Chapter 1262: Are There Any More?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
'Three Children of Morus Alba… and one of them is the other version of me in this Expanse Cosmos. This also explains why I can move through the vortex, but the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe can not.
'The other me can communicate with Harmonious Morus Alba's will. He is the supreme Child of Morus Alba, only second to Harmonious Morus Alba.' Su Ming let his eyes fall shut to hide his thoughts.
A brilliant light shone beneath his eyelids, and then, he thought of another question. 'Who are the other two… Children of Morus Alba?
'If the other me can communicate with Harmonious Morus Alba… then can I do it as well? And Di Tian is hidden in Yin Death Vortex. Does he have some form of connection with Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos as well?
'There's Su Xuan Yi as well. This person is a man of great talent and ambition. My level of cultivation might surpass his, but I still can't guess the details of his plan. I feel as if I'm missing some very important clues…
'By the looks of it… does he also know about Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos' existence?!'
When Su Ming thought of this, a myriad of thoughts spun in his head. In silence, he did not bother himself with the forces of power in the three Great True Worlds here. The thing he paid attention to the most was that the three Children of Morus Alba who could use the divine abilities of Harmonious Morus Alba's will.
"If… I can take you to…"
While Su Ming was mulling over his thoughts, Qian Chen seemed to have said something. Su Ming stopped thinking and lifted his head to look at him.
"I was saying that if you want to see Bai Su, I… can bring you to the planet where she lived. But one thousand something years have already passed. As a mortal, she should have already passed away a long time ago." Qian Chen did not know what Su Ming had gone through. His memories still stayed in the past, which was why he said those words.
Su Ming was silent for a moment, as if he remembered something. Once he touched his storage bag, he nodded.
Qian Chen had a slightly complicated look on his face. Clearly, he had misunderstood Su Ming's feelings for Bai Su. He sighed. After a moment, the two of them turned into two long arcs that charged out of the planet and left into the distance.
True Sky Hill World was filled with brilliant nebula. From the distance, they looked incredibly beautiful, and they dazzled the minds of all who saw them. Two long arcs shot through the sky, and Su Ming continued getting closer to them with Qian Chen as they moved forward.
With Qian Chen's level of cultivation, it would take him an incredibly long time before to step into Sky Hill, but with Su Ming sweeping him up with his power, they traveled at a speed that surpassed shifting.
In just two hours, Su Ming and Qian Chen left True Immortal Sect World and stepped into Sky Hill's galaxy.
It was boundless and quiet. Not many cultivators could be seen, and even if there were some in the area, they would not be able to notice Su Ming. Under Qian Chen's instructions, when the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn passed, a blue cultivation planet appeared before Su Ming.
That cultivation planet was incredibly beautiful. It was blue because most of the planet was occupied by an ocean. There were two continents on it. Based on Qian Chen's instructions, Su Ming moved, and the universe in his view changed. He landed on the top of a mountain located on the continent to the right of the planet.
A mountain breeze howled, and it brought with it a chilling presence. The place was covered in a white layer of snow, and when Su Ming cast his gaze over, he saw snow falling down from the sky. It looked like there was no end to it.
Qian Chen thought for a moment before he lifted his finger and pointed into the distance. "It's this continent. I remember seeing her in the city of the mortal country in that direction."
When Su Ming looked over, his expression was as calm as ever. After a long while, he shook his head.
"It's been one thousand years. Countries will always change. There's no…"
Su Ming closed his eyes and spread his divine sense outwards. After a long while, when he opened his eyes, a complicated look appeared on his face. He turned around and brought Qian Chen with him to disappear from the snow on the mountain.
When he reappeared, he was standing outside a village next to a mountain. The village seemed to be secluded from the world. There was smoke rising into the morning sky. Occasionally, the sounds of dogs barking could be heard, and they were mixed with the sounds of children playing.
The village was not big. There were only about sixty families in it. In the snowy morning, several children were building snowmen while laughing. Su Ming watched all of this quietly before calmly walking over. Mortals could not see him move past them.
When he walked to the house belonging to one of the family's in the village, Su Ming stopped. There were quite a number of women moving in and out of the house at that moment, and they were delivering hot water nonstop into one of the rooms.
Occasionally, the sound of a woman exerting all her strength would travel out of the room. A man standing outside paced back and forth in anxiety. His wife was in labor, but she could not give birth… It was as if the time had not arrived yet… and the person they were waiting for had not arrived yet.
Su Ming stared at it for a moment before walking into the courtyard to step into another room. It was an ancestral hall, and there were quite a number of plates placed in it. They were the ancestors of this family, and they were worshiped by this family generation after generation.
Qian Chen stayed by Su Ming's side and quietly watched him stare at the plates in the ancestral hall. Eventually, his gaze landed on the topmost plate.
By his ears were still the occasional screams from the woman in labor in the other room. After a long while, Su Ming sighed softly and touched his storage bag before he turned around, and with one step, he appeared in the woman's room.
As he stared at her experiencing difficulty in giving birth, he found that her face somewhat resembled that of Bai Su. In silence, Su Ming patted his storage bag, and an illusory shadow resembling a wandering soul flew out to float around him. It was… the Celestial Maiden [1].
As he stared at the Celestial Maiden, Su Ming sighed softly. With a swing of his right hand, the Celestial Maiden's soul circled Su Ming a few times, as if there was a hint of a reluctance to part within it, then she slowly fused into the woman's womb.
"Perhaps it was destined that I would come here to cut my ties with you the second time in this place. The first was in Arid Triad, and the second in Harmonious Morus Alba…" Su Ming said softly. He stared at the soul disappearing into the woman's womb, then turned around and left quietly.
At the instant Su Ming left, he heard a baby's cries. The voice seemed to carry a reluctance to part, along with a hint of regret…
But the sounds of laughter and cheers from the family washed away this sadness.
Qian Chen stared at all of this in a daze. He did not understand why this happened, because he did not understand what Su Ming had went through…
On a continent of this planet in True Sky Hill World was a lake. Su Ming sat beside it and watched the lake as snow fell from the sky, but it did not freeze the water. There was steam rising from the surface of the lake, making it clear that there was a heat source underneath.
"So, tell me where your enemies are," Su Ming said faintly.
Qian Chen was momentarily stunned by his side. He was just about to say something when Su Ming turned his head and stared at Qian Chen with a smile.
"I won't be staying long in Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos. I have certain things to do as well while I'm here. If you don't tell me, then once I leave, you won't have this chance anymore," Su Ming said while smiling.
There was no way he would not be able to tell with his intellect that Qian Chen had intentionally mentioned Bai Su to lure him to come to Sky Hill. If anyone else had done this, Su Ming would harbor killing intent toward them, but Qian Chen definitely had something he needed from Su Ming, so instead of lurking around, it would be better for them to be direct.
An awkward expression appeared on Qian Chen's face. He looked as if he wanted to explain something, but then gritted his teeth and wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply towards Su Ming.
"Sky Hill Jade Palace's Western Deity Sect, which is under Li Tian Wang's jurisdiction. The current seal bearer eldest disciple in that sect should have been me, but I was framed by wicked people, and they forced me to leave. This person has vast and deep connections in Western Deity Sect, and he is the son of Li Shou, one of the Li Tian Wang's four generals!
"He destroyed my cultivation base and snatched my lover so that he could seize the status of the seal bearer disciple. He forced me to constantly flee, as if toying with me… This is something that happened in the past, and it's also because of this that I was forced to flee into Bright Yang Vortex, which is how I entered the Berserkers' world.
"I returned later on. This person might not have attacked me again, but every single time I return to the sect to make offerings to my Master, he caused trouble for me. My level of cultivation is not as great as his, and I can't take revenge for what he did to me. I can only endure it.
"Those troubles are like the ones I ran into just now. A sect I visited lost a treasure of theirs, and I was made accountable for it. If it was not because I am somewhat acquainted with Freezing Winter Sect's seal bearer eldest disciple, I would have been unable to run from being humiliated by this person again."
"How do you want to deal with Western Deity Sect?" Su Ming asked while looking at Qian Chen.
"Killing him alone is enough, but if…"Qian Chen gritted his teeth, and a ferocious expression appeared on his face. Before he even spoke, Su Ming nodded.
"I don't do things by reason or rationality. I only care about the feelings of those close to me. Since you asked, then Western Deity Sect… should be destroyed," Su Ming said slowly.
Once these words left his mouth, Qian Chen sucked in a sharp breath. He had wanted to say that if Su Ming was able to, he would like him to kill a few of his opponent's seniors in secret as well, but when he thought of the status of Western Deity Sect's Sect Master, he had hesitated.
"Are there any more?" Su Ming asked.
"There is also… Northern Waves Sect. It is also one of the four sects under Li Tian Wang. In the past…" Qian Chen felt slightly worked up. He had heard the casualness in Su Ming's words and had a vague guess of Su Ming's level of cultivation. At that moment, before he finished speaking, Su Ming nodded again.
