Chapter 1372: Arid Triad Disaster (7)
Old Man Extermination's expression was incredibly dark. It was as Su Xuan Yi had said. The crux of Possession was that they absolutely could not Possess themselves. This was a law and a forbidden area!
Once they Possessed themselves, it would mean that a part of them had been divided in their own bodies. That unseen division would mean… that no matter how strong or weak the other version was, it would be impossible for them to devour the other, because their strength would be the same. They could… only coexist.
This was something Old Man Extermination knew very well, but under Su Xuan Yi's administrations, he had ended up Possessing Lei Chen, and Lei Chen had the Seed of Life Extermination. Since it came from the same origin as Extermination, it meant… that Extermination was Possessing himself.
He could only watch helplessly as Lei Chen's presence fused with his Dao Divinity and entered his body. Old Man Extermination could already sense Lei Chen's existence as well as his will in his mind. It was filled with hatred for him—an existence he could not wipe off.
"Su Xuan Yi, you bastard!"
A glint appeared in Old Man Extermination's eyes. When he lifted his right hand, he pointed at the palm formed by Su Xuan Yi. With a bang, it shattered, revealing Su Xuan Yi's body in it. Old Man Extermination pointed at him again, and Su Xuan Yi's storage bag shattered. The fifth kiln instantly appeared from it.
When he clenched his fist, the fifth kiln shattered, and the woman's body inside it was reduced to powder along with Su Xuan Yi. They were both completely wiped off.
The hatred in Lei Chen's consciousness grew stronger as he trembled.
"It's fine if you're in my body. You can… watch me destroy everything. When I think of a way of extracting you from my body, I will let you taste despair.
"For now, you will watch me seal Su Ming and turn him into an offering!"
As Old Man Extermination laughed hideously, he brought his right hand up and swung it swiftly at space.
The black-robed young man who was continuously absorbing Harmonious Morus Alba's life force on the Feng Shui compass in the Vast Expanse suddenly lifted his head.
"Offering…" he mumbled.
A hint of expressiveness shone in his aloof eyes, but it was incredibly faint, as if it was about to disappear at any moment. It was only at that moment, however, that he looked to be alive.
As he mumbled, he lifted his right hand and pointed at the butterfly beneath him. With it, a gust of wind was stirred up and turned into a gust of black smoke that swiftly charged to the Harmonious Morus Alba beneath him. He seemed to want to take the offering from the spot where Old Man Extermination had pointed.
At that moment, Su Ming was staring at the people in the vortex. His right hand was already lifted… but he could not touch the edges of the vortex, just like how destiny could not be changed at certain times.
The black palm formed by the resentment Su Xuan Yi had absorbed along with Old Man Extermination's will shot through the vortex with the River of Forgetfulness and appeared right in front of Su Ming. It turned into an endless grudge and Curse… that immediately submerged Su Ming within itself.
It became a seal!
It sealed the strongest cultivator of that aeon, branding him and turning him into an offering awaiting Xuan Zang's descent.
The resentment within the seal turned into countless faces with ferocious expressions as well as madness in their eyes. With a desperate wish for Su Ming to die, they dyed his world black and sealed him in a thick black fog.
"Su Ming, die!"
"You killed all my people! You must die! YOU HAVE TO DIE!"
"Haha! You can't save your family and friends! We'll do everything to kill you!"
"When you killed our people, did you ever think that such a day would come?! Why… aren't you dead yet!"
The countless faces in the fog that appeared around Su Ming had twisted expressions and roared at him constantly. There were so many of them that no end could be seen. They surrounded Su Ming and continuously let out incredibly shrill roars and curses.
They hated Su Ming, hated him to the core!
Su Ming was silent. Grief appeared on his face as he stared at the fog around him. He could sense that the sealing power was not very powerful, but it was strong enough to trap him for a while, and during that time, he did not know what would happen to Ninth Summit's vortex…
"The person who killed your people and all of you… is not me."
There was a determined note in Su Ming's voice. When he spoke, a fierce look appeared in his eyes. He lifted his left hand and gathered the wills of the True Worlds belonging to him before fusing them with his Dao Divinity's strongest attack. Then, he sent it towards the fog.
Booming sounds reverberated through space and shook the fog, making it tumble furiously. Su Ming executed his strongest attack again and again, regardless of the cost. He continued attacking and moving forward, trying his best to rush out as soon as possible.
There might seem to be no pattern to his attacks and he was just attacking nonstop, but only Su Ming was aware that every single time he attacked, he only used his left hand!
As he continued attacking, the palm lines on his left hand gradually grew clearer.
The faces and curses formed by the resentment that filled the fog around him went mad. They, too, did everything they could to stop him.
"Regardless of whether you did it or not, if I say you did it, then you did!"
The sudden voice instantly drowned all the curses from the resentment after it spread through the fog. It echoed in Su Ming's ears, making him come to a halt. He turned his head around and looked towards an empty spot.
There, the endless fog formed the figure of Old Man Extermination. When he looked at Su Ming, his lips curled into a faint smile.
"You are an offering to Xuan Zang. This is your destiny. You can't escape or flee from it. The endless resentment gathered from this universe has turned into a curse, and it is led to you by your palm lines. I've intentionally arranged this for you… but I didn't expect that your Harmonious Morus Alba would be so ruthless, that it would bring back the people you sent away…"
Old Man Extermination smiled faintly and swung his arm. The fog in the area immediately tumbled violently and turned into a huge palm. Su Ming was within it.
"I don't believe in destiny," Su Ming said while looking at Old Man Extermination.
As he spoke, he brought up his left hand and struck at the fog. With it, the fog around him instantly rumbled. Amid them, the palm lines on Su Ming's palm swiftly manifested behind him.
"Were you referring to these palm lines?" Su Ming asked slowly.
The illusory palm lines that had manifested behind him were incredibly clear, and when they touched the fog, rumbles resounded through space.
"These are indeed my palm lines."
Su Ming lowered his head to look at his left hand. When Old Man Extermination's pupils shrank, Su Ming swung his left arm, and it immediately withered. It withered to an extent that it looked like his left arm had melted.
In the blink of an eye, Su Ming's entire left arm disappeared. The only thing left was his left sleeve fluttering in space!
"You were born with those palm lines, and you can't change them. Even if you—"
As Old Man Extermination spoke, his pupils suddenly shrank again, and disbelief appeared on his face. He saw that the fog in the area was swiftly disintegrating!
The faces formed by the resentment in the fog acted as if they had lost their sight. Their vision was gone… and they could no longer find Su Ming!
Even louder booming sounds shot into space at that moment. The fog in the area swiftly tumbled backwards and disappeared, as if the huge palm had turned into a rootless tree that could only fall!
"That's impossible… unless… you…" Old Man Extermination's expression changed. He had thought of a possibility.
"You had cut off your left hand before you left behind your palm print. Not only did you cut off your flesh and blood, you even cut off the connection your soul had to your arm, all so that I would make a mistake.
"It was a trap to lead me into making a mistake, even if you did not know what my goal was!"
When Old Man Extermination spoke, Su Ming did not say anything. Instead, he moved back and stepped out of the fog!
The instant he did so, he saw the seal formed by his blood in the vortex that prevented the River of Forgetfulness from flowing backwards and stopped the people from Ninth Summit from returning to this place. It broke apart at that moment, and the River of Forgetfulness started flowing in reverse. The people from Ninth Summit—all the familiar faces—started appearing outside the vortex. They were already brought back to their old universe!
Red filled Su Ming's eyes, and the third eye at the center of his brow opened. His Dao Divinity opened its eyes as well, revealing madness, but Su Ming knew that he could no longer execute any divine abilities to send them back, because he no longer had any time. He only had one choice left!
Sever the River of Forgetfulness!
He would sever the River of Forgetfulness, cut off its connection with his world, hack off all the preordained fate the people of Ninth Summit had with it, slice off their path back home, for only by doing so could he give them a chance to survive the destruction!
Su Ming did not have time to hesitate. With sadness in his eyes, he lifted his right hand and brought it down violently to cut at the reversing River of Forgetfulness in the vortex!
Even if his heart ached in pain and there would no longer be a chance for him to find everyone again in the future, as long as they were still alive and existed somewhere, it would be enough for him!
The scene he witnessed in the secrets of the universe had long since been set in stone. The loss of his left hand was also part of it, for it was destiny that could not be changed. When Su Ming saw the secrets of the universe in the past, it was all destined to happen.
When Su Ming was about to sever the River of Forgetfulness… a deep voice that caused all of Harmonious Morus Alba to tremble rang out!
"Offering…"
When the word was spoken, everything behind Su Ming was destroyed, and all the lives behind him were… replaced by a finger!
Wherever it went, the galaxy would turn into nothingness. A huge crack was torn open in space… revealing the endless Vast Expanse!
Chapter 1373: Arid Triad Disaster (8)
The finger brought forth destruction. It tore through Harmonious Morus Alba's wings to reveal the Vast Expanse and moved through the fog of resentment Old Man Extermination had created to appear in front of Su Ming.
