretending to be very mature and experienced, the black dog that was the bald crane was on the ground biting off a pendant from an unconscious Shaman's neck. When it heard Yu Xuan's words, it was momentarily stunned. It then blinked, showing a face of someone who had gained an epiphany.
'Darn, and here I was, working so hard. So you can actually rob someone like this? That's right, why should I search for these treasures myself? I should make them hand them over on their own.' The bald crane nodded gravely, thinking to itself that it had learned a new skill.
Su Ming did not bother himself with Yu Xuan's actions. There were no longer any Shamans blocking his way as he walked in midair. The ground underneath was covered by a forest, and at the end he could see the sacred mountain occasionally appearing. When Su Ming approached the place, a faintly discernible sound of a heartbeat came forth from the sacred mountain.
Badump, badump…
This sound became stronger as Su Ming got closer.
At the instant he was ten thousand feet away from the sacred mountain, a low roar came from the occasionally appearing sacred mountain. That low roar shook the sky and earth, and at the instant it rang out, it caused the entire God of Shamans Island to tremble.
It also caused the thousands of Shamans before Yu Xuan to turn their heads swiftly. There was no longer any panic on their faces, only zealousness.
Yu Xuan blinked. She kicked the mutt, then lifted her head and looked over.
The low roar reverberated in the air, bringing with it an intimidating presence that turned into a wave of impact full of banging sounds as it charged towards Su Ming from all directions in the island. As the ground trembled, the sand let out sloshing sounds, and the leaves in the forest fell as if a violent gust of wind had swept past them. Su Ming senses that the roar came from the sacred mountain, but also from all the directions in the island. As it surrounded him, it was as if there was no end to the sound.
Almost at the same time the roar reverberated in the air, a person appeared out of thin air outside the sacred mountain. That person had unkempt hair and was half-naked, only the lower half of his body covered by beast skins. In his hand he held a gigantic bone staff, and on top of that bone staff were three small crimson snakes that were intertwined with each other. Their gazes were ghastly, and they were flicking out their forked tongues while letting out hissing sounds.
The person took a step towards Su Ming and disappeared only to reappear several thousands of feet away from Su Ming. He disappeared again, but still reappeared thousands of feet away from Su Ming. When he disappeared a third time, a strange, sinister laughter that was unpleasant to the ears rose swiftly behind Su Ming and echoed in the air. Then, the person appeared behind Su Ming and lifted his dried up left hand. All five of his fingernails were sharp and black, and they were all charging forward to seize Su Ming's heart.
"Is this how you greet an old friend?" Su Ming asked flatly. He did not dodge, but took a step backwards and had his back crash into the old man's left hand as he tried to seize his heart.
A muffled bang rang through the air, and blood trickled out of the person with the unkempt hair's mouth as he was forced backwards. When he lifted his head, he revealed a face full of wrinkles from underneath the messy hair.
It was an incredibly old face, and its owner looked as if he had just crawled out of a coffin. However, his eyes were incredibly bright, and there was even the shadow of a crescent moon shining in them.
His left hand was trembling slightly at that moment, for all five of those black fingernails had cracked open. There was blood flowing out from those cracks.
Su Ming turned around at a moderate pace and looked at the old man.
His gaze met the old man's, and Su Ming's calmness as well as the old man's ancient air made it seem as if the world around them had stopped moving for a moment.
"I've lived for many years and seen far too many people. You didn't really leave much of an impression on me, boy… But I remember now. When we were beyond Sky Mist Barrier and I sent out one of my clones to battle, you were one of the young Berserkers who were by the sidelines."
The old man was naturally the Shamans' Great Patriarch, the man who practiced the Art of Nine Deaths. His voice was so raspy that it sounded like bones scraping against each other, and that sound was incredibly unpleasant to the ears. As he spoke, he even grinned, revealing an incomplete set of teeth that were yellowing and darkening.
"I originally intended to go to sleep. Now, I will devour your flesh and blood before I sleep, that should let me be able to have an even better rest."
The old man licked his lips and swung the bone staff in his hand before him. A ball of black fog instantly spread out from the bone staff, and as that fog tumbled about while contorting, it turned into a gigantic python that charged towards Su Ming as it roared.
The old man swung the bone staff once again, and a dozen something balls of fog appeared in succession. They turned into a dozen something gigantic pythons that swept up the sky and earth while charging towards Su Ming from all directions with low roars and black fog in their midst.
Once he finished this, the old man bit the tip of his tongue and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His blood was black and even had a rotten stench. Once he coughed it up, it instantly exploded and turned into nearly a thousand blood red worms that made it seem as if a layer of red clouds had spread over the sky.
That was not the end. Once the old man finished doing this, he lifted his left hand and quickly formed a few seals before himself. Every single time two of his fingers on his shriveled left hand touched each other, the sky would rumble, and in the midst of all those rumbling sounds, bolts of lightning sliced through the sky in the form of long arcs, but they did not descend on the ground. Instead, they started flashing in the sky as if they had been frozen there.
