Chapter 1466 - 1380 - 1387

Chapter 1380: In Your Dreams, You Don't Know That You've Grown Old

"When you learn who you are, you are no longer you. When you no longer know who you are, you… will be you!"

Murmurs reached Su Ming's ears and echoed in his head. When the sentence turned into a loud bang and roared in his heart, Su Ming opened his eyes.

Sweat had appeared at some unknown point of time on his forehead. The sky outside was silver, and it was because of falling snow. The land, dressed in a silver cloak, reflected a light that did not belong to the darkness of night.

Su Ming sat in a stone cave naturally formed due to a crack in the mountain. It was a place he had come upon while charging to Seven Moons Sect for three months. In the seemingly endless land, he had sat down cross-legged and began regulating his breathing.

He was incredibly far away from Seven Moons Sect. Even if he had reached the first level of Dao Divinity, he still needed several years to reach it.

Because of that, he did not choose to continue on without stop, but would occasionally rest so that he would constantly be at the peak of his form.

Right then, he opened his eyes.

He stared at the night sky beyond the cave and remembered the dream he just had. He seldom had dreams, for they would not appear when he meditated, but he had just had a dream.

Su Ming was only familiar with one sentence in the dream. The words from it echoed in his mind, and even when he opened his eyes, they lingered in his ears and refused to leave.

In silence, Su Ming stood up and walked out of the stone cave. Under the snow and amid the wind, he left behind a trail of footprints while walking into the distance. He crossed mountains and frozen rivers. The sun rose while he walked, and when it set, a city showed up ahead of him.

In the dusk, the city shone with light all over the place. There were voices coming and going, which filled it with activity…

Su Ming watched at the city, then closed his eyes. After a moment, when he opened them, he walked towards the city.

The families there had huge red lanterns hanging from their houses. Many children played, and their laughter was like tinkling bells. Almost every person was smiling, and their joyful faces filled the city. It made Su Ming remember… his Master bringing him to an unfamiliar city every single year on that day to sense… the atmosphere of a new year.

It was the last day of a year. Once dusk was over, night would fall, and when the sun rose again, another year would start.

Every year, all of Ancient Zang would celebrate it. All the cities in the land would be filled with a joyous atmosphere. Families would hang lamps high on their houses, and light would shine from them in the wind and snow as if it could chase away the cold from each house so that… the night would no longer be cold.

Su Ming walked through the city and observed his surroundings. He gradually lowered his head, and when he walked into the corner of an alley… he saw a noodle stall. In the cold wind, steam rose into the air, hiding the old man who was cooking noodles. He was indistinct to the passersby.

The noodle stall was not huge. There were only four or five tables, and a screen like that of a tent flap covered it so that the stall could hide from the snow, but the screen could not block much of the wind. There were about three men sitting inside and eating hot, steaming noodles while drinking soup as if trying to chase away the chill in their bodies.

"Old man Wu, it's new year now, bring out some of the old wine you've been treasuring. Let us have a taste of it," one of the men eating noodles said with a smile. When he spoke, his breath formed white vapor, and it was incredibly distinct in the blizzard.

"You lot… Oh, fine." The old man cooking noodles seemed to have smiled. He turned around and brought out a pot of wine before placing it on the table.

"That's the spirit. At least our efforts of coming here today to keep you company were not wasted." The man smiled, then immediately picked up the pot of wine and took a big gulp from it.

Su Ming walked into the noodle stall at that moment and sat at a table in the corner while watching the snow outside.

"Owner, one bowl of noodles, please."

The old cook turned his head around and cast a glance at Su Ming, then picked up a bowl and scooped up a huge portion of noodles. He also added some meat in the bowl before he placed it in front of Su Ming.

Su Ming stared at the noodles on the table, then started eating them quietly. The taste of the noodles was quite good, and the soup was hot. Once it entered his mouth, it filled it with warmth that even the snow no longer felt cold.

Time gradually passed. When night fell, not many people could be seen on the streets. It was festival time and also a day for families to reunite. At such a moment, a family would be together. The adults would watch children play, the lamps shine, and in the warmth of their homes, they would experience the tenderness of familial love.

Compared to the snow outside, practically everyone had that warmth so they did not have to suffer the cold, but Su Ming… he did not have that warmth.

When the men in the noodle stall left, the moaning wind caused the tent flap to let out loud fluttering sounds, and Su Ming sighed softly.

"Why aren't you going home?" The old cook sat at a nearby table. He picked up the pot of old wine, warmed it up for a while, then took a swig from it and looked at Su Ming.

Su Ming was silent for a while before he spoke slowly. "I can't find the way home."

"It's not that you can't find the way, but you don't have a home, right?"

The old man smiled. He picked up another pot of wine and stood up to walk over. Once he sat down, he placed it in front of Su Ming.

With the help of the light from the lamp, Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the old man. He was a mortal who had already reached the end of his life and had a face full of wrinkles.

Su Ming picked up the pot of wine. Once he took a sip from it, he watched the snow outside and asked languidly, "What about you?"

"I have a home, but I'm the only one in it. It doesn't matter whether I go back or not. I would rather be here."

The old man smiled. When he did so, the wrinkles on his face seemed to have increased, making the smile look full of anguish.

Su Ming did not speak. He drank, and in the wind and falling snow, the bright moon appeared in the sky. There were lamps on the thousands of houses around him, and there was also a lamp in the noodle stall, but that lamp was not warm. Instead, there was a desolate air about it.

He felt… his thoughts shift. He thought that he had already buried the yearning he would feel at that moment every single year and the beautiful moments from the past, he thought he no longer felt pain because he was heartless, but right then, under the shadows cast by the light from the lamp, he felt a pain that wind could not blow away and snow could not bury.

In the pain and cold, Su Ming remembered his elder, his senior brothers from the ninth summit, Yu Xuan, Cang Lan, Xu Hui… the bald crane, and that one single face in his memories.

As he thought about them, he finished the pot of wine.

He drank wine, because he no longer had any tears left. He could only pretend that the wine was his tears. Once he drank it, it became a bitterness and anguish that he could never chase away from his heart. If that was the case, he might as well let that bitterness remain in him for all eternity, and might as well let the anguish stay with him forever, because only by doing so… will he know that he was still alive.

Only then would he know that he… was not dead yet. Only then would he have more determination to change everything. Even if it was practically impossible… Su Ming still wanted to make it possible!

"Where is your family?" The old man watched Su Ming. When he spoke in his hoarse voice, he picked up another pot of wine and placed it in front of Su Ming.

"They're very far away. What about you?" Su Ming shook his head.

"My family? Heh heh… I originally had a huge family. I had a grandson, and he had a bunch of people to keep him company, and they were all my family… He even found a few wives, and the house was very lively." The old man drank wine, and his eyes filled with nostalgia.

"But one day, when I woke up, he was gone. We could no longer find him, and the house that was bustling with activity was no longer lively. Everyone went out to search for him, and they left one after another. They went to many places, but they never managed to find him.

"I am the only one left in this place. The house is empty. I don't know where he went to, and neither did I go out to find him. I want to stay here. I light a lamp in the house and wait for him. If he comes back one day, I don't want him… to be unable to find his home. I don't want him… to be unable to see the lamp in the house guiding his way," the old man mumbled. His voice was hoarse, and a hint of ancientness seemed to have been added to the snow.

"But honestly, I'm not really alone… Compared to me, our emperor is the one who is lonely…" The old man sighed softly. He picked up a pot of wine and drank from it again.

"We know that the emperor has three sons. When they will come of age, they will be taken away by someone to wander about the world… and when they leave… they will leave for six thousand years…

"During those six thousand years, he will be alone. He will have to light a lamp in the capital as well to lead the princes back home, because there is a legend in our kingdom saying that each prince has a possibility of losing their way while they are out wandering. They may no longer remember the way home." As the old man spoke, he lowered his head as if he had become drunk.

Su Ming was silent. He finished the final mouthful of wine from his pot, then stood up to walk past the old man. With a swing of his right hand, the snow and wind around him avoided him, making the place warm. Then, he walked out of the noodle stall and into the blizzard. He left the city and joined the wind of the night, going in the direction of Seven Moons Sect.

When Su Ming left into the distance and his figure disappeared into the night sky beyond the city, the seemingly drunk old man slowly lifted his head and stood up to stare at the night sky. His appearance slowly changed as if time was changing, and he turned into a middle-aged man.

He sighed softly.

"When you learn who you are, you are… no longer you. When you no longer know who you are, you… will be you."

As he sighed softly, the entire city turned into an illusion. Only the middle-aged man was left standing alone in the snow and wind. As he sighed softly, he turned around and walked quietly towards the capital city of Ancient Zang.

"What is real, and what is fake? Xuan Er… three thousand years have passed. When… will you ever gain your epiphany? You seek the truth, but what is the truth? You believe that certain things are fake, but what is meant by falsehood?" the middle-aged man murmured. With pain in his heart, he gradually disappeared into the snow and his figure slowly faded away.

