Chapter 1225: True World Clone
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Arc 6: Arid Triad Disaster
Su Ming stared at the galactical vortex in his hand. After a long while, he closed his eyes. He then sent his thoughts into the vortex. It felt as if he had just sent his thought moving past True Morning Dao World, causing it to have his thought contained in it.
This was an incredibly bizarre feeling. True Morning Dao World was him, and he was True Morning Dao World. Perhaps more accurately speaking, Su Ming had turned True Morning Dao World… into one of his clones!
A True World clone!
This clone could not move and did not possess any astonishing divine abilities… but Su Ming was in control of all those in this World. All those from beyond would also have their movements limited by Su Ming when they were in True Morning Dao World.
Because it was his World!
With his eyes closed, Su Ming sensed his senior brothers, the Flame Fiends' Progenitor and Chang He, who were on a remote planet in True Morning Dao World, and even the woman in blue. In fact, he felt as if he was standing right in front of her. He could see her clearly.
Then, Su Ming saw a figure in a galaxy within his True Morning Dao World. It seemed to be hesitating as if not knowing whether to move forward or retreat. The man was looking around nervously.
That figure was filled with the presence of Abyss and was not a life born in True Morning Dao World. He was someone from the Emperor of Abyss' True World. Su Ming also sensed Su Xuan Yi's presence on him. The person was swiftly withdrawing his killing intent back into his heart when the owner of True Morning Dao World changed.
Su Ming only swept his will across that figure once before completely ignoring it. Instead, he went back to observe his True Morning Dao World.
"True World clone…" Su Ming mumbled after a long time. While he sensed his state of being after he had Possessed True Morning Dao World, he noticed that some strange changes had occurred in him. Those changes had promoted his state of being and made him surpass himself. He continued to transform to ascend to a higher state of being.
Su Ming quietly sensed everything as he was immersed in his epiphany. When his thoughts gradually slowed down, he opened his eyes.
The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe looked at him while sitting by his side. At the instant they met each other's gazes, the galactical vortex in Su Ming's right hand disappeared to fuse into his palm and become a part of his soul.
"How does it feel to Possess a True World and turn it into your clone?" the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe asked faintly.
"It's a pity that besides the mighty pressure brought by the will of heaven, this True World clone doesn't have any other divine abilities or attacks," Su Ming answered calmly after staying silent for a moment.
"As long as this World does not perish, your soul will not perish, and your will will remain an eternal presence. This is your greatest serendipity. As for divine abilities and attacks… It's not that they don't exist, but that is not what a cultivator's mind can understand. Perhaps you will naturally come to gain an epiphany of it when you have been True Morning Dao World for a long period of time."
The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe stared at Su Ming. He might look as calm as usual, but Su Ming could still sense a hint of harmless envy from the old man's heart.
"It cannot be understood by a cultivator's minds…"
Su Ming fell silent. He mulled over those words carefully. It was not to say that the old man had more understanding towards what would happen after Possessing a True World, but he had been living for many years, and he was just a step shy from becoming an Ancestral Spirit, which was why he had much more experience than Su Ming. However, this was something that had never happened before, so even the old man did not know any details about it.
"I think I should understand it now…"
Su Ming's eyes brightened up when he spoke. He lifted his right hand and pointed at the galaxy before him. With it, an unseen force immediately gathered up from all directions without a single sound. In an instant, it turned into huge meteors.
They charged into the distance. In the blink of an eye, more than millions of meteors filled the galaxy. When they left, they turned into long arcs, presenting a breathtaking brilliance.
"I cannot use a cultivator's mindset to try and understand my True World clone. I have to treat myself as the greatest will in this World. Creating something out of nothing is just within a single thought," Su Ming murmured.
He pointed in another direction with his right hand. The galaxy immediately distorted, and a planet appeared. It swelled up swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a complete cultivation planet.
The light in Su Ming's eyes became brighter. When he swung his hands, the galaxy rumbled. A huge crack appeared with a loud rip. It was one hundred thousand feet long, and it was a terrifying sight to behold.
"The power of the True World clone is its will and beliefs. With its will, it can form the universe, and its beliefs are endless."
As Su Ming mumbled to himself, red light suddenly shone in his eyes. A red bolt of lightning immediately roared and descended from space to charge towards the planet. It struck it, and the planet shuddered before it was reduced to nothingness.
"This is… disaster."
While Su Ming was mumbling, the pupils of the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe shrank.
"All changes can be brought forth with a single thought… This is one of the divine abilities of my True World clone. Then when it fuses with my real body, new changes…"
A faint smile gradually appeared on Su Ming's face, and he fell into a contemplative silence. He then brought his right hand up and swung it at the distance. Immediately, ripples appeared in a galaxy located incredibly far away from Su Ming but still located in True Morning Dao World. Those ripples showed up around the swiftly retreating figure who came from the Emperor of Abyss' True World and looked like it wanted to leave True Morning Dao World.
The figure was a middle-aged man, and he was dressed in a gray robe. Naturally, he was the cultivator from the Emperor of Abyss' True World who had been sent by Su Xuan Yi to investigate the will to make the Abyss grow. However, before he could gain any results, Su Ming had already begun Possessing True Morning Dao World, forcing Su Xuan Yi to appear and fight for the World.
The middle-aged man did not have enough time to flee. At that moment, his face was pale. He turned into a long arc, and the only thought in his mind at that moment was to use the shortest time possible to leave True Morning Dao World and return to the Emperor of Abyss' True World.
As ripples appeared in the space around him without a sound, the man's face changed. The next moment, countless ripples suddenly gathered together in the galaxy before him, and a huge Abyss Gate appeared with a bang.
The gate was so big that it looked like it was lifting up the heavens. At the instant it appeared, the man's pupils shrank, and his heart filled with shock.
'Once the clone fuses with me, my Abyss Gate… will be True Morning Dao World's Abyss Gate. When this gate appears… there will only be deaths. There will be none who live.'
At the instant a smile appeared on Su Ming's lips, the huge Abyss Gate in front of the middle-aged man opened with a bang. Once the Abyss Gate was activated, the middle-aged man let out a shrill scream of pain. His body withered swiftly, and his soul, life force, flesh and blood, and everything else disintegrated.
When the Abyss Gate was open to the breadth of three fingers, the gray-robed middle-aged man vanished without a trace while screaming in pain. All traces of his existence were absorbed by the Abyss Gate.
'Disaster brought forth by my own will, Abyss Gate, and…'
A contemplative look appeared in Su Ming's eyes. Then, a memory surfaced in his mind. It was of a pair of hands weaving a doll with blades of grass. As they continued weaving, the blades of grass gradually gained the shape of a doll. The owner of those hands lifted his head, and a kind smile showed up on his face.
It was Ugly Little Thing's father, a member of the family Su Ming could not forget.
It was this method of weaving blades of grass that had allowed Su Ming to understand the power of Curses. With the blades of grass forming Curses, he could gather the power of the world and have it descend on the doll. This Art had provided him with great help before. Right then, after he Possessed True Morning Dao World and obtained his True World clone, he remembered this Curse, and a thought gradually formed in his mind.
'How powerful… would the Curse be if I formed it using grass knots filled with the power of a True World?'
Once that thought appeared in Su Ming's mind, he closed his eyes. When he spread his divine sense outwards, True Morning Dao World's galaxies suddenly shuddered. It was as if they had turned into a huge blade of grass, and knots were slowly formed on it. They were weaved together in an unseen manner based on Su Ming's will until they turned into a doll of True Morning Dao World.
No one could see this doll. It existed only in Su Ming's mind, and it had his thoughts gathered on it as well as his understanding of the Curse. True Morning Dao World was the foundation, his will and beliefs were the ropes, and his Curse were knots. They appeared one by one, and when they were completely formed, Su Ming's eyes flew open.
The next instant, all of True Morning Dao World suddenly shuddered as if it had completely turned into the power of the Curse. When Su Ming lifted his right hand and pointed in the direction of the Emperor of Abyss' True World in the distance, he immediately sensed all the wills in his True World clone, including his will of an Antecedental Spirit, turn crimson. With a great corrosive power and Curse, it turned into a red thread that charged into the distance at an indescribable speed.
Contained within it was Su Ming's will and everything about True Morning Dao World. It also exuded… a presence that made Su Ming's heart tremble as well as made the expression of the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe change drastically.
"This is… Arid Triad's will!" the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe cried out. However, he immediately noticed something different. The red thread formed by Su Ming's Curse was not Arid Triad's will, just incredibly similar to it!