"Northern Waves Sect. Are there any more?"
"And there's also Zhennan [2] Xun Sect. It's also Li Tian Wang's…"
"Alright, I will wipe off this Li Tian Wang you speak of and destroy all of his sects. Will that be enough?"
"Urk… Freezing Winter Sect is actually quite nice to me… Huh? Wipe off Li Tian Wang? He-he's a powerful warrior in Death Realm, and his power is so great that it's unfathomable. He…"
When Qian Chen said those words, he sucked in a sharp breath again and stared at Su Ming blankly, because Su Ming had just said those four words to him again.
"Are there any more?"
"No… None. No more."
Qian Chen shuddered in his heart. He suddenly felt a little scared. Based on what he understood of Su Ming, his casualness was definitely not an intentional slight. He was… truly completely unbothered and dismissive of this matter.
Wiping off several sects and a powerful warrior who had already perfected Death Realm while being so unbothered and dismissive of it was enough proof to tell just how great Su Ming's level of cultivation had become. This caused Qian Chen's breathing to quicken, but he still did not quite dare to believe it.
"Li Tian Wang is…"
"Alright. Bring me to Western Deity Sect first. You will need to do something about your face too. After all, after this is done, I will leave, but you will still stay here."
Su Ming turned around and lifted his right hand to swing it at Qian Chen. Qian Chen's appearance immediately changed, and he turned into an old man. His presence had also became different. Unless there was someone whose will was stronger than Su Ming's… no one would be able to tell that the old man beside him was Qian Chen.
Chapter 1263: Destroy the Sect!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The reason Su Ming chose to help Qian Chen was because they were old friends. Since Qian Chen had already spoken, Su Ming would not refuse him. Besides, destroying a few sects and a cultivator in Death Realm was…
He was indeed completely unbothered by it. Forget Li Tian Wang, even if he had to wipe off all the powerful warriors in True Sky Hill World, it would not be an impossible feat for Su Ming.
Besides helping Qian Chen with his revenge, Su Ming had his own goals as well. He wanted to make a ruckus and bring attention to himself in Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos. He wanted to catch the attention of all the powerful warriors and make the other version of himself who was a Child of Morus Alba come to him.
It would be much easier than him searching for his other self on his own. After all, this was Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos. If his other self wanted to hide, Su Ming would find it troublesome to find him. There were plenty of other places that he wanted to visit in his short time here… such as the All Spirits Hall.
With that being the case, it was much better if he put on a disguise. Then, everything that he would do would be blamed on that Child of Morus Alba. With it, he could force his other self to show up.
He wanted to fuse with his other self. This was a cruel matter, but after experiencing so many things, Su Ming knew deeply that if it had the chance, his other self would also choose to fuse with him. The difference only lay on who was the dominant personality after their fusion.
Both sides had their own resolve. There was no right or wrong in this. If there was, then the one who was wrong was the world.
Su Ming did not immediately head off in search of All Spirits Hall because he had come to realize that his strength might also cause his other self to become stronger due to his appearance in this place.
Besides the supreme Child of Morus Alba, the strongest force of power in True Sky Hill World was the Jade Palace. The Jade Emperor was clearly a Sublime Paragon, and there were three main forces branching out from under him: Li Tian Wang, the God of Two Tunnels, and the young Feng Huo. They built their own forces of power and quite a number of sects.
They were like a huge tree whose roots were deeply rooted in True Sky Hill World.
Western Deity Sect was just a branch among the many branches of the tree. Under Qian Chen's lead, Su Ming descended upon it in just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
As he stared at the sect in the distance, monstrous killing intent appeared in Qian Chen's eyes. He had already made up his mind. When he charged forward with Su Ming later on, he would definitely kill that seal bearer eldest disciple with his own hands, and he would definitely use every bit of his power to penetrate the thirteen planets.
Western Deity Sect was a sect formed by thirteen cultivation planets. It had tens of thousands of disciples and had stood tall for a long period of time in the galaxy. Li Shou, the Sect Master's name, was a name given to the generations of Sect Masters who would inherit the title of the four generals under Li Tian Wang. Every Li Shou was a powerful warrior in Death Realm, and their might was not to be questioned or provoked.
Yet right then, a loud bang that shook the skies and earth and could be heard in all of True Sky Hill World reverberated through Western Deity Sect. That loud bang caused Qian Chen's heart to tremble, and his eyes went wide in disbelief, because he saw that Su Ming had only lifted his right hand and pushed down…
True Sky Hill World looked like it was about to shatter. Ripples swept through the galaxy and turned into a huge hand that stretched out boundlessly. It covered all of Western Deity Sect and pushed down swiftly.
As loud booms reverberated through the air and Qian Chen was caught in a state of disbelief, the thirteen cultivation planets withered and crumbled, shattering to pieces. The bodies and souls of innumerable cultivators were destroyed on the spot.
Even if there were some powerful warriors who tried to fly into the air, the moment they flew up, they would explode while screaming shrilly.
Only one person, a middle-aged man dressed in battle armor, charged out with a shout full of despair. His face was filled with terror and indescribable panic. He seemed to want to say something, but when the huge hand furled into a fist…
All the fragments from the planets and the people, including the man dressed in battle armor, were reduced to nothingness when the hand clenched into a fist. When it unfurled… Western Deity Sect disappeared from True Sky Hill World.
From the beginning till the end, only a few breaths had passed.
"Northern Waves Sect. Lead the way," Su Ming said faintly as he looked at the dumbstruck Qian Chen.
The thick killing intent Qian Chen had harbored previously turned into cold sweat at that moment. All his preparations beforehand had disappeared due to what he had seen.
He had recognized the cultivators who had tried to fly up. Every single one of them were existences who could make him tremble. They were powerful warriors who could make the entire galaxy shake with a stomp of their feet.
But they could not even fly out into the galaxy. Their bodies and souls were destroyed in a wretched manner.
And the man in the battle armor had given Qian Chen the greatest amount of shock, because there was no way Qian Chen would mistake him. It was… the Sect Master of Western Deity Sect who possessed the power of Death Realm—Li Shou, one of the four war generals under Li Tian Wang!
That person was so strong that Qian Chen could only dream of obtaining his strength. In fact, there was a long period of time when Sect Master Li Shou had been the strongest person in the universe in Qian Chen's mind.
Yet right then, this powerful warrior could not even withstand a single blow from Su Ming!
Qian Chen finally understood… the reason behind why Su Ming had sounded so casual when he said he wanted to wipe off Li Tian Wang.
"Northern Waves Sect… Northern Waves Sect!"
Qian Chen felt his spirits lift. His voice was hoarse, and blood capillaries due to excitement appeared in his eyes as he pointed into the distance.
"Northern Waves Sect is over there!"
After the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn… booming sounds reverberated through the air in Northern Waves Sect. The entire sect was reduced to ash in an instant. None of the cultivators and the powerful warriors managed to escape the disaster. All of their bodies and souls were destroyed.
With Su Ming's strength, he was the will of heaven. The strength of his will was only weaker than that of Arid Triad and Harmonious Morus Alba. He only needed a single thought if he wanted to destroy a person or a sect.
The time it takes for another two incense sticks to burn passed, and Zhennan Xun Sect… was wiped out from True Sky Hill World by a hand. Three sects were destroyed, and the entire process took less than two hours. The speed of it was so quick that even Qian Chen, who personally saw it with his own eyes, found himself unable to react to all of this, and it was worse for Li Tian Wang, who was under the jurisdiction of Jade Palace.
Qian Chen was so worked up that he could no longer measure the level of his excitement. He only knew that his eyes were red, and it was due to his excitement. He went through his memories to search for the people who once oppressed him, and he found quite a number of people. Just when he was about to tell Su Ming about each and every one of them, an enraged roar came charging forth from a distant galaxy.
"Who is it?! Who has the gall to destroy my sects!"
When this voice appeared, Qian Chen suddenly shuddered. He could immediately recognized the owner of the voice—Li Tian Wang. He was one of the three strongest people in all of True Sky Hill World besides the Child of Morus Alba and the Jade Emperor!
All the various rumors regarding Li Tian Wang rose in Qian Chen's mind at that moment, and they brought terror to his heart.
"Su Ming…"
Qian Chen instinctively looked at Su Ming. But just as he was about to remind him of the other's status, he saw Su Ming raise his head and look at the long arc charging towards them from the distance. He also saw the aloofness and indifference in his eyes.
"Kneel down before you speak," Su Ming said faintly.
His voice echoed through all directions like thunder. His will filled the space behind him, causing the galaxy to distort, and he intentionally turned it… into a huge butterfly!
This was not the ability of a Child of Morus Alba borrowing the power of Harmonious Morus Alba. It was an illusion Su Ming created with his own will, but in Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos, this scene… could stun everyone alive.
