Chapter 848: You Are Not It
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"The Space Sealing Rune… has lost its source of power and has been broken… The invader has entered the galaxy where the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds are stationed." At the instant the Space Sealing Rune plunged down, the Radix Planet's cold voice reverberated in the galaxy.
All those who heard it spotted changes in their expressions. The destruction of the Rune was too quick, no one had even prepared for the eventually of it when it was already over. Several cultivators who could control fate, lives, and death were needed to be able to do this, but it was impossible for those beings capable of controlling fate, lives, and death to exist… unless the alien races from Divine Essence Star Ocean had awakened.
Because of it, almost every single person thought that this matter had happened because the other party had plenty of cultivators in Lunar Kalpa and Solar Kalpa Realm, and there was also a possibility… that the other party had obtained some sort of incredibly powerful Enchanted Treasure.
A great sense of danger and shock immediately spread through the people in the area where the True Guards from True Sacred Yin World were stationed.
"Radix Planet will now show every single person what came here from Sinful Barren Lands." Dao Ren heard the violent booms on Taia Radix Planet and also heard the voice echoing in the Radix Planet.
His expression turned dark, but there was not a hint of panic on his face. However, three breaths later, his expression finally changed drastically.
An illusory picture had appeared out of thin air before him. Within that picture was a layer of purple lightning that was one hundred thousand lis wide… and there was only one person in that purple lightning!
It was a young man with purple hair and purple robes.
This was the reason behind Dao Ren's expression changing. He was not afraid that there were many people in the other party, because the more people there were, the more it would show that the strongest cultivator they had did not have a high level of cultivation.
However, he absolutely did not expect… that there would be only one person who broke the Rune!
The faces of the eight children around him also turned pale. There was great wariness in their eyes, and booms rang out in their hearts. This scene surpassed their expectations.
Almost at the instant Dao Ren looked towards the young man with purple hair, he saw the young man lifting his head, and as if his gaze had penetrated through an endless distance of the galaxy, he met Dao Ren's gaze.
It was as if… he could see Dao Ren.
Boom!
"Who are you?!" Dao Ren staggered. When he fell back a few steps, his face turned pale. Blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth. He raised his head swiftly, his face filled with shock and astonishment.
"Don't you…" An indifferent voice came from the picture. Only two words might have been said, but they were capable of making the ground tremble furiously.
The eight children and Dao Ren saw the young man with purple hair taking a step forward within that illusory picture. As purple lightning rumbled, the thousands of cultivators that were swiftly charging towards him to block his path were immediately submerged in the purple lightning.
"…recognize me…"
At the instant these words echoed in Taia Planet, Dao Ren trembled. He saw the purple-haired young man take another step forward in that picture. With that one step, he moved past half of the galaxy. The countless cultivation planets around him immediately started letting out booming sounds… and their trajectories were changed. They retreated from the area with loud booming sounds as if they were avoiding him, not willing to get closer to him.
This sort of power and divine ability was enough to make all those who saw him terrified.
"...anymore?"
When this last word was spoken, Dao Ren retreated. The eight children's expressions changed completely to those of fear. They moved back together… because they could see the young man taking a step forward once more, and then, right before him, was the Radix Planet!
It was a Radix Planet that was like a flight of distorted steps, and it was… the Taia Radix Planet where they were located at that moment!
The world rumbled. The ground trembled with an intensity which it had never experienced before. Intense booming sounds came from Taia Radix Planet. In the mid of them, all people including Dao Ren saw the young man in the picture before them… walking over as if he had just descended among them!
With one step, he landed on the grass.
This scene was so bizarre that Dao Ren and the others had misconception that Su Ming had walked out of the picture, but in truth, he was simply too fast. During the period of time he said those words, he had already taken three steps and moved from the Space Sealing Rune to his destination - Taia Planet!
Because of his speed, this kind of misconception had been created.
At the instant Su Ming's feet landed on the grass of Taia Planet, the complete form of his sentence finally echoed in all directions.
"Don't you recognize me anymore?"
Right when Su Ming stepped onto the grass, purple lightning spread out with a bang. With Su Ming as its center, the lightning covered the entire continent. In the span of a breath, all the green grass in the meadow became purple. As it withered away, the true form of the grass was revealed. It was a meadow filled with endless brambles!
As Su Ming's purple lightning covered the entire area, various intelligent beasts were reduced to a bloody mess. As shrill screams of pain rang in the air, their bodies shattered, and ferocious creatures crawled out from within.
Each of these beasts were incredibly ugly, and shadows of an incomplete peacock could be seen vaguely behind them. However, as they roared, they gradually prostrated themselves on the ground, suppressed so greatly by Su Ming's will that they did not dare move an inch.
It was as if Su Ming became the master of the planet at that instant. Every single spot in the purple area was controlled by his will, including the sky, the earth, the planet, the stars, and the entire galaxy.
As the purple lightning spread out, booms rang out from the eight children's bodies. Blood lines appeared at the center of their brows, and once they went down their entire bodies as if the lines had cut them into two halves, a layer of their skin melted as if it had been corroded, revealing ferocious faces of ghosts underneath the human skin.
These were not children. These were clearly eight existences that were akin to malicious spirits. At that moment, the eight people before Su Ming grew to about thirty feet tall. Blood was still pouring out from their bodies, and as their expressions twisted, eight shadows of peacocks appeared behind them. The mark of a peacock that was similar to Kong Huan's also appeared at the center of their brows.
The mighty pressure spreading out from their cultivation bases made it clear that they were all near the peak of the middle stage of World Plane Realm. These eight hideous existences were trembling violently at that moment as they roared at Su Ming together. They rushed forward swiftly, charging towards him with ferociousness.
There was madness in their eyes. They were completely deranged, without any intelligence left in them, and it made it seem as if they wanted to tear apart all their enemies.
Yet at the instant these eight existences closed in on Su Ming, he lifted his right hand and casually pushed forward.
With it, a bang rang out in the world, and the bodies of the eight creatures plummeted from the sky. It was as if there was an invisible power that had pressed down on their bodies, forcefully pushing them onto the ground.
Terror rose within the hearts of these eight hideous-looking cultivators. They might have lost their intelligence, but they still had natural instincts, and due to them their minds broke as they trembled.
At the instant Su Ming lifted his right hand, booms rang out from the eight people's bodies, which turned into wisps of green smoke. Once their bodies shattered completely, those wisps gathered together to form four green feathers that landed on Su Ming's palm.
"Master of Fate, Lives, and Deaths!"
Dao Ren glared at Su Ming. He recognized him now. This person… was Mo Su, the one he had led a team to pursue one thousand years ago! At the instant he recognized Su Ming, disbelief rose in his mind, along with fear and shock.
Without any hesitation, he made the mark of the flame at the center of his brows shine brightly, and that light immediately enveloped his entire body, making it look as if he had been set ablaze.
At the same time, three wills swept through the galaxy. As they came forward, the galaxy began to show signs of breaking. These were… three presences of Solar Kalpa Realm, and they were charging forward from the distance. Judging by their speed, in about another ten breaths, they would be able to arrive.
Right behind these three presences were two wills that exuded an ancient air, as if countless years were contained within them. They were also coming forth swiftly, and the strength of these two wills surpassed Solar Kalpa Realm. They were… close to that which belonged to the Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death.
They would only need the span of five breaths to arrive!
But that was not all. Right behind those five wills was a sigh, and it came from Taia Planet. That sigh contained a power that could control all manner of lives. At the instant it reached them, Su Ming's purple lightning froze.
"They sure are quick." Su Ming shook his head. He sent his will outwards, and as the purple lightning rumbled, it enveloped the entire Taia Planet, turning it completely purple.
A young man in red came near Taia Planet. He had a handsome face, but there were wrinkles at the center of his brows, giving him an incredibly bizarre appearance. The ancient look in his eyes gave him an air that all manner of lives was contained in his gaze, and no one knew just how many years those eyes had witnessed passing by.
He stood in the galaxy. The laws and rules in space around him were distorting, growing dull, as if a series of changes had occurred to them due to his will.
"I am Hong Sang Zi, one of the sanctified among the forces of power from True Sacred Yin World keeping a lookout over the barren lands.
"Fellow Daoist, for what reason have you come here? Pray tell. Your Essence Dominated World… can only stop me for about ten breaths, why must you do this?"
Su Ming averted his gaze from the sky as he stood on Taia Planet, then took a step forward. He did not bother about Dao Ren, who was beside him and was surrounded by flames, but walked straight towards the tent.
This was where his target was located.
Dao Ren moved back. His heart was in shock at that moment. Su Ming's strength had almost made his mind break, so there was no way he would have the courage to stop him right then.
It was also at this moment that the flaps of the tent were lifted up and the woman in long green robes walked out. When she looked at Su Ming, there was a complicated look in her eyes, along with a hint of hate, but once she saw Su Ming's face clearly, she was taken aback.