"Su Ming, retrieve this Art! Hurry!" the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe said quickly. He also spread out his divine sense and turned it into the will of heaven to charge towards the red thread, intending to block it.
Su Ming was shocked, but at that moment, he also sensed something. There were three other great True Worlds' wills besides himself in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos. Besides them, there was also another indescribable will that seemed as if it could seal him and the other three wills with just one thought. It was the highest form of will among them!
That will seemed to be asleep, but even so, Su Ming could sense clearly that this being… was the master of Arid Triad!
The moment Su Ming's Curse spread out, that will showed signs of waking up. This made Su Ming's heart tremble. He immediately retrieved his Curse and scattered it in space.
"Did you sense it?" The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe looked swiftly at Su Ming. His expression was complicated, since he was in disbelief towards Su Ming's Art.
Su Ming was silent for a moment before he asked slowly, "That is… Arid Triad's will?"
"That's right. That is the sleeping Arid Triad's will. Do not ask anything about this will. When your Arid Disaster descends and I am certain of my assumption, I will tell you the answer, but before that… it absolutely must not wake up!
"Remember this. You have to remember this. Unless you absolutely have to… do not use the Art you cast just now. That Art… can affect those in Avacaniya Realm!"
The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe looked at Su Ming with a grave expression.
Chapter 1226: Hello
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"It can affect those in Avacaniya Realm?" Su Ming looked at the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe.
"Since this Art can make Arid Triad's will show signs of waking up due to sensing danger, it can naturally affect the powerful warriors in Avacaniya Realm. However, if you leave this True World, the might of the Art will become much weaker."
The old man slowly nodded. The storm raging his heart due to the astonishing sight brought forth by Su Ming's Art had yet to calm down, but he looked calm.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Does this divine ability that has the power of the Curse as its main force have a name?"
Su Ming thought back on the process of him casting the Art in detail before he remembered Arid Triad's will, who had been a supreme presence which stood above all else. Then, he slowly said, "Arid Curse."
"Arid Curse… What a skill it is, Arid Curse!"
The eyes of the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe sparkled, and his figure gradually disappeared. When he fused into space, it looked like Su Ming was alone in the galaxy.
Su Ming swung his arm. The third eye at the center of his brow opened to reveal a slit. It no longer showed a pupil at that moment, but a galactical vortex which was True Morning Dao World. It was one of Su Ming's clones that was spread out around him at that moment, but the core had fused into his third eye.
As a cultivator who was a True World, with just one thought, he could descend in any region he wanted in True Morning Dao World. At that moment, he took a step forward and disappeared. When he reappeared, he was past the sealed Relocation Rune and in… Morning Dao Sect.
After Su Xuan Yi had left, the mountains and earth in Morning Dao Sect had shattered, the sky collapsed, and the ground crumbled. There was no life left, just wreckage.
Su Ming stared at the quiet Morning Dao Sect around him. He examined everything in this place and could not help but remember all the things that had happened when he had stepped into the sect. After a long while, Su Ming walked past the wreckage of the shattered world. He went past crumbled continents and saw countless corpses.
The people had passed away many years ago, so few of them retained complete bodies. Most of them were torn to pieces, but despair and an unwillingness to accept death could still be seen on each of their faces.
Su Ming had seen some of the people before in Morning Dao Sect, but most of the time, the faces were unfamiliar. A thick aura of death filled Morning Dao Sect. Even though Su Ming had already deduced that Morning Dao Sect would be destroyed and became certain of it when Xu Hui and De Shun appeared, but when he saw it with his own eyes, Su Ming could not help but sigh.
The sect's past glory had all been reduced to ruins. The great sect of the past, the greatest sect in Morning Dao World… had now become dust.
As he walked, Su Ming saw the carcasses of the four holy beasts. He then remembered their grand stature when holding up the continents during the Anointment Ceremony, but now… they had disappeared into the passage of time.
Su Ming could not help the complicated feelings that arose within him. When he turned his head back and looked at everything that had happened after he returned from Divine Essence Star Ocean, it was all like a dream. At that moment, he was forced to return as Dao Kong, but now… he was the master of True Morning Dao World. All of True Morning Dao World was just his clone.
Through his journey, everything that he experienced caused Su Ming to sigh and lift his right hand. With a swing, the collapsed sky distorted slowly. As if time was flowing in reverse, the world began repairing itself, then rising upwards rapidly. Countless fragments gathered together. Even if there were some parts that had been reduced to dust due to the collapse, they appeared out of nowhere and gathered together until a blue sky rose up again in the heavens.
Su Ming placed his right foot lightly on a piece of shattered rock. A layer of ripples immediately spread out from beneath his feet. In the blink of an eye, it covered all of Morning Dao Sect.
Countless shattered rocks rose swiftly to gather together. Gradually, a continent appeared under Su Ming's feet and spread out before it turned into the continent in the first layer of Morning Dao Sect.
Three more continents were formed in succession in the distance. As if time was moving in reverse, the wreck was restored to its former glory. Countless shards appeared on the four continents to swiftly gather together to form a tower that shot up into the skies.
While booming sounds rang around Su Ming, continents appeared below. Some of them were formed out of thin air; some of them were formed by shattered rocks gathering together; and some of them rose from the fog in Dao Ocean, located at the bottommost part. After a moment, continents covered the entire sky, and when Su Ming cast his gaze over them, it looked as if Morning Dao Sect's former glory had been restored.
All the corpses disappeared without a trace at that instant. Even the thick aura of death scattered and disappeared…
When Su Ming walked through the area, the world behind him continuously changed as it moved in reverse. He continued walking until he stood beyond the endless Dao Ocean beneath Morning Dao Sect.
Su Ming looked at the tumbling fog tumbling, but Su he did not step in. Instead, he watched it quietly as if he was waiting for something.
After a long while, Dao Ocean tumbled swiftly. As booming sounds reverberated through the air, the fog before Su Ming spread out to reveal a path leading into the depths. Su Ming still did not move. He still continued waiting with a calm expression.
Soon, as the fog continued tumbling and the path leading to the depths was submerged, a huge face was gradually formed by the fog. It belonged to an old man, and it was incredibly huge, seemingly occupying all of Dao Ocean.
Once that face appeared, Dao Ocean let out a shocking roar. The face moved to stand vertically from its horizontal position.
In a moment, Dao Ocean disappeared. The fog now formed the floating face. From the distance, it looked like a huge, floating head with its eyes shut.
Su Ming stared at the face. His body was like an ant compared to the face. However, a natural presence surrounded his body in an unseen manner.
After a long while, the eyes on the huge face slowly opened. There was an ancient and wise presence in them. At the instant their gazes met, the huge face lowered itself slightly.
"I am the Predecessor of Dao Ocean, the servant of the True World. Greetings, sir. You Possessed the True World and turned it into your clone, so from now on, you are my owner."
When the face lowered itself, an ancient voice rang out. It echoed through all of Morning Dao Sect and lingered around it for a long time without disappearing.
"I do not have too many memories. They should have been sealed or wiped off. Based on the few memories I have, I know that I am one of the Antecedental Spirits tasked to protect the Worlds under the will of the four Great True Worlds.
"From the moment I can remember, I have existed in this land and was Dao Ocean. I am the servant of the True World's will and will listen to all its commands…
"After the True World's will became weaker, I helped maintain the balance of the True World when it fell asleep…"
Su Ming did not speak. He only stared at the face calmly and listened to its voice.
Once the old face finished, he fell silent, allowing the area to regain its peace once the echoes faded away.
"When Morning Dao Sect was destroyed, did you attack?" When the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn went past, Su Ming's voice echoed before the face for the first time.
"My mission is to maintain the balance of the True World. All matters regarding Morning Dao Sect are not part of my mission. As for Su Xuan Yi… that person possesses a True World's will, I cannot interfere with his actions."
"Your mission from now on is to protect the Ninth Summit," Su Ming stated slowly while looking at the face.
Su Ming could tell that the Predecessor of Dao Ocean was probably telling the truth. Its memories were sealed… but there were definitely some secrets to it. If it did not want to say it, then Su Ming would not ask.
In truth, the instant Su Ming Possessed the True World and formed his True World clone, he had sensed another will of an Antecedental Spirit attached to the True World. It was controlled by the True World, and this Antecedental Spirit was naturally the Predecessor of Dao Ocean before him.
Based on what Su Ming could sense, if Su Xuan Yi alone was involved in weakening True Morning Dao World's will to the point it could be Possessed, his plan might not have been able to succeed even with tens of thousands of years of preparation.
Someone had to have been helping him in secret… and besides Predecessor of Dao Ocean before him, Su Ming could not think of anyone else.