In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred bolts of lightning froze up as they cracked in midair, as if they had been forced to stop. As those bolts of lightning connected and intersected with each other, they outlined a gigantic battle axe.
That battle axe was several thousands of feet big and formed by the bolts of lightning in midair. When the old man lifted his left hand and pointed towards the sky, it immediately rushed towards Su Ming with a bang.
"Don't you remember me?"
With an indifferent expression, Su Ming walked slowly towards the place where the old man was, and as he moved forward, the dozen something pythons made of black fog from all around him roared and rushed towards him. Yet at the instant they closed in on Su Ming, cracking sounds instantly rose from their bodies and all of them turned into ice statues. As those statues shivered, they broke down and shattered into pieces.
When Su Ming's foot landed, the blood worms formed from the old man's blood that numbered to nearly a thousand closed in on him with a sharp whistle. Those blood worms were all incredibly sharp, and when they were about to touch Su Ming, he took a step forward and moved past them. Once he did so, the blood worms instantly started contorting and turned into ice that fell to the ground.
All of this took Su Ming less than the span of three breaths. Almost at the instant he finished speaking, he was already standing in front of the old man.
The old man's expression changed and his pupils shrank. Right at the instant he was about to retreat, Su Ming lifted his left hand and seized his throat.
"Now, do you remember me?"
Su Ming's voice was flat. When he spoke, the sky roared, and the lightning battle axe came charging down with a bang, but at the instant it closed in, the killing sword appeared in Su Ming's right hand, and he sliced with it diagonally in the direction behind him, right where the battle axe was. A bang shot up into the air, and the lightning battle axe swiftly broke down.
At the same time, Su Ming tightened his grip around the old man's throat.
"This is the first death." When Su Ming spoke in his flat and disinterested voice, a destructive power surged from his body into the old man's, shattering his body.
Almost at the moment the Great Patriarch's body shattered and turned into dust, an even more powerful presence erupted from the spot where he died. Then, out of nowhere, the old man's body appeared once again, but this time, he was not as old as he was previously.
"It doesn't matter who you are…"
But before the Great Patriarch could even finish his sentence, Su Ming swiftly slashed with his killing sword, and as the killing sword let out an excited and bloodthirsty sword whistle, it cut straight through the old man's neck. His head flew up, and the old man's body crumbled once again.
"This is the second death," Su Ming said calmly.
Chapter 730: Life of Nine Deaths
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming's voice lingered in the air, and before it disappeared, the Great Patriarch's body collapsed. The difference of power between the Great Patriarch and Su Ming was too great with the Great Patriarch's current condition. Su Ming could kill him in the blink of an eye.
There was not a drop of blood on the killing sword, and it was a telling sign that the Great Patriarch who had died twice was not really an existence that was made of flesh and blood, but a bizarre thing that was somewhere in-between being an illusion and a being of flesh and blood.
'Art of Nine Deaths. I once killed the Shamans' Great Patriarch along with Master and Guru Li Long all those years ago when we finally managed to make him fall into slumber…' This was not the memories that belonged to Su Ming's current incarnation. It was something from his previous life, one among the many reincarnations he had gone through.
When the memories of that life appeared in his head, a presence that was stronger than before and belonged to End Shamans erupted forth with a bang from the space before Su Ming. That presence… surpassed those who had attained great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm.
As it exploded, a fist that was not completely shriveled up shot out from the air and charged towards Su Ming's chest like a bolt of lightning.
As loud booming sounds reverberated in the air and the fist was seven inches away from Su Ming's body, cracking sounds shot out into the air, and ice immediately grew on the fist, covering it instantly. The fist thus became an ice sculpture.
At the same time, an old man who looked to be in his fifties took a step out of the air behind that fist. His hair was not completely white but mixed with some black strands of hair. His body was not as thin as bones either, but looked slightly stronger and bulkier. He was naturally the Shamans' Great Patriarch, who had now resurrected for the third time.
His body, his presence, and his life force seemed to have returned as his age regressed. At that moment, when he walked out and his presence erupted from his body, layers of ripples instantly appeared in the air around him.
"Sir, since you said that you are an old acquaintance of mine, then tell me who you are!"
The Great Patriarch pulled back his frozen right hand, and without even bothering to look at the ice on his arm, he flung it. Immediately, banging sounds rang out, and a ray of black light spread out from his body, looking as if it wanted to destroy the ice.
Yet no matter how that black light covered the ice, it did not manage to make the ice show any signs of melting. Instead, the ice began to spread even faster.
Only then did the Great Patriarch's expression change.
His heart thumped an extra time, and he became even more wary of Su Ming. His first and second deaths had been completely expected, because he had been weak, and his cultivation method was one where he would grow stronger as he died.