It contained destruction and a supreme power that could crush all wills.
Su Ming… did not turn his head back. He lifted his right hand; he had already cut the River of Forgetfulness.
His body shuddered at that moment, and he coughed up blood, but he simply gritted his teeth and stood firmly in his spot, allowing the destruction behind him to submerge him. Determination shone in his eyes. He wanted to personally see the River of Forgetfulness cut and the people of Ninth Summit return to their new world once the severed River of Forgetfulness could no longer flow in reverse.
That was why he could not let the finger behind him move past him. He could not let any accident happen to the people of Ninth Summit.
While Su Ming persevered, Di Tian shuddered while in Yin Death Vortex. After coughing up blood, he continued making sure that the life matrix was complete. However, there were already many cracks on it.
Di Tian's eyes were bloodshot. He let out a roar that came from his soul. His body then withered so that he could gather all his life force into the life matrix.
Yet… Su Ming's power was not enough for him to last. His wish could not be fulfilled. The next moment, his legs were unable to withstand the destructive power and shattered. Di Tian's legs shattered as well.
When Su Ming's body was about to be destroyed by the destructive power as well, a six-colored wind appeared beside him and surrounded him, helping him bear the attack while withstanding the enormous force, and in the end, managed to pull him away from the finger.
The six-colored wind was Arid Triad!
Without Su Ming blocking its path, the finger touched the River of Forgetfulness right when it was severed and the vortex was about to disintegrate…
It shattered…
Su Ming saw his eldest senior brother turn into ash at that instant. His second senior brother seemed to sigh softly. He looked at Su Ming, and there was a faint smile at the corners of his lips, but soon, his head turned into nothingness when his body shattered and disappeared into the wind.
Su Ming saw Hu Zi roar, Yu Xuan staring at him, the tears at the corners of Cang Lan's eyes, and Xu Hui pursing her lips before she closed her eyes in anguish.
And the sight of his elder, Chang He, Nan Gong Hen, and all the other people's faces being replaced by Xuan Zang's finger. When the River of Forgetfulness was shattered, the vortex disappeared… and everything was reduced to only a memory.
It was as if the freezing wind and the biting chill had turned into a shrill mourning song and words of resentment on paper without Su Ming's knowledge. In his dream, he heard the desolate notes of a flute from the distance, and the amazing moments in the passage of time turned into eternity, into the leaves of autumn. With a desolate air and loneliness, they fell before Su Ming's suddenly dull eyes.
The autumn leaves covered Su Ming's eyes. It was as if the mountains and rivers from his memories had reached their end without a single sound. When the leaves fell, Su Ming's line of sight was cleared. His dull and lifeless eyes were revealed, and they seemed to contain one single truth—that in the end, all mountains and rivers had to be eternally lonely. They could only be desolate existences in the passage of time, just like snow.
Time seemed to have come to a stop before Su Ming's eyes at that moment. A teardrop that looked like blood fell from the corner of his eye at some unknown point in time. That teardrop slid down his cheek and fell on his foot, then rolled down to the empty galaxy. No one could say whether it would land on a flower named Ninth Summit if reincarnation existed.
Xuan Zang lifted his finger a little, and then, it started to slowly head towards Su Ming with the intent to kill again. Su Ming was his offering, and he would always first taste his offerings before harvesting each Harmonious Morus Alba.
The six-colored wind beside Su Ming turned into Arid Triad. He stood next to him and watched the finger approach him. A smile full of anguish appeared at the corners of his lips, but the look of someone being freed of their burdens was more prominent on his face.
"Su Ming, I was wrong. Everything you said before was real…
"But I don't regret this. I devoured Harmonious Morus Alba and became the master of this universe… I also became an existence who is both a cultivator and a Harmonious Morus Alba!
"I don't know how many years I've lived. I thought I've already forgotten the past, but I still remember that tree… I still remember by family and friends of the past… Su Ming, I've become Harmonious Morus Alba. This is my disaster, but it's not known as Harmonious Morus Alba's disaster. It has the name… Arid Triad's disaster!
"This is my disaster, and if I can have a disaster with my name, then I, Arid Triad… am satisfied with my life!
"But you are different. You've come to understand a hint of Boundless Dao's Realm. You have a greater future ahead of you. Leave this place. If you complete your Dao in the future… remember to take revenge for me, then, at the very least, I wouldn't have wasted the time to get to know you!"
Arid Triad turned his head to look at Su Ming while speaking with a smile. There was determination along with dignity in his expression.
"I've always thought that if we were both born in the same era, we would have become close friends." Arid Triad lifted his right hand and patted Su Ming. Immediately, Su Ming was pushed backwards… When Arid Triad turned around, powerful fighting spirit burned in his eyes while he charged at Xuan Zang's finger coming towards him.
From the distance, the finger looked like a ball of flames… and Arid Triad was like a moth!
Either this was a moth charging towards the fire and its own death, or it was the flames burning the moth. The persistence of that figure… shone with the most brilliant light in all of Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos at that moment!
'Death isn't frightening. I've already completed my Dao, so why should I be afraid of Death?!
'My death will verify my Dao. My death isn't brought by the heavens who have come to destroy me, but my pursuit of Dao which I will do in an even more resplendent fashion!'
"Arid Triad's disaster… Arid Triad's disaster. I, Arid Triad, shall laugh for being able to go through this disaster!"
A long string of laughter echoed in space and landed in Su Ming's ears. It sounded fleeting, like the waters in the river of time. He raised his hand in that water, watched it disappear and listened to the rustling as it slipped through his fingertips. It was as if his memories were sinking as time changed, and his heart was buried in reality. His dreams… filled with sadness while he counted all the tears that he had shed.
Su Ming laughed. He laughed long and hard, and as he laughed, tears of blood fell from his eyes. His laughter was shrill and forlorn, echoing through the entire world and universe. His laughter was filled with madness, along with an even stronger sense of determination!
"Harmonious Morus Alba, as long as I, Su Ming, am alive, if I don't destroy all your people and all your kind, I will not be able to die in peace!
"Extermination, if I don't make you suffer the pain I went through today by one thousand fold, if I don't make you die a death by a thousand cuts, crush your bones to ashes, extract your soul and devour you for ten thousand years… I, Su Ming, will not see light ever again!
"Dark Dawn, Saint Defier, two camps, 360 Expanse Cosmoses… You don't even have to wait for the disaster to bury you, for what you did to me, I will take revenge… by destroying all of you!
"And Xuan Zang… I originally only wanted to live and wait for the day so that I can go searching for the ones I sent to the other world.
"But you… since you stopped me from doing so, you will be the target of my Possession. Even if it will end my life, I will Possess you, because only by Possessing you will I be able to open the Abyss Gate and search for their tracks in the passage of time. And then… I will resurrect them one by one!"
Su Ming's hair did not turn white as in the secrets of the universe. It was still purple, but the grief spreading out from it became an eternal part of Su Ming.
It was as heavy as the color of the universe.
Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos started collapsing before Su Ming at that moment. It was because of the space above pressing down on them. The planets roared and shattered, and the living on them died one after another, reduced to nothing.
The figure of Arid Triad was burning, because the flames from Xuan Zang's finger had lit him up!
Sky and earth, heaven and the universe, space and galaxy… It was as if two huge palms had come into contact to crush all signs of all True Worlds as well as all the existing lives, including… the powerful warriors from the previous aeons who thought they could be safe from the disaster. They had long since noticed that the disaster was completely different from before, but they could not escape from it and could only descend into madness when they died. As they were destroyed, they let out shrill roars that were drowned out by all the rumbles.
Su Ming turned around. He no longer had any legs. There was only a sleeve left where his left arm was supposed to be as well, but from his body came a purple darkness that exuded extreme madness and evil!
His aura was full of the purple darkness. It surrounded his body and became his legs as well as his left hand. Their skin tone was completely different from the rest of his body.
With killing intent burning in his eyes and his crazed heart, he body turned into a long arc. At the instant Arid Triad collapsed, he stepped into Dark Dawn and Saint Defier's camps.
Since the 360 Expanse Cosmoses were certain that Su Ming had attacked them before… he might as well truly attack them. He would fight against the disaster and snatch the lives it was supposed to harvest, because those people… had stopped Su Ming from doing what he wanted with their resentment. Then, just like what the secret of the universe predetermined, if Su Ming was bound to be alone… they would be bound to die!
He stepped into Dark Dawn and Saint Defier and turned into a gust of purple wind in the space between the sky and earth while the galaxy was being flattened by the world above. There was a figure in the wind, and wherever it went, all Expanse Cosmoses and races were destroyed!
While Su Ming killed, he did so with persistence. Only the Expanse Cosmoses of the Heavenly Foxes and the Bear Charters were spared, despite the fact that Yan Pei had died.
