Chapter 820: So Simple
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming lifted his foot. The moment the crowd around him was shocked by the booming that came from the Rune being torn apart, he took a step forward. With it, Su Ming instantly disappeared.
His disappearance did not surprise the people, because in their hearts, he was always the strongest in this place, but the pupils of the Abyss Dragon by the side shrank at that instant in disbelief. It watched the spot where Su Ming had disappeared with a blank look in its eyes.
During that instant, it had sensed a powerful presence of World Planes. In fact, it even sensed danger. This was a sense of something that could threaten its existence, and this brought disbelief to the Abyss Dragon.
Bang!
In the distance, Dao Yuan and the five Dao Slaves stepped through the barrier around the island. The arrogant look on Dao Yuan's face had just appeared, but before the words he had prepared could leave his mouth, the expressions of the five Dao Slaves around him suddenly changed drastically.
Almost at the instant this happened, Su Ming walked out. He had an apathetic look on his face, but the murderous intent in his eyes was monstrous. At the instant he appeared, he charged towards Dao Yuan without any hesitation.
"A powerful warrior! A powerful World Paragon! Damn it, why is there a powerful World Paragon here?!"
"Protect the young master! The stench of blood on this person is incredibly thick, and his power of World Planes is great. This is… the bloody aura of someone who has killed numerous people in the same realm!"
As the expressions of the five Dao Slaves changed, one of them immediately grabbed Dao Yuan to charge backwards. The other four turned into long arcs and rushed towards Su Ming. When they closed in, their cultivation bases erupted at full force, but it was a pity… while they were World Paragons in the initial stage of World Plane Realm, in the land of Berserkers, their power of World Planes was restricted. The combat prowess they could bring out was capable of pushing Su Ming into the depths of despair in the past, but now…
He charged forward and instantly crashed into the four. A loud bang that shook the world reverberated in the air when Su Ming's right fist landed on Dao Slave 19's body.
The man's eyes instantly went wide. His body started shattering inch by inch, and his flesh as well as his blood fell to pieces. When faced with the current Su Ming… he was instantly killed. The destructive power of World Planes surged into his shattered body, tore apart his Nascent Divinity, and wiped away his soul. His body and spirit were destroyed.
At the same time, all the divine abilities from the other three Dao Slaves landed on Su Ming's body, but to their shock, they inflicted absolutely no damage. In fact, their divine abilities did not even manage to make Su Ming slow down for a moment. They could only watch wide-eyed as Dao Slave 19 was instantaneously killed.
"Forget the fact that you can't even activate your power of World Planes, even if you were capable of doing so, you're just merely in the initial stage of World Plane Realm… It wouldn't be difficult for me to kill you then, while now… it's as easy as breathing!" Su Ming turned around, and monstrous hatred flashed in his eyes. His voice was like a chilling gust of wind that blew past, causing the hearts of the three Dao Slaves to shudder.
In the distance, Dao Slave 51 held onto Dao Yuan as he fled. Shock could be seen on the young lord's face, along with fear. The three Dao Slaves before Su Ming immediately retreated, his might bring great pressure to them. In fact, when his words fell into their ears, they did not feel a single hint of conceit from him.
It was just as he said. Even if they did execute the power of World Planes, they still might not be his opponent. They felt this was certainly right based on that murderous aura about him, which made them incredibly apprehensive. This was a bloodthirsty aura that could only be gathered on a single person after he had killed a great number of people. This sort of powerful warrior was not someone they could provoke, but Su Ming's appearance was too sudden, and they did not even know how they had offended him.
After all, while they had come with killing intent, they had not damaged even a single patch of grass on this land. At most, they had only torn down the barrier.
"This must be a misunderstanding. Sir, please do not be angry. We are from Morning Dao Sect. This must be a misunderstanding."
"That's right. We're only passing by this place while protecting our young master. We did not know that you were training here in silence. Please allow us to show our apology in the form of gifts, and we will immediately leave."
"Sir, you have extraordinary power. You're certainly not some nobody. We have no grudge nor enmity between us, this is just a misun—"
The three people spoke one after another, Su Ming's strength having terrified them. At that moment, they did not bother to pursue Dao Slave 19's death, because leaving this place was the most important thing. That was why they placed themselves in an incredibly low position and wrapped their fists in their palms to apologize.
But before the three people could even finish speaking, laughter thick with forlornness immediately cut their words off.
"No grudge nor enmity?" Su Ming's laughter was incredibly bitter and desolate. There was also a hatred to it that could burn the heavens. The moment he asked his question, he took a step forward. The expressions of the three Dao Slaves changed drastically. Knowing that retreating would mean their deaths, their eyes turned bloodshot during, and they charged towards Su Ming.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"No grudge nor enmity? You say that there is no grudge nor enmity between us?!"
Booms came from under Su Ming's feet, and faint golden light swiftly spread out from there to an area of ten thousand feet. Once it was covered by the light, it turned into rolling golden fog. It was Su Ming's power of World Planes.
At the instant it erupted forth, Dao Slave 21's body fell apart. He had been crushed alive by Su Ming's power of World Planes and had collapsed.
"How could we have no grudge nor enmity between us?!"
As Su Ming's voice echoed in the air, he moved beside Dao Slave 31. With hatred fueled actions, he pierced through the center of Dao Slave 31's brows with his right index finger and shattered his skull. Su Ming allowed Dao Slave 31's attacks to land on him before his death, completely unperturbed.
"This is… the Sacred Constellation Robe! He has the Sacred Constellation Robe!" Before his death, Dao Slave 31 let out a cry that was filled with utmost surprise. These were his last words in this life.
"The hate between us burns the skies!"
Su Ming turned around swiftly. Once he killed Dao Slave 31, he looked towards Dao Slave 41, whose expression had changed drastically due to the shock he experienced after he heard Dao Slave 31's words before his death and who was rapidly retreating without any hesitation at that moment.
Powerful killing intent appeared in Su Ming's eyes. During that instant, and in a manner that not even he himself noticed, the runic symbol that had been formed not too long ago and had replaced his right pupil shone abruptly in his right eye under his great murderous intent.
During that instant, Dao Slave 41, who had been retreating, suddenly shuddered. The image of the runic symbol in Su Ming's right eye was immediately reflected in an inverse manner in Dao Slave 41's right eye.
Almost at the moment this happened, Dao Slave 41 let out a shrill scream. As his body trembled, his cultivation base began quickly dispersing, and within an instant, there was not a single shred of power left in him. He had become a mortal.
At the same time, as if his body could not withstand the flash of power from the runic symbol in Su Ming's eye, it shattered and turned into ashes. Without a sound.
After he died, a runic symbol took form in midair, then charged back. It fused with the runic symbol in Su Ming's right eye, which became even clearer and shone even brighter.
Su Ming was momentarily stunned, but at that moment, he did not want to investigate the secrets in his eye. Instead, he looked at Dao Slave 51 and Dao Yuan, who were retreating in the distance. Dao Yuan's face was stark pale. When he saw Su Ming looking towards him, he let out a piercing scream.
"Who are you?! Just who are you?! You have the Sacred Constellation Robe, but I've never seen you before! Who are you?!"
Almost at the moment Dao Yuan's screams rang out, Dao Slave 51 began trembling beside him. The runic symbol in Su Ming's right eyes had appeared in both his eyes at the same time.
There was no racket. Without any sound, Dao Slave 51 lost all his cultivation base as his body shivered, and he instantly shattered, turning into two runic symbols that instantly flew towards Su Ming. Once they fused into his right eye, the runic symbol began flashing viciously, and overlapping images appeared. This was clearly due to three runic symbols having been put on top of each other.
"You can't kill me! I have the Sacred Constellation Robe! No one can kill me!" Dao Yuan began screaming shrilly while shivering. The fear in his heart had reached extreme levels, and as he swung his right hand, the item he had brought out a long time ago began sending out a force that summoned others.
The sky began to roar, and ripples spread out, longships appeared. There were numerous people on those longships.
"Attack! Kill him! Kill him!!" Dao Yuan screamed, madness evident in his eyes.
Yet at the instant those longships and the people on them appeared, Su Ming's lips curled up into a cold sneer. He had been waiting for this moment. Killing those five Dao Slaves and Dao Yuan alone was not enough to him to vent his rage and hate. He had been waiting for these people to come. He wanted… to kill all of them!
Boom!
Su Ming's power of World Planes fully spread out. That faint golden fog immediately expanded to an area of fifty thousand feet, turning it into his world. He leaped up and charged into the sky, crashing into the incoming longships.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Endless booms rang out nonstop in the sky. Once the Dao Slaves that were World Paragons were no longer present, the strongest were just in Heaven Cultivation Realm. In fact, most of the people were just in Earth and Man Cultivation Realm. This sort of cultivators could only be slaughtered by Su Ming.
The booming continued for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. The sky was dyed in a shade of blood, and runic symbols appeared in the sky one after another. There were hundreds of them. They circled about, following Su Ming. When he walked down from the sky with the stench of blood around him, they finally surged into his right eye, filling it with strange overlapping shadows that would terrify people.