Chapter 1264: No Other Choice
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Within Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos was True Victory Colony World. It had a floating palace, and within it was a Child of Morus Alba who was communicating with Harmonious Morus Alba's will. At that moment, Su Ming's other self in this world experienced a full body shudder.
Slowly, his body stopped being rigid. The shadow of the butterfly in his eyes flashed swiftly a few times. His breathing clearly became several times quicker. At the same time a brilliant light shone in his eyes, he became greatly uncertain.
He had been communicating with Harmonious Morus Alba's will to verify the truth of his assumption and used Harmonious Morus Alba's will to calculate the best route of action for himself, but after he heard the answer, he sank into an even greater state of daze.
"The other me from Arid Triad… Harmonious Morus Alba's will has clearly showed great interest in my other self…" He fell silent for a moment, then the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger.
"It wants me to bring this person… to the Burial Ground of Morus Alba… or rather, it wants me to devour and fuse with this person so that the two of us can become one. If I can do this and obtain dominance, it will fulfill one of my requests…"
The young man fell silent again. The uncertainty on his face grew more prominent, and he looked as if he was thinking of his choice.
Soon after, footsteps appeared from beyond his palace. A woman appeared beside the door. She was incredibly beautiful, and there was a graceful gentleness to her. She walked into the hall and arrived next to the young man before she quietly crouched down and pressed down on the young man's hand.
The young man lifted his head and their gazes met.
If Su Ming was there, he would definitely be able to tell with just one glance that the woman's appearance… was that of Yu Xuan's! Or rather, this was the other Yu Xuan in this world.
However, while her body looked normal, when she touched the young man's hand with her own, her hand seemed to phase through his. It was not that the young man was not real… but the Yu Xuan before his eyes was an illusion.
"Why… did you insist on coming here?"
The young man stared at the woman before him. This was his lover, and tender affection appeared in his eyes. He raised his left hand, as if he wanted to touch the woman's face, but he only managed to touch air, and he could not help the hint of pain that appeared in his eyes.
"Your soul is scattering; you shouldn't come out. You have to stay in the Black Wood I prepared for you. I promise you, one of these days, I will definitely let you truly wake up."
As the young man mumbled, the uncertainty on his face disappeared, replaced by determination and resolve.
This was his lover, a dead person who he could not awaken even if he was a Child of Morus Alba. Her soul would occasionally be separated from her body, and she would scatter while she drifted about. It was due to an accident many years ago. As the Child of Morus Alba, he had been communicating with Harmonious Morus Alba's will, and for some unknown reason, he had lost consciousness.
When he woke up, he saw his lover lying in his bosom and found that he… had been the one who had personally extracted his lover's soul and made her fall asleep. This was a backlash… a backlash against him as a Child of Morus Alba.
Even when communicating with Harmonious Morus Alba's will, he would still face backlashes, and when it occurred, he would lose consciousness and turn into an aloof murderer. It was the same for every single Child of Morus Alba, but he did not expect that his backlash would arrive so early.
He went mad. In desperation, he did everything he could to contact Harmonious Morus Alba's will, regardless of the cost. He wanted his lover to recover, but Harmonious Morus Alba's will did not give him any response.
"Fuse with my other self… One request…"
When a brilliant light shone in the young man's eyes, the woman before him bit her lip and shook her head, as if she did not want her lover to make this choice.
"I don't have any other choice. I saw my other self's actions in True Sky Hill World just now from Harmonious Morus Alba's will. He is me, and I am him. I can sense his thoughts. He is intentionally luring me towards him.
"Honestly, even if he didn't lure me out, I would still go to him of my own free will. This is… our destiny, a destiny in which only one of us can live!
"From the moment he stepped in and I communicated with Harmonious Morus Alba's will, this destiny… was set in stone. If he doesn't die… I will!"
The young man was silent for a moment, then he caressed the illusory woman's face. Her soul turned into a flash of dark light before she disappeared from the hall.
Disappearing along with her was the young man. When he reappeared, he was in a chamber under the hall. It was surrounded by a large number of seals, but they were harmless. They only isolated that particular space from the entire Expanse Cosmos, causing the flow of time in the chamber to be completely different from the world outside. It was as if time had been frozen for eternity in there.
In the chamber was a huge log, and the center of it had been emptied. Lying in there was a woman in red. Her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping.
The young man appeared beside the log and looked down at the woman blankly. He stared at her brow, her eyes, her nose, and her lips, and as he stared at her, grief appeared on his face.
All the other people in the Expanse Cosmos only knew that the Children of Morus Alba were supreme entities, but they did not know about the price the Children of Morus Alba had to pay during the backlash. The appearance of each backlash was sudden and abrupt, and it would appear not only when they tried to communicate with Harmonious Morus Alba. They could lose their consciousness at any random moment, and once they did, everything around them would be destroyed.
The Children of Morus Alba could not have family or friends. It was just like how everyone would have to lose something to gain something. This was… the price they had to pay.
That was why he would usually not venture out, but would restrain himself in the palace, as if he had sealed himself in there. Unless there was a need for him to move out, he would sit for long periods of time without getting up.
He stared at the woman quietly, and the determination on his face grew stronger. After some time, he straightened up, and a fierce light lit up in his eyes. During that moment… there seemed to be no difference between him and Su Ming.
With a swing of his arm, the young man disappeared from the place. When he reappeared, he was in the palace. With one step, he moved out of the hall, and his voice echoed in the air.
"Ten Mournful-Deaths!"
The moment he spoke, the air around him distorted, and ten figures manifested. Their bodies were indistinct, and their aura of death was incredibly thick. They were not living people, but the souls of the dead.
They had died in the passage of time, but the young man who used Harmonious Morus Alba's will had changed that. He had forcefully reversed time and extracted the ten strongest souls in the history of the Expanse Cosmos. He had also used Harmonious Morus Alba's will to give the ten Great Mournful-Deaths the Eighteen Spirit Hells, making it so they could kill without end once they moved into formation.
"Come with me and fuse with Harmonious Morus Alba's will to destroy the cause of this trouble in the world outside!"
The young man's voice was cold. As he spoke, the shadow of the butterfly in his eyes flashed rapidly. It appeared faintly behind him as well. With a step forward, he charged into the distance. The ten Great Mournful-Death behind him exuded a ghastly presence. Without a single word, they spread out as if they formed the wings of the young man.
From the distance, the young man looked like a real butterfly flapping its wings in space. Beneath it though, eighteen vortices were spinning. It was the mighty pressure formed by the Eighteen Spirit Hell. Piercing howls could be heard coming from the vortices, and they were filled with pain and madness.
Wherever they went, all lives would fall down to their knees and worship them.
…..
Qian Chen stared nervously at the long arc charging towards them from a distance, and he instinctively turned to look at Su Ming beside him.
Su Ming seemed to be completely unbothered by the swiftly approaching long arc. He instead lifted his head to stare at space before he suddenly asked, "Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos is moving… can you sense it?"
"What?" Qian Chen was momentarily stunned.
"Perhaps it's just a figment of my imagination."
Su Ming shook his head. During the instant just then, he had a strange feeling. It was as if all of Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos was moving.
This feeling was something he had never sensed before. Only when… he obtained the will of another True World in this place and possessed two True World's wills in his mind did he obtain this strange feeling. It was as if he had achieved some sort of balance.
This feeling came abruptly, but when he tried to search for it, he could find no trace of it. He could only treat it as a figment of his imagination.
Booming sounds echoed in the air. The long arc closed in, and in it was a man dressed in golden armor. That man was tall and incredibly built. In his right hand he held a golden tower, and his face was filled with rage, but when he saw Su Ming and the butterfly behind him, his rage turned into shock and disbelief.
"Child… Child of Morus Alba!"
The man in golden armor shuddered. When he was about thousands of feet away from Su Ming, his expression changed a few times in succession.
The man in golden armor forced down his rage and hissed out, "Your Grace, why did you destroy my sects?!"
"Kneel down and speak!"
Su Ming had an aloof expression on his face. He cast the man a cold glance before speaking to him. The moment he uttered them, the universe roared. The butterfly behind him also flapped its wings.
A great will immediately spread out from Su Ming with a bang. It was so great that it shook the sky and earth. This was the supreme will formed by Su Ming once he combined the wills of both True Worlds.
This will… was definitely not something a cultivator could fight back against. When faced with it, anyone would be completely aware that they were before a supreme state of being and know that they were two completely different beings.
Under the roars of that will and the mighty pressure, the man in golden armor jolted. He swiftly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Cracking sounds came from his body, as if it could not withstand the pressure.
He roared, and the tower in his hand flew out, swiftly growing in size, as if it wanted to fight back against Su Ming, but in just the span of a few breaths, crumbled with a loud bang.
When it shattered into pieces, the golden armor on the man's body broke down as well. He coughed up another mouthful of blood, and while shuddering, he was forced to kneel.
To him, it felt like the entire universe had collapsed on his body, and with his level of cultivation, he simply could not fight back against it. He could only kneel down.