He cast a profound glance at the face, then turned around. Su Ming no longer paid any attention to him.
The face calmly closed his eyes. When he slowly descended to resume being Dao Ocean, a sigh came from beside Su Ming.
It sounded ancient, but there we also some mixed feelings and sorrow within it.
The figure of the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe appeared beside Su Ming. He stared at the huge face, and there was nostalgia as well as an ancient look on his face.
"Yun Hua… the Elder of Cold Water Tribe. You, who were one of the ten powerful warriors among the prodigies of the tribes of Wei… Is it you?" he asked softly.
The face that was about to turn into Dao Ocean jolted at that moment, but it still turned back into Dao Ocean and became the boundless fog in the area.
The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe stared at the fog in a daze. After a long while, he turned around in anguish, and with a hint of disappointment, he disappeared from Su Ming's side.
Su Ming left. When he headed to the top layer of the tower in the sky, the one hundred something Relocation Runes outside Morning Dao Sect shone with a dazzling light. They were all activated at that instant.
At the same time, Su Ming's voice echoed in his senior brothers' minds. He told them to bring all the cultivators into Morning Dao Sect so that they could turn it into the Ninth Summit's base.
Su Ming appeared at the top layer of the tower, which stood tall in the clouds. When he sat down, he raised his head and stared into the distance. His gaze pierced through everything and landed on a pale-faced blue-robed woman in a corner of True Morning Dao World.
"Madam, you left without a single word earlier. That is not how I treat my guests."
When Su Ming spoke slowly, the air before him swiftly distorted, as if the place where he was had overlapped with the blue-robed woman's during that instant. Her face changed, but before she could react, she was forcefully shifted to the area in front of Su Ming.
He lifted his head and looked at the beautiful woman.
"Hello," he said softly.
Chapter 1227: End of Wills Sword!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The blue-robed woman's pupils shrank in a barely noticeable fashion before they swiftly returned to normal. She swept her gaze around the area before finally fixing her eyes on Su Ming.
"Sit."
When Su Ming said that faintly, a thin cushion appeared before the woman out of thin air. A table manifested in front of it with fresh fruits and wine. But that was not all. Almost at the same time, a person's figure appeared as well.
It was a boy who lifted the pot of wine with an expressionless face. Once he filled Su Ming and the woman's cups, he took a step back and stood there, still as a statue.
The boy had appeared due to Su Ming's thought, just like how the table. It could be said that Su Ming's thoughts were the origin of all matter in this True World of his.
The blue-robed woman might have seemed as composed as ever, but when she saw what he did, her heart trembled. She understood this sort of divine ability very well, and based on the execution, she could immediately deduce that Su Ming had been successful in his Possession of the True World.
After all, this sort of divine ability surpassed the limits of what a cultivator could control. This was an Art only possible for a True World, and it would be known as a true divine ability in her homeland.
Su Ming was calm and his words were slow. Catching the woman through space, shifting her over to his side, then revealing the Manifestation Art that allowed him to create things out of nothing were all part of his plan. His goal was to form a mighty pressure that would envelop her heart.
It would be so strong that it could force another to submit without fighting. Su Ming had gone through many hardships for many years, and such a tactic came naturally to him. He did not intentionally put on any sort of airs, but his casual actions brought a hint of nervousness to his aunt.
There was only a speck of this feeling at the start, but it gradually spread out, and the woman instinctively chose to obey. She sat down cross-legged on the thin cushion, and the instant she did so, she came to a swift understanding. From the moment she entered, everything about her seemed to have been affected by Su Ming's presence. When she was completely enveloped in it, she began doing things based on his requests.
Even if the act of sitting down might seem minor, in truth, it was also a form of obedience.
When the woman sat down, a faint smile appeared on Su Ming's lips. He picked up his wine cup. Once he took a sip out of it, he put the cup down and shut his eyes. He no longer spoke, and the place sank into silence.
The longer Su Ming remained silent, the greater the mighty pressure on the woman became. The feeling soon became oppressive, pressing down on her heart. It caused a crease to slowly appear between her eyebrows.
Su Ming's growth was so quick that it caused her to be apprehensive. Before he Possessed the True World, she was confident that she could keep him in check, but now… as she sat before Su Ming, she no longer had that confidence, because the entire True World was his clone.
The mysterious person who had injured her gravely with one growl in the beginning was another one of the sources which caused her to be nervous.
That was why when the time it takes an incense stick to burn passed calmly, the blue-robed woman broke the silence by taking the initiative to speak.
"Are your principles of treating guests are to give them the silent treatment?"
The woman's voice was icy. When she spoke, her entire face grew cold, and her nervousness could no longer be seen. It was as if she had turned into an ice mountain.
"I am wondering how I should address you. Who is my mother to you?" Su Ming opened his eyes and calmly stared at the beautiful woman before him.
Once he Possessed True Morning Dao World, he could tell with just one glance based on the woman's presence that she did not belong to the current Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos. She came from the universe beyond, and Su Ming did not sense a presence alike those of the Eight Paramount Daos from her.
Instead, she gave off a feeling like the Seed of Life Extermination. This feeling was also similar to that of the locust. That was why Su Ming could immediately tell that she came from Dark Dawn.
She also harbored killing intent towards him. But more importantly, Su Ming sensed a hint of familiarity from her. It came from his soul and the Dragon of Destruction.
If he connected all of this together and was still unable to deduce where the woman came from, then Su Ming was not worthy of surviving through all the schemes and dangers he experienced in his life.
The woman was clearly from his mother's race, the Spiritlings from Dark Dawn's camp!
The blue-robed woman's face was aloof, but her heart sank. Su Ming had exposed her origins with just one sentence, causing her to remain quiet for a while before she decided to speak.
"Your mother is my older sister," she said coldly.
Su Ming's eyes focused. He stared at the woman before him with a faint, aggressive glint in his gaze. His eyes were like two sharp arrows piercing through her to look into the depths of her heart.
To the blue-robed woman, Su Ming's gaze seemed to have gathered the light from the entire True World. It turned into a mighty pressure she could not resist. It was so strong that it caused her to suck in a sharp breath while disbelief filled her eyes. Su Ming's strength made her feel that if he wanted her dead, he could do so with just one thought.
'He has just finished his Possession and has not stabilized his new clone yet, so how could he have completely mastered the presence of the True World!'
The blue-robed woman's expression changed. As if there was blood in her throat, it trickled down the corners of her lips.
"You are not," Su Ming said faintly.
After saying that, he averted his gaze. The mighty pressure on the woman's body instantly disappeared, but the coming and going of it made her relax after the initial nervousness, and it had indirectly caused her to use up a small portion of her cultivation base. This immediately shocked her.
After a period of silence, she said with complicated feelings, "I am not related by blood to the previous Sacred Lady, but all the Sacred Ladies of the Spiritlings are related to each other as Master and disciple, and we all refer to each other as sisters. I stayed by your mother's side until she passed away."
"Passed away…"
Su Ming fell silent. He might have already thought of this a long time ago, but when he heard it with his own ears, a melancholic feeling still filled him due to being unable to find her. She was the mother he had never met before, a mother who belonged to the distant Dark Dawn's camp and was completely different from the woman in the fifth kiln, Su Xuan Yi's wife.
Perhaps he had seen her the moment he was born, or even for a few years after that, but it had simply happened too long ago. It was so long ago that Su Ming no longer had the memory of that time… but the grief still arose within him. With mixed feelings and a soft sigh, it spread to an unknown spot at the bottom of his heart.
"That is why your mother is my Master and also my older sister." The blue-robed woman enunciated each of her words clearly while looking at Su Ming.
"I descended to this True World to bring you back to the Spiritlings. You have already awakened to the soul of the Dragon of Destruction. You cannot stay in the world outside. The Spiritlings are also your people.
"But… you Possessed True Morning Dao World and formed a True World clone. I know that it's impossible for you to leave this place and come back with me to the Spiritlings…
"Since that is the case, then I can only give this to you. Before she passed away, your mother asked me to give it to you should I locate you one day."
When the blue-robed woman said those words slowly, she lifted her right hand, and a wooden sword the size of a palm appeared on her hand.
The wooden sword was completely black, but if anyone stared at it for a prolonged period of time, they would find their vision becoming muddled. It was as if the color of the sword was continuously changing.
At the instant Su Ming saw the sword, a thought suddenly formed in his mind. He could sense a thick presence belonging to Abyss Builders on the sword. It was incredibly old, and it surrounded the sword. It formed a great murderous aura which was so thick that it seemed to affect the space around. It caused the world of Morning Dao Sect created by Su Ming's will to show signs of cracking.