Only the snow remained drifting about in the air. There seemed to be a sigh contained in it, lingering for a long time in the world…

Chapter 1381: In the Fog Over the World, Who Would Climb to the Highest

Wind drifted, and snow floated down.

In your dreams, you don't know that you've grown old. In the fog over the world, who would climb to the highest.

The night was distant. Smoke curled into the sky.

Gossip and truth were just a bridge. How many cycles of life and death had it been? There was always one person missing.

Su Ming left. He did not want to care whether the city behind him disappeared. The old man's words still lingered in his mind, affecting his heart. His Dao and his determination, however, allowed him to continue treading down his path just like how he always did.

Seven Moons Sect was Su Ming's first target. He wanted to enter the sect and retrieve the will belonging to him over there. Even though Su Ming had noticed the strength of the red-robed man in the part of the sect he had observed and found out that he was much stronger than him, he still could not prevent Su Ming's footsteps, despite the fact that he was a true powerful warrior in Dao Spirit Realm.

He walked through the seasons and the years. On one rainy day, Su Ming stared at the sky in the distance. He saw the mountains surrounding a huge stone monument that shot into the clouds.

Seven Moons Sect, Sky Beyond the Sky!

Su Ming stared at the mountains and the stone monument, then sat down on a tree crown in a forest that was quite a distance away. Rain poured from the sky, lightning flashed, and thunder howled when Su Ming closed his eyes.

He was not in a hurry. He wanted to wait for a chance to be the first to enter the sect.

The chance finally appeared after Su Ming had waited for a month. It was still raining on that day. When noon arrived, eight long arcs appeared in the sky and charged past him from Seven Moons Sect. They were eight disciples from Seven Moons Sect.

The leader of the eight people was an old man, and behind him were seven men and women. They charged through the forest while heading into the distance.

Su Ming opened his eyes. When he looked over, his gaze fell on the old man. He would be a Sublime Paragon if he was in Harmonious Morus Alba. His power was quite extraordinary. Behind him was a girl. She had a clean, beautiful face, but there was a cold and arrogant look in her eyes. When she occasionally turned her head around, she would glance at the teenage boy behind her in contempt.

The boy's face was pale, and his eyes were shut tight. They might look as if they were a group of eight, but in truth, the boy looked like a puppet, and his body was controlled by the string of bells the girl held tightly in her hand.

The other people were also quite young, but most of them had nervous expressions on their faces. They occasionally looked at the old man in the lead while traveled forth in silence.

Su Ming did not pay too much attention to the men, women, and the girl. Once he swept his gaze past the old man, he stood up from the tree crown. Just as he was about to follow them, a glint suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he looked in the direction of Seven Moons Sect.

Dozens of long arcs charged into the air. They left in the same direction as the old man, and behind them were close to one thousand long arcs. Both groups had appeared at the same time.

Soon after, Su Ming saw nearly ten thousand long arcs even further away. A thought appeared in his mind at that moment. When he looked over, the long arcs formed a complete unit. Each of them had an elder bringing with them several teenagers. Some had seven to eight people following them, and some had dozens of teenagers following them.

At that moment, all of them charged into the distance. Judging by the teenagers' looks, most of them were nervous and anxious, but there were also a few who were calm.

Most of them were in Heaven Cultivation Realm. They had not reached World Plane Realm just yet.

Su Ming pondered over this for a moment before he took a step and followed everyone. He tailed after them quietly, and when the sun set, the ten thousand figures stopped beside a canyon.

"It's time for the annual Seven Moons war. Most of you have already joined the sect for more than ten years. Usually, you only watch the others get through the Seven Moons disaster, but today, it is your turn.

"All disciples, enter the canyon. There are three thousand spirit plates in it, and there are nine thousand people among you. Only those with the spirit plates will have the right to be the disciples of this sect.

"Those without the spirit plates will become food for the beasts in the canyon eighteen hours later. You should know this very well. The rules have not changed. Those who get more than one hundred spirit plates can join the sect and be chosen by the sect elders. Only this will allow you the chance to get the recommendation to enter the inner sect and train for a year there. Keep this in mind, it is a recommendation that you can only obtain from the sect elders."

Besides the teenagers, there were hundreds of middle-aged and old elders who had extraordinary power. One scholarly looking middle-aged man dressed in a white robe was the one who was speaking, and his voice echoed in every direction.

"My fellow Daoists of the same sect, we might be at the lowest tier in the sect and have to guide the training of the disciples who join our sect for one hundred years, but when a disciple of ours shows outstanding results, we will also be rewarded by the sect. In fact, we might even have the chance to be promoted. This matter has happened every year in the past, and I wonder who among us will be lucky this time.

"But no matter what, fellow Daoists, if you are promoted, please do not forget to please give us guidance if there is a chance."

Once the middle-aged scholar finished speaking, he wrapped his fist and bowed deeply towards the hundreds of cultivators around him.

Expectation appeared on those cultivators' faces. They wrapped their fists in their palms towards each other and bowed politely.

"Get prepared, all of you. The sect elder will arrive soon, and then, the war to enter the inner sect of Seven Moons Sect will begin!"

The middle-aged scholar stood up and swept his gaze past the near ten thousand anxious teenagers. He spoke faintly, and his expression was an awe-inspiring one. To the teenagers, he brought about an incredibly oppressive feeling.

Su Ming watched it from a distance while deep in thought. He gave up on the idea of Possessing the cultivators here, and with a sparkle in his eyes, he looked at the sky.

He did not wait for long. When noon arrived and the sun shone at its brightest, the rain also seemed to have fused with the sunlight. At the instant the rain gained seven colors while in the air, a loud, thunderous roar sliced through the sky. It looked like a crack had been torn in the sky, and a person walked out of it slowly.

He was dressed in a long, blue robe, and he was an old man with a head full of white hair. He had a stern, dignified look in his eyes, and when he walked out of the crack, even the rain stopped.

At the instant he appeared, the middle-aged scholar and the hundreds of cultivators immediately wrapped their fists in their palms and bowed respectfully.

"We… greet Sect Elder Wen!"

The old man in the blue robe nodded slowly. When he swept his gaze past the near ten thousand teenagers on the land, a fierce glare showed up in his eyes.

"Today, you will all be going through the test to join the sect. Those who succeed will join the inner sect, and will become the most valuable disciples of Seven Moons Sect. You will be the future of Seven Moons Sect.

"In the past, we never lacked those who are talented wanting to join the inner sect. There are plenty of those who have reached Avacaniya Realm in one thousand years. But if there are those among you who can obtain one hundred spirit plates, then will be able to join the inner sect straightaway to be chosen by the sect elders. If that person has enough potential, they can even obtain the right to train in the inner sect's Sky Beyond the Sky. There have been… twelve people who reached Avacaniya Realm in one hundred years in the history of Seven Moons Sect!

"Now, the competition to enter the inner sect of Seven Moons Sect begins!"

After the old man in blue spoke, he swung his arm. Booming sounds immediately shot out from the canyon, and fog tumbed about inside it. In an instant, it turned into a huge vortex. The faces of near ten thousand teenagers standing at the edge of the canyon turned pale, and they were instantly dragged into the vortex by its suction force, unable to help themselves.

Su Ming's expression remained the same. He watched the awe-inspiring old man in blue. He had already reached Avacaniya Realm, but he was only in the initial stage of that Realm. Even though Su Ming no longer had all his wills with him, if he wanted to kill that person, he could use the power of his Dao Divinity. It would be as easy to kill him then as making a flicking motion.

'This Seven Moons Sect has unfathomable strength, and the powerful warriors in it are as numerous as clouds… I don't know how many of them are in Dao Divinity Realm either. If I Possess this old man, then even if I find the chance to retrieve my will, it might be difficult for me to escape… and the pearl is in the red-robed man's hands. It'll be difficult for me to snatch it back anyway.

'Judging by what is happening here, if I want to enter Seven Moons Sect via Possession, instead of Possessing this old man, it might be better… for me to Possess one of the teenagers…

'There are only twelve people who reached Avacaniya Realm in one hundred years, huh? If I 'reach' the first level of Dao Divinity Realm within one hundred years as a disciple, I wonder how great of a shock it will be to Seven Moons Sect. Then, I will have a greater chance to get close to the red-robed man!'

Su Ming fell into a moment of pensive silence before his eyes sparkled. A resolute look appeared on his face, and with one move, he instantly charged to into the vortex.

With his level of cultivation, if he did not want anyone to see him, then even the old man in blue would not be able to find any traces of him. In a flash, Su Ming disappeared into the fog.

He entered the canyon and charged into the depths. On the way, he saw a corpse lying in a crack on the wall beside him. The body belonged to a teenager Su Ming had seen before—he was the puppet-like boy controlled by the girl.

At that moment, the boy's entire body was thin and withered. He was already dead. All his life force seemed to have been forcefully snatched away by a Secret Art so that the caster could stimulate her own strength.