"You are not it!" The woman screamed shrilly and instantly moved back. As she formed various seals with her hands, a green sun appeared in front of her. There was a green peacock in that sun, as if the sun was brought forth once the peacock spread its tail feathers.
"I am not it, but I came here in search of you."
As Su Ming spoke calmly, he took a step forward to walk straight into the green sun. It shattered, and during that instant, Su Ming appeared before the woman. He lifted his right hand, and with a presence as well as a speed that the woman could not hope to put up a fight against… he seized her neck and lifted her into the air.
"Give me all of its feathers and physical body… or you will die. I will give you three breaths to think," Su Ming said calmly while looking at the woman.
"One.
"Two."
Chapter 849: Disaster Befalls All
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"I… hate it!" The eyes of the woman in green whose neck was seized by Su Ming turned red. She glared at Su Ming and suddenly began laughing shrilly.
There was hatred in that laughter, along with deep enmity.
Su Ming frowned, and purple lightning immediately erupted from his right hand and enveloped the woman in green from head to toe.
As crackling sounds echoed in the air, it looked as if a layer of skin was peeled off her body, and her true form was revealed.
She had a hideous appearance that looked like it belonged to a ghost. Her hair was a mess, her whole body was covered in scars, and blood poured out from all over her. She had the mark of a peacock at the center of her brows, but what made hers different from the others was that her mark was not an illusion. Instead, it was formed by nine tiny green feathers stuck between her brows.
"As expected, it's injured. If you're here in search for its feathers, then it proves that it's heavily injured!
"My plan is a success, even if it isn't here personally, it's enough that you're here for it!" There was a forlorn expression on the woman's face, but her bloodshot eyes were shining with a brilliant light. At that moment, she looked as if she had become deranged.
"Three," Su Ming stated flatly. He ignored the woman's shrill voice ringing in the air. When he said that number, the purple lightning in his right hand shot up with a boom. A presence that could destroy all manner of lives instantly gathered. During that moment, he looked as if he just needed one single thought to kill this woman.
"I had my sword attendant bring that feather to Western Ring Nebula's foreign land. If you kill Dao Ren, I will tell you the whole truth and give you all the feathers I own!" the woman in green immediately shouted.
At the instant she said these words, a boom rang out from Su Ming's right hand, and the woman's voice turned into a muffled groan. Once he loosened his grip, she coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. When she staggered backwards, his cold voice reached her.
"I am not a sword you can use to kill others." Su Ming lifted his right hand and swung it in the direction of the woman in green. Immediately, an endless amount of Divine Essence Runic Symbols appeared on her body, covering her up as if sealing her.
"Neither do you have the right to use this to threaten me and make me attack… However, since you provided me with a clue, I will help you once, but you must pay the price for having me attack." As Su Ming spoke plainly, he lifted his right index finger and tapped the center of the woman's brows.
She started trembling violently. She could feel that the finger at the center of her brows was like a vortex that was rapidly devouring her life. In the blink of an eye, three thousand years of her life were gone. The woman might have an ugly face, but everyone could still see her becoming older. For the first time, fear appeared in her eyes.
The woman in green felt her life flowing away, and she immediately shouted out, "I know Kong Mo, and it knows me as well. You are its friend, you should…"
"It is my friend, but you aren't." A barely noticeable glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and once he absorbed another two thousand years of life from her, he lifted his finger away from the woman's brows. If he liked someone, that didn't mean he would also like everything that was associated with that person. In Su Ming's mind, he could have all sorts of friends, but a friend's friend had nothing to do with him.
When the woman mentioned Kong Mo, it was clear that she meant… the bald crane.
Su Ming turned around, and with a chilling gaze, he looked at Dao Ren, who was surrounded by fire. He had a feeling that this matter was not as simple as it seemed, and there was definitely some sort of secret contained within it. Based on the woman in green's words and expressions, he had already formed some assumptions.
Dao Ren's expression changed drastically. He did not expect that Wu Li Zi would want him to die, but this was not the time for him to think. Almost the moment Su Ming turned his gaze towards him, Dao Ren retreated, intending to flee without care for anything else.
He was feeling nervous, and his heart was filled with shock as well as terror. At that moment, the only thing in his mind was to flee at all cost. Intense hatred also grew within the depths of his heart for Wu Li Zi.
Right then, the entire Taia Planet shuddered, and a great will seemed about to descend from beyond the planet. This was the initial sign that the envelopment Su Ming had cast on this place was about to break.
Su Ming lifted his head and cast the sky a gaze, but he remained calm. At the instant Dao Ren took a step backwards, Su Ming lifted his right hand and pointed towards him.
A power that seemed like it could determine a person's life and death, could change laws, and overturn rules shot out with a bang from that finger. Before Dao Ren could retreat more than a couple hundred of feet, purple lightning came towards him with loud booming sounds and instantly gathered on his body.
Those booming sounds continued without stop. Dao Ren let out a roar, and the mark of the flame at the center of his brows shone abruptly. The flames around him became even brighter and started burning even more furiously to fight against the purple lightning.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the purple lightning gathered on him and as the booms echoed in the air, Dao Ren coughed up blood. As he staggered backwards, all the flames around him dispersed. At that moment, the purple lightning was about to descend on him once more and destroy him.
"Lord True General, save me!" Dao Ren let out shout in despair. The mark of the candle flame at the center of his brows shattered at that instant. As it crumbled to pieces, Dao Ren's body looked as if he had turned into a candle, and his soul as well as his life became flames.
From the distance, he looked as if he was no longer a cultivator, but had turned into… a burning candle!
The purple lightning came crashing on him and collided with the flames. As booming sounds surged into the sky, Su Ming suddenly walked out of the air beside the flames. He lifted his right hand. A power that felt like time gathered on his palm. It was a temporal divine ability formed by five thousand years of the woman in green's life. He seized the flames.
"These flames should be extinguished." At the moment Su Ming said these words coolly, the flames were snuffed out, and as wisps of green smoke drifted into the air, Dao Ren's life was also put out.
This was one of Ecang's origin divine abilities - Disaster Befalls All.
"Now, you can speak." Su Ming turned around and looked at the woman in green coldly.
The woman's face was pale and looked much older. This was not a gradual loss of five thousand years of her life, but an instant extraction. That was why she could not immediately regain her usual appearance.
"Sending out the feathers was my plan… and it was also something Huo Zhu… tacitly consented to.
"Our goal was to lure Kong Mo to this place. If it saw the feathers, then with how it is, it would definitely come to this place, and if it came, then it would fall into the trap Huo Zhu and I placed!
"But I am innocent, if I don't do this, then I would have been trapped in this hideous form forever. This wasn't what I wanted, all of it was imposed upon me forcefully by Huo Zhu.
"True General Huo Zhu managed to obtain a small portion of Kong Mo's physical body from some unknown place and used it to train. She also fused Kong Mo's blood and feathers in my body in an attempt search for Kong Mo's secret.
"I had no way of fighting back against it and could only endure it quietly, that's why I turned into this state, but Huo Zhu promised me that once she succeeded, she would return me my freedom.
"She wants to devour Kong Mo's soul. She is the instigator for all of this, and she also had her will descend on Dao Ren to monitor me. If you want the feathers, then take all of the nine fledgling feathers at the center of my brows. However, these are just part of all the green feathers. The remaining ones are with Huo Zhu. If you want all of them, then you must kill her!
"You've destroyed her will that descended to this place and killed her messenger. So even if there was no Kong Mo in-between, there would be enmity between the two of you now. If you kill her, you will obtain all that you want."
"If I kill her, you will also be free." As Su Ming spoke calmly, he lifted his right hand and swung it before himself. The woman in green immediately let out a scream of pain, and the nine feathers between her brows flew out to land on Su Ming's palm. During that moment, the sky rumbled, the ground trembled, and several great wills descended onto the land.
The strongest among them could almost cover the entire sky in this place. As those people descended, a sigh echoed in all directions.
"Fellow Daoist, why must you do this? This place… is not a place where you can come and go as you please." The world rumbled. At the instant the wills descended, Su Ming lifted his head. As a freezing glare shone in his eyes, an intense fighting spirit burned within him.
Up to this point, Su Ming had yet to bring forth all his power in the place where True Sacred Yin World was stationed. He had only executed part of the might of his Ecang clone. However, this portion of power had already let Su Ming come to a deeper understanding of how powerful this clone of his was.
The danger when he was Possessing Ecang became all worth it once he verified just how powerful was his Ecang clone.
"A clone that can change my entire destiny." As Su Ming mumbled, he put away the feathers. When he lifted his head, the divine thought from the old will echoed in the air, and all the purple lightning from those one hundred thousand lis at the spot where he was rose up from the ground and charged towards the wills in the sky.