The space then fell silent. The mighty pressure seemed to have frozen the entire galaxy. The light in the eyes of the man whose golden armor had shattered slowly disappeared. His cultivation base was frozen, and all his life force… was destroyed when he knelt down!
Cracking sounds echoed in the air. As Qian Chen's heart shuddered, he saw Li Tian Wang, whose strength was so great that he was akin to the might of heaven in his eyes… breathe his last!
His life force, his cultivation base, and his soul were all destroyed the instant he knelt down!
And just like that, he died!
"Do you still have any enemies?" Su Ming did not even spare Li Tian Wang a glance when he posed the same question to Qian Chen once more.
Qian Chen was completely terrified and quickly uttered his answer in a stutter.
"No… No more…"
Chapter 1265: Heavenly Spirit Tribe's Mourning
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Qian Chen no longer had any enemies, but the death of Li Tian Wang, who was a powerful warrior in Death Realm and a famous person in True Sky Hill World, would definitely not be ignored.
The destruction of Li Tian Wang's four sects might catch quite a lot of people's attention, but there was practically no one who was at Li Tian Wang's level among them. Only those who shared the same level of cultivation among those in the four sects would pay attention to this.
This was why it did not matter whether it was True Sky Hill World's Child of Morus Alba, the Jade Emperor, or any other powerful warriors, none of them paid any attention to this matter.
Within True Sky Hill World was a huge cultivation planet with golden light shining from it. That light reached far and wide, and the planet was much larger than a normal one.
There were no continents on the golden planet, only an ocean. It was not blue, but golden, which was why the cultivation planet appeared to be golden from the distance.
Covering the entire ocean was a group of palaces that could be described as extravagant. The palace located at the center was like the imperial palaces of the mortal worlds.
It had a hall which contained a Dragon Throne, and sitting on it was a middle-aged man dressed in a lavish Emperor's robe. The man had an awe-imposing expression. At that moment, he was frowning. Floating before him were three spirit plates.
Almost the moment Li Tian Wang's body and soul were destroyed, the spirit plate with Li Tian Wang's name carved on it had cracked. Not a single hint of life spread out from it anymore.
"Since you're here, then come in."
The man in the Emperor's robe lifted his head and cast a glance at the area beyond the hall. His voice was gentle, but there was an imposing tone to his words that held an air of supremacy.
When his voice echoed in the air, two figures walked into the hall from beyond the building that resembled an imperial palace. One of them was a boy dressed in a red robe. His were cold and dark.
By his side was a young man dressed in a blue robe. He had a slender build and looked incredibly handsome. A third eye resembling Su Ming's was located at the center of his brow.
"Greetings, Jade Emperor."
The young man wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed slightly before he spoke slowly. As for the boy beside him, he had a sullen expression on his face and did not speak.
The two of them were naturally the people who shared the same status as Li Tian Wang in True Sky Hill World's Jade Palace. They were both powerful warriors who had perfected Death Realm, the young Feng Hua and God of Two Tunnels, while the middle-aged man sitting on the Dragon Throne was the strongest person in this True World's Jade Palace… the Jade Emperor, the person second only to the Children of Morus Alba!
"Li Tian Wang… has died."
The Jade Emperor cast his gaze on Li Tian Wang's spirit plate and sighed softly. He clenched the Dragon Throne's armrest tightly with his right hand as his heart seethed with incredible rage.
"Jade Palace is already not as great as it was before, and in our current generation… we are the only ones who can obtain the legacy and continue living. Yet Li Tian Wang was killed. Jade Emperor, what are your plans?" the young man in blue asked calmly.
The young Feng Huo spoke up in a sharp voice that was filled with great killing intent. "What else can we do? The person who killed Li Tian Wang might have extraordinary power, but if we let him remain unscathed, Jade Palace will become the laughing stock of the entire galaxy. That person… must die!
"He must pay with his life. No matter who he is, since he chose to provoke Jade Palace, he must pay the price!"
"You know that this person has extraordinary power. If he can kill Li Tian Wang, then it is not impossible for him to kill us. Li Tian Wang has already died, so why must you act this way?" The young man in blue frowned, but before he could finish speaking, the boy's sharp voice immediately cut him off.
"The both of us might not be his opponent, but what about the Jade Emperor? If even the Jade Emperor is not his opponent, there is still the Child of Morus Alba. No matter what… that person must die. If he doesn't die, I will leave Jade Palace. What is the use of me staying here if Jade Palace can't even fight back!" The boy's voice echoed through the entire hall, causing a chilling glare to swiftly appear in the Jade Emperor's eyes.
He stared at the boy coldly, and after a long while, he slowly stood up.
"Say that one more time. Let me hear it again."
The young Feng Huo fell silent. He lowered his head and did not say a word.
The Jade Emperor let out a cold harrumph, then, with a swing of his arm, he took a step forward.
"Li Tian Wang's death will not catch the Child of Morus Alba's attention, and it's impossible for us to ask him for help. Only when Jade Palace's survival is at risk will the Child of Morus Alba take action.
"Since that person… chose to provoke Jade Palace, then no matter what sort of price we have to pay, he must die. Five Mountain Generals, where are you?!"
When the Jade Emperor finished speaking, loud bangs swiftly came from the golden ocean beyond the palace. As they reverberated through the air, five mountains shot up from the bottom of the ocean and charged into the sky.
They were five towering mountains. At the instant they appeared, they crumbled with a bang, and five giants that were thousands of feet tall appeared from within. They were all dressed in armor.
Once they stood up, they knelt down on the surface of the ocean towards the palace.
"Five generals, hear me! I order each of you to lead one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers of Jade Palace and arrange the Great Five Direction Rune. With the young Feng Huo as your commander, kill the enemy!"
Once a stately voice traveled out of the palace, the five giants raised their heads and voiced their obedience together.
The next moment, they flew out of the golden ocean. Soon after, the ocean roared. As huge waves tumbled about, one hundred thousand people in armor flew out from the five giants' regions in the ocean. They formed an army of five hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and charged into the sky.
A long arc flew out of the palace as well. It was the young Feng Huo. At that moment, magic wheels spun under his feet, sweeping up his body so that he could instantly catch up to the five generals. He took the lead and disappeared into the sky.
"Three Sieves, where are you?!"
When the Jade Emperor's voice echoed from the palace again, the entire ocean in the cultivation planet sank by hundreds of feet. Three golden dragons roared and rose from three different directions. When their roars echoed in the world, another shout filled the sky.
"Three Sieves, I order you to execute the Rain and Cloud Surging Art. Seal the two dimensions. Execute the Soldier Art and gather three hundred thousand Sky Soldiers, with the God of Two Tunnels as your commander, kill the enemy!"
Roars shook the sky. As the God of Two Tunnels flew out with a sigh, the three golden dragons roared and moved. Immediately, their countless scales reflected endless golden light. It turned into three hundred thousand creatures with dragon heads and human bodies. Dressed in armor, they charged with the three golden dragons as well as the God of Two Tunnels into the air.
"Seal the five directions and the two dimensions of space. After the two fiends try to kill him, next will be me, the Jade Emperor, who will attack. Golden ocean… take your form!"
When the voice from the palace on the surface of the ocean appeared again, the golden ocean in the cultivation planet rumbled and shook… before it rose from the seabed and swept up to the sky, looking like rain that was going backwards.
At the moment the golden ocean rushed into the sky, a person walked out of the palace. He was dressed in an Emperor's robe, and he was naturally the Jade Emperor. The moment he walked out, all the golden seawater surrounded him, and in the blink of an eye, he turned into a huge statue.
It was the Jade Emperor's statue. It shone with brilliant golden light and was about ten thousand feet tall. The man portrayed looked to be filled with a power that could shake the sky and earth, and when he appeared, he immediately caused True Sky Hill World to tremble. His existence alone seemed to push the True Sky Hill World to the breaking point.
An ancient and archaic presence filled him, making the statue looked like it had existed for an unknown number of years. Once it moved, it instantly cut through the air. Then, it strode into the sky.
The Jade Palace might not be marching to their enemy at full strength, but right then, even the Jade Emperor had personally gone into battle, and this was a telling sign of Jade Palace's killing intent and resolve.
…..
Su Ming sat in the space belonging to True Sky Hill World. Needless to say, it was the place where Li Tian Wang had died. At that moment, his corpse was still not too far away from him, still kneeling.
"They should be here soon. Qian Chen, you can leave first. What will happen next has nothing to do with you. If you stay here, you will be in danger. If we are fated to meet again… then we will," Su Ming said faintly while he looked at Qian Chen, who was beside him.
Qian Chen fell silent. He could vaguely guess what Su Ming was waiting for, and with a slightly pale face, he bowed to him quietly.
"… Take care."
Qian Chen knew that he would be absolutely useless and would instead bring himself huge trouble if he stayed. He had always been a resolute person. Once he bowed to Su Ming, he turned into a long arc and charged off into another direction.