Once Su Ming swept his gaze past the area, he paid no more attention to the corpse. He charged forward, and in the span of a few breaths, an invisible barrier that others would find hard to detect appeared in front of him.

The barrier would do little to block anyone's path, but it served to divide the area, separating the canyon into two parts. At the instant Su Ming approached it, he came to a stop. He levitated above the barrier, and his eyes sparkled. When he pressed his right hand on the barrier, he closed his eyes.

After a moment, when he opened his eyes, he frowned.

'These disciples are indeed highly valued by Seven Moons Sect. There are around a dozen divine senses constantly watching everything in the trial grounds…

'Among those divine senses, there are three… that are very strong. If I was just passing by, it'd be fine, but once I Possess someone, they might notice me…'

Su Ming pondered this for a moment, then a thought suddenly appeared in his head. He turned his head back and looked at the corpse of the boy in the crack.

"We were fated to meet. Then, I'll use your dead body… and with your appearance, I will become the strongest prodigy Seven Moons Sect has ever seen," Su Ming said faintly, and with a single move, he charged upwards.

At that moment, in the huge field Su Ming's divine sense had once seen in Seven Moons Sect was the red-robed man. He sat there as before, and there were around a dozen calm cultivators around him. Most of them sat indifferently, but their gazes were all fixed on the huge crystal floating at the center of the field.

There were countless pictures in the crystal, and each one contained a teenager. They showed… everything that happened within the canyon.

"This girl is pretty good. She managed to find a spirit plate in such a short time."

"This lad is also good. He's a ruthless one, and he attacks without hesitation. If he has good potential, then he'll be a promising shoot."

The dozen people spoke to each other with indifferent expressions while they sat in the field.

Chapter 1382: Blood of Seven Moons

At the same time the sect elders of Seven Moons Sect observed the near ten thousand pictures and practically every disciple in the huge crystal, the teenager who had already breathed his last in the crack on the walls of the canyon suddenly jolted.

Su Ming's body was slowly overlapping with the boy's body. In just the span of a few breaths, Su Ming's body completely disappeared, and the boy opened his eyes.

An aloof and calm glint shone in them. The boy had never had such a gaze before. It only belonged to one person, and that person was Su Ming!

When he opened his eyes, the body he Possessed gradually recovered from its shrivelled state. Once the boy regained his appearance, Su Ming slowly sat up, exercised his neck, shook his body, and his expression returned to normal. However, a freezing glare shone in his eyes, despite the calm look on his face.

'Wang Tao, huh? A person who didn't catch anyone's attention among the outer sect disciples in Seven Moons Sect. Constantly bullied, and now, all his life force was even sucked out by his senior sister to temporarily increase her power, all for the sake of being able to show off her abilities in the Seven Moons disaster…

'Since you died with resentment and I will make use of your body, we can be considered somewhat linked through fate. I will first… take revenge for you and end your grudge, then with your face, we will become the most brilliant existence in Seven Moons Sect!'

A malicious and ghastly sneer appeared on Su Ming's lips. Once he lived through the drastic change in Harmonious Morus Alba, his personality had changed a lot.

He did not care about other people's survival nor the changes in the world. He only cared about his own resolve, and for that, even if he had to overturn the world, he would walk down a path that did not require him to turn around in regret.

And while he walked down his path, all those who tried to block him… would die!

If anyone saw the smile on Su Ming's lips right then, their hearts would definitely let out a thump. They would feel as if they were in an ocean of blood, as if a poisonous snake had fixed its eyes on them. An endless chill would spread from the bottom of their heart, and they would even feel the shadow of death looming over them.

Su Ming pushed his right hand against the wall and turned into a long arc that charged towards the barrier below. He did not stop for even a single moment. Without a single sound, he phased through the barrier and appeared in the trial grounds for the outer sect disciples of Seven Moons Sect.

There was a new sky above him, and it was red, just like blood. Wreckage and dust covered various parts of the ground. The cities showed signs of history, which gave off a desolate feeling.

Su Ming descended from the sky. When he landed on the ground, he slowly straightened and lifted his head. He did not look around him, but instead, with a frosty look, he walked forward.

At the moment he Possessed the boy, his level of cultivation had been automatically suppressed by ninety-nine-hundredth. With his inborn talent for Possession, unless he ran into a person whose level of cultivation surpassed his by a big margin, then even those in Dao Spirit Realm would find it difficult to discover him. They would only be able to detect the presence of a cultivator in Heaven Cultivation Realm, which was what he showed on the surface right then.

'If I want to enter the inner sect of Seven Moons Sect and become the greatest of the sect, then I can't keep a low profile… Since there are ten something divine senses constantly observing this place, then perhaps there's already someone who has noticed me. If that's the case… then I might as well act arrogantly.'

A ghastly smile appeared at the corners of Su Ming's lips. He suddenly rushed forward.

When he descended into the trial grounds, an additional picture appeared among the near ten thousand pictures within the huge crystal observed by the ten something sect elders in the field in Seven Moons Sect. That picture clearly showed Su Ming's figure, and as he rushed forward, it followed him.

"For some reason, this boy entered the trial ground much later than the others," a married woman dressed in an orange long robe among the ten something people said faintly. Her gaze stayed on the picture showing Su Ming in the crystal.

"It's fine. Their survival is connected to the trial. It's only natural that they make some preparations for such an important matter. He might have lost some initiative by entering late, but if his preparations were more complete, it's also another method to win," an old man next to the woman said with a smile. He had also noticed Su Ming's figure suddenly appear among the pictures.

"Hmm? That boy you spoke of is quite interesting…" As the two of them spoke, a blue-robed scholar sitting not too far away pointed at the crystal with a smile.

In Su Ming's picture among the near ten thousand pictures in the crystal showed a sword flash behind the teenager. It belonged to a boy with a sinister and ruthless expression. He charged towards Su Ming.

He was fast, but the main focus of his attack lay in his sword. It instantly closed in on Su Ming, but Su Ming only took a step to the side. When he turned around, he lifted his left hand, and with the momentum he had gathered, he made a seizing motion behind him, directly catching the boy's neck.

At the instant fear and alarm appeared on the boy's face, Su Ming tightened his grip, and blood trickled out of the corners of the boy's mouth. Then, he breathed his last.

This scene attracted the attention of the two people who were previously talking to each other, but soon, they moved their gazes away. Scenes like these appeared everywhere in the near ten thousand pictures.

Even the blue-robed scholar only smiled before he moved his gaze away to look at the other disciples. They wanted to find someone who would catch their fancy so that they could ponder about taking them in as disciples.

While they were highly expectant towards someone being able to obtain one hundred spirit plates, this was something that rarely happened, which was why they did not pay too much attention to the matter, unless… someone showed signs of being able to do so.

Su Ming let go of his left hand while in the world of ruins in the canyon. The boy in front of him fell to the ground with eyes wide open. Su Ming swept his gaze past the boy, then turned around and continued into the distance.

While he moved through the vast land, he did not travel fast, but soon, the ruins of a city appeared in front of him. No one could say how many years it had been since the city had been abandoned. At that moment, when Su Ming swept his gaze past a broken wall, a cold sneer appeared at the corners of his lips, and he stepped into the ruins.

At the instant he stepped inside, a shrill cry immediately shot into the air. Seven boys and girls formed a Rune at the same time and instantly enveloped him within.

It was a Sword Rune. The moment it shone with a red light, a huge net appeared above Su Ming. It looked like it could cut all manner of flesh and blood.

While the seven people laughed ferociously, flashes of swords shone around Su Ming. He moved and immediately appeared in front of a boy. He lifted his right hand and struck him. A bang shot up, and the boy's eyes went wide. When he coughed up blood, Su Ming grabbed his body and threw him to the ground.

With it, the boy's body shattered. When his flesh and blood gushed out, Su Ming brought up his right hand and seized the air. All the boy's blood immediately tumbled backwards and charged towards Su Ming's right hand. When he unfurled it, a blood-red moon appeared in the air.

It was a low-leveled Art in Seven Moons Sect, one of the three Arts mastered by the boy Su Ming had Possessed. The Art was known as Blood of Seven Moons.

"Blood of Seven Moons."

When Su Ming spoke flatly, the blood-red moon exploded with a bang, and countless droplets of blood spread through the area, turning into crescent blood moons that were as sharp as blades. In an instant, they shot through the six people, making their bodies shudder, and all of them were immediately torn to shreds.

Su Ming swung his right hand, and three spirit plates flew out from the flesh and blood around him. They fell into his palm, but he did not put them away into his storage bag. Instead, he held them in his hand, and when he moved forward, the three spirit plates crashed into each other. They let out tinkling sounds that rang through the area.

Su Ming swung his arm, and the blood drops immediately tumbled backwards to gather together to form a blood-red moon that was the height of an adult man and enveloped Su Ming. It filled him with a murderous air.

Just as he was about to leave, Su Ming suddenly stopped moving. He frowned, then turned around slowly and looked at the ruins and dust around him. He observed the area, and eventually, his gaze landed on a broken stone monument.