There were six wills in total, and the weakest of them was in Solar Kalpa Realm. As for the strongest… it was the presence that had stirred up Su Ming's will to fight… a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death.
'With them around, it's impossible for me to head to the main camp and search for Huo Zhu. If I went there… with the power of my clone, it'd be impossible for me to leave.' Su Ming sighed in his heart. It was not that he did not want to take this risk, but this was simply a dead end. If he took that risk, there would simply be no hope winning.
Besides, once he went too deep, it would become impossible for the Ecang clone to leave under the mysterious forces of power from the four Great True Worlds whose power he did not fully comprehend.
After all, only about thirty breaths had passed since Su Ming had appeared in this place. However, within this short time, so many powerful warriors had appeared. If he dragged this on any further, more powerful people would be lured out.
'However, that person isn't really a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death. He is just close to that state.' At the instant the purple lightning from the ground crashed against the will from the sky, Su Ming took a step forward and turned into the strongest bolt of purple lightning. He swept up the lightning around him, stirring up booming sounds that shook the sky and earth.
From the distance, the layer of purple lightning seemed to draw the outline of a big tree. The lightning served as the tree's branches, and Su Ming was the trunk. He swept past the sky and crashed violently into the will up there. Booming sounds surged through the air, and as the entire planet trembled, the purple bolts of lightning dispersed, but the incoming wills were also forced to scatter.
It allowed Su Ming to rush out of Taia Planet and come back into the galaxy.
Chapter 850: To Control Fate, Lives, and Death
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At the instant Su Ming came out, his face became pale, but without any hesitation, he took a step forward. However, right at the moment he did so, the six wills rushed at him with loud booming sounds. The one right at the end was the one in Solar Kalpa Realm, and the one right in front was the old man that was near the state of a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death.
His foot landed. When Su Ming appeared once again, he was already at the center, near the exit of the galaxy where the forces of power from True Sacred Yin World were stationed to keep a lookout over Western Ring Nebula. Yet the moment he got there, the voice of the old man chasing after him reverberated in the air once again.
"Nan, Di, La, Mi, Dong! [1]" At the instant these five syllables were spoken, a gigantic hand appeared in the air in front of Su Ming. The hand was semi-transparent, and it exuded a supreme might that contained a special law as well as a rule that charged towards Su Ming to seize him.
At the same time, another hand appeared behind Su Ming, closing in on him.
As the booming sounds echoed above and below Su Ming, two vortices appeared out of nowhere. A strange enchanting light shone within them, and faint figures of people could be seen sitting in them while meditating. These vortices pushed down on him from above and below, as if they had sealed off all of his exits.
At the moment the hands and the two vortices manifested in the air, the final syllable from the old man rose into the air with a shocking bang, as if it could replace the sounds of heartbeats of the people who heard it, causing their hearts to slow down to a pace where they had nearly stopped beating.
When these things closed in on Su Ming, the overlapping shadows of the runic symbols in his right eye shone. In an instant, they spilled out from his eye and surrounded him. The one hundred thousand runic symbols gathered about to turn into a huge purple heart.
As that heart began pumping, it collided against the hands and crashed into the two vortices as well. Booming sounds shook the galaxy, stirring up an endless amount of ripples that spread out in all directions like waves.
Su Ming's runic symbols disappeared, along with the purple heart and his body. All of them disappeared under the loud booms.
When he reappeared, he was already at the edge of the exit that belonged to the galaxy where True Sacred Yin World was stationed. Only ten thousand feet remained, and then he could leave.
Yet suddenly, the old man who was still chasing after him manifested in the space behind Su Ming. But he was not alone. During that instant, Su Ming sensed three wills that were almost on equal grounds with the old man coming from three different directions from the galaxy where True Sacred Yin World was stationed.
In fact, an even more ancient will from the depths of the galaxy gradually spread out as if whoever it belonged to had just woken up. It was a will that caused Su Ming's pupils to shrink. Right at the moment the person woke up, he immediately suppressed the might of the galaxy and the mightiness of all four wills accumulated together by the four old men.
"To control…" These were the first two words uttered by that oldest will right after he woke up. His voice echoed in the entire galaxy where True Sacred Yin World was stationed, and all those who heard it felt their hearts tremble before instantly prostrated themselves on the ground.
"Greetings, True Saint!" As these cultivators prostrated themselves on the ground, voices filled with zealousness and respect rose and fell like waves within the galaxy where True Sacred Yin World was stationed.
In fact, even the six wills of the old men as well as the three other wills near the state of Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death who were rushing forth from other places wrapped their fists in their palms at that instant.
It was also the enunciation of these two words that caused Su Ming's heart to tremble viciously, and for the first time… he coughed up a mouthful of purple blood in this place.
As he did so, Su Ming swiftly retreated. His face was pale, but his eyes were incredibly bright. This… was a true Master of Fate, Lives, and Death!
Even cultivators who were already close to becoming Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death would need to worship it.
"Fate…" The oldest and recently awakened will spoke his third word at that moment. The world instantly stopped moving, and a huge eye appeared in the space before Su Ming.
That eye was shut, but even it was closed, there was a feeling as if all space had disappeared, and the galaxy no longer existed.
While the voice still lingered in the air, the eye slowly opened. There was an endless ancient air within it. At the moment it looked at Su Ming, a bang shot up in his mind, and as he moved back, he coughed up blood once again.
In fact, during that instant, cracks appeared on his body, as if he was about to shatter. A powerful suppressive force that could not be described with words descended on Su Ming's body, as if it wanted to tear him into pieces.
This was the strongest person Su Ming had ever met in his life.
The eye shone like the embodiment of that one word from the ancient will. At that moment, it was charging swiftly towards Su Ming, as if… it wanted to seal him within itself!
In fact, Su Ming could even see a cosmos and a galaxy contained within that eye. There were an endless amount of planets inside, along with various living beings. Clearly, if he was sealed in it, he would become one of the many living beings within it.
'This is a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, this is the true Master of Fate, Lives, and Death!' Su Ming's heart rumbled, and more cracks appeared on his body. At the moment the shadow of death enveloped him, he let out a low shout, and as the light of Divine Essence shone brilliantly in his eyes, he lifted his arms and flung them sideways.
Boom!
A gigantic tree that towered into the sky manifested behind him. The end of the tree could not be seen, and it was all purple. At the instant it appeared, it started trembling viciously, and there were Divine Essence Runic Symbols shining viciously around it. Su Ming had all his power within his Ecang clone erupt forth and crashed straight into the incoming eye of Fate.
The galaxy shattered and space fell back. As the booming sounds echoed in the air, the eye touched Su Ming's towering tree. The purple tree immediately trembled, and as it fought against it, it started showing signs of shattering. In the end, with a loud bang that shook the entire galaxy, the eye disappeared. Su Ming's Ecang tree also disappeared. He tumbled backwards as he coughed up blood. With a few steps, he moved out of the region where True Sacred Yin World was stationed and stepped into Western Ring Nebula. Then, without any hesitation, he shifted and disappeared without a trace.
It was also during that instant that the ancient will said its fourth word.
"Lives…"
Su Ming, who was in Western Ring Nebula, was forced out of his shift. He coughed up his fourth mouthful of blood, and a dried up, shriveled palm appeared under him. That palm seemed to be moving so slowly that it did not seem to be moving at all, but as Su Ming moved forward, it started growing endlessly bigger, as if… it could grow as big as the galaxy.
A great sense of danger warned Su Ming that he absolutely could not allow the palm under him to surpass him, or he would definitely die.
Yet no matter how far he fled, the palm continued expanding. It was already so great that its end could not be seen. As the echo of that last word echoed in the air, ferociousness appeared on Su Ming's face. He lifted his hands and seized the air of the galaxy around him. Immediately, Western Ring Nebula shook. If one were to describe the entire Western Ring Nebula as a piece of gauze, then as Su Ming seized the air, it was as if he had yanked up the entire cloth to fight against the fourth word.
With loud booms, the fragmented Western Ring Nebula became even more broken. Su Ming's eyes were crimson. As he spread his arms wide open, he spared no pain in spreading his will outwards. This particular move was him revealing all one hundred thousand of his galaxies in Western Ring Nebula.
This was an act that meant he would be fighting against this galaxy with all he had. At the instant he spread his will outwards, Western Ring Nebula began trembling violently. An endless amount of planets shivered, and an innumerable amount of living beings prostrated themselves on the ground.
"Winter!" Su Ming let out a low shout and started retreating nonstop. With one step, he disappeared, and with another, he reappeared, charging towards Western Ring Nebula's foreign land. A layer of ice instantly appeared under his feet, and in the blink of an eye, it spread out to cover the endless galaxy, freezing all parts his will touched.
"Autumn!" When Su Ming's voice echoed in space once again, all the frozen parts of the galaxy melted. The will of autumn representing cold and heat as well as life and death spread out in all directions, forming his Life Matrix of winter and autumn to fight against the incoming palm.
