Chapter 1474: Thirty-Three Skies of Ancient Zang
"We've postponed this for two thousand years. Gu Hong, since your disciple is here, we will start now."
At the instant the presence of the Sovereign of Ancient Zang reached a monstrous degree and all of Ancient Zang worshiped him, Tian Xiu Luo brought out a power that seemed to be able to seep through the world and crush all the cloudiness brought by the Sovereign of Ancient Zang. He stood on the third tower and seemed like an existence that was at the same level with the Sovereign of Ancient Zang.
"We don't need to attack to verify our Boundless Dao Realms. If we attack, then Ancient Zang will no longer exist… We don't need to talk about our Daos either. We are all incredibly confident in our Daos, so no matter how much we argue about it, there is no use to it.
"It's just like how we have been arguing about our Daos during these past two thousand years." Gu Hong's gaze was calm when he looked at the other two people who stood at the peak with him.
"Tian Xiu Luo wants to prove that his Dao is the real Boundless Dao. Gu Di doesn't need to take a direct approach to prove that his Dao is Boundless Dao, because his inheritance itself is the legacy of the Emperor of Ancient Zang's Dao, and there is no need for us to discuss whether the Emperor of Ancient Zang's Boundless Dao was real or fake.
"As for me, I do indeed want to know whether the Dao I have practiced all my life and whether the Realm I have reached is just a moon in the lake… or the real, shining moon in the sky."
When the old man's words echoed in the air, Su Ming stood by his side with a calm expression. He watched everything while knowing that it was a very rare chance for him to bear witness to such a fight.
The chance to witness the battle was equivalent to a serendipity for Su Ming.
Tian Xiu Luo was silent for a moment before a cold sneer appeared at the corners of his lips. There was no emotion in his voice when he spoke languidly.
"How are you going to prove it?"
The old man was silent for a moment before he spoke with a firm look on his face. "Before, you could make a choice, but you intentionally ignored it. Instead, you chose to win against me and the sovereign to prove that yours is the real Boundless Dao Realm. Tian Xiu Luo, there is no need for you to ask when you already know the answer."
Right after he spoke, the Sovereign of Ancient Zang lifted his head. He looked at the old man for a moment before he suddenly laughed.
"Are you talking about Ancient Zang Skies?"
"Ancient Zang Skies…" Dark light shone in Xiu Luo's eyes. After being silent for a moment, he swung his arm.
"Very well then. Out of the thirty-three Skies of Ancient Zang, the Emperor of Ancient Zang managed to cross thirty-two before reaching Boundless Dao Realm. It is said that the final sky cannot be reached unless someone has power surpassing that of Boundless Dao Realm. All those without the power of Boundless Dao Realm cannot step above thirty Skies… Ancient Zang Skies… since the both of you have already made your choice, I will step into that place with you." As Tian Xiu Luo's voice echoed in the air, his determination and resolution became extremely firm.
He had indeed intentionally ignored the existence of Ancient Zang Skies, because he wanted to win against Gu Di and Gu Hong to become the strongest in Ancient Zang and prove that his Dao was correct, but right then… he still chose to take the path… that could not be tread upon unless a person had truly reached Boundless Dao Realm.
That was not his first choice because he cared about losing… but right then, it was the only path available.
The old man lifted his right hand and seized the air in the direction of the sky. With it, the sky rumbled. As clouds tumbled about, they looked as if they had become raging waves. They instantly covered the expanse of the sky above Ancient Zang.
"Then I will use my own power to open up the sky!"
When the old man's words echoed in the air, the sky roared, and it looked as if it was about to shatter among the tumbling clouds. As cracks filled it, it looked like it had been connected to an ancient world.
At the same time, Tian Xiu Luo's voice also echoed in the air.
"Then I will open up the ground leading to the underworld."
Tian Xiu Luo pushed down on the ground with his right hand. With it, the ground of Ancient Zang roared at once. Fog instantly rose, seeping out of the ground from every single part of the land. Contained in it were the thick waves of aura of death. It was the resentment that had gathered from the dead over countless years. During that moment, that resentment tumbled back and charged to the city, then to Tian Xiu Luo's right hand.
The sovereign sighed softly while on the tower at the center. He lifted his hands in a manner as if he was pushing up the sky, then murmured.
"The origin of Ancient Zang has always been beyond the thirty-three Skies… With Ancient Zang's kismet and my status as the Sovereign of Ancient Zang… I will now open the path to Ancient Zang's heavens!"
When he said those words, he tore at the sky, and with it, the world rumbled. The loud, rumbling sounds traveled in every direction and shook the sky and earth.
At the instant the sky was torn, a huge vortex formed in the middle of the sky, and it began rotating. The clouds and fog that had appeared in the sky above the old man due to his doing instantly turned white and were swept into the vortex.
At the same time, the resentment on the ground charged into the sky as well. It immediately fused into the vortex and made it turn black. During that moment, only black and white seemed to remain in the entire world.
There was no sky, no earth, only the huge vortex that could not be described with words above the three of them and Su Ming, and it could be seen clearly when they lifted their heads. Half of the vortex was black, and the other half was white. When it rotated, it turned into something that resembled a huge Rune, but it was not a Rune… It was Ancient Zang's sky!
Booming sounds spread out continuously into every direction. Tian Xiu Luo threw his head back and let out a shrill roar, then with one step, charged to the black and white vortex above him.
"I will be the first to step into Ancient Zang's sky to verify my Boundless Dao Realm!" While his words were still echoing in the air, he turned into a long arc that approached the sky in the black and white vortex.
During that moment, be it the sovereign, the old man, or Su Ming, they were all staring fixedly at the black and white vortex as well as Tian Xiu Luo, who was within it.
"First layer!"
When Tian Xiu Luo's voice rang out, he moved through the vortex and charged out of it. When loud, booming sounds shook the sky and reverberated through the air, Su Ming saw thirty-three layers of skies behind the black and white vortex, just like what its name suggested, or more accurately speaking, there were thirty-three vortices in the sky.
"Ninth layer!"
Tian Xiu Luo moved through the vortices like he was splitting apart bamboo with one swift stroke of a blade. As booming sounds continued echoing in the air, he moved through the vortices.
"Twentieth layer!"
His voice seemed to have come from the distance. In Su Ming's eyes, his figure was already blurry, but he saw that Tian Xiu Luo's speed had not diminished, but he had become even faster. There was determination about him, along with madness born from the desire and firm belief in his Boundless Dao Realm. The madness urged him forward to prove that his Boundless Dao Realm was correct.
"Twenty-third layer!"
When Tian Xiu Luo's voice reached Su Ming's ear again, a loud boom accompanied his words. It was formed when he shot through another vortex. Every single time that sound echoed in the air, it caused the world to shudder. It could be said that in all of Ancient Zang, only the three of them had the right to step into Ancient Zang Sky!
The other people did not even have the right to witness it. After all, at that moment, Ancient Zang was clouded. If it were not for the old man, it would have been difficult even for Su Ming to see Ancient Zang Sky.
The booming sounds became even louder, and Tian Xiu Luo's voice reached them once again.
"Twenty-sixth layer!"
It was already difficult for Su Ming to see Tian Xiu Luo's figure. All he could see before his eyes was just a muddled haze, but he did not give up. He sucked in a deep breath and circulated his cultivation base, then made it gather in his eyes. When his third eye opened, his eight overlapping Great Dao Paragons were all activated, but even so, he could only see a shadow.
However, as he kept his focus on the huge vortex, a surprised glint slowly appeared in Su Ming's eyes. His breathing quickened slightly, and he slowly narrowed his eyes.
'Why is this… Why is this vortex giving me a hint of familiarity? This familiarity… is… a presence…'
Su Ming's breathing became quicker. He formed a vague answer in his heart, but he was a little uncertain about it.
"Twenty-ninth layer. Gu Hong, Gu Di, watch carefully and see whether I… can step into the thirtieth layer!"
When Tian Xiu Luo's voice came out from the vortex, the old man and the Sovereign of Ancient Zang trained their gazes on the sky, with a level of attention that they had never paid to anything before.
Su Ming could not see much, only a shadow, but that shadow was enough for him to tell whether Tian Xiu Luo would succeed.