In Dao Yuan's eyes, the blood fog behind Su Ming surged into the sky. As he walked over, it looked as if it had turned into a cloak. At that moment, Su Ming looked as if he was dressed in a cloak formed by the blood-red sky, and with a boundless amount of murderous aura, he was walking towards Dao Yuan.
"You can't kill me, you cannot kill me, we have no grudge between us…" Dao Yuan was filled with fear and despair. As he quickly retreated, Su Ming's right eye suddenly shone, and hundreds of runic symbols appeared at the same time on Dao Yuan's body. Those runic symbols were on various spots of his body, and they were all shining. Dao Yuan's voice fell silent, and his body shattered instantaneously. In fact, even his Sacred Constellation Robe was reduced to ashes due to those flashing runic symbols.
The world fell silent instantly, the people on the ninth summit looking at Su Ming with blank gazes, almost suffocating for having forgotten to breathe.
Su Ming stood quietly in midair when he suddenly began laughing. However, as he laughed, he turned his head around and looked at the people of the ninth summit around him. He looked at the faces that had died for the ninth summit, and the grief in his eyes rose within him once more.
"I see… so killing is so simple an act…"
Chapter 821: The Obsessive Desire to Become the Strongest
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"So, the one event that caused me to sink into despair in the past is only a joke after I obtained the power of a World Paragon!" Su Ming laughed loudly, but his laughter was a mocking one. He was not laughing at anyone else, but at the world and at himself.
He did not feel any sort of delight, no joy for getting his revenge, only derision.
All the people that had sacrificed themselves in this disaster in the past and all their deaths which Su Ming had been unable to prevent even though he had done everything he could to change it, even choosing to submit to that power with a dejected spirit, now looked like a joke in his eyes. During this instant, an incredibly great awareness towards the difference between the strong and the weak took form in Su Ming's heart.
It was just like how that existence in Yin Death Vortex had uttered 'very well' when Su Ming voiced his request.
Just that simple 'very well' from a powerful warrior's mouth was enough to stop this disaster, just like what Su Ming could do right now. If he wanted to kill, then he could do so with ease, all of Dao Yuan's Dao Slaves were like ants before him now. This was such a mockery, and such a matter that could cause the hearts of others to ache with grief.
'Become stronger. I don't want to be a weakling anymore. I want to become a powerful warrior. I want to control my own life. I don't want to see people dying to protect me anymore. I don't want to have all the people beside me disappear… leaving me only pitiful, lonely person in this vast world.
'I don't want to!'
Su Ming had never had such a deep understanding towards the distinction between the strong and the weak as he did now. Even when the will in Yin Death Vortex had taken action in the past, he had only been shocked and swathed in anguish. That person's great power had caused his heart to tremble and birthed a great desire in his heart.
This desire made him descend into madness, made him want to become stronger. Up till now, when he used the stone monument's power to return to the past and took his revenge. He saw that he had obtained the power he had longed for in the past… but he was unhappy.
Because he was still not strong enough. He still could not be considered as a powerful warrior. Perhaps he could kill Dao Yuan and the other Dao Slaves, but even if he could take revenge now, so much time had already passed.
If he ran into new enemies that were stronger, then the same scene would happen again, just like how he was forced to step into the foreign land because he had been chased down by a major force against which he could not fight back.
He did not want to only be able to turn his head back and look at the past on a certain day as time continued flowing away every single time when a disaster arrived because he was not strong enough. He did not want to laugh only then, to cry only then, and to experience this fate that was filled with scorn.
He wanted to move before fate and dictate how his fate should move instead of his body being led along like a puppet. He wanted to become even stronger!
"The strong and the weak. This is such a simple logic, and only now have I managed to come to understand it." As Su Ming laughed with his head thrown back, more tears flowed down his cheeks. He looked at the bloody sky and at the bright red hue in the sea. This was the color of autumn.
The tears that flowed from his eyes drowned his vision, blurring his sight. In the now muddled world he saw, he could not tell apart the sea and the sky. Everything he saw was an endless shade of red.
The will of autumn appeared in Su Ming's consciousness and his mind without his knowledge. At the instant this happened, his cultivation base started circulating.
Winter, autumn, summer, spring!
This was Su Ming's Life Matrix. It was the path he had come to understand and which he knew he would tread in the future, as if coming from death to life. When he was in Yin Death Region, his Life Matrix had been that of midwinter. It was the still silence of death, and when he was in Eastern Wastelands Tower, he understood the color of autumn. He longed to see the world become red. The red of autumn would allow him to feel death flowing away as he was surrounded by midwinter.
"What is the meaning of autumn..? What lies between life and death is autumn!
"Because autumn is the change between coldness and warmth. Because autumn is the transition between midwinter and summer. Because autumn… is the path where all manner of lives will head towards a withered state from their lush, life-filled states.
"Autumn should be crimson red. It is a change in each and every person's state of life and death when I kill endlessly so that I can complete my epiphany. This is Autumn's Slaughter!"
The circulation of Su Ming's cultivation base became faster. As he gained his epiphany, as the world before his eyes was covered in an endless layer of bright red, as he laughed in self-depreciation, his cultivation base started roaring like thunder.
"My Life Matrix is winter, autumn, summer, and spring. What I lack in my Life isn't a soul nor a physical body, but vitality. I lack vitality, because I am that dead baby in his mother's embrace from all those years ago!
"I possess consciousness. This is due to the Abyss Builders' unique traits. My physical body grew up in the land of Immortals, and that is simply because there is no one who said that those who died could not continue growing!
"Life and death, the strong and the weak! It's so simple, so simple!" Su Ming's laughter was crazed. His cultivation base was at the initial stage of Life Privation Realm, which was at Earth Cultivation Realm.
Yet during that instant, as his cultivation base circulated in his body and he came to understand that he lacked vitality, it erupted from his body with a bang. The weather changed, and the heavens growled. The space around him started trembling. As he stood in midair, his cultivation base rose, and he headed straight to the middle stage of Life Privation Realm from the initial stage.
Su Ming threw his head back and roared, "I want to become powerful! I want to become… the most powerful person in the universe!"
This was the first time such words were voiced by him. In the past, he had only wanted to become strong, but he had never set a specific goal. Yet now, at this instant, his roar shook the sky and earth, and it symbolized his desire, its strength within him.
The strongest person between the sky and earth, within and beyond the universe!
"I want to make all those who once humiliated me, who once cornered me, wanted to kill me, and wanted to control me to return to dust. I will turn them into dust. And I will have all the people in the universe not dare harm even a single hair of those who were kind to me, who helped me, and who protected me as long as the universe continues existing, even if they have committed heinous crimes and sins!
"I want to become the strongest! The strongest!"
As Su Ming's voice echoed in the world, the red hue around him started trembling before surging towards him. The dead Dao Slaves and the blood-red will of autumn surged into his body. Once they rushed into all the pores, Su Ming roared towards the sky.
His gray hair danced in the air. His cultivation base rose once again with a bang at that instant, and he moved from the middle stage to the later stage of Life Privation Realm. With just one more step, he would attain great completion, and if he managed to breakthrough once he reached that stage, he would reach Life Palace Realm, which would mean that he had reached Heaven Cultivation Realm!
The moment Su Ming's cultivation base reached the peak of Earth Cultivation Realm and he was only a step away from Heaven Cultivation Realm, the space around him turned into a gigantic vortex. As it churned about, a huge eye appeared in it.
Once that happened, Su Ming's body faded away and gradually disappeared. He turned around at that moment. There was no longer any madness in his eyes, only reluctance to part.
When he was in the stone monument's dimension, he had sensed early on that the power which sealed his emotions and his pain had dispersed. It was as if that power was naturally suppressed here.
He looked at the people of the ninth summit around him, the familiar faces that would remain in his memories for all eternity. They might have died, but in his heart, they would remain alive.
"I will… resurrect all of you, one day…" Su Ming mumbled as he remembered the Abyss Builders' divine ability the Duke of Crimson Flame had mentioned. His body then gradually faded away until he disappeared into the world.
…..
In one of the four Great True Worlds, True Morning Dao World, there was an Osmanthus Planet. Given this name, it was no surprised that the place was filled with osmanthus trees. Their fragrance pervaded the air and dispersed by the wind. In the southeast region of this planet was a mountain range, and there were plenty of exquisite towers there. Within them were many cultivators.
The sounds of a Chinese zither came from one of the towers. The notes echoed in the air and did not disappear even after a long time had passed. There was a woman in white sitting cross-legged there, her long hair spilling over her shoulders. She was incredibly beautiful, and if Su Ming could see her, he would be able to recognize that she was the woman that had appeared within the illusory projection brought up by one of the three souls in his body when he was still in Yin Death Region in the past. She was… Bai Su's real self.