He moved away once again, disappearing one moment and reappearing the next.
"Summer!" Su Ming said. This was the summer Life Matrix which he had yet to completely master. Right then, in this life and death crisis, Su Ming activated this part of his Life Matrix.
Death disappeared, and life appeared in abundance. There were raging flames burning the galaxy at that instant.
Booms rang out in the galaxy. When Su Ming disappeared once again and reappeared later, he had left the exit of the region where True Sacred Yin World was stationed far behind himself and returned… to the core of Western Ring Nebula, where Western Ring Nebula's foreign land was located.
At the instant he returned to the place, the palm that had stretched out from the region where True Sacred Yin World was stationed had already moved from under Su Ming's feet to cover the galaxy. If anyone stood in Su Ming's place and looked down, they would not be able to see a black galaxy any longer, but a boundless palm that looked like a continent.
The palm lines on that palm were like ravines. If sweat ever went down it, then they would become huge rivers. The spots where the palm lines intersected were the plains.
The palm stretched out endlessly and looked as if it had an endless amount of living creatures on it. It was as if the palm itself was a world, and this scene was enough to make all those who saw it to feel shock.
"And Death!" At the instant the ancient voice said the final word, the endless palm under Su Ming's body started curling its fingers into a fist. The galaxy where its fingers swept past would shatter, and with an indescribable speed, it quickly moved to form a fist.
'So this is the true meaning of those who control fate, lives, and death!'
Su Ming's heart trembled. Blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth. He had already been injured badly, but an epiphany appeared in his mind. This epiphany was something that was impossible for him to gain unless he faced a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death himself. Later, this epiphany could even point him towards a path for him to become a Master of Fate as well, if there was enough time.
It was very difficult for people to gain value from this sort of serendipity, because all those who came face to face with this would die without exception, unless they had the same level of cultivation themselves.
This was a suppression based on levels of cultivation, a difference of strength that could not be changed even if a person had a supreme treasure on his or her person.
This sort of epiphany caused Su Ming's footsteps to freeze at the moment he was just about to enter Western Ring Nebula's foreign land. His face was pale, but his eyes were shining brightly. He looked at the incoming palm and at his own injuries. The other person's divine abilities appeared in his mind.
None would be able to survive before a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death. In fact, if Western Ring Nebula's foreign land did not exist, even if Su Ming had an Ecang clone, he would still die.
However, the existence of Western Ring Nebula's foreign land could make Su Ming the first and perhaps the only person who could survive and receive an epiphany before a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death.
This chance was like a sudden serendipity!
Translator's Notes:
1. Nan, Di, La, Mi, Dong: No meaning, just a chant.
Chapter 851: Avacaniya [1]
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The gigantic hand covered the vast galaxy, and also enveloped the numerous cracks in Western Ring Nebula's foreign land. At that moment, as the palm swiftly furled into a fist, understanding appeared in Su Ming's eyes as he stood at the edge of a crack. He looked at the five fingers coming towards him and looked at how the galaxy was swiftly replaced by the palm that was swiftly furling itself into a fist.
Booming sounds surrounded the entire area, and wherever the fingers passed, the galaxy would look as if it was about to shatter. The final word of the declaration to control fate, lives, and death was still echoing in the air, and a power that was strong enough to destroy all lives seeped out continuously from the palm.
The galaxy trembled, and the cosmos scattered. This was a mighty power that was inconceivable, and so it enthralled Su Ming. He seemed to have forgotten that he was in danger and that if the palm seized him, he would be destroyed from then on… even if he possessed the purple Ecang clone.
He could not tell whether time was flowing quickly or slowly. It was as if all laws regarding time could no longer be found. This lasted for only one breath, but also seemed like an endless passage of time. The palm furling itself into a fist had replaced space itself, and by then had almost completely formed a fist.
Booming sounds echoed in the galaxy. From the distance, this was an incredibly shocking sight. The vast palm seized the entire Western Ring Nebula's foreign land. In fact, if anyone looked over, they would not be able to see Western Ring Nebula's foreign land. There was only a gigantic palm that was swiftly furling itself into a fist.
Su Ming looked at the incoming fingers from above, and he saw ravines as well as plains that were growing bigger continuously as they swiftly charged towards him.
"To control fate, lives, and death…" As Su Ming mumbled, the palm completely furled into a fist, and during that instant, he moved back and stepped into the crack leading to Western Ring Nebula's foreign land.
At the instant he stepped inside, a muffled bang that sounded as if the galaxy had shattered spread swiftly in all directions. That was… the noise once the palm completely formed itself into a fist.
That was an impact caused by the power that could crush everything.
A ring-shaped ripple appeared out of nowhere and tumbled backwards into all areas. Wherever it went, booming sounds would surge into the sky. That ripple was like a surging wave. As it continued spreading out, the boundless galaxy was filled with distorted ripples… as if the universe was about to be destroyed, as if all lives were about to die.
Yet during that instant, a furious roar came from inside the fist. That roar contained a domineering presence, an air that looked down on all manner of life, along with a supreme, mighty presence as well as an overbearing attitude, as if the owner of that roar placed itself above all. The roar swiftly spread out.
"Get lost!"
At the instant that roar traveled outwards, the gigantic fist suddenly trembled. As it did, power erupted from inside the palm. The strength of that power seemed to want to push open the fingers… as if it was a soul that the palm could not hope to destroy.
"Begone!"
As the enraged roar still lingered in the air, a second roar immediately came from the fist. The voice was sharp, but even though it was piercing to the ears, it still contained an endless domineering and mighty air, as if all wills had to submit to this voice, or else they would be wiped out for showing any sign of disrespect.
As that voice spoke up, the huge fist started trembling again, showing vague signs that it could not remain clenched.
"Damn you, you ant! How dare you come to this place and offend us Ecang?! Go away!" The third furious roar immediately came out and shook the entire galaxy.
"So what if you're a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, how dare a cultivator like you stretch out a hand before us?! Leave this place!" a fourth roar rang out in space.
The palm trembled even more furiously. The five fingers were forced to raise themselves as they shivered. The furious howls grew in number as the fifth, sixth, and up to the seventh voices shouted at the same time.
"All of you lives are mere ants. The universe is all but emptiness to us. In the endless passages of time, you are not the first person who has dared to offend us, but you are the first fool who dreamed of destroying us."
"How dare a mere Master of Fate, Lives, and Death who doesn't even have his own True World come to this place?! You're just asking for death!"
"Go back to the place you sleep. This is not a place where ants like you can destroy!"
Booming sounds rang violently. When the seventh roar echoed in the air, the five fingers of the gigantic hand were forced to unfurl as booming sounds travelled out from within the fist. As it trembled, signs of destruction appeared, as if the palm could not fight against the seven roars that symbolized the seven wills.
"Heh heh, boy, what is your name? You are quite the brave one. Do you dare tell me your name? I will remember the mark of your life, and when I move out, the first one I will devour will be you." The eighth voice rose with a loud bang. The degree of destruction on the palm became even more intense, and the five fingers were completely stretched out.
"All those who offend us Ecang must die!" The ninth voice brought with it endless madness and killing intent. As it traveled out with loud banging sounds, the palm was torn to shreds. Three of the five fingers were separated from the palm, and as they fell away, they turned into ashes.
"Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, you can come out from the region where True Sacred Yin World is stationed for my life, but this place… is my galaxy. How dare you… still not shatter!"
The final voice belonged to Su Ming.
At the instant his voice traveled outwards, the final two fingers from the already shattering palm crumbled to pieces, revealing Western Ring Nebula's foreign land, which had been encased earlier. At the same time, ten wills erupted forth from the endless cracks leading to the foreign land, turning into an indescribably mighty impact that charged straight into the broken palm.
This was not Su Ming's will alone, but all ten of the Ecang wills within Western Ring Nebula's foreign land having their full power burst forth once they detected danger.
In this place, they were invincible existences. In this place, no form of life could destroy all of them completely in one go. In this place, they were the symbols of the strongest in the universe.
Booms rang out, shaking the entire universe. The palm continued shattering. There was not a single existence that could provoke Ecang. This was Ecang's pride and dignity. They could devour each other… but if any outside force intended to destroy them, it would be faced with their frenzied retaliation.
This was the reason why Su Ming dared to try and understand his opponent's method of controlling fate, lives, and death despite being in danger. As long as he returned to this place and his enemy still dreamed of killing him, then what would fall onto their head would be the counterattack of all ten Ecang souls.
In the face of such retribution… even a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death was nothing!
Loud booms surged into the air. During that instant, a large portion of the palm shattered, revealing the complete Western Ring Nebula's foreign land, and also revealing… a gigantic tree shining with ten-colored light while towering over the universe.