Booming sounds rang out madly at that moment. They appeared again and again, and each sound surged into the sky. It stirred up the vortex, throwing space into chaos. As the booming sounds continued, they grew to a deafening degree, but the old man sighed softly.
The Sovereign of Ancient Zang also moved his gaze away, but a resolute look appeared in his eyes.
"Impossible! I've already reached the peak of my Dao and the limit of my cultivation. I've come to the end of my road… so why… can't I step into the thirtieth Sky?!"
A shrill roar rang out from the vortex. It was Tian Xiu Luo's voice, and it had an unwillingness to give in as well as madness. The booming sounds became even louder as he continuously tried to step into the thirtieth Sky.
The loud noise lasted for seven days and seven nights. Tian Xiu Luo did not once stop trying to step into the thirtieth Sky. His shrill voice would occasionally carry a forlorn laughter filled with the unwillingness to give in, and Su Ming heard it very clearly.
On the eighth day, the booming sounds stopped. Tian Xiu Luo slowly descended from the huge black and white vortex. When he landed, his appearance was very different. A feeling of age filled his body, and his face was pale. When he appeared from the vortex in anguish, he looked at the old man.
"I have never been able to step into Boundless Dao Realm. Boundless Dao Realm… just what exactly is it?!"
The old man was silent for a while before he said softly, "All lives have an end, and if a person learns of what it means to reach boundlessness, then how many cycles of life and death they lead would end with them being in Boundless Dao Realm?"
When the old man spoke and Tian Xiu Luo descended, the Sovereign of Ancient Zang lifted his head.
"Since Ancient Zang Sky has already been activated… I will also try challenging it."
His voice was calm. At the instant it traveled outwards, he lifted his right arm and swung it, then flew into the sky. When he did so, all the kismet of Ancient Zang flew up and surrounded him to make the area around him indistinct. Then, he charged to the black and white vortex.
Chapter 1475: Gu Hong
Be it the sovereign, who was rushing to the vortex at that moment, the anguished Tian Xiu Luo, or even the old man, none of them noticed that a huge storm had begun raging in the depths of Su Ming's heart while he stared at the vortex and his expression changed.
'This familiar presence… belongs to the bald crane.' While Su Ming thought of that in his heart, his breathing quickened. The presence was very faint, but no matter how faint it was, Su Ming could never miss it.
Aside from the bald crane's presence in the vortex, there was another powerful presence in the vortex. When placed side by side, the two presences were like a comparison, causing Su Ming to not only sense the bald crane, but also the owner of the powerful and vast presence.
It was… Xuan Zang!
It belonged to Xuan Zang, the man who sat cross-legged on the Feng Shui compass in the Vast Universe!
'The thirty-three Skies of Ancient Zang… To them, it is a path to reach and complete their Boundless Dao Realms, but to me… it is the path to leave this world, return to the universe, and open my eyes!
'If I walk into the thirty-third Sky and take a step out of it, I will be able to wake up, and this Possession will end.'
Su Ming's heart trembled. At that moment, his epiphany rose in his heart, and gradually, it became a thought etched deeply in his mind, like a Brand.
'This is my path…' Resolve gradually appeared in Su Ming's eyes.
At that moment, the Sovereign of Ancient Zang had already disappeared into the vortex. As booming sounds accompanied him, he charged upwards and instantly stepped into the twentieth Sky.
He did not declare his location as Tian Xiu Luo had done. Instead, he did not say a single thing. He just continued moving upwards, and soon, he reached the twenty-second Sky, the twenty-third Sky, the twenty-fourth Sky… When he reached the twenty-ninth Sky, he stopped.
Tian Xiu Luo kept his gaze firmly fixed on the vortex. His heart was filled with incredibly complicated emotions. From a personal view, he did not want Gu Di to succeed, but he wanted to know what Boundless Dao Realm truly meant as well. Only when someone reached that Realm could his question be answered.
The old man's expression never changed since the start. Be it regret or expectation, none of them were too prominently reflected on his face. Even at that moment, he only lifted his head to see what would happen.
The Sovereign of Ancient Zang only stopped for the span of a few breaths before he charged to the thirtieth Sky without hesitation. Once he stepped into the thirtieth Sky, he could prove that he had reached Boundless Dao Realm!
Boom!
Boom!!
BOOM!!!
The booming sounds continued without stop and spread out in a manner that shook the sky and earth. It was the same sound that appeared when Tian Xiu Luo collided against the vortex and tried to reach the thirtieth Sky. That sound was a loud bang formed when they were denied entry.
That sound only lasted for the span of half an incense stick before it vanished. The Sovereign of Ancient Zang was different from Tian Xiu Luo, who attempted to reach the thirtieth Sky for seven days and nights due to an unwillingness to give up. He only tried nine times!
He tried nine times and used the span of time required for half an incense stick to burn to do so. When he did not manage to step into the thirtieth Sky, he chose to give up and slowly descended. When he walked out of the black and white vortex, there was no anguish in his expression nor was his face pale. There was only some pity in his gaze, but that emotion was unavoidable.
"I have yet to reach Boundless Dao Realm. It seems like I have not completely severed my kismet either…" the Sovereign of Ancient Zan said softly when he landed on the tower. He might have felt some semblance of pity for failing, but he seemed to be free of his burden.
Perhaps the more determined a person was, the more pressure they would feel when they failed, while people like the Sovereign of Ancient Dawn, who did not truly care about reaching Boundless Dao Realm, could put away that burden as easily as they picked it up in the first place.
As for Tian Xiu Luo, from the moment he failed, he lost his heart, as if he had lost his path. In the process of searching for his Dao, he had walked an extremely long distance, and when he turned his head around, he no longer knew the way back.
"The both of you have already tried, and now, I will try as well. I will see whether the Dao I severed is real or fake." The old man was quiet for a moment before he turned his head around and looked at Su Ming.
Su Ming was also looking at the old man.
"I will help you scout the road ahead. If my path is real, then stay here, but if I am wrong… then I will not change what I have promised you all those years ago!"
The old man cast a deep glance at Su Ming, and a smile full of tender affection appeared on his face. When he looked away, he turned into a long arc that charged to the huge black and white vortex in the sky.
Su Ming stared at the old man's back. The words the old man had said before he left made him remember the scene when the old man had opened the door to his house and waited for Su Ming to acknowledge him as his Master while Su Ming was in his courtyard.
He also remembered what the old man said all those years ago.
"I will help you verify your Dao! If you are wrong, then you will inherit my legacy, and if I am wrong, I will help you leave this place!"
His words seemed to still be echoing in the air when the sky rumbled. The old man rushed into the vortex like a long arc, and when he charged forward, the layers were continuously shattered.
The Sovereign of Ancient Zang lifted his head and looked at the vortex. In silence, Tian Xiu Luo also looked at the vortex. To the both of them, Gu Hong was a little different, because Gu Hong's Dao was not as limitless as kismet, and neither was it as domineering as Tian Xiu Luo's. It was a determination to search for the truth in the world. It was a Dao they did not understand in the past, and even then, they still did not spend any effort in understanding it on a deeper level.
His Dao was a pursuit of what was real and what was fake. All that was true would remain true, and what was fake would still exist as an illusion. During that moment, when the old man rushed into the vortex, the verification of his Dao started.
With booming sounds echoing in the air, the old man rushed up to the twentieth Sky. He then reached the twenty-third Sky, the twenty-sixth Sky… and then, the twenty-ninth!
When he reached that place, he did not stop, but instead, charged straight up the vortex leading to the thirtieth Sky!
At that moment, be it the sovereign or Tian Xiu Luo, both of them trained their gazes on Gu Hong. Su Ming also narrowed his eyes and focused his attention on the old man.
Boom!
A loud bang shook the sky and earth, and it was one that had never appeared since the black and white vortex showed up. It spread out swiftly and echoed in every direction, in every corner of the world, and every bit of space!
"Thirtieth… Day…"
Tian Xiu Luo staggered. When he took a few steps back, he suddenly laughed loudly. However, his voice was full of anguish rather than joy. It also held a great unwillingness to admit defeat.
The old man had stepped into the thirtieth Sky in the vortex!