And all of this was merely due to the presence of the sword. If Su Ming could brandish it and utilize its presence, its might would definitely increase exponentially.
But that was not all. The moment Su Ming focused his gaze on the sword, it swiftly began buzzing and shuddered rapidly on the blue-robed woman's palm. It was as if the sword had a spirit, and once it sensed an Abyss Builder's presence, a drastic change immediately occurred.
The buzzing sounds became stronger, and the murderous aura instantly surged into the sky. It had appeared out of nowhere, stunning the blue-robed woman. After all, the sword had been in her possession for many years. There was no way that she had not investigated it, but no matter how she had tried to Brand it, she could not control it in the slightest bit. It was like a dead object.
Yet the shivers from the wooden sword and the tumbling murderous aura at that moment made it seem as if the sword had met its destined owner. The change in the situation caused the woman to instinctively want to curl her fist and hold onto the sword, but the moment she wanted to do so, the wooden sword let out a buzz and disappeared from her hand.
When it reappeared, it was right before the center of Su Ming's brow. Without stopping for even a single moment, it charged into it.
Su Ming did not dodge. Once he saw the sword, a connection to it had instantly arisen in his heart that spoke of familiarity to it. He simply allowed the sword to touch the spot between his eyebrows and break his skin. A drop of blood fell off and landed on the sword.
Purple light instantly shone from the wooden sword. It was a light formed after the red of his blood fused with the black on the wood. When it shone, the blood on the sword was absorbed. It fused into the lines on the wood, and the sword immediately grew.
In an instant, it grew to be seven feet tall. The whistles of the sword sounded like cheers that had been suppressed for tens of thousands of years. When they echoed in the air, the sword rapidly spun around Su Ming.
The air around Su Ming distorted from it. The part of the world he had created around himself distorted as well, and a vortex resembling a black hole appeared. It was as if the sword could break all forms of will.
"This is Great Abyss Tribe's racial vessel. It is… Seven Swords, a vessel on par with Great Berserker Tribe's Barren Cauldron! This is the End of Wills Sword of the Seven Swords!"
The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe appeared beside Su Ming. He stared at the spinning wooden sword around Su Ming with disbelief on his face.
"It… has been preserved so well?!"
Chapter 1228: The Successful One Returns Home
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"End of Wills Sword…" Su Ming's eyes sparkled.
When he lifted his right hand, the purple wooden sword moved in a flash and landed in his hand. At the instant Su Ming held it, his body jolted. The murderous aura of the sword surged into his body through the palm.
The murderous aura was incredibly strong, and there was a killing intent in it that was as cold as ice. It swam in Su Ming's body like it wanted to destroy it.
Su Ming frowned, but did not stop it. He simply allowed the murderous aura to enter his soul. At the moment it touched it, the murderous aura instantly transformed and turned into a gentle aura that swam through his body.
At the same time, the purple sword in Su Ming's hand lost all of its killing intent and let out a clear sword whistle, making Su Ming feel as if he had become one with the sword.
"The End of Wills Sword is the third of the Seven Swords. It can put an end to all wills and destroy illusions as well as reality. When it cuts into bodies, no blood will spill. It will simply destroy the soul directly! This is the Sacred Vessel of Great Abyss Tribe. I didn't expect that it would have been preserved in such a good condition over so many times. After all, the Sacred Vessels from the other tribes have all been crushed during the disaster…
"Su Ming, this sword… is more powerful than your ring. It had the entire universe at its beck and call in the past, and right now… it is peerless in Arid Triad."
The old man from Arid Triad stared at the purple sword in Su Ming's hand. The light in his eyes was incredibly bright, which hadn't happened when he'd seen Su Ming's ring in the past, and it was a telling sign of the origins of the End of Wills Sword as well as its strength.
Su Ming lowered his head to cast a glance at the purple sword. He naturally understood that if he was not an Abyss Builder, then when the murderous aura entered his body earlier, the sword would have had its killing intent erupt in his body so that it would kill him.
Even though the sword could not kill Su Ming, its ability to wear away at his soul still made him apprehensive. The purple sword he held in his hand could make his power increase by three-tenths of what he previously possessed by itself!
The blue-robed woman sucked in a deep breath. This sword had been in her hands for many years, but she had never seen anything like that before. When she saw the purple sword acknowledge Su Ming as its owner and heard the clear sword whistles as if it was cheering, she could not help but feel a little envious in her heart.
But that envy swiftly disappeared. The sword did not belong to her, so it was only natural for it to not acknowledge her as its master.
The blue-robed woman's face regained her aloof look. She stood up and said, "I've delivered the sword. There is no need to stay here any longer."
Su Ming lifted his gaze from the purple sword. He cast a glance at the blue-robed woman before saying languidly, "I won't be sending you off."
"You seem to want me to leave as soon as possible," the blue-robed woman suddenly stated.
"You are the one who wants to leave. I will naturally not force someone to do something against their will." Su Ming's face was calm as he stared at the woman.
"I descended from Dark Dawn and delivered this sword to you across two Expanse Cosmoses. I am even your elder, and you are not offering me a word of thanks?" the blue-robed woman asked coldly.
Su Ming raised his eyebrows.
"If the Dragon of Destruction did not appear and I had not received any help, would this sword still be in my hands?" Su Ming asked faintly. His voice was not loud, but his tone was sharp, causing the mighty pressure in the area to instantly become much stronger.
"You…"
The blue-robed woman was rendered speechless for some time. Then, she let out a cold harrumph, turned around, and took a step into the air. In an instant, cold air spread out from her. It immediately turned into the image of an ice phoenix. At the moment the cold air filled the area, the ice phoenix turned into an ice mirror.
It contorted as overlapping shadows manifested within it. This was the same method Su Ming had used to shift her into the place, but in reverse. She was using the same method to disappear.
This was the blue-robed woman's counterattack. With the divine ability she used to leave, she launched a counterattack against Su Ming for suppressing her in every way ever since she had come to his place. She used the chance to leave to show what was outstanding about her.
Su Ming's expression remained the same. He watched the blue-robed woman leave. Regardless of whether she left or stayed, he did not care. With a calm gaze, he lowered his head and stared at the purple sword in his hand. After a long while, he murmured to himself,
"Seven swords… I wonder if the others are still around. Does Su Xuan Yi have them?"
While he was mulling over it, Su Ming swung his right hand. With one thought, the purple sword shrank and turned into a purple light that entered his mouth. When he swallowed it, it was placed in his body and nourished by his Nascent Divinity.
Once the one hundred something Relocation Runes in Morning Dao Sect were activated, the near ten million cultivators from New Dao Sect and South Union all joined the Ninth Summit under Su Ming's second senior brother's management. They disappeared into the Relocation Runes in batches and entered Morning Dao Sect's dimension.
Besides them, the bases of the three great forces of power in the world outside and some of the resources they could use were all sent into Morning Dao Sect.
Half a month later, when almost all the cultivators of the Ninth Summit entered Morning Dao Sect, the silent world became alive once more.
Since Morning Dao Sect was too big, a mere ten million something people entering did not occupy much space. Because of that, most of the continents were sealed off.
As the only and strongest force of power in the True Morning Dao World, the Ninth Summit, under the control of Su Ming's second senior brother, started a round of searches through all of True Morning Dao World with the one hundred something Relocation spots from Morning Dao Sect as a foundation.
They looked for the cultivators who had not been found by the three great forces of power. Once Su Ming delivered a jade slip to the search teams, they became even more thorough. The jade slip contained tens of thousands of cultivators Su Ming had seen scattered at the borders of True Morning Dao World. They were mostly cultivators with unfathomable levels of cultivation and lived on their own, with few of them gathering together in large numbers. The biggest group only numbered to hundreds of people.
As the search teams continued their rounds, more people continuously joined the Ninth Summit. With the one hundred something Relocation spots, the patrol team formed by second senior brother to oversee the True World was sent to various regions of True Morning Dao World once in a while. The regions close to the three Great True Worlds were their main focus.
There was another focus besides those places. Su Ming's second senior brother sent quite a number of powerful cultivators to Arid Triad's gap located within the whirlwind. They were to pay attention to all changes at all points of time. If there was even the slightest hint of change, they were to notify the sect straight away.
Once he discussed it with Su Ming, second senior brother sent some cultivators out. They were led by the old monster in Death Realm, who was the only person in Death Realm left from South Union and who had Su Ming's Brand in his heart.
They went to True Sacred Yin World and the Fourth True World to restore communications with these two Great Two Worlds and notify them that Morning Dao Sect had been destroyed while Ninth Summit had risen to power.