"What a strange feeling… I feel as if this piece is a dream." A dazed expression appeared on the woman in white's face. As she mumbled, the sounds of the Chinese zither echoed in the air. That piece seemed to contain Su Ming's mocking laughter along with his grief as he wept.
In an ordinary cultivation planet within True Morning Dao World was a cave abode. A cultivator of average looks was sitting cross-legged in there. In fact, he looked quite shifty, but as he continued sitting, tears flowed down from his eyes. After a long time, he opened his eyes, and nostalgia appeared within them.
"I can't forget the Berserkers, can't forget the ninth summit, and I can't forget the joy I experienced when I was in the land of Berserkers, and neither can I forget… Su Ming." That cultivator did not have a high level of cultivation. After mumbling to himself, he closed his eyes once again [1].
Within Yin Death Vortex, which was the Immortals' territory within True Morning Dao World… was the land of Berserkers. There, on the ninth summit, was a man who looked like a flower. He was standing there, dressed in white, and as the sea breeze blew at him, it lifted up his robes and caused his long hair to dance in the wind, revealing a gentle and beautiful face.
He no longer had sunlight shine on the side of his face, and a gentle smile was no longer always present on him. Actually, it had been a long time since it had graced his lips. He stood there quietly as he looked into the distance.
"Youngest junior brother, I dreamed of you… I dreamed that you killed Dao Yuan and all his Dao Slaves. I dreamed that you… became a powerful warrior. Was it just a dream..?" second senior brother mumbled softly.
In the cave abode behind him, Hu Zi opened his eyes from his dream as tears trickled down his cheeks. His face was filled with stubble, but he was not willing to shave it. He looked a slovenly mess as he grabbed the pot of wine beside him and drank large mouthfuls from it.
Wine flowed down the corners of his lips. But even as he drank, he was unable to control the tears flowing down his eyes. He wept silently.
"Youngest junior brother, I dreamed of you again. I miss you…"
Under the sea was the foot of the ninth summit, and it was also the isolation grounds of eldest senior brother. He had no head, but there was a crazed will within his body. He was training. He was continuously training. Only by doing so could he let go of some of the pain and guilt, stop blaming himself for a moment.
"Youngest junior brother… I'm sorry, if you didn't try to save me…"
Translator's Notes:
1. The cultivator: His name is not revealed, so I won't mention it here as well. But here's some stuff to jog your memory a bit. He was Su Ming's experiment when he first tried out the Curse, then was conned by the bald crane, then joined Su Ming and the rest back on the ninth summit, and was witness to the whole Dao Yuan incident.
Chapter 822: Nine hundred ninety thousand Feet
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In one of the four Great True Worlds, the Emperor of Abyss' True World, there was an incredibly great galaxy. It was formed by nine vortexes that surrounded the area, creating a forbidden ground. If anyone without a plate allowing them entry stepped here, they would find difficult to survive.
In the depths of the galaxy was a vortex, and at the center of it was a piece of land whose edges were covered by black lightning. That piece of land was not big, only a few millions of lis in size.
The area there was covered in flowers and grass. Thick waves of spiritual energy filled the air, and their presence was so thick that they were corporeal. They circled in the air several times based on some pattern before surging towards the center of the land.
There was a tall platform at the center upon which nine old men sat cross-legged. They were sitting in a circle, and in the middle of them a young woman lay quietly.
She was dressed in a long purple robe and had her eyes closed, as if she was deep asleep.
She was Yu Xuan.
She remained still and unmoving, her face pale, as if she had died.
…..
In the foreign lands of Western Ring Nebula within the Sinful Barren Lands located in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, there were a hundred thousand stone monuments, all of them different in size. Su Ming appeared before his stone monument once again. As his body gradually became completely distinct, the stone monument before him let out booming sounds. It slowly grew from one hundred thousand feet to two hundred thousand feet, and once it did so, the light disappeared.
A calm voice travelled into Su Ming's ears. "Congratulations. You managed to make your stone monument grow to such a level within such a short period of time."
The person who spoke was Zhou Kang. It was clear that he had just come out from his stone monument, but instead of growing, it had become only one hundred thousand feet. The difference was too great compared to the height it reached previously, but the man looked as calm as ever.
After a long time, Su Ming averted his gaze from it and sensed his own power as he looked at his surroundings quietly. When he looked over, he found several dozens of people around, most of them meditating with aloof expressions on their faces. They did not bother each other.
When Su Ming's gaze fell on Zhou Kang, he saw that his stone monument had shrank, and he could not help but focus on it. He remembered that when he'd first walked out of his stone monument, he had glanced past Zhou Kang's stone monument and seen that it had reached seven hundred thousand something feet. However, at that time, he had been immersed in his memories of his mother and did not pay too much attention to the changes around him.
"I failed to reach one million feet, so my stone monument regressed to one hundred thousand feet," Zhou Kang stated flatly when his gaze fell on Su Ming. "I didn't expect that your speed would be so quick. Looks like Yue Er's guess was correct. The Five Illusory Echelons are the best method of training in this place.
"Of course, this has a huge connection to your own potential in understanding things. This should be something that exists, or else why would I, whose potential in the path of cultivation is lesser than that of Yue Er but whose epiphany was slightly deeper, could survive while she left?" Grief appeared in Zhou Kang's eyes as he mumbled to himself.
"If you fail in reaching one million feet, your stone monument will regress?" Su Ming asked softly.
"You should have realized the benefits after you entered the world in the stone monument, because your world is completely formed based on your memories. This way it'll be much more convenient for you to gain epiphanies, and your epiphanies will also be much deeper.
"That's why your cultivation base can be increased in the world within the stone monument. As long as people aren't afraid of being killed, many of them will choose to give up on reaching one million feet and instead continue immersing themselves in the world within the stone monument so that they can gain deeper epiphanies.
"However, even if that's not what you want, you will still have no choice, because it's not incredibly difficult to make your stone monument reach nine hundred thousand feet. Since the start, there have been plenty of those who managed to go up that high.
"But when trying to reach one million feet from nine hundred thousand feet, there is a wall. It's the same for everyone. If you want to climb over it… it will be difficult, very difficult. If I were to count it, then I've run into this wall four times. I didn't try to climb over it the previous three times but chose to give up on it. I was waiting for my wife.
"Once she passed away, I tried breaking through it, but failed." Zhou Kang looked at Su Ming, his voice calm.
"If you fail, then you'll have to start again. It's like a cycle of reincarnation. You will keep on repeating the process… and those who manage to climb over this wall are few, very few…" Zhou Kang closed his eyes.
Su Ming fell silent. He looked at his stone monument, which was now at two hundred thousand feet. The questions that existed in his heart were now answered. When he first left his stone monument, he had looked at it, which had become one hundred thousand feet, and had been skeptical about the Divine Essence's legacy. It seemed… as if it was not really that difficult.
So why when were there so many people who had failed, with only a few who managed to reach one million feet? Now, he understood.
Su Ming looked at Zhou Kang, who had his eyes closed, and said in a low voice, "There should be quite a number of people who will come during the next few days. If… you can make your stone monument reach one million feet as soon as possible, then you should."
Zhou Kang did not speak. He continued to stand with his eyes closed.
Light would occasionally flash in the area. Some people would walk into their worlds in the stone monuments, while others would walk out. Su Ming noticed that the stone monument of the old man whom he and Zhou Kang had plotted together to kill had already been occupied by someone else, and it had already reached one hundred thousand feet.
Several days later, once Zhou Kang returned to the world in his stone monument, Su Ming also chose to enter again.
Time passed. When in the world of the stone monument, he returned to the time when he became the God of Berserkers, when he was still in Dark Mountain, when he experienced the great war between the Shamans and Berserkers, and when he had just entered Freezing Sky Clan.
The experiences, epiphanies, and killings caused more runic symbols to overlap, making it seem as if the universe was contained in Su Ming's right eye. Its power also grew the extent that it terrified even Su Ming himself.
This power was not something he had obtained through an epiphany. Instead, he had naturally obtained it after he used his eye to enter the stone monument.
Without being aware of it, Su Ming had already spent sixty years in this place. During that time, there were more than thirty thousand people who had come to this place, and once they arrived, they became one of the candidates to obtain the Divine Essence.
There were men and women among those thirty thousand people, and almost every single one of them came for Su Ming's life. Once they saw him in this place, some of them chose to attack, but after multiple deaths, the others noticed the will in this place and gave up, since they could do nothing about it.
Occasionally, some more newcomers would arrive, but Su Ming was completely unconcerned. In fact, he did not even attempt to dodge. As long as their divine abilities landed on his person, they would all die.
Gradually, the old timers in the place noticed what was happening, and they were delighted by the proceedings. After all, every time a person died, it would mean that a stone monument would be emptied, so when a new person arrived, they would receive that monument, and the old timers would thus skip one turn of possibly dying.
The arrival of thirty thousand people meant that there was an equivalent amount of people who had died. The old names on the stone monuments were gradually replaced by new ones, and the occasional deaths put pressure on everyone that they had never experienced before.