When Su Ming walked past the Heavenly Foxes' Expanse Cosmos, Zi Ruo lifted her head and stared at the sky where his figure was covered in purple. Her gaze was profound, and as she stared at him, Su Ming moved away, not lingering around. He did not trouble the Heavenly Foxes, but besides them, the Bear Charters… and the Expanse Cosmos in Saint Defier where the bald crane had once laid beside a lake and stared at an old woman for one hundred years, every other place suffered a bloody storm.
Behind Su Ming, the Expanse Cosmoses that were now void of life welcomed the sky pressing down on them and were reduced to nothingness… Then, with a step forward, Su Ming charged above and shot through space. He entered the fourth wing's Expanse Cosmos and headed towards the region where Old Man Extermination resided with burning killing intent.
Wherever Su Ming walked, the galaxy withered like the bark of the past and was crushed, turning transparent when the clear water of the future was added to it. No matter what the color was, when a bowl of ink was poured into it, it would dye the whole world… It would never be able to return to how it had been in the beginning.
Chapter 1374: Arid Triad Disaster (9)
'Kill!
'In my world, there is only slaughter left, and only through this slaughter and the hot waves of blood gushing out of living bodies will I know… that I still exist.
'Kill!
'If I don't kill, then the world will think that I killed their kin. If I don't kill, the resentment will only continue growing stronger. If I don't kill… I will let down my heart, my Dao, and Ninth Summit!
'So I… Su Ming, can only kill!
'Be it right or wrong, I don't want to think about it anymore. Right now, I feel like I've lost everything. That feeling of emptiness and the memory of people of Ninth Summit before they were killed have become the madness that made me lose my soul!
'Besides killing… what else can I do? Even if these are all weaklings and should not die, now they… must die! If they didn't interfere, if the resentment they gathered together didn't stop me, none of it would have ever happened…
'That is why… they must die! So, since you're certain I was the one who killed your kin, then we might as well make it so that it is truly me who did so. Since you don't want my explanations… then from now on, I, Su Ming, will no longer explain myself to anyone!
'This is my Dao and my path. Those who know me know my heart, and for those who don't… their deaths have nothing to do with me!'
Su Ming threw his head back and laughed. His laughter was shrill, and the tears falling from the corners of his eyes were red. Wherever he went, a bloody storm would rage. The worlds behind him overlapped as the disaster descended and laughed ferociously.
However, the ferocious laughter turned into howls in the end, because Su Ming had already rained down a calamity, and it… had already baptized the world with blood.
Su Ming walked past Dark Dawn and Saint Defier, his purple gust sweeping up a bloody sea as it rushed into the fourth Expanse Cosmos. He broke through space and shot through the barrier. At that moment he stepped into the fourth Expanse Cosmos, he heard the endless loud rumbles belonging to that area.
However, right then, those rumbles caused extreme annoyance to Su Ming. He was already in a very merciless state of mind. His heart was not calm and neither were his thoughts smooth, hence, he threw his head back and shouted, "SHUT UP!"
While the world rumbled, Su Ming's voice instantly swept through the fourth Expanse Cosmos and filled the entire area. With his will, he changed laws, making the old ones shatter, and the loud rumbles that had existed since an eternity ago were destroyed at that moment.
It was as if the rumbles were afraid and trembling before Su Ming. They stopped moaning, causing the entire fourth Expanse Cosmos to fall into dead silence.
Without the rumbles, the purple gust Su Ming had formed swept through everywhere violently, charging towards the gap leading to the Vast Expanse, for it was the place where Old Man Extermination lived.
The entire universe seemed to be falling backwards at that moment.
Su Ming lifted his head and stared at the area above him… the Expanse Cosmos where Dark Dawn and Saint Defier were located was continuously overlapping with the world he was in as if two huge hands were pressing together to squash all existences.
The fourth Expanse Cosmos began showing signs of collapse. Planets rumbled, continents shattered, and Su Ming saw quite a number of powerful warriors from the previous aeons. They had already lost their souls of cultivators, but when faced with the imminent disaster, they stared at the Expanse Cosmos. There was a hint of reluctance to leave but also the expression of freedom on their faces.
The fiendish and malicious people of the past bent their heads to stare at the plants and flowers beneath them and smiled before they died. Their smiles were sincere, beautiful, and lasting until they shattered into nothingness.
When a person was about to die, their words were filled with kindness, and if their words were kind, it was even more so for his heart.
The destruction of the world made Su Ming feel as if he had lost his heart, as if it had been submerged in nothingness. Only the gust of wind in which he had turned was left, and while charging forward, Su Ming saw a person.
He was tall, and so big that he looked like a hill. He stood on a crumbling planet while laughing sorrowfully at the heavens. His voice echoed in space, and it was filled with regret as well as his bravery that spoke of fearlessness towards death.
The shrillness and grief in his laughter was enough to affect the universe.
Su Ming saw the figure's face, and it belonged to… Lie Shan Xiu!
The first God of Berserkers Lie Shan Xiu!
"I made the wrong bet! Su Ming, I was wrong… but you have to persevere!"
As Lie Shan Xiu laughed shrilly, he did not avoid the collapse of the planet beneath him. He simply allowed the ground to shatter and pull him under. When his figure was devoured, the planet let out a bang, and all the existences within it shattered to pieces, turning into ash that vanished into nothingness.
Yet the grief-filled laughter echoed in the collapsing galaxy, turning into a lingering voice that stayed for a long while, refusing to leave.
Su Ming saw the planet being reduced to powder and watched Lie Shan Xiu choose death. He died because he took the wrong bet, because he felt guilty for his actions against Su Ming, and because the deaths of the one hundred thousand Berserkers had sent him into mourning that could not be put into words. He could only die.
In silence, the purple gust Su Ming had formed appeared at the gap leading to the Vast Expanse. He did not see Tian Xie Zi on the way nor notice his presence. It was as if Tian Xie Zi had vanished without leaving behind a single trace.
Su Ming did not find Tian Xie Zi, but he saw the ancient ship, and on it, he saw… Old Man Extermination!
This was not the first time Su Ming saw him. When he had gained an epiphany of Boundless Dao, he had seen him with his Dao Divinity, but since then… Old Man Extermination's appearance had changed drastically.
Nearly a tenth of his hair had turned black, and a tenth of his face seemed to have become younger. It was clearly different from the old appearance of the rest of his body, and even his presence was jumbled up.
It was as if he had two presences. Even if the second presence was slightly weaker, it seemed to contain an indestructible will. No matter how Old Man Extermination suppressed it, it was impossible for him to chase it away.
Su Ming was familiar with the second presence. It… belonged to Lei Chen!
The instant the purple gust approached the area, Old Man Extermination's eyes flew open. They focused on Su Ming while shining with a dark light.
"Arid Triad is indeed admirable. If he didn't save you, you would have already turned into an offering. But no matter, this is your destiny, you will never be able to escape it."
When Old Man Extermination said that, he raised his right hand and pointed at Su Ming.
With it, the galaxy before him distorted and formed a glowing outline in the form of an octagon. At the instant it appeared, a destructive presence filled the area, and the space seemed to have been forcefully torn open from the world beyond.
Once a huge crack was formed, Su Ming could see the Vast Expanse through it. There was a finger charging forth through there towards Su Ming, aiming to touch him.
"I've been very curious about how you choose a person to be your offering…" Su Ming said while looking at Old Man Extermination.
After speaking, he took a step forward, and once he touched the octagonal glowing outline, it let out an astonishing boom. The glowing outline shattered, and Su Ming stepped out of it.
At the instant he stepped out, the finger came charging forward, replacing the space behind him. When it approached him, Su Ming did not bother dodging and allowed the finger to touch him.
His body roared and shattered. That finger shot through Su Ming's body and charged towards Old Man Extermination.
This scene caused Old Man Extermination's expression to change. When he formed a seal with his hands, his Dao Divinity manifested at the center of his brow. No one knew what sort of divine ability he cast to be able to cause the finger to stop before him, but he did it. The finger slowly went backwards and disappeared into space. Once it did so, a deep voice came from the Vast Expanse.
"You have yet to prepare my offering."
When those words appeared, Old Man Extermination's face turned pale. Just as he was about to speak, the space where Su Ming's physical body had shattered suddenly distorted. The shattered pieces gathered together, and in the blink of an eye, Su Ming's body appeared, completely undamaged!
This scene caused Old Man Extermination to narrow his eyes.
At the same time, Di Tian's entire body had dried and shrivelled in the crumbling Yin Death Vortex. When he coughed up blood, eight overlapping pupils appeared in his eyes, and right then… one of them disappeared!
Only seven pupils were left overlapping one another. The one that had vanished was used to maintain the life matrix, which had crumbled and needed to be gathered together. As long as Di Tian did not die, then Su Ming… would definitely not die either!
This was something Su Ming already knew, which was why he could allow the finger to approach him and destroy his body. Once he appeared again, Su Ming took a step forward and charged towards Extermination.
"Who gave you the right to choose me as your offering?!"
Monstrous murderous intent burned in Su Ming's eyes. The purple tint in his pupils caused his entire being to look as if he was no longer a cultivator, but a fierce spirit burning in flames.