This was important because with the restoration of their lines of communication, they could tell the two Great True Worlds that Ninth Summit was currently the biggest sect in True Morning Dao World, and that they would shoulder the responsibility of constantly keeping watch over Arid Triad's gap. If there were any changes, they would immediately notify the other True Worlds about it, and they could also invite those from the other two Great True Worlds to enter True Morning Dao World to personally observe Arid Triad's gap.
During this moment of crisis, they had to form an alliance so that the cultivators from True Sacred Yin World and the Fourth True World could come over. When Dark Dawn and Saint Defier descended, they had to fight against them together. To get some upper hand, they should form a barrier earlier.
As for repairing the gap… this was impossible. If the cultivators from Arid Triad showed any signs of wanting to repair the gap, they would immediately come face to face with the disaster. It would be better if they did not repair it, not that they could do it.
Earlier, due to the whirlwind and chaos in True Morning Dao World, as well as interference from the Emperor of Abyss' True World, True Sacred Yin World and the Fourth True World could not step in, which made it difficult for them to make good preparations for the disaster. They could only give up on True Morning Dao World and prepare for war in their own True Worlds.
Right then, since True Morning Dao World had regained its order and found a way for large numbers of cultivators to move through the whirlwind, things were different. With Ninth Summit taking the initiative to invite them, they could come to True Morning Dao World and prepare for their battle against Dark Dawn and Saint Defier there.
The Emperor of Abyss' True World was not within Su Ming's considerations. To him, after Su Xuan Yi left True Morning Dao World, the place with the highest possibility where he would head off to was the Emperor of Abyss' True World. Since things had turned sour between them and they reached a state where they would not rest until one of them died, there was no need to form any sort of connection between them.
However, once second senior brother heard Su Ming's thoughts, he refused to follow his decision with a sinister smile. He sent a messenger to the Emperor of Abyss' True World, insisting on forming a connection with them and inviting them over.
When Su Ming saw his second senior brother's sinister smile, he did not further insist on not having anything to do with the Emperor of Abyss' True World, knowing full well that as a Heavenly Phantom, his second senior brother was highly skilled in the areas of scheming and plotting against others.
Once the envoys left for the three Great True Worlds, there was no longer anything left for Su Ming to attend in Ninth Summit. The Predecessor of Dao Ocean was in this place. If anyone dared offend them, he would not just watch it like in the past, which meant that Su Ming did not need to stand as garrison around the place all the time.
Besides, the time limit of one year before the Arid Disaster arrived was not long. Once it was over, the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe would leave, regardless of whether he lived or died through the encounter. With such a matchless powerful warrior around him, it was only natural that Su Ming would use the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe.
His goal… was Yin Death Vortex!
Second senior brother had to stay and manage Ninth Summit while Hu Zi had to spend all of his time and attention on strengthening the Runes. This concerned Ninth Summit's safety when the disaster descended on them in the future, so it was difficult for Hu Zi to relax even for a moment.
Eldest senior brother would then have to lead ten million cultivators in the war during the disaster. This meant that he couldn't leave so readily either. That was why after a round of discussion among the brothers, it was decided that Su Ming would head off alone for his trip to Yin Death Vortex.
Su Ming's main goal was to release the seal on his senior brothers, and the method to do so… was to kill the ancient wills in Yin Death Region.
Su Ming did not have the confidence to do so in the past, but at that moment, it was not impossible for him.
On the day half a month later, near Yin Death Vortex, a Relocation Rune connected to Morning Dao Sect shone with a brilliant light. Once its light disappeared, Su Ming showed up.
By his side was the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe… and on Su Ming's other side was the bald crane, who had been kept away for far too long and was finally let out. The bald crane was vibrating in excitement at that moment. It cast a sideways glance at Su Ming and swore in its heart that it would never stay in his storage bag ever again while murmuring that he had a terrible memory. If he forgot it again, the bald crane had no idea when it would be allowed to get out and have a breath of fresh air.
Besides, it looked forward to their trip to Yin Death Region. Its anticipation could even be said to have turned into manic enthusiasm.
"Darn it all, if you become successful and don't return to your homeland to brag, that's just like wearing beautiful dresses but walking in the dark and having no one to admire it. Who was the person who said this in the past? No matter, I know it, I've always known it.
"This time, I have to go back. I have to return to the tribes in the land of Shamans that worshiped me before. I have to go the tribes who have seen through my disguise before and went after my life. Heh heh, I'm going to make them regret treating me that way in the past!"
The bald crane was so excited that it was vibrating. In fact, it was not able to control itself and howled a few times…
Chapter 1229: Yin Death Vortex
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yin Death Vortex was located in True Morning Dao World, but it was a region completely separated from it. Even when True Morning Dao World's will was at its strongest, it could not interfere too much with Yin Death Vortex.
This could be said to be a world completely different from the world outside. Cultivators could enter this place, but most of them would have their cultivation bases suppressed. There were also other unnamed dangers in it.
But it was not like there were no life forms who tried to get out of Yin Death Vortex either. However, they were rare and few in between over the course of countless years. The level of difficulty could be seen from how hard it had been for Su Ming to get out in the past.
Since Yin Death Region was part of the Immortals' territory, the Immortals' sects were the ones who understood the land the most. The first God of Berserkers who had walked out of Yin Death Region many years ago had had the galaxy at his beck and call while he enslaved the Immortals. Because of that, Yin Death Region gained a veil of mystery.
What level of cultivation did the first God of Berserkers possess and what sort of method did he use to leave the place? Such things had long become history…
While in the galaxy, Su Ming stared at Yin Death Region, which was right before him. In silence, he ignored the bald crane's excited howls. There was a slightly complicated expression on his face, along with nostalgia.
Yin Death Region was the land of Berserkers, and there were some people Su Ming was familiar with in that place. Fang Cang Lan [1], the Shamans, Lei Chen [2], who Su Ming had never managed to find, and some other acquaintances. They had been separated from each other for more than a thousand years, and he wondered whether the land was still the same, whether the people he knew were still around, and whether neither the land nor the people he knew were around anymore…
In silence, Su Ming shook his head. He had left Yin Death Vortex for a long time, so long that his memories of certain things had become muddled, but as he stared at the place, those muddled memories gradually surfaced in his head.
There were still signs of a Rune beyond Yin Death Region. It was the Great Yin Sealing Rune that the Immortals had laid down after pouring a large amount of blood, sweat, and tears into it.
Hu Zi was the incarnation of the Rune Spirit, and he had been separated from it when he was born, which was why even though the Rune had been destroyed by the whirlwind spilling out from Arid Triad's gap to the point that only its frame remained, Hu Zi was not affected in the slightest bit.
With a soft sigh, Su Ming took a step forward and turned into a long arc that charged at Yin Death Vortex.
He had left for more than a thousand years, and now… it was time he returned.
Su Ming instantly fused with Yin Death Vortex. The bald crane followed closely behind him. As for the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe, he naturally had his own way to follow. Su Ming did not need to pay much attention to him.
At the moment he stepped into Yin Death Vortex, a vast amount of aura of death surged out from the vortex and filled the area. Due to its thickness, it turned into fog. It swam around Su Ming while being strong enough to corrode the bodies of all the living, turning them into dead people.
But this aura of death not only not make Su Ming uncomfortable, it gave him a sense of familiarity, as if he had found a place where he belonged. After all… he had fused with this thick aura of death in the past. He had done it so well that he did not even notice the existence of aura of death in Yin Death Region. It was as if he had been a cube of ice that had melted when he fell into the water and could not be differentiated from the water he had melted into.
But it had manifested in the form of corrosion when he was in the face of Bright Yang. It had caused him great pain and injured him gravely when he tried to leave, because at that time, he had already become a part of Yin Death Aura.
"Yin Death Vortex is like a mirror. Beyond the mirror is Morning Dao and Arid Triad, and within the mirror… is Yin Death Region," Su Ming murmured.
He continued onward through the vortex. Gradually, the aura of death in the place grew thicker, and eventually, when Su Ming was completely enveloped within it, his presence suddenly changed.
Su Ming allowed this change. He was an Antecedental Spirit, he possessed a True World clone, and was someone who had walked out of Yin Death Vortex, which was why he was not averse to this change. He simply allowed his body and even his presence to fuse with the aura of death. Once he the change was complete, a feeling of his body being as light as a feather filled him.
This feeling grew stronger, reminding Su Ming of his previous existence in Yin Death Region. The vortex continued spinning while growing deeper. It was as if a person could fall for years through it and still have a hard time reaching its depths.
