Chapter 948: Four People
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The withered ball of grass in Su Ming's hand had become yellow, as if it would turn into ashes the moment he poked it gently with his finger. At the instant Su Ming raised his head to speak, black clouds formed under the black rain pouring from the sky. Those clouds spread to the horizon, covering the land in darkness.
The cracks on the ground became larger. The withered trees turned into ashes. The ocean in the distance turned into a basin, and within that deep pit was limitless mud and withered plants.
An aura of death spread out from the withered trees, the basin, and the ground. Once it gathered together, it grew incredibly dense.
Su Ming looked at the area around him. As he swept his gaze across it, he found that everything had fallen into ruin. In fact, he could even see dozens of Heaven Traversers fleeing while wailing and shrieking.
Clearly, not all Heaven Traversers had taken action previously. The dozens of survivors were withering away right then, and no matter whether they were willing or unwilling, a large amount of their life force was being rapidly sucked out of their bodies by the ground, or rather, it was being absorbed by the dying cultivation planet.
If it could acknowledge these Heaven Traversers living on it, then similarly, it would take away its acknowledgement when it needed to, and even take away the life force of these living creatures.
Su Ming watched the dozens of Heaven Traversers being reduced to only skin and bones while screaming in pain after traveling less than several hundreds of feet. When all of their life force had been sucked out from them, they were reduced to dust.
However, their life force was inadequate for this gigantic cultivation planet. It could only allow this planet remain alive for several more breaths under Su Ming's Curse.
Ten breaths later, cracks no longer appeared on the ground. The trees stopped withering, and the basin in the distance fell into silence as well. Only the black rain remained as it continued pouring from the sky, and the black clouds remained to blot out all light from shining onto the land.
This was… a dead planet.
The stench of decay and the aura of death filled all corners of the planet. They were so strong that anyone who arrived to this planet for the first time would think that it had died a long time ago.
Su Ming lifted his right hand in which the ball woven from withered grass had turned into powder. Once it was drenched by black rain, the powder seeped through the cracks between his fingers and fell on the ground.
"They should be here now." Su Ming sat down cross-legged and swung his right hand in the air. Once he flung off the wet powder from his hand, he pushed his palm lightly against the ground.
He lifted his palm, then pushed it down once more. With the same rhythm, he performed this action again and again.
When Su Ming pressed his palm against the ground nine times, the cracks in the earth started closing up before his eyes. After a moment, not a single crack could be found anymore.
When Su Ming pressed his palm against the ground eighteen times, the withered trees suddenly became illusions. Once they faded away, trees overflowing with life appeared. After a short while, the cultivation planet was green once more. It made it seem as if the trees in the planet had never withered. There was no end to the forest here, and all of the trees possessed endless life force.
When Su Ming's hand pressed against the ground twenty-seven times, a hazy fog covered the basin in the distance, and soon after, seawater started surging in. Within an instant, the basin that had previously lost its water became a vast ocean once again.
The dark clouds in the sky started swiftly changing as Su Ming struck the ground. When he pressed his palm against the ground thirty-six times, the black clouds disappeared, and a clear, blue sky as well as a brilliant sun reappeared before his eyes and above the ground.
The black rain became clear as well as it fell on the ground, creating a curtain that made the cultivation planet look as beautiful as it had been in the beginning.
"They're here… it's a pity none of them is Heaven Traversers' Progenitor."
Su Ming's right hand paused for a moment on the ground. As he lifted his head and spoke faintly, loud booms came from the sky. As they echoed in the air, three long arcs approached the place. They did not come from the distance, but appeared in the planet's sky as if they had walked out of space.
These three people were two men and one woman, and all of them appeared to be in their forties. They were dressed in long, deep blue robes. As they spread their wings, flowing streams of light could be seen moving about them. Their long hair danced in the wind, and an astonishing power spread out from their bodies.
If anyone observed them closely, they would be able to see that the shadows of moons could be seen between their wings. The trio… were powerful warriors in Lunar Kalpa Realm!
One of the two men had a moon made of water, while the other's moon was made of fire. As for the woman, she had a moon made of flower petals behind her.
All of those in Lunar Kalpa Realm belonged to the central power of a race, and it was the same for Heaven Traversers as well. These three were clearly people with extremely high status in this venerated race.
At the instant they appeared in the sky, the trio immediately looked towards the ground, and they were all momentarily stunned.
"We received a call for help earlier, saying that a powerful enemy has invaded the planet, but there's only peace here now…"
"I sensed ripples of death from the planet just now, but now this place is filled with life." The trio exchanged glance. The woman's eyes shone, and she raised her right hand to sweep it across her eyes before closing them. When she opened them again, the forest still covered the ground, and nothing strange could be detected.
"It's not an illusion."
Just as the trio were hesitant and uncertain, dozens of people flew up from the ground. Those people… were Heaven Traversers.
They were traveling swiftly towards the trio, and the trio instantly looked towards them.
"What exactly happened here? Where are your Garrison Elders Ze Du and Han Duo?" the man with the water moon behind him demanded with a frown.
When he asked this question, the dozens of Heaven Traversers immediately seemed to have gained sentience.
"Was the intruder a ferocious beast or someone from another tribe?" the other man asked. As his words echoed in the air, the minds of the dozens of Heaven Traversers became even clearer, and they looked no different than before they had died.
The woman's expression changed at that moment. But just as she was about to speak, a loud bang suddenly came from the sky. Four long arcs rushed over, and the crowd immediately turned to them.
Even Su Ming looked towards them as he sat in the forest.
The four were all cultivators, and all of them were men in their thirties. They did not stand far apart from each other, so it was clear that they were in a group. Once they appeared, they immediately came to a halt and stopped in midair. With shock and bewilderment on their faces, the four of them gathered together.
"I am a cultivator from the galaxy beyond, Xuan Shang, and I am good friends with the tribe leader of Dust Burners, Lu Ka. I have come to this galaxy due to his invitation. This is our authentication token. However, we ran into some trouble on our way there and passed by this place by pure coincidence. We did not know that this is Heaven Traversers' territory, so please don't take it to mind. We will leave now, we will leave immediately."
The person who spoke was a man dressed in a long, dark green robe. There was a smile on his face, and he looked incredibly polite. As he spoke, he brought out a black wooden block from his bosom. With a swing, that wooden block floated up and was ignited in flames. The flames were green and looked like a ball of phantasmal fire, but they did not exude hot air. Instead, they let out a chilly aura.
The four cultivators all had outstanding power, and they seemed to be in the later stage of World Plane Realm. If they were outside Divine Essence Star Ocean, then any one of them would be able to become the pillar of a family, and they could even work out some conditions with the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds.
However, in the alien race filled Divine Essence Star Ocean, they were incredibly cautious with their actions. Their words were filled with courteousness because they were afraid of causing a misunderstanding.
In truth, the four of them had indeed passed by this place by pure coincidence, just as they had said. They did not come from Western Ring Nebula but from another galaxy and were prepared to head deeper into the inner parts of Divine Essence Star Ocean.
They ran into plenty of troubles on their way and had wasted almost a hundred years to reach this place. The dangers they faced time and again had reduced their initial group of seven to only four. After arriving here with much difficulty, they saw Outer Skies Planet. The green planet caused them to hesitate for a moment before deciding to come to this place to rest. However, they did not expect that they would run into an alien race there.
It was clear that the one who spoke just then understood the alien races in Divine Essence Star Ocean quite well. Because of that, once he saw the wings on the people's backs, he could immediately tell that they were Heaven Traversers of the four venerated races.
As the four retreated, they swiftly sent their thoughts to each other, prepared to immediately fight back when Heaven Traversers blocked their path. They might have sensed that the three strongest were in Lunar Kalpa Realm, but cultivators who dared to step into Divine Essence Star Ocean would not carelessly come here without some powerful Enchanted Treasures and divine abilities. It would be impossible for them to reach the inner parts of the galaxy without them. They would die on the way there.
Su Ming swept his gaze across the four cultivators. He could see their fatigue and also tell that their words were not lies. However… without great temptation, no one would dare to step into the inner parts of Divine Essence Star Ocean. These four people… must certainly be harboring some secrets.
The two men out of the three people in Lunar Kalpa Realm in the sky frowned, but when they heard the name of Dust Burners' tribe leader, they paused for a moment. When they saw the authentication token the man brought out, they averted their gazes and ignored the four cultivators.
The four immediately retreated, intending to distance themselves from trouble. They could vaguely tell that there was a hostile expression on these Heaven Traversers' faces, as if something had happened among them. No matter what it was, the four did not want to participate in it.
Yet right at the instant they were about to leave, the expression of the woman in Lunar Kalpa Realm changed several times before she went charging after them. She also started speaking hurriedly.
"There's something off about the four! We can't let them leave!"