Su Ming stared at Qian Chen's back for a while before turning his head and resuming his quiet wait.
He was waiting for his other self as well as the people who would come seeking revenge for Li Tian Wang's death. No matter who arrived… on that day, the universe would be dyed red.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, half a day went by. Golden light shone from the distance, and when its ripples spread out, Su Ming did not manage to see his other self, but he did see Jade Palace, who came seeking revenge for Li Tian Wang.
Su Ming cast a glance at the golden light in the distance before he said flatly, "Since you want to die so much… I will fulfill your wish, Jade Palace,"
While Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos had drawn their swords and were prepared to fight, in the vortex known as Bright Yang Vortex in this Expanse Cosmos and Yin Death Vortex in Arid Triad was the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe. He had his head thrown back and was laughing out loud. His aura had become chaotic. He looked incredibly disorderly, and his life force had become incredibly weak.
But he continued laughing. During the fifth disaster—Fiendish Withering of Earth in Five Directions—his blood had turned into rivers, his body transformed into land, his fingers changed to mountains, his limbs mutated into mountain ranges, his eyes were altered into the sun and moon, and all his hair transfigured into all forms of life in the world.
Everything about him was separated. This was the fifth disaster, but he had blasted it away forcefully. Then came the sixth disaster, the Disaster of Emptiness, which would only appear during the period of time when daylight was about to change places with night.
If Su Ming ran into this disaster, he would definitely die. Even the current Su Ming would still die. The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe had managed to get through the disaster, but he had paid a huge price for it.
However, he still laughed as he faced the final disaster—the Heaven Disaster.
"If I get through this disaster, I will have my spirit ascend for the ninth time, and I will become an Ancestral Spirit… Slumbering Arid Triad's will, I want to challenge you!"
As the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe laughed loudly, he charged into the vortex above him. With determination, madness, and an indomitable spirit, he rushed into the vortex, straight towards the final disaster manifesting itself—the Heaven Disaster!
The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe disappeared into the area of the vortex that was previously above him. During that moment, the flow of time slowed down. An unknown amount of time passed before a sigh filled with anguish traveled through the air. The old man's face appeared swiftly in the vortex. On his face was a dazed look, as if he had just seen something that left him in disbelief.
Chapter 1266: It… Has Come!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Su Ming, it's… here. It… is moving… My guess is correct, but also wrong. My death is not in vain, because even if I die, I've learned the last secret of Arid Triad and Harmonious Morus Alba… So this is what is happening, this is what is going on."
As the old man laughed madly, his face crumbled with a bang. His Antecedental Spirit's will spilled out from him in the form of blood, and a drop of it charged into the vortex below him. There was a red bolt of lightning chasing after the blood, and it disappeared into the vortex as well.
The disaster ended!
Su Ming did not see this scene, and he had no way of knowing what the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe had seen at the end of the Heaven Disaster. He did not know that he had gotten dazed or why, that he had gone mad, or that he said that his guess was correct, but also incorrect.
Su Ming did not know any of this. If the blood formed by the old man's will of the Antecedental Spirit did not get wiped off by the red bolt of lightning in the end, then perhaps… once Su Ming obtained it, he could gain some understanding from it.
The instant the Antecedental Spirit's disaster disappeared from Yin Death Vortex, Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos, which was originally sealed for all of eternity, instantly recovered. To all the people, the period of silence only felt like the blink of an eye. They did not notice it.
There was no way for them to know how many instances were contained in that blink of an eye or how much time had passed. It seemed to be wiped off without a single sound, making it difficult for anyone to find out about it.
Everything returned to normal. The second disaster, which had been put on hold due to the Arid Disaster, descended again. The cultivators from Saint Defier as well as Dark Dawn who had stopped entering Arid Triad's gap surged through Arid Triad's gap in large numbers while stirring up loud bangs that shook the sky and earth.
Arid Triad's disaster… had arrived for the second time!
The first was the Antecedental Spirit's disaster belonging to Su Ming. The second was the disaster of the invasion. The cultivators from Dark Dawn and Saint Defier had been waiting for that day for a long, long time. To them, that day was something they longed for so dearly that they even dreamed about it in their sleep!
The former Ancient Wu and Ancient Shu… finally descended in large numbers after leaving for an unknown number of years.
The cultivators from Dark Dawn and Saint Defier descended and stirred a loud bang that shook all of Arid Triad. The bodies of the cultivators from the Ninth Summit who guarded the whirlwind instantly crumbled, but before they died, they still managed to deliver their message.
The cultivators from the three Great True Worlds sent to defend the gap would be the ones who would rise to the fight issued by the enemy. Their mission… was to stall them for the longest amount of time possible, even if they died.
A fierce battle was immediately launched…
The peace and quiet in Arid Triad was immediately broken. A disaster that would sweep through all of the Worlds showed its fangs at that moment.
Compared to True Sacred Yin World and the Fourth True World, True Morning Dao World's Ninth Summit had clearly prepared themselves more adequately. It did not matter whether the entire True World continued with its existence with Su Ming's will or whether the original Morning Dao Sect was located in a spot that was difficult to attack but easy to defend, but the Ninth Summit had managed to obtain some advantage.
The Runes had been activated, and due to Hu Zi's preparations over the years, their defenses were much stronger than originally. Most of the one hundred something Relocation Runes were instantly shut down. This action did not cause any form of panic in the Ninth Summit, because it… had been practiced in the form of drills under the lead of Su Ming's second senior brother countless times.
Perhaps when they ventured out, they would not be Saint Defier and Dark Dawn's opponents, but their lockdown was also a form of protection. They had the entire True World's will surrounding them, and it would not be easily broken by Saint Defier and Dark Dawn.
Unless there was a powerful warrior in Avacaniya Realm who personally attacked them, the possibility of them being invaded during the first stages of the war was not high.
At the same time Arid Triad used True Morning Dao World as a battlefield to launch a large-scale battle against the worlds beyond, a different battle occurred in True Sky Hill World within Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos, though no one knew whether it was because it was due to the connection between the two Expanse Cosmoses as mirrors.
Su Ming sat in space and stared at the golden ripples spreading out from the distance. The ripples locked down the entire area and were moving towards him in a large area. There were five figures who looked like hills rushing towards him with roars.
There were five hundred thousand cultivators dressed in armor behind them. Su Ming knew that they were Jade Palace's Heavenly Soldiers who Qian Chen had mentioned before.
"The ripples are being moved forward by human lives, huh?"
Su Ming's expression was aloof. He lifted his right hand and swung it forward. The galaxy immediately shuddered. The one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers who were swiftly charging towards Su Ming immediately felt as if the space before them had been lifted up before they could get close.
It turned into an invisible wave that swept up the one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers, and once they looked like they had been enveloped by it, Su Ming clenched his right fist, and with a bang, the one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers jolted and shattered.
The difference between their levels of cultivation and the realization of the difference between their states of being made Su Ming's existence feel like the galaxy to those Heavenly Soldiers. They were no better than ants at that moment.
When the bang traveled through the air, the galaxy above Su Ming looked as if it had been torn apart. Golden light scattered downwards, covering a large area.
Three golden dragons appeared and charged towards Su Ming while roaring. There were three hundred thousand cultivators dressed in golden armor and wearing stern expressions behind them. The dimension around Su Ming instantly froze, and soon after, even time showed signs of being frozen.
It was as if the small region around Su Ming had been isolated from True Sky Hill World. The time next to him was completely different from the world aroundt, and it sank into a state that was almost similar to eternal stillness.
At that moment, a shrill whistle came from the distance. In a layer of a light formed by wind and fire was a boy in red. In his hand he held a long spear of thirty feet. The magical wheels under his feet spun and stirred up a violent gust of wind as well as a sea of fire. In an instant, he drew close to Su Ming, and with a thrust forward, he sent the spear straight at the center of Su Ming's brow.
The boy had already reached perfection in Death Realm. Once he appeared, his presence shook the sky and earth.
The moment when the three golden dragons above Su Ming roared, a young man dressed in blue appeared. His robe instantly turned into an armor, and in his hand he held a halberd. When he brandished it, crimson clouds filled the area beneath his feet. The third eye at the center of his brow opened up fully, and a strange and enchanting light shone from it. He exuded an indescribably sharp presence when he closed in on Su Ming.
During that same instant, the area in front of Su Ming roared. An ancient golden statue of one hundred thousand feet tall appeared before him. Its golden light reached one hundred thousand feet, and it immediately filled the galaxy. Murmurs that sounded like chants tumbled out of the statue's lips. It lifted its right hand, which was as large as a city wall, and sent it towards Su Ming.
When the statue appeared, the universe looked like it was about to crumble, unable to withstand the statue's might. The cultivation level of the person within it was also surpassed Death Realm. In Su Ming's senses, his power was similar to someone who had ascended their spirit twice!