Su Ming quietly swam in the vortex. There was a suction force contained in it that ensured that he didn't have to spend a lot of energy to move on his own. He simply chose to go forward towards the Berserkers' world located among a myriad of dimensions based on what he could remember.
Around him, the vortex spun with loud rumbles. Dimensional cracks manifested and intersected with each other. Each crack in the vortex was a world. As the vortex spun, the cracks symbolizing the entrances to various dimensions grew in number. If anyone else was in Su Ming's place, perhaps it would be difficult for them to accurately locate the land of Berserkers from the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dimensions.
But Su Ming had left Yin Death Vortex twice with his divine sense in the past. He had the experience of rushing out of the vortex, which was why he could remember where the land of Berserkers was located. At that moment, he quietly rushed in the direction where the land of Berserkers was located in his memories and drew increasingly closer to the place.
Most of his presence had already turned into the aura of death. The remaining portions was also swiftly changing. It was as if before long, he would completely turn into a body belonging to Yin Death Region.
While Su Ming was charging through the vortex, a figure suddenly appeared in a crack of a dimension below him. The figure resembled a human, but it had two heads. At the instant they appeared, they roared at the same time.
The next moment, the figure bent its knees while standing by the entrance. Red light shone in all four of its eyes, and it glared at Su Ming.
At the moment Su Ming shot past its side, the two-headed figure let out a low growl and rushed out, but at the moment it did so, it looked like it had rammed against an invisible wall and was bounced back. It let out a shrill scream of pain.
While Su Ming was descending, his body came to a swift halt. He levitated in the large, spinning vortex and cast a cold glance at the strange, two-headed person who had been bounced back by the invisible barrier.
"You can get into Yin Death Region… but you can't get out," Su Ming mumbled. When he swept his gaze past that figure, he suddenly narrowed his eyes, because his gaze had not just landed on the strange person, but had also landed on the dimension where the person resided. He could vaguely see the world there.
It was a world with a yellow sky and black earth. On the land, there were more than one hundred thousand two-headed people who were the same as the figure. They were roaring at the sky, but most of them had black chains binding their bodies. Their roars were incredibly forlorn.
Su Ming swept his gaze past the place, then moved forward, not bothering with anything in the world. Instead, he continued charging down Yin Death Vortex. Based on his memories, the dimension where the Berserkers were was no longer far away from him.
Ten breaths later, Su Ming was far away from the dimension where the two-headed person was, but it was precisely at that moment that a huge and ferocious dragon head crawled out of the tumbling fog within Yin Death Vortex, right beyond the dimension where the two-headed person was. A powerful breath came out of its nostrils. Its red eyes were unfocused, as if they were rotten. They stared intently in the direction Su Ming had left.
Most of the dragon's head had already rotted away. A thick aura of death spread out from it. When the creature moved, it shot down like a black bolt of lightning.
When the time it takes for a small portion of an incense stick to burn had passed, Su Ming came to a swift halt in the seemingly endless Yin Death Vortex. He then looked to his right where he could see another crack.
A faint and weak presence spread out from the vortex, but it was this faint presence that made Su Ming sense the Berserkers' existence. That place… was the entrance to the Berserkers' world in his memories.
Before the whirlwind, when the Rune beyond Yin Death Vortex still existed, he would not have needed to search for Yin Death Region in such a manner. He could just use the Rune and descend straight away among the Berserkers, since the Rune was in some sense connected to the land of Berserkers.
But now, the Rune was reduced to just a frame, which was why Su Ming had to search for his land in this way.
Su Ming stared at the entrance to the Berserkers' world. Above him, the aura of death squirmed around without a sound. With a calm expression, Su Ming suddenly lifted his right hand and pointed above him, at an area in Yin Death Vortex filled with a large amount of aura of death.
Booming sounds immediately reverberated through the air like muffled thunder. The aura of death tumbled backwards to reveal the rotten dragon head that was quietly approaching him.
The dragon head was only a thousand feet away from Su Ming at that moment. As the aura of death was swept back and the dragon head showed up, a small portion of a skeletal body attached to its head behind it was also revealed.
The dragon's eyes might have been unfocused, but a fierce glare was shining in them. It immediately roared at Su Ming and moved. Yet when it wanted to pounce on him, Su Ming lifted his head with an aloof expression on his face, and with a gaze like lightning, he looked at the dragon head.
"Get lost!"
The moment he spoke, the dragon shuddered. The head that had rushed out forcefully stopped three hundred feet away from Su Ming. A fearful look very rarely seen on the dragon appeared instantly in its eyes. The two words from Su Ming made the dragon feel as if its soul had experienced a storm. It was so strong that the dragon felt that if Su Ming wanted to kill it, he could do so with a single thought.
Its whole body trembled. The mighty pressure from Su Ming's words and his aloof glare caused the dragon to shake in terror, and a feeling as if it could not fight against Su Ming arose in it.
Despite Su Ming looking weaker than him on appearance, it seemed like he was in truth an ancient being which could easily crush him. No one was allowed to offend that will and mighty pressure. The dragon felt that it was as weak as an ant, and it was the exact same feeling it had when it looked at True Morning Dao World when it was at the topmost layer of the vortex, at a spot closest to the world outside.
With another shudder, the dragon wailed and slowly moved back. The terror in its eyes grew stronger. When its body was hidden in the aura of death once again and Su Ming's figure was covered by the fog, it swiftly left the place.
As one of the strange beings living in Yin Death Vortex, it had seen far too many powerful warriors in its life… but Su Ming terrified him like none of them had. In fact, even though it had already died, it felt death creeping on it again.
Translator's Note:
Fang Cang Lan: Woman who tried to help Su Ming discover his past.
Lei Chen: Still Su Ming's HUMAN best friend.
Chapter 1230: Berserker Consort
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
When Su Ming Possessed True Morning Dao World, he had formed his True World clone. He might be in Yin Death Vortex at that moment, but he was already such a high level of being that he was not something the puny dragon formed by the aura of death could offend.
It was similar to how a ruler was not to be easily offended even if they were not in their home territory.
Once he chased away the dragon formed by the aura of death, Su Ming moved forward and stepped into the crack leading to the Berserkers' world, but at the instant he did so and his body was about to disappear, his expression changed.
He looked slightly puzzled and slightly surprised, but soon, a hint of shock appeared on his face while his expression changed.
Su Ming sensed a power of laws of fate so thick that it was difficult to put into words. There were about two hundred thousand of them, and each of them was so strong that they were equivalent to around three hundred cultivators he had enslaved and Branded in True Morning Dao World.
This was to say that the power of the two hundred thousand laws of fate was equivalent to the power gathered by sixty million cultivators in the outside world.
This alone was enough to shock Su Ming greatly, but he was further surprised by the existence of another batch of laws of fate, which numbered to around one million, scattered around the land. Their power might not be as great, but each of them was equivalent to the power of a hundred cultivators in the outside world.
There was no way Su Ming would not be surprised by this. If he utilized these laws of fate, he would gain a hundred million something laws of fate measured according to the standards of the outside world. In fact, he could even send his True World clone directly into the land of Berserkers and turn it into a part of his True World.
Su Ming's gaze focused. He stepped into the land of Berserkers without any hesitation. He could sense the density of the laws of fate clearly, but no form of will could absorb it, because there was a Brand in all of these laws of fate, and all of them… belonged to Su Ming.
Almost at the instant he disappeared, Di Tian opened his eyes while lying in the coffin situated in the red world within Yin Death Vortex. His will swiftly covered the entire world.
"I sense… Su Ming's presence!"
As Di Tian's will reverberated through the air, other wills immediately descended into the world, causing the sky and earth to rumble. The air distorted as if the apocalypse had begun.
"The time has not arrived for us to venture out. Let him… come as he pleases…"
"We are not to interfere… with Yin Death's vortex…"
"It's easier to hide traces of our whereabouts by dying… from Harmonious Morus Alba's servant [1]…"
"Dark Dawn and Saint Defier's descent, Arid Triad's complete destruction… up to the moment it arrives… only then would it be time… for us to venture out."
There was an ancient, archaic air about those wills. When they came into contact with Di Tian's will, they gradually scattered. As they dispersed, the entrances to eight worlds in Yin Death Vortex closed up before disappearing without a trace. It was as if they had eternally disappeared from the tens of thousands of worlds.
…..
The sky in the land of Berserkers was no longer blue. Instead, it was brownish yellow. If anyone took a close look at it, they would be able to see a brownish yellow ring of light in the sky. It fused with the sun, and their light scattered high above.
If anyone cast their gazes over the world, they would find that the entire land was a vast expanse of sea. Oceans surged into the sky, and its waves were as black as ink…
Islands stood tall above the seas, but no continents could be seen. Perhaps the slightly larger islands were already treated as the continents of this place.