Ten colors surrounded the tree and exuded a presence that could destroy all lives. As furious roars echoed in space, the ten wills used the simplest method to crash into the crumbling palm, without even using any form of divine ability.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The palm that had stretched out of the region where the forces of power from True Sacred Yin World was stationed shattered inch by inch. The speed of its destruction was so quick that in the blink of an eye, the portion of the palm around Western Ring Nebula's foreign land shattered. As the destruction spread out, anyone who stood at a spot where they could see the entire Western Ring Nebula was able to see clearly that half of the gigantic hand had already disappeared while it continued shattering and disappearing even more.
As a large portion of the palm vanished, the galaxy that had been enveloped by the palm showed up once again. The planets that had been hidden away revealed themselves once more, and in the span of a few breaths, the destruction of the palm had reached the area near to the region where the forces of power from True Sacred Yin World were stationed.
Only a small part remained of the previously boundless hand. However, its destruction had not ended. Three breaths later, the palm that had stretched into the Western Ring Nebula was completely reduced to ashes, and the destruction of the palm finally extended into the area of the palm covering the region where the forces of power from True Sacred Yin World were stationed.
Booming sounds spread out. The galaxy trembled. The destruction from the palm finally extended to the main camp, which was located in a vortex. Once the entire palm was destroyed, the ten wills still didn't seem to be done. Just as they were about to continue destroying the vortex formed by countless planets, three divine thoughts that were on equal grounds with the ancient will that had gone after Su Ming's life spread out with a bang from that vortex.
"Enough, leave this place!"
"Neither you nor we from the four Great True Worlds have disturbed each other, do not think that we really can not destroy you!"
"You have not recovered, broken entity! If we summon our Sublime Paragon from the four Great True Worlds, you will be destroyed!"
These three divine thoughts echoed in space at the same time, shaking the area beyond the vortex. Only after some time did the sounds gradually calm down.
In the depths of the vortex in the main camp was a planet filled with black earth. Within it was a never-ending mountain range. That mountain range looked normal, but if anyone took a closer look, they would discover that it was in the shape of a human.
It was a human lying on the ground!
At that moment, that person's eyes were slowly falling shut. As booming sounds rang through the world, he closed his eyes completely, and at that instant… his right hand shattered.
"To control fate, lives, and death means to have everything in our grasp… Yet, how are we supposed to seize control of a being that is beyond the boundaries of fate?" A murmur echoed in the planet.
"In the Realm of controlling fate, lives, and death, I have only managed to reach the Realm where I can control. I do not know whether I will have the chance of stepping into the Realm of the Rise and Fall of Fate… much less the Realm of Life, which is the Reincarnation of Life, and the Realm of Death, which is the Death of the Universe.
"Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, Rise and Fall of Fate, Reincarnation of Life, and Death of the Universe. These are the four great Realms.
"There is no end to the path of cultivation. Each word, each flower, each leaf, and each world. Each of these words are gems, and each of these words will last for eternity. There is also the Sublime after the four great Realms, as well as… Avacaniya.
"Is there a Realm after Avacaniya..? There should be… because there is no end to the path of cultivation." A sigh traveled through the entire planet.
Within the world of the one hundred thousand stone monuments in Western Ring Nebula's foreign lands, all the cultivators opened their eyes and woke up. During the moment just now, they had all fallen asleep. They woke up confused, not knowing what had happened.
In the space where they could not see, the ten Ecang souls were growling and sending out their thoughts at that moment.
"Purple, all of this is because you provoked them to come here."
"Purple, you first killed our tributes, then lured Blue's primarily chosen to offend you. Just what are you doing?!"
Translator's Notes:
1. Avacaniya: The Sanskrit for 'not to be spoken' (不可言). The English form was a little too underwhelming.
Chapter 852: I Need Stimulation…
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Purple, if it wasn't because your soul weren't still that of Ecang, I would suspect that you were Possessed by a tribute!"
"It doesn't matter whether you were Possessed or not, Purple, your soul is still that of Ecang. If you aren't Possessed, then fine, but even if you are, and you're no longer the previous Purple we know, it doesn't matter to us. You just need to keep the promise made between the ten Ecang souls."
"Before we are fully recovered and have fused together to decide who will be the one who will dominate over the rest, do not go and provoke other Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death outside, and do not bring trouble to us."
"What if someone comes to this place to provoke me?!" Su Ming's divine thought immediately rang in space.
"We are Ecang. If they provoke you, then it means that they have provoked us. If they insult you, then it means that they have insulted us. If someone comes here, we will fight back with our full strength!"
"All right!"
After listening to the divine thoughts of the nine souls, Su Ming fell silent for a moment, then agreed to this matter. In truth, he had long since noticed that the nine souls had become suspicious of him. However, his soul belonged to Ecang. Because of that, even if they knew that he had Possessed the purple Ecang, they were still fine with it.
This was the Abyss Builders' inborn talent, a power that gave Su Ming a feeling that it was growing more mysterious with every new thing he learned about it. He also had a sense that Abyss Builders were an existence that even surpassed Ecang.
'Ecang is a form of life that forms its soul from a Sublime Paragon's soul and devours Divine Essence to be born, and I… Possessed Ecang to be strong.' Su Ming pulled back his divine thought and opened his eyes while remaining seated in the one hundred thousand purple galaxies.
'The power of a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death certainly shocked me.' Su Ming looked at the purple hue in the galaxy, and determination appeared in his eyes.
'The rise and fall of fate, and the lives of all manner of living are in one hand… Before I Possessed Ecang, I didn't know whether I would ever be able to understand this Realm, but with this Ecang clone, I will be able to head down this legendary path.'
Su Ming slowly closed his eyes, covering the determination in them, but the act of shutting his eyes did not manage to hide the obsession in his heart.
'When I fuse with the other nine Ecang souls, I will be able to surpass this Realm.' Su Ming did not say these words. He only quietly thought them at the instant he closed his eyes.
When Su Ming's Ecang clone closed his eyes, his other clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole opened his eyes in the purple galaxy.
He was sitting cross-legged in space. When he opened his eyes, no determination or obsession could be seen. There was only a profound look in his eyes that made them seem like bottomless pits. If anyone took a closer look into them, they would be able to vaguely see overlapping shadows of runic symbols in the right eye, while a palm was swiftly forming in his left eye.
That palm was a mere illusion, but after Su Ming had survived under the hands of a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, he had obtained an epiphany, and this palm was the result of that epiphany. The palm was changing its motions endlessly as Su Ming continued trying to understand his epiphany.
After a long while, he lifted his right hand and looked at his palm, as well as the palm lines on it. After a moment, he swung his right hand, and a green feather in it.
This was the one and only feather he had gained after fusing all the green fledgling feathers he took from Wu Li Zi's brows.
There was no blood on it, but at the instant the feather appeared, the image of a green peacock manifested in space, as if Su Ming was not holding onto a feather, but a peacock.
Su Ming looked at the feather, then lifted his left hand to strike the storage bag. The sleeping bag immediately turned into a ray of dark light that appeared in front of him.
The dark creature had its eyes closed and still did not show any signs of waking up, but at the instant it appeared, the dark light on it shone even more intensely. At the same time, the green peacock in Su Ming's right hand started screeching, as if it had run into a great enemy.
In Su Ming's senses, these two creatures were clearly from the same source, but their current actions caused his eyes to sparkle. He had formed a guess in his heart previously, and right then, he became somewhat certain of his guess.
The dark light from the bald crane burst forth. As it shone furiously, it turned into a black crane. That crane did not have its eyes shut, but they were unfocused. As it let out a piercing screech, it charged towards the green peacock.
The peacock also let out a screech before charging forward. The two birds immediately crashed into each other before Su Ming. There were no sound of collision. In silence, they looked as if they had begun merging with each other. It might seem like a quiet and calm process, but Su Ming could feel that this fusion was akin to an act of devouring.
It would be either the bald crane devouring the green peacock, or the peacock devouring the bald crane.
However, since Su Ming was around, he would definitely not allow the green peacock to succeed. He let out a cold harrumph and lifted his right hand to point swiftly at the green peacock's body as the two of them continued devouring each other.
At the instant he pointed towards it, the green peacock let out a shrill screech of pain. Its body collapsed and turned into bits of glittering green light that were instantly absorbed by the bald crane.
This process lasted for about two hours, and after that, the bald crane's body trembled. Its shut eyes showed signs of opening, but it seemed that the amount of power gathered was not enough, since it could not fully open its eyes.
There probably was still a little bit of power left required for it to fully open its eyes, but if it did not have the power to open them, then it would mean that it would not be able to wake up.
"I… need… sti…" As the bald crane struggled, it said these three syllables with a great exertion of strength. Its eyelids, which had moved apart to form a small crack, seemed to have lost all strength, and looked as if they were about to fall shut once again, causing the signs of it waking up to also disappear.