There was a continuous string of people who attempted to break the wall of one million feet, but during the sixty years, not one managed to succeed.
There were still people entering the foreign land, and Su Ming had even sensed a powerful threat several times. This sensation had eventually dissolved, but those few times had put pressure on Su Ming.
Once his stone monument reached six hundred thousand feet, it became harder for it to grow. In fact, Su Ming needed to fuse with the stone monument's world several dozens of times before he could make his stone monument grow even a few tens of thousands of feet.
In sixty years, Su Ming managed to grow his stone monument to nine hundred nine thousand feet. At the same time, Zhou Kang's stone monument also reached nine hundred eight thousand feet.
This was the second time Zhou Kang made his stone monument reach that height during the sixty years, and it was also the sixth time he'd reached that height.
"We've known each other for sixty years now, and to lifeforms like us, sixty years is too short, but to mortals, sixty years might be their entire lives.
"Today, your stone monument also reached a similar height. It's a pity that I can't tell you anything about the experiences about the wall in trying to reach one million feet. This is a restriction placed on us by the laws here. I can only… wish you success!" Zhou Kang looked at Su Ming. Once he sucked in a deep breath, he pushed his right hand on the stone monument and disappeared.
Su Ming looked at his own stone monument, which had reached nine hundred nine thousand feet. During the sixty years, he had seen almost every single person here. The apathetic faces and gazes that would occasionally shine with a gloomy light were expressions that said that they hoped for others to be quickly replaced by newcomers so that their chances of death would be lowered, and it was an expression that showed just how cruel this place was.
Some of the one thousand people who had made their stone monuments reach one million feet had returned from the world outside during those sixty years, a telling sign that their time limit of a thousand years had drawn near, and they had to continue trying to receive the Divine Essence.
Su Ming shook his head. Once he sat down with his legs crossed, he looked at the stone monument. He noticed that there was quite a large number of people around him who were sizing him up, but he was already accustomed to these kind of gazes. After all, compared to other people, he had chosen to walk down the path of the Five Illusory Echelons. He was different from the others, and he would naturally catch their attention. Besides, during the sixty years, the newcomers would occasionally attack him straight away, ignoring everything else. So it was impossible for him to not catch people's attention even if he wanted.
After a moment, a vortex appeared on the stone monument in front of him. As it rotated with loud booming sounds, Su Ming's body swiftly became obscure and he disappeared.
When his field of vision cleared, he immediately had his Atman sweep through the area. This was a galaxy, and there was a cultivation planet not too far away from him. That planet was golden, and it shone with a brilliant light.
"Those who wish to obtain my Divine Essence must go through this test if they want to make their stone monument reach one million feet. If you succeed… you will obtain a part of the power of my Divine Essence. If you fail, then you will have to start over.
"That cultivation planet before you is my homeland. In that place is my Divine Essence, but whether you can obtain it… will depend on your serendipity!" Sui Chen Zi's ancient voice, which had spoken to Su Ming sixty years ago, echoed in his head once again. "You can use whatever methods you have at your disposal… as long as you obtain that Divine Essence!"
Sui Chen Zi's ancient voice gradually disappeared, and once it vanished, Su Ming lifted his head. A glint appeared in his eyes, and the overlapping shadows from those runic symbols in his right eye gave him an especially stately appearance, making him look incredibly bizarre. He took a step forward and, with a bang, turned into a shooting star that charged down towards the cultivation planet in the distance.
Su Ming's speed grew increasingly faster. In the blink of an eye, he sliced through the galaxy and closed in on the cultivation planet that was shining with golden light. Right then, a powerful and mighty pressure spread out from the cultivation planet. The golden light around then became akin to a golden sea, which decreased Su Ming's speed by a large margin.
Chapter 823: The Golden Cultivation Planet
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
When Su Ming was inside the golden sea, a glint appeared in his eyes. He focused his gaze on the cultivation planet in the distance and sensed the agitation as well as the madness that came from the mighty pressure spreading out from there. There was also a killing intent contained within that could make outsiders freeze in their footsteps.
"Begone!" A low roar that sounded like thunder came from the cultivation planet with loud booming sounds before Su Ming could even get close.
As that voice echoed in the air, the golden sea that filled the area around Su Ming immediately started tumbling and roaring, forming a great force that rejected him. The killing intent exuded by that voice was enough to make all the people who heard it to feel as if they had run into their mortal enemy, and their hearts would tremble.
Su Ming immediately stopped moving. His pupils shrank. His heart shook, and a loud bang reverberated in his head. There was a will contained within that voice, and it was so great that it seemed that if he did not obey it, his body and soul would be destroyed.
'So this is the test for those who want to have their stone monument reach a million feet?' Su Ming's expression was incredibly solemn. He stared at the cultivation planet in the distance, and after some time, he moved again, charging forward like a shooting star while resisting the mighty pressure.
He wasn't quick inside the golden sea. After all, that mighty pressure felt as if it possessed corporeal form. Cracks appeared on his body as he moved forward, as if even with his powerful physical body, he was still unable to withstand the power of that mighty pressure descending on him.
'Just who is in that cultivation planet in front of me? Just that pressure alone is enough to make me like this. That person's level of cultivation…' Su Ming suddenly understood why so many people had failed in the face of this wall.
Time passed, and Su Ming became increasingly slower as he moved forward. Banging sounds signaling his inability to withstand the pressure rang from his physical body. A large portion of his skin cracked and shattered, and his organs were nearly destroyed under the mighty pressure.
And this was Su Ming, who possessed an incredibly powerful body. If it had been anyone else, they probably would have been unable to withstand the pressure a long time ago, but on the other hand… Su Ming did not have sufficient power. If he had enough, then he could protect his entire body with the power generated by circulating his cultivation base, then with his physical body, he could move forward a little farther.
After a moment, Su Ming was forced to stop. Blood trickled out the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were filled with red as he stared fixedly at the cultivation planet.
As of then, he was still about thousands of feet away. The distance might seem great based on that number, but in truth, when that distance was placed in a galaxy, Su Ming was already very close.
'This is my limit. With my cultivation base and the power of my physical body, this is as far as I can go. Without using any special method, I would have to stop here, and I would have no right to talk about making my stone monument reach one million feet.'
Su Ming lowered his head and looked down at his body which looked incredibly pathetic at the moment—it was filled with cracks and bloody marks. When he lifted his head, the overlapping runic symbols in his right eye suddenly started flashing.
As they did so, Su Ming lifted his left hand and pressed it against his right eye.
This was the method to use the runic symbols, which he had come to naturally understand during the sixty years. With it, the moment Su Ming lifted his left hand from the eye, the runic symbols there instantly erupted.
Nearly a thousand runic symbols flew out with a bang, and as they shone, they circled around Su Ming, rotating around him swiftly. He looked as if he was in a storm of runic symbols. As they surrounded him, the mighty pressure on him reduced slightly.
Without any hesitation, Su Ming rushed forward. With the runic symbols around him, after around the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he drew close enough to the cultivation planet that he could see the mountain ranges as well as the rivers on the continents.
Right then, the runic symbols around him started shuddering violently, while some of them were even destroyed instantaneously. Thankfully, being destroyed was not equivalent to disappearance for these runic symbols. They simply turned into glittering light that was instantly absorbed by the other runic symbols, who then begun to shine even brighter.
Su Ming let out a low roar and continued to charge forward at full speed. He ignored the flow of time around him. The only thought in his head was to step on that cultivation planet, that he absolutely had to step on that planet. Not being able to even step on that cultivation planet during his test was something Su Ming would absolutely not allow to happen.
'I've never seen anyone dying when they tried to make their stone monument reach one million feet, which means that while this might look dangerous, real death is not a possibility. If that is the case… then I must give it my all!'
Su Ming lifted his head and roared, then charged forward at an even faster pace. More of the runic symbols around him shattered, but those that remained became even brighter, up to the point where they were almost dazzling.
But Su Ming's physical body was also being torn apart as he moved forward. In fact, there were several spots on his arms where his flesh and blood had been torn apart, revealing bones. Those bones also started cracking due to the mighty pressure.
The pain that he could not feel in the world outside was incredibly great in this place. It attacked his heart and soul, but it could not suppress his madness.
There was a persistence and determination that others would find hard to imagine within Su Ming's personality. If it were not for this determination, then how else could it have been possible for him to set his Life Matrix as a movement from winter, autumn, summer, to spring? How else could it have been possible for him to move from death to life? How else could it have been possible for him to go against fate his entire life? How else could it have been possible for him to have such an exuberant fighting spirit even after he had learned that everything in the land of Berserkers was Di Tian's plan and that he was originally just a corpse?
All of this came from the determination that was part of Su Ming's character. In fact, what he possessed could even be called obstinacy!
Boom!
There were only nine runic symbols left around Su Ming. Each of them was a thousand feet big, and they were rotating around at a great speed. Su Ming's legs had already disappeared. His flesh, blood, and his bones were no longer around. Only his arms remained. In fact, he looked as if he was a corpse that had crawled out of its grave after most of its body had decomposed.