"We of the Jade Palace and of the Gods will exterminate the monstrous Daoist! Golden Light in Three Worlds!"
Chapter 1267: When We Grow Up, Are We Going to Change?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Both young Feng Huo or the God of Two Tunnels had naturally been able to tell at first glance that Su Ming had the appearance of the Child of Morus Alba. The looks of the three Children of Morus Alba were not a secret in Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos.
However… even if they recognized him, they still attacked to kill him, because they had not been forbidden to do so by True Sky Hill World's Child of Morus Alba.
Since the Child of Morus Alba in this True World had not forbidden them to kill him, they could attack without hesitation. They also believed that if any danger appeared, their Child of Morus Alba would descend and intervene.
And once… they saw Su Ming's face clearly and the illusory butterfly behind him, they prepared to have a hard time killing him. They wanted to launch a counterattack and to intimidate. They wanted to let other people know that even if the Child of Morus Alba killed one of their own from Jade Palace without reason, they would not yield. He had to face the fate of being devoured.
The three powerful warriors of Jade Palace stood with the Jade Emperor being at the center, and the God of Two Tunnels and the young Feng Hua matching him on the sides. With the Five Direction Rune to seal space and the three Sieves to seal the dimension, they formed a monstrous killing Rune.
It could be said that it had gathered together the most powerful forces of that True World. Jade Emperor had poured out his full power to attack a single person.
The Jade Emperor's will might not be that of an Antecedental Spirit, but he had the strength equivalent to someone who had had their spirit ascend twice. With another step, he would reach Avanicaya Realm. When this sort of person with this sort of power gathered together all of Jade Palace's strength, the murderous force behind him could make the entire universe tremble.
If Su Ming did not Possess True Morning Dao World and ran into this sort of encirclement, he would definitely die. Even if he had the God of Berserkers Transformation, it would be difficult for him to find a way to survive. After all, this was a murder plot that gathered together most of the forces of a True World.
But once Su Ming Possessed True Morning Dao World, he had obtained a True World clone. His level of cultivation could no longer be easily confined within the limits of those who had their spirits ascend once. The ability to turn his Antecedental Spirit's will turn into the will of heaven and use the True World's will to operate his Antecedental Spirit surpassed a cultivator's limits and reached a state that was equivalent to the master of the universe.
Even if Su Ming had to face the murderous plot, he could still remain undefeated, but if he wanted to fight back, he would have to pay a certain price.
However, once Su Ming stepped into Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos, he had become completely different from before. He obtained another True World's will, and his power had increased by one-fold. The mighty pressure formed by the wills of two True Worlds made him surpass what a cultivator could ever reach, and his state of being entered a state where he was only second to Arid Triad.
In this state… unless Su Ming ran into multiple cultivators in Avanicaya Realm at the same time, it would be difficult for him to face anyone who could put up a fight against him.
Even the current plot to murder him could not stir up much of Su Ming's interest. He looked indifferently at the young Feng Huo and the God of Two Tunnels as well as the palm from the ten thousand feet ancient golden statue charging towards him, his expression remaining as calm as water.
"You overestimate yourself," Su Ming said flatly and spread his will outwards.
The illusion of the butterfly behind him became muddled at that instant. When it spread out, it grew several thousands of times bigger. In an instant, most of the galaxy was covered in the illusion of the butterfly.
There were nearly one million Heavenly Soldiers within its area, along with three powerful warriors, the three Sieves, and the five Mountain Generals. The instant they were enveloped by the illusory butterfly, the time seemed to freeze about them…
But this state of being frozen was only aimed at other people, not Su Ming. He took a step to his left and raised his right hand to seize young Feng Huo's spear. At the instant he touched it, a loud bang shot up, and the long spear shattered inch by inch. When shock slowly appeared on the young Feng Huo's face, Su Ming pointed at the center of the youth's brow.
A loud bang shot into the air again. The young Feng Huo jolted. By then, Su Ming had already turned around. When he lifted his head, a brilliant light shone in his eyes. The third eye at the center of his brow opened, and he looked at the other man.
The God of Two Tunnels' body was magnified endlessly before Su Ming's third eye, until he saw through his robes, his flesh and blood, his soul, and the legacy he had in his blood. Then, Su Ming's third eye fell shut, and a will that the God of Two Tunnels could not fight against descended on him. When a bang shot up and echoed in space, the God of Two Tunnels shuddered violently, and blood poured out of his body.
All of this happened in a flash. When Su Ming averted his gaze, he lifted his left hand and pointed at the incoming statue's palm. The moment he touched it, the statue's palm shuddered fiercely and shattered, inch by inch. Its countless shards then fell backwards.
"All Lives Will Perish."
Su Ming pulled back his left hand and swung his arm casually. The illusory butterfly that enveloped most of the galaxy flapped its wings lightly. With it, countless ripples spread through the galaxy. Wherever they went, the five Mountain Generals shuddered. Their bodies started showing signs of being turned into a bloody mess, as if it was difficult for them to maintain their physical bodies.
The one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers behind them also shuddered when the ripple spread out. Blood poured out of their eyes, noses, ears, and mouths.
The three Sieves let out shrieks that were elongated countless times. Their bodies swelled up as if they were about to explode the next instant.
Pain showed up on the faces of the three hundred thousand Sky Soldiers next to them.
This was not time being frozen, but the flow of time being slowed down. Only the flow of Su Ming's time remained normal.
Soon, he finished declaring that all lives would perish.
It was at that moment that a shocking will descended from a distant galaxy at an incredible speed. Based on what Su Ming could sense from the will, it seemed like it was a butterfly that was completely different from the one created by him. It seemed to have come from the same source as Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos.
"Fellow Daoist, do not kill them!"
At the instant the butterfly appeared, a dark voice shot through the slowed down galaxy and traveled into Su Ming's heart.
It belonged to True Sky Hill World's Child of Morus Alba!
But that voice was too late. The instant it echoed in space, the slowed down flow of time in the galaxy around Su Ming returned to normal. As it did, shrill screams of pain and loud bangs rose up like the roar of a storm. They became louder, seeming to want to stir up a storm that would sweep through True Sky Hill World.
Amid the loud bangs, the huge bodies of the five Mountain Generals crumbled together. Their flesh and blood spilled in all directions. Once their bodies and souls were destroyed, the five hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers behind them lost their armor. Their flesh and blood vessels were reduced to powder. Neither their blood nor bones could be found. Everything about them returned to nothingness.
Immediately after, the shrill roars of the three Sieves sped up and became piercing to the ears. While roaring, the three golden dragons exploded. Their golden blood spilled through the area, and the three hundred thousand Sky Soldiers formed by their scales shuddered. Then, they died, reduced to powder.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Soon after, the long spear belonging to the young Feng Huo beside Su Ming crumbled, and the youth's body shattered. A mouthful of blood he did not manage to cough up in time shot out from his shattered body. As he fell backwards with a face filled with shocked disbelief… it became his last expression.
With a loud bang, his body fell apart…
Blood gushed out of the God of Two Tunnels' mouth. As he shuddered, he retreated swiftly, but when he took three steps backwards, his third eye exploded.
His body looked the same as before, but the legacy in his blood, his soul, and all his flesh was reduced to powder during that instant. Only his external appearance remained the same. His eyes went wide, seeing Su Ming's calm expression as the last thing before they turned glassy.
'We were courting our own ruin…'
Anguish and understanding was in the God of Two Tunnels' mind in regards to the final scene he saw in his life before his head was crushed.
The final one to be destroyed was the ten thousand feet tall golden statue. The Jade Emperor's palm shattered to pieces, and countless golden fragments rushed towards his body when they fell backwards. His body shuddered and roared as he tumbled backwards.
The golden fragments instantly turned into a golden ocean. At the same time, an extremely pained roar shot out from the ancient statue's body, as if it had come out through gritted teeth.
When the ancient statue shattered, the Jade Emperor was revealed within. He coughed up seven consecutive mouthfuls of blood, and with each mouthful, he took three steps backwards. When he took twenty-one steps back, the Jade Emperor's face turned pale. He lifted his head, and incredible shock as well as terror appeared on his face. He looked at his surroundings…
Everything around him was empty. The eight hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers… had been buried in space.
The God of Two Tunnels had died. The young Feng Huo had died. The five Mountain Generals had died. The three Sieves had died…
When the Jade Emperor cast his gaze at Su Ming, he suddenly threw his head back and laughed. His laughter was incredibly shrill and forlorn.
Su Ming did not speak. He watched the Jade Emperor laugh shrilly before him while standing with a calm expression on his face. Since those people had come to him, their destinies were already determined.
As the Jade Emperor laughed forlornly, a sigh traveled through space. The butterfly in the distance flapped its wings. When it approached the place, it enveloped the Jade Emperor.
It was a black butterfly, and it seemed to be staring at Su Ming from a spot in the galaxy not too far away.