Yet even if his third resurrection had begun showing his real strength, he still could not melt the ice on his arm. This made his heart shudder, and at the same time, a cautious expression appeared on his face.
He had lived for far too many years, but no matter how hard he tried to think, he could not remember a single person whose shape would overlap with Su Ming's. This made him incredibly uncertain of Su Ming's words.
"You will remember," Su Ming stated flatly and took a step towards the old man.
When his foot landed, killing intent shone in the Great Patriarch's eyes. As he moved, he began making various seals with his left hand at a rapid speed. Then, a complex string of chants that were difficult to understand fell from his mouth.
Yet almost at the instant those chants rang in the air, Su Ming placed the killing sword horizontally before his body and swiped two of his fingers on his left hand from the bottom to the tip before gently flicking the weapon.
A clear sword whistle echoed in the air, and within it was a bloodthirsty roar. It was the roar of the sword's spirit, and as it spread out, the sword whistle instantly cut off the Great Patriarch's chants.
Once they were interrupted, Su Ming lifted his killing sword and sliced diagonally in the old man's direction. A ray of sword light sliced through the sky, and during that time, Su Ming used the killing sword to slice through the air in the form of an arc before he turned the tip of the sword to his lower left.
A shudder wrecked the Great Patriarch's body where he stood thousands of feet away from Su Ming. Then, his body split into two and he broke into dust.
He could not fight against the might within Su Ming's killing sword. In fact, it was difficult for him to even try resisting it.
The difference between their levels of cultivation became a difference between life and death when the Great Patriarch was pitted against Su Ming, who was unparalleled in this world.
"This is the third death."
Su Ming calmly looked at the spot before him, which was the place where the Great Patriarch had died. The killing sword disappeared from his hand, and a large amount of purple fog appeared outside his body. That purple fog gathered together on Su Ming's body and formed a purple armor. Once it covered even Su Ming's face, it seemed as if he was wearing a mask.
Su Ming lifted his right hand and seized the air to his right. Purple fog immediately gathered there and turned into a huge long spear. That spear was purple in its entirety, and an indescribable bloodthirsty, murderous aura spread out from it.
Almost at the instant the Undertaker of Evil's Spear appeared, a presence that belonged to the Great Patriarch and was much stronger than before appeared in the world with a bang. The strength of this presence was already infinitesimally close to the Berserkers' Life Cultivation Realm, and it was close to the Shamans' Hollow stage, which was the stage after End.
However, it was only close. He had not completely reached it. To Su Ming, this level of cultivation still lay at a distance far from his current level of cultivation.
"You're a little stronger than in the past. I remember that you only managed to bring out this sort of power after your sixth death," Su Ming stated calmly.
If his Master Tian Xie Zi had not cast a strange Art during their battle that year and connected their powers together to activate a talisman to kill the Great Patriarch for four consecutive times in quick succession to end the battle, it would have been incredibly difficult for them to make the Great Patriarch fall asleep.
At the instant the incredibly powerful presence erupted from the Great Patriarch, an illusory figure appeared in the distance and charged towards Su Ming in the blink of an eye. He was so quick that he was like an after image, and in an instant, he was already less than thirty feet away from Su Ming.
This figure might be quick, but Su Ming could see clearly that it was a man in his forties. The man's body was strong and filled with power, and the shadow of a crescent moon shone in his eyes.
Su Ming remained calm. When the Great Patriarch came closer to him, he lifted the Undertaker of Evil's Spear and thrust forward with it. The air looked as if it exploded, and as Su Ming's presence of Life Cultivation roared, the tip of his spear not only tore through space, but a large amount of chilling air also spread out and caused snow to begin floating down in the entire region.
This was the result of Su Ming's Atman and also his Life Matrix, which was of midwinter. The cold air and snow spread out from the spear and went charging along with the spear towards the incoming Great Patriarch in midair.
Yet at the instant the cold air, the snow, and the spear were about to touch him, a sinister and malicious intent suddenly appeared at the corners of the middle-aged Great Patriarch's lips. Before the tip of the spear could touch him, a chilling glare appeared in his eyes, and a destructive power erupted from his body. He chose to self-destruct!
He made his body explode in exchange for an even greater power. The destruction that was stirred up surpassed his full-powered strike before he self-destructed, and it was a killing move he managed to execute by using an extreme method while having the advantage of resurrection.
When he self-destructed, it was his fourth death. His consciousness was quickly leaving his exploding body to gather together somewhere else for his fifth resurrection.
Su Ming let out a cold harrumph. The long spear in his right hand continued charging forward without changing direction, but he lifted his left hand and turned the back of his hand downwards while his palm faced the sky.
He said flatly, "That which exists between the past and the future is Destiny." As Su Ming spoke, the long spear came into contact with the destructive waves that were stirred up by the Great Patriarch self-destruction. At that instant, Su Ming swung his left hand towards the exploding Great Patriarch.
With it, the laws of the world swiftly transformed around the exploding Great Patriarch's body.