During the period of one thousand something years, the four continents seemed to have experienced another great destruction. Su Ming had no idea when they were shattered, but they had either sunk into the ocean or turned into lone islands.
It did not matter whether it were the Berserkers, Shamans, or the Fallen Berserkers, for they were all on the islands on the Dead Sea that were once the land of Berserkers. And they were still growing in numbers…
There was no longer any distinction between continents, and neither was there any differences between regions. The clans of the past had either disappeared or fallen to ruin. Few grew to power. The tribes of the past had also either been destroyed or been buried in the deep ocean. Hence… on a day a thousand something years later, there were few tribes that could be seen in the Berserkers' world. There were also few clans that occupied a large area.
Most… were forces of power or unions formed once by people from various tribes and clans who just so happened to be on the same island.
From a historical perspective, the Berserkers had already transformed and moved out of the age of tribes. They had also moved out of the age of clans and sects to enter a path marking another sort of existence, where hundreds of families contended against each other. They were no longer limited to tribes and clans.
Too many stories were buried in the depths of the seas. Too many corpses were hidden in the wreckage within the ocean. There were also too many regrets and dreams that had either passed or vanished with the wind during the course of one thousand something years…
"The First God of Berserkers, Lie Shan Xiu, brought the Berserkers and made us rise to power for many years. The Second God of Berserkers did not live for long, but he did bring forth the belief that Berserker Bodies will not perish. The Third God of Berserkers left behind his will and beliefs, letting us know that we can sigh at the universe, but not wish anything from it.
"The Fourth God of Berserkers… Fourth God of Berserkers…"
A youthful voice echoed in the air from a flat valley among mountains located in a middle-sized island in the Dead Sea.
There were about a dozen children around seven or eight years old sitting there with long faces. One of the children was standing while talking about the Fourth God of Berserkers. It was clear that he had already forgotten what he memorized. He stared at the old man sitting in front of them with fear on his face.
The old man was dressed in sackcloth, and he had a head full of white hair. His face was full of wrinkles, and he was staring at the terrified boy with a stern expression.
"The Fourth God of Berserkers… the Fourth God of Berserkers…"
A young girl beside the boy sighed softly at that moment and said, "The Fourth God of Berserkers chased away and imprisoned the Immortals. His will and body will never decay for all eternity!"
Once she finished speaking, the boy let out a sigh of relief in his heart, but immediately spoke loudly.
"I've knew it, I…"
"Enough!" the old man sitting in front of the children said slowly. Once he spoke, the children immediately became obedient.
"You are all children of the Berserkers. You possess the blood of Berserkers. Remember this, you must keep the Gods of Berserkers in your minds. They gave up on everything in their lives for the Berserkers to rise to power.
"It is especially so for the First God of Berserkers, who created the system to bring the Berserkers to glory, and the Fourth God of Berserkers, who gathered together the scattered Berserker tribes with his own power and chased out the Immortals who enslaved all of us!
"You must remember these two God of Berserkers for your entire lives!" The old man's voice gradually became stern.
The children immediately nodded. They knew well the names of the four God of Berserkers and would never forget them. The boy had really only hesitated for a moment due to being nervous.
"All of you will receive your Berserkers' Initiation tomorrow. Whether or not you have the potential to walk down the path of Berserkers and receive the blessings of the Berserker Consort after you grow up to receive the will to walk down the path of the Fated Kin will depend on your serendipity…" The old man's voice was no longer stern, but had turned kind.
"I want to become a Fated Kin!"
"I want to become a Fated Kin as well. That is the tribe left behind by the Fourth God of Berserkers. My father is a Fated Kin…"
The children immediately became excited and started causing a ruckus. Their youthful voices echoed in the morning, fusing with the sounds of the waves and traveling far and wide.
"It is not easy to become a Fated Kin. The Fated Kin is the only tribe that personally received their inheritance from Lord Su Ming before he disappeared… The cultivators in this tribe rose to power based on their Lives, and with Life Cultivation, they can change the world.
"If you don't have the will to press forward with an indomitable spirit, it is impossible for you to become a Fated Kin, and you are not worthy of becoming a Fated Kin either," the old man said slowly. As he spoke, he lifted his head and looked into the distance.
If anyone cast their eyes towards where he was looking, they would be able to see that there was an island on a spot in the sea not too far away from them.
The most distinctive feature about it was a huge statue. It portrayed a young man dressed in a long robe. He had his hands placed behind his back, and it looked like his hair and robes were lifted by the wind. He stared into the distance with a dignified look on his face while thick, mighty pressure spread out from his statue.
The mighty pressure surrounded the area, causing not a single sea creature to have the courage to take even half a step into a circular area of ten thousand lis around the island. All those who approached it swiftly left into another direction.
It could be vaguely seen that there were quite a number of figures worshiping the statue on the island…
There was zealousness and sincerity on those people's faces. To the others, the statue before them was the Fourth God of Berserkers, but to all the Berserkers on the island, this statue was their soul, their Progenitor, the god who gave hope to their lives and created the Fated Kin.
None were allowed to offend the Fated Kin, and the Fated Kin rose to power on their own!
While the size of the island that belonged to the Fated Kin might not have changed over the course of the one thousand something years, the cultivators in it had reached around thirty thousand, and the place… had become known as the holy land to the Fated Kin.
In truth, there were thirty-three islands with Su Ming's statues located in the Dead Sea. There were from thousands to tens of thousands of Fated Kin on each island.
They did not interfere with the fight between the forces of power among the Berserkers located on the countless islands on the Dead Sea. They were of a status that surpassed all forces of power and maintained the balance within the Berserkers' world. They protected the seas, and they only had two enemies. One of them was the swarm of beasts that would appear once in a while from the boundless Dead Sea.
The other enemy was… the living beings from the outside world that would occasionally descend from the brownish yellow ring of light in the sky. Every single time either of the two showed up, the Fated Kin would move into action.
On usual days, they would devote their attention entirely into practicing cultivation and worshiping the statue so that they could give their lives away for their god.
Within the old man's gaze was a mountain behind the statue in the Fated Kin's holy land. It had a huge palace, which was not lavishly built, but was filled with an antique presence of the Berserkers.
It was similar to Great Yu Palace and stood tall and majestic on the mountain while light spread out from within it. That light was not piercing to the eyes. Its gentle brightness was a lamp on the Dead Sea. Once in a while, Berserkers from the other islands on the Dead Sea would come there and worship it.
Because living in the palace… was the most noble entity in the land of Berserkers at that moment. She might have refused to acknowledge it, but due to the need to maintain the stability among the Berserkers, she was assumed to be the concubine of the Fourth God of Berserkers. Her name… was Fang Cang Lan.
Translator's Note:
1. Harmonious Morus Alba: The butterfly spoken in Berserker legends. Basically, every single time it flaps its wings, things die.
Chapter 1231: Old Friend…
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Fang Cang Lan did not declare herself as the Berserker Consort. When the Berserkers lost their Fourth God of Berserkers, some of the elderly who lived during the time when Su Ming was still around had decided unanimously that she was needed to placate the entire land of Berserkers.
The Berserkers could not be allowed to descend into chaos. Even though the Immortals were no longer around, the spread of the Dead Sea, the crumbling of the continents, the scattering of the islands that led to them to resemble the stars in a galaxy resulted in Berserkers severely lacking a power that could gather them together.
The islands were all independent forces. There was not a single spiritual symbol among them, and without it, they did not have hope for the future. It was especially so since the Fourth God of Berserkers had went missing. They had practically turned into a plate of scattered sand.
If this lasted for a long time, the Berserkers… would no longer be Berserkers. They would lose their souls and wills. They would only end up dying one after another due to the passage of time and the slaughter of the sea creatures and the ferocious creatures beyond the sky until all of them died, causing the Berserkers to become the dust of history.
Fang Cang Lan did not want to see this sort of Berserkers. Hence, after a period of silence, she chose to agree to their request and become a living statue.
She could no longer have any sort of partner in her life. She could not even show her face to the others. She had to maintain an air of mystery and nobility. All her words and actions had to fulfill the status of the Berserker Consort. Perhaps many people would be able to accept this like Fang Cang Lan if they only had to do it for a year or two, or even eight to ten years… but if this lasted for hundreds or thousands of years, that loneliness was something that a normal person would not be able to withstand.
She stood above all others, and she was a puppet, but at the same time, not. She could not readily venture outside, for she had willingly become a living status to serve as the spiritual symbol for the Berserkers so that she could remind the Berserkers who were born later that… the Gods of Berserkers were not legends. They truly existed. Even if the new generations could not see the Gods of Berserkers, they could still see the Berserker Consort.