A voice with an air of time, age, and a complicated tone Su Ming could sense echoed in the galaxy. "My fellow Daoist not of this world… I do not want to be your enemy. I will… take this person with me."
Su Ming stared at the butterfly, and a solemn expression appeared in his eyes. He could sense a familiar feeling from the butterfly. This feeling lay in the depths of his memories. It spoke of a time that was a very long time ago.
The solemn look soon turned into a complicated one, and it was a match for the complicated tone contained in the voice, or rather, it was a complicated emotion shared by the both of them.
"Su Ming, people change…
"As we grow up, as we experience more things, we change… Perhaps one day, I will change… and I think, you will as well…
"Su Ming, when we grow up, will we change?"
Chapter 1268: Lei Chen!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
There was once…
"Su Ming, I succeeded in my Berserkers' Initiation! Haha! I can now practice the ways of a Berserker! From now on, I am a Berserker! So? Am I good or am I good?"
There was once…
"Su Ming, don't worry, whoever bullies you in the future, I will beat them up for you!"
There was once…
"Haha! I, Lei Chen, am going to be the man who will become the tribe leader! Su Ming, you have to work hard and become the Elder. Then, in the future, Dark Mountain Tribe will belong to the two of us."
"Bei Ling is such a jerk! Su Ming, do you want to beat him up tonight if we get the chance? But we might not be able to win against him…"
"Su Ming, I think I like someone… It's the person I talked to you about yesterday. Didn't we see Bai Ling? There was a girl beside her. She's also from Dark Dragon Tribe. She's really busty and she looks way prettier than Bai Ling…"
"Su Ming, I'm TIRED… Don't walk so quickly… Say, let me tell you something. Did you know that when you were off picking herbs, that what's-his-name's house caught on fire? His house was right next to yours— Hey! Are you listening to me? I'm telling you…"
There was once…
"Su Ming, I'm not going back… I heard that there is another tribe on the other side of the plains and over the mountains. That tribe is located very far away, but it's much stronger than Wind Stream… I'm going to go there, and no matter what price I have to pay, I will become stronger! Even if I have to become a Fallen Berserker, I'll do it!"
The voice long lost in the passage of time appeared in Su Ming's mind at that moment. He stared at the black butterfly and fell silent.
'Are we… going to change?' With the complicated feelings in his heart, Su Ming stared at the black butterfly with a blank expression. He found an old friend of his in Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos, but could not find any traces of him in Arid Triad.
He was a childhood companion, and he could be said to be Su Ming's first best friend, a companion who was a chatterbox but swore that he would protect him in the future, a friend who had the goal of becoming the tribe leader… a childhood friend who valued friendship and who had grown up with him.
But this person was not him.
The most unforgettable familial love from Dark Mountain came from the elder, the most unforgettable romantic love was Bai Ling, and the most unforgettable friendship… that with Lei Chen.
One thousand something years had passed since then. Once a lot of time passes, there is no longer a way to go back. The childhood friend had already become a stranger. But the memory in the depths of Su Ming's heart still remained. He did not want to forget and cast it aside. He always retrieved it when no one watched him, but it was a memory… only a memory.
Within it was one particular fragment of memory that recorded a shrill, pained scream Su Ming had heard when he was on Han Mountain City's Chains of Han Mountain…
"That's impossible… I buried you with my own hands… Is this an illusion? Is this another one of those illusions that are part of my training?"
There was also another fragment. It was the scene depicting the murmurs of the Phantom Equal of Phantom Dais Tribe, who searched for the next Phantom Equal. It was something that shone in his memories for all eternity.
The last fragment was from the Heavenly Incense Rune. The scene within the secrets of the universe had allowed Su Ming to see a face filled with remorse when he died.
Besides silence, Su Ming had no idea how to express the complicated feelings and anguish in his heart. Everything seemed to verify the truth of the concept of life they spoke about by pure coincidence on a day some one thousand years ago on the snow-covered ground of Dark Mountain.
"Are we… going to change?"
This topic had been too heavy for two children, so heavy that they had only thought about it at random, and even when they did, they only touched on it lightly, because they did not understand the future and did not know how many times the paths of their lives would intersect in the fog that was the future. They did not know whether they would stand together side by side when their paths intersected… or whether they would go their separate ways.
While Su Ming remained silent, the black butterfly too did not speak. After a long while though, it chose to open its mouth. His voice still contained the same complicated tone. "I do not want to become your enemy. Your enemy… is not me. He is already on his way."
Perhaps as the Child of Morus Alba in this True World, he knew of more things than any other person. He knew of Arid Triad's existence and knew that there was another version of himself over there. Perhaps it was because his other self had transformed him in an imperceptible manner… which was why he had memories regarding Su Ming, though no one knew how many.
No matter what, Su Ming could sense the complicated tone in his voice, and he did not try to hide it either.
In silence, the butterfly flapped its wings and swept up the Jade Emperor to gradually leave into the distance…
���Lei Chen…" Su Ming mumbled.
The butterfly in the distance did not stop. It gradually faded away, as if it wanted to disappear into space.
"Lei Chen!"
Su Ming looked up swiftly. His voice echoed in space like thunder as he cried out his best friend's name and the name of the person with whom he had formed the most unforgettable friendship in Dark Mountain Tribe.
At the moment the black butterfly was about to fuse with space, it stopped abruptly…
"You asked me in the past whether we would change, and my answer was… no! You didn't answer me at that time, so now, can you tell me your answer?"
Su Ming stared at the butterfly. That was his very first friend.
The black butterfly did not speak for a long time. When about ten breaths had passed, it still did not utter a sound. Instead, it fused with space and disappeared without a trace.
Su Ming lowered his head. A hint of grief appeared on his face. He knew that the person before him was not Lei Chen, but he still asked, because he cared. He cared about Lei Chen, his one true childhood friend, whom he had never been able to find.
This was friendship. It was different from familial love, which was a form of love that would never change, since it would not last as long. However, when it manifested, it would be like familial love.
It was different from romantic love as well. There was no need for them to face each other every single day, but when it was required, the existence of friendship would make a person feel that having it… was enough to last them for a life, and that feeling would be even stronger than romantic love.
When being children, friendship was playing with mud, running together, playing around, watching the sun rise and set, and chattering nonstop into the friend's ears when the other was sad to cheer them up.
It was a person with whom Su Ming could thump chests, with whom he could laugh loud and long… and whom he would spend his entire life remembering.
Friendship was a feeling that would only grow stronger as time passed and create companions who would brag about their younger days with you when the both of you grew old.
Su Ming quietly lifted his head and stared into space. After a long while, he sighed softly. He had avoided the Lei Chen he saw in the secrets of the universe and chose to avoid that gaze filled with great remorse. He did not want to think too much about it. In fact, he did not even want to think of the reason behind it, just like how he had not wanted to think about the matters regarding Su Xuan Yi even though he had guessed them, and just like how he did not want to face his understanding regarding the changes in his emotions related to Bai Ling.
Su Ming valued his relationships.
For all of them, he could overturn the world. For Qian Chen, who was his old friend, he would wipe off a True World. He was not a good person, and neither was he a person who walked down the path of righteousness. Sometimes, he was like a despicable person, and sometimes, he was a little too calculative, but for the people who had formed ties with him, he could give up his everything.
Su Ming's enemies had to face death, and his friends were the people who he could entrust his back. They were people he could trust.
Familial love, friendship, romantic love—Su Ming used his life to treasure these three types of relationships.
Silent, Su Ming sat in the empty galaxy with his eyes closed. No one could see nor sense the loneliness in his heart because the only thing they were allowed to observe was the cold-heartedness and the slaughter. They hid away the value Su Ming placed on his relationships and his persistence towards them.
When an unknown amount of time passed, Su Ming lifted his head and stared into the distant galaxy. He had been waiting for a long time… and the person had finally arrived.
A purple butterfly that was so huge that no end of it could be seen was before him. The souls of the ten Mourning Deads spread out as if they were the wings, lifting the young man before them. There was resolve and killing intent in the young man's eyes.
This was… the moment of destiny!
"When you learn who you are, you are no longer you…
"When you no longer know who you are, you will be you…"
As Su Ming mumbled to himself, he forced down the anguish in his heart, kindled the fighting spirit in his eyes, and met the gaze of his other self coming towards him.
…..
At that moment, with the Jade Emperor in tow, the black butterfly appeared on a meteor not too far away from the huge golden planet in True Sky Hill World. The meteor floated in space and moved based in some trajectory. On it was a very ordinary looking house.
The black butterfly disappeared next to the house, turning into a man dressed in a black robe. His face could not be seen clearly, but he was big and incredibly built. He stood silently with his head lifted to stare at the sky. Not a single sound left his mouth
Behind him, the Jade Emperor wiped off the blood at the corners of his lips and stood up.
After a long while, the Jade Emperor hesitated for a moment before he asked softly, "Your Grace, he is not the Child of Morus Alba from True Victory Colony World… Who is he?"