The woman flew really fast, and the expressions of the four cultivators changed. They began fleeing at full speed. The other two Heaven Traversers in Lunar Kalpa Realm frowned, clearly puzzled by their companion's actions, but they still chased after the group instinctively.
Su Ming sighed in the forest on the ground.
'There are still some flaws within the Illusion of Stars, Sun, and Moon which now contains the power that will exist when I believe in it. If the appearance of these four people did not serve as a comparison between illusion and reality, then this flaw would not have been so clear.'
Su Ming shook his head. He knew that the woman had discovered that there was something off, but she did not dare to voice it out loud due to her surprise and bewilderment, which was why she had chased after the cultivators in an attempt to mask her desire to leave this dead cultivation planet.
"Since you're already here, then don't leave," Su Ming said faintly and stood up. At the instant he did so, the cultivation planet turned into a withered and dead planet from its previous state of overflowing with life force!
Chapter 949: Path of Life Extermination
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As the ground withered and died, the pupils of the three Heaven Traversers in Lunar Kalpa Realm shrank, and their bodies froze for a moment in midair.
This pause was clearly not of their free will, but because their feet had started withering at that instant!
It was as if their feet had started withering with the planet's ground.
At the instant their expressions drastically changed, all the trees in the cultivation planet withered before shattering and returning to their previous dead state. Soon after, a large portion of the Heaven Traversers' skin began sinking. Then, in the blink of an eye, their hair fell off. As their bodies withered, they were reduced to merely skin and bones.
Disbelief appeared in their eyes, and they began fleeing rapidly without hesitation, but…
The ocean rumbled in the distance, and the moment a foggy layer appeared above the water, the seemingly vast ocean turned into a deep basin in the span of a breath. The decaying mud in the basin exuded a foul stench. Then, as if affected by the basin, a large amount of black patches appeared on the three Heaven Traversers. Black blood oozed out of those patches, and it was a terrifying sight to behold.
"What is this divine ability?!"
"Everything we saw was fake, and everything we now see is also fake! Don't look at the ground of the planet! We must leave this place! Once we reach the galaxy, this Art will naturally lose its effect!"
It was clear that this was the first time the trio had encountered such a bizarre divine ability. At that moment, they flapped their wings and had their power burst forth from their bodies to turn into three long arcs and charge into the sky.
The four cultivators in the distance were stunned by this scene. Their expressions changed swiftly, and as they retreated, they began flying into the sky.
Yet at that moment, Su Ming stood up from the withered ground, and his aloof voice tumbled out of his lips.
"I curse the sky that its color will be black from now onwards…"
When his words were spoken, the world roared, and the sky which originally appeared clear and bright was instantly torn apart. This was a veil that hid the truth, and now, once it was lifted, an expanse of sky filled with tumbling black clouds was revealed.
"I curse the falling rain that it would become dust that will cause the ground to decay."
When Su Ming spoke once again, black rain poured down from the sky. The raindrops brought with them incredible corrosive properties. If they touched a person's body, they would feel as if their bodies were being corroded.
The path of the three powerful Heaven Traversers in Lunar Kalpa Realm was blocked by the black clouds. The feathers on their wings also fell off at that instant the weather changed. Black smoke surrounded them, as if it wanted to corrode them.
The three people's faces were incredibly dark. They looked down and saw everything on the planet as well as the skeletons on the ground, along with… the dozens of dried up corpses that belonged to Heaven Traversers smiling at them.
These corpses floated in midair and were staring at them before pouncing on them as if they had been resurrected.
"Who are you?!" the woman shouted out in a sharp voice as she glared at Su Ming, who was on the ground staring at them with his head raised.
His long hair danced in the air, and purple light shone faintly in his eyes. His expression was calm, but the purple line at the center of his brows made it difficult for him to hide the strange and malicious air spreading out from him.
"You are the one who saw through my illusion." Su Ming smiled faintly, but it brought a chill to the spines of all who saw it, especially the four cultivators. Their expressions were solemn as they gathered together while staring at him warily.
They were groaning in their hearts. They had originally intended to rest in this place, but they had run into the Heaven Traversers. Although they gave them the slip, they then ran into an existence that seemed to be even more terrifying than Heaven Traversers.
Based on this person's clothes, he did not seem like a cultivator, but was a member of some tribe in Divine Essence Star Ocean, though they could not tell just which tribe he came from.
"He's only someone who has attained great completion in World Plane Realm. We'll attack him at full strength. Once we kill him, we'll be able to break out of this illusion."
A glint appeared in the woman's eyes. Once she said her plan, she charged down at Su Ming from the sky. The two men behind her gritted their teeth, and the full power of those in Lunar Kalpa Realm erupted from their bodies. When the illusory water moon and burning fire moon appeared clearly behind them, they took a step forward, turned into long arcs that rushed at Su Ming.
"An illusion, hmm?" Su Ming said faintly. "This was a grand feast prepared for your Progenitor, but the three of you… can join it beforehand.
"Planet who is so starved you are near death, the life force from these three should be able to let you recover by quite a large margin. Are you going to protect the Heaven Traversers you acknowledged… or absorb the life force of these life forms you acknowledged?
"This your choice."
Su Ming smiled, but it was an incredibly malicious expression. He was not someone who had been acknowledged by the planet, which was why it was difficult for the planet to form a connection with him and absorb his life force through it… but it was different for Heaven Traversers.
Once Su Ming spoke, a feeble buzz that was full of rage shot out from the ground and echoed in the world. Su Ming could hear this roar, and all the other people in the area could hear it as well.
This was the roar from the spirit of the planet as it struggled with itself.
As its roar echoed in the air and the trio closed in from the sky, Su Ming laughed. His laughter fused with the roar from the ground, exuding a domineering air and a malicious presence that surged into the skies.
Almost at the instant his laughter traveled outwards, the roars from the ground became even more intense, and the trio coming towards him from the sky spotted drastic changes in their expressions. Large parts of their bodies began withering swiftly, for their life force started being absorbed by the sky in an unseen manner at a speed that left them in disbelief.
It was as if they were rejected by the planet. However, it was not due to Su Ming's actions, but the spirit of the planet devouring them for its own survival.
It was devouring all the beings that it had acknowledged and who had acknowledged it in return.
An average cultivator would immediately have his or her body and soul destroyed if he or she was devoured in this manner, but powerful warriors in Lunar Kalpa Realm had the qualification to fight against this force devouring them, but the prerequisite to fight against it… was to cut off the connection formed between them and the planet after they had acknowledged each other.
The hundred something planets within the territory of the Heaven Traversers had always had a strange connection with the tribe's people since ancient times. This connection was formed based on an agreement accepted by both parties. The planets would provide whatever Heaven Traversers needed to practice cultivation, while Heaven Traversers would provide protection and time for growth for the spirits of the planets.
Yet this connection that had existed for a long period of time was completely broken off by the three Heaven Traversers as they roared in anger.
As powerful warriors in Lunar Kalpa Realm, when the three of them worked together, they possessed the right to revoke the agreement they had formed with a planet.
While withering, the three powerful Heaven Traversers in Lunar Kalpa Realm revealed conflicted looks on their faces before pressing their right hands against the center of their brows and their left hands against their chests. Once they did so, they gritted their teeth and spoke.
"I, son of La Song Ya, Song Yan, represent the descendants of La Song Ya in revoking the agreement between us and Outer Skies Planet!"
"I, son of Dong Nuo, Dong Tao, represent the descendants of Dong Nuo in revoking the agreement between us and Outer Skies Planet!"
"I, daughter of Yan Di Fei, Ruo Ke, represent the descendants of Dong Nuo in revoking the agreement between us and Outer Skies Planet!"
At the instant they said these words, the roar from the ground turned into one of sorrow. This mournful cry reverberated through the entire cultivation planet, and the suction force surrounding the trio disappeared.
Su Ming smiled and shook his head, then took a step forward. He shifted, appearing right in front of the man with the water moon. He raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and hurled a punch forward.
At the instant he did so, Divine Essence Runic Symbols appeared swiftly in his eyes. Because of that, his punch burst forth with the power of Lunar Kalpa Realm when it landed on air, despite the fact that the power contained within the fist when Su Ming had thrown it in the beginning only possessed the force those who had attained great completion in World Plane Realm.
The man with the water moon retreated swiftly. A ferocious look appeared on his face, and the water moon seeped through his body to charge towards Su Ming.
In the blink of an eye, the water moon crashed into Su Ming's fist.
Bang!
The man with the water moon coughed up blood and started falling backwards like a kite whose string had snapped in the wind. Su Ming swayed and was forced two steps back. When he raised his head, the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even greater.
"As expected of Heaven Traversers, a venerated race indeed. Even after having a considerable amount of your life force sucked out from your bodies and the Curse corroding your internal organs, you were still able to bring forth such great amount of Lunar Kalpa power."