There were a few indistinct words on it. At the instant Su Ming saw the stone monument and the words on it, a barely noticeable shudder went through his body.

Due to the indistinct words being incomplete and fragmented, only two words could be seen clearly… They were… Star Ocean.

'Divine Essence Star Ocean…'

Su Ming's pupils shrank, and a confused look appeared in his eyes. He had seen the stone monument before. It was a world monument erected beyond Black Ink Planet that he saw when he stepped into the galaxy of Divine Essence Star Ocean.

He had sent his divine sense over and scanner it before.

When Su Ming focused his gaze on the broken stone monument, the blue-robed scholar among one of the ten something sect elders on the field in Seven Moons Sect took note of him again.

"This boy has extraordinary power, and he's also ruthless. He neutralized the plot those seven concocted to kill him… This boy is outstanding, the Seven Moons Art gained a different flair when he cast it. He's not bad!"

A hint of praise appeared in the eyes of the blue-robed scholar. He watched the blood moon envelop Su Ming in the picture, and the others noticed Su Ming as well at that moment because of his words.

There were pictures constantly disappearing from the crystal, and every single time it happened, it meant that a disciple had died. The near ten thousand pictures had quickly been reduced to only six thousand something.

At the same time, on the other side of the crystal, six thousand names appeared. There was also a number next to them. The numbers showed just how many spirit plates anyone had obtained.

At that moment, the person at first place was a person called Ye Long. He had obtained over thirty spirit plates!

Judging by the name, the person in second place was a girl, and she was… Chen Feng. She had already obtained around thirty spirit plates!

As for Wang Tao—represented by Su Ming—he was ranked in the hundreds. Among the six thousand something names, he was completely insignificant.

"This boy is pretty good, but it is solely for what he did just now. Only when he gets into the top ten will he be worthy of our attention," an old man in a white long robe said flatly after sweeping his gaze over the picture with Su Ming.

Chapter 1383: Reveal

"I'm more curious as to why he won't put the spirit plates into his storage bag but chose to hold them in his hand."

A sneer appeared on the lips of a young man sitting next to the red-robed man among the ten something sect elders. He spoke with a smile, but it was filled with a chilling air.

"Haha, since all of you don't think he'll be of any good, I'll have the right to choose him first." The blue-robed scholar smiled and lifted his right hand to point at the crystal. Su Ming's picture immediately floated out and levitated in front of him.

The instant the scholar extracted the picture belonging to Su Ming, the ground in the pictures around his instantly shuddered and roared. From a distance, around a dozen figures charged towards him.

The figures had appeared incredibly suddenly, and a powerful killing intent immediately filled the area, but Su Ming's expression did not change. When the ten figures drew close to him, he lifted his right hand, lowered his head, and pushed his hand against the ground.

Booming sounds immediately echoed in the air, and a storm was stirred. It spread out through the area and obscured everything in Su Ming's picture. Several breaths later, when the storm and dust faded away, what remained on the ground were bloodless corpses as well as a blood moon that was twice as large compared to before.

Su Ming left into the distance. He was no longer holding just three spirit plates, but six of them. They knocked against each other and let out clear tinkling sounds.

Since the blue-robed scholar had isolated Su Ming's picture, it immediately drew the attention of the ten sect elders in the area. All of their eyes immediately brightened.

Only the red-robed man and the most beautiful woman in the field kept their eyes closed and continued meditating. They did not even look at the picture.

The woman's beauty could make people question her existence. It was enough to make everyone's hearts race. She wore a purple dress, and as she sat there, she looked like a royal peony. There were a few crystal shards at the center of her brow, and it seemed like they reflected all the lives in the world.

"What's his name?"

"This person… is Wang Tao. His is the only name that has six spirit plates."

"This is no longer the power of those in Heaven Cultivation Realm. He is… someone who is already near World Plane Realm."

"Not bad. Be it Blood of Seven Moons or Ground Crushing Fiend, the power showed when he executed these divine abilities is already enough for him to easily win against all those in Earth Cultivation Realm."

When the ten something sect elders spoke to each other, the picture showing Su Ming changed again. A mountain appeared in front of him, and on that mountain stood a lean figure. That person did not seem to be a boy, but a young man.

He was staring at Su Ming.

"This is Chou Wu. He has seven spirit plates, and he's one of the outstanding ones in this trial. I wonder who will win between him and Wang Tao."

While the ten something sect elders watched the picture, Su Ming stood in midair and stared coldly at the young man standing at the top of the mountain in front of him.

"You should know me. Hand over your spirit plates and get lost. If you do, I'll spare you. I'll only give you the span of three breaths!"

There was arrogance in the young man's voice. When his words landed in Su Ming's ears, Su Ming's expression remained the same. He continued staring at the young man coldly, and when the three breaths were over, the young man laughed coldly. He turned into a long arc and instantly charged towards the blood moon encasing Su Ming.

"You're just asking—"

Before the young man could finish speaking, Su Ming took a step forward. With the spirit plates in his right hand, he brought it up, seizing the young man's throat, making the spirit plates crash into his windpipe. His action instantly cut off the young man's speech before he could finish it.

At the same time, Su Ming seemed to have reached a breakthrough in his level of cultivation. The walls between Heaven Cultivation Realm and World Plane Realm shattered, and the presence of World Plane Realm spread out from him!

The young man whose neck had been seized immediately shuddered. His eyes bulged out, and shock appeared on his face. Blood poured out of his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and all his pores.

All of the blood in his body was flowing in reverse. It turned into blood threads that charged towards the blood moon around Su Ming. In just the span of a few breaths, all the blood in the young man's body was emptied from him and absorbed by Su Ming's blood moon.

Su Ming let go, and the withered young man fell down. Su Ming seized the air with his right hand, and the young man's storage bag immediately flew out. When Su Ming patted it, he brought out seven spirit plates and added them to his own. He thus had thirteen of them.

The ten something sect elders on the field had witnessed it, and various changes appeared on all their faces.

"He… reached a breakthrough? The Blood of Seven Moons has actually reached this level in his hand!"

"Just what sort of potential does he have? He actually reached a breakthrough just like this?"

"Thirteen spirit plates. He's already at twelfth place!"

"The number's increased again. Now, it's fourteen spirit plates!"

"Sixteen!"

Almost all the sect elders in the field had their gazes trained on Su Ming, and they immediately saw his speed increase once he reached a breakthrough in his level of cultivation.

From a distance, he looked like a blood moon hanging high in the sky and shining with a strange, evil light. As he charged forth through the trial grounds, he ran into some people, and he absorbed all their blood. It grew the blood moon, and he obtained another few spirit plates.

Su Ming knew from the start that he would become the center of attention. He also knew that he had to catch the sect elders' attention, for only then could he execute the next step of his plan.

As for being exposed? Su Ming was confident that with his inborn ability, it would not be easy for others to find anything wrong about him. The only time when he did something unusual was when a slight look of confusion had appeared in his eyes upon seeing the stone monument. It had, however, turned into a heavy feeling that was buried deep in Su Ming's heart.

He moved forward at a moderate pace. The divine sense he spread out had the power of those in World Plane Realm, and with over ten spirit plates in his hand as bait, he ran into quite many people who came to snatch his plates.

'This Blood of Seven Moons has quite the extraordinary power.'

As Su Ming moved forward, he cast a glance at the blood moon around him, which had grown to be about fifty-sixty feet tall. He could sense the increasingly stronger power accumulating within it, and it allowed him to fly faster.

It was as if he had truly turned into a blood moon. It hung high in the sky and was incredibly eye-catching. The more than ten spirit plates in Su Ming's hand were especially attention grabbing. They were enough to cause a large number of people to target him.

Six hours later, the spirit plates in Su Ming's hand had grown to thirty-one. Some of them were dyed in fresh blood, and when they knocked against each other, they let out tinkling sounds. It seemed like they brought with them a murderous aura as well.

Some people who had originally wanted to assault Su Ming changed their mind. Upon seeing the spirit plates in his hand, they felt as if they had been doused with cold water. With a shudder, they immediately turned around and fled.

Su Ming did not chase them. In truth, he had never taken the initiative to attack to get any of the over thirty spirit plates. They had all come into his hand when he easily crushed those who wanted to kill him due to greed.

However, gradually, he ran into fewer and fewer people. Clearly, as time passed, the disciples who entered the trial either died or chose to hide once they found a spirit plate. Unless the end of the trial came, they would definitely not venture out.

Su Ming continued moving through the sky. There were still those who believed themselves to be strong enough to attack him. They wanted to obtain more spirit plates to become the owner of one hundred spirit plates, which was something that did not happen in each trial.

There were also some who had come to an agreement and acted in groups, intending to win through numbers. They worked large groups to gather spirit plates for a few people in their group.

The smallest of such would number between three to five, and the largest would have dozens of cultivators. Once they ran into each other, they would most often choose to avoid conflict. Unless the end of the trial was near, battles which would end with both sides being gravely wounded did not appear.