His eyes shone with an eye-catching light, and at that moment, when he moved forward, he did so at a calm, moderate pace, but an increasingly stronger presence erupted from his body. It was so strong that it made the world's destruction stop for a moment!
Old Man Extermination brought his hand up again, and while laughing ferociously, he formed a seal and pointed at him.
"I refuse to believe that you have countless lives!"
With it, the octagonal Rune appeared around Su Ming again. Soon after, Xuan Zang's finger showed up once more from the crack leading to the Vast Expanse, charging towards Su Ming with a power that could destroy everything. It was so fast that it approached him in the blink of an eye…
With a bang, Su Ming's body shattered again. The finger shot through his body, and when it appeared in front of Old Man Extermination, he quickly formed a seal and pointed at the center of his brow. The finger immediately came to a stop and pulled back.
"Where is my offering?!"
The deep voice that came from the crack was as cold and merciless as ever.
Chapter 1375: Arid Triad Disaster (10)
While in Yin Death Vortex, Di Tian shuddered. He stared at the life matrix that had shattered again above him and let out a crazed roar. Two of the seven overlapping pupils in his eyes vanished!
At the instant they vanished, the life force that erupted from him surged into the shattered life matrix. The time around it seemed to reverse, and the shattered bits gathered together once more.
"Su Ming, what are you doing?!"
Di Tian's eyes were bloodshot. He was maintaining the life matrix with great difficulty, and he knew that if it shattered twice more, then even if he gave up on everything, it would be impossible for him to maintain it in its complete form.
Su Ming's figure gathered together the second time before Old Man Extermination. His eyes shone with an enchanting light which said that he was calculating and copying something.
"Xuan Zang is someone who is dead, or rather, is about to die… and he is blind. He cannot see anything."
When Su Ming spoke, he took another step forward. The distance between him and Old Man Extermination was less than one thousand feet.
When Old Man Extermination heard Su Ming's words, his expression remained the same, but his heart let out a huge thump.
"Then how can he pinpoint the offering? Is it because of this thing?"
As Su Ming spoke, he brought up his right arm and swung it at space. Immediately, an octagonal Rune appeared on his palm!
That Rune was exactly the same as the one used by Old Man Extermination!
The two deaths had not come about because Su Ming was seeking his own end, but because… he had been searching for a way to kill Old Man Extermination. He wanted to know how he was chosen as an offering and why Arid Triad had been so certain that Xuan Zang was dead!
Since things had progressed to that point, the universe had already been destroyed, Harmonious Morus Alba died… and Su Ming no longer had anything to lose, why should he not indulge in a bout of madness?!
With two deaths, he had managed to deduce that Xuan Zang was blind. With two deaths, he copied the Rune to locate him and tell Xuan Zang who was the offering.
When Su Ming swung his right hand and the Rune appeared, Old Man Extermination's expression changed. He stood up swiftly, and his pupils shrank. He had not expected that the strongest cultivator he met in the Harmonious Morus Alba… would be much stronger than all the other strongest in the other Harmonious Morus Albas.
His ability to understand a hint of Boundless Dao had already shocked Mie Shan, but right then… Su Ming had used just two deaths to copy his Rune. This sort of potential was positively monstrous!
At the instant he stood up, Old Man Extermination brought up his right hand without hesitation and pointed at Su Ming. The moment he did so, the octagonal Rune appeared around him for the third time. Yet the moment it showed up, Su Ming also pointed at Old Man Extermination with his right hand.
Old Man Extermination's expression darkened, and a huge octagonal Rune appeared around him too!
The two Runes had nothing different about them. They… were both Locating Runes intended to lead Xuan Zang to his offering!
The moment these two Runes appeared, Xuan Zang's finger showed up through the torn crack in space. Once it descended in the Expanse Cosmos, it paused for a moment, then immediately split into two: One charged towards Su Ming, and the other… rushed to Old Man Extermination.
Booming sounds shook the sky and earth at that instant. Once Su Ming's body came into contact with the finger, it was instantly destroyed, but he did not care about that. He stared at Old Man Extermination with brightly burning eyes. He could see Old Man Extermination once again forming seals with his hands before pushing at the center of his brow.
The finger from Xuan Zang touched the octagonal Rune around Old Man Extermination.
Boom!
The Rune shattered, and Old Man Extermination coughed up a mouthful of blood. Once he let out a roar that shook the heavens, the finger shot through the ancient ship and stopped five feet away from Old Man Extermination, It then retracted and disappeared.
The finger might have disappeared, but Old Man Extermination's ancient ship started shattering layer by layer before it quickly crumbled to pieces…
Without the ancient ship, Old Man Extermination took a few steps backwards. When he coughed up blood again, the shattered pieces of Su Ming's body gathered together again. This time, Di Tian had to pay the price of four overlapping pupils—all the life force and the souls of four people!
What remained after that was only the portion belonging to Di Tian himself!
"Abyss Builders… As expected of the Abyss Builders I created! Su Xuan Yi managed to set me up for his son to Possess me, and he succeeded. I respect him. As for you, within a short period of time, you managed to copy my divine ability! Abyss Builders, as expected, you are a race that should not exist!"
Old Man Extermination threw his head back and laughed loudly. In his laughter was aloofness along with his intent to kill Su Ming.
"But no matter how much you copy me, it's impossible for you to learn the Art to prevent Xuan Zang from attacking. If you can't learn this Art, then you are destined to become an offering!"
"My Master is Tian Xie Zi," Su Ming declared flatly. As he spoke, he brought up his right hand, and the octagonal Rune appeared.
"The first divine ability he taught me was to copy what I see once I clear my thoughts." Su Ming closed his eyes, and when he opened them the next instant, a profound look showed up in his eyes. In that profound gaze was a crazed ball of fire.
"You say I'm an offering? Then today, I declare that you are the offering. Since we are both offerings, let's have Xuan Zang decide… who is the offering!"
Su Ming brought his right hand up, and the octagonal Rune on his palm instantly shone with a blinding brilliance.
A solemn expression that had never appeared before on Old Man Extermination showed up on his face. It was just as he said, Su Ming was the strongest cultivator among the Harmonious Morus Albas he had went to. In fact, if he was in the slightest bit careless, there was a high possibility that he would die.
He had to attack at full force and give his everything in the fight!
Old Man Extermination brought up his right hand as well, and the octagonal Rune appeared, shining with a brilliant light that did not lose to Su Ming's.
"Offering!" At the instant Old Man Extermination spoke, he brought down his right hand and pointed at Su Ming, who was doing the exact same thing while pointing at him.
Their bodies seemed to freeze at that instant, and an octagonal Rune appeared around them at the same time. Right then, the fingers from Xuan Zang aiming to harvest his offering showed up through the crack in space leading to the Vast Expanse!
There were still two fingers. With a destructive presence no one could withstand, they charged towards Su Ming and Old Man Extermination. At the moment they closed in on them, Old Man Extermination formed a seal with his hands and pushed down at the center of his brow.
Su Ming eyes were shining with a calculative light. He did not learn Extermination's actions. There was falsehood contained in them, and if he really learned and copied them, he could already imagine how he would end up.
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. When the third eye at the center of his brow opened, the Dao Divinity within it also opened its eyes. At the same time, Su Ming's presence changed. The wisp of aura belonging to Boundless Dao Realm filled his body in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, his Dao Divinity formed a seal with its hands and disappeared. It fused into his body and instantly became one with him!
This was what Su Ming had learned from Old Man Extermination, the real Art that caused Xuan Zang to not attack him!
The moment Su Ming's Dao Divinity fused with his body, the incoming finger shattered the octagonal Rune, and then it came to a halt five feet before him.
The same scene happened before Old Man Extermination!
Disbelief appeared on Old Man Extermination's face. That divine ability was something he had pondered over for countless years. After verifying it multiple times, he finally understood the gist behind it. Yet right then, Su Ming had managed to copy it completely in a short amount of time. This sent a cold chill down Old Man Extermination's spine.
"That's impossible! This shouldn't have happened!"
Old Man Extermination's hair was a mess, and there was still blood at the corners of his lips. Madness showed up in his eyes. The threat of death descended on him in a blink of an eye. It was a feeling that he had not felt for a long time. It was as if he had returned to the first time he met Xuan Zang and could only tremble with his life about to wiped off at any moment.
Xuan Zang's fingers did not move. If Xuan Zang had a spirit, then perhaps he would begin wondering which was the offering at that moment, but if he did not have a spirit… it would depend on who between Su Ming and Extermination… would first show the signs of an offering!
"Xuan Zang, he's the offering! He's the most suitable offering among all the aeons in this Harmonious Morus Alba!" Old Man Extermination immediately roared. As his voice echoed in space, Su Ming's face remained aloof, and powerful killing intent as well as hatred appeared in his eyes.
"Lei Chen, what… are you still waiting for?" Su Ming asked slowly.