Su Ming smiled. At the same time, the other two Heaven Traversers in Lunar Kalpa Realm closed in on him from two different directions. The fire moon and flower moon became a source of bright light in this darkened world at that instant.
The Divine Essence Runic Symbols shone in Su Ming's eyes. They rose and fell in waves on his body, causing his level of cultivation to rise once again. At the same time, another presence appeared around Su Ming's body. It was… Ecang's presence.
When that it appeared, Su Ming's offensive abilities rose once again, and he broke through Lunar Kalpa Realm. He took a step forward, and with an indescribable speed, he appeared behind the retreating man with the water moon and grabbed his wings. With one vicious yank, he ripped off the man's wings in the mid of the man's pained screams.
Blood gushed out. Su Ming raised his right hand. With a speed akin to lightning and power equivalent to those in Solar Kalpa Realm, he pointed with his index finger at the back of the head of the man with the water moon.
Bang!
The man's head exploded, but his Nascent Divinity had left his body beforehand and was fleeing swiftly. Su Ming looked over at it with an aloof gaze.
"Do the four of you want to live?"
Once Su Ming said that, the four cultivators who had been watching everything immediately turned pale. Expressions of conflict appeared on their faces, but soon, they gritted their teeth and chased after the fleeing man with the water moon. The person called Xuan Shang was the fastest. His body flashed once before he struck his forehead and spat out a pearl.
That pearl instantly rushed towards the Nascent Divinity of the man with the water moon. It closed in on him within an instant and crashed with a bang, causing that Nascent Divinity to let out a shrill cry. At the same time, the pearl exploded and turned into a huge net that enveloped the Nascent Divinity of the man with the water moon inside.
"Hua Yu!"
Xuan Shang's face was pale. Clearly, he had used up all his strength in the attack just then. At that moment, he let out a low growl, and a man in white by his side spotted a glint in his eyes before he rushed to the Nascent Divinity of the man with the water moon. Once he closed in, he raised his right hand, and a crack appeared on his palm.
"Seal his soul!"
The crack was like a gaping mouth. At the instant he pushed his palm towards that Nascent Divinity, the shrill screams from the man with the water moon fell silent, and his Nascent Divinity was devoured by the hand.
Chapter 950: Beginning of Light Summer
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming did not pay any attention to the actions of the four cultivators. If they wanted to live, then they had to show their sincerity. If they did not want to offend Heaven Traversers but did not want to provoke Su Ming as well, then he alone would decide whether they would live or die.
If they wanted to complain, then the only thing they could blame was that they had terrible luck. They should not have entered this place at this moment, but since they were here, then it was no longer up to them to struggle against Su Ming's control. They had to make a choice.
The screams from the Nascent Divinity of the man with the water moon fell into Su Ming's ears. He thus knew of the four cultivators' choice, but he did not look towards them. Instead, with one move, he charged towards the two with the fire moon and flower moon.
This was a massacre where the parties involved had a great disparity in their levels of cultivation. Ecang's presence spread out from Su Ming, and Ecang's power circulated in his body, allowing him to possess the offensive power equivalent to those in Solar Kalpa Realm.
Even though he only possessed power equivalent to them and was not truly in Solar Kalpa Realm, it was enough to make him the strongest person among all those below Solar Kalpa Realm.
As he watched the male and female Heaven Traverser rushing towards him, Su Ming narrowed his eyes. He did not retreat, but charged forward, and during that moment, he raised his right hand, formed a seal, and touched the center of his brows before pointing towards the fire moon since it was closer.
"The Life Matrix of midwinter is the beginning of my life."
With it, moaning gusts of chilling wind immediately rose within the world covered in black clouds. In the mid of these cold winds, snow appeared, as if the world had been frozen, but the snow was not white—it was black!
The black snow floated in the world, turning the black rain into ice that filled the whole space. A piercing cold will froze the area, and the incoming fire moon started letting out cracking sounds when Su Ming pointed towards it before freezing mid-move.
The man with the fire moon who was glaring at Su Ming while charging towards him was also frozen.
He struggled while shouting angrily. In fact, at the instant he was frozen, he brought out a large amount of Enchanted Treasures and even executed his divine abilities to fight against the ice, but all of them were instantly frozen in midwinter.
This was the Art brought by Su Ming's Life Matrix—the power of midwinter!
"After winter, crimson will be the ruler of the world. This red symbolizes autumn… and it is the pinnacle of autumn's red!" Su Ming said flatly, then pointed towards the flower moon with his right hand.
The flower moon formed by countless petals immediately turned yellow and withered when Su Ming pointed at it. In the blink of an eye, a red hue that was similar to autumn appeared on it, causing the expression of the woman behind it to change. Her face became pale.
This was a divine ability she could not hope to fight against. It was a transformation of an Art she had never seen before. Midwinter and the crimson red of autumn should be the changes of the four seasons in the world, but when Su Ming executed them, the woman felt as if he were the four seasons in the universe.
The transformations of the four seasons were at his fingertips, but there was nothing strange about it, as if… the world had always be like this, as if the four seasons had always… always been changed at will by this man in front of her.
'I Possessed Ecang, my cultivation base clone is in the later stage of World Plane Realm, and the physical body of my clone that practices the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole has become complete. All of this… is like the light summer during the beginning of autumn. As it continues being brewed like wine and accumulates power in the process, it would erupt forth with flames rife with life, which would only appear during the scorching summer.
'This fire is still not strong right now. There is only one ball of flame, but this fire of life is the burning sun I lit up when I burned the universe as I walked out of midwinter!'
Su Ming raised his head. When he lifted it, his long hair swayed in the wind, looking like flickering flames. His body also looked as if it had been lit aflame at that instant!
These were the flames of his life. He had obtained them after he moved from winter to autumn, then from autumn to summer. When these flames burned at their brightest, Su Ming move into the summer of his life!
When that time came, what would await Su Ming would be the final step in his life – spring, where all manner of living was resurrected!
The resurrection of all lives also symbolized a rise in power, as well as… rebirth!
When that moment came, it would be the time for Su Ming's rebirth and a burst of power in upon having reached the pinnacle. This step… was no longer far away!
At the instant the light flames of summer burned on Su Ming's body, he formed a seal with his hands and flung them outwards. A sea of fire erupted from his body and tumbled outwards. In the blink an eye, it devoured the frozen fire moon, surrounded the withered, red flower moon, and enveloped the male and female Heaven Traversers.
There were no shrill screams of pain, no shocking booms, just the burning sea of fire in the black snow that filled the entire world with red. Yet the scene brought forth by winter, autumn, and summer fusing together brought an even greater impact than any loud bang or shrill scream, and it caused the breathing of the four cultivators in the distance to quicken and their hearts to tremble.
When the sea of fire disappeared, Su Ming stood in midair with a calm expression. There was no longer any fire moon or flower moon before him, and no traces of the man and woman.
These two had already been burned to ashes by Su Ming's flames of life.
The cultivation planet was filled with silence at that moment. After a long time, when Su Ming turned his gaze towards the four cultivators, they immediately bowed to him with respect on their faces.
"Tell me your names," Su Ming said flatly.
They were stunned and terrified by Su Ming's divine ability, and their will to fight ha been suppressed by Su Ming's mighty display of power. At that moment, after they lowered their heads to bow to him, they quickly told him their names.
"I am Xuan Shang. Greetings, senior."
"I am Hua Yu. Greetings, senior."
"I am Yun You. Greetings, senior."
"I am Nian Yin. Greetings, senior."
"Why did you come to Divine Essence Star Ocean?" Su Ming's tone was flat. When he swept his gaze past the four, he fixed his eyes on Xuan Shang, who had previously brought out the authentication token from Dust Burners' tribe leader.
Xuan Shang hesitated for a moment before lowering his head and saying, "We were invited by the tribe leader of Dust Burners to head to their tribe because of some personal matters…" Since the moment he saw Su Ming, he never once thought of him as a cultivator, and even now, he still believed that Su Ming was a powerful warrior from some tribe in Divine Essence Star Ocean.
Even the three people beside him believed the same. After all, Su Ming's clothes, bearing, and that indescribable presence on him was not that different from the locals they saw in Divine Essence Star Ocean.
If he was a cultivator, then he would have the same vague presence they had because they were unable to fuse with Divine Essence Star Ocean, making them seem as if they were solitary existences in this place. Even if there were some methods that would help them cover this presence, anyone who had the intention to find them would still be able to detect it. However, they found none of this presence on Su Ming.
"Oh?"
Su Ming smiled. When they saw his smile, they immediately felt their skin crawl. There was nothing eerie about that smile, but when Su Ming smiled, the purple line at the center of his brows seemed to squirm slightly, as if a tiny crack had opened up. A feeling as if they were being watched instantly rose in their hearts, and they felt as if they had been stripped naked in an instant. They could hide none of their secrets, and the small slit at the center of his brows could see all of them clearly.