"Since you're seeking death by self-destructing, then why don't you explode a few more times?"
When Su Ming spoke his words, the motions of the Great Patriarch's body bursting apart as he exploded froze abruptly, and the signs of destruction instantly turned backwards. The body swiftly gathered together from its crumbling state, as if time was flowing backwards.
Once the torn pieces gathered together and turned back into The Great Patriarch's body, a dazed and confused look appeared on his face as he discovered to his shock that his consciousness had been forcefully held back in his body by this power that seemed to turn back time. He could simply not leave.
Because of it, this body became his fifth resurrection. This was the first time he ran into such a shocking thing in his long life. Before this, he had never experienced such a thing.
While he was in shock, his body restored itself from its exploding state against his will, then exploded once again. This was not what he wanted, but it was what was created by the change that occurred when Su Ming controlled the past and the future.
A wave of terror rose in the Great Patriarch's heart. His body exploded with a bang, and his consciousness scattered. This was his fifth death.
Yet soon, he discovered to his despair that when he woke up once again, he was still standing before Su Ming, and he was still trapped in the fearsome law of time flowing backwards. He was still… going to self-destruction.
The sixth death.
The seventh death.
When the Great Patriarch died the eighth time, self-destructing while his consciousness scattered away, he let out a desperate roar. With it, just as his consciousness was about to fade away, a talisman suddenly appeared before him. As it shone, it sucked out his consciousness, and he was able to fuse with it, forcefully rushing out of Su Ming's cycles of repetition brought by Destiny. He disappeared into midair.
"You finally brought that thing out."
A brilliant light shone in Su Ming's eyes. Almost the moment the talisman disappeared, he swiftly lifted his left hand to seize it. But right at the instant he was about to touch that talisman, he missed it, as if the talisman did not exist in the first place.
"Many people have tried to snatch this supreme treasure of mine over the countless years, but none of them were able to touch it. There will be no exception for you…" The Great Patriarch's roar came out from the talisman that was now nearly gone.
A chilling glare appeared in Su Ming's eyes when he saw that most of the talisman had vanished. He did not bother with the Great Patriarch's voice. A freezing air instantly filled the area above his left hand, turning the area into something akin to an ice statue. That was Su Ming gathering his Life Matrix and Atman on his left hand. Once he did so, he went to seize that talisman with his left hand again. This time, at the instant his left hand touched the talisman, a booming sound rang out in Su Ming's head.
That booming was actually a voice shouting four words at the sky.
"Life of Nine Deaths!"
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He knew that this voice had only appeared because he was not grabbing the talisman with an ordinary method. It spoke only because his Life Matrix had touched it.
"You… You…" A howl filled with disbelief came from that talisman. There was a shrill note within that howl that expressed shock.
Chapter 731: Helping Him Gain Enlightenment towards Life
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
'I see, so Life Matrices can be used this way.'
Understanding appeared in Su Ming's eyes. The talisman was a treasure. It contained the presence of Life and could be given to others. The Great Patriarch had obtained this talisman and fused it with his body, allowing him to change his own Life to one of the Life of Nine Deaths.
Once Su Ming grabbed the talisman, he yanked it, and as the sound of something tearing shot through the air, a small half of the talisman was immediately torn off. The remaining half disappeared without a trace.
'The Arts regarding Life that others give us can help us increase our levels of cultivation, but this method is the same as hastening growth, and it's not good… It's the same case as with Si Ma Xin.'
Su Ming gained a deeper level of understanding towards Life Matrix.
As the remaining half of the talisman disappeared in midair, the destructive waves caused by the Great Patriarch's self-destruction spread out and crashed into Su Ming's long spear. The impact turned into a loud rumble that shook the sky and earth, sweeping in all directions.
The ground was trembled because of the explosion. Cracks appeared, and a large amount of seawater surged in to submerge the land, causing nearly a fourth of the territory of God of Shamans Island to be instantly submerged.
Circles continued spreading out nonstop in midair. Some of the Shamans did not manage to dodge in time and were reduced to ashes. The circles spread far and wide before gradually disappearing.
When they were gone, Su Ming moved a step. Not a single hint of injury could be found on him. The moment the middle-aged man exploded, he had stepped into the fragment's dimension, which he had prepared to do a long time ago.
When he walked out, he looked towards the Shamans' sacred mountain, because during that moment, a wave of power that was even greater than his erupted there.
At the time the waves spread out, a person appeared sitting at the top of that sacred mountain. He was a boy who looked like he was only eighteen to nineteen years old, but there was an ancient air about him. As he sat there, his eyes… were replaced by the light of a crescent moon. Anyone who looked into them would feel as if their souls were captured.
There was half of a yellow piece of paper stuck to the boy's forehead, and there were runic symbols shining on it. There were missing parts among those runic symbols, but it could still be seen that those runic symbols actually formed a crescent moon.