When Su Ming spoke, Old Man Extermination's expression changed. At the same time, a sigh seemed to come from his body. Soon after, the Art Old Man Extermination used to keep Xuan Zang's finger from moving started trembling.
The Dao Divinity showed clear signs of struggle. They would have been ineffective at any other time, since Old Man Extermination would need a single thought to suppress them, but right then…
At the instant his Dao Divinity began to struggle, the finger in front of Old Man Extermination moved, and despair showed up on Old Man Extermination's face. He howled shrilly when the finger touched him.
At that moment, Su Ming personally saw Old Man Extermination's body crumble. As it turned into a bloody mess, his Nascent Divinity was forcefully extracted. It had two heads: one belonged to Extermination, and the other to Lei Chen. Their bodies seemed to have overlapped with each other, and at the moment the Nascent Divinity was extracted from Extermination's body, it was immediately absorbed by the finger…
Chapter 1376: Absolutely Won't Give Up!
"Becoming an offering does not mean death, but a chance for new life. Su Ming… you might have given up on this chance, but it will be difficult for you to escape reincarnation. I will wait for you in the cycle!
"This is just the beginning of our fight! It hasn't ended yet! I, Old Man Extermination… will definitely take my revenge!!"
At the instant it was absorbed by the finger, Old Man Extermination's Nascent Divinity looked towards Su Ming, showing deeply etched hatred and madness. As it laughed ferociously, its words echoed in space, and when it was completely absorbed by the finger, the finger disappeared.
The entire fourth Expanse Cosmos crumbled. It shattered while rumbling, making it look like everything was about to be destroyed in the blink of an eye.
Su Ming was silent. He watched the destruction around him before turning into a long arc that charged towards the gap leading to the Vast Expanse. Then, in an instant, he rushed out of his homeland!
While in the vast universe, for the first time ever, Su Ming… saw the huge Feng Shui compass. It was so big that its end could not be seen.
Su Ming also saw the withered Harmonious Morus Alba under the Feng Shui compass being continuously absorbed. Its four wings were overlapping with each other while being burned by invisible flames that slowly turned them to ash.
Vaguely, Su Ming thought he could see Arid Triad and hear his murmurs.
"Tree, this time… I'll come accompany you."
Arid Triad vanished, and even the four Great True Worlds, Divine Essence Star Ocean, and everything else was reduced to nothingness before Su Ming's eyes.
The past had become something distant, untouchable. Dark Mountain, ninth summit, the Berserkers, Morning Dao—everything was like fleeting smoke. They gradually faded away, slowly turning into mere memories that would support him so that he could continue onward while alone in the vast universe.
Loneliness seemed to have never left Su Ming. Most of his life after he left Dark Mountain had been like that. It was like a pot of old wine. When he drank with the moon, he could only perform a toast to his shadow…
The winds of time swept up the flowing sand of memories, and it no longer filled a world where he sat in the middle of the night while meditating. The figures in his memories seemed to be near him, whispering words of a beautiful past. Right then, however, they sounded desolate when he heard them while watching the Harmonious Morus Alba being destroyed.
He once wondered whether the glorious past which he lived for thousands of years and which he would see when he turned his head back would exist for tens of thousands of years to become a ballad for the members of the latter generation, but as he watched Harmonious Morus Alba gradually wither… he understood that there would be no continuation.
The song from yesterday could no longer resonate with tomorrow. The murmurs recollecting the past could no longer find any notes from a zither to act as an accompaniment.
Watching the universe's rise and fall was a luxurious desire of other people. It might seem beautiful, but those who experienced it would know that the destruction contained a mournful cry that no one else would understand.
Tears trickled down the corners of Su Ming's eyes.
He was the only one left in the world, and no one could see the tears falling down his face, much less ask him about them. The only things left were the Harmonious Morus Alba who was slowly withering to become wisps of aura as well as a lone figure which seemed to be at the verge of death. It had dull and lifeless eyes.
That figure was filled with desolation…
Harmonious Morus Alba disappeared without a single sound. There was no astonishing rumble, no shrill and forlorn cry that would stun the people. There was only death that left behind no traces, as if someone had just woken up from a dream.
Su Ming was silent. He still had many things he had not done. The remnant of the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe still remained in his storage bag as well as the other Yu Xuan's sleeping body.
At that moment, they became his most precious memories, but thank the heavens… that he still had the bald crane with him.
It had appeared beside him at some unknown point in time to keep him company. They watched Harmonious Morus Alba's destruction together.
They continued staring until a cold and dark voice came from the Feng Shui compass.
"Seventh… Reversed Spirit…"
At the instant this voice echoed in space, a loud rumble shot out from the Feng Shui compass before it began rotating. It did not spin quickly, but it did manage to form an astonishing whirlwind that swept through the universe around them. Then, for the first time, the black-robed young man sitting on the Feng Shui compass… truly appeared before Su Ming's eyes!
He was dressed in a black robe, and his body was so huge that it was difficult to imagine. His dull and lifeless eyes seemed to contain a merciless, aloof look at first glance, but in truth, it was only due to a thick aura of death surrounding him. His cold and dark face seemed to not have changed since an eternity ago, and right then, he was looking at Su Ming.
Xuan Zang did not have sight, but at that moment, Su Ming could clearly sense him staring at him.
More accurately speaking, Xuan Zang was not staring at Su Ming… but at the bald crane beside him!
The bald crane shuddered. When it lifted its head, it stared at Xuan Zang, and a powerful feeling that it was staring at its mortal enemy rose in its heart.
It was also during that instant that Su Ming saw the string of pearls in Xuan Zang's right hand. He had his fingers pinched around one of them, and it was shining with a dark light. Within it, Su Ming saw the shadow of a crane.
That shadow… belonged to the bald crane!
At the instant Su Ming saw the pearl clearly, his eyes shrank, and Xuan Zang slowly lifted his right hand. Then, with the pearl between his fingers, he slowly extended his hand towards Su Ming as if he was about to seize space.
With it, a circular area of tens of thousands of lis around Su Ming instantly roared at a volume that could shake the sky. The universe seemed about to crumble and tumble backwards. A powerful gust of wind that made Su Ming's robes and hair flutter instantly appeared, and soon after, Su Ming saw the world before him turn into a huge palm. With a momentum that could throw the entire universe into chaos, it came charging towards him.
The bald crane shuddered, and Su Ming's eyes turned bloodshot. He swung his arm and immediately swept up the bald crane to put it back into his storage bag. Then, he turned into a long arc that swiftly moved back.
But no matter how fast he was, it was impossible for him to outrun the palm that could practically replace the entire region of the universe. It instantly closed in on him, and when it stretched out, it went to grab him.
Su Ming threw his head back and growled. He brought his hands and formed a seal. His Dao Divinity immediately appeared to cover his body, but the method that could previously make Xuan Zang's finger stop in its tracks was not effective anymore.
Xuan Zang's right hand closed in on him!
Su Ming's pupils shrank. The presence of his Dao Divinity did not go away, but once it gathered around him, he brought his right hand up. At the instant he clenched his fists, his body grew; he used the God of Berserkers Transformation. In the span of a breath, Su Ming grew to nearly one thousand feet tall. With all his power, he sent his most powerful blow at the incoming palm.
BOOM!
The universe started trembling furiously at that instant, and Su Ming shuddered. His body fell back like a kite with its string snapped. He coughed up seven consecutive mouthfuls of blood, and his body shattered. The legs that he had formed crumbled, his left arm disappeared, and only half his body remained.
His presence became incredibly weak. When he fell back, a madness born due to unwillingness to admit defeat appeared in his eyes, but it could not stop his body from being pushed back.
The disparity in strength between him and Xuan Zang was far too great. It was simply impossible for Su Ming to fight against him. At the instant his body stopped, the right hand from Xuan Zang came towards him again. The bald crane's shadow in the pearl pinched between Xuan Zang's fingers shone even more brilliantly than before!
"Give me… the seventh Reversed Spirit… and you… can leave…"
Xuan Zang's cold and dark voice echoed in the universe as the palm came to seize its target, but Su Ming's answer was his laughter and a fearless madness.
He was going to execute Possession. Even if his act of Possessing Xuan Zang at that moment would just be like an egg being thrown at a rock, Su Ming knew that if he did not Possess him right then, there was a high possibility that he would not have the chance to do it again!
Even if… their states of being were completely different and Su Ming's chances of success were slim to none, he had to try it if there was the smallest chance of success.
Because only by doing so could he protect the bald crane. He absolutely would not just watch helplessly as the bald crane ended up the same as the people from Ninth Summit…
Su Ming knew that Xuan Zang only wanted the bald crane, and if he gave up on it to leave on his own, he would no longer have to face the life-threatening disaster. If he did that, he could just leave and go far away from Xuan Zang and live in the vast universe.
In fact, he could search for another Harmonious Morus Alba like Old Man Extermination and enter that butterfly to have more time to understand and gain an epiphany of Boundless Dao's presence. He could even Possess that Harmonious Morus Alba with his current level of cultivation to become stronger… When it died, he could choose an offering, just like Old Man Extermination had done. Like that, he could continue living, constantly looking for another Harmonious Morus Alba.