Once he stepped into the thirtieth Sky, it meant that he had reached Boundless Dao Realm!
At that moment, not only was Tian Xiu Luo filled with anguish, even the Sovereign of Ancient Zang's expression changed. As he stared at the vortex, his breathing quickened.
A loud bang immediately roared in Su Ming's mind. He sucked in a deep breath while staring at the old man in the vortex. He could somewhat see that the old man had stopped at the thirtieth Sky while thinking about something.
Time trickled by slowly, and in the blink of an eye, several hours passed. Then, the old man took a step forward from the thirtieth Sky and booming sounds shook the sky and earth again.
He reached the thirty-first Sky!
"Lands will eventually come to an end, but there is no end to the sky. How many lives would lead to thoughts never having an end? So that's how it is, that's how it is…"
At that moment, the old man's voice came from the thirty-first Sky. He spoke in a murmur, and there was no joy in him when he verified his Dao. Instead, anguish could be heard in his voice, as well as a sigh.
When his words echoed in the air, Tian Xiu Luo was filled with puzzlement, and uncertainty appeared on the sovereign's face.
"So… this is the truth of all things…"
When the old man's laughter echoed even louder in the air, his anguish turned to what resembled madness. He seemed to have seen and understood something, but the anguish and madness in his laughter also gave them a sense of sadness for some unknown reason.
"Gu Hong, what did you see?!" Tian Xiu Luo asked, and his voice traveled into the vortex.
"I saw… a world you cannot possibly imagine… Su Ming… you are right. Your Dao… is right. I was wrong, because this Dao of mine, to me, has no correctness to even speak of…
"What is the world? What is the void? What is true, and what is false? What are the cycles of reincarnation? What is wrong, and what is right… so that's how it is!"
The old man's laughter became even crazier. In a bout of madness, he seemed to have lowered his head. His gaze seeped through the thirty-one Skies to stare at Su Ming.
Su Ming could sense that gaze. He could sense the sadness in it… along with an air of parting. It was a feeling that they were about to be separated by death, the feeling that they were about to be eternally kept apart.
"Master!" Su Ming's heart shuddered, and he instinctively cried out.
"You're right… but I still hope that there will come a day in the future… when you will remember… that you had a Master in this illusory world that appeared because of your battle of Possession."
When the old man spoke right then, there was no longer anguish in his voice. Instead, there was a sigh contained in his speech. It was lamentation for the world and for his own life.
"There are no bounds to Dao… and there is no end to thoughts… but if I don't search for boundlessness and don't break the lines that draw the end and let everything turn in reverse and return to the start, then it will be as if I am going against my own Dao!
"Su Ming, I will make you become a ninth level Dao God, and with it, I will help you… break through the illusory thirty-three Skies so you… can win this battle of Possession. I will help you… go home!"
As he spoke, with madness in his laughter, the old man shone with endless light. It illuminated all thirty-three Skies, then instantly gathered into one single long arc and.. charged downwards, shooting through the vortices… and going straight into the center of Su Ming's brow.
"Master!"
Su Ming instinctively wanted to dodge. He knew what was going to happen next, but before he could dodge, the long arc seeped through space and appeared right in front of him, then landed straight into his third eye!
"Because you are my disciple, my only disciple… Since I am wrong, I will definitely make my disciple… continue to be right! I hope that with this method, I can make my Dao last for eternity…"
Su Ming's mind roared. At the instant the long arc landed at the center of his brow, Gu Hong's voice—ancient and filled with tender affection—echoed in Su Ming's mind.
Tears… fell down from Su Ming's eyes.
Gu Hong had reversed his own Dao and made all of his power of Boundless Dao Realm scatter, because he was willing to become his disciple's ninth overlapping Dao God.
That was… Gu Hong.
Gu Hong, his name meant a lonely feather, and he lived his whole life like a lonely goose feather. In the end, however, for that one bow Su Ming gave him all those years ago, he became a Master who would give up everything for his disciple.
Chapter 1476: My Thirty Skies
Tears fell from Su Ming's eyes as the ninth overlapping Dao God appeared within his third eye. Once they merged together, they made him… reach the ninth level of Dao Divinity Realm.
The ninth overlapping Dao God had Su Ming's appearance, and he was also weeping.
The voice echoing in Su Ming's head was still around, but the owner of that voice could no longer be seen with the naked eye. However, in Su Ming's heart, his Master would always be around, and he would eternally exist among his Dao Divinities.
Gu Hong was Su Ming's ninth Dao Divinity!
Gu Hong's choice shocked Tian Xiu Luo, and the Sovereign of Ancient Zang's heart trembled. Disbelief appeared on their faces. They had not expected that once Gu Hong stepped into the thirty-first Sky, he would make such a choice while laughing madly.
'Perhaps… with this method, he could gather his legacy on his disciple so that he could continue down his Dao as well. Gu Hong… I have never respected anyone in my life… You are now the only person I will ever respect,' Tian Xiu Luo muttered in his heart.
He stared at Su Ming as if he could still see Gu Hong in him, his friend with whom he had thought his entire life. As he watched him, understanding gradually appeared in Tian Xiu Luo's eyes.
"Go. your Master has chosen to reverse his Dao and become your ninth Dao Divinity so that you could have the right to step into Ancient Dao Skies.
"Su Ming, don't disappoint your Master. No matter what your Dao is, you must persevere down your path!" Tian Xiu Luo said calmly, but his voice echoed in the area.
At that moment, he did not have any other thoughts in his mind, but only a hint of sadness, which caused him to sigh with a myriad of emotions towards the sky, Gu Hong's sigh, and his blessings for Su Ming.
Su Ming was silent. His nine Dao Divinities at the center of his brow were swiftly merging into one, and his cultivation base was erupting madly. He was growing stronger, and his cultivation base changed continuously. His level of cultivation climbed up rapidly.
It was a key stage for an eighth level Great Dao Paragon to become a ninth level Dao God. That step… was incredibly difficult for all Great Dao Paragons, and it was a great serendipity that they could only dream of having but not actively seek. Yet at that moment, while Su Ming had obtained that serendipity, he felt no joy in his heart.
"This is what Dao means." A sigh tumbled out of the Sovereign of Ancient Zang's lips, and his voice echoed in the world.
"It simply means that Dao would last for an eternity… The person who understood it would not care about their physical body, their own survival, nor even whether they could continue with their life. They would only care about Dao and whether it could last for eternity…
"That was Gu Hong, and it is also the reason why he could surpass us and step into the thirty-first Sky… Dao is boundless, and there is no end to thoughts… so that's what it means."
When the Sovereign of Ancient Zang's sigh echoed in the air, he looked at Su Ming. There was no longer a complicated look in his eyes, but an encouraging gaze.
"Whether you are Xuan Er or not, no matter who you are… continue down your path, so that your Dao and Gu Hong's Dao will continue. Don't let yourself feel any regret. Don't disappoint Gu Hong."
Su Ming was silent for a time. Then, he slowly lifted his head and looked at the black and white vortex in the sky. He stared at the path to leave and an end to the battle of Possession.
Once the nine Dao Divinities in Su Ming's third eye completely fused with Dao Hong, they shone with light.
That light was not white, but neither was it black… It was purple! Su Ming's robes were purple, his hair was purple, and his eyes were purple. At that moment, his whole world was purple. That purple hue existed in daylight, and was not the darkness of night. However, when the purple hue shone during the night… it was a darkness that not even night could dye black.
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath and took a step forward. The moment his foot landed, his body let out a bang, and he turned into a long arc that charged into the sky.
He was so fast that he instantly appeared under the black and white vortex. In fact, half of his body had already appeared in the vortex, and with just another half a step, he could completely step into Ancient Zang Skies' vortex.
It was not that he could not take that half a step, but he had stopped for a moment based on his will. He turned his head around and cast a glance at Ancient Zang's world.
It was perhaps his last time looking at Ancient Zang, because right then… Su Ming would definitely succeed! It was what he told himself!
Su Ming saw a vast piece of land. He saw Seven Moons Land, the rising and falling mountain ranges, all the places that granted him experience during the three thousand years he lived in the land. In fact, he could even vaguely see Hao Hao.