Su Ming's expression remained the same as usual. He looked at the bald crane and said flatly, "Stop pretending, the green peacock was enough for you to wake up. I don't have crystals anymore, so I can't give you the stimulation you need."
He said that, but the bald crane looked as if it hadn't heard it. As its body trembled, an expression of struggle appeared on it, as if it was gathering all its strength to not fall asleep again, but it could not do so. Its eyes fell shut at that moment, and a feeling that it had fallen into deep slumber spread out from its body.
Su Ming's gaze became focused. The bald crane did not seem to be pretending, and Su Ming could not accept it if the bald crane could not wake up due to crystals. He had risked danger to enter the region where the forces of power from True Sacred Yin World were stationed and had only been able to obtain the green feathers after barely escaping death when a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death chased after his life.
When he saw that the bald crane was about to wake up but was going to fall asleep again, he lifted his right hand and pressed down on his storage bag without any hesitation. Immediately, the hundreds of spirit stones remaining in his storage bag were all brought out.
The quality of these spirit stones were incredibly good, and they were the last of Su Ming's savings. After all, with the bald crane around, it was incredibly difficult for Su Ming to even keep the crystals he had by his side…
It could be said that all his money was in his hands at that moment. However, to give the bald crane the stimulation it needed, Su Ming had to bring out these spirit stones. Almost at the instant these sparkling spirit stones were brought out from the storage bag, the bald crane looked as if it had sniffed their scent… even though crystals had no scent.
However, it was clear that the bald crane could somehow sniff them. Its nose twitched slightly, and it looked as if new strength had immediately appeared within it. As it trembled, it struggled to open its shut eyes, as if it wanted to look at the crystals it was besotted with.
The strength of that newborn power seemed to provide support for the bald crane wake up from its coma. When it opened its eyes with great difficulty, it cast a glance at those crystals with sparkling eyes, but when it saw that there were only hundreds of them, it instantly lost all its strength and looked as if it was about to enter into deep sleep once more.
"The stimulation… is not enough… I need… more stimulation…" The bald crane continued speaking haltingly and looked as if it was incredibly weakened, but Su Ming could clearly see the spark in its eyes. That was clearly the appearance of someone who was highly alert and full of vigor.
"How much stimulation do you still need?" Su Ming snorted coldly in his heart, but his words were spoken in a relaxed manner.
"I… need… one thousand… no, ten thousand- One hundred thousand!" The bald crane struggled to not let its eyes fall shut, and it looked even more weakened.
"Is one hundred thousand enough? Do you want more?" Su Ming asked softly.
The bald crane was momentarily stunned, but soon, it looked as if strength had returned to its body, as if Su Ming's words were as effective as all forms of medicinal cores.
"Then… give me… one million."
"Mhm, go on ahead and continue sleeping."
Su Ming stood up and swung his right arm in the air before him. The hundreds of crystals immediately vanished, placed back into the storage bag. Once he did so, he turned around, intending to leave.
A shrill screech of pain tumbled out of the bald crane's beak at the instant Su Ming turned around. It seized its chest with its wings and narrowed its eyes into mere slits, looking as if it was out of sorts.
"You… how cruel… I… am going to fall asleep. Farewell, Su Ming, I'm going to sleep."
Su Ming walked into the distance.
"I'm really going to sleep!" the bald crane quickly shouted.
Su Ming moved even farther away.
"I'm really, really going to sleep!" the bald crane screamed wretchedly and closed its eyes completely. Its body fell to the side and begun to float in the galaxy, unmoving, looking exactly how it did when the bald crane had been in deep sleep.
Su Ming's figure could almost not be seen.
"Well, damn you!" The bald crane opened one eye and glared at Su Ming's already indistinct figure as he continued walking into the distance.
"I used my life to help you Possess that Ecang, and you're not saving me even if I'm about to die?! Y-y-you… You're going overboard! It's just a few crystals, just external objects, just… ah…"
The bald crane was mumbling furiously under its breath when it suddenly saw ripples appearing around Su Ming, who was already in the distance. When it saw that he was about to leave the galaxy, it abruptly let out a scream and instantly opened its eyes. At that moment, there were no signs of weakness on it, and it clearly had a look as if it had been infused with a great boost of energy.
"Hey, I'm alright now. That's strange, why did I suddenly become better? Haha, I, Grandpa Crane, have recovered. I am me again!" As it shouted loudly, it swiftly flapped its wings and flew towards Su Ming before crashing head first into those ripples. As Su Ming disappeared, it also vanished.
Its smug laughter alone continued echoing in the galaxy. It fell into the ears of Su Ming's Ecang clone in the distant cosmos. The Ecang clone did not open his eyes, but a hint of a happy smile could be seen at the corners of his lips.
…..
"Hey, Su Ming, where are you taking me? Let me tell you, I'm not going to a place without crystals!"
"Black Ink Planet. Not only does that place have crystals, it also has a part of your physical body there. You can choose not to go."
"I'm going! There are crystals and my physical body there! Darn it all, I'm definitely going! Say… you're too slow. Just watch me, I'm fast."
Chapter 853: Return to Crimson Flame Planet
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The galaxy had no end. Its boundaries could not be seen, and it only had that monotonous color scheme filling the entire area. If anyone looked at it for a short period of time, they would think that it was slightly beautiful, but if they looked at it for a prolonged period of time, they would not be able to help but feel lost, as if they did not know where they were.
Their insignificance of their own self compared to the vast galaxy would usually deliver a powerful impact on a person.
At that moment, there was a long arc charging through Western Ring Nebula. That long arc could almost not be seen clearly, because its color was similar to that of the galaxy. They were both black.
There was a dark light within that arc, and it was a black crane. The smug expression on its face and the nasty look in its eyes belonged solely to the bald crane; no other crane possessed this look in the whole universe.
Within the dark light was also a red coffin. There were runic symbols on it that formed bumps, giving the coffin a rough surface. They exuded a mighty pressure. Su Ming sat cross-legged on the coffin, meditating with his eyes closed.
The Duke of Crimson Flame was by his side like an old servant. He was looking around vigilantly, no longer indifferent towards everything like before.
This was the sixteenth day since they left Western Ring Nebula's foreign land.
Perhaps it was due to the appearance of a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death as well as his subsequent fight against Su Ming, but during those sixteen days, ripples had appeared nonstop in Western Ring Nebula, which was why all the cultivators in that galaxy had been terrified and did not dare to move out of their planets. Because of this, everywhere Su Ming had passed during these sixteen days had been very quiet.
He liked this type of silence.
Western Ring Nebula was rather far from Black Ink Planet. Unless his Ecang clone ventured out, he would be unable to get there within a short period of time with his own speed.
However, once the bald crane woke up and used the Divinity Incarceration Rune which had been reactivated, their speed became much faster.
According to Su Ming's estimations, he would need about six years before he could see Black Ink Planet.
However, before he left for Black Ink Planet, he still had one more thing to do. Once he settled this, he would no longer have many burdens left in Western Ring Nebula.
Three more days passed. On the nineteenth day since Su Ming had left Western Ring Nebula's foreign land, he opened his eyes slowly while seated on the coffin.
At the instant he did so, a planet appeared before him. That planet was dark red, like the color of a ball of flame that was about to die.
"Crimson Flame Planet…" Su Ming said softly.
"Crimson Flame Planet… so we've returned to this place."
The Duke of Crimson Flame had a rather sentimental expression on his face. In the blink of an eye, one thousand years had passed. When he thought back on the things that had happened, a slightly dazed expression appeared on his face.
The bald crane gradually shrank. At the instant the crimson coffin closed in on Crimson Flame Planet, it returned to its normal size and landed in front of Su Ming before sticking its head outward.
Boom!
The red coffin descended straight into Crimson Flame Planet. At the instant it touched the highest layer of wind in the planet, a sea of flame that was born due to the friction spread out in an arc in front of the coffin.
A strong gust of hot wind crashed into Su Ming's face. That wind was strong enough to crush all cultivators in Heaven Cultivation Realm. In fact, a normal cultivator in the initial stage of World Plane Realm would need to use Enchanted Treasures for some extra protection; they could not use their physical bodies alone to touch it. However, Su Ming remained calm. The hot wind blew against his body and lifted his hair, but did not manage to move him even in the slightest.
He watched quietly as the ground gradually grew bigger in front of him, watched as the mountain ranges, ravines, plains, and volcanoes grew larger before his eyes.
He continued watching until a booming sound echoed in the air. The coffin on which Su Ming sat shot through the highest layer of wind in the place, and the hot air immediately became weaker, though it still existed. However, it was no longer able to harm cultivators. It would only cause them to feel uncomfortable.
As he breathed in the familiar hot air and looked at the familiar ground, Su Ming could not help but remember his past self from one thousand years ago, when he had just appeared in Crimson Flame Planet.