There was practically no one who moved alone like Su Ming. The tinkling sounds that came when the thirty-something spirit plates in his hand knocked against each other and the sheer number itself made him into a target, despite the astonishing and terrifying blood moon around him. When the disciples who had formed groups ran into him, they could not control their desire to try and snatch his spirit plates.

It happened again and again. Dozens of disciples appeared in front of Su Ming once more, and each of them had their eyes fixed on his hand. When their gazes landed on the spirit plates, greed appeared in their eyes.

Su Ming cast a glance at the dozens of people. He moved, but he did not attack. Instead, he headed into the distance in the form of a long arc. From a distance, it looked like the blood moon had turned into a bloody scar. Su Ming moved in the front, and the dozens of disciples chased after him.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn later, another group of dozens of people saw Su Ming, and they did not hesitate in joining the fight for his spirit plates.

When another hour passed as they continued to chase after him, under Su Ming's intentional control, slowly, nearly three hundred disciples were behind him. In fact, there were even more long arcs swiftly approaching him from farther away. They formed a vague encirclement around him.

"It's about time."

Su Ming came to a halt, and a ferocious smile appeared on his lips when he turned around. The people before him might be weak, but Su Ming had never felt unable to kill the weak. Since they had chosen to provoke him, they were destined to die.

When turned around, he brought up his right hand and seized the blood moon around him, then swiftly yanked it downwards. The blood moon shattered with a bang, turning into countless drops of blood that spread out through the area.

When the ten something sect elders in the field thought Su Ming had been driven to a corner and forced to flee, they saw his level of cultivation… rise again!

From the initial stage of World Plane Realm, he reached the middle stage, and he brought forth a slaughter that made even the expressions of sect elders change. The battle lasted for the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, and the area around Su Ming went quiet.

When he swung his arms, a huge blood-red moon of three hundred feet appeared around him. Shock and fear appeared on the faces of the disciples who had wanted to close in on him. Without any hesitation, they immediately turned around and fled.

Chapter 1384: Sect Elder Lan

"He reached a breakthrough again? This has never happened in the trials in the past!"

"This is strange. There's definitely a problem!"

"Unless this boy's potential is the rare kind that only appears one in tens of thousands or once in a blue moon, there is definitely something odd about him!"

"If there's nothing strange about him, then… I will be his Master!"

All of the ten something sect elders in the field stopped looking at the other pictures, and all of them cast their gazes on Su Ming.

The level of cultivation he reached after his two breakthroughs might still be weak in their eyes, but the meaning of the breakthroughs was completely different, which was why they paid so much attention to it.

After all, the legendary thirteen old monsters in Seven Moons Sect who reached Avacaniya Realm in one hundred years had reached Dao Spirit Realm by then, and among them, six constantly trained in the inner sect's land. The seventh… was right by their side at that moment—he was the red-robed man.

The seven had all once showed astonishing potential in the trial grounds, but even so, none of them were as unbelievably incredible as Su Ming.

The three hundred something tall blood moon formed by Su Ming turned into a nightmare in the trial grounds. Wherever he went, few disciples dared to provoke him. Usually, when they saw him, they would be stunned, and then they would turn around and leave.

The battle against the hundreds of people moments earlier had caused Su Ming's name to travel to all those in the outer sect via voice communication. Because of that, the blood moon turned into a sign… Its master could never be offended!

Su Ming already had one hundred and forty spirit plates in his hand!

The sounds created by the spirit plates knocking into each other came from inside the blood moon and echoed in the area. The clear sounds no longer incited greed in others when they heard them, but fear.

The blood-red moon was a true nightmare in the trial grounds.

When four hours passed, Su Ming came to a halt and looked into the distance. He saw a few long arcs charging forward. There were a total of five people, and they were originally heading towards him, but upon noticing the blood moon, they instantly changed course.

The person in the lead was a girl, the one who had sucked away all the life force from the boy Su Ming had Possessed, and the four people beside her were the people who knew him.

When they saw the blood moon in the distance, their expressions immediately changed. Yet the moment they turned around and were about to leave, Su Ming appeared right in front of them. His face in the blood moon clearly appeared in the five's eyes.

Once they saw him, their expressions changed drastically. They filled with shock, especially that of the girl. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. She came to an abrupt halt and stared at Su Ming in disbelief.

She sucked in a sharp breath. When she took two steps backwards, she cried out instinctively, "You… You're still alive!"

Su Ming's expression was originally aloof, but at that moment, he thought of something, and hatred as well as resentment appeared on his face. The sight of it caused the girl to release a sigh of relief in her heart.

The ten something sect elders also saw the hatred and resentment on Su Ming's face.

At the same time, they also saw Su Ming move forward in the picture. Booming sounds shot into the air, and shrill screams of pain echoed in the area. Be it the girl or the other disciples, they were not Su Ming's opponents, and it was clearly within the sect elders' expectations.

But the moment Su Ming was about to kill the girl, the red-robed man sitting at the top of the field opened his eyes for the first time. He brought up his left hand and pointed at the picture of Su Ming. The girl immediately distorted and disappeared from before him.

Just as the sect elders expected, surprise and shock appeared on Su Ming's face. He looked around him for some time, then with uncertainty on his face, he turned into a long arc and charged into the distance.

The ten something sect elders on the field did not say a single word at that moment. They looked towards the red-robed man together, and they saw the girl appear in front of him with fear and alarm on her face. With some unknown method, the red-robed man had forcefully brought her over.

Before the girl could even speak, the red-robed man lifted his right hand up in an aloof manner and pushed down gently against the top of her skull.

Shrill screams of pain tumbled out of the girl's mouth. Her body twisted and trembled. Veins popped up on her face, which was due to her memories being searched through in detail by the red-robed man.

After the span of a few breaths, the girl shuddered and turned into nothingness, disappearing from the red-robed man's hand.

"Wang Tao. Entered the sect seventeen years ago. Has quite promising potential, but his personality is weak. He had his body controlled by someone under the same Master using a Secret Art and also had his life force as well as cultivation base taken so that this girl could have an increase in her power for twenty hours.

"He should have died, but he managed to live. It's easy to tell what happened…" A glint appeared in the red-robed man's eyes, and he looked towards the incredibly beautiful woman sitting across him, who was still meditating.

"Sect Elder Lan, please cast your Art and find out what happened."

The incredibly beautiful woman opened her eyes for the first time at that moment and looked towards the picture of Su Ming. In her eyes, the light of divination appeared, then she closed them.

"This boy possessed hidden potential. It is the type that would set his life matrix once his original one was broken. His whole life will be filled with serendipity that will mould him into someone great. He will be the strongest and most important person under the heavens, and the souls of deities will fill his four pillars [1]!"

"What is the meaning behind it?" the red-robed man asked slowly.

"His life is one of nobility, and we are not to involve ourselves with him. He is an entity rarely seen in Ancient Zang. If we can have him by our side, then our prosperity and fall will depend on a single thought from him. If we prosper, our sect will flourish and stand at the peak. If we fall, then our sect will degenerate and be reduced to ruins. His kismet…

"If we kill him, then we will incur the wrath of heaven, if we are killed by him, then our deaths will adhere to the will of Dao. There is no explanation for this," the incredibly beautiful woman said softly. Her eyes were closed, hiding the hint of confusion and shock that had appeared in them at that moment.

Once the woman finished speaking, the ten something sect elders in the area immediately fell silent. Incredulousness appeared on their faces, and a glint appeared in the red-robed man's eyes.

"Sect Elder Lan has never described someone's life matrix as such…"

"I want this boy. I'll take him in as my disciple!" the blue-robe scholar said firmly. The moment he opened his mouth and said those words, the eyes of the sect elders in the area all shone. They cast their eyes on Su Ming's picture.

"You can't do that. This boy's personality makes him suitable to practice my cultivation method. It'll be better if I become his Master."

"How laughable. I was the one who saw this boy first. How can I have him fall into someone else's hands? The one who first saw him is connected to him through fate. This fate cannot be spoken, but this boy will follow me, and he will surely reach Avacaniya Realm!"

The ten something sect elders immediately spoke. What they valued was not Su Ming… but Sect Elder Lan's words about his life matrix!

"Enough. I will personally take this boy as my disciple!" the red-robed man said slowly with a scowl. Once he finished speaking, the sect elders in the area immediately fell silent. They might be slightly unwilling to accept such a decision, but they did not continue speaking.

Except for…

The incredibly beautiful woman opened her eyes at that moment, and determination as well as resolve showed up on her face. "Your life matrix clashes with this boy's, and you show signs of dying. It'll be better if he will become my disciple."

Chapter 1385: The Figure in the Dark

The blood moon hung high in the air. In the world in the canyon, the moon around Su Ming had grown to nearly five hundred feet. It looked incredibly huge, and a thick, bloody presence filled the area.

As Su Ming moved through the land, gazes filled with respect were directed at him. They came from the hidden disciples as well as the cultivators whose greed had long ago been suppressed by their fear. In just a few short hours, Su Ming's figure was deeply ingrained in their minds.

