Pursuit of the Truth

The old woman’s dark eyes sparkled as she stood on Lake of Colors Mountain. She looked at Han Mountain Bell, then at the stone pillars everyone was looking at while crying out in surprise.

By the old woman’s side, Yan Luan was also in a state of disbelief when the same thought that was going through everyone’s head appeared in her mind.

‘Could it be… Is he really not dead?! Why else would the stone pillars not sink?!’

The old woman was silent. She stared at the stone pillars and frowned. This matter threw her into a rare state of bafflement.

Due to the dark clouds, moonlight could not fall completely to the ground. While it may not be so dark that people could not even see their own hands if they stretched them out in front of their eyes, but it was still rather dark, and they could only barely see the Chain of Han Mountain swaying in the wind. The stone pillars continued standing tall underneath the pillars without any signs of sinking.

The amount of labored breathing gradually increased in Han Mountain City. All of the watchers, including the people who originally wanted to leave, were all looking at the Chain with full attention.

An indescribable feeling, like the calm before a storm, fell upon on the entire Han Mountain. All of them were waiting for the person who might appear in their sights under the swaying Chain.

Su Ming did not know that there were so many people waiting for him to appear. He did not even know that he slipped off the Chain. Contrary to what the crowd saw, Su Ming was not in a muddled state. His mind was very clear, but what he saw was completely different from what the crowd saw!

What he saw was still the swaying Chain of Han Mountain in the wind. What he saw was still him with one foot on the seventh section of the Chain. He saw Lei Chen’s apparition breaking apart before him. That devastated laughter made his heart tremble.

He could not tell whether it was his own illusion or whether it was Lei Chen’s illusion. He did not even know whether this was real or fake. Even if he knew that everything might be a product of his own mind, Lei Chen’s current appearance and his words made an uncontrollable sharp pain spike through his entire body.

”He buried me with his own hands…” Su Ming mumbled.

He fell silent for a long time, for a very long time. He did not hear the thunder in the sky, did not hear the wind whistling, did not see the lightning.

He looked at the Chain. Suddenly, the Chain was no longer horizontal in his sight, but had turned vertical. The world too, had turned upside down.

He lifted his foot silently and moved forward. Yet when he felt that he had taken ten steps forward, mist instantly gathered before him once again. A shudder ran through his body.

The mist quickly gathered and eventually turned into the figure of a man. This person did not have his right arm. He wore a green robe and was standing there with a baffled expression, as if he did not know why he had appeared there. He had a handsome face, and after a short moment, the bafflement in his eyes was replaced by a piercing glint that was akin to light reflecting off a sword.

Yet this piercing glint turned into a stunned expression when he saw Su Ming, which was quickly followed by a frown. His face became dark.

”Bei Ling…” Su Ming mumbled and stared dumbly at the man who had obviously aged before him. An indescribable feeling rose within his heart.

”Who are you? Why did you lead my consciousness here..? You… Your presence… Have we met before?”

Bei Ling hesitated for a moment. The moment he saw this person, an incredibly familiar feeling rose within him. It felt as if it was something that was carved into his bones, as if it was a feeling that existed from a long time ago.

Su Ming was silent for a time. After a long while, he said softly, ”I’m… Su Ming…”

The moment he heard Su Ming’s name, Bei Ling trembled. He glared at him, with an expression that spoke of disbelief and that he could not imagine this happening. It was as if these two words left behind an impression that was difficult to erase within him.

Bei Ling was silent. Su Ming did not speak either. He could not tell whether this was real or fake. Bewilderment filled every corner of his body.

Neither knew how much time had passed when Bei Ling suddenly laughed coldly. He cast a deep look at Su Ming and his eyes became cold.

”Since when did the Great Tribe of Miao Man toy with Berserker Illusionary Arts? And you don’t even try forming the illusions of those around me, but chose to form Su… Ming’s illusion, who had already died… I don’t care which Miao Man Ancestor you are, but you shouldn’t have created Su Ming’s illusion… Su Ming is a member of my tribe. He is the hero of Dark Mountain… You… have no right to turn into him!”

Bei Ling’s last words were practically shouted out. Anger and sadness filled his face, as if an old scar that had been sealed off was forcefully ripped open, which caused Bei Ling to lift up his left hand abruptly, and immediately, the apparition of a giant bow appeared behind him. That bow exuded a presence that could destroy heaven and earth.

The moment it appeared, it was drawn out as if an invisible person was drawing it. Wisps of black mist appeared from within Bei Ling’s body and gathered around him, turning into a black mist arrow. The moment the bow was drawn out, the arrow shot out from the bow with a buzzing sound and charged straight at Su Ming.

”Bei Ling… Big brother…” Su Ming mumbled.

His mind was very clear. He knew that all of this was fake… but even if he knew that it was fake, he still wanted to see whether after Bei Ling, the elder would appear, and whether the girl whom he failed to keep his promise with her would appear.