Then, one day, when Su Ming completely stepped into Boundless Dao, he could engage in a battle to the death against Xuan Zang. This was, logically speaking, the path Su Ming should choose!
Only by doing so would his chances of success grow higher.
But if the price for that decision was to give up on the bald crane… Su Ming would rather not take it!
He could not give up on his friends. If he could turn his back on the bald crane to have a chance to resurrect everyone, then if he had to choose to give up on another life in the future, how would he choose?
Su Ming would not choose that sort of life!
Giving up—those two words had never appeared in Su Ming's life before… and they would absolutely not appear in the future either!
"I… will absolutely not give up!"
Resolve showed up in Su Ming's eyes, but right then, in his storage bag, the bald crane erupted with an even crazier determination!
Chapter 1377: The Bald Crane's Choice
"You don't want to give up on me, to leave me behind and live alone outside… then how can I let you fight with all you have to win and lose the possibility of your future because of me?!"
At that moment, a wave of madness from the soul itself erupted from Su Ming's storage. With a bang, the storage bag opened on its own, and the bald crane flew out from within. The sleazy look that was usually on its face could no longer be found, and neither was its obsession for crystals. Instead, its eyes were focused on Su Ming. There was reluctance to part in them, along with the fond memories of sharing thousands of years of friendship and companionship.
"I… don't want to lose my memories again. I don't want to forget my home after I lose them, and neither do I want to forget my best friend…"
The bald crane sighed softly. When it flew out, a bloody mess of a carcass also flew out of its storage bag!
The carcass was the bald crane's physical body. It had not wanted to fuse with it no matter what in the past, because it knew that once it fused with its physical body, it might forget all its new memories. It would no longer be the bald crane, but the unfamiliar Kong Mo!
The bald crane would no longer have its personality, and it would truly be an unfamiliar entity, which was why it did not want to fuse with its body. It did not want to, right from the bottom of its heart, because it was satisfied with its new form and its new life. In fact, it could vaguely feel that it was the happiest since it had ever been.
But right then, since Su Ming was ready to risk everything for it, the bald crane could do the same thing for him. It would fuse with its physical body so that Su Ming would not throw away his life in attempting Possession at that moment. It would fuse with its body to fight against Xuan Zang so that… Su Ming could have a chance to leave!
"Su Ming, this is my choice!" The bald crane howled, and at the moment Su Ming looked over, it made its choice and fused with its physical body. "If there comes a day when you remember me… and I still remember you… I will come find you!"
The physical body fused with the bald crane at that moment. As it squirmed, the bald crane let out a shrill scream of pain. Black feathers grew all over its body. Its aura instantly grew, and once it reached an astonishing degree, a seven-colored light instantly erupted from the bald crane.
"I like seven colors…" The bald crane threw its head back and roared shrilly. Its eyes instantly grew aloof, and its presence became cold. At that moment, it was no longer the bald crane…
"I… am Kong Mo!"
The bald crane swiftly lifted its head and let out an astonishing roar. With what remained of the bald crane's will in its mind, it swiftly charged towards the incoming Xuan Zang's hand.
Its eyes became red, and a crazed presence erupted from it with a bang. Its roars shook the universe, and it spoke in an aloof, ancient voice.
"I am not Kong Mo either… I am… the seventh Reversed Spirit!"
Su Ming's eyes were also bloodshot. At that moment, he did not hesitate. His life began burning, and what burned was not just his body, but also his soul, his Dao Divinity, and his will!
"With my burning will, I will reopen the gate in the universe once more. I will recreate a river, and it will be named the River of Forgetfulness. I will reform a world that will lead to another world's space!"
Su Ming swung his arm, and when his voice echoed in space, with his burning life, he lifted his right hand and pointed at the space behind him. The full power of Su Ming's will erupted at that moment, and a huge vortex showed up. It vortex rotated with a loud bang before revealing a world!
The moment Su Ming activated the world that might or might not have any connection with the River of Forgetfulness he had severed, the bald crane's figure touched Xuan Zang's palm.
Booming sounds instantly echoed in the universe. At the moment the palm paused, the bald crane let out a shrill scream of pain. Its body exploded with a bang. It fell backwards in a blood mess, but brilliant light exploded from the seventh pearl to form an astonishing suction force. It enveloped the bloody bald crane, intending to suck it over.
Su Ming threw his head back, and the flames burning his body reached their peak. In an instant, he appeared beside the bald crane and grabbed it, helping it withstand the suction force. Even if it instantly made Su Ming feel as if his body was about to be torn,a large number of cracks appeared on his skin, and blood covered him head to toe, the pain only made the flames burning his body to become stronger!
He used his body to fight the suction force in place of the bald crane with the knowledge that they would be separated forever and a hint of a reluctance to part. He showed no hesitation, however. He activated his full power and threw the bald crane into the other world he had activated!
With his own body, he fought against the pearl's suction force, and with the flames burning his body, he released his strongest power to send his brother, his friend, the companion who had stayed by his side for thousands of years into the other world!
The bald crane's eyes were unfocused at that moment, as if its memories had become jumbled up, as if it had remembered… some of the past.
There was a person in those memories, and he was smiling faintly at it. He extended a hand to it and brought it to multiple worlds over thousands of years.
'What is that person's name? I forgot… I can't remember… even if his face is no longer clear… And… who am I?' The bald crane's eyes gradually fell shut. Under the power brought forth by Su Ming burning everything of his life, he threw it into the vortex and sent it into the other world.
"If there comes a day when you remember me and I remember you, I will come find you…"
Su Ming watched the bald crane fall into the distance, watched it disappear into the vortex, watched the vortex vanish, and a smile appeared on his face.
A black feather left the vortex before it disappeared. It floated towards Su Ming, landing right on his palm…
"Huh? You again? Damn it, y-y-you… Why must you always follow me?"
"Heh, let me tell you, your Grandpa Crane is very powerful Oh well, I won't make things hard for you? Well? Why aren't you leaving yet? Can't you sense this powerful presence coming from me?"
"Crystals! Darn it all, I'll do whatever it takes! So many crystals… I'll do it! I'll do it!"
"Su Ming, you damned fool! You can't die here, you coward, you bastard! If you really want to die, then I will die with you!"
"Su Ming… I want to cry…"
Su Ming clenched his fist and held the feather tightly in his palm. His body was tumbling backwards swiftly due to the suction force at that moment, heading towards the huge hand.
His body started cracking more. It gradually turned into a mess, but resolve appeared in Su Ming's eyes, along with a madness that spoke of his lack of fear for the universe. At the instant he approached the palm, even if his body was about to break down, he forced himself to turn around. At the instant he got infinitesimally close to the palm, the determination to continue living appeared in his eyes.
"Abyss Builder… Possession!"
Boom!
Su Ming's body shattered completely. As his flesh and blood flew everywhere, the huge palm clenched all signs of his being in its fist. Then, when the palm vanished, the black-robed young man sitting on the Feng Shui compass lowered his hand with a numb expression.
It was as if he had seen the bald crane leaving, but he showed no signs of any change in emotion. It was as if… there was never any emotion in him. Since the seventh Reversed Spirit was no longer around, then it shall be so.
He gradually lowered his head and slowly shut his eyes as if falling into a deep sleep. He simply allowed the Feng Shui compass to drift about in the vast universe without any destination in mind.
By the time he fell asleep, he had no noticed that when he pulled his right hand back… a black feather had appeared in his palm.
His act of holding the feather was exactly the same as Su Ming's action of holding onto his determination.
End of Arc 6.
Chapter 1378: Beyond the Mountains are More Mountains, and Beyond the Towers are More Towers
Arc 7: How Many Cycles of Life and Death Has One Person Missing?
Beyond the mountains are more mountains, and beyond the towers are more towers.
Water is water, and beyond the sky is more sky.
The sky was blue. A soufflé of white clouds decorated the sky. If anyone looked over, it would seem as if the sky had turned into a beautiful picture. If the wind blew, the clouds would be drifting into the distance, so the picture would not be still, but form a world.
Su Ming stared at the sky blankly. He had woken up a month ago. During it, he might have accepted the reality around him, but he could still not understand… where he was.
His memories ended at the moment he attempted to Possess Xuan Zang. Due to the difference in their states of being, the chances of success had been slim to none, but at the moment Su Ming performed his Possession, he had burned his life and soul to the peak, which was why it was not impossible for him to succeed.
However, if he succeeded, why was he not Xuan Zang? And if he failed, where was he right then?
Su Ming lowered his head to stare at his body, then fell silent.
"Xuan Er, you're daydreaming again."
A stern voice came from nearby. The speaker was an old man with a head full of white hair and an awe-inspiring face. He was dressed in a gray long robe and wore a straw hat. While holding a wooden staff, he was looking at Su Ming.