He looked incredibly terrifying, and the madness in his eyes and the light shining in his eyes due to his determination was enough to make all those who saw it to feel their hearts trembling in shock.
Bang!
Only eight runic symbols left!
Boom!
Only seven runic symbols left!
Loud booming sounds continuously rang out, and each bang meant that another one of the runic symbols had shattered. Several bangs later, only three were left by his side.
Those three runic symbols were all several thousands of feet big. They swept through the area, and as Su Ming held on, they continued protecting him as he moved forward.
The flesh and blood on Su Ming's skull had already dispersed. At that moment, one could see more bones than flesh or blood on his body. He looked like a skeleton that was still persisting in moving forward. The light in his eyes was even growing brighter; twin flames born from madness.
Booming sounds rang out once more. This time, two of the runic symbols exploded at the same time, which left only a single one. It was ten thousand feet big and was rotating swiftly under Su Ming's feet.
It was at this time that Su Ming got close to the cultivation planet, which was at the center of the golden sea, after experiencing an endless amount of trials!
He was incredibly close, and because of it he could see the land of the cultivation planet. He saw… figures floating in midair, all of whom he was familiar with. Among them was Tian Xie Zi, his eldest senior brother, his second senior brother, Hu Zi… It did not matter whether it was his enemies or his friends, Su Ming saw all the people he had met before in that cultivation planet.
All the faces that existed in his memories were looking at him from the sky of that cultivation planet.
Besides… Di Tian!
Di Tian was not around!
As Su Ming continued getting closer, the final runic symbol under his feet started showing signs of crumbling, and his body started shattering again as the pressure came crashing down on him.
Su Ming knew that he had failed this time, because he had done everything he could, but he had only gotten close to the cultivation planet. He had not even sensed the highest layer of wind in that planet, only able to see it.
'Even if I fail, I still want to see what else is there in this cultivation planet besides the faces from my memories!'
Su Ming's eyes were bloodshot. He simply allowed the runic symbol under his feet to crack. What little remained of his body turned into a burning shooting star and charged towards the highest layer of wind with loud booming sounds.
He came closer to it!
With a bang, Su Ming's body collided against the highest layer of wind of that planet. most of the runic symbol under his feet shattered. Violent gusts of wind roared, covering Su Ming's vision. They crushed the runic symbol under his feet, and swiftly destroyed it.
When the runic symbol under Su Ming's feet shattered, he rushed out of the highest layer of wind into the planet and truly reached the sky of that cultivation planet.
He saw the familiar faces, and also saw… a branch right behind each of those familiar figures. There was… a big golden tree that occupied most of the cultivation planet and used the land as its foundation!
That tree possessed countless branches, and the figures in front of those branches looked like flowers on them. They were connected to the tree and there was no distinction between the two. The familiar faces were smiling at Su Ming, as if they were calling out to him.
A rumbling sound rang out in Su Ming's heart. He looked at this indescribable big tree with a blank stare and watched as one of the branches swiped through the air, landing on his crumbling body.
A power of time that Su Ming was familiar with gathered around him. He saw his crumbling flesh and blood swiftly tumbling backwards before they were all sent to the highest layer of wind in the blink of an eye, then in the span of a breath, he rushed out of to appear in the galaxy beyond the cultivation planet. The runic symbol under his feet looked as if time had reversed on it. As Su Ming was continuously forced back, the runic symbols that had crumbled previously beside him appeared once again.
His body started recovering ceaselessly from its previous crumbling state. When Su Ming was sent out of the golden sea and the cultivation planet became incredibly far away once more, his body recovered completely. The runic symbols had also returned to his right eye.
At the same time, booming sounds rang out in Su Ming's ears. His vision blurred, and when everything became clear once again, he looked at the stone monument before him blankly. He… had returned to the place where the one hundred thousand stone monuments were.
His own had turned to become only twenty-one thousand feet tall from its previous ninety-nine hundred thousand feet height.
"You failed!" Sui Chen Zi's ancient voice echoed in his mind, with a hint of aloofness.
"Heh heh, even those who entered the stone monument through the Five Illusory Echelons can fail, huh?"
"Now that you failed once, you're no longer a newcomer in this place. Welcome to this endless cycle of repetition."
Voices from all around spoke to Su Ming, and they all belonged to people in the other stone monuments. Once they noticed that his stone monument had regressed to twenty-one thousand feet, they decided to speak up.
"This is only your first failure. If you continue, you will know what true despair is…"
The words from the voices from all around echoed in the air, but Su Ming did not answer. He closed his eyes, and after a long while, when he opened his eyes, a dark glint shone in them.
"Perhaps… I can pass it this way," he mumbled. The dark light shone incredibly brightly in the depths of his eyes.
Chapter 824: The Insane Thought
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Bang!
Soon after Su Ming failed and returned, the stone monument that symbolized Zhou Kang shone brilliantly and gradually shrank from its nine hundred thousand something feet. When it was only several tens of thousands of feet tall, Zhou Kang's body tumbled out of the vortex.
His face was pale. He looked at the stone monument with a dazed expression, and after a long while, he lowered his head in anguish before he closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged.
He had also failed.
Su Ming lifted his head slowly and his gaze fell on Zhou Kang, but when he looked over, his pupils suddenly constricted, and he was taken aback, because in his eyes, he saw a thin, golden thread on Zhou Kang's right hand. That thin thread existed within his right hand, and it exuded a power that Su Ming was familiar with.
In fact, when he looked over, the light from the golden thread in Zhou Kang's right hand started moving, as if the light was reflecting Su Ming from the distance.
Su Ming hesitated for a moment before he turned his head around and looked at the other people in the place. As he swept his gaze past them, his heart trembled even greater, but he showed nothing on his face.
He saw that a thin golden thread existed within each person's body. Most of them existed in their right hands, with only a flew in the left hands. And a couple in their legs.
This was something that Su Ming had never noticed before. After experiencing his first failure, he could see those golden threads, and he found that every single person had them, but some of those threads shone with a more brilliant golden light, while others were duller.
After a moment, Su Ming mumbled, "Divine Essence, huh..?" He discovered that the limbs in which those golden threads resided was the ones with which those people were touching their stone monuments.
As he sat in silence, the world suddenly started rumbling. Not too far away, a gigantic crack appeared in the air, and seven people walked out from within.
The appearance of those seven people immediately caused the expressions of all cultivators here turn dark and aloof. There was also animosity contained within their faces.
These were seven newcomers. The vacant looks in their eyes was a telling sign that at that moment, Sui Chen Zi's voice was echoing in their hearts. Almost the moment they appeared, an indifferent will had descended upon them. When that will swept through the area, it gathered on a stone monument that was around seven hundred thousand feet tall. it immediately started shining brightly, and as a shrill scream of pain rang out, the name on that stone monument was wiped off, just like that.
The indifferent will was still swirling around the area when Su Ming's expression changed drastically. He lifted his head and stared at the sky, seeing a scene that he had never seen before.
He saw a blurry figure appearing in midair above the place where the one hundred thousand stone monuments were located. From that blurry figure, he could tell that this person was an old man. He strolled around the area, and every single time he stopped, he would lift his hand to point at one of the stone monuments. It would then immediately shine with light, and the name on it would then be wiped off.
'After experiencing one failure, my eyes… my right eye has changed! I couldn't see all of these things before. I couldn't see the golden threads, much less this figure.
'Who is he? Could he be… Sui Chen Zi?!' Su Ming's breathing quickened. He saw the figure tapping the air six times, and six stone monuments shining, which meant that six had people died.
He continued watching until he saw the figure walk towards the spot where Zhou Kang's stone monument was, but Zhou Kang did not notice it. Perhaps more accurately speaking, all of the people there did not notice anything!
Only Su Ming could.
He saw the figure lifting his right hand, and right at the instant he was about to point towards Zhou Kang's stone monument, Su Ming's heart trembled. He remembered Zhou Kang's advices, remembered him offering words that helped him during the sixty years even though he did not speak much.
"Zhou Kang!" Su Ming suddenly shouted.
Zhou Kang opened his eyes. When he looked over, Su Ming immediately saw the figure that no one else could see also turning his head around to look at him from midair.
At the instant Su Ming met the figure's gaze, a bang rang out in his head. A sharp pain shot up in his mind, as if it had pierced through him.
It did not last long, until the figure averted his gaze. The figure hesitated a bit, but it did not point towards Zhou Kang's stone monument with his lifted right hand, instead, it fell on the stone monument that was four hundred thousand feet from them.
As light shone on it, the name on the monument was wiped off, and the figure looked at Su Ming once again before gradually disappearing.
Yet at the instant it disappeared, an indifferent and ancient voice echoed in Su Ming's mind. This voice belonged to Sui Chen Zi, but it was slightly different. There were no emotions contained within, only a type of apathy.
"Only this once!"