With that one glance, he also saw all the people he met in Ancient Zang. After a long while, a look saying that he was about to bid farewell to that world appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He turned around, and with his Dao as well as Gu Hong's Dao, he took the half a step into Ancient Zang Skies.
When his foot landed, Su Ming entered the vortex completely. He stepped into Ancient Zang, and what waited for him was the road of the thirty-three Skies. Once Su Ming reached its end, he would walk out of the thirty-three Skies and the world formed for the battle of Possession, and then… he would open his eyes!
The world rumbled. Clouds and fog surrounded Su Ming. It was foggy all around him, and that fogginess gave him the feeling of seeing the endless universe beyond when he left Harmonious Morus Alba all those years ago.
Su Ming did not pay any attention to his surroundings and did not think too much. He only kept his mind on questioning his own Dao as he used all of his power to turn into a long arc and charge up with an indomitable will.
Boom!
A loud bang echoed in the air. Su Ming felt that he seemed to have rushed past a barrier, and at the instant he did, he went through the first Sky!
Su Ming knew that it was Ancient Zang's first Sky!
Before him were thirty-two more Skies. The path of questioning his Dao and the journey to verify it was right under his feet. He could not turn his head back, and he would not turn his head around!
Resolution appeared in Su Ming's eyes. Not only did his speed not slow down, he even became faster, and throughout his charge, booming sounds accompanied him…
The second Sky, third Sky, fourth Sky… Every single time Su Ming cleared another layer, booming sounds shook the sky and reverberated through the air. When he stepped into the ninth Sky, Su Ming looked down, but he only saw fog below. However, he could still sense the gazes of the Sovereign of Ancient Zang and Tian Xiu Luo.
They held great hope and were clear and expectant, not bearing any personal grudges. It was a form of respect towards Dao, or rather, they respected Gu Hong's choice to help Su Ming complete his Dao!
They wanted to know whether Gu Hong's choice would succeed!
There was no longer any tears in Su Ming's eyes, but Gu Hong's figure had now become an eternal existence in his heart. His tears of grief could not provide him more power to charge forward. He could only use the truth to prove that his Dao was right. He had to rush out of the thirty-three Skies, for only then would he make Gu Hong smile.
Su Ming's gaze became even more resolute. His speed increased swiftly, and as he charged forth in a long arc, he touched the tenth Sky.
Booming sounds shook the sky again. Su Ming's speed did not change, and he continued to charge to the eleventh Sky!
Just like that, Su Ming had all his cultivation base erupt from him, and with his power of a ninth level Dao God, he broke through the thirteenth Sky, crashed past the sixteenth Sky, tore through the nineteenth Sky, and stomped his way into the twenty-second Sky!
A burst of madness spread out of Su Ming's body, and he had no intention of holding any of it back. His eyes were bloodshot, and his mind had already descended into a state of madness which prevented him from being affected by any secondary thoughts. It became an obsessive craze… and it formed his determination to rush out of the thirty-third Sky.
"I will… step into the thirty-third Sky!"
Su Ming threw his head back and shouted. His speed increased exponentially, because he was no longer using only his cultivation base, but his four great wills as well.
As they exploded in power, Su Ming felt as if his resolve was burning and bringing his body—entirely purple and surrounded by a crazed presence—to crash into the twenty-fourth Sky. Even if he ended up in a badly battered state because of it, he would crush the twenty-sixth Sky.
With booming sounds echoing in the air… Su Ming stepped into the twenty-eighth Sky!
Once he was there, Su Ming lifted his head and stared at the twenty-ninth Sky. He could vaguely see… the thirtieth Sky right behind it!
The thirtieth Sky was inaccessible to all those who were not in Boundless Dao Realm!
"After becoming a ninth level Dao God, what comes next is Boundless Dao Realm… Boundless Dao Realm is just like how thoughts have no end. It needs to be severed… Once I sever my Dao, I can make my Dao… become boundless, and my thoughts… will have no end to them."
When Su Ming said those words softly, the flames of determination burned in his bloodshot eyes. He sucked in a deep breath while he was in the twenty-eighth Sky. He did not let out that breath, but instead kept it in his body.
He turned into a long arc that charged to the twenty-ninth Sky. His speed became faster along the way, and at the end, he practically became a shooting star that rose from the ground and traveled in reverse, back to the sky.
The next instant… Su Ming crashed against the barrier in the sky leading to the twenty-ninth Sky.
Boom!
The sound echoed through the heavens and spread through all of Ancient Zang when the barrier before Su Ming shattered. He immediately stepped into the twenty-ninth Sky. At that moment, before him was the thirtieth Sky that the Sovereign of Ancient Zang could not step into and Tian Xiu Luo found difficult enter!
"Thirtieth Sky…"
The flames of determination in Su Ming's eyes spread to his entire body. They spread into his mind and heart. His cultivation base erupted at full force, and his third eye shone with an eye-catching light. Within it, the eyes of the nine overlapping Dao Divinities shone brilliantly!
The four great wills also erupted at full force from Su Ming's body at that moment. Once they fused with his determination, they turned into his madness. He did not let out any sound, but like a volcano that was about to erupt, he delivered the madness of letting out all of his power to the thirtieth Sky.
He instantly flew up, and from a distance, he looked like a moth while the thirtieth Sky was like a fire. He instantly drew close to it…
'My Dao is my determination. It's all the faces I can never forget no matter how many cycles of life and death I have to go through. It is… my promise to them in Harmonious Morus Alba.
'I… will resurrect them. I will take back all that I have lost!
'This is my Dao, and what I need to sever is not this Dao… but that there will be no truths or lies, no dreams, no illusions, no Possessions, no talents… no destiny!
'What I will sever is my life of walking from midwinter to spring. I will sever… the one figure that will be missing for all eternity!'
Su Ming's body looked as if he had been lit on fire when… he crashed against the barrier leading to the thirtieth Sky.
Booming sounds lifted the sky and earth and shook every corner of the world!
Chapter 1477: Beyond Ancient Zang Skies
To Su Ming, the thirtieth Sky had long since ceased to be a sky, but was a blade that was placed horizontally in the sky. The gleaming blade was as bright as the sky, which was why it morphed into thirty skies, becoming a ravine that blocked off all those who were not in Boundless Dao Realm.
It was not impossible to cross the ravine, but if anyone wanted to do it, they would require the resolve to sever their Dao. It did not matter whether the Dao they severed was right or wrong, what was important was their resolve!
Tian Xiu Luo thought he had that resolve. He thought he severed his Dao, but when he saw Gu Hong reversing his own Dao in the end and giving up on everything to help Su Ming complete his Dao, he knew that in terms of resolve, he could not compare.
The Sovereign of Ancient Zang also understood that. The two of them had already come to know why they could not step into the thirtieth Sky. It had nothing to do with whether the Dao they severed was right or wrong, but that their resolve was simply not enough…
They had too many things holding them back. With those shackles, it would forever be difficult for them to completely sever their Dao. Be it their kismet or the ability to create all manner of living, if they did not have complete resolve and dedication to it, they could not enter Boundless Dao Realm.
When Su Ming touched the thirtieth Sky, booming sounds shook the sky and earth. As they reverberated through the air, the world trembled. The Sovereign of Ancient Zang's eyes gathered on him, and Tian Xiu Luo's eyes shone brightly. As they focused their entire attention on Su Ming, they saw him… charging like a moth into the flames.
When the loud booms echoed in the air, it was as if a gleaming blade came charging down to cut Su Ming. He did not dodge or evade it. With resolve and determination, he took an unwavering step to the blade slicing down at him.
The blade… went through Su Ming's body as if it had phased through him. It sliced through him, but it did not draw blood nor cause any wounds. It only severed Su Ming's destiny…
It sounded abstract, but what the blade severed… was Su Ming's choice, because the concept of severing one's Dao was in truth a choice. A person could choose the past or the future.
If Su Ming chose to sever the past, then he would have a glorious future ahead of him. If he chose to sever his future, then he could keep the past with him eternally.
No one other than Su Ming knew of his precise choice. Be it the Sovereign of Ancient Zang or Tian Xiu Luo, both of them could only see that Su Ming had severed his Dao, but if he did not describe in detail what he had severed, no one would know about it.