The boy looked at Su Ming and said slowly, "I remember who you are now, sir. You were the one who fought against me along with Tian Xie Zi and Guru Li Long all those years ago, Su Ming!
"Sometimes, the moon is dark, and sometimes, it is bright. Sometimes, the moon is round, and sometimes, it is not… If a person dies nine times and lives nine times… he only seeks to obtain perfection. This is… the Life of Nine Deaths, which my Master gave to me."
The boy looked at Su Ming standing thousands of feet away and stood up slowly. He then wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed towards Su Ming.
"But he did not teach me…" When the boy wrapped his fist in his palm, he lifted his head and looked at Su Ming. At that moment, the Great Patriarch's presence changed a lot, and he seemed like a completely different person.
"The cold of midwinter is akin to the end of life. Winter, autumn, summer, and spring. This is… the Life I have come to understand on my own." Su Ming looked at the boy, who was really the Great Patriarch, and waved his arm, then wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed towards him slightly.
The form of the boy the Great Patriarch had now taken was one that had never appeared before in Su Ming's memories. He remembered that the Great Patriarch had taken the appearance of a strong man in his thirties when he was revived the ninth time during the last time they fought against each other.
Yet now, he had become a young teenager.
Clearly, the Great Patriarch's Life of Nine Deaths allowed him to become stronger the younger he was. His current shape was a telling sign that the Great Patriarch had been diligent and improved a lot compared to his past self. He had also obtained a deeper level of understanding towards the Life of Nine Deaths which was bestowed upon him.
"My Master once said that it is very difficult to control the Life that is given to you, and it is also very difficult to harmonize with it perfectly… only when I train to the point where I can turn into an infant during my ninth death will it be possible for me to gain complete mastery and understanding of this Life...
"I have obtained a lot in my battle with you today, sir, and I feel signs of a breakthrough. Please grant me enlightenment by teaching me, and help me achieve this breakthrough. I… will never forget your great kindness."
When the boy heard Su Ming talking about the Life he had understood on his own, his expression filled with excitement, and he bowed once again to Su Ming. His body rose slowly into the air, and when he was a thousand feet above the ground, he lifted his right hand and struck the sacred mountain behind him through the air.
The mountain immediately let out rumbling sounds, and it began to slowly gain corporeal form instead of being an illusion that appeared occasionally. A gigantic crack tore the mountain, and as it roared, the top slowly separated into two halves. A ray of dark light flew out from within and landed before Su Ming.
It was a coffin… a coffin Su Ming had seen in the past.
"When I met you the second time, you cried when you saw this. This item came from the Immortals, and you must corrode the coffin with Yin Death Aura. You should have come here for this. For the enlightenment I have gained from your teachings, I will present this to you as a gift." Determination and zeal was in the boy's eyes. At that moment, he was like a completely different person compared to the Great Patriarch Su Ming had seen earlier.
He was like a person who sought Life, who could give up everything to find it, to reach a breakthrough in his level of cultivation, and to fuse with his Life of Nine Deaths.
Searching for a person's own Life Matrix to complete one's own self—this was what it meant to seek Life.
Su Ming looked into the boy's eyes carefully, but he could not find a single hint of deceit or nefarious schemes in them. He only saw the determination to search for a breakthrough towards fusing with the Life of Nine Deaths.
This sort of determination was rather similar to Su Ming's own, in some sense.
As Su Ming looked at the coffin before him, his expression gradually softened, and a hint of melancholy as well as nostalgia appeared on his face. Once he put away the coffin, he said, "I did not just come here for the coffin. I also came here for your physical body's blood of Nine Yin.".
The boy fell silent, but after a moment, he smiled in a free and unbothered manner, then lifted his hands to clap them together. With it, light immediately started shining at his palm lines, and as they changed, a transparent coffin appeared before him.
That coffin was not huge, and due to its transparent state, Su Ming could see a dried-up corpse lying inside.
As he looked at the corpse, the boy lifted his right hand and tapped the center of the corpse's brows. A trail of purple blood exuding a thick Shamanic presence flew out, and as the boy swung his arm, that blood charged towards Su Ming.
Su Ming seized the air with his left hand, and a jade bottle instantly appeared on his palm. Once he put the blood into the bottle, the bottle instantly turned purple.
"I have devoured all of the previous Nine Li Shaman Lords' blood and refined it into nine drops of Shaman Source Blood in my body. I originally thought that this blood could help me reach a breakthrough, but it has served no purpose for me during the past years… I will give you four drops as a present. Please enlighten me with your teachings!" The boy struck the coffin, and it immediately landed on the ground.
When it did so, a powerful ray of light appeared in the boy's eyes. He lifted his right hand and pointed towards the half of the talisman at the center of his brows.
A gentle ray of light immediately began shining there. Once it enveloped his entire body, the boy started aging rapidly, as if time was flowing several times faster for his body. His hair gradually grew longer, his skin started giving off a feeling of time and age, his body slowly grew larger and stronger, and he turned into a young man of twenty-five or twenty-six years from that of a young teenager.