In fact, they had a strong feeling that… there was an eye in the slit between Su Ming's brows!
"I was also planning to visit Dust Burners. I wonder if it would be troubling for you if I asked to join you?" There seemed to be a ghost of a smile on Su Ming's lips, but the piercing cold glare in his eyes made the hearts of all who saw it to tighten in fear.
How would they dare say that it was troublesome? Even if they were extremely unwilling, they had to smile and nod.
"Senior, it would be great if you joined us. With you around, we would be much safer. It is our honor. I, Xuan Shang, thank you for joining us, senior." Bitterness rose in Xuan Shang's heart, but he did not dare to show even a single hint of it. Instead, he put on a delighted face and quickly wrapped his fist in his palm to thank Su Ming.
"Alright, you can leave now. Search for any random place and wait for me. Once I settle matters with Heaven Traversers, I will naturally come find you," Su Ming said flatly.
The four immediately experienced shock and bewilderment in their hearts, but did not show a single hint of their emotions on their faces. Instead, they wrapped their fists in their palms towards Su Ming, then turned into long arcs and intended to quickly leave the planet they now regretted coming entering.
But the black clouds in the sky were still around and continued to seal the place…
"You're leaving just like that?" Su Ming landed on the ground, then sat down with his legs crossed.
The four people in the sky were momentarily stunned, then Hua Yu's expression changed. When he lowered his head, he raised his right hand, and a crack appeared on his palm. The Nascent Divinity of the man with the water moon had his eyes closed and was unconscious. Once Hua Yu flung him out, he drifted towards Su Ming.
At the same time, black clouds tumbled about in the sky to open up a tunnel. They stepped into it swiftly, and with the fastest speed they could muster, they quickly left the dead planet.
"Fellow Daoist Xuan, we…"
"Don't say anything else. We have to leave in a hurry. That malicious person is far too audacious. He actually dared to kill Heaven Traversers. This should be Heaven Traversers' territory, and powerful warriors are bound to arrive soon! We must leave in haste!" Xuan Shang immediately said. He bit the tip of his tongue and coughed up a mouthful of blood to activate Fleeing Blood – an Art common among cultivators, but rarely used.
The other three did the same thing. Their blood red shadows left into the distance within an instant.
After a moment, they had fled into an area far away from the planet, but Xuan Shang did not stop moving. Only when he had flown very far into the distance did he turn his head around to look back at the now distant planet with fear lingering in his heart.
"Just what level of cultivation does he possess? He easily killed those in Lunar Kalpa Realm… so could he be a monster in Solar Kalpa Realm?"
"Fellow Daoist Yun, you might still have underestimated that person. I observed him and realized just how casually he killed those three Heaven Traversers in Lunar Kalpa Realm. This sort of person is definitely stronger than an average cultivator in Solar Kalpa Realm!"
"He can fight against a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death!" The person who said these words so adamantly was Hua Yu, the person with the divine ability to seal another's soul. His expression was dark, and when his words left his mouth, they immediately made the other three fall silent.
"There's something really bizarre about that person. For some reason, when I see him, I feel goosebumps all over my skin. Honestly, I've seen plenty of people in my life, but none of them were like this person. That malicious aura about him is just indescribable."
"Hmm? I had that feeling too. It's as if there's an evil about him that can suffocate others!"
"Looks like everyone had the same feeling. I felt the same thing as well… and since he actually dared to stay in that cultivation planet, it means that he is definitely in possession of power that allows him to not be afraid of Heaven Traversers' Master of Fate, Lives, and Death."
"He asked to go with us to Dust Burners. Should we wait?"
The four fell silent again, and the three looked towards Xuan Shang, which was a telling sign that he was the leader in the group.
Xuan Shang's expression changed. After a moment, he gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to speak, a loud bang came from the distant galaxy, and it was so loud that even they could hear it. In this galaxy, such a bang could only mean one thing…
A planet had collapsed!
The group's expressions changed drastically, and they immediately fixed their stares towards the source of that bang. Then, they saw the impact formed by a planet self-destructing and the brilliant light that was difficult to put into words in the distance.
Chapter 951: Arrival
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ten breaths before the explosion, Su Ming sat cross-legged on the withered Outer Skies Planet. He was waiting for the powerful warrior who would definitely come to him. This was one of the reasons why he came to Heaven Traversers.
He wanted… to fight against a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death!
He would fight against him with his full strength, and he would definitely lose… But even if he was definitely going to lose, Su Ming still wanted to fight. He wanted to see the difference between him and a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death. He also… wanted to figure out the strength of Heaven Traversers!
He wanted to know how many Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death they had. If there was still only one, then Su Ming would execute his plan. If there was more than one, he would need to change his plan.
Time passed breath by breath. When the sixth breath arrived, Su Ming lifted his head. Divine Essence Runic Symbols sparkled in his eyes before they filled his whole body within an instant. At the same time, his lips curled up into a cold sneer. He raised his arms and pushed his hands at the ground.
With it, his body swiftly shot up from the ground. Soon, the planet roared. As cracks continued spreading through the ground, a destructive power erupted from the planet.
At that moment, a cold harrumph came from thin air. As it echoed, the black clouds in the sky started tumbling about and turned into a vortex. Su Ming then saw… an endless amount of earth in the sky, the sort of earth formed after someone was buried under it!
Perhaps it was better to say that this was not earth, but a boundless palm. This was… Heaven Traversers' Master of Fate, Lives, and Death coming over.
"You're finally here!"
Su Ming threw his head back and laughed. When he jumped up, the destructive power of the planet beneath him became stronger. At that moment, if anyone watched from the galaxy, they would have seen that there was a group of meteors charging towards Outer Skies Planet. They were packed densely together, and it was unknown how many of them there were. They were incredibly quick, and in an instant, they approached Outer Skies Planet.
They surrounded it, and as they connected to each other, they formed a gigantic palm that was several times bigger than the planet. Once this palm was lifted, it went to seize Outer Skies Planet, and judging by its momentum, it seemed like it wanted to crush the planet.
Yet right at the moment the palm touched it, the planet… collapsed. The impact from the explosion, and the destructive power crashed against the palm made of meteors.
Deafening booms echoed through the entire galaxy, so even the four cultivators who had escaped far into the distance could hear the sound clearly.
Despite that bang, the huge meteor palm did not stop moving, and the cold harrumph still echoed in space. The palm had seized the collapsing planet, so it was hard to tell clearly whether the planet had exploded by itself or had been crushed by the palm.
Despite that, the meteor palm did not stop moving and started closing up to seize the planet's pieces. It seemed as if the owner of that palm was certain that the power that had caused the planet to collapse was in the shattered pieces, along with the culprit who had killed Heaven Traversers.
"A Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, hmm?" a low voice said from the shattered planet.
That voice was calm, and there was no rise or fall in its tone to indicate any emotions. If anyone looked at the shattered planet at that moment, they would clearly see a man standing on one of the shattered continents, his hair fluttering in space.
Needless to say, this man was Su Ming.
"You're just asking for death!" an aloof voice said in space. The meteor palm then moved even faster. In the blink of an eye, it closed in on Su Ming as if it wanted to bury him together with the shattered planet in space.
"Just who exactly is asking for death?!" At the instant Su Ming spoke, Ecang's projection manifested around him. The huge shadow of the gigantic tree swiftly appeared in the universe and crashed into the hand moving to seize him.
Booming sounds spread through the area at that instant. The hand crashed into Ecang's projection, then froze momentarily. As Ecang's projection trembled, it looked as if it was about to collapse. It swayed violently, and blood could be seen trickling out of the corners of Su Ming's mouth where he stood under the projection.
"Ecang…" an aloof voice said from space, but the owner of the voice could not be seen. "Even if you have Ecang's blood, those who offend Heaven Traversers have to die."
As the voice spread out, the gigantic meteor hand tightened its grip once again and crushed the Ecang projection with a bang. Su Ming shuddered and coughed up a mouthful of blood. With a pale face, he retreated swiftly, but there was no panic in his eyes, only calmness.
The Ecang projection behind him appeared once again and continuously crashed into the palm coming to seize him. The booming sounds that rang in space rose and fell, and every single time they collided with each other, Su Ming's body would tremble. He could sense the great strength within the palm, but similarly, he also sensed that the Master of Fate, Lives, and Death was not as strong as the one from the four Great True Worlds acting as a garrison in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.
Su Ming needed about a dozen something breaths for his clone to truly arrive from the moment his projection appeared. To him, this time was really nothing. In truth, his preparations beforehand had been perfect, and his Ecang clone could arrive at any moment.
But he did not do so.
He stood and watched the Ecang projections be destroyed repeatedly while the giant palm closed in on him. It replaced the sky, the galaxy, and everything else, but he still did not have his Ecang clone appear.