The charging arrow came to an abrupt halt before Su Ming. It was just like with Lei Chen’s punch, it stopped.

”What… You… What did you just say?”

The pain on Bei Ling’s face grew stronger. He looked at Su Ming, and after a long while, he closed his eyes.

”Thank you, for letting me see Su Ming once again… I don’t care why you chose to cast this illusion, but today, I thank you…”

After a while, Bei Ling opened his eyes. A calm look settled on his face. There was a gentle look in his eyes as he looked at Su Ming, as if he was looking at his own younger brother.

”Su Ming, take care…”

Bei Ling turned around. There were tears in his eyes. He slowly walked into the distance, looking as if he was about to disappear from the world.

”Big brother Bei Ling, is Chen Xin alright…?”

At that moment, Su Ming forgot to remind himself that all of this was fake. He looked at Bei Ling walking away and instinctively opened his mouth to ask.

Bei Ling shuddered and stopped. He turned around and his breathing became rapid as he stared at Su Ming. Bafflement and uncertainty appeared on his face.

Su Ming looked at Bei Ling, then quickly put his right hand into his bosom. When he took his hand out, there was a black shard in his palm. That shard was the piece he took when Dark Mountain’s statue of the God of Berserkers broke!

”Even if all of this is fake… even if none of this is real… Even so… Even so… It doesn’t matter!” Su Ming lifted his head and placed the shard in his hand for Bei Ling to see.

The moment he saw the shard, Bei Ling’s body trembled furiously. Shock appeared on his face and he stared at Su Ming dumbly.

”Are… you really Su Ming…?”

”I am,” Su Ming said bitterly.

Bei Ling suddenly started laughing loudly. That laughter was filled with misery and a pain that Su Ming did not understand.

”If you are Su Ming, why didn’t you come back?! Do you know how long we waited for you..? Do you know just how long we waited for you..? Su Ming, Su Ming… you’re not him!”

There was sorrow on Bei Ling’s face. He turned around and gradually walked into the distance as he laughed miserably, disappearing from the Chains of Han Mountain, from Su Ming’s sight.

Su Ming stood there right up until Bei Ling’s body disappeared. Tears fell from the corners of his eyes… It had been a long time since he cried.

At that moment, tears fell down his cheeks and on the Chain, then into the canyons, disappearing without a trace.

‘Chains of Han Mountain, just what sort of chains are you? Why did this scene appear? Are you trying to tell me something..?’

Su Ming closed his eyes and only opened them after a long while before silently starting to walk forward again.

Walking through the Chain was no longer important. Su Ming did not want to think whether it was real or fake any longer. He did not even care whether it was dangerous. He just wanted to see who he would see as he continued walking forward…

He continued onward. When he was halfway through the seventh section of the Chain, he saw Wu La, the Head of the Guards, Shan Hen… Eventually, the back of an old person with white hair appeared in the mist before him.

”Elder…”

Su Ming’s heart clenched in pain. He was just about to see the old man clearly when he turned around, his vision suddenly blurring and a sword whistle echoing in his head. At the same time, a voice filled with anxiety repeatedly crashed into his mind. This voice belonged to He Feng, who was shocked awake when he sensed death looming over him.

”Master! Master, wake up!

”Master! You- You- If you don’t wake up, then we’ll die! Damn you! Curse you! why aren’t you awake yet?!

”If you want to die, at least release me first, I… I…” He Feng was in a state of frenzy as he yelled in a panic in his head.

Su Ming’s Qi was not circulating at all. It was as if his Qi was suppressed, but the small virescent sword hidden within the path of blood that had been opened inside him was letting out a buzzing sound that only he could hear. That buzzing sound was becoming increasingly stronger and was stimulating Su Ming’s mind, causing him to wake up as he was dangerously falling.

The moment he woke up, a sense of death looming over him instantly rushed into his heart and broke through everything in sight, as if the world before him shattered into pieces. Once it disappeared, what appeared before Su Ming was endless darkness and his rapidly falling body.

He became truly awake.

The moment he woke up, Su Ming suddenly understood. It did not matter whether what he saw was real or fake, in truth, these were all the lingering sights from the illusions that appeared when he was walking on the seventh section of the Chain, which all remained in his head as he fell.

‘Have I failed..? But I haven’t seen the elder!’

Su Ming was falling rapidly. The canyon was very deep. He could feel the wind around him roaring as his body rapidly closed in on the pit below.

He Feng’s panicked and terrified screams, along with the sword whistles reverberated in his head like thunder.

‘No wonder the people who challenge the Chains rarely survive if they fail… The Chains of Han Mountain are really strange. They can suppress your Qi and cause it to not circulate, and it can also make people lose consciousness. The only outcome is death. It’s very hard for others to save the challengers. He Feng survived in the past not just due to Han Fei Zi’s preparations, but also because of his luck.’

Su Ming became calm as his body continued falling. He might not know just how far the ground was, but the approaching impact and the increasingly stronger sense of death was enough to tell him that death was closing in on him rapidly.