"Master…" Su Ming stared at the old man before him. He might have woken up a month ago, but every single time he saw this person, his heart would tremble, and he would wonder whether everything before him was real.
The old man… was Tian Xie Zi!
He looked exactly the same, and even his intonation was just like in Su Ming's memories. He could not tell whether it was the past or the present.
"It's only been a month. You have to remember that there is a total of six thousand years, one hundred cycles of sixty years. There will be ten cycles for you to cross mountains, rivers, and plains with me. You will watch multiple sunrises and sunsets with me and gain an epiphany of the changes regarding the four seasons. You will learn of the principles of the world to search for the truth and the innate kindness of a person…
"And then, you will have to wander around on your own for ninety cycles of sixty years. Only by doing so will you have the right to contend against your eldest and second brother, and only then will you have the chance to become a future ruler, and I… will not have let down your father," the old man said faintly. He struck the ground with the staff in hand, then turned around and continued onward.
"Follow me."
His voice was ancient, and it echoed on the hill. It seemed to fuse with the breeze around them before drifting to the sky, gradually turning into the darkening clouds up ahead, then finally transforming into snow.
It was winter.
Su Ming followed behind the old man quietly. He crossed the hill and walked past a lake that was not frozen. In the distance, the setting sun shone on the land with its last rays of light, casting Su Ming's reflection on the lake.
He was a teenager with a handsome face. He was dressed in a gray long robe and wore a straw hat, but there was an expression of someone who was lost on his face.
He was the third prince of Ancient Zang, and he had two older brothers. There was a tradition in Ancient Zang that before the emperor handed over his crown, all his sons had to travel and experience the world for six thousand years with the cultivators their father had personally assigned to them.
After the one hundred cycles of sixty years, the princes would return, and a fight for the throne would commence. Only one prince was destined to live through it, and the blood of those who died would be cast into his crown. Then he would become the ruler of the kingdom.
And that kingdom… was named Ancient Zang. It was the ruler of the entire land and a supreme entity in the entire world. It stood above all cultivators and all sects!
This was the additional memory that had appeared in Su Ming's mind besides the ones he originally possessed. At some unknown point in time, it had been branded into the depths of his soul as if it had always belonged to him.
However, he could not remember his eldest brother's name nor his second brother's face. The strongest feeling he had was that he had to follow the old man before him for ten cycles of sixty years.
"Drink." The old man stopped and turned his head around to cast a glance at Su Ming while pointing at the lake.
"When the water in a lake does not move, it will reflect the sky. Drink this water, and you will feel as if you have swallowed a corner of the sky. This lake… will be named Sky Lake."
As the old man spoke, he bent his back and extended his hand to scoop up a handful of the water in the lake. He brought it to his lips and drank it.
In silence, Su Ming shifted his gaze to the lake. He did not bend his back, however.
The old man lifted his head and looked at Su Ming.
"Why should I drink this water? Even if it reflects the sky, and even if I feel as if I've swallowed a corner of the sky after I drank its water, I'll just be lying to myself," Su Ming shook his head and said languidly.
"Lift your head and look into the sky in the distance," the old man said calmly.
Su Ming lifted his head. At the instant he saw the sky, he narrowed his eyes. He saw that there was a small region in the distant sky that seemed… to have been devoured!
"I don't know the lake's original name, but since I passed by it and said that it is the sky, then it is the sky. When I drink the water in the lake and say that I've swallowed a corner of the sky… then I will have swallowed a corner of the sky.
"If you're hung up on this, then you will be governed by karma," the old man said faintly.
Su Ming fell silent. After a long while, he suddenly laughed. Why should he care about karma? Why should he care about where he was? Why should he seek an answer? As long as he continued walking forward, it was enough.
"Your disciple has learned his lesson."
Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm. Once he bent his back, he crouched down, brought his right hand up, and placed it in the water, but he did not scoop up the water. Instead, a dark glint shone in his eyes, and he gently patted the surface of the lake.
At the instant he did so, the water in the lake roared and tumbled about. Endless ripples spread out, causing the sky that was originally reflected on the surface to immediately shatter and disappear from view.
"Why did you do this?" The old man frowned.
"Master, you say that it's the sky, and once you drink it, you would have swallowed the sky. I say that it's not the sky, hence I don't need to drink it." Su Ming stood up and looked at the old man.
"You have quite the ambition." A hint of praise that disappeared as soon as it showed up appeared in the old man's eyes, but soon, his gaze grew fierce, and the tone of his voice changed.
"But your logic doesn't work, and you're a little too conceited. When I say that the lake is the sky, it's because I gained the feeling of looking at the sky when I looked at the lake. That is why I went along with the will of heaven and said those words, and which is why I could swallow the sky, because that is what the will of heaven has depicted, and I just went along with it.
"But you… disturbed the lake as if you've disturbed destiny. Before long though, the lake will return to normal, and it will reflect the sky. To it, you are just a passerby.
"You are complacent. You laugh at the water, disturbing it, but the lake is also laughing at you. If you don't believe me… then look at the lake when it is calm. You laugh at the calm water, but can you not see your own reflection? It is laughing at you," the old man said calmly. His words were uttered slowly, and they seemed to contain Dao.
"I don't believe in destiny."
Su Ming did not turn his head back, but vapor rose from the lake the moment it was about to become calm once again. The vapor instantly turned into fog. It covered the surface of the lake, and after the span of around ten breaths, Su Ming swung his arm at the lake with his back still turned towards it.
Wind immediately blew across the area. Once it sent the fog away, there was nothing left of the lake; it had disappeared without a trace. Only the ugly mud in a deep pit could be seen. There were also countless fish, prawns, and all sorts of lives in it.
"Now, it is completely gone," Su Ming said faintly.
The old man was silent. He cast a profound glance at Su Ming, then shook his head.
"The blood of the royal family in Ancient Zang is the strongest in the universe. This rumor is indeed real. Let's go. We still have a long way ahead of us." The old man turned around and no longer looked at the lake. He continued onward.
Su Ming lowered his head and did not look back at the lake. He followed the old man and continued onward. To Su Ming, be it the goal or the end, they were not important on the journey. It was a path to search for Dao… a path through which he could make himself stronger.
He walked past mountains, rivers, four seasons, and past ten years.
The old man walked in front, and Su Ming followed behind. Ten years ago, the reflections of Su Ming on the lakes showed a teenager. As of then, he was already a young man. His strides had become larger, and the expression of someone who did not know where he was headed could no longer be found on his face either. The calm expression from when he was in Harmonious Morus Alba was back.
Stars glimmered in the night sky while bonfires burned on the ground. Su Ming sat beside one of them, and across him was the old Tian Xie Zi. After ten years came another blizzard. The two of them sat cross-legged and sensed the cold behind them as well as the hot wave crashing into their faces.
The old man had his eyes closed as if he immersed in his own training. He did not care about the changes around him. Su Ming lifted his head and stared at the blurry moon in the sky behind the snow above him. It looked like falling dust.
This moon was constantly around, but the people he knew… were not. Su Ming thought of the past quietly and went through his memories. While immersed in them, he entered the world that belonged to him and searched for the sighing ferryman.
"How many famous sects and clans are there in Ancient Zang?" the old man, who still had his eyes shut, asked in an ancient voice. It mixed with the wind and snow, fused into the crackles of the burning bonfire before reaching Su Ming's ears.
"Seven sects, twelve clans." Su Ming still stared at the blurry moon when he answered calmly.
"What are the differences between sects and clans?" the old man asked again.
"Sects extend to the endless space, and they are given their status by Ancient Zang. Clans come from the emptiness of space, and they don't receive enlightenment from anything else."
"What will happen every single time the throne is handed to a new ruler?" the old man continued asking.
"The seven sects will cause a stir, and the twelve clans will descend into chaos. When the princes fight for the crown, the world changes." Su Ming moved his gaze away from the blurry moon in the sky and watched the bonfire burn while he answered calmly.
"I've told you about the limits of the level of cultivation in this endless world ten years ago. Do you still remember it?" the old man asked flatly.
"When you attain great completion in Avacaniya Realm, you can gain an epiphany of Boundless Dao Realm. Once you obtain your Dao Divinity and gain an epiphany of this Realm nine times, it will mean that you have advanced your Dao Divinity by nine levels. Nine is the limit, and once you achieve completion, you can reach a breakthrough and step into Boundless Dao Realm!
"There has never been a person who has reached Boundless Dao Realm before, which is why there are people who understand Dao, but do not understand what boundless means," Su Ming answered calmly. He had come to understand all these things during the ten years through the bits and pieces the old man had told him.
Chapter 1379: Water is Water, and Beyond the Sky, is More Sky
"Nine levels of Dao Divinity… With three, you will reach Dao Divinity Realm; with six, you will reach Dao Immortal Realm; with eight, you will reach the peak and you can be known as a Great Dao Paragon… When you reach nine, only then can you be known as a Dao Divinity.