Su Ming's heart trembled. When that figure disappeared and Zhou Kang looked towards him, Su Ming closed his eyes. Only after a long time had passed did he manage to quell the shock in his heart. He knew that after experiencing failure within the Five Illusory Echelons, he had obtained a power that some of the people around him would not be able to imagine.
He also knew that what Zhou Kang's wife, Si Ma Yue, had guessed about the people who trained in the path of the Five Illusory Echelons having less chances of dying… was correct!
Because those people who trained in the path of the Five Illusory Echelons… could see that figure, and could even change fate of other people.
'Since ancient times, there were few who trained in the path of the Five Illusory Echelons, but there should have been quite a large number of people that passed through here over the endless passage of time. These people…'
Su Ming lifted his head and opened his eyes to look at the stone monuments that had surpassed one million feet. He did not know how many people of those had trained in the path of the Five Illusory Echelons like he did.
"What is it?" Zhou Kang asked, interrupting Su Ming's thoughts. Su Ming cast him a glance with a complicated expression, then shook his head and did not speak.
Zhou Kang was momentarily stunned, then his eyes flashed. He swiftly looked towards the stone monument by his side whose name was wiped off, and a brilliant light gradually manifested in his eyes. A pensive look appeared on his face.
He no longer asked Su Ming anything else, but instead closed his eyes and began meditating.
Su Ming lifted his head and looked at his surroundings. Dark light gradually started shining in his eyes before he, too, closed them. Several days later, he chose to enter the world in the stone monument once again.
Time passed once more. Ten years, twenty years… until another sixty years slowly passed by in this cycle of repetition. During those sixty years, Su Ming made his stone monument reach nine hundred thousand feet twice, but he failed the test both times.
The first time, he only had his head left when he entered the cultivation planet. The second time, he had half his body left.
Yet even so, he still could not succeed in passing the test. As time went by, he discovered that if he wanted to have his stone monument reach one million feet, then not only would he need to have his body reach the cultivation planet in complete form, he would also need... to obtain the Divine Essence from that strange big tree!
During those two times, due to the strangeness of his right eye, he had seen an endless amount of golden light within that big tree. That golden light was the golden threads that he saw within every single person's body.
This was Divine Essence - a mysterious power that Su Ming still could not fully understand, but whose might he could sense.
During the sixty years, the experience of having his stone monument reach nine hundred thousand something feet twice had caused the runic symbols in Su Ming's right eye to grow from close to a thousand to five thousand, and he had obtained all of them from the world built based on his memories.
Yet even if he had five thousand runic symbols, he could still not make his stone monument reach one million feet. But Su Ming did not give up. Sui Chen Zi's voice continued ringing in his mind.
"You can use whatever method you have at your disposal… as long as you obtain that Divine Essence!"
"Whatever method, at your disposal - these are a very clear hint," Su Ming mumbled. He looked at the stone monument that was only twenty-three thousand feet before him. During the sixty years, he had constantly mulled over the insane idea that surfaced in his mind after his first failure all those years ago.
'It's exponentially difficult if I use a normal method to pass the test so that my stone monument will reach one million feet. I might not know how the other people did it, but since ancient times, there were only a handful who had managed to do this.
'Now that I think of it, they must all have been incredibly amazing and bizarre people.
'Besides, the time that is required for this is extremely long. I think I might know how to continue walking down this path… but my stone monument was originally only twenty thousand feet. It might be mostly the same as the other people's, but there are also some differences. However, based on my observations during these one hundred and twenty years, the initial size of our stone monuments should be based on the appraisal and judgment of the land towards us, or else why would some of the stone monuments start off straight at several tens of thousands of feet, while some nearing a hundred thousand feet, and some only a couple thousand feet.
'After my first failure, my stone monument became twenty-one thousand feet tall from its initial twenty thousand feet. Then I failed twice during the past sixty years after my first failure, and now my stone monument is at twenty-three thousand feet.
'Which means that with each failure, my stone monument increases by one thousand feet, and I'll be able to pass this test only when the height of my stone monument reaches one million feet.
'For this, I will need to fail… around nine hundred times more. If I calculate based on how many times I could take the test in the last sixty years, then I will need approximately four hundred something cycles of sixty years, which also means… about twenty-four thousand years.
'This is if I don't factor in accidents and everything works smoothly. Twenty-four thousand years… I won't wait for that, I simply can't wait for that!'
Dark light shone in Su Ming's eyes. As the five thousand overlapping shadows of the runic symbols shone in his right eye, he sucked in a deep breath and gradually let his eyes fall shut.
'I should be able to do it. Without counting in my first failure, I've observed that tree during the two other times I failed… Not only does that tree possess Divine Essence, it also possesses life force. It's a living being, and a powerful one to boot!
'Next time, when my stone monument reaches nine hundred thousand something feet, I'll put that plan into motion!' Su Ming mumbled in his heart with his eyes closed.
'Use whatever methods you have at your disposal… Then I'll use a method that only I possess and no one else, and I'll… make my stone monument reach one million feet in one go!' The crazed will within Su Ming's eyes was covered because he had shut his eyes.
Time passed once more. One year went by, and another… twenty-seven years later, when there were about seven thousand runic symbols in Su Ming's right eye, his stone monument reached nine hundred thousand something feet for the fourth time.
Su Ming stood before his stone monument with a calm expression. He turned his head around to look at the area around him. Zhou Kang had yet to appear from the world in his stone monument. Su Ming was familiar with most of the other people around him as well by then. He looked at the place that had detained him for almost one hundred and fifty years, and resoluteness gradually appeared in his eyes.
When his gaze landed on his stone monument and the vortex appeared again, Su Ming's body faded away. Once he disappeared, he appeared beyond the golden sea, in the galaxy he'd seen before.
It was quiet all around. Su Ming stood in the galaxy and looked at the cultivation planet within the golden sea, with resolve in his eyes.
'As long as you are a living being, then I can… Possess you and make you my clone!' A crazed will appeared in Su Ming's eyes. This was the plan he had formulated after he had failed the first time.
Since he could not obtain the Divine Essence straight away… then he might as well Possess it. He would have the tree's vitality turn into his clone, and if he succeeded, he would obtain a clone that was unprecedented, which not even his ancestor of Abyss Builders had managed to obtain!
And if he used this clone to refine that Divine Essence, then Su Ming's future… would be inconceivable!
But the prerequisite for that was… he had to succeed!
Chapter 825: Persistence
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
To anyone else, this was definitely an abnormally insane idea!
This idea had been left to brew for more than sixty years, and now, he was finally going to put it into motion. The main point of his plan this time was not whether he would succeed, but that he definitely had to try. Only then would he have the possibility of success.
Su Ming also wanted to test some other things, and only by doing so would he be able to make that insane plan of his obtain a greater chance of success.
'Possession… My first Possession was when the Crimson Python Phoenix crushed my body and sucked my soul into its mouth, because of it, my first act of Possession was naturally successful.
'But the Crimson Python Phoenix was a low ranked ferocious beast. It can't compare with this golden tree. Just its body alone occupies most of the cultivation planet, and its mighty pressure is so incredible that it's terrifying.
'If a person that didn't possess the power of Divine Essence wants to break through the golden sea, it's incredibly difficult.
'Can I succeed..?' Determination appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He looked at the cultivation planet in the distance and charged at the golden sea.
He did not know whether he would succeed, but unless he was willing to be trapped here for twenty-four thousand something years, and that was without factoring in any accidents that might occur during such a long period of time… then this was the only path he could choose.
'That tree is incredibly powerful… but I must succeed. If I Possess it, then my life will change. My fate will become shocking from then on, and everything about me… will be different from the instant I succeed!'
Su Ming's heart raced. The sense of power caused his blood to flow even faster, and it also turned into a great desire.
Instead of saying that this act of Possession was him being unwilling to be trapped for twenty-four thousand something years while possibly running into some accident, it would be more accurate to say that this his attempt to resist fate. He was also incredibly certain that this would be his greatest serendipity!
This serendipity could not be described with words�� but its difficulty was also incredibly terrifying. This was something Su Ming knew full well.
The determined look in his eyes grew even stronger, and he traveled faster. As whistling sounds rang in the air, he swiftly rushed through the golden sea like a shooting star.
The mighty pressure descended. The overlapping shadows of the runic symbols in Su Ming's right eye shone, and immediately, three thousand runic symbols appeared to turn into a windstorm. Booming sounds rang out, and that runic symbol windstorm swept up Su Ming, making him even faster. After around the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the cultivation planet was only a thousand feet away from him.
At that moment, there were only seven runic symbols left out of the three thousand. Yet at that instant, Su Ming's right eye shone once more, and another two thousand runic symbols appeared. After having experienced the challenge of this golden sea thrice, Su Ming was much more relaxed compared to his first time. The moment the two thousand runic symbols appeared and the windstorm rose once again, Su Ming had his cultivation base circulate through his entire body at full force.
Boom!
His speed increased exponentially again, and he shot out, becoming faster with each passing moment. When the runic symbol windstorm that rose once again shattered to the point where there was less than ten of them, Su Ming arrived at that cultivation planet.