Before then, Wang Tao had held no fame!

After the trial, his name would ring through all the outer sect. After all, some of the cultivators who survived knew the name of the body Su Ming Possessed. As the blood moon moved around, his name… rose up.

The clear tinkling sounds from the one hundred something spirit plates in Su Ming's hand knocking against each other drifted about with a strange, sinister tone that had a murderous air. All the outer sect disciples of Seven Moons Sect who heard it felt their hearts tremble.

None of them dared to offend their owner.

Su Ming eventually stopped on top of a mountain and sat down on the summit. From a distance, no one could see his figure. They could only see an incredibly brilliant blood moon at the top of the mountain.

That mountain and the land around it turned into a forbidden area. Even if the Seven Moons Sect disciples nearby continued fighting against each other and snatching each other's spirit plates, no one dared to take even half a step towards the mountain.

Su Ming remained seated and no longer ventured outwards. He had enough spirit plates and had no plans to get more of them. At that moment, he sat on the mountain quietly with a calm expression and waited for the game—to him—to end.

There was not much time left.

All the sect elders on the field saw Su Ming sitting on the mountain. They stared at his side profile, the blood moon, the one hundred something spirit plates in his hand, and gradually, the deductions of his life matrix by Sect Elder Lan rose up in their heads again. For some unknown reason, even though the sect elders believed that they had reached the peak of their cultivation, a feeling that they could not put to words slowly appeared at the bottom of their hearts. That feeling was akin to a chill.

A surprised glint appeared on the red-robed man's face. He watching Su Ming in the picture while thinking about Sect Elder Lan's words. After a long while, a confident smile appeared at the corners of his lips.

'This boy's life matrix clashes with mine… and I show signs of dying? Interesting, I'd like to see just how I'd die!' A brilliant light shone in the red-robed man's eyes before he closed them.

Across from him was the incredibly beautiful Sect Elder Lan. She stared at Su Ming's figure in the picture with a hint of confusion in the depths of her eyes.

'Why… is this person's destiny entangled with mine in such a manner? The marks of entanglement are not in my body… but in my life matrix.

'Why..?'

When the people in the field fell silent, a figure slowly approached from the distance to the invisible forbidden area that was the mountain where Su Ming sat.

The figure was lean and had a handsome face. The person was dressed in white while his long black hair danced in the air, giving him a strange type of charm. However, his calm demeanor was more prominent that his charm.

His calm was different though. Su Ming's calmness was due to the peace in his heart bringing about the calmness on his face, but that person… treated himself as supreme, so he had to appear calm.

His calmness symbolized supremacy and arrogance. They lay at the bottom of his heart, however, and were not shown externally.

The man, too, had plenty of spirit plates. Based on their numbers, he had a total of one hundred of them in his hand.

He stopped before Su Ming's invisible forbidden area. When he lifted his head, he looked at Su Ming meditating in the blood moon not too far away from him. He did not say a single word. He stopped in his tracks, but he did not move back. His gaze was fully focused on Su Ming.

Time slowly passed. When only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn was left before the trial's end, the white-robed boy still remained staring at Su Ming beyond the invisible barrier.

His gaze seemed to contain fighting spirit. It was like fire burning in his eyes.

"Ye Long!" After a long while, he suddenly spoke. His voice shot up and traveled into Su Ming's invisible forbidden area, then into Su Ming's ears. "My name is Ye Long!" the white-robed boy said again.

Su Ming opened his eyes and directed his gaze on the white-robed boy's face. At the moment he saw him, a dazed look appeared in his eyes, and he felt as if he was not looking at Ye Long… but a prodigy from the past in the field beyond Wind Stream Mountain in Wind Stream Tribe—Ye Wang.

He had the same expression, the same determination, the same tone, and the hidden feeling of supremacy in his heart.

Su Ming did not speak. He only closed his eyes again.

The fighting spirit in Ye Long's eyes might have become stronger, but he never took the step forward. At the instant the trial ended, he lifted his foot, and took a step backwards instead. When he turned around, the entire world suddenly turned dark, and shrill roars rang out.

Hordes of ferocious beasts appeared in the clouds and fog in the sky, though more accurately speaking, they were not creatures, but spirits, because their bodies were illusions formed by fog. At the moment they appeared, they charged towards the ground.

A part of them charged towards Su Ming, but at the instant they drew close to him, the spirit plates in his hand let out a brilliant light. It covered a boundless distance, frightening the ferocious spirits who wanted to pounce on him. Just as they were about to move back, their bodies were sucked towards him against their control. The spirit plates acting in a manner of a seal, yanking the spirits inside themselves.

One spirit plate could seal one ferocious spirit. Su Ming simply sat there, and in just the span of a few breaths, all one hundred something of his spirit plates contained a spirit.

With the spirits, the spirit plates appeared the same, but there were faint streaks of light flowing through them, as if to show that they were no longer ordinary.

This happened not just to Su Ming, but to Ye Long as well. All the people with spirit plates in the trial grounds saw the same scene. Each of the plates sealed a ferocious spirit, and once it was done, the owners of the plates were no longer attacked.

As for the Seven Moon Sects disciples who did not obtain any spirit plates, they began screaming shrilly in pain. The sounds of their bodies being torn apart rose and fell in the trial grounds…

Destructive spirits continued appearing in the trial grounds for an hour before they disappeared, and a huge vortex formed in the sky. It spun with a bang, and an old voice traveled out from inside it.

"The outer sect promotion trial for Seven Moons Sect ends now. Congratulations to all of you… for becoming the disciples of the inner sect!"

When the voice echoed in the air, a suction force rose up in the area, and the figures on the ground turned into long arcs that charged towards the vortex.

There were boys and girls among those figures. Some of them had excitement on their faces and some had respect. Their expressions were different, and it was related to their actions in the trial grounds. The excited ones were those who avoided the disaster, and the respectful ones were those who barely escaped death.

There were also quite a few who had complicated expressions on their faces. When they looked at each other, they could see the killing intent and the will to fight in each other's eyes. Those people were clearly ones who had formed grudges between them due to the fights for spirit plates during the trial.

The moment the disciples flew up towards the vortex, a long arc shot through the sky like a white dragon. It charged from the ground, and wherever it went, no matter which disciple it was, their expressions would change, and they would avoid it. When they looked at the figure in the white light, their gazes were filled with respect.

It was Ye Long.

Ye Long's face was calm. Wherever he went, no one even thought of getting in his way. He charged straight towards the vortex in the sky.

Su Ming stood up at that moment. When he took a step forward, he did not make the blood moon disappear, so he looked like a blood moon turning into a long arc. The world rumbled when he walked towards the vortex serving as the exit.

The moment Su Ming's blood moon appeared in the eyes of the disciples who were also heading towards the vortex, surprised and terrified cries filled the air. Compared to everyone moving away from Ye Long to make a path for him, Su Ming's entrance was even grander. The moment he approached the exit, the expressions of the disciples in the area filled with shock as well as alarm. They instantly spread out, and when they looked back at Su Ming, their eyes showed great fear.

With Su Ming around, they did not dare to continue flying. Instead, they levitated in midair. No one knew who was the first to wrap their fists in their palms, but soon, everyone in the area wrapped their fists in their palms and bowed simultaneously towards him.

"Greetings, Eldest Senior Brother Wang Tao." In the beginning, the voices were rather scattered, but soon, they gathered together to turn into a single voice that echoed in the air.

The person who was ranked first among the outer sect disciples would naturally be given the title of eldest senior brother. In their hearts, this was the only title for Su Ming.

The youthful voices echoed in the air and spread in every direction. They also reached the ears of the ten something sect elders. They watched what was happening, but no one spoke. They only felt pity towards Ye Long standing in the corner of the picture.

If Su Ming had not been around, all of this would have belonged to him!

Ye Long was silent. He stared at Su Ming, then after a long while, he lowered his head, wrapped his fist in his palm, and also bowed.

Su Ming came to a stop. The blood moon around him gradually disappeared, then with a swing of his arm, it turned into blood rain. When it poured down on the ground, he took a step forward, and was the first… to step into the vortex in the sky.

Behind him was Ye Long, and after him were the other people. When all the disciples entered the vortex, the trial grounds sank into darkness as if they had been sealed.

The countless ferocious spirits in the darkness roared. Their voices were filled with forlornness and madness, but they could not escape the seal. They could only wait for the next disaster of Seven Moons, for only then they could devour flesh and blood.

Gradually, the shrill roars faded away, and suddenly… a figure appeared beneath the stone monument Su Ming had observed. It was a man in a black robe. He stood quietly in the depths of the dark underground and silently stared at the words on the stone monument. After a long while, he sighed softly.

There was an ancient tone in that sight, and a hint of nostalgia that others might not be able to hear, but one that Su Ming would definitely understand if he was there.

Chapter 1386: My Name is De Shun

Dao was not solitary.