Overlapping shadows suddenly appeared on his body when he turned into that young man, and a person walked out from those shadows. It was the boy, and he was pointing at his twenty-six-year-old self while looking at Su Ming.
"This is my eighth life, and it is my life of a young man!"
At the instant he said these words, a glint appeared in the young man's eyes, and time began moving for his body once again. In the blink of an eye, he turned into a man in his thirties, and those overlapping shadows appeared once more. This time, the young man walked out from the overlapping shadows on the man in his thirties. He stood beside the young teenager and pointed at his thirty-something-year-old self while looking at Su Ming.
"This is my seventh life, my life as I was in my prime!"
This strange sight brought a glint to Su Ming's eyes.
He saw the strong man in his thirties age once again, and when he was around his forties, there was another stop.
"This is my sixth life, and it is my life as a middle-aged man!"
"This is my fifth life, and it is my life when I am fifty!"
"This is my fourth life, and it is my life as I begin to decline!"
At that moment, there were five Great Patriarchs of different ages ranging from a young man to an old man with graying temples standing beside the young teenager.
Time was still flowing from the body of the old man with graying temples…
"This is my third life, and it is my life as I am in old age!"
"This is my second life, and it is my life as I am in my twilight years!"
"This is my first life, and it is my life as I am nearing the last of my days!"
The last person to appear beside the young teenager was the Great Patriarch who had first appeared before Su Ming. His face was full of wrinkles, his body filled with an aura of death, his yellowing teeth almost all gone, while his eyes still contained that crescent moon. He stood beside the boy.
"And I am the ninth life." The boy looked at his eight differently aged selves. As he whispered, he looked at Su Ming, and determination appeared in his eyes. "This is my Life of Nine Deaths. Fellow Daoist Su, please grant me enlightenment with your teachings."
Su Ming remained silent for a moment, then looked at the boy and at the eight Great Patriarchs of different ages. After a long while, he pointed at the coffin on the ground.
"What number is he?"
The boy was momentarily stunned. When he lowered his head to look at the coffin on the ground, he suddenly began trembling. A spark of understanding gradually appeared in his eyes, but it was still clouded.
"Moving from a man in the final days of his life to a crying infant means to move from death to being newly born. This path of Life is rather similar to what I have come to understand, but it is also different." After a moment of pensive silence, Su Ming lifted his left hand as he spoke. Flecks of snow instantly appeared on his palm, and the chilling air that spread out from the snow filled the area.
"This is my Life…" Su Ming looked at the snow floating on his palm. As he spoke, the snow gradually changed color. It was no longer white, but turned red. However, the color was not crimson… it was the color of autumn.
A faint life force was mixed with the cold of midwinter, turning into the will of autumn.
"Do you understand now?" Su Ming swung his left hand, and the snow containing the will of autumn faded away from his hand.
The boy trembled. A confused and dazed look appeared in his eyes, along with understanding, though it was still muddled by a lack of enlightenment. He had a faint feeling that he had come to understand something, but he could not yet see the path clearly.
"Moving from death to life requires you to be truly dead… You know that you won't die, and the Life of Nine Deaths makes you feel that you will not die, but in truth… this knowledge that you will not die has made you lose your desire towards life. Can you even talk about living in this situation?" Su Ming asked faintly.
A shudder wrecked the boy's body. When he lifted his head, he looked at Su Ming with a blank stare. After a long moment, resolve appeared on his face, and he lifted his right hand to strike the coffin containing his physical body through the air.
The coffin shattered with a bang. The physical body inside shattered and broke apart. The remaining five drops of Shaman Source Blood flew out, and with a wave of an arm, they were pushed towards Su Ming.
"I will remember your great kindness!" The boy wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply towards Su Ming.
Chapter 732: Western Sea
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming did not harbor a deep grudge against Shamans' Great Patriarch.
It did not matter whether it was his previous life or his current life, there was no hate to be spoken about between them. The only thing even remotely important that happened between them was their meeting during the battle between the Shamans and Berserkers.
Su Ming had not expected this battle to end this way, but there was also no reason why he should not let it end this way.
It was especially so since he saw a similar presence to his own within the Great Patriarch. It was the struggle of trying to move from death to life. His was the Life of Nine Deaths, but trying to gain success in this path and trying to fuse with a Life that was given by someone else was very difficult.
Su Ming left God of Shamans Island with all the Shaman Source Blood in hand. When he left, the Great Patriarch personally escorted him a thousand lis away. They bade farewell by wrapping their fists in their palms towards each other. From then on, the boy would still be cultivating his Life of Nine Lives… but only nine lives. If he died during his ninth resurrection, then there would no longer be any possibility of him waking up.