When the blade swung down, loud booms resounded through the air, and the blade shattered. When it fell apart, it turned into the fragments of the sky, allowing Su Ming… to move past the twenty-ninth Sky and step into the thirtieth Sky!
At the instant he stepped there, Su Ming lowered his head, but he did not look at the land nor the area around him. Instead, he was quietly experiencing something.
Under the vortex, the Sovereign of Ancient Zang and Tian Xiu Luo felt their hearts tremble. They stared Su Ming, who was currently standing in the thirtieth layer in the vortex, in a daze.
They did not say a single word, only watched quietly.
After a long, long time had passed, Su Ming lifted his head slowly. His third eye could no longer be seen at the center of his brow, and neither could his nine overlapping Dao Divinities be seen. His entire person seemed to have become different at that moment, but that difference could not be described with words.
He sighed softly, and when he lifted his head, his gaze landed on the thirty-first Sky. That place… was a world the Sovereign of Ancient Zang and Tian Xiu Luo could not see from the ground.
When Su Ming saw the thirty-first Sky clearly, he understood why Gu Hong had fallen silent when he stood at that place.
There was a huge person before them. It sat in space, and beneath him was a Feng Shui compass. Around his wrist was a string of pearls, and he was dressed in a black long robe. It was Xuan Zang.
Or rather, he was the Emperor of Ancient Zang, who disappeared from Ancient Zang's royal palace and was believed to be dead!
He had clearly not died completely, but instead, drifted about in space in search for a miracle that could resurrect him.
Su Ming stared at the illusory figure quietly. It was a scene that Gu Hong had seen when he stood in that place earlier, and it had made him understand what Su Ming had told him a long time ago.
Su Ming was silent for a long time before he took a step forward and began walking into the sky. When he arrived at the barrier leading to the thirty-first Sky, he crossed it with one step.
When he arrived at the thirty-first Sky and looked above him, Xuan Zang's figure became even clearer, and Su Ming was able to sense… the bald crane's presence spreading out of Xuan Zang's clenched fist.
That presence caused Su Ming to remember the feather he had grabbed. That feather had flown out when the bald crane was swept into the void.
However, Su Ming could not see the Emperor of Ancient Zang's face clearly. It was rather blurry… but even if it was blurry and Su Ming could not see it clearly, he could still somewhat sense that his face… was the exact same as his.
"When Master stood here and chose to reverse his Dao, he must have also had a sense of what that figure's face looked like, just like I do…" Su Ming murmured under his breath while sighing softly.
While his sigh still echoed in the air, Su Ming took another step forward. With it, the thirty-first Sky crumbled before him, and the thirty-second Sky's barrier was also torn to pieces the moment Su Ming walked forward.
When he stood in the thirty-second Sky, he could already see the face of the person sitting on the huge Feng Shui compass in space. It… was Su Ming's own.
Tian Xiu Luo was quiet for a while before he spoke from beyond the black and white vortex under Su Ming. "What did you see?!"
Tian Xiu Luo had asked Gu Hong about it, and he seemed to have somewhat understand Gu Hong's answer. However, when he asked Su Ming about it, Su Ming did not provide him with a similar answer.
"I… saw myself," Su Ming said softly. His voice echoed through the thirty-two Skies and spread to every corner of the world.
Su Ming stared at the figure on the Feng Shui compass, then took that a step into the thirty-third Sky.
With that step, the thirty-third Sky vanished before him as if it no longer existed, allowing Su Ming… to arrive before the huge figure sitting on the Feng Shui compass. He was only one final step away from the center of the figure's brow.
When he stood there, Su Ming stared at the huge figure for a long, long time. In silence, thousands of thoughts were born in his head. He thought of many people and many things, and then, he sighed softly, channeling all his thoughts into that sigh. It would echo for eternity and never fade away
Then… he took his final step!
When Su Ming put his foot down, purple light shone from his body. It shot through the thirty-three Skies and descended on the ground. It sent all the fog scattering and chased away all emptiness, causing Ancient Zang to turn purple.
Su Ming lowered his head then and cast a glance at the world below him. He saw the person dressed in the straw cape standing outside the city gate of the royal capital. It was Tian Xie Zi. He was staring up at Su Ming, and a smile was on his face. It held a reluctance to part, a farewell, and a blessing.
Su Ming saw that Dao Han was no longer in isolation in Seven Moons Sect, but was instead standing on a coffin while staring at the sky. There was a complicated look on his face, and he was staring at the sky quietly with respect that came from the bottom of his heart…
And in the dimension belonging to One Dao Sect that seemed to be isolated from the world and had shattered, Great Dao Paragon Sen Mu was also staring at the sky in a daze. It was no longer night before him. The sun shone bright, and a ray of sunlight shone on the side of his face, causing the shadow behind him… to be that of Su Ming's second senior brother, who seemed to be standing among the flowers in the ninth summit with a gentle smile on his face.
There was a woman who had just dragged her exhausted body out of a cave abode in the mountains. Needless to say, it was Xu Hui. Her face was slightly pale, and when she stared at the sky, a look of attention appeared on her face, as if there was a soft sigh in her heart that could not be voiced.
There were others…
Others…
Like Hao Hao. In his world, he sat on the tree crown that replaced the sky. The boy was quiet, and he seemed to be able to see Su Ming too. While smiling happily on the tree, he lifted his hand and waved at Su Ming.
"I've already returned home, big brother… you're about to go home too…"
Like the headless figure sitting on the city in the world under the tree crown. At that moment, he seemed to have moved slightly, and he too became a part of the farewell in the form of laughter that was coming from the palace set in the bustling city.
Di Tian's joyful laughter and the happiness among the people from his sect sitting around him lingered in the air for a long time, refusing to leave. Di Tian had a wine cup in his hand, and when no one was paying attention, he lifted his head slightly to take a sip of wine, but in truth, he was staring at the sky. There was a blessing in his gaze.
Like Lei Chen, who was sitting under the lamps lit in Dark Mountain Tribe. No matter how the wind blew, it could not extinguish the fire. The sky was covered by the branches that prevented all those on the ground from seeing beyond them, but there was a melancholic air about the tribe that would disappear even without wind blowing against it. That melancholy came from Lei Chen as he stood with his head lifted. He stared at the sky and laughed.
He laughed and laughed until tears trickled down his cheeks…
Like the Old Man Extermination on the lone ship in the sea. When he lifted his head to look at the sky, anguish appeared on his face, and then it morphed into a sigh.
Su Ming moved his gaze away. His expression was very calm at that moment, and there was no longer any red in his eyes. Instead, his gaze was clear. He had seen through all the prosperity in life and lived through many springs, summers, autumns, and winters.
He turned around and his foot also landed…
When he took his final step, he… disappeared into the center of the black robed man's brow… for all time.
One winter, one life, a world called Ancient Zang, a sigh that departed…
When he woke up, he woke up to unfamiliarity. When he left… he only brought with him loneliness. Only his Dao was like the purple light in the sky. Even if his destiny faded away, the purple light would last forever.
Chapter 1478: Opened Eyes
The universe had a color. It was gray that was nearly white, but perhaps that description was not too appropriate as well, because when others looked at it, they would feel as if something was pressing heavily against their hearts, and it was a feeling that was near desolation.
It was a color, but also desolation.
And boundlessness meant that something was indistinct and could not be seen clearly. It meant a size that was endlessly big… Once this word was combined with space, it would turn into… a vast universe that had no end.
In the vast universe, just how many worlds existed? How many planets were there? And how many people parted in grief or met in happiness? How many of those meetings and partings flowed in the river of time that had so many years contained in it that no one would know whether they could be counted?
No one knew the answer.
There was one thing in the universe which had not changed since an eternity ago. It was a man sitting on a huge Feng Shui compass. He was dressed in a long black robe, and his long hair fell over his shoulders. He had his head lowered, and thick aura of death seeped out of his body. It was… Xuan Zang!
He sat meditating with the aura of death surrounding him. There was also an ancient air about him, as if he had already forgotten how many years had passed since he sat down, as if he had already forgotten the Dao of his previous life…
At that moment, a sigh tumbled out of Xuan Zang's mouth. When it echoed in the vast universe… he slowly lifted his head. His eyes had been closed since forever ago, but right then… slowly, but surely, he opened his eyes!