The ones who understood Dao would lament that their Dao was not solitary. Su Ming… had also thought of that question before.

He was the first to walk out of the vortex, but there was no other emotion besides calmness on his face. It was as if he was walking on the path to search for Dao. The peace in his heart was reflected on his face in the form of indifference.

There was an old man among the near one hundred cultivators who were responsible for the training of the outer sect disciples in Seven Moons Sect. Once he saw Su Ming, his expression changed to show disbelief.

Once the others saw Su Ming, they immediately sent word to each other as well. Soon, all the people shifted their gazes to the old man whose expression had changed. In their eyes were harmless envy. In fact, there was even a hint of respect in them.

This was not the first time they sent disciples into the trial grounds, so they knew very clearly that no matter which trial it was, the first person who had the right to walk out of the vortex was definitely… the strongest and most prodigious in that trial!

But the old man felt as if his heart had frozen over. He forced a smile on his face, but it was filled with bitterness and anguish. In fact, he even took a few instinctive steps backwards.

When everyone's gazes landed on Su Ming's right hand, the area suddenly fell into dead silence. After some time, the sounds of sharp intakes of breath appeared. Everyone had discovered that there were one hundred something spirit plates in Su Ming's right hand!

"A Chosen!"

"A Chosen has appeared in this trial!"

"Haha, Brother Chen, this time, you have hope of getting promoted! Congratulations! A Chosen has appeared among your disciples!"

Shock was on the cultivators' faces, but the moment they spoke, Ye Long appeared behind Su Ming. In his hand, he also held one hundred spirit plates. Immediately, all the cultivators in the area were completely stunned.

"Two… Two Chosens appeared in the trial this time!"

"He's Ye Long! I know this boy, he's the disciple of the chief attendant!"

"Having two Chosens appear in one go is incredibly rare in the history of Seven Moons Sect. I wonder if they can become sect elders in the end, and whether one of them… will reach Avacaniya Realm in one hundred years!"

The cultivators in the area were all shocked after seeing Su Ming and Ye Long. When they spoke, they continuously looked towards old Chen and a middle-aged scholar.

There was a gratified smile on the scholar's face. When he looked at Ye Long, his face was filled with praise. Occasionally, his gaze would fall on Su Ming, and his eyes would narrow. Clearly, Su Ming's appearance was completely out of his expectations. He had thought that Ye Long would definitely place first in the trial.

The old Chen's face soon lost its paleness, but his smile was still a little unnatural, and it was especially so when his gaze swept past the crowd behind Su Ming and he found no signs of the girl who had absorbed the life force of the body Su Ming Possessed. A hint of pain appeared in his eyes. When he looked at Su Ming, a barely noticeable killing intent entered his gaze.

As the people on the land spoke to each other, even the old man who had originally been sitting and meditating in the sky felt a hint of shock. His gaze landed on Su Ming and Ye Long. He did not even bother paying attention to the people behind the two of them, who had now all come out of the vortex and become inner sect disciples.

After taking a look at Su Ming and Ye Long, the old man stood up. He would be polite to the two Chosens. After all, no one could say just what would their future be. If he formed good ties with them while they were still weak, it would be beneficial for him in the future.

He had seen examples of that before. When he got up and was about to speak, a long arc sliced through the air from Seven Moons Sect. Once it drew close, it turned into a young man.

He was dressed in a long red robe and had an aloof expression. Once he appeared, he swept his gaze across the land. His eyes landed on Su Ming and Ye Long, and the aloof look on his face disappeared, replaced by a faint smile.

"The two of you must be junior brothers Wang Tao and Ye Long. Please come with me to the inner sect's field. The sect elders are already waiting for you. They asked me to bring the two of you to them."

When the young man spoke with a smile, he wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to Su Ming and Ye Wang.

Su Ming got up and appeared next to the young man. When he wrapped his fist in his palm and returned the greeting, Ye Long joined them as well. The three of them turned into long arcs that instantly left into the distance, leaving behind three afterimages and the envious gazes from the other people.

"Junior brothers, you are both proud sons of heaven. I admire you very much for being able to be personally summoned by the sect elders!"

While the three of them rushed forward, the young man spoke with a smile. He no longer had the aloof look on his face. Clearly, it was only aimed at other people. As for Su Ming and Ye Long, he would naturally not treat them aloofly.

"If you have a chance in the future, please do remember to recommended those of us in the same part of the sect, and if you run into anything you don't understand in the inner sect, you can come to me. I am De Shun. My De means morals, and Shun is related to my personality, because I like things going smoothly," the young man said with a smile, then turned his head around to look at Su Ming and Ye Long.

At the instant Su Ming heard the young man's words, he narrowed his eyes in a barely noticeable manner, then scrutinized the young man before him. He did not speak, just nodded.

His expression might have seemed as calm as ever, but in truth, a huge storm had started raging in his heart. In the new world, he had seen a different Tian Xie Zi, a different Ye Wang, the ruins of Divine Essence Star Ocean, and a different De Shun!

All of this forced Su Ming to think carefully about what the world was. Was it truly the world in Xuan Zang's body? He had clearly Possessed Xuan Zang, so why had he become connected to the strange world?

And if it was truly the world in Xuan Zang's body… then why would the people which gave him a sense of familiarity appear? Just what was going on?!

A hint of confusion appeared in the depths of Su Ming's eyes, and there was a hint of alarm and fear in it. A terrifying thought had appeared in Su Ming's head, and it frightened him.

It has to be known that with Su Ming's level of cultivation and his control over his emotions, even if Harmonious Morus Alba was destroyed, he did not show fear, but at that moment, it had really entered his eyes.

But Su Ming suppressed it soon after it appeared.

'I need more proof. I can't make judgements hastily!'

A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He followed the young man called De Shun and stepped into the sky above the basin surrounded by mountains in Seven Moons Sect.

All along the way, De Shun chattered about things regarding the inner sect of Seven Moons Sect, and even spilled some secrets. He spoke about everything in great detail.

From a distance, Seven Moons Sect looked incredibly huge. It seemed to form a Rune, which filled the place with an unseen mighty pressure. When the three of them descended from the sky, De Shun still continued speaking.

"From here onwards, you can't fly anymore. It would be a sign of disrespect to the sect, and it's easy to cause misunderstandings, so please remember this well, junior brothers." As he spoke, he brought Su Ming and Ye Long to head to the field in the distance through the path laid out before them.

Along the way, they ran into quite a number of Seven Moon Sect disciples. Most of them showed a friendly attitude when they saw De Shun. Some of them even joked with him, which was a telling sign of how great were his connections.

When they drew close to the field, De Shun stopped and wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming and Ye Long.

"Junior brothers, I can only send you this far. Keep walking forward, and you'll step into the field. In the future, if we meet again in the sect, we'll be friends. Come to me if you have any questions," De Shun said with a smile. Once he bowed to them, he turned around and left.

Su Ming cast a deep glance at De Shun's back.

"I don't like that person. He's a little too unctuous for my liking. He definitely has his motives for getting close to us," Ye Long said slowly.

"I don't like him either." Su Ming smiled. He turned around and walked towards the field in the distance.

Ye Long cast a glance at Su Ming's back. He did not speak, but followed behind him. The two of them gradually walked into the field.

The moment they stepped into it, the ground shone with the activation of a Rune. The light instantly reached millions of feet and swallowed up Su Ming's and Ye Long's bodies.

When Su Ming and Ye Long reappeared, they were still on a field and the sect looked the same, but there was a distinct lack of people in the surroundings. The area was silent.

There were ten or so huge chairs in the field, and different figures were sitting on each of them. The chair right in front of Su Ming was occupied by a red-robed man, and he was staring at Su Ming with brightly burning eyes while his chin was propped up against his right hand.

Ye Long sucked in a deep breath. His expression was neither superlicious nor obsequious. He wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply to the red-robed man in front of him.

"I, Ye Long, greet all sect elders."

"Why didn't you bow?"

The red-robed man did not look at Ye Long, but instead stared at Su Ming. He spoke languidly, and his voice held a strange power. When it echoed in the area, the sky to instantly filled with thunderclouds.

Su Ming did not speak. His gaze landed on the red-robed man's hand, and once he saw the pearl on his palm, he calmly wrapped his fist in his hand and bowed.

The red-robed man cast a profound glance at Su Ming, then suddenly chuckled.

"Ye Long is quite good. I will personally take him as my disciple. As for Wang Tao… Sect Elder Lan, be sure to teach him well. One hundred years, let's see… who will be the Chosen!"

After the red-robed man spoke, he swung his arm. Immediately, the dark clouds in the sky rumbled. The entire field instantly became blurry.

When a soft sigh spread out, the field disappeared. Su Ming appeared on the previous field. It was empty all around him, besides… an incredibly beautiful woman who had appeared in front of him.

She stared at him, and he also lifted his head to stare at her. At the moment their gazes met, memories flashed through Su Ming's mind against his will, and it was the same for the woman. After some time, when Su Ming's mind cleared, surprise appeared in his eyes.