He sighed softly. As his body remained in midair, ripples spread out from him, and he disappeared along with the coffin.
When he reappeared, Su Ming stood on a dried-up piece of land. It was empty all around him, without a single person to be seen. It was clear that the place where he was located was a rather remote area.
He looked at the ground. This place was the spot where he had lain when he was shifted to this place from Yin Death Region. It was also in this place that he met Yue Hong Bang.
He remained silent for a moment. Just as he was about to leave, Su Ming saw the bald crane digging by the side. He remembered that this spot was the place where it had turned into a stone in the past. As he watched, he saw that once the bald crane dug out a small pit in that spot, it brought out three crystals.
"Heh heh, I knew they would still be here. I knew it, I'm a smart crane. I hid these three crystals here in the past just to be on the safe side. Since we're now passing by this place, I might as well take them away.
"Let me think whether I should take away the crystals I hid away in the other places as well…"
That smug expression, that act of immediately taking away the crystals with excitement, and especially those murmurs made Su Ming's understanding towards the bald crane's love for money to become even greater.
He then stopped paying any attention to the bald crane and cast a look at the Duke of Crimson Flame. When he saw the nostalgic look on his face as he looked at the ground, Su Ming knew what the Duke of Crimson Flame was thinking of, and he sent a thought to the old man.
The Duke of Crimson Flame lifted his head and looked at Su Ming before he wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to him. Then, he turned around and disappeared to head to the place that had sealed him in the past.
After the Duke of Crimson Flame left, Su Ming took a step forward and left as well, leaving the bald crane alone in that place as it was still thinking about whether it should take away all of its crystals.
When Su Ming reappeared, he was standing before a small hill. He looked at it. There was a cave abode in there, and beyond it were an endless amount of densely packed blue stones. At first glance, there was no end to them.
However, this place was already covered in dust. It had been a long time since anyone came to this place. The cave abode had also been deserted. Someone had destroyed the cave from within. It might still look like a hill, but in truth, this place was already ridden with wounds.
Or else someone would have definitely occupied this place after it was abandoned for so many years.
This cave abode had belonged to Qi Bei Shan in the past, and those blue stones were items that Su Ming had asked Yue Hong Bang to find for him one thousand years ago.
'So many blue stones… Hundreds of years must have been used to gather this amount. I wonder how is Yue Hong Bang now, and is the Crimson Python Phoenix still around..?'
Su Ming shook his head. As he spread his divine sense outwards, he covered the entire Crimson Flame Planet. After some time, Su Ming found that he could not find any traces of the Crimson Python Phoenixes.
They had clearly left this place.
However, Su Ming did find Yue Hong Bang.
To the northeast was a continuous stretch of mountains, one of which towered all the others. That mountain was crimson, and was clearly not any ordinary mountain. Instead, it was a volcano whose magma had already cooled.
There was a karst cave within the frozen magma at the foot of the volcano, but it was filled with putrid water. The water was black, and there were even bubbles appearing in it, as if it was boiling.
In that puddle of water was a man, submerged up to his chest.
His arms were pierced through by chains, and those chains were connected to the walls on both sides of the cave. Waves of sealing power constantly seeped into the man's body through the chains. As they suppressed his power, they also delivered excruciating torment upon him.
The man's hair was a mess and his body was thin. He looked disheveled and incredibly pathetic. His eyes were closed, and his face was covered in rotting wounds. There were maggots squirming about in them, so anyone who saw him would not be able to resist vomiting on the side.
That man did not know how many years it had been since he was submerged in this place. In fact, most of his body in the puddle of water had already decayed. However, his life force hadn't yet dispersed. There was still a hint of it left. Clearly, this was done intentionally by someone because they did not want him to die.
The man did not move. If it was not because there was still a hint of life within him, it would be incredibly easy to think that he was a corpse. Occasionally, waves of power would spread out from him. These waves… did not belong to those in Heaven Cultivation Realm, but were… waves of power in World Plane Realm.
He was a Lord of World Plane!
He might only be in the initial stage of World Plane Realm, but there was no mistaking this presence.
Footsteps arrived from the area outside. After a moment, the light from an oil lamp approached him. It was a young man dressed in black. Once he placed the oil lamp by the side, he sat down cross-legged beyond the puddle of water and looked at the man who was sealed.
"Have you thought this through?"
The hanging man did not move, and neither did he say anything. He merely kept his eyes closed and his head lowered.
"That person has already disappeared for one thousand years and hasn't showed up from Western Ring Nebula's foreign land. He is already dead, so why are you still protecting a dead man's secret?
"As long as you say it, my Master will immediately let you go. In fact, with your level of cultivation, you will immediately become one of the three masters of Crimson Flame Planet, an existence that can be on equal ground with senior Mei Lan."
The man still did not move, as if he was dead.
"Even if he isn't dead, so what? He's trapped in Western Ring Nebula's foreign land, and it's impossible for him to venture out. Even if he does, he has the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds going after his life. He'll be too busy fending for himself, so why are you still protecting his secret?
"Tell me why Mo Su gathered the blue stones in the past. Tell me how he absorbed the power within the blue stones and made his physical body so strong!
"Tell me and you'll be free. If you don't tell me, you'll continue being sealed in this place and live while enduring a fate worse than death!" The young man's face twisted into a ferocious expression as he shouted at the man.
The man's head moved slightly, and he slowly lifted his head, revealing a face that was ridden with scars. He opened his eyes and stared fixedly at the young man with his dull eyes.
"Your Master has already searched through my soul. If he didn't manage to find an answer like that, I have nothing to say to him either." There was a deep-seated hatred laced in that voice, and his words tumbled out of his mouth as if he was gnashing his teeth while speaking. The atmosphere between them instantly became gloomy.
"Hmph, that's because you have a method to protect your memories. If it wasn't because you knew Mo Su's secret, how could you have become a Lord of World Plane from a mere cultivator in Heaven Cultivation Realm within such a short period of time?" The young man's face remained ferocious as he stared at Yue Hong Bang. After a long while, he swung his arm, turned around, and left with the oil lamp.
His expression was dark. In his heart, he remembered that his Master had assigned him to this place to keep watch over the prisoner. Master's birthday was near, and he originally wanted to obtain an answer from Yue Hong Bang as a present, but the man continued to refuse saying anything, and he decided that once he celebrated his Master's birthday, he would think of some other ways to torture Yue Hong Bang.
Yue Hong Bang watched the young man leave and gradually closed his eyes. He did not know of Su Ming's secret, but the young man refused to believe in this sort of thing, because Yue Hong Bang had indeed become a Lord of a World Plane within a short period of time, but that was his own secret. If he told it to the young man, he would die.
If that was the case, it would be better if he did not say anything, then perhaps he would have a chance of survival.
Chapter 854: Yue Hong Bang's Liege
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yue Hong Bang sighed and closed his eyes again. He knew that the torture he would have to suffer would only increase, but he was confident that the other would not let him die, because when he died, there would truly be no secrets left in him.
However, besides doing this, he could really not think of any other way. If he said it, he would die, and if he did not, he could survive, but the pain of living would make him feel as if his will was about to disperse.
At the instant he closed his eyes, an indifferent voice suddenly spoke airily in the karst cave.
"Just what sort of secret do you have?"
Yue Hong Bang instinctively remained silent and ignored that voice. He thought that the youth had come once again, but suddenly, his body trembled, because that voice did not belong to the young man, but to a person that he knew a long time ago.
At the instant Yue Hong Bang shuddered, the voice spoke once again.
"It's been many years since we last met, and you've become a Lord of a World Plane. Congratulations are in order."
Yue Hong Bang's body trembled, and he opened his eyes to see a young man in white standing before him. That young man had gray hair and a handsome face, but the ancient air about him could not be hidden. That young man… was looking at him calmly at that moment.
"My… My Liege?" Yue Hong Bang trembled even more furiously. He could almost not believe what he saw, but the person's face and expression were the exact same as those from long ago.
Because of it, he became even more certain that this was not a hallucination, but he remembered clearly that Mo Su had been forced into Western Ring Nebula's foreign land one thousand years ago, and only a handful of people could survive that place during the endless passage of time.
"This is payment for what you did for me in the past," Su Ming said flatly, and he lifted his right hand to swing it at Yue Hong Bang. Immediately, the chains on his arms shattered inch by inch with loud cracking sounds. Before they fell into the puddle of water, they turned into ashes.
In fact, even the puddle of water in which Yue Hong Bang had been submerged in dried up and revealed his body, which no longer looked like that of a human.
Su Ming cast a glance at Yue Hong Bang's wretched body, and though his expression remained as calm as ever, he let out a cold harrumph in his heart. Yue Hong Bang was an intelligent person, and he was skilled at seizing the right opportunity. He knew when to take action, and when not to.