A hint of excitement could be detected in his eyes. This time, he used up nearly five thousand runic symbols and finally reached the highest layer of wind around the planet. He remembered clearly that the previous time he came here, he had only had five runic symbols left, but now… there were several dozens of them around him. This was enough proof to show that he had become much stronger, not to mention that he still had about two thousand still left in his right eye.
Without any hesitation, Su Ming moved abruptly and brought with him the dozens of gigantic runic symbols to the highest layer of wind. The strong gusts were like blades. As the runic symbols were destroyed, Su Ming's body reached its limit on what it could withstand. When he saw that his flesh and blood were about to be torn, the runic symbols in Su Ming's right eye shone once again.
All of the remaining two thousand appeared and surrounded Su Ming, turning into a windstorm. They swept him up and charged forward while booming sounds reverberated around him nonstop. After a moment, when Su Ming rushed out of that layer of wind, there were still quite a few runic symbols left around him, and his body was not too heavily damaged. Even though he was no longer at the peak of his condition, he was in a much better form compared to the previous times.
Boom!
Su Ming rushed out of the highest layer of wind and stood in the sky of the cultivation planet. The sky was golden, and the land was also golden. An incomparably huge golden tree whose trunk occupied most of the planet stood erect within that world. Compared to that tree, Su Ming's body was as tiny as an ant.
The figures from Su Ming's memories were on the branches like flower buds. These figures were smiling at him at the moment, and their smiles were amiable and warm, as if they were calling him to go over to them.
At that moment, a branch with no flower buds swept towards Su Ming from the distance. The sound as it sliced through the air was piercing to the ears, enough to cause people's hearts to tremble uncontrollably.
Su Ming was familiar with this scene. During the previous few times he was here, he had been struck by this branch, and time had reversed on him, causing him to fail the test.
This time, Su Ming's eyes shone. He sucked in a deep breath, and as the runic symbols all over his body spread out with a bang, they instantly crashed into the incoming branch.
As booming sounds reverberated in the air, all the runic symbols around Su Ming shattered. They seemed extremely weak, having absolutely no chance of fighting back against that branch. And this was only one of the numerous branches on that big tree, a telling sign of how strong it was.
As the runic symbols shattered, the branch came straight at Su Ming and crashed into his body. At the instant the two touched, his body immediately turned into a bloody mess. He also started tumbling backwards. The reversal of time had once again arrived and descended on him.
Yet at the instant the reversal of time begun when the branch touched Su Ming's body, his soul left that body of his for the first time and simply allowed the clone to be swept back. His soul instead pounced on the branch like a ball of transparent air.
The power of time had not only landed on Su Ming's body, but his soul as well, since it was within the area of effect. However, Su Ming was an Abyss Builder. He possessed an innate ability to control time. The moment the time reversal tried to affect his soul, a power that was also that of time reversal erupted from him. At the moment that power went to resist the power of the tree, Su Ming's soul finally touched the branch.
He fused with the tree's branch in a mad frenzy, and he saw a golden world. It was indistinct and contained an innumerable amount of venous pathways. At the center of them, Su Ming saw… a golden heart!
That heart was not beating, as if it was already dead. It was surrounded by the golden venous pathways, and a thick aura of death spread out from within it. That aura of death contained an ancient, waning presence, and it was unknown just how many years had that aura been here.
'Hurry! Hurry! HURRY!' Su Ming roared in his heart. His soul quickly stretched out along the branch. He could sense that a very small portion of the endless venous pathways had already been covered by his soul, and he had a vague feeling that when his soul covered all of these paths, he would successfully Possess this thing.
However, this was, after all, a Possession. He would definitely run into resistance, so the faster he succeeded, the better.
Time passed. One breath went by, and another. Soon, seven breaths passed, but Su Ming's soul had still only stretched out and occupied a very small portion of the paths. At that moment, a furious roar came from the big tree.
Once it resounded, the big tree immediately started trembling. In fact, during that instant, a loud boom that shook the sky and earth erupted from the cultivation planet.
Immediately after, the venous pathways Su Ming could see in his field of vision instantly started twisting as they shone with a golden light. Not only did they cover the golden heart even more tightly, they also vaguely formed a golden runic symbol.
That runic symbol flashed.
Su Ming sensed a power that was so great it could not be described with words. With a mighty power that could kill him, the runic symbol flashed, and then rushed at him with a bang.
There was also an incredibly incensed and slightly terrified will that came along with it.
"Die! Die! DIE!"
That will was incredibly powerful. With a bang, it landed on Su Ming's body and turned into a crazed killing intent. Right at the moment it was about to destroy his soul, though, that power abruptly changed into a power that reversed time.
It was as if there was a law that was controlling everything in the dark, forcefully turning this power that intended to kill Su Ming into the power that reversed time. It brought Su Ming's soul instantly out of the tree's body, and as it up to his body, and he fused once more into it.
"Damn you, Sui Chen Zi! Even if you died, is your law still going to stop me?! I will kill him! I WILL KILL HIM! He is a threat, he is the 3742nd person that tried to Possess me, but he's the only one that made me sense danger!"
This was the final voice Su Ming heard. Once his soul fused with his body, booming sounds echoed by his ears. When everything became quiet and he opened his eyes, he returned to the place with the one hundred thousand stone monuments. The one before him had become twenty-four thousand feet tall.
"I failed…" Su Ming mumbled softly, but soon after, a dark light shone in his eyes. "But I also succeeded!" He lifted his head and stared fixedly at his stone monument.
'I can use all methods at my disposal, and even attempting to Possess the golden tree is allowed. Even if the golden tree tried to kill me in the end, its actions were prevented by Sui Chen Zi's law. It couldn't hurt me in the slightest bit. It only made me return to this place due to the reversal of time.
'If that's the case, then the law Sui Chen Zi set before his death is the highest will in this place. Even that golden tree's actions are limited. It can't kill me, and because of that… I now have an endless amount of chances to Possess it!'
Su Ming's eyes shone. He might have failed, but if he had succeeded so easily, then it would have been incredibly odd. He had failed this time, but obtained a number of proofs and answers, and they brought with them a lot of confidence for him.
'I will definitely be able to Possess that golden tree to build the path of Divine Essence for my future… and I will head towards… becoming a Sublime Paragon!'
Confidence shone in Su Ming's eyes. He sucked in a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes.
'Before me, there were 3,731 people who once tried to Possess this golden tree… but none of them succeeded, because their methods of Possession were different from mine. Possessing others to make them into clones is Abyss Builders' inborn ability!
'It only noticed that I wanted to Possess it after seven breaths. This is perhaps due to its previous oversight, but it might also be that it is a specific time set before it notices me. I need to test this several times before I can be certain!'
Su Ming was unaware of it, butt making his stone monument reach one million feet was no longer his main focus. His goal turned into Possessing that golden tree.
The failure this time made Su Ming even more determined to Possess that tree. Until he succeeded, he would definitely not give up.
Chapter 826: Ecang as His Clone (1)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Time passed. In the blink of an eye, one hundred and eighty years went by.
Nearly two hundred years. To a mortal, this was more than two lifetimes. It was a luxury they could not imagine. However, to cultivators, this small amount of time would perhaps naturally pass by if they full immersed themselves in isolation.
More than three hundred years had passed since Su Ming came to Western Ring Nebula's foreign land. But even after that time, the Duke of Crimson Flame still had yet to wake up. He had turned into a brand on Su Ming's arm, and Su Ming had no idea whether it was because of the mysteries in this land, but the duke remained in deep sleep.
Su Ming had been puzzled by this before, about why the Duke of Crimson Flame had come to this place with him but did not have a stone monument to show his existence. He had thought about it for a long time, but could not obtain an answer, and in time he stopped thinking about it.
The bald crane also could not leave Su Ming's storage bag. He had tried several times, and discovered that the bald crane could only appear when he was in the world in the stone monuments. However, once he returned to the land with those one hundred thousand stone monuments, it was as if it was sealed, and not even the bald crane could break through it.
Perhaps this was not a seal, but part of the law in this land.
Thankfully, Su Ming had tried once in the golden sea, and the bald crane… could appear. Once he promised a large amount of crystals to it, the bald crane struck its chest excitedly and agreed to Su Ming's plan, which made it even more likely to succeed.
After his first failure in Possessing the golden tree, Su Ming had once again descended into an obdurate state. He had made his stone monument reach nine hundred thousand feet seven times and entered the cultivation planet within the golden sea seven times more.
He tried to Possess the golden tree time and again, failing repeatedly, and came face-to-face with the golden tree's crazed and enraged intent to kill him, but with Sui Chen Zi's law, that power that could instantly kill him several thousands of times over was forcefully turned into the power that reversed time. Due to this, Su Ming did not feel any danger, despite failing.
Seven tries. Among them, the shortest time he had lasted was when the tree had instantly discovered that he was trying to Possess it. The longest time he lasted was a full span of nine breaths.