Because he noticed that each time his Ecang projection crumbled, the projection that would appear next would be much stronger than before, just like how a normal piece of metal would need to be refined thousands of times before it turned into steel that would not bend or break. This was a form of refinement.
Booms echoed in the air. After the umpteenth time Su Ming's Ecang projection reappeared after being destroyed, the meteor hand had almost clenched into a fist. When Su Ming cast his gaze around the area, everything he saw around him was the meteor hand, and it looked as if he had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide!
If anyone looked from the galaxy, they would be able to see that as the gigantic meteor hand continued furling into a fist, it looked about to crush everything in its palm, including the planet, all its lives, and the galaxy around it.
At that instant, Su Ming raised his head, and the purple line at the center of his brows opened. Purple light shone from it, and the Malicious Eye appeared. In an instant, the meteor hand above him was magnified endlessly in his eyes. As it was continuously enlarged, he saw the cracks in it.
Su Ming's gaze focused, and he leaped up at full speed, even calling back his Ecang projection and having it fuse with him, making him even faster. He flew out in an instant. When a loud bang reverberated through the entire galaxy that belonged to Heaven Traversers and the meteor palm clenched its fist to crush everything, Su Ming flew out from the crack he had seen with his Malicious Eye!
From the distance, a long arc could be seen flying out from the palm when the gigantic meteor hand seized the galaxy. At the same time, a grim voice came from Su Ming's mouth.
"Ecang!"
Once he said it, the illusory projection of the Ecang tree immediately appeared behind him. It swiftly became clear, and a man with purple hair walked out from within!
This man's appearance instantly caused the universe to tumble about, the world to roar, and the galaxy to look as if huge waves had appeared within it. Endless visible ripples appeared in the galaxy around the purple-haired man. These ripples fell back together, though a normal person would not be able to tell just what these ripples were.
However, Su Ming knew that these ripples were the laws in this galaxy. At that moment, the laws were being forcefully expelled as Su Ming's Ecang clone appeared in the area, as if the galaxy had become Ecang's territory once it arrived. Within this territory, all laws, all wills, and all rules would work only due to Ecang's will.
A long purple robe, long purple hair… and a purple eye at the center of his brows!
At the instant Su Ming's Ecang clone appeared, his cultivation base clone moved, and his clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole walked out of his cultivation base clone. With Su Ming's soul as a guide, these three clones of his overlapped in the galaxy.
As they did that and turned into one, Su Ming raised his head, and a sinister smile appeared at the corners of his lips. A wave of deep malice spread out from his body, as if his existence alone was the source of all evil in the world. It looked as if all light was replaced by a dark shade of purple at the spot where he stood.
His power rose ceaselessly from Solar Kalpa Realm, and even though he still had yet to become a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, he was already infinitesimally close to it. An ancient presence also spread out from his body, and this feeling of age filled up the entire area, as if it could even cause the galaxy to fall into decay.
With a sinister smile, Su Ming raised his right hand and seized space. Immediately, a white stone appeared on his right palm. Naturally, that stone was the Enchanted Treasure he had obtained from the Yu Family – Peace Arrives When the Elephant is Here!
He raised his left hand above his head, and when the universe trembled, a huge mountain appeared in Su Ming's left hand. That mountain… was Dao Avenue Mountain!
At the same time, a vast amount of purple fog spread out from Su Ming's feet. It swept in all directions while rumbling and filled the galaxy, changing it to Ecang's galaxy within an instant.
"I want to fight you!" Su Ming looked at a spot in space in the distance, and a figure gradually appeared before his eyes.
It was a middle-aged man with long blue hair, dressed in a long, light blue robe. This man was incredibly handsome… and he had no wings. There was wisdom in his eyes, and it could make others feel as if they were in another galaxy when they looked into them, and they would be unable to free themselves from it.
The man's lips were thin, giving him a slightly unkind expression, which turned into a callous air about him. He looked at Su Ming calmly.
"Should I call you Ecang… or Tian Xie Zi's disciple?" the middle-aged man asked flatly.
"So you've been here since a long time ago." Su Ming smiled faintly.
"Leave behind your hands and feet. I will make an allowance for Ecang and let you leave with your head."
The middle-aged man's expression remained calm. As he spoke, his tone allowed no refusal. When his voice traveled outwards, the purple fog around Su Ming tumbled, and in the galaxy where laws had been chased away, laws appeared once again, but this time, they belonged to the middle-aged man.
Chapter 952: A Fork and a Rattle Drum
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming swung his left hand, and Dao Avenue Mountain immediately enlarged endlessly. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a mountain of ten thousand feet, and when Su Ming lifted it, he threw it before himself.
The mountain immediately created a loud bang as it broke space and charged towards the middle-aged man.
It was so quick that in the blink of an eye, it was already near that person.
"You still don't understand the rise and fall of Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death." The middle-aged man shook his head and raised his right hand to swing it against the incoming Dao Avenue Mountain.
"The rise and fall of fate happens with just a single thought of mine. Fate exists in every single thing in the world, just like this mountain rock… It is connected to you through fate, which is why it was obtained by you, but if I say this fate will be cut off from you… then it will be cut off," the middle-aged man said flatly before he swung his arm. Dao Avenue Mountain then came to an abrupt halt in front of him.
Su Ming's pupils shrank. He immediately saw endless thin threads around Dao Avenue Mountain. These threads were connected to him, but when the middle-aged man swung his sleeve, they were all snapped.
As the threads were cut, Su Ming's body swayed, and a feeling of emptiness instantly rose in his heart. His connection with Dao Avenue Mountain had been cut!
This was not a simple act of taking away Su Ming's Enchanted Treasure. It was just as the man had said, he had cut off Dao Avenue Mountain's fate with Su Ming, causing them to no longer be connected through fate, and Su Ming would never be able to possess it again, unless he did something about it.
"This is the rise and fall of fate. Search for your next master."
The middle-aged man's voice echoed in space. Dao Avenue Mountain shuddered, but right at the instant it was about to disappear, Su Ming raised his right leg and stepped on the galaxy. The galaxy shuddered, and the disappearing Dao Avenue Mountain was bounced back, returning from its dissipating state.
"You should have fought against a Master of Fate before, I wonder how that person gave you the confidence… to fight against a Master of Fate with brute force?" The middle-aged man smiled. There was a hint of derision in it.
"You will not be able to enter the area one hundred thousand feet around me, because that is where the connection of our fate ends."
Once the middle-aged man said that, Su Ming's expression changed. He sensed an indescribable power erupting from space, and with it, he was forced back, pushed from his previous position of only several tens of thousands of feet away from the middle-aged man to a hundred thousand feet. After that, he had a strong feeling that he… could not step into that area.
It was as if there was a law in there that could not be expelled.
This was completely different from Su Ming's first fight against a Master of Fate. In fact, even though he sensed that this person was slightly weaker than the Master of Fate he had met in the past, he had a feeling that he absolutely could not strike back right now.
'Fate…' Su Ming's heart trembled. He suddenly understood something.
He realized why Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death were known as Masters of Fate by others!
They controlled other people's fates, and only when they had control over the fates of the whole world and universe could they be known as… Masters of Fate!
Su Ming's eyes shone. When he clenched his right hand, the mountain rock in it shone with a piercing white light. As it did so, Su Ming's power of Divine Essence fused into him, causing the mountain rock to become tens of thousands of feet big. Once it did, an enraged howl echoed in space, and the mountain rock turned into a loud bang.
It was a pity that the threads of fate connecting him to Dao Avenue Mountain were cut, but at least Malicious Spirit Weighing the Elephant, was still with him. However, as the elephant roared and rushed into the area of one hundred thousand feet… it shuddered and started shrinking rapidly before Su Ming's eyes, until it turned back into the mountain rock. The endless threads connected faintly to Su Ming then were also swiftly cut.
"You dare fight against me with just these?" As the middle-aged man asked this flatly, he raised his right hand and pointed at Su Ming.
"I see that you have three bodies, and thus have three fates. I will now cut your fate to your cultivation base!"
Once he said these words, Su Ming shuddered, for an intense pain rose in his soul. It was a feeling of being torn apart, as if his body was being forcefully ripped apart by an indescribable power which wanted to tear away his cultivation base clone that had fused with him. Once it was torn away from him, then Su Ming's cultivation base clone would be like his Enchanted Treasures and become an independent existence. He would no longer have any control over it.
Purple light shone brilliantly in Su Ming's eyes, and as his body shuddered, overlapping shadows appeared around his cultivation base clone, as if it was about to be ripped apart.
The middle-aged man smiled, and he pointed at Su Ming again. "I will cut your fate to your physical body."
A loud bang shot up in Su Ming's mind. Overlapping shadows also appeared around his clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole. The connection he had with it started showing signs of being torn apart as the middle-aged man declared to cut his fate with it.