This was because he had destroyed his physical body. This action may seem foolish, but only Su Ming and the boy understood that if he did not destroy it, there would be no possibility for him to reach the breakthrough and step onto a new path! If he did not have the desire to live, then how would he thirst for life? If he did not thirst for life, then how could he go against heaven?!
"I will remember your kindness in my heart. If you ever have a need of me… then I will surely repay you," the boy said seriously as he looked at Su Ming.
He knew that this enlightenment he had gained was a fortuitous event. This enlightenment had also let him understand that the path he took previously had been wrong, and he would need to change it.
Su Ming looked at the Shamans' Great Patriarch. After a moment of pensive silence, he said slowly, "I won't kill you because the paths we take for Life Cultivation are similar. I want to see whether you can complete the metamorphosis from death to life… but if my eldest senior brother wants to kill you because of what happened between the both of you, I will attack."
The boy smiled faintly.
"The descendants of Nine Li don't pass down their inheritance to the direct line of descent, but instead, all those who possess the blood of Nine Li have the possibility of awakening. I have killed many Nine Li Lords who had yet to grow up, but I have not harmed even a single family member of your eldest senior brother's family. Though I… will admit to my act of pursuing his life in the past.
"However, my physical body has disintegrated, and there is no longer any Great Patriarch among the Shamans, and neither will there be any in the future. There will only be me, a person who is searching for my path of Life. All grudges have already disappeared along with my physical body.
"If he comes for my life… I will give it to him." The boy smiled and lifted his head to look at the sky. There was an understanding towards life and death on his face.
"I will head off to the Alliance of the Western Region and the Northern Province soon with the Berserkers in Eastern Wasteland to kill all the Immortals there. There should also be Shamans in those two continents." Su Ming looked at the boy.
"I will be willing to go with you at that time." The boy was silent for a moment after, then wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed towards Su Ming once again.
Su Ming did not say anything more. He turned around and headed into the distance. The black dog that was the bald crane followed behind him. There was also the yellow mutt by its side. As for Yu Xuan, she was sitting on that mutt with a grin on her face. She had obtained quite a lot of things from her trip to the Shamans' island.
As her spirits were lifted, she seized the mutt's fur, making the mutt to take a few quick dashes forward with a long face. When they caught up to Su Ming, Yu Xuan looked at him with a face full of expectation.
"Little dummy Su, where are we going now?"
Su Ming walked in midair with a calm expression on his face. His gaze fell far into the distance. He had no intention of immediately returning to the ninth summit. After all, even if he had this Shaman Source Blood, his second senior brother won't have full confidence to make their eldest senior brother recover.
'A Shaman Dragon…'
Su Ming's footsteps came to a halt. He turned his head to look in another direction. That place was where Western Sea Clan's island was located. As of then, besides Western Sea Island, Su Ming had gone to all the three islands in South Morning.
When Su Ming's gaze fell on Western Sea Island, Yu Xuan's grin instantly grew brighter. She blinked, and eagerness grew within her while she thought about things she could reap from Western Sea Island. She should be able to get a lot of things from that place.
The things she gained were naturally treated as her interest from Su Ming. She also thought that this sort of life was good. Su Ming could go forward and intimidate these people, and she could be right behind him, reaping all the rewards.
"Su Ming, when you go to the Immortal sects in the other continents, I can go with you and boost your morale," Yu Xuan said with a grin. Her petite little face was full of excitement.
"You've extorted quite a lot of things from God of Shamans Island," Su Ming remarked flatly.
Yu Xuan immediately widened her eyes, and the excited look within them disappeared without a trace. It was replaced by a look of caution.
"What do you want? I didn't take too many things from them. I only took a small bit. If you don't believe me, go ask that little baldy," Yu Xuan immediately said.
"The other Immortal sects are right there. You can go on ahead and snatch them yourself. With your level of cultivation, it shouldn't be hard," Su Ming said, looking at Yu Xuan.
"I'm a kind person. How could I do something like snatching other people's things? There's too much trouble in that. One careless move, and someone will know about it. Besides, I don't have any grudges against them, there's no reason for me to snatch their things. But it's not the same when I'm following you," Yu Xuan stated.
"I want a ninth of all the things you extorted," Su Ming said calmly.
"A ninth… Then why didn't you go snatch those things yourself?!" Yu Xuan instantly became nettled and stood up on the mutt's body without caring for her image. Her expression changed.
"I was originally going to snatch them, anyway." Su Ming looked at Yu Xuan, refusing to back down a single inch.
"I'll give you one tenth, one tenth at most. You have to know that these things are my blood, sweat, and tears, and also my capitalized costs, and also… Well, anyway, I'm only giving you a tenth of it," Yu Xuan said with a huff, her eyes wide.
"If you weren't around, I would have obtained everything."
"I know how to perform Soulseek. I can find the places they hide their treasures, and it'll save you a lot of trouble."
"I don't need Soulseek. I'm going to destroy their sects."
"I-I can help you open the Runes of their mountain gates, so the Berserkers won't have to suffer so many deaths," Yu Xuan immediately said.