"He is an old friend. More accurately speaking, he is an old friend of my other self," the Child of Morus Alba dressed in the black robe mumbled hoarsely.
The Jade Emperor seemed to want to say something, but after hesitating for a moment, he did not speak.
"It's not that I don't want to help you… but this person isn't someone I can attack. The only person who has the right to attack him is that person who is in Victory Colony.
"Go back and train. I will help you mend the damages Jade Palace suffered…" The black-robed Child of Morus Alba shook his head. As he spoke with a faint tone, he turned around and walked into his house.
On the side, the Jade Emperor bowed silently. There was a slightly complicated look on his face. Hidden it within it was fear from having just escaped death. Once the Child of Morus Alba from True Sky Hill World returned to his house, he chose to leave.
The Child of Morus Alba of this True World pulled away the hood from his head to reveal the face of a middle-aged man. It had an ancient air to it, and there were more signs of time on this Lei Chen's face compared to the Lei Chen in Su Ming's memories. However, all those who saw him could still tell that he… was Lei Chen.
He sat down quietly, and a complicated look appeared on his face. He sighed softly, and a hint of regret appeared on his face. If Su Ming was there and could see it, he would definitely be able to recognize that the Lei Chen he saw in the secrets of the universe… was this person!
"Father, Su Ming… has come here."
Lei Chen quietly lifted his right hand and seized the air. In his hand, a jade slip with dashes of black and white intersecting with each other as if Yin and Yang had fused together appeared. They gathered together perfectly to form a… communicative jade slip that could move between Harmonious Morus Alba and Arid Triad.
As he stared at the jade slip quietly, a hint of conflict appeared on Lei Chen's face. In the end, it turned into resolve. He did not send his message. Instead… he put away the jade slip.
"Are we going to change?" Lei Chen mumbled, and his expression betrayed his feeling of being lost.
Chapter 1269: The Battle of Destiny!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In True Sky Hill World, as Su Ming and his other self in this Expanse Cosmos met each other's gazes and saw the resolve in each other's eyes, a battle of destiny that could not be avoided was on the verge of beginning.
They did not need to communicate, and neither did they need to attack to test the other. They only watched each other quietly with the galaxy between them.
Everything was written in their eyes.
To make himself stronger, to protect the people he wanted to protect, to survive the disaster, to make sure that the scene in the secrets of the universe did not happen, Su Ming had to become stronger. He had no other choice. Becoming the strongest in the world was the path he was determined to tread.
Fusing with his other self in this Expanse Cosmos was the same as fusing the two people from each side of a mirror together. From then on, the person could gather up the power of both Expanse Cosmos to reach perfection and the strength to determine their own destiny. This was Su Ming's choice.
To awaken his beloved, to make Harmonious Morus Alba's will satisfy his request, and to make himself stronger so that the backlashes could be reduced in number to the point where he would no longer suffer any, the young man would fight against all the misfortune destiny had for him due to his status [1] and move against it. This was the choice made by the other Su Ming.
He had no other choice. This was the only path he could take. In truth, Harmonious Morus Alba's will gave him two paths, but he would not choose the first path. In this world, in this universe, there could only be one Su Ming, even if Harmonious Morus Alba and Arid Triad both existed at the same time.
This was what he believed!
'This is Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos. In here, I have my ten Great Mournful-Death souls, and Harmonious Morus Alba's will is also here. If I cannot manage to make this person fuse with me… then why should I mourn the fact that I will end up being the one who will merge with him?!
'I am he, and he is me. I have Yu Xuan as my wife in this Expanse Cosmos, and he definitely has a Yu Xuan in his own Expanse Cosmos. He will definitely not allow her to die.
'This is a battle of destiny. This is my destiny, and also his, or rather… this is our shared destiny!'
The other Su Ming in this Expanse Cosmos was one of the three Children of Morus Alba. When he met Su Ming's gaze, his fighting spirit was kindled in his eyes.
"Ten Mournful-Death souls!"
As his words echoed in space, the ten Mournful-Death souls formed by the strongest people around him swiftly spread out. When they took a step forward, they instantly scattered and appeared around Su Ming and his other self.
They formed a type of lock that enveloped this particular galaxy.
The moment the ten Mournful-Death souls surrounded the area, they sat down, formed seals with their hands, and pushed their palms against their chests. They immediately lifted their heads, and in their half-open eyes, dark light shone.
"Due to their state of being empty, all emptiness does not exist.
"Due to their resentful murmurs, all those that do not exist will turn into emptiness…
"Due to their existence and them being emptiness itself, all emptiness and all that do not exist can be made as offerings eighteen times. They can become… the eighteen Spirit Hells!"
Murmurs that held an ancient tone echoed in the galaxy. At that instant, a piercing dark light erupted from the ten Mournful-Death souls. It swiftly rose into the heavens and looked like ten thin threads that immediately intersected with each other to form the foundation of a tower.
When they intersected again, they overlapped with each other, layer by layer. This process only lasted for the span of a few breaths before a tower formed by ten dark threads of light intersecting with each other stood tall in the galaxy.
It had eighteen levels. The dark light spreading out from it enveloped Su Ming and his other self before it gathered together to gain corporeal form. It turned into an ancient tower that was filled with a ghastly aura of death!
The other Su Ming, the young man who was one of the Children of Morus Alba swung his arm and said in a ghastly voice, "Su Ming, the battle between us today is due to destiny. Do you dare to fight this battle of destiny with me in Eighteen Spirit Hells?!"
As he spoke, he moved forward and instantly charged at Su Ming. Wherever he went, a sea of fire would be stirred up beneath his feet. When it swept outwards in all directions, it formed a huge butterfly, and in the eighteenth level of the Spirit Hell, the fire butterfly charged at Su Ming.
He lifted his head, revealing the fighting spirit in his eyes. He did not speak. Instead, he used his actions to show his respect for his other self in this Expanse Cosmos. He attacked at full force.
Su Ming charged at his other self, who was rushing towards him. The two of them instantly closed in on each other, and each of them threw a punch. A loud rumble shot into the heavens at that instant. The butterfly formed by the sea of fire by the Child of Morus Alba pounced on Su Ming. It instantly closed in on him and the power equivalent to that of the Jade Emperor erupted from it.
Amid the loud bang, Su Ming's will spread out to fight against the tower's tremors. The eighteenth level crumbled swiftly, and the Child of Morus Alba, the other Su Ming in this Expanse Cosmos, coughed up a mouthful of blood.
When he was forced back, he stepped into the seventeenth level. He then lifted his right hand and swung it, stirring up a violent gust of wind that formed countless wind blades. It swept up the fire butterfly formed by the sea of fire and charged at Su Ming.
A fierce light shone in Su Ming's eyes. He moved, and the moment he gathered the wills of two True Worlds together, he formed a huge hand before him to strike the incoming butterfly of fire and wind.
Booming sounds surged into the sky. The seventeenth level, the sixteenth level… and up to the seventh level of the Spirit Hell shattered at that moment. They were all crushed by the hand formed by Su Ming's will.
The Child of Morus Alba was continuously forced back. His eyes were bloodshot. When he coughed up blood, he threw his head back and roared. A butterfly with the power of eleven levels of Spirit Hell immediately appeared behind him. It exuded a terrifying presence that was equivalent to the power of an Antecedental Spirit who had performed a spirit ascension thrice and who had a presence of those in Avacaniya Realm.
The butterfly flapped its wings and instantly approached Su Ming. At the moment it touched him, a loud bang shook the sky and earth. The butterfly crumbled into pieces.
While in it, Su Ming also turned into a butterfly, as if he had been reborn after he was destroyed. At the moment he rushed out, he opened his mouth, and the End of Wills Sword flew out.
Booming sounds reverberated through space. The seventh level, the sixth level… and up to the second level of the Spirit Hell crumbled.
A low growl came from the first level of the Spirit Hell. It was the Child of Morus Alba spreading out his arms and roaring at the heavens when he was forced so far back. His body lit up with fire, and the dark threads of light that formed the Eighteen SPirit Hell charged over at him.
In an instant, they surrounded him, and the tower disappeared. The Eighteen Spirit Hells were replaced by the Child of Morus Alba who had turned into a butterfly!
He swiftly lowered his head and charged at Su Ming. Strange murmurs tumbled out of his mouth while he did so.
"Mournful-Death souls, form your race!"
The moment he finished speaking, the ten Mournful-Death souls that surrounded Su Ming jolted, and when they lowered their heads again, murmurs echoed in space.
"Due to them existing in the first place, all existences can be lost. This is death…
"Due to the living remembering them, all the dead possess thoughts in their states of emptiness. This is mourning…
"The Mournful-Death soul take the thoughts of the living, take the existences of the dead, take the acts of chasing after spiritual hopes, and take the power that controls the cycles of life to form incense sticks. With this… we turn the mourning to the dead. We let those that exist continue to exist, and make those who have died… return to emptiness!"