Pursuit of the Truth

There were still some unshed tears at the corners of Bai Su’s eyes. She had no idea who she was crying for… Yet as she was basking under the moonlight, she remembered many things. She remembered the things that had happened when she was young. She remembered everything that had happened once she grew up. She met Si Ma Xin, she met Su Ming…

She had no idea how long she had been looking at the moon in this manner. Eventually, when she wiped away her tears, she heard a sigh behind her.

When she heard that sigh, she shuddered and turned around to see a middle-aged man who seemed to have been born with a stern look on his face. That man was incredibly tall and was like a hill as he stood there dressed in a long grey robe. There was a kind, loving look in his eyes.

”Father…” Bai Su teared up even more. She stood up and hugged the middle-aged man.

”Ever since you grew up, you seldom hug and refuse to let go of your father like this anymore…” the middle-aged man said softly and patted Bai Su’s back gently.

Bai Su originally did not want to cry, but the moment she heard his words, she could no longer contain herself and started bawling.

”There now, everything has ended. Come home with me. You’re already at the age where you should begin your training after all…” said the middle-aged man softly.

”You’re still too young to understand the love in the world.” The man sighed and his gaze landed on the ninth summit. A frown appeared between his brows.

”This has nothing to do with anyone. It’s my fault. I don’t know what I should do, I just don’t know…” Bai Su said softly and lifted her head from her father’s bosom to wipe away her tears.

”Then don’t think about it anymore. I’ve already sent Si Ma Xin to Freezing Sky Cave. Whether he lives or dies now depends on him. I don’t like him.” The middle-aged man lifted his hand and wiped away the remaining tears from Bai Su’s face.

”I’ve also suppressed the injuries he sustained from failing to create the Berserker Seed. If he doesn’t walk out of Freezing Sky Cave, then he’ll die. If he manages to come out, you’ll have a servant by your side. It’s not a bad thing either.”

The middle-aged man looked at Bai Su fondly and a smile appeared on his face.

”But…” Bai Su hesitated for a moment. ”I kind of hate him…” she whispered softly.

”I’ve already punished him.” The middle-aged man ruffled Bai Su’s hair and took a step forward with her before they gradually disappeared. Before Bai Su vanished, she turned around and cast a glance at the ninth summit with conflict, regret, and well wishes shining in her eyes…

”If I could redo everything…” Bai Su mumbled and averted her gaze bitterly before she vanished into the night from the seventh summit with her father.

At that moment, right underneath the Great Frozen Plains, within the endless layer of ice that no one knew just how deep it went, was a maze like world where moonlight could not shine through.

There was no light in that place, only cold. Yet there was a strange wind in there. That wind should not have existed in that place, but it was there, and it continued blowing endlessly.

In a corner of the maze like world was a person curled up into a ball, shivering.

A weak mumbling voice came from the person’s lips, ”Freezing Sky Cave… Freezing Sky Cave…”

After a long while, a ripping sound could be heard. The shivering person lifted his right hand and made some unknown signs. Immediately, light appeared before him.

It was from a ball of fire burning on a stone that was about the size of a baby’s fist.

As the fire burned and the dark world was lit up by a flickering light, that light illuminated the person’s face, and it was a terrifying sight to behold!

It was a rotten face. There were thousands of scars marring that face, rendering that person’s appearance completely ruined. Only the light in his eyes showed a faint sign of familiarity to anyone who might catch a glimpse of him.

His entire body was covered in frost. The stone on which the flames were burning was gradually shrinking as the fire continuously heated the surroundings. The moment the stone disappeared, it would mean that there would no longer be any other way for the person to obtain warmth.

Once that time came, all forms of power would not be very useful in the freezing wind…

”Su Ming… Su Ming!” That ugly person gritted his teeth, and as he shivered, he hissed in a voice that was filled with hate so deep it was engraved in his bones.

He… was Si Ma Xin.

Only he himself and Bai Su’s father knew exactly what had happened on him. Yet judging by his looks, it was clear that this was a path he was forced to choose…

Moonlight continued shining on the ground. There was also a woman sitting outside her cave abode on the third summit. She was not afraid of the cold. As she breathed, freezing aura blew against her face. An old man sat by her side.

”You’ve already accumulated enough freezing aura, and your Qi has already changed because of it. You can already Awaken, so why do you continue gathering it..?” the old man asked languidly.

”Master, if I Awaken, I must definitely have more than 990 blood veins!” The woman opened her eyes and a clear light appeared within them. She was Han Fei Zi!

”Must you compete against him?” The old man frowned.

”He’s a Divine General, then I too must become a Divine General!” Han Fei Zi nodded her head with a determined face.

”But if you persist, then you won’t make it to Sky Mist Shaman Hunt.” The old man gave his disciple a look.

”Even if I can’t make it to the start, I can still join the battle halfway through.” As Han Fei Zi spoke, all her Qi started circulating and blood veins manifested on her body, shining through her robes with a blood-red light while also giving off a shockingly cold air.

”981 blood veins. I can still continue!”

Han Fei Zi took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and continued immersing herself in the process of breathing in freezing aura to stimulate her blood. Her expression was calm, but only she and the old man beside her knew just what sort of intense pain she had to endure by breathing in the freezing aura.

Yet no one could see any signs of that pain on her face. It was as if her entire person had almost turned into… a block of ice!