With the Berserker Consort around, the missing Fourth God of Berserkers would definitely return some day. He would return to the land of Berserkers and lead them… to power!
This was their hope, a beautiful thought if anything. It was also a firm belief among all the Berserkers.
It was because of Fang Cang Lan's status and existence that while the islands in the land of Berserkers had ceaseless conflicts and even some rather large-scale wars over the years, they still prided themselves on being Berserkers and would come to worship the palace once in a while.
In their hearts, the Fated Kin was the tribe left behind by the God of Berserkers, and the Berserker Consort… was the most noble existence in their land. With just one word from Fang Cang Lan, they could give up their everything.
It did not matter whether it was the sea creatures or the ferocious beasts from the world beyond. Every single time they invaded during the course of the thousand something years, under Fang Cang Lan's call to arms, all the Berserkers would gather to fight with the Fated Kin!
Every single time they persevered, it would cause her power to gather everyone to grow stronger, making her status as a spiritual symbol to become part of the soul of the Berserkers.
Besides the God of Berserkers' influence in the past and the elderly making their plans and arrangements, Fang Cang Lan's cordial nature was also a very important point for her to be able to do all of this.
Under her persistence, all the islands on the Dead Sea within the Berserkers' world had a Berserker envoy. Each one of them was like a sage. Their statuses were not like those of the Elders, but their mission was the same. They were to teach the younger generation and help them through their Berserkers' Initiation so that each young Berserker was filled with the knowledge about the Gods of Berserkers being supreme existences.
Despite the fact that after the land of Berserkers had shattered and turned into the islands that showed signs of splitting during the one thousand something years the God of Berserkers was absent, the Berserkers had managed to remain as a complete unit and even gained a mindset that surpassed what they possessed before. Their racial soul had grown much stronger… which was largely due to Fang Cang Lan!
But when she stood in the palace at the Fated Kin's holy land and stared at the sky beyond the window, she knew… that it was impossible for Su Ming to return.
Perhaps he would, but it would be an unknown number of years later.
She sighed softly, then quietly turned around to sit beside a Chinese zither placed on the table. She closed her eyes and played a song. The notes of the Chinese zither echoed in the air, bringing with them a hint of loneliness and melancholy.
Su Ming stood in the sky and stared at the endless Dead Sea below him. The seawater was as black as ink. There were plenty of islands on the sea, and there were quite a large number of Berserkers on each island. Su Ming walked through the sky quietly. He stared at the islands and tried to search for the people he was familiar with on the islands.
But in the end… he did not find them. There might be some Berserkers from his era who survived up till then, but they were not the ones he was familiar with. It was as if the familiarity in his memories had turned into ash and scattered into the wind during the course of time. His memories had turned into regrets that he could not locate even if he wanted to.
"The place and people are all different now…" Su Ming murmured.
He walked forward quietly, and by his side, the bald crane had become quiet as well. It stared at the sea in a daze. Even it could not find the Shamans, the tribes, or other people who had worshiped it or had gone after its life in the past.
'I remember that Southern Swamp Island [1]…'
Su Ming lifted his head in silence and stared into the distance. Just as he was about to take a step forward, his expression suddenly changed, and he turned his head to look at a spot far away from him.
His gaze could see through the distance, and he could clearly see three people on the surface of the sea far away from him. There were two in front and one behind. It was a chase.
The two people in front were a man and a woman while the person behind was an old man. He was chasing after the pair.
Su Ming swept his gaze past the trio, and a strange look gradually appeared on his face. Those three people existed in his memories…
Waves tumbled on the sea. The man from the fleeing duo appeared to be in his middle ages. He had extraordinary power and was already in the later stage of Bone Sacrifice Realm, but his age was clearly not as his appearance suggested. He had to be much older, but he seemed to have practiced some sort of cultivation method to allow himself to appear only as a middle-aged man.
The woman by his side was clearly slightly older than him, but she had a beautiful face and had a strange charm. If she appeared slightly younger, she would definitely be an incredibly beautiful person. Her cultivation base lacked smoothness, but the aura she exuded was also that of those in Bone Sacrifice Realm, just that she was only in the initial stage of that Realm.
The two were fleeing together at that moment, and there seemed to be a connection between them. The man was taking care of the woman, or else he would have managed to flee much faster.
The person chasing after them was an old man. He had an imposing look, and when he exuded his cultivation base, it showed that he was in the initial stage of Berserker Soul Realm. The person's eyes were flashing brightly with killing intent, which was a telling sign that he had killed for many years.
"I'd like to see where you can flee today, youngsters! How dare you steal the Origin Flower from my island?! You're just asking for death!"
The old man let out a cold harrumph. There was killing intent in his words as he charged forward.
The middle-aged man's face was pale. He formed a seal with his hands and coughed up a mouthful of blood to execute a Secret Art. Then, he grabbed the woman, and his speed became faster.
"Senior, why must you persecute us so relentlessly? We just asked for one single Origin Flower. It's not something valuable to you, but to us, this is a medicine that can save our child." The woman's face was bloodless as she spoke in a tone that sounded nearly like pleading.
"What a joke. Even if it's not something valuable to me, I will not give it out so readily to others, especially since the both of you have such a bad reputation. There is no way I will grant the Origin Flower to people with illicit sexual relations. If I did, I would surely end up as a joke among my peers.
"Hmph, if I was still the left preceptor of Freezing Sky Clan [2], then forget about the matter of the both of you stealing the Origin Flower, even if you had not, if I saw you, I would have killed you! You corrupted morals, you shameless people!"
The old man's words were cold. His sentences were like blades that cut into the woman and man's hearts, causing their expressions to turn even paler, but they could not retort.
"We can tell him about your aunt…"
The woman laughed brokenly, then looked at the man who held her hand. Just as she was about to say something, resolve appeared in the man's eyes. He threw the woman into the distance, using all the force he had, which pushed her thousands of feet away.
"Don't speak anymore! Yan Luan, I'll be the rearguard! Hurry up and save Lin Er!" the man cried out loudly and turned around to fix his gaze on the old man swiftly coming down at him. Madness appeared in his eyes; he was about to drag the old man to his grave with him.
"Fang Mu!"
Tears fell from the woman's eyes. She could not understand why there seemed to be an unchanging barrier between Fang Mu and his aunt. It was a ravine so wide that he'd rather die than acknowledge her as his family. Very few people knew that he was the nephew of the Berserker Consort… and very few people knew the Berserker Consort's original name as well as her tribe. The woman could only grit her teeth and charge into the distance.
She was Yan Luan, the tribe leader of the Lake of Colors Tribe in the past, and the man was the son of Tranquil East Tribe's tribe leader, Fang Mu, the child in whom Si Ma Xin had planted the Berserker Seed!
A thousand something years had passed since then, and the child had grown up and become the current middle-aged man. He was tied up with… Yan Luan, and based on the words they shared previously, it was also clear that they had a child.
Perhaps if the Berserkers did not experience such a drastic change, the two of them might not have been together. However, the appearance of the change: the shattering of the mountains, the spread of the Dead Sea, the submersion of Han Mountain… had indirectly changed their destinies.
"Zhou Shan, why do you have to humiliate my wife and I? Yan Luan might have been a member of the older generation in the past, but we are not related to each other by blood, so there is nothing shameful about us!"
Red appeared in Fang Mu's eyes. As he roared, his cultivation base erupted from his body with a bang and started showing signs of him intending to trigger self-destruction.
The old man was Zhou Shan, the person who was sent by Freezing Sky Clan to kill Han Mountain's ancestor in Han Mountain City. Many years had passed since then, and this person had already reached Berserker Soul Realm.
Zhou Shan let out a cold harrumph. He did not stop for even a single moment in his charge towards Fang Mu. He lifted his right hand, and at the instant Fang Mu was about to self-destruct with madness shining bright in his eyes, he pushed his hand forward. A hint of derision was in the old man's eyes.
When the two of them approached each other, tears fell from Yan Luan's eyes. If it was not because she wanted to go back and save her child, she would have definitely died together with Fang Mu to drag Zhou Shan to his grave.
At that instant, a sigh could be heard. It echoed all around them, and it seemed to have instantly stopped all operations in the world, causing the three cultivators to come to an abrupt halt.
Translator's Note:
1. Southern Swamp Island: The biggest of all of the islands when South Morning shattered. Fang Cang Lan, Zi Yan, Zi Che, and Ya Mu were there.
2. Left preceptor: Appeared in Chapter: Han Kong.