Su Ming fell into a moment of pensive silence. While he was thinking, a thought struck Yu Xuan, and the mutt beneath her immediately turned into a long arc and flew into the distance with her.
"Su Ming, you must be tired. Why don't you let me handle Western Sea Island? It's just a Shaman Dragon, right? I'll get it for you." As Yu Xuan left into the distance, her voice traveled clearly through the air. Judging by the looks of it, she was heading to Western Sea Clan's island by herself.
Su Ming kept his frown for a minute more, then a faint smile curled up on his lips. He started walking at a moderate pace towards Western Sea Island.
The black dog that was the bald crane had an expression as if it had just gained an epiphany. It looked at Su Ming, then at Yu Xuan in the distance, and then bared its teeth in a smile.
'Looks like this Su Ming is also a shrewd person. I'll have to be careful next time.' The bald crane suddenly found itself missing Qian Chen and thought that he was great, because he was stupid and it could just bully him how it liked.
Yu Xuan traveled incredibly quickly. When Su Ming reached Western Sea Island, loud booming sounds reached his ears, and dragon roars reverberated in the air.
The Rune of Western Sea Island started trembling and distorting. Su Ming took a step forward and phased through the Rune, entering Western Sea Island.
When he looked across the island, he found that this place was not that different compared to Freezing Sky Clan's island. The ground was filled with mountains and forests, and in the distance… was a brownish yellow… giant dog of several tens of thousands of feet roaring from midair. As it roared, violent gusts of wind wreaked havoc on the ground, and the waves that spread out from its mouth caused all the mountains to crumble and earth to shatter wherever they went.
Yu Xuan was standing at the top of the big yellow dog's head. She used some sort of unknown divine ability to make all the storage bags, spirit stones, and all sorts of Enchanted Treasures to move towards her as if they were being absorbed. They were charging towards her, and they were all swiftly put away, as if Yu Xuan was afraid that Su Ming would come over and snatch her things is she was too slow.
There were several dozens of Western Sea Clan Elders right before the big yellow dog, but they were all being pushed back against.
Su Ming stopped at one of the mountain ranges. He sat down and watched the things happening before his eyes. He did not do anything, but as he swept his gaze across the land, he sent his Atman outwards, covering the entire Western Sea Island. After a moment, he looked towards the northern side. That place was a forest, but within the depths of it was a swamp. The water there was clear, and there was a wooden house near it.
Su Ming stood up. He did not bother with Yu Xuan extorting these people or the mutt flaunting its prowess. With one move, he charged towards the forest located to the north. The bald crane hesitated for a moment, slowing down a little, then turned around and charged towards the ground. It wanted to see whether it could reap some benefits while everything was in chaos.
Su Ming walked into the forest in the north. While listening to the mutt's roars, he arrived outside the swamp and the wooden house in the depths of the forest.
When he got closer, the volume of the noise outside seemed to have been reduced by a large margin. There was a sense of tranquility in the air.
"An old friend has come, but I cannot serve him well." When Su Ming stepped into this place, a hoarse and old voice came from within the wooden house, along with a white-haired old man dressed in a sackcloth.
He walked out slowly from the wooden house and looked towards Su Ming.
His eyes were as clear as the water in the swamp, and there was a look within his eyes that could captivate souls. When he looked towards Su Ming, he narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I, Li Long, greet the God of Berserkers." The old man was silent for a moment, then wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed.
Su Ming looked at the old man. He could sense a wisp of power that had surpassed that of great completion of the Berserker Soul Realm within the old man. It was the sign of taking half a step into Life Cultivation Realm, but the sign was very faint and not stable.
The old man looked at Su Ming and asked in a low voice, "Why would you have come here, God of Berserkers?"
Su Ming looked at the swamp and asked faintly, "Western Sea Island is too small, and South Morning has shattered. Are you willing to move and let Western Sea Clan grow?"
"Oh?" A barely noticeable glint appeared in Li Long's eyes.
"You are already halfway into Life Cultivation Realm. You searched for a place to train quietly, not bothering with someone trespassing into Western Sea Clan. You must have gained some sort of epiphany and are searching for a way to enter Life Cultivation Realm.
"If you want to enter Life Cultivation Realm, then you must know about your Life. What is it?" Su Ming turned around and looked at the old man with bright eyes.
Li Long remained silent.
Su Ming did not continue speaking, either. Instead, he went to the swamp and looked at it without a single word. He could see that there was a pair of eyes looking at him from the depths of the swamp. There was wariness, fear, and respect within that gaze.
"I am about to die, how would I know about my Life?" Li Long finally said.
Su Ming did not answer him, but instead crouched down and placed his right hand on the water. Ripples immediately appeared on the surface of the water, and a large head gradually rose from the depths.
It was a dragon head that was about several dozens of feet big and belonged to a Shaman Dragon that was covered in scales.