The moment he opened his eyes, loud, endless booming sounds reverberated through the vast universe. When those booms tumbled about, it was as if the entire universe was shocked by Xuan Zang's act of opening his eyes. The presence that spread out from hi when he opened his eyes caused the universe to stir!
Fog tumbled about, and it spread out swiftly from around Xuan Zang to form a vortex. It swept up the vast universe, and as the vortex rotated with loud booming sounds, Xuan Zang completely opened his eyes!
A brilliant spark that could cause the vast universe to shake appeared in his gaze. That brilliant spark disappeared after an instant and calm returned… But those were not Xuan Zang's eyes. They belonged… to Su Ming!
The moment Su Ming stepped into the thirty-third Sky and the center of Xuan Zang's brow, he… succeeded in his Possession!
"I made it."
Once Su Ming Possessed Xuan Zang's body and opened his eyes, he looked at the familiar universe, then at the vortex before him.
When his murmurs echoed in space, he lowered his head and looked at the black feather on his open palm. The bald crane's presence was spreading out of that feather weakly, and it filled Su Ming's heart.
"I am… Su Ming."
He closed his eyes and went to gain a sense of the body as well as the ancient world contained within it.
Just like how a world existed in Harmonious Morus Alba's wings, Su Ming also saw a world in the body he had successfully Possessed.
"Xuan Zang didn't fail either."
When Su Ming looked at the world in his body, the sigh he breathed out held an ancient tone. It echoed in space as well as the world in his body.
It was… a world that had died for an unknown number of years. Su Ming saw Ancient Zang, the sects and clans, but they had already been reduced to ruin. They had become debris, and not a single living being could be found.
Everything seemed to have withered away when Xuan Zang closed his eyes in the past and the aura of death filled his body.
"The three thousand years I lived through were a Possession. The world during those three thousand years… could be the Emperor of Ancient Zang's memories, or it could also have been Xuan Zang's memories… Either way, that world was the recollection of the world before it died.
"In that recollection, I became him. Based on this, I succeeded… but from his point of view, his goal was to be revived. He was ready to do anything to be revived, and right now… he has indeed been revived. He was resurrected with my will," Su Ming said softly, murmuring to himself while he stared at the dead world in his body.
Su Ming slowly fell silent. When he stopped mumbling to himself, time continued passing in the vast universe. Each time his thoughts changed, one thousand years seemed to change…
When Su Ming lifted his head and put away the feather on his palm… he slowly stood up on the Feng Shui compass.
At the instant he stood up, the booming sounds from the vortex in the vast universe reached a monstrous degree. The vortex's rotations caused the vast universe to look as if it had turned into a boundless raging sea… and while Su Ming stood on the Feng Shui compass, he seemed like the master of the raging sea.
"This is what it means to reach Boundless Dao Realm," Su Ming mumbled under his breath. However, there was a bleak tone to his voice as well as loneliness. It was a loneliness only he possessed in the entire vast universe.
"It is like how a person becomes a god, and then from a god… the master who stands supreme to all."
Su Ming stood on the Feng Shui compass for a long, long time before he sat down again, and while alone in the vast universe, he closed his eyes.
"I've already reached the limit of my Dao…"
With his eyes shut, Su Ming sighed in his heart before he sucked in a deep breath. The moment he did so, the rotating vortex charged at Su Ming and entered him through every part of his body. Eventually, all of it was within Su Ming's body.
While the vortex in Su Ming's body tumbled about, it crashed against the dead world in him. Gradually, the endless vortex from the vast universe gathered in one spot in Ancient Zang's royal capital, which was the heart of the dead world.
That spot was like a seed, and at that moment… it was buried deep in the world.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, one thousand years went by… In that time, a tree grew in the originally dead world, and it was… the Tree of Dao Verification!
The tree's roots spread through the earth, using the vast universe as its nutrients. It grew up slowly, just like how Hao Hao had done in the past, since Su Ming was using the same method to change the world in his body.
He had an endless amount of time and unimaginable patience to complete all the steps necessary to change the world.
Thousands of years passed, and the Tree of Dao Verification reached the sky. When it covered the world, Su Ming could no longer see any wastelands in his world, and neither was there any wreckage. Everything returned to the beginning. Mountain ranges, rivers, and everything Su Ming could remember about Ancient Zang from the three thousand years he lived in it returned to how they looked then.
Perhaps there was some form of power that caused Su Ming to live three thousand years in Ancient Zang during the process of him Possessing Xuan Zang, because it allowed him to return it to how it looked like before.
Perhaps that vague power belonged to Xuan Zang.
But no matter what, all of that was no longer important. When the Tree of Dao Verification's crown replaced the sky in Su Ming's body, he opened his eyes while still seated.
"There is midwinter in my Life Matrix, and hence, there is winter in this world, just like the autumn sun, summer rain, and an abundance of life like spring. This is life, and it is also my world," Su Ming murmured softly, and the four seasons appeared in the world within his body.
During the thousands of years the tree grew, the Feng Shui compass beneath Su Ming kept moving forward, allowing Su Ming to continuously absorb the power from the vast universe to nourish the world in him and change all that which had died. Even if the world had already taken form and had the four seasons, Su Ming still continued moving forward and did not stop.
As time passed, the passage of time also became part of the world in Su Ming's body. That world seemed to have become a complete entity, but it was still lacking… true life.
'I will search for them in the cycles of life and death as well as in the vast universe until I find them, and then… it will be time for me to open the Abyss Gate. It will be the first time I open the Abyss Gate in my life, and it will… also be my last.'
While Su Ming sat on the Feng Shui compass, he stared at the vast universe in the distance and mulled over the loneliness he felt during the past thousands of years. He pondered over the isolation he felt by being the only person there and how it would stay with him for life. His isolation would never come to an end.
"This is what it means to be in Boundless Dao Realm," Su Ming said softly. He took off the string of pearls from his right wrist, and after staring at them for a moment, he flung them into the vast universe with his left hand. The universe immediately tumbled about, and an endless amount of power swiftly gathered in the pearls. Once they were filled, Su Ming retained the seventh while throwing away the rest. Six of the pearls contained lives. They turned into butterflies and flew into the distance until all of them vanished from sight.
Only the seventh remained in Su Ming's palm, and he held it tight.
"From now on, there will be eight butterflies which will possess life in the vast universe, and they will be the hope for me to find their tracks…" Su Ming mumbled.
The Harmonious Morus Albas in the vast universe were born on the Tree of Dao Verification. All of them had the same name, the same life, and in fact, it could be said that they were originally one.
When the Tree of Dao Verification had crumbled, they could only flutter and fly about in the Vast Expanse, becoming wanderers who could not find their home… but because their origin essence was the same, Su Ming firmly believed that since his eldest senior brother, second senior brother, Hu Zi, Yu Xuan, Cang Lan, Xu Hui, and the others could be born in the seventh Harmonious Morus Alba's wings, then he could definitely find their traces in the other butterflies' wings.
He would gather all their traces together, and then he would form the key to activate his Abyss Gate.
However, those were just his assumptions. Perhaps he would succeed, but it could also… just be wishful thinking. Yet no matter what, Su Ming had to try. Even if he could not succeed, he would absolutely not give up. He would continue searching for other methods. That was his Dao.
With the seventh pearl, Su Ming slowly closed his eyes. The pearl on his palm could not turn into a butterfly… because the bald crane's Reversed Spirit was not contained in it.
Time passed as the Feng Shui compass on which Su Ming ast continued moving forward through the vast universe. The feeling of loneliness and isolation was something Su Ming was already accustomed to, and he had no choice but to get used to it. He was alone for one thousand years, for ten thousand years… and then thirty thousand years…
A huge butterfly appeared before Su Ming in the vast universe. It was a Harmonious Morus Alba, but not one of those that Su Ming had bestowed life upon thirty thousand years ago. It was a butterfly which Xuan Zang had not killed.
The aura of death was not heavy about that butterfly, and there were countless lives on the four wings. Perhaps there were also people who learned that the world they lived in was actually Harmonious Morus Alba's wings there as well, and perhaps there were also people like Arid Triad who tried to struggle against the fate of being wiped off, but there was no doubt… that they still lived a blessed life.