The woman seemed to not want to meet his gaze, however. She turned her head away from him.

She was silent for a moment before seeming to come to a decision. "You have a strange life matrix. I… can't be your Master either. Come with me, I will find an honorable Master… who is suitable for your life matrix."

Chapter 1387: Who Woke Me Up?!

Once the woman spoke, she turned around and walked into the distance. Su Ming stared at her back with a strange light in his eyes. The memories he had seen earlier made him think.

Su Ming did not speak. Instead, he walked into the distance after the woman.

When he arrived in an area to the left of Seven Moons Sect, he found himself among a group of buildings. There was an octagonal Rune there, and a huge pearl, which was about ten feet big, was floating above it.

From outside the Rune, the pearl looked normal and uninteresting. There was nothing striking about it, but when the woman walked into the Rune—Su Ming did not follow her straight away—the pearl shone with a brilliant, five-colored light. Strangely though, it was limited to the Rune, and not a single bit of it spilled out.

That was why Su Ming could not see the five-colored light while he was in the Rune last time. Instead, only when he waited outside the Rune did he see the light shine.

The woman looked at the five-colored pearl, then turned her head around to look at Su Ming before she spoke softly. "Wait here for a moment. I'll be back soon."

Her voice was very gentle, and her words suggested that she did not treat Su Ming as a junior, but instead … as an equal.

Su Ming did not say anything. He only nodded.

The woman lowered her head. When she turned around, she brought up her right hand and pointed at the pearl. It shone and looked as if it had turned into water droplets. One of them floated up and landed on the woman's fingertip. At the instant they touched, the water drop covered the woman's entire body and instantly brought her into the pearl.

Su Ming stared at the pearl, then his eyes sparkled. In silence, he sat down next to the Rune. His expression was one of calm. He closed his eyes and began meditating.

The pearl contained another world that looked to be located beyond the one inhabited by most people. The sky there had five colors, and the ground was divided into thirteen pieces. Each piece of land seemed to contain countless lives.

The woman stood in the sky and looked towards the thirteen continents. Eventually, her gaze fell on the third continent, and with a single move, she turned into a long arc that charged towards the third continent.

She approached it instantly and saw countless mountains standing tall on the land. There were cultivators on the mountains. When the woman arrived, they lifted their heads and looked at her. Terror appeared on their faces, and all of them prostrated themselves on the ground to worship her.

The woman charged forward until she arrived at the tallest mountain in the third continent. That mountain was shaped like a sharp blade stabbing at the sky. From a distance, it seemed to tower over everything. A ghastly, cold air spread out from it, covering the ground at the foot of the mountain in a layer of ice and snow.

"Who is it?!"

At the instant the woman approached the mountain, a thunderous voice shot out from behind the mountain. A giant which was hundreds of thousands of feet tall and covered from head to toe in blue fur showed his head.

Dark light shone in his eyes. When his voice echoed in the air, a violent gust was stirred up, causing the ice and snow from the ground to cover even the sky and everything between the sky and earth.

"I, Lan Lan, greet Fa Wang. I have a matter in my hands, and I would like to meet my Master." The woman stopped moving. When she looked towards the giant, respect showed up on her face. She bent her head and bowed to him.

The blue-furred giant cast a glance at Lan Lan, then grinned. He nodded and retreated to the area behind the mountain, where he disappeared without a trace.

Once the blue-furred giant vanished, Lan Lan sucked in a deep breath. Determination showed up on her face, and with a single move, she turned into a long arc that charged towards the mountain. After a moment, when she drew close to the mountain, she sped up and rushed to the summit.

Soon, after moving through layers of clouds and fog, Lan Lan reached the top. There was a huge coffin placed at the summit. It was frozen in the snow and wind, and it was the only item there.

There was no lid over the coffin. Through layers of ice, a body could be seen lying inside as if dead. The person was thin, so skinny that he practically no longer looked like a man.

Lan Lan walked to the side of the frozen coffin. She stared at the body in it and stayed quiet for a long time.

"Master, I'm sorry, I have to wake you up beforehand. I ran into something I don't understand, and this matter will affect all of Seven Moons Sect… because it concerns another great sect elder, and it also concerns… a person whose life matrix is rarely seen in Ancient Zang!

"I can't describe this person's life matrix, but when I see him, I have a feeling that I've known him for several lifetimes… Besides this, his life matrix is also entangled with Seven Moons Sect, and with one thought, he could bring it to prosper or flourish…

"I can't make a decision. Great Sect Elder Dao Han also had signs of death… Master, please forgive me for waking you up beforehand…" Lan Lan said softly.

Once she finished speaking, she gritted her teeth. She lifted her right hand and drew it across her left arm. Blood immediately gushed out, but it did not land on the coffin. Instead, it gathered at the tip of her finger. The blood there slowly stopped being red and turned golden!

When it fell from her finger, it landed on the ice in the coffin. The drop of golden blood swiftly fused into the ice, turning it golden right before her eyes!

At the same time, the entire mountain trembled with a bang and swayed. It did so at such an intense manner that cracks began appearing on the ice in the coffin. Cracking sounds rang out, and the cracks merged together to form a huge runic symbol.

In just the span of a few breaths, the runic symbol shone with a piercing golden light, causing the ice to begin melting. As it did so, white smoke spread out, and in the blink of an eye, it enveloped the coffin.

Lan Lan took a few steps back and knelt on one knee on the ground.

More white smoke appeared as the cracking sounds grew louder. After the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, all the ice melted. The white smoke spread out swiftly. It filled the area, covering the summit in what might look like clouds and fog from a distance.

When all the ice was gone, the drop of golden blood landed at the center of the body's forehead. In the blink of an eye, it fused into the man's skin, and endless golden light spread out from the body. It formed a wave of life force that instantly spread out through the veins, flesh, and blood in the body.

Wherever it went, the withered veins, the shriveled flesh, and the rotten blood felt seemed to be activated. When the golden light fused into the body's already withered heart, it visible turned red… and started beating!

"Who… woke me up?!"

An old and ancient voice that seemed to have come from the past spread out at that instant. Once it appeared, all the lives on the third continent shuddered and knelt down in worship.

"I, Lan Lan, greet my Master." Lan Lan said softly while kneeling.

"Lan… Lan…"

The voice made it seem as if the owner did not contain too much thought. When his murmurs echoed in the air, a withered arm was suddenly lifted out of the coffin. At the same time, the body in the coffin opened his eyes to reveal a pair of black eyes. The darkness in them covered the color of his pupils. The man slowly sat up in his coffin.

His body was skinny and withered. He looked like a corpse that had been dried in the wind for an unknown number of years, but at the instant he sat up, the presence spreading out from his body caused the world to be still, the air to tremble, and all sentient beings to lower their heads. It was a power that could make all lives tremble.

It stood above all cultivators, and it was… a presence that surpassed those in Dao Immortal Realm and was just one step away from belonging to Great Dao Paragons… It was the powerful presence of those in the seventh level of Dao Realm!

That presence was very weak, but even if it was weak, it was enough to destroy the universe!

"Lan… Lan… my disciple, you should not have made me wake up. The time has not come for me to wake up just yet. One will be in charge, and the other twelve will be asleep. This is an ancient tradition and also a rule we must adhere to. Only by doing so can we continue living, and only by doing so can we continue becoming stronger…

"And you… should have not made me wake up beforehand. This era is the era of Great Sect Elder Dao Han. This is the era in which he is in charge of Seven Moons Sect. During an era… there can not be two great sect elders existing at the same time!

"And you… went against the great law of the sect. You made me wake up three hundred aeons beforehand…"

The withered body sat in the coffin while speaking with anger evident in his voice. It echoed in the world and the heavens, causing the rumbling sounds from the third continent to shake the sky.

Violent gusts of wind howled. When the body spoke, a huge face appeared in front of Lan Lan. It roared as if it wanted to devour her.

"A person with a life matrix rarely seen in Ancient Zang has appeared, and your disciple…" Lan Lan gritted her teeth. Just as she was about to continue speaking, the huge illusory face contorted to turn into a huge hand that pressed down at the top of her skull.

Lan Lan did not dodge. Instead, she closed her eyes and simply allowed the palm to fall on her. At the instant it touched the top of her skull, the palm stopped moving. Waves of her memories were instantly sensed by the man.

After a moment, the palm disappeared. At the same time, the man in the coffin slowly stood up. When he did so, the fog in the area immediately tumbled backwards. It charged towards him and fused into his body, so flesh and blood grew on him until he was no longer a withered husk of a human.

When a shine showed up on his skin, the clouds and fog turned into a simple and unsophisticated sky blue Daoist Robe, and it was draped on a… middle-aged man who had an enchantingly beautiful face and who looked like a woman!

"Bring that person called Wang Tao over… You did well in this matter. You should have made me wake up earlier, my child."

The middle-aged man walked out of the coffin. When he looked at Lan Lan, there was a gentle look on his face, as well as a kind and loving expression.