This made Su Ming's previous assumption wrong. He was slightly unclear as to how such a deviation of time could appear in regards to the tree discovering someone trying to Possess it.
The span between one breath and nine breaths might not seem long, but those few breaths was usually the key that determined whether a person would live or die. With the tree's strength, this sort of inconsistency should not be present.
This became something that troubled Su Ming a great deal. He needed time. Only when he had sufficient time would he be able to complete the Possession. He had even made calculations before, because of which he knew that he would need approximately the span of nine hundred breaths to succeed.
As long as his actions were not stopped during those nine hundred breaths, he had confidence that once he had his soul fill all the tree's venous pathways, then with the Abyss Builders' inborn ability, his chances of success would be much greater than of all the others that had tried to Possess the tree.
This was because the other people had tried to Possess the tree's real body, while Su Ming was doing no such thing. An Abyss Builders' Possession was different from the others. In fact, it was not really a form of Possession, but rebirth!
From the golden tree's body, he would use its quintessence, its life force, and all its power to form a new body. It would be the same as rebirth, and this reborn body would become Su Ming's clone.
This was a rebirth stemming from a Possession that worked its way from the soul to the outer parts of the body. Compared to the other Possessions that worked their ways from the outer parts of the body to the inner parts of the soul, it was only natural that Su Ming's chances of success were greater. It was just like how a person could easily crush a bug that was lying on the skin and wanted to crawl in, but would find it difficult to kill a bug that was living inside the body.
'Just what sort of reason could cause changes in the time taken for the tree to notice me when trying to Possess it..?' This was a question that had been plaguing Su Ming's mind for a hundred and eighty years. If he did not solve this mystery, then even if he had perfected most of his plan for successful Possession, he would still not be able to buy himself the span of nine hundred breaths.
This question continued lingering in his mind for another thirty years, and when Su Ming attempted his ninth Possession, he finally noticed something. This time, the time he could spend Possessing the tree was fifteen breaths!
Fifteen breaths was something that he had never achieved before, but the key lay in Su Ming noticing that there were fourteen people's stone monuments around him that turned from nine hundred thousand feet to only several tens of thousands of feet tall after his ninth try and subsequent failure once again.
This meant that, including him, there were fifteen people who took the stone monument's one million feet test.
This discovery excited Su Ming. He tried once again after that, and when he was in this place for a full three hundred and sixty years, he was certain that there was a huge connection to the time taken for the tree to notice him trying to Possessing it and the number of people who were taking the test at the same time.
Once he was certain of this, he did not choose to immediately take the test and try to Possess the tree when his stone monument reached nine hundred thousand feet. Instead, he waited.
He did so quietly, looking for the best time, when there would be the highest amount of people taking the test at the same time.
As Su Ming waited, time slowly passed by. One year, and another year… Su Ming waited for fifty years, then a hundred years. He was so incredibly obstinate with his goal that it was already impossible to describe his stubbornness with words. He sat cross-legged before his stone monument. He would rather give up on the chance to train and continue waiting.
There was a time where there were seventeen people who took the test in succession within a short period of time, then there were nineteen people who took it, followed by twenty-one people, but he chose to give up on all of those. He refused to believe that there would not be a time where there would be more than a hundred people among these ten thousand people who would take the test at the same time.
Su Ming continued waiting until three hundred years went by. With the previous amount of time that he spent in this place, Su Ming had been trapped in this foreign land for seven hundred years by then.
Seven hundred years were equivalent to several generations for mortals. Su Ming's hair was long, his body was emaciated, his eyes were crazed, and his mind was highly strung.
At that moment, he was completely different from the time when he had just arrived to this place seven hundred years ago. An ancient and aged air radiated off his body, along with madness. In fact, some of the people who came to this foreign land were unable to recognize Su Ming as Su Ming after the Blood Identification Pearl lost its effect upon entering this place
Because at that moment, his outward appearance was not that much different from the old monsters that had been trapped in the place for who knew how long.
However, there was a fire burning in his heart. It was doing so furiously, forcing down his madness, and waiting… for the day it would erupt.
Su Ming waited for almost another hundred years. Then, when he'd been trapped for almost eight hundred years in Western Ring Nebula's foreign land, the day arrived!
One hundred and twenty-four people's stone monuments reached nine hundred thousand something feet at around the same time. They might not have reached that height at the same time, but they received the test in succession, and this was the first time more than a hundred people took the test after Su Ming had waited for four hundred years.
Perhaps this was not the largest number. Perhaps if he continued waiting, more people who reached that height would appear at the same time after thousands or tens of thousands of years, or even longer, but perhaps… even after a very long time, such a thing would not happen again.
That was why at the moment those one hundred and twenty-four people took the test at the same time, Su Ming, who had been sitting and meditating without moving for four hundred years, instantly lighted up. It was as if the fire of life that had been suppressed for four hundred years erupted and flamed up at that instant.
'It's time. If I still fail, then my chances of success will become incredibly slim. This time… is my biggest hope and my greatest chance for success!'
Su Ming lifted his head. The overlapping shadows of the runic symbols in his right eye might not have changed during the four hundred years, but during the times he had worked his way to take the test again, they had long since reached the total of ten thousand. He also discovered a long time ago that once he reached ten thousand runic symbols, their number would stop increasing.
This was also one of the reasons why he chose to wait in place for four hundred years.
At that moment, as the overlapping shadows of the runic symbols in his right eye shone, the vortex appeared on the stone monument before him that had reached ninety-eight hundred thousand feet four hundred years ago. As the vortex spun rapidly, Su Ming's body became obscure.
When his vision cleared up, he found himself once again in the galaxy near the golden sea. After not seeing it for four hundred years, a brilliant light that could light up even the sky shone in his eyes when he saw it. That light possessed a fighting spirit, madness, and also the strength born from Su Ming holding himself back and bearing with it patiently for four hundred years.
With his fastest speed, he only used the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to shoot through the golden sea that had been incredibly difficult for him to pass through all those years ago. After losing only several thousand runic symbols, he shot out of the highest layer of wind in that cultivation planet and stepped into the sky once again.
As he came face to face with those numerous familiar faces and that branch that came charging towards him swiftly from the distance, a violent burst of light shone in Su Ming's eyes. At the instant that branch touched his body, his soul… came out with a bang.
At the same time, the bald crane let out a shrill screech and flew out from the storage bag Su Ming had kept on his body and charged towards his soul. The bald crane had always just been an illusion and did not possess a corporeal body. After multiple tests in the world within the stone monument, Su Ming had discovered that his soul could incorporate the bald crane's existence.
As he fought against the power that reversed time, Su Ming's soul enveloped the bald crane. Once he touched the branch, with familiar ease, he used his fastest speed and the strongest amount of power he could muster to make his soul explode and spread out. In the blink of an eye, he covered a small area of those golden venous pathways, covering them in black.
Time passed breath by breath, as Su Ming roared in his heart. He did not want to fail again. He wanted to succeed!
'Hurry up! Hurry up! HURRY UP!' Su Ming roared in his heart. His soul was spreading out rapidly, and during the twentieth breath, he had already occupied nearly three-hundredths of the venous pathways in the place.
This was the most he had occupied out of all the times he had tried. In an instant, he had surpassed the peak of what he had ever achieved. As time passed and Su Ming roared in his heart, the fortieth breath arrived, but there was still no shred of will coming from the golden tree. Su Ming thus occupied a seven-hundredths of all the venous pathways in the tree!
Sixty breaths, eighty breaths… When the hundredth breath arrived, Su Ming noticed that a loud boom coming from the world where the golden venous pathways were. At that time, his soul had already occupied a one-tenth of all the venous pathways in the tree!
This was not just a brilliant achievement Su Ming had never managed to reach in his life, but it was also the maximum that less than ten out of the thousands of people who had tried to Possess the golden tree had managed to achieve over the endless years.
There were still twenty something breaths left!
Twenty breaths later, at the instant Su Ming's soul occupied fourteen-hundredths out of all the venous pathways, Su Ming gave up on continuing. Instead, he roared in his heart and turned his voice into a sound that echoed within him.
"Bald crane!"
Almost at the instant his voice sounded, the bald crane that had been enveloped by his soul let out a piercing screech.
"Change! Change! I'm telling you, Change!"
The bald crane had known about Su Ming's plan from the start, since he had told it when they were in the world inside the stone monument. The bald crane also knew just how important the Possession this time was to Su Ming, especially since he had even promised a large amount of crystals. This exited the bird so much that it did not consider failure as an option. Because of this, it used probably an even greater amount of strength than what it had mustered when it fused with the Divinity Incarceration Rune.
As the bald crane roared, all the venous pathways that had been occupied by Su Ming's soul were immediately covered by a layer of ripples. When they went away, those venous pathways turned from black to gold, and Su Ming's presence was no longer around, making the tree seem to be in the exact same state as when it was before he'd tried to Possess it.
It was also at this time that a furious roar came from within the tree.
"Damn it, you're here again, you-you… Huh?"