"There are only three Dao Divinities in the world, and they have been eternal existences since ancient times. These three people have never perished, and the fourth has never appeared either. So, naturally… someone who has truly reached Boundless Dao Realm has never appeared before as well!"
The old man stared at Su Ming, and his voice lingered for a long time in the blizzard, refusing to disappear.
"Never?" Su Ming suddenly asked.
"There has!" The old man suddenly smiled, and there was a hint of old age on his face, as if he had almost reached the end of his life, but when Su Ming stared at him again at the next breath, he looked as if life had just begun for him. He did not continue with this topic, but stared at Su Ming, and pride gradually showed up in his eyes.
"You can now go out and experience the world on your own. You have to change your appearance so you are no longer Xuan. You should have another name and join a sect. No one must know that you are a prince, and six thousand years later…
"Remember… to return to Ancient Zang, and I will wait for you outside the city gates at that time. At the moment you step inside the city gate… I will teach you your final lesson."
The old man smiled faintly and stood up. He cast Su Ming a deep glance, then turned around with a smile to walk into the blizzard.
Su Ming watched the old man leave into the distance, and when his figure became indistinct, he asked softly, "Master… what is your name in this life?"
"You already have the answer in your heart." The old man's voice came from the blizzard, lingering in the wind and refusing to leave.
The answer had already appeared in his head at the very first moment Su Ming had laid eyes on the old man when he had woken up ten years ago.
Tian Xie Zi!
No matter who he was in that life and that world, in Su Ming's heart, the old man was Tian Xie Zi, the man whose fate was entangled with Mie Sheng due to his interference and because his ninth change of heart had been disrupted. The two of them were connected even until Harmonious Morus Alba was destroyed!
While in the fourth Expanse Cosmos, Su Ming had seen Lie Shan Xiu choose to kill himself while laughing shrilly, he did not see Tian Xie Zi, and neither did he sense Tian Xie Zi's presence. Right then… Su Ming understood, but when he thought about it in detail, he felt as if he could not understand it.
Whether or not he understood was not important, however. What was important was that his path was under his feet, and he had to continue treading down the it until there came a day when he came to an understanding of all the steps in the process. When he turned his head around, he would be able to see the beauty of pursuing the truth.
Su Ming smiled. He stared at the flames and felt as if he could see the Harmonious Morus Alba in the fire. He saw various scenes, faces, and the fleeting moments that remained in his memories.
"Whether or not this world is true or just an illusion, Master has given me the answer ten years ago…" Su Ming said softly, and in his smile was understanding.
"And I've also given him the answer." Su Ming closed his eyes. He sat in the blizzard, next to the bonfire. The snow was like dust connecting the sky and earth.
It was connected to Su Ming's heart, and when his heart turned deadly still, Su Ming closed his eyes to hide his determined resolve to pursue the truth.
"This is a Possession. Xuan Zang… I will accompany you! I will take a look at the light shining in your eyes at the final moment you open them, I will know whether it belongs to the death of your Harmonious Morus Alba, or whether it belongs… to my resolve and madness!"
Su Ming's eyes flew open at that instant, and the snow in the area became still. The wind stopped blowing, and the snow stopped falling.
Su Ming was no longer as handsome as he was ten years ago. His hair had grown longer and gradually covered his shoulders, then reached his waist. Its color was no longer black, but had instead been dyed in Su Ming's blood… turning into purple with a tint of crimson!
His hair was purple, and his robe was white. His appearance was no longer youthful, but had a hint of ancientness. His body was no longer lanky, but lean and slender.
At that instant, Su Ming… changed back to his appearance in Harmonious Morus Alba. He… had returned!
At the moment he opened his eyes, the third eye slowly opened at the center of his brow. It caused the world to shudder with a bang, because when he opened his third eye… his Dao Divinity also woke up!
"My wills… are you… still there?"
When Su Ming murmured those words, he lifted his right hand. At the moment he focused his gaze, it was as if thousands of years had gone by. When the palm lines of his right hand turned into purple flames, they burned, and the snow in the area turned into fog. It filled the area and made it indistinct to the eye.
In the flames on his palm, Su Ming saw the True Morning Dao World, the Emperor of Abyss' True World, True Immortal Sect World, and True Sky Hill World!
The four Great True Worlds were born from the flames in Su Ming's hands at that moment. Perhaps they had been destroyed in the past, but right then, they appeared once more!
However, a strange dark light slowly appeared in Su Ming's eye. In held a hint of determination. Su Ming sensed the wills of the four Great True Worlds on his palm… but they only existed in the fire. They could not appear outside it, and Su Ming could not have them fuse with his soul, like he had done in Harmonious Morus Alba.
After all… Harmonious Morus Alba was already dead!
'But why… can I still sense your dissatisfaction? Why can I sense all of you calling to me? Why can I sense… the signs of your existence in this world?'
The light in Su Ming's eyes grew stronger. Once he stood up slowly, he brought his right hand up and pushed the flames at the center of his brow.
During that moment, his whole body shuddered. Blurry pictures immediately appeared in his third eye. They flashed past until he saw all of them clearly.
A butterfly was struggling as if it was unwilling to give up. It did not have a body. Su Ming could only see its soul, and it was… Harmonious Morus Alba's soul!
The Harmonious Morus Alba's soul gave Su Ming a familiar feeling. In fact, he could even see… a torn gap on its wing!
That Harmonious Morus Alba… was Su Ming's homeland!
The thing that sealed its soul was the void. It seemed to be endless, but in truth, the void… was just a pearl shining with a strange light!
There were clouds surrounding the pearl, and it contained a universe that sealed the Harmonious Morus Alba. The pearl itself was floating in a huge palace. The light shining from it filled up the entire place.
The palace was built on top of mountains. By its side were numerous other palaces. There was no end to them.
Iron chains connected the mountains as bridges, and if anyone looked from a distance, they would find that the mountains formed an incredibly huge Rune.
Once the Rune as well as the mountains shrank indefinitely in Su Ming's eyes, they turned into palm lines. When the palm furled into a fist, Su Ming saw the owner of the palm. He was a middle-aged man, who was dressed in a long red robe, sitting and meditating.
There were thousands of cultivators kneeling down and worshiping him below. They were listening to his breathing while he meditated as if they could gain an epiphany of Dao just from that.
All of them were in a huge field. Beyond it was a huge basin surrounded by mountains. There were… countless cultivators in that basin, and when Su Ming saw the basin shrink, a huge stone monument that reached the sky erected on a cliff to the east of the basin came into his view.
Carved into the stone monument were eight words—Seven Moons Sect, Sky Beyond the Sky!
At the instant Su Ming saw the eight words clearly, they distorted and turned into an eye. It swiftly looked through space as if it could see Su Ming's gaze. At the same time, the red-robed man sitting on the field opened his eyes.
"How preposterous!" he said with a cold harrumph.
When he spoke, an aura that even Su Ming felt was incredibly strong shot through space and crashed in a domineering manner against Su Ming's gaze.
At the same time, an overlapping shadow walked out of the red-robed man's body. It moved and turned into his clone. It stepped into the air and with the divine sense Su Ming had used to observe as a clue, it instantly charged towards Su Ming.
As a soundless rumble reverberated through the air, Su Ming's third eye fell shut. His body shuddered slightly. He took a few steps backwards, and a trickle of blood flowed down the corners of his mouth. He lifted his head swiftly and stared at the sky.
At the moment Su Ming closed his third eye, the red-robe man's image appeared in the sky far away from Su Ming. The middle-aged man could not find Su Ming's tracks. He swept his gaze past the land, but he did not find his target.
'He's an alert one at least… This one has extraordinary power. He's already at the first level of Dao Divinity Realm.'
The red-robed man moved his gaze away from the ground. He was in deep thought for a while before he turned around and stepped into the air to disappear into the sky.
'Third level of Dao Divinity Realm, Dao Spirit Realm!'
Su Ming stared at the sky. He could sense the strength and mighty pressure from the red-robed man he approached in Seven Moons Sect. His mighty pressure surpassed what was possessed by all the living beings Su Ming had ever met, except Xuan Zang.
'This is a world that is even stronger and bigger than the Harmonious Morus Alba I was in!'
Brilliant light abruptly began shining in Su Ming's eyes, because Harmonious Morus Alba had only attained great completion in Avacaniya Realm, which was why… in terms of level of cultivation, all the people in its world could not surpass this Realm. Only in its last aeon could a life form that could break this limit appear, such as Su Ming, who had gained his Dao Divinity after he obtained his epiphany of Boundless Dao Realm.
This world he was in right then clearly surpassed the universe of Harmonious Morus Alba, which was why… powerful warriors of whom Su Ming had to be wary appeared. Yet it was precisely because of this that Su Ming might be able to find the path to become stronger.
He was silent. After a long while, a glint appeared in his eyes.
"I must come to repossess my wills. This is clearly the difference between me and the cultivators in this place."
Su Ming's eyes sparkled. As he mumbled, he turned into a long arc that charged into the distant sky.
'Right now, my most important task is to join Seven Moons Sect!'