After all, the person they met was not Xuan Zang, but Su Ming.
While sitting on the Feng Shui compass, he looked quietly at the Harmonious Morus Alba in the distance. When he drew close, the butterfly shuddered visibly, and an air of fear leaked out of its body.
"I will not wipe you off. I only want… to take away some marks of certain people from you."
Chapter 1479: To Not Wait for the Heavens to Fall Silent
Su Ming stared at the Harmonious Morus Alba letting out a panicking and terrified air before speaking faintly. Then, he shut his eyes, and his will, so great now that it could no longer be described with words, instantly left his body and charged to the Harmonious Morus Alba.
If his will was to be compared with Harmonious Morus Alba's will, it would be the same as comparing a brilliant moon to a firefly. It made the Harmonious Morus Alba unable to struggle and fight back. It could only allow Su Ming's will to completely cover its body, then fuse into all four of its wings from every angle.
During that moment, the four Expanse Cosmoses contained in the Harmonious Morus Alba's four wings shuddered. The galaxies instantly froze… While they kept still, Su Ming's will swept past each life like a violent storm, but he did not harm them. He only searched for the traces and the marks he needed.
After several breaths passed, all four Expanse Cosmoses in the Harmonious Morus Alba returned to normal, and Su Ming's will faded away, but only the Harmonious Morus Alba knew that the existence which terrified it and which it found somewhat familiar in the depths of its mind, did not remove its will, but instead broke it down into several portions and gathered them within the four Expanse Cosmoses.
The Harmonious Morus Alba was uneasy and anxious because it did not know what marks Su Ming was searching for. It could only hope that he would leave as soon as possible. His terrifying might and strength caused it to be unable to fight back even in the slightest. It knew that if he wanted to kill it, he would only need to point a finger at it.
Time trickled as Su Ming sat on the Feng Shui compass and levitated before the Harmonious Morus Alba. He had been broken down his will into several parts, and each of them were by the side of the people who had the marks he wanted.
He did not take those marks away immediately, but instead stayed beside them. As time passed and a long period of time went by, the Harmonious Morus Alba's wings started overlapping, and then, the four Expanse Cosmoses started to be destroyed…
When destruction was over and new lives were born, Su Ming left with the marks he needed. He had accompanied them for an aeon. His will left the anxious and uneasy Harmonious Morus Alba, and returned to his body on the Feng Shui compass. Then, Su Ming opened his eyes.
He lifted his right hand, and there were several feeble souls on his palm. Among them were his eldest senior brother, second senior brother, Hu Zi, Cang Lan, Yu Xuan, Xu Hui, his elder… and all the other people from Su Ming's memories.
Those souls only had a trace of the marks that signified who they were in his memories, and they were not the versions of the people Su Ming wanted.
When the Harmonious Morus Alba spread its wings again, Su Ming left into the distance on his Feng Shui compass. He continued moving forward, alone and isolated in the vast universe for another ten thousand years…
Ten thousand years, twenty thousand years, thirty thousand years… Time passed, but there seemed to be no traces of it in the vast universe. When two hundred thousand years passed, Su Ming opened his eyes again, because right before him… was the ninth Harmonious Morus Alba which was fortunate enough to have never run into Xuan Zang.
It drifted about in the vast universe with an abundant amount of life flowing in it, and countless lives had been born in the Expanse Cosmoses within its four wings.
When it noticed Su Ming's arrival, that Harmonious Morus Alba even showed hostility, perhaps because it had been alive for so long that it had forgotten its instincts. However, the will that spread out from Su Ming immediately crushed that hostility. The butterfly shuddered, and panic and shock instantly rose within it.
Su Ming did not care about Harmonious Morus Alba's feelings. His will enveloped the butterfly's four wings and spread into them. When he swept past the wings, he found the marks, then split up his will and place it next to them.
Despite the Harmonious Morus Alba being wrecked by nerves, Su Ming did not choose to immediately retrieve the marks, just like before, because if he took them directly, it would mean that he would be personally killing them. He could not do it nor did he want to do it. He could wait for the Expanse Cosmoses in this Harmonious Morus Alba to be destroyed, and then, he would take away those marks.
Time passed, and the Harmonious Morus Alba lived in nervousness for an aeon. When it ended, Su Ming did not stay. He brought with him the marks he found and left the Harmonious Morus Alba, which had spread its wings to give birth to four new Expanse Cosmoses. While the Harmonious Morus Alba was still nervous and anxious, Su Ming left into the distance.
One hundred years later, Su Ming met a Harmonious Morus Alba which was born from a pearl after he bestowed life to it, and he began searching for the marks again.
He searched through the butterflies one by one, and it seemed to take an eternity. Ten aeons passed.
Su Ming searched through all the butterflies and found the marks he wanted in all the Harmonious Morus Albas. However… when he had all the marks in his hand, he only let out a melancholic sigh while sitting on the Feng Shui compass and surrounded by an ancient air.
Each of those marks were independent entities. If he forcefully fused them together, the Brands of life which would be formed would still be missing the familiarity from Su Ming's memories. He could open the Abyss Gate and resurrect them, but once they were resurrected, they would no longer remember each other. In Su Ming's heart, they would become his most familiar strangers.
Su Ming did not want to do this sort of thing nor see it happening. He longed for the people in his memories to be resurrected, and he yearned for the people who would be resurrected to still be themselves. He wanted them to have their memories, not just their faces. He hoped that their souls would still be the same, just that they would be separated by unfamiliarity.
"The cycles of life and death are like the sea. Only by living through them can I find the marks they left behind when they disappeared in the beginning. Only then will I be able to make the marks fuse together and turn into the Brands marking their lives."
Su Ming stared at his palm. After a long time had passed, he clenched his palm. Once he placed the marks in his palm into his heart, he unfurled his palm and pushed down gently at the Feng Shui compass beneath him.
With it, the Feng Shui compass jolted, then started rotating on its own. The entire universe seemed to have been drawn in by its movements, and it started rotating as well. As time passed, the boundless universe became a huge vortex which spun with loud bangs until it became a circle.
Every single time the universe spun a circle, a cycle of life and death was completed.
As the universe tumbled about in a vortex, the sediments of time contained in it were dragged to the front of Su Ming's eyes. The dust that had fallen to the depths of the universe flew before him, and Su Ming left the Feng Shui compass to walk into the vortex. It did not matter how much time would pass and how many cycles of life and death he would have to live through, for he would continue walking forward firmly and resolutely.
He would search for the marks everyone left behind when they disappeared in the passage of time…
In the cycles of life and death were the things and the people he had never forgotten and the promises he never failed to recall.
He kept those people in his mind because he yearned for them,to meet them… and to get to know them again.
When his Harmonious Morus Alba was destroyed and Xuan Zang's palm fell, causing all the souls to vanish that night, he already knew that if he was not determined, he would not meet them again in their next life.
It was just like how a person would wait for the heavens to fall silent for thousands of years while they stood in the palace in the sky. How many times would they feel lost, and how many times would they cherish others right down to the core of they soul? And from then on, there would no longer be moments in their life when they would find life to be as beautiful as it seemed at first sight…
Chapter 1480: Persist with Determination, All So They Could Meet Again
One hundred thousand years…
Two hundred thousand years…
Three hundred thousand years…
One million years passed as Su Ming continued on quietly in the vast space that was the cycle of life and death formed by the vortex. He used all his cultivation base and turned it into his divine sense so he did not miss even a single corner. He searched through every spot carefully for everyone's marks in their cycles of life and death.
Gradually, in his loneliness and isolation, Su Ming forgot how to speak or how to even produce sound. Deep exhaustion filled him, but it was not his body that was tired, because when he reached Boundless Dao Realm, it was difficult for his body to feel weakened. He was tired… in his heart.
He searched for everyone nonstop and was continuously disappointed, but he never gave up, because he knew… that once he let go, there would no longer be any hope.
He could only search and search. Even if the universe died and its life was extinguished, he still had to continue searching. That was his determination, his path.