Night gradually went by. When a hint of light appeared in the horizon in the distance and a new day arrived, Su Ming opened his eyes. He had already recovered from the depletion caused by helping He Feng. Once he returned to normal, he got up and went back into the cave when the day arrived.

Days went by. Su Ming seldom went out of his cave, and during the times he did, he would only get out during the night to look for his second senior brother. Only his second senior brother had the aura of death required to create Spirit Plunder in the ninth summit.

Half a month later, once he had enough aura of death and there was less than a month left until Sky Mist Shaman Hunt, Su Ming left the ninth summit alone at night. He did not bring Zi Che, neither did he bring the Fire Ape. He left alone, only in the company of his shadow born under the moon.

Three days later, above an ice mountain located far away from Freezing Sky Clan, thick clouds collected. Thunder rumbled in the sky and bolts of lightning struck down, causing that mountain to turn into a pool of lightning.

The bolts of lightning continued raining down for several hours before gradually disappearing. When the tribes around the area sent people to check the place, they found nothing.

Three days later, Su Ming returned to Freezing Sky Clan. Lightning swam on his body, and when he stepped on the ice mountain, cracking sounds rang out. His Origin Vessel that was hidden within his body had grown stronger, and he had gained further understanding towards controlling lightning.

When he returned to his cave abode, Su Ming brought out the completed Spirit Plunders. Four Spirit Plunders floated before him, shining with a light that could suck in gazes.

There were only twenty days left until the commencement of Sky Mist Shaman Hunt…

Changes also gradually appeared in the nine continents floating in the air above Freezing Sky Clan. The distance between them shrank, and people could see others moving at each hour.

That strange sight attracted quite a large amount of attention, but most of those who had gone through Sky Mist Shaman Hunt before knew that the war was about to start!

The oppressive feeling that filled Freezing Sky Clan from the upcoming battle reached its peak at that moment. The movement of Heaven Gate also meant one thing - one of Freezing Sky Clan’s greatest treasures, Frozen Sky, had appeared!

Frozen Sky was the treasure that the disciples of Freezing Sky Clan were most familiar with among the greatest treasures in the clan, because every single time the battle of Sky Mist was held, the treasure would appear, and it symbolized Freezing Sky Clan!

The number of Shamans who died under its hands could not be counted. Every single time it appeared, it would turn all the ice mountains in Freezing Sky Clan red. That was not because they were dyed red, but they turned red due the light shining on them!

”A part of it will be revealed fifteen days before the battle. Five days before the battle, its full form will show up, and two days before the battle, it would break free from the illusion it was sealed in and descend upon us…

”What we see during the battle of Sky Mist that occurs once a decade is just its projection. It’s not the real deal.

”It will only appear in its true form during the great battle that occurs once a century. With it around, those of us from Freezing Sky Clan fighting in the battle will have a much greater chance of survival, and we can experience the life and death crisis in our growth…

”There are a lot of rumors regarding its origins, and the one that is the most widely accepted is about it being created when Freezing Sky Clan was formed. As one of the three greatest treasures of Freezing Sky Clan, it’s main function… is to kill!

”Of our three greatest treasures, this is the treasure we use primarily to kill!

”It constantly changes, and from what I can tell, the projection it uses each time it comes in battles every decade is always different from the others. In fact, its form is also different each time it descends upon us with its true form during the battles that occur once a century… It’s as if its true form is constantly changing…”

Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the nine continents of Heaven Gate that were moving slowly while Zi Che’s pious voice fell into his ears.

”All those who are joining the battle will follow it… and head to Sky Mist City… Uncle master, the war is about to start… Even if it has been a very long time since Sky Mist Barrier’s was broken through, but during the great battle that occurs only once a century… well, such a possibility still exists,” Zi Che looked at the sky and mumbled.

”I can already imagine ferocious beasts so great in number they cannot be counted gathering under the skies in the land of the Shamans. There’s also the matter about those powerful sacred beasts…

”The Shamans are also preparing for it… as if we’re fulfilling an ancient promise…” Zi Che closed his eyes.

Su Ming and Zi Che were not the only ones looking at the sky at that moment. Almost all of the people in Freezing Sky Clan, even the superior Heaven Gate disciples living within Heaven Gate, were watching the sky.

Yet then, during that morning, at the top of the ninth summit, Tian Xie Zi, who had his palms flat on the ground while counting something, suddenly shuddered. He lifted his head swiftly, and at that moment, his expression turned incredibly stern as he stared at the sky in the distance.

From that piece of sky, a shooting star with blue and red colors criss-crossing against each other whistled through the air at an unbelievable speed. The size of that shooting star was like a small hill. The blue light symbolized protection, while the red light symbolized murder!

It was a shooting star from Sky Mist City!

It was not alone. There were… nine of them!

When Tian Xie Zi saw the nine shooting stars, his expression changed drastically, its intensity at the level that had never been seen on him before! He was not the only one to react like that. At that moment, dozens of people flew out from Heaven Gate and charged towards the nine shooting stars.

”Five shooting stars mean a great disaster… seven mean that there is a change among the Shamans… eight means that the Berserkers in the Land of South Morning face the threat of total annihilation… nine… nine mean…”

Tian Lan Meng’s face was deathly pale as she stood on the seventh summit. The jade bottle in her hands fell to the ground as if she could not hold onto it properly...