A brilliant light shone in the middle-aged man's eyes. He raised his right hand and cut down swiftly in Su Ming's direction through space. "And I will also cut your fate… with your Ecang clone!"
Bang!
The clones fell in three different directions. When Su Ming saw that they were about to be torn from him, expressions of intense pain appeared on all three of the clones' faces.
Su Ming even had the feeling that his will was about to be torn into three. If that really happened, then he would become three independent entities, and by then, he would have lost his true self.
In fact, even his memories were being ripped apart, which brought them up to the front of his mind. These memories were shattering, but Su Ming did not panic. He had a way to resolve this danger, and the easiest way to do so was the summoning of the Sand Spirit. This was part of the plan, but he did not do so, because when his memories were being torn, he remembered a particular Art he had learned when he was in Dark Mountain.
When Su Ming remembered this Art, he suddenly gained an epiphany.
…..
While Su Ming was in danger, far away from Divine Essence Star Ocean and the Barren Lands of Divine Essence… war engulfed True Morning Dao World.
Within True Morning Dao Sect was a lofty altar. It was located at the center and had nothing on it, but for single crack on its surface.
This was an incredibly ordinary place in Morning Dao Sect, since there were plenty of such altars in Morning Dao Sect. No one knew what purpose they served, but the ancestors had left instructions that no one was allowed to step into Morning Dao Sect's altars.
There were around ninety-seven thousand such altars, and there was an equivalent number of cracks. Only the ancient existences within Morning Dao Sect knew that these cracks were existences akin to coordinates.
When they were connected together, they would turn into a set that would point… to the isolation grounds of Kalpa Lord Dao Chen, the Progenitor of the entire True Morning Dao World.
That isolation grounds was a fragmented void connected to the entire space of Morning Dao World. It was a fault dimension [1]. Besides those in True Morning Dao World, no one knew just how it looked like.
Kalpa Lord Dao Chen had been in isolated training for a long, long time…
If Su Ming could stand on one of the altars and execute the full power of his Malicious Eye… No, he would need a power that surpassed his current level of cultivation. Only when he became a Master of Fate and used his Malicious Eye would he be able to see… that there were endless cracks in space within the altar's crack. If his gaze could pierce through all of them and connect them together, he would be able to see a door.
Behind that door was a dimension that existed in space, and it was the dimension where Dao Chen isolated himself.
At that moment, there was a large amount of white fog in that dimension. Within its depths was a person. He was sitting cross-legged in there with his head lowered. His entire body was surrounded by fog, making it impossible to see his face clearly. There was no life force on him, only stillness.
Placed before him were two items. One of them was a fork, and the other a child's toy – a rattle drum.
At that moment, the rattle drum was shivering. In fact, some cracks could be seen on it. Those cracks continued spreading, as if preparing to shatter that rattle drum.
It could not be seen whether the person sitting in the fog opened their eyes, but it could be seen that as the cracks on the rattle drum appeared, the body, which seemed to not have moved for a long time, shuddered, and the person raised their right hand slowly.
Once the person did this, an endless amount of booms immediately rang in the dimension. In fact, those booms even affected the world outside, causing a galactic windstorm throughout the entire True Morning Dao World.
The windstorm swept through whole land, shocking all the people fighting against each other, stunning both Morning Dao Sect and the entire Immortals' Union. This galactic windstorm caused the entire True Morning Dao World to seem like a bottle that was swaying about violently.
This was not the first time a windstorm like this had appeared. It was… the second time!
The first time was one thousand something years ago. No one knew why that windstorm had appeared, and several breaths after it did, it disappeared on its own, becoming a mystery that countless people tried to figure out, but could not.
Now, one thousand something years later, the windstorm appeared once more.
No one knew that its cause was the figure in the fragmented dimension, who had brought about this phenomenon with the wind he stirred up when he raised his hand. The figure was slowly lifting their hand, looking as if they intended to touch the shattering rattle drum.
But before the hand could touch it, the cracks on it no longer continued spreading, but instead moved in reverse and closed up on their own, causing the figure's hand to pause in midair.
The figure could be seen smiling then. That expression was incredibly amiable, but there was a hint… of guilt in it.
…..
As the three clones were being forcefully torn from Su Ming's soul in Divine Essence Star Ocean, he raised his head, and at the instant the light of understanding shone in his eyes, the process of him being torn stopped for a moment.
"I have indeed been careless about a Master of Fate's strength and overestimated myself… but this battle also let me understand what it means to control fate!
"It means to control the fate of all the living in the universe… but while other people's fate might be easy to control, controlling your own fate is the hardest. You… can control the fate of the entire universe, but you cannot control your own fate.
"This is why you did not seem as strong as that person I met in the past." As Su Ming raised his head, he lifted his right hand. "This battle also allowed me to understand an Art I learned when I was a child and why it left a deep impression on me. Every single time I thought about it, I found it difficult to figure out, because the Art I learned in the past was not any normal Art. It was… an Art of Masters of Fate."
While enduring the intense pain, Su Ming raised his right hand. He then slashed down at the middle-aged man one hundred thousand feet away from him.
"Execution… of the Three Evils!"
Translator's Note:
1. Fault dimension: Fault here is a geology term, and the idea to translate 断层空间 (duan4 ceng2 kong1 jian1) as fault dimension came from fault rock, since 断层 is a fault.
Chapter 953: Slashing Fate!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Execution of Three Evils, an Art which could even kill Tai Sui!
The three evils were also known as the three murders.
Between heaven and earth, there were three forces – Sever, Beginning, and Nurture. Sever was known as the evil of theft, Beginning was known as the evil of disaster, and Nurture was the evil of time!
They were also known as the murders of theft, disaster, and time!
This was the Execution of Three Evils Su Ming had learned when he was in Dark Mountain.
Su Ming had used this Art in the past to break the divine ability his elder had placed in the house to lock him up when he was in Wind Stream Tribe. He brought forth the power of murder of theft and broke the screen of light that sealed him in the house. That was the first time he had used the Execution of Three Evils.
At that time, he had not understood the fundamentals of this Art.
The final time he executed this Art had been in the land of Shamans. When he opened the gap to the mountain, he lured in the miasma in the area and turned it to Yin Aura, causing the corner of the mountain range to seem like a breathing dragon. Because of it, he changed the pattern in the area and brought about the power of the murder of disaster to the area, laying down a Rune formed out of nature itself.
Su Ming had executed the Art after he had gained a deeper understanding towards the Execution of Three Evils.
Now, Su Ming cast this Art once again in Divine Essence Star Ocean. But this time, he had come to truly understand this Art. It was not a normal Art… but a Master of Fate's Art!
This Art could cut the laws of heaven, could change the patterns of the world, could disrupt the harmony between Yin and Yang, could overturn the universe, could go up against the heavens… The core of this divine ability was in truth using the slashes contained within the Art to eventually separate a person's kismet and fate from the galaxy itself.
Once all of a person's connections to the universe were separated and they became an isolated, lonely presence, Su Ming could make it so that the person would seem to have lost their eyes and roots, so that they would not be able to exist harmoniously with the universe.
It would be as if he had separated the person from his fate, causing him to be unable to control it. Hence, it would perhaps be more accurate to say that the Execution of Three Evils more apt name would be Execution of Three Fates!
"You only managed to control the fate that lies around me, but you can't control my personal fate, that is why…" Su Ming lifted his head and stared at Heaven Traversers' Progenitor with understanding in his eyes. His expression was calm. Even though the overlapping shadows of his clones were still being torn from him, this pain was something Su Ming could ignore.
Because he had found the strongest Art buried in his memories among his divine abilities through this battle. As Su Ming swung his right hand down in a slash, he took a step forward. At the same time, the ends of his hair started to turn white.
"This is the Realm that belongs to a Master of Fate. Fate is law. With my first slash, I will cut the evil of theft and have it fuse with the universe. Fate will act as its guide. If there is no fate, then the evil of disaster will not exist in the universe. There is a connection between fate and theft, and now… I will cut your fate with the universe!"
The galaxy roared. The expression of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor changed for the first time. When Su Ming executed his first slash, ripples that surged into the heavens rose around Heaven Traversers' Progenitor. These ripples continued spreading outwards, making it seem as if endless threads had appeared around him. These threads were all in the form of rings and were spreading outwards continuously, looking like waves.
The fate in the universe Su Ming had cut off was the law of fate connecting Heaven Traversers' Progenitor with the universe. He could see clearly that there seemed to be an invisible blade around Heaven Traversers' Progenitor that was swinging down and cutting all the threads. In the blink of an eye, as the blade swept through the area, the galaxy tumbled and fell backwards like waves.
At that moment, Su Ming finished taking his first step and stepped into the area seventy thousand feet away from the Heaven Traversers' Progenitor. The Progenitor's expression changed, and a third of Su Ming's hair turned white, but he did not stop. He took his second step and moved forward once more.