During the first one million years, Su Ming walked through the vast universe in search of the marks. During the second million years, he still continued searching…
He walked past Harmonious Morus Albas and past multiple vortices that symbolized the cycles of life and death. When the fifth million years passed, the exhaustion in his heart turned into depression. When the sadness fused into the depths of his soul, after searching for five million years, he suddenly came to a stop in the vast universe.
It was the first time he stopped during the five million years. When he did so, he turned his head around and looked at the fog tumbling to the side. Within it, he saw a fragment. It was broken, and it drifted about in the fog for an unknown number of years.
When Su Ming notice the fragment, a brilliant sparkle suddenly appeared in his eyes. He brought his right hand up and did a seizing motion in the direction of the fog. With it, the tumbling fog was enveloped by a will that was greater than the universe. The fog instantly became still, as if it no longer dared to even move. The fragment inside swayed a little and charged to Su Ming before it gently landed on his palm.
As he stared at the fragment on his palm, a smile slowly made its way onto Su Ming's lips, and it was full of joy. It was the first time he smiled in the five million years of continuous searching.
"Ma… Fei…"
Su Ming's voice was hoarse. He had been silent for five million years, and he felt as if he had forgotten how to speak, so his voice was hoarse and indistinct, like the murmurs of an old man who was in his twilight years.
Most of the fragment was made of stone. It was formed by a large amount of dust in the vast universe, which was why it could continue to exist in the vortex/ It was part of the dust.
However… among the great amount of dust in that fragment was a speck that contained a mark Su Ming was familiar with. It belonged to a girl called Ma Fei, whom Su Ming had met in Morning Dao Sect and who had served as his guide while he posed as Dao Kong. The mark in the fragment belonged to her.
That girl might not be the person he wanted to meet the most… but the appearance of her fragment gave an unimaginable boost of confidence to Su Ming, and it strengthened his resolve. He was finally sure that his path of searching for the others was correct, so no matter how much time passed and even if he had to search for countless millions of years, he would still resolutely continue on.
He would persist with determination so that they could meet again.
After gently holding the fragment in his palm for some time, Su Ming unfurled his fist, and the fragment disintegrated. The dust impurities were reduced to ash, and only Ma Fei's mark floated above Su Ming's palm like a broken soul fragment. Su Ming put it away like it was a precious treasure.
After a long while, Su Ming lifted his head, and a clear sparkle shone in his eyes, making them appear even more clear, just like how a child's eyes would look like. He took a step forward and with resolve continued onward.
Time passed, and another one million years went by. Su Ming searched year by year, never holding back on turning all his cultivation base into divine sense to walk through the cycles of life and death in the vast universe…
Su Ming did not know what he was looking for, and perhaps he would have to do it for an eternity. Yet with the long span of life a cultivator in Boundless Dao Realm had, he simply continued searching, just like Xuan Zang had sat for countless years on the Feng Shui compass.
When fifty million years passed, Su Ming had practically become numb, and aura of death began appearing around him. That aura of death had not come because his life was about to come to an end, but because the loneliness and isolation he felt in the vast universe caused a deathly stillness to appear in his heart as he continued searching despite his fatigue.
But even if his heart had become still, it could not stop him from searching. Even if he no longer used his legs to move forward but sat on the Feng Shui compass… he could still not bury the hope to meet his loved ones again.
He searched, and searched, and continued searching.
When eighty million years went by, Su Ming found Ye Wang's mark. Just like Ye Wang, his mark shone with a piercing light, and it was slightly blinding to the eyes. He was in the horn at the head of a ferocious beast in the vast universe.
That ferocious beast was lying sprawled before Su Ming while trembling. It had only sensed a hint of Su Ming's presence, but it had nearly terrified it to death.
Su Ming stared at the horn on the creature's head, then he lifted his right hand and pointed forward. When he pulled his finger back, Ye Wang's soul fragment appeared on his palm.
He put away the soul fragment very carefully before closing his eyes to continue searching.
Time flowed as Su Ming continued searching. No one knew how many aeons had passed or how many times the eight butterflies in the vast universe had overlapped their wing.
When around two hundred and fifty million years passed, Su Ming shuddered while in the vast universe. His eyes flew open, and the brightest sparkle over the course of countless years since he began searching appeared in his eyes. That light was so strong that it instantly caused the vast universe to tremble and rumble. The eight butterflies shivered and did not dare to move even an inch.
An excitement that had never appeared on Su Ming's face showed up. He slowly stood up, and when he took a step forward, his legs trembled. His eyes were fixed on a ball of fog, which had… a white flower.
That fog was like rain, and when inside it, the small white flower looked to be in the rain. It looked weak, but it had its own determination. It seemed like it was waiting for someone.
The flower had waited… for two hundred and fifty million something years. It waited for the ferryman who protected it from the rain when they were at the River of Forgetfulness all those years ago, and who eventually carried it to his boat.
Tears fell from Su Ming's eyes, but a happy smile was on his face. He slowly approached the small white flower in the fog and gazed at it deeply. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
Because he had already forgotten how to speak.
It was of no great concern to him, however, and he laughed happily. While his laughter was silent, the appearance of his smile seemed to have caused ripples to appear in the vast universe. When they spread out, Su Ming lifted his hand and tenderly raised the small white flower from the fog, cradling it in his hand.
Tears fell from the corners of his eyes and slid down his cheeks. One of them fell on the small white flower like a dewdrop, causing it to seem to extend its leaves. It seemed to be… smiling sweetly, so sweetly that Su Ming was caught in a daze.
One of the leaves touched Su Ming's palm, and that gentle touch was just as beautiful as it was in his memories.
He stared at the small white flower on his palm, and his happy smile dyed the cycles of life and death in the vast universe in its color. He… had found Yu Xuan.
He gently put the small white flower into his world, then turned his feelings of cherishing her into something precious so that that feeling could stay with him, just like how the flower had quietly accompanied him all those years ago beside the River of Forgetfulness. It had stayed under the eaves beside a lonely figure in a straw cape while rain pouring around them.
The small white flower in the rain was a daylily, but there was no sadness about her. To Su Ming, she was part of his determination and what he cared for. She brought sunlight to his life, so he could collect mark after mark in the cycles of life and death in the vast universe.
Even though those marks did not contain the faces that had brought about Su Ming's determination, the bits and pieces of their existences in his memories marked their roles in his life. Some of them had appeared in his life as guests and had then left into the distance. They might once have been his enemies, or strangers who moved past him after they brushed their shoulders against his, but Su Ming took their marks with him, treating them as valuable treasures. At that moment, he no longer held any hostility to any of those people.
He found Su Xuan Yi, Morning Dao Sect's De Shun, all the people from the land of Berserkers, Divine Essence Star Ocean, his old friends from Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos, and the people who drove him to madness in Dark Dawn and Saint Defier.
As he continued on with the cycles of life and death in the vast universe, he found Change He, but what caused Su Ming's gaze to linger was the mark of an unfamiliar woman beside him.
The woman leaning against his mark was his wife, who had passed away many years ago. As Su Ming watched her, he discovered that she had always been by his side… he had just never discovered her presence while he was alive.
Su Ming found more marks in time. As he walked through the cycles of life and death and the passage of time, he found his eldest senior brother…
His mark was not a speck of dust, but a fighting spirit. It was a vision, and it existed among a pride of beasts in the fog within the vast universe. It was the reason their fighting spirit was always at its peak.
To fight for eternity!
With the marks he found, with hope and determination, Su Ming walked through the fog, and when he left the area, the fog surrounded him. It seemed to be unwilling to let him leave. There was a murmur in the fog, as if it was trying to say something.
Su Ming stopped. He lowered his head and looked at the fog beside him. After a long, long while, his gaze focused, and deep love appeared in his eyes.
He found Fang Cang Lan. She was the fog… or rather, she found him through it.
He took the fog, which was Fang Cang Lan away with him.
The hope in his heart grew stronger, but even with that hope, Su Ming knew since the start that… when he brought the world back into existence, when he turned all the marks into Brands of life and made them return, on that day… he would only be able to watch everyone quietly from the side.
It was not a destiny that had been set in stone since his birth, but the price for his Dao. It was the path he chose, and it was different… from that of Old Man Extermination.