This sort of person would usually have a lot of selfish motives. When he acknowledged Su Ming as his lord in the past, he did so to obtain Su Ming's protection. He had even spared no pains and killed most of his companions without leaving any trace to prevent anyone else from discovering the secret that he was a first-generation criminal in this place.
Because of that, he became the only person who knew about Su Ming, and he also preserved a path of escape for himself after he acknowledged Su Ming as his lord. In fact, to obtain Su Ming's trust, he had given Su Ming the Enchanted Vessel he used to protect his life to show his firm loyalty.
This sort of vicious and ambitious person was usually disliked by others, but that was mostly by those who could not stop such them. Jealousy would rise within them, and they would not want this sort of person to exist beside them. They would constantly think that such a person was a lurking threat.
However, in Su Ming's eyes, this person had been very obedient while following him, and even if he left, from the number of blue stones, he could tell that this person had continued obeying his orders for hundreds of years. It was also clear that he had stopped only because he was imprisoned in this place.
That was why it did not matter to Su Ming how this person was. It did not matter to him whether he was ambitious or spiteful. He was obedient, and that was enough, but this obedient person had been tortured to this state. Su Ming might not pity or have compassion for the treatment he received these hundreds of years, but he was a person who protected those close to him.
"I will not allow anyone to harm those who are mine as they please," Su Ming said flatly, and he swung his right hand at Yue Hong Bang once again.
With it, Yue Hong Bang, who had fallen to the side, immediately felt a wave of life force surge into his body. Flesh and blood instantly grew on him, and in the blink of an eye, he discovered to his shock that his body had recovered instantaneously. In fact, his cultivation base had become even more refined and profound. A presence which belonged to the initial stage of World Plane Realm erupted with a bang from within him.
Yue Hong Bang lowered his head to look at his own body. He clenched his fists, and a feeling that he had control over great power rose madly in his heart. This sort of strength was something that he had never possessed. The refreshing and relaxing feeling of having life force fill his entire body formed a stark contrast to the torment he had suffered for hundreds of years, causing him to be barely able to constrain the instinct to lift his head and roar.
He looked at Su Ming excitedly, but the emotion in the depths of his heart was completely different from the expression on his face. Su Ming had become so powerful that Yue Hong Bang was terrified of him. With just a swing of his arm, Su Ming had healed him, and killing was a much easier act compared to healing someone. From this alone, it was clear that Su Ming only needed to swing his arm to kill him.
"Thank you for saving me, My Liege!" Without any hesitation, Yue Hong Bang immediately knelt down and worshiped Su Ming. The excited expression was put on his face for Su Ming to see, and his trembling body was his respect, which he could not suppress.
"I heard that someone intends to hold a feast to celebrate his birthday. Come with me to take a look," Su Ming said calmly, then turned around to walk to the entrance of the cave. Yue Hong Bang quickly followed behind him, his heart racing in his chest. He had understood what Su Ming meant, and a powerful desire filled his heart. He had suffered for hundreds of years, and now, he was finally going to make the other pay.
'Zhao Guang You, I will make it so that you won't be celebrating your birthday!'
Mountain ranges rose and fell. Not far away from the mountain where Yue Hong Bang was sealed was another one. At that moment, there were many voices talking at once at that place. Most of the cultivators in Crimson Flame Planet had arrived and were waiting to present their gifts during the birthday celebration three days later.
This was the birthday feast of the strongest person in Crimson Flame Planet at that moment. That person had suddenly come to Crimson Flame Planet one thousand years ago. With the power of a cultivator at the peak of the initial stage of World Plane Realm, he overpowered Mei Lan with brute strength and sealed Yue Hong Bang, who had just become a Lord of a World Plane. With a single move, he became the strongest in the planet, occupying the land and building his sect there.
From then on, this place practically became the sacred land in Crimson Flame Planet.
At that moment, Su Ming was strolling confidently up the stairs up the mountain where the sect was located, heading straight to the top. He looked at the cloudy sky and the mountain range in the distance with his usual calm expression.
Yue Hong Bang was behind Su Ming with an incredibly respectful face as he followed with his head bowed.
The two of them were not walking quickly. On their way up, they saw quite a number of cultivators sitting around the area meditating. These cultivators were located in various parts of the mountain range and were waiting for the birthday feast three days later.
As Su Ming and Yue Hong Bang walked over, several cultivators who were sitting cross-legged were speaking to each other in low murmurs, but when one of them cast their gaze casually to the side, he was suddenly taken aback when he saw Yue Hong Bang behind Su Ming.
Only when Su Ming and Yue Hong Bang were already in the distance did he let out a cry of surprise.
"Yue… Yue Hong Bang! That person just now was Yue Hong Bang!"
"What? Yue Hong Bang? Wasn't he imprisoned and sealed by Sir Zhao Guang You hundreds of years ago?!"
As that person spoke, the expressions of the cultivators by his side immediately changed. When they looked over, they could only see Su Ming and Yue Hong Bang's backs.
Gradually, more people noticed Yue Hong Bang walking to the top of the mountain. After all, this person was a local of Crimson Flame Planet, so it was difficult for them to forget him in just a few hundred years. Slowly, a commotion rose up, and as it spread among the people, more learned of what was happening.
"It's indeed Yue Hong Bang, but who… who is that person in front of him?"
"Judging by how Yue Hong Bang is behaving, the person in front of him deserves extreme respect. That person… why is he somewhat familiar?"
"I find him somewhat familiar as well, but I can't remember where I've seen him before… But if Yue Hong Bang is so respectful towards him, then this person… Ah! I remember now!"
"Mo Su! He's… Mo Su!!"
In an instant, when someone mentioned Mo Su's name, a loud buzz went through the mountain range as everyone began speaking. The shock that came straight from the depths of their bodies and souls caused all the people to think of far too many things. They remembered the scenes from one thousand years ago, as well as the commotion that was brought upon the entire Western Ring Nebula due to this.
"Something big is about to happen. Sir Mo Su is Yue Hong Bang's liege, and Sir Zhao Guang You imprisoned Yue Hong Bang for hundreds of years. Sir Mo Su has returned now, and they will definitely have a dispute over this!"
"I didn't expect that Sir Mo Su would actually manage to walk out of Western Ring Nebula's foreign land. This… This will definitely shock the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds keeping a lookout over this place, it'll definitely cause a new disaster in Sinful Barren Lands!"
Long arcs swiftly rose into the air and charged towards the direction where Su Ming and Yue Hong Bang were at the top of the mountain, but they did not dare to come to close to them. They still remembered how Mo Su from one thousand years ago had killed countless people. It was said that wherever he went, he would cause planets to collapse, and none of the cultivators in those planets survived.
At that moment, at the top of the sect built in the mountain was a hall on a piece of rock. Crimson Flame Planet's strongest person, Zhao Guang You, was sitting on a big chair. He was dressed in a long robe with dashes of blue and white on it, and he appeared to be a middle-aged man, but his face was filled with pitted scars, making him look rather ugly. He was looking at the eight young men in front of him.
These eight people were the disciples he took under his wing in Crimson Flame Planet. All of them were incredibly handsome. As he looked at them, a strange light appeared in the depths of Zhao Guang You's eyes.
"Master, more than three thousand people came to send you gifts. There are still more coming as well. After all, this is a major event that causes a stir in the entire Crimson Flame Planet. Master, I hope to wish you in advance that you will have endless years and you will live throughout the ages."
With his disciples wishes upon him, Zhao Guang You laughed loudly and swept his gaze across them before fixing his eyes on the last person among the eight.
"Has Yue Hong Bang spoken?"
"Master, that person… That person still hasn't said anything. It's my fault for being so worthless." The young man whom Zhao Guang You was looking at lowered his head. Naturally, he was the young man who had appeared before Yue Hong Bang earlier.
At the instant he said those words, uproars and the sound of something breaking suddenly came from outside the hall. The noise that rose and fell was incredibly strong.
Zhao Guang You frowned.
"What is going—" Before Zhao Guang You could finish speaking, a loud bang rang out beyond the hall. As the sound shook the ground, a sinister voice rushed into the hall.
"Zhao Guang You, I'll never forget how you treated me during those hundreds of years. We will settle our matter later. Today, my liege has arrived, now come out and pay your respects to him!"
This was Yue Hong Bang's voice. In an instant, the expressions of the eight young men in the hall changed at the same time, while Zhao Guang You let out a cold harrumph.
"Your liege? I didn't even know that you had a liege!" As Zhao Guang You took a step forward, he turned into a long arc and looked as if he was just about to fly out of the hall, but during that instant, his expression suddenly changed drastically, because he had just remembered the liege Yue Hong Bang spoke about.
Based on what he knew, Yue Hong Bang had only one liege, and he was… Mo Su, the man for whom the four Great True Worlds had offered a reward, and the man Zhao Guang You had once joined a group to hunt down. However, he had been scared away by the amount of blood the other had spilled.