"With my second slash, I will cut the evil of disaster. Disaster stays in earth and comes from the ground. It originates from the spot beneath our feet and is hidden in space. With this slash… I will cut your fate with space!" Su Ming raised his right hand, and without any hesitation, he executed his second slash.
The galaxy immediately swayed intensely, as if the universe had been overturned and the cosmos were going through a transformation. All laws and rules dissipated within a moment. Numerous ripples appeared in the space under the feet of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor again, but when Su Ming executed his second slash, these ripples shattered, as if the connection between Heaven Traversers' Progenitor and space had been cut.
The fate of the universe and the fate of space might seem like abstract concepts, but in truth, the cosmos were formed from endless universes and spaces. When these two fates were cut, it would mean that… Su Ming had segregated Heaven Traversers' Progenitor from the galaxy in the area, causing him to lose his connection with it in this place.
This was Heaven Traversers' galaxy, so all the cultivation planets here as well as the galaxy here had acknowledged them. Su Ming's actions thus had forcefully cut off this acknowledgement and this law of fate.
At that moment, Su Ming finished taking his second step and stepped into the area thirty thousand feet away from Heaven Traversers' Progenitor. A two thirds of his hair then had turned white, and the ancient air about him was incredibly distinct. All of this might have seemed to have occurred over a long period of time, but in truth, when it happened, it only lasted for a few breaths before it was over.
"With my third slash, I will cut the evil of time. I will cut your fate with the galaxy. You still have the concept of time in your head, and because of it, your shadow will last in the passage of time in this place. If time has a spirit, then everything about you will exist within the memories of this spirit. With this slash, I will cut off your fate with time!"
At the instant Su Ming lifted his foot swiftly to take his third step, the galaxy looked as if it had been overturned. Heaven Traversers' Progenitor threw his head back and let out a furious roar. This sound was astonishingly loud, and it shook Su Ming so much that he coughed up blood, but it did not manage to prevent him from taking that last step forward and slashing down the third time with his right hand.
Slash!
The universe changed. A cyclone centered around Heaven Traversers' Progenitor swept outwards with a loud bang. The galaxy where that cyclone passed through looked as if it was suffering from time reversal, all of its memories being wiped off. Once the cyclone disappeared, the shadow of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor no longer existed in the passages of time in the spot where the Progenitor stood, and the connection between the galaxy and the Progenitor could no longer be found.
Su Ming's Execution of Three Evils was not aimed at Heaven Traversers' Progenitor, but the universe, the galaxy, space, and time. That was why Heaven Traversers' Progenitor could not fight against it. In fact, the divine ability Su Ming executed at that moment was one that the Progenitor had never seen before; it was the first time he saw the likes of it. In fact, from this divine ability, he sensed two emotions that had been long absent from his life – fear and wariness!
What Su Ming had cut was the passage of time in the galaxy, but he also indirectly cut… the fate of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor!
Bang!
When Su Ming took his third step, his hair turned completely white, and some signs of time appeared on his face, but the overlapping shadows of the three clones on his body disappeared and returned to their original state. He stood at a spot nearly a thousand feet away from Heaven Traversers' Progenitor, and as his foot landed, Su Ming raised his right hand before he hurled a punch through the air in the direction of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor.
This was a punch delivered by his cultivation base clone, his clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole, and his Ecang clone. At the instant it came hurling forward, Ecang's projection manifested behind Su Ming. Booming sounds shot up, shaking the sky and earth and causing the galaxy to tremble. A large number of cracks appeared in it as the punch charged swiftly towards Heaven Traversers' Progenitor.
Before, the Progenitor hadn't even needed to attack. With just the use of words and the power of the fate's law in the universe as well as all manner of living, he had been able to render Su Ming almost completely unable to fight back. Now, the Progenitor spotted a change in his expression. He raised his right hand, then swung it in Su Ming's direction, who was coming towards him with his fist in the air.
With it, an incredibly large palm appeared in front of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor while the universe roared. That palm stood vertically in the galaxy, and as if it was being pushed forward, it charged towards Su Ming. Wherever it passed through, the galaxy would be broken. In the blink of an eye, it crashed against Su Ming's punch.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Deafening sounds rang in space. Su Ming coughed up blood. Once he staggered several tens of thousands of feet backwards, he coughed up blood again, but there was a ferocious smile on his lips, and a brilliant light shone in his eyes.
As for Heaven Traversers' Progenitor, his expression was as dark as a swamp. He might not even be swaying, but from the expressions of both his and Su Ming's faces, it was clear that he… was at a disadvantage!
Because he could no longer use fate and was forced to use the power of a Master of Fate to force Su Ming back. This was the same as someone sealing up his divine abilities and making him fight only using his physical strength.
A runic symbol had appeared at the center of his brows. This runic symbol looked as if it was branded on his forehead. It did not appear just then, but it chose this moment to manifest. However, this runic symbol was dull and lusterless. Su Ming could see countless threads floating around it, trying to connect with the threads of the universe, galaxy and the passage of time Su Ming had cut off just then. But the separation between it and the galaxy caused it… to be unable to connect with those threads.
This item was incredibly discordant with Heaven Traversers' Progenitor, as if it had been forcefully branded to the center of his brows. Clearly… this was not something that came from the Progenitor himself, but was a treasure from an external source.
In truth, he had only completed a small part of the Mastery Realm and could not compare to the person Su Ming met in the past, who had fully completed the Mastery Realm [1]. The Progenitor had been able to step into the Fate Realm because of this item, which allowed him to control the fate of the universe and all manner of living.
However, by doing so, his level of cultivation came to a stop, and he would never be able to control his own fate like the truly powerful warriors who had completed the Fate Realm. If he had been able to control his own fate, Su Ming would not have been able to cut the law of fate around him with the current Execution of Three Evils.
"This is your true power, it is also the reason why you were more difficult to deal with even though you gave me a feeling that you were weaker than the Master of Fate, Lives, and Death I met in the past."
Su Ming wiped off the blood at the corners of his mouth. Without bothering about his white hair, he said flatly while standing tens of thousands of feet away, "How does it feel like to have the laws of fate cut from you?"
"I underestimated you. This Art created to specifically cut fate is incredibly rare… and can only be executed after you offer up your life force. When you executed it, you must have lost quite a large amount of your life force. But… even so, with the supreme power I possess in Mastery Realm, I can still kill you."
The killing intent in the eyes of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor grew incredibly strong. At that moment, he no longer regarded Su Ming with the same scorn and inattentiveness as he did moments ago. Instead, he looked at Su Ming as an equal, and an incredible amount of greed also rose in his heart.
He knew well just how rare the divine abilities to cut fate were in the world, and the Art Su Ming executed just then was one he had never seen before. This caused him to be unable to help but desire to possess that Art.
He took a step forward. His supreme physical power burst forth from his body, and it could be said that the body of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor reached a state where he would not be destroyed if the world did not perish, and where he could not fall into decay if the universe did not rot.
Translator's Note:
1. Mastery Realm, Fate Realm, Life Realm, and Death Realm: Mastery Realm is Mastery Realm. There is no short form for it. It's the first Realm for the Master of Fate, Lives, and Death.
Fate Realm is the Rise and Fall of Fate.
Life Realm is Reincarnation of Life, not Life Cultivation Realm, they are two completely different Realms.
Death Realm is Death of the Universe.
Chapter 954: I Want to Fight!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
'This is what it means to be a Master of Fate… There must be detailed categorizations in this great Realm. It can even be said that being able to control fate and being unable to control fate are two different realms, even though they are still Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death!
'The existence I met in the past acting as a garrison to the four Great True Worlds could cover an endless stretch of galaxy and chase me down until I returned to the foreign land. Clearly, he displayed an unimaginably powerful physical strength.
'But he did not understand the laws of fate. If that is the case, then I understand it now. The main focus of that Realm is mastery, which is why he could be known as someone who had completed the Mastery Realm.
'This Heaven Traversers' Progenitor used that supreme treasure at the center of his brows to forcefully control the fate around him, but his true power is really just in the Mastery Realm, and he's not as powerful as the one I met in the past either. He had only completed a small part of the Mastery Realm.
'If I separate it this way, then I can understand what it means to be a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death. The Mastery Realm exists within this state, and this Realm is the pinnacle of physical power. If someone can reach a breakthrough, then they will be able to step into the Fate Realm. To complete this Realm, you would need to control your own fate.
'Because of that, there is certainly a Life Realm and a final Death Realm as well. Only those who complete the Death Realm could be truly known as… Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death!' The light of understanding shone in Su Ming's eyes.
'It's worth it… to learn about these and understand the true method of using the Execution of Three Evils!' Su Ming glanced at Heaven Traversers' Progenitor, who was taking big strides towards him with a presence as if he was looking down on the world, with a cold glare. He raised his right hand slowly.
'Now, I want to see just how great the difference is… between me, after I fused with all three of my clones, and you, who has completed a small part of the Mastery Realm, Heaven Traversers' Progenitor!' When Su Ming lifted his head, he clenched his right hand into a fist. He did not retreat but instead charged forward, turning into a long arc that rushed towards Heaven Traversers' Progenitor.
Ecang's projection manifested behind him. As the galaxy shook violently. A vast aura erupted from Su Ming's body with a bang, and he drew increasingly closer to Heaven Traversers' Progenitor. In the blink of an eye, the two of them crashed into each other, and each of them threw a punch forward.
The Progenitor was in Mastery Realm. Without using divine abilities and Arts, he raised his hand, and brought forth a supreme physical power!
Bang!
A loud bang shook the universe and echoed all around. Su Ming coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backwards continuously, while the Ecang tree swayed intensely. Even after Su Ming was forced several thousands of feet back, he did not stop, and at that moment, killing intent shone in the eyes of the Heaven Traversers' Progenitor. With a cold harrumph, he walked forward once more.
He might seem calm, but his heart was filled with shock. He might have only used a fifth of his strength in the punch he threw just then, but that fifth was enough to kill all those in Solar Kalpa Realm.
In fact, it could even break apart all divine abilities cast by those in Solar Kalpa Realm and then kill them without being bothered by them.
However, when the punch landed on Su Ming's body, it only caused him to cough up blood, shattered his organs, and forced him back. To the Heaven Traversers' Progenitor, this was something he did not want to accept. The killing intent in his heart grew even stronger. No one would want his own race to have such a powerful enemy lurking around alive.
This was why when the Progenitor took that step forward, he raised his right hand, and this time, he used all his strength, intending to finish this battle with one punch. He was so quick that his attack arrived before Su Ming could even regain his footing. When the Progenitor threw his punch outwards, the universe roared, and an indescribable power erupted from the fist.
The galaxy quivered. In fact, all the cultivation planets in the galaxy trembled at this moment. Even the four cultivators who were a distance away from the place shuddered as they charged forward. They turned their heads around swiftly, and shock appeared on their faces.
If anyone lowered their heads from the highest place in the galaxy to look down at that moment, they would be able to see that the galaxy had turned into a gigantic fist. As it stirred a rumble, it charged towards Su Ming.
All of this might have seemed to have happened over a long period of time, but in truth, the moment Heaven Traversers' Progenitor threw his fist forward, it closed in on its target.
Su Ming's pupils shrank. A life-threatening sense of danger instantly filled his entire body. At that moment, the most logical course of action for him was to instantly execute the next part of his plan to avoid this life-threatening crisis.
But Su Ming did not do so. A monstrous fighting spirit rose in his eyes, and his rationality was replaced by impulsiveness, a sight rarely seen on him. This impulsiveness was not recklessness, but a fighting spirit so great that he could not control it.
He wanted to fight. Even if this person was a cultivator in Mastery Realm, he still wanted to fight!
Even if his body and spirit would be destroyed, he had a fighting spirit in him that urged him to throw a punch forward as well, to fight against the punch the Progenitor had thrown towards him. The intensity of that emotion caused Su Ming's eyes to become bloodshot. It made him lift his head and roar towards the heaven. Something within him was screaming that even if he died, he still had to personally face the Progenitor and learn how strong were the people in Mastery Realm.
'I already fled once in the face of someone in Mastery Realm… This time, I will not run. I will fight!' Su Ming clenched his right hand into a fist. The fighting spirit within him grew to a monstrous degree, stimulating the will to never give in within Su Ming.
Death might be frightening, but Su Ming believed that escapism was even more terrifying. He wanted to fight, wanted to throw his fist forward and not think about the consequences or whether he would die. All of these thoughts gathered in his fist. He had a strong feeling that if he could successfully land this punch and not die, then his state of mind would rise once again, and even his soul would become stronger.
It would be as if he had broken some sort of seal, some sort limit. That would be… a metamorphosis in his state of life [1].
"I want to fight!"
Su Ming raised his right hand. His expression was ferocious, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"I want to fight!"
He swung his right fist forward, and the Ecang projection behind him swiftly gained corporeal form, as if a formless vortex had appeared on Su Ming's right hand, guiding the gigantic Ecang projection behind him into it.
"I WANT TO FIGHT!!!"
Su Ming threw his head back and roared. At the instant he threw his fist forward, his body disappeared, replaced by a gigantic tree. This was a tree with a size that was unmatched by anyone, and it was currently twisting about. All of its branches tangled with each other and turned into a huge fist, crashing in an instant against the galactical punch that was the Progenitor's attack.
Bang! Bang!
A deafening sound that could not be described with words echoed in the galaxy and throughout all the hundred something cultivation planets within it. It reverberated through the entire Divine Essence Star Ocean in this area and caused the blood to pour out of the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth of the four cultivators in the distance. Their bodies shook so much that their organs were in intense pain.
The Ecang tree disintegrated…
It turned into countless wooden splinters that crumbled apart. As they did so, Su Ming was revealed within. Overlapping shadows appeared on his body, and his cultivation base clone was the first to be expelled from him while falling backwards.
Soon after, his clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole also separated from him as the overlapping shadows appeared around his body, and he fell a hundred thousand feet backwards.
Under the Progenitor's full power strike, the fusion of the three clones was broken, and they were forced apart. All three of Su Ming's clones coughed up a large mouthful of blood at the same time, and as their faces turned pale, they staggered.
But… he did not die!
Because most of the impact of the force was canceled by his Ecang clone, and Ecang was a life form written in the ballad. It was an eternal being. This sort of grievous injury was not enough to kill it.
The Progenitor's face turned dark. He stood in his place and did not even sway, but only he knew that the little finger on his right hand had become numb for a single breath when his punch collided against Su Ming's fist.
It might have been just one breath, but in his understanding, this was impossible. He was almighty in Mastery Realm, and the Mastery Realm was the symbol of supreme physical power in the universe, a wall that was impossible to be shaken by cultivators who were weaker than him.
However… the numb sensation during that moment just then was real. It was as if a crack had appeared on a sturdy wall, and Progenitor's killing intent grew even stronger when he looked at Su Ming.
"Today, you are going to die!"
The eyes of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor shone with killing intent, and he took a step once more. This time, he executed power that surpassed the full force of what he could muster. It was the first time he brought forth this strongest power within him after he became a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death.
As he moved forward, the galaxy cracked and shattered, a sign that it could no longer bear his existence.
Su Ming smiled. He wiped the blood off the corners of his mouth, and the three clones instantly fused together once more. This time, he did not continue fighting but instead immediately retreated.
His action fell into the eyes of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor, and he laughed coldly in his heart. If there was someone he wanted to kill in Divine Essence Star Ocean, that person would not be able to escape.
However, Su Ming's subsequent action made the Progenitor's pupils shrink.
Su Ming raised his right hand and swung it forward.
"Sand Spirit, my first request for you is to kill this person! If you can't kill him, then trap him for a month!"
When he said these words, the Progenitor's expression changed drastically. He sensed a vast power surging forward from the galaxy all around him. He was rather familiar with this power, and it made him think of far too many things.
As his expression changed, he took a step forward and instantly disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already behind Su Ming. He raised his right hand, intending to immediately kill him.
However, just as he was about to throw his fist against Su Ming's back, who did not even attempt to dodge, a layer of thin sand appeared between his fist and Su Ming's body.
The Progenitor's fist landed on the fine sand with a bang. It rose into space and reverberated continuously. During that moment, the thin sand behind Su Ming turned into a gigantic palm made of sand.
The galaxy trembled, and a gigantic face appeared in space. This face… was that of the Ancestral Spirit of the Sand Earthlings who had destroyed his own kin so that he could obtain a promise to be entered into the ballad!
"The first request… This is an existence who has reached the middle stage of the Mastery Realm. If I was at the peak of my condition, I could kill him, but now… I can only trap him. One month… is possible!"
A muffled hum echoed in the galaxy. The Sand Spirit's gigantic spirit existed in the galaxy, and its boundless body formed an indescribable wave of shock that was powerful enough to tremble the hearts of all those who saw it.
"Ancestral Spirit of the Sand Earthlings! You-you-you were someone who completed the Fate Realm in the past! You haven't died?! I know, you are already half a step into Life Realm, that's why you've obtained a part of eternal life!" The expression of Heaven Traversers' Progenitor instantly changed drastically.
Translator's Note:
State of life: This is derived from the Buddhists' Ten Worlds, also known as ten conditions or states of life. It is believed that a person moves from one to another through the experiences he/she gains in the world. The Ten Worlds are Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Humanity, Heaven, Learning, Realization, Bodhisattva and Buddhahood.